Toothbrush, method and device for production thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a toothbrush (2) having a shape suitable for simultaneously cleaning a plurality of tooth surfaces, and to a method and a device for the production thereof. In the method, first a base (4) and at least two limbs (6), each provided with at least one tuft of bristles (8), are produced. These limbs are then connected in such a way that surfaces of the limbs (6) through which the tufts of bristles (8) project lie opposite one another and form between them a receiving space (26) adapted to receive a tooth. The device is designed for carrying out the method according to the invention. The toothbrush (2) has a base (4) and at least two limbs (6) which are each provided with at least one tuft of bristles (8) and the surfaces of which through which the tufts of bristles (8) project lie opposite one another, these surfaces forming between them a tooth-receiving space (26) for a tooth, which space is suitably dimensioned such that the tooth can be cleaned, the base (4) and the limbs (6) being produced as separate components and being joined to one another.

Description

[0001] 268 Mesh 1 Toothbrush, method and device for its production The present invention relates to a method for producing a toothbrush with a shape suitable for the simultaneous cleaning of several tooth surfaces. Such a toothbrush is known from WO 2018 / 014061 A1. The previously known toothbrush derives its suitability for the simultaneous cleaning of tooth surfaces, in particular of a tooth, from a U-shape which is adapted to accommodate the tooth to be cleaned. Opposite sides of the U-shape have tooth cleaning elements which interact with opposite tooth surfaces of a single tooth in order to clean this tooth. The shape of the toothbrush is designed like a denture guard and can accommodate both the teeth of the lower jaw and the teeth of the upper jaw as a whole.A base is provided between the chewing surfaces of the teeth, which base has a channel through which a rinsing liquid is passed to assist in cleaning the teeth. The present invention is based on the problem of providing a method for producing a toothbrush with a shape suitable for cleaning several tooth surfaces at the same time, a device suitable for carrying out the method, and a toothbrush which has the above suitability, but can be produced economically and easily and is preferably suitable for being individually adapted to the shape of the tooth. With regard to the method-related problem, the present invention proposes a method in which a base and at least two legs are first produced. During production, the legs are provided with bundles of bristles.This can be achieved by first manufacturing a body forming the leg, which is usually made of plastic, and then providing it with blind holes that are subsequently filled with bristle bundles. The bristle bundles are usually attached to the leg body by means of anchors. Alternatively, the bristle bundles can be provided with a thickened portion before the leg body is manufactured. This thickened portion is inserted into an injection mold for producing the leg body by injection molding a plastic. During the injection molding process, the plastic flows around the thickened portion and is sealed in the solidified plastic.In addition to these two more conventional techniques for attaching the bristle bundle to the leg body, any desired type of attachment is conceivable within the scope of the present invention, for example by introducing a thickened portion provided by melting at the attachment-side end of the bristle bundle into a hole or blind hole in the leg body, the diameter of which is dimensioned such that it can accommodate the thickened portion. The thickened portion usually has an extension in the cross-sectional direction of the bristle bundle that is greater than 268 mesh 2 of the diameter of the bristle bundle. After the thickened portion has been inserted into the leg body, the plastic material on the surface of the leg body through which the bristle extends is forced into the hole in order to form a positively acting stop for the thickened portion, which allows the actual bundle to pass through; cf. EP 3448201 B1.During production of the base, this can also be provided with one, preferably several, bundles of bristles. The above techniques can be used as desired. The base can alternatively or additionally have a TPE cleaning element molded onto it, which interacts with the chewing surface. The elements prepared / manufactured separately in this way are connected to one another. The legs are arranged on the base and connected to the base in such a way that the surfaces of the legs through which the bundles of bristles penetrate face one another and form a receiving space between them that is adapted to accommodate a tooth. The adaptation can be such that the tooth fits between the use-side ends of the bundles of bristles without them being deformed. In this case, opposing tooth surfaces of one tooth are brushed by a relative movement of the toothbrush essentially transverse to the row of teeth.If one or more cleaning elements are provided at the base, the chewing surface of the corresponding tooth is also brushed. The adaptation of the receiving space to the tooth can also be such that the tooth fits between the legs, but the distance between the usage-side ends of the bristle bundles protruding from opposite sides of the legs is less than the width of the tooth, so that the bristle bundles can permanently rest on the opposite tooth surfaces of a single tooth on both sides. In this description, the width of the tooth is understood to be the extension transverse to the extension of the row of teeth in the dentition. The length of the tooth corresponds to its extension in the direction of the row of teeth. It is understood that the human dentition is U-shaped, so that the longitudinal extension of the teeth and thus of the chewing surface is U-shaped.According to a preferred development, the base is connected to the leg in such a way that the legs are plug-connected to the base. For this purpose, the base and the leg have mutually assigned elements of a plug-in connection. For example, the base can be provided with a fastening pin at one end, which engages in a receptacle formed on the leg. Additionally or alternatively, the leg and the base can be joined by gluing, welding, in particular ultrasonic welding, or positively by means of locking. It is understood that several legs can be provided at opposite ends of a base, each forming a receiving space between them for receiving at least one tooth. The base can itself be U-shaped to replicate the U-shaped forms of the 268 Mesh 3 human dentition.The base can be rigid, with a shape that extends across the entire dentition or just part of it. The base can also be divided into flexible segments. Each base segment can be connected to a neighboring base segment via a joint. This creates a toothbrush that can adapt perfectly to the individual shape of the human dentition and can be used, for example, in the more curved area of ​​the front incisors or in the back area of ​​the dentition where the molars are essentially positioned one behind the other in a straight line. The jointed connection of different base segments can be achieved by a film hinge or the like.Gussets or small recesses in which dirt could nestle or which, due to their contours, could harm the sensitive oral mucous membranes, can be prevented by overmolding the base with a soft, elastic plastic. Such a covering can also be provided in the area of ​​the articulated connection of various base segments. With these considerations in mind, the present invention is based on the assumption that the base is formed from a plastic, usually by injection molding, so that the injection-molded base is finished off the tool. If part of the base is overmolding, this is designed as a two-component part. According to a preferred development of the method according to the invention, support sleeves having a bore are injection-molded in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the bristle bundles on the leg to produce the legs.Each support sleeve usually has at least, preferably only, one bore. Each support sleeve is provided with bristles by inserting the bristle bundle. In this preferred embodiment, the support sleeves and the fastening-side ends of the bristle bundles are connected to a leg base. This is preferably achieved by a leg base material forming the leg base sealing the support sleeves at least partially and generally completely sealing the fastening-side ends of the bristle bundles. The support sleeves can be injection-molded in the form of a uniform fastening component. In this case, the support sleeves are usually connected to one another by a thin web, which is injection-molded together with the support sleeves and joins them into the uniform fastening component, but allows a certain pivotability of the support sleeves relative to one another.The support sleeves can thus pivot relative to one another, particularly if the leg base has relatively thin walls and / or the leg base material is a soft, elastic plastic that allows a certain pivoting movement of the support sleeves accommodated therein. With regard to this embodiment, reference can be made to EP 1603429 B1 of the present applicant. The solution described therein can be implemented within the scope of the present invention. Alternatively, the support sleeves can usually be injection-molded as separate elements in a uniform injection-molding process and demolded together with a molded part of the injection mold, provided with bristles, and over-molded with the leg base material. In this embodiment, the support sleeves are separate.However, until they are fixed in the leg base, they are held in the desired arrangement, corresponding to the bristles on the toothbrush, by overmolding using a molded part of the injection mold. This molded part usually also forms a surface of the leg base when overmolding with the leg base material. Only after the leg base has cured / solidified is the multi-component leg body, together with the bristle bundles, demolded from the molded part. The molded part usually has a hole pattern corresponding to the number and arrangement of the bristle bundles. The injection mold for forming the support sleeves is designed such that after the support sleeves have been demolded, the holes are permeable together with the molded part. This makes it possible to fill the support sleeves with bristles after they have been injection molded by inserting the respective bristle bundles into the holes, while the arrangement of the support sleeves is ensured by the molded part.After bristle application, the attachment-side ends of the bristle bundle can be melted to form a thickened portion. This thickened portion is typically sealed into the leg base material, which – as mentioned above – can have soft-elastic properties. The leg base material can be incompatible with the material of the bristle filaments that form the bristle bundles. To attach the attachment-side ends of the bristle bundles to the leg base, it is sufficient for the leg base material to bond with the material of the support sleeves and seal the bristle bundles on the attachment side. This creates a positive fit for the bristle bundle within the leg body on both sides of the thickened portion. The thickened portion projects beyond the inner diameter of the bore, preventing the bristle bundles from being pulled out of the leg body on the surface through which the bristle bundles extend.On the opposite side, the leg base covers the thickening. A similar method is known from EP 1603 429 B1 of the present applicant. According to a preferred development of the present invention, an edge-side support sleeve is provided with a fastening pin projecting beyond the leg base. This is usually done during the injection molding of the corresponding support sleeve. The fastening pin is then part of a one-piece plastic component, which forms at least the edge-side support sleeve and, if necessary, all of the support sleeves. This fastening pin serves 268 Mesh 5 for the plug-in connection with the base. The base can also have a receptacle adapted to receive the fastening pin. In this way, a snap-in connection between the leg and the base can be realized. The plug-in connection can equally well be permanently fixed by gluing or welding.The toothbrush provided according to the invention is, as described above, constructed in several parts and has a base and at least two legs, which are manufactured as separate components and joined together. The previously described further development of accommodating the bristle bundles in a support sleeve with at least one bore when accommodating the support sleeves, usually together with the fastening-side end of the bristle bundles in a leg base, creates the possibility of designing the leg to be relatively flexible. As mentioned above, in a preferred further development of this solution, the support sleeves are not even connected to one another via the material forming the sleeves, which is usually a main component of a plastic. The connection can be made solely by a soft-elastic material of the leg base, so that the individual support sleeves, together with their bristle bundles, can be interlaced relatively freely relative to one another.The bristle bundles can also be moved relative to one another in the longitudinal direction in order to adapt to the different contours of the tooth surfaces. A leg designed in this way accordingly promotes gentle treatment of the teeth and the adjacent gums when cleaning the teeth. The bristle bundles can be contoured to adapt to the shape of the teeth. Contouring here means the arrangement of the use-side ends of individual filaments of a single bristle bundle in different planes. Each plane extends at right angles to the longitudinal extent of the individual filaments / bristles. Contouring can be achieved additionally or alternatively by having the use-side ends of adjacent bristle bundles in different planes.For example, the usage-side ends of a single bristle bundle can lie in a plane that differs from the plane in which the usage-side ends of the filaments of another bristle bundle, for example the neighboring bristle bundle, are located. Both types of contouring discussed above can be combined with one another to form, for example, a cleaning-active surface formed by the usage-side ends of all filaments, which has a stepped, convex and / or concave shape, depending on the tooth shape that is to be brushed or whether bristle bundles are also to reach into the interdental spaces. For this purpose, the bristle bundles can also have a few, perhaps even just a single filament. The bristle bundles can be shaped and thickness-wise designed so that they can penetrate particularly into the interdental spaces.It is understood that the bristle bundles arranged on the leg can have filaments of identical or different 268 Mesh 6 diameters. The same applies to the diameter of an individual filament, for example for cleaning the interdental space. The device specified to solve the device-related problem has a base-forming device for producing a separate base, a bristle and leg-forming device for producing at least two legs, each provided with at least one bristle bundle, and a fastening device for fastening the legs to the base such that the surfaces of the legs penetrated by the bristle bundles lie opposite one another and a receiving space adapted to receive a tooth is formed. Further details and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a representative example in conjunction with the drawing.In this show: Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a toothbrush according to the invention; Figure 2 is a schematic view of part of a leg forming device; Figure 3 is a schematic view of part of a bristle device; Figure 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a fastening component with bristle bundles; Figure 5 is a schematic view of a leg body, comprising the fastening component according to Figure 4; Figure 6 is a view approximately according to Figure 2 for a modified embodiment; Figure 7 is a view approximately according to Figure 4 for the modified embodiment; Figure 8 is a view approximately according to Figure 5 for the modified embodiment and Figure 9 is a plan view of a section of a toothbrush rail.Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a toothbrush 2 with a base 4 and two legs 6 extending essentially at right angles from the base 4, each of which is equipped with a plurality of bristle bundles 8. In the exemplary embodiment, the base 4 has, on opposite side edges, a receptacle 12 formed as a through-bore 10 for the plug-in contact of a fastening pin 14 arranged on an edge of a leg body 16. The leg body 16 in the present case consists of a leg base 18 made of a soft, elastic plastic material such as TPE or PU, a plurality of support sleeves 20 and 268 mesh 7, the bristle bundles 8, which are fastened via the support sleeves 20 in a manner to be described below and are guided therein. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the support sleeves 20 are prepared as separate components and are joined solely over the leg base 18. The lowest one, with reference numeral 20.The support sleeve marked 1 has a fastening pin 14. In Figure 1, the usage-side ends of the respective bristle bundles 8 are contoured. A cleaning-active surface 24 of the toothbrush shown, formed by all usage-side ends of the bristle bundles 8, is concave on both sides of the legs 6, corresponding to the physiological shape of a molar. Not only are the usage-side ends of all bristle bundles 8 located at different levels, but each bristle bundle 8 is also contoured as such, i.e., the filaments forming the respective bristle bundle 8 end at different levels on the usage side, so that the usage-side end of each bristle bundle 8 has a beveled contour. The further the bristle bundles 8 are located outward, the more pronounced the contouring of each individual bristle bundle 8.As a result, the concave, cleaning-active surface 26 is formed on both sides of a receiving space designated by reference numeral 26 for receiving a tooth, which is illustrated in Figure 1 by a dash-dotted line. The plug-in connection between the legs 6 and the base 4 can be secured by gluing, welding, or locking. These details are not shown in the drawing here. Figures 2-5 show a variant for producing the leg body 16. Figure 2 essentially illustrates a first part 28 of a leg forming device with a schematically indicated plasticizing unit 30 and a distributor 32, which communicates via various sprues 34 with a mold cavity, which is represented by an already injection-molded fastening component 36.The distributor 32 is located in a first tool half 38, comprising a molded part 40 that can be integrated into a tool base 42 of the first tool half 38 containing the distributor 32. Opposite, the second tool half 44 is shown schematically. The fastening component 36 is injection-molded between these two tool halves 38, 44. Demolding occurs when this fastening component 36 is removed with the molded part 40 from the tool base 42 - see Figure 3. The fastening component 36 has a plurality of support sleeves 20 that are connected to one another via relatively thin webs 46, so that the fastening component 36 has only low dimensional stability. For molding the webs 46, the second tool half 44 has movable 268 Mesh 8 cores 47 that are movable between the webs 46 and the molded part 40.The fastening component 36 is held in shape during the manufacture of the leg body 16 by being held in the molded part 40 of the injection mold. Figure 3 illustrates a part 48 of the bristle device after the bristle bundles 8 have been inserted into the respective support sleeves 20. Under the influence of heat, indicated by a hot air generator 50, the fastening-side ends of the bristle bundles 8 are melted, so that the filaments form a thickened portion, designated by reference numeral 52 (cf. Fig. 4), which radially projects beyond the diameter of a bore 54 in the support sleeves 20, which is adapted to guide and align the unmelted diameter of the bristle bundle 8. The intermediate product 56 obtained in part 48 of the bristle device is shown in Figure 4 together with the molded part 40.This intermediate product 56, together with the molded part 40, is transferred into a further injection mold 58, schematically shown in Figure 5, in which the leg base 18 is produced by injection molding a soft-elastic leg base plastic, so that the thickened portion 52 is completely accommodated in the leg base 18 and the outer circumference of the support sleeves 20 is at least partially accommodated in the axial direction of their bore 54 containing the bristle bundles 8 (see Figure 5). The fastening pin 14 projects laterally beyond the leg base 18 (see Figure 1). After demolding from the injection mold 58, including the molded part 40, a leg 6 is obtained as a tool. Figures 6-8 illustrate a variant of the previously described procedure according to Figures 2 to 5. In this variant, the support sleeves 20 are created separately during injection molding. Each individual mold cavity for a support sleeve 20 is provided with at least one sprue 34.The right-hand support sleeve 20 in Figure 6 is injection-molded together with the fastening pin 14. For bristle application, the support sleeves 20, which are further arranged relative to one another in a predetermined manner by the molded part 40, are already provided with the bristle bundles 8, which already have the thickened portion 52. As before, the leg base 18 in Figure 8 has been injection-molded, so that the thickened portions 52 are sealed into the leg base material, as are the support sleeves 20 at least partially, whereby a uniform leg 6 is obtained. Compared to the embodiment according to Figures 2-5, this embodiment has an even greater possibility of compensating movements of the bristle bundles 8 on their fastening side by pivoting or springing back in the longitudinal direction of the filaments. 268 Mesh 9 It can be seen that the contouring already discussed in relation to Figure 1 is created in the embodiment according to Figures 6-8.For this purpose, the elements of the individual bristle bundles 8 are axially displaced relative to one another after the support sleeves have been filled, cut, and if necessary rounded, provided the trimming is done on the usage side. This can, however, also be done on the attachment side. The base 4 shown in Figure 1 is also injection-molded as part of the preparation of the individual components of the toothbrush 2, if necessary also provided, preferably in the manner described above, with bristle bundles or other, for example, injection-molded cleaning elements made of TPE. Figure 9 shows a plan view of a toothbrush splint 64 with two rows 60, 62 of opposite legs 6. The lingual row 60 is located on an inner side of the curved base 4; the buccal row 62 on the outside.Each leg has three rows extending at right angles to the plane containing the base 4, which are formed by several bundles of bristles 8 lying one above the other in Figure 9 transversely to the plane of the drawing. A uniform base 4, optionally interrupted by joints, and legs 6 attached thereto, forming two rows 60, 62, form the toothbrush rail 64, which can accommodate a plurality of teeth in its receiving space 26, wherein these teeth are cleaned simultaneously by bundles of bristles 8 of opposite legs 6, at least on their opposite outer and inner surfaces (bucal and lingual).

[0002] 268 Mesh 10 List of reference symbols 2 Toothbrush 4 Base 6 Legs 8 Bristle bundle 10 Through hole 12 Receptacle 14 Fastening pin 16 Leg body 18 Leg base 20 Support sleeve 24 Cleaning-active surface 26 Receptacle 28 First part of the leg forming device 30 Plasticizing unit 32 Distributor 34 Gate 36 Fastening component 38 First tool half 40 Molded part 42 Tool base 44 Second tool half 46 Web 47 Core 48 Part of the bristle device 50 Hot air generator 52 Thickening 54 Bore 56 Intermediate product 58 Further injection mold 60 Lingual row 62 Buccal row 64 Toothbrush splint

Claims

268 Mesh 11 Claims 1. A method for producing a toothbrush (2) with a shape suitable for cleaning several tooth surfaces simultaneously, comprising the following steps: producing a base (4) and at least two legs (6), each provided with at least one bundle of bristles (8); connecting the legs (6) such that surfaces of the legs (6) penetrated by the bundles of bristles (8) lie opposite one another and form a receiving space (26) between them adapted to receive a tooth.

2. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the legs (6) are plug-connected to the base (4). 3.Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, to produce the legs (6), support sleeves (20) having a bore (54) are injection-molded in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement on the leg (6), each support sleeve (20) is provided with bristles by inserting the bristle bundle (8), and the support sleeves (20) and fastening-side ends of the bristle bundles (8) are connected by overmolding with a leg base material forming a leg base (18).

4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the fastening-side end of the bristle bundle (8) is melted after the introduction of the bristle bundle (8) to form a thickened portion (52), and that the thickened portion (52) is sealed into the leg base material.

5. Method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that an edge-side support sleeve (22.1) is provided with a fastening pin (14) projecting beyond the leg base (18), and the fastening pin (14) is inserted into a receptacle (12) formed on the base (4).

6. Method according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the support sleeves (20) are injection-molded together with the fastening pin (14) as a unitary fastening component (36). 268 Mesh 12 7. Method according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the support sleeves (20) are injection-molded together as a separate element and demolded together with a molded part (40) of the injection mold, provided with bristles, and over-injected with leg base material, wherein the molded part (40) molds a surface of the leg base (18).

8. A toothbrush with a shape suitable for the simultaneous cleaning of several tooth surfaces, which has a base (4) and at least two legs (6), each provided with at least one bristle bundle (8), the surfaces of which, through which the bristle bundles (8) extend, lie opposite one another, and the legs (6) form between them a receiving space (26) for the tooth, dimensioned to clean a tooth, characterized in that the base (4) and the legs (6) are manufactured as separate components and joined together.Toothbrush according to claim 8, characterized in that the legs (6) have a plurality of support sleeves (20), each provided with a bore (54), which are at least partially received in a leg base (18) and through which a bundle of bristles (8) each extends.

10. A toothbrush splint with a shape suitable for the simultaneous cleaning of several tooth surfaces, which has a base (4) and a plurality of legs (6) arranged on both sides of the base in a row (60; 62), wherein the legs (6) are connected to the base (4) in such a way that the receiving spaces (26) arranged between two opposite legs (6) merge into one another. 11.Device for producing a toothbrush with a shape suitable for the simultaneous cleaning of several tooth surfaces, comprising a base forming device for producing a base, a bristle and leg forming device (28; 48) for producing at least two legs (6), which are each provided with at least one bundle of bristles (8), and. a fastening device for fastening the legs to a base such that surfaces of the legs (6) penetrated by the bristle bundles (8) lie opposite one another.

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