DIPSTICK-TYPE APPLICATOR FOR TOOTH WHITENER AND SKIN CARE MEDICATION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dipstick-type applicator for tooth whitener and skin

care medication.

Tooth whitening systems are becoming more and more popular of late. The aspect of the tooth whitening industry that is presently showing the most growth is that aspect in which

kits are purchased by the ultimate users so that tooth whitening can be carried out within

one's home, rather than having to suffer the inconvenience of having to visit the dentist's office.

Applicants have found that the most effective way to package tooth whitener is in a system in which the ultimate user employs an applicator combined with a single dose of tooth

whitener, of sufficient volume to allow a single tooth whitening to be conducted. In this

regard, to enhance the shelf life of a tooth whitening substance, for example, one made of

peroxide gels, it is best to provide that tooth whitener vacuum-packed or otherwise hermetically sealed. Thus, when the vacuum-seal is broken, the shelf life of the tooth

whitening substance is dramatically shortened. A tooth whitening system which only causes

a single dose of tooth whitener to be released from vacuum storage would be advantageous so

that the user is always employing relatively fresh tooth whitener.

Some applicator systems that are currently on the market are messy to use including

the use of strips in which the tooth whitening substance can be removed onto the fingers,

hands and clothing of the user, and other applicators for liquid tooth whitener in which

dripping can often occur. As such, a need has developed for a tooth whitening system

including an applicator that is easy and effective to use, precludes dripping of the tooth

whitening substance and staining of the clothing and hands of the user, while also

maintaining the tooth whitening substance fresh until the moment of use.

Similar issues arise concerning application of skin care medication. It is important

that skin care medication be maintained hermetically sealed until the moment of application

to enhance shelf life and effectiveness. As such, it would be advantageous to provide an applicator for skin care medication that fulfills these goals.

It is with these thoughts in mind that the present invention was developed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dipstick-type applicator for tooth whitener and skin

care medication. The present invention includes the following interrelated objects, aspects

and features:

(1) In a first aspect, the present invention contemplates a generally cylindrical housing

having a closed end and an open end designed to receive a dipstick-type applicator. The

housing defines an internal chamber that is sealed when the applicator is received therein.

(2) For this purpose, in the preferred embodiment, complementary threads on the

applicator and housing intermesh when the distal end of the applicator is inserted within the

chamber to seal the chamber. In fact, before use, in the preferred embodiment, a quantity of

tooth whitening substance such as, for example, peroxide gel or a skin care medication such

as, for example, benzoyl peroxide, vitamin E or retinol, is placed within the chamber, the

applicator is assembled to the housing and, in a manner well known to those skilled in the art,

any air within the chamber is evacuated to provide a vacuum seal (hermetically sealed

chamber).

(3) The applicator consists of a gripping portion, a stem, and at the distal end of the

stem, a tip made of a flexible absorbent material. In the preferred embodiment, the tip has a

flat angled distal surface that is specifically designed to best coat the user's teeth with tooth

whitener. The same surface is equally effective in coating the user's skin with a skin care medication.

(4) hi an important aspect of the present invention, a wiper is received within the

housing and has a reduced diameter opening, through which the tip of the applicator must

travel to remove the tip from the chamber filled with tooth whitener or skin care medication.

The relationship between the outer dimensions of the tip and the opening in the wiper is such

that excess liquid is removed from the tip as it is removed from the chamber. In this way,

dripping of liquid, once the tip has been removed from the chamber, is substantially

precluded.

(5) As explained above, the inventive applicator is equally usable in applying skin

care medications. Such skin care medications may be used to treat such conditions as acne,

blemishes, rosacea as well as wrinkles. Single dose hermetically sealed formulations that

may be applied in accordance with the teachings of the present invention may include

salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, vitamin E, retinol, AHA, and alpha lipoic acid. These

medications are stabilized through hermetic sealing and are provided in a single dose such

that the applicator may be used and then discarded.

As such, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a dipstick-type

applicator for tooth whitener and skin care medication.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a device in which a single

dose of medication is vacuum packed within a chamber of a housing.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a device in which an applicator includes an absorbent tip having an angled surface configured to best apply tooth

whitener to the outer surfaces of the teeth of the user or skin care medication to the user's

skin.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a device in which a

wiper is provided to wipe excess medication from the tip as it is removed from the housing's

chamber.

These and other objects, aspects and features of the present invention will be better

understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment when read in

conjunction with the appended drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows an exploded cross-sectional view of the inventive device including the

housing and applicator.

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view similar to that of Figure 1 but with the applicator and housing assembled together.

Figure 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the wiper that is shown installed

within the housing in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the details of the wiper portion of the applicator.

Figure 5 shows a side view of the hand gripping portion of the applicator.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference, first, to Figures 1 and 2, the present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10 and is seen to include a housing 11 and an applicator 40. The

housing 11 includes a distal wall 13, side walls 15 which may, if desired, be cylindrical, and a

proximal open end 17. Within the proximal opening 17, a cylindrical recess 19 is provided,

which includes female screw threads 21 for a purpose to be described in greater detail hereinafter. A shoulder 23 surrounds an opening 24 that leads distally to an internal chamber

25 that is sized and configured to receive a single dose of tooth whitener such as, for example, peroxide gel.

As explained above, the present invention is equally effective in applying a single dose of a skin care medication such as salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide, vitamin E, retinol,

AHA, and alpha lipoic acid. The following description is specific to application of tooth

whiteners but should be understood to be equally applicable to applying skin care medication

to the user's skin.

With particular reference to Figures 1 and 3, within the chamber 25 a wiper 30 is

provided that includes a generally cylindrical side wall 31, a distal end 32 having a reduced

diameter opening 33 therethrough, a proximal opening 34 and, peripheral to the opening 34,

an enlarged annular shoulder 35 having a distal annular surface 36 designed to sit on the shoulder 23 as shown in Figure 1 when the wiper 30 is assembled to the housing 11. For this

purpose, the wiper 30 has annular protrusions 37 and 38 which snap into annular grooves 26

and 27 (Figure 1) to hold the wiper 30 in assembled relation with respect to the housing 11 as

seen in Figure 1. The passageway 39 through the wiper 30 may, if desired, be cylindrical.

With reference, now, to Figures 1, 4 and 5, in particular, it is seen that the applicator

40 includes a hand gripping portion 41, a stem 43, and a tip 45.

With reference to Figures 1 and 5, the hand gripping portion is seen to include an

annular convex surface 44 that is designed to be comfortably gripped by the fingers of the

user. This surface terminates at a shoulder 45 leading to a cylindrical portion 47 having male screw threads 49 designed to enmesh with the female screw threads 21 (Figures 1 and 2) of the housing 11. As seen from a comparison of Figures 1 and 5, the gripping portion includes an internal recess 51 that receives the proximal end of the stem 43 which proximal end is

designated in Figure 1 by the reference numeral 53. The distal end 55 of the stem 43 includes

an internal passageway 57 sized to receive the proximally extending stem 59 of the tip 45 which is seen in Figure 4. Figure 1 shows the stem 59 received within the passageway 57 of

the stem 43.

The tip 45 preferably has a circular cross-section and has an angled surface 61 that is sized and configured to best apply tooth whitener to the teeth of the user. The tip 45 is preferably made of a soft absorbent material such as that which is sold under the Trademark "HYTREL."

Figure 2 shows the applicator 40 assembled to the housing 11 with the threads 21 and

49 enmeshed and the tip 45 contained within the chamber 25. As should be clear from Figure 2, the opening 33 in the wiper 30 is sized such that the tip 45 must be flexible and resilient to

allow it to traverse the opening 33 since, as shown in Figure 2, the dimensions of the tip 45

are slightly larger than the dimensions of the opening 33.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, before use, the chamber 25 is

filled with sufficient quantity of tooth whitener in a liquid form to facilitate conducting a

single tooth whitening treatment of all of the user's teeth. Before use, in a manner well

known to those skilled in the art, the chamber 25 is evacuated of air so that the tooth whitener

is vacuum-packed therein.

When it is desired to whiten one's teeth using the inventive device 10, one need

merely grip the housing 11 and twist the applicator 40 gripping the surfaces 44 thereof. Once the applicator 40 begins to rotate with respect to the housing 11 , the vacuum seal is broken. The tip 45 is immersed in tooth whitener and when it traverses the opening 33 of the wiper

30, a significant amount of the tooth whitener is wiped off, thereby precluding dripping of the

tooth whitener once the tip 45 is removed from the chamber 25. Furthermore, the

relationship between the dimensions of the opening 33 and the tip 45 is such that an appropriate quantity of tooth whitener is retained on the tip 45 to effectively apply to the user's teeth. The user begins applying tooth whitener to the teeth and periodically dips the tip

45 back within the chamber 25 to replenish the supply of tooth whitener thereon.

When a single tooth whitening application has been completed by the user, the user need merely re-attach the applicator 40 to the housing 11 and discard the entire device 10 as a

unit.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the housing and the structures of the applicator besides the tip 45 and of the wiper are made of a plastic material such as, for

example, translucent polypropylene. If desired, the wiper may be made of a material such as that which is known as "EVA". As explained above, the tip 45 may be made of a suitable

soft resilient liquid absorbent material such as, for example, that which is sold under the

Trademark "HYTREL". Other materials may suitably be used for the various structures of

the present invention provided the effectiveness of its use as a single dose tooth whitening or skin care medication container and applicator is not compromised.

As such, an invention has been disclosed in terms of a preferred embodiment thereof

which fulfills each and every one of the objects of the invention as set forth hereinabove, and

provides a new and useful dipstick-type applicator for tooth whitener and skin care medication of great novelty and utility.

Of course, various changes, modifications and alterations in the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated by those skilled in the art, without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof.

As such, it is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims.