JP4480731B2 - toothpick - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a wooden toothpick that is used for the purpose of scraping off a crust clogged between teeth or cleaning the surface of a tooth.

As a general toothpick, one having a needle-like conical portion that is thinner toward the tip side is known at one end of a substantially cylindrical main body cut to a predetermined length. However, since such a toothpick has a very thin tip, it is difficult not only to scrape fine meals attached to the surface of the tooth, but also the tip that is weak in terms of strength with the tooth. Sometimes it broke soon after contact. Moreover, troubles such as piercing the gums with the tip of the needle-like cone and damaging the gums occurred.
Therefore, a thin wall having a conical portion at one end and a substantially flat plane located on the center line side of the cylindrical main body on the other end on the other end in the diametrical direction and narrower on the distal end side. A toothpick having a flat portion has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-37412 (FIG. 1)

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since the two flat surfaces are formed in a state of being located closer to the center line side of the cylindrical main body toward the end side, the thickness of the flat surface is thinner toward the end side. As a result that the strength at the tip of the thin flat portion is greatly reduced as compared with other portions, there is a disadvantage that the tip is easily broken.
By the way, it is conceivable to increase the strength at the tip by forming the part forming the uneven plane in a compact manner, but since the thickness of the part forming the uneven plane is the same throughout the region, The tip is also thick, and depending on the thickness, the tip cannot be inserted between the teeth, and the thickness cannot be increased unnecessarily. As a result, the strength cannot actually be increased greatly.

  In view of the above-mentioned situation, the present invention intends to provide a wooden toothpick that can be inserted between teeth and is not easily broken at the tip.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a cylindrical wooden main body cut to a predetermined length with at least the outer peripheral edge of at least one end in a state of leaving a front end surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction thereof. A tapered surface that becomes thinner toward the end side is formed, and the specific portion of the outer peripheral edge of the vertical front end surface located at the front end of the tapered surface or the outer peripheral edge so as to leave a part of the formed tapered surface By cutting from an oblique direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the main body along a cutting plane including one portion of the specific portion located on the main body side and the outer peripheral edge portion of the main body which is different from this by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction. A tapered tip is formed on the tapered surface side to form a toothpick, or a long wooden rod having a circular cross-sectional shape is cut to a predetermined length from the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Cutting process and this cutting A tapered surface that is formed into a tapered shape with a cylindrical body cut into a predetermined length in the process, with a distal end surface that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical body remaining at least at the outer peripheral edge of one end. A specific part of the outer peripheral edge of the vertical front end surface located at the front end of the tapered surface, or the main body side from the outer peripheral edge so as to leave a part of the tapered surface formed in the forming step and the tapered surface forming step A tapered surface by cutting from an oblique direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the main body along a cutting surface including one portion of the specific portion located on the outer peripheral portion and the outer peripheral edge portion of the main body which differs by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction. A toothpick manufacturing method is configured by providing a tip portion forming step that is tapered toward the side, and the toothpick is manufactured using the manufacturing method.
Generally, since the fiber direction of the long wooden rod-shaped body before cutting into a predetermined length in the cutting step is a direction along the longitudinal direction thereof, the rod-shaped body is reduced to a predetermined length. When cutting, since the cutting direction is substantially perpendicular to the fiber direction, thin hair on the end face of the main body when cut to a predetermined length (especially in the case of soft wood, thin hair regardless of the cutting direction) Often occurs). Therefore, by forming a part of the end portion on the tapered surface by polishing or cutting in the taper forming step as described above, a part of the generated fine hair can be eliminated. Next, after forming the tapered surface, from the specific part of the outer peripheral edge of the vertical front end surface located at the front end of the tapered surface in the front end portion forming step so as to leave a part of the tapered surface or from the outer peripheral edge By cutting from a diagonal direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the main body along a cutting plane including one portion of the specific portion located on the main body side and the outer peripheral edge portion of the main body which differs by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction. The toothpick can be manufactured by forming the tip. Looking at the toothpick manufactured in this way, the taper surface and the cut surface are outwardly expanded from the tip toward the main body, and the wall thickness suddenly increases from the tip toward the main body side. Yes. That is, when there is no taper surface, the increase in thickness from the tip toward the main body is determined only by the angle at which the cut surface extends from the tip, and the taper surface and the cut surface are as described above. In the case of the outward expansion state, the wall thickness can be increased sharply, and the strength can be increased accordingly. Moreover, since the angle formed between the tapered surface and the cut surface at the tip is an acute angle, the tip can be inserted between the teeth by adjusting the angle.
Since the tapered surface forming step forms a tapered surface only at the outer peripheral edge of the end portion of the main body, the taper surface forming operation can be performed in a short time (compared to forming all the end portions of the main body on the tapered surface). There are advantages that can be made.

By forming the tapered surface, it is possible to eliminate a part of the fuzzy end surface, and by using the tapered surface to form the tip, the strength of the tip can be dramatically increased. A toothpick that can be provided can be provided. In addition, when the cut surface is a flat surface having a large area, the adhering matter on the tooth surface can be easily removed as in the prior art.
Furthermore, since the taper surface is formed only at the outer peripheral edge of the end portion of the main body, all the end portions of the main body are compared with the tapered surface, that is, the conical tip portion having a sharp point or the arc-shaped tip portion. Thus, the strength of the tip portion is particularly improved, and the taper surface forming operation can be performed in a short time, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing.

  1 and 2, the toothpick 1 according to the present invention is inverted 180 degrees with respect to a flat surface 3 formed at one end of a wooden cylindrical body 2 constituting a handle and the flat surface 3. The portion is provided with a tapered surface 4 having a much smaller area than the flat surface 3. The toothpick is not limited to the shape shown in the figure. For example, birch (also referred to as birch), various kinds of trees, bamboo, etc., or small pieces of wood (chips) may be used as the raw material for constituting the toothpick. It may be hardened. Here, the main body 2 has a cylindrical shape with a circular cross-sectional shape, but the cross-sectional shape may be an ellipse or a polygon. All these shapes are referred to as substantially cylindrical shapes. The other end of the main body 2 forms a more arc-shaped smooth surface such as polished as shown in FIG. 5, but the other end is also formed with the flat surface 3 and the tapered surface 4. You can also

A manufacturing method for manufacturing the toothpick will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a long rod-like body (the fiber direction is often along the longitudinal direction) 5 is driven and rotated as shown in FIG. The cutting blade 6 cuts to a predetermined length from a direction (vertical direction in the figure) substantially perpendicular to the fiber direction of the rod-shaped body 5 (see the cutting process, FIG. 3A). Since the fiber direction and the cutting direction are thus different, a large number of thin hairs 2A may be generated on the cut surface. In particular, when a soft tree is cut, it is often fuzzy. In the drawing, the thin hairs 2A are drawn so as to be uniformly generated on the entire cut surface, but in actuality, the occurrence of fluffing in the portion immediately before the completion of the cutting often occurs. Then, the grinder 7 intersects the horizontal axis X at the end of the main body 2 while rotating the cylindrical main body 2 cut to a predetermined length as described above around the horizontal axis X in the figure. As shown in FIG. 3C, the taper surface 4 which is a cut surface that becomes thinner toward the end side is formed at one end of the main body 2 by shaving by making contact from an oblique direction (taper surface forming step). ). Next, as shown in FIG. 3D, a specific portion of the outer peripheral edge of the circular tip surface located at the tip of the tapered surface so as to leave a part of the tapered surface 4 formed in the tapered surface forming step. A straight line S shown in FIG. 3D is formed so that a cut surface, that is, a decentered plane 3 including a portion K1 and the outer peripheral edge portion K2 of the main body 2 that differs by 180 degrees in the circumferential direction is formed. And cutting with a cutting device (not shown) from an oblique direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the main body 2 (tip portion forming step).
In the tip portion forming step, the main body 2 having a circular cross-sectional shape is cut from an oblique direction, so that the flat surface 3 that is the cut surface has an almost elliptical shape whose both ends are narrow in the cutting direction. become.

As shown in FIG. 3C, in the case where the tapered surface 4 is formed only at a part of one end of the main body 2, that is, in the state where the front end surface perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main body 2 remains. As shown in FIG. 4, the polishing time is shorter than in the case of polishing the entire end face, which is advantageous in terms of manufacturing. However, as shown in FIG. 4, there are thin hairs 2A on the end face of the main body 2. Therefore, by cutting along the cutting line S passing through the outer peripheral edge of the tip surface located at the tip of the tapered surface 4 or by cutting along the cutting line S passing through the part positioned on the main body 2 side from the outer peripheral edge of the tip surface, The two straight lines S shown in FIG. 4 (between these two straight lines) may be used without forming the tip at a pointed conical tip or the tip having the arcuate curved surface 2B shown in FIG. A portion that is fluffed at the tip after forming a flat plane 3 by cutting along Do not be a state in which the remaining. The arcuate curved surface 2B shown in FIG. 5 is also referred to as a tapered surface.
Also, as shown in FIG. 5, by forming at the tip of the arc shape, the thin hair 2A does not remain at any position, and the cutting position on the tapered surface 4 is accurate as shown in FIG. There is an advantage that it is not necessary to set well. FIG. 6 shows a cut along the straight line S shown in FIG.

  When the toothpick constructed as described above is compared with the toothpick not having the tapered surface 4 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the diameter (outer diameter or thickness) gradually increases from the tip. 2, the diameter (outer diameter or thickness) suddenly increases from the tip to the end of the tapered surface 4 on the main body side as shown in FIG. The thickness (thickness) up to a predetermined position on the main body 2 side is thicker in D1 in FIG. 2 than in D2 in FIG. From this, the strength at the tip can be increased in FIG. In FIG. 2, the larger the angle between the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the main body 2 (the vertical direction in the figure) and the tapered surface 4 is, the larger the diameter from the tip (outer diameter dimension) becomes thicker. However, the angle of FIG. 2 is appropriate to allow insertion between teeth.

It is a perspective view of a toothpick showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a vertical side view of a toothpick. The manufacturing process of a toothpick is shown, (a) is a process cut | disconnected to predetermined length, (b) (c) is a taper surface formation process which forms a taper surface, (d) is the front-end | tip which forms a front-end | tip part. It is a part formation process. It is a side view of the principal part which shows the state immediately before forming a taper surface in one end and cut | disconnecting. It is a side view of the principal part which shows the state which grind | polished the end surface of one end in circular arc shape. It is a vertical side view of the principal part which cut | disconnected the thing of FIG. 5 and formed the partial plane. It is a perspective view of a toothpick which does not form a taper surface. It is a vertical side view of the toothpick shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toothpick 2 Main body 2A Thin hair 2B Curved surface 3 Uneven surface 4 Tapered surface 5 Rod-shaped body 6 Cutting blade 7 Polishing machine S Straight line X Horizontal axis K1 One place K2 Outer part D1, D2 Thickness

Claims (1)

A cylindrical wooden body cut into a predetermined length is formed with a tapered surface that becomes thinner toward the end side only at the outer peripheral edge of at least one end while leaving a tip surface that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical wooden body. specific portion position and which in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral edge of the front end surface serving as the vertical located at the top of the tapered surface so as to leave a portion of the front end surface to be a part and the vertical of the formed tapered surface the in to the formation of the tip portion tapering shape as the tapered surface by cutting from an oblique direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the body along a cutting plane including the peripheral edge portion of the approximately 180 degrees from the body Characteristic wooden toothpick.

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