U.S. patent application number 12/543980 was filed with the patent office on 2011-02-24 for interdental brush.
This patent application is currently assigned to ACUMEN CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Shou-Jen Huang.
Application Number | 20110041271 12/543980 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43604093 |
Filed Date | 2011-02-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110041271 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Huang; Shou-Jen |
February 24, 2011 |
INTERDENTAL BRUSH
Abstract
An interdental brush has a hard body, an encapsulation layer and
a plurality of soft and elastic bristles. The hard body takes a
straight form and has a grip portion and a slender bristle portion.
The hard body is sheathed by a soft and elastic material to form
the encapsulation layer by means of insert molding. A grip is
formed by sheathing the grip portion with the encapsulation layer
to enhance holding comfort. The plural elastic bristles aligned in
a radial fashion are formed on a surface of the encapsulation layer
corresponding to the bristle portion. Given the foregoing
interdental brush structure, the elastic bristles on the bristle
portion can be deeply slid in between teeth for cleaning. The soft
and elastic nature of the bristles ensures gums are not injured
during cleaning.
Inventors: |
Huang; Shou-Jen; (SANCHUNG
CITY, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PAI PATENT & TRADEMARK LAW FIRM
1001 FOURTH AVENUE, SUITE 3200
SEATTLE
WA
98154
US
|
Assignee: |
ACUMEN CO., LTD.
Sanchung City
TW
|
Family ID: |
43604093 |
Appl. No.: |
12/543980 |
Filed: |
August 19, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/167.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B29C 45/1676 20130101;
A46B 5/02 20130101; B29L 2031/425 20130101; A46B 9/04 20130101;
A46B 2200/108 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/167.1 |
International
Class: |
A46B 9/04 20060101
A46B009/04 |
Claims
1. An interdental brush, comprising: a hard body taking a straight
form and having a grip portion and a slender bristle portion; and
an encapsulation layer formed by a soft and elastic material and
sheathed on the grip portion and the slender bristle portion of the
hard body; and a plurality of soft and elastic bristles integrally
extended from an outside surface of the encapsulation layer
corresponding to the bristle portion.
2. The interdental brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the grip
portion of the hard body is wider than the slender bristle portion
and has a rough portion thereon with a length for holding.
3. The interdental brush as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rough
portion comprises: multiple continuous recesses formed on a top
surface and an opposite bottom surface so as to have a wide and
thin cross-section thereof; and multiple protrusions formed on two
opposite side surfaces thereof, wherein the continuous recesses and
the protrusions are exposed beyond the encapsulation layer.
4. The interdental brush as claimed in claim 1, wherein the soft
and elastic bristles are radially aligned.
5. The interdental brush as claimed in claim 2, wherein the soft
and elastic bristles are radially aligned.
6. The interdental brush as claimed in claim 3, wherein the soft
and elastic bristles are radially aligned.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to an interdental brush, and
more particularly to an interdental brush having soft and elastic
bristles that clean without hurting gums.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Keeping mouth and teeth clean and healthy is a critical part
of personal hygiene. The basic tools used by ordinary people to
clean teeth are normally tooth brushes, tooth picks and dental
floss picks. Tooth brushes are usually applied to routine cleaning
work such as brushing teeth after getting up and before going to
bed while tooth picks and dental floss picks are applied to clean
food debris left between teeth after meals. Because tooth picks and
dental floss picks are long and thin in shape and the tip or dental
floss thereof are smaller than gaps between teeth, they can be
easily and deeply slid in between teeth to remove the food debris
lodged between teeth. However, tooth picks and dental floss picks
are dedicated to clean up food debris between teeth only and have
no other cleaning effect to the portions between teeth, which are
also inaccessible to conventional tooth brushes.
[0005] To solve the foregoing issue, so-called interdental brushs
were introduced to the market for cleaning between teeth. With
reference to FIG. 5, the interdental brush has a grip (70) and
bristle structure (80) mounted on one end of the grip (70). The
bristle structure is formed by folding a steel wire in two strands
(81) and twisting the two strands (81) in a spiral fashion.
Bristles (82) are inserted in between the two strands in the
twisting process. Both end portions of the two strands (81) are
mounted to one end of the grip (70 to form an interdental
brush.
[0006] As a result of the long and thin shape of the interdental
brush, the interdental brush can be easily slid in between teeth
and by reciprocal movement, the bristles (82) brush and clean
portions between neighboring teeth.
[0007] Despite certain cleaning effects, a line diameter of the
strands of steel wires are quite small because bristles (82) of the
bristle structure (80) are inserted in between the twisted strands
of steel wires (81), the steel wire (81) is a rigid material and
the bristle structure (80) takes a slender form. All these mean
that the twisted stands of steel wires (81) resemble a saw with a
plurality of sawteeth. Once the steel wire directly contacts with
gum and an applied force is inappropriate, it may very likely
injure the gum. Therefore, existing interdental brushes need to be
further refined accordingly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The main objective of the present invention is to provide an
interdental brush having a plurality of soft and elastic bristles
ensuring effective cleaning and safe operation while brushing
between teeth.
[0009] To achieve the main objective, an interdental brush in
accordance with the present invention has a hard body, an
encapsulation layer and a plurality of soft and elastic
bristles.
[0010] The hard body takes a straight form and has a grip portion
and a slender bristle portion.
[0011] The encapsulation layer is formed by a soft and elastic
material and sheathed on the grip portion and the slender bristle
portion of the hard body.
[0012] The plural soft and elastic bristles are integrally extended
from an outside surface of the encapsulation layer corresponding to
the bristle portion.
[0013] The slender bristle portion can be deeply inserted in
between teeth. The elastic bristles of the encapsulation layer
corresponding to the bristle portion can effectively perform
cleaning between teeth. Owing to the soft and elastic nature of the
encapsulation layer on the bristle portion, gums are not injured
when the interdental brush passes between teeth. As such, the
interdental brush having the foregoing structure makes cleaning
between teeth safe and easy.
[0014] Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the
invention will become more apparent from the following detailed
description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is perspective view of an interdental brush in
accordance with the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hard body of the
interdental brush in accordance with the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in
FIG. 1;
[0018] FIG. 4 is across-sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG.
1; and
[0019] FIG. 5 is a partial side view of a conventional interdental
brush in accordance with the prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0020] With reference to FIG. 1, an interdental brush of an
embodiment in accordance with the present invention has a hard body
(10), an encapsulation layer (20) and a plurality of soft and
elastic bristles (22). The hard body (10) has a grip portion (11)
and a slender bristle portion (12). The encapsulation layer (20) is
formed on the hard body (10).
[0021] With reference to FIG. 2, the hard body (10) is formed by
injection molding of plastic material and takes a straight form.
The grip portion (11) is wider than the bristle portion (12) and
has a length good for holding. In the preferred embodiment, a rough
portion is further formed on the grip portion (11). For example,
multiple continuous recesses (111) are formed on a top surface and
an opposite bottom surface of the grip portion (11) so that the
grip portion (11) has a wide and thin cross section (with reference
to FIG. 3). Multiple protrusions (112) are formed on two opposite
side surfaces of the grip portion (11). The continuous recesses
(111) and the protrusions (112) are exposed beyond the
encapsulation layer (20). Therefore, the grip portion (11) of the
hard body (10) is not completely sheathed by the encapsulation
layer (20).
[0022] The slender bristle portion (12) of the hard body (10)
serves as a foundation of the plural bristles (22) of the
interdental brush in accordance with the present invention. As the
bristle portion (12) and the grip portion (11) are integrally
formed, the bristle portion (12) has proper rigidity to support a
smoothly reciprocal movement of the bristles between teeth.
[0023] Furthermore, the encapsulation layer (20) is formed on the
hard body (10) by using a soft and elastic material (e.g. silica
gel) processed by insert molding. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4,
the grip portion (11) is sheathed by the encapsulation layer (20)
to form a grip (21). The plural soft and elastic bristles (22) are
integrally extended from an outside surface of the encapsulation
layer (20) corresponding to the bristle portion (12). In the
preferred embodiment, those elastic bristles (22) tapers upwardly
from bottom to top to form a cone and are corresponding to the
bristle portion (12) in a radial alignment with multiple rings
around the encapsulation layer (20).
[0024] The substantial structure of the interdental brush in
accordance with the present invention can be comprehended by the
foregoing description. Soft and elastic bristles (22) are
corresponding to the bristle portion (12) of the hard body (10).
The slender bristle portion (12) can be deeply inserted in between
teeth. The elastic bristles (22) formed on the bristle portion (12)
can effectively perform cleaning between teeth. Owing to the soft
and elastic nature of the encapsulation layer (20) on the bristle
portion (12), gums are not injured when the interdental brush
passes between teeth. Besides, as the grip portion of the hard body
is further not completely sheathed by the encapsulation layer, both
the rigidity and elasticity of the grip can be balanced to enhance
a holding comfort. As such, the interdental brush having the
foregoing structure makes cleaning between teeth safe and easy.
[0025] Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the
present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description,
together with details of the structure and features of the
invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made
in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and
arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the
full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in
which the appended claims are expressed.
* * * * *