JPH10327933A - Toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the reaching property of bristle tips between teeth, make the bristle tips fittable for tooth faces, and increase the tooth filth removing effect by arranging the whole brush body planted with many bristles on a brush base into a nearly gourd shape along the longitudinal direction of a toothbrush as seen from the protruding direction of the bristle. SOLUTION: This toothbrush 1 is provided with a brush base 2 and a brush body 3 constituted of many bristles 3a planted on the brush base 2. Many bristles 3a constituting the brush body 3 are arranged into a nearly gourd shape along the longitudinal direction Y of the toothbrush 1 as seen from the protruding direction D of the bristles 3a. One large-diameter section 14 and the other large-diameter section 14 of the gourd shape are set equal in length and width, the constriction section 15 between the large-diameter sections 14 is arranged at nearly the center section in the longitudinal direction Y of the toothbrush 1, and two large-diameter sections 14 are not necessarily made equal in length. The bristle tips of two large-diameter sections 14 of the gourd shape can easily enter between teeth as an important point for removing tooth filth.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a toothbrush for brushing human teeth.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a wide variety of toothbrushes are produced and sold by many manufacturers, and the shape of the brush is, for example, a mountain-cut type when viewed from the side or an arch type when viewed from the tip. Things can be seen. The shape of the brush viewed from the direction in which the brush protrudes is, for example, a three-column, eight-row brush. It is standardized.

Here, in order to remove plaque, it is generally necessary that the bristle tip of the toothbrush surely hits the plaque on the tooth surface and that the bristle tip moves well following the movement of the toothbrush. It is said that, in the oral cavity with many irregularities, especially when the toothbrush is applied at right angles to the tooth surface in order to reach the bristle between the teeth, which is an important point of plaque removal, It seems that a brush shape like a conventional mountain cut type is effective.

[0004]

However, in a narrow oral cavity obstructed by the buccal mucosa and tongue, it is often difficult to apply the toothbrush at right angles to the tooth surface with a conventional toothbrush. Further, in some tooth brushing methods instructed by a dentist, it is recommended that the tooth brush be applied at an angle of 45 ° to the tooth surface, such as a bath brushing method. However, conventionally, when used at an oblique angle with respect to the teeth, the fact is that there are few toothbrushes having a shape with good reach of the bristle tip between the teeth.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and has a high plaque removing effect which makes it possible to improve the reach of the bristle tip between the teeth and fit the tooth surface well. It is an object to provide a toothbrush.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a toothbrush according to the present invention has a configuration in which the entire brush body 3 composed of a large number of bristles 3a planted on a brush base 2 has a bristle configuration. 3a, the toothbrush 1 is formed in a substantially gourd shape along the long axis direction Y when viewed from the protruding direction D,
With such a configuration, the tips of the brush body 3 are obliquely applied to the tooth surface, thereby providing two gourd-shaped tips of the large-diameter portion 14 between the teeth, which are the points of plaque removal. Can be penetrated well, the reach of the hair tips can be improved, and the constricted portion 15 between the large-diameter portions 14 can also be fitted well to the convex portion of the tooth 4.

Further, the constricted portion 1 of the substantially gourd-shaped brush body 3
5 is preferably 3 mm or more in the long axis direction Y of the toothbrush 1 and 1 mm or more in the short axis direction X. In this case, the concave size of the gourd-shaped constricted portion 15 is set to the tooth size of the Japanese tooth. By setting the average width in the range, when the toothbrush 1 is applied to the teeth at an angle, the convex portions of the teeth can easily fit in the gourd-shaped constricted portion 15, and thereby the gourd is formed in the interdental portion 5. The tip of the large-diameter portion 14 of the shape can be more easily reached.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the toothbrush 1 includes a brush base 2 and a brush body 3 including a plurality of bristles 3a planted on the brush base 2. The brush body 3 does not necessarily have to be separate from the brush base 2;
It may be formed integrally with the substrate. In the drawing, reference numeral 10 denotes a handle, and reference numeral 11 denotes a neck.

The arrangement of the plurality of bristles 3a constituting the brush body 3 is formed in a substantially gourd shape along the long axis direction Y of the toothbrush 1 when viewed from the protruding direction D of the bristles 3a. In addition,
The cross-sectional shape of the hair 3a is not limited to a circle, but may be, for example, an ellipse or a square. Also, the hair tips may be rounded. Here, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, one large-diameter portion 14 and the other large-diameter portion 1 of a gourd shape are used.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a case where the length and the width are set to be equal, and the constricted portion 15 between the large-diameter portions 14 is arranged at a substantially central portion in the long-axis direction Y of the toothbrush 1, but it is not necessarily a gourd. The lengths of the two large diameter portions 14 of the shape need not be the same. For example, as shown in FIG. It may be longer than the length b of the diameter portion 14, and conversely, as shown in FIG.
The length a of the large-diameter portion 14 on the distal end side of the brush base 2 may be shorter than the length b of the large-diameter portion 14 on the proximal end side.
Also, the width of the two large-diameter portions 14 of the gourd shape does not need to be the same. For example, as shown in FIG. The width A of the large-diameter portion 14 on the distal end side of the brush base 2 may be changed to be larger than the width B of the large-diameter portion 14 as shown in FIG. 14 may be shorter than the width B.
In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 3 to 6, the gourd-shaped shape is symmetrical in the short-axis direction X of the brush base 2, but the shape is not necessarily limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 7, the constricted portion 15 on the right side of the constricted portion 15 on the left side may be brought closer to the distal end side of the brush base 2, and conversely, the constricted portion 15 on the left side of the constricted portion 15 on the right side may be moved. Alternatively, the brush base 2 may be moved to the tip side.

The arrangement of the entire brush body 3 is formed in a gourd shape when viewed from the protruding direction D of the bristles 3a. As a result, as shown in FIG.
In between, the tips of the two large-diameter portions 14 of the gourd shape can penetrate well, the reach of the tips to the interdental portion 5 becomes good, and the constricted portion 15 between the large-diameter portions 14 also In addition, the protruding portions of the teeth 4 are well fitted. Furthermore, by applying the gourd-shaped brush body 3 at a 45 ° angle to the tooth surface as in the bath polishing method recommended by the dentist, the hair tips can be more easily penetrated, and the narrow oral cavity can be obstructed by the buccal mucous membrane or tongue. In this case, the plaque removing effect can be enhanced.

Here, the recess size of the gourd-shaped constricted portion 15 is, for example, as shown in FIG. 8B, 3 mm or more at the widest portion d ₁ in the long axis direction Y of the toothbrush 1 and short. 1 mm at the deepest part d ₂ in the axial direction X
It is desirable to make the above. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 9, the average dimension range of the width d ₄ of the Japanese teeth is 5 mm to 12 mm including the front teeth and the molars. In a standard tooth arrangement, the depth d ₃ of the interdental portion 5 between the first molar and the second molar is about 2 mm. In consideration of the size of the teeth, the teeth, and individual differences, the bristles 3a are arranged in a gourd-shape so as to have the concave size of the constricted portion 15 as described above, so that the toothbrush 1 is inclined with respect to the teeth. When it is applied, the convex portion of the tooth easily fits in the gourd-shaped constricted portion 15, whereby the tip of the gourd-shaped large-diameter portion 14 can more easily reach the interdental portion 5.

The toothbrush is not limited to a hand toothbrush, but is similarly applied to an electric toothbrush. One example is shown in FIG. In this electric toothbrush, for example, a drive shaft 8 protrudes from the tip of a main body 6 having a built-in mechanism for performing a reciprocating linear movement, and a replacement brush 9 integrated with the brush base 2 is mounted on the drive shaft 8. Then, the motor built in the main body 6 is rotated in one direction to cause the drive shaft 8 to perform reciprocating linear motion (bus polishing) via the eccentric shaft and the cam. In particular, in the electric toothbrush which is said to be harder to fit to the tooth surface than the manual toothbrush 1 due to vibration, the use of the gourd-shaped brush body 3 causes unevenness of the teeth and the unevenness of the gourd-shaped brush body 3. It is easy to engage and stabilize, and a fit feeling to the tooth surface is obtained. In addition, the electric toothbrush 1 having, for example, a reciprocating rotary motion (rolling polishing) function in addition to the reciprocating linear motion (bus polishing) function can be widely applied.

In the above embodiment, a large number of bristles 3a are planted on the brush base 2. For example, the bristles 3a and the brush base 2 are implanted.
And the handle part 10 may be integrally formed. In this case, hair 3
In giving a change to the arrangement shape of a, when the hair tips can be rounded by integrally forming the hairs 3a, the hairs can be arranged in a gourd shape more easily than the conventional method of flocking,
The hair tips can be processed more smoothly and more reliably than the conventional polishing method.

[0014]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the arrangement of the whole brush body composed of a large number of bristles planted on the brush base is changed from the direction in which the bristles protrude. It looks like a gourd shape along the long axis direction of the toothbrush, so by applying the tip of the brush body diagonally to the tooth surface,
The two large gourd-shaped bristles can well penetrate between the teeth, which is the point of plaque removal, and the reach of the bristles to the interdental region is improved. Also, by fitting the constricted portion between the large-diameter portions to the protruding portions of the teeth well, the plaque removing effect can be enhanced even in a narrow oral cavity obstructed by the buccal mucosa and the tongue.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the concave size of the constricted portion of the substantially gourd-shaped brush body is set to 3 mm or more in the major axis direction of the toothbrush and the minor axis is reduced. The direction of the dent of the gourd-shaped constriction is within the range of the average width of the teeth of a Japanese person, and the convex part of the tooth is shaped like a gourd when the toothbrush is diagonally applied to the teeth. This makes it easier to fit into the constriction of the gourd, thereby making it easier for the hair tip of the gourd-shaped large diameter portion to reach the interdental portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a front view of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
Is a side view.

FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are explanatory diagrams of a contact state between a tooth and a brush body according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of still another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of still another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of still another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of still another embodiment.

FIG. 8A is an explanatory view of still another embodiment, and FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of a part A of FIG.

9A is an explanatory diagram of a tooth shape, and FIG. 9B is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. 9A.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of still another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toothbrush 2 Brush base 3 Brush body 3a Bristle 14 Large diameter part 15 Constriction D Bristle protruding direction Y Longitudinal direction of toothbrush X Short axis direction of toothbrush

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. The arrangement of an entire brush body composed of a large number of bristles implanted on a brush base is formed in a substantially gourd shape along the long axis direction of a toothbrush viewed from the direction in which the bristles protrude. Characteristic toothbrush. 2. The toothbrush according to claim 1, wherein the concave size of the constricted portion of the substantially gourd-shaped brush body is 3 mm or more in the major axis direction of the toothbrush and 1 mm or more in the minor axis direction.