Patent Application
20140083885
The present invention relates generally to the field of oral care kits, and specifically to oral care kits that include a package and a toothbrush contained therein.
In the commercialization of toothbrushes, the current trend is to package toothbrushes in blister packages. Because blister packages are typically formed of thin plastic films, blister packages often include a backer card contained therein on which product information is provided. While existing backer cards are helpful in relaying product information to the consumer, these backer cards completely block visibility of the toothbrush from the rear of the package. As a result, consumers are left to speculate as to the appearance and/or features located on the rear of the toothbrush. Thus, existing packages for toothbrushes are especially problematic when a toothbrush comprises features on both of its front and rear surfaces that can create commercial interest in the consumer.
The present invention is directed to an oral care kit comprising a package, a toothbrush positioned within the package and a backer card comprising a window aperture. The oral care kit provides the user with the ability to view a desired portion of the toothbrush, such as the head, from both the front and rear of the package while maintaining the package in an enclosed state.
In one embodiment, the invention can be an oral care kit comprising: a blister package comprising a substantially transparent front cover and a substantially transparent rear cover coupled to the front cover to form a receiving cavity; a toothbrush comprising a handle and a head comprising a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the toothbrush positioned within the receiving cavity; a backer card comprising a window aperture, the backer card positioned within the receiving cavity between the toothbrush and the rear cover; and wherein the head of the toothbrush is visible from outside of the package: (1) through the rear cover and the window aperture of the backer card; and (2) through the front cover.
In another embodiment, the invention can be an oral care kit comprising: a package having a longitudinal axis, the package comprising: a three-dimensionally contoured front cover comprising a substantially transparent window portion; and a rear cover comprising a substantially transparent window portion, the rear cover coupled to the three-dimensionally contoured front cover to form a receiving cavity; a toothbrush comprising a handle and a head positioned within the receiving cavity; a backer card comprising a window aperture, the backer card positioned within the receiving cavity between the toothbrush and the rear cover; and wherein the window portion of the rear cover, the window aperture of the backer card, the head of the toothbrush, and the window portion of the three-dimensionally contoured front cover are transversely aligned.
In yet another embodiment, the invention can be an oral care kit comprising: a package having a longitudinal axis, the package comprising: a front cover comprising a substantially transparent window portion; and a rear cover comprising a substantially transparent window portion, the rear cover coupled to the front cover to form a receiving cavity; a toothbrush comprising a handle and a head positioned within the receiving cavity; a backer card comprising a window aperture, the backer card positioned within the receiving cavity between the toothbrush and the rear cover; and wherein the window portion of the rear cover, the window aperture of the backer card, a portion of the toothbrush, and the window portion of the front cover are transversely aligned, wherein the window portion of the rear cover, the window aperture of the backer card, a portion of the toothbrush, and the window portion of the front cover are transversely aligned.
In still another embodiment, the invention can be an oral care kit comprising: a package comprising: a front cover comprising a substantially transparent window portion and a three-dimensional contour forming a receiving cavity; a backer card comprising a window aperture, the backer card coupled to the front cover to enclose the receiving cavity; a rear cover comprising a substantially transparent window portion enclosing the window aperture; a toothbrush positioned within the receiving cavity; and wherein a portion of the toothbrush is visible through: (1) the window portion of the rear cover and the window aperture of the backer card; and (2) the window portion of the front cover.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles of the present invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated as such. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,” “interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated by reference to the exemplified embodiments. Accordingly, the invention expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features; the scope of the invention being defined by the claims appended hereto.
Referring to
The oral care kit 1000 is exemplified in conjunction with the commercialization of a toothbrush 200. The invention, however, is not so limited. In alternate embodiments, other oral care implements can be used in conjunction with the oral care kit 1000, including tongue cleaners, tooth polishers, oral care material dispensers, and other oral care ansate implements. Moreover, while the toothbrush 200 is exemplified as a powered toothbrush, the toothbrush 200 may be a manual toothbrush in other embodiments of the invention.
As noted above, in the exemplified embodiment, the toothbrush 200 is a powered toothbrush. In certain embodiments, the toothbrush 200 comprises an oscillating tuft block 218 and a stationary tuft block 219. However, in certain other embodiments the oscillating tuft block 218 may move with a vibratory motion rather than an oscillating motion. Furthermore, in still other embodiments, the toothbrush 200 may comprise one or more movable tuft blocks and the stationary tuft block 219 may be omitted.
The toothbrush 200 generally comprises a head 210, a neck 220 and a handle 230. The handle 230 provides the user with a mechanism by which he/she can readily grip and manipulate the toothbrush 200. The handle 230 may be formed of many different shapes, sizes, materials and a variety of manufacturing methods that are well-known to those skilled in the art. If desired, the handle 230 may include a suitable textured grip made of soft elastomeric material. The handle 230 can be a single or multi-part construction.
The handle 230 transitions into the neck 220 at a distal end. While the neck 220 is illustrated as having has a smaller transverse cross-sectional area than the handle 230, the invention is not so limited. The neck 220 is the transition region between the handle 230 and the head 210 and can conceptually be considered as a portion of the handle 230. In this manner, the head 210 is connected to the distal end of the handle 230 (via the neck 220).
The head 210 generally comprises a front surface 211, a rear surface 212 and a peripheral surface 213. The front surface 211 and the rear surface 212 of the head 210 are opposite one another and can take on a wide variety of shapes and contours, none of which are limiting of the present invention. For example, the front and rear surfaces 211, 212 can be planar, contoured or combinations thereof. The rear surface 212 comprises a soft tissue cleanser 240. The soft tissue cleanser 240 is constructed of an elastomeric material, such as a thermoplastic elastomer, and comprises a plurality of protuberances 241 for engaging and/or massaging soft oral tissue. Details of the soft tissue cleanser are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,143,462, issued Dec. 5, 2006 to the assignee of the present application, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Furthermore, while the head 210 is normally widened relative to the neck 220 of the handle 230, it could in some constructions simply be a continuous extension or narrowing of the handle 230.
The front surface 211 of the head 210 comprises a collection of tooth engaging elements 215 extending therefrom for cleaning and/or polishing contact with a user's teeth. While the collection of tooth engaging elements 215 is preferably suited for brushing teeth, the collection of tooth engaging elements 215 can also be used to polish teeth instead of or in addition to cleaning teeth. As used herein, the term “tooth engaging elements” is used in a generic sense to refer to any structure that can be used to clean, polish or wipe the teeth through relative surface contact. Common examples of “tooth engaging elements” include, without limitation, bristle tufts, filament bristles, fiber bristles, nylon bristles, spiral bristles, rubber bristles, elastomeric protrusions, flexible polymer protrusions, combinations thereof and/or structures containing such materials or combinations. Suitable elastomeric materials include any biocompatible resilient material suitable for uses in an oral hygiene apparatus. To provide optimum comfort as well as cleaning benefits, the elastomeric material preferably has a hardness property in the range of A8 to A25 Shore hardness. One preferred elastomeric material is styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS) manufactured by GLS Corporation. Nevertheless, SEBS material from other manufacturers or other materials within and outside the noted hardness range could be used.
When the oral care kit 1000 is assembled for retail display (as shown in
The package 100 extends along a longitudinal axis A-A. The package 100 may take on a wide variety of embodiments and may be of a wide variety of packaging types as is known in the art. In one embodiment, the package 100 is a blister package. The package 100 generally comprises a three-dimensionally contoured front cover 101 and a rear cover 102. The three-dimensionally contoured front cover 110 and the rear cover 102, in one embodiment, are thermoformed plastic films. Suitable thermoformed plastic films may be constructed of such material as polyethyleneterephtalate (PETA, PETG, PETGAG), polyvinylchloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP) or styrol-butadiene-blockcopolymer (SBS), preferred PVC. Other suitable materials of construction for the thermoformed plastic film include, without limitation, renewable primary products, for example of cornstarch, sugar (polyhydroxybutyrat/-valerat), cellulose diacetat, cellulose nitrate, polyactid (PLA), and polyhydroxybutyrat (PHB).
The front cover 101 is three-dimensionally contoured so that a receiving cavity 115 (
The front cover 101 comprises a window portion 130. As discussed below, the window portion 130 of the front cover 101 is transversely aligned with the portion of the toothbrush 200 that is desired to be displayed to the consumer, which in the exemplified embodiment is the head 210.
In the exemplified embodiment, the entirety of the front cover 101 and the entirety of the rear cover 102 are substantially transparent, thereby allowing visibility therethrough. However, in alternate embodiments, only a portion of the front cover 101 and a portion of the rear cover 102 may be substantially transparent so as to form the window portions 120, 130 (discussed in greater detail below). In embodiments where only a portion of the front cover 110 and a portion of the rear cover 102 are substantially transparent, the substantially transparent portions 120, 130 will preferably be transversely aligned with a window aperture 301 of the backer card 300 (discussed in greater detail below) and the portion of the toothbrush 200 desired to be displayed to the consumer. As used herein, the term “transparent” includes materials that allow a user to see through the material, even if the material is colored or includes a small degree of translucency.
The panel portion 103 of the rear cover 102, in the exemplified embodiment, is a substantially planar panel comprising a planar top surface 122 and a planar bottom surface 123. Of course, in other embodiments, the panel portion 103 of the rear cover 102 may also be three-dimensionally contoured. In certain alternate embodiments in which the rear cover 102 is three-dimensionally contoured, the rear cover 102 may form a cavity that forms a portion of the receiving cavity 115 in which a portion of the toothbrush 200, a portion of the backer card 300, and/or a portion of the sleeve 400 is disposed.
The panel portion 103 of the rear cover 102 further comprises a closure panel 104. The closure panel 104 is provided as a mechanism for opening and closing the package 100 so that the toothbrush 200 can be removed therefrom. More specifically, the closure panel 104 is alterable between an open position (not illustrated) in which the toothbrush can be removed from the package 100 and a closed position (
The rear cover 103 further comprises a window portion 120 that, as discussed below, facilitates visibility of a portion of the toothbrush 200 from the rear of the package 100. The window portion 120, in the exemplified embodiment, protrudes from the top surface 122 of the rear cover 102. The invention, however, is not so limited and in alternate embodiments, the window portion 120 may not protrude from the top surface 122 of the rear cover 102 and/or may merely be a contiguous portion of the panel portion 103.
The window portion 120 comprises an upstanding wall 124 that forms a closed perimeter geometry. In the exemplified embodiment, the closed perimeter geometry (and thus the shape of the window portion 120) is oval. The invention, however, is not limited to any particular shape for the window portion 120. Nonetheless, as discussed below, in one embodiment, it is preferred that the window portion 120 of the rear cover 102 has a shape and size that corresponds to a shape and size of the window aperture 301 of the backer card 300. The window portion 120 of the rear cover 102 further comprises a substantially flat panel 125 connected to a top edge 126 of the upstanding wall 124. In other embodiments, however, the panel 125 of the window portion 120 may be contoured either convexly or concavely as desired. As discussed in greater below, when the oral care kit 1000 is assembled, the window portion 120 of the rear cover 102 extends into the window aperture 301 of the backer card 300 to retain the backer card 300 in place within the receiving cavity 115.
The backer card 300, in the exemplified embodiment, is a flat panel. In certain other embodiments, however, the backer card 300 may be three-dimensionally contoured. The backer card 300 may comprise product information. In such embodiments, the backer card 300 comprises indicia that provides information to a consumer about the toothbrush 200 (or other oral care product disposed within the package 100). The indicia on the backer card 300 may include instructions, logos, advertisements, and/or other marketing information. All or a portion of the backer card 300 can be opaque so that product information can be effectively conveyed to the consumer. However, such opaqueness can block effective viewing of the toothbrush 200 disposed within the package 100.
In order to ensure that the desired portion of the toothbrush 200 is adequately displayed despite the inclusion of the backer card 300, the backer card 300 comprises the window aperture 301. The window aperture 301 forms a passageway through the backer card 300, thereby providing a viewing window when transversely aligned with the window portion 120 of the rear cover 102 that allows the desired portion of the toothbrush 200 to be viewed from the rear of the package 100 (as shown in
The backer card 300 can be a single layer or a multi-layer laminate. The back card 300 can be constructed of plastic, film, paperboard, combinations thereof, or any other suitable material. While the backer card 300 is flexible in certain embodiments, in other embodiments the backer card 300 may be rigid or semi-rigid. In addition, in embodiments where only the head 210 (or other desired portion) is visible from outside of the rear of the package 100, a portion of the rest of the toothbrush 200 may not be visible from outside of the rear of the package 100. In such embodiments, the portion of the toothbrush 200 that may not be visible from outside of the rear of the package 100 may be one half, one third, one quarter, or the entirety of the toothbrush handle 230 (which may include neck 220).
Referring now to
Furthermore, the window portion 130 of the front cover 130 is also in transverse alignment with the head 210 (or other desired portion) of the toothbrush 200 (and also consequently with the window portion 120 and the window aperture 301). As a result, the head 210 (or other desired portion) of the toothbrush 200 is simultaneously visible from outside of the front of the package 100, even when the package 100 is sealed. In the exemplified embodiment, such visibility allows a potential customer to clearly and adequately inspect/view the tooth engaging elements 215 on the front surface 211 of the head 210 (see
The ability to properly view the head 210 of the toothbrush 200 is further facilitated by the fact that the package 100 is configured so that the toothbrush 200 is mounted within the receiving cavity 115 so that the front and rear surfaces 211, 212 of the head 210 of the toothbrush 200 are at an oblique angle relative to a front surface 303 of the backer card 300 (shown in
The window portion 120 of the rear cover 102 is located within the closure panel 104. By locating the window portion 120 of the rear cover 102 within the closure panel 104, the window portion 120 of the rear cover 102 is withdrawn from the rear cover 102 during opening of the package 100 so as to not extend into the window aperture 301 of the backer card 300 when the closure panel 104 is in the open position. As a result, the backer panel 300 can be more easily removed so as to not prohibit or obstruct removal of the toothbrush 200 from the package 100.
Referring now to
In some embodiments of the invention, such as the embodiment illustrated in
As with the embodiments exemplified and discussed above with respect to
In such an embodiment, the rear cover 102 may be substantially reduced in size so as to include only the window portion 120. In a further embodiment, the rear cover 102 may include an annular flange 149 surrounding the window portion 120 for facilitating coupling to the backer card 102. It is to be understood that the structural details discussed above with regards to
As used throughout, ranges are used as shorthand for describing each and every value that is within the range. Any value within the range can be selected as the terminus of the range. In addition, all references cited herein are hereby incorporated by referenced in their entireties. In the event of a conflict in a definition in the present disclosure and that of a cited reference, the present disclosure controls.
While the foregoing description and drawings represent the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that various additions, modifications and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the accompanying claims. In particular, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms, structures, arrangements, proportions, sizes, and with other elements, materials, and components, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be used with many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, sizes, materials, and components and otherwise, used in the practice of the invention, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from the principles of the present invention. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims, and not limited to the foregoing description or embodiments.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2011/038297 | 5/27/2011 | WO | 00 | 11/15/2013 |
