Abstract:
A toothbrush comprising a head portion having bristles thereon, a neck portion, and a handle is disclosed. One end of the neck portion is connected to the head portion, and the other end is connected to the handle. The axis of the bristles is substantially parallel to the axis of the neck portion. The axis of the neck portion and the axis of the handle form an angle. Accordingly, the toothbrush can be used easily for brushing and it reduces angle limitations when cleaning the inner surface of the teeth.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of toothbrushes, and more particularly, the invention relates to a toothbrush that has a unique angle which can aid in cleansing the inner surface of the teeth. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    The condition of the teeth is closely related to the health condition of mankind. Thus, in modern days, people have paid much attention to the concept of “prevention is better than cure”, which encourages people to establish good oral hygiene and maintain healthy teeth. Generally speaking, the health condition of the teeth is established during its early stages. During the formation stage, the condition of the teeth can deteriorate if they are not treated with proper care. Although fillings and dentures can be applied to repair the damaged teeth, the teeth having artificial replacements can never be as good as the natural ones. 
         [0005]    Many medical reports have indicated that decayed teeth (dental caries) originate from the inner surface of the teeth. In the marketplace, the handle of traditional toothbrushes is either straight or slightly curved with the bristles perpendicular to the handle. The design of these traditional toothbrushes has certain angle limitations on the hand movements. They are suitable for cleaning the outer surface of the teeth, but the inner surface of the teeth where the dental caries often take place cannot be easily cleaned. 
         [0006]    Furthermore, the bristles on the head portion of traditional toothbrushes are often integrated with the body of the toothbrush. The marketplace does not offer a toothbrush that allows replacing the bristles alone to suit the requirements of different users. 
         [0007]    The prevention of dental caries relies heavily on the individual&#39;s hygienic habit, and thus it is crucial to choose a right toothbrush. However, the types of toothbrush that the marketplace offer are very much limited. Generally, the doctors can only recommend on the types of “bristles” or “handles” for their clients to choose from. Thus, the inventor of the present invention has made an improvement on the toothbrushes in the prior art to resolve these problems. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The main object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush which has a handle structured in a special angle, especially designed to aid the plaque removal process for the inner surface of the teeth. 
         [0009]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush that can reduce the angle limitations on the hand movements, which increases the effectiveness for cleaning the inner surface of the teeth. 
         [0010]    Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush which can clean the different types of teeth surface, as well as the gaps between the teeth. The design of a replaceable head portion (including the bristle), enables the toothbrush to cater for users with different requirements. 
         [0011]    In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the present invention provides a toothbrush comprising a head portion having bristles thereon, a neck portion, and a handle. One end of the neck portion is connected to the head portion, and the other end is connected to the handle. The axis of the bristles is substantially parallel to the axis of the neck portion. The axis of the neck portion and the axis of the handle form an angle. Accordingly, the present invention reduces the angle limitation when cleaning, and the toothbrush can be inserted easily into the user&#39;s mouth for brushing the inner surface of the teeth. Furthermore, the present invention comprises a replaceable head portion, which can be replaced by the most suitable head portion to clean the different types of teeth surface as well as the gaps between the teeth. The head portion can also have bristles on both its sides, which aids in maintaining a good oral hygiene (especially for the inner surface of the teeth) and prevents health problems. 
         [0012]    In the embodiments of the present invention, the head portion, the neck portion, and/or the handle can be modeled in one piece or separated such that the neck portion can rotate with respective to the handle and/or the head portion can rotate with respective to the neck portion. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a toothbrush embodiment in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a usage diagram in accordance with the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 3A  to  FIG. 3E  are perspective views of difference toothbrushes in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  to  FIG. 6  are perspective views showing various embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7A  to  FIG. 7C  are various embodiments of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0018]    The advantages and innovative features of the invention can become more apparent with the following preferred embodiments. 
         [0019]    Refer to  FIG. 1  for the first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment of the present invention provides a toothbrush  1 , which comprises a head portion  1 , a neck portion  12 , and a handle  13 . The neck portion  12  is extended from the head portion  11 , and the handle  13  is extended from the neck portion  12 . The head portion  11  comprises bristles  111 , and the axis of the bristles  111  is substantially parallel to the axis L 1  of the neck portion  12 . The axis L 1  of the neck portion  12  and the axis L 2  of the handle  13  form an angle θ 1 . The preferred angle for θ 1  lies between 90 and 150 degrees. 
         [0020]    The axis L 3  of the head portion  11  and the axis L 1  of the neck portion  13  further form an angle θ 2 . The preferred angle for θ 2  lies between 70 and 100 degrees. 
         [0021]    Through the above design, the toothbrush  1  is able to reduce the angle limitation on the hand movements and it makes teeth-brushing process more convenient. Also refer to  FIG. 2 . The toothbrush  1  of the present invention can be inserted easily into the user&#39;s mouth to increase the effectiveness on brushing the inner surface of tooth  2 . 
         [0022]    Refer to  FIG. 3  for another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment provides a toothbrush  3 . The toothbrush  3  comprises a head portion  31 , a neck portion  32 , and a handle  33 , wherein the neck portion  32  is separately connected to the handle  33  and the head portion  31 . Preferably, toothbrush  3  can further comprise an L-shaped member  311 . In the embodiment of the present invention, the handle  33  can rotate with respective to the neck portion  32  and/or the head portion  31  can rotate with respective to the neck portion  32 . 
         [0023]    Furthermore, the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 3A  of the present invention further comprises an L-shaped member  311 , whereby one end of the L-shaped member  311  is connected to the neck portion  32  by a second rotating member  35 . On the other end, the L-shaped member  311  is connected to the head portion  31  by a third rotating member  36 . The neck portion  32  and the handle  33  can be connected to each other through the rotating member  34 . Angle adjustments can be made on each connection separately to improve operation efficiency. 
         [0024]    According to the embodiment in  FIG. 3A , the handle  33  can rotate with respective to the neck portion  32  and/or the head portion  31  can rotate with respective to the neck portion  32 . This design has provided users with a more flexible toothbrush. By referring to  FIG. 3B  concurrently, the head portion  31  and the L-shaped member  311  are connected by the third rotating member  36  (shown in  FIG. 3A ). The head portion  31  can rotate with respective to the L-shaped member  311 . For example, the head portion  31  can rotate with the third rotating member  36  along the axis L 4 . 
         [0025]    Refer to  FIG. 3C . The figure shows that the neck portion  32  and the L-shaped member  311  are connected by the second rotating member  35  (shown in  FIG. 3A ). The head portion  31  and the L-shaped member  311  can rotate with respective to the neck portion  32 . For example, they can rotate with the second rotating member  35  along the axis L 5 . 
         [0026]    Refer to  FIG. 3D . The figure shows that the neck portion  32  and the handle  33  are connected by the first rotating member  34 . The handle  33  can rotate with respective to the neck portion  32 . For example, the handle  33  can rotate with the first rotating member  34  along the axis L 6 . 
         [0027]    Furthermore, refer to  FIG. 3E  which is designed for brushing different types of teeth surface as well as the gaps between the teeth. 
         [0028]    The present invention allows the replacement of the head portion  31 , so that the most appropriate head portion (including the bristles) can be selected. For example, the head portions and bristles of a different type or size can be selected as a replacement. 
         [0029]    The head portion, the neck portion, the L-shaped member, and/or the handle of the present invention can be modified to generate various embodiments. Refer to the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 4 . A toothbrush  4  comprises an L-shaped head portion  41 , a neck portion  42 , and a handle  43  extended from the neck portion  42 . In other words, this embodiment has essentially constructed the L-shaped head portion  41  by joining the head portion  31  and the L-shaped member  311  shown in  FIG. 3A  into a single member. The L-shaped head portion  41  can rotate with respective to the neck portion  42  by rotating along the fifth rotating member  44 . 
         [0030]    Refer to the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 5 . A toothbrush  5  comprises a head portion  51 , an L-shaped neck portion  52  and a handle  53  extended from the L-shaped neck portion  52 . In other words, this embodiment has essentially constructed the L-shaped neck portion  52  by joining the neck portion  33  and the L-shaped member  311  shown in  FIG. 3A  into a single member. The head portion  51  can rotate with respective to the neck portion  52  by rotating along the fifth rotating member  54 . 
         [0031]    Refer to the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 6 . A toothbrush  6  comprises a head portion  61 , a neck portion  62  and a handle  63 . In other words, this embodiment has essentially joined the head portion  31 , the L-shaped member  311  and the neck portion  32  shown in  FIG. 3A  into a single member. The neck portion  62  can rotate with respective to the handle  63  by rotating along the first rotating member  64 . 
         [0032]    Refer to the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 7A˜FIG .  7 C. A toothbrush  7  comprises a head portion  71 , a neck portion  72 , a L-shaped member  711  and a handle  73 . The L-shaped member  711  further comprises a fourth rotating member  77 , such that the L-shaped member  711  can rotate along the fourth rotating member  77 . Furthermore, the head portion  71  on the toothbrush  7  may have bristles  111  on both sides as shown in  FIG. 7A˜FIG .  7 C. 
         [0033]    As those skilled persons in this art will be understood, the function of the first rotating member  34 ; the second rotating member  35 ,  75 ; the third rotating member  36 ,  76 ; and the fourth rotating member  77  or the fifth rotating member  44 ,  54  can also be achieved through other means or devices such as pivot connections or a ball joint to allow rotation (refer to  FIG. 7C ), so the present invention is not limited to the rotating members that have been illustrated. Furthermore, the first rotating member  34 ; the second rotating member  35 ,  75 ; the third rotating member  36 ,  76 ; and the fourth rotating member  77  or the fifth rotating member  44 ,  54  should not be limited to the position shown in the figures. For example, the second rotating member  35  can be located on the L-shaped member  311 . 
         [0034]    In addition, the toothbrush  1 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6  or  7  of the present invention are not limited to be used as a traditional toothbrush which is brushed by hand movements; the design can also be applied with an electrical toothbrush (not shown). For example, the handle of the present invention can be inserted into the body of an electrical toothbrush. 
         [0035]    In conclusion, the distinguishing feature of the present invention lies within the axis property of the head portion, the neck portion and/or the handle by providing the users with the convenience of cleaning the inner surface of the teeth. The toothbrush can also have bristles on both sides of the head portion. Moreover, different types of rotating structures can be used on the head portion, neck portion and/or handle to allow rotation in different directions. Furthermore, the replaceable head portion can be replaced to cater for users with different requirements. 
         [0036]    Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.