US20170347785A1

US20170347785A1 - Toothbrush head

Info

Publication number: US20170347785A1
Application number: US15/173,112
Authority: US
Inventors: Shou-Jen Huang
Original assignee: Acumen Co Ltd
Current assignee: Acumen Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-06-03
Filing date: 2016-06-03
Publication date: 2017-12-07

Abstract

A toothbrush head has a body, multiple cavities, and multiple through holes. The body is an elongated bar and further has a top surface and a bottom surface. The multiple cavities are recessed into the top surface at spaced intervals. Multiple bristle units are respectively mounted in the multiple cavities. The multiple through holes are formed on the body. The multiple through holes are adjacent to the multiple cavities. The multiple through holes are defined through the top surface and the bottom surface directly. The multiple through holes are utilized to remove the moisture and the food residues easily. Furthermore, the multiple through holes may also increase air convection around the toothbrush head. The toothbrush head may be air-dried fast and avoid bacteria breeding effectively.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an oral cleaning tool and more particularly to a toothbrush head.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional manual toothbrush for dental care comprises a toothbrush head and a handle. The toothbrush head connects to the handle directly. Multiple bristles are mounted on the toothbrush head. Users can pick up the handle and put the toothbrush head into the mouth to clean their oral cavities. Tooth, gaps between the teeth, and gingiva may be cleaned by the multiple bristles on the toothbrush head.
Moisture may remain on the bristles after tooth cleaning. The conventional manual toothbrush comprises cavities to receive the bristles on the toothbrush head. Other portions of the conventional manual toothbrush are solid. The moisture on the toothbrush head is hard to remove. Furthermore, the bristles mounted on the center of the toothbrush head are prone to bacteria breeding due to the remaining moisture.
In addition, food residues easily remain in the gaps between the multiple bristles during tooth cleaning. The food residues are hard to remove by rinsing, thus also inducing the bacteria breeding.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a toothbrush head that comprises multiple through holes. The multiple through holes are defined through a top surface and a bottom surface of the toothbrush head. Water drops and food residues on the toothbrush head may be easily removed through the multiple through holes. Air convection may also be induced around the toothbrush head by the multiple through holes. Then the toothbrush head and the bristles mounted on the toothbrush head are dried quickly, effectively reducing bacteria breeding on the toothbrush head.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the present invention of a toothbrush head comprises: a body, multiple cavities, and multiple through holes.
The body is an elongated bar. The body further comprises a top surface and a bottom surface.
The multiple cavities are recessed into the top surface at spaced intervals. The multiple cavities disconnect from one another. In addition, the multiple bristle units are respectively mounted in the multiple cavities.
The multiple through holes are formed on the body at spaced intervals. The multiple through holes are defined through the top surface and the bottom surface directly. Each of the multiple through holes is encompassed by the multiple cavities.
Preferably, the multiple cavities and the multiple through holes disconnect from one another.
According to the above described, the multiple through holes are adjacent to the multiple bristle units mounted in the multiple cavities. Moisture on the top surface may be removed through the multiple through holes. Air convection may also be induced around the toothbrush head by the multiple through holes. The drying speed of the toothbrush head may be raised. Bacterias and viruses can hardly survive on the dry toothbrush head. Users also can remove residues between the multiple bristles through the multiple through holes by sharp objects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIG. 1, the first embodiment of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention comprises: a body 10, multiple cavities 11, multiple through holes 12, and a rubber layer 13.
With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the body 10 is an elongated bar. The body 10 comprises a top surface 101 and a bottom surface 102. The top surface 101 is opposite to the bottom surface 102. The multiple cavities 11 are recessed into the top surface 101 at spaced intervals, and the multiple cavities 11 disconnect from one another. Multiple bristle units 14 are mounted in the multiple cavities 11 respectively. Tips of the bristle units 14 protrude from the top surface 101.
The multiple through holes 12 are defined through the top surface 101 and the bottom surface 102 directly. Each of the multiple through holes 12 is adjacent to each of the multiple cavities 11 in the body 10. In the first embodiment, a number of the multiple cavities 11 is larger than a number of the multiple through holes 12. The multiple through holes 12 are encompassed by the multiple cavities 11. The multiple cavities 11 are adjacent the multiple through holes 12 but disconnect from the multiple through holes 12.
The rubber layer 13 covers the bottom surface 102. The rubber layer 13 comprises multiple through apertures 131. The multiple through apertures 131 are corresponding to the multiple through holes 12 in position and shape. A diameter of each the multiple through apertures 131 is larger than or equal to a diameter of each the multiple through holes 12.
With reference to FIG. 4, the rubber layer 13 comprises a lower surface 130 away from the body 10. Multiple protrusions 132 are mounted on the lower surface 130 at spaced intervals. The multiple protrusions 132 are spherical or hemispherical. A number of the multiple protrusions 132 is larger than a number of the multiple through apertures 131. The multiple through apertures 131 are encompassed by the multiple protrusions 132. The rubber layer 13 and the multiple protrusions 132 are integrally formed into one piece. The rubber layer 13 and the multiple protrusions 132 are made of soft rubber or soft plastic. The rubber layer 13 is mounted on the bottom surface 102 by an adhesive or injection molding process.
With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the second embodiment of the toothbrush head in accordance with the present invention also comprises: a body 20, multiple cavities 21, multiple through holes 22, and a rubber layer 23. The body 20 also comprises a top surface 201 and a bottom surface 202. Multiple bristle units 24 are mounted in the multiple cavities 21 respectively. The differences between the first and second embodiments of the toothbrush head are described as follows:
The multiple cavities 21 are defined through the body 20 from the top surface 201 toward the bottom surface 202; and
a number of the multiple cavities 21 is less than a number of the multiple through holes 22, and each of the multiple cavities 21 is encompassed by the multiple through holes 22.
The rubber layer 23 covers the bottom surface 202. The rubber layer 23 comprises multiple through apertures 231. The multiple through apertures 231 are corresponding to the multiple through holes 22 in position and shape. The multiple through apertures 231 connect to the multiple through holes 22.
The rubber layer 23 further comprises a lower surface 230 away from the body 20. Multiple protrusions 232 are formed on the lower surface 230 at spaced intervals. The rubber layer 23 and the multiple protrusions 232 are integrally formed into one piece. The multiple protrusions 232 are spherical. A number of the multiple protrusions 232 is less than a number of the multiple through apertures 231. Each of the multiple protrusions 232 is encompassed by the multiple through apertures 231.
In the above embodiments of the toothbrush head, the multiple through holes 12, 22 are adjacent to the multiple cavities 11, 21 fixed with the multiple bristle units 14, 24. Moisture on the multiple bristle units 14, 24 may be removed from the top surface 101, 201 to the bottom surface 102, 202 of the body 10, 20. It is effective to prevent moisture remaining on the top surface 101, 201 of the body 10, 20. The multiple through holes 12, 22 may increase the air convection around the toothbrush head. The multiple bristle units 14, 24 may be dried fast.
Furthermore, food residues may be removed through the multiple through holes 12, 22 from the multiple bristle units 14, 24 by rinsing the top surface 101, 201 of the body 10, 20. If the food residues are too large to be removed through the multiple through holes 12, 22, users can insert toothpicks into the multiple through holes 12, 22 from the bottom surface 102, 202 of the body 10, 20 to push the food residues away from the top surface 101, 201. It is effective to avoid bacteria breeding on the toothbrush head.
The body 10, 20 of the toothbrush head is usually made of hard materials. When a user uses the toothbrush head to clean the oral cavity, the friction and the collision between the body 10, 20 and the oral membrane may be caused, inducing discomfort of the user. The present invention utilizes the rubber layer 13, 23 to be a buffer material between the body 10, 20 and the oral membrane, thereby effectively reducing the direct friction and collision between the body 10, 20 and the oral membrane. Furthermore, the multiple protrusions 132, 232 on the rubber layer 13, 23 may massage the gingival or tongue in the oral cavity.
In summary, the present invention mainly utilizes the multiple through holes 12, 22 defined through the top surface 101, 201 and the bottom surface 102, 202 of the body 10, 20. The multiple through holes 12, 22 provide channels to eliminate the moisture on the toothbrush head. It is effective to reduce the moisture remaining on the toothbrush head. In addition, the air convection is increased around the toothbrush head by the multiple through holes 12, 22. The bristle mounted on the body 10, 20 may be dried quickly, effectively avoiding bacteria breeding on the toothbrush head and inducing oral infection.
The present invention also utilizes the rubber layer 13, 23 as a buffer material. The rubber layer 13, 23 may reduce the friction and collision between the body 10, 20 and the oral membrane during use of the toothbrush. The rubber layer 13, 23 may also provide other functions such as massaging for the gingival or tongue. The present invention of the toothbrush head provides safe, sanitary, and comfortable experience for users.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A toothbrush head comprising:

a body being an elongated bar and having a top surface and a bottom surface;

multiple cavities recessed into the top surface at spaced intervals;

multiple bristle units respectively mounted in the multiple cavities; and

multiple through holes defined through the top surface and the bottom surface;

wherein the multiple cavities disconnect from one another.

2. The toothbrush head as claimed in claim 1, wherein a rubber layer covers the bottom surface; the rubber layer comprises multiple through apertures, and the multiple through apertures connect to the multiple through holes respectively.

3. The toothbrush head as claimed in claim 2, wherein the rubber layer comprises a lower surface away from the body; multiple protrusions are formed on the lower surface at spaced intervals.

4. The toothbrush head as claimed in claim 3, wherein the multiple protrusions are spherical or hemispherical.

5. The toothbrush head as claimed in claim 4, wherein a number of the multiple cavities is larger than a number of the through holes; each of the multiple through apertures is encompassed by the multiple protrusions.

6. The toothbrush head as claimed in claim 4, wherein a number of the multiple cavities is less than a number of the through holes; each of the multiple cavities is defined through the body from the top surface toward the bottom surface; each of the multiple protrusions is encompassed by the multiple through apertures.