WO1993024033A1

WO1993024033A1 - Toothbrush

Info

Publication number: WO1993024033A1
Application number: PCT/JP1993/000665
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yasuteru Eguchi
Original assignee: Kao Corporation
Priority date: 1992-06-02
Filing date: 1993-05-20
Publication date: 1993-12-09
Also published as: JP2566372Y2; JPH0595324U

Abstract

A toothbrush (1) of the present invention in which a neck portion (2) having a bristle portion (1B) at a distal end thereof is pivotally supported at a basal end portion (2A) thereof by a shaft (5) relative to a distal end portion (4A) of a handle portion (4), and a slider (6) for fixedly maintaining a connecting condition between the basal end portion (2A) of the neck portion (2) and the distal end portion (4A) of the handle portion (4) is slidable relative to the basal end portion (2A) of the neck portion (2) and to the distal end portion (4A) of the handle portion (4), the toothbrush further comprising a pair of projections (7A) formed on opposite sides of the basal end portion (2A) of the neck portion (2), the slider (6) being provided in opposite side portions thereof with a pair of elongated grooves (6A), the elongated grooves (6A) being longitudinally inclined relative to the handle portion (4) when the handle portion (4) and the neck portion (2) are linearly connected to each other.

Description

TOOTHBRUSH BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [Field of the Invention]

This invention relates to a toothbrush whose neck portion having a bristle portion at a distal end there¬ of is inclined at a predetermined angle relative to a handle portion.

[Description of the Prior Art]

Heretofore, there is known a toothbrush in which a neck portion is inclined relative to a handle portion so that no molar teeth are left in a non-brushed condi¬ tion. For inclination of the neck portion, various methods were proposed in recent years.

For example, as shown in Fig. 9, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. Sho 63-13025 discloses a toothbrush in which a handle portion 11 and a neck portion 12 are pivotally supported by a shaft 13, and a screw 14 is tightly secured to the shaft 13 at a prede^¬ termined angle. In this conventional toothbrush, many protrusions and recesses are formed in engagement areas of the neck portion 12 and handle portion 11, so that when the screw 14 is tightened, the protrusions and recesses are positively engaged with each other, there^¬ by holding the neck portion 12 in an inclination posi- tion relative to the handle portion 11.

In the above conventional toothbrush, however, for holding the neck portion 12 in the inclination position at the predetermined angle, it is necessary that the screw 14 is loosened first, then the neck portion 12 is inclined at a desired angle relative to the handle portion 11, and in this condition, the screw 14 is tightened hard. Particularly, since it is necessary to rotate the screw 14 while pressing the shaft 13, both hands are required for this job, and the angle of the neck portion cannot be changed easily depending on the location of each tooth to be brushed.

If the screw 14 is not tightened enough, the neck portion 12 tends to be raised. Therefore, the screw 14 must be fully tightened by both hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tooth brush in which the neck portion can easily be adjusted in angle by a single hand.

According to the present invention, there is provided, in order to achieve the above object, a toothbrush in which a neck portion having a bristle portion at a distal end thereof is pivotally supported at a basal end portion thereof by a shaft relative to a distal end portion of a handle portion, and a slider for fixedly maintaining a connecting condition between the basal end portion of the neck portion and the distal end portion of the handle portion is slidable relative to the basal end portion of the neck portion and to the distal end portion of the handle portion, the toothbrush further comprising a pair of projections formed on opposite sides of the basal end portion of the neck portion, the slider being provided in opposite side portions thereof with a pair of elongated grooves, the elongated grooves being longitudinally inclined relative to the handle portion when the handle portion and the neck portion are linearly connected to each other.

With a toothbrush of the present invention thus constructed, when the neck portion is to be inclined by a predetermined angle relative to the handle portion, the slider is moved forwardly and backwardly by a thumb of the user's hand holding the handle portion. By doing this, the projections of the basal end portion of the neck portion are moved along the elongated grooves formed in the slider, and the neck portion is inclined at an angle corresponding to the distance of movement achieved by the projections along the elongated grooves. When the slider is stopped movement at a position where the neck portion is inclined at a desired angle, the inclination angle at that position can be fixedly maintained.

In the toothbrush according to the present inven¬ tion, the angle of the neck portion relative to the handle portion can easily be adjusted by a single hand.

Moreover, by finely sliding the slider, the angle of the neck portion can be adjusted suitably.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a tooth^¬ brush according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the toothbrush of Fig. 1 in which a neck portion is linear to a handle portion;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the toothbrush of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side view of the toothbrush of Fig. 1 in which the neck portion is inclined relative to the handle portion;

Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a tooth^¬ brush according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the toothbrush of Fig. 5 in which the neck portion is linear to the handle portion;

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the toothbrush of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side view of the toothbrush of Fig. 6 in which the neck portion is inclined relative to the handle portion; and

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a conventional tooth¬ brush.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a toothbrush of the present inven¬ tion will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, in a toothbrush 1 of the present invention, a neck portion 2 having a bris¬ tle portion IB at a distal end thereof is pivotally supported at a basal end portion 2A thereof by a shaft 5 relative to a distal end portion 4A of a handle portion 4, and a slider 6 for fixing a connecting condition between the basal end portion 2A of the neck portion 2 and the distal end portion 4A of the handle portion 4 is slidable relative to the basal end portion 2A of the neck portion 2 and to the distal end portion 4A of the handle portion 4. A pair of projections 7A are formed on opposite sides of the basal end portion 2A of the neck portion 2. The slider 6 is provided in opposite side portions thereof with a pair of elongated grooves 6A. The elongated grooves 6A are longitudi¬ nally inclined relative to the handle portion 4 when the handle portion 4 and the neck portion 2 are linear^¬ ly connected to each other.

The neck portion 2 and the handle portion 4 are formed as separate parts. Bristles 1A are implanted in the distal end of the neck portion 2. The basal end portion 2A of the neck portion 2 is connected to the distal end portion 4A of the handle portion 4.

A pair of leg portions 2C and 2C with a space therebetween are provided to the basal end portion 2A of the neck portion 2, and the distal end portion 4A of the handle portion 4 is fitted in the space between the leg portions 2C and 2C.

The leg portions 2C and 2C and the distal end portion 4A are pivotally supported by the shaft 5 relative to each other.

As shown in Figs. 1 through 4 inclusive, in this embodiment of the present invention, the projections 7A comprise a head portion 7A of a bolt 7 inserted into a hole portion formed in the basal end portion 2A of the neck portion 2, and a nut 7A threadedly engaged with a distal end of the bolt 7. The bolt 7 is slidably inserted into the elongated grooves 6A.

The slider 6 has a generally rectangular sleeve¬ like configuration, and is slidable on the basal end portion 2A of the neck portion 2 and the distal end portion 4A of the handle portion 4 such that the por¬ tions 2A and 4A are enclosed in the slider 6. The slider 6 has the pair of elongated grooves 6A formed in the opposite sides thereof and inclined relative to the handle portion 4.

The slider 6 is provided at the neck portion 2 thereof with a trumpet-like opening portion 6B having an upper inclination surface and a lower inclination surface. The inclination of this trumpet-like opening portion 6B is equal to or greater than that of each elongated groove 6A, so that when the neck portion 2 is inclined relative to the handle portion 4, an upper or lower surface of the basal end portion 2A of the neck portion 2 is not brought into contact with the trumpet-like opening portion 6B and the neck portion 2 is not prohibited from moving.

The slider 6 is preferably made of metal, rubber or plastic material. However, the material of the slider 6 is not limited to them. A non-slip 6C provided with a plurality of protru¬ sions and recesses is formed on an upper surface of the slider 6, so that the slider 6 can be slid by a finger tip.

Operation of the first embodiment will now be described.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in an initial position where the neck portion 2 is linear to the handle por¬ tion 4, the projections 7A and 7A are located in gener¬ ally longitudinally central positions in the elongated grooves 6A respectively.

For inclination of the neck portion 2 at a prede¬ termined angle relative to the handle portion 4, the slider 6 is moved from the initial position toward the handle portion 4 as shown in Fig. 4 while holding the handle portion 4 with the user's in the manner when he brushes the teeth. Then, each projection 7A is moved, guided by the corresponding elongated groove 6A in order to erect the neck portion 2. After the neck portion 2 is erected at a desired increasing angle , the slider 6 is stopped as shown in Fig. 4. In this embodiment, by sliding the slider forwardly and back¬ wardly by moving forwardly and backwardly the user's thumb pressed on the non-slip 6C while holding the handle portion 4 with one hand, the inclination angle can be adjusted easily.

As shown in Fig. 4, in the maximum inclination position, the upper surface of the basal end portion 2A is abutted against and supported by the trumpet-like opening portion 6B. As a result, inclination of the neck portion 2 is limited.

When the slider 6 is moved toward the neck portion 2 from the initial position of Figs. 2 and 3, the neck portion 2 is inclined toward the rear surface side of the bristles 1A.

In the toothbrush of this first embodiment, in¬ clination of the neck portion can be adjusted easily with a single hand. Since the slider can be slide with a single hand, inclination of the neck portion can be adjusted while brushing the teeth.

Next, a toothbrush according to a second embodi¬ ment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive.

Like parts of the first embodiment are denoted by like reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

In the toothbrush of this second embodiment, a lower surface of the slider of the first embodiment is not provided. In other words, the slider 6 has a generally rectangular sleeve-like configuration having an open bottom. The slider 6 is provided with a guide element 6E projecting downwardly from a generally central area of an upper inner surface thereof and adapted to move the slider 6. The guide element 6E has an engagement element 6F connected to a lower portion of the guide element 6E.

On the other hand, the handle portion 4 is provid¬ ed with a guide hole 4B formed therethrough from an upper surface to a lower surface thereof at the distal end portion 4A of the handle portion 4. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, owing to the provision of the engagement element 6F, the guide element 6E, which is slidably inserted into the guide hole 4B, is prevented from escaping from the guide hold 4B because the engagement element 6F is in engagement with the handle portion 4. The engagement element 6F is connected to a distal end of the guide element 6E by a screw, adhesive, or the like after the guide element 6E of the slider 6 has been inserted into the guide hole 4B.

For use of the toothbrush of this second embodi¬ ment, in the initial condition where the neck portion 2 and the handle portion 4 are connected linearly as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the slider 6 is slid toward the handle portion 4 by sliding the non-slip 6C backwardly (namely, by pressing the non-slip portion 6C backward- ly) with the user's thumb while holding the handle portion 4 with one hand as in the first embodiment. By doing this, the guide element 6F provided to the neck portion 2 is guided by the guide hole 4B so as to gradually increase the inclination angle . When a predetermined inclination angle is obtained, the slider 6 is stopped as shown in Fig. 8.

A similar effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained in the toothbrush of this second embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the inven¬ tion.

For example, the neck portion 2 may be erected and inclined only toward the bristles 1A. In this case, the inclination surface of the trumpet-like opening portion 6B may be provided only to the bristles 1A side (i.e., upper surface side). Moreover, in order to prevent the slider 6 from overly sliding when it slides on the distal end portion of the handle portion 4, a number of protrusions and recesses may be formed on the surface of the distal end portion of the handle portion 4.

Claims

CLA I MWHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A toothbrush in which a neck portion having a bristle portion at a distal end thereof is pivotally supported at a basal end portion thereof by a shaft relative to a distal end portion of a handle portion, and a slider for fixedly maintaining a connecting condition between said basal end portion of said neck portion and said distal end portion of said handle portion is slidable relative to said basal end portion of said neck portion and to said distal end portion of said handle portion, said toothbrush further compris^¬ ing: a pair of projections formed on opposite sides of said basal end portion of said neck portion; said slider being provided in opposite side por¬ tions thereof with a pair of elongated grooves, said elongated grooves being longitudinally inclined rela¬ tive to said handle portion when said handle portion and said neck portion are linearly connected to each other.

2. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said projections comprise a head portion of a bolt inserted into a hole portion formed in said basal end portion of said neck portion, and a nut threadedly engaged with a distal end of said bolt.

3. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slider has a generally rectangular sleeve-like configu¬ ration, and is slidable on said basal end portion of said neck portion and said distal end portion of said handle portion such that said basal and distal end portions are enclosed in said slider, said slider being provided at a neck portion side thereof with a trumpet-like opening portion having an upper inclina¬ tion surface and a lower inclination surface.

4. A toothbrush as claimed in claim 1, wherein said slider has a generally rectangular sleeve-like configu¬ ration with an open bottom and are slidable on said basal end portion of said neck portion and said distal end portion of said handle portion such that said basal and distal end portions are enclosed in said slider, said slider being provided at a neck portion side thereof with a trumpet-like opening portion having an upper inclination surface and an open lower surface, a guide element for guiding said slider being formed on a generally central portion of an upper inner surface of said slider in such a fashion as to project downwardly therefrom, said handle portion being formed therein with a guide hole for guiding said guide element, said guide element being movably engaged in said guide hole.