JP6594247B2 - Interdental cleaning tool - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an interdental cleaning tool.

  Conventionally, an interdental cleaning tool for cleaning between teeth is known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an interdental cleaning tool including a base portion having a shape extending in a specific direction and a cleaning portion made of an elastomer having a hardness lower than the hardness of the base portion. The base portion includes a shaft portion having a shape that can be inserted between teeth and a grip portion having a shape that can be gripped by a finger. The cleaning part has a shape that covers the outer peripheral surface of the shaft part. The shaft portion is formed in a shape that extends along the specific direction and has a strength that enables cleaning between teeth by the cleaning portion.

  In this interdental cleaning tool, dirt between the teeth is removed by friction generated between the cleaning portion made of an elastomer having a hardness lower than the hardness of the shaft portion and the teeth.

International Publication No. 2014/065368

  In the interdental cleaning tool as described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to clean between the teeth of the back teeth adjacent to each other as compared to the cleaning of the teeth between the front teeth adjacent to each other. Specifically, the interdental space between the back teeth extends in a direction intersecting the direction from the front tooth side to the back tooth side in the oral cavity, so that the cleaning unit is inserted along the direction from the front tooth side to the back tooth side. If it does, the front-end | tip of the said cleaning part will contact the outer surface of a back tooth. For this reason, in order to insert the cleaning unit to the back of the teeth between the back teeth, when the tip of the cleaning unit contacts the outer surface of the back teeth, an operation of adjusting the insertion direction of the cleaning unit between the teeth, that is, The operation of adjusting the posture of the shaft portion is necessary so that the longitudinal direction of the cleaning portion coincides with the extending direction between the back teeth. However, since this operation is limited by the lips, it is difficult to insert the cleaning unit between the back teeth (cleaning between the teeth).

  The objective of this invention is providing the interdental cleaning tool which can improve the insertability of the cleaning part between the back teeth.

  In order to solve the above problems, it is conceivable to reduce the strength of the shaft portion. In this way, after the tip of the cleaning part comes into contact with the outer surface of the back tooth, the tip of the shaft (the tip of the cleaning part) is inserted by inserting the shaft into the back of the oral cavity in the posture as it is. The cleaning portion is inserted while the shaft portion is bent and deformed so as to go to the back between the back teeth. For this reason, when the front-end | tip of a cleaning part contacts the outer side surface of a back tooth, the operation which adjusts the attitude | position of a shaft part becomes unnecessary. However, when the strength of the shaft portion is reduced, the elastic return force of the shaft portion during insertion of the cleaning portion between the back teeth, i.e., the force that presses the cleaning portion against the outer surface of the back teeth is reduced. The cleanability of the interdental or back teeth is reduced. Also, if the strength of the shaft is too low, the tip of the shaft will not move when the shaft is inserted further into the oral cavity in a posture from the state where the tip of the cleaning unit is in contact with the outer surface of the back teeth. It is difficult for the shaft portion to be bent and deformed toward the back between the back teeth.

  Therefore, the inventor of the present invention, the strength of the portion located relatively near the insertion end of the shaft portion of the base, and the strength of the portion located relatively far from the insertion end portion of the base portion, By setting each in a specific range, it was conceived that it is possible to improve both the insertion property of the cleaning part between the back teeth and the cleaning property between the teeth.

  The present invention has been made from such a viewpoint, and is an interdental cleaning tool comprising a base portion having a shape extending linearly along a specific direction and an elastomer having a hardness lower than the hardness of the base portion. And a cleaning part that covers at least a part of the base part and that can clean between teeth, and the base part has a shape that can be inserted between teeth, and is one end in the specific direction. A shaft portion having an insertion end portion formed on the base end portion and a base end portion formed on the other end in the specific direction, and extends from the base end portion so as to be separated from the shaft portion along the specific direction, A grip portion having a shape that can be gripped by a finger, and the shaft portion is in an axis orthogonal direction in which the insertion end portion is orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion with respect to the base end portion. It has a shape that can be flexed and deformed to allow displacement, The cleaning part includes the insertion end part and has a shape that covers a part of the shaft part that has a dimension equal to or smaller than the axial dimension, and the axial dimension of the base part is set to 35 mm or more. In the state in which the axial direction is parallel to the horizontal and the part of the interdental cleaning tool that is 10 mm away from the tip of the cleaning unit toward the gripping part is fixed, the interdental cleaning tool A first pressing force required to press a portion spaced 2.5 mm away from the tip of the cleaning portion toward the gripping portion by 10 mm vertically downward is 0.3 N or more and 1.4 N or less, and the axial direction is horizontal. In a state in which the part spaced 35 mm from the tip of the cleaning unit to the gripping part side is fixed in the interdental cleaning tool in a parallel posture, the tip of the cleaning part of the interdental cleaning tool from the tip of the cleaning part 8.0mm apart Second pressing force required to 10mm pressed vertically downward sites were so becomes less 2.5N than 0.5 N, the shape of at least said base portion is configured to provide a interdental cleaner.

  In the interdental cleaning tool, the first pressing force corresponding to the strength of the distal end portion located relatively near the insertion end portion of the base portion is 0.3 N or more and 1.4 N or less, and the base portion is relatively Since the shape of the base is set so that the second pressing force corresponding to the strength of the gripping part side portion located far from the insertion end is 0.5 N or more, the distance between the back teeth of the cleaning part Since the shape of the base is set so that the second pressing force is 2.5 N or less, the cleaning unit can insert the cleaning unit between the teeth. The space between teeth is effectively cleaned. Specifically, by setting the shape of the base so that the first pressing force is 0.3 N or more, the strength of the distal end side portion is sufficiently secured, so that the distal end of the cleaning portion is outside the back teeth. When the base is further inserted from the state in contact with the side face toward the back in the oral cavity, the distal end side portion is effectively bent and deformed so as to go to the back between the teeth. On the other hand, when the shape of the base is set so that the first pressing force is 1.4 or less, the base further moves toward the back of the oral cavity from the state where the distal end side portion is in contact with the outer surface of the back teeth. Deformation defects of the distal end side portion when inserted in the same posture (a loss of insertion property between the teeth of the cleaning unit) are suppressed. Then, by setting the shape of the base so that the second pressing force is 0.5 N or more, the distal end side portion is moved by the gripping portion side portion so that bending deformation of the distal end side portion is allowed. While being supported effectively, the elastic restoring force of the base during insertion between the back teeth of the cleaning part (force to press the cleaning part against the outer surface of the back teeth), that is, the cleanability of the interdental or back teeth is sufficient Secured. Furthermore, since the shape of the base is set so that the second pressing force is 2.5 N or less, the elastic restoring force of the base is prevented from becoming too large. The interdental or back teeth are effectively cleaned.

  In this case, the shaft portion is at least when no external force is applied to the shaft portion in any intermediate portion located between the insertion end portion and the base end portion of the shaft portion. Between the normal posture and the bending posture in which the angle formed by the first straight line connecting the intermediate portion and the insertion end portion and the second straight line connecting the intermediate portion and the base end portion is 90 degrees. It is preferable to have a deformable shape so as to allow the insertion end to be displaced.

  In this way, since the tip of the cleaning part is in contact with the outer surface of the back teeth, the base part is further prevented from being damaged in the posture toward the back of the oral cavity, so that the base part is suppressed. By inserting the cleaning part, the cleaning part can be inserted to the back of the teeth between the back teeth. Specifically, when the cleaning unit is further inserted between the teeth of the back teeth from the state in which the tip of the cleaning unit is in contact with the outer surface of the back teeth, the angle formed by the first straight line and the second straight line is about 90 degrees. Therefore, the shaft portion is set in a shape that can be deformed so as to allow the insertion end portion to be displaced between the steady posture and the bending posture at any intermediate portion. The cleaning part can be inserted to the back of the teeth between the back teeth while suppressing breakage of the back.

  Further, in the present invention, the shape of the grip portion is set so that the shaft portion buckles when a compressive load is applied to the base portion from both sides in the axial direction. Among the shaft portions, when the shaft portion is buckled, the maximum displacement portion in which the amount of displacement in the direction perpendicular to the axis from the central axis of the shaft portion before the shaft portion is buckled is maximized. It is preferable to have a shape that covers.

  In this way, even if the shaft portion is bent by the maximum displacement portion by buckling the shaft portion during cleaning between teeth, the maximum displacement portion is covered by the cleaning portion. The detachment | leave from the other site | part of the base part of the site | part between the said maximum displacement part and insertion end part among axial parts is suppressed. Therefore, even if it is a case where buckling arises in the axial part during the cleaning between teeth, the residual of a part of axial part in an oral cavity is suppressed.

  In this case, the shaft portion includes a portion of the shaft portion that is separated by 1.0 mm from the insertion end portion to the base end portion side and the shaft portion from the insertion end portion to the base end portion side. It is preferable that the maximum displacement portion is formed in a shape between a portion separated by 0 mm.

  If it does in this way, even if it is a case where a shaft part buckles during cleaning between teeth, a part which covers a part between the maximum displacement part and the insertion end part in a shaft part among cleaning parts It is possible to clean between the teeth.

  As mentioned above, according to this invention, the interdental cleaning tool which can improve the insertability of the cleaning part between the back teeth is provided.

It is a front view of the interdental cleaning tool of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of the state by which the axial part was in the bending posture. It is a figure which shows the outline of the measuring method of a 1st pressing force. It is a figure which shows the outline of the measuring method of 2nd pressing force. It is a front view which shows the modification of a base. It is a front view which shows the modification of a base.

  An interdental cleaning tool 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the interdental cleaning tool 1 includes a base portion 10 and a cleaning portion 20 made of an elastomer having a hardness lower than the hardness of the base portion 10. The base 10 is preferably formed of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, ABS, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyacetal or the like. In the present embodiment, the base 10 is made of polypropylene. A styrene elastomer is used as the elastomer. However, silicon, an olefin elastomer, a polyester elastomer, or the like may be used as the elastomer.

  The base 10 has a shape extending linearly along a specific direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 1). In the present embodiment, the dimension of the base 10 in the specific direction is set to 47.5 mm. The base portion 10 includes a shaft portion 12 and a grip portion 14.

  The shaft portion 12 has a shape that can be inserted between teeth. The shaft portion 12 has an insertion end portion 12a formed at one end in the specific direction and a base end portion 12b formed at the other end in the specific direction. The shaft portion 12 has a shape that can be bent and deformed so that the insertion end portion 12a is displaced in an axis orthogonal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion 12 with the base end portion 12b as a fulcrum. The shaft portion 12 has at least a normal posture (posture in FIG. 1) and a bent posture (FIG. 2) in any intermediate portion 12c located between the insertion end portion 12a and the base end portion 12b in the shaft portion 12. The insertion end portion 12a is deformable so as to allow displacement. The steady posture is a posture of the shaft portion 12 when no external force is applied to the shaft portion 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the bending posture is determined by an angle θ formed by a first straight line L1 connecting the intermediate portion 12c and the insertion end portion 12a and a second straight line L2 connecting the intermediate portion 12c and the base end portion 12b. The posture is 90 degrees. Further, when the shaft portion 12 is buckled, the shaft portion 12 has the maximum amount of displacement in the direction perpendicular to the axis from the central axis of the shaft portion 12 before the shaft portion 12 is buckled. The maximum displacement part becomes 1.0 mm away from the insertion end 12a from the insertion end 12a to the proximal end 12b side in the shaft 12 and 9.0 mm from the insertion end 12a to the proximal end 12b side in the shaft 12. It is formed in a shape located between the separated parts. In the present embodiment, the shaft portion 12 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. Specifically, the shaft portion 12 is formed in a shape that gradually and slightly decreases the outer diameter of the shaft portion 12 from the base end portion 12b toward the insertion end portion 12a. In this embodiment, the diameter of the base end part 12b is set to 1.1 mm, and the diameter of the insertion end part 12a is set to 0.55 mm. Moreover, the dimension of the axial direction of the axial part 12 is set to 15 mm. The maximum displacement portion is located at a position 6 mm away from the insertion end portion 12a toward the base end portion 12b in the shaft portion 12.

  The grip 14 extends in a direction away from the shaft 12 along the axial direction from the base end portion 12b (downward in FIG. 1) and has a shape that can be gripped by a finger. The shape of the grip portion 14 is set so that the shaft portion 12 is buckled when a compressive load is applied to the base portion 10 from both sides in the axial direction. In the present embodiment, the axial dimension of the grip portion 14 is set to 32.5 mm. The grip part 14 includes a support part 14a that supports the shaft part 12, and a grip part main body 14b connected to the support part 14a.

  The support part 14a is connected to the base end part 12b. The support portion 14a has a shape that gradually increases the dimension of the support portion 14a in the direction perpendicular to the axis as the support portion 14a moves away from the base end portion 12b. In the present embodiment, the support part 14a gradually increases the dimension of the support part 14a in the direction perpendicular to the axis as the distance from the base end part 12b increases, and curves so as to protrude inward in the direction perpendicular to the axis. Has a shape. The dimension w2 in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the connecting portion between the support portion 14a and the gripping portion main body 14b is preferably set to be 1 to 25 times the same size (outer diameter) w1 of the base end portion 12b. In the present embodiment, the dimension w2 is set to 6.3 times the dimension w1, that is, 6.93 mm. The dimension h1 in the axial direction of the support portion 14a is set to 19 mm.

  The gripping part main body 14b is formed in a rectangular shape. In the present embodiment, the dimension in the axis-perpendicular direction of the gripping part main body 14b is set to be the same as the dimension w2, and the dimension h2 in the axial direction of the gripping part main body 14b is set to 13.5 mm. In addition, the shape of the holding | maintenance part main body 14b is not restricted to this.

  The cleaning part 20 has a shape that includes the insertion end part 12a and covers a part of the shaft part 12 having a dimension equal to or smaller than the dimension in the axial direction and can clean between the teeth. In the present embodiment, the cleaning unit 20 has a shape that covers the entire outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 12. That is, the cleaning part 20 has a shape that covers the maximum displacement part. The cleaning unit 20 includes a cleaning unit main body 22 and a plurality of brush hairs 24.

  The cleaning unit main body 22 has a shape that covers the entire outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion 12. The cleaning unit main body 22 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface. The thickness of the cleaning portion main body 22 is set to be smaller than the diameter of the shaft portion 12.

  Each brush bristle 24 is integrally formed of the same material as the cleaning unit main body 22, protrudes outward in the direction perpendicular to the axis from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body 22, and is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body 22. The brush bristles 24 have a shape that gradually reduces the outer shape of the bristles 24 as they are done. In the present embodiment, each brush hair 24 is formed in a conical shape.

  In the present embodiment, the shape of the base 10 is such that the first pressing force corresponding to the strength of the distal end side portion 1a (see FIG. 3) located relatively near the insertion end 12a in the base 10 is zero. The second pressing force corresponding to the strength of the grip portion side portion 1b (see FIG. 4) which is 3N or more and 1.4N or less and is relatively far from the insertion end portion 12a of the base portion 10 is 0. It is set to be 5N or more and 2.5N or less. More preferably, the shape of the base 10 is set so that the first pressing force is 0.5N or more and 1.4N or less, and the second pressing force is 0.80N or more and 2.5N or less. . In the present embodiment, the shape of the base 10 is set so that the first pressing force is 1.3N and the second pressing force is 1.4N.

  The first pressing force is an interdental cleaning tool in a state in which a portion of the interdental cleaning tool 1 that is 10 mm away from the tip of the cleaning unit 20 toward the gripping part 14 is fixed in a posture in which the axial direction is parallel to the horizontal. 1 is a force necessary to press a portion spaced 2.5 mm away from the tip of the cleaning unit 20 toward the gripping unit 14 by 10 mm vertically downward. That is, the distal end side portion 1a corresponds to a portion between a portion 2.5 mm away from the tip of the interdental cleaning tool 1 and a portion 10 mm away from the tip. For this reason, the strength (first pressing force) of the distal end side portion 1a is the shape of the portion of the base portion 10 between the portion separated by 2.5 mm from the distal end and the portion separated by 10 mm from the distal end, that is, mainly. Adjustment by the shape of the shaft portion 12 is possible. In the present embodiment, the shaft portion 12 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The diameter of the insertion end portion 12a is set to 0.55 mm, the diameter of the base end portion 12b is set to 1.1 mm, and the axial dimension of the shaft portion 12 is set to 15 mm.

  The second pressing force is an interdental cleaning tool in a state in which a portion of the interdental cleaning tool 1 that is spaced 35 mm from the tip of the cleaning unit 20 toward the gripping part 14 is fixed in a posture in which the axial direction is parallel to the horizontal. 1 is a force required to press a portion spaced 8.0 mm away from the tip of the cleaning unit 20 toward the gripping unit 14 by 10 mm vertically downward. In other words, the grip portion side portion 1b corresponds to a portion between a portion that is 8.0 mm away from the tip of the interdental cleaning tool 1 and a portion that is 35 mm away from the tip. For this reason, the strength (second pressing force) of the grip portion side portion 1b is the shape of the portion of the base portion 10 between the portion that is 8.0 mm away from the tip and the portion that is 35 mm away from the tip, In addition, adjustment according to the shape of the support portion 14a is possible. In the present embodiment, the support part 14a gradually increases the dimension of the support part 14a in the direction perpendicular to the axis as the distance from the base end part 12b increases, and curves so as to protrude inward in the direction perpendicular to the axis. It is formed into a shape. The dimension h1 in the axial direction of the support portion 14a is set to 19 mm, and the dimension w2 in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the connecting portion between the support portion 14a and the gripping portion main body 14b is the same dimension (outer diameter) of the base end portion 12b. ) It is set to 6.3 times w1.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first pressing force and the second pressing force include a fixing tool 32 that can fix the interdental cleaning tool 1 in a posture in which the axial direction is horizontal, and an interdental cleaning tool. And a pressing force measuring unit 34 that can measure the pressing force when pressing 1.

  First, the method for measuring the first pressing force will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, the interdental cleaning tool 1 is fixed to the fixing tool 32 in a posture in which the axial direction (direction connecting the shaft portion 12 and the gripping portion 14) is horizontal. Specifically, the entire part of the interdental cleaning tool 1 that is spaced 10 mm or more from the tip of the cleaning part 20 toward the gripping part 14 side is fixed to the fixing tool 32 in a posture in which the axial direction is parallel to the horizontal.

Next, a portion 2a (tip portion of the tip side portion 1a) of the interdental cleaning tool 1 that is 2.5 mm away from the tip of the cleaning portion 20 to the gripping portion 14 side is vertically lowered 10 mm by the pressing force measuring unit 34. Press. Specifically, the pressing force measuring unit 34 is displaced vertically downward by 10 mm from the state in which the pressing force measuring unit 34 is in contact with the part 2a. Then, the force necessary for the pressing , that is, the first pressing force is measured by the pressing force measuring unit 34. In the present embodiment, the first pressing force is 1.3N.

  Next, a method for measuring the second pressing force will be described with reference to FIG. This measurement method is the same as the measurement method of the first pressing force except for the fixing position of the interdental cleaning tool 1 by the fixing tool 32 and the pressing position of the interdental cleaning tool 1 by the pressing force measuring unit 34.

  In other words, the entire part of the interdental cleaning tool 1 that is spaced 35 mm or more away from the tip of the cleaning unit 20 toward the gripping part 14 is fixed to the fixing tool 32 in a posture in which the axial direction is parallel to the horizontal. In this state, the pressing force measuring unit 34 causes the portion 2b (tip portion of the grip portion side portion 1b) of the interdental cleaning tool 1 that is spaced 8.0 mm from the tip of the cleaning portion 20 to the grip portion 14 side. Press 10 mm. Then, the pressing force at this time, that is, the second pressing force is measured by the pressing force measuring unit 34. In the present embodiment, the second pressing force is 1.4N.

  The case where the interdental space between back teeth is cleaned with the interdental cleaning tool 1 described above will be described.

  The interdental cleaning tool 1 is inserted into the oral cavity from the front tooth side toward the back tooth side with the cleaning unit 20 as the head. Here, the interdental space between the back teeth extends in a direction intersecting the direction from the front tooth side to the back tooth side in the oral cavity, so that the cleaning unit 20 is inserted along the direction from the front tooth side to the back tooth side. If it does, the front-end | tip of the said cleaning part 20 will contact the outer surface of a back tooth.

  Thereafter, the base 10 is further inserted into the oral cavity as it is from the state in which the tip of the cleaning unit 20 is in contact with the outer surface of the back teeth. In the interdental cleaning tool 1 of the present embodiment, the first pressing force corresponding to the strength of the distal end side portion 1a is 1.3 N, and the second pressing force corresponding to the strength of the gripping portion side portion 1b is 1. Since the shape of the base 10 is set so as to be 4N, insertion between the back teeth of the cleaning unit 20 is easily performed. Specifically, the shape of the base portion 10 is set so that the first pressing force is 0.3 N or more, so that the strength of the distal end side portion 1a is sufficiently secured. When the base 10 is further inserted into the oral cavity from the state in contact with the outer surface of the back teeth, the distal end side portion 1a is effectively bent and deformed so as to go to the back between the teeth. On the other hand, by setting the shape of the base portion 10 so that the first pressing force is 1.4 or less, the base portion 10 is further moved into the back of the oral cavity from the state where the distal end side portion 1a is in contact with the outer surface of the back teeth. Deformation failure of the distal end side portion 1a when it is inserted in the posture as it is toward the back (a loss of insertion property of the cleaning portion 20 into the back of the teeth) is suppressed. Then, by setting the shape of the base portion 10 so that the second pressing force is 0.5 N or more, the distal end side portion 1b allows the deformation of the distal end side portion 1a to allow the distal end. The side part 1a is effectively supported.

  And the base 10 is further inserted in the posture as it is toward the back in the oral cavity from the state where the tip of the cleaning unit 20 is inserted between the back teeth. Then, the angle formed by the first straight line L1 and the second straight line L2 is about 90 degrees, and the intersection of both straight lines L1 and L2 is displaced from the insertion end portion 12a side toward the base end portion 12b side. Then, the cleaning portion 20 is inserted to the back of the back teeth while the shaft portion 12 is deformed. In the interdental cleaning tool 1, the shaft portion 12 has a deformable shape so as to allow the insertion end portion 12a to be displaced between the steady posture and the bent posture at any intermediate portion 12c. Therefore, the cleaning unit 20 can be inserted to the back of the back teeth while suppressing damage to the shaft portion 12. Moreover, since the shape of the base 10 is set so that the second pressing force is 0.5 N or more, the elastic restoring force of the base 10 during the insertion between the back teeth of the cleaning unit 20 (cleaning unit) Force for pressing 20 against the outer surface of the back teeth), that is, sufficient cleaning between the teeth or the back teeth. Furthermore, since the shape of the base 10 is set so that the second pressing force is 2.5 N or less, it is possible to suppress the elastic restoring force of the base 10 from becoming too large. For this reason, it becomes easy to insert the cleaning part 20 to the back between the back teeth, so that the inter-tooth or back teeth are effectively cleaned.

  The cleaning unit 20 has a shape that covers the maximum displacement portion of the shaft portion 12. For this reason, even if the shaft portion 12 is bent at the maximum displacement portion by buckling the shaft portion 12 during cleaning between teeth, the maximum displacement portion is covered by the cleaning portion 20, In the shaft part 12, the part of the part between the maximum displacement part and the insertion end part 12a from the other part of the base part 10 is suppressed. Therefore, even if it is a case where buckling arises in the axial part 12 during the cleaning between teeth, the residual of a part of axial part 12 in an oral cavity is suppressed.

  This is not limited to the case where the shape of the base 10 is set so that the first pressing force and the second pressing force are in the above range. That is, regardless of the value of the first pressing force and the value of the second pressing force, when the shaft portion 12 is buckled during cleaning between teeth, a part of the shaft portion 12 remains in the oral cavity. The problem to do may arise. On the other hand, the shape of the grip portion 14 is set so that the shaft portion 12 is buckled when a compressive load is applied to the base portion 10 from both sides in the axial direction, and the cleaning portion 20 is moved to the maximum displacement. The said subject is solved by forming in the shape which coat | covers a part.

  Further, the shaft portion 12 is formed in a shape in which the maximum displacement portion is positioned 6 mm away from the insertion end portion 12a toward the base end portion 12b. For this reason, even if it is a case where the axial part 12 buckled during cleaning between teeth, the site | part which coat | covers the site | part between the said maximum displacement part and the insertion end part 12a in the axial part 12 among the cleaning parts 20. It is possible to clean between the teeth.

  In addition, it should be thought that the said embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration and restrictive at no points. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the embodiments but by the scope of claims for patent, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims for patent.

  The shape of the base 10 is not limited to the above example. The shape of the base 10 can be variously changed within a range in which the first pressing force is 0.3N or more and 1.4N or less and the second pressing force is 0.5N or more and 2.5N or less. Is possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the grip portion 14 is set so that the axial dimension h1 of the support portion 14a is 17 mm and the axial dimension h2 of the grip portion main body 14b is 15.5 mm. May be. In this example, the curvature radius of the outer end portion of the support portion 14a in the direction orthogonal to the axis is larger than that of the above embodiment. Or as FIG. 6 shows, while the dimension h1 of the axial direction of the support part 14a and the dimension h2 of the axial direction of the holding | grip part main body 14b are set to the same as the said embodiment, it is the axis orthogonal direction of the support part 14a. The shape of the grip portion 14 (support portion 14a) may be set so that the radius of curvature of the outer end portion is smaller than that of the above embodiment.

  Further, the first pressing force and the second pressing force can be adjusted by the synthetic resin constituting the base portion 10. Further, the first pressing force and the second pressing force may be adjusted by covering the grip portion 14 with the elastomer.

  Five examples of the interdental cleaning tool 1 of the said embodiment were created, and the evaluation test of the insertion property between back teeth and the cleaning property between the said teeth was done.

  Example 1 is the interdental cleaning tool 1 of the said embodiment. In Example 2, in the interdental cleaning tool 1 shown in FIG. 5, the gripping part 14 is also covered with the styrenic elastomer. Example 3 is the interdental cleaning tool 1 shown in FIG. In these Examples 1 to 3, the base portion 10 was formed of polypropylene, and the cleaning portion 20 was formed of a styrene elastomer having A40 Shore A hardness.

  Example 4 is the same shape as the interdental cleaning tool 1 shown in FIG. 6, wherein the base portion 10 is formed of ABS resin, and the cleaning portion 20 is formed of a styrene-based elastomer having a Shore A hardness of A40. Is. Example 5 is the same shape as the interdental cleaning tool 1 shown in FIG. 6, wherein the base 10 is formed of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) resin, and the cleaning part 20 is silicon having a Shore A hardness of A40. It is formed by.

  The test results of each example are shown in Table 1.

Each of the interdental cleaning tools was actually used by five test subjects, and the insertion property between the back teeth and the cleaning property between the teeth were evaluated. Evaluation was performed by conducting a questionnaire by Visual Analogue Scale, which was scored between 0 and 3 points according to the criteria shown below. The evaluation results were summarized by rounding off the first decimal place in the questionnaire results.
<Insertability>
0 points: difficult to insert 3 points: easy to insert <cleanability>
0 points: Low cleaning effect 3 points: High cleaning effect

  In the table, the total score of the five persons is displayed as “◎” when the score is 13 to 15, “◯” when the score is 10 to 12, and “Δ” when the score is 5 to 9.

  From these test results, each example satisfies both the condition that the first pressing force is 0.3N or more and 1.4N or less and the condition that the second pressing force is 0.5N or more and 2.5N or less. It can be seen that the insertability and cleanability are good. In addition, it can be seen from the results of Examples 3 to 5 that the first pressing force and the second pressing force can be adjusted also by the synthetic resin constituting the base 10.

  In Example 4, although the first pressing force is 1N, the second pressing force is 0.5N, that is, the strength of the grip portion side portion 1b is slightly low. Both evaluations are “△”.

  In Example 5, since the second pressing force is 1.1 N, the cleaning property is high, but the first pressing force is 0.3 N, that is, the strength of the distal end side portion 1 a is slightly low. The evaluation of insertability is “Δ”.

  Although the results are not shown, when the first pressing force exceeds 1.4N, the total score of the insertion performance between the teeth is at least 4 points, and the second pressing force is less than 0.3N. In this case, the total score for both interdental insertion and cleaning is 4 points or less, and when the second pressing force exceeds 2.5 N, at least the total score for intercalation evaluation Was 4 points or less.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Interdental cleaning tool 10 Base part 12 Shaft part 12a Insertion end part 12b Base end part 12c Intermediate part 14 Gripping part 14a Support part 14b Gripping part main body 20 Cleaning part 22 Cleaning part main body 24 Brush hair

Claims (4)

An interdental cleaning tool,
A base having a shape extending linearly along a specific direction;
It is made of an elastomer having a hardness lower than the hardness of the base part, and includes a cleaning part that covers at least a part of the base part and is capable of cleaning between teeth.
The base has a shape that can be inserted between teeth, and has an insertion end formed at one end in the specific direction and a base end formed at the other end in the specific direction. And a gripping portion extending from the base end portion so as to be separated from the shaft portion along the specific direction, and having a shape that can be gripped by a finger,
The shaft portion has a shape that can be bent and deformed so as to allow the insertion end portion to be displaced in an axis orthogonal direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the shaft portion with respect to the base end portion.
The cleaning part has a shape that covers the part including the insertion end part and having a dimension equal to or smaller than the dimension in the axial direction of the shaft part,
The axial dimension of the base is set to 35 mm or more,
In the state where the axial direction is parallel to the horizontal and the portion of the interdental cleaning tool that is 10 mm away from the tip of the cleaning unit toward the gripping part is fixed, the cleaning unit of the interdental cleaning tool The first pressing force required for the pressing force measurement unit to be displaced 10 mm vertically downward from the state where the pressing force measurement unit is in contact with a part 2.5 mm away from the tip toward the gripping part side is 0.5 N or more. In a state in which the part of the interdental cleaning tool that is spaced 35 mm from the tip of the cleaning unit to the gripping part side is fixed in a posture that is 1.4 N or less and the axial direction is parallel to the horizontal direction, From the state in which the pressing force measuring unit is in contact with a portion of the cleaning tool that is spaced 8.0 mm from the tip of the cleaning unit toward the gripping unit, the pressing force measuring unit is required to be displaced 10 mm vertically downward. 2 pressure is 0. An interdental cleaning tool in which at least the shape of the base is set to be 8 N or more and 2.2 N or less. The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1,
The shaft portion, at any intermediate portion located between the insertion end portion and the base end portion of the shaft portion, at least a steady posture when no external force is acting on the shaft portion, The insertion end portion between the first straight line connecting the intermediate portion and the insertion end portion and the bending posture formed by the second straight line connecting the intermediate portion and the base end portion is 90 degrees. An interdental cleaning tool having a deformable shape to allow displacement. In the interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1 or 2,
The shape of the grip portion is set so that the shaft portion buckles when a compressive load is applied to the base portion from both sides in the axial direction.
The cleaning unit has a maximum amount of displacement in a direction perpendicular to the axis from the central axis of the shaft portion before the shaft portion is buckled when the shaft portion is buckled. An interdental cleaning tool having a shape that covers the maximum displacement part. In the interdental cleaning tool of Claim 3,
The shaft portion is a portion of the shaft portion that is 1.0 mm away from the insertion end portion toward the base end portion, and a portion of the shaft portion that is 9.0 mm away from the insertion end portion toward the base end portion. The interdental cleaning tool is formed in a shape in which the maximum displacement portion is positioned between the two.

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