BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1(
a) is a front elevational view of the interdental brush; FIG. 1(b) is a right side elevational view of the interdental brush of FIG. 1(a).
FIG. 2(
a) is a cross-sectional view through line A-A of FIG. 1 (b); FIG. 2(b) is a cross-sectional view through line B-B of FIG. 1(a).
FIG. 3(
a) is a partial perspective view of the tiltable support; FIG. 3(b) is a partial perspective view of the operating portion.
FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the interdental brush at the second position.
FIG. 5(
a) is a partial front cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the interdental brush; FIG. 5(b) is a right side elevational view of the interdental brush of FIG. 5(a).
FIG. 6(
a) is a front elevational view of a third embodiment of the interdental brush at the first position; FIG. 6(b) is a front elevational view of the interdental brush of FIG. 6(a) at the second position.
FIG. 7(
a) is a partial front cross-sectional view of the cap and the interdental brush at the first position; FIG. 7(b) is a cross-sectional view through line C-C of FIG. 7(a); FIG. 7(c) is a right elevational view of the cap; and FIG. 7(d) is a partial front cross-sectional view of the cap and the interdental brush at the second position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Listing of Reference Numbers
1 Interdental brush
2 Brush body
3 Handle member
4 Wire
5 Brush
6 Handle body
10 Tiltable support portion
12 Arm
13 Brush support
14 First hinge
15 Operating portion
16 Second hinge
20 Slide guide
21 Stop
22 Cutout
23 Control portion
1A Interdental brush
3A Handle member
6A Handle body
15A Operating portion
30 Hole
31 Guiding plate
32 Slide hole
33 Engagement portion
34 Wider hole
1B Interdental brush
3B Handle member
6B Handle body
15B Operating portion
35 Recessed portion
36 Protrusion
50 Cap
51 Cap body
52 Cap base
53 Opening
54 Protrusion
55 Recessed portion
As FIG. 1 shows, the interdental brush 1 is comprised of the brush body 2 including the brush 5 and the wire 4, and the handle member 3 supporting the brush body.
The brush body 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is made of thin wire 4 strands folded and twisted, and filaments captured radially by the wire 4, in a well-known configuration. The profile of the brush 5 can be either cylindrical or conical. It can also be barrel-shaped with the outer diameter of the middle portion of the brush larger than that of the top or the bottom of it. The brush body 2 and handle can be made by a one-shot molding of synthetic resin, including the brush and its core support.
As FIGS. 1 to 4 show, the handle member 3 comprises a elongated handle 6 of appropriate size to hold in the hand and a tiltable support portion 10 attached to the upper end of the handle 6. The brush body 2 is connected to the handle 6 in a freely movable manner by way of the tiltable support portion 10. The handle member 3 is made of synthetic resin having a property capable of withstanding repeated bending of an integrally formed hinge and enough strength to serve as a handle, such as polyethylene, polypropylene or thermoplastic elastomer, and the handle member 3 is formed by one-shot molding by a method such as injection molding.
As shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 2(a), the tiltable support portion 10 consists of an arm 12 extending upward from the left end (one side at the tip) of the upper, roughly even surface of the handle 6, a brush support 13 with the bottom (the proximal end) of the wire 4 of the brush body 2 fixed therein, a first hinge 14 connecting the upper end of the arm 12 and left bottom end of the brush support 13 which rotate freely with respect to each other, an operating portion 15 at the right side (other side) of the handle member 3 in a manner that is freely slidable along the length of the handle 6, and a second hinge 16, comprising an integrally formed hinge, that connects the upper end of the operating portion 15 and the right upper end of the main body of the brush support 13 in a freely rotating and movable manner. The position of the brush support 13 is supported in a range of about 90 degrees centered on the first hinge 14 in a freely rotating and movable manner by operating the operating portion 15 upward or downward, between in a first position in FIG. 1(a) with the brush body 2 directed upward or downward and in a second position in FIG. 4 with the brush body 2 directed left or right direction.
As FIG. 1 shows, the L1 length between the proximal end of the arm 12 and the first hinge 14 is almost equal to or slightly longer than the L2 length between the right end of the bottom of the brush support 13 and the first hinge 14. The L3 length between the bottom of the brush support 13 and the second hinge 16 is almost equal to or slightly longer than the L4 length between the right end of the handle 6 and the arm 12. In addition, the upper surface of the handle 6 and the right surface of the arm 12 almost form a right angle. The same is true in the case of the angle between the lower surface of the brush support 13 and the right surface of the brush support 13. When the brush support 13 is in the first position shown in FIG. 1(a), the angle between the lower surface of the brush support 13 and the right surface of the arm 12 is almost at a right angle, whereas when the brush support is in the second position shown in FIG. 4, the lower surface of the brush support 13 is almost in contact with the right surface of the arm 12 (the lower side in FIG. 1) and the bottom surface of the brush support 13 is almost in contact with the upper surface of the handle 6 (the lower right side in FIG. 1). In addition, in this second position, the second hinge 16 moves closer to the right end of the upper surface of the handle 6.
In this embodiment, the lengths and angles described above are for the purpose of enabling the rotation of the brush body 2 between the first and second positions shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 4 over a range of rotation of approximately 90°. However, the range of rotation of the brush body 2 can be altered by changing these lengths and angles.
In order to enable the operating portion 15 to slide only upward and downward freely along the handle 6, a pair of slide guides 20 is formed extending along the upper handle 6. A pair of stops 21 are formed on the opposite sides and at the lower end of the operating portion 15 to slidingly grip and fit into slide guides 20. The operating portion 15 is thus slidingly fitted to the handle portion 6 with the stops 21 freely movable in the slide guides 20.
The front and the rear stops 21 are not disposed directly opposite each other, but are staggered a distance in an upward and a downward direction with respect to each other as are the front and the rear slide guides 20 in order to accommodate the stops 21 so that the handle member 3 can be molded by a pair of molds. It is possible to locate the stops 21 and slide guides 21 symmetrically in the front and the rear direction with respect to the handle 6, though this would require slightly different molding configurations.
Cutouts 22 are formed in each of the upper and the lower portion of the slide guides 20, and the operating portion 15 can be fit onto the handle 6 by engaging the front and the rear stops 21 through the cutouts 22 into the slide guides 20 one after another, using the elasticity of the operating portion 15. The control portion 23 is located between the upper and lower cutouts 22 which blocks the movement of the operating portion 15 downward by engaging the control portion 23 with the base of the stops 21, when the brush body 2 is at the first position by moving the operating portion 15 upward, and which blocks the movement of the operating portion 15 upward by engaging the control portion 23 with the base of the stops 21, when the brush body 2 is at the second position by moving the operating portion 15 downward. To move the operating portion 15 from the upper position to the lower position, or vice versa, the operating portion 15 should be forced to push upward or downward against the elasticity of the material beyond the control portion 23 to move the stops 21 to upper or lower cutouts 21. A position maintaining means of the interdental brush 1 is structured by the cutouts 22, control portion 23 and stops 21.
The interdental brush 1 is designed so that moving the operating portion 15 upward will make the brush body 2 and the brush support 13 rotate to the first position as shown in FIG. 1 about the first hinge 14, whereas moving the operating portion 15 downward will make the brush body 2 and the brush support 13 rotate to the second position about the first hinge 14. By rotating the position of the operating portion 15, cleaning can be done by changing the position of the brush body 2 to best suit the gap between the teeth. When the brush body 2 is in the first or second positions, the stops 21 on the operating portion 15 will engage the control portion 23 and cleaning can be done by stabilizing the brush body 2 at the appropriate position. The frictional engagement of the stops and slide guides is such that there is sufficient resistance that the angle of the brush body does not readily change during use, but the angle can be readily changed by the user. The ridges shown on operating portion 15 provide a tactile way for the user to overcome the frictional engagement and change the angle.
In the preferred embodiment, an interdental brush 1 with a handle 6 of appropriate length for ease of handling is provided. However, other battery-driven interdental brushes or other handles can be used by adding a short detachable extension pipe, and the brush can substitute for any other battery-driven interdental brush. Here, the brush body 2 is permanently fixed to the handle member 3 by embedding a wire 4 in the brush support 13. However, it is also applicable to a system in which the brush body 2 can be replaced. It's also possible to engage a brush integrally formed with a brush body and a brush support to a handle member by using stops means.
In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the interdental brush 1A has a handle member 3A with an elongated hole 30 extending through the front and rear sides of the body at the upper right of the handle 6A. A guiding plate 31 is attached at the right of the hole 30. A narrow slide hole 32 in the middle of the guiding plate 31 is in communication with hole 30 to accept the engagement portion 33 that protrudes from the free end of the operating portion 15A. Wider holes 34 are located at the upper and lower ends of the slide hole 32. In this embodiment, when the engagement portion 33 is fitted into the upper large hole 34, the brush body 2 together with the brush support 13 is kept in the first position. When the engagement portion 33 is engaged in the lower large hole 34, the brush body 2 together with the brush support 13 is kept at the second position. Moving the operating portion 15A upward and downward will move the engagement portion 33 through the narrowed portion of the slide hole 32 to move to the upper or lower large holes 34 to keep the brush body 2 at the first or second positions changeably.
In another embodiment, the handle member 3B of the interdental brush 1B as shown in FIG. 6, has more than one recessed portion 35 in the shape of, for example, a dovetail groove. The recesses 35 are located at intervals along the upper right surface of the handle 6B to receive the protrusion 36 on operating portion 15. When the protrusion 36 is engaged in one of the recesses 35, the brush 2 is held in the first or second position. To rotate the brush 2, the protrusion is disengaged from the recess and the operating portion 15 is moved so that the protrusion 36 is engaged with the other recess 35. Any number of recesses 35 can be formed in the handle 6B to hold the brush 2 in a plurality of different positions. In this embodiment, the brush body 2 is structured in a position-changeable manner between the first and the second position by moving the operating portions 15, 15A and 15B upward or downward. But it's also possible to make a structure capable of being changed in a plurality of positions, more than one.
The cap 50 can be used for interdental brush 1, 1A and 1B, as well as other types of interdental brushes. As FIG. 7 (a) shows, the cap 50 consists of a cap body 51 that covers the entire brush body 2 and a cap base 52 that engages the brush support 13. An opening is provided at the right side of the cap body 51 so that the cap 50 may be placed over the brush 2 and brush support 13.
As FIGS. 7 (b) and (c) show, long thin protrusions 54 are formed on the front and rear opposite sides of inner surface of the cap base 52. The front and rear sides of the brush support 13 are provided with recessed portions 55 to receive the protrusions 54. The cap 50 is fitted to the brush support 13 by engaging the protrusions 54 with the recessed portions 55 so that the cap may be attached and detached from the brush support 13. The cap 50 thus may cover the entire brush body 2 and the brush support 13. Alternatively, a hook system can be used to engage the cap base 52 to the brush support 13.
The cap 50 can be fitted to the interdental brush 1 while holding the brush body 2 and the brush support 13 in the first position as shown in FIG. 7 (a) or the second position as shown in FIG. 7 (d) and the interdental brush 1 can be stored in these respective positions with the cap 50 on. Therefore, the ease of fitting the cap 50 onto the interdental brush 1 and the ease of storing the interdental brush 1 with the cap 50 on is significantly enhanced. In addition, as the cap base 52 engages the brush support 13 to fix the cap 50 to the brush support 13, the angle of the brush body 2 is adjustable while the cap 50 is on, to maintain sanitary conditions without touching the brush body 2.
The embodiments described above and illustrated in the figures are presented by way of examples only and not intended as a limitation upon the concepts and principles of the present invention. As such, it will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that various changes in the elements and their configuration and arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Patent Application
20080044791
