Tissue Cleaning Pad With Variable Height Regions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing oral care implements, such as bladed tongue scrapers, often fail to effectively remove bacteria and debris from the tongue while providing comfort, as they can be uncomfortable for users due to their aggressive nature.
Innovation Solution
An oral care implement with a head featuring a plurality of spaced-apart tissue cleaning pads radially arranged around a central axis, each with raised inner regions and flush outer regions, and optional protrusions, designed to provide effective cleaning while maintaining user comfort by incorporating scraping surfaces and a smooth transition to reduce aggressiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If bladed tongue scrapers are used to effectively remove bacteria and debris from the tongue, then cleaning efficacy is improved, but user comfort deteriorates due to the aggressive nature of the blade
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the cleaning implement by replacing a rigid blade with a flexible tissue cleaner that has variable height regions. The cleaner includes a first region with greater height for scraping action and a second region with lesser height for comfort, allowing the same implement to provide both effective cleaning and user comfort through parameter variation rather than using a single aggressive blade design
Solution Approach 2:
The tissue cleaner is designed with non-uniform local qualities through its variable height structure. The first region has greater height to provide scraping efficacy for removing bacteria and debris, while the second region has lesser height to provide comfort during use. This local differentiation allows different portions of the cleaner to serve different functions - one optimized for cleaning performance and another optimized for user comfort
2Productivity
If a raised inner region with scraping surfaces is added to the tissue cleaner pad, then cleaning efficacy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tissue cleaner is pre-formed during manufacturing with the raised first region and recessed second region already integrated into the pad structure. The scraping surfaces are created as part of the initial molding process rather than requiring additional assembly steps or adjustable components. This preliminary formation of the variable height structure achieves effective cleaning without adding operational complexity to the device
Data Source
AI summary
An oral care implement having a tissue cleaning pad. In one aspect, the oral care implement includes a head having a front surface and an opposite rear surface. A plurality of tooth cleaning elements extend from the front surface of the head. A tissue cleaning pad is positioned on the rear surface of the head. The tissue cleaning pad has a planar top surface bounded by a perimetric edge and a plurality of protrusions extending from the planar top surface. The perimetric edge of the planar top surface of the tissue cleaning pad has a first portion that is flush with the rear surface of the head and a second portion that is raised relative to the rear surface of the head.