Oral Care Implement

Abstract

An oral care implement having a head with a bristle bearing surface. The oral care implement may include a central bristle tuft extending from a central portion of the bristle bearing surface. The oral care implement may include a plurality of perimetric bristle tufts extending from the bristle bearing surface and arranged to circumferentially surround the central bristle tuft. The perimetric bristle tufts may have different shapes from one another.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An oral care implement comprising:
 a head extending along a longitudinal axis and having a front surface, a rear surface opposite the front surface, and a side surface extending between the front surface and the rear surface, the front surface having a total surface area (TSA);   a tooth cleaning element field extending from the front surface, the tooth cleaning element field consisting of X number of tooth cleaning elements, the X number of tooth cleaning elements collectively occupying a total cleaning element area (TCEA), the total cleaning element area being a total area on the front surface of the head occupied by the tooth cleaning element field;   wherein   
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
                     1 
                     X 
                   
                   × 
                   
                     
                       T 
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                       A 
                     
                     
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                 = 
                 Z 
               
               ; 
             
           
         
          and 
         Z being in a range of 0.04 to 0.065. 
       
     
     
         2 . The oral care implement according to  claim 1  wherein the X number of tooth cleaning elements consists of a plurality of bristle tufts. 
     
     
         3 . The oral care implement according to  claim 2  wherein the plurality of bristle tufts consists of a central bristle tuft extending from a central portion of the front surface and a plurality of perimetric bristle tufts arranged to circumferentially surround the central bristle tuft. 
     
     
         4 . The oral care implement according to  claim 3  wherein the central bristle tuft and the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts collectively occupy at least 50% of the TSA. 
     
     
         5 . The oral care implement according to  claim 1  wherein Z is in a range of 0.05 to 0.062. 
     
     
         6 . The oral care implement according to  claim 1  wherein X is in a range of 5 to 15. 
     
     
         7 . The oral care implement according to  claim 6  wherein X is in a range of 5 to 10. 
     
     
         8 . The oral care implement according to  claim 1  wherein each of the tooth cleaning elements occupies less than 9% of the TSA. 
     
     
         9 . The oral care implement according to  claim 1  wherein each of the tooth cleaning elements occupies between 5% and 25% of the TSA. 
     
     
         10 . The oral care implement according to  claim 1  wherein 
       
         
           
             
               
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                 T 
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       is in a range of 0.4 to 0.6. 
     
     
         11 . An oral care implement comprising:
 a head extending along a longitudinal axis and having a bristle bearing surface and a rear surface opposite the bristle bearing surface;   a plurality of bristle tufts extending from the bristle bearing surface of the head, the plurality of bristle tufts consisting of:
 a central bristle tuft; and 
 a plurality of perimetric bristle tufts arranged to circumferentially surround the central bristle tuft, each of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts having a shape, and wherein the shape of each of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts is identical to the shape of no more than one other one of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts. 
   
     
     
         12 . The oral care implement according to  claim 11  further comprising:
 the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts are arranged in pairs, wherein the shape of the perimetric bristle tufts of each of the pairs are the same; and 
 wherein the perimetric bristle tufts of each of the pairs are non-adjacent to one another. 
 
     
     
         13 . The oral care implement according to  claim 12  further comprising:
 a first pair of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts comprising a first bristle tuft and a second bristle tuft, the first and second bristle tufts both being intersected by the longitudinal axis, a majority of a cross-sectional area of the first bristle tuft being located on a first side of the longitudinal axis, and a majority of a cross-sectional area of the second bristle tuft being located on a second side of the longitudinal axis. 
 
     
     
         14 . The oral care implement according to  claim 13  further comprising:
 wherein each of the pairs of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts other than the first pair comprises two bristle tufts located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis without being intersected by the longitudinal axis. 
 
     
     
         15 . The oral care implement according to  claim 11  further comprising:
 each of the perimetric bristle tufts comprising an inner sidewall that faces the central bristle tuft and an outer sidewall that faces an outer perimeter of the bristle bearing surface of the head, each of the perimetric bristle tufts having a maximum length measured from the inner sidewall to the outer sidewall; and 
 the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts comprising a first bristle tuft and a second bristle tuft that are intersected by the longitudinal axis, the maximum length of the first and second bristle tufts being greater than the maximum length of each other one of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts. 
 
     
     
         16 . The oral care implement according to  claim 11  further comprising:
 each of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts comprising:
 an inner sidewall that is adjacent to the central bristle tuft; 
 an outer sidewall that is adjacent to an outer edge of the head; 
 a first-side sidewall extending between the inner and outer sidewalls, the first-side sidewall being convex; and 
 a second-side sidewall extending between the inner and outer sidewalls, the second-side sidewall being concave; and 
 
 wherein the longitudinal axis intersects the second-side-sidewall of the outer sidewall of two of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts without intersecting the first-side-sidewall and the inner sidewall of the two of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts. 
 
     
     
         17 . The oral care implement according to  claim 11  further comprising:
 the central bristle tuft having an oval shape and being longer in an axial direction than in a transverse direction, the central bristle tuft terminating in a domed distal surface; and 
 each of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts comprising an inclined distal surface that slopes downward toward the central bristle tuft. 
 
     
     
         18 . The oral care implement according to  claim 17  wherein the inclined distal surfaces of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts comprise a low point and a high point, and wherein an apex of the domed distal surface of the central bristle tuft is between the low point and the high point. 
     
     
         19 . The oral care implement according to  claim 11  further comprising:
 each of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts comprising:
 an inner sidewall that is adjacent to the central bristle tuft; and 
 an outer sidewall that is adjacent to an outer edge of the head; 
 
 wherein each of the plurality of perimeteric bristle tufts is non-symmetrical about any axis that intersects the inner and outer sidewalls of the perimeteric bristle tuft. 
 
     
     
         20 . An oral care implement comprising:
 a head comprising a front surface, a rear surface, an outer edge extending between the front and rear surfaces, and a longitudinal axis;   a central bristle tuft extending from the front surface of the head; and   a plurality of perimetric bristle tufts extending from the front surface of the head and arranged to circumferentially surround the central bristle tuft, wherein each of the plurality of perimetric bristle tufts comprises:
 an inner sidewall that is adjacent to the central bristle tuft; 
 an outer sidewall that is adjacent to the outer edge of the head; 
 a first-side sidewall extending between the inner and outer sidewalls, the first-side sidewall being convex; and 
 a second-side sidewall extending between the inner and outer sidewalls, the second-side sidewall being concave; and 
   wherein the longitudinal axis intersects the second-side sidewall and the outer sidewall of two of the perimetric bristle tufts without intersecting the first-side sidewall and the inner sidewall of the two of the perimetric bristle tufts.