On/off handle for oral hygiene apparatus

An oral hygiene apparatus includes means for producing a succession of water pulses at a preselected pressure together with means for delivering those water pulses into a handle shaped to be grasped by the human hand. An elongated nozzle projects outwardly from the handle, manipulation of the handle permitting the water pulses, flowing through the nozzle from the handle, to be directed against the teeth and gums of the user. Included within the handle are means to define a flow path from the delivery means into the nozzle. A valve disposed within the handle is selectively operable to open or close that flow path during the delivery of the water pulses. Also disclosed is the inclusion of an accumulator within the handle for adsorbing the pressure load of incoming water pulses during closure of the valve.

The present invention relates to oral hygiene apparatus. More particularly, 
it pertains to apparatus which permits control of the flow of the water 
pulses at a hand-held handle from which a nozzle projects. 
The oral hygiene art includes a number of approaches for applying a 
pulsating flow of water to the teeth and gums of the user. Representative 
of that prior art are U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,158--Mattingly and U.S. Pat. No. 
4,302,186--Cammack. In such apparatus, a pump receives water and produces 
pulses which are outletted through a small nozzle against the surfaces of 
the teeth and gums. 
In using apparatus such as that described in the aforesaid patents, 
operation typically involves a requirement upon the user to selectively 
operate an on/off control, such as a switch located on the pumping unit or 
a valve otherwise associated more directly therewith. To avoid emitting 
the water pulses to an undesired location, such as a wall or countertop, 
it has been necessary for the user first to place the nozzle into the 
mouth before turning on the delivery of the water pulses and to make sure 
that the unit is turned off before removing the nozzle from the mouth. At 
best, that requires the use of two hands in order to complete the entire 
operation, and lack of attention by the user can and has led to the 
necessity of a clean-up operation on adjacent areas. In addition, it may 
be an inconvenience for the user to have to reach over and turn off the 
unit before inspecting the interior of the mouth. 
It is, accordingly, a general object of the present invention to provide a 
new and improved oral hygiene apparatus that assists in overcoming 
deficiencies which have been found to exist in prior such apparatus. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide apparatus which 
enables a user to have single-handed control of both the flow of the water 
pulses and the manipulation of the delivery of those water pulses. 
A further object of the present invention is to accomplish the foregoing 
aims and objectives in a simple to manufacture and economical manner. 
An oral hygiene apparatus constructed in accordance with the present 
invention includes means for producing a succession of water pulses at a 
preselected pressure together with means for delivering those water pulses 
to a handle shaped to be grasped by the human hand. An elongated nozzle 
projects outwardly from the handle with manipulation of the handle 
permitting the water pulses flowing through the nozzle from the handle to 
be directed against the teeth and gums of the user. Included within the 
handle are means to define a flow path from the delivery means into the 
nozzle. A valve is disposed within the handle for selectively opening or 
closing the flow path. Also enclosed are means disposed in association 
with the handle for controlling operation of the valve during delivery of 
the water pulses. A related and additional feature is the incorporation, 
also within the handle, of a pressure accumulator which is operative 
during a shut-off of the ultimate delivery of the water pulses into the 
user's mouth.

An oral hygiene appliance 10 supplies successive water pulses at a 
preselected or predetermined pressure. Suitable versions of such an 
appliance are fully disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,227,158--Mattingly and 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,186--Cammack. Accordingly, those patents are 
incorporated herein by reference for use of either of them as a source of 
a succession of water pulses. 
Hose 12 leads from applicance 10 to a handle 14 which is shaped and 
permitted to be grasped by the human hand. Projecting outwardly from 
handle 14 is an elongated nozzle 16. Manipulation of handle 14 permits the 
water pulses, flowing through the nozzle from the handle, to be directed 
against the teeth and gums of the user. 
Handle 14 is composed of a rear housing 20 threadably coupled to a front 
housing 22 from which laterally projects a nipple 24 to which hose 12 is 
connected. Within rear housing 20 is defined an interior cavity 26 within 
which projects a resilient bladder 28 so formed that its upper rim 30 is 
captivated between the two housing portions by means of a spacer 32. 
Front housing 22 also is hollowed to define an interior cavity 34 within 
which is disposed a longitudinally-movable hollow valve 36. A nose 38 on 
valve 36 seats within the rim area 30 of bladder 28 in order to close the 
entrance to the bladder when the valve is moved to the left as shown in 
FIG. 3. 
At its other end, valve 36 is bonded to an end cap 40 and opens 
therethrough into the inward end 42 of nozzle 16. The latter is seated 
within end cap 40 by means of a retainer 44 that captivates an O-ring 46 
which sealingly engages with an annular groove formed in the exterior 
sidewall of nozzle 16 at that point. 
Seated into the interior wall of cavity 34 is another O-ring 48 located 
somewhat intermediate the length of valve 34. Included in the sidewall of 
valve 36 is an opening 50 which leads into the interior of the valve 
member. As shown in FIG. 3, opening 50 is disposed just to the rear of 
O-ring 22, so as to permit delivered water pulses, indicated by an arrow 
52, to be delivered through nipple 24 and flow along the exterior wall 
surface of valve 36, flow through opening 50 and thereafter flow through 
nozzle 16. During that mode of operation, nose 38 is seated against the 
opening in lip 30 of bladder 28. 
In a different mode of operation, however, valve 36, as shown in FIG. 4, 
has been moved in a forward direction. Under that condition, outlet 50 is 
closed by O-ring 48. At the same time, however, nose 38 has been pulled to 
the right in FIG. 4, so that the incoming flow of water pulses is 
permitted to travel into the interior of bladder 28. Thereupon, bladder 28 
accumulates and collectively adsorbs a substantial portion of the pressure 
in each pulse of water. In the environment concerned, that pressure may 
be, for example, of the order of 160 pounds per square inch. The 
incorporation of bladder 28 enables the pressure to drop to, perhaps, 65 
pounds per square inch. This removes the "dead-head" back pressure imposed 
upon the pump in unit 10. In turn, that reduction of back pressure serves 
well to increase the life of the pumping apparatus. 
In overall principle, it might be sufficient if nozzle 16 and end cap 40 
were simply movable longitudinal so as to move valve 36 between its open 
and closed conditions with respect to either of the ultimate flow paths. 
However, the action of valve 36 must be urged, in this case by manual 
manipulation, against the significant force or bias of the pressure 
developed by the incoming water pulses. To overcome that force biasing, 
the assembly preferably includes cam followers 60 projecting laterally 
from the lateral exterior of valve 36. Cam followers 60 ride against a cam 
track 62 formed within housing portion 22. As a result, a twisting of end 
cap 40 causes valve 36 to be cammed into its open-flow condition in which 
nose 38 closes communication to bladder 28. Upon the twisting of cap 40 in 
the opposite direction, valve 36 is driven into the other condition in 
which the water flow is through opening 50 as shown in FIG. 3. The maximum 
movement of valve 36 for the off condition is limited by a stop 64. 
Cam track 62 includes individual flats 66 and 68 at its respective opposite 
ends. Each flat acts as a lock or seat for cam followers 60. Accordingly, 
it is not necessary to hold knob 40 in order for the valve to stay fixed 
in either the on or off condition. 
By reason of the particular ordering of the components, a user, holding 
handle 14 in one hand, can use his thumb and forefinger to manipulate cap 
40 for the purpose of controlling the flow of water through nozzle 16. 
That enables the user to allow unit 10 to continue its operation while 
having ultimate and very convenient control of actual outlet before and 
after nozzle 16 may actually be inserted in the mouth. 
It may be noted that the camming or other action, incorporated to overcome 
the force of the incoming water pulses, may alternatively be substituted 
into the interior of end cap 40 rather than as a part of valve 36. Still 
further, some other type of coupling, such as a bayonet connection in 
either part might be employed. However, the illustrated arrangement has 
been found to be most satisfactory. Of course, nozzle 16 might be 
permanently affixed into cap 40. That is not believed to be as preferable, 
in that different persons using the same apparatus may prefer to employ 
their own personal nozzles, or it may be desired to have a plurality of 
nozzles with different size orifices in order to have a degree of control 
upon the characteristics of the emitted jet. In a still different 
alternative, bladder 28 might be located elsewhere in the total system. 
Nevertheless, its inclusion within the body of the handle 14 
advantageously takes advantage of space already available and avoids any 
need to modify any other part of the overall system. 
While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and 
described, and alternatives have been mentioned, it will be obvious to 
those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made 
without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. Therefore, 
the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and 
modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of that which is 
patentable.