Method and apparatus for applying a coating to an interdental cleaner, and interdental cleaner having a coating

Abstract

The interdental cleaner has a rod-shaped support, which has a cleaning element in its axial end region, and the cleaning element is provided with a coating in a coating area on its outer surface. The coating area here includes only a partial area of ​​the outer surface of the cleaning element and preferably extends between two adjacent rows of cleaning elements held by the cleaning element. To apply the coating, a transfer body is provided, which is provided with a coating agent on its outer side and is subsequently brought into contact with the outer surface of the cleaning element to form the coating.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an interdental cleaner having a rod-shaped support made of plastic, the support having a cleaning part made of soft elastic plastic in the shaft end region, and the cleaning part being provided with a coating in a coating region on its outer surface.

[0002] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for applying a coating to an interdental cleaner.

[0003] Interdental cleaners are used for cleaning interdental spaces. Conventional interdental cleaners have a rod-shaped support made of plastic having a gripping part in its rear shaft end region. A cleaning part made of soft elastic plastic is provided in the shaft end region of the rod-shaped support on the opposite side of the gripping part. The cleaning part may be designed in a sleeve shape, may surround the front end region of the rod-shaped support, and in particular may be sprayed thereon, but alternatively, it is also possible for the cleaning part to protrude from the front shaft end region of the support.

[0004] In order to increase acceptance by consumers and achieve additional benefits for consumers, it would be reasonable to introduce substances and / or flavorings known in the field of oral hygiene into the oral cavity, particularly into the interdental spaces. This can be achieved, for example, by providing a coating consisting of a corresponding coating agent on the cleaning part of the interdental cleaner. Various procedures are known for the application of the corresponding coating. It is possible to immerse the cleaning part in a liquid supply of the coating agent to be applied and then pull it out again. This has the disadvantage in many cases that droplets are formed, which are on the one hand aesthetically and functionally disadvantageous and on the other hand result in an excessive amount of coating agent being applied to the interdental cleaner.

[0005] Alternatively, it is known to spray a coating agent onto the cleaning parts. This has the disadvantage of significant loss of the spraying medium during spraying and the need to seal the spraying space to capture the spray mist. Furthermore, a filter must be used to prevent the spray mist from entering the manufacturing environment or surroundings. In addition, it may not be possible to apply the specified amount of coating agent to the cleaning parts, and there is a risk that the very fine nozzle will clog during prolonged operation, so the nozzle must be cleaned first before the interdental cleaner can be manufactured.

[0006] Basically, any known application of a coating agent has the following drawback: it provides a coating that covers the entire surface of the cleaning part, which hardens when dry, increasing the bending strength of the cleaning part and cleaning elements, such as brush bristles, slats, fingers, or so-called pins. As a result, the user does not perceive softness (soft feeling). This is only offset when the user inserts the interdental cleaner into the interdental space and the coating softens again with saliva in the mouth.

[0007] The present invention is based on the problem of establishing the aforementioned type of interdental cleaner having a specified amount of coating agent, wherein its flexural strength is not affected by the coating agent, or is affected only to a very slight extent.

[0008] Furthermore, we will establish a method for applying a coating to an interdental cleaner that allows the coating agent to be applied to the cleaning parts of the interdental cleaner in a simple and precise manner.

[0009] Furthermore, we will establish a device for applying a coating to interdental cleaners that allows this method to be implemented simply.

[0010] With respect to interdental cleaners, the above-mentioned problems are solved by an interdental cleaner having the features of claim 1. Here, the coating area is intended to include only a portion of the outer surface of the cleaning part. Thus, the cleaning part of the interdental cleaner has a coating applied only to a portion of its outer surface. The rest of the outer surface does not have a coating. In the design according to the present invention, the cleaning part is not completely surrounded or wrapped by the coating, and since the coating is applied only to a portion of the surface, the coating does not substantially impede the flexural strength of the interdental cleaner. The size of the portion is preferably less than 50%, and particularly less than 20%, of the entire outer surface of the cleaning part.

[0011] In a preferred design, the coated area or partial area on the outer surface of the cleaning part, having a coating, is intended to extend in the longitudinal direction of the support. This is seen, for example, when the coating is applied to the cleaning part in a strip-like configuration. The corresponding strip-like coated area may extend axially, i.e., in the longitudinal direction of the interdental cleaner, but the corresponding strip-like partial area may also be intended to spirally encircle the cleaning part.

[0012] A further development of the present invention may involve ensuring that the tip of the cleaning component, facing the front and opposite side of the grip, is free of coating for at least 0.5 mm, particularly in the range of 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm. This ensures that the tip of the cleaning component remains soft and flexible so as not to adversely affect the user's sensation when inserting the interdental cleaner into the interdental space. The absence of a coating on the tip is achieved by making the transfer body short enough not to come into contact with the tip of the cleaning component; alternatively, the transfer body may have a recess, where the tip of the cleaning component is positioned in the recessed area when in contact with the transfer body and therefore not in contact with the transfer body.

[0013] In the case of interdental cleaners, the cleaning component is generally intended to have a number of cleaning elements that project radially outward. The cleaning elements may be, for example, fingers, which are formed of the same soft, elastic plastic as the cleaning component, such as a thermoplastic elastomer, and are integrally connected to the cleaning component. The fingers may have, for example, a conical shape that tapers radially outward. Alternatively or additionally, the cleaning component may have cleaning elements in the form of brush bristles that project radially outward. The brush bristles are portions of monofilaments or multifilaments, which are cut to a predetermined length from these monofilaments or multifilaments. The brush bristles may be processed as individual brush bristles and / or bundles of brush bristles, which are preferably arranged so as to penetrate the cleaning component and a rod-shaped support, projecting axially from the cleaning component on both sides, and being embedded in and held therein in the material of the cleaning component and the material of the support.

[0014] In the following, for example, the cleaning element is assumed to be the integrally molded finger described above, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0015] The cleaning elements or fingers may be arranged on the outer surface of the cleaning component such that they form multiple rows of cleaning elements or fingers extending in the longitudinal direction of the support. In a further configuration of the present invention, it may be intended that the coating area is located between two adjacent rows of cleaning elements or fingers, where the coating is provided in only one of the voids formed between two adjacent rows of cleaning elements or fingers, while all the corresponding voids are left uncoated. However, alternatively, it is possible to provide the corresponding coating in every other void or every two voids around the interdental cleaner.

[0016] The coating area may extend along the entire axial length of the cleaning part. Preferably, the coating area is intended to extend over at least 50% of the axial length of the cleaning part, and more particularly over at least 80% of the axial length of the cleaning part.

[0017] The cleaning component preferably has a sleeve-shaped cover made of a soft, elastic plastic material, such as a thermoplastic elastomer, which is placed on a support and is sprayed onto the support in particular. By spraying, the cleaning element may be formed in the form of fingers and / or slats.

[0018] The coating agent forming the coating may be an antimicrobial substance, such as CHX chlorhexidine or CPC cetylpyridinium chloride, and / or an essential oil, and / or a remineralizing substance, such as fluoride or isomalt, and / or a flavoring agent, and / or an anti-inflammatory substance including chamomile, ginger, aloe vera, etc., and / or a desensitizing substance, such as potassium nitrate, and / or a probiotic, such as Lactobacillus reuteri, and / or a dentin strengthening substance, such as hesperidin, or a mixture of the aforementioned substances with other substances known in oral hygiene, such as zinc fluoride.

[0019] With respect to this method, the above-mentioned problems are solved by applying a coating agent to the transfer body at least externally and at least partially, and then bringing the transfer body into contact with the outer surface of the cleaning part to form a coating. The size of the coating area to be formed can be adjusted very precisely by the size of the contact surface between the transfer body and the outer surface of the cleaning part. Flexible adjustment of the amount of coating agent to be applied can be achieved by the user by adjusting parameters such as the speed of the transfer body, and / or the shape of the cleaning part of the interdental cleaner, and / or the shape of the transfer body, and / or the surface structure of the transfer body, and in particular the size of the contact surface between the transfer body and the cleaning part of the interdental body. It has been shown that the amount of coating agent applied to the outer surface of the cleaning part using the transfer body can be maintained within a narrow, predetermined limiting range.

[0020] The cleaning part may be coated with a coating agent along its entire length, but it is also possible that the coating agent be applied only to a portion of the length of the cleaning part, for example, only to the rear portion facing the gripping portion, or only to the front portion facing the opposite side of the gripping portion.

[0021] The coating agent can be applied to the transfer body by rubbing or spraying. However, it is preferable to apply the coating agent by immersion, by immersing the transfer body in a coating agent bath.

[0022] The transfer body may have a columnar shape, particularly a cylindrical shape, or a conical shape, particularly a circular cone shape. Different transfer bodies can be used depending on the viscosity of the coating agent to be applied. In particular, the transfer body may have a flattened, particularly planar, surface area. This can be achieved, for example, by a column having a polygonal cross-section, particularly a triangular, quadrilateral, or hexagonal cross-section. By forming a planar surface, a defined contact surface can be provided between the transfer body and the cleaning part, ensuring that the coating agent can flow off the transfer body regardless of its viscosity.

[0023] If the cleaning component has a plurality of cleaning elements projecting radially outward, such as fingers of the type described above arranged in at least two rows extending longitudinally along the support, a further configuration of this method may involve inserting the transfer body into a gap formed between two adjacent rows. In this way, the coating agent present on the outside of the transfer body is applied to the surface area of ​​the cleaning component, which forms the bottom of the gap.

[0024] Preferably, the transfer body also touches the sides of the cleaning element or finger, specifically the sides facing the void, and these sides are also coated. Here, when the transfer body is inserted into the void formed between two adjacent rows, it may be intended that the cleaning element or finger be elastically deformed by the transfer body. This ensures that the cleaning element or finger is under tension from the outside relative to the surface of the transfer body, thereby ensuring that it receives a sufficient amount of coating.

[0025] To improve the reception of the coating agent on the outer surface of the cleaning part, the cleaning part may be subjected to a surface treatment before coating, at least partially and especially in the coating area, if it is made of a thermoplastic elastomer. The surface treatment may be roughening and / or heating and / or corona treatment and / or plasma treatment.

[0026] The aforementioned coating method can be implemented on individual interdental cleaners. However, from an economic standpoint, it is reasonable to apply partial coating to multiple interdental cleaners simultaneously. For this purpose, it may be considered to group multiple interdental cleaners into interdental cleaner groups, particularly by connecting them to each other via webs. One group may consist, for example, of eight or more interdental cleaners arranged adjacent to each other.

[0027] An apparatus according to the present invention for applying a coating to the aforementioned type of interdental cleaner is characterized by a transfer body, namely, a transfer body that is adjustable relative to the interdental cleaner between a receiving position in which the transfer body can come into contact with the coating agent at least partially and at least externally, and a transfer position in which the transfer body having the coating agent is in contact with the outer surface of the cleaning component.

[0028] A coating bath may be provided for receiving the coating agent, the coating bath having a tank filled with the coating agent, into which a transfer body can be immersed. The transfer body is preferably mounted, for example, vertically, on an adjustable holder, which, by adjustment, allows the transfer body to be preferably fully immersed in the coating bath.

[0029] The interdental cleaner can be positioned such that its cleaning component is above the coating bath, so that the transfer body can be lifted from the coating bath by a purely vertical translational motion and come into contact with the outer surface of the cleaning component at its transfer position.

[0030] The transfer body may be made of plastic, particularly from a porous material, for example from an open-cell or closed-cell plastic foam. However, preferably, the transfer body is made of metal, particularly preferably of stainless steel.

[0031] The outer surface of the transfer body may be pretreated in order to improve the uniform acceptance of the coating agent over the entire surface. The pretreatment can be an outer corona treatment and / or an outer roughening of the transfer body. The corresponding roughening is preferably brought about by machining, for example by sandblasting, grinding, or by etching or erosion.

[0032] The device may be designed such that only one interdental cleaner can always be provided with a coating. However, preferably, at least one group of interdental cleaners formed from a plurality of interdental cleaners is provided with a corresponding coating. Here, an individual transfer body may be assigned to each interdental cleaner, and as a result, the transfer bodies are also arranged within the corresponding group of transfer bodies. In a special further configuration of the device, it is intended that a plurality of groups of interdental cleaners are provided with a coating in one working step simultaneously, and for this purpose, preferably, a corresponding plurality of groups of transfer bodies are also provided, and the movements of the groups of transfer bodies are linked, that is, preferably, they are immersed in the coating bath simultaneously and preferably reach their transfer positions simultaneously, at which transfer positions the groups of transfer bodies are in contact with the outer surfaces of the cleaning parts assigned to them.

[0033] Further details and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0034] [Figure 1] Shows a schematic perspective view of an interdental cleaner. [Figure 2]Figure 1 shows a magnified view of the cleaning components of the interdental cleaner. [Figure 3] This shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a device for applying a coating to an interdental cleaner, with the transfer body in its receiving position. [Figure 4] The diagram corresponding to Figure 3 shows the transfer body at its transfer position. [Figure 5] Figure 4 shows the VV cross-section. [Figure 6] A schematic perspective view of a device for simultaneously applying a coating to multiple interdental cleaners is shown. [Figure 7] The image shows a top view of the transfer body and cleaning parts during the coating process. [Figure 8] This demonstrates the unique design of the transfer material.

[0035] Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an interdental cleaner 10 having a rod-shaped support 11 made of dimensionally stable plastic, the support 11 having a plate-shaped gripping portion 12 integrally formed at its axial rear end. At the opposite front axial end, a cleaning portion 13 is formed on the support 11. The cleaning portion 13 has a sleeve-shaped cover 14 of the support 11, which extends from the front end of the support 11 over approximately one-third of the length of the interdental cleaner 10. The sleeve-shaped cover 14 is made of a soft, elastic material, such as a thermoplastic elastomer, and has a cleaning element 15 projecting radially outward from its outside, which is integrally molded in the shape of a conical finger.

[0036] In particular, as shown in Figure 2, the cleaning elements 15 are arranged in the form of multiple rows R1, R2, R3, and R4 extending in the longitudinal direction of the support 11, with a strip-shaped gap 17 extending in the longitudinal direction of the interdental cleaner 10 formed between two adjacent rows. One of the gaps 17 is used to form a coating area 18. The coating area 18 includes the bottom of the gap 17, i.e., the outer surface of the cleaning component positioned between two adjacent rows R1 and R2, and also the surface area of ​​the cleaning element 15 facing the gap 17.

[0037] A coating 16, for example, consisting of a dental care agent, is applied to the coated area 18.

[0038] A device for applying a coating 16 to an interdental cleaner 10 is schematically illustrated in Figure 3. This device includes a housing 20, inside which a tank 21 is formed, the tank 21 is open upward, and inside the tank 21 there is a coating bath 19 containing a liquid coating agent 22.

[0039] The holder 23 is vertically adjustable, as indicated by the two-way arrow V, and supports the transfer body 24, which in the illustrated example is formed as a cylinder, attached to the holder 23 at its rear end and rounded into a sphere at its opposite front end. The transfer body 24 may be made of a metal, particularly steel, and its surface may be treated to improve the reception or wetting by the coating agent 22.

[0040] A retaining device 25 is positioned above the housing 20, and the interdental cleaner 10 is clamped and held by the retaining device 25 at its rear gripping portion 12. The front cleaning part 13 of the interdental cleaner 10 is positioned to protrude openly above the coating agent bath 19.

[0041] As shown in Figure 3, the transfer body 24 is in its receiving position, where it is completely immersed in the coating agent 22 of the coating bath 19. Subsequently, the holder 23 is moved vertically upward until the transfer body 24 contacts the outer surface of the cleaning part 13. This transfer position is illustrated in Figure 4.

[0042] As can be seen from the cross-sectional view in Figure 5, the transfer body 24 enters the gap 17 formed between two adjacent rows R1 and R2 of the cleaning elements 15, elastically deforming the cleaning elements 15 and pushing them outward laterally. As a result, the surface of the cleaning elements 15 facing the gap 17 and the bottom of the gap 17 come into contact with the surface of the transfer body 24 over a wide area, thereby transferring the coating agent 22.

[0043] Figure 6 is a schematic and partially simplified diagram showing an apparatus 26 for simultaneously applying a coating to multiple interdental cleaners 10. According to the illustrated embodiment, there are four interdental cleaner groups 27, each consisting of eight interdental cleaners 10. The interdental cleaners 10 in each interdental cleaner group 27 are connected to one another and each is clamped to a holding device 25.

[0044] Each of the four transfer body groups 28 comprises eight transfer bodies 24, each transfer body 24 being assigned to the interdental cleaner 10 in the manner described above. All of the transfer body groups 28 are positioned on a common holder 23, and therefore their movements are synchronized. By lowering the holder 23, all of the transfer body groups 28 can be simultaneously immersed in the coating bath 19 and subsequently adjusted simultaneously to their respective transfer positions, at which point each transfer body 24 comes into contact with the cleaning component 13 of the assigned interdental cleaner 10 and transfers the coating agent.

[0045] As shown in Figure 7, in the unique design of the present invention, the tip portion 13a formed at the front end of the cleaning part 13 does not come into contact with the transfer body 24, and therefore, the coating agent is not applied to the cleaning part 13 at this tip portion 13a. This allows the tip portion 13a to remain soft, elastic, and flexible.

[0046] Figure 8 shows the unique design of the transfer body 24, which basically has a columnar shape and has a spherical curvature formed at its front end. A planar surface region 24a is formed on at least one side of the transfer body 24, extending in the longitudinal direction of the transfer body 24, and this surface region 24a extends over at least the entire length of the columnar portion of the transfer body 24.

Claims

1. An interdental cleaner (10) having a plastic rod-shaped support (11), wherein the support (11) has a soft, elastic plastic cleaning part (13) at its shaft end region, and the cleaning part (13) has a coating (16) in a coating region (18) on its outer surface, wherein the coating region (18) includes only a portion of the outer surface of the cleaning part (13), The cleaning component (13) has a plurality of cleaning elements (15) that protrude outward in the radial direction, and the cleaning elements (15) are arranged in at least two rows (R1, R2, R3, R4) that extend in the longitudinal direction of the support (11). The coating region is located between two adjacent rows (R1, R2), The coating (16) is applied in a strip-like configuration. An interdental cleaner (10) characterized by the following.

2. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1, characterized in that the coating region (18) extends in the longitudinal direction of the support (11).

3. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the coating region (18) extends over at least 50% of the axial length of the cleaning part (13).

4. The interdental cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cleaning component (13) has a sleeve-shaped cover (14) disposed on the support (11).

5. The interdental cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the coating (16) is formed from an antimicrobial substance and / or from an essential oil and / or from a remineralizing substance and / or from a flavoring agent and / or from an anti-inflammatory substance and / or from a desensitizing substance and / or from a probiotic and / or from a dentin strengthening substance, or from a mixture of the aforementioned substances.

6. The interdental cleaner according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the front tip portion (13a) of the cleaning part (13) is not coated.

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