JP4541874B2 - toothbrush - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toothbrush in which a hair bundle obtained by bundling a plurality of brushes having a tapered shape is implanted on a head-planted surface.

  In the conventional toothbrush, 16 to 60 brushes per flock hole and 32 to 120 brushes are fixed to the head flocking surface using a flat wire. If the hair bundle that constitutes the toothbrush is thick, the force applied to the hair bundle will be supported by the brushes, and the brush itself will not be able to demonstrate the supple movement inherent in the tooth neck, The brush tip does not reach fine gaps such as the interdental part and the pit and fissured part of the occlusal surface, and it is sometimes impossible to perform sufficient oral cleaning. In addition, since thick hair bundles have high rigidity, there is a possibility that gingiva and oral mucosa may be damaged when brushing with a strong force.

  Therefore, as a toothbrush that is soft to the touch, has high interdental reachability, and can effectively remove interdental dirt, a toothbrush that makes it easier for the bristles to bend during brushing by reducing the cross-sectional area of the bunch is proposed. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). However, since the cross-sectional area of the bristle bundle is small and it is easy to bend, the durability of the bristle bundle is remarkably low compared with a normal toothbrush, and the big subject that it is hard to endure long-term actual use remained.

  On the other hand, a toothbrush using a taper-shaped brush whose tip side is thinner than the root portion is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In the case of a brush having a tapered shape, the stress applied to the brush at the time of brushing is attenuated by the deflection of the brush and does not reach the brush root directly, so that the bend recovery is improved and the durability is improved. In addition, since the tip of such a brush is thin, it is also known that the brush enters even a slight gap between teeth or between teeth and gums, and anaerobic bacterial layers and biofilms can be removed. Yes. However, in the case of a brush with a taper shape, the tip is very thin, so the tip is bent against the tooth surface during brushing, and the force to scrape off the tooth-adhering substance is weakened. In some cases, removal or stain removal cannot be performed.

  Therefore, in order to improve the scraping force by the brush, a brush for a toothbrush having a tip portion of about 40 μm has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 3). No study has been made on the specification for the hair transplantation part.

JP 2003-9951 A (all pages, all figures) JP 2001-120357 A (all pages, all figures) JP 11-290134 A (all pages, all figures)

  The present invention provides a taper-shaped brush that is comfortable to the gingiva, has an excellent massage effect on the gingiva, has high reachability to the smooth surface and interdental surface of the tooth surface, and has extremely high durability. An object of the present invention is to provide a small number of hair bundle toothbrushes used.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following means.
That is, in the toothbrush according to claim 1, in the toothbrush in which a bundling bundle of a plurality of brushes is fixed to the head flocking surface using a flat line, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the roots of the bristles constituting the bristle is 1. 0.0 mm 2 or less, the number of hair bundles per unit flocking area is 25 or more and 80 or less, and for at least some of the hair bundles, the cross-sectional area of at least one tip of the brush constituting the hair bundle For a brush whose cross-sectional area is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the root part and whose cross-sectional area is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the root part, the volume of the brush part protruding above the flocked surface is it is characterized in that the section thickness is 70 to 95% of the same cylindrical brush volume with the brush.

The flocked area refers to the area (JIS S 3016) where the outside of the flocked hole group formed on the flocked surface of the head portion is connected by a straight line (JIS S 3016), and the number of hair bundles per unit flocked area refers to the head portion. It is a value (unit: bundle / cm ² ) obtained by dividing the total number of hair bundles (= total number of planted holes) planted on the planted surface by the planted area.

Conventional brushes with thick bristle bundles support each other during brushing, so they do not exhibit the natural movement of brushes, and are highly effective in removing plaque at small gaps such as the neck and pits and fissures. No toothbrush has ever been. As a result of repeated experiments and studies on the relationship between the thickness of the hair bundle and the plaque removal effect, the contact comfort, and the like, the present inventors have found that the sum total of the cross-sectional areas of the root portions of the brushes constituting the hair bundle is 1.0 mm ² or less, unit It has been found that when the number of hair bundles per planted area is 25 or more and 80 or less, the effect of removing plaque at a fine site is improved, and a comfortable touch of hair is obtained.

If the sum is greater than 1.0 mm ² of the cross-sectional area of the brush constituting the tuft, because rigidity tuft is too thick is too high, comfort is not obtained per agreeable bristle tufts into fine gaps Could not enter, and the plaque removal effect was not sufficient. Even if the total cross-sectional area of the root portion of the brush is 1.0 mm ² or less, if the number of hair bundles per unit flocking area is less than 25, not only the appearance of the brush portion looks poor but also the tooth surface The plaque removal effect on the smooth surface was not sufficiently obtained. When the number of hair bundles per unit planting area is more than 80 bundles, the interval between the hair bundles is too narrow and the free movement of the hair bundles is restricted, and not only the penetration into the interdental portion is lowered, but also tooth brushing. There were hygiene problems such as clogging between the hair bundles.

  On the other hand, toothbrushes composed of thin bunches that satisfy the above conditions have a soft feel and a soft feeling of brushing, but the deflection of the bristles is too great, and the bristles are more durable than normal thick bristles. The property is significantly lowered. Therefore, as a result of intensive studies, the cross-sectional area of the tip of the brush constituting the hair bundle is small compared to the cross-sectional area of the root part, in particular, the volume of the brush part protruding above the flocked surface is the length and root of the hair. By using a brush whose part thickness is 70 to 95% of the volume of the same columnar brush as that of the brush, the stress acting on the brush can be effectively dispersed by the deflection of the hair, and the durability can be improved. It became clear that it could be significantly improved. Furthermore, by using a brush with such a shape, the tip of the brush is narrower than that of a normal columnar brush, making it easier for the hair tips to enter between the teeth and between the teeth and gums. The removal capability can also be improved.

  If the volume of the brush is less than 70%, the contact feeling of the hair will be soft, but the tip of the hair will be too thin to remove the plaque on the smooth surface of the tooth surface, increasing the amount of unpolished, etc. There was a bug. In addition, when the volume of the brush is greater than 95%, the deflection of the hair cannot be obtained sufficiently, so that the brush is easily opened and the durability is deteriorated, and the tip of the hair enters between the teeth and the gums. It becomes difficult.

  More specifically, in the above-described brush, the brush diameter gradually decreases from the root portion to the tip, and the diameter of each brush cross section at each of the 1.0 mm, 2.0 mm, and 5.0 mm portions from the tip corresponds to the diameter of the root portion. By setting 60 to 95%, 75 to 100%, and 80 to 100%, it is possible to remove plaque from the tooth surface while maintaining the durability of the hair bundle and the ability of the brush to enter the interdental and cervical regions. It became possible to improve.

  When the diameter of the most advanced surface was larger than 90%, the plaque removal effect on the smooth surface of the tooth surface was improved, but the interdental penetration and durability were lowered. On the other hand, when the diameter of the most advanced surface is made thinner than 60%, the effect of removing plaque on the tooth surface is lowered. As for the thicknesses at the 2.0 mm and 5.0 mm sites, if the thickness is too large, the interdental penetration and durability are lowered, and if it is too thin, the plaque removal effect on the tooth surface is reduced.

  The types of brushes include both-end tapered hair with both ends narrowed, one-end tapered hair with only one tip narrowed, and normal hair with the same thickness from the base end to the tip. These can be used in combination. For example, in order to improve the plaque removal effect on the smooth surface, in order to improve the plaque removal power of the back teeth, and the one where normal hair is arranged at the center of the flocked portion and both ends are tapered on the outside, Various forms such as one in which one end tapered bristles are arranged at the front end of the flocked portion and both end tapered bristles are arranged from the center to the rear end portion can be adopted. These are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these.

  The brush with a thin tip used in the present invention is an ultra-fine tip brush obtained by subjecting polyester columnar hair to an alkali or acid treatment, or a cylindrical tip hair such as nylon that has been mechanically polished or treated with an organic solvent. After the hair is fastened to the flocked hole with a flat wire, it may be produced by cutting the tip, or after alkali or acid treatment, the shape may be aligned by physical polishing. Further, after the polyester columnar hair is treated with an alkali, the tips may be trimmed to obtain hair having a desired specification, which is not limited by the manufacturing method.

  The shape of the flocked hole is preferably a normal circle or square hole, but it has a major axis and a minor axis, such as a substantially elliptical shape, a substantially oval shape, a substantially rectangular shape, and the major axis and minor axis of adjacent flocked holes. By combining the directions, it is possible to design the specifications according to the desired contact feeling and the feeling of brushing. In addition, when the flock holes are arranged so that the short axis side is along the brush periphery, the hair bundle looks finer than the circular hair bundle in which the same number of brushes are implanted, so that the appearance discrimination can be remarkably improved. . In particular, it is also possible to arrange the flock holes in a staggered manner in order to avoid the interference of the flat line and perform a denser hole arrangement.

  When a flat line is driven in the long axis direction of the flocked hole, the brushes are arranged along the flat line, so that the single hair removal strength is improved. In addition, since the outermost hair bundle of the head portion looks thin depending on the direction in which the flat line is driven, the appearance discrimination can be improved. In this case, the shape of the flocked hole is preferably substantially rectangular in order to reduce the gap between the hair bundle and the flocked hole. Also, when driving a flat wire in the short axis direction, the space between the flocked hole and the hair bundle should be reduced by matching the diameter of the circumscribed circle with respect to the hair bundle cross section and the short axis direction of the flocked hole. This makes it possible to create a flocked portion with excellent fuzzing. In this case, when the brush cross section to be used is circular, it is more preferable that the flocked hole shape is substantially elliptical or substantially oval.

  The material of the flat wire for driving the hair bundle can be not only metals such as brass and stainless steel, but also biodegradable plastics and hard plastics. In order to securely fix the flock hole and the hair bundle and reduce the gap, the thickness can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the flat wire. By reducing the thickness of the flat wire, the warp of the head portion can be reduced, and by increasing the thickness, the flocking strength can be improved. The width of the flat line to be used is not particularly limited and can be set arbitrarily.

  The material of the toothbrush handle constituting the head portion, neck portion, and grip portion includes polystyrene resin (PS), polypropylene resin (PP), polyethylene terephthalate resin (PET), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene resin (ABS), cellulose propionate resin ( CP), polyarylate resin, saturated polyester resin (PCTA, PCTG), acrylonitrile styrene resin (AS), polyacetal resin (POM), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), or the like can be used alone or in combination. It is also possible to make a multicolor molded handle combined with thermoplastic elastomers, and the handle material is not subject to the above-mentioned limitations.

  As materials for the brushes (filaments) constituting the hair bundle, polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, and polytrimethylene terephthalate, polyamides such as nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 6-10, nylon 6-12, and nylon 12 are used. Materials that can be melt-spun, such as polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene, and polyvinyl halides such as polyvinylidene fluoride, are used, but nylon and polytrimethylene terephthalate are preferred from the viewpoints of usability and durability. Further, these brushes can be formed into a double-core sheath shape and used according to purposes such as brushes having different materials on the outside and inside, and brushes having different surface conditions. Furthermore, it is also possible to further improve the function of the toothbrush by arranging the hairs of a plurality of materials in combination in the flocked portion.

  The thickness of the brush is 3 to 10 mils (0.076 to 0.254 mm), preferably 5 to 8 mils (0.125 to 0.203 mm). Usability, cleaning feeling, and cleaning effect In view of durability, it is also preferable to use these in combination. In particular, the specifications with a large number of holes can change the thickness, material, length, color, cross-sectional shape, etc. It is preferable in terms of usability and appearance differentiation.

  Specific types of brushes include normal round hairs, taper hairs, diamond hairs (Tynex (registered trademark) Brilliance Collection filaments), feather hairs (Tynex FEATHERED Fillaments), and other irregular cross-section hairs (Tynex HEXAGONAL Examples include, but are not limited to, Fillaments, Tynex RECTANGULAR Fillaments), Tynex GRAINY filaments, spiral catch hair, indicator hair, and the like.

  Furthermore, with respect to the brush, by setting the brush profile, i.e., the free end portion and the brush length arbitrarily, the brush tip surface can be made into a single flat shape, a mountain shape, or an uneven shape. The shape can be freely set. Furthermore, it is good also as a structure from which the brush profile differs by the outer side and inner side of a toothbrush head part, a front-end | tip part, and a rear-end part.

According to the toothbrush of the present invention, the sum total of the cross-sectional areas of the brushes constituting the hair bundle is 1.0 mm ² or less, the number of hair bundles per unit flocking area is 25 or more and 80 or less, and at least partly For the hair bundle, the cross-sectional area of at least one tip portion of the brush constituting the hair bundle was set to be smaller than the cross-sectional area of the root portion, so that the contact with the gingiva was good, It is possible to obtain a small number of bundled toothbrushes that are excellent in massage effect, have high reachability to the smooth surface and interdental portion of the tooth surface, and have extremely high durability.

Also, the brush the cross-sectional area of the previous end is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the root portion, the volume of the brush portion projecting from the bristle face on the top, the same cylindrical Hair length and the root portion thickness is with the brush Since the volume of the brush is 70 to 95%, the effect can be further enhanced.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a toothbrush according to the present invention, wherein 1 is a toothbrush head part, 2 is a head part flocking surface, 3 is a flocking hole, 4 is a hair bundle, and 5 is a brush constituting the hair bundle. is there. As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the toothbrush of the present invention has a total sum of cross-sectional areas of the roots of the brushes 5 constituting the bristle bundle 4 (= a cross-sectional area at a boundary position with the head part flocking surface 2). 1.0 mm ² or less, and the number of hair bundles 4 per unit flocking area is 25 or more and 80 or less, and the shapes of all the brushes 5 are as shown in FIG. The tip portion 5a has a so-called tapered shape in which the cross-sectional area is made smaller than the cross-sectional area of the root portion, and the volume of the brush portion projecting upward from the head portion flocking surface 2 of the brush 5 having this tapered shape is the bristles. The length h and the root thickness D are 70 to 95% of the volume of the same cylindrical brush (shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure).

  In the above example, the brush 4 is exemplified by the most common tapered brush whose taper portion is formed of a linear inclined surface, but other examples are shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, for example. As shown in FIG. 2 (c), the tip has a bullet-shaped taper shape, a taper shape with a smooth step at the taper start portion, and the taper portion undulates as shown in FIG. 2 (d) as a whole. It is possible to use brushes with various taper shapes such as a taper shape whose diameter decreases toward the hair tip, or a taper shape in which the entire brush rises with a linear inclination as shown in FIG. it can. In any case, the cross-sectional area of the tip 5a of the brush is made smaller than the cross-sectional area of the root part, and the volume of the brush part protruding upward from the head flocking surface 2 is the hair length h and the root part. The part thickness D is set to be 70 to 95% of the volume of the same cylindrical brush (shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure).

3 to 11 show arrangement examples of the flock holes used in the toothbrush of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows the number of flocked holes = 76 holes, the number of flocks per unit flocked area (flocked holes) = 40 bundles,
FIG. 4 shows the number of flock holes = 67 holes, the number of flocks per unit flocking area (flock holes) = 30 bundles,
FIG. 5 shows the number of flocked holes = 71 holes, the number of hair bundles (planted holes) per unit flocked area = 42 bundles,
FIG. 6 shows the number of flocked holes = 41 holes, the number of hair bundles per unit flocked area (planted holes) = 26 bundles,
FIG. 7 shows the number of flock holes = 72 holes, the number of flocks per unit flocking area (flock holes) = 38 bundles,
FIG. 8 shows the number of flock holes = 79 holes, the number of follicles per unit flocking area (flock holes) = 34 bundles,
FIG. 9 shows the number of flock holes = 64 holes, the number of hair bundles per unit flocking area (plant holes) = 36 bundles,
FIG. 10 shows the number of flock holes = 74 holes, the number of flocks per unit flocking area (flock holes) = 39 bundles,
FIG. 11 shows the number of flocked holes = 61 holes, the number of hair bundles (planted holes) per unit flocked area = 41 bundles,
Examples are shown respectively.

<Experimental example 1>
Toothbrushes of the specifications shown in Table 1 (Inventions 1 to 6, Comparative Examples 1 to 4) were prototyped, and a plaque removing power test using model plaque and a toothbrush use test by a specialized panelist were performed. The experimental results are shown in Table 2.

  As is apparent from the experimental results in Table 2, the product of the present invention (present inventions 1 to 6) is excellent in durability and has a high plaque removing power on a smooth surface, as well as conventional toothbrushes (comparative examples 1 to 4). It was confirmed that a pleasant feeling of use different from that can be obtained.

Each test in Table 1 was conducted by the following method.
(1) Durability test method Each toothbrush specified in Table 1 was set in a model durability tester, and a fleece durability test was performed by increasing the number of brushes. In the test method, the toothbrush head portion is positioned on a metal corrugated plate, and the toothbrush head portion and the entire corrugated plate are placed in this state, facing the corrugated plate so that the tip of the brush is in contact with the corrugated plate surface. Immerse in warm water at 35 ° C. and reciprocate the toothbrush head in a direction perpendicular to the wave of the corrugated plate. The test condition was that the toothbrush head part was loaded with a load of 400 g, the reciprocating speed was 150 times / minute, the brushing stroke was 40 mm, and the brushing part opening rate (%) was measured for each toothbrush. The determination was made in the following four-step evaluation according to the magnitude of the value.
◎: Less than 20% ○: 20% or more, less than 30% △: 30% or more, less than 50% ×: 50% or more

In addition, the flocked portion opening rate is measured by measuring the width of the flocked portion of the hair bundle group that has been flocked to the head portion before the start of use (the full width at the hair tip position of the flock group in the direction perpendicular to the handle longitudinal direction). After a predetermined number of times (70,000 times) of brushing with a model durability tester, the width of the flocked portion is measured again, and the difference is divided by the width of the flocked portion before the brushing, multiplied by 100 and displayed as a percentage. is there. The portion to be measured at this time is the hair bundle position facing the outermost side.
Flocking area opening ratio (%) = {(Flocked width after brushing−Flocked width before brushing) / (Flocked width before brushing)} × 100

(2) Test method for plaque removal power After applying red paint as model plaque to the smooth surface of the right upper buccal side first molar of an adult maxillary model made by Nissin and drying it, the toothbrush is applied to the teeth. After pressing with a load of 200 g vertically and brushing 20 times with a stroke of 20 mm, the plaque removal rate (%) was measured, and it was determined in the following four-stage evaluation based on the magnitude of the value.
◎: 90% or more ○: 80% or more, less than 90% △: 50% or more, less than 80% ×: less than 50%

It should be noted that the plaque removal rate is measured by image analysis of the model plaque occupancy area of the smooth surface of the first molar before the test, and after that, the plaque occupancy area of the same part is measured again, and the difference is tested. Divided by the area occupied by the previous plaque, multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage.
Plaque removal rate (%) = {(Plate occupation area before test−Plate occupation area after test) / Plate occupation area before test)} × 100

(3) Test method of hair contact feeling and (4) Interdental penetration property Actually used by 20 professional panelists, and judged by the following four-step evaluation.
◎: Very good ○: Good △: Cannot say either ×: Not good

1 shows an embodiment of a toothbrush according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a schematic perspective view of a toothbrush head portion, (b) is an enlarged view of a hair bundle, and (c) is an enlarged view of a brush constituting the hair bundle. It is. (A)-(e) is a figure which shows the example of the hair-tip shape of the brush used with the toothbrush of this invention, respectively. It is a figure which shows the 1st example of the flock hole arrangement | sequence used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 2nd example of the flock hole arrangement | sequence used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 3rd example of the flock hole arrangement | sequence used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 4th example of the flock hole arrangement | sequence used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 5th example of the flock hole arrangement | sequence used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 6th example of the flock hole array used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 7th example of the flock hole array used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 8th example of the flock hole array used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the 9th example of the flock hole arrangement | sequence used with the toothbrush of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the flock hole arrangement | sequence of the conventional toothbrush as a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head part 2 Head part flocking surface 3 Flocking hole 4 Hair bundle 5 Brush 5a Brush tip h Hair length D Root thickness of brush

Claims (1)

In a toothbrush in which a bundling bundle of a plurality of brushes is fixed to the head flocking surface using a flat wire, the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the roots of the bristles constituting the bristles is 1.0 mm ² or less, per unit flocking area The number of hair bundles is 25 or more and 80 or less, and for at least some of the hair bundles, the cross-sectional area of at least one tip portion of the brush constituting the hair bundle is compared with the root cross-sectional area. For brushes that are made smaller and the cross-sectional area of the tip part is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the root part, the volume of the brush part that protrudes upward from the flocked surface is the same circle as that of the brush. A toothbrush characterized by being 70 to 95% of the volume of a columnar brush .

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