JPH0475607A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the exclusive force from working on teeth or the teethridge, etc., in the course of brushing by constituting the toothbrush so that, when force of 50g-1500g is applied to a bristle - planted (bristled) part in the back direction from the bristle side, a state of curvature or bending of the bristled part against a grip part becomes so as to position the grip part and the bristled part on a straight line or on parallel lines. CONSTITUTION:A bristled part (brush part) 1 provided integrally with a linkage part (neck part) 3, and a grip part 2 which contains a driving source (motor 4, battery 5, vibrator 6, etc.) for giving vibration for brushing to the bristled part concerned 1 are fitted so as to be freely attachable and detachable through a coupling member, and also, the bristled part 1 is curved to the bristle side against the grip part 2. In such a state, on the end face of the neck part 3, a detaining recessed part 3a being said coupling member is provided, so that said vibrator 6 projected from the end face of said grip part 2 is engaged to the engaging recessed part concerned 3a so as to be freely attachable and detachable. The toothbrush is formed by constituting the neck part 3 so as to have elasticity of such strength as the bristled part 1, the neck part 3 and the grip part 2 are positioned roughly on a straight line, in the case prescribed force is applied in the direction as indicated with an arrow to the tip face formed by bristles la provided vertically on the bristled part 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a toothbrush that can always brush teeth with an appropriately strong brushing pressure.

[Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Generally, when brushing teeth, there is a tendency to apply force to the toothbrush in order to remove stains from the teeth.

For this reason, when brushing teeth with a conventional toothbrush, more force than necessary is applied to the teeth, which scrapes the teeth near the boundary between the teeth and the gums, causing so-called scarring defects, which can cause teeth to become stained.
It could cause pain.

In addition, excessive force is applied to the implanted bristles (main part) of the toothbrush itself, causing the bristles to deform and spread outward, resulting in effective use of the tips of the bristles for brushing. There is a problem in that it becomes difficult to carry out the toothbrush, and as a result, the lifespan of the toothbrush is also shortened.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can brush teeth while always applying an appropriate force (brushing pressure) to the teeth.

[Means to solve the problem]

As a result of various studies, the inventors of the present invention found that, in a toothbrush in which the flocked part is curved or bent toward the bristles side with respect to the handle, by imparting a specific strength of elasticity to the connecting part from the handle to the flocked part. It has been found that the above objectives are achieved.

The present invention has been made based on the above findings, and provides a toothbrush in which the flocked part and the handle are detachably or foldably connected via a coupling member, and the flocked part is curved or bent toward the bristles side with respect to the handle. , 50g ~ from the hair side to the back side of the flocked area
To provide a toothbrush characterized in that when a force of 1500 g is applied, the curved or bent state of the bristle-flocked part with respect to the handle is such that the handle and the bristle-flocked part are located on a straight line or parallel line. It is.

[Effect]

In the toothbrush of the present invention, since the connecting part from the handle to the flocked part has an appropriate strength of elasticity, it is possible to prevent excessive force from being applied to the teeth or toothbrush during tooth brushing. ,
You can always brush your teeth under an appropriate range of brushing pressure.

[Examples] Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described based on Examples.

(First Embodiment) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing the flocked part and the handle part separated, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the flocked part and the handle part in use when they are combined.

The toothbrush of this example is an electric toothbrush, and the connecting part (neck part) 3
A drive source (motor 4) that applies vibration to the flocking part 1 for brushing is provided.
, a battery 5, a vibrator 6, etc.) are removably connected to the handle part 2 via a connecting member, and the flocked part 1 is curved toward the hair side with respect to the handle part 2. be.

Here, an engagement recess 3a as the coupling member is provided on the end surface of the neck 3, and the engagement recess 3a has the handle 2.
The vibrator 6 protruding from the end face is detachably engaged with the vibrator 6.

The toothbrush has bristles 1 planted in the flocked part 1.
When a predetermined force is applied in the direction of the arrow to the tip surface formed by a, the above-mentioned flocked part 1 and neck part 3
The neck portion 3 is configured to have a strong elasticity such that the handle portion 2 is positioned substantially in a straight line.

That is, since the toothbrush has appropriate elasticity in the neck portion 3, it is possible to prevent unnecessary force from being applied to the teeth or tooth gums when brushing, and the toothbrush can always be brushed under appropriate brushing pressure. It is possible to do this.

Further, the toothbrush has the advantage that the person brushing the teeth can brush the teeth while clearly recognizing that an appropriate force (brushing pressure) is always being applied to the teeth or gums.

The appropriate strength of elasticity that the neck portion 3 should have is the second one.
The force in the direction of the arrow required to change the state shown by the solid line in the figure to the state shown by the imaginary line in which the flocking part, neck part 3, and handle part 2 are located approximately on a straight line is 50 g to 1500 g. It is important, and among them, it is preferably 100 g to 700 g, and more preferably 200 g to 600 g. If the force is less than 50 g, the neck 3 is too soft, and if it exceeds 1,500 g, it is too hard, and in either case, teeth cannot be brushed with appropriate brushing pressure.

As a method of measuring the above-mentioned force, for example, there is a method of pressing the tip of the Prinsle on a scale and reading from the scale when the tip is approximately straight from the flocked part 1 to the handle part 2.

In the toothbrush of the present invention, including this embodiment, the length a from the root of the neck portion 3 to the tip of the flocked portion 1 is 2 cm to 12 cm.
The height b from the handle part 2 to the tip of the flocked part 1 is preferably IC11 to 7 cm, more preferably 2 cm to 81 cm.
More preferably, it is 5c+s. Considering the above relationship in terms of the angle θ formed by the tangent on the back surface of the flocked part 1 and the tangent at the tip of the handle part 2, the angle θ is preferably 100 to 170 degrees, and preferably 120 to 160 degrees. More preferably, if the tip of the handle 2 has an unclear shape, the tip should correspond to the position where the thumb touches when brushing teeth.

In this embodiment, the material for forming the flocked part 1 and the neck part 3 constituting the tooth side may be ABS, PP, PC, etc. as long as it has elasticity.
, PET, propionate, polymethylpentene, PM
Examples include resin materials such as acrylic resins such as MA, cellulose derivatives, and thermoplastic elastomers (olefin-based, styrene-based, polyester-based, polyurethane-based, PVC-based), and these may be used alone or in combination. Can also be used together. Among these, PP, propionate, thermoplastic elastomer, or composite materials thereof are preferred.

Further, the material for forming the handle portion 2 may be the same resin material as the neck portion 3 and the like, but it does not need to be particularly elastic.

The tooth side body (excluding the bristles) is not limited to being entirely made of the same material; the handle part 2 is made of resin such as PP, and the part from the neck part 3 to the flocked part l is not limited to being made of the same material. It may also be made of two types of elastomer materials.

Further, the entire body may be integrally formed of the same material, or the neck portion 3 may be thinner in both the thickness direction and the middle direction.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is an exploded side view showing a second embodiment of the tooth side piece of the present invention. Note that the same parts in FIG. 3 as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted.

The tooth side piece of this embodiment does not directly connect the flocked part 1 to the handle part 2 as in the first embodiment, but is made of a material harder than the flocked part 1 (which can be easily scraped off by the metal vibrator 6). The handle portion 2 and the flocked portion 1 are connected by a connector 7 made of a non-woven material.

That is, engagement holes 7a and 7b are formed on both axial end surfaces of the connector 7.
The vibrator 6 is removably engaged in one of the engagement holes 7a, and the retaining protrusion 3b provided on the end surface of the neck 3 is removably engaged in the other engagement hole 7b. By matching them together, the flocked part 1 and the handle part 2 are removably connected.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the engaging hole 7 is
There is no fear that the inner surface of a will be scraped off and the flocked part 1 will fall off from the handle part 2 during use of the tooth side.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 4 is a side view showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the same parts as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In the tooth side piece of this embodiment, the neck portion 3 is formed into a bent shape that is given elasticity by a spring mechanism 8.

Therefore, it is not necessary to impart elasticity to the neck part 3 itself, and the selection of materials for the neck part 3 is not limited as in the first embodiment, and for example, it is possible to form the neck part 3 from a hard material considering only durability. .

(Fourth Embodiment) FIGS. 5 and 6 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a side view of the flocked part 1 and handle part 2 separated, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the handle portion 2 and the handle portion 2 are combined. Note that the same parts in FIGS. 5 and 6 as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

The toothed side piece of this embodiment divides the neck part 3 into a part 3c on the side where the engagement recess 3a is provided and a part 3d as an example of the flocked part,
The flocked part 1 is formed from the part 3d using an elastic material such as an elastomer different from that of the part 3C, and when a predetermined load is applied to the flocked part 1, the flocked part 1 is connected to the part 3d as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. The structure is such that the portion 1 is positioned parallel to the handle portion 2.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the portion 3c can be formed of a hard material that cannot be scraped off by the vibrator 6.

Note that the portion 3c and the portion 3d may be formed of the same material.

(Other Examples) In the above-mentioned 1.2.3.4 examples, the present invention was applied to the electric tooth side, but the present invention is not limited to these, and for example, the flocked part 1 It is also possible to apply the present invention to a tooth side in which the neck portion 3 is foldably connected to the handle portion 2 via a connecting pin.

Further, in the above-mentioned Embodiment 1.2.3.4, a tooth side piece in which the shape of the flocked portion 1 is relatively large is shown, but a tooth side piece in which the shape of the flocked portion 1 is small may be used.

Further, as a mechanism for imparting elasticity to the neck portion 3, the above-mentioned first
．． 2.3.4 It is not limited to the one in the embodiment, but any hinge, rubber member, etc. can be used, and the installation position is not limited to the lower end of the neck portion 3, but can be installed at any arbitrary position.

[Effects of the Invention] With the tooth side of the present invention, teeth can be brushed while always applying an appropriate force (brushing pressure) to the teeth.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing the flocked part and handle part disassembled, Fig. 2 is a side view of the flocked part and handle part in use when combined, and Fig. 3 is the tooth side of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the second embodiment of the present invention in an exploded state;
Figures 5 and 6 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 5 being a side view of the flocked part and handle separated, and Figure 6 being used when the flocked part and handle are combined. FIG. 1... Flocking part 1a... Bristle 2... Handle part 3... Connecting parts 3a, 3b, 7... Connecting member

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a toothbrush in which the flocked part and the handle are detachably or foldably connected via a connecting member, and the flocked part is curved or bent toward the bristles with respect to the handle, the flocked part is connected from the bristles side to the back side. 1. A toothbrush characterized in that when a force of 50 g to 1500 g is applied to the toothbrush, the curving or bending state of the bristles relative to the handle is such that the handle and the bristles are located on a straight line or on a parallel line. (2) Claim (1) characterized in that a vibration source for imparting vibration for brushing to the flocked part is provided in the handle part.
Toothbrush listed.