Patent Publication Number: US-2023148741-A1

Title: Interdental cleaning tool

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to an interdental cleaning tool. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Conventionally, an interdental cleaning tool for cleaning an interdental space is known. For example. Patent Literature 1 discloses an interdental cleaning tool including a base structure portion made of synthetic resin, and a soft portion made of elastomer. The base structure portion includes a core base structure portion having a shape insertable in an interdental space, and a handling base structure portion having a shape that can be held by fingers. The soft portion includes a covering portion that covers an outer circumferential surface of the core base structure portion, and a plurality of protruding portions each provided on an outer circumferential surface of the covering portion. Each of the protruding portions has a shape extending outward from the outer circumferential surface of the covering portion in a direction perpendicularly intersecting an axial direction of the core base structure portion. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     Patent Literature 1: WO 2013/176297 A 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Problems to be Solved by the Invention 
     In the interdental cleaning tool described in Patent Literature 1, there have been the needs of enhancing the capability of scraping out deposits from an interdental space. Therefore, it has been considered to make protruding portions larger or give a higher rigidity to them. However, the employment of such configuration causes an increased resistance when inserting the tool in the interdental space or withdrawing the tool from the interdental space. 
     An object of the present invention is to provide an interdental cleaning tool dial can reduce at least oner of the resistance against insertion in an interdental space and the resistance against withdrawal from an interdental space, and has a high capability of scraping out deposit from an interdental space. 
     Solution to Problem 
     To solve the problem described above, the present invention provides an interdental cleaning tool including: a base portion including a shaft portion having a shape insertable in an interdental space: and a cleaning portion that covers at least a portion of the shaft portion arid is capable of cleaning an interdental space, in which the cleaning portion includes a cleaning portion body that covers at tat a portion of the shaft portion, and a plurality of bristles each having a shape protruding outward from an outer circumferential surface of the cleaning portion body, and the plurality of bristles include at least one of a type of top end-oriented bristles having a shape tilting to a top end side of the shaft portion as advancing away from the outer circumferential surface of the cleaning portion body, and a type of base end-oriented bristles having a shape tilting to a base end side of the shaft portion as advancing away from the outer circumferential surface of the cleaning portion body. 
     Since the plurality of bristles of the interdental cleaning tool includes at least one of the type of top end-oriented bristles and the type of base end-oriented bristles, at least one of the resistance against insertion of the cleaning portion in the interdental space unci the resistance against withdrawal of the cleaning portion from the interdental space can be reduced, and the capability of the cleaning portion of scraping out deposit from the interdental space can be raised. Specifically, the lop end-oriented bristle causes a high resistance against insertion in the interdental space while having a high capability of scraping out deposit during insertion in the interdental space, and causes a low resistance against withdrawal from the interdental space, compared to a conventional bristle having a shape protruding from an outer circumferential surface of a cleaning portion body in a direction perpendicularly intersecting an axial direction of a shaft portion (hereinafter referred to as “non-tilted bristle”). Meanwhile, the base end-oriented bristle causes a high resistance against withdrawal from the interdental space, but has a low resistance against insertion in the interdental space and has a high capability of scraping out deposit during withdrawal from the interdental space, compared to the conventional non-tilted bristle. 
     Each of the plurality of bristles may be the type of base end-oriented bristle. 
     In the configuration, both reduction in the resistance against insertion in the interdental space and improvement in the scraping out capability during withdrawal from die interdental space can be achieved. 
     Alternatively, the plurality of bristles may include the type of top end-oriented bristles and the type of base end-oriented bristles, and the type of top end-oriented bristles and the type of base end-oriented bristles may alternately be arranged along the axial direction of the shaft portion from the top end side to the base end side of the shaft portion. 
     The cleaning portion of the interdental cleaning tool may be preferably made of a composite material containing elastomer and a reinforcing material. 
     In this way, the bristles are given a higher rigidity than a case where the cleaning portion is made only of elastomer. Accordingly, side surfaces of the teeth can effectively be cleaned. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     The present invention can provide, as described above, an interdental cleaning tool that can reduce at least one of a resistance caused when inserting the interdental cleaning tool in an interdental space and a resistance caused when withdrawing the interdental cleaning tool from an interdental space, and has a high capability of scraping out deposit from art interdental space. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a front view of an interdental cleaning tool according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is an enlarged view of a cleaning portion of the interdental cleaning tool illustrated in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a plan view of the interdental cleaning tool, illustrated in  FIG.  5   . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT 
     An interdental cleaning tool  1  according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to  FIGS.  1  to  3   . As illustrated in  FIG.  1   , the interdental cleaning tool  1  includes a base portion  10 , and a cleaning portion  40 . 
     The base portion  10  is made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polyacetal. In the embodiment, the base portion  10  is made of polypropylene containing glass fibers by 30% by weight. The base portion  10  includes a shaft portion  20 , and a grip portion  30 . 
     The shaft portion  20  has a shape extending straight in a specific direction (up-and-down direction in  FIG.  1   ) and insertable in an interdental space. The shaft portion  20  has a shape whose cross sectional size of the shaft portion  20  in a plane perpendicularly intersecting an axial direction of the shaft portion  20  (the up-and-down direction in  FIG.  1   ) gradually increases along a direction from a top end side to a base end side (opposite the top end side) of the shaft portion  20 . In the embodiment, the cross section of the shaft portion  20  in the plane is a circle. In other words, in the embodiment, the shaft portion  20  has a form of a column of which outer diameter gradually decreases from a base end portion to a lop end portion of the shaft portion  20 . The cross section of the shaft portion  20  may be an oval shape or a polygonal shape. 
     The grip portion  30  extends in the axial direction of the shaft portion  20  away from the base end portion of the shaft portion  20  and has a shape that can be held by fingers. The grip portion  30  is formed into a flat shape. 
     The cleaning portion  40  is adapted for cleaning an interdental space and side surfaces of teeth. The cleaning portion  40  is made of a resin material having a lower hardness than the base portion  10 . Specifically, styrene elastomer is used as the resin material. Other materials, such as silicone, olefinic elastomer, and polyester elastomer, may also be used as the resin material. The cleaning portion  40  includes a cleaning portion body  50 , and a plurality of bristles  60 . 
     The cleaning portion body  50  covers at least a portion of the shaft portion  20  (the portion including the top end portion of the shaft portion  20 ). The cleaning portion body  50  has a shape whose profile gradually increases along the direction from the top end side to the base end side of the shaft portion  20 . 
     Each of the bristles  60  is provided on an outer circumferential surface of the cleaning portion body  50 . The bristle  60  has a shape protruding outward from the outer circumferential surface of the cleaning portion body  50  in an intersecting direction that intersects the axial direction, in the embodiment, the bristle  60  has the shape of a cone. Each of the bristles  60  is a base end-oritented having a shape tilting to the base end side (lower side in  FIG.  2   ) of the shaft portion  20  as advancing away from the outer circumferential surface of the cleaning portion body  50 . As illustrated in  FIG.  2   , a tilt angle θ of the base end oriented (angle between a plane perpendicularly intersecting the axial direction of the shaft portion  20  and a direction in which the base end-oriented bristle protrudes from the cleaning portion body  50 ) is preferably set at a degree of 1 or more and 70 or less, more preferably at 5 or more and 45 or less, furthermore preferably at 10 or more and 30 or less, and particularly preferably at 15 or more and 20 or less. The direction in which the base end-oriented bristle protrudes from the cleaning portion body  50  is the direction along the axis of the base end-oriented bristle. 
     The bristles  60  have respectively such shapes that their protruding lengths from the cleaning portion body  50  gradually increase along the direction from the top end side to the base end side of the shaft portion  20 . As illustrated in  FIG.  3   , the bristles  60  are provided at positions spaced from one another along a circumferential direction of the cleaning portion body  50  in a plan view. Specifically, the bristles  60  are arranged at an interval of 45 degrees along the circumferential direction. 
     As described above, since the plurality of bristles  60  of the interdental cleaning tool  1  are the base end-oriented bristles, the resistance against insertion of the cleaning portion  40  in the interdental space can be reduced and at the same time the capability of scraping out deposit from the interdental space during the withdrawal of the cleaning portion  40  can be raised. Specifically, fee base end oriented bristle causes a high resistance against withdrawal from the interdental space while causing a low resistance against insertion in the interdental space, but has an increased capability of scraping out deposit during withdrawal from the interdental space, compared to a conventional bristle having a shape protruding from an outer circumferential surface of a cleaning portion body in a direction perpendicularly intersecting an axial direction of a shaft portion (hereinafter referred to as “non-tilted bristle”). 
     Note that the embodiment disclosed above should be considered as illustrative in all aspects and not by means of limitation. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the description on the embodiment described above, and includes all alterations within the scope of the meanings equivalent to the claims and within the scope of the claims. 
     For example, a plurality of bristles  60  may each be a type of top end-oriented bristles having a shape tilting to a top end side of the shaft portion  20  as advancing away from fee outer circumferential surface of the cleaning portion body  50 . In this configuration, the resistance against withdrawal of the cleaning portion  40  from the interdental space can be reduced and the capability of scraping out deposit from the interdental space during insertion of the cleaning portion  40  can be raised. Specifically, the top end-oriented bristle causes a high resistance against insertion in the interdental space while having a high capability of scraping out the deposit during insertion in the interdental space, and causes a low resistance against withdrawal from the interdental space, compared to the non-tilted bristle. 
     Furthermore, a plurality of bristles  60  may include both the type of top end-oriented bristles and the type of base end-oriented bristles. In this case, the type of top end-oriented bristles and the type of base end-oriented bristles may alternately be arranged along the axial direction from the top end side to the base end side of the shaft portion  20 . 
     Furthermore, respective tilt angles θ of the bristles  60  may not be set at the same. For example, their respective tilt angles θ may be set so as to be smaller along the direction from the top end side to the base end side of the cleaning portion body  50 . 
     Each of the bristles  60  may have the shape of a polygonal pyramid or a plate (flat shape). 
     The cleaning portion  40  may be made of a composite material containing a resin material and a reinforcing material (for example, glass fibers or talc). In this way, the bristles  60  are each given a higher rigidity than a case where the cleaning portion  40  is made only of elastomer. Accordingly, side surfaces of teeth can effectively be cleaned. In this case, the composite material preferably contains the reinforcing material by 3% by weight to 50% by weight, inclusive, more preferably 5% by weight to 35% by weight, inclusive. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS 
     
         
         
           
               1  interdental cleaning tool 
               10  base portion 
               20  shaft portion 
               30  grip portion 
               40  cleaning portion 
               50  cleaning portion body 
               60  bristle