Toothbrush
A toothbrush includes a handle, a head extending from the handle, and a plurality of tooth cleaning elements, such as tufts of bristles, extending from the head. Each tooth cleaning element is supported for rotation about primarily only one axis. Each tooth cleaning element is rotatable independent of the other tooth cleaning element(s).
More than one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,604.
This application (U.S. application Ser. No. 10/820,562) is a reissue application based on U.S. application Ser. No. 09/526,679, filed Mar. 16, 2000, which previously issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,604. U.S. application Ser. No. 12/828,653 and U.S. application Ser. No. 12/828,667 (now abandoned) were filed on Jul. 1, 2010 as divisional applications of and claim priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 10/820,562, filed on Apr. 8, 2004. Thus, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/820,562, U.S. application Ser. No. 12/828,653, and U.S. application Ser. No. 12/828,667 (now abandoned) are all reissue applications of U.S. Pat. No. 6,553,604.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates generally to the field of oral care, and in particular to toothbrushes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA Japanese patent document having an application number of 3-312978 discloses a toothbrush having a multiplicity of tufts of nylon bristles. In a first embodiment shown in
As shown in
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above. Briefly summarized, according to one aspect of the present invention, a toothbrush includes a handle, a head extending from the handle, and a plurality of tooth cleaning elements, such as tufts of bristles, extending from the head. Each tooth cleaning element is supported for rotation about primarily only one axis. Each tooth cleaning element is rotatable independent of the other tooth cleaning element(s).
By having each tooth cleaning element supported for rotation about only one axis, the problems mentioned above for the ball and socket tuft support are avoided. That is, the chances are increased that the tooth cleaning element will remain in contact with teeth during brushing and the brush will be more attractive in appearance.
Further, as each tooth cleaning element is rotatable independent of the other tooth cleaning element(s), the problem discussed above with the first Japanese embodiment is avoided. Each tooth cleaning element can achieve optimal interdental penetration without interference from rotation by another tooth cleaning element.
These and other aspects, objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood and appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and appended claims, and by reference to the accompanying drawings.
Beginning with
A second group of tooth cleaning elements 16 are secured to head 12 such that each element can independently rotate about a single axis during use of the brush. Each elements 16 can be a tuft of bristles or, alternatively, a single unitary fin made of plastic or rubber. Elements 16 are designed to penetrate in between teeth to clean the interdental spaces.
The interproximal residence time of elements 16 is significantly increased as compared to elements 14 which are rigidly fixed to head 12. An experiment was conducted in which the interproximal residence time was determined for fixed tufts at both a 0 degree (like element 14) and 16 degree forward angle, and for rotating tufts such as element 16. The tufts had an average of 40 bristles each with each bristle having a 7-mil diameter. Residence times were measured on a Single Filament Tester (SFT) with a load of 4 g/tuft at velocities between 0.5 and 10 in/s.
The graph of
With reference to
Such a molding operation would use a high flow material such as Exxon Escorene Polypropylene PP-1105, or FINA Polypropylene 3824. It is important to gate from both sides and to have very low pack pressure during the molding operation. An undercut on element 16 is preferable in order to secure bearing 18 to element 16. If bearing 18 is molded separately and then secured to element 16, an adhesive can be used in place of the undercut to secure element 16 and bearing 18 together.
An example of a specific molding operation would be to use a 90 Ton Toshiba Injection Molding Machine to mold Exxon Escorene Polypropylene PP-1105. The temperature profile is a 350 F. barrel temperature, a 350 F. rear temperature, a 405 F. front temperature and a 390 F. nozzle temperature. The mold temperature is preferably about 90 F., and a 1/16 inch nozzle should be used. Fill time is 0.25 seconds, screw forward time is 3.75 seconds, injection time is 4.00 seconds and cool time is 15 seconds. Peak hydraulic pressure is 250 psi.
Head 12 is actually made up of a top piece 22 and a bottom piece 24. Both of these pieces are created in separate molding steps with piece 22 being integrally molded with the brush handle. Element 16 is inserted through an aperture 25 in top piece 22 bearing end last to the position shown in the figures. Aperture 25 includes a bearing socket 20 which captures bearing 18. It is preferable to insert a viscous substance, such as some food-grade grease, into socket 20 to provide some resistance to rotation of element 16 to prevent the element from loosely flopping back and forth. Finally, piece 24 is fixed to piece 22 to secure bearing 18 in socket 20. Piece 24 can be secured to piece 22 by, for example, snap features (not shown) or heat welding. Alternatively, piece 24 can be injection molded into place.
An alternative manufacturing method to using two pieces 22, 24 for the head is to injection mold the entire head (and handle) about bearing 18. A higher melting temperature material would need to be used for element 16 and bearing 18 so that they are not softened/melted during injection molding of the head/handle. Element 16 can be exercised after completion of the brush by rotating the element back and forth to free it in the event some plastic from the head is interfering with rotation.
The arrangement described above allows element 16 to rotate back and forth about only one axis 26 which is preferably substantially perpendicular to a long axis of element i6. Preferably, element 16 can rotate about 30 degrees either side of vertical. The top of aperture 25 limits the amount of rotation that can be experienced by element 16. It should be noted that there is no spring force or other force which returns element 16 to a home position, so the element can end up at any one of an infinite number of positions along its 60 degree freedom of movement at the end of the brushing process.
Alternatively, bearing 18 could be made in a spherical shape. Use of such a spherical bearing would still only allow element 16 to rotate about only one axis because, as shown in
Turning to
The invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment. However, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications can be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A toothbrush An apparatus, comprising;:
- a toothbrush handle;
- a toothbrush head extending from the toothbrush handle; and
- a plurality of tufts of bristles extending from the head, the tufts of bristles sized such that multiple tufts of bristles are placed beside each other in a direction generally orthogonal to the handle, each tuft of bristles being supported for rotation about only one axis, each tuft of bristles being rotatable independent of the other tuft(s) of bristles one another.
2. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 1, wherein each tuft has a range of rotation of about 60 degrees.
3. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 1, wherein each tuft can rotate about 30 degrees to either side of a vertical position in which the tuft is perpendicular to a top surface of the head.
4. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 1, further including at least one tooth cleaning element which cannot be rotated.
5. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 1, wherein each tuft includes at its non-brushing end a bearing which is substantially cylindrical in shape in its major portion, each bearing being secured in its own hollow space within the head, each bearing allowing rotation of its respective tuft.
6. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 5, wherein the head is made of at least two pieces which are joined together to secure the bearing within the head.
7. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 5, wherein a viscous substance is provided in each hollow space in the head to provide some resistance to rotation of the tufts.
8. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 1, wherein a portion of the head limits rotation of each tuft.
9. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 1, wherein the tufts are rotated by contact with a portion of an oral cavity.
10. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 1, wherein each tuft includes at its non-brushing end a living hinge, each living hinge being secured partially within the head, each living hinge allowing rotation of its respective tuft.
11. The toothbrush apparatus of claim 1, wherein the axis about which each tuft is rotatable is substantially perpendicular to a long axis of the element tuft.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein two or more of the tufts of bristles are disposed in a row extending generally laterally across a long axis of the toothbrush handle.
13. An apparatus comprising:
- a toothbrush head having a longitudinal axis; and
- a first group of tooth cleaning elements extending from the head and a second group of a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from the head,
- the elements within each of the groups being of a common type and the type of elements in the first group being different from the type of elements in the second group, and
- wherein each of the elements of the first group is nonrotatable, and
- wherein each of the elements in the second group is supported for rotation about only one axis and independently rotatable with respect to any other rotatable tooth cleaning element on the toothbrush head, the elements of the second group sized such that multiple elements of the second group are placed beside each other in a direction generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head
- wherein the axis about which each element in the second group is rotatable is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein all of the tooth cleaning elements of the toothbrush are in the first and second group.
15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the first group includes a plurality of tooth cleaning elements.
16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein each of the elements in the second group is adjacent to at least one of the elements in the first group.
17. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the interproximal residence time of elements in the second group is about 1.6 times or greater than the interproximal residence time of the elements in the first group.
18. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the elements in the second group are longer than the elements in the first group.
19. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the elements in the second group are made of polymer.
20. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein each of the elements in the second group is a fin or tuft of bristles.
21. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein each of the elements in the second group is a fin.
22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein each of the elements in the first group is a tuft of bristles.
23. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a handle, and wherein the head extends from the handle.
24. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the elements in the first group are free of spring bias tending to rotate the elements after deflection.
25. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the type of elements in the first group is structurally different from the type of elements in the second group.
26. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the type of elements in the first group is compositionally different from the type of elements in the second group.
27. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the type of elements in the first group is structurally and compositionally different from the type of elements in the second group.
28. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the elements in the first group are rigidly secured to the toothbrush head.
29. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein two or more of elements of the second group are disposed in a row extending generally laterally across a long axis of the toothbrush head.
30. An apparatus comprising:
- a toothbrush head having a longitudinal axis; and
- a plurality of tufts of bristles extending from the head, each tuft of bristles being supported for rotation about only one axis, each tuft of bristles being rotatable independent of all other rotatable tuft(s) of bristles on the toothbrush head, the tufts of bristles sized such that multiple tufts of bristles are placed beside each other in a direction generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the toothbrush head,
- further including at least one tooth cleaning element which cannot be rotated.
31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein each tuft has a range of rotation of about 60 degrees.
32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein each tuft can rotate about 30 degrees to either side of a vertical position in which the tuft is perpendicular to a top surface of the head.
33. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein each tuft includes at its non-brushing end a bearing which is substantially cylindrical in shape in its major portion, each bearing being secured in its own hollow space within the head, each bearing allowing rotation of its respective tuft.
34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the head is made of at least two pieces which are joined together to secure the bearing within the head.
35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein a viscous substance is provided in each hollow space in the head to provide some resistance to rotation of the tufts.
36. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein a portion of the head limits rotation of each tuft.
37. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the tufts are rotated by contact with a portion of an oral cavity.
38. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein each tuft includes at its non-brushing end a living hinge, each living hinge being secured partially within the head, each living hinge allowing rotation of its respective tuft.
39. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the axis about which each tuft is rotatable is substantially perpendicular to a long axis of the element.
40. The apparatus of claim 30, further comprising a handle.
41. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein two or more of the tufts of bristles are disposed in a row extending generally laterally across a long axis of the toothbrush head.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Apr 8, 2004
Date of Patent: Apr 1, 2014
Assignee: Procter & Gamble Business Services Canada Company (Cincinnati, OH)
Inventors: Phillip M. Braun (Exeter, RI), William A. Bredall (Pacifica, CA), Karen Claire-Zimmet (Waltham, MA), Thomas Craig Masterman (Brookline, MA), Mark Edward McConnell (Belmont, CA), Michael F. Roberts (Tucson, AZ), Thomas Overthun (San Francisco, CA)
Primary Examiner: Randall Chin
Application Number: 10/820,562
International Classification: A46B 9/04 (20060101); A46B 7/06 (20060101);