Interdental Brush With Staggered Bristle Squeegee
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional interdental brushes have poor cleaning effectiveness due to small contact area and insufficient strength, and can harm gums, especially those with metal bristles.
Innovation Solution
An interdental brush design featuring a central shaft with staggered first and second bristle sets, a squeegee connecting them, and a handle, made of plastic with a silicone or rubber covering, which allows for increased cleaning area and gum protection by distributing force effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If fine bristles are used to make the brush thinner and softer, then the brush can penetrate between teeth more easily, but the cleaning ability deteriorates due to poor contact area
Solution Approach 1:
The brush head is segmented into multiple functional components: a rigid support rod for structural integrity, multiple bristle sets (first bristle set and second bristle set) arranged in different directions, and a squeegee component. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function while collectively achieving both penetration and cleaning capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from single-direction bristles to multi-directional bristle arrangement by adding the second bristle set perpendicular to the first bristle set. This dimensional change enables the brush to clean surfaces from multiple angles simultaneously, improving cleaning effectiveness while maintaining the thin profile for penetration.
2Strength
If metal bristles are used to improve cleaning strength, then the cleaning ability is enhanced, but gum damage occurs due to bleeding and harm to gums
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses composite material construction with a rigid support rod (providing structural strength) combined with soft bristles made of silicone or rubber (providing gentle contact). This composite approach allows the brush to maintain structural integrity for effective cleaning while the soft bristle material prevents gum damage.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the brush have different material properties: the support rod is rigid for structural support, while the bristles are soft (silicone or rubber) for gentle contact with gums. This local quality differentiation allows the brush to have both the strength needed for cleaning and the softness needed to protect gums.
3Device complexity
If single linear contact is used to simplify the brush structure, then the structure is simpler, but the cleaning effect deteriorates due to too small contact area
Solution Approach 1:
The contact surface is segmented into multiple bristle sets (first bristle set and second bristle set) arranged in different directions, increasing the total contact area with teeth surfaces. This segmentation maintains relatively simple individual components while collectively achieving enhanced cleaning effect through multiple contact points.
4Ease of manufacture
If independent tapered bristles are used to simplify manufacturing, then the manufacturing process is simpler, but the bristle strength is insufficient as they stand independently without support
Solution Approach 1:
A rigid support rod serves as an intermediary structure that provides foundational support for the bristle sets. The bristles are attached to this support rod, which acts as a mediator transferring and distributing forces, thereby strengthening the bristles while maintaining the simplicity of manufacturing process.
Data Source
AI summary
An interdental brush comprising an interdental brush bar and a grip, the interdental brush bar having a central shaft and a joint portion, the central shaft surface axially staggering a plurality of first bristle sets and a plurality of second bristle sets, the first bristle set has two first bristles, and the second bristle set has two second bristles, and each of the first bristles is connected with an adjacent second bristles to form a squeegee. The grip connects the joint portion, and the squeegee can increase the contact area with the teeth to enhance the cleaning effect.