CN100473305C - a toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

A toothbrush comprising a head with a preventative polishing cup closely surrounded by a cleaning element in the form of a ring of bristles extending over the surface of the cup. Alternatively, the cups may be in the form of a closely spaced array of cleaning elements. The areas formed by these structures hold the toothpaste on the toothbrush during use. Additional cleaning elements may be provided around the periphery of the toothbrush head. The toothbrush can be an electric toothbrush in which the cup and/or ring of bristles can be rotated, oscillated or reciprocated to better clean the teeth.

Description

a toothbrush

technical field

The invention relates to an electric or manual toothbrush, which includes a handle and a head. Cleaning elements, such as bristle tufts, are secured to the head. When toothpaste is applied to the cleaning element, the user inserts the toothbrush head into the mouth and brushes his teeth in a known manner. The invention also includes a prophylactic polishing cup or array of bristles forming a cup in the center of the head to hold toothpaste. These cups are tightly surrounded by cleaning pieces and help keep the toothpaste on the head.

Background technique

Conventional toothbrush heads typically have planar or slightly varying surfaces to which cleaning elements are attached. Typically the cleaning elements are bundles of plastic material formed into tufts, bundles or other groups. The bundled cleaning elements are attached to the head before and after forming the toothbrush.

The prior art has proposed various methods to position the cleaning element to the toothbrush.

U.S. Patent No. 2,083,217, issued to E.I. Brothers et al. on June 8, 1937, discloses two or three annular bristle portions disposed in cups 5 and 5' which are threadably connected to mating cups. Located in the receiving portion of the toothbrush handle so it can be removed and replaced when required (see page 2, lines 52 to 70). Each bristle portion comprises a hard cleaning element and is spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal axis of the handle by a distance less than the thickness of the toothbrush so that the toothbrush can be operated on the lingual (inside) and facial (outside) sides of the teeth (see page 2, column 1, line 71 to column 2 row 9).

U.S. Patent No. 5,604,951 describes a toothbrush with a head that includes a flexible rubber-like prophylactic polishing cup, or "prophylaxis cup," similar to the cups used by dental professionals to professionally clean teeth pieces. The user places toothpaste on the prophy cup and applies it to the teeth. According to the patent, "the soft rubbery prophylactic cup conforms to the shape of the tooth better than the bristles" (see column 2, lines 23 to 26). This patent also discloses a ring of cleaning elements (bristle tufts) which are arranged around the toothbrush head and cooperate with the prophylactic cup to clean the teeth and gums of the user (column 2, lines 34 to 47).

Another method of oral hygiene is described in the toothbrush described in US Patent No. 6,041,468 assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The cleaning elements (bristles) of this toothbrush are arranged concavely across the width of the toothbrush head (see Figures 3 to 5, column 4, rows 1 to 22.

Design patents showing annular sets of cleaning elements are US Patent Nos. Des. 273,635 issued to Stocchi on May 1, 1984, and D450,929s issued to Angelina et al.

Contents of the invention

The present invention seeks to improve toothbrush polishing/grinding capabilities and provides a structure that facilitates retention of toothpaste in place on the head of the toothbrush during use. This object is achieved by fitting an elastic preventive cup to the head of the toothbrush, which cup is closely surrounded by cleaning elements extending above the surface of the cup.

Unlike a professional dentist's office, where the dental professional repeatedly adds toothpaste to the prophylactic cup, the average home toothbrush user only applies a portion of the toothpaste to the toothbrush. Most of the applied toothpaste and its cleaning effectiveness are generally lost after the first few brushing strokes in the user's mouth. Toothpaste falls when the toothbrush head enters the mouth from a horizontal to vertical tilt process, or is squeezed out when the toothbrush is pressed against the teeth. Toothpaste loses its cleaning value once it is not in contact with the toothbrush and teeth.

Thus, the present invention provides a unique combination of properties for holding and retaining toothpaste in the head of the toothbrush. The preventive cup is arranged in the center of the head of the toothbrush, preferably in the center of the longitudinal axis of the head. Alternatively, the cup may be in the form of an array of bristles. These cups are tightly surrounded by the cleaning element assembly. The height of the cleaning element relative to the surface of the toothbrush head is greater than the height of the preventive cup from the surface. The combined taller cleaning member at least partially surrounds the preventive cup, forming a barrier for the preventive cup that retains the toothpaste when in use.

Additional sets of cleaning elements can then be placed around the toothbrush head to clean the teeth with the toothpaste held by the prophylactic cup and surrounding cleaning elements. The outer cleaning unit provides a massage for the gums and removes spots on the gum line.

The cleaning elements are generally bristles secured to the head of the toothbrush by Affixed Free Tuft (AFT) technology.

The present invention can be implemented by fixing the cup-shaped member and the surrounding cleaning member group to a disc, which can be electrically driven to continuously rotate back and forth in the same direction as an oscillating motion.

Description of drawings

The present invention can be used in a wide variety of oral hygiene products. The drawing shows an application of the invention, which is not the only embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a front view of the toothbrush of the present invention showing the arrangement of the prophylactic cup and cleaning elements used in the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the 2-2 section of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a front view of an electric toothbrush according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a front view of a toothbrush showing other arrangements according to the invention;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view along section 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Figure 6 is a front view of an electric toothbrush incorporating the cup and cleaning element arrangement of Figures 4 and 5;

7 is a front view of an electric toothbrush according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along section 8-8 of FIG. 7 .

Detailed ways

Figure 1 shows a manual toothbrush 10 incorporating features of the present invention. The toothbrush 10 includes a handle 12 and a head 14 . The handle 12 may comprise a textured band (not shown) of a suitable resilient material. The invention mainly relates to the provision of preventive cups and cleaning elements according to the invention. A cup 16 is arranged in the center of the head 14 . As shown, three cups 16 are secured to the head 14, although greater or lesser numbers of such cups are contemplated for the toothbrush 10. The preventive cup 16 is generally made of a soft elastic material and, as its name implies, has the shape of a cup. The inner surface of the cup may include ribs to help clean the teeth of the user when the toothbrush is pressed against them. More importantly, the cupped shape of the preventive cup 16 serves to keep the toothpaste in place while the toothbrush 10 is in use.

Carrying out the toothpaste retaining function is a set of cleaning elements or bristle rings 18 surrounding some or all of the prophylactic cups. As shown in FIG. 2 , the ring of bristles 18 extends a greater distance than the prevention cup 16 over the surface 20 of the head 14 . This height above the cup 16 serves as an additional structure to retain toothpaste in the toothbrush head 14 when in use. A preferred arrangement of the bristle ring 18 is to have a space of about 1 mm from the outer peripheral surface of the prophylactic cup 16 .

As the toothbrush 10 approaches a user's teeth and the user applies force to the handle 14 , the toothpaste applied by the user will be forced into the area 22 between the prophylactic cup 16 and the surrounding bristle ring 18 . Toothpaste will be held by the preventive cup 16 in a retention area 22 near the top of the bristle ring.

The unique combination of prophylactic cup 16 and closely surrounding bristle ring 18 keeps most of the toothpaste in the desired area 22 where the primary cleaning member, prophylactic cup and bristle ring are in contact with the user's teeth . The surrounding ring of bristles 18 traps toothpaste as it exits the cup 16, and acts as a supplement when the direction of brushing is changed.

In order to achieve the cleaning effect of the preventive cup 16 and bristle ring 18, further cleaning elements 24 may be arranged around the periphery of the head 14 in a manner similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . These peripheral cleaning elements 24 can help clean deep between teeth and at the gum line. These additional cleaning elements can be tufts, elastic walls or fingers as shown.

The cleaning elements 24 and the bristle ring 18 are arranged on various parts of the head 14 in a known manner. For example, Affixed Free Tuft (AFT) technology can be used to affix cleaning elements. In AFT, a sheet or membrane can be secured to the toothbrush head by ultrasonic welding. The bristles extend through the sheet or membrane. The free ends of the bristles on the sheet and membrane side perform a cleaning function. The bristle ends on the other side of the sheet and membrane are melted together by heat and held in place. Any suitable form of cleaning element may be used in the broad practice of the invention. The term "cleaning element" is broad and may include conventional fibrous bristles or massaging elements, or other forms of cleaning elements such as elastic fingers or walls arranged in a circular cross-sectional shape or any desired shape, shape Contains linear or sinusoidal sections. When using the bristles, the bristles may be secured to the bristle block or portion by extending through suitable openings in the bristle block such that the base of the bristles are secured within or below the bristle block.

It should be understood that the particular display of cleaning elements is exemplary only. The practice of the present invention can be through various combinations (such as AFT, etc.), and/or the same bristle or cleaning element material, (such as nylon bristles, spiral bristles, rubber bristles, etc.). Similarly, although the cleaning elements are shown generally normal to the head 14, some or all of the cleaning elements may be inclined to the surface 20 of the head 14 at various angles. Combinations of cleaning element configurations, materials, and locations can thus be selected to achieve specific desired outcomes, resulting in additional oral health benefits, such as enhanced cleanliness, tooth polishing, tooth whitening, and/or gum massaging.

Although the ring of bristles 18 is shown formed of fibrous bristles, the ring of bristles could be formed of other forms of cleaning members, such as resilient fingers.

Figure 3 shows a motorized version 10A of a toothbrush in which a portion 40 of the head 14 is movable under power, or may include power means for the cleaning elements. Portion 40 may have the form of a disc. The preventive cup 16 and/or bristle ring 18 are preferably affixable to a portion 40 which is electrically provided for rotation or oscillation. A switch 26 on the toothbrush 10A may be used to actuate and turn off power to the moving parts of the toothbrush 10A.

The moving part 40 is rotatably oscillating, such as by using a drive mechanism of the type shown in U.S. Patent No. 5,625,916, or can be moved in and out using a drive mechanism of the type shown in U.S. Patent No. RE 35,941, all details of both U.S. Patents This article is incorporated by reference. Alternatively, other types of drive mechanisms mentioned above may move portion 40 in other directions or in other ways, and although FIG. 3 shows moving portion 40 at one end of head 14, the moving portion may be located at any desired location on the head. .

1-3 relate to an embodiment of the invention in which the cleaning element 19 surrounds the preventive cup 16 . However, the invention also makes it possible not to use preventive cups, but to form the cups with dense cleaning elements. This embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 . As shown, toothbrush 110 shares many of the same features as toothbrush 10 . Thus, toothbrush 110 includes handle 112 and head 114, similar to the same elements of FIGS. 1-3.

According to the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 , a central dense cleaning element 116 is disposed in the center of the head 114 , preferably aligned with the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush 110 . As shown, three circular groups of closely spaced cleaning elements 216 are secured to head 114, although more or fewer groups are contemplated for toothbrush 110. The end of the cleaning element set 116 generally has a cup shape in its cross-sectional shape. The cup-shaped cleaning member 116 keeps the toothpaste in place when the toothbrush is in use.

Accomplishing this toothpaste retaining function is a set of cleaning elements or bristle rings 118 that surround some or all of the cup-shaped cleaning elements 116 . As best shown in FIG. 5 , the ring of bristles 118 extends a greater distance from the surface 120 of the head 114 than the cleaning cup 116 . This extra height relative to the cleaning cup 116 serves as an additional mechanism for retaining toothpaste on the toothbrush head 114 during use. The ring of bristles 118 is preferably positioned about 1 millimeter from the outer periphery of the cup-shaped cleaning element 116 .

As the toothbrush 110 approaches a user's teeth and the user applies force to the handle 114 , toothpaste applied by the user will be forced into the retention zone 122 formed by the surrounding ring of bristles 118 . With the top of the cup shaped cleaning element 116, the toothpaste will remain in the holding area 122 near the top of the bristle ring.

The unique combination of member 116 and closely surrounding ring of bristles 118 retains most of the toothpaste where it is needed, namely in area 122 adjacent the main cleaning member which contacts the user's teeth. The surrounding bristle ring 118 blocks toothpaste as it exits the cup-shaped bristle member 116 and acts as a refill container when changing the brushing direction of the toothbrush.

In order to achieve the cleaning action of the cup 116 and bristle ring 118, a further member 124 may be provided on the periphery of the head 114 in a manner similar to that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 . These peripheral cleaning elements 124 facilitate cleaning deep between teeth and along the gum line.

Toothbrush 10 as shown in Figures 1-2, cleaning elements 16, 118 and 124 are disposed on head 114 in a known manner. Any suitable form of cleaning element may be used in the broad practice of the invention.

Figure 6 shows a motorized version 110A of a toothbrush in which a portion 140 of the head 114 is movable under power, or may include a power mechanism for the cleaning elements. Cup-shaped cleaning member 116 and/or bristle ring 118 are preferably powered to provide rotational or oscillating motion. A switch 126 on the toothbrush 110A may be used to actuate and turn off power to the moving parts of the toothbrush 110A. Toothbrush 110A may operate in the same manner as toothbrush 110A.

Toothbrushes 10A and 110A utilize power drives to move the various sections 40,140. Figures 7 and 8 show these embodiments of the invention in more detail. As shown in FIG. 7 , an electric toothbrush 210 includes a handle 212 and a head 214 . The handle 212 includes a battery pack or rechargeable unit 216 that can provide toothbrush 210 with power for movement. The power source 216 is electrically connected to the motor 218 by suitable in-line or back connections. Selective operation of motor 218 may be controlled by switch 220 .

A drive shaft 222 extends from one end of the motor 218 toward the head 214 . The motor 218 can be driven to apply rotational or reciprocating motion to the drive shaft 222 . The other end is located under a disc or moving platform 224 on which are fixed cups 226 and taller cleaning members 228 .

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the drive shaft rotates back and forth through an angle of about 60 to 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. 8 . The offset 223 of the drive shaft 222 rotates a similar angular distance. These offsets 223 of the drive shaft 222 are located in slots 225 on the base of the platform 224 . As the shaft is turned back and forth by the aforementioned angle, the offset 223 causes the platform 224 to reciprocate as the offset pushes the sides of the slot 225 alternately in one direction and then the other. This in turn causes either the cup 226 or bristle ring 228 to reciprocate, depending on which is secured to the platform 224 . This movement helps clean teeth and massage gums.

According to the present invention, cup 226 is secured to platform 224 at the center of head 214 and is preferably aligned with the longitudinal axis of toothbrush 210 . As shown, the head 214 includes three cups 226 , although the use of more or fewer cups for the toothbrush 210 is contemplated. Where the cup 226 is a prophylactic cup, the prophylactic cup 226 is generally made of a soft elastic material, and as its name implies, the cup is cup-shaped. The inner surface of the cup may include ribs to help clean the teeth of the user when the toothbrush is pressed against them. Additionally, the cup portion of the preventive cup 226 serves to keep the toothpaste in place while the electric toothbrush 10 is in use.

Although specifically shown as a prophylactic cup, cup 226 may also be a dense array of cleaning elements, such as cup 116 .

Accomplishing these toothpaste retaining and cleaning functions is a cleaning element set or bristle ring 228 that surrounds some or all of the cup 226 . As described above relative to toothpaste 10 and 110.

It should be appreciated that various features shown in various embodiments can be combined in other embodiments. Thus, for example, where a toothbrush uses multiple cups, all cups may be preventive cups, or all cups may be cups formed from densely packed cleaning elements. Alternatively, a combination of the two different types of cups may be used in any suitable arrangement. Thus, when three cups are used, the end cups may be of a different type than the middle cup, or only one end cup may be different from the others. When more than three cups are used, the cups are preferably aligned longitudinally, which may all be different types of cups or a combination of different cups. Alternatively, when using multiple cups, the cups need not be aligned longitudinally if a wider toothbrush head is used. Although the arrangement of cups and bristle rings shows uniform mutual spacing, non-uniform spacing can also be used.

Claims (12)

1. toothbrush, comprise handle, be connected to the head of handle, described head has the surface, a plurality of outward extending cup-shaped spares are set on it, each described cup-shaped spare is centered on by second cleaning device that intensive a plurality of first cleaning devices in the center with first center were limited and be configured to have the ring at second center, and the 3rd cleaning device is provided with around to small part toothbrush head periphery.

2. toothbrush according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described second cleaning device is arranged to intactly center on the ring of described a plurality of first cleaning devices.

3. toothbrush according to claim 2 is characterized in that, described second cleaning device is arranged to apart from the ring of the position of 1 millimeter of the outer peripheral face of described a plurality of first cleaning devices.

4. toothbrush according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described second cleaning device is an elastomeric material.

5. toothbrush according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described a plurality of cup-shaped spares are evenly spaced, vertically aligns along the longitudinal axis of described head.

6. toothbrush according to claim 4 is characterized in that, described second cleaning device is at least one elastic wall.

7. toothbrush according to claim 6 is characterized in that, described second cleaning device is by the fixing free tuft setting on head.

8. toothbrush according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described cup-shaped spare is preventative polishing cup-shaped spare.

9. toothbrush comprises:

Handle; With

Be connected to the head of handle, wherein said head comprises:

Be installed in described head the center mobile platform and along the cup-shaped spare of the longitudinal axis alignment of described head, described cup-shaped spare is a plurality of first intensive cleaning devices, the inner surface of described cup-shaped spare comprises flank;

Second cleaning device forms the bristle rings around described cup-shaped spare, and the height of wherein said second cleaning device is greater than described a plurality of first intensive cleaning devices, and bristle rings centers on described cup-shaped spare with the outer peripheral face preset distance apart from described cup-shaped spare.

10. toothbrush according to claim 9 is characterized in that, also comprises driving shaft, rotates the reciprocating motion cause described mobile platform and described cup-shaped spare mounted thereto.

11. toothbrush according to claim 9 is characterized in that, described preset distance is 1 millimeter.

12. toothbrush according to claim 9 is characterized in that, also comprises motor or driving shaft, with rotation or the oscillating motion that cup-shaped spare is provided.

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