Oral care implement having flexible handle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9737134-B2
Application number	US-201214385288-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 22, 2012
Priority date	Mar 22, 2012
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

An oral care implement having a flexible handle. In one embodiment, the invention can be an oral care implement comprising: a head; and a handle extending along a longitudinal axis and connected to the head, the handle comprising: a main body integrally formed of a rigid material, the main body comprising a rigid gripping section terminating in a bulbous body, a rigid neck section terminating in a basin, and a flexible strut having a first end connected to the bulbous body and a second end connected to a floor of the basin; a resilient material encasing the flexible strut; and the flexible strut and the resilient material forming a hinge about which the rigid neck section pivots relative to the rigid gripping section upon a force being applied to the head.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An oral care implement comprising:
a handle extending along a longitudinal axis and comprising a rigid gripping section, a rigid neck section, and a hinge flexibly connecting the rigid neck section to the rigid gripping section, wherein one of the rigid neck section or the rigid gripping section comprises a bulbous body and the other one of the rigid neck section or the rigid gripping section comprises a basin;
the hinge comprising:
the bulbous body;
the basin;
a longitudinal strut of rigid material, the longitudinal strut having a first end connected to a convex surface of the bulbous body and a second end connected to a floor of the basin so that a separation gap exists between the bulbous body and the floor of the basin; and
a resilient material in the separation gap; and

a head connected to the rigid neck section of the handle.

2. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the rigid neck section pivots relative to the rigid gripping section about the hinge upon a force being applied to a front surface of the head.

3. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the bulbous body forms a distal end of the rigid gripping section and the basin forms a proximal end of the rigid neck section.

4. The oral care implement according to claim 3 wherein the rigid gripping section comprises a first transverse shoulder comprising the bulbous body.

5. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the longitudinal strut has a thickness measured from a front surface of the longitudinal strut to a rear surface of the longitudinal strut and a width measured from a first side surface of the longitudinal strut to a second side surface of the longitudinal strut, the width being greater than the thickness.

6. The oral care implement according to claim 5 wherein the longitudinal strut has a substantially rectangular transverse cross-sectional area.

7. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the handle has a length (L H ) measured from a proximal end of the rigid gripping section to a distal end of the rigid neck section, the hinge located a distance (D H ) from the distal end of the rigid neck section, and wherein D H is less than 50% of L H .

8. The oral care implement according to claim 7 wherein D H is between 20% to 35% of L H .

9. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the rigid neck section, the rigid gripping section and the longitudinal strut are integrally formed of the rigid material.

10. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the bulbous body is a semi-spheroid.

11. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the separation gap is an annular channel that circumferentially surrounds the longitudinal strut, the annular channel filled with the resilient material to encase the longitudinal strut.

12. The oral care implement according to claim 1 further comprising a transverse channel formed in a rear surface of the bulbous body.

13. The oral care implement according to claim 1 further comprising an axial groove in an outer surface of the rigid gripping section extending from the hinge toward a proximal end of the rigid gripping section, the resilient material filling the axial groove.

14. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the resilient material is an injection molded thermoplastic elastomer and the rigid gripping section, the rigid neck section, and the longitudinal strut are constructed of a rigid plastic.

15. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the longitudinal strut is substantially coaxial with the longitudinal axis.

16. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the bulbous body and the floor of the basin are encased by the resilient material.

17. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the head comprises a front surface, a rear surface and a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending from the head, and wherein the basin forms a proximal end of the rigid neck section, the rigid neck section comprising first and second flanges that extend axially from the floor of the basin to form opposing sidewalls of the basin.

18. The oral care implement according to claim 17 wherein the first and second longitudinal flanges are circumferentially spaced apart from one another by a first valley circumferentially aligned with the rear surface of the head and a second valley circumferentially aligned with the front surface of the head.

19. The oral care implement according to claim 1 wherein the handle has a first transverse cross-sectional area taken at an axial location of the longitudinal strut and the longitudinal strut has a second transverse cross-sectional area taken at the axial location, wherein the second transverse cross-sectional area is in a range between 7% to 35% of the first transverse cross-sectional area.

20. The oral care implement according to claim 1 further comprising a first flexure limiting block protruding from a rear surface of the bulbous body and a second flexure limiting block protruding from the floor of the basin, the first and second flexure limiting blocks circumferentially aligned with one another and a rear surface of the head, a flexure limiting gap between the first and second flexure limiting blocks, the resilient material in the flexure limiting gap.

21. The oral care implement according to claim 20 wherein the hinge further comprises an oblique strut formed into the bulbous body, the longitudinal strut and the oblique strut arranged such that upon a force being applied to a front surface of the head, the rigid neck section: (1) initially pivots relative to the rigid gripping section about the longitudinal strut a first angle; and (2) subsequently pivots relative to the rigid gripping section about the oblique strut a second angle.

22. The oral care implement according to claim 21 wherein mechanical interference between the first and second flexure limiting blocks causes pivoting of the rigid neck section relative to the rigid gripping section to transition from the longitudinal strut to the oblique strut.

23. The oral care implement according to claim 21 wherein the longitudinal strut extends along a first axis and the oblique strut extends along a second axis, and wherein the longitudinal strut has a first transverse cross-sectional area taken along the first axis and the oblique strut has a second transverse cross-sectional area taken along the second axis, the second transverse cross-sectional area being greater than the first transverse cross-sectional area.

24. An oral care implement comprising:
a head; and
a handle extending along a longitudinal axis and connected to the head, the handle comprising:
a main body integrally formed of a rigid material, the main body comprising a first rigid longitudinal section terminating in a bulbous body, a second rigid longitudinal section terminating in a basin, and a longitudinal strut having a first end connected to the bulbous body and a second end connected to a floor of the basin;
a resilient material encasing the longitudinal strut; and
the longitudinal strut and the resilient material forming a hinge about which the second rigid longitudinal section pivots relative to the first rigid longitudinal section upon a force being applied to the head;

wherein the longitudinal strut axially extends from an apex of the bulbous body.

25. The oral care implement according to clai

Assignees

• Moskovich Robert
• Mintel Thomas
• Wechsler Andreas
• Hohlbein Douglas
• Muller Jan Felix
• Sorrentino Alan
• Sprosta Al
• Colgate Palmolive Co

Inventors

• Moskovich Robert
• Mintel Thomas
• Wechsler Andreas
• Hohlbein Douglas
• Muller Jan Felix
• Sorrentino Alan
• Sprosta Al

Classifications

• A46B5/0062

  being flexible or resilient during use · CPC title

• A46B5/0037

  Flexible resilience by plastic deformation of the material · CPC title

• A46B5/02

  specially shaped for holding by the hand · CPC title

• A46B5/0091

  promoting relative motion during use (bristle carriers moving during use A46B7/06; driven brush bodies A46B13/00) · CPC title

• A46B2200/1066

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