Abstract:
A handheld portable oral cleaning device that includes a refillable internal bladder, which a user is able to fill with a liquid. The bladder is preferably an expandable but resilient latex rubber. One end of the bladder is accessible to the user, such that the user may fill the bladder with a liquid, such as water from a faucet. As the bladder fills with water it expands and exerts a pressure on the water as the bladder has a tendency to return to its original unfilled form. The pressurized water may then be sprayed out of the oral cleaning device to assist in cleaning the user&#39;s mouth.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to oral cleaning devices such as toothbrushes and water jets and in particular to an oral cleaning device with an internal water bladder. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Oral cleaning devices that employ a water jet feature are known in the art and typically use an external supply of water. In one category of the prior art, a toothbrush is tethered or connected to a faucet. The water pressure from the faucet is used to propel the water out the head of the toothbrush and/or used to power a motor that is used to rotate or move bristles. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,010 discloses a toothbrush that includes a hollow body, an opening by the head of the toothbrush, and a water inlet that is tethered and attached to a faucet. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,997 discloses a toothbrush that is also tethered to a faucet and that uses the water pressure to power an impeller to move bristles on the head of the toothbrush. In both patents, the water is already pressurized and flowing. Additional toothbrushes that are tethered to a faucet or external source of running water may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,192, discloses a toothbrush tethered to a shower head; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,973 and 4,257,433, disclose toothbrushes tethered to faucets; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,823, discloses a toothbrush tethered to an external source of water that is pumped into and through the toothbrush. 
     Various problems exist and are associated with the fact that the toothbrush must be tethered to the external source at all times. These toothbrushes significantly limit the user&#39;s range of motion. In addition, the units are bulky and are not made to be portable, oftentimes causing the user to own a separate toothbrush for traveling. 
     Other devices that are non-tethered require batteries or some other type of power supply to propel the fluid out of the device. If the device is plugged into an electrical socket it is still tethered to a device. Moreover, these devices may become unsafe as the liquid may spray or splash near the electrical socket. For the devices that use batteries, the money associated with replacement batteries increase the cost of the device making it undesirable to consumers. 
     As such it is an object of the present invention to provide a totally non-tethered portable oral cleaning device. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an oral cleaning device that incorporates a nozzle for jetting a pressurized fluid into a user&#39;s mouth. The oral cleaning device should be capable of operating without the use of batteries or additional power supplies. The oral cleaning device in accordance with the present invention includes a resilient internal expandable bladder for holding a liquid. The bladder is contained within the oral cleaning device eliminating the need to tether the device to a faucet or other outside source. The oral cleaning device also includes a means for releasing the liquid contained within the bladder out of the oral cleaning device, without the need of batteries or pumps. The oral cleaning device is completely portable and assists the user in cleaning their entire mouth, including the tongue, gums, and teeth, by providing interchangeable heads. The user is required only to fill the internal bladder with a liquid. Once filled, the expandable bladder exerts a substantially constant force on the liquid, as the bladder desires to return to its original form. Thus, when the liquid contained in the bladder is released, the pressure exerted on the liquid, by the bladder, propels the liquid out of the device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, a handheld portable oral cleaning device is provided that includes a refillable internal bladder, which a user is able to fill with a liquid. The bladder is an expandable but resilient latex rubber. One end of the bladder is accessible to the user, such that the user may fill the bladder with a liquid, such as water from a faucet. As the bladder fills with water it expands and exerts a pressure on the water because the bladder has a tendency to return to its original unfilled form. This pressure causes the water to expel or jet out of the oral cleaning device and thus assists in cleaning the user&#39;s mouth. 
     Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims, and from the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A fuller understanding of the foregoing may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an oral cleaning device having a refillable expandable but resilient internal bladder, the device is being moved towards a faucet such that the bladder may be filled with water; the device is further illustrated with an empty bladder; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the oral cleaning device from FIG. 1 shown being held up to the faucet and in the process of being filled with water; the device is further illustrated with the bladder expanding as it is being filled with water; 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the oral cleaning device of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 a  is an exploded view of a head assembly that has a short nozzle and bristles to brush teeth; 
     FIG. 4 b  is an exploded view of a head assembly illustrating a tongue brush; and 
     FIG. 4 c  is an perspective view of a head assembly illustrating a tongue scraper. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     While the invention is susceptible to embodiments in many different forms there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit or scope of the invention and/or claims by the embodiments illustrated. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, there is disclosed in accordance with the present invention an oral cleaning device generally referenced to as numeral  10 . The oral cleaning device includes a body  12  (or handle) that may be gripped by a user during use. As will be described in detail below, the body  12  includes a refillable internal bladder  14  that a user may fill with a liquid, such as water from a faucet  200 . The oral cleaning device  10  also includes an aperture  16 , preferably positioned towards the bottom portion  18  of the device  10 , but may in practice be located anywhere on the device. The aperture  16  is sized to fit around a typical faucet nozzle  202  (as shown in FIG.  2 ). After the aperture  16  is positioned around the faucet nozzle  202 , the user may turn the faucet  200  on, permitting the water to fill and expand the bladder  14 . Upon filling the bladder  14  with water, the water may be released by depressing a button  20 , which opens a valve mechanism (shown in FIG. 3) that permits the water to expel out of the bladder  14 . The water once released travels through a neck  22  that extends outwardly from the body  12  to a head  24 , and out the head  24  via a nozzle  26  or opening. This neck/head assembly may be interchangeable with other neck/head assemblies to provide the user with different cleaning implements. Alternatively, the neck/head assembly may also be fixed onto the body  12 , to provide a single cleaning implement. 
     The bladder  14  is positioned in the body  12  and is preferably a latex rubber but is more importantly an expandable but yet resilient material. Thus while the bladder  14  expands as it is filing with water, the resiliency of the material tends to return the bladder  14  to a normal unfilled position. This resiliency of the material exerts a pressure on the water such that the water ejects out of the bladder  14  when released. The bladder  14  is secured at one end  14   a  to a one-way valve inlet assembly  30  via a collar  28 , which is captured in the bottom portion  18  of the device. The other end  14   b  of the bladder  14  is secured to a valve mechanism  50  via a collar  28 . 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the one-way valve inlet assembly  30  includes a one-way valve  36  ( 40 ,  42 ,  44 ) that is captured within a two-piece valve housing  32 . The one-way valve assembly  30  includes an inlet  34  that communicates with the aperture  16 . A rubber insert  38  is captured in the aperture  16  and permits the inlet  34  to communicate effectively with a faucet nozzle  202  as well as ensure that the water entering the device does not leak throughout the bottom portion  18  or body  12  of the device  10 . The rubber insert  38  can be stretched around the faucet nozzle  202  to provide a tight secure fit around a faucet nozzle. As water from the faucet passes through the aperture  16 , the water pushes a ball  40  against a compression spring  42  which permits the water to enter through a valve cap  44  and then exit the valve inlet assembly  30  via an opening  46 . The opening  46  is secured to the bladder  14 , thus water traveling through the opening  46  will fill the bladder  14 . In addition, water in the bladder  14  cannot exit the device  10  via the aperture  16  because the one-way valve inlet assembly  30  is designed to only allow water to enter the bladder  14 . The bottom portion  18  may be a two-piece construction that secures the one-way valve inlet assembly  30  in place when assembled as well as attaches the bottom portion  18  to the body  12 . 
     As mentioned above, the bladder  14  is also secured to the valve mechanism  50 . This may be accomplished by placing the collar  28  that is secured to the end  14   b  of the bladder  14  and placing the collar  28  in communication to an opening  54  in a cap  52 . The cap  52  and a cap gasket  56  is secured to the body  12 . The opening  54  is reinforced with a grommet  58  that places the bladder  14  in fluid communication with an inlet  60  defined in the valve mechanism  50 . The valve mechanism  50  also includes a valve piston  62  that may be moved to an open position (allowing liquid or fluid to travel through) by a button  20 . A valve spring  64  exerts a force onto the button  20  and the valve piston  62  that normally keeps the valve mechanism  50  in a closed position (not allowing liquid or fluid to travel through). A valve pin  66  holds the button  20  in position with the valve piston  62  and valve spring  64 . The valve mechanism  50  and other components described for opening and closing the mechanism  50  is housed within a two piece housing  68 . The front portion of the housing  68  includes an opening  70  to permit the button  20  to be pressed by a user. As mentioned, the valve mechanism  50  is in a closed position unless the button  20  is pressed and held down by a user. 
     When the valve mechanism  50  is opened, the bladder  14  wanting to return to its normal unfilled position exerts pressure on the water forcing the water through the valve mechanism  50  and out an exit  72  defined thereon. The exit  72  of the valve mechanism  50  is in fluid communication with a channel (not shown) running through the neck  22 . The neck  22  is secured to a neck base  74  that is removably attached to the exit  72 . A O-ring  76  is preferably positioned between the neck base  74  and the two piece housing  68 . The channel travels through the neck  22  to at least one opening  78  in the head  24 . Preferably a nozzle  26  is positioned in the opening  78  and in communication with the channel, and sealed with a nozzle cap  80 . The nozzle may either be a long nozzle  26  for a head  24  that acts as a water jet (more commonly used as a flossing action to clean between teeth and to clean gums. (where the teeth and gums define a first portion of a user&#39;s mouth and a second portion of the user&#39;s mouth respectively), as illustrated in FIGS. 1-3) or a short nozzle  84  for a head that also contains bristles  86  (FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b ) used to brush and rinse teeth or a head that is shaped to scrap a user&#39;s tongue (FIG. 4 c ) (where the tongue defines a third portion of the user&#39;s mouth). A short nozzle  84  is preferably used when brushing or scraping because the nozzle does not interfere. 
     In FIG. 4 a , the head  24   a  contains bristles  86  and a short nozzle  84 . In addition the head  24   a  is shaped to provide the user with a brush better suited for their teeth, along with a nozzle to jet liquid or fluid for cleaning gums and teeth and rinsing. In FIG. 4 b , the head  24   b  contains a short nozzle  84  and a plurality of bristles  86  but contains a wider cross section than the head  24   a  in FIG. 4 a . This provides the user with a cleaning device that is better suited to clean the user&#39;s tongue. In FIG. 4 c , the head  24   c  does not contain bristles or a nozzle, the head  24   c  includes a projected edge  88  to scrape the user&#39;s tongue. The head  24   c  defined as a tongue scrape also includes at least one opening but preferably multiple openings  78  to spray liquid while the user is scrapping their tongue. 
     While as explained above the present invention includes the ability to jet out a liquid such as water, any type of fluid, such as a gas, may be used. For example, the user may simply pump gas into the bladder  14 , as long as the pressure of the gas entering the bladder  14  is strong enough to fill bladder  14 . Once the reservoir contains a sufficient amount of pressurized gas, the user may release it by pressing the button. While a gas may not be as efficient for cleaning, in some instances the liquid, may be too sensitive for the user. 
     With the onset of mechanical and electrical toothbrushes the total cost of the oral cleaning devices have increased. To offset the overall price of the devices the heads of the toothbrushes have been made replaceable. As such, after the bristles become worn from continual use, the head may be replaced without replacing the whole unit. However, the worn heads are simply replaced with an identical head to provide the same type of cleaning. The ability to interchange heads to provide different types of cleaning is not widely incorporated with prior art oral cleaning devices. The various interchangeable heads discussed above may be incorporated therewith to provide the user with a total cleaning experience. 
     From the foregoing and as mentioned above, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of the invention covering a self-contained device incorporating an internal bladder positioned within the device and in fluid communication with and a nozzle into a single device. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific methods and apparatus illustrated herein is intended or inferred. It is intended to cover by the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims.