JP6872531B2 - Tweezers method, tweezers device, toothbrush manufacturing method and toothbrush manufacturing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a tweezers method, a tweezers device, a toothbrush manufacturing method, and a toothbrush manufacturing device. Regarding methods and toothbrush manufacturing equipment.
The present application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-076165 filed in Japan on April 5, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Toothbrushes obtained by flocking hair bundles with flat lines have conventionally been used in the process of manufacturing a brush body including a head part by injection molding or the like, and flat lines in a plurality of flocked holes formed in the head part of the manufactured brush body. It is manufactured and manufactured through a hair transplanting process in which hair bundles are transplanted, a hair cutting process in which the hair tips are cut to adjust the height of the implanted hair, and a rounded tip process in which the corners of the hair tips are polished. After inspecting whether or not there is a defect in flocking, the toothbrush is packaged and shipped (Patent Document 1). Therefore, even if the heights of the hairs transplanted in the hair transplanting step are not uniform, it is possible to make adjustments such as adjusting the heights of the hairs to a predetermined height in the hair cutting step.

In recent years, toothbrushes in which tapered bristles that easily enter between teeth have been planted have come to be widely used (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Since the tapered hair is characterized in that the tip portion of the hair is reduced in diameter and is thin, it is possible to cut the tip of the tapered hair by adopting the hair cutting process for adjusting the height of the implanted hair as in the conventional case. It is not preferable because it becomes thicker by the amount of the hair. Therefore, when tapered hair is used, the hair transplantation conditions are adjusted so that the heights of the hairs transplanted in the hair transplantation process are the same, and defective hair (long hair) protruding from a predetermined height in the hair transplantation direction due to poor hair transplantation is produced. When it occurs, the defective hair is manually removed and removed. In the manual removal of defective hair, for example, the defective hair is extracted by pinching it with a tool such as pliers, but if the tip of the long hair is pinched and pulled, it may be torn and cannot be removed. Therefore, after grasping the tip of the long hair with a tool, the hair is pulled out of the outer circumference of the flocked surface in the grasped state, and then the gripping position is slid to the root of the long hair and pulled out with the root sandwiched. Since it is necessary to perform such work on each of the defective hairs, there is a problem that the cost increases.

Patent Document 3 discloses a toothbrush tweezers device capable of removing bristles protruding from the outermost contour of the toothbrush over the entire circumference of the outermost contour of the toothbrush. There was a problem that it could not cope with the removal of long hair.

JP-A-2002-199939 Japanese Patent No. 3145213 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-155223

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tweezers method, a tweezers device, a toothbrush manufacturing method, and a toothbrush manufacturing device capable of suppressing quality defects and cost increase.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is a method for removing defective hairs that protrudes from the predetermined height in a toothbrush in which a bundle of tapered hairs is planted using a flat line on the hair-implanted surface of the head portion at a predetermined height. Therefore, a detection step of detecting the position of the hair tip in the height direction and the position of the head portion in the length direction of the defective hair protruding from the predetermined height, and the position of the hair tip detected in the detection step. Based on the above, a plurality of holding pieces extending in the width direction of the head portion in parallel with the hair-planted surface, provided longer than the width of the head portion, and the separated holding pieces and the head portion are relatively moved and separated from each other. The first moving step of arranging the hair tips between the plurality of holding pieces, and the first position of the hair tips in the height direction by moving at least one of the plurality of holding pieces and using the plurality of holding pieces. In the sandwiching step of sandwiching the hair tips with, the plurality of sandwiching pieces sandwiching the hair tips and the head portion are relatively moved, and the hair tips are sandwiched at a second position closer to the hair-planted surface than the first position. In the second moving step of arranging the plurality of holding pieces, the plurality of holding pieces holding the hair tips are rotated around the axis intersecting the height direction at a position closer to the hair-planted surface than the first position. Then, the winding step of winding the defective hair around the outer peripheral surface of the holding piece, and the plurality of holding pieces around which the defective hair is wound and the head portion are relatively moved, and the plurality of holding pieces around which the defective hair is wound. The hair removal method is provided, which comprises a step of arranging the hair at a third position farther from the hair-planted surface than the first position.

Further, in the tweezers method according to one aspect of the present invention, the holding piece has 0 W1 / W2, which is the ratio of the maximum width W1 in the direction of holding the hair tips to the maximum width W2 in the height direction. It is characterized by being 5.5 or more.

Further, in the tweezers method according to one aspect of the present invention, in the winding step, the plurality of holding pieces are rotated about 1/2 turn or more around the axis.

Further, in the tweezers method according to one aspect of the present invention, in the second moving step, the plurality of holding pieces are moved around the axis at a rotation speed corresponding to the relative moving speed between the plurality of holding pieces and the head portion. It is characterized by being rotated.

Further, the tweezers method according to one aspect of the present invention is characterized by including a step of re-detecting the presence or absence of the defective hair protruding from at least the predetermined height after the tweezers step.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a flocking step of flocking a bundle of tapered hairs at a predetermined height on the flocked surface of the head portion using a flat line and the tapered hairs flocked in the flocking step are inspected. Provided is a method for manufacturing a toothbrush, which comprises an inspection step of performing hair transplantation and a step of removing defective hair protruding from the predetermined height by the hair transplantation method according to the first aspect of the present invention.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in a toothbrush in which hair bundles of tapered hairs are planted using a flat line at a predetermined height on the hair-implanted surface of the head portion, a hair removal device for defective hairs protruding from the predetermined height. A detection unit that detects the position of the hair tip in the defective hair protruding from the predetermined height, a plurality of holding pieces capable of holding the hair tip, a position for holding the hair tip, and the hair tip. A first driving unit that drives at least one of the plurality of holding pieces, and the plurality of holding pieces and the head portion in a direction parallel to the hair-planted surface and the height thereof. A second drive unit that drives relative to the direction, and a third drive unit that rotationally drives the plurality of holding pieces around an axis intersecting the height direction to wind the defective hair around the outer peripheral surface of the holding pieces. The first drive unit, the second drive unit, and the third drive unit are controlled according to the detection result of the detection unit to move the plurality of separated holding pieces and the head unit relative to each other, and the plurality of separated pieces are separated from each other. After arranging the hair tips between the holding pieces of the hair tips, the hair tips are sandwiched at the first position in the height direction by the plurality of holding pieces, and the plurality of holding pieces holding the hair tips are subsequently held. The outer peripheral surface of the holding piece is arranged at a second position closer to the hair-planted surface than the first position, and rotated around an axis intersecting the height direction at a position closer to the hair-planted surface than the first position. A drive control unit is provided, wherein the defective hair is wound around the hair, and the plurality of holding pieces around which the defective hair is wound are arranged at a third position farther from the hair-implanted surface than the first position. A hair remover is provided.

Further, in the tweezers device according to one aspect of the present invention, the holding piece has 0 W1 / W2, which is the ratio of the maximum width W1 in the direction of holding the hair tips to the maximum width W2 in the height direction. It is characterized by being 5.5 or more.

Further, in the tweezers device according to one aspect of the present invention, when the defective hair is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the holding piece, the drive control unit rotates the plurality of holding pieces by 1/2 around the axis. It is characterized by being rotated as described above.

Further, in the tweezers device according to one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of holding pieces and the head portion are placed while the plurality of holding pieces holding the hair tips are arranged from the first position to the second position. The plurality of tweezers are rotated around the axis at a rotation speed corresponding to the relative movement speed of the tweezers.

Further, in the tweezers device according to one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of holding pieces extend in the width direction of the head portion in parallel with the flocked surface and are provided longer than the width of the head portion. The detection unit is characterized in that it detects the position of the tip of the hair in the height direction and the position of the head portion in the length direction.

Further, in the tweezers device according to one aspect of the present invention, the plurality of sandwiching pieces each have a concavo-convex shape that meshes with each other when joined.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a flocking device for flocking a bundle of tapered hairs at a predetermined height on the flocking surface of the head portion using a flat line and the tapered hairs flocked by the flocking device are inspected. Provided is a toothbrush manufacturing apparatus including an inspection apparatus for performing hair transplantation and a hair transplantation apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention for extracting defective hair protruding from the predetermined height.

In the present invention, it is possible to suppress quality defects and cost increases.

It is a figure which shows the embodiment of this invention, (a) is the front view which arranged the holding piece 11 of the tweezers device 10 above the toothbrush 1, (b) is the right side view. It is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of one hair bundle in the head part 18 of the toothbrush 1. It is a block diagram concerning the drive of the holding piece 31. It is a figure which shows the operation of the tweezers device. It is a figure which shows the operation of the tweezers device. It is a figure which shows the operation of the tweezers device. It is a figure which shows the operation of the tweezers device. It is a figure which shows the operation of the tweezers device. It is a schematic block diagram of the toothbrush manufacturing apparatus 50. It is a front view which shows another form of a holding piece. It is a front view which shows another form of a holding piece. It is a front view which shows another form of a holding piece. It is a front view which shows another form of a holding piece.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the tweezers method, the tweezers device, the toothbrush manufacturing method, and the toothbrush manufacturing device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10. Hereinafter, a case where the present invention is applied to a toothbrush in which tapered bristles are planted on the head portion will be described.

It should be noted that the following embodiments show one aspect of the present invention, do not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Further, in the following drawings, in order to make each configuration easy to understand, the scale and number of each structure are different from the actual structure.

[Tweezers method and tweezers]
The tweezers device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1A is a front view in which the holding piece 31 of the tweezers device 30 is arranged above the toothbrush 1, and FIG. 1B is a right side view of FIG. 1A.
In addition, in FIG. 1, as an example, the configuration in which the tweezers piece 31 of the tweezers device 30 is arranged above the toothbrush 1 is illustrated, but the configuration in which the sandwiching piece 31 is arranged below the toothbrush 1 May be good.

In the following description, the length direction of the toothbrush 1 is the X direction, the width direction of the toothbrush 1 is the Y direction, and the X direction and the direction orthogonal to the Y direction (thickness direction of the toothbrush 1) are appropriately used as the Z direction. ..

First, the toothbrush (brush) 1 to be removed by the tweezers device 30 will be briefly described. The toothbrush 1 includes a handle body 10 and a brush portion 22 formed of a plurality of hair bundles 12 planted in the handle body 10. The handle body 10 is provided on a rod-shaped handle portion (not shown in FIG. 1), a neck portion 17 extending from the tip of the handle portion and thinner than the handle portion, and a plurality of hairs on the tip of the neck portion 17. It includes a head portion 18 in which the bundle 12 is planted. The plurality of hair bundles 12 are planted on the flocked surface 18a of the head portion 18.

As the material of the handle body 10, a hard resin such as polypropylene, polyacetal, polybutylene terephthalate or the like is used. The total length of the handle body 10 is about 100 to 200 mm. The head portion 18 is formed in a substantially quadrangular flat plate shape in which four tops are cut into corners by a curved line. The dimensions of the head portion 18 are about 5 to 16 mm in width, about 10 to 33 mm in length, and about 3 to 5 mm in thickness.

The number of hair follicles 18a is 10 to 60 as an example. The diameter of the hair follicle hole 18a is, for example, 1 to 3 mm. The planar shape of the hair follicle holes 18a may be polygonal such as a circle or a quadrangle, and the arrangement pattern may be a grid pattern or a staggered pattern.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of one hair bundle in the head portion 18 of the toothbrush 1. The hair bundle 12 is formed by bundling a plurality of tapered hairs 20. The hair bundle 12 is planted on the flocked surface 18a by a flat line flocking method. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of tapered bristles 20 having tapered portions 21 at both ends are bundled and folded in half by a flat wire 24 which is a metal piece, and the flocked surface of the head portion 18 is formed. The hair bundle 12 is planted at a height (predetermined height) H from the flocked surface 18a by being driven into the flocked hole 23 formed in 18a.

The tapered bristles 20 are provided with a tapered portion 21 whose diameter is reduced toward the tip at a portion closer to the tip than the straight portion 19. The material of the tapered bristles 20 includes synthetic resins such as polyester, polyamide, and polyolefin, but polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) is often used. As a method for processing the tapered portion 21, a method of chemically treating the bristles of a monofilament made of PBT with a strong alkali is generally used. As an example of the monofilament, it has a columnar shape, a total length of 31 mm, and a central portion having a thickness of about 6 to 8 mil (1 mil = 0.025 mm).

The hair length (length from the flocked surface 18a to the tip of the bristles) H of the tapered bristles 20 when they are folded and fixed in the flocked holes 23 is, for example, about 10 to 12 mm. A typical tapered bristles 20 used for the toothbrush 1 has a bristles diameter of 0.02 mm, a taper length (length from the bristles to the start position of the tapered shape) L of about 8 mm, and a position 1 mm from the bristles. The diameter of the hair is 0.05 to 0.07 mm, and the diameter at the position of 3 mm is 0.11 to 0.14 mm, which is sharp. Therefore, the position to be gripped when pulling out the long hair having a length of 1 to 3 mm caused by poor flocking is very thin, and the hair is torn when pulled out.

The flocking strength (hair-stopping strength) of the bristles 12 in the toothbrush 1 is defined by JIS S3016, and the maximum tensile force that can be pulled by a tensile tester is measured and is defined as 8 [N] or more. The toothbrush 1 needs to have a bristling strength of a certain level or higher, and it is preferable that the toothbrush 1 has a higher strength. Therefore, it becomes more difficult to pull out the long hair of the taper hair 20 described above.

Returning to FIG. 1, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the tweezers device 30 has the holding piece 31, the detection unit 32, the drive unit group 33, and the head portion 18 of the toothbrush 1 with the flocked surface 18a. It includes a head holding unit (not shown) for holding from the opposite surface and a drive control unit CONT. The holding piece 31 is arranged on the + Z side of the brush portion 22. The sandwiching pieces 31 extend in the Y direction, which is the width direction of the head portion 18 and parallel to the flocked surface 18a, and are provided in pairs facing the X direction. Each holding piece 31 is formed in a semi-cylindrical shape with its flat surfaces facing each other. The sandwiching piece 31 has a cylindrical shape with a diameter of 3.0 mm as an example when joined by a flat surface portion. The holding piece 31 is arranged so as to be longer than the width of the head portion 18 and to cover the range in which the head portion 18 is provided in the width direction. For example, assuming that the maximum width of the head portion 18 is 15 mm, the length of the holding piece 31 is set to about 30 mm. The sandwich piece 31 is made of, for example, high-hardness chrome molybdenum steel.

The sandwiching piece 31 has a sandwiching position (see FIG. 5A) in which at least one of the sandwiching pieces 31 moves in the approaching direction and the flat surface portion can be joined, and a release position (see FIG. , (See FIG. 4A)) and can be moved in synchronization with each other. In the present embodiment, the sandwiching pieces 31 are described as being movable in a direction approaching each other and in a direction away from each other, but one of them moves in a direction approaching and a direction away from the other. It may be. The pair of holding pieces 31 are formed in a cylindrical shape when they come into contact with each other at the flat surface portion, that is, when they move to the holding position. The sandwiching piece 31 may be either cantilevered or double-ended, but in order to hold it more firmly, it is preferable to adopt a double-ended support configuration.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram relating to the driving of the holding piece 31. The drive unit group 33 includes a sandwich drive unit (first drive unit) 41, a horizontal drive unit (second drive unit) 42, a rotary drive unit (third drive unit) 43, and a height drive unit (second drive unit) 44. including. The drive unit group 33 is collectively controlled by the drive control unit CONT.

The sandwiching drive unit 41 moves the pair of sandwiching pieces 31 synchronously along the X direction between the sandwiching position and the release position. The horizontal drive unit 42 relatively moves the pair of holding pieces 31 and the head unit 18 (toothbrush 1) in the X direction.

The rotation drive unit 43 rotates the pair of holding pieces 31 in the holding position or the releasing position around the central axis of the cylindrical shape. The height drive unit 44 relatively moves the pair of holding pieces 31 and the head unit 18 (toothbrush 1) in the Z direction (the height direction of the hair bundle 12).

In the present embodiment, a configuration in which the pair of holding pieces 31 move in the X direction by driving the horizontal driving unit 42 and the pair of holding pieces 31 move in the Z direction by driving the height driving unit 44 will be described. The head unit 18 (toothbrush 1) moves in the X direction by driving the drive unit 42, and the head unit 18 (toothbrush 1) moves in the Z direction by driving the height drive unit 44, or the horizontal drive unit 42 is driven. As a result, both the pair of holding pieces 31 and the head portion 18 (tooth brush 1) move in the X direction, and both the pair of holding pieces 31 and the head portion 18 (tooth brush 1) move in the Z direction due to the drive of the height drive portion 44. It may be a moving configuration.

The detection unit 32 detects the amount of protruding hair tips and the position of the hair tips of the tapered hair 20 (hereinafter referred to as defective hair 20A) that protrudes from the predetermined height beyond the predetermined length among the tapered hair 20. To do. As an example, the protrusion length standard for defective hair 20A is 1 mm or more. As shown in FIG. 1B, the detection unit 32 detects the defective hair 20A from the + Y side as an example, and the position and Z of the hair tip of the defective hair 20A exceeding the pop-out length reference in the X direction. Detect the position of the direction. Examples of the position detection method by the detection unit 32 include a method of detecting an image obtained by capturing the image of the brush unit 22 according to the result of image processing, and a result of scanning the brush unit 22 with the detection light (reflected light). The position of the defective hair 20A in the X direction and the position in the Z direction are detected according to the presence / absence, the presence / absence of light reception at a predetermined position, etc.). The detection result of the detection unit 32 is output to the drive control unit CONT.

Next, a method of removing the defective hair 20A by the above-mentioned tweezers device 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8. In FIGS. 4 to 8, the detection unit 32, the drive unit group 33, and the drive control unit CONT are not shown.

First, after the toothbrush 1 (head portion 18) is held by the head holding portion, the detection unit 32 performs imaging processing and detection light scanning processing on the held brush portion 22, and jumps out from the height H based on the length. The detection process of the defective hair 20A protruding beyond the above is carried out. When the defective hair 20A is detected, the detection unit 32 outputs the position of the hair tip of the defective hair 20A in the X direction to the drive control unit CONT.

When the position of the hair tip of the defective hair 20A in the X direction and the position in the Z direction are input, the drive control unit CONT controls the sandwiching drive unit 41 to move the pair of sandwiching pieces 31 to the release position and is defective. At a position in the Z direction higher than the tip of the hair 20A (hereinafter referred to as the Z position), the center position of the pair of holding pieces 31 is the position in the X direction of the tip of the defective hair 20A (hereinafter referred to as the X position). After moving the holding piece 31 so as to coincide with, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the height driving unit 44 is controlled so that the protruding bristles of the holding piece 31 are paired. The sandwiching piece 31 is moved in a direction approaching the flocked surface 18a so as to be located between them (first moving step). The Z position at the center of the holding piece 31 at this time is set higher than the height H so as not to come into contact with the tapered hair 20 different from the protruding defective hair 20A.

Next, the drive control unit CONT controls the sandwiching drive unit 41 to move the pair of sandwiching pieces 31 to the sandwiching position as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. As a result, the tips of the defective hair 20A are sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching pieces 31 at the first position higher than the height H (pinching step).

Next, the drive control unit CONT controls the height drive unit 44, and as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, holds the pair of holding pieces 31 holding the tips of the defective hairs 20A. The hair is moved to a second position closer to the flocked surface 18 than the first position (second moving step). Since the tip of the hair held by the pair of holding pieces 31 is a thin portion as described above, when the pair of holding pieces 31 rotate and wind the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface, as described later, the initial rotation A length corresponding to an angle exceeding 90 degrees of the circumference of the outer peripheral surface, for example, 1/2 rotation (180 degrees) so that excessive tension is not applied to the hair tips by 1/4 rotation (90 degrees). The position where the bending of the hair 20A occurs is set to the second position.

Next, the drive control unit CONT controls the rotation drive unit 43, and as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the pair of holding pieces 31 holding the bristles at the second position have a cylindrical shape. The defective hair 20A is wound around the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of holding pieces 31 by rotating around the central axis (winding step). The amount of rotation of the pair of holding pieces 31 is preferably 1/2 rotation or more, and more preferably 3/4 rotation or more. When the amount of rotation of the pair of holding pieces 31 is less than the above lower limit value, the minimum diameter of the defective hair 20A not wound around the outer peripheral surface becomes small, and the tension generated by the rotation of the pair of holding pieces 31 causes the defective hair 20A. It may be torn.

For example, when the taper length L is 8 mm, the protruding length of the defective hair 20A is 1 mm, and the peripheral length of the pair of holding pieces 31 is 3 × π, the rotation amount of the pair of holding pieces 31 is 1/2 rotation. , About 70% of the taper length is wrapped around the outer peripheral surface. Further, when the rotation amount of the pair of holding pieces 31 is 3/4 rotation, almost 100% of the taper length is wound around the outer peripheral surface. Therefore, the minimum diameter of the defective hair 20A that is not wrapped around the outer peripheral surface is a value closer to the diameter of the central portion of the defective hair 20A as compared with the hair tip diameter.

If the amount of rotation is too large, the moving distance of the pair of holding pieces 31 in the second moving step becomes long, which may adversely affect the productivity. Further, when the diameter of the pair of holding pieces 31 becomes large, the moving distance of the pair of holding pieces 31 in the second moving step becomes long, so that the second position becomes closer to the flocked surface 18a, so that the hair bundle 12 other than the defective hair 12 There is a possibility that the holding piece 31 may come into contact with the flocked surface 18a.

Therefore, it is preferable that the pair of holding pieces 31 are thin as long as the strength when the tip of the defective hair 20A is sandwiched and the strength when the defective hair 20A is wound around the outer peripheral surface can be secured. Further, the rotation amount of the pair of holding pieces 31 is preferably set in consideration of the taper length L of the defective hair 20A.

When the defective hair 20A is wound around the outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of sandwiching pieces 31 at a predetermined angle, the drive control unit CONT controls the height drive unit 44 and sandwiches the pair as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The piece 31 is moved with respect to the head portion 18 to a third position higher than the height H away from the flocked surface 18a than the first position (third moving step). Due to the rise of the holding piece 31, the defective hair 20A wound around the outer peripheral surface of the holding piece 31 is folded in half and pulled out from the head portion 18 including the portion arranged on the opposite side of the flat wire 24. Is done.

If the moving speed of the pair of holding pieces 31 in the third moving step is slow, the productivity is lowered, and if the moving speed is high, the defective hair 20A may be torn, so that the defective hair 20A is not torn. It is preferable to set the fastest moving speed.

As described above, in the tweezers device 30 of the present embodiment, even if defective hair 20A protruding from a predetermined height H occurs after flocking, the hair is torn at the tip of the hair without relying on human hands. It is possible to remove the defective hair 20A, which causes poor hair transplantation. Therefore, in the tweezers device 30 of the present embodiment, it is possible to remove the defective hair 20A without increasing the cost and causing poor quality.

Further, in the tweezers device 30 of the present embodiment, since the pair of holding pieces 31 are formed in a columnar shape having no edge on the outer peripheral surface when moved to the holding position, the defective hair 20A wound on the outer peripheral surface is formed. It is possible to prevent stress from concentrating and breaking (tweezers). Further, in the tweezers device 30 of the present embodiment, since the holding piece 31 extends parallel to the flocked surface 18a in the width direction of the head portion 18 and is provided longer than the width of the head portion 18, the head portion 18 is provided. In the width direction, it is not necessary to adjust the position of the holding piece 31 according to the position of the defective hair 20A, and the efficiency of the tweezers processing can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the procedure of carrying out the winding step after the second moving step is completed has been illustrated, but the procedure may be a procedure of carrying out the winding step as a part of the second moving step. For example, after the hair tips of the defective hair 20A are pinched by the pair of holding pieces 31 at the first position, the pair of holding pieces 31 are moved by a predetermined distance toward the second position so that excessive tension is not applied to the hair tips. After forming the defective hair 20A to bend, the movement of the pair of holding pieces 31 to the second position and the winding of the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface by the rotation of the pair of holding pieces 31 are carried out in parallel. You may.

In this case, the winding length of the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface due to the rotation of the pair of holding pieces 31 is shorter than the bending length of the defective hair 20A caused by the movement of the pair of holding pieces 31 to the second position. By setting the rotation speed of the pair of holding pieces 31 so as to be, it is possible to avoid applying excessive tension to the defective hair 20A.

Specifically, the diameter of the cylindrical holding piece 31 is D (mm), and the rotation speed of the holding piece 31 due to the operation of the rotation driving unit 43 (that is, the winding speed of the defective hair 20A) is R (rotation / sec). Assuming that the circumference ratio is π and the lowering speed V (mm / sec) of the holding piece 31 due to the operation of the height drive unit 44 is set, the bending length of the defective hair 20A generated per unit time and the outer peripheral surface per unit time. The relationship with the length of the defective hair 20A to be wound preferably satisfies the following formula (1).
V ≧ π ・ R ・ D… (1)
From the formula (1), the rotation speed of the holding piece 31 is preferably set to the value represented by the following formula (2).
R ≦ V / (π ・ D)… (2)

Further, in consideration of productivity, it is preferable that the winding of the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface of the holding piece 31 is completed when the holding piece 31 reaches the second position. Therefore, the distance between the position in the height direction at which the holding piece 31 starts to rotate and the second position is set to L1 (mm), and the amount of rotation of the pair of holding pieces 31 around which the defective hair 20A is wound around the outer peripheral surface is N rotations. Then, the relationship between the time for moving the holding piece 31 to the second position and the time for winding the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface of the holding piece 31 is expressed by the following equation (3).
R · (L1 / V) = N ... (3)

Therefore, by rotating the holding piece 31 at the rotation speed R represented by the following formula (4), it is not necessary to separately provide a time for winding the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface of the holding piece 31.
R = N · (V / L1)… (4)
For example, as described above, when the rotation amount of the pair of holding pieces 31 around which the defective hair 20A is wound around the outer peripheral surface is 1/2 rotation, the rotation speed R is set to V / (2 × L1) from the equation (4). It should be set to.

As described above, the productivity can be improved by carrying out the step of winding the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface of the holding piece 31 in parallel in the second moving step. In particular, by rotating the sandwiching piece 31 at a rotation speed R satisfying the equation (4), it is not necessary to separately provide a time for winding the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface of the sandwiching piece 31, and the productivity can be further improved. it can.

[Toothbrush manufacturing method and toothbrush manufacturing equipment]
Subsequently, the toothbrush manufacturing method and the toothbrush manufacturing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of the toothbrush manufacturing apparatus 50.

The toothbrush manufacturing device 50 includes a flocking device 60, a transport device 70, and the above-mentioned tweezers device 30. The flocking device 60 drives a predetermined number of hair bundles of the tapered bristles 20 and flat lines 24 into the flocking holes 23 of the head portion 18 held by the head holding portion with a flocking needle to make the tapered bristles 20 flat lines 24. Fold it in half and plant it in the flocking hole 23. Further, the hair transplanting device 60 sequentially implants the hair bundles of the tapered hairs 20 in each of the hair transplanting holes 23 by moving the head portion 18 in accordance with the arrangement of the plurality of hair transplanting holes 23.

The toothbrush 1 in which the bristles of the tapered bristles 20 are planted by the flocking device 60 is conveyed to the tweezers 30 by the conveying device 70. As described above, the toothbrush 1 conveyed to the tweezers device 30 detects and removes the defective hair 20A protruding from the head portion 18. As described above, in the toothbrush manufacturing apparatus 50 of the present embodiment, even if the tapered bristles 20 planted by the flocking apparatus 60 have defective bristles 20A protruding above the predetermined height H, without relying on human hands. It is possible to carry out inspection and hair removal, and it is possible to suppress quality defects and reduce costs.

To convey the toothbrush 1 from the tweezers device 60 to the tweezers device 30, the head holding portion in which the head portion 18 is held by the tweezers device 60 is conveyed and used as the head holding portion in the tweezers device 30 for inspection and hair removal. It may be carried out, or the toothbrush 1 removed from the head holding portion of the hair-implanting device 60 is conveyed to the tweezers device 30, and the conveyed toothbrush 1 is held by the head holding portion of the tweezers device 30 to carry out inspection and hair removal. You may.

Although the preferred embodiments according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above examples. The various shapes and combinations of the constituent members shown in the above-mentioned examples are examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the facing surfaces (pinching surfaces) of the sandwiching pieces 31 are flat is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, as shown in FIG. 10, they mesh with each other at the sandwiching position. It may have a structure having an uneven shape. When the sandwiching piece 31 has this configuration, there are places where the sandwiching direction between the sandwiching pieces 31 and the sandwiching direction between the sandwiching surfaces of each sandwiching piece 31 are different, so that the defective hair 20A is sandwiched more firmly. Will be possible.

Further, in the above embodiment, the procedure for removing the defective hair 20A from the head portion 18 by raising the holding piece 31 around which the defective hair 20A is wound on the outer peripheral surface from the second position near the base end portion of the defective hair 20A. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in a state where the drive control unit CONT controls the height drive unit 44 and stops the holding piece 31 at the second position, the rotation driving unit 43 is controlled to control the holding piece 31 in the winding direction of the defective hair 20A. May be a procedure for extracting defective hair 20A from the head portion 18 by rotating the head portion 18.

By adopting this procedure, since the extraction direction of the defective hair 20A is inclined with respect to the Z direction in which the flat wire 24 is driven, the resistance due to the flat wire 24 at the time of extraction can be reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the holding piece 31 winds up the defective hair 20A while moving to the second position is illustrated, but the configuration is not limited to this, and for example, after the sandwiching piece 31 sandwiches the defective hair 20A. It may be configured to move to the second position as it is and then rotate to wind up the defective hair 20A on the outer peripheral surface.

Further, in the above embodiment, a configuration in which the defective hair 20A is sandwiched and extracted by a pair (two) sandwiching pieces 31 as a plurality of sandwiching pieces 31 is exemplified, but the configuration is not limited to this configuration, and three or more. It may be configured to use the holding piece of. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the defective hair 20A may be sandwiched and pulled out by using three sandwiching pieces 31 in which the cylinder is divided at 120 ° intervals at the sandwiching position. Further, even when three or more sandwiching pieces 31 are used, as described above, the configuration may have a concave-convex shape in which they mesh with each other at the sandwiching position. In any of the above-mentioned configurations of the plurality of sandwiching pieces 31, the sandwiching surface may be roughened by blasting or the like to increase the surface area and make it less slippery in order to improve the sandwiching property.

Further, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the sandwiching piece 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape at the sandwiching position is illustrated, but in addition to this configuration, for example, a configuration in which it is formed in a prismatic shape may be used. FIG. 12 shows an example of the holding piece 31 formed in the shape of a quadrangular prism at the holding position. When the sandwiching piece 31 has a prismatic shape, it is preferable to form a curved surface such as an arc shape at the corner portion of the sandwiching piece 31 in order to prevent the defective hair 20A from breaking during winding.

Further, when the hair tips are sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching pieces 31, the sandwiched pieces may be warped in the direction in which the sandwiched pieces are separated from each other. This warp also occurs when the sandwich piece 31 is formed of high hardness chrome molybdenum steel. Therefore, as for the cross-sectional shape of the pair of holding pieces 31, it is preferable that the maximum width W1 in the holding direction of the bristles is larger than the maximum width W2 in the height direction, as shown in FIG. By making the maximum width W1 larger than the maximum width W2, it is possible to reduce the warp (deflection) that occurs when the hair tips are pinched without significantly increasing the peripheral length of the outer peripheral surface.

The maximum width W2 of the sandwiching piece 31 in the height direction is preferably 1 to 3 mm. The ratio (W1 / W2) of the maximum width W1 in the sandwiching direction and the maximum width W2 in the height direction of the sandwiching piece 31 is preferably 0.5 or more, more preferably 1.0 or more, still more preferably 1.2 or more. Is. The peripheral surface length of the outer peripheral surface of the pair of joined sandwiching pieces 31 is preferably 14 mm or less, more preferably 12 mm or less, and further preferably 10 mm or less.
As described above, when the hair length H is about 10 to 12 mm and the taper length L is about 8 mm, the maximum width W1 in the holding direction and the maximum width W2 in the height direction of the holding piece 31 are set in the above ranges. As a result, the rotation speed of the holding piece 31 when winding the defective hair 20A around the outer peripheral surface can be set to 1/2 rotation or more, preferably 3/4 rotation or more.

The outer peripheral surfaces of the pair of holding pieces 31 are preferably oval shapes such as an elliptical shape and an oval shape having a major axis in the holding direction so that edges are not formed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the holding piece 31 moves in the horizontal direction and the height direction with respect to the toothbrush 1 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the toothbrush 1 is provided via the head holding portion. It may be configured to move in the horizontal direction and the height direction with respect to the holding piece 31.

Further, in the above embodiment, the configuration for extracting the defective hair 20A planted in the toothbrush 1 by the hair removing device 30 according to the present invention is illustrated, but the application target is not limited to the toothbrush 1, and the application target is not limited to the toothbrush 1 but is like tapered hair or tapered hair. It can be widely used for inspecting and manufacturing brushes that use fine brushes with reduced bristles, such as brushes, brushes, and cosmetic brushes.

The present invention can be applied to a tweezers method, a tweezers device, a toothbrush manufacturing method and a toothbrush manufacturing device.

1 ... Toothbrush (brush), 18 ... Head part, 18a ... Flocked surface, 20 ... Tapered hair, 20A ... Bad hair, 30 ... Tweezers, 31 ... Holding piece, 41 ... Holding drive part (1st drive part), 42 ... Horizontal drive unit (second drive unit), 43 ... Rotation drive unit (third drive unit), 44 ... Height drive unit (second drive unit), 50 ... Toothbrush manufacturing equipment, CONT ... Drive control unit, H ... Height (predetermined height)

Claims (13)

This is a method for removing defective hair that protrudes from the predetermined height in a toothbrush in which a bundle of tapered hair is transplanted using a flat line on the flocked surface of the head portion at a predetermined height.
A detection step of detecting the position of the tip of the hair in the height direction and the position of the head portion in the length direction of the defective hair protruding from the predetermined height.
Based on the position of the bristles detected in the detection step, a plurality of holding pieces extending parallel to the flocked surface in the width direction of the head portion, provided longer than the width of the head portion, and separated from each other, and the said. The first moving step of moving the head portion relative to each other and arranging the hair tips between a plurality of separated holding pieces.
A sandwiching step in which at least one of the plurality of sandwiching pieces is moved and the hair tips are sandwiched at the first position in the height direction by the plurality of sandwiching pieces.
The plurality of holding pieces holding the hair tips and the head portion are relatively moved, and the plurality of holding pieces holding the hair tips are arranged at a second position closer to the flocked surface than the first position. The second moving process and
The plurality of holding pieces holding the hair tips are rotated around an axis intersecting the height direction at a position closer to the flocking surface than the first position, and the defective hair is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the holding piece. Winding process and
The plurality of holding pieces around which the defective hair is wound and the head portion are relatively moved, and the plurality of holding pieces around which the defective hair is wound are arranged at a third position farther from the flocked surface than the first position. And the process to do
A tweezers method comprising. The first aspect of the present invention, wherein the sandwiching piece has W1 / W2, which is a ratio of the maximum width W1 in the direction of sandwiching the hair tips and the maximum width W2 in the height direction, of 0.5 or more. How to remove hair. The tweezers method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein in the winding step, the plurality of sandwiching pieces are rotated about 1/2 turn or more around the axis. Any of claims 1 to 3, wherein in the second moving step, the plurality of tweezers are rotated around the axis at a rotation speed corresponding to the relative moving speed of the plurality of tweezers and the head portion. The method for removing hair as described in item 1. The tweezers method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein after the tweezers step, at least a step of re-detecting the presence or absence of the defective hair protruding from the predetermined height is included. A flocking process in which a bundle of tapered hair is transplanted on the flocked surface of the head portion at a predetermined height using a flat line.
An inspection step for inspecting the tapered hair planted in the hair transplantation step, and
A toothbrush manufacturing method comprising a step of removing defective hair protruding from the predetermined height by the tweezers method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A device for removing defective hair that protrudes from the predetermined height in a toothbrush in which a bundle of tapered hair is transplanted using a flat line on the flocked surface of the head portion at a predetermined height.
A detection unit that detects the position of the tip of the defective hair protruding from the predetermined height,
A plurality of holding pieces capable of holding the hair tips, and
A first driving unit that drives at least one of the plurality of holding pieces between a position where the hair tips are sandwiched and a position where the hair tips are released.
A second driving unit that relatively drives the plurality of holding pieces and the head portion in a direction parallel to the flocked surface and in the height direction.
A third driving unit that rotationally drives the plurality of holding pieces around an axis intersecting the height direction to wind the defective hair around the outer peripheral surface of the holding pieces.
The first drive unit, the second drive unit, and the third drive unit are controlled according to the detection result of the detection unit to move the plurality of separated holding pieces and the head unit relative to each other, and the plurality of separated pieces are separated from each other. After arranging the hair tips between the holding pieces, the hair tips are sandwiched at the first position in the height direction by the plurality of holding pieces, and the plurality of holding pieces holding the hair tips are subsequently held. The outer peripheral surface of the holding piece is arranged at a second position closer to the flocked surface than the first position and rotated around an axis intersecting the height direction at a position closer to the flocked surface than the first position. A drive control unit in which the defective hair is wound around the hair, and the plurality of holding pieces around which the defective hair is wound are arranged at a third position farther from the flocked surface than the first position.
A tweezers device characterized by being provided with. The seventh aspect of the invention, wherein the sandwiching piece has W1 / W2, which is a ratio of the maximum width W1 in the direction of sandwiching the hair tips and the maximum width W2 in the height direction, of 0.5 or more. Tweezers. 7. The claim 7 or 8, wherein the drive control unit rotates the plurality of tweezers by 1/2 turn or more around the axis when the defective hair is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the tweezers. Tweezers. The drive control unit responded to the relative movement speed between the plurality of holding pieces and the head portion while arranging the plurality of holding pieces holding the bristles from the first position to the second position. The tweezers device according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the plurality of sandwiching pieces are rotated around the axis at a rotation speed. The plurality of holding pieces extend parallel to the flocked surface in the width direction of the head portion, and are provided longer than the width of the head portion.
The tweezers device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the detection unit detects a position of the bristles in the height direction and a position of the head portion in the length direction. The tweezers device according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein each of the plurality of holding pieces has an uneven shape that meshes with each other when joined. A flocking device that uses flat lines to flock tapered hair bundles at a predetermined height on the flocking surface of the head.
An inspection device that inspects the tapered hair planted by the flocking device, and
A toothbrush manufacturing apparatus comprising the tweezers apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 12, which extracts defective hair protruding from the predetermined height.

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