Brush with fluid delivery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11229283-B2
Application number	US-202016848992-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 15, 2020
Priority date	Dec 28, 2015
Publication date	Jan 25, 2022
Grant date	Jan 25, 2022

Abstract

A toothbrush includes a handle, a head at a distal end of the handle comprising a bristle plate, a hole extending through the bristle plate, a plurality of bristles at least partially disposed in the hole and extending from the hole in a direction away from the head, and a reservoir in fluid communication with the hole. Fluid in the reservoir enters the tuft holes and is wicked out of the head of the toothbrushes by capillaries formed between the bristles.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A toothbrush comprising:
a handle;
a head coupled to the handle, the head comprising a top surface and a cavity;
an oral care fluid stored in the cavity;
at least one tuft hole extending from the top surface of the head to a floor of the tuft hole, the tuft hole having a first diameter;
a bristle tuft positioned within the tuft hole and extending from the top surface of the head;
at least one fluid passageway extending from the cavity to an opening in the floor of the tuft hole, the at least one fluid passageway having a second diameter; and
wherein the first diameter is greater than the second diameter.

2. The toothbrush according to claim 1 wherein the at least one fluid passageway is coaxial with the one of the tuft holes.

3. The toothbrush according to claim 1 wherein the bristle tuft comprises a plurality of bristles that are oriented substantially parallel and closely spaced so that capillaries exist between the bristles in the bristle tuft to wick the oral care fluid from the cavity upward along the bristle tuft.

4. The toothbrush according to claim 1 further comprising a reservoir in the handle that is in fluid communication with the cavity in the head.

5. The toothbrush according to claim 1 wherein a bottom end of the bristle tuft is in contact with the floor of the tuft hole and does not extend into the fluid passageway.

6. The toothbrush according to claim 1 wherein the bristle tuft is coupled to the head using a staple.

7. The toothbrush according to claim 6 wherein the staple is positioned entirely within the tuft hole.

8. The toothbrush according to claim 1 further comprising a wick member located in the cavity and at least partially saturated with the oral care fluid.

9. The toothbrush according to claim 8 further comprising a reservoir in the handle that is in fluid communication with the cavity in the head, and wherein the wick member extends into the reservoir in the handle.

Assignees

• Colgate Palmolive Co

Inventors

• Gontarz Gerald
• Johansson Patrik
• Gatzemeyer John
• Hohlbein Douglas
• Wainless Daniel
• Bloch Brian
• Khan Najma

Classifications

• A46B11/0082 Primary

  Means for closing, sealing or controlling the flow using capillary action · CPC title

• A46B3/06

  by welding together bristles made of metal wires or plastic materials · CPC title

• A46B15/0024

  with means generating ions · CPC title

• A46B2200/3033

  Household brush, i.e. brushes for cleaning in the house or dishes · CPC title

• A46B2200/1066

  Toothbrush for cleaning the teeth or dentures (A61C17/16 takes precedence; bristles arrangements for toothbrushes A46B9/04) · CPC title