JP2017108931A - Dental floss holder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dental floss holder allowing a user to easily adjust a stretching state of dental floss, preventing easy loosening of the once-stretched floss and having high usability when performing interdental cleaning.SOLUTION: A dental floss holder includes a grip part and a stretching part for stretching dental floss. The stretching part includes: a pair of arm parts on which the dental floss is laid across laterally; winding parts projecting from outsides of the pair of arm parts and capable of winding the dental floss therearound; cut parts being cut at tip ends of the pair of arm parts; guide parts provided along the longitudinal direction of the pair of arm parts for guiding the dental floss; and locking parts projecting to portions near the tip ends of the pair of arm parts for locking the dental floss. The dental floss is made to pass through the cut part and, while causing the locking part to lock the dental floss, the dental floss is wound around the portion near the tip end.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a dental floss holder for attaching a dental floss for cleaning between teeth.

Conventionally, the importance of using dental floss in interdental cleaning for cleaning between teeth has been pointed out. There is a method to clean the gap between the teeth by holding the edges of the dental floss with both hands, but there are cases where the hands get in the way and it is difficult to clean, so there is a dental floss holder that stretches the dental floss. Often used.

This dental floss holder includes a disposable type in which the dental floss is previously attached to the dental floss holder, and an exchange type in which the dental floss can be replaced. The interchangeable type has the advantage that the tension of the floss can be adjusted according to the user and the hygiene advantage, and has recently been widely used.

Various proposals have been made regarding this interchangeable dental floss holder (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2014-183874 A

According to Patent Document 1, a base portion (11) having a base side connecting portion (11A) that is connectable to a connecting portion (52A) formed on a main body portion (50) that is a gripping portion is formed at one end portion. A branch portion (12) which is branched in a U-shape at the other end of the base portion (11) so that a dental floss (30) can be stretched at the branch destination, and a front end of the branch portion (12) A tension groove (14) for tensioning the dental floss (30) and a locking body (15) are formed in the part, and the dental floss (30) is formed at the other end of the base (11). A dental floss holder (10) in which a locking part (13) for locking is disposed is disclosed.

According to the dental floss holder (10) of Patent Document 1, the locking portion (30) is disposed at the other end of the base portion (11) where the branch portion (12) branches in a U-shape. It is the composition which becomes. However, in the vicinity of the U-shaped branch, the dental floss holder may be moved while the interdental cleaning is performed, for example, with the thumb or the forefinger attached. There is a problem that it may be difficult to clean.

For this reason, it is conceivable to dispose the locking portion (30) at a location that does not interfere with the fingers, for example, at an intermediate position of the base portion (11). When it is arranged at such a position, there is a problem that there is a possibility that waste of the dental floss may occur, for example, a long floss is required at the time of interdental cleaning.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the purpose thereof is to easily adjust the tension of the dental floss, and it is difficult to loosen the once-flossed floss and is easy to handle during interdental cleaning. It is to provide a dental floss holder.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a dental floss holder comprising an elongated gripping part and a tensioning part provided at the front end part of the gripping part to stretch the dental floss, wherein the tensioning part branches from the front end part A pair of arm portions extending forward, and a pair of arm portions in which the dental floss is horizontally mounted between the tips thereof, and in the vicinity of the front end portion, on each side of the pair of arm portions Projecting from the portion, wound around the dental floss, provided with a notch cut into each of the ends of the pair of arms, and along the length of each of the pair of arms, A guide portion that guides the dental floss, and a locking portion that protrudes in the vicinity of each of the tips and locks the dental floss, and passes the dental floss through the notch portion, and While the floss is engaged with the locking portion, wound around the dental floss to the vicinity of the tip, a dental floss holder.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the dental floss holder according to the first aspect, the arm portion is curved in the middle so that the tip is directed downward.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the dental floss holder according to the first or second aspect, the guide portion includes a groove portion and / or a step portion that descends from an upper surface of the arm portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the dental floss holder according to any one of the first to third aspects, the locking portion protrudes forward from an upper surface in the vicinity of the tip.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the dental floss holder according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the winding portion includes a quadrangular columnar winding core material protruding from the side portion, and the winding core material. A cover plate having an area larger than a cross-sectional area, disposed substantially parallel to the side portion, and provided at a tip of the wound core member, wherein the cover plate material protrudes toward the side portion Part.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is the dental floss holder according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the gripping portion projects a tongue cleaner at a rear end portion thereof.

According to the present invention, in a dental floss holder comprising an elongated gripping part and a stretching part provided at the front end part of the gripping part to stretch the dental floss, the stretching part branches off from the front end part. A pair of arm portions extending forward and a pair of arm portions in which the dental floss is horizontally mounted between the tips thereof, and in the vicinity of the front end portion, each side portion of the pair of arm portions Projecting from the wound portion around which the dental floss is wound, a cut portion cut into the respective distal ends of the pair of arm portions, and a length direction of each of the pair of arm portions. A guide portion that guides the floss; and a locking portion that protrudes in the vicinity of each of the tips and locks the dental floss, and passes the dental floss through the cut portion, and the dental floss Since the dental floss is wound around the tip while the loss is locked to the locking portion, the tension of the dental floss stretched between the tips of the pair of arm portions is adjusted to a desired tension. In addition, the dental floss can be tied to the vicinity of the tip while maintaining the tension, and both ends of the dental floss can be tied to the wrapping part, making it easy to adjust the tension of the dental floss and Thus, it is possible to provide a dental floss holder in which the dental floss is less likely to loosen. In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the vicinity of the front end of the gripping portion as a location where the pair of arm portions branch, so that it becomes easy to attach a finger to the location when cleaning between teeth, A dental floss holder that can be easily cleaned between teeth can be provided.

In addition, since the arm portion is configured to be bent in the middle so that the tip is directed downward, an operation at the time of interdental cleaning can be performed in a natural state where the forearm is substantially horizontal. A dental floss holder with excellent properties can be provided.

Moreover, since the said guide part is the structure containing the step part which falls from the upper surface of a groove part and / or the said arm part, a guide part can be formed with a simple structure.

In addition, since the locking portion protrudes forward from the upper surface in the vicinity of the tip of the arm portion, when a dental floss is horizontally mounted between the tips of the arm portions, the locking portion protrudes in a direction substantially orthogonal to the horizontal direction. Therefore, when cleaning between the teeth with dental floss, it is difficult for the locking portion to touch the side of the tongue or the buccal mucosa, so that it is possible to provide a dental floss holder that is easy to clean between the teeth.

Further, the winding part is a rectangular column-shaped winding core material protruding from the side part, and a plate material having an area larger than the cross-sectional area of the winding core material, and is arranged substantially parallel to the side part, A cover plate provided at the tip of the wound core material, and the cover plate material includes a protruding portion that protrudes toward the side portion, so that the core material is attached to the dental floss wound around the wound core material. Even if the unwinding force works, the dental floss holder can be provided in which the dental floss is more difficult to loosen because it is pressed by the protrusion.

Moreover, since the said grip part is a structure which makes a tongue cleaner protrude in the rear-end part, not only cleaning between teeth but the cleaning of a tongue is also attained, and the highly convenient dental floss holder can be provided.

It is a perspective view of a dental floss holder concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is the top view and left view of the dental floss holder which concern on embodiment of this invention. It is the perspective view and partial plan view explaining the winding part of the dental floss holder which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a partial side view explaining the method of mounting | wearing the dental floss holder which concerns on embodiment of this invention with dental floss. It is a partial perspective view explaining a mode that dental floss was attached to a dental floss holder concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is the side view and partial bottom view explaining the modification of the dental floss holder which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

The dental floss holder of the present invention is provided with a gripping part that can be gripped by hand and a tension part that is arranged at the front end part and stretches the dental floss. The extension portion is a pair of arm portions that branch out from the front end portion of the grip portion into a U shape or a Y shape and extend forward, and a dental floss is horizontally mounted between the ends of the arm portions. A pair of arms, a vicinity of the front end portion, projecting laterally from the respective side portions of the pair of arm portions, and a wound portion capable of winding dental floss, and cut into the tip of the arm portion A notch part, a guide part that is provided on the upper surface side of the arm part along the length direction thereof, guides the dental floss to the vicinity of the tip, and a latch that protrudes near the tip of the arm part and engages the dental floss. The dental floss is passed through the notch, and the dental floss is wound around the tip while the dental floss is locked to the locking portion.

Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The dental floss holder 10 of this embodiment is formed of, for example, a synthetic resin, and includes a grip portion 12 and a tension portion 14 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 2A is a plan view of the dental floss holder 10 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a left side view thereof.
First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the grip portion 12 includes an elongated plate-like main body member 11 having a size that can be held with one hand, and a belt-like member 29 that reinforces the plate-like main body member 11.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plate-shaped main body member 11 of the present embodiment has a shape in which the vicinity of the front end portion 15 of the grip portion 12 is reduced in width so that it can be easily grasped by hand and operated.
Moreover, the strip | belt-shaped member 29 is a reinforcement means which reinforces the plate-shaped main body member 11, and as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, along the both-side edges 13a and 13b and the rear edge 13c of the plate-shaped main body member 11, it is below It is formed with the wall-plate-shaped member protrudingly provided.
And the holding | grip part 12 is provided with the extension part 14 mentioned later in the front-end part 15 as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2.
Further, the gripping portion is not limited to the plate shape of the present embodiment, and may be formed in a grippable shape such as a rod shape.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the extending portion 14 which is a main part of the present embodiment includes a pair of arm portions 16a and 16b, winding portions 18a and 18b, and cut portions 20a and 20b. And guide portions 21a and 21b, locking portions 24a and 24b, and the like.
First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the arm portions 16a and 16b includes a quadrangular columnar rod-like member, and is bent in the middle so that the distal ends 27a and 27b face downward. The arm portions 16a and 16b extend forward from the front end portion 15 of the grip portion 12, as shown in FIGS. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the arm portions 16 a and 16 b of the present embodiment extend forward from the left and right ends of the front end portion 15 along the longitudinal direction of the grip portion 12. .

That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the arm portions 16 a and 16 b are disposed to face the front end portion 15 of the grip portion 12 with a space in the left-right direction. In this way, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, the extension portion 14 includes a pair of arm portions 16a and 16b that branch from the front end portion 15 of the grip portion 12 to the left and right and extend forward. It is the composition which is provided.
In addition, although a pair of arm part of this embodiment is formed in planar view substantially U shape, it is not restricted to U shape, A substantially V shape may be sufficient.
Further, the arm portion is not limited to a curved shape as in the present embodiment, and may be formed substantially straight.
Then, as will be described later, dental floss F is horizontally placed between the ends of the arm portions 16a and 16b.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the arm portions 16a and 16b are provided with cut portions 20a and 20b at the respective distal ends 27a and 27b.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cut portions 20 a and 20 b of the present embodiment are formed by a cut port that is cut in a substantially V shape from the leading ends 27 a and 27 b substantially upward.

Next, the winding portions 18a and 18b disposed on the arm portions 16a and 16b will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a perspective explanatory view of the winding portions 18a and 18b, and FIG. 3B is a partial plan view in which a portion of the winding portion 18a is enlarged.
As shown in FIG. 3, the winding portions 18 a and 18 b each include a winding core material 26, a cover plate material 28, and a protrusion 30.
As shown in FIG. 3, the wound core member 26 has a cross-sectional area that is approximately one quarter of the cross-sectional area of the arm portions 16 a and 16 b, and has a length that is approximately ten times the diameter of the dental floss. It is formed with a square prism piece. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 (b), the wound core member 26 is in the vicinity of the front end portion 15 of the grip portion 12, and from the outer side portions 23a and 23b of the pair of arm portions 16a and 16b. Projected sideways. More specifically, the wound core member 26 is disposed on the right side of the arm portion 16a and the left side of the arm portion 16b, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 3 (b). In other words, the wound core member 26 is disposed on each side of the facing arm portions 16a and 16b opposite to the facing side.
Then, the dental floss F can be wound around the side periphery of the winding core material 26.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the cover plate member 28 is formed of a substantially elliptical flat plate member having an area larger than the cross-sectional area of the wound core member 26, for example. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, the cover plate material 28 is disposed substantially parallel to the side portion 23 a of the arm portion 16 a, and the tip of the winding core material 26 is located at the center of the cover plate material 28. It arrange | positions so that it may be located in a part, and is fixed to the front-end | tip of the winding core material 26. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover plate material 28 of the present embodiment includes a protruding portion 30 that protrudes from the back side of the cover plate material 28 toward the side portion 23 a of the arm portion 16 a. The interval between the protrusion 30 and the side portion 23a is formed to be slightly wider than at least the diameter of the dental floss F.
As described above, the dental floss holder 10 of the present embodiment includes the winding portions 18a and 18b around the front end portion 15 of the grip portion 12 and protruding from the outside of the pair of arm portions 16a and 16b and around which the dental floss F is wound. It is the composition which is provided.

Next, the guide parts 21a and 21b provided in the arm parts 16a and 16b will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the arm portions 16a and 16b are upper edges thereof, and have a step which descends from the upper surface of the arm portions 16a and 16b along the opposite side to the opposite side, that is, the outer upper edge. Steps 17a and 17b are provided. More specifically, the steps and widths of the step portions 17a and 17b are formed so as to allow the dental floss F to be provided on the step portions 17a and 17b, for example, about 5 to 7 times the diameter of the dental floss F. The Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lengths of the step portions 17a and 17b are the lengths from the vicinity of the winding portions 18a and 18b described above to the vicinity of the cut portions 20a and 20b of the arm portions 16a and 16b. Is formed.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the arm portions 16a and 16b are arranged with wall plate members 19a and 19b having substantially the same height as the upper surfaces of the arm portions 16a and 16b along the step portions 17a and 17b. In more detail, it arrange | positions from the middle of step part 17a, 17b a little away from the guide parts 21a, 21b to the notch part 20a, 20b vicinity. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wall plates 19a and 19b and the step portions 17a and 17b form groove portions 22a and 22b along the length direction of the arm portions 16a and 16b.

The portions of the step portions 17a and 17b from the winding portions 18a and 18b to the wall plate materials 19a and 19b and the groove portions 22a and 22b are guide portions 21a and 21b that guide the dental floss F when the dental floss F is stretched. It constitutes.
Although the guide parts 21a and 21b of this embodiment include a step part and a groove part, the guide part may be formed only by the groove part, and may be formed only by the step part.
In this manner, the guide portions 21a and 21b include the groove portions 22a and 22b and / or the step portions 17a and 17b that descend from the upper surfaces of the arm portions 16a and 16b.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the locking portions 24a and 24b are approximately 3 to 4 times as high as the diameter of the dental floss F from the upper surfaces 29a and 29b near the tips of the arm portions 16a and 16b. Thus, it is formed of a protruding piece protruding forward. As shown in FIG. 2, the locking portions 24a and 24b of the present embodiment have an angle formed by the upper surfaces 29a and 29b of the arm portions 16a and 16b and the upper side surfaces of the locking portions 24a and 24b being smaller than 90 degrees. Formed at an angle. By forming at such an angle, the dental floss F can be easily locked to the base ends of the locking portions 24a and 24b.
Further, the locking portion is not limited to the one protruding forward as in the present embodiment, and may be protruded laterally.
As described above, the dental floss holder 10 of the present embodiment includes the locking portions 24a and 24b that protrude in the vicinity of the tips 27a and 27b of the pair of arm portions 16a and 16b and lock the dental floss F, respectively. It has become.

Next, a method for attaching dental floss to the dental floss holder 10 formed as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, for example, one end side of a dental floss F having a predetermined length is wound around the winding portion 18b of one arm portion 16b of the pair of arm portions 16a and 16b. At that time, since the winding core material 26b around which the dental floss F is wound is formed in a quadrangular column shape, it can be wound more tightly than a columnar shape or an elliptical shape, and is difficult to loosen. Further, even if a force that loosens the winding is applied to the dental floss F after it has been wound by winding the dental floss F between the winding core material 26b and the protruding portion 30, the movement of the dental floss F is not affected by the protruding portion 30. It will be difficult to loosen.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the dental floss F is stretched along the guide portion 21b. More specifically, if the dental floss F is stretched along the upper surface of the stepped portion 17b, it is easy to work. Moreover, since the guide part 21b is provided with the groove part 22b, the dental floss F does not come off easily from the guide part 21b.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), for example, the dental floss F is passed through the notch 20b and is the vicinity of the tip of the arm 16b, and the winding portion from the notch 20b to the above-described upper surface 29b. Wind around 33b multiple times. At that time, as shown in FIGS. 4C and 5, the dental floss F may be wound while being locked to the locking portion 24 b.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, a dental floss F is horizontally mounted between the distal ends 27a and 27b of the pair of arm portions 16a and 16b, and is a portion near the distal end of the other arm portion 16a. It winds around the winding part 33a to the upper surface 29a several times. At that time, the tension of the dental floss may be adjusted to a desired tension and wound.
Note that the winding is not limited to the method of the present embodiment. For example, the dental floss F is wound around the locking portion 24b, passed through the cut portion 20b, and passed through the cut portion 20a of the other arm portion 16a. Then, it may be a method of winding around the locking portion 24a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the dental floss F is stretched along the guide portion 21 a and wound around the winding portion 18 a to complete the attachment of the dental floss F to the dental floss holder 10.

As described above, according to the dental floss holder 10 of the present embodiment, the tension of the dental floss F horizontally mounted between the distal ends 27a and 27b of the pair of arm portions 16a and 16b is adjusted to a desired tension. While maintaining the tension, the dental floss F can be bound to the vicinity of the ends 27a, 27b, and both ends of the dental floss F can be bound to the winding portions 18a, 18b, respectively, so that the tension of the dental floss F can be adjusted. It is easy to provide a dental floss holder in which the dental floss F once stretched is difficult to loosen.

Furthermore, according to the dental floss holder 10 of the present embodiment, the vicinity of the front end portion 15 as a branching portion of the pair of arm portions 16a and 16b is formed substantially flat without arranging a member protruding upward. It is possible to provide a dental floss holder that is easy to attach a finger to the location during interdental cleaning and is easy to clean.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, the locking portions 24 a and 24 b of the present embodiment protrude forward from the upper surface in the vicinity of the ends 27 a and 27 b of the arm portions 16 a and 16 b. Is horizontally mounted between the tips 27a and 27b, it projects in a direction substantially orthogonal to the horizontal direction. Accordingly, when the dental floss holder 10 is moved along the transverse direction of the dental floss F to clean the teeth, the locking portions 24a and 24b are difficult to touch the side of the tongue and the buccal mucosa. An easy-to-use dental floss holder can be provided.

Next, a dental floss holder 50 according to a first modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6A is a left side view for explaining the dental floss holder 50, and FIG. 6B is a partial bottom view for explaining the dental floss holder 50.
The main difference between the dental floss holder 50 of the present modification and the above-described dental floss holder 10 is that a tongue cleaner is provided at the rear end of the gripping portion 12 'as shown in FIG. The same members as those of the dental floss holder 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals or the reference numerals provided with “′”, and the description thereof is omitted.

A dental floss holder 50 according to this modification includes a band-shaped member 29 ′ and a tongue cleaner 52.
The difference between the belt-like member 29 ′ and the belt-like member 29 described above is that a recess 54 is provided at a position slightly forward from the rear end, as shown in FIG. The recess 54 is a means for escaping saliva accumulated on the back side of the dental floss holder 50 when the tongue is cleaned.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the tongue cleaner 52 is formed of, for example, a triangular prism-like member having a length substantially equal to the rear edge 13 c of the plate-like main body member 11 described above. Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, the tongue cleaner 52 has its longitudinal direction facing the width direction and one apex side facing downward, and the rear end portion 29c ′ of the band-shaped member 29 ′. Is formed integrally with the belt-like member 29 '.
Therefore, the tongue cleaner 52 can be cleaned by applying the tongue cleaner 52 to the tongue and sliding it in the longitudinal direction of the grip portion 12.
The tongue cleaner 52 is not limited to the shape of the present modification, and may have any shape that can slide on the upper surface of the tongue.

As described so far, according to the dental floss holders 10 and 50 of the present embodiment, the floss that is easy to adjust the tension of the dental floss, the floss that is stretched at one end is difficult to loosen, and is easy to handle during interdental cleaning. A holder can be provided.

As described above, some of the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, these are merely examples, and the present invention is variously modified and improved based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Can be implemented.

10, 50 Dental floss holder 12 Grasping part 14 Stretching part 13c Rear edge (rear end part)
15 Front end portions 16a and 16b of gripping portion A pair of arm portions 17a and 17b Step portions 18a and 18b Winding portions 20a and 20b Cut portions 21a and 21b Guide portions 22a and 22b Groove portions 24a and 24b Locking portions 27a and 27b Tip 26 Wound core 28 Cover plate 30 Protrusion 52 Tongue cleaner

Claims (6)

In a dental floss holder comprising an elongated gripping part and a tension part provided at the front end part of the gripping part for tensioning dental floss,
The extension portion is
A pair of arm portions branched from the front end portion and extending forward, and a pair of arm portions on which the dental floss is horizontally mounted between the tips thereof;
Near the front end portion, projecting from each side of the pair of arm portions, and a winding portion around which the dental floss is wound,
A notch cut into each tip of the pair of arms,
A guide portion provided along the length direction of each of the pair of arm portions, for guiding the dental floss;
Projecting in the vicinity of the respective tips, and locking portions for locking the dental floss,
A dental floss holder, wherein the dental floss is wound around the tip while the dental floss is passed through the notch and the dental floss is locked to the locking portion. The dental floss holder according to claim 1, wherein the arm portion is curved in the middle so that the tip faces downward. The dental floss holder according to claim 1, wherein the guide part includes a groove part and / or a step part that descends from an upper surface of the arm part.   The dental floss holder according to claim 1, wherein the locking portion protrudes forward from an upper surface near the tip. The winding part is a rectangular column-shaped winding core material protruding from the side part, and a plate material having an area larger than the cross-sectional area of the winding core material, and is disposed substantially parallel to the side part, and the winding part The dental floss holder according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a cover plate material provided at a tip of the core material, wherein the cover plate material includes a protruding portion protruding toward the side portion. The dental floss holder according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the gripping portion projects a tongue cleaner at a rear end portion thereof.

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