Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/ES2379277T3/en
Timestamp: 2020-01-21 10:59:30
Document Index: 549613249

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 12', 'art 14', 'art 6', 'art 18', 'art 20', 'art 18', 'art 20', 'art 16', 'art 16', 'art 18', 'art 20']

ES2379277T3 - Toothbrush - Google Patents
ES2379277T3
ES2379277T3 ES02012748T ES02012748T ES2379277T3 ES 2379277 T3 ES2379277 T3 ES 2379277T3 ES 02012748 T ES02012748 T ES 02012748T ES 02012748 T ES02012748 T ES 02012748T ES 2379277 T3 ES2379277 T3 ES 2379277T3
ES02012748T
1998-11-06 Application filed by Gillette Canada Inc, Procter and Gamble Business Services Canada Co filed Critical Gillette Canada Inc
2012-04-24 Publication of ES2379277T3 publication Critical patent/ES2379277T3/en
A toothbrush (10) that includes a handle (12), a head (14) extending from the handle (12), and a plurality of tufts (26) of bristles inserted in the head (14), characterized in that Each of the three tufts (26) is at an acute angle to an imaginary line (40) that is tangent or coplanar with a head surface (14) by which the three tufts (26) are inserted into the head ( 14), the three tufts (26) being angled in one direction, the direction being substantially parallel to the handle (12), the direction being substantially approaching or moving away from the handle (12), having a first tuft (32) of the three strands (26) one length, a second strand (34) of the three strands (26) adjacent to the first strand (32) and having a length greater than the length of the first strand (32), and a third strand ( 36) of the three tufts (26) adjacent to the first tuft (32) and having a length greater than the length of the first strand (32), a fourth strand (28) that is inserted in the head (14) in a location such that no other strand is inserted in the head (14), in a location that is more distal from the handle (12) that the location where the fourth strand (28) is inserted into the head (14), the cross sectional area of the fourth strand (28) being at least four times larger than the cross sectional area of any other tuft inserted in the head (14), and in which the first (32) of the three tufts (26) incorporates an abrasive.
The invention relates generally to the field of oral care, and especially to toothbrushes. More especially, the invention relates to a toothbrush with bristles of three-dimensional profile to provide improved cleaning of the interproximal and marginal gingival regions of the teeth.
Tooth brushing and flossing are fundamental steps to achieve good oral hygiene. Unfortunately, the practice of flossing has not gained wide acceptance among the general population, although the general population recognizes that the use of dental floss is something that should be carried out in its entirety as part of good hygiene. oral. In addition, even people who use dental floss often do not properly clean the hard-to-reach areas in the mouth with such dental floss. Unfortunately, although the most commercial toothbrushes clean the outer mouth of the teeth properly, they fail to provide improved cleaning of plaque and debris at the gingival edge, interproximal regions, lingual surfaces and other hard-to-reach areas in the mouth.
Some examples of prior art toothbrushes have been described in US-A-5,446,940, US-A5,628,082, FR-A-2624360 and DE-4,412,301-A. In US-A-5446940 a toothbrush is described whose tufts comprise three different groups of rows, each row being oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the head. US-A-5,628,082 describes a toothbrush with a handle formed with opposite gripping parts, an arrangement of the bristles, and a narrow, thin head to allow maximum access to the oral cavity. A device consisting of a handle with a rounded profile head and a combination of tufts implanted in the head support is described in FR-A-2624360. In DE-4,412,301-A an electric toothbrush is described with a brush section provided with inclined bristles.
One reason why these toothbrushes do not properly clean the most rear molars (eg, wisdom teeth or second molars) is that the one or more tufts inserted in the toothbrush head at the most distal location from the handle of the Toothbrush are not angled with respect to the direction in which the head extends from the handle. In this way, these strands cannot be extended enough beyond the end of the toothbrush head to sufficiently clean the molars at the back of the mouth.
Additionally, in these brushes provided with tufts of bristles with an angle directed towards the handle and other tufts with an angle away from the handle, all these tufts are practically the same length and have the same cross-section. Therefore, although these angled tufts can clean one part of the teeth satisfactorily, other parts of the teeth will not be sufficiently clean due to the homogeneous length, separation and cross-section of the tufts.
In addition, prior art toothbrushes describe tufts of bristles that have at least three different types of cross sections. However, the teeth have more than three parts that need to be cleaned with a brush (eg the outer buccal face, the gingival edge, the interproximal regions, lingual surfaces and most rear molars). Thus, state-of-the-art dental brushes do not provide tufts with sufficiently varied cross sections specifically designed to clean all areas of the teeth.
According to the present invention, a toothbrush is provided comprising a handle, a head extending from the handle, and a plurality of tufts of bristles inserted into the head, each of the three tufts being at an acute angle relative to a imaginary line that is tangent or coplanar with a surface of the head through which the three strands are inserted in the head, these three strands having an angle and being substantially aligned in the same direction, the direction being substantially parallel with respect to the handle, the direction being substantially in approximation or distance from the handle, a first of the three tufts having a length, a second of the three tufts being adjacent to the first tuft and having a length shorter than the length of the first tuft, and being a third of the three strands adjacent to the first strand and having a length shorter than the length of the first strand n, a fourth strand being inserted in the head in a location where no other strand is inserted in the head, in a location that is more distal from the handle than the location in which the fourth strand is inserted in the head, the cross sectional area of the fourth tuft being at least four times larger than the cross sectional area of any other tuft inserted in the head.
The present invention is directed to overcome one or more of the problems defined above. In a brief summary, according to one aspect of the present invention, a toothbrush includes a handle, a head extending from the handle, and a plurality of tufts of bristles inserted into the head. One of the strands is inserted in the head in a location such that no other strand is inserted in the head in the location that is more distal from the handle than the location in which a strand is inserted in the head. The one strand has an angle of approximately 81 degrees or less with respect to an imaginary line that is tangent or coplanar with a head surface through which the one strand is inserted into the head. The one tuft is tilted outward from the handle in a direction along which the head extends from the handle.
By angling a strand as described in the previous paragraph, the strand is able to extend beyond the end of the toothbrush head and therefore clean the molars at the back of the mouth sufficiently.
According to another aspect of the invention, a toothbrush includes a handle, a head extending from the handle, and a plurality of tufts of bristles inserted into the head. Each of two of the tufts is at an acute angle with respect to an imaginary line that is tangent or coplanar with a surface of the head through which the two tufts are inserted into the head. The two strands have different properties from each other selected from the group of properties consisting of length, cross section, color, material and combinations thereof.
By providing angled tufts that vary in length, cross section, color, materials or combinations thereof, said angled tufts are allowed to clean more than one part of the teeth. For example, one type of angled tuft will clean the mouth of the teeth while another type of angled lock will clean the interproximal regions of the teeth.
According to a third aspect of the invention, a toothbrush includes a handle, a head extending from the handle, and multiple tufts of bristles inserted into the head. Multiple strands include strands with at least five different types of cross sections.
By providing tufts with at least five different types of cross sections, these tufts can clean all areas of the teeth (eg the outer buccal face, gingival edge, interproximal regions, lingual surfaces and more rear molars) properly.
These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more easily understood and appreciated after a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appended claims, and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Figs. 4 and 5 are partial side views of the head and the respective parts of the tufts of the toothbrush of Fig. 1;
Fig. 6 is a partial sectional view of the toothbrush head taken along lines 6-6 of Fig. 3; Y
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the head and a part of the toothbrush handle of Fig. 1
Starting with Figs. 1-3, a toothbrush 10 includes a handle part 12 and a head part 14 extending from the handle in a D direction. The overall length of the toothbrush 10 is preferably approximately 19,558 cm (7.7 inches). ) while the width of the head 14 at its widest part is preferably approximately 1.27 cm (0.5 inches). A main part 6 of the handle 12, and head 14 are made of a single piece of polypropylene. The remaining parts of the handle 12, including the thumb holding part 18, optional trademark 24 (preferably approximately 2.0182 cm (0.83 inches) in length) and the finger holding part 20 are preferably manufactured of a thermoplastic elastomer, preferably a marathon rubber (a block copolymer of styrene and butadiene or isoprene filled with a hydrogenated or non-hydrogenated oil having a Shore A hardness of between about 5 and about 70). The thumb holding part 18 and a portion of the finger holding part 20 has a series of seventeen raised ridges 22 that improve the possibility of holding the handle. The flanges 22 are preferably 0.127 cm (0.05 inches) wide.
With reference to Figs. 3-7, a plurality of tufts 26 of bristles are inserted into the head 14 of the toothbrush. Each tuft is made of a large number of bristles, and all the bristles preferably have rounded ends. There are five different types of tufts inserted in the head, each type of tuft having a cross section that differs both in area and in the form of other types of tuft.
A first type of tuft, type 28, is made of bristles formed of poly-butylene-terephthalate (PBT) with an abrasive such as kaolin clay particles mixed completely with the PBT. These bristles are between about 0.0127 cm to 0.0229 cm (0.005 inches to 0.009 inches) in diameter, preferably 0.0178 cm (0.007 inches) in diameter. The length of these bristles, measured from the surface 30 of the head 14, is approximately 1,1176 cm (0.440 inches). The cross-sectional area covered by the lock for the lock 28 is approximately 0.0947 square cm (0.0373 square inches), providing a volume of tuft measured from the surface of the head approximately 0.0417 cubic cm (0, 0164 cubic inches), preferably this volume is between about 0.0381 cubic inches and 0.0457 cubic inches (0.015 cubic inches and 0.018 cubic inches). There is only one type 28 of tuft inserted in the head 14 and it is located more distal with respect to the handle 14 than any other tuft.
A second type of lock, type 32, is made of Indicators ™ nylon bristles that are formed of 6.12 nylon and colored blue on its outer surface. As is well known in the art, the blue color of these bristles fades slowly over time during use of the brush to indicate that the toothbrush has deteriorated. These bristles are between about 0.0127 cm to 0.0229 cm (0.005 inches to 0.009 inches) in diameter, preferably 0.0178 cm (0.007 inches) in diameter. The length of these bristles, measured from the surface 30 of the head 14, is approximately 0.889 cm (0.350 inches). The cross-sectional area of each tuft 32 is approximately 0.0114 square cm (0.0045 square inches). As shown in Fig. 6, tufts of type 32 have a rounded cross section. There are between 8 and 12 tufts of type 32 inserted in head 14.
A third type of tuft, type 34, is made of bristles formed of PBT with an abrasive such as kaolin clay particles mixed completely with the PBT. These bristles are between about 0.0127 cm to 0.0229 cm (0.005 inches to 0.009 inches) in diameter, preferably 0.0178 cm (0.007 inches) in diameter. The length of these bristles, measured from the surface 30 of the head 14, is approximately 1,1176 cm (0.440 inches). The cross-sectional area of each tuft 34 is approximately 0.0069 square cm (0.0027 square inches). There are between eight and twelve tufts of type 34 inserted in head 14. As shown in Fig. 6, tufts of type 34 are rectangular in shape with rounded ends.
A fourth type of tuft, type 36, is made of bristles formed of PBT with an abrasive such as kaolin clay particles mixed completely with the PBT. These bristles are between about 0.0127 cm to 0.0229 cm (0.005 inches to 0.009 inches) in diameter, preferably 0.0178 cm (0.007 inches) in diameter. The length of these bristles, measured from the surface 30 of the head 14, is approximately 1,1176 cm (0.440 inches). The cross-sectional area of each tuft 34 is approximately 0.0102 square cm (0.0040 square inches). There are between four and six tufts of type 36 inserted in head 14. As shown in Fig. 6, tufts of type 36 are rectangular in shape with rounded ends, and are wider across the head than tufts of type 34.
A fifth type and tuft end, type 38, is made of bristles formed of PBT with an abrasive such as kaolin clay particles mixed completely with the PBT. These bristles are between about 0.0127 cm to 0.0229 cm (0.005 inches to 0.009 inches) in diameter, preferably 0.0152 cm (0.006 inches) in diameter. The length of these bristles, measured from the surface 30 of the head 14, is approximately 0.889 cm (0.350 inches). The cross-sectional area of each tuft 38 is approximately 0.0213 square cm (0.0084 square inches). There are between four and six tufts of type 38 inserted in head 14. As shown in Fig. 6, tufts of type 36 are rectangular in shape with rounded ends, and are wider than tufts of type 36.
Based on the cross-sectional areas of the different strands described above, the type of strand 28 has a cross section that is more than four times larger than any other strand inserted in the head 14. Although specific materials have been described above from Of which the bristles of each strand are prepared, other materials can be used. As such, any of the bristles inserted in the head 14 could be made of, for example, PBT with or without an abrasive such as kaolin clay, nylon 6.12 with or without an abrasive, or of Indicator ™ nylon material with or without an abrasive
Additionally, the bristles of a strand and between strands can have lengths, diameters, transverse shapes, transverse areas, and variable colors, and can be made of different materials.
As best seen in Figs. 2,4, 5 and 7, all the tufts of the head 14 are at an angle either in the direction D or in the direction opposite to the direction D in preferably less than about 81 degrees, more preferably between about 69 degrees to about 81 degrees and most preferably at approximately 75 degrees, relative to an imaginary straight line 40 that is tangent to the surface 30 of the head 14. If the surface 30 is flat, rather than curved, then line 40 will be coplanar with the surface 30. Two outer rows of the tufts 42 are angled in the direction D away from the handle 12. An inner row of tufts 44 is angled in the opposite direction to the direction D towards the handle 12 with the exception of a large lock 28 which is inclined towards the direction D moving away from the handle 12.
The toothbrush 10 can be manufactured by the following process, which is generally understood by one skilled in the art. Each of the bristle tufts is formed by gathering a desired amount of bristles of selected material, length and diameter. The tufts are then inserted into holes in a part of a mold of an injection molding machine. One end of the tuft that is or projects into the mold cavity is fused to join the bristles together in a fused mass or ball at said end of the tuft.
The part of the mold having the tufts is then joined to another part of the mold that together define a cavity used to form the main part 16 of the toothbrush. The fused masses of the tufts are located just inside the cavity.
Polypropylene is then injected into the cavity to form part 16 of the toothbrush 10. A
5 Next, the polypropylene is cooled to the point that the partially finished toothbrush moves to a second injection molding station. The hardened cooled polypropylene firmly holds the fused masses of the tufts to the head 14 of the toothbrush. In the second molding station, the partially finished toothbrush is placed in a second mold having cavities to form the thumb holding part 18, registered trademark 24 and finger holding part 20. An elastomer is then injected
10 thermoplastic in the mold, after which said elastomer is cooled and the finished toothbrush 10 is removed from the mold. Then the toothbrush is packaged.
A toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that the fourth tuft (28) is angled between 69 and 81 degrees from the imaginary line (40).
A toothbrush according to claim 2, characterized in that the fourth tuft (28) is angled 75 degrees from the imaginary line (40).
A toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that the fourth tuft (28) is angled 81 degrees
or less with respect to the imaginary line (40) and inclined, moving away from the handle (12) towards a general direction from which the head (14) extends from the handle (12).
A toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that one or more of the bristles has a property that is different from those of the other bristles, the property being length, diameter, cross-sectional area, shape of the cross section, color, material or a combination of two or more of said properties.
A toothbrush according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the three tufts (32, 34, 36) are angled between 69 and 81 degrees from the imaginary line (40).
A toothbrush according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the third tuft (36) of the three tufts (26) incorporates an abrasive.
A toothbrush (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first strand (32), the second strand (34), and the fourth strand (28) are angled away from the handle (12).
A toothbrush (10) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the tufts comprise a conformation at the melt end that is captured in the head (14).
ES02012748T 1997-11-12 1998-11-06 Toothbrush Expired - Lifetime ES2379277T3 (en)
ES2379277T3 true ES2379277T3 (en) 2012-04-24
ES02012748T Expired - Lifetime ES2379277T3 (en) 1997-11-12 1998-11-06 Toothbrush
KR930700029A (en) * 1990-06-19 1993-03-13 제이코버스 코넬리스 레이서 Periodontal toothbrush showing a three-dimensional bristle contour and the curved shape of the terminal-shaped bristles to improve the cleaning power of the adjacent surface with no increase in irritation