Abstract:
A toothbrush having a handle with a longitudinal axis, a toothbrush head, constructed and arranged to hold bristles and a plurality of bristles, whereby said bristles are formed in a non-circular configuration whereby the non circular configuration is on at least one of a distal end, a portion including the distal end or the entire bristle.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention  
       [0001]    Dental health and hygiene is an area that is still subject to many improvements. The toothbrush has seen numerous improvements and advancements in recent years. However, with all the improvements, The tooth brushing technique recommended by ADA and most dentists is to tilt the brush at a 45° angle against the gum-line with gentle force, brush forward and backward in short vibratory movement, and sweep or roll the brush away from the gum-line. 
         [0002]    More force should be applied in the rolling or sweeping movements to remove the plaque and debris between the teeth. The efficacy of tooth brushing remains an unnoticed but pressing issue. 
         [0003]    In fact, most people brush with circling motion. According to a research article by C. Ganss, N. Schlueter, S. Preiss and J. Klimek (Clinical Oral Investigations, Volume 13, Number 2, 203-208, 2008): the mean brushing force was 2.3±0.7 N (max. 4.1 N); most subjects (73.8%) brushed with circling, 8.7% with horizontal/scrubbing, 13.6% with horizontal/circling and 3.9% with vertical sweeping movements. Many electric toothbrushes such as Oral-B also use circling brushing motion. Thus there is discrepancy between the ADA recommendation and the common brushing techniques. 
         [0004]    Vigorous tooth brushing can cause gum and root recession, tooth sensitivity and tooth abrasion such as wedge shape defects and dental erosion. Even though most dentists recommend using tooth brushes with soft or medium bristles, tooth abrasion are still very common among people with over-vigorous oral hygiene habits. 
         [0005]    The horizontal defects are mostly due to the brushing force forward and backward across the teeth surface, and this is the reason why ADA emphasis on the sweeping or rolling motion to brush plaque and debris away from the gum-line. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The present invention addresses these deficiencies by providing a novel geometric configuration of the shape of the tooth brush bristle to reduce the brushing force in the horizontal forward and backward direction, while emphasis on the sweeping or rolling force during brushing. Instead of using the commonly used bristle with round cross section, bristles with oval cross-section are provided and the major axis of the oval cross-section of the bristles are aligned perpendicular to the long axis of the brush handle. 
         [0007]    In one embodiment the present invention is a toothbrush, comprising:
       a handle having a longitudinal axis;   a toothbrush head, constructed and arranged to hold bristles;   a plurality of bristles, whereby said bristles are formed in a non-circular configuration as viewed from a first end being a proximal end that is attached to the toothbrush head, a second end, wherein the second end is a distal end that is not connected to the toothbrush head and intended to contact teeth during brushing, or in cross section from some area along the length of the bristle.       
 
         [0011]    In one embodiment, the bristled are circular for some portion of the bristle body and the distal or second end has the non-circular configuration. 
         [0012]    In one embodiment, the non-circular configuration is an elliptical configuration as viewed from any of the first end, second end, or in cross section. If the bristles are circular with a non-circular distal end, the noncircular configuration is viewed from the second end or in cross section near the distal end. 
         [0013]    The elliptical configuration is defined by a geometric eccentricity greater than 0. The elliptical configuration has a major axis perpendicular to said longitudinal axis. In one embodiment, the toothbrush further comprises a circular socket with bristles placed thereon. The plurality of bristles in one embodiment are inserted to a non-circular socket. 
         [0014]    The invention also relates to a toothbrush bristle comprising:
       a continuous elongated body   a continuous wall defing said body,   said bristle having a cylindrical non-circular distal end.       
 
         [0018]    The non circular portion may be on the end of the bristle, a portion including the end of the bristle, or extend for the entire length of the bristle. The non circular portion extends for less than the entire length of the bristle, the remaining portion is circular. As discussed herein, non circular included elliptical and oval configurations. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention where bristles are arranged in elliptical bundles along a longitudinal axis. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  shows a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention where bristles are arranged in oval bundles along a longitudinal axis. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a side view of a toothbrush head showing curved arrangement of bristle height. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a side view of a toothbrush head showing congruent arrangement of bristle height. 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a top view of a single oval bristle. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a top view of a single elliptical bristle. 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a single bristle. 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a partial side view of a single bristle with a chisel point tip. 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a partial side view of a single bristle with a round tip. 
           [0028]      FIG. 10  is a partial side view of a single bristle with a tapered tip. 
           [0029]      FIG. 11  is a plan view of a toothbrush head having bristles arranged perpendicular to a longitudinal axis. 
           [0030]      FIG. 12  is an expanded view showing arrangements of individual elliptical bristles in a circular bundle. 
           [0031]      FIG. 13  is a top view of a single elliptical bristle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0032]    The toothbrush bristles of the present invention relate to the geometric configuration of the individual bristle fibers. While all bristles conventionally utilized are cylindrical, meaning the cross section is a circle, the present invention provides for curved cylindrical bristles that are non-circular. As used herein, the term, curved cylinder describe the geometric configuration of curved bristles that do not have a circular cross section. This includes, all elliptical configurations and ovals. The present invention includes toothbrush bristles formed of materials known in the art and is particular to the geometric configuration and not the material composition. 
         [0033]    As best shown in  FIG. 5 , a bristle with an oval configuration has opposing, substantially parallel sides  22  and opposing radial ends  24 ; and in  FIG. 6 , a bristle with an elliptical configuration has a continuous, non-circular curvature. As known in the Art, and shown in  FIG. 13 , an ellipse configured bristle has a semimajor axis Y and a semiminor axis X. 
         [0034]    As is known, an ellipse has a first focus point and a second focus point (collectively foci) along the semimajor axis. The foci of the ellipse are equidistant from the center point. The eccentricity of an ellipse, is the ratio of the distance between the two foci, to the length of the major axis. For an ellipse the eccentricity is between 0 and 1. When the eccentricity is 0 the foci coincide with the center point and the figure is a circle. As the eccentricity tends toward 1, the ellipse gets a more elongated shape. It tends towards a line segment. For the present invention, the bristles that have an elliptical configuration have an eccentricity greater than zero so as to exclude circle configurations. The degree of elongation can be varied in order to perform the present invention. 
         [0035]    The present invention has discovered several embodiments, all with non-circular bristles, that are functional to varying degrees. 
         [0036]      FIG. 1  is a plan view that is simplified for demonstrative purposes. The X axis of  FIG. 1  represents the longitudinal axis of a toothbrush which would also include a toothbrush handle  14  (only connective portion shown) that is integral with toothbrush head  10 . Elliptical bristle  12  has a semimajor axis parallel to longitudinal axis A of  FIG. 1 . for demonstrative purposes only,  FIG. 1  is intended to depict the general orientation of individual bristles. 
         [0037]      FIG. 2  is a plan view that is simplified for demonstrative purposes. The X axis of  FIG. 1  represents the longitudinal axis of a toothbrush which would also include a toothbrush handle  14  (only connective portion shown) that is integral with toothbrush head  10 . Oval bristle  16  has a longitudinal axis parallel to longitudinal axis A of  FIG. 2 . For demonstrative purposes only,  FIG. 2  is intended to depict the general orientation of individual bristles. 
         [0038]      FIGS. 3 and 4  demonstrate that bristle arrangements of the present invention include ends that form curved profile  18  and bristle ends that form a horizontal profile  20 . 
         [0039]      FIG. 7  shows a single bristle on toothbrush head  14  in which bristle has a chisel end  28  and moves with angular offset  26  based on height of bristle  34 . Angular offset can be varied as desired in order to improve efficiency of brushing without adverse application of force. 
         [0040]      FIGS. 8-10  show that the present invention is operable to toothbrushes having varying end configurations including, but not limited to, chisel point end in  FIG. 8 , round tip in  FIG. 9 , and tapered end in  FIG. 10 . 
         [0041]      FIG. 11  also depicting a demonstrative embodiment to show the orientation of individual elliptical bristles  12  oriented with a semimajor axis that is perpendicular to toothbrush longitudinal axis X. 
         [0042]      FIG. 12  show a single bundle of bristles in a circular bristle socket. The individual bristles  12  are elliptical, but the bundle is circular. In this embodiment the semimajor axis of each of elliptical bristles  12  is perpendicular to the toothbrush longitudinal axis X. 
         [0043]    The present invention has addressed a deficiency in the art. Current circular bristles are utilized with an over application of force and results in damage to teeth. Utilization of non-circular bristles provides different distribution of force and allows teeth to be effectively brushed with reduced pressure and force on tooth surfaces. 
         [0044]    In one embodiment, the proposed bristle fiber with non-circular cross-section can be used in combination with bristle fiber with round cross-section, where in part of the region of the toothbrush area, the non-circular type of bristle are used, while in other regions, round cross-section bristles are use. That is to say, the distal end of the bristle is non-circular and the remaining portion of the bristle is circular. Remaining section, as used herein, is any remaining portion that is not at or near the distal end. 
         [0045]    Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments and drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention.