Oral care implement and handle and refill head thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11833004-B2
Application number	US-202016891210-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 3, 2020
Priority date	Dec 12, 2017
Publication date	Dec 5, 2023
Grant date	Dec 5, 2023

Abstract

An oral care implement handle or a refill head therefor. The refill head may include a sleeve portion extending from a proximal end to a distal end, the sleeve portion having an inner surface that defines an internal cavity. The internal cavity may extend along a sleeve axis from an open bottom end at the proximal end of the sleeve portion to a closed top end, the internal cavity being configured to receive an attachment portion of a stem of an oral care implement handle. The internal cavity may have a proximal section adjacent the open bottom end and a distal section adjacent the closed top end. The distal section of the internal cavity may include a central portion located on the sleeve axis and at least one slot portion radially extending from the central portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An oral care refill head comprising:
a sleeve portion extending from a proximal end to a distal end, the sleeve portion comprising:
an inner surface that defines an internal cavity;
the internal cavity extending along a sleeve axis from an open bottom end at the proximal end of the sleeve portion to a closed top end, the internal cavity configured to receive an attachment portion of a stem of an oral care implement handle;
the internal cavity comprising a proximal section adjacent the open bottom end and a distal section adjacent the closed top end; and
the distal section of the internal cavity comprising a central portion located on the sleeve axis and a plurality of slot portions extending radially from the inner surface to an end wall surface, each of the slot portions defined by first and second sidewalls and the end wall surface, and each of the slot portions having a length measured from the inner surface to the end wall surface that is greater than a width measured from the first sidewall to the second sidewall;
wherein the central portion of the distal section of the internal cavity is defined by a plurality of arcuate sidewall surfaces, wherein adjacent ones of the plurality of arcuate sidewall surfaces are separated by one of the plurality of the slot portions of the distal section of the internal cavity.

2. The oral care device according to claim 1 wherein the inner surface of the sleeve portion comprises a sleeve shoulder axially spaced from proximal end of the sleeve portion, each of slot portions having an open lower end in the sleeve shoulder.

3. The oral care device according to claim 2 wherein the proximal section of the internal cavity extends from the proximal end of the sleeve portion to the sleeve shoulder and has a first axial length, the distal section of the internal cavity extending from the sleeve shoulder to the closed top end of the internal cavity and having a second axial length, the first axial length being greater than the second axial length.

4. The oral care device according to claim 1 wherein the proximal section of the internal cavity tapers with distance from the proximal end of the sleeve portion.

5. The oral care device according to claim 1 wherein each of the slot portions is defined by first and second sidewall surfaces that extend radially outward from the central portion of the distal section of the internal cavity and terminate at an end wall surface.

6. The oral care device according to claim 1 wherein the central portion of the distal section of the internal cavity is defined by at least one arcuate sidewall surface.

7. An oral care implement comprising:
the oral care refill head according to claim 1 ; and
an oral care implement handle comprising a gripping portion and a stem comprising an attachment portion protruding from the gripping portion, wherein the oral care refill head is coupled to the oral care implement handle with the attachment portion of the stem located within the internal cavity of the oral care refill head, wherein the attachment portion of the stem comprises a post terminating in a closed distal end that forms a free end of the attachment portion of the stem, the post comprising a hub portion that nests within the central portion of the internal cavity and a plurality of protuberances extending radially from the hub portion, each protuberance nesting within one of the slot portions of the internal cavity.

8. An oral care implement handle comprising:
a gripping portion extending from a proximal end to a distal end;
a stem comprising an attachment portion protruding from a first transverse shoulder at the distal end of the gripping portion, the stem extending along a stem axis and configured to be detachably coupled to a replaceable oral care device, the attachment portion of the stem comprising:
a second transverse shoulder axially spaced from the first transverse shoulder; and
a post protruding from the second transverse shoulder, the post terminating in a closed distal end that forms a free end of the attachment portion of the stem, the post comprising a hub portion extending along the stem axis and at least one protuberance extending from a side surface of the hub portion along an entirety of a length of the hub portion;

wherein the at least one protuberance has an upper terminal surface and the hub portion has an upper terminal surface that collectively define the free end of the attachment portion of the stem and are located in a plane orthogonal to the stem axis.

9. The oral care implement handle according to claim 8 further comprising a plurality of the at least one protuberance, the plurality of protuberances circumferentially arranged about the hub portion in a spaced-apart manner from one another.

10. The oral care implement handle according to claim 9 wherein the plurality of protuberances are arranged in a circumferentially equi-spaced manner from one another.

11. The oral care implement handle according to claim 8 wherein a distal end of the hub portion and a distal end of the at least one protuberance are flush at the closed distal end of the post.

12. The oral care implement handle according to claim 8 further comprising:
the gripping portion comprising an actuator on a front surface of the gripping portion for activating and deactivating a vibration generating device; and
the at least one protuberance and the actuator facing the same direction.

13. The oral care implement handle according to claim 8 further comprising the attachment portion of the stem comprising a base portion protruding from the first transverse shoulder and terminating in a distal surface that forms the second transverse shoulder.

14. The oral care implement handle according to claim 13 wherein the base portion comprises a locking feature configured to mate with a locking feature of the replaceable oral care device, the locking feature protruding from a side surface of the base portion.

15. The oral care implement handle according to claim 13 wherein the base portion comprises one or more alignment protuberances protruding from a side surface of the base portion.

16. The oral care implement handle according to claim 8 wherein the at least one protuberance has a side terminal surface spaced a first radial distance from the stem axis and the second transverse shoulder has an outer edge spaced a second radial distance from the stem axis, the second radial distance greater than the first radial distance.

17. The oral care implement handle according to claim 8 further comprising a vibration generating device comprising a power source, a motor operably coupled to the power source, and an eccentric weight operably coupled to the motor; and wherein a portion of a shaft that supports the eccentric weight extends into the hub portion of the post.

Assignees

• Colgate Palmolive Co

Inventors

• Bloch Brian
• Okai Takahide
• Gatzemeyer John

Classifications

• A61C17/222 Primary

  Brush body details, e.g. the shape thereof or connection to handle · CPC title

• A46B5/0095

  Removable or interchangeable brush heads · CPC title

• A46B9/04

  {Arranged like in or} for toothbrushes · CPC title

• A61C17/225

  Handles or details thereof · CPC title

• A61C17/3481

  Vibrating brush body, e.g. by using eccentric weights · CPC title