JP2021106725A - Interdental cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an interdental cleaner which makes it easy to transfer the force of a hand.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 11, a bending part 2 extending from an end of the extending part 12 opposite from the grip 11 and bending in a second direction Xb intersecting with the first direction Xa, and a shaft 3 which extends along the second direction Xb from an end of the bending part 2 opposite from the extending part 12; and a cleaning part 4 which is formed on the shaft 3 and constituted of an outer shape insertable into an interdental space. In the extending part 12, its cross section orthogonal to the first direction Xa has a shape of a convex polygon with an odd number of apexes. A face 12b of a back side being the bending outer side of the bending part 2 is formed as a flat face corresponding to a side of the convex polygon.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 Document 1). 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.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-104382

By the way, when the space between teeth is narrow, the frictional force acting between the cleaning portion and the teeth becomes large, so that a relatively large force may be required for insertion between the teeth of the cleaning portion. However, in the interdental cleaning tool as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it may be difficult to transmit the force of the hand to the interdental cleaning tool.

Therefore, it is required to realize an interdental cleaning tool that can easily transmit the force of the hand.

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 the end opposite to the extended portion of the bent portion. The extension 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. The shape of the cross section orthogonal to the first direction is a convex polygon having an odd number of vertices, and the dorsal surface of the extending portion on the outside of the bending of the bending portion is on the side of the convex polygon. It is characterized in that it is formed as a corresponding flat surface.

According to this interdental cleaning tool, when the interdental cleaning tool is gripped by the method of gripping the entire extending portion and the gripping portion, the abdomen of the fingertip of the thumb is brought into contact with the back side of the extending portion, and the extending portion is provided. When the first joint of the index finger is brought into contact with the second direction side (ventral side) of the index finger, a stable gripping posture can be obtained. Also, when the interdental cleaning tool is gripped by pinching the gripping part with the thumb and middle finger and aligning the index finger along the extension part, when the fingertip abdomen of the index finger is brought into contact with the back side of the extension part, the gripping posture is obtained. Is stable. As described above, according to the above configuration, since the gripping posture of the interdental cleaning tool is easy to be stable, the force of the hand is easily transmitted to the interdental cleaning tool, and the operation of inserting the cleaning portion between the teeth is easy to be performed.

As another configuration, the convex polygon is preferably a triangle or a convex pentagon.

In this way, it is easier to secure a size of a flat surface sufficient for the abdomen of the fingertip of the thumb to abut on the dorsal side of the extension portion, as compared with the case where the convex polygon is a heptagon or more.

As another configuration, it is preferable that the convex polygon is an isosceles triangle and the flat surface corresponds to the base of the isosceles triangle.

In this way, it is easier to secure a size of a flat surface sufficient for the abdomen of the fingertip of the thumb to come into contact with the dorsal side of the extension portion. Moreover, since the cross section is line-symmetrical, the gripping posture is more stable.

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. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II. The figure which shows the use example of the interdental cleaning tool which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Cross-sectional view of the extension portion of the interdental cleaning tool according to another embodiment of the present 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.

[Composition of interdental cleaning tool]
As shown in FIG. 1, the interdental cleaning tool D according to the present embodiment 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 a main body. It is made of an elastic material having a hardness lower than the hardness of A, 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.

In the following description, the meaning of terms related to the shape of a figure (“polygon”, “vertical”, “orthogonal”, etc.) is not limited to the content based on the mathematical definition of the term, and the term is used. Includes modified content that can normally be applied when the shape to be represented is mounted on an industrial product. For example, the "polygon" in the following description is not limited to a polygon based on the mathematical definition of a closed curve surrounded by multiple line segments, but is a corner for the vertices of the polygon based on the mathematical definition. Includes shapes that have been rounded or rounded. Further, "orthogonal" in the following description is not limited to the state of intersecting at a right angle, but includes the state of intersecting at an angle of about 90 °, which can be regarded as intersecting at a right angle in practice. Terms other than those illustrated here should not be construed in a mathematically exact sense.

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.

The grip portion 11 is configured so that the user can grip it with the pads of two fingers. The wall thickness of the ventral grip portion 11a located on the ventral side of the grip portion 11 is smaller than the wall thickness of the dorsal grip portion 11b located on the dorsal side of the grip portion 11. Further, the grip portion 11 is provided with a through hole portion 11c.

The extending portion 12 extends from the grip portion 11 in the first direction Xa. The extending portion 12 is configured such that the shape of the cross section C orthogonal to the first direction Xa is an isosceles triangle shape (FIG. 2). Here, the ventral extension portion 12a, which is a surface located on the ventral side of the extension portion 12, is configured in a peak shape corresponding to the apex Cc of the isosceles triangle of the cross section C of the extension portion 12. .. On the other hand, the extension back surface 12b located on the back side of the extension portion 12 is configured as a flat surface corresponding to the base Cb of the isosceles triangle of the cross section C of the extension portion 12. Therefore, the wall thickness at the ventral extension site 12a is smaller than the wall thickness at the extension back surface 12b. The ventral extension portion 12a is connected to the ventral grip portion 11a, and the extension back surface 12b is connected to the dorsal grip portion 11b.

The shaft portion 3 extends in the second direction Xb from the end portion of the base portion 1 opposite to the grip portion 11 via the bent portion 2. 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.

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. The covering portion 41 has a wall thickness smaller than the diameter of the shaft portion 3. The brush portion 42 is formed in a conical shape that becomes tapered as it is separated from the covering portion 41. 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]
Next, a method of using the interdental cleaning tool D according to the present embodiment will be described. The interdental cleaning tool D having the bent portion 2 can be held in the following three ways.
(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 extension back surface 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 interdental cleaning tool D according to the present embodiment has a structure particularly suitable for the second gripping method and the third gripping method among the above three types of holding methods. When the interdental cleaning tool D is gripped by the second gripping method, since the extended back surface 12b is a flat surface, the fingertip abdomen of the index finger tends to follow the extended back surface 12b. Further, when the interdental cleaning tool D is gripped by the third gripping method, it is stable when the fingertip abdomen of the thumb is brought into contact with the extension back surface 12b and the first joint of the index finger is brought into contact with the ventral extension portion 12a. It is possible to take a gripping posture.

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 proximal end so that the cleaning portion 4 is inserted between the 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.

Here, when the space between the teeth is narrow, the frictional force acting between the cleaning unit 4 and the teeth increases, so that the external force required to reciprocate the cleaning unit 4 increases. At this time, if the interdental cleaning tool D is gripped by the second gripping method, the extended back surface 12b can be pushed by the fingertip abdomen of the index finger when the cleaning portion 4 is moved in the direction of pushing between the teeth. , It is easy to apply an external force to the extension portion 12. Further, even when the interdental cleaning tool D is gripped by the third gripping method, the extended back surface 12b can be pushed by the abdomen of the fingertip of the thumb. This facilitates the operation of reciprocating the cleaning unit 4.

[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, a configuration in which the cross section C has an isosceles triangle shape has been described as an example. However, without being limited to such a configuration, the shape of the cross section of the extending portion may be a convex polygon having an odd number of vertices, and may be, for example, a convex pentagon as shown in FIG. .. However, as described in the above embodiment, the shape of the cross section of the extending portion may be a triangle or a convex pentagon from the viewpoint of facilitating the reciprocating movement of the cleaning portion in the second gripping method and the third gripping method. It is preferably an isosceles triangle, and more preferably an isosceles triangle.

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.

D: Interdental cleaning tool A: Main body 1: Base 11: Grip part 11a: Ventral grip part 11b: Dorsal grip part 11c: Through hole 12: Extension part 12a: Ventral extension part 12b: Extension back C: Cross section of extension part 12 Cb: Base of isosceles triangle of cross section C C: Vertex of isosceles triangle of cross section C 2: Bending part 3: Shaft part B: Soft member 4: Cleaning part 41: Covering part 42: Brush part Xa: First direction Xb: Second direction

Claims (3)

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 extending portion is a convex polygon having an odd number of vertices in a cross section orthogonal to the first direction.
An interdental cleaning tool in which the dorsal surface of the extending portion, which is the outside of the bending of the bending portion, is formed as a flat surface corresponding to the side of the convex polygon. The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1, wherein the convex polygon is a triangle or a convex pentagon. The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the convex polygon is an isosceles triangle, and the flat surface corresponds to the base of the isosceles triangle.

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