WO2018062791A1 - Toothbrush bristles made of polyketone material, and toothbrush including same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to toothbrush bristles made of a polyketone material, and a toothbrush including the same, and provides a toothbrush comprising toothbrush bristles made of a polyketone material having high rigidity, high elasticity, and excellent wear resistance such that bristle widening is reduced and the period of use is increased. According to the present invention, the toothbrush bristles manufactured by containing polyketone have excellent elasticity so as to be appropriate for removing plaque from the surfaces of teeth having a lot of curves, and particularly, when the bristles are manufactured as micro bristles, the bristles exhibit an excellent effect of removing interdental plaque, which could not be smoothly removed with conventional toothbrushes.

Description

Polyketone bristles and toothbrushes

This application claims the priority based on Republic of Korea Application No. 10-2016-0125903, filed September 29, 2016 and Republic of Korea Application No. 10-2017-0089694, filed July 14, 2017, and the specification and All the contents disclosed in the drawings are incorporated in this application.

The present invention relates to a polyketone bristle and a toothbrush comprising the same.

More specifically, the present invention provides a bristle and a toothbrush including the bristles having reduced bridging properties and increased service life by producing bristles of a polyketone material having high rigidity, high elasticity and wear resistance.

In addition, since the unit cost of polyketone material is lower than that of nylon or polyester-based polymers, especially polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), which are mainly used as bristles, lower-priced bristles can be supplied.

Toothbrush is a tool used to clean the oral cavity including teeth and gums, and consists of a bag and bristles, among which the bristles are usually manufactured by using a synthetic resin having elasticity.

General bristles have been mainly made of nylon or polyester-based polymers (eg, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT)).

Nylon has the advantage of moderate flexibility, but the water absorption is short, the life is short, the strength is weak to have a thickness of a certain size or more, polyester-based bristle has the disadvantage of low flexibility. Such conventional bristles have to be replaced with bristles when the bristles are shortened to 1 month and 3 months long.

In particular, the fine bristles made of polyester-based polymers such as PBT show a phenomenon that the bristles are getting thinner and wear faster because the tips of the bristles become thinner, which causes inconvenience of frequently replacing the toothbrush.

Throughout this specification, numerous documents are referenced and their citations are indicated. The disclosures of the cited documents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety, so that the level of the technical field to which the present invention belongs and the contents of the present invention are more clearly explained.

The present inventors have studied to solve the problem of the opening of the existing nylon and polyester-based bristles (PBT, etc.), and the problem of the bristles becoming faster and worn out due to the thin bristles, especially in the case of the bristles having thinner bristles. As a result of the effort, the present invention has been completed by producing a bristle having excellent rigidity, high elasticity and wear resistance using a polyketone material.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide bristles including polyketone.

Another object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush comprising the bristles.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, claims and drawings.

One aspect of the present invention is to provide bristles comprising polyketone.

The bristles are the ultimate goal of maximizing the cleaning power of the teeth while minimizing the damage to the gums. In general, the less the gum damage, the lower the cleaning power of the teeth and the higher the stiffness of the material, the higher the damage. There was this accompanying problem. The inventors of the present invention have found a surprising fact that when the polyketone resin is used in the bristles, the plaque is excellently removed due to its high strength and high elasticity, and at the same time there is little gum irritation.

Polyketone resin is a new resin developed in recent years, synthesized from carbon monoxide and olefins, the mechanical properties fall into the category of high performance plastics. U.S. Patent No. 4,843,144 introduces linear alternating polymers synthesized from olefins such as ethylene and propylene and carbon monoxide. The polyketone resin used in this patent has excellent impact resistance, high resilience at both room temperature and low temperature, and has excellent creep characteristics.

In the bristle of the present invention, the polyketone may be one having a basic structure containing carbon monoxide and olefins.

The polyketone may be a hybrid polymer of carbon monoxide and ethylene or a terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and propylene.

In addition, the polyketone component may be represented by the following formula:

In the formula, x: y is 1:10 to 10: 1.

The polyketone polymer used for the bristles in the present invention may be a linear alternating structure, and may substantially include carbon monoxide per molecule of unsaturated hydrocarbons. The ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon compound which can be used as a precursor of the polyketone polymer may have 1 to 20 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 10 carbon atoms. Even more preferably, the ethylenically unsaturated hydrocarbon compound is an ethene or α-olefin (eg propene, 1-butene, iso-butene, 1-hexene, 1-octene).

In addition, the polyketone resin may be prepared by a method of liquid-polymerizing carbon monoxide and olefin using an alcohol solvent in the presence of a catalyst composition containing a palladium compound. In this case, the polymer is recovered through polymerization and filtration and purification, and the remaining catalyst composition is removed with a solvent such as alcohol or acetone.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the bristles may be made of a polyketone material.

In another embodiment, the bristles further comprise at least one water-insoluble polymeric material selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polytrimethylene terephthalate, polyurethane and nylon components. It may be.

For example, the bristles of the present invention may include a linear alternating polymer consisting of carbon monoxide and at least one ethylene unsaturated hydrocarbon and a polyketone blend prepared by blending one or more of the above water-insoluble high molecular materials. .

The water-insoluble polymer material is a material used when manufacturing the general bristles, of which nylon has excellent heat resistance, elastic modulus, and strength, but has a disadvantage of physical property change and dimensional change due to high water absorption. In particular, there is a disadvantage in that the impact resistance change problem occurs when the moisture absorption, it is also possible to use a material of the bristle of the present invention by blending polyketone and nylon as a way to improve this.

In the polyketone blend, it is possible to include 60 to 80% by weight of linear alternating polyketone polymer and 20 to 40% by weight of the at least one water insoluble polymer material.

In the polyketone blend, the polyketone and at least one water insoluble polymer material may be mixed in a weight ratio of 9: 1 to 7: 3.

Polyketone blends can be prepared by melting each component at high temperature and then compounding, whereby it is also possible to mix antioxidants, UV stabilizers and other additional ingredients.

In another embodiment, the bristle is an anti-inflammatory antibacterial agent, whitening agent, anti-irritant, tartar deterrent, flavoring agent, bad breath remover, gum health agent, tooth decay prevention agent, mouthwash, xylitol, bamboo salt, sun salt, preparation salt, tablet salt, pine salt It may further include a component useful for dental health selected from the group consisting of suicide, molten salt, processed salt and phosphate.

When the bristles further contain ingredients useful for dental health, the toothbrush and the moisture during the brushing release the ingredients useful for dental health, and these ingredients act on the teeth or gums to prevent antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory and tartar In addition, the vaccine will help prevent oral diseases.

In addition, the bristles of the present invention may be produced in the form of micro-hairs.

In the case of fine hair, the hair is soft, and every corner of the mouth is in contact with the bristles, and the corners are well wiped, especially between the teeth and the gums. On the other hand, in the case of general fine hair, the hair is quickly worn out or the tip is easily bent, which requires a replacement every 1-2 months. Therefore, studies to improve the durability of the bristles, in particular the fine bristles should also be accompanied.

Since the polyketone fine bristle of the present invention has excellent wear resistance to high rigidity and high elasticity, the polyketone fine bristle has the advantage of being used while maintaining the initial state for the period of use.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the bristles are the same as the diameter of the bristle and the tip diameter, the tip is round round general hair form, or may be a needle-like fine hair form of tapered tapered width.

In the case of the general hair form, the diameter of the bristles may be 0.1 mm to 0.13 mm, and in the case of the micro hair form, the tip diameter may be ultra-fine hair having 0.02 mm or less or 0.01 mm or less.

The bristles of the bristles having a diameter of 0.1 mm to 0.13 mm have bristles more than three times more bristles than the general bristles having a diameter of 0.16 to 0.20 mm. Of course, the gum massage effect is good, it can be a combination of two functions that can not be performed with a regular toothbrush and gum massage. The fine bristles having a diameter of the bristle tip of 0.02 mm or less are thinner than the general gap between the teeth and the gums, so that the plaque between the teeth and the gums is easy to be cleaned and the gingivitis is prevented.

The bristles of the present invention may be prepared using a method of planting in fine "V" shape on the toothbrush head after pre-preparation of finer fine hairs having both ends.

The bristles to be planted may be 5 mm to 25 mm in length from the top of the head to the end of the bristles after being planted, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

The fine hair to be planted may have a total length of 10 to 30 mm or 15 to 25 mm, a thickness of 0.01 mm to 0.1 mm, a length of the hair transplanting part may be 1 mm to 15 mm, and after the planting, fine hair from the top of the toothbrush surface May have a height of 5 mm to 20 mm, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

The bristles prepared by using the polyketone of the present invention have excellent elasticity and are suitable for removing the plaque of the curved tooth surface, thereby effectively removing the plaque between the tooth surface and the interdental teeth, which were not easily removed with the existing toothbrushes.

And, in the process of brushing teeth repeated several times every day can be accompanied by a proper gum massage without stimulation or bleeding gums, so that you can continue to care for the teeth and gum health without having to spend extra time and effort.

Another aspect of the invention is to provide a toothbrush comprising the polyketone bristles described above.

In one embodiment, the toothbrush of the present invention may be made of a product having a physical cleaning and gum massage effect upon brushing by making an elastic member such as rubber, silicone, and the like on a polyketone bristle.

In another embodiment, the toothbrush of the present invention comprises a handle portion having a predetermined thickness and width and a toothbrush head portion connected thereto; Polyketone bristles formed on an upper surface of the toothbrush head; And it may be manufactured in the form having a tip provided on the toothbrush head.

The toothbrush of the present invention may be manufactured in the form of two or more bristles each made of a different material.

For example, the toothbrush of the present invention comprises a handle portion having a predetermined thickness and width and a toothbrush head portion connected thereto; A first bristle is fixed to a portion of the head portion and a second bristle is fixed to another portion of the head portion, wherein the first bristle is made of a polyketone material, the second bristle is polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene tere It may be made of at least one water-insoluble polymer material selected from the group consisting of phthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polytrimethylene terephthalate, polyurethane and nylon components.

In the toothbrush of the present invention, except that existing materials such as nylon, PBT, etc. have been replaced by polyketone, the bristles manufacturing method, components, and the like well known in the art to which the present invention belongs.

The bristle of the new material according to the present invention is high rigidity compared to the conventional bristle, excellent elasticity, more helpful for cleaning teeth, excellent wear resistance and can be used for a long time. It also has the advantage of being able to be used while maintaining its original state due to its reduced flakyness.

Figure 1 shows the result of measuring the interdental plaque removal rate by the bristle diameter.

Figure 2 is a photograph taken of each of the polyketone and nylon bristles immediately after brushing.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples. These examples are only for illustrating the present invention in more detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not limited by these examples.

Example

1. Comparison of polyketone, nylon and PBT properties

Resin powder made of bristles, made of nylon 612 (Dupont, Tynex), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) (KOLON) or polyketone (Hyosung, M310U and M310U-like grades), respectively, and molded at the nozzle of the extrusion device. Extruded, cooled and dried by hot air to prepare bristles having a diameter of 0.18 mm in each material.

(1) tensile strength

After preparing the bristles, tensile strength, which is the breaking force of the bristles to evaluate the rigidity of all the strands, was measured, and compared with the conventional bristle materials Nylon 612 and PBT.

Specifically, according to the ASTM D638 standard test method, both ends of the bristles were fixed with a fixing mechanism, and then pulled in the axial direction of the specimen to measure the force and tensile strength until failure.

(2) elasticity loss

In addition, in order to confirm the durability of the polyketone, polyketone bristles were planted in the toothbrush bar and manufactured with a toothbrush, and the elasticity loss degree of the toothbrush with nylon 612 and PBT bristles was compared.

Elasticity loss is to evaluate the durability (morphism) when using the toothbrush, and the degree of the gap after performing 5000 times of reciprocating brushing each 5000 times with a brush machine was measured in the same manner as in Equation 1. The smaller the value of elasticity loss, the smaller the gap between the before and after brushig.

Equation 1 . Elasticity loss degree (%) = (BA) / AX 100

A: Width before brushing

B: Width after brushing

(3) Experiment result

The results of measuring the bristle tensile strength (Kgf) and elasticity loss (%) according to the parent material are shown in Table 1 below.

As a result, tensile strength (Kgf) showed that polyketone bristles were 2.0 times higher than nylon and 1.13 times higher than PBT (Table 1), and it was confirmed that high rigidity properties were maintained even when manufactured with bristles.

In addition, the toothbrushes with polyketone bristles showed 34% and 27% less elastic loss than nylon 612 and PBT at 5000 round trips, respectively, compared with 34% and 27% more polyketone compared to nylon 612 and PBT, respectively. That means it's done less well. Similarly, 10,000 round trips resulted in less than 31% and 12% less polyketones than nylon 612 and PBT, respectively.

2. Polyketone, PBT and PES gum stimulation measurements

Polymers with high stiffness and good abrasion resistance like polyketone include fluorine resins (PTFE, PVDF), POM, PBT, PES, etc.But fluorine resins are difficult to produce bristles due to their high melting point. Due to one property, bristles were not suitable. PBT and PES are high strength materials such as polyketone and have excellent abrasion resistance. The material was used to produce bristles having a diameter of 0.18 mm in the same manner as in the manufacturing example above. It was planted without going through a toothbrush. Afterwards, panel evaluation was conducted through a questionnaire survey on the degree of gum irritation by professional panel with three toothbrushes.

The survey asked 20 women and 20 men in their 20s and 40s to use and compare experimental toothbrushes for 7 days each. Prior to using the new toothbrushes, they had a three-day rest period in between, and the teeth were taken care of as usual. The survey results are shown in Table 2 below (duplicate selections available).

Experimental results show that polyketones are suitable for bristles due to low gum irritation, whereas PBT and PES are not suitable for bristles due to large gum irritation.

3. Sensory evaluation of polyketone and nylon by material

Experimental toothbrushes were prepared by implanting nylon bristles and polyketone bristles with diameters of 5 M (0.127 mm) into 32 identical toothbrushes each having a diameter of 1.6 mm. The toothbrushes were used for 20 women in their 20s and 40s and 20 men for 7 days. Prior to using the new toothbrushes, they had a three-day rest period in between, and the teeth were taken care of as usual.

The questionnaire consisted of questions to evaluate the elasticity and cleaning power of the toothbrush, and each of them was evaluated on a 5-point scale (higher satisfaction).

Experimental results showed that the polyketone bristle has excellent elasticity and the tooth surface and interdental cleaning ability is much better than that of nylon bristle.

4. Measurement of plaque removal effect according to bristle diameter

Toothbrushes with thin bristles have better interdental cleaning power, but bristles with thinner diameters, especially nylon bristles, which are most conventionally applied, have brittle brittleness, elasticity, and easy opening.

In this embodiment, to overcome the drawbacks of nylon wool, by applying a high-strength polyketone, to develop a bristle development technology that is elastic and does not open well even if the diameter is thin, 10 mils (0.254 mm), 8 mils (0.203 mm) in diameter ), 7 mils (0.178 mm) and 6 mils (0.152 mm) bristles were prepared to measure the plaque removal effect according to the bristle diameter.

The surface of the artificial membrane was coated for 10 seconds in the colored polymer of the vertebral tooth, and then taken out and dried for 60 minutes in a constant temperature and humidity room (25 degrees, 55%) where the temperature and humidity were kept for a certain thickness. It was used after. Toothbrushes of 10 mils, 8 mils, 7 mils, and 6 mils in diameter were implanted so that the bristle section of the toothbrush and the buccal surface of the coated vertebrae were horizontally positioned to cover as much as possible during brushing stroke. 300 g of pressure was applied to all toothbrushes, and each product was carried out eight times with 30 sec of vertical stroke and 30 sec of horizontal stroke. After that, after measuring the area before and after the removal of the artificial membrane through the microscope, the plaque removal rate was evaluated as a percentage (%), and the results are shown in FIG. 1.

As a result, as the diameter of the bristles decreased from 10 mils (0.254 mm) to 6 mils (0.152 mm), it was confirmed that the plaque removal rate of the interdental teeth was improved by about 4.5 times or more.

5. Polyketone vs. Nylon property comparison

(1) tensile strength

To evaluate the breaking force of the bristles, measure the force at the time of 200 mm / min by pulling the top and bottom of the bristles on the universal testing machine (UTM) 1 cm apart. It was.

(2) elasticity loss

In order to evaluate the degree of bristles after brushing, the width of the brush after measuring 5,000 round trips was measured on the toothbrush Brushing evaluator, and the shape of each of the polyketone and nylon bristles immediately after brushing was photographed.

(3) elasticity

In order to evaluate the elasticity (or softness) of the bristles, the force was measured by applying a third point of the bristles to a wire capable of measuring the force.

(4) Experiment result

As described above, the results of measuring tensile strength, elasticity loss and elasticity are shown in Table 4 below.

As can be seen in Table 4, as a result of evaluating the tensile strength of the polyketone and nylon 612 having a hair diameter of 0.102 mm (4 mils), the polyketone (0.56 kgf) 40% improved compared to nylon (0.40 kgf) It has been shown to have strength.

As a result of evaluating the elasticity loss of polyketone and nylon 612 having a hair diameter of 0.127 mm (5 mils), it was found that the polyketone improved 42% immediately after brushing and 48.7% after complete drying (* The less gap there is).

In addition, the elasticity evaluation of the polyketone having a hair diameter of 0.127 mm (5 mils) and nylon 612 showed that the polyketone (224.9 cN) was 28.8% more resilient than the nylon (174.6 cN).

Claims (10)

1. Brush heads comprising polyketone.
2. The brush head of claim 1, wherein the polyketone has a basic structure including carbon monoxide and olefins.
3. 2. The brush head of claim 1, wherein the polyketone is a hybrid polymer of carbon monoxide and ethylene or a terpolymer of carbon monoxide, ethylene and propylene.
4. The bristle of claim 1, wherein the polyketone is represented by the following formula:

   

   X: y is 1:10 to 10: 1.
5. The bristle of claim 1, wherein the bristle is made of a polyketone material.
6. The bristle of claim 1, wherein the bristles further comprise at least one water-insoluble polymeric material selected from the group consisting of polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polytrimethylene terephthalate, polyurethane and nylon components. Brush head, characterized in that.
7. The bristles of claim 1, wherein the bristles are anti-inflammatory, whitening, anti-irritants, tartar deterrents, flavors, bad breath removers, gum health agents, tooth decay preventives, mouthwashes, xylitol, bamboo salt, sun salt, formula salt, tablet salt, pine salt Brush head, characterized in that it further comprises at least one selected from the group consisting of salt, molten salt, processed salt and phosphate.
8. The bristle of claim 1, wherein the bristles are fine bristles having a needle tip shape.
9. The bristle of claim 1, wherein the bristles have a diameter of 0.1 mm to 0.13 mm.
10. Toothbrush comprising a bristles according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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