Toothbrush
There is provided a toothbrush having an elongate body provided with a handle portion at a first end and a utility portion at a second end opposite to the first end, (a) wherein the utility portion is provided with a platform from which a plurality of tufts of cleaning bristles are extended, (b) wherein the cleaning media is provided with a front region, opposite side regions and a rear region which together forming a circumferential area surrounding a middle region of the cleaning bristles, (c) wherein the tufts of cleaning bristles located at the middle region are formed into at least two peaks configured for insertion into adjacent gaps between successive teeth, (d) wherein the tufts of cleaning media forming the peaks are substantially taller than the tufts of cleaning media along the side regions, and (e) wherein distal end of the two peaks are separated by a distance from 8.15 mm to 9.15 mm.
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This application is a continuation in part of design application Ser. Nos. 29/338,008 filed Jun. 3, 2009 and 29/338,009 filed Jun. 3, 2009.
FIELD OF THE PRESENT INVENTIONThe present invention is concerned with a toothbrush.
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTIONThere are a variety of oral cleaning devices and tools to assist oral cleaning. For example, conventional toothbrushes have been around for a long time. Most dentists often recommend brushing teeth with a toothbrush at least twice a day. Many dentists also recommend flossing in addition to brushing. Electric toothbrushes have also become popular in the past twenty five years. For patients with certain dental problems, cleaning with inter-dental brushes may also be required. Then there is also oral cleaning with mouth rinse. In recent years, some dentists also recommend using apparatus which can eject pressurized water stream to clean gaps between teeth. When more than one of these different devices or tools is used a higher level of oral hygiene can be achieved. However, it is rather inconvenient to use multiple devices and the cost of acquiring or maintaining such multiple devices can be rather high.
The present invention seeks to introduce a toothbrush which can achieve multiple oral cleaning functions or at least to provide an alternative to the general public.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTIONAccording to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toothbrush comprising an elongate body provided with a handle portion at a first end and a utility portion at a second end opposite to the first end, wherein the utility portion is provided with a platform from which a plurality of tufts of cleaning media are extended, wherein on the platform the cleaning media includes a front region, a left side region, a right side region and a rear region which together forming a circumferential area or a ring surrounding a middle region of the cleaning media, wherein the cleaning media tufts located at the middle region are formed into at least two peaks configured for insertion into adjacent gaps between successive teeth of a user, wherein the cleaning media tufts forming the peaks are substantially taller than the cleaning media tufts at the left and right side regions, and wherein distal end of the two peaks are separated by a distance between 8.15 mm and 9.15 mm.
Preferably, the middle region may be provided with three peaks.
In one embodiment, one or more of the peaks may be conical in shape. The peak(s) may define an external concave surface. When there are two peaks, the two peaks may be separated by a distance of substantially 8.65 mm. The peaks may be configured for insertion into adjacent triangular gap regions between successive teeth.
In another embodiment, the cleaning media defining the peaks at the middle region may be stiffer than the cleaning media located at the left and right side regions.
Preferably, the cleaning media may take the form of bristles. It may also take the form of elastomeric cleaning fingers or filaments or a combination of bristles and elastomeric cleaning finger or filaments.
When the cleaning media takes the form of bristles, the cleaning media defining the peaks at the middle region may have a larger width or diameter than the cleaning media located at the left and right side regions.
In another embodiment, the front region of the cleaning media may be formed into an asymmetrical peak defining a slope on one side and a generally vertical end on the opposite side. The asymmetrical peak may be taller than the peaks arranged between the left and right side regions of the cleaning media.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanied figures, in which:
A number of tufts of cleaning media are provided at the utility portion 6 extending from the surface 8. In this embodiment, some of the cleaning media tufts are arranged in a configuration of circular column while some are not. It is shown in
As shown in
In this embodiment and as shown in
As shown in
Referring to
The cleaning media tufts in this embodiment are made of bristles although other type of cleaning media tufts may be used. For example, a combination of bristles and elastomeric fingers or filaments may be used.
In order to appreciate the technical advantages produced from using a toothbrush such as the above embodiment of toothbrush, problems encountered in cleaning teeth in the past but unidentified or not identified adequately are first explained by way of background in layman terms. Conventional toothbrushes have been around for a long time and they are effective to the extent that they can clean the front and rear sides of the teeth with little problem because these sides are exposed and are easily accessible. However, cleaning between teeth had all along been a challenge.
Also, since the front and the rear surfaces of teeth have a relatively large area while the surfaces at the gaps between teeth have a smaller area and are relatively inaccessible, conventional toothbrushes are often able to clean the front and rear surfaces but not at the gaps.
Further, different users have different tooth size and the distances between gaps of successive teeth, or the mesio-distal width, of different people are different. Even for the same user, the distance between gaps of successive incisors and the distance between gaps of successive molars can be different. It follows that a toothbrush design which could work well in cleaning the teeth of one user likely would not work equally well in cleaning the teeth of another user due to the difference in tooth size. For that matter, a toothbrush design which could work well in cleaning certain teeth of a user might not work equally well in cleaning other teeth of the same user. One could imagine that one or more custom made toothbrushes could be made to each individual but this would not be possible realistically because toothbrushes are low cost items and it would not be possible economically.
Further, the configuration of the gaps between teeth is unique in that they are often not in an elongate shape or in the form of an elongate slit. Rather, they are relatively small and are roughly in the form having a triangular shaped cavity. Conventional toothbrushes with a relatively flat trim or a planar top surface profile would not be able to enter such small or triangular cavity.
It can thus be understood that the configuration of the toothbrush 2 can be mass produced to suit a wide population.
It is envisaged that the three-dimensional topography of the cleaning media tufts can clean not only the front and rear surfaces of the teeth but also at the gaps.
One difference is that all cleaning media tufts of the toothbrush of the second embodiment are in the form of a circular column. Another difference is that the contour of peaks defined by the cleaning media tufts is sharper in that the side of the peaks is more concave. Due to the shaper peaks this embodiment of toothbrush may be more appropriate for cleaning teeth with smaller gaps.
It can be envisaged that a toothbrush made according to the present invention can also serve as an inter-dental toothbrush.
Claims
1. A toothbrush comprising an elongate body provided with a handle portion at a first end and a utility portion at a second end opposite to said first end;
- (a) wherein said utility portion is provided with a platform from which a plurality of tufts of cleaning media are extended;
- (b) wherein said cleaning media is provided with a front region, opposite side regions and a rear region which together forming a circumferential area surrounding a middle region of said cleaning media;
- (c) wherein said tufts of cleaning media located at the middle region are formed into at least two peaks configured for insertion into adjacent gaps between successive teeth;
- (d) wherein said tufts of cleaning media forming said peaks are substantially taller than said tufts of cleaning media along the side regions; and
- (e) wherein distal end of said two peaks are separated by a distance between 8.15 mm and 9.15 mm.
2. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the middle region is provided with three said peaks.
3. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more said peaks are conical in shape.
4. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said peaks define an external concave surface.
5. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said two peaks are separated by a distance of substantially 8.65 mm.
6. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said peaks are configured for insertion into adjacent triangular gap regions between successive teeth.
7. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cleaning media defining said peaks at the middle region are stiffer than said cleaning media located at the side regions.
8. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cleaning media are bristles.
9. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 8, wherein said cleaning media defining said peaks at the middle region has a larger width than said cleaning media located at the side regions.
10. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the front region of the cleaning media is formed into an asymmetrical peak defining a slope on one side and a generally vertical end on the opposite side.
11. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 10, wherein said asymmetrical peak is taller than said peaks arranged between the side regions of said cleaning media.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 4, 2010
Publication Date: Dec 9, 2010
Applicant: HAYCO Manufacturing Limited (Hong Kong)
Inventors: Craig Mathew Erskine-Smith (Sydney), David Deacon (Hong Kong)
Application Number: 12/651,738
International Classification: A46B 9/04 (20060101);