JP5199688B2 - Interdental brush - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an interdental brush that cleans and removes food or the like remaining between teeth, and more particularly to an interdental brush that reduces metal discomfort due to a metal wire.

  Conventionally, an interdental brush wire and an interdental brush in which the tensile strength and breaking elongation of the wire are adjusted by adjusting the amounts of chromium, manganese and nitrogen contained in the wire are known (for example, patents). Reference 1).

  Further, an interdental brush is known in which a brush made of a filament is attached to a wire rod portion formed by twisting a metal wire, and the metal wire is formed of a Co alloy having a Co content of 30 to 60% by weight. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

Furthermore, there are known interdental brushes configured such that the axis (center line) of the front grip part of the grip part forms an angle in the range of 150 to 170 degrees with respect to the axis (center line) of the rear grip part. (For example, see Patent Document 3).
Japanese Patent No. 3458627 Japanese Patent No. 2538533 Utility model No. 3049028

  By the way, when the wire brush part of the interdental brush is inserted between the teeth, when the tooth and the metal part of the wire brush part come into contact with each other, there may be a feeling of discomfort, so-called metal discomfort. The interdental brush generally called I-shaped or L-shaped is usually inserted perpendicularly to the interdental brush, so that the wire brush contacts the tooth surface. There is not much metal discomfort (the repulsive force of the wire brush part does not affect the metal discomfort), but for example, using an interdental brush as described in Patent Document 3, When cleaning between teeth, the wire brush part of the interdental brush is inserted obliquely with respect to the teeth, so that the wire brush part strongly contacts the tooth surface due to its own repulsive force, and vice versa. When there is no repulsive force of the wire brush part, the insertion between the teeth cannot be performed successfully, and the chance of the wire brush part coming into contact with the tooth surface increases, so that metal discomfort tends to increase.

  However, in any of the above conventional interdental brushes, attention has been paid to reducing metal discomfort when the wire brush portion of the interdental brush is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental area. It was hard to say that it was designed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and provides an interdental brush that can reduce metal discomfort even when the interdental brush is inserted not only vertically but also obliquely. The main purpose is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention includes a gripping portion including a front gripping portion extending linearly, a rear gripping portion formed integrally with one end of the front gripping portion, and a rear gripping portion. An interdental brush comprising a wire brush portion having a wire portion extending from an end and a brush portion made of a plurality of filaments planted in the wire portion, the center line of the front grip portion and the center of the rear grip portion The angle formed by the line is in a range of 120 to 175 degrees, and the position at a distance of 3 mm from the connecting portion between the rear gripping portion and the wire brush portion toward the wire brush portion is perpendicular to the center line of the rear gripping portion. The return angle formed by the center line of the rear gripping part and the center line of the wire brush part when pressed by 3 mm in the direction and the wire brush part returns due to its elasticity is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees. Wire brush part is composed That a interdental brush, characterized in that.

According to this one aspect, the metal discomfort of the interdental brush can be reduced.
Moreover, in this one aspect, when the position that is a distance of 3 mm from the connecting portion between the rear gripping portion and the wire brush portion to the wire brush portion side is pushed 2 mm in the vertical direction with respect to the center line of the rear gripping portion, The wire brush portion is preferably configured so that the repulsive force of the wire brush portion is in the range of 60 to 500 gf. Thereby, the metal discomfort of an interdental brush can be reduced more.

  Furthermore, in this one aspect, the gripping portion when the position of 5 mm from the connecting portion between the rear gripping portion and the wire brush portion toward the gripping portion is pushed 5 mm in the direction perpendicular to the center line of the rear gripping portion. It is preferable that the gripping portion is configured so that the repulsive force is within the range of 0.5 to 3.5 kgf. Thereby, the metal discomfort of the interdental brush can be further reduced.

  According to the present invention, metal discomfort can be reduced even when the interdental brush is inserted not only vertically but also obliquely.

(First embodiment)
The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig.1 (a) is a figure which shows the outline of the interdental brush which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and is the figure which looked at the said interdental brush from the side. FIG. 1B is a plan view of the interdental brush shown in FIG. 1 as viewed vertically downward.

  The interdental brush 10 according to the first embodiment includes a gripping part 1 that can be gripped by a user and bent in a substantially square shape, and a wire brush part 2 attached to one end of the gripping part 1. ing.

  The gripping part 1 is made of polyamide (nylon), polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or a combination thereof, and has appropriate rigidity and elasticity. For example, those having desired properties can be commercially obtained from Prime Polymer Co., Ltd., Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., Mitsubishi Plastics Co., Ltd. and the like. Moreover, the length of the holding part 1 is a direction parallel to the centerline X2 shown in FIG.1 (b), for example, is about 25-100 mm.

  The gripping part 1 is composed of a front gripping part 1a extending substantially linearly and a rear gripping part 1b integrally formed at one end of the front gripping part 1a. Further, the grip portion 1 is formed such that an angle θ1 formed by the center line X1 of the front grip portion 1a and the center line X2 of the rear grip portion 1b is within a range of 120 to 175 degrees. Thereby, the interdental brush 10 is inserted into the mouth, and the wire brush portion 2 of the interdental brush 10 can be more easily inserted between the teeth. For example, when the wire brush part 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted between the teeth of the molar part (molar, molar), the operability is improved.

  The grip portion 1 is preferably formed so that an angle θ1 formed by the center line X1 of the front grip portion 1a and the center line X2 of the rear grip portion 1b is within a range of 150 to 170 degrees. Thereby, it becomes easier to insert the wire brush part 2 of the interdental brush 10 between each tooth.

In this specification, “center lines” X1 and X2 refer to lines passing through the center of the object when the interdental brush 10 is viewed from the side as shown in FIG.
In addition, the cross-sectional shape of the front grip part 1a is substantially circular (ellipse shape etc.), and the cross-sectional shape of the back grip part 1b is substantially rectangular shape (FIG.1 (c)). Further, the cross-sectional area of the rear gripping portion 1b is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the front gripping portion 1a. Is formed. Here, the cross-sectional area of the front gripping portion 1a has a substantially circular 15 to 40 mm ^2, the cross-sectional area of the rear grip portion 1b is substantially rectangular 3 to 20 mm ^2.

  In the cross section of the rear gripping portion 1b, as shown in FIG. 1 (c), the vertical side a (the side that coincides with the direction of the pressing force and the vertical side) is from the horizontal side b (the horizontal side). (For example, the ratio of the vertical side a to the horizontal side b is set to 1 <vertical side a / horizontal side b <1.6).

Thereby, when the wire brush part 2 is inserted between teeth and during interdental cleaning after insertion, a pressing force in the vertical direction may act on the wire brush part 2. Even in this case, moderate rigidity (bending strength) is ensured in the rear gripping portion 1b in the direction in which the load is applied. Therefore, since the unnecessary curvature which may arise in the holding part 1 can be suppressed effectively, the operativity of the interdental brush 10 becomes favorable.
The wire brush portion 2 includes a wire portion 2a extending on the center line X2 from the other end of the rear grip portion 1b, and a center line X3 of the wire portion 2a (that is, the center line X3 is located on the center line X2). And a brush portion 2b made of a plurality of filaments planted in the wire portion 2a.
The brush portion 2b of the wire brush portion 2 is inserted between each tooth in the mouth (a space formed between adjacent teeth) and moved in the vertical direction or the front-rear direction. At this time, the tip of the filament of the brush portion 2b rubs the tooth surface, and for example, the eating candy remaining between the teeth is removed.

  One end of the wire portion 2a is embedded in the tip of the rear gripping portion 1b. The flocking of the filament to the wire part 2a can be performed by a known method, and is not particularly limited. For example, a single wire is folded in half, and a plurality of filaments of synthetic fibers or natural fibers are folded between the folded wires. Can be sandwiched in a direction perpendicular to the wire, and the wire can be twisted at a predetermined pitch.

  The thickness (diameter) of one wire of the wire portion 2a is, for example, about 0.2 to 0.4 mm. Moreover, the wire part 2a is comprised from the stainless steel containing iron, chromium, manganese, nickel, nitrogen etc. which are known as a raw material which is ductile, is rich in corrosion resistance, and is high in strength, for example. Moreover, what has a desired property can be obtained commercially from Nippon Seisen Co., Ltd. etc., for example.

  For example, the brush portion 2b cuts the hair ends of filaments made of a bundle of synthetic fibers or natural fibers sandwiched between two wires of the wire portion 2a into a predetermined shape, for example, a substantially conical shape or a substantially cylindrical shape. Brush.

  For example, the filament of the brush portion 2b is not particularly limited, but the brush cut width (the width of the cut end portion) is about 2.5 mm. Moreover, the filament of the brush part 2b consists of polyamide (nylon), polyethylene, a polypropylene, and a polyethylene terephthalate (PET), for example, and the diameter of each filament is about 2.0-3.5 mils.

  The interdental brush 10 is characterized by the filament diameter, the number of filaments, and the hair cutting shape and size of the bundle of filaments. For example, it is indicated by a symbol such as SSS, SS, S, M, or L.

  By the way, when the wire brush part 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted between each tooth, the wire brush part 2 may be inserted not only vertically but also diagonally. In general, when the wire brush portion 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted perpendicularly to the interdental space, the wire brush portion 2 is unlikely to contact the tooth surface, and the user can make a metal wire portion 2a (especially , The discomfort received from the vicinity of the brush joint portion 1c), that is, the metal discomfort is rarely felt (the elasticity (or repulsive force) of the wire brush portion 2 does not affect the metal discomfort).

  On the other hand, when the wire brush part of the conventional interdental brush is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental area, the wire part of the wire part is compared with the case where the wire brush part is inserted perpendicularly to the interdental area. There exists a tendency for the influence of the metal discomfort by elasticity (repulsive force) to become larger.

  As a result of various studies, the inventor has found that the interdental brush 10 has a distance from the connecting portion 1c between the rear gripping portion 1b and the wire brush portion 2 (hereinafter referred to as the brush joint portion 1c) to the wire brush portion 2 side. When the position of 3 mm is pushed 3 mm vertically downward with respect to the center line X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b (dotted line position I), and then the wire brush part 2 returns due to its elasticity (dotted line position II) By configuring the wire brush portion 2 so that the return angle θ2 formed by the center line X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b and the center line X3 of the wire brush portion 2 is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees, It has been found that pleasure can be significantly reduced.

That is,
In the interdental brush 10 according to the first embodiment, a position having a distance of 3 mm from the brush joint portion 1 c to the wire brush portion 2 side is pushed 3 mm vertically downward with respect to the center line X2 of the rear gripping portion 1 b (I ), And then the return angle θ2 formed by the center line X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b and the center line X3 of the wire brush portion 2 when the wire brush portion 2 returns due to its elasticity (the dotted line position of II). The wire brush part 2 is comprised so that it may be in the range of 2-25 degree | times (FIG. 2 (a)). By adopting this configuration,
The metal discomfort due to the elasticity of the wire brush portion 2 when the wire brush portion 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental space can be reduced. In the present invention, this metal discomfort is a gritty discomfort felt when the metal wire portion 2a of the wire brush portion 2 contacts between teeth, and when the metal wire portion 2a contacts between teeth. Discomfort due to the galvanic current that occurs at the same time is included, and these discomfort is reduced at the same time.
Next, an evaluation test (1) of the interdental brush 10 configured so that the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees according to the first embodiment will be described.
(Evaluation test (1))
Table 1 shows the result of the evaluation test (1) of the interdental brush 10 according to the first embodiment.

  Here, the filament of the wire brush part 2 of the interdental brush 10 used in this evaluation test (1) is nylon, the number is 200, and the brush cut width is about 2.5 mm (All Japan Brush Industry Cooperative Size 2) in the union “interdental brush passage diameter voluntary standard”.

The angle θ1 formed by the center line X1 of the front gripping portion 1a and the centerline X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b was set to 160 degrees. Here, the interdental brush in which the bending strength F1 (gf) (FIG. 2B) of the wire brush portion 2 is 55 gf and the tip bending strength F2 of the grip portion 1 (FIG. 2C) is 0.3 kgf. 10 was used. Further, the values of the return angle θ2, the bending strength F1, and the tip bending strength F2 were measured according to the following measuring method, and the tolerance of the measured value was ± 5%.
(Measuring method of return angle θ2 of wire brush part 2)
A method for measuring the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 will be described in detail.

  As seen from the side of the gripping part 1, the fixing position at a distance of 30 mm from the brush joint part 1c to the gripping part 1 side is gripped by a fixing jig so that the center line X3 of the wire brush part 2 is horizontal and fixed. did. The fixing force when fixing the gripping portion 1 was set to a force sufficient to prevent the gripping portion 1 from moving when a pressing force was applied to the wire brush portion 2 and the repulsive force F1 was measured.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the position at a distance of 3 mm from the brush joining portion 1c to the wire brush portion 2 side is perpendicular to the center line X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b (the gripping portion 1 is bent). (Direction of dotted line I). Thereafter, the wire brush portion 2 was released from the pressing force (at this time, the wire brush portion 2 tried to return to its original position due to the elasticity of the wire brush portion 2). The return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 formed by the center line X2 of the rear grip portion 1b and the center line X3 of the wire brush portion 2 at the position where the wire brush portion 2 finally returns (dotted line position II) is defined. It measured (FIG. 2 (a)).

(Measurement method of bending strength F1 of wire brush part 2)
A method for measuring the bending strength F1 of the wire brush portion 2 will be described in detail.
Similar to the method for measuring the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2, the fixing position at a distance of 30 mm from the brush joint portion 1c to the grip portion 1 side is fixed so that the center line X3 of the wire brush portion 2 is horizontal. It was gripped and fixed with a jig.

Next, a position at a distance of 3 mm from the brush joint portion 1c to the wire brush portion 2 side was pressed 2 mm vertically downward with respect to the center line X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b. The repulsive force (bending strength) F1 of the wire brush part 2 at this position (III dotted line position) was measured with a load measuring device (push-pull gauge: AIKOH ENGINEERING CPU GAUGE 9500SERIES 20kgf B TYPE). The value of the repulsive force F1 is defined as the bending strength F1 of the wire brush portion 2 (FIG. 2B).
(Measurement method of tip bending strength F2 of gripping part 1)
Similar to the method of measuring the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2, the fixed position at a distance of 30 mm from the brush joint portion 1c to the grip portion 1 side when viewed from the side surface of the grip portion 1 is the center line of the rear grip portion 1b. It was held and fixed by a fixing jig so that X2 was horizontal. The fixing force when fixing the gripping portion 1 was set to a force sufficient to prevent the gripping portion 1 from moving when a pressing force was applied to the gripping portion 1 and the repulsive force F2 was measured.

  Next, a position of 5 mm from the brush joint 1 c of the gripping part 1 toward the gripping part 1 was pressed 5 mm vertically downward with respect to the center line X2 of the rear gripping part 1 b. The repulsive force F2 of the gripping part 1 at this position (IV dotted line position) was measured with a load measuring device (push-pull gauge: AIKOH ENGINEERING CPU GAUGE 9500SERIES 20kgf B TYPE). The value of the repulsive force F2 was defined as the tip bending strength F2 of the grip portion 1 (FIG. 2 (c)).

(Evaluation method of metal discomfort)
The wire brush part 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental teeth with 15 users who have used the interdental brush once or more a week and continuously for one year or more. It was evaluated for metal discomfort felt when it was done.

The test subject and the comparative test example were asked to use the interdental brush 10 and the metal discomfort when obliquely inserted between the molars and continuously cleaned was 0 points (there is much discomfort)- Scale of 10 points (no discomfort) (scale is in 0.5 point increments, 2.5 points are “somewhat”, 5 points are “neither”, and 7.5 points are “not so much”. I was asked to evaluate where it falls under. The obtained evaluation points were averaged, and the second decimal place was rounded off to obtain the average evaluation value.
As shown in the results of the evaluation test (1) in Table 1, when the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 is configured to be within a range of 2 to 25 degrees, due to an appropriate repulsive force of the wire brush portion 2, Since the insertion of the wire brush part between the teeth and the cleaning between the teeth are easy, unnecessary force is not applied and unnecessary contact between the tooth surface and the wire brush part 2 can be avoided, and the metal discomfort is an average evaluation value. It could be 7.0 or more.
Also,
When the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 is in the range of 2 to 15 degrees, the average evaluation value is 7.5 or more (no metal discomfort), and the metal discomfort is further reduced. I understand.
On the other hand, in the interdental brush 10 whose return angle θ2 is outside the range of 2 to 25 degrees, all average evaluation values are smaller than 5.0 (which is neither in terms of metal discomfort), and metal discomfort in the wire brush portion is reduced. I understand that there is.
Specifically, the user of the interdental brush usually uses the wire brush part by aiming between the teeth while assuming that the wire brush part exists on the center line of the rear gripping part. ing. Here, in the case of a conventional interdental brush with a return angle θ2 exceeding 25 degrees, the wire brush part greatly deviates from the center line of the rear gripping part after insertion. (When continuously cleaning), due to the return angle θ2, it cannot be inserted again between the teeth successfully or forcibly trying to insert between the teeth. It was found that the number of contacts increased. On the other hand, if the return angle θ2 is less than 2 degrees, due to the strong repulsive force, the wire brush portion comes into strong contact with the teeth when inserting the wire brush portion obliquely between the teeth and during cleaning. It turns out that pleasure increases.

  However, in the interdental brush 10 according to the first embodiment, when the return angle θ2 is set within a range of 2 to 25 degrees, even when the wire brush portion 2 is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental space, It was found that the metal brush discomfort can be reduced because the unnecessary contact between the wire brush portion 2 and the teeth can be suppressed even during cleaning.

  That is, in the interdental brush 10 according to the first embodiment, when the wire brush portion 2 is configured so that the return angle θ2 is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees, the wire brush portion 2 is oblique with respect to the interdental space. It is clear that metal discomfort due to the wire brush part 2 is reduced when inserted into the wire.

Further, in the evaluation test (1) shown in Table 1, the interdental brush in which the angle θ1 formed by the center line X1 of the front gripping portion 1a and the centerline X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b is 120 degrees, 140 degrees, and 175 degrees. Also when 10 was used, the tendency of the result of the same evaluation test as shown in Table 1 was seen.
As a method of configuring the return angle θ2 and the bending strength F1 as described above, for example, the composition of the wire portion 2a which is a well-known technique (iron, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, weight% of nitrogen, composition material) ), The shape (diameter, cross-sectional shape), and the like can be changed by a known method. In this example, for example, one obtained from Nippon Seisen Co., Ltd. was used.
Similarly, as a method of configuring the tip bending strength F2 as described above, for example, the size (cross-sectional shape) of the grip portion 1, a resin material (polyamide (nylon), polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT, or a combination thereof) or the like can be used. In this example, for example, one obtained from Prime Polymer Co., Ltd. was used.
As described above, the interdental brush 10 according to the first embodiment is configured such that the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 falls within the range of 2 to 25 degrees as shown in Table 1. When the wire brush part 2 is inserted obliquely with respect to the gap between the teeth, the metal discomfort evaluation score by the wire brush part 2 becomes good. That is, metal discomfort when the wire brush portion 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental space can be reduced.
(Second Embodiment)
The present inventor further found that the metal discomfort can be further improved by setting the bending strength F1 of the wire brush portion 2 to 60 to 500 gf in the interdental brush 10 according to the first embodiment.

  That is, the interdental brush 10 according to the second embodiment is configured such that the bending strength F1 of the wire brush portion 2 of the interdental brush 10 according to the first embodiment is in the range of 60 to 500 gf. .

According to the second embodiment, the interdental brush 10 having the wire brush portion 2 configured so that the return angle θ2 is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees and the bending strength F1 is in the range of 60 to 500 gf. The evaluation test (2) will be described.
(Evaluation test (2))

Table 2 shows the result of the evaluation test (2) of the interdental brush 10 according to the second embodiment.

Here, the filament of the wire brush part 2 of the interdental brush 10 used in this evaluation test (2) is nylon, the number is 200, and the brush cut width is about 2.5 mm (All Nippon Brush Industry Cooperative Size 2) in the union “interdental brush passage diameter voluntary standard”.

The angle θ1 formed by the center line X1 of the front gripping portion 1a and the centerline X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b was set to 160 degrees. Further, the interdental brush 10 having a return angle θ2 of 6 ° and a tip bending strength F2 of 0.3 kgf was used. In addition,
The measuring method of the return angle θ2, the bending strength F1, and the tip bending strength F2 was performed according to the description of the measuring method described above, and each value was an allowable error of ± 5%.

In the evaluation method for metal discomfort, the evaluation improvement rate was calculated based on the evaluation of the interdental brush 10 of Test Example 1 after evaluating each interdental brush 10 in the same manner as the evaluation test (1).
That is, the score improvement rate is obtained by dividing the average evaluation value of each test time by the average evaluation value (8.3) in Test Example 1 and expressing each divided value as a percentage. Therefore, as the numerical value of the score improvement rate increases, the improvement of the evaluation score is increased, and the reduction of the metal discomfort is increased. Here, Test Example 1 in this evaluation test (2) is the same interdental brush 10 as Test Example 2 in the evaluation test (1).

As shown in Table 2, it can be seen that the metal discomfort evaluation point is further improved by configuring the bending strength F1 of the wire brush portion 2 within the range of 60 to 500 gf. Specifically, since the wire brush part 2 easily follows the movement of the hand, it can be smoothly inserted between the teeth, and no extra force is applied between the wire brush part 2 and the tooth surface during cleaning. Therefore, it was found that unnecessary contact between the wire brush portion 2 and the teeth can be suppressed, that is, metal discomfort can be reduced. In particular, when the interdental brush 10 having a bending strength F1 of 70 to 400 gf was used, the metal discomfort could be further reduced.
Moreover, when the bending strength F1 of the wire brush part 2 was comprised in the range of 70-300 gf, the score improvement rate became 110% or more, and it turned out that it is more preferable.
In the evaluation test shown in Table 2, when the interdental brush 10 in which the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 is 2 °, 11 °, 13 °, 18 °, and 25 ° is used, and the front gripping portion 1a Similar test results as shown in Table 2 even when the interdental brush 10 having an angle θ between the center line X1 and the center line X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b of 120 degrees, 140 degrees, and 175 degrees was used. The tendency was seen.

  As a method of configuring the return angle θ2 and the bending strength F1 as described above, for example, the composition of the wire portion 2a (iron, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, weight% of nitrogen, composition material), which is a well-known technique, It can be performed by a known method such as changing the shape (diameter, cross-sectional shape) or the like. In this example, for example, one obtained from Nippon Seisen Co., Ltd. was used.

Similarly, as a method of configuring the tip bending strength F2 as described above, for example, the size (cross-sectional shape) of the grip portion 1, a resin material (polyamide (nylon), polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT, or a combination thereof) or the like can be used. In this example, for example, one obtained from Prime Polymer Co., Ltd. was used.
As described above, the interdental brush 10 according to the second embodiment is configured such that the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees and the bending strength F1 is in the range of 60 to 500 gf. Thereby, as shown in Table 2, when the wire brush part 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental area, the metal discomfort evaluation score by the wire brush part 2 is improved satisfactorily. Good evaluation results can be obtained. That is, it is possible to further reduce metal discomfort when the wire brush portion 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental space.
(Third embodiment)
Furthermore, the inventor further reduces the metal bending resistance by setting the tip bending strength F2 of the gripping portion 1 of the interdental brush 10 to 0.5 to 3.5 kgf in the interdental brush 10 according to the first or second embodiment. It was found that pleasure can be further improved.

  That is, in the interdental brush 10 according to the third embodiment, the tip bending strength F2 of the grip portion 1 of the interdental brush 10 according to the first or second embodiment is further in the range of 0.5 to 3.5 kgf. It is configured in the inside.

In particular,
In the interdental brush 10 according to the third embodiment, the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees (preferably, the bending strength F1 is in the range of 60 to 500 gf), and The tip bending strength F2 of the grip portion 1 is configured to be within a range of 0.5 to 3.5 kgf.

According to the third embodiment, the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees, the bending strength F1 is in the range of 60 to 500 gf, and the tip bending strength F2 of the grip portion 1 is An evaluation test (3) of the interdental brush 10 configured to be in the range of 0.5 to 3.5 kgf will be described.
(Evaluation test (3))
Table 3 shows the result of the evaluation test (3) of the interdental brush 10 according to the third embodiment.

  Here, the filament of the wire brush part 2 of the interdental brush 10 used in this evaluation test (3) is nylon, the number is 200, and the brush cut width is about 2.5 mm (All Nippon Brush Industry Cooperative Size 2) in the union “interdental brush passage diameter voluntary standard”.

  The angle θ1 formed by the center line X1 of the front gripping portion 1a and the centerline X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b was set to 160 degrees. Here, the interdental brush 10 having a return angle θ2 of 6 ° and a bending strength F1 of 55 gf was used. Moreover, the measuring method of return angle | corner (theta) 2, bending strength F1, and front-end | tip bending strength F2 was performed in accordance with the method of the evaluation method 1, and each value was made into tolerance +/- 5%.

In the evaluation method of metal discomfort, the evaluation improvement rate was calculated based on the evaluation of the interdental brush 10 of Test Example 1 after evaluating each interdental brush 10 as in the evaluation method of the evaluation test (2). That is, the score improvement rate is obtained by dividing the average evaluation value of each test time by the average evaluation value (8.3) in Test Example 1 and expressing each divided value as a percentage. Therefore, as the numerical value of the score improvement rate increases, the improvement of the evaluation score is increased, and the reduction of the metal discomfort is increased. Here, Test Example 1 in this evaluation test (3) is the same interdental brush 10 as Test Example 2 in the evaluation test (1).
As shown in Table 3, when the tip bending strength F2 of the grip portion 1 is configured within the range of 0.5 to 3.5 kgf, the rating improvement rate is 105% or more, and the evaluation score of metal discomfort is better. It can be seen that it has been improved.

  Specifically, even if the center line X1 of the front gripping portion 1a and the centerline X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b form a specified angle θ1 (120 to 175 degrees), the wire brush portion 2 is placed between the teeth. Since the movement of the hand can be transmitted from the gripping part 1 to the wire brush part 2 without waste when the gripping part 1 is not bent more than necessary during insertion and cleaning, it is smoothly inserted between the teeth. In addition, since unnecessary force is not applied between the wire brush portion 2 and the tooth surface even during cleaning, unnecessary contact between the wire brush portion 2 and the teeth can be suppressed, that is, metal discomfort can be reduced. I understood. In particular, when the interdental brush 10 having the tip bending strength F2 of the grip portion 1 of 1.0 to 3.0 kgf was used, the metal discomfort could be further reduced.

  In the evaluation test (3) shown in Table 3, the interdental brush 10 configured so that the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 was 2 °, 11 °, 13 °, 18 °, and 25 ° was used. In this case, even when the interdental brush 10 configured so that the bending strength F1 is in the range of 60 to 500 gf was used, the same tendency of the evaluation test results as shown in Table 3 was observed. .

  In the evaluation test (3) shown in Table 3, the interdental brush in which the angle θ1 formed by the center line X1 of the front gripping portion 1a and the centerline X2 of the rear gripping portion 1b is 120 degrees, 140 degrees, and 175 degrees. Even when 10 was used, the tendency of the result of the same evaluation test as shown in Table 3 was observed.

  As a method of configuring the return angle θ2 and the bending strength F1 as described above, for example, the composition of the wire portion 2a (iron, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, weight% of nitrogen, composition material), which is a well-known technique, It can be performed by a known method such as changing the shape (diameter, cross-sectional shape) or the like. In this example, for example, one obtained from Nippon Seisen Co., Ltd. was used.

Similarly, as a method of configuring the tip bending strength F2 as described above, for example, the size (cross-sectional shape) of the grip portion 1, a resin material (polyamide (nylon), polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT, or a combination thereof) or the like can be used. In this example, for example, one obtained from Prime Polymer Co., Ltd. was used.
As described above, in the interdental brush 10 according to the third embodiment, the return angle θ2 of the wire brush portion 2 is in the range of 2 to 25 degrees (preferably, the bending strength F1 is in the range of 60 to 500 gf). In addition, as shown in Table 3, the wire brush portion 2 of the interdental brush 10 is located between the teeth as shown in Table 3 by configuring the tip bending strength F2 of the gripping portion 1 to be in the range of 0.5 to 3.5 kgf. The evaluation point of the metal discomfort by the wire brush part 2 when inserted diagonally is improved satisfactorily, and a better evaluation result is obtained. That is, it is possible to further reduce metal discomfort when the wire brush portion 2 of the interdental brush 10 is inserted obliquely with respect to the interdental space.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, various modifications may be made and elements may be replaced with equivalents without departing from the scope of the invention. Will be understood by those skilled in the art. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out it, but is intended to include all embodiments within the scope of the appended claims.

(A) It is a figure which shows the outline of the interdental brush which concerns on the 1st thru | or 3rd embodiment of this invention, and is the figure which looked at the interdental brush from the side. (B) It is the top view which looked at the interdental brush shown to Fig.1 (a) vertically downward. (C) It is sectional drawing at the time of cut | disconnecting the back holding part of the holding part of the interdental brush shown to Fig.1 (a) by the straight line A-A '. (A) It is a figure which shows an example of a state when the position which becomes a distance of 3 mm from a brush junction part is pushed 3 mm perpendicularly downward with respect to the centerline of a back grip part, and a wire brush part has returned by the elasticity. (B) It is a figure which shows an example of a state when the position used as distance 3mm from a brush junction part to the wire brush part side is pressed 2 mm perpendicularly downward with respect to the centerline of a back grip part. (C) It is a figure which shows an example of a state when the position which becomes 5 mm from a brush junction part to the holding part side is pressed 5 mm perpendicularly downward with respect to the centerline of a back holding part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Holding part 1a Front holding part 1b Back holding part 1c Brush joint part 2 Wire brush part 2a Wire part 2b Brush part 10 Interdental brush

Claims (3)

A gripping portion having a front gripping portion extending linearly and a rear gripping portion formed integrally with one end of the front gripping portion;
A wire brush portion having a wire portion extending from the other end of the rear gripping portion, and a brush portion made of a plurality of filaments planted in the wire portion;
An interdental brush comprising:
The angle formed by the center line of the front grip portion and the center line of the rear grip portion is in a range of 120 to 175 degrees,
The position at a distance of 3 mm from the connecting portion between the rear gripping portion and the wire brush portion toward the wire brush portion is pushed 3 mm in the direction perpendicular to the center line of the rear gripping portion, and the wire brush portion is elastic. The wire brush portion is configured such that the return angle formed by the center line of the rear grip portion and the center line of the wire brush portion is within a range of 2 to 25 degrees when returned by An interdental brush characterized by that. The interdental brush according to claim 1,
The wire brush portion when a position at a distance of 3 mm from the connecting portion between the rear gripping portion and the wire brush portion toward the wire brush portion is pushed by 2 mm in a direction perpendicular to the center line of the rear gripping portion The interdental brush is characterized in that the wire brush portion is configured so that the repulsive force is in the range of 60 to 500 gf. The interdental brush according to claim 2,
When the position of 5 mm from the connecting portion between the rear gripping portion and the wire brush portion toward the gripping portion is pushed by 5 mm in a direction perpendicular to the center line of the rear gripping portion, The interdental brush, wherein the grip portion is configured so that a repulsive force is in a range of 0.5 to 3.5 kgf.

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