METHOD AND DEVICE FOR APPLYING A COATING TO AN INTERDENTAL CLEANER AND INTERDENTAL CLEANER HAVING A COATING

Abstract

The invention relates to an interdental cleaner comprising a rod-like support which has a cleaning part in an axial end region, which cleaning part is provided with a coating on its external surface in a coating region. The coating region comprises merely one portion of the external surface of the cleaning part and extends preferably between two adjacent rows of cleaning elements held on the cleaning part. A transfer element is provided for applying the coating, which transfer element is provided on the outside with a coating agent and, in order to form the coating, is subsequently brought into contact with the external surface of the cleaning part.

Claims

1. An interdental cleaner comprising a rod-like support made of plastic, which has a cleaning part made of a soft-elastic plastic in an axial end region, wherein the cleaning part is provided with a coating on an external surface thereof in a coating region, and wherein the coating region comprises only a partial region of the external surface of the cleaning part.

2. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the coating region extends in a longitudinal direction of the rod-like support.

3. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning part carries a plurality of radially outwardly projecting cleaning elements arranged in at least two rows extending in a longitudinal direction of the rod-like support, and the coating region is arranged between two adjacent rows of the at least two rows.

4. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the coating region extends over at least 50% of an axial length of the cleaning part.

5. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning part has a sleeve-like coating arranged on the rod-like support.

6. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the coating is formed by an antimicrobial substance and/or by an essential oil and/or by a remineralizing substance and/or by a flavoring substance and/or by an anti-inflammatory substance and/or by a desensitizing substance and/or by probiotics and/or by a dentin-strengthening substance or by mixtures of the specified substances.

7. The interdental cleaner according to claim 1, wherein a front tip portion of the cleaning part is free of coating.

8. A method for applying a coating to an interdental cleaner which has a rod-like support and a cleaning part made of a soft-elastic plastic, the method comprising providing a transfer body at least on an outside thereof and at least in portions with a coating agent, bringing the transfer body into contact with an external surface of the cleaning part to form the coating.

9. The method according to claim 8, further including immersing the transfer body in a coating agent bath.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning part carries a plurality of radially outwardly projecting cleaning elements arranged in at least two rows extending in a longitudinal direction of the rod-like support, and the transfer body is inserted into a space formed between two adjacent rows of the at least two rows.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the cleaning elements are elastically deformed by the transfer body.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning part is corona-treated and/or plasma-treated at least in portions before the coating is applied to the external surface thereof.

13. The method according to claim 8, wherein a front tip portion of the cleaning part is left free of coating.

14. A device for applying a coating to an interdental cleaner comprising a rod-like support and a cleaning part made of a soft-elastic plastic, and a transfer body that can be adjusted relative to the interdental cleaner between a receiving position, in which the transfer body can be brought into contact with a coating agent at least in portions and at least on an outside thereof, and a dispensing position, in which the transfer body carrying the coating agent is in contact with an external surface of the cleaning part.

15. The device according to claim 14, further including a coating bath into which the transfer body can be immersed.

16. The device according to claim 14, wherein the transfer body is roughened on the outside.

17. The device according to claim 14, wherein the transfer body is made of steel.

18. The device according to claim 14, wherein a recess is formed in the transfer body, in which a tip portion of the cleaning part can be received without contact.

Description

[0033] Further details and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the drawings. in which:

[0034] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an interdental cleaner,

[0035] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged view of the cleaning part of the interdental cleaner according to FIG. 1,

[0036] FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a device for applying a coating to an interdental cleaner, wherein the transfer body is located in its receiving position,

[0037] FIG. 4 shows a view corresponding to FIG. 3, wherein the transfer body is located in its dispensing position,

[0038] FIG. 5 shows the section V-V in FIG. 4,

[0039] FIG. 6 shows a schematic perspective view of a device for simultaneous application of a coating to a plurality of interdental cleaners,

[0040] FIG. 7 shows a top view of the transfer body and the cleaning part during coating, and

[0041] FIG. 8 shows a special embodiment of the transfer body.

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an interdental cleaner 10, which has a rod-like support 11 made of a dimensionally stable plastic, on which a plate-like handle portion 12 is integrally formed at its axially rear end. A cleaning portion 13 is formed on the support 11 at the opposite front axial end. The cleaning portion 13 has a sleeve-like cover 14 of the support 11, which extends at the front end of the support 11 over approximately one third of the length of the interdental cleaner 10. The sleeve-like cover 14 is made of a soft-elastic material, for example a thermoplastic elastomer, and carries on its external surface radially outwardly projecting cleaning elements 15 in the form of integrally formed, conical fingers.

[0043] As shown in particular in FIG. 2, the cleaning elements 15 are arranged in the form of a plurality of rows R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4 extending in the longitudinal direction of the support 11, wherein a strip-like space 17 extending in the longitudinal direction of the interdental cleaner 10 is formed in each case between two adjacent rows. One of the spaces 17 is used to form a coating region 18. The coating region 18 comprises the bottom of the space 17, i.e., the external surface of the cleaning part arranged between the two adjacent rows R.sub.1, R.sub.2, and also partial surface regions of the cleaning elements 15 facing the space 17.

[0044] A coating 16, for example of a dental care agent, is applied in the coating region 18.

[0045] A device for applying the coating 16 to the interdental cleaner 10 is shown schematically in FIG. 3. The device comprises a housing 20 in which a basin 21 is formed, which basin is open at the top and in which a coating agent bath 19 having a liquid coating agent 22 is located.

[0046] A holder 23 is vertically adjustable, as indicated by the double arrow V, and carries a transfer body 24, which in the case shown is in the form of a circular cylinder attached at its rear end to the holder 23 and spherically rounded at its opposite front end. The transfer body 24 can be made of metal and, in particular, steel, and can be treated on its surface to improve absorption or wetting with the coating agent 22.

[0047] A holding device 25 is arranged above the housing 20, in which holding device an interdental cleaner 10 is clamped and held with its rear handle portion 12. The front cleaning part 13 of the interdental cleaner 10 is arranged in a freely cantilevered manner above the coating agent bath 19.

[0048] According to FIG. 3, the transfer body 24 is in its receiving position, in which it is completely immersed in the coating agent 22 of the coating agent bath 19. The holder 23 is then moved vertically upwards until the transfer body 24 comes into contact with the external surface of the cleaning part 13. Such dispensing position is shown in FIG. 4.

[0049] As can be seen from the sectional view according to FIG. 5, the transfer body 24 thereby engages the space 17 formed between two adjacent rows R.sub.1, R.sub.2 of the cleaning elements 15 and thereby elastically deforms the cleaning elements 15 and presses them laterally outward such that the surfaces of the cleaning elements 15 facing the space 17 and the bottom of the space 17 come into contact with the surface of the transfer body 24 over a large area, thereby transferring the coating agent 22.

[0050] FIG. 6 shows a schematic and partially simplified illustration of a device 26 for simultaneously providing a plurality of interdental cleaners 10 with the coating. According to the illustrated exemplary embodiment, four interdental cleaner groups 27 are provided, each consisting of 8 interdental cleaners 10. The interdental cleaners 10 of each interdental cleaner group 27 are connected to one another and are each clamped in a holding device 25.

[0051] Four transfer body groups 28 are provided, each having eight transfer bodies 24, wherein each transfer body 24 is assigned to an interdental cleaner 10 in said manner. The transfer body groups 28 are all arranged on the common holder 23 and thus synchronized in their movement. By lowering the holder 23, all transfer body groups 28 may be simultaneously immersed in the coating agent bath 19 and then simultaneously adjusted to the respective dispensing position, in which a respective transfer body 24 comes into contact with the cleaning part 13 of the assigned interdental cleaner 10 and transfers the coating agent.

[0052] As FIG. 7 shows, in a special embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that a tip portion 13a formed at the front end of the cleaning part 13 does not come into contact with the transfer body 24, and thus the coating agent in such tip portion 13a is not applied to the cleaning part 13. This results in the tip portion 13a remaining soft, elastic and flexible.

[0053] FIG. 8 shows a special embodiment of the transfer body 24, which has a basically cylindrical shape with a spherical rounding formed at the front end. On at least one side of the transfer body 24, a planar surface region 24a extending in the longitudinal direction of the transfer body 24 is formed, which surface region extends approximately along the entire length of at least the cylindrical part of the transfer body 24.