ORAL CARE SYSTEM
20230202702 · 2023-06-29
Inventors
- David Andrew Ippolito (Trout Valley, IL, US)
- Aaron M. Sunderlage (Palatine, IL, US)
- Nathan McHugh (Village of Lakewood, IL, US)
- Ron Klein (Crystal Lake, IL, US)
Cpc classification
B65D1/36
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
Abstract
An oral care tray that includes a top surface, a first compartment having a first bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a first vertical distance, and a second compartment having a second bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a second vertical distance. The oral care tray also includes a divider separating the first compartment and the second compartment thereby forming a first sidewall in the first compartment and a second sidewall in the second compartment, where the divider extends from the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface toward the top surface.
Claims
1. An oral care tray comprising: a top surface; a first compartment having a first bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a first vertical distance; a second compartment having a second bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a second vertical distance; and a divider separating the first compartment and the second compartment thereby forming a first sidewall in the first compartment and a second sidewall in the second compartment, wherein the divider extends from the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface toward the top surface.
2. The oral care tray of claim 1, wherein the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface are non-planar.
3. The oral care tray of claim 1, wherein the first vertical distance and the second vertical distance are different.
4. The oral care tray of claim 1, wherein the first vertical distance and the second vertical distance are the same.
5. The oral care tray of claim 1, wherein the first compartment extends a first longitudinal distance and the second compartment extends a second longitudinal distance.
6. The oral care tray of claim 5, wherein the first longitudinal distance is greater than the second longitudinal distance.
7. The oral care tray of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall is perpendicular relative to the respective first and/or second bottom surface.
8. The oral care tray of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first sidewall and the second sidewall is angled at an angle greater than 90 degrees relative to the respective first and/or second bottom surface.
9. The oral care tray of claim 1, wherein the first sidewall and the second sidewall are spaced apart such that the divider includes a thickness and a top surface.
10. The oral care tray of claim 9, wherein the top surface is rounded.
11. An oral care system comprising: an oral care device; and an oral care tray configured to house the oral care device, the oral care tray comprising: a top surface; a first compartment having a first bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a first vertical distance; a second compartment having a second bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a second vertical distance; and a divider separating the first compartment and the second compartment thereby forming a first sidewall in the first compartment and a second sidewall in the second compartment, wherein the divider extends from the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface toward the top surface.
12. The oral care system of claim 11, wherein the first compartment is configured to receive a first portion of the oral care device and the divider is configured to engage a second portion the oral care device, such that when the oral care device is received by the first compartment a head of the oral care device is held above the second bottom surface of the second compartment.
13. The oral care system of claim 11, wherein the oral care device is a toothbrush.
14. The oral care system of claim 11, wherein the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface are non-planar.
15. The oral care system of claim 11, wherein the first compartment extends a first longitudinal distance and the second compartment extends a second longitudinal distance.
16. The oral care system of claim 15, wherein the first longitudinal distance is greater than the second longitudinal distance.
17. An oral care kit comprising: at least one oral care system, the oral care system comprising: an oral care device; a first container configured to house an oral care solution; and an oral care tray configured to house the oral care device, the oral care tray comprising: a top surface; a first compartment having a first bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a first vertical distance; a second compartment having a second bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a second vertical distance; and a divider separating the first compartment and the second compartment thereby forming a first sidewall in the first compartment and a second sidewall in the second compartment, wherein the divider extends from the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface toward the top surface.
18. The oral care kit of claim 17, wherein the oral care solution is one of at least an oral rinse, an oral moisturizer, and an antiseptic solution.
19. The oral care kit of claim 17, wherein the first compartment is configured to receive a first portion of the oral care device and the divider is configured to engage a second portion the oral care device, such that when the oral care device is received by the first compartment a head of the oral care device is held above the second bottom surface of the second compartment.
20. The oral care kit of claim 17, wherein the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface are non-planar.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Before turning to the figures, which illustrate certain exemplary embodiments in detail, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the details or methodology set forth in the description or illustrated in the figures. It should also be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description only and should not be regarded as limiting.
[0025] Referring generally to the Figures, systems, apparatuses, kits, and methods associated with an oral care tray are shown, according to various embodiments. The oral care tray may include a top surface, a first compartment having a first bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a first vertical distance, and a second compartment having a second bottom surface spaced from the top surface at a second vertical distance. The oral care tray also includes a divider separating the first compartment and the second compartment thereby forming a first sidewall in the first compartment and a second sidewall in the second compartment, where the divider extends from the first bottom surface and the second bottom surface toward the top surface. After use of an oral care device, the oral care tray may be configured to house the oral care device, such that a first portion of a base of the oral care device is housed in the first compartment, and a second portion of the base engages the divider. Advantageously, the oral care device is positioned such that a head of the oral care device is elevated and/or positioned away from the oral care tray, such that the head may adequately dry and/or avoid contact with potentially contaminated surfaces.
[0026] Referring now to
[0027] Referring now to
[0028] According to an exemplary embodiment, the oral care tray 102 includes a top surface 120 positioned along a first plane, a first compartment 122 formed by a recessed portion of the tray or first recess, a second compartment 124 formed by a second recessed portion of the tray or second recess, and a divider 126. The top surface 120 may include an interface, which may be configured to engage a seal (e.g., a plastic, foil, etc. seal) so as to selectively seal the oral care tray 102 and/or oral care devices or solutions housed therein. The first compartment 122 and the second compartment 124 may be configured to house the oral care device 104, the first container 106, and/or the second container 108, and may be separated by the divider 126.
[0029] As shown in
[0030] The first compartment 122 is also shown to include a first bottom surface 138, according to an exemplary embodiment. The first bottom surface 138 may be spaced apart from the top surface 120 a first vertical distance V1 (shown in
[0031] As shown in
[0032] The second compartment 124 is also shown to include a second bottom surface 148, according to an exemplary embodiment. The second bottom surface 148 may be spaced apart from the top surface 120 a second vertical distance V2 (shown in
[0033] As shown in
[0034] As shown in
[0035] In some embodiments, the divider (e.g., the first sidewall 130 and/or the second sidewall 142) is substantially perpendicular to the first bottom surface 138 and/or the second bottom surface 148. In other embodiments, a portion of the divider 126 is angled (e.g., less than 90 degrees, more than 90 degrees, etc.) relative to the first bottom surface 138 and/or the second bottom surface 148, such that the divider 126 forms a slope between the first compartment 122 and the second compartment 124. As discussed briefly above, the divider 126 may also include a thickness and/or a top surface. In some embodiments, the top surface of the divider 126 is substantially parallel to the first bottom surface 138 and/or the second bottom surface 148. In other embodiments, the top surface of the divider 126 is angled relative to the first bottom surface 138 and/or the second bottom surface 148, such that the divider 126 forms a sloped surface between the first compartment 122 and the second compartment 124. In yet other embodiments, the top surface of the divider 126 is rounded or curved.
[0036] Referring now to
[0037] Referring now to
[0038] Referring now to
[0039] As shown in
[0040] In some embodiments, the oral care device 104 is placed in the second compartment 124, such that a first portion of the oral care device 104 is within the second compartment 124 and a second portion of the oral care device 104 engages the divider 126. In this regard, the oral care device 104 may be positioned such that the head 182 is elevated relative to the first bottom surface 138. In other embodiments, the oral care device 104 is positioned such that the head 182 is substantially parallel with the first bottom surface 138 and/or the second bottom surface 148, and/or is positioned away from (e.g., elevated, etc.) the first bottom surface 138 and/or the second bottom surface 148. While housing the oral care device 104 in the oral care tray 102 has been described herein as positioning the oral care device 104 within the first compartment 122 and engaging the divider 126, it is understood that any other suitable arrangement and/or configuration may be used, and any components of the oral care system 100 may include additional, fewer, and/or different working components.
[0041] Referring now to
[0042] As utilized herein, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “substantially”, and similar terms are intended to have a broad meaning in harmony with the common and accepted usage by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. It should be understood by those of skill in the art who review this disclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description of certain features described and claimed without restricting the scope of these features to the precise numerical ranges provided. Accordingly, these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial or inconsequential modifications or alterations of the subject matter described and claimed are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure as recited in the appended claims.
[0043] It should be noted that the term “exemplary” and variations thereof, as used herein to describe various embodiments, are intended to indicate that such embodiments are possible examples, representations, or illustrations of possible embodiments (and such terms are not intended to connote that such embodiments are necessarily extraordinary or superlative examples).
[0044] The term “coupled” and variations thereof, as used herein, means the joining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Such joining may be stationary (e.g., permanent or fixed) or moveable (e.g., removable or releasable). Such joining may be achieved with the two members coupled directly to each other, with the two members coupled to each other using a separate intervening member and any additional intermediate members coupled with one another, or with the two members coupled to each other using an intervening member that is integrally formed as a single unitary body with one of the two members. If “coupled” or variations thereof are modified by an additional term (e.g., directly coupled), the generic definition of “coupled” provided above is modified by the plain language meaning of the additional term (e.g., “directly coupled” means the joining of two members without any separate intervening member), resulting in a narrower definition than the generic definition of “coupled” provided above. Such coupling may be mechanical, electrical, or fluidic.
[0045] The term “or,” as used herein, is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusive sense) so that when used to connect a list of elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list. Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,” unless specifically stated otherwise, is understood to convey that an element may be either X, Y, Z; X and Y; X and Z; Y and Z; or X, Y, and Z (i.e., any combination of X, Y, and Z). Thus, such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z to each be present, unless otherwise indicated.
[0046] References herein to the positions of elements (e.g., “top,” “bottom,” “above,” “below”) are merely used to describe the orientation of various elements in the FIGURES. It should be noted that the orientation of various elements may differ according to other exemplary embodiments, and that such variations are intended to be encompassed by the present disclosure.
[0047] Although the figures and description may illustrate a specific order of method steps, the order of such steps may differ from what is depicted and described, unless specified differently above. Also, two or more steps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence, unless specified differently above. Such variation may depend, for example, on the software and hardware systems chosen and on designer choice. All such variations are within the scope of the disclosure. Likewise, software implementations of the described methods could be accomplished with standard programming techniques with rule-based logic and other logic to accomplish the various connection steps, processing steps, comparison steps, and decision steps.
[0048] It is important to note that the construction and arrangement of the systems, apparatuses, and methods shown in the various exemplary embodiments is illustrative only. Additionally, any element disclosed in one embodiment may be incorporated or utilized with any other embodiment disclosed herein. For example, any of the exemplary embodiments described in this application can be incorporated with any of the other exemplary embodiment described in the application. Although only one example of an element from one embodiment that can be incorporated or utilized in another embodiment has been described above, it should be appreciated that other elements of the various embodiments may be incorporated or utilized with any of the other embodiments disclosed herein.