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Bristle unit used for toothbrush and implanting method thereofBristle unit used for toothbrush and implanting method thereof description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070174979, Bristle unit used for toothbrush and implanting method thereof. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL FIELD [0001]The present invention relates to a toothbrush used in oral prophylaxis. In particularly, it relates to a bristle unit provided at the end of a handle, and more specifically to a bristle unit in a reel shape provided so as to rotate freely on an axis. BACKGROUND ART [0002]A toothbrush used for removing or preventing bacterial plaque and dental calculus, which form on teeth and gums, is the most important and commonly used instrument among dental cleaning tools (refer to non-patent reference 1). [0003]A toothbrush is mainly categorized into a manual toothbrush and an electric toothbrush. A "toothbrush", in general, refers to a manual toothbrush. This toothbrush consists of a brush head into which bristles made of natural hair or synthetic filaments such as nylon yarn are implanted, a handle, and a neck connecting the head and the handle. Tuft holes into which a number of bristles have been implanted are provided at the brush head. In general, each bristle (hair) is folded in a U-shape in such a manner to be plunged into the tuft holes and to be fixed horizontally so as to be implanted approximately vertically or radially (in a flabelliform). The configuration of the bristle unit (bristle implanted part) when viewed laterally from the side can be roughly classified into three types, that is, a liner type where a brushing plan is parallel to the brush head, a convex curving type, and a concaving type. Furthermore, a tuft type and an inclined type may be seen on the market. The implant condition of the bristle unit can be categorized into non-dense bristles in which the bunches of bristles are spaced apart from each other and dense bristles in which the bunches of bristles are spaced close to each other. For the non-dense bristles, the number of row of the bristle bunches is between one and three and the number of the bristle bunches is between six and 27 while the dense bristles refer to those having four or more rows. [0004]In order to brush the teeth, generally, while holding the handle, the user rubs the bristles across all the surfaces of each tooth side to side, up and down, brushes back and forth with wide strokes or rotation so as to remove bacteria plaques and to massage gums with gentle pressure. [0005]The toothbrush with non-dense bristles tends to repel water and dry easily, which is effective to retain hygiene. On the other hand, a dense bristle brush is considered to be preferable for brushing method using the edge of the brush for cleaning between teeth and gums. [0006]The following are prior art documents relating to various forms of toothbrush. [0007]Other than the aforementioned widely known toothbrush, recent trends focus on newly developed types, a so-called "rotating toothbrush" or a "roll toothbrush," in which a freely rotatable brush is provided at the end of a handle, or the arrangement of the embedded bristle parts is circular or radial (for example, refer to the following patent documents 1-7). [0008][Non-patent Document 1] "Toothbrush encyclopedia" 3.sup.rd edition, Y. Matsuda and I. Kondo, Gakken-shoin, October, 2002. [0009][Patent Document 1] Design Pat. Registration No. 1066543 [0010][Patent Document 2] Utility Model publication No. 63-120929 [0011][Patent Document 3] Utility Model Registration No. 3104356 [0012][Patent Document 4] Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2000-83736 [0013][Patent Document 5] Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2003-219911 [0014][Patent Document 6] Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2003-220080 [0015][Patent Document 7] Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2003-289947 [0016]In the toothbrush of the above patent documents 1, 2, and 4-7, a bristle unit of a radial pattern is provided at the end of a handle in a rotatable manner. A bristle unit is produced in such a manner that a number of sets of strands (hair) made of nylon are aggregated as a tuft wherein the sets of strands are fixed to spread wherein the center part of the sets of strands is welded circularly to form a toroidal welded part. A sheet type bristle unit is provided by cutting off the inner periphery of the toroidal welded part circularly to form a circular penetrating hole. After a plurality of the sheet type bristle units have been accumulated, a pipe is inserted into the penetrating hole to make it a roll shape. The roll shape bristle unit is arranged in such a manner to be supported in a rotatable part by a spindle extending on one end of the bristle unit member. [0017]In the toothbrush of the patent document 3, a plurality of bristle units of approximately disc shape are accumulated in such a manner to be centered at the end axis of a handle of a toothbrush so as to make it a roller shape. This roll shape bristle unit is arranged in such a manner to be supported in a rotatable manner by a spindle extending on one end of the handle member. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [Problems Solved by the Invention] [0018]As described before, in a conventional toothbrush, for example, after a plurality of sheet type bristle units have been accumulated, the bristle units are formed in a roller shape by inserting a pipe into the center penetrating hole, which is then supported by a spindle extending on one end side of a handle in a rotatable manner. Or a bristle unit of approximately disc shape is arranged at the end of the handle of a toothbrush in such a manner to be perpendicular to the spindle. [0019]Referring to the implant condition of bristles, in most cases, a bunch of bristles is close to each other. The reason is assumed that due to the production method of roller shaped bristle units, a number of sheet type bristle units are accumulated so closely that they are densely implanted as a whole. Because the bristles are close to each other, it is difficult to apply in a brushing method in which brush ends are used for cleaning between teeth and gums. In addition, it is difficult to drain water and dry the brush. It is also unsanitary because plaques caught among bristles cannot be rinsed off completely. [0020]Furthermore, it is difficult to adjust the interval of this bristle unit arrangement. [Means for Solving the Problems] [0021]The present invention provides a bristle unit and implanting method thereof that can solve the aforementioned problems. [0022]Namely, the present invention provides a bristle unit for a toothbrush comprising: [0023]a reel having a spiral groove around its circumference; [0024]a plurality of strands made of synthetic resin filament such as nylon; [0025]and a lead wire for winding a strand; [0026]said plurality of strands are bent into two in a U-shape, wherein the lead wire which is common to the center part of the bent strands is fixed by welding or adhering so that the lead wire is plunged into the spiral groove around the reel circumference with the spiral pitch along the groove, [0027]wherein a free end of the strand extends above the reel circumference, and the ejecting edges are trimmed to have a roller shape as a whole. Continue reading about Bristle unit used for toothbrush and implanting method thereof... 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