JPH0662923A - Sponge tooth brush - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To achieve a lower cost without damaging a gum by using a sponge- like material to form a brush part. CONSTITUTION:A sponge 3 is mounted at a right end part of a grip with an adhesive and the top of the sponge is serrated. The tips of the serrated parts 7 get into recesses of teeth to facilitate the brushing of the parts involved. The pitch of the serrated part 7 is 5-10mm and the height thereof 1.5-5mm preferably. The sponge 3 is rectangular in cross section and mounted on one end alone of the grip. Proper dimensions are about 5-10mm in width, about 5-12mm in height and about 15-30mm in length. This eliminates a bristle planting process thereby achieving lower production costs.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toothbrush used for toothbrushing, and more particularly to a toothbrush whose brush portion for brushing teeth is made of a sponge-like substance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, toothbrushes in which animal hair, synthetic fibers or the like (hereinafter referred to as "bristles") are planted have been used.
Many types of toothbrushes are commercially available depending on the softness of the bristles, the length of the bristles, the shape of the bristles, and the like.

The problems with bristle toothbrushes are as follows. The tip of the hair damages the surface of the toothpaste. │ If too soft hair is used, the massage effect of toothpaste is small. │Because the manufacturing cost for flocking does not fall below a certain level, it is an obstacle to lowering the price of disposable brushes. │

│

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a low cost toothbrush which does not damage toothpaste. │ │ │

│

To achieve the above object, the toothbrush of the present invention is characterized in that the brush portion is made of a sponge-like substance. Here, the sponge-like substance means a cellular material made of a solid material.

A synthetic resin foam is preferred as the sponge-like substance used in the toothbrush of the present invention. As the kind of synthetic resin, polyolefin, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polystyrene or the like can be used. Further, synthetic rubber foam can also be used. This is because the cells are preferably open cells, because they have good softness and water retention.

The hardness (elasticity) of synthetic resin foam is J
The ISK 6401 standard hardness is preferably 6 to 40 _kgf . More preferably, it is 8 to 14 _kgf .

One embodiment of the toothbrush of the present invention is a handle and
A toothbrush having a core rod connected to one end of a handle and a brush portion made of a sponge-like substance which is provided on almost the entire outer periphery of the core rod. Another embodiment of the toothbrush of the present invention has a handle, a core rod connected to one end of the handle, and a brush portion made of a sponge-like substance provided on at least both sides of the core rod. The toothbrush has a convex shape on one side and a concave shape on the other side.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention. A sponge 3 is attached to the right end of the handle 1 with an adhesive 5. The upper portion of the sponge 3 has a corrugated shape 7. The tips of the corrugations 7 enter the recesses of the teeth and serve to make them easier to polish. The corrugation 7 preferably has a pitch of 5 to 10 _mm and a height of 1.5 to 5 _mm .

The sponge 3 of the embodiment of FIG. 1 has a rectangular cross section and is attached to only one side of the handle 1. Suitable dimensions are width 5-10 _mm , height 5-12 _mm , length 15-3.
It is about 0 _mm .

FIG. 2 is a side view of a toothbrush according to another embodiment of the present invention. The right end of the handle 1 is a core rod 9, and a sponge 13 is attached so as to cover the outer periphery of the core rod 9. FIG. 3 is a view of the toothbrush of FIG. 2 viewed in the direction of arrows _III - _III . The cross-sectional shapes of the core rod 9 and the sponge 13 may be rectangular like A or circular like B. Since this type of toothbrush has sponges on all sides, it has the advantage that the teeth can be exposed regardless of the angle of the handle.

The size of the sponge 13 of this type (entire type) toothbrush is 5 to 10 _mm square and round, and the length is 10 to 30 _mm.
Is preferred.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention (concave type).
It is a side view of the toothbrush concerning. The convex brush 15 has a convex central portion of the brush, and therefore fits well with the curved surface of the inner surface of the tooth. The concave brush 17 has a concave central portion of the brush, and thus has a concave shape on the outer surface of the tooth. Fits well on curved surfaces. Therefore, it is extremely convenient to use. In this type, the brush on the opposite side that hits the tooth will hit the skin in the mouth, but since the toothbrush of the present invention is made of sponge, it does not damage the skin.

The characteristics of the sponge material used are as follows.
It is Ri. Urethane foam UE-1 (manufactured by Daisei Co., Ltd.) Density 25 ± 2_{kg / m}3 , Hardness 12 ± 2_kg  Urethane foam ECS (same as above) Density 22 ± 2_{kg / m}3 , Hardness 11 ± 2.3_kg, Cell number 35
Ko / 25_mm2 Below urethane foam EMM (same as above) Density 52 ± 3_{kg / m}3 , Hardness 23 ± 5_kg Polyolefin Foam 01A11500 (Musashi
Made by Kasei Kogyo)

In the toothbrush of the present invention, the main purpose is to make the entire brush part made of sponge, but it is also possible to leave the bristle brush part in a part and make the other part made of sponge.

[0016]

As is apparent from the above description, the toothbrush of the present invention exhibits the following effects. Since there are no sharp parts and the tips of the hair are soft, it does not damage the toothpaste or lips. As a material having an appropriate hardness can be selected as a whole, a toothpaste massage effect can be expected. The manufacturing cost is low because the flocking process is unnecessary.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a toothbrush according to another embodiment (entire circumference type) of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view of the toothbrush of FIG. 2 as seen in the direction of arrows _III - _III .

FIG. 4 is a side view of a toothbrush according to another embodiment (uneven type) of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Handle 3 Sponge 5 Adhesive 7 Corrugated 9 Core Bar 13 Sponge 15 Convex Brush 17 Concave Brush

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A toothbrush, wherein the brush portion is made of a sponge-like substance. 2. The sponge-like substance is JIS K 6
The toothbrush according to claim 1, which is a synthetic resin foam having a hardness defined in 401 of 6 to 40 _kgf . 3. A toothbrush having a handle, a core rod connected to one end of the handle, and a brush portion made of a sponge-like substance which is provided on substantially the entire outer periphery of the core rod. 4. A handle, a core rod connected to one end of the handle, and brush portions made of a sponge-like substance provided on at least both sides of the core rod, wherein one side of the brush portion is convex. There is a toothbrush that is concave on the other side.