[DESCRIPTION] [Invention Title]

TOOTH BRUSH HAVING TONGUE CLEANER

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to a toothbrush having a tongue cleaner provided in the lower side of a toothbrush body to remove fur on the tongue without using a hair on the toothbrush after brushing teeth.

Particularly, the present invention relates to a toothbrush in which the longitudinal directions of a body of the toothbrush and a tongue cleaner make an angle of 5 degrees to 25 degrees therebetween so that the tongue cleaner is convenient to use and fur on the tongue is effectively removed.

[Background Art]

Since a conventional tongue cleaner provided in a toothbrush is generally thicker than a body of the toothbrush and strikes a user's body such as a wrist when brushing teeth, it is inconvenient to use. Moreover, since the shape of the convention tongue cleaner is complicated, manufacturing costs are expensive and the conventional tongue cleaner is insanitary.

This applicant of the present invention has proposed a toothbrush, disclosed in Korean Registered Patent No. 10-0457477, including a grip of a tongue cleaner formed in a body of the toothbrush. The tongue cleaner has a plate-shape and is provided in the toothbrush in the longitudinal direction. The tongue cleaner is made of synthetic resin having a stronger rigidity than that of the body of the toothbrush.

However, according to the toothbrush having a tongue cleaner of Korean Registered Patent No. 10-0457477, since the tongue cleaner is provided on the imaginary line extended from the body of the toothbrush in the longitudinal

direction, it is inconvenient to use when removing fur on the tongue, and a blade of the tongue cleaner does not exactly closely contact the surface of the tongue. Moreover, since a separate grip for the tongue cleaner must be provided in the body of the toothbrush and material of the body of the toothbrush must be different from the material of the tongue cleaner, manufacturing costs are expensive.

[Disclosure) [Technical Problem]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush having a tongue cleaner in which an angle between the longitudinal directions of a body of the toothbrush and the tongue cleaner is 5 degrees to 25 degrees and a grip of the tongue cleaner is commonly used as a grip of the body of the toothbrush so that it is convenient to use, fur on the tongue is effectively removed without causing nausea, and manufacturing costs are reduced. It is another object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush having a tongue cleaner in which a body of the toothbrush is integrally formed with the tongue cleaner and the body of the toothbrush and the tongue cleaner are made of same material for the purpose of reducing manufacturing costs caused by duplicating injection molding.

[Technical Solution]

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a toothbrush with a tongue cleaner including a body having a grip formed in the intermediate portion thereof and hair provided in the upper side of the body, a tongue cleaner having a width narrower than that of the body of the toothbrush and a plate-shaped cleaning surface extended downwardly from the lower end of the body of the toothbrush, wherein an angle of 5 degrees to 25 degrees is formed between the longitudinal directions of the body and

the tongue cleaner, and a blade formed in the cleaning surface to contact the tongue surface and to remove fur on the tongue.

[Advantageous Effects]

As described above, due to the angle of 5 degrees to 25 degrees formed between the longitudinal direction of the body of the toothbrush and the longitudinal direction of the tongue cleaner and the grip commonly used when brushing teeth and removing fur on the tongue, the toothbrush according to the present invention is convenient to use, effectively removes fur on the tongue, and is manufactured with low manufacturing costs. Moreover, since the body of the toothbrush is integrally formed with the tongue cleaner such that manufacturing costs caused by duplicating injection molding, manufacturing costs are remarkably reduced.

[Description of Drawings]

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. Ia is a side view illustrating a toothbrush having a tongue cleaner according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. Ib is a side view illustrating a toothbrush having a tongue cleaner according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. Ic is a side view illustrating a toothbrush having a tongue cleaner according to a third preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. Id is a side view illustrating a toothbrush having a tongue cleaner according to a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front view the toothbrush having a tongue cleaner according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention of Fig. Ia;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. Ia;

Fig. 4a is a view illustrating the removal of fur on whole the tongue by the toothbrush according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention; and

Fig. 4b is a view illustrating the removal of fur on the central sunken portion of the tongue by the toothbrush according to the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

[Best Mode]

Hereinafter, a toothbrush having a tongue cleaner according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The toothbrush 10 having a tongue cleaner according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figs. Ia to 2, includes hair 11 provided in the upper side of a body 12 having a grip 13 formed in the intermediate portion of the body 12, a tongue cleaner 20 having a plate-shaped cleaning surface 21 extended from the lower end of the body 12 and a thickness thinner than the body 12 such that an angle 23 formed between the longitudinal direction 24 of the body 12 and the longitudinal direction 25 of the tongue cleaner 20 is 5 degrees to 25 degrees, and a blade 22 disposed on the cleaning surface 21 to contact the surface T of the tongue and to remove fur on the tongue.

Selectively, the angle 23 formed between the longitudinal direction 24 of the body 12 and the longitudinal direction 25 of the tongue cleaner 20 may be formed in the same side or the opposite side of the body 12 where the hair 11 is provided about the longitudinal direction 24 of the body 12. The blade 22 may be disposed in the same side or the opposite side of the body 12 where the hair 11 is provided. Moreover, the blade 22 may be formed in the lateral sides and the lower side of the cleaning surface 21 of the tongue cleaner 20.

Since, due to the angle of 5 degrees to 25 degrees formed between the longitudinal direction 24 of the body 12 and the longitudinal direction 25 of the tongue cleaner 20, the hair 11 or the body 12 in which the hair 11 is provided does not touch the user's wrist when removing fur on the tongue so that the convenience

to use is more guaranteed. Since the blade 22 of the tongue cleaner 20 more precisely contacts the tongue surface T, fur on the tongue is more effectively removed. Preferably, in consideration of the convenience for keeping the toothbrush 10 having the tongue cleaner 20 after using the toothbrush 10, the angle 23 is 8 degrees.

Since the body 12 and the tongue cleaner 20 are integrally formed with each other and are made of elastic synthetic resin such as PE, PP, PVC, or the like, manufacturing costs, caused by duplicating injection molding required when the body 12 is made of material different from material of which the tongue cleaner 20 is made, can be saved, and the tongue surface T can be prevented from damage caused by the tongue cleaner 20 made of high rigid material when removing fur on the tongue.

Meanwhile, the grip 13 is formed in the intermediate portion of the body 12 and is commonly used when brushing teeth and removing fur on the tongue. The grip 13 is thicker than the body 12 such that inconvenience that a hand holding the grip 13 slips down to touch the tongue cleaner 20 or hair 11 is solved and forces are balanced. Preferably, the grip 13 is coated with more soft and adhesive natural rubber than the body 12, synthetic rubber, silicon, synthetic resin, or the like.

The blade 22 is disposed on the cleaning surface of the tongue cleaner 20 to actually contact the tongue surface T and to remove fur on the tongue. In order to prevent the blade 22 from slipping on the tongue surface T, the surface of the blade 22 is treated to be dull. Here, the surface treatment is carried out by carving desired patterns in a region of a mold corresponding to the blade 22 or by treating the surface of the mold slightly rough when molding the tongue cleaner 20. Moreover, the portion of the body 12 where the tongue cleaner 20 is formed, as shown in Figs. Ia to 3, has a width gradually narrower as goes from the upper side thereof to the lower side thereof. A portion of the body 12 opposite to where the tongue cleaner 20 is extended is outwardly protruded so that the tongue cleaner 20 is firmly supported by the protruded portion to prevent the tongue cleaner 20 from being bent. In order to prevent the body 12 from contacting the tongue surface T, the portion of the body 12 where the tongue cleaner 20 is formed has an

oval cross-section, and a curved portion where the tongue cleaner 20 is connected to the body 12 preferably has a ' J ' -like shape.

Since the tongue cleaner 20 has a plate-shaped cleaning surface 21 protruded from the lower end of the body 12 downwardly, when removing fur on the tongue, as shown in Fig. 4a, the tongue surface T is scratched from the tongue root to the tongue tip using a portion of the blade 22 formed in the longitudinal direction of the tongue cleaner 20. When removing fur in the central sunken portion of the tongue surface T, as shown in Fig. 4b, the tongue surface T is scratched from the tongue root to the tongue tip using a narrow and rounded portion of the blade 22 formed in the lower end thereof.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.