JP7028710B2 - Intertooth cleaning tool - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an interdental cleaning tool.

Conventionally, an interdental cleaning tool for cleaning the interdental space has been known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an interdental cleaning tool including a base material portion made of a synthetic resin and a soft portion made of an elastomer. The base material portion has a core base material portion having a shape that can be inserted between teeth and a handle base material portion having a shape that can be gripped by a finger. The core base material portion has a shape in which the diameter gradually increases from the tip end side to the base end side of the core base material portion. The soft portion has a covering portion that covers the outer peripheral surface of the core base material portion, and a plurality of protrusions, each of which projects outward from the outer peripheral surface of the covering portion. The plurality of protrusions form a group of six protrusions. Each protrusion group consists of a plurality of protrusions arranged along a direction parallel to the axial direction of the core base material portion. Each protrusion group is provided at a position separated from each other in the circumferential direction of the covering portion. The plurality of protrusions of each protrusion group have a shape in which the protrusion dimension from the covering portion gradually increases from the tip end side to the base end side of the core base material portion.

Such an interdental cleaning tool is used, for example, as follows. That is, each corner of the so-called triangular spot (the gap formed by the adjacent teeth and gums) is cleaned by the portion on the tip side of the soft portion (the portion of the soft portion having a relatively small outer shape), and the soft portion is cleaned. The side surface of the tooth adjacent to each other is cleaned by the portion on the proximal end side (the portion of the soft portion having a relatively large outer shape).

International Publication No. 2013/176297

An interdental cleaning tool as described in Patent Document 1, that is, a shaft portion having a shape that can be inserted between teeth, a cleaning portion main body that covers the shaft portion, and an outer peripheral surface of the cleaning portion main body. There is a need to improve the cleaning efficiency of the corners of the triangular spots and the cleanability of the side surfaces of the teeth forming the triangular spots in the interdental cleaning tool provided with the cleaning unit having a plurality of brushes. .. Specifically, for cleaning the three corners of the triangular spot, the operation of inserting and removing the tip side part of the cleaning part at a specific corner part and the other part of the tip side part from the specific corner part in the triangular spot. It is necessary to repeat the operation of moving to the corner of. On the other hand, in the portion on the base end side of the cleaning portion, since the protruding dimension of each brush is large, that is, each brush elastically deforms relatively easily, there is room for improvement in the cleanability of the side surface of the tooth by the brush. ..

It is an object of the present invention to provide an interdental cleaning tool capable of improving the cleaning efficiency of the corner portion of the triangular spot and improving the cleaning property of the side surface of the tooth forming the triangular spot.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention covers a base including a shaft portion having a shape that can be inserted between teeth, and cleaning that can cover at least a part of the shaft portion and clean the space between teeth. The shaft portion is provided with a portion, and the shaft portion has a shape in which the outer shape of the cross section of the shaft portion gradually increases in a plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion from the tip end side to the base end side of the shaft portion. The cleaning portion has a cleaning portion main body that covers at least a part of the shaft portion, and a brush portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning portion main body, and the brush portion has at least one. The brush group has one brush group, and each of the at least one brush group has a shape that protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body in an intersecting direction in which each of the brush groups intersects the axial direction of the shaft portion. Each brush of the at least one group of brushes includes a plurality of brushes arranged along a direction parallel to the axial direction, and each brush has a protrusion dimension from the cleaning portion main body gradually from the proximal end side to the distal end side of the axial portion. Provided is an interdental cleaning tool having a shape that increases the size of the tooth.

In this inter-tooth cleaning tool, the protruding dimension of the brush provided on the tip side of the cleaning unit body is relatively large among the plurality of brushes forming the brush group, so that each corner of the so-called triangular spot is used by the brush. Can be efficiently cleaned (the moving distance of the cleaning part in the triangular spot can be reduced), and moreover, among multiple brushes, the protrusion of the brush provided on the base end side of the cleaning part main body. Since the dimensions are relatively small, that is, the rigidity of the brush is relatively large, the cleanability of the side surface of the tooth by the brush is improved.

Further, it is preferable that the line connecting the tips of the brushes of the at least one brush group is parallel to the axial direction.

By doing so, it is possible to improve the cleaning efficiency of the triangular spot and secure the insertability between the teeth at each portion of the cleaning portion in the axial direction.

Further, the distance between the brushes adjacent to each other in the axial direction among the brushes of the at least one brush group is from the cleaning unit main body of the brush located on the tip side in the axial direction among the adjacent brushes. It is preferably larger than the protrusion size.

By doing so, even when the brush located on the tip side in the axial direction of the brushes adjacent to each other in the axial direction is bent so as to fall toward the proximal end side when the cleaning portion is inserted between the teeth, the tip side thereof. It is possible to prevent the brushes located at the above-mentioned brushes from interfering with the brushes located on the proximal end side in the axial direction among the brushes adjacent to each other. Therefore, the insertability of the cleaning portion between the teeth is well maintained.

Further, the present invention includes a base including a shaft portion having a shape that can be inserted between teeth, and a cleaning portion that covers at least a part of the shaft portion and can clean the gap between teeth. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning unit main body that covers at least a part of the shaft portion and a brush unit provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body, and the brush unit is at least one brush group. The at least one brush group has a shape that protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body in the crossing direction, which is the direction in which each of the brushes intersects the axial direction of the shaft portion, and also has the axial direction. A line connecting the tips of the brushes of the at least one brush group including a plurality of brushes arranged along a parallel direction is parallel to the axial direction of the shaft portion, and the brushes of the at least one brush group have each brush. Provided is an interdental cleaning tool in which the distance between brushes adjacent to each other in the axial direction is larger than the protrusion dimension of the brushes located on the tip side in the axial direction from the main body of the cleaning portion among the adjacent brushes. do.

Further, in the interdental cleaning tool, the cleaning portion is preferably made of a composite material containing an elastomer and a reinforcing material.

By doing so, the rigidity of each brush bristles is increased as compared with the case where the cleaning portion is made of only an elastomer, so that the side surface of the tooth is effectively cleaned.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an interdental cleaning tool capable of improving the cleaning efficiency of the corner portion of the triangular spot and improving the cleaning property of the side surface of the tooth forming the triangular spot. ..

It is a front view of the interdental cleaning tool of one Embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the cleaning part of the interdental cleaning tool shown in FIG. It is a top view of the interdental cleaning tool shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship between the triangular spot and the part on the tip side of a cleaning part.

The interdental cleaning tool 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the interdental cleaning tool 1 includes a base 10 and a cleaning unit 40.

The base 10 is formed of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyacetal. In this embodiment, the base 10 is made of polypropylene containing 30% by weight of glass fiber. The base portion 10 has a shaft portion 20 and a grip portion 30.

The shaft portion 20 has a shape that extends linearly along a specific direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1) and can be inserted between teeth. The shaft portion 20 is a shaft portion in a plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion 20 (vertical direction in FIG. 1) from the tip end side of the shaft portion 20 toward the base end side (opposite to the tip end side). It has a shape in which the outer shape of the cross section of 20 gradually increases. In the present embodiment, the cross section of the shaft portion 20 in the plane is circular. That is, in the present embodiment, the shaft portion 20 is formed in a columnar shape whose outer diameter gradually decreases from the base end portion to the tip end portion of the shaft portion 20. The cross section of the shaft portion 20 may be elliptical, polygonal, or the like.

The grip portion 30 extends along the axial direction of the shaft portion 20 so as to be separated from the base end portion of the shaft portion 20, and has a shape that can be gripped by a finger. The grip portion 30 is formed flat.

The cleaning unit 40 is a portion for cleaning the space between teeth and the side surfaces of teeth. The cleaning portion 40 is formed of a resin material having a hardness lower than the hardness of the base 10. Specifically, a styrene-based elastomer is used as the resin material. However, as the resin material, silicon, an olefin-based elastomer, a polyester-based elastomer, or the like may be used. The cleaning unit 40 has a cleaning unit main body 50 and a brush unit 60.

The cleaning unit main body 50 covers at least a part of the shaft portion 20 (a portion including the tip portion of the shaft portion 20). The cleaning unit main body 50 has a shape in which the outer shape thereof gradually increases from the tip end side to the base end side of the shaft portion 20.

The brush portion 60 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning portion main body 50. The brush unit 60 has a plurality of brushes 60a having a shape that protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body 50 in the crossing direction, each of which intersects the axial direction. The plurality of brushes 60a form a plurality of brush groups 61 to 68 (eight in this embodiment). In this embodiment, each brush 60a is formed in a conical shape.

Each brush group 61 to 68 is composed of a plurality of brushes 60a arranged along a direction parallel to the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the first brush group 61, the second brush group 62, the third brush group 63, the fourth brush group 64, the fifth brush group 65, the sixth brush group 66, the seventh brush group 67, and the like. The eighth brush group 68 is provided in this order along the circumferential direction of the cleaning unit main body 50 and at positions separated from each other in the circumferential direction. Specifically, the brush groups 61 to 68 are arranged at intervals of 45 degrees in the circumferential direction. Each brush 60a of each brush group 61 to 68 has a shape in which the protrusion dimension from the cleaning portion main body 50 gradually increases from the base end side to the tip end side of the shaft portion 20. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the line L1 connecting the tips of the brushes 60a of the brush groups 61 to 68 is parallel to the axial direction (central axis L of the shaft portion 20). Further, among the brushes 60a of the brush groups 61 to 68, the distance d1 between the brushes 60a adjacent to each other in the axial direction is the cleaning of the brush 60a located on the tip side in the axial direction among the adjacent brushes 60a. It is set to be larger than the protrusion dimension d2 from the main body 50.

As described above, in the interdental cleaning tool 1 of the present embodiment, among the plurality of brushes 60a forming the brush groups 61 to 68, the brush 60a provided on the tip end side of the cleaning unit main body 50 protrudes. Since the dimensions are relatively large, as shown in FIG. 4, the brush 60a can efficiently clean each corner of the so-called triangular spot (reduce the moving distance of the cleaning portion 40 in the triangular spot). Moreover, among the plurality of brushes 60a, the protruding dimension of the brush 60a provided at the portion on the base end side of the cleaning portion main body 50 is relatively small, that is, the rigidity of the brush 60a is relatively large. Therefore, the cleanability of the side surface of the tooth T by the brush 60a is improved.

Further, since the line L1 connecting the tips of the brushes 60a of the brush groups 61 to 68 is parallel to the axial direction, the cleaning efficiency of the triangular spot is improved and the tooth spacing is improved in each part of the cleaning portion 40 in the axial direction. It is compatible with ensuring insertability into the tooth.

Further, the distance d1 between the brushes 60a adjacent to each other in the axial direction among the brushes 60a is from the protrusion dimension d2 from the cleaning unit main body 50 of the brush 60a located on the tip side in the axial direction among the adjacent brushes 60a. Is also set large.

Therefore, even when the brush 60a located on the tip side in the axial direction of the brush 60a adjacent to each other in the axial direction is bent (elastically deformed) so as to fall toward the proximal end side when the cleaning portion 40 is inserted between the teeth. It is avoided that the brush 60a located on the tip end side interferes with the brush 60a located on the proximal end side in the axial direction among the brushes 60a adjacent to each other. Therefore, the insertability of the cleaning portion 40 between the teeth is well maintained.

It should be noted that the above-described embodiment disclosed this time is exemplary in all respects and is not considered to be restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown by the scope of claims rather than the description of the embodiment described above, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims.

For example, the number of brush groups included in the brush unit 60 is not limited to 8 as long as it is 1 or more. The number of this brush group may be 6, for example.

Further, if each brush 60a of each brush group 61 to 68 has a shape in which the protrusion dimension from the cleaning portion main body 50 gradually increases from the base end side to the tip end side of the shaft portion 20, each brush group. The protrusion dimension of each brush 60a from the cleaning portion main body 50 may be set so that the line L1 connecting the tips of the brushes 60a of 61 to 68 intersects with the central axis L of the shaft portion 20. Alternatively, from the cleaning unit main body 50 of each brush 60a so that the line L1 connecting the tips of the brushes 60a of each brush group 61 to 68 is curved so as to be convex toward the central axis L side or the opposite side. The protrusion dimension of may be set.

Further, each brush 60a may be formed in a polygonal pyramid shape or in a plate shape (spatula shape).

Further, the cleaning unit 40 may be formed of a composite material containing the resin material and a reinforcing material (glass fiber, talc, etc.). By doing so, the rigidity of each brush 60a is increased as compared with the case where the cleaning portion 40 is made of only an elastomer, so that the side surface of the tooth T is effectively cleaned. In this case, the content of the reinforcing material in the composite material is preferably 3% by weight or more and 50% by weight or less, and more preferably 5% by weight or more and 35% by weight or less.

1 Intertooth cleaning tool 10 Base 20 Shaft 30 Grip 40 Cleaning 50 Cleaning main body 60 Brush 60a Brush 61 1st brush group 62 2nd brush group 63 3rd brush group 64 4th brush group 65 5th brush group 66 6th brush group 67 7th brush group 68 8th brush group

Claims (5)

A base including a shaft having a shape that can be inserted between teeth, and
A cleaning portion that covers at least a part of the shaft portion and can clean the space between teeth is provided.
The shaft portion has a shape in which the outer shape of the cross section of the shaft portion in a plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion gradually increases from the tip end side to the base end side of the shaft portion.
The cleaning part
A cleaning unit body that covers at least a part of the shaft portion, and a cleaning unit main body,
It has a brush portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning portion main body, and has.
The brush portion has at least one brush group and has at least one brush group.
The at least one brush group has a shape that protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body in the crossing direction, which is the direction in which each of the brushes intersects the axial direction of the shaft portion, and is in a direction parallel to the axial direction. Includes multiple brushes lined up along
Each brush of the at least one brush group has a shape in which the protrusion dimension from the cleaning portion main body gradually increases from the base end side to the tip end side of the shaft portion, and is an interdental cleaning tool. In the interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1,
An interdental cleaning tool in which the line connecting the tips of the brushes of the at least one brush group is parallel to the axial direction. In the interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1 or 2.
The distance between the brushes adjacent to each other in the axial direction among the brushes of the at least one brush group is the protrusion dimension from the cleaning portion main body of the brush located on the tip side in the axial direction among the adjacent brushes. Larger, interdental cleaning tool. A base including a shaft having a shape that can be inserted between teeth, and
A cleaning portion that covers at least a part of the shaft portion and can clean the space between teeth is provided.
The cleaning part
A cleaning unit body that covers at least a part of the shaft portion, and a cleaning unit main body,
It has a brush portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning portion main body, and has.
The brush portion has at least one brush group and has at least one brush group.
The at least one brush group has a shape that protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning unit main body in the crossing direction, which is the direction in which each of the brushes intersects the axial direction of the shaft portion, and is in a direction parallel to the axial direction. Includes multiple brushes lined up along
The line connecting the tips of the brushes of the at least one brush group is parallel to the axial direction of the shaft portion.
The distance between the brushes adjacent to each other in the axial direction among the brushes of the at least one brush group is the protrusion dimension from the cleaning portion main body of the brush located on the tip side in the axial direction among the adjacent brushes. Larger, interdental cleaning tool. In the interdental cleaning tool according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The cleaning unit is an interdental cleaning tool made of a composite material containing an elastomer and a reinforcing material.

Images