TH20974B - toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

The toothbrush is shown with a handle and head section designed for or properly shaped to accommodate the bristle morphology. The handle has sections for the end, waist, shoulder, and neck, with the shoulder connecting the shoulder to the head. At a minimum, the waist is narrower than the end or shoulder when viewed from above, and the end should be rounded. The bristle morphology is such that the brushing tips of the bristles are not parallel to the surface of the handle head where the bristles are embedded. In Figure One, at least a certain proportion of the brushing tips are curved when the toothbrush is viewed straight on at eye level from the side. This curve is created by a combination of concave and convex groups of bristles. In Figure Two, the bristle morphology is divided into at least two groups of bristles. The brushing tips of the first group and the brushing tips of the second group are curved when the toothbrush is viewed straight on at eye level from the side. In Figure Three, the brushing tips of the bristles form a continuous wave-like pattern. In Figure Four... The bristles at the brushing end are divided into two groups: the rear group, which is shaped like a rampart wall consisting of alternating transverse rows of bristles of varying heights, and the front group, which has at least some bristles extending beyond the surface of the toothbrush head more than any other bristle group in the rampart wall structure.

Claims (19)

1. A toothbrush with a handle and head designed for or constructed to hold the bristles in place. The handle's shape, with its end, waist, shoulder, and neck connecting the shoulder to the head, is at least narrower at the waist than at the end or shoulder when viewed from above, and the end is rounded, is characterized by the ratio of the widest part of the end when viewed from above to the widest part of the shoulder when viewed from above being between 1.2:1 and 1.5:1. The end is thicker than the shoulder when viewed straight ahead at eye level from the side, and the ratio of the thickest part of the end when viewed straight ahead at eye level from the side to the thickest part of the shoulder when viewed straight ahead at eye level from the side is between 1.1:1 and 1.7:1. 2. The toothbrush, as per claim 1, is characterized by the ratio of the greatest width of the shoulders in a top-down view to the least width of the waist in a top-down view being in the range of 1.05:1 to 1.5:1. 3. A toothbrush pursuant to claim 1 or claim 2, which is characterized by the ratio of the greatest thickness of the shoulder when viewed straight ahead at eye level from the side to the least thickness of the waist when viewed straight ahead at eye level from the side being between 1.01:1 and 1.5:1. 4. A toothbrush, according to one of the claims 1 through 3, is characterized by the ratio of the length from the free end of the tip to the narrowest point of the waist when viewed straight on at sideways to the widest point of the tip when viewed straight on at sideways being between 4:1 and 7:1. 5. A toothbrush that meets any of the claims 1 through 4 in which the bristle morphology is such that the bristle tips for brushing are not in a plane parallel to the surface of the brush head. 6. The toothbrush, in accordance with claim 5, is such that the bristles at least a certain proportion of the bristles used for brushing are curved when the toothbrush is viewed straight on at eye level from the side. 7. The toothbrush, in accordance with claim 6, shall have at least 10% of the bristle tips for brushing be curved when the toothbrush is viewed straight up at eye level from the side. 8. The toothbrush, in accordance with claim 6, shall have at least 50% of the bristle tips for brushing be curved when the toothbrush is viewed straight up at eye level from the side. 9. The toothbrush, as per claim 6, is such that 100% of the bristle tips for brushing are curved when the toothbrush is viewed straight up at eye level from the side. 10. A toothbrush conforming to one of the claims 6 through 9, where the bristles are a combination of the concave and convex bristle groups, with the brushing tips of the concave group aligned concave when the toothbrush is viewed straight on at eye level from the side, and the brushing tips of the convex group aligned convex when the toothbrush is viewed straight on at eye level from the side. 11. Toothbrush pursuant to claim paragraph 10, where the percentage of the length of the curve provided by the concave bristles is in the range of 50% to 75%. 12. A toothbrush in any of the claims 5 through 11 where the bristles at the far end of the head relative to the brush side are longer than the bristles at the near end of the head relative to the handle. 13. A toothbrush in accordance with claim 12 where the ratio of the height of the longest bristles at the far end of the head relative to the handle to the shortest bristles at the near end of the head relative to the handle is at least 1.1:1. 14. A toothbrush in accordance with claim 13 where the ratio of the height of the longest bristles at the far end of the head relative to the handle to the shortest bristles at the near end of the head relative to the handle is between 1.1:1 and 1.7:1. 15. A toothbrush conforms to one of the claims 5 through 14 in which the bristle morphology, comprising the first and second groups of bristles, has bristle tips of at least the first group that are curved when the toothbrush is viewed straight up at eye level from the side. 16. The toothbrush, in accordance with claim 15, has bristle tips of the second group that are also curved when the toothbrush is viewed straight on at eye level from the side. 17. A toothbrush in accordance with claim 15 or claim 16, where the bristles of the first and second groups create a continuous wave-like pattern at the brushing end. 18. The toothbrush, in accordance with claim 15, whereby the bristle morphology includes a third group of bristles which are in a straight line when the toothbrush is viewed straight up at eye level from the side. 19. The toothbrush under claim paragraph 6, where the curvature is provided by a combination of concave and convex bristle groups, where the brushing tips of the concave group are concave when the toothbrush is viewed straight at eye level from the side, and the brushing tips of the convex group are convex when the toothbrush is viewed straight at eye level from the side, is characterized by the ratio of the lengths of the curvature provided by the convex bristles to the lengths provided by the concave bristles being in the range of 1:1 to 2:1, and where the curvature is discontinuous, with the convex bristle group at the far end of the head relative to the handle and the convex bristle group at the near end of the head relative to the handle, and the concave bristle group is positioned between two convex bristle groups, with each end of the concave group protruding from the surface. The bristles are embedded deeper into the brush head than into adjacent clusters of bristles in convex groups. Such clusters at one end of the concave group extend approximately at the same level as the longest cluster in the adjacent convex group, and such clusters at other ends of the concave group extend approximately at the same level as the longest cluster in the adjacent convex group. Furthermore, the bristle tips, in the direction perpendicular to the toothbrush head, extend at roughly the same length from the brush head surface where the bristles are embedded.