Toothbrushes

• US 20050060822A1
• Filed: 09/19/2003
• Published: 03/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Gillette Company LLC (The Procter & Gamble Company)
• Original Assignee: Gillette Company (The Procter & Gamble Company)
• Inventors: Christman, Thomas A., Chenvainu, Alexander T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,941,886 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 15/28
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 13/008 Disc-shaped brush bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 2200/1066 Toothbrush for cleaning the teeth or dentures A61C17/16 takes precedence; bristles arrangements for toothbrushes A46B9/04
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 9/005 where the brushing material is not made of bristles, e.g. sponge, rubber or paper
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 9/028 Bristle profile, the end of the bristle defining a surface other than a single plane or deviating from a simple geometric form, e.g. cylinder, sphere or cone
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 9/045 specially adapted for cleaning a plurality of tooth surfaces simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/22 with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like brush bodies, e.g. arrangements of the bristles A46B
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/222 Brush body details, e.g. the shape thereof or connection to handle
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/34 driven by electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/3436 Rotation around the axis perpendicular to the plane defined by the bristle holder

Abstract

Toothbrush heads, e.g., for power toothbrushes, are provided. The toothbrush heads include a support member and a plurality of bristles or tufts of bristles extending from the support member, the bristles or bristle tufts having different lengths. The contour of the bristles may be selected to allow substantially all of the bristles to contact the dentition during brushing.

Claims

1. A head for a power toothbrush comprising:

an elongated support member, and

a plurality of bristles extending from the support member, at least some of the bristles having different heights, the bristles being arranged so that their heights are symmetric, in a non-translatable mirror image symmetry, about two planes of symmetry.

2. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the bristles have different lengths, measured from a top surface of the support member.

3. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the bristles extend the same length from a top surface of the support member, and the top surface is contoured so that the bristles have different heights as measured from a horizontal plane taken through the lowest point on the top surface.

7. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the bristles are arranged in tufts.

8. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the two planes of symmetry are arranged about a central axis of the brush head.

9. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the bristles are arranged in an array and tips of the bristles define a continuously curved surface.

10. The toothbrush head of claim 1 wherein the two planes of symmetry intersect in the vicinity of the center of the elongated support member.

11. The toothbrush head of claim 1 or 4 wherein the head is configured for use on a power toothbrush having a rotationally oscillating motion.

14. The toothbrush head of claim 1 or 4 wherein a top surface of the support member has an overall surface area of from about 170 to 200 mm².

15. The toothbrush head of claim 1 or 4 further comprising one or more elastomeric elements.

17. The toothbrush head of claim 1 or 4 wherein the height of the tallest bristles is from about 20 to 50% greater than the height of the shortest bristles.

18. The toothbrush head of claim 1 or 4 wherein a top surface of the support member has a length of about 14 to 19 mm.

19. The toothbrush head of claim 18 wherein the top surface has a length of about 16 to 17 mm.

20. The toothbrush head of claim 1 or 4 wherein a top surface of the support member has a width of about 12 to 15 mm.

21. The toothbrush head of claim 20 wherein the top surface has a width of about 13 to 14 mm.

22. The toothbrush head of claim 1 or 4 wherein a top surface of the support member has an aspect ratio (length/width) of about 1.2 to 1.

23. The toothbrush head of claim 1 or 4 wherein a top surface of the support member has a shape selected from the group consisting of oval, ellipse, rounded diamond, and rounded rectangle.

24. The toothbrush head of claim 3 or 6 wherein the top surface has a concave shape.

4. A head for a power toothbrush comprising:

an elongated support member, and

a plurality of tufts of bristles extending from the support member, the tufts of bristles having at least three different heights, the tufts being arranged so that their tips define a rounded contour.

5. The toothbrush head of claim 4 wherein the tufts of bristles have different lengths, measured from a top surface of the support member.

6. The toothbrush head of claim 4 wherein the tufts of bristles extend the same length from a top surface of the support member, and the top surface is contoured so that the bristles have different heights as measured from a horizontal plane taken through the lowest point on the top surface.

12. The toothbrush head of claim 4 wherein the tufts of bristles have at least four different heights.

13. The toothbrush head of claim 4 wherein the rounded contour is lowest adjacent a pivot point of the head.

16. The toothbrush head of claim 4 wherein the tufts are arranged so that their heights are symmetric, in a non-translatable mirror image symmetry, about two planes of symmetry.

25. A power toothbrush comprising

a handle, and

extending from the handle, a head including an elongated support member, and a plurality of bristles extending from the support member, at least some of the bristles having different heights, the bristles being arranged so that their heights are symmetric, in a non-translatable mirror image symmetry, about two planes of symmetry.

26. The toothbrush of claim 25 wherein the bristles have different lengths, measured from a top surface of the support member.

27. The toothbrush of claim 25 wherein the bristles extend the same length from a top surface of the support member, and the top surface is contoured so that the bristles have different heights as measured from a horizontal plane taken through the lowest point on the top surface.

31. The toothbrush of claim 25 or 28 further comprising a drive mechanism configured to drive the head in a rotationally oscillating motion.

28. A power toothbrush comprising:

a handle, and

extending from the handle, a head including an elongated support member, and a plurality of tufts of bristles extending from the support member, the tufts of bristles having at least three different heights, the tufts being arranged so that their tips define a rounded contour.

29. The toothbrush of claim 28 wherein the tufts of bristles have different lengths, measured from a top surface of the support member.

30. The toothbrush of claim 28 wherein the tufts of bristles extend the same length from a top surface of the support member, and the top surface is contoured so that the bristles have different heights as measured from a horizontal plane taken through the lowest point on the top surface.

32. A head for a power toothbrush comprising:

an elongated support member, and

a plurality of bristles extending from the support member, at least some of the bristles having different heights, the heights of the bristles being selected to provide a bristle tip contour that allows substantially all of the bristle tips to contact the dentition simultaneously during brushing.

33. A method of brushing teeth comprising:

contacting the teeth with bristles of a power toothbrush, the power toothbrush including a head having an elongated support member, and a plurality of bristles extending from the support member, at least some of the bristles having different heights, the bristles being arranged so that their heights are symmetric, in a non-translatable mirror image symmetry, about two planes of symmetry.

34. A method of brushing teeth comprising:

contacting the teeth with bristles of a power toothbrush, the power toothbrush including a head having an elongated support member, and a plurality of tufts of bristles extending from the support member, the tufts of bristles having at least three different heights, the tufts being arranged so that their tips define a rounded contour.