Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02856097 2014-05-16
Brush head for a sonic or ultrasonic toothbrush and toothbrush
The invention relates to a brush head for a sonic or ultrasonic toothbrush
according to the preamble
of claim 1 and to an ultrasonic toothbrush according to the preamble of claim
15.
During cleaning of a permanently installed brace, such as a multi-band or
multi-bracket apparatus,
by means of an electric toothbrush, there is a tendency of insufficient
cleaning performance around
the base of the bracket. The mesiodistal areas beneath the arch and the tooth
sections to the side of
the bracket edges "in the slipstream" of the bracket corners do not become
fully free of plaque even
in the case of intensive cleaning, since no contact takes place here between
the bristles and the
bracket and/or the tooth. This is due to the rotary motion of the brush head
that normally takes
place with electric toothbrushes and also due to the shape of the brush head
(length and orientation
of the bristles).
Besides conventional electric toothbrushes, in which either the entire brush
head support swings
back and forth or the brush head oscillates or vibrates, so-called ultrasonic
toothbrushes have been
known for some time, in which an ultrasonic generator integrated in the brush
head sets the flexible
bristles, normally grouped in bundles, into high-frequency oscillations. The
advantage of such
ultrasonic toothbrushes, in addition to the thorough cleaning, is especially
that the teeth and gums
are mechanically stressed only to a small degree. However, a special
ultrasonic toothpaste is
necessary. Also, the cleaning procedure must be modified in comparison with
conventional electric
toothbrushes to achieve an optimal cleaning effect: in the case of ultrasonic
toothbrushes it is
generally recommended to first distribute the ultrasonic toothpaste on the
inner and outer surfaces
of the teeth, while the toothbrush is still switched off. Then the tooth brush
is switched on and the
brush head is held for five to ten seconds on the respective inner and outer
surface, without
performing a mechanical back-and-forth motion of the entire brush head (i.e.
no "scrubbing" of the
teeth).
The tooth cleaning problems described above in connection with conventional
electric toothbrushes
in the case of a permanently installed brace exist in a similar manner,
although less critically, in the
case of ultrasonic toothbrushes.
The object of the invention is to present a simply constructed and easily
manufacturable brush head
for a sonic or ultrasonic toothbrush as well as a toothbrush, which are
especially suitable for cleaning
a brace of the multi-band / multi-bracket type and which avoid the
aforementioned problems.
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This object is achieved with a brush head embodied according to claim 1. A
toothbrush is the subject
matter of claim 15.
"Bristle length" is to be understood in the following as the length of the
section of the bristles
protruding freely from the outer side of the base plate without taking into
account a root or base
section of the bristles extending into a base plate and possibly continuing on
the back side toward
the ultrasonic transducer. In the event that the length of the bristles varies
slightly in a bristle bundle
arranged inclined to the base plate, "length of the bristle bundle" is to be
understood as the average
bristle length of the bristles of that bundle. The bristle bundles together
constitute a bristle bundle
arrangement.
The embodiment according to the invention offers the advantage for example
that the brush head
and/or its bristle bundle arrangement, due to the reduced height of the inner
bristle bundle row(s)
can easily pass over a wire arch and over the brackets of a permanently
installed brace. The shorter
inner bristle bundles clean the wire arch and the areas on the brackets. Due
to the outer, longer
bristle bundle easily reaching the tooth surface, cleaning all around the
bracket base is achieved.
In the following it is assumed that the ultrasonic toothbrush head and/or the
bristle bundle
arrangement ¨ at least with respect to the bristle configuration and the outer
form of the base plate
supporting the bristles ¨ is designed to be altogether mirror symmetrical to a
middle or longitudinal
section plane containing a middle longitudinal axis of the base plate. It is
therefore sufficient to view
only one of the two halves of the ultrasonic toothbrush head, respectively.
Logically, the rows of the
bristle bundles are numbered one, two, three, etc. starting from the middle
longitudinal axis or from
the middle plane containing this axis. When viewing the ultrasonic toothbrush
head altogether one
can of course also refer to an inner, middle or outer row.
Instead of one first row respectively for each brush head half, i.e. a total
of two inner rows separated
from each other by a distance, a total of only one inner row of bristle
bundles could be provided,
half of which crosswise to the longitudinal extension of the row are allocated
respectively to one of
the two bristle head halves. Such an embodiment is likewise the subject of the
invention and is
included in the wording of the claims.
In the invention it is expedient if the bristle bundles of the first row stand
perpendicular on the base
plate. The free ends of the bristles of the bristle bundles belonging to the
first row are in a common
plane, or essentially in a common plane oriented parallel to the base plate.
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In a preferred embodiment of the invention the bristle bundles of the second
row are inclined
inwardly, i.e. toward the middle plane, namely with the advantage for example
that the inclined,
longer bristles of the second rows flanking or lining the inner row(s) with
the shorter bristles reach
into the corners directly around the bracket base and into the area beneath
the wire arch and clean
the tooth surface located there as a result of the direct contact when the
brush head is passed over
the wire arch and the brackets of a brace permanently installed on the teeth.
To achieve the aforementioned purpose it has proven effective if the angle of
inclination of the
bristle bundles of the second row relative to the base plate or a reference
plane oriented
perpendicular to the bristle bundles of the first row(s) is in the range
between 65 and 85 ,
preferably in the range between 70 and 75 , especially preferably about 73 .
Outside of the second row there is provided a third row of bristle bundles,
which stand
perpendicular to the base plate or to the reference plane or likewise are
arranged on the base plate
inclined inwardly toward the middle plane, namely preferably at the same angle
of inclination as the
bristle bundles of the second row.
It is advantageous if the bristle bundles of the third row have the same or
essentially same height
above the base plate as the bristle bundles of the second row, so that the
ends of the bristle bundles
of the second and third row ¨ irrespective of any "micro-structuring" or
length differentiation within
the single bristle bundles ¨ lie within a common plane oriented parallel to
the base plate or to the
reference plane.
In general it is also advantageous if the free bristle ends of the angled,
i.e. inclined bristle bundles
are cut so that they lie in a common plane oriented parallel to the base
plate, so that the
aforementioned "micro-structuring" is not present.
Advantageously each of the rows comprises six to eight, preferably seven
bristle bundles. It can also
be advantageous if the outer rows for example have one or two more or fewer
bristle bundles than
the inner rows. The distance between two bristle bundles of one row, i.e.
viewed in longitudinal
direction, is in the range of 2.5 mm to 4.0 mm and preferably about 3.5 mm.
The distance between the adjacent rows, i.e. viewed in crosswise direction, is
in the range of 2.0 mm
to 3.0 mm and preferably is 2.5 mm.
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The bristle bundles of the first, inner row(s) preferably have a length in the
range of 3 mm to 5 mm,
,
especially preferably 4 mm, which in the case of perpendicular orientation
corresponds to their
height above the base plate.
The bristle bundles of the second, i.e. middle or outer row(s) preferably have
a length in the range of
6 mm to 10 mm, especially preferably 7 mm to 9 mm, which in the case of
perpendicular orientation
corresponds to their height above the base plate, and which in the case of
inclined orientation
corresponds to a correspondingly reduced height (length x sinus of the angle
of inclination). For
example, a 7 mm long bristle bundle at an angle of inclination of 73 would
have a height of about
6.7 mm.
The ratio of the length of the short, inner bristle bundle to the length of
the longer, middle or outer
bristle bundle is accordingly preferably in the range of 0.3 to 0.8 and
especially preferably about 0.5
to 0.6. The bristle bundles of the third, i.e. outer row are adapted in the
above manner to the bristle
bundles of the second row with respect to their length.
The aforementioned lengths are selected so that on the one hand the shorter
inner bristle bundles
reliably reach closely enough to the brace elements and on the other hand that
intermeshing of the
bristles of the longer bristle bundles is avoided, with good transmission of
the ultrasound. The result
of intermeshing of the bristles would be that the action of the bristles on
the brace elements or the
tooth would no longer be straight; instead, the ultrasound would radiate at
undefined angles, which
is undesirable.
The bristles of the brush head and/or the base plate can be made of plastic,
for example. As an
electro-mechanical transducer or ultrasonic generator, a piezo element can be
used that can
generate oscillations at a frequency interval from, for example, 30 Hz up to
at least 30 KHz. The
bristles are preferably designed and attached to the ultrasonic generator so
that their free ends are
deflected axially and/or laterally by the ultrasonic generator.
The brush head can be attached or formed onto a brush head support in the
conventional manner.
The brush head support can be designed for example as a plug-in element for a
handle element,
which in the known manner accommodates rechargeable batteries and suchlike for
supplying the
operating voltage for the ultrasonic generator as well as suitable control
elements such as buttons or
switches, as well as any other electronic components. Accordingly, an electric
and mechanical
coupling can be provided between the brush head support and the handle
element.
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The term "essentially" or "approximately" as used in the invention means
deviations from the exact
value by +/- 10%, preferably by +/- 5% and/or deviations in the form of
changes that are insignificant
for the function.
Further embodiments, advantages and possible applications of the invention are
disclosed by the
following description of exemplary embodiments and the drawings. All
characteristics described
and/or pictorially represented, alone or in any combination, are subject
matter of the invention,
regardless of their being summarized or referenced in the claims. The content
of the claims is also
included as part of the description.
The invention is described below based on exemplary embodiments with reference
to the drawings,
in which:
Fig. 1 and 2 show a brush head according to the invention in different
perspective views;
Fig. 3 and 4 show the brush head of Figures 1 and 2 in schematic side and
front view;
Fig. 5 shows a schematic representation in top view of the top side and/or
the bristles of
the brush head of Figures 1 and 2;
Fig. 6 shows, in an enlarged cross sectional view, the base body of the
brush head of
Figures 1 and 2 in the area of a bristle bundle.
The brush head 2 of an ultrasonic toothbrush 1 depicted in the drawings in a
preferred embodiment
comprises a base body 4 with a predominantly rectangular solid form
manufactured from a plastic
and having rounded corner and edge regions. On one side, which in the
depiction in the drawings is
the top side of the base body 4, the base body 4 is designed with a
predominantly rectangular,
elongated base plate 6 that is flat on its top side and has rounded corners.
On one of the two end
sides the brush head 2 continues in its lengthwise direction or middle
longitudinal axis L in a brush
head support or handle element 7 molded or connected to said brush head. The
top side of the base
plate 6 lies in a reference plane EB.
In the base plate 6 there is embedded a regular grid or array of essentially
circular receiving
openings 8, in which one bristle bundle 10 consisting of a plurality of
bendable and flexible bristles
12, for example plastic bristles, is respectively accommodated and anchored.
In the interior of the
base body 4, on the back side or bottom side of the base plate 6 is a flat
ultrasonic generator 14,
only schematically suggested in the drawings, which can also be referred to as
an electro-mechanical
ultrasonic transducer and which during operation excites the bristles 12 of
the bristle bundles 10 to
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oscillations with oscillation frequencies above 300 Hz and up to 1.6 million
oscillations per minute or
,
30 KHz and more. A ferro-electric ultrasonic transducer or a piezo actuator
can be used as the
ultrasonic generator 14, for example. The technical details are known to
persons skilled in the art
and require no further explanation here.
The brush head 2, with respect to its bristles consisting of the bristle
bundles 10, is adapted
specifically to cleaning requirements for a permanently installed brace,
especially of the multi-band
or multi-bracket type. For this purpose the brush head 2 is symmetrical in
design to a middle or
longitudinal section plane M containing the middle longitudinal axis L of the
base plate 6. The
bristles and/or the bristle bundle field consists of a plurality of rows R1 -
R3, i.e. six in the depicted
embodiment, of bristle bundles 10 extending essentially parallel to the
lengthwise direction L. Each
row R1 - R3 comprises seven bristle bundles 10 arranged at the same
longitudinal distance a =
3.5 mm from each other. The distance b = 2.5 mm between two adjacent rows R1 -
R3 in a crosswise
direction Q, i.e. in an axis direction perpendicular or essentially
perpendicular to the middle axis M,
is likewise the same for all rows R1 - R3. The bristle bundles 10 additionally
align row-by-row in
crosswise direction Q, so that altogether a regular rectangular grid of six
times seven bristle bundles
is implemented. The first, i.e. inner row R1 when viewed from the middle plane
M in crosswise
direction Q comprises perpendicular to the base plate 6 and/or the reference
plane EB upright
bristle bundles 10 with a length or height of about 4 mm. The free bristle
ends of the bristles 12 are
expediently rounded, to prevent injury to the sensitive gums.
The second, outwardly successive row R2 on the other hand comprises bristles
12 and/or bristle
bundles 10 inclined inwardly toward the middle plane M and having a length of
about 7 mm. The
bristles 12 and/or bristle bundles 10 on their free ends are at a smaller
distance from the middle
plane M than in the area of the base plate 6. The corresponding angle of
inclination a between the
longitudinal extension of the bristles 12 and/or bristle bundles 10 and the
reference plane BE
oriented perpendicularly to the middle axis to the top side of the bristle
body 4 or base plate 6 is
about 73 . In deviation from the graphical depiction in the drawings, the
angled bristles of the
second row R2 can be cut so that their free ends lie in a common plane.
Additionally, provided on the outside is a third row R3 of bristle bundles 10,
which and/or whose
bristles 12 stand perpendicular or essentially perpendicular on the base plate
6 and/or the reference
plane EB. The bristle length is preferably selected so that the free ends of
the bristles 12 of the third
row R3 and the free ends of the correspondingly cut bristles 12 of the second
row R2 lie in a
common plane. The bristle length of the bristles 12 of the bristle bundles 10
of the third row is then
somewhat less than 7 mm.
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Alternatively, the possibility also exists that the bristle bundles 10 of the
third row R3 likewise are
inclined inward relative to the base plate 6 or the reference plane EB at the
angle a, for example at
the angle of 730, so that the bristles 12 and/or bristle bundles 10 on their
free ends then likewise are
at a smaller distance from the middle plane M than in the area of the base
plate 6. Corresponding to
the mirror symmetrical design of the bristle field the three rows R1 - R3 are
provided on both sides
of the middle plane M, so that the bristle field is implemented altogether
with six times seven bristle
bundles 10.
In a further embodiment, instead of the two inner rows R1 of relatively short
bristle bundles 10
arranged on both sides of the middle plane M and symmetrical to the latter,
only one single such
row R1 is provided, whose bristle bundles 10 are arranged along the middle
longitudinal axis L or the
middle plane M. Therefore, in this embodiment for example one bristle field
with a total of five
times seven bristle bundles 10 is implemented.
Furthermore, also fewer or more than seven bristle bundles 10 can be provided
for each row R1 - R3
in the direction of the middle longitudinal axis L. In the case of a short
brush head 2 that is desirable
for some applications, four or five bristle bundles 10 for each row R1 - R3
may be sufficient, for
example. Further it is also conceivable to implement an especially wide brush
head 2 with a fourth or
fifth row of bristle bundles 10. Finally, it is possible that some of the
rows, especially the outer rows,
are not oriented exactly parallel to the middle longitudinal axis L or middle
plane M, but instead are
slightly angled. For special purposes an asymmetrical design can also be
considered.
The brush head 2 according to the invention, which for example is provided
removably on a handle
element 16, is used in principle in the same manner as known brush heads of
ultrasonic
toothbrushes, namely as follows:
- distribute ultrasonic toothpaste lightly on the insides and outsides of
the teeth,
- then hold the bristles 12 on the teeth from the inside and afterwards
from the outside with the
ultrasonic generator 14 or handle element 16 switched on, namely for five to
ten seconds
without moving and
- then change the treatment location, i.e. hold the bristles 12 on the next
teeth.
The brush head 2 according to the invention, as a result of the "gap 17" in
the bristle field, passes
over the wire arch and the brackets of the permanently installed brace. The
outer, longer and
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possible also angled bristle bundles 10 achieve cleaning under the wire arch
and around the bracket
base. The shorter inner bristle bundles 10 clean the wire arch and the
surfaces on the brackets.
The brush head 2 according to the invention therefore ensures altogether
optimal cleaning of the
hygiene-critical bracket region.
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Reference list
1 sonic or ultrasonic toothbrush
2 brush head
4 base body
6 base plate
8 receiving opening
bristle bundle
12 bristles
14 ultrasonic generator
16 handle
17 gap
longitudinal direction
middle plane
R1, R2, R3 row
crosswise direction
EB reference plane
a lengthwise distance
crosswise distance
a angle of inclination
9
