KR200494871Y1 - Tooth brush for tooth whitening - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a whitening functional toothbrush. More specifically, it relates to a whitening functional toothbrush that can be used in the same way as a conventional toothbrush and can achieve an effective whitening effect.

Description

Whitening functional toothbrush {Tooth brush for tooth whitening}

The present invention relates to a whitening functional toothbrush. More particularly, it relates to a whitening functional toothbrush that can be used in the same way as a conventional toothbrush and can achieve an effective whitening effect.

Since white teeth occupies a very large proportion in appearance, interest in teeth whitening is increasing worldwide.

Looking at the causes of tooth discoloration known so far, intrinsic tooth discoloration caused by nerve damage inside the tooth, aging, or overdose of antibiotics such as tetracyclines, food residues deposited on the tooth surface, cigarette dust, coffee, It can be divided into extrinsic tooth staining caused by black tea, etc.

As a tooth whitening performed to improve tooth discoloration, there are a method of home bleaching and an office bleaching method by a professional as a self-whitening method performed by oneself. Compared to home bleaching, the tooth whitening agent used for office bleaching contains a relatively high concentration of hydrogen peroxide, and uses an activation system such as heat and light to enhance the tooth whitening effect. Since a system using heat may damage the nerves of the teeth, recently, a system that uses light to enhance the effect of teeth whitening is more preferred.

On the other hand, both home bleaching and office bleaching using light require an additional light irradiation device for irradiating light into the oral cavity during whitening management, and the management time is at least 30 minutes, which is costly and time-consuming.

Accordingly, many methods of applying a whitening toothpaste for home bleaching have been developed as a method that does not require a separate tooth whitening device such as a light irradiation device. However, there is a limitation in that it is difficult to expect a sufficient whitening effect only with a whitening toothpaste without an activation system such as light irradiation.

In order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, the present invention is to provide a whitening functional toothbrush capable of achieving a whitening effect in the daily brushing step.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention

A head unit including a bristle plate in which a plurality of bristles bundles are implanted, and a light emitting diode (LED) substrate that is located under the bristle plate and emits light to the bristle plate, and a handle and a detachable coupling unit; and

and a handle portion including a coupling portion detachable from the head portion, and a power source portion of the LED substrate,

wherein the bristle bundle comprises a plurality of non-fiber bristle bristles and a plurality of fiber optic bristles in one bundle.

We provide a whitening functional toothbrush.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention

A head unit including a bristle plate in which a plurality of bristles bundles are implanted, and a light emitting diode (LED) substrate that is located under the bristle plate and emits light to the bristle plate, and a handle and a detachable coupling unit; and

and a handle portion including a coupling portion detachable from the head portion, and a power source portion of the LED substrate,

wherein the bristle bundle comprises a plurality of non-fiber bristle bristles and a plurality of fiber optic bristles in one bundle.

We provide a whitening functional toothbrush.

1 is a perspective view showing a whitening functional toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an exploded perspective view of the head of the whitening functional toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the head of the whitening functional toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention is covered with a head cover.
Figure 4 shows the name of each length part in the bristles of the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention.
5 is a view showing the change in the hair width (FFL) after the reciprocating motion for the bristles of the embodiment and the comparative example of the present invention.

In the present invention, terms such as first, second, etc. are used to describe various components, and the terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components.

In addition, the terms used herein are used to describe exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present specification, terms such as "comprise", "comprising" or "have" are intended to designate the existence of an embodied feature, number, step, element, or a combination thereof, but one or more other features or It should be understood that the existence or addition of numbers, steps, elements, or combinations thereof, is not precluded in advance.

Also in the present invention, when it is said that each layer or element is formed "on" or "over" each layer or element, it means that each layer or element is formed directly on each layer or element, or other It means that a layer or element may additionally be formed between each layer, on the object, on the substrate.

Since the present invention may have various changes and may have various forms, specific embodiments will be illustrated and described in detail below. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to the specific disclosed form, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a perspective view showing a whitening functional toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, the whitening functional toothbrush 300 of the present invention,

A plurality of bristles bundles 10 are implanted in a bristle plate 20, and a light emitting diode (LED) substrate 30 that is located under the bristle plate 20 and emits light to the bristle plate 30, and a handle portion and Head portion 100 including a detachable coupling portion 40; and a handle portion 200 including the head portion 100 and the detachable coupling portion 50, and the power supply portion 60 of the LED substrate, wherein the bristle bundle 10 includes a plurality of bristle bundles in one bundle. It is characterized in that it comprises a non-fiber bristle bristles and a plurality of optical fiber bristles.

The whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention can be widely used for medical or cosmetic activities requiring light irradiation on oral tissues, that is, teeth, periodontal, gums, and the like, and preferably can be usefully used for teeth whitening.

An optical fiber that uses glass or plastic of a material with a high refractive index in the center and glass or plastic of a material of a low refractive index in the outer part is an optical fiber that transmits light efficiently by causing total reflection of light passing through the center to be. In particular, the plastic optical fiber made of both the center and the outer part of the light-transmitting plastic is inexpensive, has excellent flexibility, and is harmless to the human body, so it can be used for the human body.

Accordingly, focusing on the point that a whitening effect can be expected when light having a predetermined wavelength is emitted to teeth while brushing teeth using an optical fiber bristles, a technology for a toothbrush applying an optical fiber to the bristles has been developed.

For example, US Patent No. 9,457,199 discloses a form in which an optical fiber is applied by arranging a fiber optic bundle to a toothbrush head. However, the toothbrush disclosed in the US patent has a disadvantage in that the optical fiber is applied as a bundle only to a specific part of the head, such as the center or upper part of the bristles, and the whitening effect is not uniform, and it is not suitable for mass production of products.

In addition, Korean Patent Application Nos. 2005-0109037 or 2005-0109033 discloses a toothbrush in the form of irradiating light using an empty space between bristles without using an optical fiber. However, in the form disclosed in the Korean patent application, it is difficult to transmit light properly to the teeth, and there is a risk that light is irradiated to unnecessary areas such as gums.

On the other hand, since the fiber optic has poor elasticity and durability than the bristles used in general toothbrushes, when a toothbrush made only of fiber optic bristles is used, the life of the bristles is short and the toothbrush cannot properly perform its original function of cleaning teeth.

Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention have led to the present invention by repeating research on a whitening functional toothbrush that can be used in the same way as a conventional toothbrush and can achieve an effective whitening effect.

The whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention includes a plurality of non-optical fiber bristles in addition to the plurality of optical fiber bristles. In addition, the plurality of optical fiber bristles and non-optical fiber bristles are included together in one bundle, characterized in that the bundle is evenly distributed on the bristle plate.

On the other hand, in the specification of the present invention, "non-fiber bristle" is distinguished from "optical fiber" or "optical fiber bristle" as it does not have an optical fiber function and is used as a bristles having a general brushing function.

The non-optical fiber bristles may be made of commonly used materials and shapes, for example, a nylon polyester-based polymer, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), or It may be made of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or the like, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In addition, for durability, a toothbrush head made of high-performance plastic having excellent rigidity, high elasticity and abrasion resistance may be used, but is not particularly limited.

The optical fiber bristles have a function as an optical fiber by totally reflecting light passing through the central part, and may be a plastic optical fiber in which both the central part and the external part are made of plastic.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the non-optical fiber bristles and the optical fiber bristles may be included in a ratio of 9:1 to 1:9 based on the number. More specifically, the non-optical fiber bristles and the optical fiber bristles may be included in a ratio of 8:2 to 2:8, or 7:3 to 3:7. In order to effectively achieve a whitening effect and a function as a general toothbrush at the same time, it may be more preferable to include the non-optical fiber bristles and the optical fiber bristles in a ratio of 7:3 to 6:4.

In the present invention, the non-optical fiber bristles and the fiber optic bristles have a uniform light irradiation effect, durability, and user's feeling of use. . It may also be desirable for such bundles to be substantially uniformly implanted on the bristle plate.

That is, the optical fiber bristles and the non-optical fiber bristles are not partly implanted in any one area of the bristle plate, for example, the central part, the peripheral part, the upper part, the lower part of the bristle plate, etc. Mixed and included as a bundle in a certain proportion, these bundles can be implanted so that they are evenly distributed over the entire bristle plate. Thus, the ratio of non-fiber bristle and fiber optic bristles throughout the bristle plate and the ratio of non-fiber bristle and optical fiber bristles in one bundle are substantially equal.

2 is an exploded perspective view of the head of the whitening functional toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a plurality of bristles bundles 10 are implanted on the bristle plate 20 in the head of the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention, and a light emitting diode (LED) substrate 30 is located below the bristle plate 20 . ) is positioned to emit light from it to the bristle plate 20 .

In FIG. 2 , an enlarged view of one bristle bundle 10 is shown in a circle on the left when viewed from above. In this case, for convenience, the bristle of the optical fiber is indicated by a black circle, and the bristle of the non-optical fiber is indicated by a white circle.

Referring to FIG. 2 , one bristles bundle 10 is not made of one type of bristles, but as described above, non-optical fiber bristles and optical fiber bristles are mixed in a certain ratio, and these multiple bristles bundles 10 are bristle. It is in the form of implantation on a plate.

As such, since the non-optical fiber bristles and the fiber optic bristles are included together in one bristles bundle, light can be transmitted more evenly than the bristles implanted by separating the optical fibers in a certain area, and thus the whitening effect can be superior. In addition, by mixing the bristles of the general non-optical fiber together, it is possible to increase elasticity, durability, and user's feeling of use while maintaining the original function of the toothbrush.

In addition, in order to manufacture the bristles according to the present invention, since it is only necessary to implant a bristles bundle having the same configuration, manufacturing is relatively simple, and existing toothbrush manufacturing facilities can be used, which is more advantageous in terms of productivity.

The shape of the bristle plate is not particularly limited, and may be in the form of a general bristle plate such as a circle, an oval, a square, and a rhombus. In addition, the material of the bristle plate can be used as applied to a general toothbrush, and is not particularly limited.

The head portion includes at one end a bristle plate implanted with a bristle bundle including a plurality of non-optical fiber bristles and a plurality of optical fiber bristles in the form described above, is connected to the bristle plate, and a handle portion and a detachable coupling portion to be described later included in the other end. The bristle plate is detachable, and when the bristles of the head are worn out as the toothbrush is used, only the bristle plate can be replaced with a new one.

That is, the head part and the handle part are coupled to each other through the coupling part and may be detachably attached. The shape of the coupling part is not particularly limited, and the coupling shape generally applied to the detachable toothbrush head can be applied without limitation.

In addition, the head unit includes a light emitting diode (LED) substrate emitting light to the bristle plate under the bristle plate, and the light generated therefrom is transmitted to the optical fiber bristles implanted in the bristle plate.

The light emitted from the LED substrate may be light having a wavelength of 200 to 660 nm.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, light emitted from the LED substrate may have different wavelengths according to modes. For example, when used in a whitening mode, light having a wavelength of 340 nm or more and 660 nm or less may be emitted, and when used in a sterilization mode, light having a wavelength of 200 nm or more and less than 340 nm may be emitted.

The user can brush teeth using the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention in the same manner as in the conventional toothbrush usage in a normal way, and while brushing teeth, the light generated from the LED substrate is emitted through the fiber optic bristles and directed to the teeth.

On the other hand, for more effective whitening, it is preferable to apply a whitening agent or whitening functional toothpaste to the teeth and then brush the teeth.

A product known as the whitening agent or whitening functional toothpaste can be used, but for more effective whitening, the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention contains a component that exhibits a high degree of photoactivation by a wavelength of 340 to 660 nm, which is the light emitted in whitening mode. It is preferable to do For a whitening agent or whitening functional toothpaste containing such a component, for example, reference may be made to the contents disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2013-0115257.

The handle includes a power supply of the LED board therein. The power supply unit of the LED substrate is a switch that supplies or cuts off power to the LED substrate, and each time the switch is pressed, the power supply/cutoff state can be changed.

In addition, the handle part is a means for supplying power to the LED board therein, and may include a accommodating part which is a space for accommodating batteries or rechargeable batteries. Power generated from the battery or rechargeable battery is supplied to the LED substrate through a switch, and the LED substrate supplied with power generates light of a corresponding wavelength according to a mode and can be emitted through an optical fiber bristles.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the switch performs the function of a mode switch emitting light of different wavelengths in addition to the function of an ON/OFF switch for supplying/cutting power can do. In addition, the switch may display different colors according to the modes so that the user can easily distinguish the modes.

As an external device used in combination with the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention, a charging device for charging the rechargeable battery and/or a power supply device for directly supplying power without a rechargeable battery may be provided. The charging device and/or the power device may serve as a support for stably standing the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the head portion is detachable and covers the entire head portion, and a reflection member is provided on the inner surface to reflect the light irradiated from the LED substrate through the optical fiber bristles to the head portion. It may further include a head cover.

The reflective member is not particularly limited as long as it is a material capable of reflecting light, such as a mirror, and may be, for example, glass, metal, or plastic on which a reflective layer is plated.

When the power supply unit is operated in the sterilization mode after the head unit is covered using the head unit cover, light having a sterilizing effect is irradiated to sterilize and disinfect the head unit, especially the bristles, to keep the toothbrush hygienic. have.

3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the head part is covered with the head part of the whitening functional toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the head part cover 150 may cover the entire head part 100 and may be covered to match the step difference between the head part 100 and the handle part 200 . In addition, although not shown in the drawing, the inner surface of the head cover 150 is made of a material that can reflect light, and the LED is turned into a sterilization mode wavelength in a state in which the head 100 is covered with the head cover 150 . When it operates, the light emitted therefrom is internally reflected from the head part cover 150 to sterilize the bristles of the head part 100 .

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the handle part may further include a vibration motor or a sonic vibration motor therein.

The vibration motor generates vibration by rotation, and as the vibration motor vibrates, the bristles that have received the vibration force vibrate together to clean the teeth, and the cleaning power can be further increased.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the handle portion may further include a sonic vibration motor therein.

The sonic vibration motor generates a vibration force in the sonic range to clean the teeth with the bristles that have received it, and may also function to further increase the cleaning power.

In addition, the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention may add the functions of other known functional toothbrushes within a range that does not interfere with the whitening function, and may further include a member for performing this without limitation.

According to the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention as described above, by using the whitening functional toothbrush of the present invention in the same way as the conventional toothbrush use method, excellent whitening effect can be achieved in the daily brushing step.

In addition, by evenly including the optical fiber in the entire bristles, it is possible to increase the intensity of light transmitted to the optical fiber to increase transmission efficiency, and to prevent light from being transmitted to an unwanted area.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments are presented to help the understanding of the present invention. However, the following examples are only for illustrating the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

<Example>

Example One

1 and 2, a plurality of bristle bundles in which non-fiber bristle bristles (diameter: 0.127 mm) and optical fiber bristles (diameter: 0.25 mm) are mixed in a ratio of 7:3 in one bristle bundle are evenly brushed A whitening functional toothbrush including a toothbrush head implanted in a hair plate was manufactured.

Example 2

In Example 1, whitening was carried out in the same manner as in Example 1, except that non-optical fiber bristles (diameter: 0.127 mm) and optical fiber bristles (diameter: 0.25 mm) were mixed in a ratio of 5:5 in one bristle bundle. A functional toothbrush was manufactured.

Comparative Example 1

A whitening functional toothbrush including a toothbrush head in which a plurality of bristle bundles consisting of only one bristle bundle (diameter: 0.25 mm) is implanted on a bristle plate was manufactured.

Comparative Example 2

It contains non-fiber bristle bristles (diameter: 0.127 mm) and fiber optic bristles (diameter: 0.25 mm) in a ratio of 7:3, wherein one bristle bundle consists of non-fiber bristle bristles and optical fiber bristles, respectively, and the central portion of the bristle plate A whitening functional toothbrush including a toothbrush head in which an optical fiber bristles bundle is implanted, and a non-fiber bristle bristles is implanted in the outer portion was manufactured.

The bristles of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are shown in Table 1 below.

Non-fiber bristle to fiber optic bristles ratio hair transplantation Example 1 7:3 Non-fiber bristle bristles and fiber optic bristles included in one bundle Example 2 5:5 Includes non-fiber bristle and fiber optic bristles in one bundle Comparative Example 1 0:10 Includes only fiber optic bristles in one bundle Comparative Example 2 7:3 The bundles implanted in the center contain only fiber optic bristles, and the bundles implanted in the outer part contain only non-fiber bristle bristles.

<Experimental example>

The toothbrushes of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were mounted on an automatic reciprocating device and reciprocated 6,000 times in a state where a 500 g load was applied to the surface of the louse (bovine teeth). The length of the bristles before and after the reciprocating motion was measured, and the elasticity loss and toothbrush wear index were calculated as follows. The names of the length portions of each bristles are shown in FIG. 4 .

(1) Loss of elasticity

The elasticity loss was evaluated by the degree of hair spread of the durability of the bristles according to the use of the toothbrush, and was calculated according to Equation 1 below. In Equation 1 below, the smaller the elasticity loss value, the lower the degree of simulation spread.

[Equation 1]

In Equation 1,

A is the hair width before reciprocation (FFL in Fig. 4, unit: cm),

B is the hair width (FFL in FIG. 4, unit: cm) after 6,000 reciprocations.

The loss of elasticity for the bristles of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 is shown in Table 2 below.

In addition, for the bristles of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the change in the bristles width (FFL) after 6,000 reciprocation movements is shown in FIG. 5 .

A (unit: cm) B (unit: cm) Elasticity loss (%) Example 1 0.80 0.86 7.50 Example 2 0.80 0.94 16.88 Comparative Example 1 0.98 1.23 25.00 Comparative Example 2 0.80 0.91 13.50

Referring to Tables 2 and 5, the loss of elasticity was the lowest in Example 1, in which non-optical fiber bristles and fiber optic bristles were mixed in a ratio of 7:3 to one bristles bundle, and thus had the best durability. On the other hand, the toothbrush of Comparative Example 1 composed of only optical fibers showed the lowest durability.

When comparing the loss of elasticity between the bristles implanted by mixing different ratios of non-optical fiber bristles and fiber optic bristles, the bristles of Example 1 spread out 70% less than the bristles of Comparative Example 1 implanted only with optical fibers, and the non-fiber bristle bristles and fiber optic bristles were 5 It showed a result of 56% less spread than Example 2 implanted with :5.

A comparison in which non-fiber bristle bristles and fiber optic bristles were mixed in the same ratio, but in Example 1, in which two bristles were mixed in one bristle bundle according to the present invention Comparing Example 2, it was confirmed that Example 1 was 44% less open than Comparative Example 2.

(2) Toothbrush Wear Index

The degree of toothbrush abrasion was evaluated by measuring the length of five sides of the bristles in order to more accurately measure the degree of spread of the bristles according to the use of the toothbrush, and was calculated according to Equation 2 below.

[Equation 2]

In Equation 2,

BLL is the base long length (unit: cm) shown in Figure 4,

FLL is the free lateral length (unit: cm) shown in Figure 4,

BFL is the base free length (unit: cm) shown in Figure 4,

FFL is the front free length (unit: cm) shown in Figure 4,

BRL is the bristles' length (unit: cm) shown in FIG. 4 .

The degree of abrasion of toothbrushes for the bristles of Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 is shown in Table 3 below.

before reciprocation After 6,000 rounds of movement FLL BLL FFL BFL BRL wear and tear FLL BLL FFL BFL BRL wear and tear Example 1 2.32 2.10 0.80 0.80 1.10 0.10 2.51 2.10 0.86 0.80 1.10 0.21 Example 2 2.38 2.20 0.80 0.08 1.00 0.09 2.72 2.20 0.94 0.80 1.00 0.33 Comparative Example 1 2.20 2.10 0.98 0.80 1.00 0.14 2.61 2.10 1.23 0.80 1.00 0.47 Comparative Example 2 2.38 2.10 0.80 0.80 1.20 0.12 2.73 2.10 0.91 0.80 1.20 0.31

As in the degree of abrasion of the toothbrush calculated using the length of 5 sides of the bristles and the loss of elasticity calculated using only the cross section of the bristles, Example 1 was the lowest, so it was confirmed that the bristles of Example 1 were the least spread, Comparative Example 1 It was confirmed that the bristles of the toothbrush spread the most.

Claims (8)

A head unit including a bristle plate in which a plurality of bristles bundles are implanted, and a light emitting diode (LED) substrate emitting light to the bristle plate, which is located under the bristle plate, and a handle and a detachable coupling unit; and
and a handle portion including a coupling portion detachable from the head portion, and a power source portion of the LED substrate,
The bristles bundle includes a plurality of non-optical fiber bristle bristles and a plurality of optical fiber bristles in one bundle;
The bristle bundle is evenly distributed on the bristle plate,
The bristles bundle comprises the non-fiber bristle bristles and the fiber optic bristles in a ratio of 7:3 to 5:5,
Whitening functional toothbrush.
delete delete delete The method of claim 1,
The light emitted from the LED substrate will have a wavelength of 200 to 660 nm, whitening functional toothbrush.
The method of claim 1,
The whitening functional toothbrush further comprising a head cover that covers the entire head and is detachable and has a light reflecting member on its inner surface to reflect the light irradiated from the fiber optic bristles to the head.
The method of claim 1,
The whitening functional toothbrush operates in a whitening mode and a sterilization mode, a whitening functional toothbrush.
The method of claim 1,
Whitening functional toothbrush further comprising a sonic vibration motor.

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