JP2002345560A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toothbrush with good feeling during brushing and cleaning and enough durability and prepared by planting tufts of bristles prepared by bundling fine bristles. SOLUTION: In this toothbrush 10 in which a plurality of tuft 12 of bristles prepared by bundling bristles 11 with a thickness of at most 120 μm are planted on a block head 14, a site except the apex part 13 of each tuft 12 of the bristles is inserted into an elastic cylindrical body 16 projected from and arranged on the block head 14 and is planted under a condition where the circumference of the tuft 12 of bristles is covered with the elastic cylindrical body 16. The elastic cylindrical body 16 comprises e.g. a resin or a rubber.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toothbrush in which a plurality of bristles bundled with bristles having a thickness of 120 μm or less are planted on a flocking table.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A toothbrush is a bristle bundle formed by bundling bristles.
It is formed by implanting and fixing a plurality of flat wires to the flocking table by a method of driving or fusing with heat. In addition, the thinner the bristle to be implanted, the thinner it is, the softer it feels when brushing, and the bristle easily penetrates into the interdental area and the gap between the teeth and the gums, improving the cleaning power and harming the gums. It is known that there is an advantage that the property is low.

[0003] However, for example, when the thickness is as small as 120 µm,
A bristle bundle formed by bundling bristles having a thickness of not more than m has low stiffness, too soft feel, and does not provide sufficient durability. By shortening the hair length,
Although the durability can be improved, the elasticity of the bristle bundle is poor, and the bristles are less likely to enter the interdental region or the gap between the teeth and the gums, and the feel is like a deck brush.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush in which a bristle bundle in which bristles having a small thickness are bundled and which has a good feel at the time of cleaning and has sufficient durability is implanted.

[0005]

The present invention has a thickness of 120 μm.
In a toothbrush in which a plurality of bristles bundled with m or less are bundled in a flocking table, each bristle is inserted into an elastic tubular body whose part excluding the tip portion is protruded from the flocking table and is inserted into the elastic cylinder. The above object has been achieved by providing a toothbrush which is planted with its periphery covered by a shape.

In the above description, the bristles preferably have a thickness of 70 to 120 μm, and several to several tens of these are bundled to form each bristle bundle. In addition, the tip of the bristle bundle is a portion of about 2 to 5 mm from the tip of the bristle bundle, and this tip is projected without being covered with the elastic tubular body, so that the brush using the toothbrush can be used. Occasionally, a bristle bristle tip of a length necessary to penetrate into the interdental space or the gap between the teeth and the gums and effectively polish these gaps is secured.

The elastic cylindrical body is made of a resin having elasticity such as resin such as silicone or thermoplastic elastomer, rubber such as styrene-butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber or sponge. You. The elastic tubular body has a mounting hole having an inner peripheral shape substantially equal to the outer peripheral shape of the bristle bundle, and is inserted and mounted so that the bristle bundle is inserted into the mounting hole. The thickness and length of the elastic tubular body are appropriately designed so that the elastic tubular body has a hardness that does not damage the gum when it comes into contact with the gum.

According to the toothbrush of the present invention, each bristle bundle is implanted in a state where the periphery of the bristle bundle in which bristles having a thickness of 120 μm or less are bound except for the tip end portion is covered by the elastic tubular body. Since the weakness of the stiffness of the thin bristles is effectively supplemented by the elastic tubular body that supports the bristle bundle from the periphery, the elastic tubular body can be bent by its elasticity,
At the time of brushing, the brush can be easily deformed along the irregularities of the teeth, and thereby, it is possible to perform brushing with a good feeling of use, with an appropriate stiffness. Further, the bristle bundle is protected by the elastic tubular body, and its durability is improved. Further, the tip portion of the bristle bundle protrudes from the elastic tubular body so as to secure a bristle tip portion of a required length, so that the thin bristles enable brushing with a soft touch. At the same time, the bristle can easily penetrate into the interdental space and the gap between the teeth and the gums, and it becomes possible to polish these gaps effectively.

Further, according to the toothbrush of the present invention, since the bristle diameter is small and soft, the massage can be effectively performed with low harm to gums.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the toothbrush 10 according to the present embodiment has a toothbrush table 14 having a thickness of 120 μm or less on a toothbrush table 14 of a toothbrush main body including a grip portion (not shown), a flocking table 14, and a neck 15 connecting these. A plurality of bristle bundles 12 in which bristles 11 are bundled are planted. Each of the bristle bundles 12 is implanted in a state in which a portion excluding the distal end portion 13 is inserted into an elastic tubular body 16 protruding from the flocking table 14 and covered around by the elastic tubular body 16. ing.

According to the present embodiment, the toothbrush body is made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene or ABS resin, and is arranged vertically and horizontally on the flat surface of the flocking table 14 as shown in FIG. A plurality (22 in this embodiment) of elastic tubular bodies 16 are provided so as to protrude over substantially the entire surface of the flocking table 14.

The elastic tubular body 16 is made of, for example, silicone resin, has a height of about 5 to 11 mm, and a thickness of 0.3 to 1.
It is a cylindrical member of about 0 mm with a mounting hole 17 for a bristle formed in the center. In the present embodiment, the cross-sectional shape is circular, but various cross-sectional shapes such as a polygon such as a triangle, a parallelogram or a hexagon, and a glasses can be adopted. Each elastic tubular body 16 is
When the toothbrush 10 is formed by aligning the mounting holes 17 with the flocking holes 18 (see FIG. 3) formed in advance at predetermined positions and integrally protruding the flocking table 14, respectively. And the bristle bundle 12
Can be inserted into the mounting hole 17 from the back side through the flocked hole 18. In addition, each elastic cylindrical body 16 is integrally joined to the flocking table 14 by a method of fusing with heat or the like.

According to the present embodiment, the bristles 11 constituting the bristle bundle 12 are made of a synthetic resin such as nylon and have a thickness of, for example, 70 to 120 μm. A bristle bundle 12 is formed.

The bristle bundle 12 is a bundle having a thickness that can be inserted and mounted so as to fit into the mounting hole 17 of the elastic tubular body 16 by bundling the bristles 11.
From the surface of the flocking table 14. It has a length of about 7.0 to 16.0 mm. Then, each bristle bundle 12 is inserted into the mounting hole 17 from the back side of the flocking table 14 through the flocking hole 18 (see FIG. 3), and the bristles bundles 2.0 to
The portion excluding the distal end portion 13 having a length of about 5.0 mm is planted on the flocking table 14 in a state where the periphery thereof is covered with the elastic tubular body 16. Therefore, the tip portion 13 of the bristle bundle 12 protrudes from the elastic tubular body 16 as a bristle tip portion having a length of about 2.0 to 5.0 mm.

According to the toothbrush 10 of the present embodiment, each bristle bundle 12 is partially covered with the elastic tubular body 16 by the method shown in FIGS. Are respectively planted on the flocking table 14. That is, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), each bristle bundle 12 is made to protrude a predetermined length from the back surface side of the flocking table 14 into the mounting hole 17 of the elastic tubular body 16 through the flocking hole 18. After being inserted in the state, the remaining portion on the back side is
9 melts. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the molten portion is formed by a mold heater 20 and solidified, so that a portion of the bristle bundle 12 excluding the distal end portion 13 is formed as shown in FIG. 3 (c). Elastic cylindrical body 1
The toothbrush 10 on which the respective bristle bundles 12 are implanted in a state where the surroundings are covered by 6 is quickly formed.

According to the toothbrush 10 of this embodiment, the bristle bundle 1 in which the bristles 11 having a small thickness are bundled.
In spite of the planting of No. 2, the feel at the time of cleaning is good and sufficient durability can be obtained. That is, in the toothbrush 10 of the present embodiment, each bristle bundle 12 is implanted in a state in which a portion of the bristle bundle 12 in which the thin bristles 11 are bundled, except for the distal end portion 13, is covered by the elastic tubular body 16. Therefore, the weakness of the stiffness due to the thin bristles 11 is effectively supplemented by the elastic tubular body 16 supporting the bristle bundle 12 from the periphery, and the elastic tubular body 16 can be bent by its elasticity. , When brushing, can easily deform along the unevenness of the teeth,
These make it possible to perform the brushing with a good feeling of use with an appropriate strength of the stiffness. In addition, the bristle bundle 12 is protected by the elastic tubular body 16 and its durability is improved. Further, the tip portion 13 of the bristle bundle 12
Since the bristle 11 protrudes from the elastic tubular body 16 so as to secure a bristle tip portion of a required length, the brush can be brushed with a soft touch by the thin bristle 11, and the interdental portion and the like can be obtained. Bristle 11 can easily enter gaps such as between teeth and gums, and these gaps can be effectively polished.

Further, according to the toothbrush 10 of the present embodiment, since the bristles have a small diameter and are soft, the harmfulness to gums is low, and massage can be performed effectively.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, the bristles constituting the bristle bundle may be either monofilaments or multifilaments, and pig hair, horse hair, etc. other than those made of resin can also be used. Also, the elastic tubular body is
It can also be formed using a resin other than silicone resin,
It can also be formed using other elastic materials such as rubber. Furthermore, the elastic cylindrical body is shown in FIGS.
Other cylindrical shapes such as a trapezoidal cylindrical shape, a rectangular cylindrical shape, a heart-shaped cylindrical shape and the like as shown in (d) can also be adopted.

[0019]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the toothbrush of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples and Comparative Examples.

Example 1 Toothbrush 10 of the above embodiment
About the toothbrush of Example 1 which has a substantially similar configuration to
The durability, feeling of use, and feeling of reaching the interdental region were evaluated. In addition, 100 μm (4 m
Each bristle bundle was implanted by using a bristle of il) and projecting a tip portion of the bristle from the elastic cylindrical body by 3 mm. The elastic cylindrical body is made of Shin-Etsu Silicon LIMS K
E1940-50 (trade name, manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicon Co., Ltd.) was used to form a cylinder having a height of 8 mm, an inner diameter of 1.6 mm, and a wall thickness of 0.5 mm. Table 1 shows the evaluation results.

[Comparative Example 1] The durability of the toothbrush of Comparative Example 1 having the same configuration as that of the toothbrush of Example 1 except that the portion of each bristle bundle other than the tip portion was not covered with an elastic tubular body. , Feeling of use, and feeling of reaching the interdental region were evaluated. Table 1 shows the evaluation results.

[0022]

[Table 1]

The evaluation method was as follows. Seven subjects used the toothbrushes of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 for one month, respectively.
"◎" when 6 or more of the respondents answered "good", 4 out of 7 respondents
"~" When 5 or 5 people answered "good", "△" when 2 or 3 people answered "good", and "x" when 1 or less answered good. , Feeling of use, and feeling of reaching the interdental region were evaluated.

From the evaluation results shown in Table 1, according to the toothbrush of Example 1 according to the present invention, good results can be obtained in all of durability, feeling of use, and feeling of reaching the interdental portion. found.

[0025]

According to the toothbrush of the present invention, the brush feels good when brushing and has sufficient durability despite the fact that a bristle bundle in which bristles having a small thickness are bundled is implanted. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a main part of the toothbrush according to one embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from an axial direction of the toothbrush.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are cross-sectional views, and FIG. 3 (c) is a front view, for explaining a situation in which bristle bundles are planted on a flocking table.

FIGS. 4A to 4D are perspective views showing another embodiment of the elastic tubular body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Toothbrush 11 Bristle 12 Bristle bundle 13 Tip part 14 Flocked table 15 Neck 16 Elastic cylindrical body 17 Mounting hole 18 Flocked hole 19 Heater 20 Mold heater

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A toothbrush in which a plurality of bristles bundles each having a thickness of 120 μm or less bundled are planted on a flocking table, wherein each bristle bundle has a portion excluding a tip end portion protruding from the flocking table. A toothbrush that is inserted into the body and is implanted in a state where its periphery is covered by the elastic tubular body. 2. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein said elastic tubular body is made of resin or rubber.