Patent Publication Number: US-2012031445-A1

Title: Cleaning Apparatus For Use With Dentures And Other Dental Appliances

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to dental accessories and, more particularly, to an apparatus for use in cleaning dentures and other dental appliances. 
     It is well known that dentures must be cleaned regularly in order to be maintained in a sanitary condition and in a manner suitable to be worn daily in a person&#39;s mouth. Cleaning false teeth is a nightly ritual of placing the teeth into a container along with an effervescing tablet so that the teeth are cleaned overnight. With such routine cleaning, a wearer of false teeth may be confident that the teeth will last for many years and be clean and attractive. Unfortunately, the task of nightly cleaning may be inconvenient and may not provide the desired level of cleaning. 
     Various devices have been proposed in the prior art for nightly cleaning of dentures. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing proposals and products to not provide an ability to automatically dispense an effervescing tablet at a user-selectable time later than when the dentures are placed into the storage container, for easily removing a storage tank from the remainder of the device housing for cleaning, or for automatically stirring the mixture of water and cleaning tablet so as to enhance the cleaning process. 
     Therefore, it would be desirable to having a denture cleaning device that overcomes the disadvantages and limitations of the devices proposed in the prior art. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A cleaning apparatus for use with dentures and other dental appliances includes a housing having a tablet storage area and a tank positionable in and removable from the housing, the tank being sized to respectively receive the dentures and other dental appliances. The cleaning apparatus includes a dispenser to move a tablet from the tablet storage area to the tank. A stirring assembly includes a first portion in the housing and a second portion in the tank. The first portion includes a first magnet, the second portion includes a grate, a rotor, and a second magnet fixed to the rotor and complementary to the first magnet. Rotation of the first magnet about an axis of rotation causes the second magnet to rotate about the axis of rotation when the tank is positioned in the housing. 
     Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for use in cleaning dentures. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for cleaning dentures, as aforesaid, that includes a tank that is positionable in and removable from a housing. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for cleaning dentures, as aforesaid, having a tablet dispenser configured to automatically dispense a tablet into the tank. 
     Yet another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for cleaning dentures, as aforesaid, having a timer such that a user may set a time when a tablet is to be dispensed into the tank. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for cleaning dentures, as aforesaid, that automatically stirs water in the tank to enhance the cleaning of dentures. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an apparatus for cleaning dentures according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the denture cleaning apparatus as in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3   a  is a side view of the denture cleaning apparatus as in  FIG. 1  with the tray in a fully extended configuration; 
         FIG. 3   b  is a side view of the denture cleaning apparatus as in  FIG. 1  with the tray in a partially extended configuration; 
         FIG. 3   c  is a side view of the denture cleaning apparatus as in  FIG. 1  with the tray in a generally configuration; 
         FIG. 4   a  is a front view of the denture cleaning apparatus as in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4   b  is a sectional view taken along line  4   b - 4   b  of  FIG. 4   a;    
         FIG. 5   a  is a perspective view of the dispenser removed from the housing as in  FIG. 2  illustrated a configuration of being loaded; 
         FIG. 5   b  is another perspective view of the dispenser illustrating a configuration of being loaded and ready for use; and 
         FIG. 5   c  is another perspective view of the dispenser in which a tablet is being dispensed. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Cleaning apparatus according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 5   c  of the accompanying drawings. More particularly, a cleaning apparatus  100  according to one embodiment for use with dentures  10  ( FIG. 4   b ) and other dental appliances such as Invisalign® braces and mouth guards (e.g., dental night guards, dental guards for use in athletics, etc.) includes a housing  110 , a tank  120  sized to receive at least one dental appliance  10 , a dispenser  130 , and a stirring assembly  140 . 
     The housing  110  is specifically shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 , and  4   b , and includes a tablet storage area  112  ( FIG. 4   b ) configured to store at least one cleaning tablet  15 . The tablet storage area  112  has a staging area  112   a  and a loading port  112   b  for passing the cleaning tablets  15  from outside the housing  110  to the storage area  112 , and a stop  113  restricts movement of the tablets  15  in the storage area  112  from travelling past the staging area  112   a  to the loading port  112   b.  However, the stop  113  allows the tablets  15  to pass from the loading port  112   b  to the tablet storage area  112 . The stop  113  may be, for example, a member that freely pivots over a limited area. The housing  110  may be constructed of plastic, metal, and/or any other appropriate material. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 through 4   b,  the tank  120  is positionable in and removable from the housing  110 . The tank  120  may be positionable in the housing  110  in various manners, such as being movable between retracted, partially extended, and fully extended configurations; however, it may be desirable for the tank  120  to be rotatably and slidably received in the housing  110  ( FIGS. 3   a  through  3   c ). When positioned in the housing  110 , the tank  120  is beneath the staging area  112   a  ( FIG. 4   b ). Though not shown in the drawings, the housing  110  may include a water reservoir in communication with the tank  120  for providing water to the tank  120 . Various materials may be used to construct the tank  120 , such as plastic, metal, and glass. 
     Turning to the dispenser  130 , the dispenser  130  is operable to move a tablet  15  from the tablet storage area  112  (and specifically the staging area  112   a ) to the tank  120 . The dispenser  130  may, for example, include a biasing member  132  (e.g., a spring) and a push member  134  (e.g., a solenoid). The biasing member  132  biases the tablets  15  in the storage area  112  toward the staging area  112   a  ( FIG. 4   b ); the push member  134  is movable to respectively push the tablets  15  from the staging area  112   a  toward the tank  120  ( FIGS. 5   a  through  5   c ). 
     The stirring assembly  140  ( FIGS. 2 and 4   b ) has a first portion  142  coupled to the housing  110  and a second portion  152  in the tank  120 . The first portion  142  has a magnet  144  that is rotatable about an axis of rotation, and a motor  145  may be in communication with the magnet  144  to selectively rotate the magnet  144  about the axis of rotation. The second portion  152  has a rotor  153 , a magnet  154  fixed to the rotor  153 , and a grate  156  shielding the rotor  153 . It may be desirable for the rotor  153 , the magnet  154 , and the grate  156  to be removable from the tank  120 . The magnet  154  is complementary to the magnet  144  (e.g., such that the two magnets  154 ,  144  are drawn together). More particularly, rotation of the magnet  144  about the axis of rotation causes the magnet  154  to rotate about the same axis of rotation when the tank  120  is positioned in the housing  110 . 
     Attention now being specifically directed to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a processor  160  is in data communication with a user input  162 , a timer  164 , the dispenser  130 , and the motor  145 . The processor  160  has programming to actuate the dispenser  130  at a time provided by the user input  162  and determined by the timer  164 , and programming to actuate the motor  145  upon occurrence of a triggering event. A triggering event may be, for example, actuation of the dispenser  130 , an amount of time after actuation of the dispenser  130 , et cetera. 
     In use, the user may select a time using the user input  162  and place the dentures or other dental appliance  10  in the tank  120  ( FIG. 4   b ). If the housing  110  includes a water reservoir, water from the water reservoir may be positioned in the tank  120  (either automatically or upon receiving an input from the user, such as through moving a switch); otherwise, the user may fill the tank  120  with water (e.g., when placing the dentures or other dental appliance  10  in the tank  120 ). The tank  120  is positioned in the housing  110  beneath the staging area  112   a.    
     At least one cleaning tablet  15  is pushed through the loading port  112   b  and into the storage area  112  ( FIGS. 4   b  and  5   a ). Once the tablets  15  are in the storage area  112  past the staging area  112   a,  the stop  113  restricts movement of the tablets  15  from exiting through the loading port  112   b  ( FIGS. 4   b  and  5   b ). The biasing member  132  biases the tablets  15  in the storage area  112  toward the staging area  112   a  ( FIG. 4   b ). As shown in  FIG. 5   c , the push member  134  is movable to respectively push the tablets  15  from the staging area  112   a  toward the tank  120 . And as noted above, the dispenser  130  may be actuated by the processor  160  at a time provided by the user input  162  and determined by the timer  164 ; or the user may otherwise actuate the dispenser  130  to move a cleaning tablet  15  to the tank  120 . Providing the cleaning tablet  15  to the tank  120  allows the dental appliance  10  to be cleaned by the cleaning tablet  15 . It may be advantageous for the processor  160  to actuate the dispenser  130 , such as while the user is sleeping, so that the dental appliance  10  is recently cleaned when the user awakes (or at another selected time). 
     To enhance the cleaning ability of the cleaning tablet  15 , the amount of contact between the dental appliance  10  and the cleaning solution created from the cleaning tablet  15  and the water may be increased. Actuation of the motor  145  (e.g., by the processor  160 ) causes the magnet  144  to rotate about the axis of rotation, and the rotation of the magnet  144  causes the complementary magnet  154  to rotate about the axis of rotation. Rotation of the magnet  154  in turn causes the rotor  153  to rotate beneath the grate  156  and agitate the cleaning solution in the tank  120 . Because of the interaction between the magnets  144 ,  154 , the rotor  153  is rotated without direct, physical contact between the motor  145  and the rotor  153 . 
     To retrieve the dental appliance  10 , the tank  120  may be moved (e.g., as shown in  FIGS. 3   a  through  3   c ) or removed from the housing  110 . The cleaning fluid may then be discarded, and the tank  120  may be cleaned. To fully clean the tank  120 , the grate  156 , the rotor  153 , and therefore the associated magnet  154  may be removed from the tank  120 . 
     It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.