WO2001012012A1

WO2001012012A1 - Interdental brush and interdental brush set

Info

Publication number: WO2001012012A1
Application number: PCT/JP2000/005478
Authority: WO
Inventors: Takeshi Hirakawa
Original assignee: Asahi Brush Kabushiki Kaisha
Priority date: 1999-08-18
Filing date: 2000-08-16
Publication date: 2001-02-22
Also published as: AU6593100A; JP2001054526A

Abstract

An interdental brush comprising a brush unit (10) and a handle unit (20), the brush unit (10) being interchangeable, wherein the brush unit (10) has a fitting groove (14) having flat faces (15) disposed at angles of 70°-110° to a brush axial direction, and the handle unit (20) has at one end thereof a brush holding portion (22) for fitting in the fitting groove (14); and an interdental brush set consisting of the interdental brush and a brush housing container (30). An interchangeable brush unit (10) and a specified method of attaching the brush unit (10) to the handle unit (20) provide a compact interdental brush free from a foreign body feeling in a mouth. The brush unit can be attached to the handle unit and discarded easily in one action at no touch to the brush, and the brush unit will not come off while brushing.

Description

Description Interdental brush and interdental brush set Technical field

The present invention relates to an interdental brush used for removing food residues and plaque remaining between teeth, and more particularly to an interdental brush whose brush portion can be replaced. Background art

Conventionally, toothbrushes have been widely used as sanitary devices for maintaining cleanliness in the oral cavity. However, although toothbrushes are suitable for cleaning the surface of teeth, they have a problem in removing food residues and the like between teeth, which has been one of the causes of tooth decay. As a method of cleaning between such teeth, there are a thin and durable thread called so-called dental floss, and an interdental brush in which brush hair is sandwiched between thin metal wires. Denkle Floss is very suitable for cleaning between teeth if it is proficient in its operation, but it has the problems that it takes time to learn and that the thread is relatively easy to cut. The interdental brush, which is used by inserting this point brush portion into the space between the teeth, is easy to use and widely used. An example of such an interdental brush is shown in FIGS. FIG. 5 shows an example in which the length direction of the brush holding portion is parallel to the axial direction of the brush (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Hei 4-224805 and Hei 6-70812). Even in such an interdental brush, the brush filament is cut or worn, and the metal wire sandwiching the filament is bent or twisted. The wear was so great that the brush had to be discarded after several uses, and the handle had to be discarded at the same time. However, the handle part other than the brush part is in a state where it can be further used, and an interdental brush that can replace only the brush part has already been proposed due to demands for resource saving and cost reduction. FIG. 6 shows an example of such an interdental brush in which the brush portion can be exchanged, in which the length direction of the brush holding portion and the axial direction of the brush are substantially perpendicular to each other.

As another example of an interdental brush having a replaceable brush portion, there is an interdental brush of the type shown in FIG. 7 (JP-A-59-232506). This tooth brush is made of folded metal The filament was twisted between the wires to form a brush 42, one end of the wire was fixed to the shaft 40, the other end was provided with a cylindrical portion 43, and the shaft was provided in the longitudinal direction of the tip of the handle. Mounting hole 4 Insert it into 4 for use. When replacing the brush part, pull out the brush part and insert another brush part into the mounting hole to replace it.

However, in conventional interdental brushes in which the brush part can be replaced, there is a problem that the brush part is easily pulled out during brushing because the insertion direction at the time of replacement of the brush part and the axial direction of the brush are common. For example, in the interdental brush shown in Fig. 6, the brush direction is the same as the direction in which the brush part is attached to the handle. They tended to detach from the handle in between. Also, in the case of FIG. 7, the brush part was likely to come off during use for the same reason.

In these examples, the brush replacement operation tends to be complicated in order to prevent the brush portion from coming off during use.In addition, as shown in the example of FIG. 7, the grip portion is extended substantially in the axial direction of the brush. If it is provided, it is difficult to insert it into the oral cavity as it is.In particular, in cleaning between molar teeth, operability is poor, and it is necessary to bend the brush shaft, etc. It had lost its durability. Also, when setting the brush part, the finger often touches the brush, which tends to soil the brush and impair its cleanliness. In addition, when replacing the brush after use, the user had to touch the brush that had been soiled with plaque, which tended to stain his fingers. Furthermore, when the brush is inserted into the oral cavity, the size of the brush becomes large or complicated to strengthen the brush mounting part of the handle in order to prevent the brush part from coming off during use. In addition, it irritated the oral cavity and caused a large foreign body sensation. Disclosure of the invention

In view of the above situation, the present invention aims to provide an interdental brush that is particularly easy to clean between molar teeth and does not come off during brushing. Do not touch the brush without touching the brush, so that the brush does not impair the cleanliness of the brush due to contact with the finger, and do not stain the finger with plaque adhering to the brush when disposing of the brush. A tooth that can be easily attached and detached with a brush, and has a compact shape when used, which is less irritating in the oral cavity and is comfortable to use The aim is to provide a brush between the.

That is, the present invention is an interdental brush having a brush part and a handle part, the brush part being replaceable, wherein the brush part has a plane disposed at an angle of 70 ° to 110 ° with respect to the brush axial direction. A toothed portion having a fitting groove having a brush holding portion at one end thereof, the tooth portion comprising a toothbrush and a brush storage container having a replaceable brush portion. An inter-brush set, wherein the inter-dental brush comprises a brush portion and a handle portion, and the brush portion has a fitting groove having a plane disposed at an angle of 70 ° to 110 ° with respect to the brush axial direction. A brush that covers the brush shaft and extends in the brush direction, the neck having a cross-sectional shape having a long diameter in the fitting groove direction, and the handle having one end fitted with the fitting groove. The brush storage container includes a plurality of replacement brush portions, and a neck insertion groove. An inter-tooth brush set having a brush storage chamber and a brush release chamber for supporting and storing the neck, wherein the width of the neck insertion groove of the brush storage chamber is larger than the short diameter of the neck and smaller than the long diameter. About.

In the conventional interdental brush, the insertion direction at the time of replacement of the brush part and the direction of the brush axis are common, so there was a problem that the brush part was easily pulled out during brushing. On the other hand, the interdental brush of the present invention includes a brush portion and a handle portion, and the brush portion includes a flat surface 15 disposed at an angle of 70 ° to 110 ° with respect to the brush axial direction. It has a groove 14. When the fitting groove has the flat surface 15, the flat surface 15 fits tightly with the flat surface 25 of the handle portion 20 on the brush holding portion side without a gap when the fitting groove is fitted to the handle portion. To prevent rattling between the handle 20 and the brush 10 during use. By making the planes 15 and 25 in close contact with each other at an angle of 70 ° to 110 ° with respect to the brush axis direction, the two planes are respectively separated from the handle of the brush part during brushing. Prevent separation. This angle is preferably between 80 ° and 100 °, more preferably between 85 ° and 95 °.

In order to further completely prevent the detachment during use, the flat surface 15 of the fitting groove 14 and the flat surface 25 of the holding portion 22 can be provided with a concave portion and a convex portion which are combined with each other. Thereby, the combined holding power of both becomes stronger. A concave portion may be provided on either of the flat surfaces 15 and 25, and a convex portion is provided on the other flat surface so that both are always fitted. When the fitting groove and the holding part are combined, It is preferable that the space is formed so that there is no space between them, but since both planes are in close contact with each other, the depth of the recess is made larger than the protrusion length of the protrusion, and a space is formed near the bottom of the recess. But it doesn't hurt. Conversely, it is not preferable that the protruding length of the convex portion is set to be much longer than the depth of the concave portion so that the two corresponding flat surfaces cannot be brought into close contact. There are no particular restrictions on the shapes of the concave and convex portions, but a linear or spherical partial shape can be adopted in consideration of the ease of molding, the force required when the fitting groove and the holding portion are combined, and the like. The concave portion and the convex portion may be provided on one or both sides of the combination of the two planes, or may be provided on a single combined plane.

The handle comprises a grip for the user to grip the interdental brush during use, and a brush holder for fitting the fitting groove at one end. The grip portion can have any shape as long as it does not interfere with use. The brush holding part is combined with the fitting groove of the brush part and integrated to form an interdental brush. The shape of the brush holding part must be such that there is no gap that causes rattling when combined with the fitting groove. Any shape can be adopted as long as such requirements are satisfied. Outside the holding portion, there are formed two holding portion flat surfaces which are combined with the two flat surfaces of the fitting groove without any gap. When the brush portion and the handle portion are combined, an arbitrary integrated unified shape such as a sphere, a spheroid, a hemisphere, a cube, a rectangular parallelepiped, and various polyhedrons is formed.

Next, in the brush set of the present invention, a brush storage container is combined with the interdental brush. The brush storage container can have a fitting groove, a brush storage chamber for storing and supporting the neck by supporting the neck with the neck insertion groove, and a brush detachment chamber if necessary. The cross section of the neck has a major axis R arranged in the same direction as the fitting groove direction. For example, the cross section is elliptical, oval, or polygonal, and the groove width of the neck insertion groove of the brush storage chamber is: It is larger than the minor diameter r of the neck of the brush part and smaller than the major diameter. By adopting such a long diameter, a short diameter and a groove width of the neck, it is possible to arrange and accommodate the fitting grooves so that the fitting grooves face upward. As a result, the fitting grooves of all the replacement brushes in the brush storage container face upward, so that any one of the brush portions can be set on the handle portion with a single touch.

A brush release chamber can be attached to the brush storage container. This brush By using the brush release groove provided on the wall of the release chamber, the brush can be released from the handle and discarded with one touch without touching the brush at all. The brush storage container may be provided with a lid. The shape of the lid is arbitrary. For example, when a so-called match box type sleeve that can be slid is used, the position of the brush release chamber should be set so that only the brush release chamber can be fully opened when the sleeve is slightly shifted. Can be. As a result, when disposing of the brush, only the brush release chamber can be opened, the brush can be released, and only the used brush can be discarded, preventing the replacement brush in the brush storage chamber from being discarded at the same time. can do. Similarly, a lid may be independently provided in the brush accommodating chamber and the brush detaching chamber. Also, a lid that can be opened and closed by a hinge may be used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the brush portion of the interdental brush of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the handle of the interdental brush of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the brush holding portion and the brush supporting portion, and is an explanatory diagram of the fitting convex portion and the concave portion. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the brush storage container of the interdental brush of the present invention. Fig. 5 shows an example of a conventional interdental brush. FIG. 6 shows another example of a conventional interdental brush. FIG. 7 shows another example of a conventional interdental brush. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

The reference numerals in the drawing are as follows: 10 is a brush portion, 11 is a brush, 12 is a neck portion, 13 is a brush support portion, 14 is a fitting groove, and 15 is a flat surface. , 20 is a handle, 21 is a grip, 22 is a brush holder, 23 is a cut, 24 is a parallel surface, 25 is a plane, 26 is a recess, 2 Reference numeral 7 denotes a convex portion, 30 denotes a brush storage container, 31 denotes a brush storage room, 32 denotes a neck insertion groove, 33 denotes a release groove, and 34 denotes a release room.

FIG. 1 shows the brush portion 10 of the interdental brush of the present invention. Fig. 1 (b) is a front view of the interdental brush of the present invention, Fig. 1 (a) is a left side view, Fig. 1 (c) is a right side view, and Fig. 1 (d). 1 is a sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1 (b), and FIG. 1 (e) is a sectional view taken along line B-B of FIG. 1 (b). The interdental brush of the present invention includes a brush portion 10 shown in FIG. 1 and a handle portion 20 shown in FIG. Further, the interdental brush set of the present invention further includes a brush detachable storage container 30 shown in FIG. The brush portion 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a brush 11, a brush support portion 13, a neck portion 12 connecting the brush 11 and the brush support portion 13, and a fitting groove 1 for fitting the handle portion. 4 and two opposing planes 15 in the mating groove. The two flat surfaces 15 can be provided with either the concave portions or the convex portions.

Since the brush 11 is a portion for cleaning between teeth, it must be easily insertable between teeth. The brush is composed of, for example, a filament and a wire, and is formed by folding a wire in two, arranging the filament between them, and twisting the wire. The filament material of the brush can be made of nylon, polyethylene, polyester or the like. The wire can be made of a material such as steel or stainless steel. The cross-sectional shape of the neck portion 12 shown in FIG. 1 (d) is arbitrary, but when the brush storage container of the present invention is used, for example, an elliptical shape, an oval shape, and a polygonal shape having a major axis R in the fitting groove direction. Are preferred. In FIG. 1, the brush support portion 13 has a shape obtained by cutting out a fitting groove portion from a sphere, and the fitting groove portion has a shape of a brush holding portion 22 of a handle portion to be described later. It is formed to be spherical when combined. By having a spherical shape without unnecessary protrusions and steps, it becomes an interdental brush that can be used comfortably without stimulating the oral cavity.

The brush 11 is fixed to the brush support 13, and the fitting groove 14 is provided so as to fit with the handle in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the brush 11 in FIG. FIG. 2 shows the handle 20 of the interdental brush of the present invention. Fig. 2 (a) shows the left side view, and Fig. 2 (b) shows the front view. The handle portion 20 is composed of a grip portion 21 and a brush holding portion 22 located at the tip thereof, and the brush holding portion corresponds to the shape of the fitting groove 14. At its end, a U-shaped cut 23 formed to fit the fitting groove 14 of the brush part 10 is provided. Fig. 3 shows an enlarged view of the brush holding part and the brush supporting part fitted with it. Fig. 3 (a) is a front view, Fig. 3 (b) is a plan view, and Fig. 3 (c) is an enlarged view of a brush support. In the two planes 25 of the brush holding part 22, a concave part is provided when a convex part is provided on the plane 15 of the combining groove, and a convex part is provided when a concave part is provided. The combination of the two can enhance the holding power, and prevents the brush from falling off in the oral cavity. In the example of FIG. 3, a concave portion 26 is provided on the flat surface 25, and a convex portion 27 is provided on the flat surface 15 on the brush holding portion side.

The brush holding part 22 and the grip part 21 may be manufactured integrally or may be manufactured separately and separately, and may be combined later. These can be molded using synthetic resins such as polyesters such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate, nylon, ABS, polystyrene and polycarbonate, but are not limited to these materials. Not done.

The fitting groove 14 fits correctly into the notch 23 of the brush holding portion 22 of the handle. The cross-sectional shape of the notch 23 in the holding portion 22 into which the fitting groove fits must be such that no unnecessary space is formed when the fitting portion is fitted, and that the brush portion does not easily come off. In short, for example, the range of the central angle W as shown in FIG. 3A is composed of an arc of 180 ° and W ≦ 200 ° and a parallel surface 24. In Fig. 3 (a), the angle of W is displayed extremely large for explanation. If the central angle W is less than 180 °, the holding force in the length direction of the handle portion of the brush portion becomes small, and the brush portion may fall off during use or cause trouble. If the angle exceeds 200 °, it will be difficult to attach the brush, and the holder may be cracked when the brush is attached. The range of W is preferably 182 ° 195 °. If it is more than 18 2 °, the brush will hardly fall off in the mouth during use. If it is less than 195 °, no strong force is required when installing the brush. In consideration of ease of attachment and detachment of the brush portion, operability, and the like, the angle is particularly preferably from 184 ° to 190 °. In order to make the fitting between the handle and the brush holding portion stronger, and to prevent unnecessary removal of the brush portion in the oral cavity, the concave portion and the convex portion can be provided on both planes.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the brush storage container of the present invention. Fig. 4 (a) is a plan view, Fig. 4 (b) is a side view, Fig. 4 (c) is a front view, and Fig. 4 (d) is a state where the neck of the brush is housed in the neck insertion groove of the brush storage chamber. Is shown. The brush storage container 30 may be composed of only the brush storage chamber 31, but preferably has a brush detachment chamber 34. The brush storage chamber is provided with a neck inlet groove 32, which is used to hold the neck of the brush.

Holds a 7 "brush. The groove width of the neck insertion groove 32 is larger than the minor diameter r of the neck cross section. It is set smaller than the major diameter R. This prevents the fitting groove 14 from being stored laterally. When the replacement brush is stored in the brush storage container 30, the fitting groove 14 is oriented such that the fitting groove 14 faces upward. Therefore, the fitting groove 14 of the brush portion is always stored upward. This makes it possible to attach the brush part with a single switch.

The brush detachment chamber 34 has a volume and a shape into which the brush part can easily enter, and has a detachment groove 33 in the chamber wall. The width of the detachment groove 33 is set so that the handle 20 can pass through, but the brush 10 cannot pass. Usually, the brush holder 2 2 of the handle shown in FIG. Is set so that it is larger than the thickness D and the brush support 13 does not pass through. This removes the brush part 10 from the handle part 20 by inserting the used brush part into the release groove 33 so that the brush handle is inside the brush detachment part, and pulling the handle away from the brush detachment part. be able to.

Next, a method of using the interdental brush set of the present invention will be described. When attaching the brush to the handle, if the brush storage container is provided with a lid, first open the lid of the brush storage chamber. Attach the brush part to the brush holding part so that the brush holding part fits into the fitting groove with the brush part of the replacement brush in the storage container that is placed so that the fitting groove faces up. Simply push the handle. This completes the interdental brush with one touch. Therefore, the user can clean his teeth with a clean interdental brush without touching the new brush directly.

At the time of brushing, the two parallel planes 15 of the brushing direction and the fitting groove 14 of the brush part hold the handle part substantially at a right angle, so that the brush part 10 is prevented from coming off from the handle part 20. When removing the brush from the handle to replace the brush, if there is a lid, open the cover of the brush release chamber 34, put the brush 10 into the release chamber 34, and remove it. When the handle is pulled as it is through the handle 20 through the groove 33, only the brush remains in the removal chamber, and the removal is completed with one touch. The used brush remaining in the separation chamber may be discarded as described above. Therefore, the user can dispose of the used brush part without touching the brush part dirty with plaque or the like at all. The brush portion can be attached as described above without changing the handle. Therefore, the user can install the brush without touching the Exchange becomes possible.

The main aspects of the present invention are shown below.

1. An interdental brush having a replaceable brush portion, comprising a brush portion and a handle portion, wherein the brush portion has a flat surface disposed at an angle of 70 ° to 110 ° with respect to the brush axial direction. An interdental brush having a mating groove, wherein the handle has a brush holding portion at one end thereof to which the fitting groove fits. 2. The interdental brush according to 1, wherein the plane is at an angle of 80 ° to 100 ° with respect to the brush axis direction. 3. The interdental brush according to 1, wherein the plane has an angle of 85 ° to 95 ° with respect to the brush axis direction. 4. The interdental brush according to any one of 1 to 3, wherein the brush part and the handle part form an integral shape when fitted. 5. — The interdental brush described in 4 which has a spherical body shape. 6. — The interdental brush described in 4 whose body shape is elliptical. 7. The interdental brush according to item 4, wherein the integral shape is a polyhedron. 8. The brush holding portion of the handle portion is fitted with the fitting groove of the brush portion in the length direction of the handle portion from an angle of 0 ° to less than 20 °. The interdental brush according to the above. 9. The brush holding portion of the handle portion, the fitting groove of the brush portion, and any one of 1 to 7 which is fitted with the length direction of the handle portion from an angle of 20 ° to 90 °. Brush between teeth. 10. The interdental brush according to any one of 1 to 9, wherein a convex portion and a concave portion are provided to be combined with each other on the plane of the fitting section and the plane of the holding section.

20. An interdental brush set comprising an interdental brush and a brush storage container having a replaceable brush portion, wherein the interdental brush comprises a brush portion and a handle portion, and the brush portion is arranged in the brush axial direction. A fitting groove having a flat surface arranged at an angle of 0 ° to 110 °, and a neck covering the brush and extending in the brush direction, and having a cross section having a major axis in the fitting groove direction; The handle has at one end a brush holding portion into which the fitting groove fits, and the brush storage container stores a plurality of replacement brushes with the neck supported by the neck insertion groove. An interdental brush set having a chamber, wherein the width of the neck insertion groove of the brush storage chamber is larger than the minor axis of the neck and smaller than the major axis. 2 1. An interdental brush set, wherein the interdental brush is the interdental brush according to any one of 1 to 9 above. 22. Brush Tooth brush set of 20 or 21 in which the container further has a brush release chamber.

Industrial applicability

In the interdental toothbrush and the interdental brush set of the present invention, the brush part can be replaced. By specifying the method of attaching the brush part to the handle part, Provide an interdental brush with no foreign body sensation in the mouth. Also, the brush can be easily attached to the handle and discarded with just one touch without touching the brush at all, and the brush does not fall off during brushing.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An interdental brush having a replaceable brush portion, comprising a brush portion and a handle portion, wherein the brush portion 10 is a flat surface disposed at an angle of 70 ° to 110 ° with respect to the brush axial direction. An interdental brush having a fitting groove 14 having 5, and the handle portion 20 having a brush holding portion 22 at one end of which the fitting groove 14 fits.

2. An interdental brush set consisting of an interdental brush and a brush storage container 30 having a replaceable brush part, wherein the interdental brush comprises a brush part 10 and a handle part 20; Reference numeral 0 denotes a fitting groove 14 having a flat surface 15 arranged at an angle of 70 ° to 110 ° with respect to the brush axis direction, and extends in the brush direction while covering the brush shaft, and its cross-sectional shape is The handle portion 20 has a neck portion 12 having a major diameter R in the direction of the fitting groove 14, and the handle portion 20 has a brush holding portion 22 into which the fitting groove 14 fits at one end thereof. Reference numeral 30 denotes a brush storage chamber 31 for accommodating and supporting a plurality of replacement brushes by supporting the neck 12 with a neck insertion groove 32, and a brush release chamber 34, wherein the neck of the brush storage chamber 31 is inserted. An interdental brush set where the groove width is larger than the minor diameter r of the neck and smaller than the major diameter.