Patent Document

This application is a continuation of application PCT/US2003/27817, filed Sep. 4, 2003, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/408,354 filed Sep. 5, 2002, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   As toothbrush design has evolved in an effort to improve cleaning of teeth and gums, the complexity of toothbrushes and their functions have increased. Powered toothbrushes are one example of efforts to improve tooth cleaning by including one or more movable sets of cleaning elements. Another approach to improving cleansing of teeth is use of a toothbrush head that is articulated or segmented to better follow the rounded curvature of teeth aligned in the human jaw. 
   Marketing such toothbrush improvements, however, has its problems. More specifically, toothbrushes typically are sold in sealed packaging to prevent dirt and germs from reading the toothbrush before use. One type of such packaging is blister packaging which is typified by a transparent, thermoformed shell largely molded to the shape of the object being sold which is made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene or cellulosic plastics. That transparent shell is typically sealed to an underlying hardboard card containing product information and promotional material. 
   Sealed packaging, such as blister packs, however, separate the consumer from the product. Where features of the product are not readily evident by merely looking at the packaging, it can be difficult to market those features to the consumer. Accordingly, some manufacturers have attempted to provide means in the packaging to operate features of their product that are best understood when in operation. 
   One example of this approach is packaging which enables actual operation of powered toothbrushes even though sealed in their packaging. Examples of this approach are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,189,693 B1 and 6,371,294 B1 issued to Blaustein et al. They disclose a blister pack with a prominent display on the front thereof which contains an arrow pointing to a button and invites the potential customer to “Try Me” (See FIG. 8 of Blaustein et al. patents). If the customer follows this invitation the blister pack is depressed which in turn activates the on-off switch on a power toothbrush. Thus, a potential customer can actually observe the operation of the powered portions of the toothbrush through transparent portions of the packaging overlying these portions of the toothbrush. 
   Another patent disclosing means for activation of a power toothbrush at the point-of-purchase while maintaining the sealed condition of its packaging, is U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,837B1 also issued to Blaustein et al. This patent discloses a small recess 26 in the blister packaging aligned with the on-off switch of the powered toothbrush. In operation, the toothbrush can be temporarily energized at the point-of-sale by pressing the recess 26 down until it contacts the on-off switch. When pressure on the recess 26is released, the switch returns to its original position and the power is deactivated (See column 4, lines 19–41). 
   While pushing down on a portion of package may permit operation of a button operated powered device such as a toothbrush, that approach will not suffice where the features of the device are not operable by the simple push of a button. This invention discloses means of allowing consumer implementation of product features that are not readily susceptible to push button operation. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The disclosed packaging of the invention permits ready demonstration of features of products sold in closed packages. In the disclosed packaging a potential consumer is provided with means to manipulate features of a toothbrush without having to open the toothbrush package. The packaging invites the consumer to flex the tip of the head of a toothbrush. 
   Toothbrushes with flexible tips are known. The flexible tips on toothbrushes accommodate to the curvature of the human jaw as well as the relatively straight portions of the jaw. The existence and operation of the flexible tip of such toothbrushes may not, however, be readily apparent to a potential customer. For example, the space on the package for printed instructions or marketing materials to explain the existence and advantages of a flexible tip is limited because of the small size of a typical toothbrush package. 
   Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a means on the package to demonstrate the existence and movement of the flexible tip. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a package which allows manipulation and movement of a portion of a toothbrush by a potential customer while maintaining the sealed condition of that package. This and other objects of this invention are achieved by including a slidable bar movable across a portion of the package. 
   This slidable bar has a first portion extending outside the package and accessible to the potential customer. A second portion extends into the package and engages a movable portion of the device in the package, e.g., the flexible head of a toothbrush. The first and second portions of the slidable bar are operably joined so that movement of one portion causes movement of the other. 
   This slider can be snap fit into a slot in the top of a package or it can be trapped between two halves of a molded package having mating recesses that form a slot for operation of the slidable bar. The slider is molded with ribs that engage the top and/or bottom of the opening of the package which allows the slider to move transversely without falling out of the package. The slider is preferably of a shape that the opening or slot in the package is always covered by a portion of the slidable bar, thereby maintaining the package in sealed condition. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     This invention is capable of use in a broad array of consumer packaging and products. The drawings illustrate one use of the invention and are not to be construed as the only embodiment of the invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a side elevational view, partially broken away, showing a toothbrush package with a slider to allow consumer manipulation of a feature of the toothbrush, i.e., the flexible portion of the toothbrush head. 
       FIG. 2  is a front elevational view partially broken away of the package of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a top plan view of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
       FIG. 4  is a fragmented side elevational view showing the slider moved to the left to manipulate a flexible toothbrush head. 
       FIG. 5  is a top plan view of  FIG. 4 , and 
       FIG. 6  is a side elevational view, partially broken away, showing a package for a powered toothbrush with a slider. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The package  10  illustrated in  FIGS. 1–5  contains a toothbrush  12  having a relatively rigid handle  14 . The handle  14  can be covered in elastomeric material to improve feel and grip. 
   The illustrated toothbrush  12  includes an articulated head portion  16  containing a relatively rigid portion  18  connected to handle  14 . That portion is connected to a movable portion  17  of the head. The movable and relatively rigid portions are connected by a flexible hinge  19  that is preferably molded into the head  16 . The desired flexibility can be achieved by thinning out material in the head  16  near the location of flexible hinge  19  or by incorporating a more flexible material, such as an elastomeric, in the region of the hinge  19 . Cleaning elements  20  are arranged in both portions of head  16  in a known manner. Any suitable form of cleaning elements may be used as the cleaning elements  20  in the broad practice of this invention. The term “cleaning elements” is intended to be used in a generic sense which could include conventional fiber bristles or massage elements or other forms of cleaning elements such as elastomeric fingers or walls arranged in a circular cross-sectional shape or any type of desired shape including straight portions or sinusoidal portions. Where bristles are used, the bristles could be mounted to tuft blocks or sections by extending through suitable openings in the tuft blocks so that the base of the bristles is mounted within or below the tuft block. 
   It is to be understood that the specific illustration of the cleaning elements is merely for exemplary purposes. The invention can be practiced with various combinations (such as stapled or in-mold technology bristles, etc.) and/or with the same bristle or cleaning element materials (such as nylon bristles, spiral bristles, rubber bristles, etc.) Similarly, while the Figures illustrate the cleaning elements to be generally perpendicular to head  16 , some or all of the cleaning elements may be angled at various angles with respect to the surface of head  16 . It is thereby possible to select the combination of cleaning element configurations, materials and orientations to achieve specific intended results to deliver additional oral health benefits, like enhanced cleaning, tooth polishing, tooth whitening and/or massaging of the gums. 
   The movable portion  17  of head  16  is preferably molded so that it is angled relative to the fixed portion  18  of the head  18 , but can rotate counterclockwise (as seen in  FIGS. 1 ,  4  and  6 ) when the user applies force to the toothbrush handle  14 . The forward tilt of movable portion  17  creates a curvature in head  16  that is particularly adopted to cleansing of teeth in the curved portion of the human jawline. As the toothbrush is moved in use toward the back teeth, which are in a straighter alignment, the movable portion  17  of head rotates about flexible hinge  19  so it is better aligned with those teeth. 
   The ability of the toothbrush head to adapt to these differing configurations of teeth in the human jaw is not readily apparent when it is displayed in a sealed package on the store shelf. To promote this feature, this invention provides a package  10  with a slider bar  22  which is movable relative to the package  10 . The slider bar  22  has a portion  23  extending outside package  10  which is shaped to receive and retain the finger of a person holding the package. Suitable graphics and instructions on the package  10  would invite the holder to push or pull the slider bar  22  in order to move the movable portion  17  of head  16 . Movement of this portion  17  of the toothbrush head is accomplished by the portion  24  of slider bar  22  extending inside the package  10 . This portion  24  of slider  22  has a point or notch that engages the upper end of the flexible portion of head  17  so that the movement of slider  22  causes corresponding movement to the flexible portion of head  17 . In this way, the potential purchaser of the toothbrush is able to view and understand an important feature of the toothbrush, the flexible head, that provides improved tooth cleaning. 
   Slider bar  22  is designed to move in slot  25  in package  10 . This slot can be molded into the package or created by mating recesses in mating halves of package  10  when molded. Preferably, the slot  25  is dimensioned to allow the lower portion  24  of slider  22  to be pushed through during assembly of the package and insertion of the toothbrush. A slight undercut in portion  24  keeps the slider  22  attached to the package  10 . The upper surface of the upper portion  23  of the slider is preferably bigger than the slot in all positions of the slider  22  so that the package  10  remains sealed until the toothbrush  12  is removed from package  10 . 
     FIG. 6  illustrates packaging  10 A for a powered version of toothbrush  12  wherein portions  40  of the head  16  are moved under power or may contain a powered set of cleaning elements. In operation, application of finger pressure on upper portion  22  causes movement of slider  22 . That movement illustrates the flexible feature of head  16  to potential consumers. 
   The movable section  40  could be oscillated rotationally such as by using the type of drive mechanism shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,916, or could move in and out using the type of drive mechanism shown in U.S. Pat. No. RE 35,941; all of the details of both patents are incorporated herein by reference thereto. Alternatively, the other types of drives referred to above could move section  40  in other manners and directions. Although  FIG. 6  shows movable section  40  to be at one end of the head  16 , the movable section(s) would be located at any desired location on the head.

Technology Category: 7