SPECIFICATIONToothbrush with the effect of preventing deposition of tartar and other incrustation of the teethBackground of the InventionField of the InventionThe present invention relates to a toothbrush with the effect of preventing deposition of tartar and other incrustation on the teeth, as the result of generating magnetic or electric field in the surroundings of the bristle part of the toothbrush to change the distribution of electrochemical potential or electric charges.
Description of the Prior ArtTartar may be considered to be formed in the following electrochemical process: Foods ingested into the mouth are masticated in the presence of salivary secretion. The residue of mastication product in the mouth, which are possibly so minute particles as insensible by the nerves distributed on the oral parts, deposits on the teeth, initially in the form coating consisting of a yogurtlike paste, and in the lapse of time converts into tartar or incrustation containing calcium phosphates. The incrustation, which is regarded as an electrochemical process, could not proceed rapidly without participation of ion-change, migration of electrolysis.
Attention is paid also to the process of forming tartar in which the deposition occurs not onto the gum but preferentially on to native and artificial teeth so firmly as not to be readily clean off.
Although soft material has property to undergo deposition on it with difficulty, what does cause deposition onto the smooth upright surface of the teeth? The phenomenon supports the possibility of participation of ion-exchange, migration of electric charges and electrolysis in the process of forming tartar.
From the above-described, if salivary secretion and the gum tissue had electric charge opposite to that of the bony tissue, it would be reasonable that the residue of minute particles carrying negative charge can be deposited onto the bony tissue.
Metallic crowns such as gold or silver crown on the teeth becomes not very much dirty because they are a good electric conductor. On the contrary, material of low electric conductivity or insulator such as bone is of course chargeable. As well-known, there is attraction, repu.sion or neutralization associated with discharge between charged objects.
Tartar can be found also on the artificial gum of synthetic resin and this suggests that tartar may grow by making use of an insulator as a base.
Once the minute-particulate residue containingCa, P. Protein under the action of salivary secretion deposits on the tooth, they serve as a dielectric medium between salivary secretion of pH 9-11 and the tooth, thus a condensor-like device with difference of potential between them being formed. Thereafter in virtue of the difference of potential, accumulation of tartar goes on.
It is interesting that alkaline water with high concentration of OH-, the so-called ion water is said to have a preventing effect against the deposition of tartar. The effect is considered to be taken by the following mechanism: The bony tissue carries positive charges whereas the residual paste is negatively charged. Such distribution of electric charges leads to the attraction of the residual paste to the surface of the tooth. When strong-alkaline water is held in the mouth, metallic components in the alkaline water, such as Ca++ neutralize the negative charges on the paste. Thus the paste becomes discharged and released from the attraction by the positive charges on the tooth, reflecting easier clearance off residual paste.
The process of forming tartar is as abovedescribed. Though effects of magnetic field on such process is under experimental study, the concept is likely to be established that ion current in the living body can be affected by magnetic field.
Summary of the Inventionin the mouth is always found respective electric charges or potentials to the bony teeth, the gum tissue and salivary secretion containing mucin.
The distribution of electric charges or potential is extremely complex or tangled and transitional because of too many parameters for determining it, such as ingested foods, drinks and air, chewing and involving friction etc. In particular, during chewing motion is induced, in the mouth, confusion of positive and negative charges compared with usual electrical conditions, and, as the result, neutralization between them.
The toothbrush according to the invention with magnetic field generating means is expected to take two effects:One is the effect of making electrostatic field disappear by the action of magnetic field. In the report on the use of magnet for aligning the teeth set, it is described that the use of magnet prevented the clinging of bacteria inducing decayed teeth. This may mean that magnetic field would cause the distribution of potential or electric charge in the mouth to change, resulting in preventing from bacteria in salivary secretion from clinging on the teeth. Based on the inference, magnetic field generated by the toothbrush according to the invention would exert the effect of changing in the distribution of potential to make the clearance easier.Taking the occurrence of static electricity by the friction between teeth and a toothbrush into consideration, it also may be expected to take the effect of making electrostatic field vanish by the action of magnetic field, although there is room for study.
The other is the effect of clearing off the paste into water. In the mouth, of course, too strong current should not be applied to avoid any adverse effect. The experiment demonstrated that currents of not more than 20 ,u,A or voltages of not more than 1.5 V cannot make the taste unnatural. A toothbrush manufactured for trial is provided with an alkaline storage battery for a table electronic computer (11.5 #, supply current ranges: 1-5 juA and stainless wires leading to the electrodes of the battery, these being held in the inside of the brush handle body so as not generate static electricity.
Without needing switch, electric current, when bristles of the toothbrush get wet, flows between the electrodes to cause electrolysis, associated with formation of different ions. The salt is allowed to react with H20 and converts into H2, Cl2 andNaOH. Chlorine (Cl2) serves as bactericide and bleaching agent whereas NaOH have a cleasing effect but the amounts of these are only a little.
Inevitably, the distribution of electric charges in the mouth is changed and thus effect of clearing off the residual paste into water can be expected.
Brief Description of the DrawingsFig. 1 is a perspective view of a toothbrushaccording to the invention with magnets on eachside of the head of the brush handle;Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the brush head,drawn to an enlarged scale;Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of Fig. 2;Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating thepattern of the magnetic field established by the toothbrush;Fig. 5 through 10 are perspective view of analternative toothbrush according to the inventionwith bristles of magnetic material fastened intothe head of the brush handle;Fig. 11 is a perspective view of an embodimentof toothbrush according to the inventioncomprising a set of bristles, each consisting of amagnet fastened into the back of the head of thebrush handle.
Fig. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of thehead of the toothbrush of Figure 11, drawn to anenlarged scale;Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken alongline I-I of Fig. 12;Fig. 14 is a cross-sectional view taken alongline Il-Il of Fig. 13;Fig. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating thepattern of the magnetic field established by the toothbrush of Fig. 11;Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a modifiedtoothbrush from that of Fig. 11, with fixedlyfastened bristles each provided therein with a wiremagnet;Fig. 17 is a longitudinal sectional view of thebrush head, drawn to an enlarged view;Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken alongline Ill-Ill of Fig. 17;Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken alongline lV-IV of Fig. 18;;Fig. 20 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the pattern of the magnetic field established by the toothbrush of Fig. 16;Fig. 21 is a perspective view of toothbrush with a plate magnet embedded in the face of the head of the brush handle;Fig. 22 is a longitudinal sectional view of the head part of the toothbrush of Fig. 21, drawn to an enlarged scale;Fig. 23 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of Fig. 22; Fig. 24 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of Fig. 23; Fig. 25 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the pattern of the magnetic field established by the toothbrush of Fig. 21;; Fig. 26 is a perspective view of a toothbrush with bristles, some of which serve as electrodes connected to a battery embedded within the brush handle body;Fig. 27 is a longitudinal sectional view of the head part of the toothbrush shown in Fig. 26, drawn to an enlarged scale;Fig. 28 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIl-VIl of Fig. 27; Fig. 29 is a cross-sectional view taken along line#VIll-VlII#of Fig.28; Fig. 30 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the magnetic field established by the toothbrush of Fig. 26; Fig. 31 is a cross-sectional view of a modified embodiment from the toothbrush of Fig. 26;; Fig. 32 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the magnetic field established by the toothbrush ofFig. and Fig. 33 to 35 illustrates the general mode of the function of brushes according to the invention.
Description of the Preferred EmbodimentsThe invention will be described more fully hereinafter by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings:Figs. 1 through 10 illustrate preferred embodiments of toothbrush comprising a brush handle of non-magnetic material such as synthetic resin, with at least one magnet 3 fixedly embedded in the head of the brush handle 1 and adapted for generating magnetic field in the surroundings of the head part 2 of the toothbrush consisting of the head of the brush handle 1 and bristles fastened into the back of the head. The following various arrangements of a magnets 3 are provided:(1) In Figs. 1 to 3, a pair of opposed rows of small flat permanent magnets 3 is embedded on both sides 4, 4 of the head of the brush handle 1.
(2) As shown in Fig. 5, a pair of permanent magnets 3. 3 of flat rectangular rod is embedded on both sides of the head 2 of the brush handle 1 longitudinally and parallel to each other, with N and S magnetic poles 5, 6 of one magnet oppositely positioned to those of the other.
(3) As shown in Fig. 6, a pair of similar permanent magnets 3, 3 are disposed in the same manner as that shown in Fig. 5 except the position of N and S magnetic poles 5. 6 of one magnet in the same way as those of the other.
(4) Referring to Fig. 7, a pair of opposed similar permanent magnets 3, 3 is embedded on the face 7 towards and along respective upper side edge of the head of the brush handle 1 , with N and S magnetic poles 5, 6 of the magnets positioned in the same of opposite way.
(5) As shown in Fig. 8, only a flat rectangular rod permanent magnet 3 is longitudinally embedded on the face 7 of the head 2 of the brush handle 1.
(6) A pair of parallel flat rectangular rod permanent magnets 3, 3 are, as shown in Fig. 9, embedded crosswise on the face 7 of the head of the brush handle 1, and(7) In Fig. 10, only a similar rod transverselydisposed permanent embedded in the face 7 of the head of the brush handle 1, as an alternative of that mentioned under the preceding 6.
Instead of a magnet or magnets 3 in the embodiments described under preceding items can be used any material capable of generating magnetic or electric field such as magnetic material, magnetic wire and non-conductive material. Preferred embodiments with these materials are described below:(8) As shown in Figs. 1 1 to 15, a set of bristles 8 of resilient and stiff magnetic material, with N magnetic pole 9 at their one ends on the same side and S magnetic pole 10 at their other ends, are fastened into the head 13 of a brush handle 12 made of a suitable non-magnetic material to constitute the bristle part 14. Thus magnetic field is established as illustrated in Fig. 15 with lines of magnetic force.
(9) Referring to Figs. 16 through 20, an alternative similar to that described under the preceding 8, with only the difference that the part 1 4a is composed of a set of bristles 8a, each made of non-magnetic synthetic resin and therein with a core of magnet wire 16, or which the root being designated at reference numeral 1 a, thus forming the same magnetic field.
(10) As illustrated in Figs. 21 to 25, a further device comprising a permanent magnet plate 17 embedded on the head 1 3 of the brush handle 1 and high permeability core wires connected to such permanent magnet plate to be magnetized and serving as magnet wires mentioned under the preceding 9.
(11) Figs. 26 through 30 illustrates a further alternative embodiment. The bristle part 1 4b comprises a plurality of longitudinal rows of bristles 8b of resilient, stiff and non-conductive material fastened into the back of the head 1 3a of the brush handle 1 2a of a suitable non-conductive material such as synthetic resin. Two rows appropriately selected out of the bristle part 1 4b consists of bristles 8b each having therein a conductive core wire 18 or 19 with the free end 20 or 21 exposed in the end plane of the bristle part 1 4b and the other end or root 22 or 23 to be connected, respectively to each row, to an anode 27 or cathode 29 of a battery embedded in the brush handle 12 through a lead wire 24, 25.Thus the ends 20 of the conductive core wires 18 connected to the anode 27 and those 21 connected to the cathode 28 establish electric field as illustrated in Fig. 30 with lines of electric force.
(12) A modification from the embodiment under the preceding (11) is, as shown in Figs. 31 and 32, comprises the bristle part 1 4c with a plurality of longitudinal rows of bristles 8c of resilient and stiff synthetic resin such as nylon fastened into the back of the head of the nonconductive brush-handle 12a. The terminal sections of lead wires 24, 25 connected to a battery 26 embedded in the brush handle 12b are disposed, for example, parallel to each other, on the back of the head 1 3b of the head of the brush handle 12b, thus in the vicinity the roots of the bristles. They play as anode or cathode 24a or 25a to establish electric field illustrated in Fig. 32 with lines of electric force.
Figs. 33 to 35 illustrate the mode of the general function of above-described preferred embodiments of toothbrush according to the invention, in which are found each reference character designates respectively: 29 tooth, 30 foam, 31 tartar or other deposits on the teeth, 32 electrostatic circuit, 33 handle of the toothbrush, and 34 load.