JP2017123920A - Interdental cleaning tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an interdental cleaning tool that can prevent wire from falling out of a support piece, even if wire made of polyethylene is used.SOLUTION: An interdental cleaning tool concerning the present invention includes a pair of support pieces disposed at predetermined intervals, a handle part for connecting the pair of support pieces and capable of being held by hands, and wire extending between the pair of support pieces and having one or more multi-filaments. Each multi-filament is formed of polyethylene, and each support piece has a first face of the side opposed to each other and a second face on the other side of the first face. Both ends of the wire penetrate each support piece between the first face and the second face, respectively. The support piece and the handle part are formed of polypropylene having a melt flow rate of 5 g/10 min or more.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an interdental cleaning tool.

  Conventionally, various interdental cleaning tools for removing plaque clogged between teeth have been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an interdental cleaning tool in which a wire called a floss is arranged between support pieces arranged at a predetermined interval, and both support pieces are connected by a handle portion that can be gripped by a hand. Proposed. In such an interdental cleaning tool, various materials are used as the wire. Among these, polyethylene is preferably used because it is excellent in strength and can be easily inserted between the teeth.

JP 7-136193 A

  However, since polyethylene is inferior in heat resistance compared to other materials such as nylon, it has the following problems. That is, when the support piece and the handle portion are injection-molded at a resin temperature of 220 ° C. or higher, which is usually set at the time of injection molding, there is a problem that the wire is melted. Therefore, when polyethylene is used as the material for the wire, the resin temperature at the time of injection needs to be lowered (about 170 to 190 ° C.). However, it has been found that when the resin temperature is lowered, the fluidity of the resin is not sufficiently obtained, and the wire and the resin are not sufficiently entangled, so that a new problem arises that the wire is easily detached from the support piece.

  The present invention has been made to solve this problem, and an object thereof is to provide an interdental cleaning tool that can prevent a wire from coming off from a support piece even when a polyethylene wire is used.

  An interdental cleaning tool according to the present invention is provided between a pair of support pieces arranged at a predetermined interval, a handle portion that connects the pair of support pieces and can be gripped by hand, and the pair of support pieces. Each of the multifilaments is made of polyethylene, and each of the support pieces includes a first surface on a side facing each other, and the first surface. A second surface on the opposite side, and both end portions of the wire rod penetrate each support piece between the first surface and the second surface, respectively, and the support piece and the handle portion are melt-flowed. It is formed of polypropylene having a rate of 5 g / 10 min or more.

  According to this configuration, the support piece and the handle portion are made of polypropylene having a melt flow rate of 5 g / 10 min or more. Therefore, the polypropylene spreads between the multifilaments constituting the wire at the time of molding, and the polypropylene and the multifilament can be firmly fixed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the wire from coming off from the support piece.

  In each said interdental cleaning tool, the said polypropylene can be made into a homopolymer.

  According to this configuration, rigidity can be imparted to the support piece. Thereby, it can prevent that support pieces adjoin, for example. If the support pieces are close to each other, problems such as the support pieces tend to hit the teeth, or when the wire rod is inserted between the teeth, an appropriate tension cannot be obtained on the wire rod, making it difficult to insert. Thus, the occurrence of such a problem can be prevented.

  In each of the interdental cleaning tools, the multifilament may be 100 to 250 denier.

  Thus, even when the thickness of the multifilament is thin, if the support piece is made of polypropylene as described above, it is possible to prevent the wire from coming off.

  In each said interdental cleaning tool, the number of the monofilaments which comprise the said multifilament can be 15-120.

  According to this configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, if the number of monofilaments is too small, there is a possibility that the resin and the monofilament will not easily get entangled, and the wire will be easily pulled out. On the other hand, if the number of monofilaments is too large, it is difficult for the resin to enter between the monofilaments, and this may also cause the wire to be easily removed. Therefore, by setting the number of monofilaments within the above range, it is possible to suitably prevent the wire from coming off.

  In each said interdental cleaning tool, the number of twists per 1 m of multifilaments can be 500 times or less.

  When the number of twists of the multifilament is too large, the resin is difficult to enter between the monofilaments and is easily removed. Therefore, when the number of twists is 500 times or less, the resin can easily enter between the monofilaments, and the wire can be prevented from coming off.

  In each said interdental cleaning tool, the thickness of the said support piece can be made small as it goes to the said wire rod side from the said handle part side.

  According to this configuration, at the time of molding, the resin is easily cooled in the vicinity of the wire, thereby preventing the wire from being melted and cut or damaged by the high-temperature resin.

  In each of the interdental cleaning tools, the thickness of the support piece can be formed so as to decrease as it goes from the second surface toward the first surface at least in the vicinity of the wire.

  According to this configuration, at the time of molding, the resin is easily cooled in the vicinity of the wire, thereby preventing the wire from being melted and cut or damaged by the high-temperature resin.

  The interdental cleaning tool can have a plurality of the multifilaments. According to this configuration, since the multifilament is contracted by the water used for washing the saliva and the wire after use and the tension is increased after use, compared to the case where there is only one multifilament, the tension between the teeth at the next use is increased. Insertability can be improved.

  In the interdental cleaning tool, both end portions of two or more multifilaments of the plurality of multifilaments may each have a lump integrated by welding on the second surface side. .

  According to this configuration, both end portions of two or more multifilaments of the plurality of multifilaments are integrated by welding on the second surface side of the support piece. Therefore, this integrated part becomes a lump and serves as a retaining member, and the multifilament can be prevented from being detached from the support piece. Thus, by melting a plurality of multifilaments to form a lump, for example, compared to melting a single monofilament to form a lump, the ends of the plurality of multifilaments are connected to each other, and Since a large lump can be formed, the retaining effect can be improved. Also, when the ends of two or more multifilaments are melted to form a lump, the ends of one multifilament composed of the same number of monofilaments constituting the two or more multifilaments are melted. As compared with the case where a lump is formed, the retaining effect can be improved.

  In particular, when both ends of all multifilaments are melted and integrated to form a lump, the retaining effect is further improved, and the multifilament can be prevented from coming off more reliably. As compared with the case where a lump is formed by melting the ends of one multifilament made of the same number of monofilaments as the total number of monofilaments constituting the structure, the retaining effect can be improved.

  According to the interdental cleaning tool which concerns on this invention, even if it uses a polyethylene wire, it can prevent that a wire falls out of a support piece.

It is a front view of the interdental cleaning tool which concerns on this embodiment. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline of the shaping | molding die which manufactures the interdental cleaning tool of FIG. It is a figure which shows a part of manufacturing method of the interdental cleaning tool of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the other example of the interdental cleaning tool which concerns on this invention. It is the front view (a) and bottom view (b) which show the interdental cleaning tool which concerns on Examples 1-3 and a comparative example.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an interdental cleaning tool according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view of an interdental cleaning tool according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. In the following description, for convenience of description, description will be made with reference to the direction in the drawing of FIG. As for the handle portion, the left side in FIG. 1 may be referred to as the front end side, and the right side may be referred to as the rear end side. However, the present invention is not limited by the definition of this direction.

<1. Overview of interdental cleaning tool>
As shown in FIG. 1, the interdental cleaning tool includes a resin cleaning tool main body 10 and a wire rod 3 attached to the cleaning tool main body 10 for removing dental plaque between teeth. . The cleaning tool main body 10 includes a handle portion 1 extending in a rod shape, and a pair of support pieces 21 and 22 protrude from the handle portion 1 at a predetermined interval. Here, the support piece protruding from the end portion of the handle portion 1 is referred to as a first support piece 21, and the support piece extending in parallel with the support piece is referred to as a second support piece 22. The wire rod 3 described above is disposed between the support pieces 21 and 22 and is disposed in parallel with the handle portion 1. Both ends of the wire 3 are connected to the support pieces 21 and 22, respectively. Hereinafter, each member will be described in detail.

<2. Cleaning tool body>
The two support pieces 21 and 22 and the handle portion 1 constituting the cleaning tool main body 10 are integrally formed of polypropylene (hereinafter simply referred to as “resin”). In particular, the polypropylene used in the present embodiment has a melt flow rate of 5 g / 10 min or more, and preferably 10 g / 10 min or more. The melt flow rate is measured under conditions of a load of 2.16 kg and a temperature of 230 ° C. in accordance with ISO 1133. The upper limit of the melt flow rate is not particularly limited, but is, for example, 60 g / 10 min. Among polypropylenes, homopolymers are particularly preferable, and the rigidity of the support pieces 21 and 22 and the handle portion 1 can be increased by employing homopolymer polypropylene.

  Each of the support pieces 21 and 22 is formed in a plate shape, and the names of the surfaces of the support pieces 21 and 22 will be described below with the front side 211 and the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 222, the right side of FIG. 1 is referred to as a right side 213 (first side), 223 (second side), and the left side is referred to as a left side 214 (second side), 224 (first side). And as shown in FIG. 2, the thickness of each support piece 21 and 22 is formed so that it may become small as it goes to the front-end | tip of each support piece 21 and 22 from the handle | steering-wheel part 1. As shown in FIG. Further, in each support piece 21, 22, the portion through which the wire 3 passes is near the tip of each support piece 21, 22, that is, the distance L from the tip is preferably within 4 mm, and more preferably within 3.2 mm. By making the thicknesses of the support pieces 21 and 22 and the locations where the wire 3 passes in this way, for example, when the resin for the handle portion 1 is injected from the handle portion 1 side, the support pieces 21 and 22 Since the temperature of the resin can be lowered when the resin reaches the vicinity of the tip, the problem that the wire 3 is melted and cut or damaged by the high temperature resin can be prevented. Note that the lower limit of the distance L is usually about 1 mm.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the thickness of the first support piece 21 decreases as it goes from the left surface 214 to the right surface 213. On the other hand, the thickness of the second support piece 22 decreases as it goes from the right surface 223 to the left surface 224. That is, the thickness of each support piece 21, 22 becomes smaller toward the first surface side. By comprising in this way, it becomes easy to make the temperature of resin low as mentioned above, and it can prevent that the wire 3 is cut | disconnected or damaged with the heat | fever of the resin at the time of shaping | molding.

  Furthermore, the left surface 214 of the first support piece 21 and the right surface 223 of the second support piece 22 are respectively formed with small recesses (not shown) in which the ends of the wire 3 are disposed, and these recesses are formed. The end portion of the wire rod 3 protrudes from the location.

<3. Wire>
Next, the wire 3 will be described. The wire 3 is a bundle of one multifilament or a plurality of multifilaments 31. Below, especially the case where a wire is comprised with the some multifilament 31 is demonstrated. Each multifilament 31 is obtained by twisting a plurality of monofilaments formed of polyethylene. Since polyethylene has a small coefficient of friction, it has the advantage that it is easy to slip between teeth and scrape off plaque. The multifilament 31 may be a bundle of monofilaments that are not twisted.

  Although the thickness of each multifilament 31 is not specifically limited, For example, it is preferable to set it as 100-250 denier, and it is more preferable that it is 100-160 denier. If this is smaller than 100 denier, the multifilament 31 may be detached from the support pieces 21 and 22, and if it is larger than 250 denier, it may be difficult to insert between the teeth.

  The number of multifilaments 31 constituting the wire 3 is not particularly limited, but is preferably 3 to 7, for example, and more preferably 3 to 5. When the number of multifilaments 31 is three or more, as will be described later, the effect of preventing separation due to the integration of a plurality of multifilaments 31 is improved, and the effect of scraping off plaque is also improved. Then, it becomes easy to enter between the teeth, and the operability is improved, and as a result, the plaque scraping effect can be improved.

  The number of monofilaments constituting the multifilament 31 is preferably 15 to 120, more preferably 30 to 100, and particularly preferably 50 to 100. This is due to the following reason. That is, when the number of monofilaments is small, the resin (polypropylene) and the monofilament are less likely to be entangled, and the wire 3 is easily removed from the support pieces 21 and 22. On the other hand, if the number of monofilaments is large, it becomes difficult for the resin to enter between the monofilaments, and this also makes it easier for the wire 3 to come out of the support pieces 21 and 22. Therefore, by setting the number of monofilaments within the above range, it is possible to prevent the wire 3 from coming off.

  Moreover, as an upper limit of the number of twists per meter of the multifilament 31, it is preferable that it is 500 times or less. Specifically, it is preferably 300 times or less, more preferably 200 times or less, and particularly preferably 170 times or less. This is due to the following reason. That is, when the number of twists of the multifilament 31 is too large, as will be described later, it is difficult for the resin to enter between the monofilaments, and the support pieces 21 and 22 are easily removed. Therefore, when the number of twists is 500 times or less, the resin easily enters between the monofilaments, and the wire 3 can be prevented from coming off. In addition, the lower limit of the number of twists per 1 m of the multifilament 31 is not particularly limited as long as it is not twisted. From the viewpoint of, for example, 5 times or more is preferable.

<4. Connection of wire and support piece>
Then, the connection method of the wire 3 and each support piece 21 and 22 is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 1, both ends of the wire 3 pass through the support pieces 21 and 22. More specifically, the left end portion of the wire 3 passes through the right surface 213 of the first support piece 21 and protrudes from the left surface 214, and the multifilaments 31 of the protruded wire 3 are heat-welded with each other to be integrated into a lump. 32 is formed. Similarly, the right end portion of the wire 3 passes through the left surface 224 of the second support piece 22 and protrudes from the right surface 223, and the multifilaments 31 of the protruded wire 3 are thermally welded together to form a lump 32. doing. These lumps 32 are larger than the outer diameter of the bundled multifilaments.

<5. Manufacturing method of interdental cleaning tool>
Next, the manufacturing method of the interdental cleaning tool comprised as mentioned above is demonstrated, referring FIG.4 and FIG.5.

  First, a mold 100 for injection molding as shown in FIG. 4 is prepared. The molding die 100 is provided with a plurality of cavities 101 for molding a plurality of cleaning tool bodies 10. In this mold, a gate 102 for injecting resin is provided in the handle portion 1. And when performing injection molding, the wire 3 is arrange | positioned to a shaping | molding die. At this time, the wire 3 is disposed so as to extend between the portions corresponding to both the support pieces 21 and 22 of each cavity 101 over the plurality of cavities 101.

  Next, a resin for the cleaning tool body 10 is injected into the cavity 101. Since the gate 102 into which the resin is injected is provided in the handle portion 1 as described above, when the injected resin reaches the vicinity of the tips of the support pieces 21 and 22 away from the gate 102, the molding die The temperature is sufficiently lower than when cooled by 100 and injected into the gate 102. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wire 3 from being melted by the temperature of the resin for the cleaning tool body. In other words, the wire 3 may be melted and cut by the high-temperature resin, but the gate 102 is separated from the support pieces 21 and 22 as described above, and the wire 3 is further near the tips of the support pieces 21 and 22. By arrange | positioning to, melting of the wire 3 can be prevented.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the thickness of each support piece 21, 22 decreases as it goes from the handle portion 1 side to the wire rod 3 side, and further, as shown in FIG. 3, each support piece 21, 22. Since the thickness of the wire decreases toward the side where the wire 3 is exposed, the resin is easily cooled by the molding die in the process of the resin going from the gate 102 to the end portions of the support pieces 21 and 22. This also prevents the wire 3 from being melted by the resin.

  Thus, when the injection of the resin is completed, the plurality of cleaning tool main bodies 10 are taken out from the mold 100 after a predetermined time has elapsed. At this time, in each cleaning tool main body 10, the wire 3 is integrated in a state of being embedded in both support pieces 21 and 22. The plurality of cleaning tool main bodies 10 are connected by one wire 3. Therefore, as the next step, as shown in FIG. 5, the wire 3 is burned out on the left surface 214 side of the first support piece 21 and the right surface 223 side of the second support piece 22 of each cleaning tool body 10. The means 50 for burning out the wire 3 is not particularly limited, and can be burned out by a flame or a heated blade, irradiated by a heat ray such as far infrared rays, or by electric discharge. Thereby, the several interdental cleaning tool with which the wire 3 and the cleaning tool main body 10 were integrated is formed.

  As described above, when the wire 3 is burned out, a plurality of multifilaments 31 constituting the wire 3 are melted by heat and integrated to form a lump 32.

<6. Features>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, both the support pieces 21 and 22 and the handle portion 1 are made of polypropylene having a melt flow rate of 5 g / 10 min. Therefore, polypropylene can be spread between the multifilaments 31 constituting the wire 3 during molding, and the polypropylene and the multifilaments 31 can be firmly fixed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the wire 3 from coming off from the support pieces 21 and 22.

  A plurality of multifilaments 31 are integrated by thermal welding at both ends of the wire 3 protruding from the support pieces 21 and 22. Therefore, this integrated part becomes a lump 32 and serves as a retaining member, and the wire 3 can be prevented from being detached from the support pieces 21 and 22. Thus, by melting a plurality of multifilaments 31 to form a lump, for example, compared to melting a single monofilament to form a lump, the ends of the plurality of multifilaments 31 are connected to each other. Moreover, since the large lump 32 can be formed, the retaining effect can be further improved. In addition, when the ends of two or more multifilaments 31 are melted to form a mass 32, the end of one multifilament 31 composed of the same number of monofilaments as the total number of monofilaments constituting the two or more multifilaments 31 is used. As compared with the case where the lump is melted to form a lump, the retaining effect can be improved. That is, when increasing the number of monofilaments constituting the wire 3 and improving the scraping effect or the like, it is better to use two or more multifilaments 31 than when using a single multifilament 31. , The retaining effect can be improved.

<7. Modification>
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible unless it deviates from the meaning. Note that the following modifications can be combined as appropriate.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the handle portion 1 is connected to the both support pieces 21 and 22 so as to extend at right angles, but the configuration of the handle portion 1 is not particularly limited as long as it can be gripped by hand. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the ends of both support pieces 21 and 22 are connected to each other and extend to the opposite side of both support pieces 21 and 22, that is, the cleaning tool body 10 is formed in a Y shape as a whole. It can also be formed.

  In the above embodiment, the wire 3 is a bundle of a plurality of multifilaments 31, but the number of the multifilament 31 may be one, and the single multifilament is used to prevent the wire 3 from coming off. Both ends of 31 may be melted to form a lump.

  In the above embodiment, all the multifilaments 31 are thermally welded and integrated at both ends of the wire 3, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, among all the multifilaments 31, two or more multifilaments 31 may be integrated by thermal welding. That is, it is only necessary that the multifilaments 31 are thermally welded so that there are a plurality of thermally welded masses 32. In addition to welding by heat, it is also possible to perform various weldings such as ultrasonic waves. Moreover, the aspect which fixed the both ends of the wire 3 to each support piece 21 and 22 without forming the lump 32 may be sufficient.

  The wire 3 may be simply a bundle of a plurality of multifilaments 31 or may be twisted. However, from the viewpoint of sufficiently intertwining the multifilament 31 and the polypropylene, the number of twists of the wire 3 in which the plurality of multifilaments 31 are bundled is preferably 5 times or less per meter.

  In addition, the wire 3 can be coated with a medicine such as a refreshing agent, a powder flavor component, and a preventive or therapeutic agent for caries. In addition to being held on the wire 3 in a liquid state, such a drug can be fixed in a dry state at room temperature (for example, 25 ° C.).

  Examples of the present invention will be described below. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

  First, interdental cleaning tools according to the following three types of examples and one type of comparative example were produced. The shapes of these cleaning tool bodies are all the same, as shown in FIG.

(Material for cleaning tool body)
Example 1: Homopolymer polypropylene (melt flow rate: 12 g / 10 min))
Example 2: Homopolymer polypropylene (melt flow rate: 10 g / 10 min))
Example 3: Homopolymer polypropylene (melt flow rate: 5 g / 10 min))
Comparative Example 1: Homopolymer polypropylene (melt flow rate: 2 g / 10 min))
The melt flow rate is measured under conditions of a load of 2.16 kg and a temperature of 230 ° C. in accordance with ISO 1133.

(wire)
65 monofilaments made of polyethylene were twisted 150 times per meter to form 150 denier multifilaments, and four of the multifilaments were used as a wire.

  The Example and comparative example which consist of the said cleaning tool main body and a wire were manufactured by the method shown in the said FIG.4 and FIG.5. Specifically, as shown in the above-described embodiment, lumps are formed at both ends of the wire passing through each support piece.

(Test method)
Autograph AGS-X (manufactured by Shimadzu Corporation) was used for the test. It fixed so that Examples 1-3 and a comparative example might become horizontal with a lower jig, and a cleaning tool main body might not be buried in a lower jig. The long side of the 2.5 mm L-shaped hexagon wrench was fixed to the upper jig, and the height was adjusted so that the shorter side of the L-shaped hexagon wrench was caught by the wire. A tensile test was performed from this state, and the maximum point until the wire broke was defined as the thread pullout strength and evaluated. The test conditions are as follows.
・ Load cell: 500N
・ Tensile speed: 100 mm / min

(Evaluation)
The evaluation criteria for the thread dropout strength according to the above test method were set as follows.
・ 4+: 7 kgf or more (can be used repeatedly several times until the wire 3 is cut without coming off during one use)
・ 3+: 6 kgf or more and less than 7 kgf (Don't come off during one use, and all teeth can be easily cleaned.)
2+: 5 kgf or more and less than 6 kgf (the wire rod is hardly pulled out during use, and all teeth can be sufficiently cleaned)
1+: 3 kgf or more and less than 5 kgf (The wire may come off during use, but the space between the teeth can be sufficiently cleaned.)
-: Less than 3 kgf (wires often come off during use)

The results are as follows.
Example 1: 4+
Example 2: 3+
Example 3: 1+
Comparative Example 1:-

  From the above, Examples 1 to 3 in which the polypropylene having a melt flow rate of 5 g / 10 min or more was used as the main body of the cleaning tool showed higher thread pull-out strength than the comparative example, and the strength to sufficiently clean the teeth was obtained. It was. Therefore, it turned out that the interdental cleaning tool which concerns on Examples 1-3 can fully endure the use which can prevent that a wire removes from a support piece, even if it uses a polyethylene wire.

1 Handle portion 21, 22 Support piece 3 Wire 31 Multifilament

Claims (9)

A pair of support pieces arranged at a predetermined interval;
A handle portion that connects the pair of support pieces and can be gripped by a hand;
A wire having one or more multifilaments extending between the pair of support pieces;
With
Each multifilament is formed of polyethylene,
Each of the support pieces has a first surface facing each other and a second surface opposite to the first surface,
Both ends of the wire rod penetrate the support pieces between the first surface and the second surface, respectively.
The interdental cleaning tool, wherein the support piece and the handle portion are made of polypropylene having a melt flow rate of 5 g / 10 min or more.   The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the polypropylene is a homopolymer.   The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each multifilament is 100 to 250 denier.   The interdental cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the number of monofilaments constituting each multifilament is 15 to 120.   The interdental cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the number of twists per 1 m of each multifilament is 500 times or less.   The interdental cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a thickness of the support piece decreases from the handle part side toward the wire side.   The interdental cleaning according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the thickness of the support piece is formed so as to decrease from the second surface toward the first surface at least in the vicinity of the wire. Ingredients.   The interdental cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising a plurality of the multifilaments.   The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 8, wherein both end portions of the plurality of multifilaments each have a lump integrated by welding on the second surface side.