The present invention pertains to an oral care implement, in particular, to a toothbrush with a cavitation system. Individuals exhibit many forms of poor oral health including tooth decay, periodontal diseases and bad breath (halitosis). Tooth decay and periodontal disease are typically caused by harmful bacteria within the mouth. When the harmful bacteria mixes with proteins present in saliva, a film of plaque is formed on the teeth and soft tissue. If the plaque is not removed, it can attack the teeth and create cavities. Additionally, the plaque will attack the soft tissue within the mouth and cause gum disease, the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. Many individuals, especially young children, do not regularly brush their teeth or perform interdental cleaning of their teeth. Such habits often can be attributed to the individual regarding tooth brushing as a mundane duty with few pleasurable aspects.
The present invention pertains to an oral care implement with a vibratory system that may produce cavitation in oral fluid.
In one aspect, an oral care implement generates cavitation within the oral cavity. One or more cavitation cleaning elements may be located in the head area of the oral care implement. The cavitation cleaning element vibrates at a frequency that produces cavitation of fluids within the oral cavity.
In one aspect, an oral care implement includes an oral care region having cleaning elements and an elastomeric cavitation cleaning element; and a body for gripping the implement.
In one aspect, an oral care implement includes an oral care region having cleaning elements and a vibratory cleaning element configured to vibratory release an oral care substance from a container; and a body for gripping the implement. In another aspect, the vibratory cleaning element can be provided in the form a cavitation cleaning element.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the following drawings.
In the following description, the invention is discussed in terms of a toothbrush (e.g. a form of an oral care implement) but could be in the form of other personal care implements. Further, it is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
The handle 103 is generally an elongated body dimensioned so that a user can readily grip and manipulate the toothbrush 100. The handle 103 may be formed of many different shapes, lengths and with a variety of constructions. In one construction, the handle 103 has a neck portion 105 positioned adjacent the head 101. The neck portion 105 may be a narrowed region on the handle 103 between head 101 and the part of the handle normally gripped by the user. Nevertheless, the neck portion 101 could be the region between the head 101 and the part of the handle normally gripped by the user. In another construction, the handle 103 is integrally formed with the head 101. Other attachment configurations also are possible.
The head 101 may include an oral care region comprising one or more tooth cleaning elements 111. As used herein, the term “tooth cleaning elements” or “cleaning elements” includes any type of structure that is commonly used or is suitable for use in providing oral health benefits (e.g., tooth cleaning, tooth polishing, tooth whitening, massaging, stimulating, etc.) by making contact with portions of the teeth and gums. Such tooth cleaning elements include but are not limited to tufts of bristles that can be formed to have a number of different shapes and sizes and elastomeric cleaning members that can be formed to have a number of different shapes and sizes, or a combination of both tufts of bristles and elastomeric cleaning members.
Referring to
Referring to
In some constructions, a cavitation element includes vibratory eligible material, rigid or semi rigid, polymeric, protruding though the approximate center of a given bristle tuft, which vibrates with such a frequency to produce a cavitation motion in fluids present within the oral cavity. There may be more than one cavitation generator per toothbrush, as many as one per tuft in a given toothbrush head. With continued reference to
The cleaning elements 111 and cavitation cleaning element 300 in toothbrush 100 may have a circular cross-sectional shape, but could have other cross-sectional shapes. The round bristles in toothbrush 100 may be composed of a nylon material. One example of a nylon material is sold by Dupont under the name of TYNEX. The diameter of the round bristles can be 0.007 inches-0.008 inches thick or have other thicknesses depending on the desired cleaning action of the bristle. The soft portion of the cavitation cleaning element can be provided with an elastomeric material. In some constructions, the elastomeric material may have a hardness property in the range of A15 to A35 Shore hardness; A20 to A30 Shore hardness; or A25 to A28 Shore hardness. (why not say Shore A from 05 to 95?) As an example, one elastomeric material is styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS) manufactured by GLS Corporation. Nevertheless, SEBS (why not say thermoplastic elastomer materials?) material from other manufacturers or other materials within and outside the noted hardness range could be used.
Referring to
An oral health benefit of the cavitation action within the oral cavity pertains to the enhancement toothpaste active ingredients so as to penetrate areas of the oral cavity, in particular the interproximal spaces, thus increasing the disruption of the plaque matrix. Generally, the cavitation actions increases the plaque matrix disruption normally experienced with the act of brushing one's teeth with a manual toothbrush. In addition to the increased cleaning efficacy of the cavitation action, the user may experience sensory benefits such as a cooling or heating effect, gingival stimulation, enamel polishing, soft tissue massage, or an overall increased oral cavity cleansing action.
In one aspect, the toothbrush 100 has a cavitation action that provides additional benefits, and therapeutic value, in combination with specially formulated active ingredients or encapsulated active ingredients. In one construction, the toothbrush 100 has cavitation cleaning element 300 having a frequency matched to activate an oral care material (e.g., toothpaste) to provide oral care benefits. Turning to
The capsules 502 may include an active agent 503 within the interior void. Non-limiting examples of active agents which can be used include antibacterial agents, whitening agents, anti-sensitivity agents, anti-inflammatory agents, anti-attachment agents, plaque indicator agents, flavorants, sensates, breath freshening agents, gum health agents and colorants. Examples of these agents include metal ion agents (e.g., stannous ion agents, copper ion agents, zinc ion agents, silver ion agents) triclosan; triclosan monophosphate, chlorhexidine, alexidine, hexetidine, sanguinarine, benzalkonium chloride, salicylanilide, domiphen bromide, cetylpyridinium chloride, tetradecylpyridinium chloride, N-tetradecyl-4-ethylpyridinium chloride (TDEPC), octenidine, delmopinol, octapinol, nisin, essential oils, furanones, bacteriocins, flavans, flavinoids, folic acids, vitamins, minerals, hydrogen peroxide, urea peroxide, sodium percarbonate, PVP-H2O2, polymer-bound perxoxides, potassium nitrates, occluding agents, bioactive glass, arginine salts, arginine bicarbonate, bacalin, polyphenols, ethyl pyruvate, guanidinoethyl disulfide, tartar control agents, anti-stain ingredients, phosphate salts, polyvinylphosphonic acid, PVM/MA copolymers; enzymes, glucose oxidase, papain, ficin, ethyl lauroyl arginate, menthol, carvone, and anethole, various flavoring aldehydes, esters, and alcohols, spearmint oils, peppermint oil, wintergreen oil, sassafras oil, clove oil, sage oil, eucalyptus oil, marjoram oil, cinnamon oil, lemon oil, lime oil, grapefruit oil, and/or orange oil.
The active agent may be compatible with toothpaste, or may be unstable and/or reactive with typical toothpaste ingredients. The active agent also may be a tooth cleaning agent to boost the overall efficacy of brushing.
The active agent can be provided in any suitable vehicle, such as in aqueous solution or in the form of gel or paste. The vehicle can have a variety of different visual aesthetics including clear solution or gel or opaque solution or gel. Non-limiting examples of vehicles include water, monohydric alcohols such as ethanol, poly(ethylene oxides) such as polyethylene glycols such as PEG 2M, 5M, 7M, 14M, 23M, 45M, and 90M available from Union Carbide, carboxymethylene polymers such as Carbopol® 934 and 974 available from B.F. Goodrich, and combinations thereof. The selection of a suitable vehicle will be apparent to persons skilled in the art depending on such factors as the properties of the active agent and the desired properties of the medium, such as viscosity.
In an alternative construction of the toothbrush 200 shown in
In this construction, cavitation element 300′ is provided generally in the center of the arcuate tooth cleaning elements structure near the distal end 121 and the distal tip of the element 300′ may be disposed below the distal tips of the other elements. Nevertheless, the cavitation element 300′ can be disposed at other locations on the head 201, such as generally in the center of the other arcuate tooth cleaning element structure. In this alternative construction, the cavitation generation (e.g. bubble matrix) can be driven through an isolated path to be release at or above the bristle tips. Such a structure could be molded from closed ring of bristles with uniform or irregular bristle heights, within the interior area forming a nozzle-like structure to facilitate an outlet path for the cavitation action. In the example of the arcuate elastomeric wall segments, as can be appreciated that the cavitation action can cause a dynamic vibratory flexing action of individual segments with respect to their vertical axis, which in-turn enhances the cleaning action of the distal tip (e.g., wiping edge) of the segment 209 against the tooth surface. Additionally, the interior space defined between the arcuate elements 209 forms a nozzle-like structure/configuration 250. The gaps 212 formed between the arcuate segments 209a-d enables lateral three-dimensional flow of the bubble matrix (e.g., simultaneous flows of bubbles/fluid out of the sides and vertically) to other regions of the head 101 during brushing to provide enhanced cleaning efficiency.
It should be appreciated that the nozzle-like arrangement could be formed by tightly packed, elongate bristle tufts. Further, in lieu of gaps between the elements, the nozzle configurations could have completely closed sidewall structures in other constructions. While four arcuate segment cleaning elements 209a-d are shown surrounding each of the generally cleaning elements 207, the inventive aspects may be practiced with more or fewer arcuate segments. While the arcuate segments form a generally circular structure, the segments can form an elliptical shape or a rectangular shape or other shapes in cross-section. Nevertheless, other shapes are possible to form the nozzle-like structure with various heights.
Referring to
In one construction, thumb gripping portion 115 serves as a button to change a mode of operation of the toothbrush 100. Button 115 enables a user to change the mode of operation to any of a number of different operations. (e.g., a vibratory high or low mode). For example, depression or other engagement of button 115 may change the mode of operation to a low mode. A subsequent engagement of button 115 may change the mode of operation to a higher frequency mode. A subsequent engagement of button 115 may change the mode of operation to manual operation only. Nevertheless, the specific order of the engagement events of the button 115, does not limit the scope of the inventive concepts. It should be recognized that toothbrush 100 may have two or more buttons or actuators for controlling the modes of operation.
As described herein with respect to
Mode selection circuitry 606 may include electrical circuitry, software, computer-readable instructions, or other components to allow for changing the mode of operation of the toothbrush 100. Mode selection circuitry 606 may be configured to perform the functions for processing signal(s) performing computer-readable instructions, and reading from and writing to a memory (not shown) associated with the toothbrush 100 switching between different modes of operation.
Timer circuitry 608 may include hardware, software, computer-readable instructions, or other components to allow for counting up or counting down time. Timer circuitry 608 may include a crystal oscillator for counting seconds, minutes, etc. Timer circuitry 608 may be configured to perform the functions for processing signal(s) performing computer-readable instructions, and reading from and writing to a memory (not shown) associated with the toothbrush 608 operating in a timer mode for two (2) minutes. In one arrangement, the vibration mode can end after an elapsed time of two minutes.
The control system circuitry 600 may include hardware, software, computer-readable instructions, or other components to enable control of the toothbrush cavitation function. For example, the control system 600 may include memory of a programmable type in which nonvolatile storage can be electrically erased and reprogrammed.
As discussed, the inventive aspects may be practiced for a manual toothbrush or a powered toothbrush with moving tooth cleaning elements. While the various features of the toothbrush 100 work together to achieve the advantages previously described, it is recognized that individual features and sub-combinations of these features can be used to obtain some of the aforementioned advantages without the necessity to adopt all of these features.
While the invention has been described with respect to specific examples including presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described systems and techniques. Thus, the spirit and scope of the invention should be construed broadly as set forth in the appended claims.
The following examples of a rupturable capsule are provided for illustrative purposes and should be construed as illustrative and not limiting.
Table I illustrates a cetylpyridinium chloride concentrate that may be dispensed from a rupturable capsule during brushing as an antibacterial agent.
Table II shows a hydrogen peroxide solution that may be dispensed from a a rupturable capsule during brushing as a whitening booster.
Table III illustrates a hydrogen peroxide gel that may be dispensed from a a rupturable capsule during brushing as a whitening liquid. The gel also may be applied post-brushing for tooth whitening.
Table IV shows a phosphoric acid solution that may be dispensed from a a rupturable capsule during brushing as a whitening liquid. The solution has a pH of about 4.0.
Table V illustrates another hydrogen peroxide solution that may be dispensed from a rupturable capsule during brushing as a whitening booster. The composition alternatively may be applied to the teeth after brushing as a whitening agent.
Alternative liquid whitening gels are prepared by modifying the base formula of Example 5 by adding either (1) 2 to 5 wt % polyethylene (PE) powder having an average particle size of 6 to 8 microns; (2) 1 to 5 wt % polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) powder having particle size of 5 to 6 microns; (3) 0.8 to 2.5 wt % polypropylene (PP) powder having a particle size of 4 to 50 microns; (4) 2 to 5 wt % PE powder and 0.11 to 0.4 wt % titanium dioxide powder having a particle size of 10 to 45 microns. Examples of gels having the polymer and/or inorganic titanium powders incorporated in the base formula are shown in Tables VI and VII.
Table VIII shows another exemplary composition of a liquid whitening gel that may be dispensed from a rupturable capsule during brushing as described herein.
Table IX example shows the composition of a breath protection gel that is dispensed from a rupturable capsule as described herein.
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/159,279, filed Jul. 22, 2010, now allowed, which is a U.S. National Phase Entry of International Application No. PCT/US2008/065704, filed Jun. 4, 2008. The entirety of each of the foregoing applications is hereby incorporated by reference.
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Entry |
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International Search Report and the Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority issued in International Application PCT/US2008/065704 mailed Apr. 15, 2009. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20140259471 A1 | Sep 2014 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 12159279 | US | |
Child | 14293582 | US |