Brush Head Tuft Design for Interdental Cleaning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional oral care brush heads with uniform tufts are inadequate for effectively removing plaque and debris from hard-to-reach areas such as the gingival margin, interproximal regions, and lingual surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A brush head design featuring tufts with varying filament lengths and orientations, where longer filaments are surrounded by shorter ones, and the tufts are inclined and twisted to create a tuft-in-tuft configuration, allowing for increased penetration into interdental regions and improved cleaning efficacy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If uniform tufts with identical filaments are used, then the brush head structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the cleaning effectiveness in hard-to-reach areas such as interdental regions is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating tufts with heterogeneous filaments where the inner group has different properties (longer length, different diameter) compared to the outer group. This local differentiation enables the inner filaments to penetrate deeper into interdental spaces while outer filaments provide structural support and surface cleaning, thereby improving cleaning effectiveness in specific hard-to-reach areas without complicating the overall manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements the nested doll principle by arranging filaments in concentric groups where the inner group of filaments is surrounded by the outer group. The inner filaments are positioned coaxially within the outer filaments, creating a nested structure that allows shorter outer filaments to protect and guide the longer inner filaments into interdental regions while maintaining a compact tuft configuration that is easy to manufacture.
2Productivity
If tufts with varying filament lengths and orientations are implemented, then penetration into interdental regions is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing each tuft into distinct groups of filaments with different characteristics. The inner group of filaments has longer length and different diameter compared to the outer group, allowing each segment to perform specialized functions. This segmentation enables deeper penetration into interdental regions while maintaining manageable complexity through systematic organization of filament groups.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements asymmetry by creating tufts where the inner filaments have asymmetric properties (longer length, different diameter) relative to the outer filaments. This asymmetric design allows the inner filaments to extend further and reach into interdental spaces that symmetric uniform tufts cannot access, improving penetration capability while the asymmetric structure remains manufacturable through standardized tuft formation processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances cleaning efficiency by allowing filaments to apply varying forces and penetrate deeper into interdental areas, providing better removal of plaque and debris from hard-to-reach regions.
Implementation Method 1
the filaments are periodically erected to have a larger distance from the mounting surface and deflected to have a shorter distance from the mounting surface which results in a pulsating increasing and decreasing of the force applied to e.g. a tooth by the filaments of the tuft
Data Source
Figure 1~6
Figure 2~5
AI summary
The present disclosure is concerned with a brush head (1) for an oral care implement. The brush head (1) comprises at least one (first) group of tufts (5, 6, 7) extending from a mounting surface (4) of a tuft carrier (3) having a rotation axis (I). The tufts having a base end extending from the mounting surface and a free end. The tufts (5) of the first group are tufts having, in the plane of the mounting surface, an extension in a circumferential direction about the rotation axis (I) which exceeds an extension in a radial direction with respect to the rotation axis (I). The tufts (5) of the first group may be inclined with respect to the mounting surface (4) in at least one direction. Further, each of the tufts (5) of the first group may comprise a first group of filaments (5a) and a second group of filaments (5b) with the free ends of the filaments (5b) of the second group of filaments protruding beyond the free ends of the filaments (5a) of the first group of filaments.