Claims
- 1. An oral care toothbrush or the like comprising a handle, a head mounted to one end of said handle, said head having an outer surface, a plurality of oral care elements in an oral care field extending outwardly from said outer surface, and said head having one or more depressions therein to accommodate an oral care material.
- 2. The toothbrush of claim 1 further comprising a dispenser for said oral care material, said dispenser being located at least partially in said depression.
- 3. The toothbrush of claim 1 further comprising an oral care accessory mounted to an end of said handle opposite to said oral care head.
- 4. The toothbrush of claim 3, wherein said accessory is selected from the group consisting of a toothpick, a rubber pick, a tongue cleaner, a floss holder, an interproximal brush and a swab.
- 5. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said oral care elements are integral with said head.
- 6. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein at least some of said oral care elements has a length no greater than 6 mm.
- 7. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein at least some of said oral care elements has a length no greater than 10 mm.
- 8. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein at least some of said oral care elements has a root diameter no greater than 1.5 mm.
- 9. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein at least some of said oral care elements has a root diameter no greater than 7 mm.
- 10. The toothbrush of claim 8 wherein at least some of said oral care elements taper from their root diameter toward their outer end and have a diameter of no greater than 0.2 mm at a distance of no greater than 6 mm above said root diameter.
- 11. The toothbrush of claim 8 wherein at some of said oral care elements taper from said root diameter, and the range of diameter at a distance above the root diameter is no greater than 1 mm at a distance of no greater than 10 mm.
- 12. The toothbrush of claim 11 wherein said range is no greater than 0.2 mm at a distance of no greater than 6 mm.
- 13. The toothbrush of claim 11 wherein said toothbrush has an overall length of no greater than 5 inches.
- 14. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said head has a maximum lateral dimension of no greater than 13 mm, and said toothbrush has an overall weight no greater than 3 grams.
- 15. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein at least some of said oral care elements have a stiffness of less than 600 Mpa.
- 16. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein at least some of said oral care elements are hollow and are capable of absorbing oral care material.
- 17. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said oral care elements comprise a single mass of material having an irregular outer surface.
- 18. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said oral care elements comprise a single mass of absorbent material capable of absorbing said oral care material.
- 19. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein at least some of said oral care elements comprise bristles made of a combination of a resilient and a more rigid material.
- 20. The toothbrush of claim 19 wherein said resilient material is TPE and said more rigid material is selected from the group consisting of LLDPE, EVA and polypropylene.
- 21. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein at least some of said oral care elements comprise bristles made of a single material selected from the group consisting of TPE, LLDPE and EVA.
- 22. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said oral care elements comprise bristles containing an anti-bacterial material.
- 23. The toothbrush of claim 2 wherein said dispenser is a capsule, and said oral care material is selected from the group consisting of a gel, mouthwash, toothpaste, tooth powder and flavored material.
- 24. The toothbrush of claim 23 wherein said capsule is at least partially surrounded by said oral care elements.
- 25. The toothbrush of claim 23 wherein said dispenser is detachably mounted to said head to permit replacement of said dispenser with another dispenser.
- 26. The toothbrush of claim 23 wherein said oral care material is a gel capsule, and said capsule being an impregnated bead which bursts upon exposure to moisture.
- 27. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said handle is hollow and contains a reservoir of said oral care material, a passageway leading from said reservoir to at least one of said depressions in said outer surface of said head, and said oral care material being flowable from said reservoir to said depression in said outer surface of said head.
- 28. The toothbrush of claim 27 wherein said passageway terminates in at least one of said depressions in said outer surface of said head, and said handle is made of a resilient material at said reservoir to permit said oral care material to be squeezed from said handle and through said passageway and out of said at least one opening.
- 29. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said handle is made of a biodegradable material.
- 30. The toothbrush of claim 2 wherein at least two of said handle, said head and said dispenser are detachably connected together.
- 31. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said head is a vibrating head.
- 32. The toothbrush of claim 31 wherein said toothbrush includes a piezoelectric crystal or an eccentric weight on a rotating shaft mounted to said head to cause said head to be a vibrating head.
- 33. The toothbrush of claim 1 including an ornament mounted on said handle.
- 34. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said head is mounted at an angle of 0° to 90° with respect to the longitudinal axis of said handle.
- 35. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said head angle is in the range of 30° to 60°.
- 36. The toothbrush of claim 1 wherein said cleaning elements are mounted at an angle of 60° to 90° with respect to said outer surface of said head.
- 37. The toothbrush of claim 34 wherein said cleaning element angle is 90°.
- 38. An oral care toothbrush or the like comprising a handle, a head attached to one end of said handle, said head having an outer surface, a plurality of oral care elements in an oral care field extending outwardly from said outer surface, said toothbrush having an overall length no greater than 5 inches, and said oral care elements extending outwardly from said outer surface of said head a distance no greater than 10 mm.
- 39. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at least some of said oral care elements has a length no greater than 6 mm.
- 40. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein said oral care elements are integral with said head.
- 41. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at least some of said oral care elements has a root diameter no greater than 1.5 mm.
- 42. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at least some of said oral care elements has a root diameter no greater than 7 mm.
- 43. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at least some of said oral care elements taper from their root diameter toward their outer end and have a diameter of no greater than 0.2 mm at a distance of no greater than 6 mm above said root diameter.
- 44. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at some of said oral care elements taper from said root diameter, and the range of diameter at a distance above the root diameter is no greater than 1 mm at a distance of no greater than 10 mm.
- 45. The toothbrush of claim 44 wherein said range is no greater than 0.2 mm at a distance of no greater than 6 mm.
- 46. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at least some of said oral care elements have a stiffness of less than 600 MPa.
- 47. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein said head has a maximum lateral dimension of no greater than 13 mm, and said toothbrush has an overall weight no greater than 3 grams.
- 48. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at least some of said oral care elements are hollow and are capable of absorbing oral care material whereby said oral care elements also comprise an oral care dispenser.
- 49. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at least some of said oral care elements comprise bristles made of a combination of a resilient and a more rigid material.
- 50. The toothbrush of claim 49 wherein said resilient material is TPE and said more rigid material is selected from the group consisting of LLDPE, EVA and polypropylene.
- 51. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein at least some of said oral care elements comprise bristles made of a single material selected from the group consisting of TPE, LLDPE and EVA.
- 52. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein said head has a maximum lateral dimension of no greater than 13 mm.
- 53. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein said head is mounted at an angle of 0° to 90° with respect to the longitudinal axis of said handle.
- 54. The toothbrush of claim 34 wherein said head angle is in the range of 30° to 60°.
- 55. The toothbrush of claim 34 wherein said cleaning elements are mounted at an angle of 60° to 90° with respect to said outer surface of said head.
- 56. The toothbrush of claim 36 wherein said cleaning elements are mounted at an angle of 60° to 90° with respect to said outer surface of said head.
- 57. The toothbrush of claim 38 including a dispenser containing an oral care material in said head within said cleaning field.
- 58. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein said oral care material is selected from the group consisting of a gel, mouthwash, toothpaste, tooth powder, and flavored material.
- 59. The toothbrush of claim 58 wherein said dispenser is a capsule containing said oral care material, said capsule being at least partially surrounded by said oral care elements.
- 60. The toothbrush of claim 57 wherein said dispenser is detachably mounted to said head to permit replacement of said dispenser with another dispenser.
- 61. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein said handle is hollow and contains a reservoir of an oral care material, a passageway leading from said reservoir to said outer surface of said head, and said oral care material being flowable from said reservoir to said outer surface of said head whereby said reservoir in combination with said passageway comprises said dispenser.
- 62. The toothbrush of claim 61 wherein said passageway terminates in at least one opening in said outer surface of said head, and said handle is made of a resilient material to be squeezed from said handle and through said passageway and out of said at least one opening.
- 63. The toothbrush of claim 57 wherein at least two of said handle and said head and said dispenser are detachably connected together.
- 64. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein said handle is made of a biodegradable material.
- 65. The toothbrush of claim 38 wherein said head is a vibrating head.
- 66. The toothbrush of claim 38 including an ornament mounted on said handle.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of PCT application Serial No. PCT/US03/27455, filed Sep. 4, 2003, which in turn is based upon U.S. provisional application Serial No. 60/408,321, filed Sep. 5, 2002.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60408321 |
Sep 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCT/US03/27455 |
Sep 2003 |
US |
Child |
10843135 |
May 2004 |
US |