Cleaning appliance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9700129-B2
Application number	US-201615152125-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 11, 2016
Priority date	May 15, 2015
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

A dental cleaning appliance includes a handle, a fluid reservoir for storing a working fluid, a fluid delivery system for receiving working fluid from the fluid reservoir, and for delivering a burst of working fluid to the teeth of a user, and an external collar comprising a fluid port, the collar being moveable relative to the handle between a first position in which the fluid port is exposed to allow the fluid reservoir to be replenished, and a second position in which the fluid port is occluded.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A dental cleaning appliance comprising:
a handle;
a fluid reservoir for storing a working fluid;
a fluid delivery system for receiving working fluid from the fluid reservoir, and for delivering a burst of working fluid to the teeth of a user; and
an external collar comprising a fluid port, the collar being moveable relative to the handle between a first position in which the fluid port is exposed to allow the fluid reservoir to be replenished, and a second position in which the fluid port is occluded.

2. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein, when the collar is in the second position, the fluid port is connected to the fluid delivery system.

3. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the collar is rotatable relative to the handle.

4. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the fluid reservoir is configured to store a liquid working fluid.

5. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the collar has one of a curved, a convex and a faceted shape.

6. The appliance of claim 5 , wherein the collar has a curvature which is one of ellipsoidal, spheroidal and spherical.

7. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the collar at least partially delimits the fluid reservoir.

8. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein at least part of the collar is formed from transparent material.

9. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the fluid reservoir is moveable with the collar.

10. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the fluid reservoir comprises a flexible diaphragm which is connected to the collar.

11. The appliance of claim 10 , wherein the collar surrounds the diaphragm.

12. The appliance of claim 11 , wherein the diaphragm is annular in shape.

13. The appliance of claim 11 , wherein the diaphragm is tubular in shape.

14. The appliance of claim 13 , wherein the diaphragm has opposite ends which are connected to the collar.

15. The appliance of claim 14 , wherein the collar and the diaphragm extend about a common longitudinal axis.

16. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the handle comprises a body having a recessed section adjacent to the collar for receiving the fluid port when the collar is in the first position.

17. The appliance of claim 16 , wherein the recessed section of the body of the handle has at least one wall which is shaped to guide working fluid towards the exposed fluid port.

18. The appliance of claim 1 , wherein the fluid reservoir has a capacity which is in the range from 5 to 50 ml.

19. The appliance of claim 1 , comprising a head and a stem extending between the head and the handle, and wherein the collar is located about the stem.

20. The appliance of claim 19 , wherein the head comprises a nozzle of the fluid delivery system from which the burst of working fluid is delivered to the teeth of a user.

21. The appliance of claim 20 , wherein the nozzle is moveable relative to the head between a distal position and a proximal position.

22. The appliance of claim 21 , wherein the nozzle is biased towards the distal position.

23. The appliance of claim 21 , wherein the head comprises teeth engaging members for engaging the teeth of the user during use of the appliance, and wherein the nozzle is moveable relative to the teeth engaging members.

24. The appliance of claim 23 , wherein, when the nozzle is in the distal position, the tip of the nozzle protrudes beyond at least some of the teeth engaging members.

25. The appliance of claim 23 , wherein the teeth engaging members are formed from resilient material.

26. The appliance of claim 25 , wherein the teeth engaging members comprise a plurality of resilient members arranged around the nozzle.

27. The appliance of claim 26 , wherein the teeth engaging members comprise a plurality of bristles arranged about the nozzle.

28. The appliance of claim 27 , wherein the bristles are mounted on a bristle carrier which is moveable relative to the nozzle.

29. A handle for a dental cleaning appliance comprising a cleaning tool to which the handle is detachably connectable, the cleaning tool comprising a fluid reservoir for storing a working fluid, and a moveable collar having a fluid port in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir, the handle comprising:
a body comprising a recessed portion for exposing the fluid port when the cleaning tool is connected to the handle and the collar is in a first position relative to the body; and
a handle conduit system comprising a fluid inlet for receiving working fluid from the fluid reservoir when the cleaning tool is connected to the handle and the collar is in a second position relative to the body.

30. The handle of claim 29 , wherein the recessed section of the body has at least one wall which is shaped to guide working fluid towards the exposed fluid port when the collar is in the first position relative to the body.

31. The handle of claim 29 , wherein the recessed portion of the body is angularly spaced from the fluid inlet.

32. The handle of claim 29 , comprising a pump for drawing working fluid through the fluid inlet when the cleaning tool is connected to the handle and the collar is in the second position relative to the body.

33. The handle of claim 32 , comprising a sensor and a control circuit for actuating the pump depending on an output from the sensor.

34. The handle of claim 33 , comprising a valve located downstream from the pump, and wherein the control circuit is configured to move the valve from a closed position to an open position depending on an output from the sensor.

35. A cleaning tool for a dental cleaning appliance comprising a handle to which the cleaning tool is detachably connectable, the cleaning tool comprising:
a stem;
a fluid reservoir for storing a working fluid; and
an external collar comprising a fluid port, the collar being moveable relative to the stem between a first position in which, when the cleaning tool is connected to the handle, the fluid port is exposed to allow the fluid reservoir to be replenished, and a second position in which, when the cleaning tool is connected to the handle, the fluid port is occluded.

36. The cleaning tool of claim 35 , wherein the collar is rotatable relative to the stem.

37. The cleaning tool of claim 35 , wherein the collar is located about the stem.

38. The cleaning tool of claim 35 , wherein the collar has one of a curved, a convex and a faceted shape.

39. The cleaning tool of claim 38 , wherein the collar has a curvature which is one of ellipsoidal, spheroidal and spherical.

40. The cleaning tool of claim 35 , wherein the collar at least partially delimits the fluid reservoir.

41. The cleaning tool of claim 35 , wherein at least part of the collar is formed from transparent material.

42. The cleaning tool of claim 35 , wherein the fluid reservoir is moveable with the collar.

43. The cleaning tool of claim 35 , wherein the fluid reservoir comprises a flexible diaphragm which is connected to the collar.

44. The cleaning tool of claim 43 , wherein the collar surrounds the diaphragm.

45. The cleaning tool of claim 44 , wherein the diaphragm is annular in shape.

Assignees

• Dyson Technology Ltd

Inventors

• Follows Thomas James Dunning
• Bex-Russell William John
• Stickney Timothy Nicholas
• Tweedie Robert Lawrence
• Courtney Stephen Benjamin

Classifications

• A46B9/04

  {Arranged like in or} for toothbrushes · CPC title

• A46B2200/1066

  Toothbrush for cleaning the teeth or dentures (A61C17/16 takes precedence; bristles arrangements for toothbrushes A46B9/04) · CPC title

• A46B11/001

  with integral reservoirs (A46B11/0003, A46B11/0006 take precedence) · CPC title

• A61C17/222

  Brush body details, e.g. the shape thereof or connection to handle · CPC title

• A61C17/22

  with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like (brush bodies, e.g. arrangements of the bristles A46B) · CPC title