Toothbrush

Details Toothbrush Toothbrush

1999-02-26

2001-11-13

Spisich, Mark (Department: 1744)

Brushing, scrubbing, and general cleaning

Implements

Brush or broom

C015S201000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06314605

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a bristle arrangement for a toothbrush, more particularly to a toothbrush whose head has tufts arranged in distinct groups separated by gaps which extend from one side of the brush head to the other. The placement and orientation of tufts is such that the groups can operate substantially without interference from neighbouring groups of tufts, yet a high overall density of tufts on the toothbrush head is still maintained.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Effective brushing of teeth requires both high bristle contact with all tooth surfaces and penetration of bristles into interdental gaps and other crevices. Typical toothbrushes, with uniform tuft spacing across the brush head, achieve high bristle contact but interdental penetration is limited by interference between neighbouring tufts i.e. the whole set of bristles tends to behave as one solid array.
Various arrangements of bristles on the toothbrush head which aim to improve the quality of brushing have been described.
WO 91/19437, for example, describes a toothbrush with a three-dimensional bristle profile for improved interproximal cleaning. EP-A-449,653 and EP-A-449,655 disclose brushes having tufts which are set at an angle to the toothbrush head and to each other to clean the gingival marginal area and the interproximal spaces. It is also said that the tufts are unable to support one another structurally, allowing individual tufts to penetrate embrasures and interproximal spaces without being inhibited by surrounding bristle tufts. WO 96/01578 recites a multi-level bristle tuft which has the object of stimulating gums and imparting a unique mouth sensation signalling effective cleaning. WO 96/15696 is directed towards a toothbrush with strips of a flexible, resilient material projecting from the head which enhance its tooth cleaning effect.
Alternative approaches to improving cleaning have included modifying the shape or behaviour of the brush head. WO 91/19438, for instance, discloses a toothbrush with weakened regions in the head which allow it to be deformed to suit the particular size and shape of the user's dental arches. There are rows of bristles missing at the weakened regions. WO 96/02165 and other documents referenced therein describe brushes with flexible heads which can adapt or be adapted to the user's teeth whilst brushing. WO 94/09677 describes yet another variation wherein two general directional orientations of rectangular bristles are used on the same brush head in order to provide improved cleaning performance. The aforesaid document reviews earlier art describing the use of rectangular bristles to achieve different brushing characteristics for different motions of the brush.
Separately from all of this, the manner of using a toothbrush has received much attention from dental professionals over the years. Preferred methods for brushing teeth, such as the Bass and Rolling techniques are described in ‘Primary Preventative Dentistry’ by N. O. Harrison and A. G. Christen, 4th Edn., published by Appleton & Lange.
Despite all the foregoing, and much other literature on toothbrushes, there remains a need for improved brush designs.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a toothbrush allowing independent movement of bristle tufts whilst maintaining a high overall density of tufts.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a toothbrush which allows independent movement of bristle tufts whilst achieving a preferred orientation of bristles to teeth surfaces whilst brushing.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a toothbrush whose head is comfortable within the mouth and which has a bristle arrangement that assists improved cleaning.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a toothbrush having a handle and, attached at one end thereof, a head, the head having a handle end, a free end, and a bristle-bearing face with a plurality of tufts extending therefrom, the tufts each having a base and a free end and comprising one or more bristles, wherein the tufts are arranged in groups which are separated from each other by a transverse gap, the distance between the bases of the tufts within a group being less than 1.3 mm, the distance between the bases of the tufts between groups being in the range from 1.3 mm to 5 mm and wherein the distance between the free ends of the tufts between groups is at least 0.5 mm.
According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a toothbrush having a handle and, attached at one end thereof, a resiliently flexible head, the head having a handle end, a free end, and a bristle-bearing face with a plurality of tufts extending therefrom, the tufts each having a base and a free end and comprising one or more bristles, wherein the tufts are arranged in groups which are separated from each other by a transverse gap, the distance between the bases of the tufts within a group being less than 1.3 mm and the distance between the bases of the tufts between groups being in the range from 1.3 mm to 5 mm.
The arrangements allows for independent movement of bristle tufts yet maintain a high density of tufts on the brush head.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The toothbrush of this invention can be a single piece toothbrush, such as in a conventional manual design or it can have, for example, a replaceable head, such as in an electrical toothbrush, or the head can be fixed but have exchangeable bristle-bearing inserts. The toothbrush has a handle and, attached to one end thereof, a head. The design of the handle is not critical to the invention, it will generally be of conventional elongate shape. Preferably it will be ergonomically designed, building in such features as elastomeric inserts to improve the user's grip, and thumb or index finger rests to improve handling. In a preferred embodiment the handle has a neck portion which is arched sufficiently that the free working ends of the bristles, as described hereinafter, lie in substantially the same plane as the handle.
The toothbrush head has a bristle-bearing face with a plurality of tufts extending therefrom, a free end which has a tip, and a handle end. The head further has two opposed sides which extend from the free end of the head to the handle end. The handle end can be continuous with an elongated handle as in a single piece toothbrush or it can be adapted to connect to a separate handle. In any case the long axis of the handle defines a longitudinal axis of the head, with the free end and handle end being at opposite ends of the longitudinal axis. The head also has a transverse axis lying orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and generally parallel to the bristle-bearing face. References to transverse or longitudinal herein refer to directions which are respectively parallel to these transverse and longitudinal axes, unless indicated otherwise. Suitably, the head itself is also elongated, with its elongated axis also being a longitudinal axis. The toothbrush head can also comprise an exchangeable insert which fits into a supporting frame, such as described in EP-A-704,179. In this latter case, by ‘head’ is meant the combination of the frame and insert as would be assembled for use in brushing one's teeth.
By ‘tuft’, herein, is meant a set of one or more bristles fastened to the brush at a common point. Bristles for use herein can be made of any of the materials well known in the art. Suitable bristle materials herein include polyester and nylon, such as Dupont Tynex® 612 and Stylon® 612 from STP. The bristles are preferably of circular cross-section but can also be of other cross-sections including, but not limited to, rectangular, hexagonal and trilocular. Furthermore, the diameter and length of the bristles can vary within the usual dimensions known by a person skilled in the art. In preferred embodiments the bristles are of circular cross-section with a diameter of from 0.1 to 0.25 mm and length of from 7 to 15 mm, preferably 9 to 12 mm, with each tuft comprising fr

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