Toothbrush

Abstract

To provide a toothbrush which suppresses shortage and excessive application of a dentifrice.SOLUTION: A toothbrush 1 comprises a head part 4 on which multiple implantation holes 10 are provided on an implantation surface, and a hair bundle 12 formed of multiple filaments is implanted on each implantation hole 10. The hair bundles 12 are formed of hair bundles 12a of a first color and hair bundles 12b of a second color whose filament colors are different from each other. The hair bundles 12a of the first color are implanted in the implantation holes 10 in a specific length range from the foremost end side or the rearmost end side of the head part 4 on the multiple implantation holes 10 toward a rear end side or a fore end side thereof. The hair bundles 12b of the second color are implanted in the implantation holes 10 other than the implantation holes 10 on which the hair bundles 12a of the first color are implanted. The specific length is set to a length at which, when a dentifrice stored in a tube body is extruded to outside from the tube body, the dentifrice is extruded by a proper amount for a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a toothbrush. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a toothbrush has been proposed as described in Patent Document 1. The toothbrush described in Patent Document 1 has a bristle section in which a plurality of filament bundles are planted at the front end of the toothbrush body, a front end bundle group and a rear end bundle group each consisting of at least two or more filament bundles at approximately right angles to the longitudinal direction of the bristle section at the front and rear ends of the longitudinal direction of the bristle section, end edge bundle groups along both longitudinal ends, respectively, and an intermediate bundle group midway between the front and rear end bundle groups and the end edge bundle groups, with each bundle group being planted with filament bundles of different colors so that each bundle group can be easily distinguished. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3089605 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, many toothpastes contain fluoride as an ingredient for preventing dental caries. However, when brushing the mouth, the fluoride is diluted by saliva and the fluoride concentration decreases. If the fluoride concentration decreases, the caries prevention effect may decrease. In addition, there are quite a few people who believe that applying too much toothpaste is not good, and it is thought that such people apply a relatively small amount of toothpaste to their toothbrushes. For these reasons, the current situation is that many people do not have an appropriate concentration of fluoride in their oral cavity. On the other hand, some research has shown that excessive intake of fluoride by applying too much toothpaste is not desirable. For this reason, in order to maintain an appropriate fluoride concentration, it is necessary to apply an appropriate amount of toothpaste according to age to the toothbrush in advance.

[0005] For example, parents often assist young children when they brush their teeth, which helps prevent them from using too much toothpaste. However, when brushing their teeth alone, they may not know what the appropriate amount of toothpaste is, even though there is an appropriate amount for each age group, and may end up putting too much or too little toothpaste on the toothbrush. Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a toothbrush that allows parents and children to check the amount of toothpaste they need, thereby avoiding the reduced caries prevention effect caused by a lack of fluoride and the risk of ingesting excessive amounts.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can solve such problems and prevent insufficient or excessive application of dentifrice. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.

[0008] (1) A toothbrush (e.g., toothbrush 1) including a head portion (e.g., head portion 4) and a bristle bundle (e.g., bristle bundle 12) extending perpendicularly from a plane of the head portion, The hair bundles are made up of a first color hair bundle (e.g., hair bundle 12a) and a second color hair bundle (e.g., hair bundle 12b) that are different in color from each other, The hair bundles of the first color are arranged in a range of a specific length (for example, length T) from the most distal end or most proximal end of the head portion toward the proximal end or distal end, the second color tufts are arranged in an area of ​​the plane other than an area in which the first color tufts are arranged, The specific length is set to a length that provides an appropriate amount of dentifrice for a user when the dentifrice contained in the tube body is pushed out from the tube body.

[0009] According to (1), the length of the area of ​​the first color bristles is an indicator of the area where toothpaste is applied, and by applying toothpaste from a tube to the first color bristles, the user can apply the appropriate amount of toothpaste to the toothbrush. This makes it possible to prevent insufficient or excessive application of toothpaste.

[0010] (2) A toothbrush in which the size of the head portion and the specific length are set according to the target age of the toothbrush, and the specific length is shortened as the target age becomes younger.

[0011] According to (2), toothpaste can be applied to the toothbrush in an amount appropriate for the intended age group, which makes it possible to prevent insufficient or excessive use of toothpaste.

[0012] (3) A toothbrush, wherein the first color is black and the second color is white.

[0013] According to (3), by using black as the first color and white as the second color, even if the user has color vision deficiency, the difference in the colors of the bristles can be easily distinguished. Moreover, toothpaste is generally white, and white has a clean image. Since white generally has a clean image and has a large brightness difference with black, the user is more likely to be conscious of placing the white toothpaste on the black bristles, and can place the toothpaste on the black bristles reliably. This makes it possible to prevent insufficient or excessive application of toothpaste. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a toothbrush that can prevent insufficient or excessive application of dentifrice. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a head portion 4 of a toothbrush 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a side view showing a state in which toothpaste is placed on the head portion 4 of FIG. 1. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a head portion 4 of a toothbrush 1 according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a head portion 4 of a toothbrush 1 according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a head portion 4 of a toothbrush 1 according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a head portion 4 of a toothbrush 1 according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a head portion 4 of a toothbrush 1 according to a modified example of an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] The toothbrush of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows a head portion 4 of a toothbrush 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, where Figure 1(a) is a plan view and Figure 1(b) is a side view.

[0018] The toothbrush 1 comprises a handle portion 2 , a neck portion 3 , a head portion 4 and a bristle bundle 12 . The handle portion 2 is configured in a long rod shape that can be held in one hand. The neck portion 3 is a portion that connects the tip of the handle portion 2 and the head portion 4 . The head portion 4 is formed in a generally rectangular flat plate shape with the corners removed in a plan view, and is configured to a size that allows it to be inserted into the mouth of a user. Note that the plan view shape of the head portion 4 shown in Fig. 1 is merely an example, and other shapes may be used.

[0019] The head portion 4 has a flat bristle implantation surface 5, and a plurality of bristle implantation holes 10 are formed in this bristle implantation surface 5. A bristle bundle 12, which is a bundle of a plurality of filaments bound into a substantially cylindrical shape, is implanted in each of the bristle implantation holes 10. Therefore, the bristle bundle 12 extends perpendicularly from the bristle implantation surface 5.

[0020] The bristle implantation holes 10 and bristle bundles 12 are arranged in a matrix on the bristle implantation surface 5. In the example shown in Fig. 1, eight bristle implantation holes 10 and bristle bundles 12 are arranged along an imaginary line extending in the longitudinal direction (hereinafter simply referred to as the longitudinal direction) of the handle portion 2 and the head portion 4, and these eight bristle implantation holes 10 and bristle bundles 12 are arranged in three rows in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as the width direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. A certain length of space is provided between adjacent bristle implantation holes 10, 10 and bristle bundles 12, 12 in the longitudinal and width directions.

[0021] The hair bundle 12 is composed of a first color hair bundle 12a and a second color hair bundle 12b, which have filament colors different from each other. In this embodiment, the hair bundle 12a is composed of a red filament, and the hair bundle 12b is composed of a white filament. That is, in this embodiment, filaments of two colors are used. The colors of the hair bundle 12a and the hair bundle 12b can be appropriately selected as long as they are a visually distinguishable color combination, but it is more preferable that the color combination is distinguishable even if the user has color vision deficiency. The colors of the hair bundle 12a and the hair bundle 12b may be transparent or semi-transparent.

[0022] The hair bundles 12a are arranged in the hair implantation hole 10 on the rear end side of the head part 4, and the hair bundles 12b are arranged outside the hair bundles 12a, i.e., in the hair implantation hole 10 on the rear end side of the head part 4. As a result, the head part 4 is formed with an area on the rear end side where multiple hair bundles 12a are arranged (hereinafter referred to as red area R) and an area on the rear end side where multiple hair bundles 12b are arranged other than the red area R (hereinafter referred to as white area W).

[0023] The red area R of the head part 4 is an indicator of the range where the toothpaste is placed. Here, when the length of the toothpaste when an appropriate amount of toothpaste is pushed out from a general tube with a diameter of about 8 mm is T, the bristles 12a are planted in the bristles 10 that exist in the range of length T from the rear end side end of the bristles 10 located at the most rear end side on the bristles planting surface 5 toward the tip side. The bristles 12b are planted in the other bristles 10. Note that the dentifrice used contains fluoride as a caries prevention component. Specifically, when the target age for using the toothbrush 1 is 6 years old or older, the appropriate amount is a length of about 15 mm to 20 mm from the general tube. According to the toothbrush 1 of this embodiment, which is intended for use by 6 years old or older, the bristles 12a are planted in the bristles 10 that exist in the range of 15 mm from the rear end side end of the most rear end bristles 10 toward the tip side.

[0024] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, by placing toothpaste from a tube on the bristle bundle 12a from the rear end to the front end of the red region R of the head part 4, the user can apply an appropriate amount of toothpaste to the toothbrush 1. In other words, it is possible to prevent the amount of toothpaste applied to the toothbrush 1 from being insufficient or excessive. This makes it possible to maintain the fluoride concentration in the oral cavity at an appropriate value, and the caries prevention effect can be maintained. In this embodiment, since the length of the red region R in the longitudinal direction is approximately 15 mm, even if the toothpaste slightly exceeds the front end of the red region R (for example, within 5 mm), it is possible to apply an appropriate amount of toothpaste to the toothbrush. Note that even if 20 mm of toothpaste is applied to the toothbrush, rinsing once is sufficient. This is because rinsing too many times may wash away the fluoride attached to the teeth during toothbrushing, which may reduce the caries prevention effect.

[0025] When an imaginary line (line T1 in FIG. 1) indicating a portion of length T from the rear end of bristle implantation hole 10 toward the tip side passes through a part of bristle implantation hole 10, bristle bundle 12a is implanted in that bristle implantation hole 10. Therefore, the imaginary line indicating the portion of length T belongs to red region R. As a result, the tip of red region R is positioned further toward the tip side than the imaginary line indicating the portion of length T, so that an appropriate amount of toothpaste can be applied to toothbrush 1 and the amount of toothpaste applied to toothbrush 1 is reduced.

[0026] According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the red region R is disposed on the rear end side of the head portion 4, but the red region R may be disposed on the tip side of the head portion 4 as shown in FIG.

[0027] Incidentally, the toothbrush 1 shown in Fig. 1 is intended for use by people aged 6 and over, but as the intended use age decreases, the appropriate amount of toothpaste is reduced accordingly, and the length of toothpaste pushed out of the tube becomes shorter than that for people aged 6 and over. For example, for people aged 2 to 5, the appropriate length T of toothpaste is about 5 mm.

[0028] Fig. 4 shows the head portion 4 of the toothbrush 1 for users aged 2 to 5. Fig. 4(a) is a front view, and Fig. 4(b) is a side view.

[0029] Toothbrushes 1 intended for use by 2-5 year olds have a smaller head 4 and fewer bristle bundles 12 implanted in the head 4 than toothbrushes 1 intended for use by 6 year olds and older. Bristle bundles 12a are implanted in bristle implantation holes 10 located at the rearmost end of the bristle implantation surface 5 of head 4 of toothbrushes 1 intended for use by 2-5 year olds, within a range of 5 mm from the rear end end of the bristle implantation hole 10 toward the tip end.

[0030] This makes it easy to apply about 5 mm of toothpaste from the tube onto the bristle bundle 12a from the rear end to the front end of the red region R of the head part 4, and allows an appropriate amount of toothpaste for a user aged 2 to 5 to be applied to the toothbrush 1. This makes it easy to apply an appropriate amount of toothpaste for a user aged 2 to 5 to the toothbrush 1. In addition, the diameter of the tube containing toothpaste for children (e.g., 4 to 6 mm) is set smaller than the diameter of the tube containing toothpaste for general use (e.g., 8 mm). Here, since parents often assist users aged 2 to 5 in brushing their teeth, the caregiver can apply an appropriate amount of toothpaste to the toothbrush 1 by applying about 5 mm of toothpaste from the tube onto the toothbrush 1.

[0031] According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the red region R is disposed on the rear end side of the head portion 4, but similar to the toothbrush 1 shown in FIG. 2, the red region R may be disposed on the tip side of the head portion 4.

[0032] Furthermore, the toothbrush 1 for use by 0-2 year olds has a smaller head 4 and fewer bristle bundles 12 implanted in the head 4 than the toothbrush 1 for use by 2-5 year olds. In this case as well, on the bristle implantation surface 5 of the head 4 of the toothbrush 1 for use by 0-2 year olds, the bristle bundles 12a are implanted in the bristle implantation holes 10 that exist in a range of a length T from the rear end side end of the bristle implantation hole 10 located at the rearmost end toward the tip end. This allows the toothbrush 1 to be applied with an appropriate amount of toothpaste for a user aged 0-2 years.

[0033] According to the present embodiment configured as described above, the bristle bundle 12 is composed of bristle bundles 12a of a first color (red) and bristle bundles 12b of a second color (white), and a red region R composed of a plurality of bristle bundles 12a and a white region W composed of a plurality of bristle bundles 12b are formed in the head part 4. The length along the longitudinal direction of this red region R serves as an indicator for applying an appropriate amount of dentifrice to the toothbrush 1, and it is possible to apply an appropriate amount of dentifrice to the toothbrush 1 by placing the dentifrice on the red region R along the longitudinal direction. In this way, the user can easily determine the appropriate amount of dentifrice by looking at the red region R, and it is possible to prevent insufficient or excessive application of dentifrice. This makes it possible to avoid a decrease in the caries prevention effect due to a lack of fluoride and the risk of ingesting an excessive amount of fluoride.

[0034] In addition, since the bristle bundle 12 has only two colors, that is, either the red area R or the white area W, it becomes easier for the user to determine the appropriate amount of toothpaste.

[0035] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the head part 4 is substantially rectangular and the arrangement of the bristle bundles 12 is in a matrix, but the shape of the head part 4 and the arrangement of the bristle bundles 12 may be different. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the head part 4 may have a tapered tip and the number of bristle bundles 12 in the width direction increases from the tip to the rear end. Then, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the bristle bundles 12a are planted in the bristle planting holes 10 belonging to the range of length T at the rear end side of the head part 4 to form a red region R. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the bristle bundles 12a are planted in the bristle planting holes 10 belonging to the range of length T at the tip side of the head part 4 to form a red region R. This makes it possible to apply an appropriate amount of dentifrice to the toothbrush 1 by placing dentifrice in the range of the red region R of the head part 4.

[0036] According to the above-described embodiment, the hair bundles 12a are implanted in all of the hair implantation holes 10 that belong to the range of the length T to form the red region R, but as long as the user can determine the range of the length T by visually checking the hair bundles 12a of the head unit 4, the visual confirmation mode of the red region R may be other modes. For example, as shown in Fig. 6(a), the hair bundles 12a may be arranged on the outer periphery of the head unit 4, and the hair bundles 12b may be arranged inside the hair bundles 12a, or as shown in Fig. 6(b), the hair bundles 12a may be arranged inside the head unit 4, and the hair bundles 12b may be arranged outside the hair bundles 12a.

[0037] Furthermore, according to the toothbrush 1 shown in Fig. 1, the bristle bundles 12 are arranged in a matrix, but as shown in Fig. 7, the toothbrush 1 may be applied in which the row of bristle bundles 12a along the inner longitudinal direction and the row of bristle bundles 12a along the outer longitudinal direction are offset by half the length of the interval between adjacent bristle bundles 12a, 12a. Specifically, the bristle bundles 12a are planted in the bristle implantation holes 10 arranged in the range from the imaginary line of the outer edge of the bristle implantation hole 10 at the rearmost or most distal end to the imaginary line at the portion of length T and in the bristle implantation holes 10 crossed by the imaginary line, and the bristle bundles 12b are planted in the bristle implantation holes 10 outside this range. This makes it possible to apply an appropriate amount of dentifrice to the toothbrush 1 by placing dentifrice in the range of the bristle bundles 12a of the head part 4.

[0038] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the appropriate length T is set based on the length of toothpaste contained in a general-purpose tube with a diameter of 8 mm, but in the case of a child's toothbrush 1, the appropriate length T may be set based on the length of children's toothpaste contained in a tube with a diameter of 4 to 6 mm.

[0039] In the above embodiment, the bristle bundle 12a is made of a red filament and the bristle bundle 12b is made of a white filament, but the combination of the colors of the bristle bundle 12a and the bristle bundle 12b may be other combinations as long as the range of the length T can be distinguished. In particular, by making the bristle bundle 12a a black filament and the bristle bundle 12b a white filament, the difference in color between the bristle bundle 12a and the bristle bundle 12b can be easily distinguished even if the user has color vision abnormality. Moreover, since the bristle bundle 12a is black and the bristle bundle 12b is white, the user is more likely to be conscious of applying white toothpaste to the area of ​​the black bristle bundle 12a rather than the area of ​​the white bristle bundle 12b, since toothpaste is generally white, white has a clean image, and has a large brightness difference with black. This makes it possible to reliably apply toothpaste to the area of ​​the black bristle bundle 12a, and it becomes possible to apply an appropriate amount of toothpaste to the toothbrush 1. If the filament is colorless and transparent, it can be treated as white, and the bristle bundle 12a may be black and the bristle bundle 12b may be colorless and transparent.

[0040] The black color referred to here includes so-called blackish colors. For example, dark black, black, ivory black, crow feather color, black charcoal, black, lamp black, wet feather color, wet crow, rouge / wax color, jet black, purple black, ink color, iron black, etc., as well as dark blue colors such as dark blue, bluish brown, blue ink, navy blue, navy blue, navy blue, midnight blue, navy, navy blue, and dark blue, and in the L*a*b* color space standardized by CIE1976, if L* is in the range of 0 to 29.0, a* is in the range of -4.4 to 13.0, and b* is in the range of -32 to 9.5, it can be applied as the color of the hair bundle 12a. In the L*a*b* color space, lightness is represented by L*, and chromaticity indicating hue and saturation is represented by a* and b*. The same is true for white, and so-called whitish colors are included. In the L*a*b* color space, any color with L* of 90.0 or more can be used as the color of the hair bundle 12b. It is preferable that the first color and the second color are in a relationship of opposite colors.

[0041] In the above embodiment, the toothbrush is described as having filament bristles planted in the head portion, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to a toothbrush having rubber bristles planted in the head portion. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to a toothbrush having bristles planted in the head portion, but may be a toothbrush in which the bristles are molded by insert molding or the like and are integrally formed with the head portion.

[0042] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the hair bundles 12 are color-coded, but the head portion 10 may be color-coded to match the color of the hair bundles 12, and further, the length of the hair bundles 12b may be changed relative to the length of the color-coded hair bundles 12a to divide the area.

[0043] It should be noted that within the scope of the concept of the present invention, a person skilled in the art may come up with various modifications and alterations. It is understood that such modifications and alterations fall within the scope of the present invention. For example, even if a person skilled in the art appropriately adds, deletes, or modifies the design of the above-described embodiment, or adds, omits, or modifies the conditions of a process, these modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present invention as long as they include the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 Toothbrush 2 Handle 3 Neck 4 Head section 10. Hair transplant hole 12, 12a, 12b Hair bundle

Claims

1. A toothbrush comprising a head portion and a tuft of bristles extending perpendicularly from a plane of the head portion, The hair bundles are made up of a first color hair bundle and a second color hair bundle that are different from each other in color, the hair bundles of the first color are arranged within a specific length range from the most distal end or the most proximal end of the head portion toward the proximal end or the tip end, the second color tufts are arranged in an area on the plane other than an area in which the first color tufts are arranged, The specific length is set to a length that provides an appropriate amount of dentifrice for a user when the dentifrice contained in the tube body is pushed out from the tube body.

2. 2. The toothbrush of claim 1, The size of the head portion and the specific length are set according to a target age of the toothbrush, and the specific length is made shorter for a younger target age.

3. 2. The toothbrush of claim 1, The toothbrush, wherein the first color is black and the second color is white.

Images