Bent Bristles for Multi-Plane Oral Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing toothbrush designs fail to effectively clean hard-to-reach oral zones, particularly around orthodontic appliances, implants, and prostheses, due to limited brushing planes and increased complexity in manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
A toothbrush design featuring tufts of bent bristles alternated with conventional straight bristles on the base area, allowing multiple brushing planes and directions, with bent bristles angled between 25° to 120° to access surfaces perpendicular to the insertion plane, enhancing cleaning efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional straight bristles are used with single brushing plane, then manufacturing is simple, but cleaning efficiency in hard-to-reach areas is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The toothbrush head is divided into multiple brushing planes by segmenting the bristle arrangement into different levels and configurations. This includes creating a first brushing plane with bristles at a first level and a second brushing plane with bristles at a second level, allowing each plane to address different cleaning needs in the oral cavity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single-plane brushing surface to a multi-dimensional brushing structure by adding vertical dimension through multiple levels. The bristles are arranged at different heights (first level and second level) to create overlapping brushing planes that can access hard-to-reach areas around orthodontic appliances, implants, and prostheses.
2Productivity
If multiple brushing planes are created with bent bristles, then cleaning of hard-to-reach areas is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process is segmented into distinct steps: inserting bristles at different levels, creating bends in specific tufts, and forming channels at defined positions. This segmentation allows each manufacturing operation to be optimized independently while maintaining overall simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
Not all bristles are bent - only specific tufts are bent at specific locations to create the multi-plane structure. The majority of bristles remain straight, maintaining simplicity where needed while adding complexity only where required for enhanced cleaning functionality.
3Adaptability or versatility
If bristles are bent at terminal ends to create multiple brushing planes, then access to perpendicular surfaces is improved, but bristle structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Bent bristles are incorporated into specific tufts to create curved brushing surfaces that can adapt to the contours of teeth and orthodontic appliances. The bends in the bristles allow the brushing plane to conform to perpendicular surfaces and irregular geometries in the oral cavity.
Solution Approach 2:
The toothbrush is designed to perform multiple cleaning functions with a single device by incorporating both straight and bent bristles in various configurations. This allows the same toothbrush to clean flat surfaces, perpendicular surfaces, and hard-to-reach areas, replacing the need for multiple specialized tools.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a toothbrush comprising tufts, bundles, skeins or groups of bent or angled bristles, which may be interspersed with tufts, bundles, skeins or groups of conventional straight bristles in different arrangements in a base area of the head of a toothbrush, which makes the brushing planes or bristle surfaces can be modified, presenting more than one brushing plane or bristle surface, that is, the present invention has bristles bent or angled at their ends, providing other bristle surfaces that allow the brushing of surfaces perpendicular to the bristle insertion plane in the base area of the toothbrush head. This invention allows the brushing of teeth, gums and mucous membranes simultaneously to the brushing of orthodontic appliances, prostheses or implants.