Interdental Cleaning Device With Coreless Soft Front End
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interdental cleaning devices with synthetic resin cores struggle to insert between molar teeth due to limited flexibility, leading to potential breakage or buckling, especially when used at angles required for molar teeth cleaning.
Innovation Solution
An interdental cleaning device with a rod-shaped core and a molded soft portion that is softer than the core, featuring a partial length of 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm without the core, and protrusions to facilitate flexible bending and guide insertion between teeth, reducing the risk of breakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a synthetic resin core portion is used instead of metal wires, then the device becomes less likely to hurt teeth and gum, but the device lacks flexibility and may break or buckle when inserted between molar teeth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies this principle by creating a coreless soft portion at the front end of the interdental cleaning device. This soft portion is made entirely of elastomer material without a rigid core, allowing it to flex and bend naturally when inserted between molar teeth at angles of 30° to 50°. The flexible soft portion eliminates the risk of breakage while maintaining the gentle cleaning action on teeth and gums.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the cleaning device into distinct functional segments: a core portion for structural support and a coreless soft portion for flexible insertion. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function optimally - the core portion provides strength where needed, while the coreless soft portion provides flexibility and adaptability when navigating between molar teeth.
2Ease of operation
If the device is inserted obliquely at angles of 30° to 50° to reach between molar teeth, then the device can access the interdental space, but the synthetic resin core may break or buckle due to the angled force
Solution Approach 1:
The coreless soft portion acts as a flexible element that can accommodate the oblique insertion angle without breaking. When the user inserts the device at 30° to 50° angles to reach between molar teeth, the soft portion bends and flexes to follow the insertion path, converting the angled force into effective cleaning action rather than creating stress concentration that would cause breakage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the structural parameter of the front end by removing the core, creating a region with different mechanical properties. This coreless soft portion has higher flexibility and can dynamically adjust its shape during insertion, allowing the device to navigate the angled path between molar teeth without experiencing the buckling forces that would affect a rigid core structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively reduces the likelihood of breakage during insertion between molar teeth by allowing flexible guidance and minimizing pressure on the device, ensuring smooth insertion and effective cleaning.
Implementation Method 1
the brush portion is elastically deformed and then inserted into the space between the teeth
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2(a)~2(b)
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An interdental cleaning device (1) for being inserted into an interdental space to clean the interdental space includes a rod-shaped core portion (12); and a soft portion (20) being softer than the core portion (12) and covering the outer surface of at least a part of the core portion (12) including a core front end (P1) as the front end of the core portion (12), wherein the soft portion (20) has a partial length of 0.5 mm or more between the core front end (P1) and a soft front end (P2) as the front end of the soft portion (20).