JP6757085B1 - Parts for tongue brush - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tongue brush component which has a high cleaning effect and is effective in reducing bad breath, while suppressing vomiting sensation and not easily damaging healthy cells.
SOLUTION: A tongue brush component 1 is attached to a brush head 42 connected to a vibration source via a handle 41, and has a base body having a protrusion forming surface 21 that vibrates by the operation of the vibration source, and a protrusion forming surface. It has a protrusion group 3 composed of a large number of columnar protrusions projecting from the base body, and a substantially concave notch 22 is formed in the central portion of the trailing edge side 12 of the base body. The protrusion group consists of an outer protrusion group 31 consisting of outer protrusions arranged at intervals along the front edge side 11 and both side edge sides 13 of the base body, and a protrusion group protruding inward of the outer protrusion group and having a smaller diameter than the outer protrusion. It includes an inner protrusion group 32 in which a certain inner protrusion is arranged closer than the outer protrusion group.
[Selection diagram] Fig. 2

Description

The present invention relates to a tongue brush component capable of cleaning the tongue surface by vibrating.

There are many small protrusions called papillae on the surface of the tongue, and foreign substances such as bacteria and food waste and tongue coating adhere to it. If the tongue is dirty, bacteria can easily grow and cause bad breath. It is believed that about 90% of the causes of bad breath come from the mouth.

Conventionally, various tongue cleaning tools have been developed. For example, the tool disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a tongue cleaner that removes tongue coating by a hair bundle planted in a head portion. According to the description in the same document, the tongue coating can be peeled off and removed to every corner of the tongue surface including between the papillae of the tongue while scraping the tongue coating adhering to the surface of the tongue with a hair bundle inclined toward the handle portion. (See paragraphs [0006] and [0007] of the same document).

Utility Model Registration No. 3146526 Gazette

Since the cells of the tongue are sensitive and delicate, a device of the type that removes deposits by hair bundles as disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a strong feeling of vomiting and may damage healthy cells. Further, even if the bacteria are once exfoliated from the tongue surface, they may remain on the tongue surface again by remaining in the mouth without being killed, and the cleaning effect is impaired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tongue brush component which has a high cleaning effect and is effective in reducing bad breath, while suppressing vomiting sensation and not easily damaging healthy cells. And.

The tongue brush component of the present invention
A base body attached to a brush head connected to a vibration source via a handle and having a protrusion forming surface that vibrates by the operation of the vibration source, and a base body.
A group of protrusions composed of a large number of columnar protrusions projecting from the protrusion forming surface,
Have,
A substantially concave notch is formed in the central portion on the trailing edge side of the base body arranged on the connecting side with the handle.
The protrusions
A group of outer protrusions composed of outer protrusions arranged along the front edge side and both side edges of the base body, and
An inner protrusion group in which inner protrusions protruding inward of the outer protrusion group and having a diameter smaller than that of the outer protrusion group are arranged more densely than the outer protrusion group.
It is characterized by having.

In the tongue brush component of the present invention, a part of the medial protrusions is preferably arranged at intervals so as to form a zigzag path toward the notch. More preferably, the tongue brush component of the present invention sonicates the vibration source between 200 hertz (Hz) and 300 hertz (Hz).

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a tongue brush component which has a high cleaning effect and is effective in reducing bad breath, while suppressing vomiting sensation and not easily damaging healthy cells.

It is a usage state explanatory view which shows the tongue brush replacement brush to which the tongue brush component which is one Embodiment of this invention is attached from the side direction. It is a front view of the tongue brush component shown in FIG. It is a left side view of the tongue brush component shown in FIG. It is a right side view of the tongue brush component shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of the tongue brush component shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line BB of the tongue brush component shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the flow direction of a fluid when the tongue brush component shown in FIG. 2 is brought into contact with the tongue surface and vibrated from the front direction of the tongue brush component. It is a figure which shows the result of the comparative experiment using the part for a tongue brush shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the result of the cleaning experiment using the part for a tongue brush shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings as appropriate, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified as long as the gist of the present invention is not changed.

The tongue brush component 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is a tongue brush component capable of cleaning the tongue surface by vibrating, and in the present embodiment, the electric toothbrush main body 5 is used. It is a component constituting a replacement brush 4 for a tongue brush that is detachably attached.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a usage state showing a tongue brush replacement brush 4 to which the tongue brush component 1 is attached from the side surface direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the replacement brush 4 for the tongue brush has a handle 41 and a brush head 42 arranged in the mouth when cleaning the tongue surface. As the replacement brush for the tongue brush, a replacement brush for a replacement type electric toothbrush that is generally used or sold, excluding the hair bundle (before attaching the hair bundle) can also be used.

The brush head 42 is provided on the tip end side of the handle 41, and the tongue brush component 1 is attached to the surface of the brush head 42. The tongue brush component 1 may be formed by integrally molding with the brush head 42. For convenience of explanation, of the tongue brush parts 1, the side arranged on the connecting side with the handle 41 (the base end side of the brush head 42) is referred to as the trailing edge side 12 of the tongue brush parts, and the brush head 42. The side arranged on the tip end side is referred to as the front edge side 11 of the tongue brush component, and the side arranged on each side surface side of the brush head 42 is referred to as the side edge side 13 of the tongue brush component.

An electric toothbrush body mounting hole 411 is formed on the base end side of the handle 41 (see FIGS. 4 and 6), and the electric toothbrush body 5 as a vibration source can be attached and detached to the electric toothbrush body mounting hole 411. It is attached to. The electric toothbrush main body 5 has a built-in control unit 53 including a vibration motor 51, a battery 52, a control circuit, and the like, and the tongue brush component 1 can be vibrated by operating the switch 54. As the vibration source, it is sufficient if the tongue brush component 1 can be vibrated, and an electric toothbrush main body that is generally used or sold can be used as a vibration source provided with such a vibration source.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tongue brush component 1 has a base body 2 and a protrusion group 3. Next, the configuration of the tongue brush component 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. FIG. 2 is a front view of the tongue brush component 1, FIG. 3 is a left side view of the component 1, FIG. 4 is a right side view of the component 1, and FIG. 5 is a view of the component 1. It is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of the same component 1.

The tongue brush component 1 is provided on a brush head 42 connected to an electric toothbrush body 5 as a vibration source via a handle 41, and a base body 2 having a protrusion forming surface 21 that vibrates when the vibration source operates. And a protrusion group 3 composed of a large number of columnar protrusions projecting from the protrusion forming surface 21. The base body 2 and the protrusion group 3 constituting the tongue brush component 1 are integrally molded using a soft synthetic resin. The fact that a large number of columnar protrusions are projected means that at least 100 or more columnar protrusions are projected.

As shown in FIG. 2 or 7, a substantially concave notch 22 is formed in the central portion of the trailing edge side 12 of the base body 2 arranged on the connecting side with the handle 41, so that the protrusion forming surface 21 Is formed in a substantially concave shape when viewed from above. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5 or 6, the notch portion 22 is formed by notching about half the thickness of the base body 2 from the upper layer side, but the notch portion 22 is formed. The depth can be appropriately changed in consideration of the fluid flow, and may be cut out to the bottom surface side.

The protrusion group 3 has an outer protrusion group 31 composed of outer protrusions arranged along the front edge side 11 and both side edge sides 13 of the base body 2, and the protrusion group 3 is projected inward of the outer protrusion group 31 and has a smaller diameter than the outer protrusion. The inner protrusion group 32 is provided with the inner protrusions arranged closer than the outer protrusion group 31. In addition, the dense arrangement means that the inner protrusions have a larger number of protrusions per unit area. The outer protrusion group 31 is arranged along the front edge side 11 and both side edge sides 13, but is not arranged on the trailing edge side 12, and has a substantially U-shaped arrangement form when viewed from above.

The base body 2 is formed in a slightly vertically long flat plate shape, the back surface side thereof is a brush head mounting surface, and the front surface side thereof is a protrusion forming surface 21. In the protrusion forming surface 21, the central portion of the trailing edge side 12 of the base body 2 is cut out in a concave shape toward the front edge side 11 of the base body 2, so that the fluid is discharged from the cutout portion 22 as described later. It has become so. The shape of the front edge side 11 of the base body 2 arranged on the tip side of the brush head 42 is slightly sharp so that the central portion thereof protrudes toward the tip, but it may be a straight line or an arc shape as appropriate. It is deformable.

As described above, the diameter of the outer protrusions forming the outer protrusion group 31 is larger than the diameter of the inner protrusions forming the inner protrusion group 32. In other words, the outer diameter of the columnar protrusions forming the protrusion group 3 gradually decreases toward the inside of the protrusion forming surface 21. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2 and the like, the stepwise means that columnar protrusions having the same diameter are arranged in one row or several rows from the outer edge side of the protrusion forming surface 21 toward the inside. It means that the diameter is reduced. The columnar protrusions are arranged at intervals from each other, but the inner protrusion group 32 consisting of the inner protrusions having a smaller diameter than the outer protrusions is arranged at a closer distance than the outer protrusion group 31. There is.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the flow direction of the fluid when the tongue brush component 1 is brought into contact with the tongue surface and vibrated from the front direction of the tongue brush component 1. The arrow shown in is an example of the flow direction of a fluid (mouthwash, saliva, etc.) due to the effect of the present invention. According to an experiment, the inventor vibrates the protrusion forming surface 21 in a state where the tongue brush component 1 having the above-mentioned outer protrusion group 31 and inner protrusion group 32 is in contact with the tongue surface T. We have found a phenomenon in which the above fluid material flows inward of the protrusion forming surface 21 (direction from the outer protrusion group 31 toward the inner protrusion group 32). It should be noted that such a phenomenon is caused by the suction action associated with the capillary phenomenon and the vibration of the columnar process causing the gap between the columnar process and the papilla of the tongue to fluctuate, resulting in a combined suction action similar to that of a pump. It is considered to occur. The present invention utilizes such a phenomenon, and as shown by the arrows in FIG. 7, a fluid force is generated from three sides of the front edge side 11 and both side edge sides 13 toward the inside of the protrusion forming surface 21, and flows from the three sides. The fluid in the central portion where the pressure has increased is discharged from the notch 22 which is the escape path of the pressure to the handle 41 side.

In particular, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 and the like, the outer diameter of each of the inner protrusions forming the inner protrusion group 32 gradually decreases toward the inside of the protrusion forming surface 21. .. More specifically, the inner protrusion group 32 is formed by the first inner protrusion 321 arranged in a substantially U-shape in top view at intervals along the outer protrusion group 31 inside the outer protrusion group 31. A second medial protrusion formed by one medial protrusion row and a second medial protrusion 322 arranged in a substantially U-shape in top view at intervals along the first medial protrusion row inside the first medial protrusion row. A row, a third inner protrusion row formed by a third inner protrusion 323 arranged in a substantially U-shape in a top view at intervals along the second inner protrusion row inside the second inner protrusion row, and It includes a fourth inner protrusion group formed by a plurality of fourth inner protrusions 324 projecting inward of the third inner protrusion row, and includes a first inner protrusion 321 and a second inner protrusion 322. The outer diameter of the 3 inner protrusion 323 and the 4th inner protrusion 324 is gradually reduced in this order. Further, as the outer diameter of the columnar protrusions is gradually reduced, the protrusion intervals of the second inner protrusions 322 are arranged more densely than the protrusion intervals of the first inner protrusions 321. The protrusion intervals of the third inner protrusion 323 are arranged closer than the protrusion intervals of the inner protrusions 322. According to the inventor's experiment, this form promotes the generation of a fluid force on the tongue surface toward the inside of the protrusion forming surface. In the present embodiment, the diameter of the inner protrusion group 32 is gradually reduced in four stages, but this is merely an example and can be increased or decreased as appropriate.

The protrusion group 3 is composed of columnar protrusions, and the vibrating columnar protrusions scrape out deposits such as foreign substances adhering to the tongue surface. In addition, the columnar protrusions that have entered between the papillae of the tongue spread the space between the papillae of the tongue, facilitating the flow of fluid such as mouthwash between the papillae of the tongue, and promoting the peeling of deposits from the tongue surface. That is, unlike the technique of Patent Document 1, the columnar protrusion according to the present invention does not try to scrape out the deposits from the deep part of the tongue papilla by making the tip sharp, but by vibrating columnar protrusions. While expanding the space between the tongue papillae, the above-mentioned fluid phenomenon is used to wash the deep part to remove deposits. As described above, the columnar protrusions according to the present invention do not attempt to scrape out deposits with a sharp tip, and are unlikely to damage healthy cells. The columnar protrusions forming the protrusion group may have a truncated cone shape with a slightly inclined outer peripheral side surface.

An example of the tongue brush component 1 is as described below. That is, preferably, after the mouthwash is contained in the oral cavity, the brush head 42 is placed on the tongue, and the handle 41 is held by the tip of the mouth to close the mouth. Next, the protrusion group 3 is applied to the tongue surface T, and the switch 54 is turned on to vibrate the protrusion group 3 provided on the protrusion forming surface 21. As a result, the vibrating columnar protrusions scrape out the deposits adhering to the tongue surface T, and a part of the mouthwash in the mouth flows from the front edge side 11 and both side edge sides 13 to the inside of the protrusion forming surface 21. And flow in. The scraped foreign matter and the like are collected in the central portion of the protrusion forming surface 21 and discharged to the notch portion 22 side together with the mouthwash. When the handle 41 is held by the tip of the mouth, the notch 22 is arranged so as to face the tip of the tongue (see FIG. 8), so that foreign matter and the like discharged from the notch 22 side move to the tip of the tongue. Collected. The brush head 42 is licked while the protrusion group 3 is vibrated, that is, the tongue or the brush head 42 is moved with the protrusion group 3 in contact with the tongue surface T to sequentially shift the cleaning portion to the tip of the tongue. By collecting foreign substances on the tip of the tongue, and finally spitting them out of the mouth. The present invention exerts a corresponding effect even when the mouthwash is not used.

According to the present invention, not only the vibrating protrusions 3 can scrape out foreign substances and the like adhering to the surface side of the tongue surface, but also the cleaning power of the tongue surface is created by creating a flow of fluid between the protrusions 3. Is improved, foreign matter can be efficiently flushed out of the mouth, and reattachment to the lingual surface is suppressed, so that the cleaning effect is high. 90% of the causes of bad breath are derived from the mouth, but as mentioned above, since the cleaning effect of the mouth is high, it is effective in reducing bad breath. The tongue brush component 1 according to the present invention is not cleaned by pressing a protrusion against the tongue surface T and brushing, but by sliding the tongue surface so as to lick it from the back side of the tongue toward the tip of the tongue. Since it is used, the feeling of vomiting during use is suppressed. According to the present invention, unlike the technique shown in Patent Document 1, since it is not a method in which a hair bundle having a sharp tip is inserted between the papillae of the tongue, it is gentle on soft tissues and does not easily damage the tongue.

The tongue brush component 1 in the present embodiment has a vertical dimension of the base body 2 (longitudinal dimension of the handle 41) of about 15 mm, a horizontal dimension of the base body 2 (width direction dimension) of about 10 mm, and the base body 2. The height dimension is about 0.6 mm. Further, the height dimension of the columnar protrusion is about 0.3 mm, and the outer diameter dimension is about 0.25 mm, about 0.22 mm, about 0.185 mm, about 0.16 mm, and about 0.135 mm. It is composed of protrusions, and about 320 protrusions are arranged on the protrusion forming surface 21. Since the size of the tongue brush part 1 is small, it can easily reach the back of the tongue. In addition, a large number of protrusions having different outer diameters are provided to adapt to the complicated uneven shape of the tongue surface. It should be noted that these dimensions are merely examples and can be changed as appropriate.

In the present embodiment, a part of the fourth inner protrusion 324, which is an inner protrusion, is arranged at intervals on the protrusion forming surface 21 so that a zigzag-shaped path 23 toward the notch 22 is formed. Has been done. That is, where a large number of inner protrusions are projected on the protrusion forming surface 21 at intervals, a part of the inner protrusions (fourth inner protrusion 324) is arranged so as to widen the protrusion interval, and the inner protrusions (third inner protrusions 324) are arranged. 4 The zigzag-shaped path 23 toward the notch 22 is formed by providing the portion where the inner protrusion 324) is not projected in a zigzag shape. As described above, a fluid force in the mouth is generated from three sides of the front edge side 11 and both side edge sides 13 toward the inside of the protrusion forming surface 21, and foreign matter and the like collected at the center of the protrusion forming surface 21 are pressured. When a fluid force is generated toward the notch 22 as a release portion, foreign matter or the like collected in the central portion is guided to the zigzag path 23, so that the zigzag path is not formed (that is,). The number of collisions with the columnar protrusions increases as compared with the case where the fluid flows straight toward the trailing edge side 12. This promotes the decomposition of bacteria and the like. According to the inventor's experiments and discussions, the decomposition of glucan, which causes reattachment, is promoted.

According to the prior art as shown in Patent Document 1, only the deposits adhering to the tongue surface are scraped off, and bacteria that have not been decomposed may reattach. However, according to the present invention, the decomposition of bacteria.・ Because killing is promoted, a high cleaning effect can be obtained. Preferably, the cleaning effect can be further enhanced by using a mouthwash containing bubbles in combination.

According to the inventor's experiment and consideration, the protrusion group 3 vibrates too much in the ultrasonic vibration, and the effect of the above invention is not sufficiently exhibited, and the effect when the sound wave is vibrated at 200 to 300 Hz is the best. It was. That is, it is the best mode for using the tongue brush component 1 that the vibration source vibrates sonically between 200 Hz and 300 Hz.

As one of the above experiments, the inventor made a model imitating the softest lip in the oral cavity and conducted an experiment to find the optimum frequency. Specifically, first, by mixing and molding 10 g of tapioca starch, 3.0 g of sugar, and 40.0 cc of water, the softness (0.190 N to 0.210 N) and the water content (40. A columnar (diameter about 55 mm, height about 20 mm) model having 0 to 45.0) was produced. Next, using this model as a test body, the protrusion group 3 of the vibrated tongue brush part 1 is placed and fixed so that the tip side of the brush head 42 faces the center of the upper surface of the model, and the brushing pressure is appropriate. After pressing against the upper surface of the model for about 30 seconds with a stress of about 200 g in the vertical direction, the state of the upper surface of the model was observed. The right side from the center position of the upper surface of the model is the test area for sonic vibration (2 to 300 hertz), and the left side from the center position of the test piece is the test area for ultrasonic vibration (1.6 million to 2 million hertz). FIG. 8A is a diagram (photograph) showing the test piece before the experiment, and FIG. 8B is a diagram (photograph) showing the test piece after the experiment.

As shown in FIG. 8 (B), almost no deformation such as dents is observed in the test area (on the right side of the paper surface) on which the sonic-vibrated tongue brush component 1 is pressed, while the ultrasonic-vibrated tongue brush. A dent of about 4 mm was observed in the test area (on the left side of the paper surface) on which the part 1 was pressed, and the test area was deformed by protruding outward by about 3 mm. From the results of these comparative observations, it is considered that cleaning with a sonic brush has no effect on soft tissues such as the lips, oral mucosa, and tongue, while cleaning with an ultrasonic brush destroys physical properties (mechanical deformation) due to hypervibration. It is considered that there is a risk of damaging soft tissues due to thermal deformation due to frictional heat. According to the inventor's experiments and discussions, the tongue brush part 1 that vibrates sonically at 200-300 hertz allows the tongue to be cleaned without damaging healthy soft tissues, so it can be used on a daily basis and continuously. Therefore, it has a high cleaning effect and is effective in reducing bad breath.

In addition, the inventor conducted an experiment to confirm the detergency of the tongue brush part 1. Specifically, by attaching an alginate impression material to the upper surface of the model 6 manufactured under the same conditions as in the previous experiment, a test body imitating the stain 61 on the tongue surface was manufactured. Then, the upper surface of the test piece was washed with the tongue brush part 1 sonicated at 200 to 300 Hz for about 30 seconds. In this experiment, water was added in the middle in order to confirm the relationship with the amount of water. 9A and 9B are diagrams (photographs) showing the results of this cleaning experiment in chronological order. FIG. 9A shows a test piece before washing, and FIG. 9B shows a test piece during washing (less water content). C) shows a test piece being washed (more water), and (D) shows a test piece after washing. It should be noted that FIG. 3B assumes a situation in which the tongue is washed only with saliva, and FIG. 3C assumes a situation in which the tongue is washed with water or mouthwash.

As shown in FIG. 8D, the dirt 61 was almost completely removed, and it was possible to confirm the excellent detergency of the tongue brush component 1. In particular, high detergency was observed when water was added to increase the fluidity, which is considered to be due to the above-mentioned cleaning effect of the protrusion group 3 included in the tongue brush component 1.

When using the tongue brush part 1, preferably a mouthwash is used. Mouthwash can be used to inactivate, reduce stickiness on the tongue and clean. In particular, the cleaning effect is enhanced by using a mouthwash containing ultrafine bubbles together. By using a mouthwash containing ultrafine bubbles, in addition to the above effects, the effect of exfoliating bacteria from the deep part of the tongue surface and destroying them can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment or embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. In the above-described embodiment or embodiment, the description has been made based exclusively on the case where the present invention is applied as a part of the replacement brush 4 for the replacement type tongue brush, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the non-replaceable type is also included. Can be applied.

The present invention can be used as a tongue brush component capable of cleaning the tongue surface by vibrating.

1 Tongue brush parts 11 Front edge side 12 Rear edge side 13 Both side edge side 2 Base body 21 Protrusion forming surface 22 Notch 23 Path 3 Protrusion group 31 Outer protrusion group 32 Inner protrusion group 321 First inner protrusion 322 Second inner protrusion 323 No. 3 Inner protrusion 324 4th inner protrusion 4 Replacement brush for tongue brush 41 Handle 411 Hole for mounting the electric toothbrush body 42 Brush head 5 Electric toothbrush body 51 Vibration motor 52 Battery 53 Control unit 54 Switch T Tongue surface

Claims (2)

A base body attached to a brush head connected to a vibration source via a handle and having a protrusion forming surface that vibrates by the operation of the vibration source, and a base body.
A group of protrusions composed of a large number of columnar protrusions projecting from the protrusion forming surface,
Have,
A substantially concave notch is formed in the central portion on the trailing edge side of the base body arranged on the connecting side with the handle.
The protrusions
A group of outer protrusions composed of outer protrusions arranged along the front edge side and both side edges of the base body, and
An inner protrusion group in which inner protrusions protruding inward of the outer protrusion group and having a diameter smaller than that of the outer protrusion group are arranged more densely than the outer protrusion group.
A part for a tongue brush characterized by being equipped with. The tongue brush according to claim 1, wherein a part of the inner protrusions is arranged at intervals on the protrusion forming surface so that a zigzag path toward the notch is formed. Parts for.