TechMotivator - Toothbrush Morphology

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Technology Morphology

Toothbrush Morphology

Watch Morphology

Shoe Morphology

Umbrella Morphology

Morphology of a Toothbrush

A very intriguing morphology (table) of a Toothbrush is presented here. You'll be amazed that there's so much of technology involved behind the development of a 'common' toothbrush.

Typical Toothbrush Picture

Components/Dimensions

Structurally, the toothbrush has four components – the body, the neck, the head and the bristles. We could also include the interfaces among these four components.

Parts of a Toothbrush

Variants/Options

For each of the above components we have many variants. For instance, the variants of the body would manifest in terms of the material used, the geometric features (length, cross section,…), the type of surface, markings on the surface, and so on. Again, the materials used for the body could vary according to the available (or possible) options – plastic (polymers), wood, rubber, ceramic, etc.

When such an abstract description is comprehensively presented we can understand all types of toothbrushes – past, present and future (at least some new or novel possibilities). Each toothbrush (past, present or future) can then be identified as a unique combination of the variants and components. Thus, MA can serve as a framework for innovations (new patents?) in toothbrush technology.

Toothbrushes are simple, technologically speaking. Typically, they do not involve any ‘active’ components. By ‘active’ we mean that there are human-designed energy or mass transfer processes happening in the technological product or process. For example, a car or scooter engine, when working, is ‘active’. Energy and mass transfer processes occur in this case. Contrast this with a toothbrush – we aren’t talking about the modern electrically powered/automated toothbrushes. Our common toothbrushes are ‘passive’. There are no human-designed energy or mass transfer processes.

Morphology Table

Dimensions	Functional Characteristics Considered Under Each Dimension	Options
Bristles	Length	Different Lengths
	Uniformity of Lengths of Bristles Across Head	Uniform					Varies Across Head
	Width	Different Widths
	Thickness	Different Thicknesses
	Cross-Section	Round					Other Cross-Sections
	Texture	Extra Soft (for Children)	(for Sensitive Teeth)			Soft		Medium			Hard
	Material	Nylon			Animal Hair				Others Materials
	Transparency	Transparent			Nylon-Tinted				Other Varieties
	Whether Indicative of Brush Life?	Yes					No
	Is It Possible To Measure Recommended Amount of Toothpaste (for Children)?	Yes					No
	Shape of Top Surface of Each Bristle	Round					Other Shapes
	Profile of Each Bristle	Straight					Curved
	Inclination of Bristles to Head	All Bristles At Same Inclination					Different Bristles At Different Inclinations
	Arrangement of Bristles on Head	In Three Rows					Other Arrangements
	Length of Spread of Bristles on Head	Different Lengths
	Top Surface Profile of All Bristles on Head	Different Surface Profiles
Head	Length	Different Lengths
	Width	Different Widths
	Thickness	Different Thicknesses
	Cross-Section	Different Cross-Sections
	Shape	Round			Diamond				Other Shapes
	Material	Different Types of Plastics
	Flexibility	Flexibility In One Direction			Rigid				Other Modifications
	Number of Heads	One					Two
Neck	Length	Different Lengths
	Width	Different Widths
	Thickness	Different Thicknesses
	Cross-Section	Different Cross-Sections
	Shape	Different Shapes
	Material	Different Types of Plastics
	Flexibility	Flexible In One Direction			Rigid				Other Modifications
	Profile	Straight					Bent
	Degree of Inclination of Neck To Body	Different Inclinations
Body	Length	Different Lengths
	Width	Different Widths
	Thickness	Different Thicknesses
	Cross-Section	Different Cross-Sections
	Shape	Different Shapes
	Shape of End Surface	Different End-Surface Shapes
	Material	Different Types of Plastic
	Profile	Straight					Bent
	Grip	Rubber Thumb Grip (for Children)		Soft, Squishy Grip (for Children)			Ribbed			Other Provisions For Grip
Operation		Manual					Battery-Powered
Foldability		Foldable					Not Foldable
Storage		Hanging					Resting