CN1129381C - Brush with bristle holder and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a brush comprising a bristle holder forming a handle and bristles fixed to the bristle holder, the bristle holder having color contrast zones, which for example provide a message. The plastic of the bristle holder is filled at least in these regions with a pigment which absorbs the laser beam and reacts discoloringly with the laser beam. The information is applied hygienically and permanently to the bristle support by means of a laser beam. Instead of this, the bristle carrier consists, at least in the region near the surface, of two layers of plastic with different absorption rates for the laser beam, the upper layer being transparent or translucent and having a lower absorption rate, and the lower layer having a color-changing reaction. The upper layer may also be laser transparent and the lower layer may be of another colour. The lower layer is exposed by melting and vaporizing the upper layer in the desired area and the information can be seen by color contrast. A method for producing the brush is also described.

Description

Brush with bristle holder and manufacturing method thereof

The invention relates to a brush having a bristle holder forming a handle and bristles fastened to the bristle holder, the bristle holder having areas of contrasting colour. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing such a brush.

Brushes, especially cleaning and hygiene brushes, such as body brushes, toothbrushes, etc., are subjected to various loads in use. First of all, long-term effects of humidity, water, etc. can be mentioned. In addition, depending on the type of brush, effects by chemical and/or mechanically acting agents, such as rinses, soaps, dental hygiene agents, as well as by oils, pigments, etc. must be taken into account. Add to this the holding and frictional forces exerted by the user's hand on the handle. Toothbrushes in particular, but also other hygiene and industrial brushes are subjected to these loads.

If the bristle holder constituting the handle of this brush should be provided with a color contrasting area with an artistic or informational function, it has been basically achieved by the following method so far: Paste a film with a color contrasting area, such as printed information (US-A-4589159 ). But these films peel off quickly, losing this artistic element or message. So this method is actually completely inapplicable. It is also known to apply such regions by means of film transfer printing in prepunched depressions of the bristle holder. Although the information added in this way is more durable, it will still fall off after a certain period of use. In this case, as long as individual parts of the information on the transfer film fall off, the information content has been lost. As another method, a two-component injection molding process can be mentioned, in which the handle is produced from one plastic and the text is formed from a plastic of another color, which are injection molded in a two-stage process step. This method is costly since injection molding is expensive. Changing decorative or informational parts requires multiple dies or die sets that require very expensive warehouse storage, as well as time-consuming assembly upon replacement. In addition, this method can only be used for decoration or information with large areas and thick lines. Therefore, problems are not only easy to occur when there are pattern structures and alphabetic symbols, but also problems can occur when the area for information production is small.

The object of the present invention is to be able to apply any type of message or decoration lasting to a brush for any purpose and to suggest some methods of making such a brush.

According to the first variant of the present invention, the measures taken for this purpose are that the plastic of the bristle holder is filled with pigments that absorb the laser beam and react color-changingly with the laser beam at least in the color-contrasting areas; and these areas are applied by means of the laser beam On the bristle rack.

According to the second variant, the measures taken for this purpose are that the bristle holder consists of at least two layers of plastics with different absorption capacities for the laser beam, at least in the region near the surface, wherein the upper layer with lower absorption capacity is transparent or semi-transparent. Transparent, the lower layer has a higher absorption capacity; and, the color contrasting area is applied to the color-changing reactive lower layer by means of a laser beam.

Using the bristle holders of the above two variants designed according to the invention, information can be applied by means of a laser beam which is preferably controlled by a computer according to the configuration of the visual contrast zone. In the first variant, pigments that absorb the laser beam undergo a color-changing reaction at the irradiated site. In the second variant, the laser beam is absorbed at the boundary layer between two plastic layers, where the desired discoloration occurs, which is visible through the transparent or translucent top layer. The plastic of the facing layer can also undergo molecular rearrangement through boundary layer reflections, thus providing a stronger contrast. The color-contrasting areas thus applied are neither damaged by chemical loads nor by mechanical loads such as occur when using a brush. They also don't fall off the bristle holder, to be exact for a long time. The color contrasting areas can be designed to be small and patterned, which was not possible with hitherto methods.

The color contrasting areas can be of different types, for example can relate to different contents of information such as regulations and instructions, which are used as information for sorting and packaging in the series production of different brushes. In this case, this information can be used in conjunction with color or image recognition to automate shipping and packaging tasks.

In addition, this information can also inform the user of the characteristics of the brush or instructions for use. For example, brushes which are only permitted for certain purposes in the industrial sector due to hygiene regulations, were previously only marked with different colors, but can now be distinguished by indelible text. The brushes used in hospitals may be mentioned in this respect, the brushes used in different areas such as kitchens, operating and procedure rooms and patient rooms have to be marked differently.

The brushes designed according to the invention show their outstanding advantages when used as toothbrushes. Higher hygiene requirements are placed on toothbrushes, since they are used in the oral cavity and are also subject to additional loads there. This applies in particular to children's toothbrushes, where the brush head is not only subjected to the influences described in the introduction, but often also subjected to loads due to uncontrolled or unintentional chewing movements. Therefore the information on the toothbrush is basically limited to expressing the brand name, the name of the manufacturer etc. so far, and this information can only be located on the handle that does not contact with the oral cavity.

For toothbrushes, the invention allows messages to be applied not only on the handle but also on the brush head, since they will neither be damaged nor come off under the influences mentioned above. For example, toothbrushes can be marked on the handle and/or on the brush head with properties relevant to their use, such as the hardness of the bristles ("hard", "medium" or "soft"). In addition, instructions to be followed during the lifetime of ensuring unimpeachable oral and dental hygiene, but also warning instructions can be added. The latter is necessary because toothbrushes should adapt to different needs in terms of structure and materials according to today's dental care requirements, and a toothbrush designed for a specific need may damage teeth or teeth in another use situation. Gums cause damage.

The information necessary for the use of all toothbrushes so far has only been displayed on the packaging. This information is lost when the toothbrush is taken out of the package and used, so that when the user repurchases or replenishes the order, he no longer knows which toothbrush was originally used. This serious disadvantage is overcome with the present invention.

Sorting and packaging markings can also be added, which allow automatic sorting and packaging of different toothbrushes produced in mass production, or allow merging of varieties.

In the third solution according to the present invention, the following measures are taken to obtain all the above-mentioned advantages in the same way, that is, the bristle holder is composed of two layers of plastics with different colors at least in the area near the surface; The contrast areas are removed by means of a laser beam. Removal of the facing is accomplished by melting and vaporizing the plastics that make up the facing, thereby exposing plastic of another color underneath the facing.

The information is preferably affixed to the handle on a surface that is easily seen, that is to say, for a toothbrush, on the underside of the handle facing the bristles and/or on the upper side facing away from the bristles. However, the information can also be added to the toothbrush head, especially with regard to the indication of hardness, which has hitherto been impermissible for technical but also hygienic reasons.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a vending unit consisting of a brush, in particular a toothbrush of the above-mentioned design, and an at least partially plastic packaging containing it and having a color-contrasting zone. According to the invention, provision is made in such a vending unit that the packaging is at least partially produced or coated with a laser beam-absorbing and color-changing plastic, and that the color-contrasting regions are applied by means of the laser beam.

Packagings of the type described here are mostly designed as transparent plastic cover packages, wherein the transparent plastic cover part is applied to a cardboard base, and the cardboard base has the necessary information and required decorative parts. In the configuration of the vending unit according to the invention, the information or decoration on the packaging is produced in the same way as on the brushes. In this case, the information on the toothbrush at least partially corresponds to the information on the packaging.

When the same information is added on the packaging and on the toothbrush, it may especially relate to those selected for repurchase or reordering, so that even if the consumer removes the toothbrush from the packaging, he can still guarantee that he Get the same toothbrush when reordering. In the case of mass production of toothbrushes and subsequent packaging lines, the lasers for the toothbrushes and the inscription on the packaging can be controlled by means of suitable, possibly partially identical procedures.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing a brush of the above-described design, in which the bristle holder is produced by casting, in particular injection molding, and the bristles are fixed in the plastic by embedding during the casting process or subsequently fixed on the bristle holder.

The production of toothbrushes by injection molding has now been perfected to the point that thousands of toothbrushes can be manufactured per hour on a single assembly line. With hitherto known methods, the provision of such brushes with color-contrasting areas is not possible or possible only with a loss of productivity or quality. Labeled film prints do not reliably allow the brush to leave the injection molding machine with the film print. The same applies to film transfer printing. If the color markings are incorporated in the two-component injection molding, this, in addition to high costs, also results in longer cycle times, which are determined by the two-stage injection and the necessary rotation of the injection molding between the two stages.

In the method according to the invention, the bristle holder is cast from a plastic filled with laser-absorbing and laser beam-changing pigments, and after hardening of the plastic the contrasting areas are treated by means of a suitably controlled laser beam until they change color.

This laser treatment can be performed at high speeds, so the hourly output of the assembly line depends only on the duty cycle of the injection molding machine. Despite this high hourly output, color-contrasting areas can be produced in any fineness and thread orientation with a high degree of recognition.

According to the second kind of scheme of the brush of the present invention, the bristle holder is molded into two layers at least, for this reason at first with the plastics casting a base body that is filled with the pigment that can absorb laser beam and the pigment that changes color with laser beam, then at least have color contrast Areas of the upper layer are cast with a transparent or translucent plastic with low absorption capacity for the laser beam. After the plastic has hardened, the areas of the upper layer that are to have a contrasting color are treated by means of a properly controlled laser beam down to the pigment in the matrix. until it changes color.

Finally, according to a third version of the brush designed according to the invention, the bristle holder is cast in at least two layers, for which at least one plastic base body is cast, and then at least on the areas where the color contrast is to be cast, a plastic structure of another color is cast. After hardening, these areas of the surface that are to be contrasted in color are treated by means of a suitably controlled laser beam until the plastic of the surface is at least removed by melting and vaporization to the extent that another colored plastic of the matrix can be seen degree.

All the above-mentioned schemes concerning the method are preferably carried out in such a way that after the plastic is cast and hardened, the brushes produced in batches are fed into a laser station with at least one laser, where they are positioned and processed by means of at least one suitably controlled laser beam There should be areas of color contrast.

If the color contrasting area is large-area or discontinuously distributed on the bristle holder, it is of course also possible to have a plurality of lasers put into operation at the same time.

According to the method of the invention, especially when the laser beam is controlled by a computer programmed according to the color contrast field, a high efficiency can be achieved, in which case it is advantageous to store a plurality of color contrast fields for different designs in the computer programs and, depending on the selection, call these programs during the continuous production of brushes.

In this way it is possible to change the information or decoration to be applied during the continuous production process, e.g. a corresponding sorting mark for the subsequent packaging line or an assortment of brushes with different properties, which can be used in the packaging line as various Variety pack. In combination with a packaging line suitably equipped with lasers, it is possible to produce the described vending units designed according to the invention, in which the consistent or partially consistent information on the brush and packaging is still stored in the laser computer of the production and packaging line.

The invention is explained below with the aid of an exemplary embodiment of a toothbrush shown in the drawings. in:

Figure 1 is the lower side view of the toothbrush on one side of the bristles;

Another kind of implementation form of Fig. 2 toothbrush is corresponding to Fig. 1 view;

Figure 3 The view of the back of the toothbrush head;

Fig. 4 is enlarged by the longitudinal section and details of the toothbrush first scheme of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is enlarged by the longitudinal section of the second scheme of the toothbrush of Fig. 3 and details; and

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section and detail enlargement of the third variant of the toothbrush of Figure 3 .

The toothbrush shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 consists of a handle 1 and a brush head 2 which are interconnected by a neck 3 . Handle 1, brush head 2 and neck 3 are made of plastic. Fix the bristles 4 on the brush head 2 .

The handle 1, if necessary, also includes the brush head 2 and the neck 3 are made of a plastic filled with pigment, and this plastic has a color-changing reaction when it is irradiated by laser light. With the aid of a suitably controlled laser, a color-contrasting area in the form of an indelible and fully hygienic message 5 can be added to the handle 1 or the brush head 2, ie on the back of the brush head.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 1, this message 5 consists of a warning that the toothbrush should be replaced after a specified period of use, which can be displayed by means of corresponding indicators on the bristles.

In the exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2 , information 5 in the form of instructions for use is applied. This toothbrush is especially suitable for removing dark stains on tooth surfaces by specially designing the bristle tufts or bristles, which is advantageously achieved in combination with suitable dental hygiene agents. Conversely, this toothbrush should not be used on teeth without spots.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, information indicating the hardness of the bristle bundles is applied to the back of the brush head 2, while the handle has information in the form of a trademark.

The toothbrush according to Fig. 1 to 3 can be made by three kinds of schemes of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a first variant, in which the bristle holder consisting of the handle 1, the brush head 2 and the neck 3 is injection-molded from a pigment-filled plastic. These are pigments which undergo a bright or dark (positive or negative) color-changing reaction under the action of a laser beam. The location where the discoloration occurs in the enlarged detail view of FIG. 4 is indicated by reference numeral 6 .

According to the scheme of Fig. 5, the bristle holder made up of handle 1, brush head 2 and neck 3 is designed as two layers. It comprises a base body 7 which provides the necessary strength and performance properties, and an injection-molded top layer 8 . The base body 7 is made of a plastic which has a relatively high absorption capacity for laser beams, while the top layer 8 has a low absorption capacity and is transparent or at any rate translucent. The absorption capacity of the plastic of the base body 7 can still be achieved with the aid of suitable pigments. The pigment undergoes a color-changing reaction when irradiated by a laser, which is indicated by reference numeral 9 in FIG. 5 . These can involve light or dark contrasting colors and can be seen through the transparent or translucent top layer 8 .

In the variant according to FIG. 4 , the bristle holder still consists of a base body 7 and a top layer 8 . The injection-molded base body 7 is made of plastic of a different color than the top layer 8 . If the surface layer is irradiated with laser light, the laser beam is reflected back into the surface layer at the boundary layer, and the plastic of the surface layer 8 melts and vaporizes at the points hit by the laser beam. These locations are denoted by reference numeral 10 in FIG. 6 . Plastic of a different color is thus exposed at these points of the bristle holder 7 and thus provides the required positive or negative embossing information depending on the color of the plastic of the base body 7 and the top layer 8 .

Claims (16)

1. A brush having a bristle holder constituting a handle and bristles fixed on the bristle holder, the bristle holder has a color-contrasting area, characterized in that the plastic of the bristle holder (1, 2, 3) is filled at least in the color-contrasting area Pigments that absorb the laser beam and then undergo a color-changing reaction; and, these areas are applied to the bristle holder by means of the laser beam. 2. A brush having a bristle holder constituting a handle and bristles fixed on the bristle holder, the bristle holder having color-contrasting regions, characterized in that the bristle holder (1, 2, 3) consists of at least two The layers consist of plastics with different absorption capacities for the laser beam, wherein the upper layer with a lower absorption capacity is transparent or translucent, the lower layer has a higher absorption capacity; on the lower layer of the reaction. 3. according to claim 1 or 2 described brushes, their bristle holder is made up of handle (1) and brush head (3), and bristle (4) is fixed on the brush head, it is characterized in that: in handle (1) and brush head (3) /or add a color contrast area on the brush head (3). 4. The brush of claim 3, wherein said brush is a toothbrush. 5. The brush according to claim 3, characterized in that the color-contrasting regions are applied to the handle (1) on the underside facing the bristles (4) and/or on the upper side facing away from the bristles. 6. Brush according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the color-contrasting areas constitute messages. 7. Brush according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the color-contrasting area constitutes a decorative part. 8. A vending unit consisting of a brush according to claim 1 or 2 and its at least partly plastic packaging with a color contrasting zone, characterized in that the packaging is at least partly made of a laser beam absorbing and color-changing reaction made of plastic, and the color-contrasting areas are applied by means of a laser beam. 9. The vending unit of claim 8, wherein said brush is a toothbrush. 10. The vending unit as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that the color-contrasting zone on the brush at least partially corresponds to the color-contrasting zone on the packaging. 11. The method of manufacturing the brush according to claim 1, wherein the bristle holder is manufactured by casting, and the bristles are fixed in the plastic during the casting process or are fixed on the bristle holder afterwards, characterized in that the bristle holder is made of a A casting of plastic filled with pigments that absorb laser light and react color-changingly with the laser beam, and after the plastic has hardened the color-contrasting areas are treated by means of a suitably controlled laser beam until they change color. 12. The method for manufacturing the brush according to claim 2, wherein the bristle holder is manufactured by casting, and the bristles are fixed in the plastic during the casting process or fixed on the bristle holder afterwards, characterized in that the bristle holder is at least cast In two layers, a substrate is first cast from a plastic filled with pigments that absorb the laser beam and that react color-changingly with the laser beam, and then, at least in the areas where the color contrast is to be contrasted, with a less laser beam-absorbing The surface layer is cast in transparent or translucent plastic, after the plastic has hardened, the areas of the surface layer that are to be contrasted in color are treated by means of a suitably controlled laser beam until the color of the pigment in the matrix changes. 13. The method as claimed in claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the bristle holder is produced by injection molding. 14. according to the described method of claim 11 or 12, it is characterized in that: the brush of mass production per unit time is input into the laser station that at least has a laser after plastic casting and hardening, position there and by means of at least one suitable control The laser beam treats areas that want color contrast. 15. A method according to claim 14, characterized in that the laser beam is controlled by a computer programmed according to the color contrast field. 16. The method as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that a plurality of programs for differently designed color contrast zones are stored in the computer, and these programs are called up as selected during the continuous production of the brushes.

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