The Procter Gamble Company

The Procter & Gamble

Sanjay Amratlal Solanki

Simon Phillip Shenton

Daniel William Volpenhein

Gregory DeSwarte

A toothbrush includes a head having a proximal end and a distal end furthest from the proximal end. The head also includes a top face having a plurality of bristle tufts disposed therein, a back face opposed to the top face, and a tip. An elastomeric support element covers a portion of the back face, and the tip is uncovered by the elastomeric support element. A first plurality of elastomeric elements is integrally formed with the elastomeric support element. Each of the first plurality of elastomeric elements extends individually from the elastomeric support element and terminates in a free end.

Toothbrush

The toothbrush of the present invention comprises an elongated handle having a head attached to one end. The head has a bristle-bearing face having longitudinal perimeter portions adjacent longitudinal edges and at least two perimetric, elastomeric massaging elements alternately arranged with groups of bristle tufts along each of the longitudinal perimeter portions. The brush can comprise further massaging elements which are not located along the longitudinal perimeter portions though the use of such additional elements is preferably minimized. The perimetric massaging elements have rotational symmetry through an angle of 120&#xb0; or less, preferably being circular. The cross-sectional area proportion of elastomeric massaging elements to bristles on the brush head is less than 25%. Alternately there are four or fewer elastomeric massaging elements which are not perimetric massaging elements A brush with both bristles and gum massaging elements arranged as set out above provides both cleaning and gum massaging benefits without creating an undesirable aesthetic impression derived from the use of rubber-like materials in the part of the brush head traditionally comprising only bristles.

The toothbrush of the present invention comprises an elongated handle having a head attached to one end. The head has a bristle-bearing face having longitudinal perimeter portions adjacent longitudinal edges and at least two perimetric, elastomeric massaging elements alternately arranged with groups of bristle tufts along each of the longitudinal perimeter portions. The brush can comprise further massaging elements which are not located along the longitudinal perimeter portions though the use of such additional elements is preferably minimised. The perimetric massaging elements have rotational symmetry through an angle of 120&#xb0; or less, preferably being circular. The cross-sectional area proportion of elastomeric massaging elements to bristles on the brush head is less than 25%. Alternately there are four or fewer elastomeric massaging elements which are not perimetric massaging elements. A brush with both bristles and gum massaging elements arranged as set out above provides both cleaning and gum massaging benefits without creating an undesirable aesthetic impression derived from the use of rubber-like materials in the part of the brush head traditionally comprising only bristles.

A toothbrush having a handle and, attached at one end thereof, a head (,), the head (,) having a handle end (,), a free end (,), and a bristle-bearing face (,) with a plurality of tufts (,) extending therefrom, the tufts (,) each having a base and a free end and comprising one or more bristles, wherein the tufts (,) are arranged in groups which are separated from each other by a transverse gap (,), the distance between the bases of the tufts (,) within a group being less than 1.3 mm, the distance between the bases of the tufts (,) between groups being in the range from 1.3 mm to 5 mm and wherein the distance between the free ends of the tufts between groups is preferably at least 0.5 mm. Preferably, each group is in the form of a crescent shaped array and tufts (,) are generally perpendicular to the toothbrush head (,). The arrangement allows for independent movement of bristle tufts (,), particularly whilst using the Bass or Rolling techniques for toothbrushing, yet maintains a high density of tufts (,) on the toothbrush head (,).

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Egham, United Kingdom

Sanjay Amratlal Solanki