Patent Publication Number: US-2018028697-A1

Title: Tongue cleaner that has UV Light to kill bacteria

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention would help maintain good oral hygiene by cleaning the surface of your tongue and also killing bacteria and germs that causes bad breath. Particularly, this invention relates to a tongue scraper that safely removes plaque, kills bacteria and debris buildup from tongue surface, which is much better than just brushing or scraping the tongue. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     UV light is an effective way to kill germs and bacteria. The major reason for bad breath is plaque, bacteria and debris in our mouths. 
     Toothbrushes and tongue scrapers help remove plaque and debris from the tongue but do a poor job in killing the bacteria that resides on your tongue. Conventional toothbrushes with bristles are often uncomfortable to use on the tongue and hence many people don&#39;t use it to clean their tongue. Therefore, there is an unmet need that toothbrushes and tongue scrapers need to overcome in order to enhance oral hygiene. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention centers around a unique design of a tongue scraper that can deliver UV light, and at the same time allows for optimum removal of plaque and debris from the tongue. 
     The present implementation includes a head that forms the scraper edge, that also directs the UV light to the surface of the tongue and a handle that houses the power source for the UV-Light. The UV Light source would typically be a UV LED that would directly be mounted inside the head or in the handle. When mounted in the handle the head would use built in light pipes (refraction properties) to direct the UV light to the tongue. The handle would house the batteries, or even chargeable batteries that could be charged wireless using induction charging or with the use of solar cells. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1 : Is a side view of the tongue cleaner in accordance with and/or use with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2 : Is a cross sectional view from the bottom showing all the major components of the design. The handle has the battery, the electrical conduits, the control button and optional electronics. This view also shows the bottom of the head showing the beveled scraper edge, the light diffuser/lens and the UV LED placed behind the light diffuser/lens. 
         FIG. 3 : Shows the UV Light being part of the handle and that the handle and head as being two separate parts. In this case the head part has no electrical components, it only has light pipes to guide the light to the desired location. The handle and head connect together via a quick snap connection that is keyed to ensure correct orientation of the head to the handle. 
         FIG. 4 : Is a view from the top. The UV light is not visible from the top. The handle has the control button and also show an optional LCD display. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS 
     
         
         
           
               10  Head part of cleaner 
               11  Beveled scraper edge 
               20  Handle part of scraper 
               21  Cross sectional view of handle from bottom 
               25  Control button to turn on/off UV light 
               26  Cross section view of control button from bottom 
               27  Quick connect plug 
               28  Quick connect receptacle 
               29  Key to align head and handle 
               30  UV Led mounted in head 
               31  UV Led mounted in handle 
               32  Built in electrical conduits to carry power 
               33  Batteries to power UV Light source 
               34  Optional electronics to control UV Light, charging the batteries, Blue-tooth or Wi-Fi 
               35  Optional LCD display for status indicator 
               40  Light diffuser/lens to distribute UV Light evenly 
               41  Light pipes built inside head 
           
         
       
    
     DETAILS OF THE INVENTION 
     The tongue cleaner includes a head ( 10 ) that forms the scraper which will channel up the plaque and debris. In close proximity to the scraper&#39;s edge ( 11 ) is a parallel light diffuser/lens ( 40 ) that will shine UV Light onto the surface of the tongue, killing all the bacteria and germs in its path. 
     The handle ( 20 ) and the head ( 10 ) are integrally formed, with the handle ( 20 ) designed to house the power for the UV Light. The handle would have the batteries ( 33 ) and if chargeable batteries are used charging could be done via induction or solar cells hence eliminating the need for wires for charging. The handle ( 20 ) could also house a go button ( 25 ) that the user/operator would press to control the UV Light. Simple controls such as ON/OFF, intensity control, strobing and timer features could all be controlled using this button ( 25 ) and some electronics/microcontroller ( 34 ) could also be housed inside the handle to provide Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, LCD and charging features. 
     As this tongue cleaner is stroked against one tongue, in a single stroke it would not only remove all the plaque and debris from the surface of the tongue, but at the same time it would kill the germs and bacteria in the UV Light path. 
     Due to cost and other benefits one could also have the UV Light source housed inside the handle ( 31 ). In this case the scraper head ( 10 ) would use clear and opaque plastic to direct the UV light to the tongue surface. The scraper head would hence act as a light pipe ( 41 ) for the UV Light. 
     With the UV Light source ( 31 ) built inside the handle ( 20 ) the head ( 10 ) and the handle ( 20 ) would be two separate parts that would snap together ( 28 ), ( 29 ). The scraper head ( 10 ) could be made to be disposable, this would allow for dentists, oral hygienists and other individuals to quickly change and dispose of the used scraper head for a new device. Since the handle ( 20 ) part won&#39;t be disposed of it could be made to have some optional features, such as wireless charging, an LCD ( 35 ) to provide direct user feedback of UV light settings, battery level and usage. It could also have Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connectivity allowing for data usage to be down loaded to a smart device.