toothbrush

Abstract

To provide a toothbrush capable of easily increasing foaming power during toothbrushing.SOLUTION: A toothbrush 1 or 1a comprises: a nearly rod-like handle 2; a bristle implanting base 4 disposed at a tip of the handle 2; a plurality of first bristle bundles 5 implanted on the bristle implanting base 4; and a plurality of second bristle bundles 6 implanted on the bristle implanting base 4, with a bristle height shorter than that of the first bristle bundles 5. The plurality of first bristle bundles 5 is arranged so as to surround the whole circumference of a second bristle bundle group 61 which is a group of the plurality of bristle bundles 6, and a spatial volume V, which is a volume obtained by multiplying a bristle height difference H between the bristle height of the first bristle bundles 5 and the bristle height of the second bristle bundles 6 with the area S of an area whose whole circumference is surrounded by the plurality of the first bristle bundles 5, is 130 mm3 or more.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a toothbrush used for brushing teeth. [Background technology]

[0002] There has long been a demand for toothbrushes with high foaming power that can lather toothpaste when brushing. To address this, a technique has been known in which the tips of the bristles planted in the head of a toothbrush are cut along the longitudinal axis of the handle to form a sawtooth-like contour that enhances foaming power (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-250632 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when applying paste-like toothpaste to a toothbrush with jagged bristle tips, the toothpaste is less likely to adhere to parts of the bristles other than the protruding jagged parts, resulting in a reduced toothpaste retention.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can easily increase foaming power when brushing teeth. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The toothbrush according to the present invention comprises a rod-shaped handle, a bristle base provided at the tip of the handle, a plurality of first bristle bundles planted in the bristle base, and a plurality of second bristle bundles planted in the bristle base, the bristle bundles having a shorter bristle length than the first bristle bundles, the plurality of first bristle bundles being arranged so as to surround the entire circumference of a second bristle bundle group which is a group of the plurality of second bristle bundles, and a spatial volume, which is the volume obtained by multiplying the area of ​​the region surrounded by the plurality of first bristle bundles by the difference in bristle length between the first bristle bundles and the second bristle bundles, is 130 mm 3 That's all.

[0007] According to this configuration, the entire circumference of the second bristle bundle group is surrounded by a plurality of first bristle bundles with long bristles. As a result, air is trapped and held within the space surrounded by the plurality of first bristle bundles. When brushing with air trapped in this manner, the tips of the first bristle bundles and the second bristle bundles agitate the toothpaste applied to the teeth with the trapped air, thereby foaming the toothpaste. As a result, it is easy to increase the foaming power when brushing your teeth.

[0008] Furthermore, the spatial volume is 260 mm 3 It is preferable that:

[0009] It has been experimentally confirmed that when the space volume is in the range of this upper limit or less, the foaming power can be increased with greater certainty.

[0010] It is also preferable that each of the first tufts includes a filament having a tapered tip portion whose diameter decreases toward the tip.

[0011] The tapered filaments bend flexibly as you brush, increasing the agitation effect of the toothpaste and air, resulting in even greater foaming power.

[0012] It is also preferable that each of the first hair bundles includes a long hair bundle that is longer than the second hair bundle and a short hair bundle that is shorter than the second hair bundle.

[0013] By providing short bristle bundles that are shorter and less likely to bend than the long bristle bundles within the first bristle bundle, the short bristle bundles can support the long bristle bundles, and the cleaning effect of the short bristle bundles can be improved.

[0014] The long hair bundle is preferably a bundle of filaments having a tapered tip portion whose diameter decreases toward the tip.

[0015] The tapered tip of the filament allows the bristles to bend flexibly as you brush, increasing the agitation effect of the toothpaste and air, resulting in even greater foaming power.

[0016] Furthermore, among the plurality of first hair bundles, it is preferable that the short hair bundle included in the first hair bundle arranged at the outermost edge in the width direction of the hair implantation base is arranged further outward in the width direction of the hair implantation base than the long hair bundle included in the same first hair bundle.

[0017] With this configuration, the short bristle bundles, which are shorter and less likely to bend than the long bristle bundles, can support the long bristle bundles from the outside, thereby reducing the risk of the long bristle bundles opening outward and reducing the cleaning effect.

[0018] It is also preferable that the filaments of the second tufts have a shape with a substantially uniform thickness.

[0019] By making the second bristle bundles filaments having a shape with a substantially constant thickness rather than a tapered shape that is easily bent, it becomes easier to improve the cleaning effect of the second bristle bundle group.

[0020] Furthermore, each filament of the plurality of second hair bundles may have a tapered tip portion with a diameter that decreases toward the tip.

[0021] If the second bristles are tapered, the effect of mixing the toothpaste and air is increased, and the foaming power is further improved.

[0022] Furthermore, it is preferable that the difference between the hair length of each of the first hair bundles and the hair length of each of the second hair bundles is 1.5 to 3 mm.

[0023] The difference between the hair length of each first hair bundle and the hair length of each second hair bundle is preferably 1.5 to 3 mm. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] A toothbrush with this configuration can easily increase foaming power when brushing teeth. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a head portion shown in FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the arrangement of each tuft of hair when the head unit shown in FIG. 1 is viewed from the direction of the tip of each tuft of hair. [Figure 4] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the shape of the vicinity of the tip of one of the filaments constituting the long hair bundle shown in FIG. 2.

[0023] FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining foaming when brushing teeth using the toothbrush shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the bristle bundle arrangement of a toothbrush having two second bristle bundle groups. FIG. [Figure 7] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a head portion of a toothbrush according to an embodiment of the present invention and the bubble area obtained by an experiment. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a head portion of a toothbrush according to a comparative example of the present invention and the bubble area obtained by an experiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an experimental method for measuring the bubble area. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a photograph of the molars taken with a microscope after brushing as shown in FIG. 9. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method for measuring the bubble area. [Figure 12] 8 is a graph showing experimental results for the example and comparative example shown in FIG. 7. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, components denoted by the same reference numerals are the same components, and their description will be omitted. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a toothbrush according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] The toothbrush 1 shown in Fig. 1 generally comprises a rod-shaped handle 2 and a head portion 3 attached to the tip of the handle 2. The head portion 3 comprises a substantially flat bristle base 4, a plurality of first bristle bundles 5 attached to the bristle base 4, and a plurality of second bristle bundles 6 attached to the bristle base 4, the bristle bundles having shorter bristles than the first bristle bundles 5.

[0028] In each figure, XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes are shown as appropriate to clarify the directional relationships. The X axis coincides with the axial direction of the handle 2, with +X pointing toward the tip of the handle 2 and -X pointing toward the rear end of the handle 2. The Y axis is perpendicular to the X axis and runs along the width direction of the hair implantation base 4. The Z axis runs along the perpendicular direction to the hair implantation surface 41, which is the surface of the hair implantation base 4 on which the hair bundles are implanted. +Z points toward the tip of each of the first hair bundle 5 and the second hair bundle 6, and -Z points toward the base end of each hair bundle.

[0029] Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the head unit 3 shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the arrangement of each hair bundle when the head unit 3 shown in Fig. 1 is viewed from the tip direction of each hair bundle (+Z direction). In Fig. 3, the first hair bundle 5 is shown as a half-hatched circle, and the second hair bundle 6 is shown as a white circle.

[0030] Each bristle bundle is arranged, for example, at a position corresponding to an intersection of a virtual square lattice on the bristle implantation surface 41. The second bristle bundles 6 are implanted in a total of 12 bundles, for example, in four rows in the X-axis direction and three columns in the Y-axis direction, approximately in the center of the width direction of the bristle implantation surface 41. A second bristle bundle group 61 is composed of a total of 12 second bristle bundles 6.

[0031] The plurality of first hair bundles 5 are arranged in four directions of +X, −X, +Y, and −Y surrounding the entire periphery of the second hair bundle group 61.

[0032] As shown in Figure 3, the approximately rectangular region connecting the inner surfaces of the first hair bundles 5 surrounding the second hair bundle group 61 is defined as region B. If the length of region B in the X direction is defined as length L and the length in the Y direction is defined as width W, the area S of region B is given as L x W. As shown in Figure 2, the difference between the hair length of the first hair bundles 5 and the hair length of the second hair bundles 6 is defined as hair length difference H. This results in an intra-hair implantation space C, which is an approximately rectangular parallelepiped space with a height of hair length difference H, with region B, where the tip faces of the second hair bundle group 61 are lined up, as the bottom and surrounded on all four sides by the side faces of the first hair bundles 5. The spatial volume V of the intra-hair implantation space C is given by the following formula (1).

[0033] Space volume V = S × H = L × W × H (1)

[0034] The first hair bundle 5 includes a long hair bundle 51 and a short hair bundle 52. In Fig. 3, the hatched portion of the first hair bundle 5 indicates the long hair bundle 51, and the non-hatched portion indicates the short hair bundle 52. The long hair bundle 51 is longer than the second hair bundle 6, and the short hair bundle 52 is shorter than the second hair bundle 6. Since the long hair bundle 51 is longer than the second hair bundle 6, the first hair bundle 5 as a whole is longer than the second hair bundle 6.

[0035] Of the multiple first hair bundles 5, the short hair bundles 52 included in the first hair bundle 5 arranged at the outermost edge A in the width direction (Y direction) of the hair implantation base 4 are arranged further outward in the width direction of the hair implantation base 4 than the long hair bundles 51 included in the same first hair bundle 5.

[0036] Each of the first bristle bundle 5 and the second bristle bundle 6 is made up of, for example, 5 to 100 wires folded in half to form a bundle of 5 x 2 to 100 x 2 filaments. The filaments constituting each of the short bristle bundle 52 and the second bristle bundle 6 have a diameter of approximately 0.1 to 0.3 mm, a substantially uniform thickness, and a rounded or flat tip.

[0037] Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the shape of the tip of one of the filaments constituting the long hair bundle 51 shown in Figure 2. The filament of the long hair bundle 51 has a tapered shape that reduces in diameter toward the tip. The length Lt of the tapered portion of the filament of the long hair bundle 51 is, for example, 1 to 4 mm, the diameter d1 of the base of the taper is, for example, 0.1 to 0.3 mm, and the diameter d2 of the tip is, for example, 0.002 to 0.05 mm.

[0038] Hereinafter, filaments having tapered tips as shown in Fig. 4 will be simply referred to as tapered bristles. Filaments having a substantially uniform thickness and a substantially flat or nearly flat curved tip will be referred to as rounded bristles. Saturated polyester is a suitable material for tapered bristles. Nylon is a suitable material for rounded bristles.

[0039] Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating foaming when brushing teeth with toothbrush 1. Fig. 5 shows a conceptual diagram of first bristle bundle 5 and second bristle bundle 6 as seen from the cross section taken along line VV in Fig. 3. Although not shown, it is assumed that toothpaste has been applied to the teeth shown in Fig. 5.

[0040] As shown in Figure 5, when toothbrush 1 is brushed back and forth along the X-axis direction, air is held within bristle space C by first bristle bundles 5 surrounding the space in all four directions (+X, -X, +Y, -Y). Furthermore, with air held within bristle space C, the tips of first bristle bundles 5 and second bristle bundles 6 mix the toothpaste applied to the teeth with the air, thereby foaming the toothpaste.

[0041] In this way, by providing the first bristle bundles 5 surrounding the second bristle bundle group 61 in all four directions (+X, -X, +Y, -Y), it becomes easier to trap and hold air. As a result, it becomes easier to mix the toothpaste and air, making it easier to foam, and thereby increasing the foaming power.

[0042] As will be described later, the present inventors have determined that the spatial volume V is 130 mm 3It was found that in the above cases, a good foaming power increasing effect can be obtained.

[0043] Furthermore, the tapered ends of the filaments of the long bristle bundles 51 allow the tapered bristles to bend flexibly during brushing, enhancing the effect of mixing the toothpaste with air, and thus further improving foaming power.

[0044] Furthermore, the tapered long bristle bundles 51 are easily bent and soft, and therefore tend to fall over, resulting in a decrease in cleaning effectiveness. Therefore, by providing short bristle bundles 52 that are not tapered, such as having rounded tips, and therefore are stronger than the long bristle bundles 51, the long bristle bundles 51 can be supported and the cleaning effectiveness, such as the ability of the short bristle bundles 52 to remove plaque, can be improved.

[0045] Furthermore, the bristle lengths of the second bristle bundles 6 are made substantially the same, and the tips of the second bristle bundles 6 are positioned in substantially the same plane, making the tips of the second bristle bundle group 61 substantially flat. As a result, toothpaste paste can easily adhere to the tips of the second bristle bundle group 61. Note that "substantially in the same plane" means that a margin of error due to manufacturing variations is allowed relative to the same plane.

[0046] Furthermore, the filaments of the second bristle bundle group 61 are rounded bristles or the like and are not tapered, so that the cleaning effect of the second bristle bundle group 61, such as plaque removal power, can be improved.

[0047] The first hair bundle 5 is not limited to the example composed of the long hair bundle 51 and the short hair bundle 52. The first hair bundle 5 may be composed of only the long hair bundle 51. Furthermore, the filaments of the long hair bundle 51 are not limited to tapered hairs, and may be rounded hairs.

[0048] Furthermore, the short hair bundles 52 included in the first hair bundle 5 arranged at the outermost edge A are not limited to being arranged further outward in the width direction of the hair implantation base 4 than the long hair bundles 51 included in the same first hair bundle 5, and the positional relationship between the long hair bundles 51 and the short hair bundles 52 in the first hair bundle 5 may be arbitrary.

[0049] The filaments of the second bristle bundle 6 are not limited to rounded bristles, but may be tapered bristles. The second bristle bundle 6 may have a shorter bristle length than the first bristle bundle 5, and the tips of the second bristle bundle 6 are not limited to being located on approximately the same plane.

[0050] The toothbrush 1 may also include a plurality of second bristle bundle groups 61. Fig. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the bristle bundle arrangement of a toothbrush 1a including two second bristle bundle groups 61. In the toothbrush 1a shown in Fig. 6, the two second bristle bundle groups 61 are separated by five first bristle bundles 5 aligned in a row in the Y direction. As a result, each second bristle bundle group 61 is surrounded by first bristle bundles 5 on all four sides.

[0051] In the example shown in Figure 6, the approximately rectangular area connecting the inner surfaces of the first bristle bundles 5 surrounding one second bristle bundle group 61 is area B1, and the approximately rectangular area connecting the inner surfaces of the first bristle bundles 5 surrounding the other second bristle bundle group 61 is area B2.The length of area B1 in the X direction is length L1, the length of area B2 in the X direction is length L2, and the length of areas B1 and B2 in the Y direction is width W.The spatial volume V of the toothbrush 1a is obtained by the following formula (2).

[0052] Space volume V = (L1 + L2) × W × H (2) [Example]

[0053] Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the head portion 3 of the toothbrush 1 according to Examples 1 to 6 of the present invention and the bubble area obtained by an experiment. Fig. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the head portion 3 of the toothbrush 1 according to Comparative Examples 1 to 4 of the present invention and the bubble area obtained by an experiment.

[0054] In Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4, the second bristle bundles 6 were made of nylon, and the first bristle bundles 5 were made of saturated polyester. The spacing between bristle bundles refers to the distance between the centers of the bristle bundles. The arrangement of each bristle bundle is as shown in the implantation patterns of Figures 7 and 8. In the implantation patterns of Figures 7 and 8, the first bristle bundles 5 are indicated by black circles, and the second bristle bundles 6 are indicated by white circles. The arrangement of the long bristle bundles 51 and the short bristle bundles 52 within a single first bristle bundle 5 is the same as in Figure 3 or Figure 6. The spatial volume V in Figures 7 and 8 was calculated based on formula (1) or formula (2).

[0055] The method for measuring the bubble area will now be described. Fig. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the experimental method for measuring the bubble area. As shown in Fig. 9, the head portions 3 according to Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 were pressed against the molars T1 and T2 of a tooth model D, respectively, and brushing was performed with a load of 200 g, a sliding distance of 20 mm, 10 sliding movements, and a sliding speed of 1.67 reciprocations per second.

[0056] The test solution to be applied to the molars T1 and T2 was an aqueous solution prepared by diluting "Toki no Chikara" paste manufactured by Sunstar Inc. in a paste:water ratio of 1:4, to which a dental plaque staining agent was added.

[0057] Figure 10 is a photograph of the molar T1 taken with a microscope after the brushing shown in Figure 9. As shown in Figure 10, foam E generated by brushing accumulates in the cavity of the molar T1. The greater the amount of foam E, the stronger the foaming power. Furthermore, the greater the amount of foam E, the larger the area over which foam E spreads in the photograph after brushing.

[0058] Therefore, from the photographs taken after brushing in each example, the area where the foam E spread, as shown by the hatched area in Fig. 11, was extracted, and the area of ​​this hatched area was measured as the foam area area shown in Fig. 7.

[0059] In Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the bristle bundle arrangement is the same as in Examples 1 and 2. However, in Comparative Examples 1 and 2, the bristle length difference H is smaller than in Examples 1 and 2, and the spatial volume V is 130 mm 3 Less than.

[0060] Fig. 12 is a graph showing the experimental results for the example and comparative example shown in Fig. 7. In the graph shown in Fig. 12, the horizontal axis represents the space volume and the vertical axis represents the bubble area.

[0061] From a comparison between Examples 1 to 6 and Comparative Examples 1 to 4 shown in FIG. 12, it is clear that the spatial volume V is 130 mm 3 It was confirmed that the foam area was significantly larger and therefore the foaming power was high. Therefore, when the space volume V was 130 mm 3 It was confirmed that by doing so, it is easy to increase the foaming power of the toothbrush. In addition, the space volume V is 259.9 mm 3 It can be seen that in Example 2, a significantly larger bubble area can be obtained than in Comparative Examples 1 to 4. Therefore, it is necessary to at least consider the upper limit of the space volume V of 260 mm 3 It was confirmed that the foaming power could be improved within the following ranges. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1,1a Toothbrush 2 handles 3 Head 4. Hair transplant base 5 First Hair Bundle 6 Second hair bundle 41 Flocked surface 51 Long Hair Bundle 52 Short hair bundle 61 Second hair bundle group A outermost edge B area B1,B2 area C. Space inside the flock d1,d2 diameter H hair length difference L, L1, L2, Lt length S area T1,T2 molars V spatial volume W width

Claims

1. A roughly rod-shaped handle; a bristle implantation base provided at the tip of the handle; a plurality of first hair bundles implanted on the hair implantation base; a plurality of second tufts having a tuft length shorter than that of the first tufts, which are implanted on the tufting base; the plurality of first hair bundles are arranged so as to surround the entire periphery of a second hair bundle group which is a group of the plurality of second hair bundles, a spatial volume obtained by multiplying the area of ​​a region entirely surrounded by the plurality of first hair bundles by the difference in hair length between the first hair bundle and the second hair bundle is 130 mm 3 or more; Each of the first bristle bundles includes a long bristle bundle that is longer than the second bristle bundles and a short bristle bundle that is shorter than the second bristle bundles.

2. 2. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the long bristle bundle is a bundle of filaments having a tapered tip portion whose diameter decreases toward the tip.

3. A toothbrush as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein, among the plurality of first bristle bundles, the short bristle bundle included in the first bristle bundle arranged at the outermost widthwise edge of the bristle implantation base is arranged further outward in the widthwise direction of the bristle implantation base than the long bristle bundle included in the same first bristle bundle.

4. Furthermore, the spatial volume is 260 mm ３ The toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:

5. The toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein each of the first bristle bundles includes a filament having a tapered tip portion whose diameter decreases toward the tip.

6. The toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each filament of the plurality of second bristle bundles has a shape with a substantially uniform thickness.

7. The toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each filament of the plurality of second bristle bundles has a tapered tip portion that narrows in diameter toward the tip.

8. The toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the difference between the bristle length of each of the first bristle bundles and the bristle length of each of the second bristle bundles is 1.5 to 3 mm.

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