Abstract:
Oral hygiene apparatus utilize the natural water and it pressure effectively performs oral hygiene functioning without electricity, batteries, mechanical pumps and motors. It could be a fixture in bathroom.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 13/945,036 dated Jul. 18, 2013 the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
       FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    The field of the invention is oral hygiene devices. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    A significant public health problem: one out of every two American adults aged 30 and over has periodontal disease, according to August 2012 released findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Some of developing countries have more than 90% of adults have periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the gum tissue, bone supporting the teeth and tooth loss. Periodontal disease is associated with other chronic inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Although brushing and flossing are the primary tools for oral clean, but brush and floss remove up to 70% plaque according to Sunstar Suisse S.A. 
         [0004]    Oral irrigators especially a water jet system could remove most of plaque. USC study finds dental water jet removes 99.9 percent of dental plaque biofilm. This was released at February 2009 from University of Southern California School of Dentistry. 
         [0005]    Various water irrigating oral hygiene devices have been in the market or have had patent proposals. For example, Water Pik from Water Pik, Inc. needs to use electricity or battery for power. Alexander, U.S. Pat. No. 8,012,111, proposed a sink fixture have a flexible tubing  175  for hot and cold water and temperature control  120 . They are extras to the adjacent faucet, not only more costly to manufacture and maintain but also makes housing  110  heavy to hold. 
         [0006]    The present invention satisfies the shortcomings, limitations or disadvantages of all water irrigating oral hygiene devices in the market and patent proposals in the prior art. 
       CROSS REFERENCE 
       [0007]      
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 U.S. Patent Documents 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 6056710 
                 May 2000 
                 Bachman 
               
               
                   
                 6740053 
                 May 2004 
                 Kaplowitz 
               
               
                   
                 6783364 
                 August 2004 
                 Juan 
               
               
                   
                 6835181 
                 December 2004  
                 Hippensteel 
               
               
                   
                 2007/0203439  
                 August 2007 
                 Boyd et al. 
               
               
                   
                 2007/0261163  
                 November 2007 
                 Lynam 
               
               
                   
                 2004/0045107  
                 March 2004 
                 Egeresi 
               
               
                   
                 2006/0010624  
                 January 2006 
                 Cleland 
               
               
                   
                 2006/0048791  
                 March 2006 
                 Mehes et al. 
               
               
                   
                 2008/0078021  
                 April 2008 
                 Welch 
               
               
                   
                 2009/0053672  
                 February 2009 
                 Cornelius 
               
               
                   
                 8012111 
                 September 2011 
                 Alexander 
               
               
                   
                 8114038 
                 February 2012  
                 Stelmach 
               
               
                   
                 8449295 
                 May 2013 
                 Hegemann 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention, oral hygiene apparatus, forms a fixture to provide a controllable pressurized water stream for cleansing gums and teeth especially the interdental area. Meanwhile, it provides water utility similar to faucets or showers. The oral hygiene apparatus may comprise three parts: a water supply, an oral hygiene-ware and a water utility. 
         [0009]    The water supply part may have a pair of hoses and a mixer valve and an outlet. The hoses connect to the cold and hot water supply from the wall and couple to a mixer valve. The mixer valve will mix the cold and hot water, controls water temperature and controls water flow rate. The mixed water will flow out of an outlet. The outlet will connect to an oral hygiene-ware and the water utility. 
         [0010]    The oral hygiene-ware may have a soft hose, a handle and tips. The soft hose in the oral hygiene-ware should be flexible with proper dimensional size and be long enough for oral hygiene purposes. The soft hose connects to a connection point from the water supply to receive water. The handle is coupled with the soft hose. The handle has a built-in valve and a quick connecter. The valve in the handle will control flow rate and be able to shut off the water flow. The quick connecter has a mechanism that allows a user to change between different tips. Each of the tips has special oral hygiene function. For example, the waterjet brush tip has nozzles and bristle tufts in the head. The waterjet ejected from the nozzles and brushing will significantly improve cleaning of the teeth especially in the interdental area. A swirl waterjet tip could generate a waterjet beam and a swirl waterjet. The swirl waterjet can do deep dental cleansing even inside a periodontal pocket. 
         [0011]    The mixed water from water supply into the oral hygiene-ware is then ejected out through a tip into the mouth of user for oral hygiene. 
         [0012]    The water utility has a hose, a pipe, a valve and a utility head. The hose connects the outlet of the water supply and is coupled to the pipe. The pipe will deliver the water to the utility head. The valve can be installed in any portion of the water utility and could shut off the water flow. A connector in the end of the pipe could connect to a utility head. The utility head could be a filter, nozzles, showerhead etc. 
         [0013]    The mixed water from the water supply will flow into the water utility then flow out from the utility head for utility purpose. 
         [0014]    For hygiene-ware to properly function the water utility could be turned on or off. The water utility shut off can be done manually or automatically. 
         [0015]    The oral hygiene apparatus according the present invention generates waterjet without electricity, batteries or other power sources. It is “green” and environmentally friendly. 
         [0016]    The oral hygiene apparatus in one embodiment is preferably a fixture in the bathroom. The water utility of the oral hygiene apparatus could be a portion of a faucet or shower. The oral hygiene apparatus does not need a counter top, does not need a reservoir, and does not create noise. 
         [0017]    Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a schematic showing the oral hygiene apparatus. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a schematic showing an embodiment of the oral hygiene apparatus. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3-1  is a schematic showing the hygiene-ware. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3-2  is a schematic showing the hygiene-ware tips. 
           [0022]      FIG. 3-3  is a schematic showing the swirl waterjet tip. 
           [0023]      FIG. 3-4  is a schematic showing the waterjet brush tip. 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  is a schematic showing the structure of a valve in the utility 
           [0025]      FIG. 5  is a schematic showing another preferred embodiment of the oral hygiene apparatus wherein there is a manual shut-off function. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0026]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , an oral hygiene apparatus  100  generally comprises a water supply part  10 , an oral hygiene-ware part  20  and water utility part  30 . 
         [0027]    The water supply part  10  may have a pair of hoses  11  and  12 , a mixer valve  13  and an outlet  14 . The hoses  11  and  12  connect to cold and hot water suppliers  01  and  02 , respectively, from a water supply and coupled to the mixer valve  13 . The mixer valve  13  will mix the cold and hot water, controls water temperature and control water flow rate. The mixed water will flow out at an outlet  14 . The outlet  14  will connect to the oral hygiene-ware part  20  and the water utility  30 . For example, a shower water supply that is built into a wall can be used as the water supply part  10 . 
         [0028]    The oral hygiene-ware part  20  may have a soft hose  21 , a handle  22  and exchangeable tips  25 . The soft hose  21  should be flexible with proper diameter and long enough for oral hygiene purpose. The soft hose  21  diameter is preferably between 2 mm to 1.5 cm. The soft hose  21  length is preferably between 50 cm to 2 m. The soft hose  21  connects to the outlet  14  of the water supply part  10  to receive the mixed water. The handle  22  is coupled to the soft hose  21 . The handle  22  has a built-in valve  23  and a quick connecter  24 . The built-in valve  23  in the handle controls mixed water flow rate and can shut off the water flow. The quick connecter  24  has a mechanism that can quickly exchange the exchangeable tips  25 . The mixed water will flow through the handle  22  and pass through the quick connector  24  and then through the exchangeable tips  25  out to the mouth of user. Each exchangeable tip  25  has special oral hygiene functions. For example, the swirl waterjet tip  251  could generate a waterjet beam and a swirl waterjet,  FIG. 3-3 . The swirl waterjet can do deep dental cleansing even inside the periodontal pocket. The waterjet brush tip  255  has nozzles  552  and bristle tufts  551  in the head of the tip, refers to  FIG. 3-4 . The waterjet ejected from the nozzles  552  and brushing by the bristle tufts  551  will significantly increase cleansing the plaque on the teeth especially in the interdental area. Nozzles  552  should have a height of 0.2-4 millimeters less than the bristle tufts  551  that can vary in length from 5-15 millimeters preferably 10 millimeters. Further, the opening at the end of the nozzle  552  is 0.3-0.8 millimeters in diameter. The waterjets described herein are intended to have a force of 60-200 PSI. The nozzle  552  is shorter than the bristle tufts to maximize the accuracy of the waterjets and help guide a user to avoid placing the waterjet onto the or below the gumline. 
         [0029]    The mixed water from water supply part  10  flows into the oral hygiene-ware  20  and then ejects out from the exchangeable tip  25  into the month of user to perform oral hygiene functioning. 
         [0030]    The water utility part  30  may have a hose  31 , a pipe  32 , a valve  33  and connecter  34  which connects to a utility head  35 . The hose  31  connects to the outlet  14  of the water supply part  10  and pipe  32 . The pipe  32  will deliver the water to the utility head  35 . There is valve  33  installed in the pipe  32  and controls water flow rate. The valve  33  could be installed in any portion of the water utility part  30 . The connector  34  in the end of the pipe  32  could connect the utility head  35 . The utility head  35  could be a filter, nozzles, showerhead etc. 
         [0031]    The mixed water from the water supply part  10  flows into the water utility  20  then flows out for water utility purpose. 
         [0032]    With reference to  FIG. 2 , it shows an embodiment of oral hygiene apparatus  200 . The oral hygiene apparatus  200  could be installed in a bathroom as a sink fixture. The oral hygiene apparatus  200  may have a water supply that comprises hoses  11  and  12 . The hoses  11  and  12  could connect water supplies  01  and  02  from a wall mounted valve to receive cold and hot water. The hoses  11  and  12  coupled with mixer valve  13 . The water mixer valve  13  adjusts water temperature to a proper temperature for the user. The water flow rate could also be controlled by the mixer valve  13 . The mixed water will flow out at the outlet  14  to oral hygiene-ware  20  and water utility  30 . 
         [0033]    The oral hygiene apparatus  200  may have an oral hygiene-ware that comprises hose  21 . The mixed water from the outlet  14  will flow into the hose  21 . The hose  21  is coupled to the handle  22 . There is a built-in valve  23  that is inside the handle  22 . The built-in valve  23  could control the mixed water flow out pressure by adjusting the flow rate. At a proximate end of the handle  22  may have a quick connector  24  which could quickly exchange exchangeable tips  25 . The mixed water will flow from handle  22  to the exchangeable tip  25  out to the user&#39;s mouth. Various tips may be available for oral hygiene functioning. 
         [0034]      FIG. 3-2  depicts some exchangeable tips  25  but is not intended to be limiting. Such as swirl waterjet tip  251 , refers to  FIG. 3-3 ; rotatable brush tip  252 ; gumline brush tip  253 ; an interdental brush tip  254  and waterjet brush tip  255 , refers  FIG. 3-4 . 
         [0035]    The oral hygiene apparatus  200  may have a water utility that comprises a hose  31 , a valve  33 , pipe  32 , connector  34  and utility head  35 . The mixed water from the outlet  14  will flow into the valve  33  in the water utility. The valve  33  connects to the hose  31  that is coupled to the pipe  32 . The valve  33  may shut off automatically by raising the handle  22 . The pipe  32  will deliver the water to utility head  35 . At the proximal end of the pipe  32  may have a connector  34  for mounting the utility head  35 . 
         [0036]    To use the oral hygiene apparatus  200  for oral hygiene the user should first select an exchangeable tip. The tip  255  is recommended for general cleaning. If the user has periodontal disease the tip  251  should be used after the tip  255 . After a user selects a tip and installed in the handle  22 , user should turn on the mixer valve  13  and check the water temperature from out of the utility head  35 . When the temperature is preferred, raising the handle  22  and the arm  333  will lift,  FIG. 4 . The lifted arm  333  will shut off the valve  33  and no more water will flow out from the outlet  334   c . When the lifted arm  333  is lifted, water flow to the utility head  35  is stopped,  FIG. 4 . Then the user can use the hygiene-ware freely. 
         [0037]    The tip  255  has nozzles  552  and bristle tufts  551  in the head of the tip  255 . The nozzles  552  will eject a waterjet. The tip  255  has a connecter  553  and water inlet  554  refers to  FIG. 3-4 . The nozzles  552  are narrowed top conical tube made of elastomer or flexible material. The nozzles  552  can detect the position on the teeth to directing waterjet &amp; brushing and avoid bristle tufts  551  from passing beyond the gumline to harm the gum. 
         [0038]    For a user who has periodontal disease the tip  251  is recommended. The tip  251  comprises tube  512  and cap  511  with one hole  511   a  in the cap  511  refers to  FIG. 3-3 . There is a swirl waterjet generator  513  in the front of the tube  512 . There are two holes  513   a  to allow water out from tube  512  then through two parallel tangent lines  513   b  out to cap  511 . For the sake of clarity the two holes  513   a  are parallel but do not pass through a diameter of the swirl waterjet generator  513 . Water exiting from tangent lines  513   b  twist relative to one another causing a swirl waterjet. When the cap  511  is screwed tightly onto the tube  512 , a swirl waterjet will eject out from the hole  511   a . When the cap  511  is screwed onto the tube  512  in a slightly loose position, the waterjet beam will eject out from the hole  511   a . Water will flow into tube  512  from handle  22  then through the swirl waterjet generator  513  to eject waterjet beam or swirl waterjet to mouth of user to cleansing gingival area and dental pockets. 
         [0039]    With reference to  FIG. 5 , it shows another preferred embodiment of oral hygiene apparatus  300 . This preferred embodiment one places the valve  33  in the water utility and utility head  35 . The valve  33  is a manually operated and installed at the outlet of the pipe  32 . The hose  21  and hose  31  will be installed accordingly. The utility head  35  is a spray nozzle. The spray nozzle  35  could save water up to 70% than regular faucet. 
         [0040]    In preferred embodiments, the oral hygiene-ware devices will not need electricity or other energy source. It is greenness and environment friendly. 
         [0041]    Thus, specific embodiments and applications of oral hygiene apparatus have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications beside those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest manner possible consistent with the context, In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present or utilized, or combined with other elements, components or steps that are not expressly referenced.