This invention relates to an oral care implement having at least one soft tissue cleanser for cleaning soft tissue surfaces in the mouth.

Different types of oral care implements, such as toothbrushes are known. A basic toothbrush may have bristles or similar components for cleaning a user's teeth. These bristles will tend to extend from a face of a head of the toothbrush. Other oral care implements may, instead of bristles, comprise other components such as blades and/or flaps or projections for cleaning soft tissue surfaces within the mouth such as a surface of the tongue and/or an internal surface of the cheek.

Known toothbrushes may comprise a combination of different cleaning components. Thus it is known to have a toothbrush having, for example, bristles for cleaning the teeth of a user, and a soft tissue cleanser often in the form of one or more blades for cleaning the surface of the user's tongue.

Many people like to clean their tongues/cheeks as well as their teeth, because it is known that the tongue and the cheek may provide conditions suitable for microorganisms to grow, which microorganisms may cause infection and/or bad breath.

There is a need for an oral care implement which is capable of allowing a user to efficiently clean not only his/her teeth, but also the surface of his/her tongue, as well as other soft tissue areas such as the cheeks.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided an oral care implement comprising a handle and a head, the head having a front and a back, and a peripheral edge extending therebetween, the oral care implement comprising a first soft tissue cleanser extending around a distal portion of both the peripheral edge and the back of the head, wherein the first soft tissue cleanser comprises a projection having a first portion extending from the head of the oral care implement, and having an distal edge remote from the head, wherein two protrusions extend from the distal edge of the first portion, which protrusions are spaced apart from one another.

An advantage of having the first soft tissue cleanser extending around a distal portion of both the peripheral edge and the back of the head of the oral care implement, is that an internal surface of the cheek within the mouth may be cleaned whilst the user is cleaning his/her teeth. This is because typically, bristles for cleaning the teeth will extend from the front of the oral care implement, and as the toothbrush is moved to clean the teeth, areas of the internal surfaces of the cheek will come into contact with the first soft tissue cleanser, and will also be cleaned.

The first portion of the first soft tissue cleanser may take any convenient form and may, for example, be in the form of a flap, tab, ridge, or wall. In such embodiments the dimension of the thickness of the first portion may be smaller than the width dimension and height dimension of the first portion of the first soft tissue cleanser.

The first portion may be approximately 6mm wide and 2mm high. These dimensions may, however, vary. By means of the protrusions, it is possible for the first soft tissue cleanser to extend into recesses formed in the soft tissue. Without the protrusions, it may not be possible to access such recesses.

Each protrusion may take any form, but in some embodiments each protrusion comprises a nub. The nub may take any convenient form and may, for example, be in the form of a pillar or column.

Each protrusion may extend for approximately 1.8mm from the distal edge of the first portion of the first soft tissue cleanser. In different embodiments, the protrusions may extend for a different amount.

By placing the protrusions on the first portion of the first soft tissue cleanser, the reach of the first soft tissue cleanser is increased compared to the reach that would be achievable if the protrusions were positioned directly on the oral care implement.

The protrusions may also be substantially flat and may extend in the same plane of that of the first portion of the first soft tissue cleanser.

By having two protrusions which are spaced apart from one another, it is possible to cover more of the soft tissue region in one movement of the oral care implement than would be the case if there were a single protrusion. In some embodiments of the invention the distal edge of the first portion of the first soft tissue cleanser comprises two edge ends, and each protrusion is positioned at, or proximal to, an edge end. By positioning the two protrusions at opposite ends of the distal edge, the area of soft tissue that may be reached by the first soft tissue cleanser during use is increased.

In some embodiments of the invention the distal edge of the first portion is curved. The curve may be convex or concave. The distal edge may be shaped as a convex curve. A convex distal edge not only has aesthetic characteristics, but such geometry may also improve contact with the soft tissue during use of the oral care implement.

In some embodiments of the invention, the first soft tissue cleanser comprises a plurality of projections. In such embodiments of the invention the plurality of projections may be formed on a base forming part of the first soft tissue cleanser.

In embodiments of the invention the oral care implement comprises a plurality of first soft tissue cleansers.

The plurality of first tissue cleansers may be positioned adjacent to one another around a distal portion of the peripheral edge and the back of the head of the oral care implement.

In such embodiments, it is possible to cleanse a larger area of soft tissue with one stroke of the oral care implement. The first soft tissue cleanser may be formed from any suitable material, and in some embodiments the material may be a resilient material.

The first soft tissue cleanser may be made of a Thermo Plastic Elastomer (TPE), or a physical mix of polymers (usually a plastic and a rubber) which consist of materials with thermoplastic and elastomeric properties. Examples of suitable TPEs include:

• Styrenic block copolymers (TPE-s)

• Polyolefin blends (TPE-o)

• Elastomeric alloys (TPE-v or TPV)

• Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU)

· Thermoplastic copolyester

• Thermoplastic polyamides In some embodiments of the invention, the first soft tissue cleanser has a Shore A hardness of 20.

When the first soft tissue cleanser is formed from a resilient material, it will bend in response to forces applied when the oral care implement on which it is positioned is moved within the mouth of a user. This may have the effect of dragging and/or pushing the first soft tissue cleanser over an internal surface of the user. This may enhance the cleaning process and may also massage the internal surface of the cheek. The oral care implement may further comprise a second soft tissue cleanser comprising a plurality of scrapers.

The scrapers may be adapted to clean the surface of the tongue of the user. In some embodiments of the invention the scrapers are positioned on the back of the head of the oral care implement.

The oral care implement may also comprise a plurality of tooth cleaners. In some embodiments of the invention the tooth cleaners may comprise bristles. The bristles may extend from the front of the head of the oral care implement.

The peripheral edge of the head and the back of the head may be formed separately from one another and then attached to one another by any convenient means. However, in some embodiments of the invention, the peripheral edge and the back of the head of the oral care implement are formed integrally with one another. In such embodiments, the peripheral edge will tend to merge into the back of the head and there will be no clear boundary between the peripheral edge and the back of the head.

In some embodiments of the invention the handle and head of the oral care implement are formed integrally with one another, and the face of the head of the oral care implement is formed separately. This enables the front of the head to be inserted separately which may be advantageous during the manufacturing process.

The invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective representation of an oral care implement according to an embodiment of the invention viewed from below; Figure 2 is a side perspective view of the oral care implement of Figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is a more detailed side perspective view of the oral care implement of Figures 1 and 2 showing the head of the implement in more detail;

Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the toothbrush of Figures 1 to 3 viewed from above; Figure 5 is a perspective view from one end of the toothbrush of Figures 1 to 4;

Figure 6 is a more detailed schematic view of a portion of the oral care implement of Figures 1 to 5; Figure 7 is an end perspective view showing the first soft tissue cleanser in more detail;

Figure 8 is a side perspective of a portion of the oral care implement shown in Figure 1 ;

Figure 9 is a perspective view from above of the portion of the oral care implement shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a detailed view of the head of the portion of the oral care implement shown in Figure 8; and Figure 1 1 is an enlarged partial schematic view of the oral care implement shown in Figure 1 , showing the first soft tissue cleanser 12 in more detail.

Referring to the Figures, an oral care implement according to embodiments of the invention is designated generally by the reference number 2. In this embodiment, the oral care implement comprises a toothbrush 4 comprising a handle 6 and a head 8. The handle and the head meet at a neck portion 10.

The toothbrush 4 comprises a first soft tissue cleanser 12, a second soft tissue cleanser 14 and tooth cleaning bristles 16. The head 8 of the toothbrush comprises a front 18 and a back 20. Extending between the front 18 and the back 20 is a peripheral edge 22 which in this embodiment forms sides to the head 8. The head 8 comprises a distal portion 24. The distal portion 24 comprises a distal portion 23 of the back 20, a distal portion 25 of the peripheral edge 22, and a distal portion 27 of the front 18.

As can be seen from the Figures, particularly Figures 3 and 7, the first soft tissue cleanser extends around distal portion 25 of the back 20 and the distal portion 27 of the peripheral edge 22 of the head 8 of the toothbrush 4.

In this embodiment, the second soft tissue component 14 extends from the back of the head, and the bristles 16 extend from the front 18 of the head. In other embodiments the first soft tissue component, second soft tissue component and the bristles may be positioned in different parts of the oral care implement 2.

The first soft tissue cleanser 12 will now be described in more detail. The first soft tissue cleanser 12 comprises a first portion 26 which extends from the head 8 of the toothbrush 4. The first portion 26 comprises a distal edge 28 which is remote from the head 8.

Protrusions 30 extend from the distal edge 28.

In this embodiment there are two protrusions 30, although in other embodiments there may be more than two protrusions.

The distal edge 28 is defined by two edge ends 32, and the protrusions 30 are each positioned at or towards an edge end 32.

The distal edge 28 is curved and in this embodiment derives a convex curve. However in other embodiments, the distal edge may have a different shape. As can be seen particularly in Figure 10 the first soft tissue cleanser comprises three first portions 26, each of which first portions are attached to or formed integrally with a base 40. The toothbrush 4 comprises two such first soft tissue cleansers, although in other embodiments there may be a different number of soft tissue cleansers.

During use of the toothbrush 2, a user will move the toothbrush in a known manner in order to clean his/her teeth. During such movement of the toothbrush 2, the first soft tissue cleanser 12 will come into contact with internal surfaces of the cheek of the user without the user having to make any separate movement of the toothbrush. The user is of course able to carry out the action of cleaning the teeth separately to the action of cleaning the cheeks, although the positioning and shape of the soft tissue cleanser 12 according to embodiments of the invention will result in the cheek being cleaned while the user is cleaning his/her teeth.