JP2021106721A - Interdental cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an interdental cleaner which can be gripped in a suitable posture by a variety of gripping methods.SOLUTION: The interdental cleaner comprises: a body A which includes a base 1 having a grip 11 grippable with fingers and an extending part 12 extending in a first direction Xa from the grip, a bending part 2 extending from an end of the extending part opposite from the grip and bending in a second direction Xb, and a shaft which extends along the second direction from an end of the bending part opposite from the extending part; and a cleaning part 4 which is formed on the shaft and constituted of an outer shape insertable into an interdental space. The grip is constituted in a flat shape along a plane surface H and extends to a back side being the bending outer side of the bending part with going in a direction opposite from the first direction, and at least a part of a part 11d positioned on the back side of the grip is formed as a part of a circular arc having the center on the back side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an interdental cleaning tool for cleaning the interdental space.

Conventionally, an interdental cleaning tool suitable for cleaning the interdental space of molars is known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). This interdental cleaning tool has a main body having a base portion having a grip portion that can be gripped by a finger at one end, a shaft portion extending from the other end of the base portion, and a hardness lower than the hardness of the main body. It is made of an elastic material and includes a cleaning portion that covers at least a part of the outer surface of the shaft portion.

The interdental cleaning tool described in Patent Document 1 has a base portion (handle base material main body in the document) having a handle main body and a tapered base material portion, and is configured by forming a curved tip of the tapered base material portion. There is.

The interdental cleaning tool described in Patent Document 2 has a connecting portion whose base portion connects the grip portion and the shaft portion, and the connecting portion has a bent portion bent from an end portion opposite to the grip portion. (Support part in the literature) is provided. Further, the ventral deformed portion and the dorsal deformed portion are separately formed in the connecting portion, and a part of the dorsal deformed portion is formed in an arc shape having a center of curvature on the dorsal side.

In order to improve the operability of the interdental cleaning tool, various studies have been made especially on the shape of the grip portion. For example, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for providing a gripping hole having a relatively large diameter in a gripping portion of an interdental cleaning tool. Further, FIG. 3 of Patent Document 3 discloses an interdental cleaning tool having an S-shape from a grip portion provided with a grip hole to a brush portion.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-104382 JP-A-2017-86774 Microfilm of Jitsugyo No. 61-175977 (Jitsukai Sho No. 63-77931)

However, since the method of gripping the interdental cleaning tool differs depending on the user, even if a shape as described in Patent Documents 1 to 3 is applied, it may still be difficult to hold the tooth depending on the gripping method. In such a case, it may be difficult to perform operations such as inserting the interdental cleaning tool into the oral cavity and inserting the cleaning portion between the teeth.

Therefore, it is required to realize an interdental cleaning tool that can be gripped in a suitable posture by various gripping methods.

The interdental cleaning tool according to one aspect of the present invention has a grip portion that can be gripped by a finger, a base portion having an extension portion extending in the first direction from the grip portion, and the grip portion of the extension portion. A bent portion extending from an end opposite to the portion and bent toward a second direction intersecting with the first direction, and the second bent portion extending from an end opposite to the extending portion of the bent portion. The grip portion includes a main body having a shaft portion extending along a direction, and a cleaning portion formed on the shaft portion and having an outer shape that can be inserted between teeth. It is configured to have a flat shape along a plane defined by a straight line along one direction and a straight line along the second direction, and the dorsal side which is the bending outer side of the bending portion as it goes in the direction opposite to the first direction. At least a part of the portion of the grip portion located on the dorsal side of the grip portion is formed as a part of an arc having a center of curvature on the dorsal side.

According to the present interdental cleaning tool, it is possible to provide an interdental cleaning tool having a flat grip portion, the cleaning portion and the grip portion extending in opposite directions, and an overall shape of which is S-shaped. As a result, the first gripping method in which the grip portion is pinched with the thumb and the index finger, the second gripping method in which the grip portion is pinched with the thumb and the middle finger and the index finger is aligned with the extension portion, and the entire extension portion and the grip portion. The interdental cleaning tool can be suitably gripped by any of the three gripping methods of the third gripping method. Further, since the extending portion extends in a shape continuous from the gripping portion, an operation of inserting the interdental cleaning tool into the oral cavity, particularly when gripping the interdental cleaning tool by the first gripping method or the second gripping method. The operability of the above and the operability of the operation of inserting the cleaning part between the teeth are likely to be improved.

As another configuration, it is preferable that at least a part of the portion of the extending portion located on the dorsal side is formed as a part of an arc having a center of curvature on the dorsal side.

In this way, the portion that the index finger comes into contact with when gripping the interdental cleaning tool by the second gripping method has a gentle curved shape, so that the feeling of use is good. Further, when the cleaning portion is inserted between the teeth, it is easy to push the dorsal portion of the extension portion toward the teeth with the index finger.

As another configuration, it is preferable that at least two protrusions protruding along the plane are provided at a portion of the grip portion located on the ventral side inside the bending portion.

In this way, when the interdental cleaning tool is gripped by the third gripping method, the protrusion is locked near the second joint of the middle finger, so that the gripping property of the interdental cleaning tool can be improved. As a result, the interdental cleaning tool is easy to operate. Further, since at least two protrusions are provided, at least one protrusion is locked to the middle finger regardless of the size of the user's hand, and the above effect can be obtained.

As another configuration, it is preferable that the width of the protrusion along the plane is larger at the base end portion than at the tip end portion.

In this way, the effect of locking the protrusion near the second joint of the middle finger is more likely to be obtained. Further, the protrusion can be configured as a portion for connecting adjacent main bodies, for example, when a main body group in which a plurality of main bodies are connected is molded by injection molding. At this time, if the protrusion has the above-mentioned shape, the protrusion tends to remain on the ventral side of the grip portion when one main body is separated from the main body group.

As another configuration, it is preferable that the width of the protrusion intersecting the plane is larger at the base end portion than at the tip end portion.

In this way, the effect of locking the protrusion near the second joint of the middle finger is more likely to be obtained. Further, the protrusion can be configured as a portion for connecting adjacent main bodies, for example, when a main body group in which a plurality of main bodies are connected is molded by injection molding. At this time, if the protrusion has the above-mentioned shape, the protrusion tends to remain on the ventral side of the grip portion when one main body is separated from the main body group.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will be further clarified by the following illustration of exemplary and non-limiting embodiments described with reference to the drawings.

Perspective view of the interdental cleaning tool according to the embodiment of the present invention. Top view of the interdental cleaning tool according to the embodiment of the present invention Perspective view of the main body of the interdental cleaning tool according to the embodiment of the present invention. Top view of the interdental cleaning tool group according to the embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows the use example of the interdental cleaning tool which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the interdental cleaning tool according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist thereof.

[Basic configuration of interdental cleaning tool]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the interdental cleaning tool D includes a main body A in which a base portion 1 having a grip portion 11 and an extension portion 12, a bent portion 2 and a shaft portion 3 are integrally molded, and the hardness of the main body A. It is made of an elastic material having a hardness lower than that of the soft member B, and includes a soft member B having a cleaning portion 4. Hereinafter, among the interdental cleaning tools D, the outside of the bent portion 2 (the right side of the paper surface in FIG. 1) will be referred to as the dorsal side, and the inside of the bent portion 2 (the left side of the paper surface of FIG. 1) will be referred to as the ventral side. Further, in the following description, the mounting surface H defined by the first direction Xa in which the extending portion 12 extends from the grip portion 11 and the second direction Xb in which the shaft portion 3 extends from the bending portion 2 is defined. The directional view is defined as the plan view.

As shown in FIGS. The protruding portion 12b) has an outer shape covered with the soft member B. Further, with the extending portion 12 as a reference, the shaft portion 3 extends to the left side (ventral side) of the paper surface of FIG. 1 via the bending portion 2, and the grip portion 11 curves toward the right side (dorsal side) of the paper surface of FIG. The interdental cleaning tool D has a flat inverted S shape as a whole.

The main body A is composed of one or a combination of two or more synthetic resins such as polypropylene, ABS, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyacetal. The main body A in this embodiment is made of polypropylene. Further, it is preferable that the synthetic resin constituting the main body A contains a reinforcing agent for increasing the rigidity. Examples of the reinforcing agent include fibrous reinforcing agents such as glass fiber, nanocellulose fiber, aramid fiber, and carbon fiber, plate-shaped reinforcing agent such as mica and glass frame, powder-like strengthening agent such as talc, and wallastnite. Needle-shaped strengthening agent can be mentioned. The content of the fortifier is 5% by weight or more and 50% by weight or less, preferably 10% by weight or more and 40% by weight or less, and more preferably 15% by weight or more and 40% by weight or less.

The soft member B is made of an elastomer having a hardness lower than the hardness of the main body A. As this elastomer, a styrene-based elastomer is preferable, and silicon, an olefin-based elastomer, a polyester-based elastomer, or the like may be used.

[Structure of grip]
The grip portion 11 has a flat shape that allows the user to grip with the pad of two fingers. The grip portion 11 has a plurality of (two in this embodiment) through-hole portions 11a and 11b partitioned by the partition wall 11c. With the above configuration, the grip portion 11 is integrally connected with a region surrounding the through hole (the inner space of the first through hole portion 11a and the second through hole portion 11b), and the extension portion 12 extends from the grip portion 11. It is formed asymmetrically in a plan view with respect to a straight line along the exit direction (first direction Xa). Further, since the interdental cleaning tool D has a flat inverted S shape, the opening surfaces of the first through hole portion 11a and the second through hole portion 11b are provided in parallel with the mounting surface H. .. The dorsal grip portion 11d located on the dorsal side of the grip portion 11 is _{formed in an arc shape having a radius R 1} having a center of curvature on the dorsal side of 30 mm (FIG. 2).

The ventral gripping portion 11e located on the ventral side of the grip portion 11 is provided with a plurality of (two in this embodiment) connecting protrusions P protruding along the mounting surface H. The connecting protrusion P has a trapezoidal shape in which the width of the base end portion is larger than the width of the tip end portion in a plan view. Further, the width (thickness) of the base end portion of the connecting protrusion P is formed to be larger than the width (thickness) of the tip end portion in the width (thickness) in the direction orthogonal to the mounting surface H. That is, the connecting protrusion P is formed in a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape.

As shown in FIG. 4, the interdental cleaning tool D is provided as an interdental cleaning tool group Da in which a plurality of (10 in this embodiment) interdental cleaning tools D are integrally formed before its use. .. The connecting protrusion P connects adjacent tooth cleaning tools D to each other in the tooth cleaning tool group Da, and when used, bends one tooth cleaning tool D with respect to the other tooth cleaning tool D. By twisting, one tooth cleaning tool D is cut off at the tip portion of the narrow connecting protrusion P, and one interdental cleaning tool D is separated from the other interdental cleaning tool D with the connecting protrusion P remaining.

[Structure of extension part]
As shown in FIG. 1, in the main body A, the extending portion 12 is formed in a flat rod shape extending from the grip portion 11 in the first direction Xa. Here, the back side of the extending portion 12 is covered with the soft member B, and the main body A and the soft member B are formed flush with each other on the side surface 12a.

Of the outer shape composed of the extending portion 12 and the soft member B, the portion 12b1 on the bent portion 2 side of the dorsal extending portion 12b has a convex arc shape _{having a radius R 2 having a center of curvature on the ventral side and a radius R 2 of 200 mm.} It is composed of (Fig. 2). Of the outer shape composed of the extending portion 12 and the soft member B, the portion 12b2 on the grip portion 11 side of the dorsal extending portion 12b has a concave arc shape _{with a radius R 3 having a center of curvature on the dorsal side of 70 mm.} It is configured to form a smoothly continuous arc flush with the dorsal grip portion 11d of the grip portion 11 (FIG. 2). As a result, the back shape of the interdental cleaning tool D has an inverted S-shaped curve, and the outer shape composed of the extending portion 12 and the soft member B has a width in a plan view from the grip portion 11 toward the bending portion 2. Is getting narrower.

[Structure of bent part]
As shown in FIG. 1, in the main body A, the bent portion 2 extends from the end portion of the extending portion 12 opposite to the grip portion 11, and intersects the first direction Xa from the first direction Xa (this). In the embodiment, the bending internal angle is 120 degrees), and it is configured in a flat shape bent in the second direction Xb. The intersection angle between the first direction Xa and the second direction Xb (the bending internal angle of the bending portion 2) is 30 degrees or more and 150 degrees or less, preferably 80 degrees or more and 140 degrees or less, and more preferably 100 degrees or more and 130 degrees or less. It is good that it is composed of.

[Structure of shaft and cleaning part]
As shown in FIG. 3, the shaft portion 3 is formed in the shape of a conical base rod that gradually tapers along the second direction Xb from the end portion on the side opposite to the extending portion 12 with respect to the bent portion 2. .. The outer shape of the shaft portion 3 has a linear taper so that the diameter decreases from the connection portion (base end) with the bent portion 2 toward the tip end.

The cleaning portion 4 forming a part of the soft member B has an outer shape that covers at least a part of the outer surface of the shaft portion 3 and can be inserted between teeth. As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning portion 4 in the present embodiment includes a covering portion 41 that is in close contact with the entire surface of the shaft portion 3 and a brush portion 42 having a plurality of (many) bristles protruding outward from the covering portion 41. have. In the interdental cleaning tool D according to the present embodiment, when the cleaning portion 4 is inserted between the teeth, the bristles of the brush portion 42 are flexibly deformed, and the covering portion 41 and the brush portion 42 come into contact with the teeth. , Foreign matter existing between teeth (food residue, etc.) and foreign matter adhering to teeth (plaque, etc.) can be removed.

[How to use the interdental cleaning tool]
FIG. 3 shows how to use the interdental cleaning tool D. The interdental cleaning tool D, which has a bent portion 2 and exhibits a flat inverted S-shape as a whole, has roughly the following three ways of holding.
(1) A first gripping method in which the gripping portion 11 is pinched with a thumb and an index finger.
(2) A second gripping method in which the grip portion 11 is pinched with the thumb and the middle finger, and the index finger is aligned with the dorsal extension portion 12b of the extension portion 12.
(3) A third gripping method for gripping the entire area of the gripping portion 11 and the extending portion 12.

The user holds the interdental cleaning tool D by any of the gripping methods and puts the cleaning portion 4 into the oral cavity from the tip end to the base end so that the cleaning portion 4 is inserted between the teeth of the back teeth. Here, since the interdental cleaning tool D has an inverted S shape, it is easy to guide the extending portion 12 toward the back teeth, so that the cleaning portion 4 can be easily inserted between the back teeth. Then, the inter-tooth cleaning tool D is operated to reciprocate the cleaning unit 4 within the inter-tooth. When the cleaning portion 4 (shaft portion 3) is inserted between the teeth and reciprocated while an external force is applied to the grip portion 11, due to friction or contact between the cleaning portion 4 covering the shaft portion 3 and the teeth, Stress in the reciprocating movement direction and the direction intersecting the reciprocating movement direction is transmitted from the shaft portion 3 to the extending portion 12 via the bending portion 2.

Further, as in the present embodiment, when the dorsal grip portion 11d is _{formed in an arc shape having a radius R 1} having a center of curvature on the dorsal side of 30 mm, the extending portion 12 has a shape continuous from the grip portion 11. Extend with. As a result, especially when gripping the interdental cleaning tool by the first gripping method or the second gripping method, the operability of the operation of inserting the interdental cleaning tool into the oral cavity and the operation of inserting the cleaning portion between the teeth are performed. Both sexes tend to increase.

In addition, when the ventral gripping portion 11e is provided with the two connecting protrusions P as in the present embodiment, the connecting protrusions P are the middle finger, especially when the interdental cleaning tool is gripped by the third gripping method. Lock near the second joint of. This makes it easy to stably grip the interdental cleaning tool D. Further, when the connecting protrusion P is formed in a substantially quadrangular pyramid shape as in the present embodiment, the effect of locking in the vicinity of the second joint of the middle finger is more likely to be obtained.

[Other Embodiments]
Finally, other embodiments of the interdental cleaning tool according to the present invention will be described. The configurations disclosed in each of the following embodiments can be applied in combination with the configurations disclosed in other embodiments as long as there is no contradiction.

In the above embodiment, the radius of curvature R ₁ of the dorsal grasping portion 11d has been described as an example the structure is 30 mm. However, the radius of curvature can be 10 to 200 mm for at least a portion of the dorsal portion of the grip that is formed as part of a dorsal centered arc. From the viewpoint of improving the operability of the interdental cleaning tool, the radius of curvature is preferably 10 to 85 mm.

The above embodiments, the back side extended portion 12b of curvature radius _{R 3} portions 12b2 of has been described as an example the structure is 70 mm. However, if at least a portion of the dorsal portion of the extension is formed as part of an arc centered on the dorsal side, the radius of curvature can be 30-200 mm. From the viewpoint of improving the operability of the interdental cleaning tool, the radius of curvature is preferably 30 to 85 mm.

In the above embodiment, the radius of curvature _{R 2} of the portion 12b1 of the dorsal extension portion 12b has been described as an example the structure is 200 mm. However, if at least a portion of the dorsal portion of the extension is formed as part of an arc centered on the ventral side, the radius of curvature can be 40-500 mm. Further, the portion of the dorsal extension portion 12b may be a straight line.

In the above embodiment, the dorsal extension portion 12b has a portion 12b1 formed as a part of an arc having a center on the ventral side and a portion 12b2 formed as a part of an arc having a center on the dorsal side. The configuration having is described as an example. However, without being limited to such a configuration, the dorsal portion of the extension may be entirely linear or as part of an arc centered on the ventral side. It may be formed, or it may be formed as a part of an arc having a center on the dorsal side as a whole.

In the above embodiment, a configuration in which two connecting protrusions P are provided on the ventral gripping portion 11e has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and when the protrusions are provided on the ventral side of the bent portion, the number of the protrusions is not particularly limited as long as the number is two or more.

In the above embodiment, a configuration in which two substantially quadrangular pyramid-shaped connecting protrusions P are provided on the ventral gripping portion 11e has been described as an example. However, when the protrusion is provided on the ventral side of the bent portion, its shape is not particularly limited. However, it is preferable that the width of the protrusion along the plane defined by the straight line along the first direction and the straight line along the second direction is larger at the base end portion than at the tip end portion. Further, it is preferable that the base end portion is larger than the tip end portion with respect to the width of the protrusion intersecting the plane.

In the above embodiment, the configuration in which the cleaning unit 4 is provided as the soft member B has been described as an example. However, the material constituting the cleaning portion is not particularly limited. For example, the cleaning section can be configured as a brush with a large number of flexible bristles fixed to a metal shaft.

It should be understood that with respect to other configurations, the embodiments disclosed herein are exemplary in all respects and the scope of the invention is not limited thereto. Those skilled in the art will be able to easily understand that modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, another embodiment modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention is naturally included in the scope of the present invention.

The present invention can be used as an interdental cleaning tool suitable for cleaning the interdental space of molars.

D: Interdental cleaning tool A: Main body 1: Base 11: Grip part 11a: First through hole part 11b: Second through hole part 11c: Partition wall 11d: Dorsal grip part 11e: Ventral grip part 12: Extension Part 12a: Two side surfaces 12b: Dorsal extension part 2: Bending part 21: Dorsal bending part 22: Ventral bending part 3: Shaft part B: Soft member 4: Cleaning part 41: Covering part 42: Brush part P: Connecting protrusion Da: Interdental cleaning tool group H: Mounting surface Xa: First direction Xb: Second direction

Claims (5)

The base portion having a grip portion that can be gripped with a finger and an extension portion extending in the first direction from the grip portion, and the extension portion extending from the end portion of the extension portion opposite to the grip portion. It has a bent portion bent in a second direction intersecting the first direction, and a shaft portion extending along the second direction from an end portion of the bent portion opposite to the extending portion. With the main body
A cleaning portion formed on the shaft portion and having an outer shape that can be inserted between teeth is provided.
The grip portion is formed in a flat shape along a plane defined by a straight line along the first direction and a straight line along the second direction, and the bent portion is formed in a direction opposite to the first direction. It extends to the dorsal side, which is the outside of the bend,
An interdental cleaning tool in which at least a part of a portion of the grip portion located on the dorsal side is formed as a part of an arc having a center of curvature on the dorsal side. The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the portion of the extending portion located on the dorsal side is formed as a part of an arc having a center of curvature on the dorsal side. The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least two protrusions protruding along the plane are provided at a portion of the grip portion located on the ventral side inside the bending of the bending portion. .. The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 3, wherein the width of the protrusion along the plane is larger at the base end portion than at the tip end portion. The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the width of the protrusion intersecting the plane is larger at the base end portion than at the tip end portion.

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