JPH05504281A - toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] toothbrush The present invention relates to a toothbrush according to the preamble of claim 1.

Various embodiments of this type of toothbrush are known. Especially if it's good The shape corresponds to public publications WO86107527 and WO39101303. It is described in the PCT application. However, in this known toothbrush, other conventional toothbrushes Similar to the technique, the pores of the bristle holder are placed in front of each other parallel to the main axis of the holding grip. and lined up in a straight line. When talking about the "principal axis" here, this generally refers to the longitudinal axis. However, in many embodiments of known toothbrushes, the toothbrushes are bent in various ways. This bend is, of course, not made in the row of hairs. Hence the name "main axis" The term generally refers to the general direction, ignoring curves and bends.

A recurring problem in recent dental hygiene is the so-called gingival sac, or tooth neck. It is the formation of a hollow space below the gingival margin. Is there any food particles or scratches in this gingival sac? phlegm (, which eventually leads to an inflammatory process; one of the main causes of this phenomenon) is dental plaque or plaque, which progresses below the gums and passes from the tooth neck to the gums. A number of special toothpaste compositions have already been developed to address this phenomenon. However, there is no known way to counter this due to the shape of the toothbrush.

The object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush or bristles that can best counteract the above-mentioned phenomena. It is to form a holder. This is achieved by the feature set forth in claim 1. Surprisingly easy to solve.

By arranging the pores in an arch or along an arch, the pores of the brush are If the structure or structure of the pores is appropriate, the pores are close to the gingival margin in normal teeth. Adapts to the arch being formed. As revealed by the clinical experiments described below, In this way, cleaning of the gingiva around the teeth and between the teeth is best achieved. This fit is , the bristle holder is coupled with a holding grip via an elastic web in a known manner as described below. and/or the hairs are of different lengths or different stiffnesses as shown. It is particularly good when In particular, if the toothbrush is configured as, for example, an electric toothbrush, It is effective if it is attached to the toothbrush, but of course it is an attachment that is removably fixed to the toothbrush. It is sufficient that the bristle holder is formed as described in the feature of claim 1. Ru.

The configuration described in claim 3 is effective. According to it, many toothbrushes The same structure can be used anywhere, especially in simple toothbrushes and can clean both the upper and lower tooth rows, and the toothbrush holder There is no need to replace it.

However, even in the case of the structure described in the WO publication mentioned at the beginning, it is surprising that The desired effect can be obtained. For, according to the brush thus formed, the comparison Because it provides a significantly improved cleaning effect, as proven using tests. It is. The reason for this is not yet fully understood, but the arched arrangement The individual pores, seen in the direction of the cleaning movement, overlap each other and thereby If they come into contact with each other, they will not only be pushed away from each other (the It seems that there is also a minute, so that when looking in the direction of cleaning again, the bristles are arranged in a row. bristles, as is the case with traditional toothbrushes, where the bristles are Areas that cannot be reached cease to exist. If the aforementioned passages are formed, the cleaning results will be uneven Become.

When the toothbrush is formed as shown in claim 4, its shape is Approaching the optimal shape as described in the two WO publications mentioned in (.

The bristle holder of the present invention has the features of claim 7, according to which the bristle holder has the characteristics of Unlike the rectangular shape, it becomes a square. This square shape is the first claim. Related to the above discussion of terms.

This is because it is important to adapt the toothbrush to the curve of the gingival edge of the tooth neck. This is because, in some cases, this shape can best be achieved. Or this The shape does not necessarily lead to realizing the feature of claim 1. Toi Instead of forming an arch, the square surface is filled with holes, and the corners of this square The arches are provided with soft bristles so that the hard bristles are placed almost along the arch. This is because the hair can also be adapted by changing the hair.

It is also possible to position the hairs placed at the corners at various angles with respect to the hairs placed between them. It is also possible to achieve the desired adaptation to the arch of the gingival margin.

The structure set forth in claim 9 is applicable when considering a bristle holder for an electric toothbrush. Of particular interest, it can also be used with manually operated toothbrushes. Ru.

As is clear from the above discussion, the optimal fit of the shape and good cleaning effect depend on the basis of the bristles. A surface is required to have a certain minimum density. Therefore, preferably the first claim The feature of 0 terms is realized.

The invention will be explained in further detail with the aid of the following description of an embodiment that is schematically illustrated in the drawing. Explain.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a known toothbrush. Based on this toothbrush, an excellent The invention is carried out, FIG. 2 is a significantly enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line I--I in FIG. 1. , the shape of the dentition is shown with a dashed line for comparison. FIG. 3 is a similar sectional view of a modification of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is another modification. is a plan view taken along the line EV-IV in FIG. 1.

In the holding grip, where only the section 1 extending behind the drawing plane is implied, the A connecting web 3 extends transversely and perpendicularly to the main axis 2 of the holding grip 1.

Attached to this connecting web 3 are bristles 4, which are used to chew the teeth (extend upwards onto the surface). It acts in a downward direction. A plastic link 6 is connected to the end of the connecting web 3. The bristle holders 5 are linked in a transverse direction to the respective connecting webs. The bristle holder is arranged between two bristle boulders 5 having bristle 7.8 whose teeth face each other. When the plastic links 6 are dropped, the plastic links 6 are elastically deformed and curved away from each other. can be bent. In that case, gently massage the gums in the area of hair 8. The elastic return force to the position shown in the figure should be thick (but not too large) so that the It has been shown that it is better to do so. Because otherwise the desired effect This is because the opposite occurs: an inflammatory process. Also, plastic If link 6 is too soft, that is, if it generates little return force, pine surge will occur. is rarely performed, the return force is in the 0.35 to 0.65 kp (1) region, On average, an optimal configuration is obtained when <b> about 0.5 kp. Perfect Plastics that can be obtained with specific dimensions and also meet hygienic requirements are Hostaf. It is sold in large quantities under the name Hostaform.

The method is to soften the gums (pine surge) and, on the other hand, forcefully clean the tooth neck and tooth surface. Another preferable means that takes into consideration the conditions of hair removal is to move the hair from the hair 7 to the holding grip 1 of the hair holder. The aim is to reduce the stiffness of the bristles towards the bristles 8 at the far end. This is gradual (preferably) in steps 1, 2 away from holding grip 1. Hold only the bristles in the rows, which are softer than the bristles 7 on the grip 1 side (can be done in a form) Ru. Furthermore, as is clear from the figure, the length of the hair increases from hair 7 to hair 8. Because of the large size, the bristles of the two bristle holders 5 facing each other are held together by the grip. This creates a free space that opens in the direction of the flow. This in itself is not normal.

This is because the cross-section of the gingiva of the tooth to be inserted between them forms a triangle facing exactly the opposite direction. However, this type of shape is best suited with good gingival pine surge. It has been shown that it has a great cleaning effect.

All these features already belong to the prior art, but in combination with the present invention It is especially important to use a toothbrush or bristle holder to solve the problem mentioned at the beginning. A preferred embodiment of the folder will be described with reference to FIG. At that time, use Figure 1 to Although only the narrow part touching the link 6 was explained as the holder 5, the hair holder may be This is especially true when using a hair holder that can be fitted or removably fixed. , may also include a connecting part.

In FIG. 2, three teeth are lined up and indicated by the dashed line at 9. Tooth 9 is maxilla The upper side is covered by the marginal gingiva 10, and the marginal gingiva is In 90% of the inhabitants of civilized countries, it is arched in the shape shown. Therefore this In order to achieve optimal plaque removal in the area, a small amount of bristles 8 (Fig. 1) One edge zone is correspondingly arranged arcuately within the hand hole 8°. “Respond to it.” This is because the arch 11 shown in dashed lines, preferably provided with holes 8°, is 3. means having a radius in the range from mm to 10 mm, where 10 mm indicates the upper limit area. Preferably the arch radius dimension is at most 8 mm thicker. (It is better not to have one. In reality, it has been revealed that the radius is preferably 5 mm ± 20%. In this case, what is consistently considered and desirable is the absence of hair in the hair holder. The arch halves of the various hand arches inside the base 12 of the bristles placed thereon. The idea is to make the diameter different.

This is already the case with arch 13, which has hand holes 7''. This is because its radius r is This is because it is approximately 0% smaller than the radius R of the arch 11. Therefore, the radius r is, for example, 5. If it is 0 mm, the radius R will be 5.5 mm. defined by holding grip 1 If the direction of the cleaning movement is in the direction of arrow 14, then the hand hole 8° will make it clear that As seen parallel to direction 14, the hand holes overlap each other, so the hairs overlap each other. transmits a force component transverse to direction 14 when pressed, i.e. this row Stronger (because it spreads in a fan shape, the bristles fill the gap up to the hand hole 15 in the center). By distributing the hair more evenly over the base surface 12 of the hair, During cleaning movement 14, it prevents the formation of "passages" where hair cannot reach the tooth surface. be done.

The bristles rise from the holes in an approximately fan-shaped manner, where an overlap occurs when viewed in the cleaning direction 14. If this is taken into account, the same applies to the hairs in the holes 7'. But ar To assist in cleaning the rows of hairs along the channel 11 and the pine surge effect, the center hairs should be 15 is parallel to the arch 11 as well as the two hand holes at the ends of the arch 13. are arranged so as to form an arch 16.

Only three arches 11.13.16 More arches can be provided and It is also possible that the arches 11 and 13 in contact with the base surface 12 of the hair are sufficient. Needless to say, in that case, the number of hairs per hole is important. It is. However, in actual experiments, exactly the three numbers of arch 1 shown here are 1.13.16 has been shown to have had sufficient effects. moreover, The arches 11.13.16 do not necessarily have to be arcuate.

In principle, circular arcs are preferable from a purely structural perspective, but elliptical arches, circular arches, It is also possible to use Lloyd.

However, according to the illustrated arrangement of the hand holes, as is clear from the figure, the hair holder 5 is When viewed from above, the base surface 12 is approximately square (in the case of a simple toothbrush, one bristle is Arches 11 that correspond to the contour 10 and overlap each other with only the holder and the holding grip ), in that case, the diagonal line passing through the hair holder 5 (here (shown as dashed line 17) are angles ranging from 75° to 105° with respect to each other, thus Form an angle of approximately 90” ± 10%. This angle at the location shown in Figure 2 It does not matter whether it is F or the complementary angle attached to it. That's what I mean This is because the two angles will inevitably fall in this region.

However, the slightly rectangular to square shapes produced in this way are of the type shown in Figure 1. The toothbrush is easy to use and in combination with its special features it cleans cooperatively. Although the cleaning result is significantly improved, it is only effective for this type of toothbrush. There isn't. Rather, this type of shape is conventionally explained using the tooth profile 9.10. This type of toothbrush also cleans the peripheral gingiva and adjacent areas of the tooth surface and provides pine surge. It turns out that it is extremely suitable for doing so. The density of the hand holes is also important here. approximately 25 to 30 holes per square centimeter for good results. It is said that

Of course, the angle alpha does not indicate anything about the specific size of the hair holder 5. , each must be adapted to the average size of the arch 10. Experiment If the length of the edge is between 5 and 15 mm, especially between 5 and 10 mm, the length is between 1 and 3. (see figure) has been shown to correspond most closely to the average value. In that case this It is clear that the lower limit of approximately 5 mm (-10%) is somewhat stricter than the upper limit, depending on the number of I'm being scolded.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, parts having the same function are designated by the same reference numerals. However, parts with similar functions are marked with a hundreds digit. From the diagram As is clear, there are additional hand holes in the hair base 112 in addition to hand holes 7, 8 and 15. 18 is also provided, and this hand hole 18, along with the other hand holes, looks almost the same as before. It forms the base of the rectangular hairs. However, unlike the conventional technology, the hair in hand hole 18 is Very soft (formed, but hard hand holes 7°, 8° and 15) The bristles are arranged along the arches 11.13 and 16 as shown in FIG.

In many cases, the central hand hole 15 is an arch extending parallel to the arch 13. It can also be considered that it is provided in contact with 19. However, this is implemented structurally. If this is not possible, use the outer row of bristles opposite to holding grip 1 (see Figure 1). It is effective to realize at least one arch 16 extending parallel to the arch 11 of It is fruitful. This is because, as mentioned above, this arch is the periphery of the gingiva and This is because it ultimately assists in the gingival surge and cleaning between the teeth, and The formation of gingival sacs is thus prevented.

Therefore, from the above description of the embodiment shown in FIG. bristles of different stiffness) are placed along arches 11.13 and 16. It is clear that At that time, the hairs of hand holes 7°, 8° and 15 are also shown in Figure 1. They can have different hardnesses, as described above. Immersion hole 18 The hair is most softened.

The bristle holder 105 in FIG. 3 is shown in a cross section similar to that in FIG. A top view of the embodiment is shown. In principle, hair 7.8 is a hair holder or hair It protrudes almost perpendicularly to the plane of the base surface 12, or deviates significantly from the perpendicularity. (and illustrated in Figure 1). Ru. However, according to FIG. It can be obtained as follows. That is, the individual hairs 8 and 15° are connected to the hair holder 205 or Although arranged perpendicular to the plane of the base surface 212 of the bristles, bristles 8" and 7" are located at their ends. slope in opposite directions so that the sections touch arches 11° to 13°, respectively. In that case, in the cross section of the hair, the hand hole is in contact with the rectangle 20, or can be confirmed to be inside. In order to strengthen this arch shape, As is clear from the figure, the hair 7 at the end of the arch 13 is placed diagonally, that is, the hair 7 is ” can be arranged opposite to the slope of the hair, but it also allows the hair to be An arch 16° is formed from the line connecting the end and the end of the bristles 7'.

The importance of the size and arrangement of the bristles 7.8 for the desired effect was already mentioned at the outset. Says. Therefore, as shown in Figure 4, the slope of the hair itself deviates from this principle. When selecting, it is not always possible to obtain the optimum one, so the device shown in Figure 2 is used. If it is unavoidable, the device shown in FIG. 3 will be given priority. Don't think like that At least the ends of the bristles, preferably It is important that one row of hair holes is arranged along the arch.

Next, an example of a clinical experiment will be explained.

Healthy teeth with no scars (except 3rd molars), crowns, dentures, or deep inlays. Eighteen male subjects with healthy gums underwent conventional manual manipulation for two weeks. toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes, and the toothbrushes explained using Figures 1 and 2. used. During the two-week period inserted after each two-week experiment, subjects The teeth were cleaned twice using a manual toothbrush and professionally by The bacterial epithelium was uniformly stimulated. Professional teeth cleaning evenly removes inflammation and plaque Each test was conducted a week before to ensure no initial conditions. that time Cytological tissue sections were also performed.

After one week each, according to Quigley-Hein (plaque distribution on tooth surface) and Lange's approximate spatial plaque index (in terms of intensity), gingival margin Plaque Index (GMPI), Plaque by Quigley/He1n index (PI) and minor groove bleeding in by Muehlemann and Son. Dex was carried out. At that time, the results obtained by the toothbrush of the present invention are compared with those of the conventional technology. The results were clearly superior in some areas to those obtained by toothbrushing.

As is clear from the above description, at least some of the effects obtained by the present invention are , only one of the arches 11.13 to 16 is realized.

In other words, even if the hand hole 8° is placed along a straight line, it will not be placed along the arch 16. ! The hand hole 15.7° will support the hair in the hole 8° in an arch shape, so this The action of the hair on the center of the arch is enhanced.

Furthermore, as is clear from Fig. 3, the center of the circle with radii R and r (Fig. 2) perpendicular to the cleaning movement 14 defined by the extension of the axis 2 of the lip 1 (FIG. 1) It can be seen that they are arranged along (or in the horizontal direction)...

abstract A plastic that conforms to the curve of the gingiva at the periphery or between the teeth, thereby forming a gingival sulcus. In order to prevent the bristles from forming in the bristle holder (5) of the toothbrush, 5) If the hair protrudes almost perpendicularly from the plane of the hair base (12), (both ends, preferably hand holes (7°, 8”, 15) are also arched (11, 15) respectively 13, 16). The bristle base (12) is preferably a bristle holder. (5) is located approximately in the center of the axis defined by the two diagonals (17). and its diagonals (17) form an angle (alpha) of 75° to 105’ with each other. Ru.

Copy and translation of written amendment) Submission (Article 184-8 of the Patent Law) August 28, 1992

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. a retaining grip and at least one bristle holder coupled thereto; The holder has many pores, from which the bristles at the base of the toothbrush bristles protrude. In toothbrushes with At least the free ends are arched (11, 13, 16; 19; 11', 13', 16' ) A toothbrush characterized by being arranged along. 2. Each arch (11, 13, 16; 19; 11', 13', 16') a circular arc, and/or the pores (7', 8', 15) themselves are arranged along the circular arc; the hairs are placed at least approximately vertically out of the pores. The toothbrush according to claim 1. 3. The base surfaces (12; 112) of the hairs have mutually concave, preferably different radii (R, r ) is surrounded by pore arches (11, 13). The toothbrush according to claim 1 or 2. 4. at least two bristle holders located on either side of the retaining clip; Therefore, a claim is defined in which the cleaning movement extends primarily in the direction of the main axis of the holding grip. In the toothbrush according to any one of the ranges 1 to 3, The center of each arc is transverse, in particular perpendicular, to the main axis (2) of the retaining clip (1). A toothbrush (Figs. 1 and 3) characterized in that it is provided on a straight shaft (21). (see diagram). 5. pore arches (11, 13, 16) at least 3 mm and at most 10 mm; preferably has a radius (R, r) of at most 8 mm, preferably 5 mm ± 20% The toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: . 6. between the two pore arches (11, 13) that define the base of the hair (12; 112) At least one other pore (15), preferably a row of pores (15), is provided. and this row of pores is preferably arch-shaped itself, or at least Also, at least one pore (7' to 8') of the adjacent pore arch (11, 13) ) along with other arches (16 to 19), and this arch In some cases, the radius (r ) and has a radius that is, for example, approximately 10% smaller. The toothbrush according to any one of items 5 to 5. 7. A bristle holder with many pores, from which the bristles on the base of the toothbrush bristles a protruding hair holder, in particular according to any one of claims 1 to 6; In the holder, the base surface of the bristles (12; 112; 212) is connected to the bristle holder (5; 105; 20 5) at least approximately centered on the axis defined by the two diagonals (17) of and the diagonals (17) form an angle (alpha) of 75° to 105° with each other A hair holder characterized by: 8. The two diagonals form an angle (alpha) of 90° ± 10% with each other, and/ Alternatively, the length of the edge of the bristle holder (5; 105; 205) is 5 mm to 15 mm. The hair holder according to claim 7, wherein the hair holder has a length of 5 mm to 10 mm. . 9. On the connecting web (3) arranged transversely to the holding grip (1), for example Claims 1 to 8 are characterized in that they are removably fixed. The hair holder according to any one of the above items. 10. Pores (7', 8', 15) from 10 to 25 per square centimeter, preferably Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the material has a density of 15 to 20 pores. The hair holder according to any one of the above.