JP6639875B2 - Interdental cleaning tool - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an interdental cleaning tool.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an interdental cleaning tool which is particularly suitable for cleaning between teeth between back teeth. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a base having a shape extending along a specific direction, and a shaft having a shape extending from a tip end of the base along a direction intersecting the base and capable of being inserted between teeth. There is disclosed an interdental cleaning tool including a portion and a cleaning portion that covers a shaft portion and can clean between teeth.

  The base has a grip portion having a shape that can be gripped by a finger, and a connecting portion that connects the grip portion and the shaft portion. Since the connecting portion needs to transmit an external force (operating force) applied to the grip portion to the cleaning portion during cleaning between teeth, the connecting portion is usually designed to have high rigidity.

  Cleaning between teeth by such an interdental cleaning tool is performed by inserting the cleaning unit into the oral cavity with the cleaning unit at the top while holding the grip unit, and then holding the grip unit so that the cleaning unit reciprocates along the gap between the back teeth. Is performed by operating.

Design Registration No. 1416907

  In the interdental cleaning tool described in Patent Literature 1, during the cleaning between the teeth by the interdental cleaning tool, a boundary between the cleaning portion (shaft) and the connecting portion or a portion near the boundary may be damaged. There is.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an interdental cleaning tool capable of suppressing breakage of a boundary between a shaft portion and a connecting portion or a portion in the vicinity thereof.

  As a result of intensive studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that during cleaning between teeth by an interdental cleaning tool having a grip portion, a connecting portion, and a shaft portion extending in a direction intersecting with a direction in which the connecting portion extends. It has been found that the breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion and the connecting portion or a portion in the vicinity thereof is caused by the concentration of stress generated in the relevant portion. Specifically, when operating the gripping portion so as to reciprocate the cleaning portion between the teeth of the back teeth, an external force (pulling out) in a direction intersecting the reciprocating direction, particularly in a direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is pulled out of the oral cavity. Force) is often applied to the gripper. In this case, the shaft portion is displaced in a direction intersecting with the axial direction of the shaft portion and in a direction away from the grip portion with respect to a boundary between the shaft portion and the connection portion or a portion near the boundary between the shaft portion and the connection portion. Bend. On the other hand, since the connecting portion is designed to have high rigidity, when the shaft portion is bent by the action of the pulling force, stress concentration occurs at the boundary or a portion near the boundary.

  Therefore, it has been conceived that the stress generated at the boundary or a part near the boundary can be reduced, so that breakage of the part can be suppressed.

  The present invention has been made from such a viewpoint, and is an interdental cleaning tool, wherein a base having a shape extending along a specific direction and a direction intersecting a direction in which the base extends from a distal end of the base. Along with extending along, a shaft portion having a shape that can be inserted between the teeth, and a cleaning portion that covers at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion and can clean between the teeth, The base has a grip portion having a shape that can be gripped by a finger, and a connection portion that connects the grip portion and the shaft portion, and the connection portion includes a distal end portion of the base portion. A support portion that supports the shaft portion, and a support portion that is interposed between the support portion and the grip portion, and allows the support portion to be displaced relative to the grip portion in a width direction orthogonal to the specific direction. And a deformable portion that is elastically deformable. The rigidity smaller than the rigidity of the support portion provides a interdental cleaner.

  In the present interdental cleaning tool, the rigidity of the deformed portion is smaller than the rigidity of the support portion, and therefore intersects the reciprocating direction of the cleaning portion when the grip portion is operated so that the cleaning portion reciprocates along the space between the teeth. When an external force in a direction (for example, a direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is pulled out of the oral cavity) is applied to the grip, the deformable portion is elastically deformed so that the support is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip. In other words, when the external force is applied to the gripping portion, the shaft portion bends so that the tip of the shaft portion is displaced in the direction intersecting with the axial direction of the shaft portion with respect to the supporting portion. The deformed portion absorbs a part of the stress generated at the boundary with or near the boundary as strain energy. Therefore, stress generated at the boundary between the shaft portion and the support portion or at a portion in the vicinity thereof is reduced, so that damage to the portion is suppressed.

  Specifically, the deforming portion is located on the side opposite to the shaft portion with respect to the abdominal deforming portion in the width direction with respect to the abdominal deforming portion, and is separated from the abdominal deforming portion in the width direction. And a rear-side deformed portion.

  In this case, a deformed portion having small rigidity can be easily obtained. Specifically, the abdominal deforming portion and the dorsal deforming portion are separated from each other in the width direction, that is, the abdominal deforming portion and the dorsal deforming portion form a space between each other, so that the deforming portion is deformed. The rigidity of the part is reduced.

  In this case, it is preferable that the width-direction dimension of the back-side deformed portion is smaller than the width-direction size of the ventral-side deformed portion.

  In this way, breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion and the support portion or a portion in the vicinity thereof during cleaning between teeth is more reliably suppressed. Specifically, during cleaning between the teeth between the back teeth, an external force (pulling force) in a direction intersecting the moving direction (reciprocating direction) of the cleaning unit, particularly in a direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is pulled out of the oral cavity, is used. In many cases, it is applied to the grip portion, and in this case, an external force acts on the support portion from the abdominal deforming portion to the dorsal deforming portion via the shaft portion. Therefore, since the size of the back-side deformed portion is smaller than the width-direction size of the ventral-side deformed portion, the support portion is easily displaced in the direction from the ventral-side deformed portion toward the back-side deformed portion with respect to the grip portion. Accordingly, breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion and the support portion or a portion in the vicinity thereof is more reliably suppressed.

  Further, in this case, it is preferable that a dimension of the back deformed portion in a depth direction orthogonal to both the specific direction and the width direction is larger than a size of the ventral deformed portion in the depth direction.

  With this configuration, while ensuring the ease of displacement of the support portion in the width direction with respect to the grip portion, the back-side deformed portion when the external force displaces the support portion in the depth direction with respect to the grip portion is applied. Damage can be suppressed.

  Further, in the present invention, the abdominal deforming portion has an abdominal bending portion that bends when an external force acts on the supporting portion so that the supporting portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion. The back-side deforming portion has a back-side bending portion that bends when an external force is applied to the supporting portion so that the supporting portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion; It is preferable that the portion and the dorsal bent portion are separated from each other in the specific direction.

  With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the deformed portion from being damaged (broken) when an external force is applied to the supporting portion such that the supporting portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion. Specifically, when the abdominal bent portion and the dorsal bent portion are formed at positions overlapping in the width direction without being separated from each other in a specific direction, when the external force acts, the deformed portions are formed by these bent portions. Although it is easily broken, the abdominal bent portion and the dorsal bent portion are separated from each other in a specific direction, so that damage to the deformed portion when the external force is applied is suppressed.

  In this case, the abdominal deforming portion is interposed between the abdominal base portion connected to the grip portion, the abdominal base portion and the support portion, and is disposed in the width direction of the abdominal base portion. An abdominal deforming portion main body having a dimension in the width direction smaller than the size of the back side deforming portion, wherein the dorsal deforming portion is connected to the grip portion, A back-side deformable portion main body that is interposed between the support portion and the back-side base portion and has a smaller dimension in the width direction than the size in the width direction of the back-side base portion; It is preferable that a boundary with the side deforming portion main body constitutes the abdominal bent portion, and a boundary between the dorsal base portion and the dorsal deforming portion main body constitutes the dorsal bent portion.

  According to this configuration, the abdominal bent portion is formed by making the width-direction dimension of the abdominal deformable portion main body smaller than the width-direction dimension of the abdominal base portion, and the abdominal bent portion is formed with a smaller width dimension than the back-side base portion. Also, the back-side bent portion is formed by reducing the size of the back-side deformed portion main body in the width direction.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that a distance from the support portion to the abdominal bend is longer than a distance from the support portion to the dorsal bend.

  With this configuration, when an external force (pulling force) in a direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is pulled out of the oral cavity during cleaning between the teeth is applied to the grip, the support is deformed abdominally with respect to the grip. Since it is easy to be displaced in the direction from the part toward the back side deformed part, breakage of the boundary between the shaft part and the support part or a part in the vicinity thereof is more reliably suppressed. Specifically, when the pulling force is applied, each of the deformed portions is displaced so that the support portion is displaced with respect to the grip portion in a direction from the abdominal deformed portion toward the dorsal deformed portion, so that the shaft portion is supported. Part of the stress generated at the boundary with or near the part is absorbed by the deformed part, but at this time, the support part is displaced by a specific distance along the direction from the ventral deformed part to the dorsal deformed part The amount of displacement of the abdominal deformed portion is larger than the amount of displacement of the dorsal deformed portion required for the above. In the present interdental cleaning tool, the distance from the support part to the abdominal bend is longer than the distance from the support part to the dorsal bend. It is easy to secure a large amount. Therefore, the deformation of the abdominal deformed portion and the back deformed portion during the application of the pulling force, that is, the absorption of a part of the stress generated at the boundary between the shaft portion and the support portion or in the vicinity thereof is easily performed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION As mentioned above, according to this invention, the interdental cleaning tool which can suppress damage of the boundary of a shaft part and a support part, or the site | part in the vicinity thereof can be provided.

It is a front view of an interdental cleaning implement group of one embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the interdental cleaning tool. FIG. 3 is a right side view of the interdental cleaning tool shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a left side view of the interdental cleaning tool shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 2. It is a figure showing the state where the deformation part was deformed. It is a front view which shows the modification of a deformation part. It is a front view which shows the modification of a deformation part.

  The interdental cleaning tool group 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the present interdental cleaning tool group 1 includes a plurality of interdental cleaning tools 2 connected to each other. Hereinafter, the interdental cleaning tool 2 and the interdental cleaning tool group 1 will be described in this order. Each interdental cleaning tool 2 includes a base 10, a shaft 60, and a cleaning unit 70.

  The base 10 has a shape extending along a specific direction (vertical direction in FIG. 2), and has a base end 20b which is an end on one side (lower side in FIG. 2) in the specific direction and the other end in the specific direction. A tip portion 20a which is an end portion on the side (the upper side in FIG. 2) is included. Details of the base 10 will be described later.

  The shaft portion 60 extends from the distal end portion 20a of the base portion 10 in a direction intersecting with the direction in which the base portion 10 extends, and has a shape that can be inserted between teeth. Note that the direction in which the base 10 extends refers to a direction parallel to a central axis C of the grip 20 described later or a direction in which the connecting portion 30 extends. The shaft part 60 is substantially cylindrical. More specifically, the shaft portion 60 is formed in such a shape that the outer diameter of the shaft portion 60 gradually and slightly decreases from the base end to the distal end. The shaft 60 is formed integrally with the base 10.

  The cleaning section 70 covers the shaft section 60 and can clean between teeth. The cleaning unit 70 is made of an elastomer having a hardness lower than the hardness of the base 10. In the present embodiment, a styrene elastomer is used as the elastomer. However, silicon, an olefin-based elastomer, a polyester-based elastomer, or the like may be used as the elastomer. The cleaning unit 70 includes a cleaning unit main body 72 having a shape that covers the outer peripheral surface of the shaft unit 60, and a plurality of brush bristles 74.

  The cleaning unit main body 72 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface. The thickness of the cleaning portion main body 72 is set smaller than the diameter of the shaft portion 60.

  Each brush bristle 74 is formed integrally with the cleaning section main body 72 using the same material as the cleaning section main body 72. Each brush bristle 74 protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body 72 in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft part 60, and gradually becomes larger as the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body 72 increases. It has a shape with a smaller outer shape. In the present embodiment, each brush bristle 74 is formed in a conical shape.

  Next, the base 10 will be described in detail. The base 10 has a grip 20 including a base 20b and a connecting part 30 including a tip 20a. The base 10 is preferably formed of one or a combination of two or more synthetic resins such as polypropylene, ABS, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyacetal. The base 10 is preferably made of polypropylene from the viewpoint that the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or a portion in the vicinity thereof is more reliably suppressed. In the present embodiment, the base 10 is formed of polypropylene. The shaft 60 is also formed of the same synthetic resin as the base 10.

  From the viewpoint that breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or a portion in the vicinity thereof is more reliably suppressed, it is preferable that the synthetic resin forming the base portion 10 include a toughening agent, Examples of the agent include fibrous reinforcing agents such as glass fibers, nanocellulose fibers, aramid fibers, and carbon fibers, plate-like reinforcing agents such as mica and glass flakes, powder-like reinforcing agents such as talc, and wollastonite. Needle-like reinforcing agents and the like can be mentioned. The content of the reinforcing agent is usually 5 to 50% by weight, preferably 10 to 40% by weight, and more preferably 15 to 40% by weight. In the present embodiment, the polypropylene forming the base 10 contains 10% by weight of glass fiber and 20% by weight of mica.

  The gripper 20 has a shape that can be gripped by a finger. The grip portion 20 has an abdominal edge 21 formed on one side (left side in FIG. 2) in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) orthogonal to the specific direction, and an edge on the other side in the width direction. And a dorsal edge 22 formed at The abdominal edge 21 and the dorsal edge 22 each have a shape extending linearly along a specific direction. The dimension of the grip 20 in the specific direction is set to be larger than the dimension of the grip 20 in the width direction (the dimension between the abdominal edge 21 and the back edge 22). The width of the grip 20 is set to be larger than that of the connecting portion 30.

  The connecting part 30 connects the grip part 20 and the shaft part 60. Specifically, the connecting portion 30 includes a support portion 32 including the distal end portion 20 a of the base portion 10 and supporting the shaft portion 60, and a deformable portion 34 interposed between the support portion 32 and the grip portion 20.

  The deformable portion 34 is elastically deformable so as to allow the support portion 32 to be displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion 20. The rigidity of the deformed portion 34 is set smaller than the rigidity of the support portion 32. In the deforming portion 34, the support portion 32 is located between the central axis C (vertical bisector of a line connecting the abdominal edge portion 21 and the back side edge portion 22) of the grip portion 20 and the shaft portion 60. Thus, it is interposed between the support part 32 and the grip part 20. In the present embodiment, the deforming section 34 has an abdominal deforming section 40 and a dorsal deforming section 50.

  The abdominal deforming portion 40 is a portion of the grip portion 20 on the side closer to the shaft portion 60 than the center axis C of the grip portion 20 in the width direction (left side in FIG. 2), and The support portion 32 is interposed between a portion closer to the shaft portion 60 than the center portion. The abdominal deforming section 40 has an abdominal base section 42 and an abdominal deforming section main body 44.

  The ventral base 42 is connected to the grip 20. The abdominal base portion 42 has a shape in which the dimension in the width direction gradually decreases as the distance from the grip portion 20 increases, and the shape is curved so as to move away from the central axis C of the grip portion 20.

  The abdominal deforming portion main body 44 is interposed between the abdominal base portion 42 and the support portion 32 and has a shape extending linearly along a specific direction. The dimension in the width direction of the abdominal deforming portion main body 44 is set smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the abdominal base portion 42. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, when an external force is applied to the support portion 32 so that the support portion 32 is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion 20, the abdominal base portion 42 and the abdominal deformable portion main body are provided. The abdominal deforming portion 40 is elastically deformed so as to bend at the boundary with 44. That is, the boundary between the abdominal base portion 42 and the abdominal deformable portion main body 44 constitutes the “abdominal bent portion 40a”. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the abdominal deforming portion main body 44 is formed in a columnar shape.

  The dorsal deforming portion 50 is located on the opposite side of the shaft portion 60 with respect to the abdominal deforming portion 40 in the width direction, and is separated from the abdominal deforming portion 40 in the width direction. The back-side deforming portion 50 is located on the side (right side in FIG. 2) of the gripping portion 20 that is farther from the shaft portion 60 than the center axis C of the gripping portion 20 and the supporting portion 32 in the width direction. It is interposed between the support portion 32 and a portion farther from the shaft portion 60 than the center portion. The back side deformation part 50 has a back side base part 52 and a back side deformation part main body 54.

  The back side base part 52 is connected to the grip part 20. The back side base part 52 has a shape in which the dimension in the width direction gradually decreases as the distance from the grip part 20 increases. The dorsal base 52 has a shape that is curved so as to protrude toward the ventral base 42.

  The back side deformation portion main body 54 is interposed between the back side base portion 52 and the support portion 32 and has a shape extending linearly along a specific direction. The widthwise dimension of the back side deformable portion main body 54 is set smaller than the widthwise dimension of the back side base portion 52. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, when an external force acts on the support portion 32 so that the support portion 32 is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion 20, the back-side base portion 52 and the back-side deformed portion The back side deformation portion 50 is elastically deformed so as to bend at the boundary with the main body 54. That is, the boundary between the back side base portion 52 and the back side deformable portion main body 54 constitutes the “back side bent portion 50a”. The back side bent portion 50a is formed at a portion closer to the support portion 32 than a portion of the back side deformed portion 50 that overlaps with the abdominal bent portion 40a in the width direction. In other words, the distance from the support portion 32 to the abdominal bent portion 40a is set longer than the distance from the support portion 32 to the back bent portion 50a. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the back-side deformable portion main body 54 is formed in a quadrangular prism shape. The dimension W2 in the width direction of the back deforming portion main body 54 is set smaller than the width dimension W1 of the abdominal deforming portion main body 44. In addition, the dimension D2 of the back deformed body 54 in the depth direction (vertical direction in FIG. 5) orthogonal to both the specific direction and the width direction is larger than the dimension D1 of the ventral deformed body 44 in the same direction. Is set.

  Subsequently, the interdental cleaning tool group 1 including the interdental cleaning tool 2 described above will be described. The interdental cleaning tool group 1 has a plurality of (eight in the present embodiment) interdental cleaning tools 2 connected to each other. As shown in FIG. 1, in the interdental cleaning tool group 1, each interdental cleaning tool 2 is placed in a state where the boundary between the base 10 and the shaft 60 of the adjacent interdental cleaning tool 2 is deviated in a specific direction. Connected to each other. Specifically, the boundary between the base 10 and the shaft portion 60 of the interdental cleaning tool 2 located on one side (for example, the right side) of the specific interdental cleaning tool 2 in the width direction is the base of the specific interdental cleaning tool 2. The back edge of each gripping portion 20 is shifted from the boundary between the shaft 10 and the shaft portion 60 by a predetermined dimension L in a direction opposite to the base end portion 20b of the base portion 10 in the specific direction with reference to the boundary. 22 and the abdominal edge 21 are connected to each other.

  In addition, the base end portion 20b of each base 10 of the interdental cleaning tool group 1 is specified so as to be aligned along a straight line parallel to the straight line connecting the boundaries between the base 10 and the shaft portion 60 of each interdental cleaning tool 2. It has a shape inclined with respect to the direction.

  In the present embodiment, the interdental cleaning tool group 1 is manufactured using a mold. Specifically, first, in a first mold having a space in which the base 10 and the shaft 60 of each interdental cleaning tool 2 can be formed, a synthetic resin for forming the base 10 and the shaft 60 (this embodiment) is used. In the embodiment, polypropylene) is filled from the base end 20 b side of the base 10. Thereafter, the cleaning unit 70 is placed in the second mold with the molded product (the base 10 and the shaft 60) of the first mold placed in the second mold having a space in which the cleaning unit 70 can be formed. An elastomer to be formed (a styrene-based elastomer in the present embodiment) is filled from the tip portion 20 a side of the shaft portion 60. The second mold has a partition wall for partitioning between portions for forming each cleaning unit 70.

  Here, in the present interdental cleaning tool group 1, the boundary between the base 10 and the shaft portion 60 of the interdental cleaning tool 2 located on one side of the specific interdental cleaning tool 2 corresponds to the specific interdental cleaning tool 2. Since it is deviated in a specific direction from the boundary between the base 10 and the shaft 60, the dimension between the cleaning portions 70 of the interdental cleaning tool 2 adjacent to each other is ensured. Therefore, the thickness of the partition wall of the second mold can be increased. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in designing the second mold while setting the angle formed between the base 10 and the shaft 60 in a range suitable for cleaning between the back teeth.

  In addition, since the dimension in the width direction of the grip portion 20 is set to be larger than the dimension in the width direction of the connecting portion 30, the dimension between the cleaning units 70 adjacent to each other becomes larger. Therefore, both the design freedom of the angle between the base 10 and the shaft 60 and the design freedom of the mold are further improved.

  In addition, the base end portion 20b of each base portion 10 has a shape that is inclined with respect to a specific direction so as to be aligned along a straight line parallel to a straight line connecting the boundaries between the base portion 10 and the shaft portion 60 of each interdental cleaning tool 2. Therefore, it is possible to avoid an increase in the size of the mold and an increase in the size of the accommodation section such as the packaging container for accommodating the interdental cleaning tool group 1.

  Next, an operation of cleaning the interdental space between the back teeth using the interdental cleaning tool 2 described above will be described.

  First, one (for example, end) interdental cleaning tool 2 is removed from the interdental cleaning tool group 1, and the interdental cleaning is performed from the front tooth side toward the back tooth side with the cleaning portion 70 of the interdental cleaning tool 2 at the top. The device 2 is inserted into the oral cavity. Then, the gripper 20 is operated so that the cleaning unit 70 reciprocates along the interval between the back teeth.

  Here, during the cleaning between the teeth, an external force in a direction intersecting the reciprocating direction of the gripping portion 20 (the cleaning portion 70), in particular, a pulling force in a direction in which the interdental cleaning tool 2 is pulled out of the oral cavity is applied to the gripping portion 20. May join. In the present embodiment, even in this case, breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or a portion near the boundary is suppressed. Specifically, in the present inter-tooth cleaning tool 2, since the rigidity of the deformable portion 34 is smaller than the rigidity of the support portion 32, the external force (for example, a pulling force) is applied to the grip portion 20 during the cleaning between the teeth. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the deformable portion 34 is elastically deformed such that the support portion 32 is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion 20. In other words, when the external force is applied to the grip portion 20, the shaft portion 60 bends so that the tip of the shaft portion 60 is displaced relative to the support portion 32 in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the shaft portion 60. The deformation part 34 absorbs a part of the stress generated at the boundary between the shaft part 60 and the support part 32 or in the vicinity thereof as strain energy. Therefore, stress generated at the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or at a portion in the vicinity thereof is reduced, so that breakage of the portion is suppressed.

  Further, since the deforming portion 34 has the ventral side deforming portion 40 and the back side deforming portion 50 separated from each other in the width direction, the deforming portion 34 having small rigidity can be easily obtained. Specifically, since the abdominal deforming portion 40 and the back deforming portion 50 form a space between each other, the rigidity of the deforming portion 34 is reduced.

  Further, since the width dimension W2 of the back deforming portion 50 is smaller than the width dimension W1 of the abdominal deforming portion 40, the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or the vicinity thereof during cleaning between teeth. The damage of the part is more reliably suppressed. Specifically, particularly during cleaning between the teeth between the back teeth, the pulling force is often applied to the grip portion 20, and in this case, the support portion 32 is provided with the shaft portion 60 from the abdominal deforming portion 40. An external force acts in the direction toward the back side deforming portion 50. Accordingly, since the width dimension W2 of the back deforming portion 50 is smaller than the width dimension W1 of the ventral deforming portion 40, the supporting portion 32 is deformed from the ventral deforming portion 40 to the grip portion 20 by the back deformation. It becomes easy to displace in the direction toward the part 50. Accordingly, breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or a portion in the vicinity thereof is more reliably suppressed.

  Furthermore, since the dimension D2 in the depth direction of the back deforming portion 50 is larger than the dimension D1 in the depth direction of the abdominal deforming portion 40, it is easy to displace the support portion 32 in the width direction with respect to the grip portion 20. In addition, it is possible to suppress the breakage of the back-side deformable portion 50 when an external force that causes the support portion 32 to be displaced in the depth direction acts on the grip portion 20.

  Further, since the abdominal bent portion 40a and the dorsal bent portion 50a are separated from each other in a specific direction, an external force acts on the support portion 32 so that the support portion 32 is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion 20. The breaking (breaking) of the deformed portion 34 at the time of the occurrence is suppressed. Specifically, when the abdominal bent portion 40a and the dorsal bent portion 50a are formed at positions overlapping in the width direction without being separated from each other in a specific direction, the bent portions are deformed when the external force is applied. Although the portion 34 is easily broken, since the abdominal bent portion 40a and the dorsal bent portion 50a are separated from each other in a specific direction, damage to the deformed portion 34 when the external force is applied is suppressed.

  Further, the distance from the support portion 32 to the abdominal bent portion 40a is longer than the distance from the support portion 32 to the back bent portion 50a. Therefore, when the pulling force is applied to the grip portion 20, the support portion 32 is easily displaced in the direction from the abdominal deforming portion 40 toward the back deforming portion 50. Of the boundary or a portion in the vicinity thereof is more reliably suppressed. Specifically, when the pulling force is applied, the support portion 32 moves in the direction from the abdominal deforming portion 40 toward the dorsal deforming portion 50 with respect to the grip portion 20 (the direction toward the central axis C of the grip portion 20). When the deformable portions 40 and 50 are displaced so as to be displaced, a part of the stress generated at the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or a portion in the vicinity thereof is absorbed by the deformable portion 34. The displacement amount of the back side deforming portion 50 required for the portion 32 to be displaced by a specific distance along the direction from the abdominal deforming portion 40 toward the back side deforming portion 50 (the direction toward the central axis C of the grip portion 20) Also, that of the abdominal deforming portion 40 becomes larger. In the present interdental cleaning tool 2, the distance from the support portion 32 to the abdominal bent portion 40a is longer than the distance from the support portion 32 to the dorsal bent portion 50a. It is easy to secure a large displacement amount of the abdominal deforming portion 40. Therefore, a part of the stress acting on the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or a portion in the vicinity thereof is easily absorbed.

  It should be noted that the above-described embodiment disclosed this time is merely an example in all respects and is not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description of the embodiments, and includes all modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The structure of the deformation part 34 is not limited to the above example. For example, the deformed portion 34 has a portion that fills the space between the abdominal deformed portion 40 and the back deformed portion 50, and the entire deformed portion 34 including the portion has a hardness lower than the hardness of the support portion 32. (Such as an elastomer). Also in this case, the rigidity of the deformable portion 34 can be made smaller than the rigidity of the support portion 32.

  FIG. 7 shows a modified example of the interdental cleaning tool 2 of the above embodiment. In the interdental cleaning tool 3, the abdominal deforming portion 40 and the dorsal base 52 are formed of synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and the cleaning portion 70, the dorsal deforming portion main body 54, and the cleaning portion 70 and the dorsal deforming portion main body 54 are provided. Is formed of an elastomer or the like having a lower hardness than the synthetic resin. Also in this case, the boundary between the back side base portion 52 and the back side deformation portion main body 54 forms the back side bent portion 50a. In addition, the distance from the support portion 32 to the abdominal bent portion 40a is set to be longer than the distance from the support portion 32 to the back bent portion 50a. Even with the interdental cleaning tool 3, the shafts are effectively elastically deformed so that the deformable portions 40 and 50 are bent at the bent portions 40a and 50a when the pulling force is applied to the grip portion 20, respectively. Part of the stress generated at the boundary between the part 60 and the support part 32 or at a part near the boundary is absorbed.

  FIG. 8 shows another modified example of the interdental cleaning tool 2 of the embodiment. In the interdental cleaning tool 4, notches are formed in each of the abdominal deforming portion 40 and the dorsal deforming portion 50. In this case, the notch constitutes each bent portion 40a, 50a. Also in this case, the distance from the support portion 32 to the abdominal bent portion 40a is set longer than the distance from the support portion 32 to the back bent portion 50a. Even in this mode, the same effects as above can be obtained.

  The following examples were created for the interdental cleaning tool group 1 of the above embodiment. Specifically, the first embodiment in which a reinforcing agent is not added to the synthetic resin forming the shaft 60 and the base 10 integrally, and the synthetic resin forming the shaft 60 and the base 10 integrally, On the other hand, a second type example in which a reinforcing agent is added, a third type example in which two or more types of reinforcing agents are added to a synthetic resin integrally forming the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, And a fourth example in which a reinforcing agent and an elastomer were added to a synthetic resin forming the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 integrally. Each example was created as follows.

(Type 1 Example)
As the resin material forming the cleaning unit 70, four kinds of styrene-based elastomer, olefin-based elastomer, polyester-based elastomer, and silicon are used, and as the synthetic resin forming the shaft 60 and the base 10, polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS, polybutylene are used. Thirty-six first-class examples were prepared by combining each of terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyacetal, and a mixture of ABS and polypropylene at a ratio of 3: 7, and nine types.

  Of these first examples, for example, when ABS is used as the shaft 60 and the base 10, and when polystyrene is used, the shaft 60 is less likely to buckle against the pressing force in the direction of the shaft 60, The sharpness of the gate trace at the time of molding the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 was suppressed, so that pain was not easily felt, and further, the connection between the base portions 10 was easily separated. When a mixture of ABS and polypropylene in a ratio of 3: 7 is used as the shaft 60 and the base 10, in addition to the above-described effect when ABS is used as the shaft 60 and the base 10, the shaft 60 The shaft portion 60 was hard to be broken by a force applied in the vertical direction and had flexibility, and was also excellent in compatibility with the cleaning portion 70 made of a styrene elastomer.

(Second embodiment)
As a synthetic resin forming the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, for each of eight kinds of polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyacetal, glass fiber and glass long fiber as a fibrous reinforcing agent , Carbon fiber, cellulose fiber, nanocellulose fiber, aramid fiber, vinylon fiber, alumina fiber, talc, mica, glass flake as plate-like reinforcement, calcium carbonate, silica, needle-like reinforcement as granular or powdery reinforcement 120 types of shaft portions 60 and base portions 10 formed by adding one of 15 types of reinforcing agents such as wollastonite and asbestos as agents, and four types of cleaning portions 70 made of the above four resin materials. And by each combination of 80 created the second type embodiment of the types.

  Here, the glass fiber is added to the synthetic resin such that the content of the glass fiber in the shaft portion 60 and the base 10 is 33% by weight, and the nanocellulose fiber is the nanocellulose fiber in the shaft portion 60 and the base 10. Is added to the synthetic resin such that the content of talc is 30% by weight, and talc is added to the synthetic resin such that the content of talc in the shaft portion 60 and the base 10 is 20% by weight. The glass flakes are added to the synthetic resin so that the content of mica in the portion 60 and the base 10 is 40% by weight, and the content of the glass flakes in the shaft portion 60 and the base 10 is 40% by weight. Wollastonite was added to the synthetic resin such that the content of wollastonite in the shaft portion 60 and the base 10 was 50% by weight. Are other toughening agents, the amount contained in the shaft portion 60 and the base 10 is added to the synthetic resin so as to be 30 wt%.

  Among these second examples, for example, when the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 are made of polypropylene containing 40% by weight of mica, polypropylene containing 40% by weight of glass flakes, and polypropylene containing 50% by weight of wollastonite, The shaft portion 60 has a flexibility that is hard to be broken by a force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft portion 60, has excellent compatibility with the cleaning portion 70 made of a styrene-based elastomer, and uses polypropylene as the shaft portion 60 and the base 10. In comparison with the case where the shaft portion 60 is pressed, the shaft portion 60 is less likely to buckle with respect to the pressing force in the direction of the shaft portion 60, the sharpness of the gate trace at the time of molding the shaft portion 60 and the base 10 is suppressed, and pain is less likely to be felt. The ease of disconnection was improved. When the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 are made of polypropylene containing 40% by weight of these mica, polypropylene containing 40% by weight of glass flake, and polypropylene containing 50% by weight of wollastonite, glass fiber is 33% by weight. The strength of the shaft portion 60 with respect to the pressing force in the direction of the shaft portion 60 was equal to or greater than that in the case where the polypropylene containing the shaft portion 60 was used, and the strength of the shaft portion 60 with respect to the force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft portion 60 was higher than the strength of the shaft portion 60. . In particular, when polypropylene containing 40% by weight of glass flakes and polypropylene containing 50% by weight of wollastonite are employed as the shaft 60 and the base 10, the shaft 60 may be bent against the force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft 60. It was excellent. Further, for example, when the shaft portion 60 and the base 10 are made of polypropylene containing 30% by weight of calcium carbonate, compared to the case where polypropylene is used for the shaft portion 60 and the base 10, the gate at the time of molding the shaft 60 and the base 10 is used. The sharpness of the trace was suppressed, pain was hardly felt, and the difficulty of breaking the shaft portion 60 against the force in the vertical direction of the shaft portion 60 was improved.

(Third type embodiment)
As the synthetic resin forming the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, the content in the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 is eight for each of polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyacetal. Glass fiber 10% by weight and talc 30% by weight, glass fiber 10% by weight and mica 10% by weight, glass fiber 5% by weight and mica 35% by weight 30% by weight of glass fiber and 10% by weight of mica, 10% by weight of glass fiber and 30% by weight of glass flake, and 10% by weight of glass fiber and Add 30% by weight of lastnite 48 types of shaft portions 60 and base portions 10 formed by employing one selected from the combination of the reinforcing agents and the amounts of the reinforcing agents, and four types of cleaning made of the above four resin materials. 192 types of third examples were created by the respective combinations of the first and second parts.

  In the third embodiment, for example, when polypropylene containing glass fiber and another reinforcing agent is adopted as the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, the shaft portion 60 breaks against the force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft portion 60. It has excellent flexibility with the cleaning part 70 made of a styrene elastomer, is hard to buckle the shaft part 60 against the pressing force in the direction of the shaft part 60, and has a gate mark when the shaft part 60 and the base part 10 are formed. The sharpness of the shaft portion 60 is suppressed so that pain is not easily felt, and not only is it easy to disconnect the connection between the base portions 10, but also the force applied to the shaft portion 60 in the vertical direction as compared with the case where polypropylene containing glass fiber alone is adopted. The shaft portion 60 is hard to break and has excellent flexibility, and the shaft portion 60 has a higher shaft pressure against the pressing force in the direction of the shaft portion 60 as compared with a case where polypropylene containing only a reinforcing agent other than glass fiber is employed. 60 were those less likely to buckle.

(Fourth embodiment)
The styrenic elastomer 3 was added so that the content of the styrenic elastomer 1% by weight was added to each of the 48 types of the shank 60 and the base 10 in the third embodiment. 0.5% by weight, styrene-based elastomer 10% by weight, olefin-based elastomer 5% by weight, and polyester-based elastomer 15% by weight. 240 kinds of shaft parts 60 and base parts 10 obtained by employing one kind selected from five kinds of elastomers and the amount of the added elastomer, and four kinds of cleaning parts made of the above four resin materials 960 kinds of the fourth examples were created by the respective combinations of 70 and 70.

  In these fourth embodiments, when the base 10 contains a reinforcing agent and an elastomer, the shaft 60 is less likely to be broken by a force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft 60 than when only the reinforcing agent is contained. Had improved. For example, when the base 10 is made of polypropylene containing 3.5% by weight of the styrene-based elastomer and 40% by weight of mica, the shaft 60 has a pliability that is hard to be broken by a force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft 60. It has excellent compatibility with the cleaning section 70 made of a styrene-based elastomer, and the shaft section 60 is not easily buckled against the pressing force in the direction of the shaft section 60, and sharpness of the gate trace at the time of forming the shaft section 60 and the base 10 is suppressed. Not only is it less likely to cause pain, and it is not only excellent in the ease of disconnecting the connection between the bases 10, but also in the direction perpendicular to the shaft 60, compared to the case where polypropylene containing 40% by weight of mica is adopted as the shaft 60 and the base 10. The shaft portion 60 was not easily broken by such a force, and the flexibility was improved.

  Further, in all of the above embodiments, the stress generated at or near the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 is reduced, so that breakage of the portion is suppressed. In particular, when a reinforcing agent such as glass fiber, glass flake, or wollastonite as described above is contained, or when not only the reinforcing agent but also an elastomer is contained, breakage of the site is suitably suppressed.

Reference Signs List 1 interdental cleaning tool group 2 interdental cleaning tool 10 base 20 gripping part 20a distal end 20b base end 30 connecting part 32 supporting part 34 deforming part 40 abdominal deforming part 40a abdominal bending part 42 abdominal foundation 44 abdominal Deformed part main body 50 Back side deformed part 50a Back side bent part 52 Back side base part 54 Back side deformed part main body 60 Shaft part 70 Cleaning part

Claims (5)

A tooth cleaning tool,
A base having a shape extending along a specific direction;
A shaft portion extending along a direction intersecting with a direction in which the base portion extends from a distal end portion of the base portion, and having a shape capable of being inserted between teeth.
A cleaning portion that covers at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft portion and is capable of cleaning between teeth.
The base is
A gripper having a shape that can be gripped by a finger,
A connecting portion that connects the grip portion and the shaft portion,
The connecting portion,
A support portion that includes the tip portion of the base portion and supports the shaft portion,
A deformable portion interposed between the support portion and the grip portion, and elastically deformable to allow the support portion to be displaced relative to the grip portion in a width direction orthogonal to the specific direction, Has,
The rigidity of the deformable portion is rather smaller than the rigidity of the support portion,
The deformed portion is a ventral deformed portion and a back deformed portion that is located on the opposite side to the shaft portion with respect to the width direction in relation to the abdominal deformed portion, and is separated from the ventral deformed portion in the width direction. And a part,
The dorsal deforming portion and the abdominal deforming portion are configured such that the support portion is configured such that the support portion is configured to be configured such that the external force in the direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is pulled out of the oral cavity is applied to the grip portion during cleaning between teeth. The interdental cleaning tool is formed so as to be displaced in a direction from the abdominal deformed portion toward the dorsal deformed portion . The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1 ,
The abdominal deforming portion is interposed between the abdominal base portion connected to the grip portion, the abdominal base portion and the support portion, and is larger than the width-direction dimension of the abdominal base portion. Abdominal deforming portion main body having a small size in the width direction,
The back side deformed portion is interposed between the back side base portion connected to the grip portion, the back side base portion and the support portion, and is larger than the width dimension of the back side base portion. A back-side deformable portion main body having a small dimension in the width direction,
The dimension of the width direction of the back side deformation body is smaller than the dimension of the width direction of the ventral side deformable portion over the entire length of the back-side modified body, interdental cleaner. The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The ventral deforming portion,
A ventral base connected to the grip,
A column-shaped abdominal deforming portion main body interposed between the abdominal base portion and the support portion and having a smaller dimension in the width direction than the dimension in the width direction of the ventral base portion. The cleaning tool between teeth. The interdental cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
An interdental cleaning tool, wherein a dimension of the grip portion in a depth direction orthogonal to both the specific direction and the width direction is smaller than a dimension of the grip portion in the width direction. A tooth cleaning tool,
A base having a shape extending along a specific direction;
A shaft portion extending along a direction intersecting with a direction in which the base portion extends from a distal end portion of the base portion, and having a shape capable of being inserted between teeth.
A cleaning unit that covers at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft and that can clean the space between the teeth.
The base is
A gripper having a shape that can be gripped by a finger,
A connecting portion that connects the grip portion and the shaft portion,
The connecting portion,
A support portion that includes a tip portion of the base portion and supports the shaft portion,
While being interposed between the support portion and the grip portion, the support portion is elastically deformable and allows the support portion to be displaced relative to the grip portion in a width direction orthogonal to the specific direction. A deformable portion having small rigidity,
The deformed portion is a ventral deformed portion and a back deformed portion that is located on the opposite side to the shaft portion with respect to the width direction in relation to the abdominal deformed portion, and is separated from the ventral deformed portion in the width direction. And a part,
The ventral deforming portion,
A ventral base connected to the grip,
An abdominal deforming portion main body that is interposed between the abdominal base portion and the support portion and has a smaller dimension in the width direction than the dimension in the width direction of the ventral base portion,
The dorsal deformation part,
A dorsal base connected to the grip,
A back-side deformable portion main body that is interposed between the back-side base portion and the support portion and has a dimension in the width direction smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the back-side base portion,
The boundary between the abdominal base portion and the abdominal deformable portion main body is bent when an external force acts on the support portion so that the support portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion. Make up the department,
The boundary between the dorsal base portion and the dorsal deforming portion main body is configured such that the support portion is provided when an external force in a direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is pulled out of the oral cavity is applied to the grip portion during cleaning between teeth. The inter-tooth cleaning tool, wherein a dorsal bent portion is bent with respect to the grip portion so as to be displaced in a direction from the abdominal deformed portion toward the dorsal deformed portion .

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