Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm James C. Vago
  • Patent number: 7896567
    Abstract: An electrically driven dispensing device, particularly a toothbrush, utilizing replaceable pressurized cartridges, of the bag-in-can type. The toothbrush has a ‘top-loading’ structure in which the cartridge is housed in a recess at the brush end of the toothbrush handle, the recess being accessible by removing the brush head. Other features include an elastomeric valve outlet located on the brush head which can also function as a tooth wiping or polishing blade, and a non-linear drive shaft which enables the brush head to be driven from a motor located at the base end of the handle whilst keeping the handle slim in design.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2011
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventor: Lee Burrowes
  • Patent number: 7874466
    Abstract: Packages for containing and dispensing consumer products comprise a push-pull closure connected to a bottle and having a dispensing opening covered by a slit valve. The combination of a push-pull closure and a slit valve results in a package that easily dispenses a liquid consumer product, while guarding against leakage of the consumer product from the package, especially during transportation and storage of the product, particularly when the package is a tottle package. The push-pull closure of the present package is simple to open and can also be easily closed with the use of only one hand, especially by pressing the closure against a flat surface, such as a shower wall or shelf.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Su Yon McConville, Henry Dianxi Ren, Nicholas Arthur Ruebusch, Alfredo Pagan
  • Patent number: 7124461
    Abstract: A detachable head for use with an electric toothbrush is provided. The electric toothbrush has a handle with a motor disposed therein at a first end of the toothbrush. The toothbrush also has a head at a second end, the head having a longitudinal axis, the head also having a first bristle holder with a plurality of bristle tufts and a second bristle holder with a plurality of bristle tufts. The motor is operatively connected to the second bristle holder to move the second bristle holder in a side-to-side direction with respect to the head. The motor is also operatively connected to the first bristle holder to oscillate the first bristle holder about an axis passing through the first bristle holder and generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2006
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Blaustein, Douglas A. Gall, Patrick W. Brown
  • Patent number: 7007331
    Abstract: An electric toothbrush is provided. The electric toothbrush includes a handle having a motor disposed therein and a head having one or more moving bristle holders, wherein the one or more moving bristle holders are operatively connected to the motor. A neck disposed is between the handle and the head. The handle has a viewing window and a movable viewing surface disposed there beneath, wherein at least a portion of the viewing surface is visible through the window. The viewing surface is mechanically coupled to the motor so that rotational output of the motor causes movement of the viewing surface. The viewing surface may be directly or indirectly coupled to the motor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2006
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Nicola Mills Davics, Frank Delmar Macaulay, Douglas A. Gall
  • Patent number: 6988292
    Abstract: Disclosed is a brush having a one-piece body comprised of a handle and at one end thereof a head provided with bristles, wherein the brush body comprises a mixture of first polymer and a second polymer that is of a lesser hardness than the first polymer, wherein the ratio of the first polymer to the second polymer is from about 95:5 to about 30:70.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2006
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Ping Wang, John Geoffrey Chan, XiaoDan Xu
  • Patent number: 6952854
    Abstract: A detachable head for use with an electric toothbrush is provided. The electric toothbrush has a handle with a motor disposed therein. The electric toothbrush also has a head which has a longitudinal axis, and a neck disposed between the head and handle. The head has a first bristle holder and a second bristle holder, each having a plurality of bristle tufts. The motor is operatively connected to the first bristle holder to oscillate the first bristle holder about a first axis passing through the first bristle holder generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the head. The motor is also operatively connected to the second bristle holder to oscillate the second bristle holder about a second axis transverse to the longitudinal axis of the head. The second axis is at an end portion of the second bristle holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Blaustein, Douglas A. Gall, Patrick W. Brown
  • Patent number: 6948209
    Abstract: An electric toothbrush is disclosed having a flexible neck. Particular degrees of lateral, rearward, and forward flexibility of a brush head with respect to the handle of the toothbrush are achieved by utilizing polymer blends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventor: John Geoffrey Chan
  • Patent number: 6932216
    Abstract: An electric toothbrush comprises a body portion and a head including a motor, a moving portion, a handle, and a gear arrangement between the moving portion and the motor. The moving portion rotates, oscillates and/or reciprocates about an axis normal to a longitudinal axis of the head. The moving portion can include stiff bristles and massaging tips and the static portion can include soft bristles and massaging tips. The body portion houses the motor. A switch is operatively connected to the motor to provide momentary or continuous operation of the toothbrush. In one embodiment the gear arrangement includes a shaft, a worm gear and a pair of step gears. In another embodiment the gear arrangement includes a plurality of gears and at least one swivel arm for drive the moving portion in a rotating, oscillating or reciprocating manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Blaustein, John R. Nottingham, John Osher, John W. Spirk, Douglas A. Gall
  • Patent number: 6928685
    Abstract: A detachable head for use with an electric toothbrush is provided. The electric toothbrush has a handle with a motor disposed therein that is operatively connected to a shaft. The detachable head has an elongate body with a longitudinal axis and a first end and a second end opposite said first end. The first end may be detachably coupled to the electric toothbrush. The detachable head has a first bristle holder with a first plurality of bristle tufts disposed thereon. The first bristle holder is located at the second end of the elongate body and can oscillate about an axis substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The detachable head also has a a second bristle holder disposed between the first bristle holder and the first end. The second bristle holder has a top surface and a second plurality of bristle tufts that form an acute angle with the top surface of the second bristle holder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Blaustein, Douglas A. Gall, Patrick W. Brown
  • Patent number: 6916463
    Abstract: A packaged tooth whitening product is provided. The package includes a substrate having a first side and a second side, wherein the substrate is sized for use in a human user's oral cavity. A first composition including a tooth whitening agent is disposed adjacent the first side of the substrate. A second composition including an aesthetic agent disposed adjacent the second side of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2002
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Kuo-Chung Mark Lee, Gary Lyle Walden, Hooman Shahidi, Christopher Robert Mayer
  • Patent number: 6892413
    Abstract: An electrically driven toothbrush has a rotatable shaft with a cam preferably at a remote end of the shaft, which fits into a slot in a bristle holder. The holder is mounted for rotation in a toothbrush head. When the shaft rotates cam describes a circle and drivingly engages the slot to cause the holder to vibrate in a first brushing motion. A second bristle holder is also driven by the shaft, for a second kind of brushing motion. The second bristle holder is driven through and engagement with a portion of the remote end and/or with one or more additional cams or cam portions included on the shaft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Blaustein, Douglas A. Gall, Patrick W. Brown
  • Patent number: 6886207
    Abstract: The toothbrush of the present invention comprises an elongated handle having a head attached to one end. The head has a bristle-bearing face having longitudinal perimeter portions adjacent longitudinal edges and at least two perimetric, elastomeric massaging elements alternately arranged with groups of bristle tufts along each of the longitudinal perimeter portions. The brush can comprise further massaging elements which are not located along the longitudinal perimeter portions though the use of such additional elements is preferably minimised. The perimetric massaging elements have rotational symmetry through an angle of 120° or less, preferably being circular. The cross-sectional area proportion of elastomeric massaging elements to bristles on the brush head is less than 25%. Alternately there are four or fewer elastomeric massaging elements which are not perimetric massaging elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventor: Sanjay Amratlal Solanki
  • Patent number: 6884426
    Abstract: Method for whitening teeth are provided. The methods include the steps of providing a strip of material and applying a thin layer of a tooth whitening substance having a whitening active selected from the group consisting of peroxides, metal chlorites, perborates, percarbonates, peroxyacids, hypochlorites, and combinations thereof to a front surface of a plurality of teeth, wherein the amount of the tooth whitening substance is between about 0.05 grams and about 0.4 grams. The method further includes the steps of conforming the strip of material to the front surface of the plurality of teeth and removing the strip of material, wherein the front surface of the plurality of teeth have between a 1 and a 4 VITA LUMIN shade guide improvement in color.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 26, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Co.
    Inventors: Paul Albert Sagel, Robert Stanley Dirksing, Frederick James Rohman
  • Patent number: 6836917
    Abstract: An electric toothbrush comprising an elongated body portion and a head including a static portion and a moving portion, a handle, and an angled shaft between the head and the handle. The portion of the toothbrush containing the head is detachably connected to the portion of the toothbrush containing the handle. A shaft within the head is selectively connectable to a mating shaft within the handle by a cooperating notch and peg assembly biased into a locking position by a spring member disposed to bias the head shaft into the desired position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Lawrence A. Blaustein, John Osher, Douglas A. Gall, John G. Chan, K. S. Chan, Ping Wang
  • Patent number: D501724
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2005
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Li Li, Laurence Robert Punshon, Simon Philip Shenton, Rui Gong, Carolyn Jayne Garnett
  • Patent number: D499884
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2004
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: John Geoffrey Chan, Wang Ping
  • Patent number: D609013
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2010
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Bjoern Kling, Lucy Abigail Zimmermann, Petra Ansari, Soeren Jan Wasow
  • Patent number: D609101
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2010
    Assignee: The Gillette Company
    Inventors: Arthur Olaf Herstol, Jason Craig Campbell, Karl Anton Bakker, Su Yon McConville
  • Patent number: D620801
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2010
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Arthur Olaf Herstol, Jason Craig Campbell, Karl Anton Bakker, Su Yon McConville
  • Patent number: D631363
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2011
    Assignee: The Gillette Company
    Inventors: Arthur Olaf Herstol, Jason Craig Campbell, Karl Anton Bakker, Su Yon McConville