Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
  • A46D1/00—Bristles; Selection of materials for bristles
  • A46D1/02—Bristles details
  • A46D1/0238—Bristles with non-round cross-section
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46D—MANUFACTURE OF BRUSHES
  • A46D1/00—Bristles; Selection of materials for bristles
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/29—Coated or structually defined flake, particle, cell, strand, strand portion, rod, filament, macroscopic fiber or mass thereof
  • Y10T428/2913—Rod, strand, filament or fiber
  • Y10T428/2922—Nonlinear [e.g., crimped, coiled, etc.]
  • Y10T428/2925—Helical or coiled
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/29—Coated or structually defined flake, particle, cell, strand, strand portion, rod, filament, macroscopic fiber or mass thereof
  • Y10T428/2913—Rod, strand, filament or fiber
  • Y10T428/2973—Particular cross section
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/29—Coated or structually defined flake, particle, cell, strand, strand portion, rod, filament, macroscopic fiber or mass thereof
  • Y10T428/2913—Rod, strand, filament or fiber
  • Y10T428/2973—Particular cross section
  • Y10T428/2976—Longitudinally varying
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
  • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
  • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
  • Y10T428/29—Coated or structually defined flake, particle, cell, strand, strand portion, rod, filament, macroscopic fiber or mass thereof
  • Y10T428/2913—Rod, strand, filament or fiber
  • Y10T428/2973—Particular cross section
  • Y10T428/2978—Surface characteristic

Definitions

• the invention relates to a bristle for a toothbrush, in particular for an electric toothbrush, which consists of a monofilament made of plastic.
• Such bristles are generally known and are used, for example, in electrically driven toothbrushes.
• the object of the invention is to further develop such bristles, in particular with a view to an improved cleaning effect in tooth cleaning.
• the non-circular cross-section and the rotation of the monofilament create a three-dimensional structured surface. Since not only the bristle tip, but also the lateral surface is important for tooth cleaning, the bristle according to the invention has a greater cleaning effect than hitherto. In particular, the structured surface can remove plaque from the tooth surface much better.
• Fixation with the help of chemical agents causes the rotation and thus the structured surface of the monofilament to remain in a permanent state.
• the orientation state of the molecular chains in the filament material remains almost unchanged. Rearrangements only take place in the outer layers. With the same diameter, this results in greater strength and rigidity of the bristle compared to other fixing methods.
• the type of fixation makes it possible to use monofilaments with particularly small diameters, which are then much better in particular penetrate interdental spaces and free them from plaque.
• the cleaning effect of the bristle according to the invention is thus significantly improved overall.
• the cross section of the monofilament is approximately symmetrical to a plane running parallel to the longitudinal axis. It has proven to be particularly expedient if the cross-section of the monofilament is approximately star-shaped.
• a value in the range of about 0.1016 mm (4 mil) to about 0.254 mm (10 mil) has proven to be particularly advantageous, in particular in connection with the use of the bristle according to the invention in an electric toothbrush, as the diameter of the envelope of the monofilament. Furthermore, it is advantageous if the monofilament has about 0.5 to about 2 twists per mm in the direction of the longitudinal axis, and if the monofilament consists of polyamide, polyester and / or polypropylene.
• the monofilament is rotated and then fixed due to the action of chemical agents. In this way it is achieved that the twist is permanently maintained, while the mechanical properties of the monofilament are essentially retained.
• said fixation represents a simple and easily controllable way of processing the twisted monofilament and producing the bristle according to the invention with the surface structure described.
• the monofilament is rotated at one point and at the same time rotation is prevented or braked at a distance from this point.
• this structure has additional edges and radii, which have a generally advantageous effect when cleaning teeth, and which are particularly expedient, in particular when removing plaque from the tooth surface or from interdental spaces.
• the filaments are fixed in the solvent for between about 5 s and about 50 s, preferably between about 20 s and about 30 s.
• formic acid has proven to be a particularly useful solvent.
• the bristles according to the invention are used in the inner field of a preferably electrically driven round-head toothbrush.
• FIGS. 1 a and 1 b show a schematic representation of an embodiment of a bristle according to the invention for a toothbrush in a view and a cross section, and
• Figure 2 is a schematic representation of alternative cross sections of the
• a bristle 1 which consists of a monofilament 2.
• the monofilament 2 is made of plastic and is twisted. The rotation is carried out smoothly, so that the structure of the surface of the bristle 1 is repeated continuously.
• the bristle 1 thus has a structured surface which the monofilament 2 originally does not have, but which only arises from the rotation of the monofilament 2.
• the monofilament 2 shown in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b can consist of polyamide, polyester or polypropylene.
• the diameter of the envelope of said monofilament 2 can be between about 0, 1016 mm (4 mil) and about 0.254 mm (10 mil).
• the monofilament 2 can have from about 0.5 turns per mm to about 2.0 turns per mm in the direction of its longitudinal axis.
• the monofilament 2 has a non-circular cross section.
• This cross section is star-shaped in accordance with FIG. 1 b and thus approximately symmetrical to a plane running parallel to the longitudinal axis.
• the non-circular cross-section and the rotation of the monofilament 2 create a helical three-dimensional structure, which is identified by the reference number 3 in FIG. 1 a. It is also possible for the cross section of the monofilament 2 to take on one of the alternative forms as shown in FIG.
• the monofilament 2 is rotated.
• the monofilament 2 is twisted at one point, while the monofilament 2 is simultaneously held at a distance from this point, that is, rotation is prevented or at least braked. It is possible to carry out the rotation of the monofilament 2 with already drawn filaments which already have the desired mechanical properties.
• the twisted monofilament 2 is immersed in a solvent and fixed there by dissolving.
• the residence time in the solvent is from about 5 s to about 50 s.
• Phenol, M-cresol or formic acid can be used as the solvent. Highly concentrated formic acid has proven to be particularly advantageous.
• the rotation is fixed by such immersion or wetting of the monofilament 2 by the solvent. This means that the monofilament 2 no longer turns back, but the rotation is permanently maintained.
• the monofilament 2 is again cleaned of the solvent by rinsing with water or the like, or the solvent is neutralized in another way, for example by evaporation. Then the monofilament 2 is dried by heat radiation or the like.
• the bristle 1 described in FIGS. 1 a and 1 b is intended for use in toothbrushes, in particular for use in electric toothbrushes.
• the bristle 1 described can be used particularly advantageously in the inner field of a round-head toothbrush.

Landscapes

• Brushes (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=7807795

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Families Citing this family (50)

Family Cites Families (21)

• 1996
  • 1996-10-02 DE DE19640852A patent/DE19640852A1/de not_active Ceased
• 1997
  • 1997-09-24 AU AU47775/97A patent/AU4777597A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1997-09-24 WO PCT/EP1997/005222 patent/WO1998014091A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 1997-09-24 DE DE59706712T patent/DE59706712D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1997-09-24 EP EP97910338A patent/EP1006838B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1997-09-24 AT AT97910338T patent/ATE214563T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1999
  • 1999-04-01 US US09/283,812 patent/US6094769A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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