JP5909192B2 - toothbrush - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an improvement in a toothbrush.
This application claims priority on October 29, 2010 based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-244013 for which it applied to Japan, and uses the content for it here.

In order to prevent periodontal disease, it is known that cleaning of the tooth neck is important. In order to improve the cleaning performance of the tooth neck by the toothbrush, it is required that the hair tip penetration into the tooth neck is high, and the plaque scraping ability by the hair tip entering the tooth neck is high.
As a toothbrush that improves the penetrability of the bristles into the tooth neck, a toothbrush using bristles with sharpened bristles is known. In addition, toothbrushes are known in which the pitch of flock holes for flocking hair bundles is expanded as a whole to increase the physical spacing of the hair bundles.
However, simply widening the pitch of the flock holes loses the stiffness of the hair bundle, so the scraping ability of the plaque that has entered the tooth neck tends to decrease, and the density of the hair bundle decreases, The usability as a toothbrush may be greatly impaired.

As described in Patent Documents 1 to 4, the toothbrush is implanted in various patterns according to the purpose.
That is, in Patent Document 1, a notch portion is formed at the tip of the head and in the center of the toothbrush width direction for the purpose of causing the tip of the hair bundle to reach the top surface and side surface of the molar tooth, and the tip side is open. A toothbrush in which a hair bundle is implanted in a U shape has been proposed.
Patent Document 2 proposes a toothbrush in which a plurality of non-planted portions are provided in the center of a flocked region for the purpose of enhancing the penetrability of the bristles into the gap between the teeth.
Patent Document 3 proposes a toothbrush in which one non-planted portion is provided at the center of the planted region for the purpose of adapting to the situation in the oral cavity of each individual.
Patent Document 4 proposes a toothbrush in which hair bundles are implanted in a V-shape with the proximal end side of the flocked region opened for the purpose of polishing a region having no self-cleaning action in the oral cavity.
However, the toothbrushes described in Patent Documents 1 and 4 have insufficient usability when cleaning the tooth surfaces.
The toothbrushes described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 have insufficient penetrability of the hair ends of the hair bundle into the tooth neck.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-44999 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-255529 JP 2003-289944 A Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3142558

As described above, a toothbrush that is compatible with both the penetrability of the hair tip into the neck and the plaque scraping property and has an excellent feeling of use has not been known.
Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a toothbrush excellent in usability in addition to being able to achieve both the penetrability of the hair tip into the neck and the plaque scraping property. The purpose is to do.

The present invention has the following aspects.
A first aspect of the present invention includes a head portion in which a hair bundle in which a plurality of bristles are bundled is planted, and a handle portion that extends from the head portion, and is directed from the base end to the tip end of the head portion. Only in the region of 25 to 70 % of the length of the flocked region, adjacent hair bundles across the center line of the flocked region from the base end to the tip of the head part are orthogonal to the center line in the flocked region The hair bundle spaced-apart planted part is provided so as to be spaced apart by a distance of 15 to 70% of the length in the direction in which the hair bundle is separated. The toothbrush is characterized in that the diameter of a flock hole that is open on the end side and into which the hair bundle is planted in the hair bundle separation planted portion is in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 mm .
A second aspect of the present invention is a toothbrush according to the first aspect, wherein the bunch-separated flocked portion includes a bristle whose diameter gradually decreases toward the hair tip.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the hair bundle separating hair transplant part is configured by a core part and at least one sheath part provided outside the core part. A toothbrush having polyester bristle having a multi-core structure.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toothbrush according to the first or second aspect, wherein the bunch-separated flocked portion includes bristles made of a mixture of a plurality of polyesters.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is a toothbrush according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the head portion has a width of 10 to 15 mm.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, two rows of hair bundles are arranged on both sides of the center line in the hair bundle separating flocking portion. Toothbrush.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is the toothbrush according to the sixth aspect, wherein the arrangement of the flock holes in the bunch-separated flocked portion is a lattice arrangement.

  The toothbrush of the present invention is compatible with both the ability of the bristles to enter the neck and the scraping ability of the plaque, and is excellent in the feeling of use.

It is a side view which shows one Embodiment of the toothbrush of this invention. It is a top view which shows the flocked area | region in the toothbrush shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the effect of the toothbrushing by the conventional toothbrush which does not have a buffer part. It is a schematic diagram explaining the effect of the toothbrushing by the toothbrush in which the buffer part which is one Embodiment of this application was formed.

An embodiment of the toothbrush of the present invention will be described.
In FIG. 1, the side view of the toothbrush of this embodiment is shown. The toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment includes a head portion 10 in which the hair bundle 11 is implanted, and a long handle portion 20 extending from the head portion 10.

In the toothbrush 1, the head portion 10 and the handle portion 20 are integrally formed as a whole as a whole. For example, the head portion 10 and the handle portion 20 are obtained by injection molding using a resin as a material.
The resin can be determined in consideration of the rigidity and mechanical characteristics required for the toothbrush 1. For example, the mechanical properties required for the toothbrush 1 can be obtained by using a high-hardness resin having a flexural modulus (JIS K7203) in the range of 500 to 3000 MPa. Examples of such high-hardness resins include polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate (PCT), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile / butadiene / styrene resin (ABS), and cellulose propio. Nate (CP), polyarylate, polycarbonate, acrylonitrile / styrene copolymer resin (AS), and the like. One or more of these can be used.
Further, the handle portion 20 may be partially or wholly covered with a flexible resin such as an elastomer in order to improve gripping properties.

As shown in FIG. 2, a hair bundle 11 in which a plurality of hairs are bundled is implanted in a flock hole 13 in a lattice arrangement in the hair transplant region 12 of the head portion 10.
Here, the flocked region 12 is a region surrounded by an imaginary line A obtained when connecting the outermost portions of the hole edges of the outermost flocked holes 13. This imaginary line A constitutes a tangent line between adjacent flock holes 13.
The hair-planting region 12 includes a hair bundle separating planting portion 12a arranged from the proximal end side of the head portion 10 toward the distal end side, and a front hair transplanting portion 12b arranged closer to the distal end side than the hair bundle separating planting portion 12a. Have.
Here, the hair bundle separation hair transplant part 12a is a part where the hair bundles 11 adjacent to each other are arranged apart from each other across the center line B of the hair transplant area 12 from the base end of the head part 10 toward the tip (see FIG. in 2, the example is tufts 11 which are adjacent with respect to the center line B which is spaced the length L ₃ is illustrated). That is, the hair bundle separation hair transplant part 12a is a case where a line perpendicular to the center line B of the hair transplant region 12 is a virtual line C at the forefront of the following buffer part 12c in the direction from the base end to the tip of the head part 10. In other words, it means a region on the base end side of the head portion 10 surrounded by the lower layer line C and the virtual line A.
In such a hair bundle spaced-apart planted part 12a, a part 12c where the hair bundle is not implanted (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “buffer part 12c”) is formed near the center line B of the planted region 12. Therefore, in the flocked region 12, the region where the hair bundle 11 is present opens to the proximal end side, and the shape viewed from directly above is, for example, a substantially U shape.
Moreover, the front hair transplant part 12b means the area | region of the front end side of the head part 10 enclosed by the virtual line C and the virtual line A. FIG.
Here, the base end of the head part 10 means the outermost part of the flock hole 13 located on the handle part 20 side in the bed part 10.
The buffer portion 12c in the present embodiment has a rectangular shape with the direction from the base end toward the tip end of the head portion 10 as a longitudinal direction. If the longitudinal direction of the rectangular buffer portion 12c is the direction from the proximal end to the distal end of the head portion 10, the hair bundle 11 to be entered into the tooth neck portion can be sufficiently secured.
Said buffer part 12c is located in the center of the width direction of the flocked region 12. When the buffer part 12c is located on the side end side of the flocked region 12, the entry of the hair tips of the hair bundle 11 into the tooth neck is not exhibited.

The length in the direction toward the tip from the base end of the head portion 10 of the tufts spaced planting unit 12a L ₁ is 25 to 75% of the length L ₂ in the direction of bristle region 12 toward the tip end from the base end of the head portion 10 , Preferably 30 to 70%, more preferably 50 to 60%. Wherein L ₁ is, in particular, in the direction toward the tip end from the base end of the head portion 10, and the base end of the head portion 10 in the bristle region 12, based on the flocking holes 13 on the base end side of the front bristle portion 12b It is the distance to the end side. The L ₂ is more specifically, in the direction from the proximal end to the distal end of the head portion 10, the flocking hole 13 on the proximal end side of the head portion 10 in the flocking region 12 and on the most distal side of the front flocking portion 12 b. It is the distance from the most advanced side.
When the L ₁ is less than the lower limit, enters of the bristle tips of cervical tuft 11 of tufts spaced planting unit 12a is lowered.
Wherein L ₁ is also the length of the direction from the base to the tip of the head portion 10 of the buffer section 12c.
Therefore, when L ₁ exceeds the upper limit value, the buffer unit 12c is also meant to be formed on the distal end side of the bristle area 12. Usually, when cleaning the back teeth and tooth surfaces, a strong pressure is applied to the hair bundle 11 on the tip side. Therefore, when the buffer portion 12c without the hair bundle 11 is formed on the tip side of the flocked region 12, the back teeth and tooth surfaces are cleaned. In this case, a feeling of hair loss such that the hair bundle 11 is insufficient is produced, and the feeling of use is impaired.

In tufts spaced planting unit 12a, tufts 11 distance _{L 3} between the adjacent sides of the center line B is 15 to 70% in the direction of the length _{L 4} which is perpendicular to the center line B of the bristle area 12, preferably Is a distance of 20 to 50%, more preferably 25 to 30%. Wherein L ₃ is, more specifically, a distance of the innermost ends of bristles hole 13 of the tufts spaced bristle portion 12a adjacent to each other across the center line B of the flocked area 12. The L ₄ is more specifically, in the direction perpendicular to the center line B, the outermost surface of the flocked hole 13 located on one side end side of the flocked region 12 and the flocked hole located on the other side end side. 13 is the distance from the outermost side.
When the L ₃ is less than the above lower limit value, then it decreases penetration of the bristle tips of the cervical and the L ₃ is greater than the lower limit, scraping of the plaque is decreased.

  The size of the head portion 10 where the flocked region 12 is provided can be determined in consideration of the operability in the oral cavity, for example, the width is 10 to 15 mm, and the thickness is 4 to 8 mm.

The hair constituting the hair bundle 11 includes hairs (taper hairs) whose diameter gradually decreases toward the hair tips, and hairs having the same outer diameter (straight hairs) except for the rounded portion of the hair tips. Etc. In the hair bundle spaced-apart planted part 12a, it is preferable that at least a part of the hair is a tapered hair, since the penetration of the hair tip into the tooth neck becomes higher and it is more effective in preventing periodontal disease. More preferably, all of the hair is tapered.
Examples of the tapered hair include a tapered hair whose both ends are tapered, a tapered hair whose one end is tapered, a tapered hair having a plurality of sharpened portions formed on one hair, and the like.
Further, the hair may be a mixture of tapered hair and straight hair. For example, the hair of the hair bundle separating hair transplant part 12a may be a taper hair, and the hair of the front hair transplant part 12b may be a straight hair. Moreover, you may mix a taper hair and a straight hair in the hair | bristle bundle space | interval hair transplant part 12a.

The material of the hair is, for example, polyamide such as 6-12 nylon or 6-10 nylon; PET, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polybutylene naphthalate ( Synthetic resin materials such as polyesters such as PBN); polyolefins such as PP; elastomers such as olefin elastomers and styrene elastomers can be used.
A plurality of these resin materials may be used in combination, and among them, a mixture of a plurality of polyesters is preferable in that it can be easily strengthened and the scraping property of plaque is higher, and two to three polyesters are preferable. Is preferred.
As a mixture of a plurality of polyesters, for example, a mixture of PET and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is preferably used. Moreover, the hair for polyester which has the multi-core structure which has a core part and the sheath part of at least 1 layer or more provided in the outer side of the said core part is also preferable. When a multi-core structure is used, different polyesters can be used for the core portion and the sheath portion, so that the mechanical properties can be easily adjusted. For this reason, it is possible to easily obtain hair having a strong stiffness and a higher plaque scraping property. For example, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and PET are preferable as a combination of different polyesters that can be used for the core and sheath hairs.

The cross-sectional shape of the bristle is preferably a circle, but is not necessarily limited to a circle, and can be any shape depending on the intended use of the toothbrush 1. For example, an ellipse, a polygon (for example, a triangle, a quadrangle, a pentagon, a hexagon, etc.), an irregular shape (for example, a star shape, a three-leaf clover shape, a four-leaf clover shape, etc.), etc. It can be made into a shape.
When the cross section is circular, the stiffness becomes stronger and the plaque scraping effect becomes higher. Therefore, the thickness of the hair (that is, the maximum diameter) is preferably 6 mil or more and 10 mil or less.
However, when the hair is strengthened by using hair having a multi-core structure or hair made of a polyester mixture as hair, a high scraping effect can be obtained even if the hair thickness is less than 6 mils. .
Moreover, in consideration of a feeling of use, a feeling of cleaning, a cleaning effect, durability, and the like, a plurality of hairs having different thicknesses may be used in any combination.

  The hair length of the hair is preferably 8 mm to 13 mm for adults and 6 mm to 9 mm for children from the flocked surface of the head portion 10. The lengths of the hairs may all be the same or may not be the same. Examples of the hair bundles whose lengths are not the same include hair bundles in which the length of each hair is selected so that the center of the hair bundle rises.

  It is not necessary for all hairs to be the same type. For example, the hair bundle 11 planted in the hair bundle separating hair transplant section 12a and the hair bundle 11 planted in the front hair transplant section 12b may be different. Since the main role of the hair bundle 11 of the hair bundle separating hair transplant part 12a is removal of plaque on the tooth neck, and the main role of the hair bundle 11 of the front hair transplant part 12b is cleaning other than the tooth neck part, It is preferable to use hair suitable for the role.

As a method for implanting the hair bundle 11, a known method such as a method of driving a flat wire or a method of heat welding can be applied.
In the method of driving a flat wire, a plurality of bristles are bundled and folded in half, and a hair clip 11 is implanted in each flocked hole 13 by inserting a retaining tool called a flat wire between them and driving it into the flocked hole.
The flat line passes through the center of the flocked hole 13 and is placed in the flocked hole 13 so as to straddle the flocked hole 13. Examples of the material of the flat wire include metals such as brass and stainless steel, and other examples include hard plastic and biodegradable plastic.
The length, width, and thickness of the flat line may be arbitrarily adjusted according to the hair bundle 11 and the flock hole 13, but the length of the flat line is usually larger than the diameter of the flock hole 13, and the width of the flat line is It is made smaller than the depth of the flock hole 13. Further, by adjusting the thickness of the flat wire, the hair bundle 11 can be securely fixed in the flock hole 13 and the gap can be reduced. Moreover, in order to prevent the flat wire from coming out of the flocked hole 13, the total length of the portions protruding from both sides of the flocked hole 13 is preferably 0.3 to 0.6 mm.

The shape of the flock hole 13 in which the hair bundle 11 is flocked is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include a circle, an ellipse, and a quadrangle.
The diameter of a part or all of the flock hole 13 is not particularly limited as long as the diameter of the hair bundle 11 is a hole diameter that allows the hair tip to enter the tooth neck, but is 1.0 to 1.3 mm. Preferably there is.
If the diameter of the flocked hole 13 is 1.0 mm or more, it is easy to narrow the hole pitch even by flocking by a method of driving a flat wire, and it is difficult to feel a sense of hair loss. On the other hand, if the diameter of the flock hole 13 is 1.3 mm or less, the penetration into the tooth neck can be further increased. Moreover, if the diameter of the flock hole 13 becomes small, the freedom degree of flock hole arrangement | positioning will improve.
In particular, it is preferable that the diameter of the flock hole 13 in the hair bundle separating flocking portion 12a is 1.0 to 1.3 mm. The hair bundle 11 of the hair bundle separating hair transplant part 12a is mainly intended to enter the tooth neck. For this reason, by setting the diameter of the flock hole 13 formed in the hair bundle spaced-apart flocked portion 12a to 1.0 to 1.3 mm, a particularly high effect is exerted in the penetration into the tooth neck.
There is no particular limitation on the pitch of the flock holes 13 in the portion other than the buffer portion 12c of the flock region 13. When it is desired to suppress the feeling of hair loss, it is preferable to narrow the pitch of the flock holes 13 in the portion other than the buffer portion 12c of the flocked region 13.

As shown in FIG. 3A, when brushing teeth by the scrub method using a conventional toothbrush 100 in which the buffer portion 12c is not formed, when the hair bundle 11 is pressed against the tooth surface C, the hair bundles 11 are mutually connected. Support each other. Therefore, the hair bundle 11 is difficult to bend and the penetration of the hair tip into the tooth neck is low.
However, as shown in FIG. 3B, when brushing teeth by the scrub method using the toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment in which the buffer portion 12c having no hair bundle is formed, the hair bundle 11 of the hair bundle separating hair transplant portion 12a is toothed. When pressed against the surface C, the hair bundles 11 can be restrained from supporting each other. Therefore, the hair bundle is easily bent, and the penetrability of the hair tip into the tooth neck is high.
In addition, as described above, in the toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment in which the buffer portion 12c is provided and the hair bundle 11 of the hair bundle separating hair transplant portion 12a is easily bent, it is not a toothbrush in which the pitch of the entire flock holes 12 is expanded. It is possible to suppress the stiffness of hair bundles and the feeling of hair loss, and to ensure sufficient plaque scraping properties.
Furthermore, since the buffer portion 12c is not formed on the distal end side of the flocked region 12, it does not cause a hair loss feeling that the hair bundle 11 is insufficient, and is excellent in use feeling as the toothbrush 1. In addition, since the buffer portion 12c is formed, the circulation of saliva and the like is not hindered during cleaning in the oral cavity, and it is easy to dry after use and is hygienic.
The front flocking portion 12b in contact with the tooth surface is not formed with the buffer portion 12c, and the hair bundle 11 is densely present, so that the tooth surface can be sufficiently cleaned.
Moreover, since the stiffness of the hair bundle 11 of the front hair transplantation part 12b becomes weak when the hair bundle 11 of the front hair transplantation part 12b is sparse, the pressing force of the hair bundle 11 on the tooth surface is increased during oral cleaning. However, in the toothbrush 1 of the present embodiment, the bristles 11 of the front flocked portion 12b are sufficiently secured, so that the bristles 11 are pressed against the tooth surfaces. Even if the pressure is increased, the head portion 10 can be prevented from coming into contact with the tooth surface. By increasing the pressing force of the hair bundle 11 on the tooth surface, it is possible to further improve the approachability of the hair bundle 11 to the tooth neck portion of the hair bundle separating hair transplant part 12a.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.
The arrangement of the flock holes 13 need not be a lattice arrangement, and may be a staggered arrangement, an asymmetric arrangement, or any other arrangement. The arrangement of the flock holes 13 need not be symmetrical with respect to the central axis B. However, it is preferable that the arrangement of the flock holes 13 is symmetric with respect to the central axis B in terms of the entry of the hair ends of the hair bundle 11 into the tooth neck.
In the said embodiment, although the buffer part 12c was the direction which goes to the front-end | tip from the base end side of the head part 10 in the hair transplant area | region 12, the longitudinal direction of the buffer part 12c is the centerline B of the hair transplant area | region 12. The direction may be orthogonal to the direction.
Moreover, the buffer part 12c may not be rectangular. However, the shape of the buffer portion 12c is determined by the arrangement of the flock holes 13 adjacent to the buffer portion 12c. When the arrangement of the flock holes 13 is asymmetric with respect to the central axis B, the buffer portion 12c has a complicated shape that is not line-symmetric.
The toothbrush of the present invention may be used as a brush for an electric toothbrush. Even when the toothbrush of the present invention is used as a brush for an electric toothbrush, it is possible to achieve both the penetration of the hair tip into the neck and the scraping property of the plaque, and the usability is excellent.

EXAMPLES Next, although an Example demonstrates this invention further in detail, this invention is not limited by these examples.
(Example 1)
A toothbrush was prepared in which a rectangular buffer portion was formed at the approximate center in the width direction of the flocked region and on the proximal end side. In this toothbrush, the arrangement of the flock holes, the diameter of the flock holes, the number of flock holes, the types of hairs that make up the hair bundle, L ₁ , L ₂ , L ₁ / L ₂ × 100, L ₃ , L ₄ , and L ₃ / L ₄ × 100 was as shown in Table 1. Further, the pitch between the flock holes in the direction from the base end to the tip of the head portion was 0.7 mm, the hair length was 10 mm, and the thickness of the hair was 7.5 mil.

(Examples 2 to 12, Comparative Examples 1 to 4)
Planting pores arranged, planted pores diameter, the number of planting pores, hair types use constituting the _{tufts, L 1, L 2, L} 1 / L 2 × 100, L 3, L 4, and _L 3 / _{L 4} A toothbrush similar to Example 1 was produced except that × 100 was changed as shown in Tables 1, 2, and 3.
The hair used in Example 5 was made of a mixture of PBT and PET, and the mixing ratio was PBT: PET = 7: 3.
The hair used in Example 6 had a core-sheath double structure, the core radius was 76 μm, the sheath thickness was 19 μm, and the total diameter was 190 μm.
In the hair bundle separating and flocking portion in Example 12, one end taper hair was used.

About the toothbrush of each Example and each comparative example, plaque removal property and usability were evaluated by the method described below. The evaluation results are shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3.
[Plate removal]
The removal rate of artificial plaque applied to the teeth of the jaw model was measured using a brushing machine manufactured by Lion Corporation. Artificial plaque is applied to the front surface of the upper second premolar, the front surface of the first molar, and the front surface of the second molar, and using the toothbrushes of the examples and comparative examples, brushing conditions (brushing force = 200 g, stroke = 20 mm). , Speed = 40 mm / sec). Then, the area of the part from which the artificial plaque was removed was measured by image analysis, and the plaque removal rate was obtained from the formula of (plaque removal area / total area of the cervix) × 100 (%). The numerical values in the table are average values of six tests.
It means that the higher the plaque removal rate, the more excellent both the penetrability of the hair ends of the hair bundle into the neck and the scraping ability of the plaque. Even if only one of the penetration property of the bristles of the hair bundle into the tooth neck or the scraping property of the plaque is excellent, the plaque removal property does not increase.
[Usage feeling]
Seven testers used the toothbrushes of each of the examples and comparative examples for 7 days, and evaluated the feeling of use of the tooth neck and the tooth surface when brushed by sensory evaluation. Evaluation was made into 7 steps of 1 to 7 points, and the higher the score, the better the usability.

[Comprehensive evaluation]
The overall evaluation determined from the above-mentioned plaque removability and feeling of use is as follows. This comprehensive evaluation is also shown in Tables 1, 2 and 3.
◎: Dental plaque removal rate is 80% or more and the feeling of use on the neck and tooth surface is 4 points or more ○: Dental plaque removal rate is 70% or more and use on the tooth neck and tooth surface Both feelings are 4 points or more x: plaque removal rate is less than 70%, feeling on the tooth neck is less than 4 points, or feeling on the tooth surface is less than 4 points

The toothbrush of Examples 1-12 in which the buffer part was formed in the approximate center and the base end side of the width direction of the flocked area | region was excellent in plaque removal property. Therefore, it is excellent in both the penetration property of the hair end of the hair bundle into the tooth neck and the scraping property of plaque. In addition, the toothbrushes of Examples 1 to 12 were excellent in usability.
The toothbrush of the comparative example 1 which does not have a buffer part was inadequate in the plaque removal property and the feeling of use with respect to a tooth neck part.
_{L 1} / L ₂ × 100 is Comparative Example 2 80.9% toothbrush was insufficient feeling against the tooth surface.
The toothbrush of Comparative Example 3 having L ₁ / L ₂ × 100 of 23.1% had insufficient plaque removability and a feeling of use with respect to the tooth neck.
The toothbrush of Comparative Example 4 in which the buffer portion is formed at the approximate center in the width direction of the flocked region but is not formed on the proximal end side has insufficient plaque removability and a feeling of use on the tooth neck and tooth surface. Met.
This seems to be because, in the toothbrush of Comparative Example 4, the bristles on the distal end side and the bristles on the proximal end side are supported, so that even if the buffer portion is provided, the deflection of the bristles is suppressed. .

Further, compared to Examples 1, 4 and 6, a higher plaque removal rate can be obtained by using taper hair than by using straight hair. Furthermore, when taper hair having a multi-core structure is used even with taper hair, It was found that the plaque removal rate was higher.
Moreover, it was found from the comparison between Examples 1, 7, and 8 that the smaller the diameter of the flock hole, the better the plaque removal performance.

(Examples 13 to 23)
Toothbrushes having the arrangement of flock holes, diameter of flock holes, L ₁ , L ₂ , L ₁ / L ₂ × 100, L ₃ , L ₄ and L ₃ / L ₄ × 100 as shown in Table 4 were prepared.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION Since this invention can provide the toothbrush excellent in a usability | use_condition while being able to make compatible the penetration property to the tooth neck part of a hair tip, and the scraping property of plaque, it is very useful industrially.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toothbrush 10 Head part 20 Handle part 11 Hair bundle 12 Flocking area | region 12a Hair bundle separation | separation flocking part 12b Front flocking part 12c Buffer part 13 Flocking hole

Claims (6)

A head portion in which a hair bundle in which a plurality of bristles are bundled is planted, and a handle portion extended to the head portion,
Only in the region of 25 to 70% of the length of the flocked region from the base end of the head portion to the tip, adjacent hair bundles across the center line of the flocked region from the base end of the head portion to the tip. , A hair bundle separating planting part arranged at a distance of 15 to 70% of the length in the direction perpendicular to the center line in the planting region is provided,
In the hair bundle separation planted portion, a region where the hair bundle exists opens to the proximal end side of the head portion , and in the hair bundle separation planted portion, the direction along the center line on both sides of the center line Two rows of hair bundles are arranged in at least a part of
The toothbrush characterized by the diameter of the flock hole in which the hair bundle is flocked in the hair bundle separation flocking part being in the range of 1.0 to 1.5 mm.   The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the bristles that are spaced apart are provided with bristles that gradually decrease in diameter toward the hair tips.   The said hair | bristle bundle separation | distribution flocking part is equipped with the polyester hair which has the multi-core structure comprised by the core part and the at least 1 layer sheath part provided in the outer side of the said core part. The toothbrush described.   The toothbrush according to claim 2, wherein the bristles are provided with bristles made of a mixture of a plurality of polyesters.   The toothbrush of any one of Claims 1-4 whose width | variety of the said head part is 10-15 mm. The toothbrush according to claim 5 , wherein the arrangement of the flock holes in the bristles spaced apart flocked portion is a lattice arrangement.

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