Ultra-fine bristle multi-purpose toothbrush for cleaning teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of the teeth

Abstract

To provide a multi-toothbrush with ultra-fine bristles that has a cleansing effect on the tongue, gums, etc. while fully maintaining the function of a toothbrush. [Solution] A multi-toothbrush 10 with ultra-fine bristles for brushing teeth, tongue, gums and the backs of teeth, which comprises a handle 12, a brush holder 14 that is wider than the maximum width of the handle and is provided at the tip of the handle, and a brush part 16 that is wider than the maximum width of the handle and is provided on one side of the brush holder, and the brush part is made of a densely packed bundle of ultra-fine resin threads with a small diameter.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a multi-purpose toothbrush with ultra-fine bristles for cleaning teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of the teeth. [Background technology]

[0002] The idea that keeping the oral cavity clean is effective for maintaining good health is becoming more widespread, and it is important to brush the teeth and between the teeth to prevent cavities, and it is also considered important to keep the tongue as clean as possible to prevent the worsening of bad breath caused by the proliferation of bacteria, etc. From this perspective, in addition to the use of conventional toothbrushes, tongue brushes that scrape the surface of the tongue (see, for example, Patent Document 1) are also known, as are tongue brushes that place nonwoven fabric on the tongue (see, for example, Patent Document 2). There are also known oral brushes that function as both toothbrushes and tongue brushes (see, for example, Patent Document 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Published Utility Model No. 61-151526 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 7429476 [Patent Document 3] Utility Model Registration No. 3231765 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, conventional tongue brushes and oral brushes each suffer from the following technical problems. To effectively clean the tongue using a tongue brush that scrapes the surface of the tongue, as in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to scrape out plaque between the small, rough protrusions (lingual papillae) on the dorsum of the tongue. However, when a caregiver cleans the tongue of an elderly person or someone requiring care, it can be difficult to operate the tongue brush and apply pressure properly, making conventional tongue brushes difficult to use. Furthermore, tongue brushes that place a nonwoven fabric on the tongue, as in Patent Document 2, while advantageous in terms of scraping out plaque, can sometimes detach from the main body during tongue cleaning, potentially causing problems such as choking. Furthermore, the oral brush in Patent Document 3 requires a rotating brush, which requires a drive unit, such as a motor, to rotate the brush, and also requires additional mechanisms for charging and other functions.

[0005] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a multi-purpose toothbrush with ultra-fine bristles that can fully maintain its functionality as a toothbrush while also providing a cleansing effect on areas such as the tongue and gums. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush of the present invention for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth is characterized by having a handle, a brush holder that is wider than the maximum width of the handle and is located at the tip of the handle, and a brush part that is wider than the maximum width of the handle and is located on one side of the brush holder, and the brush part is made of a tightly packed bundle of ultra-fine resin threads with a diameter of 0.1 mm or less.

[0007] In one embodiment of the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush of the present invention, the brush holder is provided with through holes that penetrate one side and the other side during manufacturing, corresponding to the width of the brush part, and the ultra-fine resin threads are densely packed and bundled and inserted into the through holes, and a fixing resin piece is adhered to the other side to form a brush part that protrudes from one side of the brush holder.

[0008] Furthermore, in the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush of the embodiment of the present invention, uneven portions can be formed on the surface of the resin piece, the brush portion can be fan-shaped or rectangular, nano-sized metal microparticles can be dispersed in the ultra-fine resin threads that make up the brush portion, and a tapered portion can be formed at the outermost periphery of the brush portion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, a multi-purpose toothbrush with ultra-fine bristles for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of teeth. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic side view showing the main parts of the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush of the first embodiment for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 shows the manufacturing process of a multi-toothbrush with ultra-fine bristles for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth according to a first embodiment of the present invention, where (a) shows the process of densely bundling ultra-fine resin threads, (b) shows the process of inserting the ultra-fine resin threads into the through holes in the brush holder, (c) shows the process of adhering resin pieces to the ultra-fine resin threads, and (d) shows the state after the clamping member has been released. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of use of the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush of the first embodiment of the present invention for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth, showing the tongue being brushed. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of use of the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of teeth according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing the state of brushing the back of teeth. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of use of the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of teeth according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing the state of brushing the gums. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of using the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush of the first embodiment of the present invention for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of teeth, showing the state of brushing teeth. [Figure 8] This is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view of the tip of the ultra-fine resin filament and the tongue of a first embodiment of the present invention's ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth when the tip of the ultra-fine resin filament comes into contact with the tongue surface. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention, a multi-purpose toothbrush with ultra-fine bristles for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of teeth. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing a third embodiment of the present invention, a multi-purpose toothbrush with ultra-fine bristles for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of teeth. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] A first embodiment of the ultra-fine bristle multi-purpose toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of teeth according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the first embodiment of the multi-purpose oral brush 10, which is an example of an ultra-fine bristle multi-purpose toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of teeth, is made of a polyolefin resin such as polypropylene resin and has a generally rod-shaped handle 12, a brush holder 14 that is wider than the maximum width w of the handle and is provided at the tip of the handle 12, and a brush part 16 that is wider than the maximum width w of the handle 12 on the upper surface of the brush holder 14.

[0011] The rod-shaped handle 12 is held by the user of this multipurpose oral brush. The base end of the handle 12 is thicker to facilitate gripping, with a maximum width w at the thicker grip portion 13. This maximum width w is the width perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the handle 12. At the tip end of the handle 12, where the grip portion 13 is formed at the base end, is an arch portion 15 for connecting to the brush holder 14. This arch portion 15 extends from the grip portion 13, but is relatively thin, extending in an upwardly concave arc. Because of the shape of this arch portion 15, even when the brush portion 16 is inserted into the mouth, the tip of the relatively thin arch portion 15 reaches the inside of the mouth while the brush portion 16 can reach, for example, the backsides of the teeth, making it easy for the user to manipulate.

[0012] A brush holder 14 is provided beyond the arch portion 15 at the tip end of the handle 12. The brush holder 14 can be formed integrally with the handle 12 using the same polyolefin resin material, such as polypropylene resin, or it can be formed using a different resin, or it can be formed by molding the two separately and assembling them. The brush holder 14 has a roughly fan-shaped shape, and a through-hole 17 with a rounded triangular shape when viewed from above is formed in the portion of the brush holder 14 closer to the tip end than the triangular through-hole 17, except for the outer edge portion 14e, where the brush portion 16 is formed. The brush portion 16 is made of a densely packed bundle of ultra-fine resin threads with a diameter of 0.2 mm or less.

[0013] Specifically, the ultra-fine resin threads that make up the brush portion 16 are made of a polyolefin resin such as polypropylene resin, and each thread is extremely thin compared to a human hair, with a diameter of 0.2 mm or less, preferably 0.1 mm to 0.04 mm, and more preferably 0.08 mm to 0.06 mm. Due to their thinness, each ultra-fine resin thread that makes up the brush portion 16 does not exhibit elasticity, but by bundling and tightly contacting the ultra-fine resin threads, the brush portion 16 as a whole exhibits elasticity, allowing for effective oral cleansing.

[0014] For example, in this embodiment, the brush portion 16 is composed of approximately 8,000 to 40,000 ultra-fine resin threads tightly bundled together. The number of ultra-fine resin threads constituting the brush portion 16 varies depending on the diameter of the ultra-fine resin threads, but the brush portion 16 has a structure different from that of a typical toothbrush, where the bristles are planted and there are gaps between the threads. The ultra-fine resin threads constituting the brush portion 16 can also be blended with metal or ceramic particles that have antibacterial and deodorizing properties. Platinum nanoparticles or silver ion nanoparticles can also be mixed into the resin threads to manufacture the ultra-fine resin threads constituting the brush portion 16, thereby reducing bacteria trapped between the threads. The brush portion 16 is composed of densely packed ultra-fine resin threads that form a rounded crescent shape when viewed from above. When viewed from the side, the brush portion 16 also has a slightly slanted tapered portion 18 formed at the outer edge of the top surface of the brush portion 16. The brush portion 16 is made up of a dense bundle of ultrafine resin threads, and in this embodiment, the height of the brush portion 16 is configured to be approximately 0.5 to 2.0 cm, and preferably approximately 0.7 to 1.5 cm, from the upper surface of the brush holder 14. Note that the brush portion 16 can also be imparted with antibacterial and sterilizing properties by immersing the entire brush holder 14 including the brush portion 16 in a liquid agent that imparts antibacterial and sterilizing properties.

[0015] A resin piece 24 made of a relatively soft rubber-based resin or the like is disposed on the back side of the brush head 16, and small protrusions are formed vertically and horizontally on the surface of the resin piece 24 to form the tongue brush 19. Therefore, when brushing with the brush head 16 against the teeth or a part of the oral cavity, simply by turning the multipurpose oral brush 10 over, the tongue brush 19 can be placed against the surface of the tongue, allowing for easy change of the target of cleaning.

[0016] Here, we will briefly explain an example of the manufacturing process for the oral multi-purpose brush of this embodiment, which is an ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth. As shown in Figure 3(a), the ultra-fine resin threads 20 that make up the brush section 16 are bundled together in a very large number of resin threads, approximately 8,000 to 40,000 threads, and are held in this bundled state to form the shape of the brush section 16 by an openable and closable clamp section 22. When held by the clamp section 22, the ultra-fine resin threads 20 are held with their roots positioned at the top, and are held so that the ultra-fine resin threads 20 protrude beyond the clamp section 22 by the dimension between one surface and the other surface of a through-hole 14h that is provided so as to penetrate one surface and the other surface of the brush holding section 14.

[0017] Next, while the ultrafine resin threads 20 are held by the clamping portion 22, the protruding ultrafine resin threads 20 are inserted into the through-holes 14h of the brush holding portion 14, as shown in FIG. 3(b), so that the roots of the ultrafine resin threads 20 face the upper surface of the through-holes 14h. After the ultrafine resin threads 20 have been inserted into the through-holes 14h of the brush holding portion 14, as shown in FIG. 3(c), a resin piece 24 is bonded to the roots of the ultrafine resin threads 20 and the through-holes 14h of the brush holding portion 14 on the upper surface, which becomes the back surface of the brush holding portion 14 when in use. The bonding of this resin piece 24 secures the ultrafine resin threads 20 to the brush holding portion 14. After the resin piece 24 has been bonded to the back surface of the brush holding portion 14, the clamping portion 22 is released, resulting in the completed oral multipurpose brush shown in FIG. 3(d).

[0018] The multipurpose oral brush of this embodiment can be used in the following ways: as shown in FIGS. 4 to 8. The first is tongue brushing, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the ultrafine resin filaments 20 of the brush head 16 are pressed downward against the surface of the tongue 30, rubbing it to clean the tongue 30. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of tongue brushing. The surface of the tongue 30 is composed of small, rough protrusions (lingual papillae), and the ultrafine resin filaments 20 of the brush head 16 work to scrape away plaque 32 between these protrusions. While conventional toothbrushes with thick bristles tend not to reach the gaps between the protrusions even when pressed against the tongue surface, the ultrafine resin filaments 20 of the multipurpose oral brush of this embodiment have soft bristles that can reach and reliably contact the uneven surface of the tongue, such as the protrusions and spaces between the protrusions, thereby scraping away plaque between the protrusions, promoting efficient tongue cleansing. A tongue brush 19 with an uneven back surface of the brush head 16 can also be used for tongue brushing.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing how the backs of teeth are brushed using the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the backs of teeth of this embodiment. The backs of teeth 34 can be brushed in a similar manner to when placing the brush on the tongue. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how gums are brushed using the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the backs of teeth of this embodiment. Similarly, gums 36 can be brushed using an oral multi-purpose brush. The ultra-fine resin filaments 20 of the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the backs of teeth of this embodiment have soft bristles that can reach the surface of gums 36, ensuring thorough cleaning. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing how teeth 34 are brushed using the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the backs of teeth of this embodiment. When brushing teeth 34, the brush head 16 of the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the backs of teeth of this embodiment can be placed in contact with the teeth, allowing for thorough cleaning of teeth 34.

[0020] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of an ultra-fine bristle multi-purpose toothbrush for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth. The brush holder 44 and brush head 46 of the second embodiment of an oral multi-purpose brush 40, which is an ultra-fine bristle multi-purpose toothbrush for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth, have shapes different from those of the first embodiment. The brush holder 44 is roughly T-shaped, and the brush head 46 has a rectangular extension at the tip of the brush holder 44. Although not shown, this extension is wider than the maximum width w of the handle 42. The brush head 46 is made of ultra-fine resin threads 20 with a diameter of 0.2 mm or less, and the ultra-fine resin threads 20 are arranged in a dense bundle. The brush head 46 has a mountain-like shape with a slightly higher center and slightly lower ends along the width of the brush, and the surface of the bristles of the brush head 46 does not necessarily have to be flat.

[0021] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a multipurpose oral brush, a multi-purpose toothbrush with ultrafine bristles for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the back of the teeth. The multipurpose oral brush 50 of the third embodiment is made of a polyolefin resin such as polypropylene resin and includes a generally rod-shaped handle 52, a brush holder 54 at the tip of the handle 52 that is wider than the maximum width w of the handle, and a brush section 56 on the upper surface of the brush holder 54 that is wider than the maximum width w of the handle 52. The brush section 56 is made of a densely packed bundle of ultrafine resin threads with a diameter of 0.2 mm or less. The third embodiment of the multipurpose oral brush 50 differs from the first embodiment of the multipurpose oral brush 10 in that the brush holder 54 and brush section 56 are larger in size, providing a larger area for scrubbing the teeth and tongue.

[0022] Also, as in the first embodiment, a piece of resin (not shown) made of a relatively soft rubber-based resin or the like is arranged on the back side of the brush part 56, and small protrusions are formed vertically and horizontally on its surface to form a tongue brush.

[0023] As described above, the ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing the teeth, tongue, gums, and back of the teeth in each embodiment has a brush section that is wider than the width of the handle, and the brush section is made of a dense bundle of ultra-fine resin threads, so the soft bristles can come into contact with the teeth, back of the teeth, gums, and tongue, respectively, efficiently cleaning each part of the oral cavity. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 10, 40 Multipurpose Oral Brush 12, 42 patterns 13 Gripping part 14, 44 Brush holder 14e outer edge 14h through hole 15 Arch 16, 46 Brush section 17 Through hole 18 Tapered section 20 Ultra-fine resin thread 22 Clamp section 24 Resin piece 30 Tongue 32 Plaque 34 teeth 36 Gums

Claims

1. This ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush for brushing teeth, tongue, gums and backs of teeth is characterized in that it comprises a handle, a brush holder part wider than the maximum width of the handle and provided at the tip of the handle, and a brush part wider than the maximum width of the handle on one surface of the brush holder part, the brush part being made by densely bundling ultra-fine resin threads with a diameter of 0.2 mm or less.

2. 2. The ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush of claim 1, wherein the brush holder is provided with through holes that penetrate the one side and the other side during manufacture, corresponding to the width of the brush part, and the ultra-fine resin threads are densely packed and bundled and inserted into the through holes, and a fixing resin piece is adhered to the other side to form a brush part that protrudes from one side of the brush holder.

3. 2. The ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the resin piece has an uneven surface formed thereon.

4. 2. The ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the brush head extends in a fan-like or rectangular shape, for brushing teeth, tongue, gums, and the backs of teeth.

5. 2. The ultra-fine bristle multi-toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that nano-sized metal particles are dispersed and held in the ultra-fine resin threads that make up the brush part.

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