Oral care implement

Abstract

An oral care implement is provided having a handle and a head with a soft tissue cleanser and/or tooth cleaning elements. The tooth cleaning elements may be attached to a flexible support on the head and be outwardly movable from the head. The cleaning elements may include a column-shaped bristle at the central portion of the flexible support, and may further include a row of first cleaning elements traversing a central region of the flexible support. The soft tissue cleanser may include a plurality of projections for cleaning the soft tissue and may have an elongate ridge projecting from the head in generally the same direction as the projections. The handle may include a base with a gripping region and a projection protruding from the base in the gripping region. The handle may also have a grip surface with a plurality of spaced slot openings exposing portions of the base.

1 . An oral care implement comprising: 
 a handle;    a head attached to the handle, the head having a face on a first side thereof;    a flexible support attached to the head; and    a plurality of cleaning elements attached to the flexible support and projecting outwardly from the face, the cleaning elements including bristles and wall-like elements and being movable in the outward direction from the head in which the bristles extend.    
     
     
         2 . The oral care implement of  claim 1 , wherein some of the wall-like cleaning elements laterally radiate from a central portion of the flexible support.  
     
     
         3 . The oral care implement of  claim 1 , wherein the cleaning elements include a substantially column-shaped bristle at the central portion of the flexible support.  
     
     
         4 . The oral care implement of  claim 1 , wherein the cleaning elements comprise a row of first cleaning elements substantially aligned with a longitudinal axis of the head and traversing a central region of the flexible support.  
     
     
         5 . The oral care implement of  claim 1 , wherein the cleaning elements further include a row of second cleaning elements extending in a line substantially perpendicular to the row of first cleaning elements.  
     
     
         6 . The oral care implement of  claim 5 , wherein the cleaning elements further comprise a plurality of wall-like cleaning elements oriented generally transverse to the first row of cleaning elements.  
     
     
         7 . The oral care implement of  claim 6 , wherein the wall-like cleaning elements substantially radiate from a central area of the flexible support.  
     
     
         8 . The oral care implement of  claim 6 , wherein the cleaning elements further comprise a first pair of bent cleaning elements, each one of the first pair of cleaning elements disposed at an opposite end of the row of first cleaning elements, each one of the first pair of cleaning elements having a concave side oriented toward the row of first cleaning elements.  
     
     
         9 . The oral care implement of  claim 8 , wherein the cleaning elements further comprise a second pair of bent cleaning elements disposed at an opposite end of the row of second cleaning elements, each one of the second pair of cleaning elements having a concave side oriented toward the row of second cleaning elements.  
     
     
         10 . The oral care implement according to  claim 1 , wherein the flexible support includes a resilient membrane mounted to the head.  
     
     
         11 . The oral care implement of  claim 10 , wherein the head includes a base forming a peripheral frame, the resilient membrane being mounted to the frame, and an open space being formed between opposite portions of the frame beneath the resilient membrane.  
     
     
         12 . The oral care implement of  claim 11 , wherein the resilient membrane has an initial condition of non-use, the resilient membrane in the initial condition being convex to have an original dome-like shape, the resilient membrane being capable of flexing to alter the original shape during use of the oral care implement and to move the cleaning elements with respect to the head and then recovering to the original shape randomly during use of the oral care implement.  
     
     
         13 . The oral care implement of  claim 10 , wherein the head further includes a peripheral frame for supporting the resilient frame to extend across the first face and for supporting a soft tissue cleanser on a second face opposite the first face.  
     
     
         14 . The oral care implement of  claim 13 , wherein the soft tissue cleanser includes a ring of projections on the peripheral frame.  
     
     
         15 . The oral care implement of  claim 14 , wherein the projections are formed of a resilient material.  
     
     
         16 . The oral care implement of  claim 15 , wherein the resilient material includes an elastomer.  
     
     
         17 . The oral care implement of  claim 1 , further comprising a soft tissue cleanser disposed on a second side of the head substantially opposite from the first side, the soft tissue cleanser comprising a plurality of projections protruding outwardly from the first side for removal of microbial and other debris from soft tissue of a user's mouth.  
     
     
         18 . The oral care implement of  claim 17 , wherein the projections of the soft tissue cleanser comprise a plurality of nubs and ridges.  
     
     
         19 . The oral care implement of  claim 17 , wherein the projections are arranged in a ring around a recess formed on the second side of the head.  
     
     
         20 . The oral care implement of  claim 17 , wherein the projections include an elongate ridge.  
     
     
         21 . The oral care implement of  claim 1 , further including a motor for driving at least a portion of the cleaning elements.  
     
     
         22 . The oral care implement of  claim 17 , wherein the handle includes a resilient element that merges with the soft tissue cleanser.  
     
     
         23 . An oral care implement comprising: 
 a handle;    a head attached to the handle, the head having a first face and substantially opposite second face, the head having a flexible support on the first face and a plurality of cleaning elements mounted to the flexible support; and    a soft tissue cleanser on the second face of the head for cleansing soft tissue in a user's mouth, the soft tissue cleanser including a plurality of projections protruding outwardly from the head for removal of microbial and other debris from the soft tissue.    
     
     
         24 . The oral care implement of  claim 23 , wherein the head includes a peripheral frame forming a central open space, the flexible support being mounted to the frame to extend across the open space, the soft tissue cleanser mounted on the peripheral frame to have a ring shape.  
     
     
         25 . The oral care implement of  claim 24 , wherein the flexible support has an initial condition of non-use, the flexible support in the initial condition being convex to have an original dome-like shape, the flexible support being capable of flexing to alter the original shape during use of the oral care implement and to move the cleaning elements with respect to the head and then recovering to the original shape randomly during use of the oral care implement.  
     
     
         26 . An oral care implement comprising: 
 a handle;    a head attached to the handle, the head having a first face and substantially opposite second face, the head having a flexible support on the first face and a plurality of cleaning elements mounted to the flexible support extending outwardly from the face, the flexible support being movable outward and inward in the direction from the face in which the cleaning elements extend, the inward and outward movement of the flexible support imparting movement to the cleaning elements attached thereto;    a soft tissue cleanser on the second face of the head for cleansing soft tissue in a user's mouth, the soft tissue cleanser including a plurality of projections protruding outwardly from the head for removal of microbial and other debris from the soft tissue, the projections including an elongate ridge and a plurality of ridges and nubs.    
     
     
         27 . A toothbrush comprising: 
 a handle;    a head having a plurality of tooth cleaning elements extending outwardly from the head in a first direction; and    a soft tissue cleanser disposed about the cleaning elements on the head.    
     
     
         28 . The toothbrush of  claim 27 , further comprising a flexible support on a first face of the head, the tooth cleaning elements being attached to the flexible support, and a base spaced apart from the flexible support forming a central portion of the soft tissue cleanser on a second face of the head.  
     
     
         29 . The toothbrush of  claim 28 , wherein the base is flexible.  
     
     
         30 . The toothbrush of  claim 29 , wherein movement of the tooth cleaning elements and the flexible support toward and away from the first face imparts movement to the flexible base.  
     
     
         31 . The toothbrush of  claim 27 , wherein the soft tissue cleanser includes soft tissue cleansing elements extending outwardly from the head in a second direction substantially opposite the first direction.  
     
     
         32 . The toothbrush of  claim 27 , wherein the soft tissue cleansing elements form a ring of projections.  
     
     
         33 . The toothbrush of  claim 32 , wherein the soft tissue cleanser further comprises a central portion bordered by the ring of projections and by a surface disposed opposite the tooth cleaning elements.  
     
     
         34 . The toothbrush of  claim 32 , wherein the ring of projections comprise ridges and nubs.  
     
     
         35 . The toothbrush of  claim 34 , wherein the ring of projections is substantially elliptically shaped.  
     
     
         36 . The toothbrush of  claim 34 , wherein the soft tissue cleanser further comprises an elongate ridge projecting from the head in generally the same direction as the projections of the ring of projections.