ORAL-CARE IMPLEMENT HAVING COLOR-COMMUNICATIVE ELEMENT

• US 20160015163A1
• Filed: 07/15/2014
• Published: 01/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: NEWMAN, Matthew Lloyd, RENO, Elizabeth Ann Brown, WEN, Li (MNM), ALINSKI, Jens
• Granted Patent: US 10,098,447 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 9/02 Position or arrangement of bristles in relation to surface of the brush body, e.g. inclined, in rows, in groups
• 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 9/04 Arranged like in or for toothbrushes
• CPC Class Codes: A46B 9/06 Arrangement of mixed bristles or tufts of bristles, e.g. wire, fibre, rubber
• CPC Class Codes: A46D 1/0238 Bristles with non-round cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: A46D 1/0261 Roughness structure on the bristle surface

Abstract

An oral-care implement comprises a mounting surface having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and a plurality of filaments outwardly extending from the mounting surface in at least one direction not parallel to either one of the longitudinal axis and the transverse axis, each filament having a free end terminating with a tip. At least some of the filaments possess at least one functional characteristic selected from the group consisting of filament'"'"'s structure, composition, cross-sectional shape, tip geometry, and any combination thereof. A plurality of filament tips comprises a working surface that includes at least a first color and a second color different from the first color. The at least first color forms at least one scaled-up image graphically replicating the at least one functional characteristic, thereby visually communicating to a consumer that the oral-care implement includes filaments having certain functional characteristic(s)—and that the oral-care implement possesses superior efficacy attributable to said filaments.

Claims

1. An oral-care implement comprising:

a mounting surface having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;

a plurality of filaments outwardly extending from the mounting surface in at least one direction not parallel to either one of the longitudinal and transverse axes, each filament having a free end terminating with a tip;

wherein at least some of the filaments possess at least one functional characteristic selected from the group consisting of filament'"'"'s structure, composition, cross-sectional shape, tip geometry, and any combination thereof;

wherein a plurality of filament tips comprises a working surface that includes at least a first color and a second color different from the first color;

wherein the at least first color forms at least one scaled-up image graphically replicating the at least one functional characteristic, thereby visually communicating to a consumer that the oral-care implement includes filaments having said at least one functional characteristic.

2. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a cylindrical shape of a filament, and the at least one scaled-up image has a shape of a circle having the first color.

3. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a filament'"'"'s cross-section comprising a polygon, and the at least one scaled-up image has a shape of the polygon having the first color.

4. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises an elliptical cross-section of a filament, and the at least one scaled-up image has a shape of an ellipse having the first color.

5. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises an X-shaped cross-section of a filament, and the at least one scaled-up image has a shape of an X-shaped area having the first color.

6. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a star-shaped cross-section of a filament, and the at least one scaled-up image has a shape of a star-shaped area having the first color.

7. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a multi-lobal cross-section of a filament, and the at least one scaled-up image has a shape of a multi-lobal area having the first color.

8. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a tapered tip of a filament, and the at least one scaled-up image has a shape of a triangle having the first color.

9. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a filament'"'"'s tip surface including at least one island, and the at least one scaled-up image comprises at least one area having the first color.

10. The oral-care implement of claim 9, wherein the at least one island comprises a protrusion.

11. The oral-care implement of claim 9, wherein the at least one island comprises a depression.

12. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a filament'"'"'s tip surface including a plurality of islands selected from the group consisting of protrusions, depressions, and any combination thereof, and the at least one scaled-up image comprises a plurality of discrete areas having the first color, wherein a background has the second color.

13. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a multi-component composition of a filament, and the at least one scaled-up image comprises at least one area having the first color circumferentially encompassed by at least one ring having the second color.

14. The oral-care implement of claim 13, wherein the working surface comprises a background having a third color different from the second color.

15. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the plurality of filaments comprises at least a first plurality of filaments and a second plurality of filaments, the first plurality of filaments having a first functional characteristic selected from the group consisting of filament'"'"'s structure, composition, cross-sectional shape, tip geometry, and any combination thereof, and the second plurality of filaments having a second functional characteristic selected from the group consisting of filament'"'"'s structure, composition, cross-sectional shape, tip geometry, and any combination thereof, the first functional characteristic being different from the second functional characteristic.

16. The oral-care implement of claim 15, wherein the first plurality of filaments comprises the first color and the second plurality of filaments comprises the second color.

17. The oral-care implement of claim 15, wherein the plurality of filaments comprises at least a third plurality of filaments having a third functional characteristic selected from the group consisting of filament'"'"'s structure, composition, cross-sectional shape, tip geometry, and any combination thereof, the third functional characteristic being different from the first functional characteristic and the second functional characteristic.

18. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic comprises a roughened area of at least a portion of the filament'"'"'s surface, and the at least one scaled-up image comprises a broken line selected from the group consisting of a dotted line, a dashed line, and any combination thereof.

19. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the first color comprises a color-changing material that causes the first color to gradually change to eventually match the second color after a predetermined period of use of the oral-care implement.

20. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the first color at least partially covers the second color, and wherein the first color is structured to slowly wear away during the use of the oral-care implement to indicate an extent to which the filaments are worn.

21. The oral-care implement of claim 20, wherein the first color is structured to substantially wear away after a predetermined period of use of the oral-care implement so that the at least one scaled-up image is noticeably altered by an end of said predetermined period of use.

22. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least some of the filaments are arranged in at least one tuft having a shape comprising the at least one scaled-up image graphically replicating the at least one functional characteristic of the at least some of the filaments.

23. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least first and second colors form, in combination, the at least one scaled-up image graphically replicating the at least one functional characteristic.

24. The oral-care implement of claim 1, wherein the at least one functional characteristic of the at least some of the filaments comprises a non-circular cross-sectional shape.

25. A manual toothbrush comprising the oral-care implement of claim 1.

26. A refill for an electrical toothbrush, the refill comprising the oral-care implement of claim 1.

27. An oral-care implement comprising:

a mounting surface having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;

a plurality of filaments outwardly extending from the mounting surface in at least one direction not parallel to either one of the longitudinal and transverse axes, each filament having a free end terminating with a tip;

wherein at least some of the filaments possess at least one functional characteristic selected from the group consisting of filament'"'"'s structure, composition, cross-sectional shape, tip geometry, and any combination thereof;

wherein a plurality of filament tips comprises a working surface that includes at least a first color and a second color different from the first color;

wherein the at least first color forms at least one scaled-up image graphically replicating the at least one functional characteristic, thereby visually communicating to a consumer that the oral-care implement includes filaments having said at least one functional characteristic and that the oral-care implement possesses a superior efficacy attributable to said filaments having the at least one functional characteristic.