Oral care system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10779637-B2
Application number	US-201415313576-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 29, 2014
Priority date	May 29, 2014
Publication date	Sep 22, 2020
Grant date	Sep 22, 2020

Abstract

An oral care system includes a handle and a head, the handle having a proximal end and a distal end, the head being coupled to the distal end of the handle and including at least one oral surface engaging element. The oral care system further includes a mechanism including first and second housing portions, each including a first and a second end; and an applicator loaded with an oral care material and positioned within the mechanism. The first ends of the first and second housing portions are pivotably coupled to one another about a rotational axis so as to be alterable between: (1) a closed state in which the first and second housing portions form an enclosure that contains the applicator; and (2) an open state in which the second ends of the first and second housing portions are spaced from one another and the applicator is exposed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An oral care system comprising:
a handle comprising a proximal end and a distal end;
a head coupled to a distal end of the handle, the head comprising at least one oral surface engaging element; and
the handle comprising:
a first housing portion and a second housing portion, each of the first and second housing portions coupled to the proximal end of the handle, the first and second housing portions each comprising a first end and a second end, where the first ends of the first and second housing portions are pivotably coupled to one another via a biasing element;
an applicator loaded with an oral care material;
the first ends of the first and second housing portions are pivotably coupled to one another about a rotational axis so as to be alterable between: (1) a closed state in which the first and second housing portions form an enclosure that contains the applicator; and (2) an open state in which the second ends of the first and second housing portions are spaced from one another and the applicator is exposed;
a reservoir provided in an intermediate portion of the handle located between the proximal and distal ends, the reservoir containing the oral care material;
a conduit extending from the reservoir through one of the first and second housing portions, the conduit having an inlet in fluid communication with the reservoir, an outlet at a second end of the one of the first and second housings adjacent the applicator; and
a dispensing means disposed between the inlet and the outlet, wherein the dispensing means is configured to dispense the liquid oral care material from the reservoir through the conduit and onto the applicator.

2. The oral care system according to claim 1 wherein the second ends of the first and second housing portions are separated by a first rotational angle in the closed state and a second rotational angle in the open state, wherein the second rotational angle is greater than the first rotational angle.

3. The oral care system according to claim 1 wherein the handle extends from the proximal end to the distal end along a longitudinal axis; and wherein the rotational axis is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis.

4. The oral care system according to claim 1 wherein the handle comprises a base portion comprising the distal end of the handle, the first and second housing portions coupled to a proximal end of the base portion that is opposite the distal end of the handle.

5. The oral care system according to claim 4 wherein the first and second housing portions are detachably coupled to the base portion.

6. The oral care system according to claim 1 wherein a gap exists between the first and second housing portions in the open state; and wherein the applicator has a first end coupled to the first housing portion and a second end coupled to the second housing portion so that, in the open state, the applicator is suspended in the gap to form a suspension bridge between the first and second housing portions.

7. The oral care system according to claim 6 wherein the applicator is under tension in the open state.

8. The oral care system according to claim 1 wherein the applicator is re-loaded with the oral care material from the reservoir in the closed state; and the applicator is exposed for direct contact with an oral surface in the open state.

9. The oral care system according to claim 1 wherein the handle further comprises a tubular sheath that is alterable between: (1) a first position in which the first and second housing portions are disposed in the tubular sheath in the closed state and the head protrudes from a first end of the tubular sheath; and (2) a second position in which the head is disposed in the tubular sheath and the first and second housing portions protrude from a second end of the tubular sheath.

10. The oral care system according to claim 9 wherein the tubular sheath is configured to actuate the mechanism from the open state to the closed state upon being translated from the second position to the first position.

11. The oral care system according to claim 1 wherein the first and second housing portions form a sealed cavity in the closed state, the applicator disposed within the sealed cavity.

12. The oral care system of claim 1 wherein the applicator is a planar applicator strip.

13. The oral care system of claim 1 wherein the applicator has a first end fixed to the second end of the first housing portion and a second end fixed to the second end of the second housing portion.

14. The oral care system of claim 1 wherein the applicator has a first side, an opposite second side, a first edge extending from the first side to the second side, a second edge extending from the first side to the second side, the second edge opposite the first edge, a thickness measured between the first and second sides, and a width measured from the first edge to the second edge, the width being greater than the thickness.

15. An oral care system comprising:
a handle comprising a proximal end and a distal end;
a reservoir containing an oral care material provided in a portion of the handle;
a tubular sheath coupled to the handle;
a head coupled to a distal end of the handle, the head comprising at least one oral surface engaging element;
a first housing portion and a second housing portion coupled to the proximal end of the handle, each of the first and second housing portions comprising a first end and a second end, where the first ends of the first and second housing portions are pivotably coupled to one another via a biasing element; and
a planar applicator strip loaded with the oral care material, the applicator strip having opposing ends, where one of the ends is fixed to the second end of the first housing portion and the other one of the ends is fixed to the second end of the second housing portion;
the first ends of the first and second housing portions are pivotably coupled to one another such that the first and second housing portions pivot between: (1) a closed state in which the first and second housing portions form an enclosure that contains the applicator; and (2) an open state in which the second ends of the first and second housing portions are spaced from one another and the applicator is exposed;
wherein the tubular sheath is slidable between: (1) a first position in which the first and second housing portions are completely enclosed in the tubular sheath in the closed state and (2) a second position in which the first and second housing portions protrude from the tubular sheath and are in the open state.

Assignees

• Colgate Palmolive Co

Inventors

• Duncan Kelly Gail

Classifications

• A46B2200/1046

  Brush used for applying cosmetics · CPC title

• A46B11/001

  with integral reservoirs (A46B11/0003, A46B11/0006 take precedence) · CPC title

• A61C19/06

  Implements for therapeutic treatment (radiation therapy A61N5/00) · CPC title

• A61C19/066

  Bleaching devices; Whitening agent applicators for teeth, e.g. trays or strips · CPC title

• A46B11/0058 Primary

  with a metered dosage · CPC title