Replacement Head for An Oral Care Implement, And Oral Care Implement And Method Of Utilizing The Same

A replacement brush used for an electric toothbrush main body including a bar-shaped stem which has a leading end part, vibrates by a vibration source provided inside the electric toothbrush main body, and extends along a center axis,

• the replacement brush being attached so as to cover said stem, wherein
• said stem includes a protruding part region which protrudes outward from an outer peripheral face of the stem,
• said replacement brush includes:
• a tubular part having an open trailing end;
• a brushing member formed outside a leading end side of said tubular part;
• and
• an open sidewall formed from a trailing end side toward the leading end side of said tubular part to define an opening region having a leading end side which is closed and a trailing end side which is opened at said open trailing end,
• said open sidewall has a bulging wall protruding toward said opening region, and
• in the attached state of said replacement brush to said stem, said protruding part region is located inside said opening region, and said bulging wall comes into contact with said protruding part region at a trailing end side of said protruding part region.

An oral care implement comprising:

• a body comprising:
• a gripping portion comprising a shoulder;
• a stem extending from the shoulder along a longitudinal axis;
• and
• a boss protruding from an outer surface of the stem, the boss comprising a locking rib section having an undercut surface that is axially spaced from the shoulder and a positioning rib section extending from the locking rib section to the shoulder, the undercut surface circumferentially protruding from a first side surface of the positioning rib section;
• a replacement head comprising:
• a tubular sleeve comprising a cavity and a proximal edge defining an opening into the cavity;
• a slot in the tubular sleeve comprising a locking slot section spaced from the proximal edge and an entry slot section that extends from the proximal edge to the locking slot section;
• and
• a locking tab comprising a distal edge that forms a first lateral wall of the entry slot section and an upper edge that forms a bottom wall of the locking slot section;
• wherein the tubular sleeve is detachably coupled to the stem in a locked state in which:
• the stem is located within the cavity of the tubular sleeve,
• the positioning rib section is located within the entry slot section, and
• the locking rib-section is located within the locking slot section, the upper edge of the locking tab engaging the undercut surface of the locking rib section.

An oral care implement body to which a replacement head can be detachably coupled, the oral care implement body comprising:

• a gripping portion having a shoulder;
• a stem extending from the shoulder along a longitudinal axis;
• and
• a boss protruding from an outer surface of the stem, the boss comprising a locking rib section having an undercut surface that is axially spaced from the shoulder and a positioning rib section extending from the locking rib section to the shoulder, the undercut surface circumferentially protruding from a first side surface of the positioning rib section.

A replacement head for detachable coupling to an oral care implement body, the replacement head comprising:

• a head having a plurality of tooth cleaning elements;
• a tubular sleeve comprising a cavity for receiving a stem of the body, the tubular sleeve comprising a proximal edge defining an opening into the cavity;
• a slot in the tubular sleeve for mating with a boss of the stem, the slot comprising:
• (1) a locking slot section for receiving a locking rib section of the boss of the stem, the locking slot section axially spaced from the proximal edge;
• and (2) an entry slot section for receiving a positioning rib section of the boss of the stem, the entry slot section extending from the proximal edge to the locking slot section;
• and
• a locking tab comprising a distal edge that forms a first lateral wall of the entry slot section and an upper edge that forms a bottom wall of the locking slot section, the upper edge capable of engaging an undercut surface of the locking rib section of the boss.

An oral care implement comprising:

• a body comprising:
• a gripping portion;
• a stem extending from the gripping portion along a first longitudinal axis;
• and
• a boss protruding radially outward from an outer surface of the stem, the boss comprising a locking section having an undercut surface and an positioning section extending from the first section to the gripping portion;
• and
• a replacement head comprising:
• a tubular sleeve comprising a cavity and a proximal edge defining an opening into the cavity, the tubular sleeve comprising a resilient section;
• a protuberance protruding radially inward from an inner surface of the resilient section;
• and
• a locking tab protruding radially inward from the inner surface of the resilient section, a first axial channel existing between the protuberance and the locking tab;
• and
• wherein the tubular sleeve is detachably coupled to the stem in a locked state in which:
• the stem is located within the cavity of the tubular sleeve,
• the positioning section of the boss is located within the first axial channel to prevent rotation of the tubular sleeve relative to the stem, and
• the locking tab engages the undercut surface of the boss to prevent axial disengagement of the tubular sleeve from the stem.

A replacement head for detachable coupling to an oral care implement body, the replacement head comprising:

• a head having a plurality of tooth cleaning elements mounted thereto;
• a tubular sleeve comprising a cavity for receiving a stem of the body, a proximal edge defining an opening into the cavity, and a resilient section;
• a protuberance protruding radially inward from an inner surface of the resilient section;
• a locking tab protruding radially inward from the inner surface of the resilient section, a first axial channel existing between the protuberance and the locking tab;
• and
• wherein the resilient section can flex radially outward from the tubular sleeve.

An oral care implement comprising:

• a body comprising:
• a gripping portion;
• a stem extending from the gripping portion along a first longitudinal axis;
• and
• a boss protruding radially outward from an outer surface of the stem, the boss comprising a locking section having an undercut surface and an positioning section extending from the first section to the gripping portion;
• and
• a replacement head comprising:
• a tubular sleeve comprising a cavity and a proximal edge defining an opening into the cavity, the tubular sleeve comprising a resilient section;
• and
• a locking tab protruding radially inward from an inner surface of the resilient section;
• and
• wherein the tubular sleeve is detachably coupled to the stem in a locked state in which:
• the stem is located within the cavity of the tubular sleeve,
• the positioning section of the boss is located adjacent the positioning section of the boss, and
• the locking tab engages the undercut surface of the locking section of the boss to prevent axial disengagement of the tubular sleeve from the stem.

A replacement head for detachable coupling to an oral care implement body, the replacement head comprising:

• a head having a plurality of tooth cleaning elements;
• a tubular sleeve comprising a cavity for receiving a stem of the body, the tubular sleeve comprising a proximal edge defining an opening into the cavity;
• a slot in the tubular sleeve for mating with a boss of the stem, the slot comprising:
• (1) a locking slot section for receiving at least a portion of the boss of the stem;
• and (2) a locking tab comprising an upper edge that forms a bottom wall of the locking slot section, the upper edge capable of engaging the boss;
• and
• wherein the locking slot section extends along a first slot axis oriented obliquely relative to a longitudinal axis of the replacement head by an angle.