Patent Publication Number: US-2017347785-A1

Title: Toothbrush head

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an oral cleaning tool and more particularly to a toothbrush head. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional manual toothbrush for dental care comprises a toothbrush head and a handle. The toothbrush head connects to the handle directly. Multiple bristles are mounted on the toothbrush head. Users can pick up the handle and put the toothbrush head into the mouth to clean their oral cavities. Tooth, gaps between the teeth, and gingiva may be cleaned by the multiple bristles on the toothbrush head. 
     Moisture may remain on the bristles after tooth cleaning. The conventional manual toothbrush comprises cavities to receive the bristles on the toothbrush head. Other portions of the conventional manual toothbrush are solid. The moisture on the toothbrush head is hard to remove. Furthermore, the bristles mounted on the center of the toothbrush head are prone to bacteria breeding due to the remaining moisture. 
     In addition, food residues easily remain in the gaps between the multiple bristles during tooth cleaning. The food residues are hard to remove by rinsing, thus also inducing the bacteria breeding. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An objective of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush head that comprises multiple through holes. The multiple through holes are defined through a top surface and a bottom surface of the toothbrush head. Water drops and food residues on the toothbrush head may be easily removed through the multiple through holes. Air convection may also be induced around the toothbrush head by the multiple through holes. Then the toothbrush head and the bristles mounted on the toothbrush head are dried quickly, effectively reducing bacteria breeding on the toothbrush head. 
     To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention of a toothbrush head comprises: a body, multiple cavities, and multiple through holes. 
     The body is an elongated bar. The body further comprises a top surface and a bottom surface. 
     The multiple cavities are recessed into the top surface at spaced intervals. The multiple cavities disconnect from one another. In addition, the multiple bristle units are respectively mounted in the multiple cavities. 
     The multiple through holes are formed on the body at spaced intervals. The multiple through holes are defined through the top surface and the bottom surface directly. Each of the multiple through holes is encompassed by the multiple cavities. 
     Preferably, the multiple cavities and the multiple through holes disconnect from one another. 
     According to the above described, the multiple through holes are adjacent to the multiple bristle units mounted in the multiple cavities. Moisture on the top surface may be removed through the multiple through holes. Air convection may also be induced around the toothbrush head by the multiple through holes. The drying speed of the toothbrush head may be raised. Bacterias and viruses can hardly survive on the dry toothbrush head. Users also can remove residues between the multiple bristles through the multiple through holes by sharp objects. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional side view of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom perspective view of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom perspective view of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention in  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , the first embodiment of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention comprises: a body  10 , multiple cavities  11 , multiple through holes  12 , and a rubber layer  13 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the body  10  is an elongated bar. The body  10  comprises a top surface  101  and a bottom surface  102 . The top surface  101  is opposite to the bottom surface  102 . The multiple cavities  11  are recessed into the top surface  101  at spaced intervals, and the multiple cavities  11  disconnect from one another. Multiple bristle units  14  are mounted in the multiple cavities  11  respectively. Tips of the bristle units  14  protrude from the top surface  101 . 
     The multiple through holes  12  are defined through the top surface  101  and the bottom surface  102  directly. Each of the multiple through holes  12  is adjacent to each of the multiple cavities  11  in the body  10 . In the first embodiment, a number of the multiple cavities  11  is larger than a number of the multiple through holes  12 . The multiple through holes  12  are encompassed by the multiple cavities  11 . The multiple cavities  11  are adjacent the multiple through holes  12  but disconnect from the multiple through holes  12 . 
     The rubber layer  13  covers the bottom surface  102 . The rubber layer  13  comprises multiple through apertures  131 . The multiple through apertures  131  are corresponding to the multiple through holes  12  in position and shape. A diameter of each the multiple through apertures  131  is larger than or equal to a diameter of each the multiple through holes  12 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , the rubber layer  13  comprises a lower surface  130  away from the body  10 . Multiple protrusions  132  are mounted on the lower surface  130  at spaced intervals. The multiple protrusions  132  are spherical or hemispherical. A number of the multiple protrusions  132  is larger than a number of the multiple through apertures  131 . The multiple through apertures  131  are encompassed by the multiple protrusions  132 . The rubber layer  13  and the multiple protrusions  132  are integrally formed into one piece. The rubber layer  13  and the multiple protrusions  132  are made of soft rubber or soft plastic. The rubber layer  13  is mounted on the bottom surface  102  by an adhesive or injection molding process. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the second embodiment of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention also comprises: a body  20 , multiple cavities  21 , multiple through holes  22 , and a rubber layer  23 . The body  20  also comprises a top surface  201  and a bottom surface  202 . Multiple bristle units  24  are mounted in the multiple cavities  21  respectively. The differences between the first and second embodiments of the toothbrush head are described as follows: 
     The multiple cavities  21  are defined through the body  20  from the top surface  201  toward the bottom surface  202 ; and 
     a number of the multiple cavities  21  is less than a number of the multiple through holes  22 , and each of the multiple cavities  21  is encompassed by the multiple through holes  22 . 
     The rubber layer  23  covers the bottom surface  202 . The rubber layer  23  comprises multiple through apertures  231 . The multiple through apertures  231  are corresponding to the multiple through holes  22  in position and shape. The multiple through apertures  231  connect to the multiple through holes  22 . 
     The rubber layer  23  further comprises a lower surface  230  away from the body  20 . Multiple protrusions  232  are formed on the lower surface  230  at spaced intervals. The rubber layer  23  and the multiple protrusions  232  are integrally formed into one piece. The multiple protrusions  232  are spherical. A number of the multiple protrusions  232  is less than a number of the multiple through apertures  231 . Each of the multiple protrusions  232  is encompassed by the multiple through apertures  231 . 
     In the above embodiments of the toothbrush head, the multiple through holes  12 ,  22  are adjacent to the multiple cavities  11 ,  21  fixed with the multiple bristle units  14 ,  24 . Moisture on the multiple bristle units  14 ,  24  may be removed from the top surface  101 ,  201  to the bottom surface  102 ,  202  of the body  10 ,  20 . It is effective to prevent moisture remaining on the top surface  101 ,  201  of the body  10 ,  20 . The multiple through holes  12 ,  22  may increase the air convection around the toothbrush head. The multiple bristle units  14 ,  24  may be dried fast. 
     Furthermore, food residues may be removed through the multiple through holes  12 ,  22  from the multiple bristle units  14 ,  24  by rinsing the top surface  101 ,  201  of the body  10 ,  20 . If the food residues are too large to be removed through the multiple through holes  12 ,  22 , users can insert toothpicks into the multiple through holes  12 ,  22  from the bottom surface  102 ,  202  of the body  10 ,  20  to push the food residues away from the top surface  101 ,  201 . It is effective to avoid bacteria breeding on the toothbrush head. 
     The body  10 ,  20  of the toothbrush head is usually made of hard materials. When a user uses the toothbrush head to clean the oral cavity, the friction and the collision between the body  10 ,  20  and the oral membrane may be caused, inducing discomfort of the user. The present invention utilizes the rubber layer  13 ,  23  to be a buffer material between the body  10 ,  20  and the oral membrane, thereby effectively reducing the direct friction and collision between the body  10 ,  20  and the oral membrane. Furthermore, the multiple protrusions  132 ,  232  on the rubber layer  13 ,  23  may massage the gingival or tongue in the oral cavity. 
     In summary, the present invention mainly utilizes the multiple through holes  12 ,  22  defined through the top surface  101 ,  201  and the bottom surface  102 ,  202  of the body  10 ,  20 . The multiple through holes  12 ,  22  provide channels to eliminate the moisture on the toothbrush head. It is effective to reduce the moisture remaining on the toothbrush head. In addition, the air convection is increased around the toothbrush head by the multiple through holes  12 ,  22 . The bristle mounted on the body  10 ,  20  may be dried quickly, effectively avoiding bacteria breeding on the toothbrush head and inducing oral infection. 
     The present invention also utilizes the rubber layer  13 ,  23  as a buffer material. The rubber layer  13 ,  23  may reduce the friction and collision between the body  10 ,  20  and the oral membrane during use of the toothbrush. The rubber layer  13 ,  23  may also provide other functions such as massaging for the gingival or tongue. The present invention of the toothbrush head provides safe, sanitary, and comfortable experience for users.