Patent Application
20180250104
The present invention refers to a tooth-cleaning device.
The art proposes tooth cleaning devices, typically called interdental brushes, aimed in particular to clean interdental spaces, remove food residuals, reactivate blood micro-circulation or clean fixed prostheses. The art proposes a great number of variations of such devices: general, they are usually composed of a body made of plastics or of metal adapted to be grasped by the fingers of a user, and of a cleaning appendix equipped with artificial bristles arranged as a spiral or rays having a cylindrical or cylindrical-conical shape.
In particular, EP-A1-0932371 discloses an interdental cleaning device comprising a supporting rod made of a first plastic material and coated along at least part of its surface with an insert or coating making the appendix for cleaning spaces between teeth, and made of a second plastic material in thermoplastic elastomer which is more flexible than the first one, in which however such second material is injection molded onto such first material: it must be noted therefore how, in particular, such interdental cleaning device is made through an injection co-molding of the supporting rod with the insert or coating for cleaning spaces between teeth, only obtaining a physical grasping between supporting rod and insert or coating.
Moreover, the thermoplastic material to obtain the cleaning appendix can have the problem of possible tears: consequently, when a cleaning appendix made of such material is used in very narrow spaces between teeth, it can leave plastic residuals inside the mouth.
Object of the present invention is solving the above prior art problems, by providing a tooth-cleaning device in which the cleaning appendix is made of at least one thermosetting plastic material, resulting more biocompatible with respect to prior art devices with cleaning appendixes made of thermoplastic materials.
Another object of the present invention is providing a tooth-cleaning device in which the cleaning appendix is made of at least one thermosetting plastic material, resulting more pleasant with respect to prior art devices with cleaning appendixes made of thermoplastic materials, consequently removing the risk of tears when it is used in very narrow spaces between teeth, together with the problem of releasing residuals in a mouth.
Moreover, another object of the present invention is providing a tooth-cleaning device in which the cleaning appendix is made of at least one thermosetting plastic material, resulting free from possible bacterial aggressions.
Another object of the present invention is providing a tooth-cleaning device in which the cleaning appendix made of at least one thermosetting plastic material over-molded on a supporting body made of a thermosetting plastic material, in such a way as to obtain a fastening between cleaning appendix and supporting body which is both of the chemical type due to reticulation, and of the physical type due to over-molding.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will result from the following device as claimed in claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims.
It is intended that all enclosed claims are an integral part of the present description.
It will be immediately obvious that numerous variations and modifications (for example related to shape, sizes, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) could be made to what is described, without departing from the scope of the invention as appears from the enclosed claims.
The Present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments thereof, provided as a non-limiting example, with reference to the enclosed drawings, in which:
With reference to the Figures, it is possible to note that the tooth-cleaning device 1 according to the present invention comprises at least one supporting body 3 and at least one tooth-cleaning appendix 5, preferably such tooth-cleaning appendix being externally equipped with one or more cleaning bristles 7.
In general, such tooth-cleaning appendix 5 is made of a first material and such supporting body 3 is made of a second material, such first material being more flexible than such second material.
Advantageously, such first material of which such tooth-cleaning appendix 5 is made, is at least one thermosetting plastic material, such thermosetting plastic material being preferably a Liquid Silicone Rubber, LSR.
In addition, such first material can be charged with suitable nanocharges which strongly increase the abrasion resistance of the tooth-cleaning appendix 5, and in particular of the bristles 9, highly increasing the detergent, effect on the tooth enamel of the device 1 according to the present invention. Obviously, such nanocharges suitable for this purpose can be various and have, for example, inorganic origin (such as clays, titanium dioxide or glass) or organic origin (such as nanocellulose).
Preferably, such second material of which such supporting body 3 is made, is at least one plastic material, for example at least one thermoplastic plastic material. Still more preferably, such second material of which such supporting body 3 is made, is at least one thermosetting plastic material.
In particular, the tooth-cleaning appendix 5 is adapted to be connected to the supporting body 3: preferably, such supporting body 3 is composed of at least one catching portion 9 by the fingers of a user, and of at least one connecting portion 11 to such tooth-cleaning appendix 5. In a first preferred embodiment of the device 1 according to the present invention, like the one for example shown in particular in
Preferably, it possible to provide that also the plastic material of which such supporting body 3 is made, or at least such connecting portion 11, is charged with fibres and/or with nanocharges: such fibres and/or nanocharges can be mainly suitable for increasing the mechanical resistance and/or the stiffness of such supporting body 3; moreover, above all when the plastic material of which such supporting body 3 is made is a thermoplastic material, such fibres can be adapted to increase the molding temperature of such material to get it nearer to the temperature of the first thermosetting material of which the tooth-cleaning appendix 5 is made.
Obviously, also such fibres suitable for this purpose can be various and be, for example, glass fibres or have natural origin (such as flax or hemp).
It must further be noted how, advantageously, if also the supporting body 3, and in particular at least the connecting portion 11, is made of a thermosetting plastic material, the over-molding of the tooth-cleaning appendix 5 made of thermosetting material on such supporting body 3, or at least on such connecting portion 11, generates between the cleaning appendix 5 and the supporting body 3, and in particular at least the connecting portion 11, in addition to a fastening of a physical type due to the over-molding process, the making of covalent links between such materials, the consequent reticulation and the making also of a strong connection due to fastening of the chemical type.
Alternatively, as it is possible to note in particular in
In a possible embodiment of the tooth-cleaning appendix 5 as shown in
In an alternative embodiment of the tooth-cleaning appendix 5 like the one shown in
In a further alternative, not shown, each bristle is composed of a circular crown, a plurality of such circular crowns being arranged axially aligned along such tooth-cleaning appendix 5.
In any case, it is also possible to provide that at least the tooth-cleaning appendix 5 is subjected to a spray flocculating treatment.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| TO2013U000060 | Apr 2013 | IT | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14783550 | Oct 2015 | US |
| Child | 15971985 | US |
