Abstract:
A nasal cleaner includes a housing mounted with a suction tip, a suction unit operated to suck air into the suction tip, and a lighting unit mounted in the housing and controlled to emit light in direction parallel to the suction tip to illuminate the nasal chamber when removing nasal mucus from the nasal chamber.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to a nasal cleaner, and more particularly to a nasal cleaner, which is a combination of nasal aspirator, nasal sprayer, and light source.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    A nasal aspirator is a device adapted to remove nasal mucus from the nasal chamber of a baby or patient who cannot remove nasal mucus by oneself. An early-developed nasal aspirator is simply a hand pump comprised of a rubber ball and a suction tip fastened to an air hole of the rubber ball. Nowadays, various motor-driven nasal aspirators have been disclosed, and have appeared on the market (for example, Taiwan Patent Utility Model #437394, issued to the present inventor). However, when examining the nasal chamber of the baby, the parent shall use a hand lamp to illuminate the nasal chamber. It is inconvenient to use a hand lamp and a nasal aspirator at the same time. Furthermore, after removal of nasal mucus, the parent may need to wash the baby&#39;s noses, the mouse, and the surrounding area. Simply using a towel or tissue paper cannot well clean the baby&#39;s skin. In order to clean the baby&#39;s skin, the towel must be wetted before washing the baby&#39;s face.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    It is one object of the present invention to provide a nasal cleaner, which provides an illumination function.  
           [0004]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a nasal cleaner, which enables the user to remove the nasal mucus from the nasal chamber, and to clean the nasal chamber and the surrounding area with a jet flow of water.  
           [0005]    According to one aspect of the present invention, nasal cleaner comprising a housing, the housing comprising an air chamber, the air chamber having an air inlet and an air outlet; a motor-driven suction unit mounted inside the housing and operated to suck air into the air inlet of the air chamber and force intake air out of the air outlet of the air chamber; a suction tip extended out of the housing and connected to the air inlet of the air chamber for insertion into the nasal chamber to remove nasal mucus upon operation of the motor-driven suction unit, the suction tip having an accumulation chamber adapted to collect nasal mucus; and a lighting unit, the lighting unit comprising a light hole disposed in one side of the housing adjacent to the suction tip, a light emitting element mounted in the housing and adapted to emit light through tho light hole.  
           [0006]    According to another aspect of the present invention, the nasal cleaner as described above further comprises a water tank mounted inside the housing, a jet nozzle disposed in one side of the housing; air duct means adapted to guide air from the air chamber to the jet nozzle; water duct means adapted to guide water from the water tank to the jet nozzle; and a control knob mounted on the housing adjacent to the air outlet of the air chamber and adapted to close the air outlet of the air chamber for enabling air to pass from the air chamber through the air duct means to the jet nozzle during operation of the motor-driven suction unit. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a nasal cleaner according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line  2 - 2  of FIG. 1.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a nasal cleaner according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]    Referring to FIG. 1, a nasal cleaner  10  of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown comprising a hollow cylindrical housing  21 , a suction unit mounted inside the housing  21 , and a suction tip  36 .  
         [0011]    The housing  21  comprises a frame  22  disposed on the inside near the front top side, a board  23  fastened to the frame  22 , an air chamber  24  defined in between the frame  22  and the board  23 . The air chamber  24  has an air inlet  25  and an air outlet  26  in the front side thereof. A valve flap  27  is provided inside the air chamber  24  for enabling air to pass through the air inlet  25  and the air outlet  26  in one direction.  
         [0012]    The aforesaid suction unit is comprised of a diaphragm  28 , a motor  31 , an eccentric shaft  33 , a battery  34 , and a motor switch  35 . The diaphragm  28  is suspended in the air chamber  24  near the rear side of the air chamber  24 . The motor  32  is provided at the bottom side of the diaphragm  28 , having an output shaft  32 . The eccentric shaft  33  has one end coupled to the output shaft  32  of the motor  32 , and the other end perpendicularly pivoted to a stem  29  at the backside of the diaphragm  28 . The battery  34  is mounted near the bottom side of the housing  21 , and adapted to provide the necessary working direct current power to the motor  31 . The motor switch  35  is provided at the front side of the housing  21 , and adapted to control the operation of the motor  31 .  
         [0013]    The suction tip  36  comprises a tubular tip body  37  fastened to the air inlet  25  and protruded over the front side of the housing  21  at a distance for insertion into the nose, and an accumulation chamber  38  disposed on the middle in fluid communication with the passage of the tubular tip body  37  and adapted to collect nasal mucus.  
         [0014]    When the motor  31  started, the eccentric shaft  33  is driven to move the diaphragm  28  back and forth alternatively. When the diaphragm  28  moved backwards, a flow of air is sucked into the air chamber  24  through the air inlet  25 . On the contrary, when the diaphragm  28  moved forwards, inside air is forced out of the air chamber  24  through the air outlet  26 . By means of the reciprocating motion of the diaphragm  28 , nasal mucus is sucked into the tubular tip body  37  and accumulated in the accumulation chamber  38 .  
         [0015]    The aforesaid statement is similar to a conventional nasal aspirator. The main features of the nasal cleaner  10  are described hereinafter.  
         [0016]    The housing  21  has a light hole  41  in the front side adjacent to the suction tip  36 . A light-emitting element  42  mounted in the light hole  41  and partially projecting out of the front side of the housing  21 . According to the present embodiment, the light-emitting element  42  is a mini lamp bulb. A direct current (DC) power source  43  adapted to provide the necessary working DC power supply to the light-emitting element  42 . According to the present embodiment, the DC power source  43  is the battery  34 , i.e., the light emitting element  42  and the motor  31  use a common power source (alternatively, a separate battery may be used to provide the necessary DC power supply to the light emitting element  42 , or can AC adapter may be used to convert city power supply into DC power supply for the light emitting element  42 ). A lamp switch  44  is provided at the front side of the housing  21  above the motor switch  35 , and adapted to switch on/off the circuit between the DC power source  43  and the light-emitting element  42 . A variable resistor (not shown) may be used to control the intensity of light of the light-emitting element  42 .  
         [0017]    When using the nasal cleaner  10  to remove nasal mucus from the baby, the user can switch on the lamp switch  44  to turn on the light-emitting element  42 , so as to illuminate the nasal chamber for visual examination. By means of the illumination of the light-emitting element  42 , the user can clean the baby&#39;s noses under a dark environment.  
         [0018]    Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 1 again, the nasal cleaner  10  further provides a water spraying function. The housing  21  of the nasal cleaner  10  has a water tank  51  at a backside near the top. The water tank  51  has a filling hole  52  in the back sidewall thereof, and a water outlet  53  in the front sidewall thereof. A rubber strip  54  is provided having one end fixedly fastened to the housing  21  and the other end terminating in a plug  55  adapted to seal the filling hole  52 . The housing  21  has a jet nozzle  56  in the back sidewall above the water tank  51 . A pipe connector  57  is transversely mounted inside the housing  21  above the water tank  51 . The pipe connector  57  has a main passage  58  connected to the jet nozzle  56 , an air inlet  61  connected to an air outlet  63  of the air chamber  24  through an air duct (rubber tube)  64  and adapted to guide air from the air chamber  24  to the main passage  58 , a water inlet  62  connected to the water outlet  53  of the water tank  51  through a water duct (rubber tube)  65  and adapted to guide water from the water tank  51  to the main passage  58 . A control knob  66  is provided at the front side of the housing  21  adjacent to the air outlet  26  of the air chamber  24 , and supported on a spring  68 . The control knob  66  has a front operation portion  67  protruded over the front side of the housing  21 , a stopping portion  69  made of a rubber flap, facing the air outlet  26 .  
         [0019]    Before the use of the nasal cleaner, clean water or saline solution is filled in the water tank  51 . When the motor  31  started, the user can press the control knob  66  to force the stopping portion  69  backwards, causing the stopping portion  69  to close the air outlet  26 . At this time, the intake flow of air passes through the air duct  64  and the main passage  58  of the pipe connector  57  to the jet nozzle  56  (when the air outlet  26  opened, air is directly driven out of the air outlet  26 , and little amount of air passes through the long air duct  64  to the jet nozzle  56 ). At the same time, the rushing flow of air causes a suction force in the main passage  58  to suck water from the water tank  51  into the water duct  65  and the main passage  58 , enabling intake water to be carried out of the jet nozzle  56  with the rushing flow of air.  
         [0020]    After removal of nasal mucus from the baby&#39;s noses, use the nasal cleaner  10  to eject water through the jet nozzle  56  to clean the baby&#39;s face around the noses and the mouth. If saline solution is filled in the water tank  51 , the nasal cleaner  10  can be used to clean the nasal chamber.  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, the nasal cleaner  70  comprises a housing  71  having mounted therein an air chamber  72 , a diaphragm  73 , a motor  74 , a battery  75 , and a switch  76 . When the motor  74  started, air is sucked into the suction tip  79  and the air inlet  77  and then the air chamber  72 , and then driven out of the air chamber  72  through the air outlet  78 . This embodiment eliminates the water spray function. According to this embodiment, a LED (light emitting diode)  81  is mounted inside the housing  71 . A fiber optic  83  is connected between the LED  83  and the front light hole  82  of the housing  71  to guide light from the LED  83  to the light hole  82 .  
         [0022]    As another alternate form of the present invention, the air inlet and the light hole can be the same hole, and the fiber optic has a part extended out of the front side of the housing and disposed in parallel to the suction tip. The fiber optic can also be directly connected to the suction tip that admits light, or is made of optical fiber material.  
         [0023]    A prototype of nasal aspirator has been constructed with the features of FIGS.  1 - 3 . The nasal aspirator functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.  
         [0024]    Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.