Refill head for an oral care implement handle
a technology for refilling heads and implements, which is applied in the field of refilling heads for oral care implements, can solve the problems of existing refilling heads, high manufacturing costs, and long life expectancy of cleaning elements, and consumers would not be willing to pay a premium to purchase such powered toothbrushes
Inactive Publication Date: 2014-05-22
COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO
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- Abstract
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Benefits of technology
The present invention is about a refill head for an oral care implement. The refill head has a tubular sleeve with cam surfaces that form transverse shoulders in the cavity. The cam surfaces are separated by axial slots through which the bosses of the stem of the oral care implement can pass. This allows the refill head to easily connect and disconnect from the handle. The refill head also includes a head portion with cleaning elements and a tubular sleeve that has a cavity for receiving the stem of the oral care implement. The cam surfaces and axial slots facilitate the easy connection and disconnection of the refill head from the handle. Overall, this invention provides a simple yet effective way to use a disposable refill head with an oral care implement.
Problems solved by technology
The replaceability of the heads in such powered toothbrushes is desirous because the handle, which includes the expensive motion-inducing circuitry and components, is expensive to manufacture and has a much longer life expectancy than do the cleaning elements, such as bristles, that are on the head.
Consumers would not be willing to pay a premium to purchase such powered toothbrushes if they had to be discarded when the bristles or other cleaning elements wore out.
Existing refill heads suffer from a number of deficiencies, including complexity of manufacture, the ability to improperly load the refill head to the handle, and inadequate coupling of the refill head to the handle.
Method used
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[0018]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.
[0019]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 descripti...
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A refill head, and an oral care implement including the same, wherein the refill head comprises a tubular sleeve having a cavity. First and second upper cam surfaces are provided in the cavity that form transverse shoulders within the cavity. The first and second upper cam surfaces are separated by first and second axial slots through which first and second bosses of a stem of a handle of the oral care implement can be passed.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61 / 506,996 filed on Jul. 12, 2011, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates generally to refill heads for oral care implements, and specifically to the coupling structure of the refill head.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Powered toothbrushes having replaceable heads, commonly referred to as refill heads, are known in the art. Such powered toothbrushes typically include a handle and a refill head that is detachably coupled to the handle. The replaceability of the heads in such powered toothbrushes is desirous because the handle, which includes the expensive motion-inducing circuitry and components, is expensive to manufacture and has a much longer life expectancy than do the cleaning elements, such as bristles, that are on the head. Consumers would not be willing to ...
Claims
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IPC IPC(8): A46B13/02A46B9/04
CPCA46B9/04A46B13/023A61C17/222A61C17/3481
Inventor FATTORI, JOSEPH E.
Owner COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO