US20200237084A1

US20200237084A1 - Toothbrush

Info

Publication number: US20200237084A1
Application number: US16/487,889
Authority: US
Inventors: Pal Hyung Lee
Original assignee: NEOB CO Ltd
Current assignee: NEOB CO Ltd
Priority date: 2017-02-22
Filing date: 2018-02-21
Publication date: 2020-07-30
Also published as: KR20170037905A; KR20170091540A; KR20170028909A; WO2018155899A1

Abstract

The present invention is intended to provide a toothbrush in which the handle of the toothbrush includes a plurality of handle pieces and the handle pieces can be selectively assembled and separated by fitting coupling, screw coupling, or the like, thereby contributing to enabling children to make it a rule to brush their teeth by particularly stimulating the curiosity and interest of the children, and also improving brain development and a learning effect. The present invention provides a toothbrush including: a head (3) into which bristles (2) are planted; and a handle (4) which is coupled to the head (3); wherein the handle (4) includes a plurality of separate handle pieces (4 a), and the handle pieces (4 a) are selectively coupled to their adjacent handle pieces (4 a) and separated from the adjacent handle pieces (4 a).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a toothbrush, and more specifically to the provision of a toothbrush in which the handle of the toothbrush includes a plurality of handle pieces and the handle pieces can be selectively assembled and separated by fitting coupling, screw coupling, or the like, thereby contributing to enabling children to make it a rule to brush their teeth by particularly stimulating the curiosity and interest of the children, and also improving brain development and a learning effect.

BACKGROUND ART

Toothbrushes which are generally used each include: a head which is integrated with a handle; and bristles which are planted into the head.
In other words, the handle is generally integrated with the head, and a non-slip member or the like is formed on the handle in order to increase gripping force and to prevent slip, or the toothbrush is differentiated in design.
There have been known some toothbrush products in which a head into which bristles are planted and a handle can be separated from each other, and thus, when the bristles are worn or damaged, the head into which the bristles are planted can be separated from the handle and replaced with a new one.
Meanwhile, it is preferable that children develop their habits of brushing their teeth for oral hygiene from early age. However, in the case of conventional children's toothbrushes, favorite characters or the like are formed on handles, the size of toothbrushes is fabricated be smaller than the size of adults' toothbrushes, or the like. Accordingly, the conventional children's toothbrushes have difficulty in making it a rule for children to brush their teeth, and have a limitation on adding the function of stimulating the curiosity or interest of children to the toothbrushes themselves.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush which can highly contribute to oral hygiene because the curiosity and interest of children, impaired people, or the like are stimulated by applying the toothbrush, provided by the present invention, to toothbrush handles used by the children, impaired people or the like, thereby inducing them to make it a rule to brush their teeth.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush which can promote the brain activity of children, impaired people, and the aged by means of its toothbrush handle, thereby enabling a learning effect to be acquired.

Technical Solution

The present invention provides a toothbrush including: a head into which bristles are planted; and a handle which is coupled to the head; wherein the handle includes a plurality of separate handle pieces, and the handle pieces are selectively coupled to their adjacent handle pieces and separated from the adjacent handle pieces.
Furthermore, a fitting protrusion and a fitting depression may be formed through the coupling surfaces of a corresponding pair of toothbrush pieces so that the handle pieces can be fitted into the adjacent handle pieces.
Furthermore, a fitting bolt and a female screw hole may be famed through the coupling surfaces of a corresponding pair of toothbrush pieces so that the handle pieces can be screwed to the adjacent handle pieces.
Furthermore, a fitting protrusion and a fitting depression may be formed through the coupling surfaces of a corresponding pair of toothbrush pieces so that the handle pieces can be fitted into the adjacent handle pieces, and a flexible coupling portion may be provided between the coupling surfaces so that flexible coupling can be achieved.
Furthermore, as another embodiment, the handle of the toothbrush may include: a shaft which is formed from the head in the longitudinal direction of the handle; and handle pieces which are separated into a plurality of handle pieces and have a through fitting hole which is selectively fitted over the shaft and separated from the shaft.
Furthermore, as another embodiment, the handle of the toothbrush may include: a shaft which is formed from the head in the longitudinal direction of the handle; a plurality of fitting rings which are formed on the shaft; and a plurality of handle pieces which are each separated into upper and lower portions so that the handle pieces can be selectively fitted into the shaft and the fitting rings and separated from the shaft and the fitting rings.
Furthermore, as another embodiment, the handle of the toothbrush may include: a shaft which is formed from the head in the longitudinal direction of the handle; a plurality of fitting protrusions which are formed on and beneath the shaft at predetermined intervals; and a plurality of handle pieces which have respective fitting depressions which can be selectively fitted into the fitting protrusions and separated from the fitting protrusions.
Moreover, electronic chips capable of emitting light or sound may be installed into the respective handle pieces.

Advantageous Effects

The toothbrush which is provided by the present invention is configured such that the handle is divided into the plurality of handle pieces and the plurality of handle pieces are assembled together and used by a method, such as fitting coupling, screw fitting, or the like, thereby particularly stimulating the curiosity and interest of children.
Furthermore, various shapes, specific colors, numbers, or letters, or the like are formed on the respective handle pieces by a method, such as printing or the like, and thus a learning ability can be developed in the process of assembling the colors or sequentially assembling the numbers, the letters, or the like. Furthermore, electronic chips capable of emitting various types of light or sound are installed, thereby stimulating interest.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of a preferred embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view showing the preferred embodiment of the toothbrush in a partially exploded state which is provided by the present invention and another embodiment of important portions;

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a partially different embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another partially different embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a plan view showing another partially different embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention and a partially enlarged exploded view;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another partially different embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a view showing an example of a case where different colors are printed on respective handle pieces in a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

- 1: toothbrush 2: bristles
- 3: head 4: handle
- 4 a, 4 b, 4 c, 4 d, 4 e: handle piece 5: fitting protrusion
- 6: fitting depression 7: fitting bolt
- 8: female screw hole 9: flexible coupling portion
- 10: shaft 11: fitting hole
- 12: fitting ring 13: fitting depression
- 14: fitting depression 15: fitting protrusion
- 16: fitting depression

MODE FOR INVENTION

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, it should be noted that in the drawings, the same components or parts are designated by the same reference symbols as much as possible. In the description of the present invention, descriptions of related well-known functions or components will be omitted in order to prevent the gist of the present invention from being ambiguous.
The terms of degree, such as “about,” “substantially,” and the like used herein are used in the sense of at or nearly at when given the manufacturing, design, and material tolerances inherent in the stated circumstances, and are used to prevent the unscrupulous infringer from unfairly taking advantage of the invention disclosure where exact or absolute figures and operational or structural relationships are stated as an aid to understanding the invention.
A toothbrush provided by the present invention is characterized in that a handle includes a plurality of handle pieces and the handle pieces can be selectively separated from each other and coupled to each other and can then be used.
Furthermore, the head and handle pieces of the toothbrush can be selectively separated from each other and coupled to each other. A method of coupling the components to each other may include fitting coupling, screw coupling, etc.
The present invention is characterized in that when the handle pieces are assembled together, the shape of the overall handle may be one of various polygons, such as a cylindrical shape, a square shape, etc. and is also characterized in that the shapes of the handle pieces may be formed in different shapes.
The present invention is characterized in that specific colors, numbers, letters, or the like are formed on the respective handle pieces by one of various methods, such as printing, etc., thereby promoting brain activity and also achieving a learning effect.
Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that electronic chips capable of emitting various types of light or sound during coupling or separation are installed into the respective handle pieces.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a preferred embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a plan view showing the configuration in a partially exploded state and another embodiment of important portions.
As shown in the drawings, the toothbrush 1 of the present invention is a typical toothbrush 1 including a head 3 into which bristles 2 are planted and a handle 4, wherein the handle 4 includes a plurality of separate handle pieces 4 a and the plurality of separate handle pieces 4 a are selectively fitted or screwed into each other and separated from each other.
The handle piece 4 a which is coupled at the foremost end among the handle pieces 4 a is selectively coupled or separated on the rear side of the head 3.
A fitting protrusion 5 and a fitting depression 6 are formed in the coupling portions of the head 3 and the handle piece 4 a so that they can correspond to each other in order to enable fitting. It is preferable that the head 3 and the handle piece 4 a be tightly fitted into each other so that they are not easily separated from each other unless a predetermined external force is applied after fitting.
A fitting bolt 7 and a female screw hole 8 are formed in the coupling portions of the head 3 and the handle piece 4 a so that they can correspond to each other in order to enable screw coupling.
Furthermore, a fitting bolt 7 and a female screw hole 8 are formed in the coupling portions of the handle pieces 4 a other than the head 3 regardless of sequence so that they can correspond to each other.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing the overall configuration of another embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention.
This shows an example of a case where a handle 4 includes a plurality of separate handle pieces 4 a and a flexible coupling portion 9 made of a flexible material is formed between the coupling portions of each pair of adjacent handle pieces 4 a so that the handle 4 has slight flexibility and can thus be adjusted in angle within a predetermined angle range when the adjacent handle pieces 4 a are coupled to each other.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of still another embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention.
This shows an example of a case where a handle 4 includes a plurality of separate handle pieces 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e and the individual handle pieces 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e are fabricated in different shapes.
In this case, although the fitting protrusion 5 and the fitting depression 6, or the fitting bolt 7 and the female screw hole 8 may be applied to the adjacent handle piece 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e, as described above, there may be used a method in which a shaft 10 may be extended from a head 3 in the longitudinal direction of the handle 4 and the handle pieces 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e may be sequentially fitted over the shaft 10 via a fitting hole 11 formed through the handle pieces 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e.
FIG. 5 shows a plan view showing the overall configuration of still another embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention and a partially exploded view.
In the present embodiment, a handle 4 includes a plurality of separate handle pieces 4 f, and the handle pieces 4 f are fitted over a shaft 10 which is extended from a head 3 in the longitudinal direction of the handle 4.
For this purpose, each of the handle pieces 4 f is divided into two parts. Furthermore, in order to enable the handle pieces 4 f to be fitted over the shaft 10 in vertical directions, a fitting ring 12 is formed around the shaft 10 at the center of the shaft 10, and a semicircular fitting depression 13 configured to be fitted over the fitting ring 12 and a semicircular fitting depression 14 configured to be fitted over the shaft 10 are formed in each of equally divided handle pieces 4 f in the longitudinal direction thereof, thereby enabling the handle pieces 4 f to be selectively coupled to each other and separated from each other.
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of still another embodiment of a toothbrush which is provided by the present invention.
The toothbrush 1 of the present invention is a toothbrush 1 including a head 3 into which bristles 2 are planted and a handle 4 which is connected to the head 3, wherein the handle 4 is configured such that a plurality of fitting protrusions 15 is formed on and beneath a shaft 10 (in the drawing), integrated with the head 3 and extended in a longitudinal direction, at predetermined intervals and a plurality of handle pieces 4 g having respective fitting depressions 16 configured to be fitted over the fitting protrusion 15 is provided, thereby enabling the handle pieces 4 g to be selectively coupled to each other and separated from each other.
The cross section of the shaft 10 may be designed and fabricated in various shapes, such as a square shape, a rectangular shape, a circular shape, etc., and the cross section of the handle piece 4 g may also be designed and fabricated in various shapes, such as a square shape, a rectangular shape, etc., thereby achieving the effects of stimulating the curiosity and interest of children, impaired people, or the like, and a learning effect.
Meanwhile, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a case where one embodiment of a toothbrush 1 which is provided by the present invention is applied. This drawing shows a case where a plurality of separate handle pieces 4 a having rainbow colors, i.e., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, are sequentially assembled together.
Furthermore, existing mass-produced electronic chips (not shown) capable of emitting light or sound are installed into the respective handle pieces 4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d, and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g applied to the various embodiments of the toothbrush 1 of the present invention, and thus various types of light (LED lamp light or the like) or various types of sound (various signal sounds, such as specific melodies, alarm sounds, or the like) can be emitted when the handle pieces 4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d, and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g are fitted into each other or separated from each other, thereby stimulating interest. Unlike in the case of general supplies manufactured by toothbrush manufacturers and supplied to consumers, consumers may directly fabricate the toothbrushes by using three-dimensional printers and then use them.
The toothbrush 1 of the present invention, which may be configured as described above, is the toothbrush 1 including the head 3 and the handle 4, wherein the handle 4 includes the plurality of separates handle pieces 4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g and the handle pieces 4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g are coupled to each other by a method, such as fitting coupling, screw fitting, or the like, thereby being used as a toothbrush 1. Accordingly, in particular, the curiosity and interest of children can be stimulated.
Specific colors, numbers, letters, or the like are formed on the respective handle pieces 4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g by a method, such as printing or the like, and thus a learning ability can be developed in such a manner that the colors are combined or the numbers or letters are sequentially combined.
It will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains that the toothbrush of the present invention, which has been described above, is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings but various substitutions, modifications and alterations may be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applicable to the field of toothbrushes each including a header and a handle into which bristles are planted.

Claims

1. A toothbrush comprising:

a head (3) into which bristles (2) are planted; and a handle (4) which is coupled to the head (3);

wherein the handle (4) includes a plurality of separate handle pieces (4 a), and the handle pieces (4 a) are selectively coupled to their adjacent handle pieces (4 a) and separated from the adjacent handle pieces (4 a).

2. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a fitting protrusion (5) and a fitting depression (6) are formed through coupling surfaces of a corresponding pair of toothbrush pieces so that the handle pieces (4 a) can be fitted into the adjacent handle pieces (4 a).

3. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a fitting bolt (7) and a female screw hole (8) are formed through coupling surfaces of a corresponding pair of toothbrush pieces so that the handle pieces (4 a) can be screwed to the adjacent handle pieces (4 a).

4. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a fitting protrusion (5) and a fitting depression (6) are formed through coupling surfaces of a corresponding pair of toothbrush pieces so that the handle pieces (4 a) can be fitted into the adjacent handle pieces (4 a), and a flexible coupling portion (9) is provided between the coupling surfaces so that flexible coupling can be achieved.

5. A toothbrush comprising:

wherein the handle (4) includes:

a shaft (10) which is formed from the head (3) in a longitudinal direction of the handle (4); and

handle pieces (4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e) which are separated into a plurality of handle pieces and have a through fitting hole (11) which is selectively fitted over the shaft (10) and separated from the shaft (10).

6. A toothbrush comprising:

wherein the handle (4) includes:

a shaft (10) which is formed from the head (3) in a longitudinal direction of the handle (4);

a plurality of fitting rings (12) which are formed on the shaft (10); and

a plurality of handle pieces (4 f) which are each separated into upper and lower portions so that the handle pieces (4 f) can be selectively fitted into the shaft (10) and the fitting rings (12) and separated from the shaft (10) and the fitting rings (12).

7. A toothbrush comprising:

wherein the handle (4) includes:

a plurality of fitting protrusions (15) which are formed on and beneath the shaft (10) at predetermined intervals; and

a plurality of handle pieces (4 g) which have respective fitting depressions (16) which can be selectively fitted into the fitting protrusions (15) and separated from the fitting protrusions (15).

8. The toothbrush of claim 1, wherein electronic chips capable of emitting light or sound are installed into the handle pieces (4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g).

9. The toothbrush of claim 5, wherein electronic chips capable of emitting light or sound are installed into the handle pieces (4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g).

10. The toothbrush of claim 6, wherein electronic chips capable of emitting light or sound are installed into the handle pieces (4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g).

11. The toothbrush of claim 7, wherein electronic chips capable of emitting light or sound are installed into the handle pieces (4 a; 4 b, 4 c, 4 d and 4 e; 4 f; or 4 g).