WO2017086369A1

WO2017086369A1 - Interdental cleaning tool

Info

Publication number: WO2017086369A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/084034
Authority: WO
Inventors: 侑吉川; 拓未村瀬
Original assignee: 小林製薬株式会社
Priority date: 2015-11-17
Filing date: 2016-11-17
Publication date: 2017-05-26
Also published as: JP2017086774A; JP6639875B2

Abstract

This interdental cleaning tool (2) is provided with a base part (10), a shaft part (60), and a cleaning part (70). The base part (10) is provided with: a grip part (20); and a connecting part (30) for connecting the grip part (20) and the shaft part (60). The connecting part (30) is provided with: a support part (32) which includes the tip of the base part (10), and which supports the shaft part (60); and a deformation part (34) which is provided between the support part (32) and the grip part (20), and which is capable of elastically deforming so as to allow displacement of the support part (32) in the width direction with respect to the grip part (20). The rigidity of the deformation part (34) is lower than that of the support part (32).

Description

Interdental cleaning tool

The present invention relates to an interdental cleaning tool.

Conventionally, an interdental cleaning tool that is particularly suitable for cleaning the interdental teeth between the back teeth is known. For example, in Patent Document 1, a base having a shape extending along a specific direction, and an axis having a shape that extends from the tip of the base along a direction intersecting the base and can be inserted between teeth. An interdental cleaning tool is disclosed that includes a portion and a cleaning portion that covers the shaft portion and can clean between the teeth.

The base portion 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 (operation force) applied to the gripping portion during cleaning between teeth to the cleaning portion, the connecting portion is usually designed to have high rigidity.

Interdental cleaning with such an interdental cleaning tool is performed in such a manner that the cleaning unit reciprocates along the teeth between the back teeth after insertion into the oral cavity with the cleaning unit at the top while holding the gripping unit. It is done by operating.

In the interdental cleaning tool as described in Patent Document 1, the boundary between the cleaning part (shaft part) and the connecting part or the vicinity thereof may be damaged during the interdental cleaning with the interdental cleaning tool. There is.

Design Registration No. 1416907

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 been performing interdental cleaning with an interdental cleaning tool having a grip portion, a connecting portion, and a shaft portion extending in a direction intersecting with the extending direction of the connecting portion. It was found that the breakage at the boundary between the shaft portion and the connecting portion or the portion in the vicinity thereof is caused by the stress concentration occurring at the portion. Specifically, when operating the grip portion so as to reciprocate the cleaning portion between the back teeth, the external force in the direction intersecting the reciprocating direction, particularly the direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is extracted from the oral cavity (withdrawal) Force) is often applied to the grip. In this case, the shaft portion is displaced so that the tip end portion of the shaft portion is displaced in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the shaft portion and away from the gripping portion with respect to the boundary between the shaft portion and the connecting portion or in the vicinity thereof. 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 in the vicinity thereof.

Therefore, it was conceived that by reducing the stress generated in the boundary or in the vicinity of the boundary, the breakage of the part can be suppressed.

The present invention has been made from such a viewpoint. An interdental cleaning tool according to one aspect of the present invention is extended between a base portion having a shape extending along a specific direction and a direction intersecting with a direction in which the base portion extends from a distal end portion of the base portion, and is inserted between teeth. And a cleaning part that covers at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft part and that can clean between teeth, and the base part is grasped by a finger. A gripping portion having a possible shape, and a connecting portion that connects the gripping portion and the shaft portion, and the connecting portion includes a tip portion of the base portion, and a support portion that supports the shaft portion; A deformable portion that is interposed between the support portion and the grip portion and elastically deformable to allow the support portion to be displaced in a width direction perpendicular to the specific direction with respect to the grip portion; And the rigidity of the deformation part is greater than the rigidity of the support part. Small.

It is a front view of the interdental cleaning tool group of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of an interdental cleaning tool. It is a right view of the interdental cleaning tool shown in FIG. It is a left view of the interdental cleaning tool shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the state which the deformation | transformation part deform | transformed. It is a front view which shows the modification of a deformation | transformation part. It is a front view which shows the modification of a deformation | transformation part.

An interdental cleaning tool group 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the interdental cleaning tool group 1 includes a plurality of interdental cleaning tools 2 connected to each other. Hereinafter, each 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 portion 10, a shaft portion 60, and a cleaning portion 70.

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

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

The cleaning unit 70 covers the shaft unit 60 and can clean between the teeth. The cleaning unit 70 is made of an elastomer having a hardness lower than that of the base 10. In this embodiment, a styrene elastomer is used as the elastomer. However, silicon, an olefin elastomer, a polyester elastomer, or the like may be used as the elastomer. The 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 hair 74 is formed integrally with the cleaning unit main body 72 from the same material as the cleaning unit main body 72. Each brush hair 74 protrudes outward in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the shaft portion 60 from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning portion main body 72 and gradually increases as the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning portion main body 72 increases. It has a shape with a small outer shape. In this embodiment, each bristle 74 is formed in a conical shape.

Next, the base 10 will be described in detail. The base portion 10 includes a grip portion 20 including a base end portion 20b and a connecting portion 30 including a distal end portion 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. From the viewpoint that damage to the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or the vicinity thereof is more reliably suppressed, the base portion 10 is preferably formed of polypropylene. In the present embodiment, the base 10 is made of polypropylene. The shaft portion 60 is also formed of the same synthetic resin as the base portion 10.

From the viewpoint of more reliably suppressing damage to the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or in the vicinity thereof, it is preferable that a reinforcing agent is contained in the synthetic resin forming the base portion 10, Examples of agents 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, powdery reinforcing agents such as talc, and wollastonite. Examples include needle-shaped reinforcing agents. 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 glass fiber and 20% by weight mica.

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

The connecting part 30 connects the grip part 20 and the shaft part 60 together. Specifically, the connecting portion 30 includes a support portion 32 that includes the distal end portion 20 a of the base portion 10 and supports the shaft portion 60, and a deformable portion 34 that is 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 deforming portion 34 is set smaller than the rigidity of the support portion 32. In the deformable portion 34, the support portion 32 is located between the shaft portion 60 and the central axis C of the grasping portion 20 (a vertical bisector of a line segment connecting the ventral edge 21 and the back edge 22). As described above, the support portion 32 and the grip portion 20 are interposed. In the present embodiment, the deforming part 34 has a ventral side deforming part 40 and a dorsal side deforming part 50.

The ventral-side deformable portion 40 includes a portion closer to the shaft portion 60 (left side in FIG. 2) than the central axis C of the grip portion 20 in the width direction of the grip portion 20 and the width direction of the support portion 32. It is interposed between the central part of the support part 32 and the part closer to the shaft part 60. The ventral side deformable portion 40 includes a ventral side base portion 42 and a ventral side deformable portion main body 44.

The ventral base part 42 is connected to the grip part 20. The ventral base portion 42 has a shape that gradually decreases in size in the width direction as it separates from the grip portion 20 and curves so as to separate from the central axis C of the grip portion 20.

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

The back side deformation | transformation part 50 is located on the opposite side to the axial part 60 on the basis of the ventral side deformation part 40 about the width direction, and is separated from the ventral side deformation part 40 about the width direction. The dorsal deforming portion 50 includes a portion on the side farther from the shaft portion 60 than the central axis C of the gripping portion 20 in the width direction of the gripping portion 20 (on the right side in FIG. 2) and the width direction of the support portion 32. It is interposed between the central portion of the support portion 32 and the portion farther from the shaft portion 60. 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 dorsal base portion 52 has a shape in which the dimension in the width direction gradually decreases as the distance from the grip portion 20 increases. The dorsal base portion 52 has a shape that curves so as to be convex toward the ventral base portion 42.

The back side deformation part main body 54 has a shape extending linearly along a specific direction while being interposed between the back side base part 52 and the support part 32. The dimension in the width direction of the back side deformable part main body 54 is set to be smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the back side base part 52. 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 gripping portion 20, the dorsal base portion 52 and the dorsal deformation portion. The dorsal deforming portion 50 is elastically deformed so as to be bent at the boundary with the main body 54. That is, the boundary between the dorsal base portion 52 and the dorsal deformable portion main body 54 constitutes the “dorsal bent portion 50a”. The dorsal bent portion 50a is formed in a portion of the dorsal deformable portion 50 that is closer to the support portion 32 than a portion that overlaps the ventral bent portion 40a in the width direction. In other words, the distance from the support part 32 to the ventral side bent part 40a is set longer than the distance from the support part 32 to the back side bent part 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 dorsal deformable body 54 is set smaller than the dimension W1 in the width direction of the ventral deformable body 44. Further, the dimension D2 of the dorsal deformation main 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 deformation main 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 (eight in this embodiment) of 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 in a state where the boundary between the base portion 10 and the shaft portion 60 of the adjacent interdental cleaning tool 2 is biased in a specific direction. Are connected to each other. Specifically, the boundary between the base 10 and the shaft portion 60 in 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 in the specific interdental cleaning tool 2. The dorsal side edge of each gripping part 20 is located at a position deviated by a predetermined dimension L in the opposite direction from the base end part 20b of the base part 10 with respect to the specific direction from the boundary between the base part 10 and the shaft part 60. 22 and the ventral edge 21 are connected to each other.

Moreover, the base end part 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 a straight line connecting the boundaries between the base 10 and the shaft part 60 of each interdental cleaning tool 2. It has a shape that is inclined with respect to the direction.

In this embodiment, the interdental cleaning tool group 1 is manufactured by a mold. Specifically, first, a synthetic resin (this embodiment) for forming the base portion 10 and the shaft portion 60 in a first mold having a space in which the base portion 10 and the shaft portion 60 of each interdental cleaning tool 2 can be formed. In the form, 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 in a state where the molded product (the base 10 and the shaft part 60) by the first mold is placed in the second mold having a space in which the cleaning unit 70 can be formed. An elastomer to be formed (in this embodiment, a styrene-based elastomer) is filled from the tip portion 20a side of the shaft portion 60. The 2nd metal mold | die has a partition wall which partitions off the site | parts for forming each cleaning part 70. FIG.

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

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

Further, the base end portion 20b of each base portion 10 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 accommodating part such as a packaging container that accommodates the interdental cleaning tool group 1.

Next, an operation for cleaning the interdental space between the back teeth with 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 as the head. Tool 2 is inserted into the oral cavity. And the holding part 20 is operated so that the cleaning part 70 reciprocates along between back teeth.

Here, during the cleaning between the teeth, an external force in a direction intersecting the reciprocating direction of the gripping part 20 (cleaning part 70), particularly a pulling force in a direction in which the interdental cleaning tool 2 is pulled out from the oral cavity is applied to the gripping part 20. May join. In this embodiment, even in this case, the breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or the vicinity thereof is suppressed. Specifically, in the interdental 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, pulling force) is applied to the gripping portion 20 during the cleaning between the teeth. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the deforming portion 34 is elastically deformed so 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 such that the tip of the shaft portion 60 is displaced in a direction intersecting the axial direction of the shaft portion 60 with respect to the support portion 32. The deformation portion 34 absorbs 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 as strain energy. Therefore, since the stress which arises in the boundary part of the axial part 60 and the support part 32 or the site | part of the vicinity is reduced, the damage of the said site | part is suppressed.

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

In addition, since the dimension W2 in the width direction of the dorsal deforming part 50 is smaller than the dimension W1 in the width direction of the ventral deforming part 40, the boundary between the shaft part 60 and the support part 32 or the vicinity thereof during cleaning between teeth. The damage of the part is more reliably suppressed. Specifically, especially during the cleaning between the back teeth, the pulling force is often applied to the grip portion 20, and in this case, the support portion 32 is connected to the ventral deformation portion 40 via the shaft portion 60. An external force in the direction toward the dorsal deforming portion 50 acts. Therefore, since the dimension W2 in the width direction of the dorsal deformation part 50 is smaller than the dimension W1 in the width direction of the ventral deformation part 40, the support part 32 is deformed from the ventral deformation part 40 to the dorsal deformation with respect to the grip part 20. It becomes easy to be displaced in the direction toward the portion 50. Therefore, 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 dorsal deforming portion 50 is larger than the dimension D1 in the depth direction of the ventral deforming portion 40, the ease of displacement of the support portion 32 in the width direction with respect to the grip portion 20 is ensured. However, it is possible to suppress damage to the dorsal deformable portion 50 when an external force is applied to the support portion 32 that is displaced in the depth direction with respect to the grip portion 20.

Further, since the ventral side bent portion 40a and the back side 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 deformation (breaking) of the deforming portion 34 when it is done is suppressed. Specifically, when the ventral side bent portion 40a and the back side bent portion 50a are formed at positions overlapping in the width direction without being separated from each other in a specific direction, the bent portion deforms when the external force is applied. Although the portion 34 is easily broken, the abdomen bent portion 40a and the dorsal bent portion 50a are separated from each other in a specific direction, so that the deformation portion 34 is prevented from being damaged when the external force is applied.

Also, the distance from the support portion 32 to the ventral side bent portion 40a is longer than the distance from the support portion 32 to the back side bent portion 50a. For this reason, when the pulling force is applied to the grip portion 20, the support portion 32 is easily displaced in the direction from the ventral deformation portion 40 toward the dorsal deformation portion 50, so that the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 The breakage of the boundary or the vicinity thereof is further reliably suppressed. Specifically, when the pulling force is applied, the support portion 32 moves in the direction from the ventral-side deformable portion 40 toward the dorsal-side deformable portion 50 with respect to the grasping portion 20 (the direction toward the central axis C of the grasping portion 20). When the deforming

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 deforming portion 34. From the amount of displacement of the dorsal deforming portion 50 necessary for the portion 32 to be displaced by a specific distance along the direction from the ventral deforming portion 40 toward the dorsal deforming portion 50 (the direction toward the central axis C of the gripping portion 20). However, the ventral deforming portion 40 is larger. In the interdental cleaning tool 2, the distance from the support part 32 to the abdominal bending part 40 a is longer than the distance from the support part 32 to the dorsal bending part 50 a, so that the displacement amount of the dorsal deformation part 50 is larger. It is easy to ensure a large amount of displacement of the ventral side deformable 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.

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

The structure of the deforming part 34 is not limited to the above example. For example, the deformable portion 34 has a portion that fills between the ventral deformable portion 40 and the dorsal deformable portion 50, and the entire deformable portion 34 including the portion has a hardness lower than the hardness of the support portion 32. (Elastomer etc.) may be used. Even 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 modification of the interdental cleaning tool 2 of the above embodiment. In this interdental cleaning tool 3, the abdominal deformable portion 40 and the dorsal base portion 52 are formed of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, and the cleaning portion 70, the dorsal deformable portion main body 54, the cleaning portion 70, and the dorsal deformable portion main body 54. Are formed of an elastomer or the like having a lower hardness than the synthetic resin. Also in this case, the boundary between the dorsal base portion 52 and the dorsal deformable portion main body 54 constitutes the dorsal bent portion 50a. Further, the distance from the support portion 32 to the ventral side bent portion 40a is set longer than the distance from the support portion 32 to the back side bent portion 50a. Even in this interdental cleaning tool 3, when the pulling force is applied to the gripping part 20, the

deformation parts

40, 50 are effectively elastically deformed so as to be bent at the

respective bending parts

40a, 50a. Part of the stress generated at the boundary between the portion 60 and the support portion 32 or at the vicinity thereof is absorbed.

FIG. 8 shows another modification of the interdental cleaning tool 2 of the above embodiment. In the interdental cleaning tool 4, a cutout is formed in each of the abdominal deformable portion 40 and the dorsal deformable portion 50. In this case, the notches constitute the

bent portions

40a and 50a. Also in this case, the distance from the support part 32 to the abdominal bending part 40a is set longer than the distance from the support part 32 to the back bending part 50a. Even in this aspect, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

The embodiment described above includes an invention having the following configuration.

The interdental cleaning tool of the above-described embodiment is extended between a base portion having a shape extending along a specific direction and a direction intersecting with a direction in which the base portion extends from the distal end portion of the base portion, and is inserted between teeth. And a cleaning part that covers at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft part and that can clean between teeth, and the base part can be gripped by a finger. A gripping portion having a shape, and a connecting portion that connects the gripping portion and the shaft portion, wherein the connecting portion includes a tip portion of the base portion and supports the shaft portion; and the support And a deformable portion that is elastically deformable to allow the support portion to be displaced in a width direction perpendicular to the specific direction with respect to the grip portion. And the rigidity of the deformation part is smaller than the rigidity of the support part. There.

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

Specifically, the deforming portion is positioned on the opposite side of the shaft portion with respect to the ventral deforming portion with respect to the ventral deforming portion in the width direction, and is separated from the ventral deforming portion in the width direction. It is preferable to have the back side deformation | transformation part.

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

In this case, it is preferable that the dimension in the width direction of the dorsal deformation part is smaller than the dimension in the width direction of the ventral deformation part.

In this way, the breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion and the support portion or the vicinity thereof during cleaning between the teeth can be more reliably suppressed. Specifically, during cleaning between the back teeth, an external force (withdrawal force) in the direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is withdrawn from the oral cavity, among the directions intersecting the moving direction (reciprocating direction) of the cleaning unit, In many cases, the external force in the direction from the abdominal deformation part to the back deformation part acts on the support part via the shaft part. Therefore, when the back side deformation part is smaller than the width direction dimension of the ventral side deformation part, the support part is easily displaced in the direction from the abdominal side deformation part to the back side deformation part with respect to the grip part. Therefore, breakage of the boundary between the shaft portion and the support portion or a portion in the vicinity thereof is more reliably suppressed.

Furthermore, in this case, it is preferable that the dimension of the dorsal deforming part in the depth direction orthogonal to both the specific direction and the width direction is larger than the dimension of the ventral deforming part in the depth direction.

In this way, while ensuring the ease of displacement in the width direction with respect to the grip portion of the support portion, the back side deformation portion of the back side deformed portion when the external force that moves the support portion in the depth direction acts on the grip portion. Damage can be suppressed.

In the interdental cleaning tool, the ventral deforming portion is bent when an external force is applied to the support portion so that the support portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion. The dorsal deformation portion has a dorsal bending portion that bends when an external force is applied to the support portion such that the support portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion; It is preferable that the ventral side bent portion and the dorsal side bent portion are separated from each other in the specific direction.

In this way, damage (breaking) of the deformed portion when an external force is applied to the support portion so that the support portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion is suppressed. 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 is applied, the bent portions are deformed by these bent portions. Although it is easy to bend, since the ventral side bent portion and the back side bent portion are separated from each other in a specific direction, the deformation portion is prevented from being damaged when the external force is applied.

In this case, the ventral deforming portion is interposed between the ventral base portion connected to the grasping portion, the ventral base portion and the support portion, and the width direction of the ventral base portion. A ventral deformable portion main body having a size in the width direction smaller than the dimension of the back side deformable portion, the dorsal deformable portion being connected to the gripping portion, the dorsal base portion, A dorsal deformable body having a widthwise dimension smaller than the widthwise dimension of the dorsal base part, and being interposed between the support part, the ventral base part and the belly It is preferable that the boundary with the side deformation part main body constitutes the ventral side bending part, and the boundary between the dorsal side base part and the back side deformation part main body constitutes the back side bending part.

In this way, the abdominal bent part is formed by making the width direction dimension of the abdominal deformable portion main body smaller than the width direction dimension of the abdominal foundation part, and the width direction dimension of the dorsal foundation part. Also, the back-side bent portion is formed by reducing the dimension in the width direction of the back-side deformable portion main body.

In the interdental cleaning tool, it is preferable that the distance from the support portion to the ventral side bent portion is longer than the distance from the support portion to the back side bent portion.

In this way, when the external force (extraction force) in the direction in which the interdental cleaning tool is pulled out from the oral cavity is applied to the gripping part during cleaning between the teeth, the support part is deformed ventrally with respect to the gripping part. Since it becomes easy to displace to the direction which goes to a back | dorsal deformation part from a part, the damage of the boundary of a shaft part and a support part or the site | part of the vicinity is suppressed more reliably. Specifically, when the pulling force is applied, each deforming part is displaced so that the supporting part is displaced with respect to the gripping part in a direction from the abdominal deforming part to the dorsal deforming part. Part of the stress generated at the boundary with the part or in the vicinity thereof is absorbed by the deforming part, but at this time, the support part is displaced by a specific distance along the direction from the ventral side deforming part to the back side deforming part. Therefore, the amount of displacement of the ventral side deformed portion is larger than the amount of displacement of the back side deformable portion necessary for this. In this interdental cleaning tool, since the distance from the support part to the ventral bending part is longer than the distance from the support part to the dorsal bending part, the displacement of the ventral deformation part is larger than the displacement amount of the dorsal deformation part. Easy to secure large amount. Therefore, deformation of the abdominal deformable portion and the dorsal deformable portion when the pulling force is applied, that is, 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.

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

(First type embodiment)
As a resin material for forming the cleaning portion 70, four types of styrene elastomer, olefin elastomer, polyester elastomer, and silicon, and as a synthetic resin for forming the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS, and polybutylene are used. 36 types of first type examples were prepared by combining each of terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyacetal, ABS and polypropylene mixed at a ratio of 3: 7, and 9 types.

Among these first type embodiments, for example, when ABS is adopted as the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, and when polystyrene is adopted, the shaft portion 60 is unlikely to buckle against the pressing force in the direction of the shaft portion 60, The sharpness of the gate marks at the time of molding the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 was suppressed, and it was difficult to feel pain, and further, the connection between the base portions 10 was easily disconnected. Moreover, when what mixed ABS and polypropylene in the ratio of 3: 7 is employ | adopted as the axial part 60 and the base 10, in addition to the said effect at the time of employ | adopting ABS as the axial part 60 and the base 10, The shaft portion 60 is not easily broken with respect to the force applied in the vertical direction and is flexible, and has excellent compatibility with the cleaning portion 70 made of a styrene-based elastomer.

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

Here, the glass fiber is added to the synthetic resin so that the glass fiber content in the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 is 33% by weight, and the nanocellulose fiber is a nanocellulose fiber in the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10. The talc is added to the synthetic resin so that the content of talc in the shaft part 60 and the base part 10 is 20% by weight. The mica content in the part 60 and the base part 10 is added to the synthetic resin so that the content is 40% by weight, and the glass flake content in the shaft part 60 and the base part 10 is 40% by weight. Added to the synthetic resin, the wollastonite is added to the synthetic resin so that the content of wollastonite in the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 is 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 type examples, for example, when adopting a polypropylene containing 40% by weight of mica as the shaft part 60 and the base part 10, a polypropylene containing 40% by weight of glass flakes, and a polypropylene containing 50% by weight of wollastonite, The shaft portion 60 is difficult to break with respect to the force applied to the shaft portion 60 in the vertical direction, is excellent in compatibility with the cleaning portion 70 made of a styrene-based elastomer, and uses polypropylene as the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10. Compared to the case where the shaft portion 60 is pressed, the shaft portion 60 is less likely to buckle against the pressing force in the direction of the shaft portion 60, and the sharpness of the gate marks at the time of molding the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 is suppressed, making it difficult to feel pain. Ease of disconnection was improved. Further, 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 flakes, and polypropylene containing 50% by weight of wollastonite, 33% by weight of glass fiber is used. Compared with the case where polypropylene is included, the strength of the shaft portion 60 with respect to the pressing force in the direction of the shaft portion 60 is equal to or higher, and the strength of the shaft portion 60 against the force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft portion 60 is higher than the strength. . In particular, when a polypropylene containing 40% by weight of glass flakes and a polypropylene containing 50% by weight of wollastonite are employed as the shaft 60 and the base 10, the shaft 60 is bent against the force applied to the shaft 60 in the vertical direction. It was excellent in hardness. In addition, for example, when polypropylene containing 30% by weight of calcium carbonate is used as the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, the gate at the time of molding the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 as compared with the case where polypropylene is used as the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10. The sharpness of the marks was suppressed and it was difficult to feel pain, and the difficulty in bending of the shaft portion 60 with respect to the force in the vertical direction of the shaft portion 60 was improved.

(Third Example)
As a synthetic resin for forming the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, the content in the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10 is 8 for each of polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyacetal, Added to 10% glass fiber and 30% talc, added 10% glass fiber and 10% mica, 5% glass fiber and 35% mica Added, glass fiber 30% by weight and mica added to 10% by weight, glass fiber 10% by weight and glass flake 30% by weight, glass fiber 10% by weight and wax Added to last 30% by weight 48 types of shaft portions 60 and base portion 10 formed by adopting one selected from six types of combinations of reinforcing agents and blending amounts thereof, and four types of cleaning consisting of the above four resin materials 192 types of third-type examples were created by combining each of the unit 70 and the unit 70.

Among these third embodiments, for example, when polypropylene including glass fiber and other reinforcing agents is adopted as the shaft portion 60 and the base portion 10, the shaft portion 60 bends against the force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft portion 60. It is difficult and flexible, has excellent compatibility with the cleaning unit 70 made of styrene-based elastomer, is less likely to buckle the shaft 60 against the pressing force in the direction of the shaft 60, and gate traces when the shaft 60 and the base 10 are molded In addition to being excellent in ease of disconnection of the connection between the base portions 10, the force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft portion 60 as compared with the case where polypropylene containing glass fiber alone is adopted. In contrast to the case where the shaft portion 60 is hard to be broken and is excellent in flexibility and is made of polypropylene containing a reinforcing agent other than glass fiber alone, the pressing force in the direction of the shaft portion 60 is reduced. Department 60 were those hard to buckle.

(4th Example)
The styrenic elastomer 3 added to the shaft part 60 and the base part 10 in the above-mentioned third embodiment so that the content in the shaft part 60 and the base part 10 is 1% by weight of the styrene elastomer. .5% by weight added, styrene-based elastomer added to 10% by weight, olefin-based elastomer added to 5% by weight, polyester-based elastomer 15% by weight 240 types of shaft portions 60 and base portions 10 obtained by adopting one type selected from five types of combinations of elastomers and blending amounts thereof, and four types of cleaning units consisting of the above four resin materials 960 types of fourth examples were created by each combination of 70 and 70.

In these 4th Example, when the base part 10 contains a reinforcing agent and an elastomer, compared with the case where only the reinforcing agent is included, the shaft part 60 is not easily broken with respect to the force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft part 60, and is flexible. Was improving. For example, when a polypropylene containing 3.5% by weight of a styrene elastomer and 40% by weight of mica is adopted as the base part 10, the shaft part 60 is not easily broken against the force applied in the vertical direction of the shaft part 60 and has flexibility. It is excellent in compatibility with the cleaning part 70 made of styrene-based elastomer, the shaft part 60 is not easily buckled against the pressing force in the direction of the shaft part 60, and the sharpness of the gate marks when the shaft part 60 and the base part 10 are molded is suppressed. It is not easy to feel pain, and it is not only excellent in the disconnection of the bases 10 but also in the vertical direction of the shaft 60 as compared with the shaft 60 and the base 10 using polypropylene containing 40% by weight of mica. The shaft portion 60 was not easily broken against such force, and the flexibility was improved.

Further, in all of the above embodiments, since the stress generated at the boundary between the shaft portion 60 and the support portion 32 or a portion in the vicinity thereof is reduced, the 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 an elastomer is contained in addition to the reinforcing agent, the breakage of the portion is suitably suppressed.

Claims

An interdental cleaning tool,
A base having a shape extending along a specific direction;
A shaft portion having a shape that extends from the distal end portion of the base portion along a direction intersecting with a direction in which the base portion extends, and that can be inserted between teeth.
A cleaning part that covers at least a part of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft part and is capable of cleaning between teeth; and
The base is
A gripping portion 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 is
A support part including the tip of the base part and supporting the shaft part;
A deformable portion that is interposed between the support portion and the grip portion and elastically deformable to allow the support portion to be displaced in a width direction perpendicular to the specific direction with respect to the grip portion; Have
The interdental cleaning tool, wherein the deformation portion has a rigidity smaller than that of the support portion.
The interdental cleaning tool according to claim 1,
The deformation part is
A ventral deformity,
An interdental cleaning tool comprising: a dorsal deforming portion located on the opposite side of the shaft portion with respect to the abdominal deforming portion in the width direction and spaced from the abdominal deforming portion in the width direction.
In the interdental cleaning tool of Claim 2,
The interdental cleaning tool, wherein the widthwise dimension of the dorsal deformable portion is smaller than the widthwise dimension of the ventral deformable portion.
In the interdental cleaning tool of Claim 3,
The interdental cleaning tool, wherein the dimension of the dorsal deforming part in the depth direction orthogonal to both the specific direction and the width direction is larger than the dimension of the ventral deforming part in the depth direction.
The interdental cleaning tool according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The ventral deforming portion has a ventral bending portion that bends when an external force is applied to the support portion so that the support portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion,
The dorsal deforming portion has a dorsal bending portion that bends when an external force is applied to the support portion such that the support portion is displaced in the width direction with respect to the grip portion,
The abdominal-side bent part and the back-side bent part are spaced apart from each other in the specific direction.
In the interdental cleaning tool according to claim 5,
The ventral deformed portion is
A ventral base connected to the gripping portion;
A ventral side deformable portion main body interposed between the ventral base portion and the support portion and having a width dimension smaller than the width dimension of the ventral base portion;
The dorsal deformation part is
A dorsal foundation connected to the gripping portion;
A back side deformable portion main body interposed between the back base portion and the support portion and having a width dimension smaller than the width dimension of the back base portion,
The boundary between the ventral base portion and the ventral deforming portion main body constitutes the ventral bent portion,
An interdental cleaning tool, wherein a boundary between the back side base portion and the back side deformable portion main body constitutes the back side bent portion.
In the interdental cleaning tool according to claim 5 or 6,
An interdental cleaning tool, wherein the distance from the support portion to the ventral side bent portion is longer than the distance from the support portion to the back side bent portion.