Toothbrush
First Claim
1. A toothbrush for improved execution of the modified Bass method of brushing teeth comprising:
- a plurality of bristles in a substantially rectangular array of spaced columns on a handle, the bristles being mounted in multi-bristle tufts with substantially uniform spacings thereof in the array, the long direction of the array being parallel to the length of the handle, there being at least two substantially parallel columns of bristles disposed laterally on each side along the long direction to define at least inner and outer columns on each side, wherein the bristles terminate in a common plane to define a brushing surface and the outer and inner columns of bristles are angled inwardly at an angle of no greater than 16°
from the vertical, the width of the mass of bristles at the top being substantially less than at the base, such that the toothbrush bristles are firmer when rotated about the length of the handle against the teeth of a user than when brushed lengthwise against the teeth, and sufficiently dense to provide a cooperative flexure when subjected to compression.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A toothbrush for improved execution of the modified Bass method of cleaning teeth comprises a handle having a bristle mounting and disposed at a negative angle relative to the principal axis of the handle. In a specific example, a substantially rectangular array of bristle tufts is mounted on the angled end of the handle, the bristle tufts comprising four columns forming eight rows, the columns being substantially equally spaced at the base and the rows being substantially equally spaced. A forward edge grouping of bristle tufts is provided comprising a row of three bristle tufts. The tufts have from 20 to 150 bristles and the bristles are from 5/16" to 9/16" in length. The two outer columns of bristle tufts are angled inwardly at 7° from the vertical and the two center columns of tufts are angled inwardly at 6° from the vertical, to provide greater firmness against the teeth when the handle is rotated than when the handle is reciprocated along the teeth. The two outer bristle tufts of the row of bristle tufts in the forward edge grouping can be angled inwardly at an angle of 6° to 7° from the vertical, the center bristle tuft being substantially vertical.
54 Citations
11 Claims
-
1. A toothbrush for improved execution of the modified Bass method of brushing teeth comprising:
a plurality of bristles in a substantially rectangular array of spaced columns on a handle, the bristles being mounted in multi-bristle tufts with substantially uniform spacings thereof in the array, the long direction of the array being parallel to the length of the handle, there being at least two substantially parallel columns of bristles disposed laterally on each side along the long direction to define at least inner and outer columns on each side, wherein the bristles terminate in a common plane to define a brushing surface and the outer and inner columns of bristles are angled inwardly at an angle of no greater than 16°
from the vertical, the width of the mass of bristles at the top being substantially less than at the base, such that the toothbrush bristles are firmer when rotated about the length of the handle against the teeth of a user than when brushed lengthwise against the teeth, and sufficiently dense to provide a cooperative flexure when subjected to compression.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
-
5. A toothbrush for improved execution of the modified Bass method of cleaning teeth by penetrating crevices such as the joinder between the gum and tooth, moving horizontally and then rotating away from the gum to dislodge matter, comprising:
-
a handle having a bristle mounting and disposed at a negative angle relative to the principal axis of the handle; and a substantially rectangular array of bristle tufts mounted on the angled end of the handle, wherein the bristles terminate in a substantially common plane to define a brushing surface, the bristle tufts comprising four columns forming eight rows, the columns being substantially equally spaced at the base and the rows being substantially equally spaced at the base, and a forward edge grouping comprising a row of three bristle tufts, the tufts having approximately 46 bristles of 0.007" diameter each, and the bristles being approximately 7/16" long, the two outer columns of tufts being angled inwardly at 7°
from the vertical and the two center columns of tufts being angled inwardly at 6°
from the vertical. - View Dependent Claims (6)
-
-
7. A toothbrush comprising:
-
a handle having a bristle mounting end; and an array of columns and rows of bristle tufts mounted on the bristle mounting end of the handle, the bristles being from 5/16"-9/16" in height and from 0.003"-0.012" in diameter, with from 20-150 bristle ends per tuft, wherein the outer and inner columns are angled inwardly at from 2°
-16°
from the vertical to provide greater firmness against the teeth when the handle is rotated than when the handle is reciprocated along the teeth, and wherein the bristle tufts converge along the longitudinal center line of the brush to terminate in a substantially common plane and provide greater density and firmness adjacent the center line, while the lateral borders are less dense. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
-
Specification