JP7565673B2 - Interdental Cleaning Tools - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an interdental cleaning tool.

Interdental cleaning tools for cleaning between teeth are known. For example, the interdental cleaning tool disclosed in Patent Document 1 comprises a base material portion made of synthetic resin and a soft material portion made of elastomer. The base material portion comprises a flat handle portion as a handle, and a thin and long core base material portion extending from the tip of the handle portion. The soft material portion comprises a covering portion that covers at least a portion of the core base material portion, and a plurality of protrusions that protrude from the surface of the covering portion.

International Publication No. 2013/176297

The core substrate is formed in a tapered shape that reduces in diameter toward the tip. The protrusions also become smaller toward the tip of the interdental cleaner, allowing for effective cleaning of relatively narrow to relatively wide interdental spaces. On the other hand, the protrusions of the interdental cleaner are not only used for cleaning between the teeth, which is their primary purpose, but also for the purpose of touching the gums and massaging the gums when cleaning, and there is a high demand for this, especially among middle-aged and elderly people whose gums begin to recede. One method of enhancing the gum massage effect is to increase the strength (rigidity) of the protrusions, i.e., to increase the base area of the protrusions, but this creates a problem in that the insertion of the soft part into the interdental spaces becomes poor in the area of the core substrate that has a relatively large diameter, for example 15 mm or more, from the tip to the base end.

The present invention aims to provide an interdental cleaning tool that has a good balance between ease of insertion between teeth and massaging power on the gums in the area where the diameter of the shaft is relatively large.

The interdental cleaning tool according to one aspect of the present invention includes a base member having a base portion and a shaft portion extending from the base portion;
a soft portion having a covering portion that covers the shaft portion over a range of at least 16 mm from the tip end toward the base end of the shaft portion, and a plurality of protrusions that protrude from the covering portion;
In the region of the covered portion ranging from 15 mm to 20 mm from the tip to the base end of the shaft, the ratio (L/M) of the area of the bottom of the protrusion that forms the boundary with the covered portion (M: ^mm2 ) to the length of the protrusion from the bottom of the protrusion (L: mm) is set to 2 to 5, and the area of the bottom of the protrusion (M) is set to 0.9 mm2 to 0.15 mm2 with respect to the ratio (L/M) of ² to ⁵ .

Based on the results of the testing conducted by the inventors, this aspect makes it possible to provide an interdental cleaning tool that has a good balance between ease of insertion between teeth and massaging power for the gums.

In the above embodiment, it is more preferable that the ratio (L/M) is set to 4.4 to 4.8, and the area (M) of the bottom surface of the protrusion is set to 0.42 mm ² to 0.34 mm ² with respect to the ratio (L/M) being 4.4 to 4.8.

The present invention provides an interdental cleaning tool that has a good balance between ease of insertion between teeth and massaging power on the gums in the area where the shaft diameter is relatively large.

1 is a front view showing a schematic structure of an interdental cleaning tool according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of an interdental cleaning tool according to an embodiment of the present invention; 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1. 1 is a table showing verification results of examples and comparative examples.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, an interdental cleaner 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a base member 10 and a soft member 20 that covers at least a portion of the base member 10. The interdental cleaner 1 is individually separated from a connector 40 formed by connecting, for example, ten interdental cleaners 1 in parallel in the short direction D1 of the interdental cleaner 1 by a pair of connectors 30, 30 formed on the base member 10.

The substrate 10 comprises a base 11 that is held by the user, and a shaft 12 that extends from the tip of the base 11 in a longitudinal direction D2 perpendicular to the lateral direction D1 of the interdental cleaner 1 and is inserted between the user's teeth. In this specification, the side from the base 11 toward the shaft 12 is referred to as the tip side, and the side from the shaft 12 toward the base 11 is referred to as the base side.

The base 11 is formed, for example, in the shape of a flat, spreading plate. In this embodiment, it is formed, for example, in the shape of a flat rectangular parallelepiped, but it may be formed in any other shape as long as it can be held by the user.

The shaft portion 12 extends in the longitudinal direction D2 from the tip, which is one end of the base portion 11. The shaft portion 12 includes a transition portion 13 that extends continuously from the base portion 11 in a flat plate shape, and a tip portion 14 that extends in a thin shaft shape from the tip of the transition portion 13 to the tip of the shaft portion 12. The transition portion 13 is formed in a tapered shape that decreases in width defined along the short direction D1 toward the tip of the shaft portion 12.

The substrate 10 is molded, for example, from a synthetic resin material. Examples of synthetic resin materials that can be used include polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyacetal, and polyamide. Fiber materials such as glass fibers may also be added to the synthetic resin material, for example, at a ratio of about 1 to 30% by weight.

The soft portion 20 comprises a covering portion 21 that covers at least a portion of the outer circumferential surface of the tip portion 14 of the shaft portion 12, and a plurality of protrusions 22 that protrude from the covering portion 21. The protrusions 22 are formed, for example, in a conical shape, and are arranged in a spiral shape around the axis of the tip portion 14 of the shaft portion 12 from the base end to the tip of the covering portion 21. The height of the protrusions 22 from the outer circumferential surface of the covering portion 21 decreases from the base end to the tip of the covering portion 21.

The soft portion 20 is formed from a resin material having a hardness lower than that of the synthetic resin material of the base portion 10. An elastomer can be used as the resin material, and examples of the elastomer that can be used include styrene-based elastomers, silicone, olefin-based elastomers, and polyester-based elastomers. The hardness of the elastomer is preferably 10 to 50, and more preferably 10 to 40, in terms of durometer hardness type A (JIS K6253). In this embodiment, the durometer hardness type A is 35.

In the interdental cleaner 1 of this embodiment, the length L1 of the substrate 10 defined in the longitudinal direction D2 is set to, for example, 45 mm to 55 mm. The width W1 of the base 11 defined in the lateral direction D1 is set to, for example, 3 mm to 10 mm. In addition, the thickness T1 of the base 11 defined in the thickness direction D3 perpendicular to the lateral direction D1 and the longitudinal direction D2 is set to, for example, 0.5 mm to 10 mm.

The length of the covering portion 21 from its base end to its tip end as defined in the longitudinal direction D2 is set to, for example, 10 mm to 25 mm, and in this embodiment, is set to, for example, 20 mm. The covering portion 21 is formed to a uniform thickness at the same position in the longitudinal direction D2, and this thickness is set to, for example, 0.1 mm to 2.5 mm. The length of the protrusion 22 from the bottom surface of the protrusion 22 (i.e., the circular bottom surface of the cone), which is the boundary with the covering portion 21 (i.e., the height from the bottom surface of the cone to the apex) is set to, for example, 0.1 mm to 5.0 mm.

The cross section of the tip 14 of the shaft 12 perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 12 is set to be approximately circular. The tip 14 is formed in a tapered shape that decreases in diameter from the base end to the tip, and the diameter is set to, for example, 0.6 mm to 3.0 mm.

In the interdental cleaner 1 according to the embodiment described above, in the region of the covering portion 21 ranging from the tip to the base end of the shaft portion 12 to 15 mm to 20 mm, the ratio (L/M) of the area (M: mm ² ) of the bottom surface of the protrusion 22 that is the boundary with the covering portion 21 to the length (L: mm) of the protrusion 22 from the bottom surface of the protrusion 22 is set to 2 to 5. In this case, the area (M) of the bottom surface of the protrusion 22 is set to 0.9 cm ² to 0.15 cm ² for the ratio (L/M) being 2 to 5. It is more preferable that this ratio (L/M) is set to 4.4 to 4.8. For the ratio (L/M) being 4.4 to 4.8, the area (M) of the bottom surface of the protrusion 22 is set to 0.42 mm ² to 0.34 mm ^2. By setting the ratio (L/M) in this way, it is possible to provide an interdental cleaner 1 that is well balanced between the ease of insertion between teeth and the massage force on the gums.

The present inventors have verified the effect of the interdental cleaner 1 of the above embodiment. For the verification, as shown in Fig. 4, interdental cleaners according to Examples 1 to 4 and interdental cleaners according to Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were manufactured. Specifically, the verification was performed using interdental cleaners in which the ratios (L/M) of the area (M: ^mm2 ) of the bottom surface of all protrusions in the region of the covering part in the range of 15 mm to 20 mm from the tip of the shaft toward the base end (shaft diameter 1.04 mm to 1.27 mm, soft part thickness 0.22 mm) to the length (L: mm) of the protrusions from the bottom surface of the protrusions were set to 7.6, 5, 4.8, 4.4, 2, and 1 in Comparative Example 1, Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4, and Comparative Example 2, respectively, as shown in Fig. 4. The areas (M) of the bottom surfaces of the protrusions were set to 0.08 mm ² , 0.15 mm ² , 0.34 mm ² , 0.42 mm ² , 0.9 mm ² , and 1.1 mm ^{2 ,} respectively.

The inventors conducted a survey of evaluators (five people) on the ease of insertion (insertion ability) and massaging ability of the interdental cleaners according to the above-mentioned Examples 1 to 4 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, when they used the interdental cleaners. The ease of insertion and massaging ability were evaluated on an 11-point scale ranging from 0 to 10 points. 0 points represented "could not be inserted between the teeth" or "no sensation of massaging was obtained," and 10 points represented "could be inserted between the teeth without resistance" or "could provide a satisfactory massage."

The evaluation of insertability and massage power calculated based on the above numerical evaluation was given as follows: if the average of the evaluators' numerical values was 7.5 points or more, it was marked "◎", if it was 5 points or more but less than 7.5 points, it was marked "○", if it was 2.5 points or more but less than 5 points, it was marked "△", and if it was less than 2.5 points, it was marked "X". Based on the evaluation of insertability and massage power, a comprehensive evaluation was made according to the following criteria.
[Insertability]
◎ Average score is 7.5 or more ○ Average score is 5.0 or more but less than 7.5 △ Average score is 2.5 or more but less than 5.0 × Average score is less than 2.5 [Massage power]
◎ Average score is 7.5 or more ○ Average score is 5.0 or more but less than 7.5 △ Average score is 2.5 or more but less than 5.0 × Average score is less than 2.5 [Overall evaluation]
○ Insertion and massage power are both ○ or above △ Some ○ or ◎ and some △ × At least one ×

As shown in Figure 4, for Examples 2 and 3, both the ease of insertion and the massage power were rated "○", resulting in a good balance, with the overall rating being "○". Therefore, according to these results, it can be seen that it is most preferable for the ratio (L/M) of the area of the base of the protrusion (M: ^mm2 ) to the length of the protrusion from the base of the protrusion (L: mm) to be set to 4.4 to 4.8. In this case, the area (M) is set to 0.42 ^cm2 to 0.34 ^cm2 for a ratio (L/M) of 4.4 to 4.8.

Moreover, for Example 1, the insertability is rated as "○", while the massage power is rated as "△", and the overall evaluation is "△". Similarly, for Example 4, the massage power is rated as "◎", while the insertability is rated as "△", and the overall evaluation is "△" like Example 1. However, since both have evaluations of "○" or "◎" on one side and no evaluation of "×", Examples 1 and 4 are also acceptable. According to this result, the ratio (L/M) may be set in the range of 2 to 5. In this case, the area (M) is set to 0.9 cm ² to 0.15 cm ² while the ratio (L/M) is 2 to 5.

On the other hand, for Comparative Example 1, the insertability is rated as "◎", but the massage power is rated as "×", and the overall rating is also "×". For Comparative Example 2, the massage power is rated as "◎", but the insertability is rated as "×", and the overall rating is also "×". This means that if the L/M ratio of the protrusions is large, the strength (stiffness) of the protrusions decreases, improving insertability, but on the other hand, the massage power decreases, and the balance worsens. On the other hand, if the L/M ratio of the protrusions is too small, the massage power improves, but the protrusions become less likely to deform, and insertability decreases, which also means that the balance worsens.

Next, the manufacturing method of the interdental cleaner 1 will be described below. First, the filling space of a first mold that resembles the outer shape of the base part 10 is filled with molten synthetic resin material to mold the base part 10. The base part 10 is then removed from the first mold. The molded base part 10 is then placed in the filling space of a second mold that resembles the outer shape of the soft part 20. The filling space is filled with molten elastomer to mold the soft part 20. In this way, the interdental cleaner 1 is molded. The interdental cleaner 1 is then removed from the second mold.

The above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The elements of the embodiments, as well as their arrangement, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc., are not limited to those exemplified, and may be modified as appropriate. In addition, configurations shown in different embodiments may be partially substituted or combined.

1...Interdental cleaning tool, 10...Base material, 11...Base, 12...Shaft, 20...Soft part, 21...Covering part, 22...Protrusion, M...Area of bottom surface of protrusion, L...Length of protrusion from bottom surface of protrusion

Claims (2)

A substrate portion having a base portion and a stem portion extending from the base portion;
a soft portion including a covering portion that covers the shaft portion over a range of at least 16 mm from the tip end of the shaft portion toward the base end thereof, and a plurality of protrusions that protrude from the covering portion;
The shaft portion has a tapered shape that tapers from its base end to its tip end,
An interdental cleaner, wherein in a region of the shaft that is covered by the covering portion and extends from the tip to the base end of the shaft, the ratio (L/M) of the area (M) of the bottom of the protrusion that forms the boundary with the covering portion to the length (L) of the protrusion from the bottom of the protrusion is set to 2 to 5, and the area (M) of the bottom of the protrusion is set to decrease to 0.9 ^mm2 to 0.15 ^mm2 as the ratio (L/M) increases from 2 to 5. 2. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the ratio (L/M) is set to 4.4 to 4.8, and the area (M) of the bottom surface of the protrusion is set to decrease to 0.42 mm ² to 0.34 mm ² as the ratio (L/M) increases from 4.4 to 4.8.

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