WO2009081783A1

WO2009081783A1 - Interdental brush

Info

Publication number: WO2009081783A1
Application number: PCT/JP2008/072753
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ai Ohnishi
Original assignee: Lion Corporation
Priority date: 2007-12-26
Filing date: 2008-12-15
Publication date: 2009-07-02
Also published as: KR20100106988A; CN101909483A; JPWO2009081783A1; JP5194029B2; KR101497176B1

Abstract

An interdental brush which can be easily operated in an oral cavity, is hygienic, and is easy to use. The interdental brush has a brush section (4) formed by holding filaments (3) between a twisted wire (2), a bendable neck (5) for holding the base (2a) of the wire (2), and a handle (6) connected to the brush section (4) via the neck (5). The base (2a) of the wire (2) is embedded in a base material (7) integrally forming the handle (6) and the neck (5) together. The root of the wire (2), the root being that which is exposed from the base material (7), is covered by a nozzle (8) provided to the head of the base material (7). A narrow section (5a) formed at a part of the base material (7) makes the neck (5) bendable, and at least the narrow section (5a) is surrounded and covered by a cover material (10).

Description

Interdental brush

The present invention relates to an interdental brush for cleaning a gap between teeth.
This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-334323 filed in Japan on December 26, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

An interdental brush is mainly used as an auxiliary cleaning tool for cleaning a gap between teeth (between adjacent teeth), which is difficult to clean with a toothbrush, and is generally a filament between twisted wires. The brush part is formed by fixing the brush part to the tip of the handle part.

In such an interdental brush, by inserting the brush part into a narrow gap between teeth and moving it back and forth, it becomes possible to remove plaque accumulated in the gap of the teeth while entwining with a filament. ing.

The interdental brush has an I-shaped interdental brush with the brush portion attached to the tip of the handle portion in the axial direction, and the brush portion attached to the tip of the handle portion at a predetermined angle with respect to the axial direction. And an L-shaped interdental brush. Among these, the I-shaped interdental brush is suitable for cleaning the gap between the front teeth, and the L-shaped interdental brush is suitable for cleaning the gap between the back teeth.

By the way, when the gap between the back teeth is cleaned with an I-shaped interdental brush, the base portion of the wire is bent and used. In this case, the wire once bent has a bend and does not return to the original straight line state even if corrected. Moreover, when such bending is repeated, the base portion of the wire is easily broken due to fatigue.

In view of this, an interdental brush has been proposed in which the concentration of stress on the base portion of the wire is reduced by imparting flexibility to the tip of the handle portion (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 7). However, in such an interdental brush, although the angle of the brush portion can be changed by bending the tip of the handle portion with a finger or the like, the operation is troublesome and may be particularly difficult for an elderly person or a child. Moreover, when cleaning the gap of the back teeth, the fingertip must be put into the oral cavity depending on the angle, which is not preferable for hygiene purposes.
JP 2005-224268 A JP 2007-37791 A JP-A-9-168426 JP-A-61-240907 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-62130 Japanese Patent No. 3886050 JP 2004-242781 A

The present invention has been proposed in view of such conventional circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an interdental brush that is excellent in operability in the oral cavity and is hygienic and easy to use.

In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a brush portion in which a filament is sandwiched between twisted wires, a neck portion that holds the base end portion of the wire and is made flexible. A base portion of the wire that is exposed from the base material, the base end portion of the wire being embedded in a base material that integrally forms the handle portion and the neck portion. The nozzle portion provided at the tip of the base material covers the neck portion, and the neck portion can be bent by providing a constricted portion on a part of the base material, and at least the periphery of the constricted portion is covered with a covering material. It is an interdental brush characterized by covering.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the constricted portion is provided between the nozzle formed by bending the proximal end portion of the wire and the nozzle portion. The interdental brush.

The invention according to claim 3 is the interdental brush according to

claim

1 or 2, wherein the covering material extends from the constricted portion and covers at least a part of the handle portion.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that a part of the covering material extended from the constricted portion is embedded in a through hole formed in the base material. It is an interdental brush as described in claim | item.

The invention according to claim 5 is the interdental brush according to claim 4, wherein the through hole is provided facing the proximal end portion of the wire.

The invention according to claim 6 is the interdental brush according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the base material is made of a hard resin and the covering material is made of a soft elastomer resin.

As described above, according to the present invention, the base end portion of the wire is embedded in the base material integrally forming the handle portion and the neck portion, and the base portion of the wire exposed from the base material is attached to the tip of the base material. The provided nozzle part is covered, and the neck part can be bent by providing a constricted part on a part of the base material, and at least the periphery of the constricted part is covered with a covering material, so the brush part It is possible to make the followability of bending good when inserting the brush into the tooth gap, and to easily insert the brush portion into the tooth gap. In particular, with this interdental brush, when cleaning the gap between the back teeth, the brush part can be inserted into the gap between the back teeth without folding the tip of the handle with a finger or the like. Excellent operability.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of an interdental brush to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the interdental brush shown in FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A ′ of the cross-sectional view of the interdental brush 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line B-B ′ in the cross-sectional view of the interdental brush 1 shown in FIG. 1. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C ′ of the cross-sectional view of the interdental brush 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4A shows a modification of the interdental brush 1 shown in FIG. 1, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A ′. FIG. 4B shows a modification of the interdental brush 1 shown in FIG. 1, and is a B-B ′ sectional view thereof. FIG. 4C shows a modification of the interdental brush 1 shown in FIG. 1, and is a C-C ′ sectional view thereof.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Interdental brush 2 Wire 2a Base end part 2b Anchor 3 Filament 4 Brush part 5 Neck part 5a Constriction part 6 Handle part 7 Base material 8 Nozzle part 9 Through-hole 10 Coating | covering material

Hereinafter, an interdental brush to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an example of an interdental brush 1 to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the interdental brush 1 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a tooth shown in FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′, and FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC ′.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the interdental brush 1 to which the present invention is applied includes a brush portion 4 that sandwiches a filament 3 between twisted wires 2, and a proximal end portion of the wire 2. The neck part 5 holding 2a and the handle part 6 connected with the brush part 4 through the neck part 5 are provided.

The brush portion 4 is formed by interposing a bundle of filaments 3 continuously or intermittently from the tip side between two folded wires 2 and then twisting the wires 2 together.
Further, an anchor 2b formed by bending a part of the proximal end portion 2a of the wire 2 is provided. The anchor 2b serves to prevent the anchor 2b from coming off when embedded in the base material 7 described later.

The wire 2 may be a conventionally used metal wire such as stainless steel or Co alloy. The thickness of the wire 2 may be about 0.23 to 0.35 mm in diameter as in the conventional interdental brush.

For the filament 3, conventionally used resin filaments such as nylon, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and PTT (polytrimethylene terephthalate) may be used. Natural hair such as animal hair may also be used.

The neck portion 5 and the handle portion 6 are made of a base material 7 integrally molded using a hard resin material. Examples of the hard resin material include heat such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate, saturated polyester resin, polymethyl methacrylate, cellulose propionate, polyurethane, polyamide, and ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). Although a plastic resin material can be mentioned, it is not necessarily limited to these materials.

The base material 7 is formed in a long shape, and its tip has a tapered shape. The brush portion 4 is attached in a state in which the base end portion 2 a of the wire 2 is embedded in the distal end of the base material 7 so as to coincide with the axial direction of the base material 7. And the nozzle part 8 provided in the front-end | tip of the said base material 7 has coat | covered the base part of the wire 2 exposed from this base material 7. FIG. This nozzle part 8 is for protecting the base part of the wire 2 and improving the durability and pull-out strength of the wire 2.

Further, a through hole 9 is formed in the base material 7. The through hole 9 is for positioning the wire 2 when the brush portion 4 is attached to the tip of the base material 7, and is provided facing the base end portion 2 a of the wire 2.

The neck portion 5 is a portion connecting the handle portion 6 and the brush portion 4, and can be bent by providing a constricted portion 5 a on a part of the base material 7. The constricted portion 5a is provided between the nozzle portion 8 and the anchor 2b. Moreover, the coating | covering material 10 has covered the circumference | surroundings of this narrow part 5a. In order to obtain a non-slip effect and ease of gripping (a feeling of fit), it is preferable to use a soft elastomer resin for the covering material 10. Examples of such a soft elastomer resin include a styrene elastomer resin and an olefin elastomer. Examples thereof include resins and polyester elastomer resins. A part of the covering material 10 is embedded in the through hole 9. The covering material 10 can be formed by two-color molding with the base material 7.

The handle portion 6 is a portion that is gripped by the user, and the covering material 10 covers the surface of the base material 7 that forms the handle portion 6. Specifically, the covering material 10 extends from the constricted portion 5 a and covers both side surfaces and the rear end portion of the handle portion 6. Moreover, the handle | steering-wheel part 6 can obtain the attractive external appearance excellent also in design by providing such a coating | covering material 10 partially or entirely.

In the interdental brush 1 having the above-described structure, the followability of bending when the brush portion 4 is inserted into the tooth gap can be made good, and the brush portion 4 can be easily inserted into the tooth gap. . In particular, in this interdental brush 1, when cleaning the gap between the back teeth, the brush portion 4 can be inserted into the gap between the back teeth without bending the tip of the handle portion 6 with a finger or the like, so it is hygienic and easy to use. Excellent operability in the oral cavity.

In addition, this invention is not necessarily limited to the structure of the said interdental brush 1, A various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. In addition, in the following description, about the site | part equivalent to the said interdental brush 1, while omitting description, the same code | symbol shall be attached | subjected in drawing.

For example, FIG. 4 shows a modification of the interdental brush 1, FIG. 4A is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′, FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the line BB ′, and FIG. 4C is a sectional view taken along the line CC ′. A cross-sectional view is shown. Thus, the interdental brush 1 can be implemented by appropriately changing the shape of the base material 7, the covering shape of the covering material 10, and the like.

Hereinafter, the effects of the present invention will be made clearer by examples. In addition, this invention is not limited to a following example, In the range which does not change the summary, it can change suitably and can implement.

Example 1
In Example 1, the interdental brush which has the structure similar to the interdental brush 1 to which this invention shown in FIG. 1 is applied was produced actually. Specifically, in the interdental brush of Example 1, the total length is 72.5 mm, the tip from the tip of the base material is tapered to 32.5 mm, and the subsequent thickness is a uniform rectangle of 3 mm × 3 mm. A handle portion was used. Further, a constricted portion (minimum diameter 1.0 mm) was provided at a portion 4.5 to 9.5 mm from the tip of the substrate, and a through hole was provided at a position 14.5 mm from the tip of the substrate. Moreover, the thickness of the soft resin which coat | covers a base material was 1.75 mm.

(Comparative Example 1)
In Comparative Example 1, an interdental brush in which a bellows-shaped bent portion was provided on a one-color molded handle portion made of only a hard resin as described in Patent Document 2 was prepared.

(Comparative Example 2)
In the comparative example 2, the interdental brush which provided the deformation body which consists of a soft synthetic resin only in the front-end | tip part as described in the said patent document 3 was produced.

And about the interdental brush of these Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, "insertability to a back tooth", "grip property of a handle", "appearance", and these "comprehensive evaluation" were performed. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1.
In addition, each evaluation is a sensory evaluation by 10 expert panelists, “○” indicates that 8 or more are good, “△” indicates that 4-7 are good, and “3” or less is good What was made was set as "x".

As shown in Table 1, in the interdental brush 1 of Example 1, compared with the interdental brushes of Comparative Examples 1 and 2, “insertability into back teeth”, “grip property of handle”, “appearance” Since any of these evaluations gave good results, very good results were obtained for the “total evaluation”.

According to the present invention, the base end portion of the wire is embedded in the base material integrally forming the handle portion and the neck portion, and the base portion of the wire exposed from the base material is provided at the tip of the base material. Since the neck part can be bent by providing a constricted part on a part of the base material, and the covering material covers at least the periphery of the constricted part, the brush part is used as a gap between teeth. The followability of the bending at the time of insertion can be made favorable, and the brush portion can be easily inserted into the tooth gap. In particular, with this interdental brush, when cleaning the gap between the back teeth, the brush part can be inserted into the gap between the back teeth without folding the tip of the handle with a finger or the like. Excellent operability. By using the interdental brush of the present invention, effective prevention of oral diseases can be realized.

Claims

A brush part in which a filament is sandwiched between twisted wires;
A neck that holds the proximal end of the wire;
A handle portion connected to the brush portion via the neck portion,
The base end portion of the wire is embedded in the base material that integrally forms the handle portion and the neck portion, and the nozzle portion provided at the front end of the base material covers the base portion of the wire exposed from the base material. And
An interdental brush characterized in that a neck portion can be bent by providing a constricted portion on a part of the base material, and a covering material covers at least the periphery of the constricted portion.
The interdental brush according to claim 1, wherein the constricted portion is provided between an anchor formed by bending a proximal end portion of the wire and the nozzle portion.
The interdental brush according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the covering material extends from the constricted portion and covers at least a part of the handle portion.
The interdental brush according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a part of the covering material extended from the constricted portion is embedded in a through hole formed in the base material.
The interdental brush according to claim 4, wherein the through hole is provided facing a proximal end portion of the wire.
The interdental brush according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the base material is made of a hard resin and the covering material is made of a soft elastomer resin.