WO2013038237A1

WO2013038237A1 - A toothbrush

Info

Publication number: WO2013038237A1
Application number: PCT/IB2011/054454
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nileththi Janaka WICKRAMASINGHE
Original assignee: Wickramasinghe Nileththi Janaka
Priority date: 2011-09-15
Filing date: 2011-10-10
Publication date: 2013-03-21
Also published as: IN2014CN02842A

Abstract

A toothbrush head (1) having a protective casing (4) and or tubing made out of a non - irritable substance filled with a non - irritable substance such as air, gas, gel or liquid and permanently inbuilt to the toothbrush head or a tube fixed separately to the brush head by means of a groove in the brush head. The protective casing or tubing will act as an impact absorber and or cushion on the gums and prevent the gum from direct impact with the brush head, thereby protecting the gum and preventing painful gums due to impact or gum bleeding and injuries.

Description

A Toothbrush

Description

The types and brands of toothbrushes available in the market are many and one would think that choosing the correct toothbrush would be to select the strength of the bristle used in all standard toothbrushes. The user fails to realise that a toothbrush should not only do the function of cleaning one's teeth but also not damage and harm the gums by exposing the gums to direct impact from the hard brush head.

The present application has considered both functions of cleaning teeth and protecting the gums and soft tissues of the oral cavity from brush head impact. The said toothbrush has an inbuilt flexible tubing around the head and a groove around its head which will accommodate a tube like rubber or non-latex cover on the toothbrush head which will contain one of the following substances: air, gas, gel or liquid. The same functionality could be achieved by moulding the modification to the brush head during the manufacturing process and the casing will contain air, gas, gel or liquid.

The invention will be described by using drawings, Figs 1 for embodiment one , Figs 2 for embodiment two and Figs 3 for both embodiment one and two with the numbers, 1 to 13 identifying the parts that need to be described in order to explain the functionality.

The complete toothbrush head is shown by 1, the casing as per embodiment one and the tubing as per embodiment two can be introduced into the hard toothbrush head 5 via two ways.

The casing and tubing as well as the filled substance be it air or a gas or a gel or a liquid will be non toxic to humans.

Embodiment one

The casing 4 would be moulded from or into the hard toothbrush head 5 or built into the hard toothbrush head 5. Not only does the casing cover the sides of the hard toothbrush head 5 as shown by 4 it also covers the base of the brush head 6 as shown in Figs 1, to be one part, though the elasticity and the softness of the casing would differ from the hard brush head 5 and handle 3, as mentioned below to achieve its functionality. The hard toothbrush head 5 shall have an inbuilt flexible hollow casing 4 as shown in Figs 1 around the hard toothbrush head 5 and the brush head base 6, containing a non irritable substance such as air, gas, gel or liquid which will act as a cushion against the impact from the hard toothbrush head 5 on the gums and soft tissues of the oral cavity. The said casing 4 will be made out of different material as that of the tooth brush head 5 and handle 3 in order to establish elasticity and flexibility and the casing will protrude out of the actual head as shown by 4, 8 and 13 in Figs 1 and Figs 3. The cushion space between the end margin of the hard plastic head 7 and the gum contact end of the air/liquid/gas/gel filled casing 8 or moulding 8 can be adjusted according to the manufacturer's requirements. Bristles 2 would be fixed to brush head 5 as per conventional tooth brushes.

Embodiment two

The tubing 9 will be made separately and would be fixed to the concave groove in the brush head 11.

Embodiment two of the toothbrush head, a groove 11 can be made in the hard toothbrush head 5 wherein flexible tubing 9 will be fixed around the head 10 and will contain a non irritable substance such as air, gas, liquid or gel which will act as a cushion against the impact from the hard toothbrush head 5 on the gums and soft tissues of the oral cavity. The groove 11 of the hard toothbrush head 5 will have a depth of approximately 3mm - 5mm, (this measurement of 11 can be altered in accordance to the shape and size of the toothbrush and also the shape of the groove can vary from a V shape to a U shape or any other shape that accommodates the tube).

Toothbrush heads generally take the shape of a U or circular shape and therefore the groove 11 carved into the head will vary depending on shape and size of the brush head. The groove 11 in the brush head will be a hollow cavity capable of accepting the air, gas, gel or liquid filled tubing 9 as shown by 10 into it. The cushion space between the end margin of the hard plastic head 7 and the gum contact end 8 of the air, gas, gel or liquid filled tubing can be adjusted according to the manufacturer's requirements. Bristles 2 would be fixed to brush head 5 as per conventional toothbrushes. The gum protective casing and or Tubing for the toothbrush

The gum protective cover of the toothbrush in the first embodiment can be a casing around the head and will be flexible and inbuilt into the hard toothbrush head 5 filled with air, gas, gel or liquid as shown in Fig 1 and Fig 3.

The second embodiment of the toothbrush head will be a flexible tubing filled with air, gel, gas or liquid and sealed from both ends as shown by 9, fixed into the concave groove of the brush head 11 as shown in Fig 2 and Fig 3. The length and the diameter of tubing 9 will depend on the length, diameter and the shape of the toothbrush head.

The air, gel, gas or liquid used inside will be a non irritating substance to gums .The air, gel, gas or liquid filled tubing and the casing as per embodiment one and two will protrude out of the brush head after fixing onto the groove around the toothbrush head or being built around it as shown by 8 in Figl, Fig2 and Fig 3.

Therefore the air, gel, gas or liquid filled rubber/non latex tubing 10 or casing 4 around the hard toothbrush head 5 of the toothbrush will act as an impact absorber and an impact protector and will not damage the gums in your mouth and will prevent gum trauma and bleeding that leads to gum boils, by being the first and the last soft surface to be in touch with the gums and other soft tissues in the mouth as shown by 7 and 8.

The gap between 7 and 8 filled with air, gel, gas or liquid would act as an impact absorber and prevent all hard impacts directed towards the gum and other soft tissues in the oral cavity during usage (brushing teeth).

Since the casing or the tubing as per embodiment one and two covers all margins as well as the hard tip of the toothbrush head 12, it prevents traumatic impact inside the oral cavity.

Accordingly, the present invention overcomes the difficulties and problems associated with the prior art toothbrushes by providing a toothbrush that will have an inbuilt flexible casing containing air, gel, gas or liquid which will cushion the outer areas of the toothbrush head that impacts the gum as well as the soft tissues in the oral cavity, whilst the tubing fixed onto the groove of the hard toothbrush head 5 filled with air, gel, gas or liquid will act as a cushion to protect the gum from direct impact from the hard brush head unlike the hard plastic/rubber toothbrush head 5 which is present in conventional toothbrushes in the market. Embodiment one will cover the base of the toothbrush head 6 and the sides as shown in Fig 1 whereas embodiment two covers the sides of the toothbrush head as shown in Fig 2.

Prior Art

The current construction of toothbrushes fail to protect the gum from direct impact from the hard plastic/rubber toothbrush head, thus leading to gum bleeding and pain which will later lead to painful gum boils and may even cause discomfort leading to difficulty and discomfort while eating and talking.

In PCT/JP2010/067535 a toothbrush is made with resin having a lower hardness than the material of a base expecting less impact and to achieve an effect of massaging the gum. The said construction too has not prevented the impact or damage to the gums as the plastic still impacts the gums and damages the gums.

In another toothbrush marketed by Aqua Fresh the toothbrush contains a softer plastic and a movable head but does not prevent gum damage due to the hardness of the brush head. Neither does it prevent trauma that could be caused by the brush head base.

Claims

1. A toothbrush, comprising;

toothbrush head; having

an inbuilt flexible hollow casing around the toothbrush head and the toothbrush base.

2. The inbuilt hollow casing according to claim 1 wherein the material used on the casing will be a flexible substance to that of the toothbrush head.

3. The inbuilt flexible hollow casing claimed in 1 shall contain a non irritant substance to cushion and protect the gum from hard impacts

4. A toothbrush comprising:

a grooved head; and

a protective sealed flexible tubing around the head.

5. The protective sealed tubing according to claim 4 containing a non irritant substance to cushion and protect the gum from hard impacts.

6. The inbuilt flexible hollow casing according to claim 1 , wherein the casing will protrude out of the brush head making the casing the first and the last surface in contact with the gum.

7. The sealed tubing according to claim 4, wherein the protective tubing will protrude out of the brush head making the tubing the first and the last surface in contact with the gum.