U.S. patent number 3,590,813 [Application Number 04/816,332] was granted by the patent office on 1971-07-06 for oral hygiene appliance.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sunbeam Corporation. Invention is credited to Leon M. Roszyk.
United States Patent |
3,590,813 |
Roszyk |
July 6, 1971 |
ORAL HYGIENE APPLIANCE
Abstract
An oral hygiene appliance comprising a housing having a hollow
base member which supports a liquid reservoir container and a
storage and display compartment for the jet nozzles and jet nozzle
handle. A liquid pump assembly of the reciprocating piston type is
mounted in the base member such that a spout in the bottom of the
reservoir container feeds a liquid to the pump chamber. This liquid
is converted to a sequential series of liquid pulses by the pump
and then delivered through a coiled tube to a jet nozzle control
handle which discharges the liquid pulses from a jet nozzle. The
jet nozzle control handle has a normally closed valve element to
prevent the discharge of the liquid pulses until opened by pressing
down on the jet nozzle's fluted knob and has an adjustable feedback
valve element that controls the portion of each liquid pulse that
is fed back through a second coiled tube to the pump.
Inventors: |
Roszyk; Leon M. (Berwyn,
IL) |
Assignee: |
Sunbeam Corporation (Chicago,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
25220302 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/816,332 |
Filed: |
April 15, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
601/162;
222/318 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61C
1/0092 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61C
1/00 (20060101); A61h 009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/62,66,230
;222/318,385,424 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Trapp; L. W.
Claims
What I claim as new and desired to be secured by Letters Pat. of
the U.S is:
1. An oral hygiene apparatus of the intermittent pulse type having
a liquid pump assembly for delivering a sequential series of pulses
of liquid through a first tubular means to a jet nozzle control
handle, said control handle comprising an outer casing of
sufficient size to be hand grasped, an opening in said casing for
removably receiving the stem of a jet nozzle, a valve means for
selectively preventing the discharge of said pulses of liquid from
said jet nozzle and a pulse intensity control means for selectively
varying the proportions of liquid discharged from said nozzle and
liquid returned through a second tubular means to the intake of
said liquid pump assembly to thereby provide a variable control
over the volume of each pulse of liquid delivered by said pump
assembly.
2. An oral hygiene apparatus as defined in claim 1, said jet nozzle
control handle further comprising a discharge chamber formed inside
said outer casing having an inlet port for receiving said liquid
from said first tubular means and an outlet port for passing said
liquid from said discharge chamber into said jet nozzle stem, and
said valve means including a shutoff valve stem with a sealing
element and a spring member that biases said shutoff valve stem
towards said outlet port to cause said sealing element to seal off
said outlet port, said jet nozzle stem being arranged to engage the
end of said valve stem, hereby when the user presses inwardly on
said jet nozzle against the force of said spring member said
shutoff valve stem is moved causing said sealing element to move
away from said outlet port and permitting said liquid to be
discharged through said jet nozzle.
3. An oral hygiene apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said
pulse intensity control means includes an adjustable stop means for
selectively determining the distance said jet nozzle stem can be
moved, a feedback valve stem mechanically coupled to said valve
means and positioned in alignment with a feedback port formed in
said discharge chamber, said feedback port being in communication
with said second tubular means, whereby the setting of said stop
means determines the distance between said feedback valve stem and
said feedback port after the user presses inwardly on said jet
nozzle and thereby determines the portion of each pulse liquid that
is returned to said pump assembly through said second tubular
means.
4. An oral hygiene appliance of the intermittent pulse type having
a liquid pump assembly for delivering a sequential series of pulses
of liquid through a tubular means to a jet nozzle control handle,
said control handle comprising an outer casing of sufficient size
to be hand grasped, an opening in said outer casing to receive the
stem of a jet nozzle, the end of said jet nozzle stem being in
communication with the outlet port of said control handle, a
shutoff valve means for selectively preventing the discharge of
said liquid pulses from said jet nozzle, said shutoff valve means
having a sealing element which is held in sealing engagement with
said outlet port by a spring biasing member, said valve means
cooperating with said jet nozzle stem such that an axial force by
the user on said jet nozzle in a direction opposite to the force
exerted by said biasing member causes said sealing element to
unseat and permits said liquid pulses to be discharged from said
jet nozzles.
5. The oral hygiene appliance of claim 4 wherein said shutoff valve
means is mechanically coupled to a feedback valve in said handle,
said feedback valve being fully open when said shutoff valve is
sealed and being progressively closed as said shutoff valve means
is displaced axially against the force of said biasing member.
6. The oral hygiene appliance of claim 4 having an adjustable stop
on said handle adjacent said jet nozzle, said stop engaging said
nozzle to control the amount of displacement of said shutoff valve
means.
7. An oral hygiene appliance of the intermittent pulse type having
a liquid pump assembly for delivering pulsed liquid through a first
tubular means to a jet nozzle control handle, said jet nozzle
control handle comprising an outer casing of sufficient size to be
hand grasped, a recess in said control handle for removably
receiving the stem of a jet nozzle, a discharge chamber formed
inside said control handle having an inlet port in communication
with one end of said first tubular means, an outlet port in
communication with said jet nozzle stem and a feedback port in
communication with one end of a second tubular means, the other end
of said second tubular means being in communication with the intake
port of said liquid pump assembly, and a pulse intensity control
for variably regulating the volume of liquid delivered by said
liquid pump assembly to said jet nozzle, said pulse intensity
control including a feedback valve stem positioned in said
discharge chamber in direct alignment with said feedback port and a
means to vary the position of said valve stem with respect to said
feedback port, whereby the position of said valve stem controls the
portion of the liquid delivered to said discharge chamber which is
fed back to said intake port of said liquid pump assembly.
8. An oral hygiene appliance as set forth in claim 7 having a
liquid reservoir connected to deliver liquid to said intake port of
said liquid pump assembly, said pump drawing liquid from said
reservoir and circulating it through said first tubular means to
said handle except when said outlet port is closed whereupon said
pump recirculates liquid delivered to said intake port from said
handle by said second tubular means.
9. An oral hygiene appliance of the intermittent pulse type having
a liquid pump assembly for delivering a sequential series of pulses
of liquid through a liquid conduit means to a jet nozzle handle,
said jet nozzle handle comprising an outer casing having a recess
extending into its interior for receiving a jet nozzle, valve means
for preventing the discharge of said liquid pulses from said jet
nozzle, means for selectively actuating said valve means and means
for relieving the back pressure built up on said liquid pump
assembly when said liquid pulses are prevented from being
discharged.
10. The oral hygiene appliance of claim 9 wherein said valve means
is contained in said jet nozzle handle, an outlet opening in said
handle connected to said jet nozzle to provide a liquid flow path
from said conduit through said handle to said nozzle, said valve
means controlling the flow through said outlet opening.
11. The oral hygiene appliance of claim 10 including a liquid
reservoir positioned to deliver liquid to the intake of said pump
assembly, said means for relieving back pressure comprising conduit
means for recirculating liquid from said handle to said pump
intake.
12. The oral hygiene appliance of claim 9 wherein said means for
relieving back pressure comprises a valve in said handle for
controlling return flow from said handle to the intake of said
pump, said valve means for preventing the discharge being
positioned in said handle and being mechanically coupled to said
means for relieving back pressure.
13. An oral hygiene appliance comprising a housing having a base
member, a removable liquid reservoir container and a display and
storage compartment supported on said base member, said display and
storage compartment having receptacle means for temporarily storing
a jet nozzle handle and a number of jet nozzles, a liquid pump
assembly mounted inside said base member and having the intake
opening to the liquid pump arranged to be positioned in
registration with an opening in the bottom of said reservoir
container to supply a liquid to said liquid pump, a resilient
coiled tube connecting the outlet port of said liquid pump to said
control handle, and a slot formed in the bottom surface of said
display and storage compartment for receiving said coiled tube when
said jet nozzle is placed in said receptacle means.
14. An oral hygiene appliance comprising a housing having a base
member, a removable liquid reservoir container and a display and
storage compartment supported on said base member, said display and
storage compartment having receptacle means for temporarily storing
a jet nozzle handle and a number of jet nozzles, a liquid pump
assembly mounted inside said base member and having the intake
opening to the liquid pump arranged to be positioned in
registration with an opening in the bottom of said reservoir
container to supply a liquid to said liquid pump, and resilient
coiled tube connecting the outlet port of said liquid pump to said
control handle, a slot formed in the bottom surface of said display
and storage compartment for receiving said coiled tube when said
jet nozzle is placed in said receptacle means, a normally closed
electrical switch connected in the electrical power cord to an
electrical motor driving said pump, said switch having an actuating
member that is positioned in the bottom of said receptacle means
for said jet nozzle handle whereby when said jet nozzle handle is
returned to said receptacle means for storing said actuating member
is tripped causing said switch to open and thereby deenergize said
liquid pump.
15. An oral hygiene appliance as defined in claim 13, wherein said
jet nozzle handle comprises an outer casing of sufficient size to
be hand grasped, a recess in said outer casing for removably
receiving one of said jet nozzles, a passageway in said handle
connecting the stem of said jet nozzle to said coiled tube, a valve
means for preventing the discharge of any liquid delivered to said
handle by said pump, a means for selectively actuating said valve
means to commence the discharge of said liquid from said jet
nozzle.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an oral hygiene appliance of the water
jet type for cleaning teeth and massaging gum tissues and,
particularly, to the water jet type that delivers intermittent
pulses of liquid.
Oral hygiene applicances that deliver an intermittently pulsed
stream of water are known to be highly effective in dislodging
foreign matter from the teeth and gum tissues and in massaging gum
tissue. All the current commercial oral hygiene units of this type
operate in substantially the same manner. A liquid, usually water,
is fed into an inlet chamber of a liquid pump from a liquid
reservoir. The liquid pump is generally of the reciprocating type
which draws a quantity of liquid from the inlet chamber into the
pump chamber on each intake stroke, and on each exhaust stroke
delivers a quantity of liquid directly into a delivery tube which
is connected to a removable jet nozzle. A separate nozzle is
provided for each family member who would use the appliance. These
commercial units usually further include a pulse intensity control
that feeds back a portion of the pumped liquid to the inlet chamber
to reduce the pressure or force of the liquid discharged at the jet
nozzle. The bypass control knob is conventionally positioned on the
liquid pump's housing. In addition, none of the prior art devices
of this type have means for cutting off the discharge of the liquid
from the jet nozzle while the liquid pump is operating.
The above-described location of the control knob for varying the
intensity of pulses is quite inconvenient for the user. If the user
desires to vary the pulses'intensity during the cleaning and
massaging operation, it is quite difficult to fine the intensity
control knob while holding the jet nozzle inside his mouth. This
invention overcomes this disadvantage by providing variable pulse
intensity control in the handle for the jet nozzle.
The oral hygiene unit of this invention also provides in the jet
nozzle handle an on-off control over the discharge of the liquid
pulses from the jet nozzle. This on-off control permits the user to
have convenient and instant control over the operation of the jet
spray, which enables the user to place the jet nozzle inside the
mouth area before the liquid pulses are discharged from the jet
nozzle.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved oral
hygiene apparatus of the intermittent pulse type.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved oral
hygiene apparatus of the intermittent pulse type having a control
in the jet nozzle handle for varying the intensity of the liquid
pulses.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an oral hygiene
apparatus of the intermittent liquid pulse type having an on-off
control in the jet nozzle handle.
Briefly, in carrying out the objects of this invention, one
embodiment consists of a housing having a base member which
supports a removable liquid reservoir container and a storage and
display compartment for storing several jet nozzles and a jet
nozzle control handle. A liquid pump assembly is mounted in the
base member such that a spout in the bottom of the liquid reservoir
container registers with an opening in the pump housing for
supplying a liquid to the intake chamber of the pump. The liquid
pump is of the reciprocating piston type and delivers through a
resilient coiled tube a sequential series of pulses of liquid to
the jet nozzle control handle. The liquid pulses are delivered from
the tube into a discharge chamber within the control handle. The
discharge chamber has an outlet port in communication with a recess
or channel formed in the control handle that removably receives the
stem of a jet nozzle and a bypass port that is in communication
with one end of a second coiled resilient tube whose other end is
connected to a fitting formed in the intake chamber of the liquid
pump.
A valve mechanism is positioned within the discharge chamber of the
jet nozzle control handle and has a shutoff valve stem that is held
by a spring member into sealing engagement with the outlet port of
the discharge chamber. The shutoff valve stem is opened by pushing
inwardly on the jet nozzle which causes the stem of the jet nozzle
to engage the shutoff valve stem and push it away from the outlet
port to permit the liquid pulses to discharge from the jet
nozzle.
The valve mechanism also has a bypass valve stem that is positioned
in alignment with the bypass port. When the jet nozzle is pushed
inwardly to open the shutoff valve stem, it moves the bypass valve
stem to a position adjacent to the bypass port. The distance
between the bypass valve stem and bypass port determines what
portion of each pulse of liquid will be fed back to the pump's
intake chamber and thereby determines the intensity of the liquid
pulses discharged from the jet nozzle. To provide a variable
control over the intensity of the liquid pulses, the control handle
has an adjustable stop member that limits the distance the jet
nozzle can be pushed and thereby provides control for varying the
distance between the feedback valve stem and the feedback port.
Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent as the following specification proceeds, and the features
of novelty which characterize the invention will be pointed out
with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of
the specification.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may
be had to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a new and improved oral
hygiene appliance;
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along line
2-2 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken
along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of
FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the jet nozzle handle with the jet
nozzle held in the "on" position and the bypass valve shut off;
and
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the jet nozzle handle with the jet
nozzle held in the "on" position and the bypass valve open.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
There is shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, a housing 11 for an oral
hygiene appliance 10. To serve as a base or pedestal for the
appliance 10, housing 11 has a hollow, box-shaped base member 12
which also houses the liquid pump assembly 13 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).
Supported above base member 12 is a liquid reservoir container 16
and a storage and display compartment 17. The storage and display
compartment 17 is provided to store a number of jet nozzles 18 and
a jet nozzle control handle 19. The main support for storage and
display compartment 17 is its vertical rear wall 22, which is an
integral extension of the rear wall 23 of base member 12.
The jet nozzles 18 and jet nozzle handle 19 are stored in
receptacles formed in a V-shaped or channel-shaped member 25. The
V-shaped member 25 is secured between the front plate 28 of base
member 12 and a narrow horizontal top plate 29, which is formed
integrally of rear wall 22 at the upper edge thereof. To receive
and store the jet nozzles 18, a ledge 30 is provided on member 25
and is formed with a plurality of pockets 31 therein. As best seen
in FIG. 2, each pocket has an opening 32 large enough to snugly
receive a stem 33 of jet nozzle 18. The pockets 31 are of
sufficient depth to hold the jet nozzles 18 in a vertical position.
Each pocket 31 has an upstanding annular ridge 34 formed above
horizontal ledge 30 which engages the bottom edge of a fluted knob
36 secured to nozzle 18 above the stem 33; the ridges 34 facilitate
the grasping of knobs 36 by the fingers when the nozzles are being
removed from the pockets 31.
To store and receive jet nozzle handle 19, a receptacle 38 is
formed in member 25 at a position in front of and below the
horizontal ledge 30. The receptacle 38 is of sufficient depth to
support jet nozzle handle 19 in the vertical storage position. To
provide access to a storage space beneath member 25 for a pair of
coiled tubes 42 which supply and return liquid to and from the
handle 19, a slot 4 extends through the member 25 between
receptacle 38 and the forward edge of member 25. As will be
explained below, coiled tubes 42 are permanently connected between
jet nozzle handle 19 and liquid pump assembly 13.
The oral hygiene appliance 10 has a novel means for automatically
turning off the liquid pump assembly when the user is finished with
the cleaning and massaging operation. As the control handle 19 is
placed in receptacle 38, its bottom surface 20 contacts an
actuating arm 24 and moves arm 24 downwardly as is best shown in
FIG. 1. This downward movement actuating arm 24 causes spring
biased contact 27 of a switch 21 to move away from fixed contact 26
to open the circuit in which the switch 21 is connected. Since
switch 21 is connected in one of the electrical wires (not shown)
that electrically energizes the liquid pump assembly 13, the liquid
pump assembly 13 is deenergized when jet nozzle control handle 19
is placed in receptacle 38.
The electrical power for the liquid pump assembly is preferably
provided by the 115 volts A.C. available at any household electric
outlet, the 115 volts supply being reduced to 6 volts by means of a
potted water-sealed transformer to minimize shock hazards. A small
opening 35 is formed in rear wall 23 to permit the electrical cord
(not shown) connecting the transformer to a household outlet to
exit from housing 11.
To cover the jet nozzles 18 and jet nozzle handle 19 while in their
stored position on member 25, a plastic transparent L-shaped cover
member 45 is provided. Cover member 45 extends between horizontal
plate 29 and the top of front plate 28 and, together with side
walls 41 and 43 of storage and display compartment 17, it
completely encloses the area housing jet nozzles 18 and jet nozzle
handle 19.
The liquid reservoir container 16 is preferably made removable for
easy and convenient refilling of the liquid 50 which it supplies to
liquid pump assembly 13. The liquid reservoir container 16 can be
refilled by lifting its top plate 51. To permit the user to see the
level of liquid 50 while he is using the oral hygiene appliance 10,
the liquid reservoir container 16 has a liquid level indicator 53
which consists of an elongated, rectangular-shaped glass or
transparent plastic piece 54 that is mounted in the front plate 55
of liquid reservoir container 16.
The liquid 50 in liquid reservoir container 16 is prevented from
leaking out of opening 57 when the container 16 is separated from
appliance hygiene appliance 10 by means of a gravity valve 59. When
liquid reservoir container 16 is placed into the liquid supply
position (see FIG. 4), the gravity valve 59 is forced upwardly by a
boss 61 on the liquid pump housing 63 to permit the passage of the
liquid 50 through opening 57 of a spout 67. To provide a seal
between the outlet opening 57 and an inlet chamber 66 of pump
housing 63, an O-ring 64 is positioned in an annular groove 65 cut
into the outer surface of spout 67 so that the O-ring 64 is
compressed in sealing engagement with the interior of inlet chamber
66.
Liquid pump assembly 13 consists of liquid pump 62, a low voltage
permanent magnet motor 70, and gear mechanism 71. To reciprocally
drive a piston 72 of liquid pump 62, the rotary drive from output
shaft 73 is converted to a reciprocating motion by gear mechanism
61. Gear mechanism 71 consists of a small pinion gear 75 secured to
the end of output shaft 73, larger pinion gear 76 and scotch yoke
mechanism 77. Scotch yoke mechanism 77 includes a channel member or
guide 78 rigidly attached to the rod 80 by a set screw 81. A cross
head 82 is slidably mounted in the channel 78 and is pivoted on the
gear 76 on an eccentric stub shaft 83. When the gear 76 is rotated,
the cross head 82 moves back and forth while reciprocating motion
is transmitted directly to the rod 80. The end of the rod 80 remote
from pump 62 is mounted in a sliding bearing 85 formed in the block
member 86.
Because of the large driving forces applied to the liquid pump 62,
motor 70 and gear mechanism 71 are mounted on a metal T-shaped
frame 88. The T-shaped frame is secured at one end by two screws 89
to block member 86. At the other end, the T-shaped member 88 is
mounted to pump housing 63 by two screws (not shown).
As best shown in FIG. 4, the liquid pump 62 consists of an intake
chamber 91, a pump chamber 92, and an exhaust chamber 93. The pump
housing 63 for liquid pump 62 is constructed from two plastic block
members 95 and 96 that are secured together by a set of screws 98
and 99. Before the block members 95 and 96 are mounted together as
shown in FIG. 4, annular valve seats or members 101 and 102 are
each placed in a shouldered recess formed in block member 63 such
that they are each sandwiched between a pair of O-rings 104 and 105
which provide seals for members 101 and 102 and seal the space
between block members 95 and 96. Inlet valve 106 is held loosely in
the center of valve seat 101 by means of its four finger elements
107. Similarly, outlet valve 108 is held loosely in valve seat 102
by finger members 109. Inlet valve 106 is spring biased to the
closed position by spring member 11, and outlet valve 108 is spring
biased to the closed position by spring member 112.
The liquid 50 is fed from spout 67 of the liquid reservoir 16 into
inlet chamber 66 and passes through a kidney-shaped opening 113
(see FIG. 3) into intake chamber 91. A small circular opening 115
is drilled through block member 96 and fitting 116 is received in
block member 96 to provide a return path from the nozzle handle 19
to the intake chamber 91, as will be explained hereinafter.
During the operation of liquid pump assembly 13, piston 120 of
liquid pump 62 is reciprocated at about 600 strokes per minute. On
each of its intake strokes (towards the right as viewed in FIG. 3),
a quantity of liquid 50 is drawn from intake chamber 91 through
intake port 110 and pump chamber 92 into a piston chamber 114. On
each exhaust stroke of piston 120, the quantity of liquid 50 in
piston chamber 114 is driven through outlet port 117 into exhaust
chamber 93. On each intake stroke of piston 120, the pressure
inside pump chamber 92 is reduced which causes inlet valve 106 to
move against the pressure of spring 111 and open. On each exhaust
stroke of piston 120, the pressure in pump chamber 92 is increased
which causes outlet valve 108 to move against the force exerted by
spring 112.
Each quantity of liquid 50 that is discharged into exhaust chamber
93 is delivered to jet nozzle handle 19 by means of discharge tube
122 that is secured to the end of a fitting 121 which is secured to
block 96 and which communicates with the chamber 93. As will be
explained hereinafter, a second tube 123 is used to feed back a
portion or all of the liquid delivered to jet nozzle control handle
16. Both tubes 122 and 123 are made of a flexible plastic which is
relatively nonstretchable and is formed in a springlike coil.
The new and novel means for shutting off the pulses of liquid or
for controlling the intensity of these pulses is housed in control
handle 19, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. A valve mechanism 150
is arranged in the discharge chamber 151 of jet nozzle control
handle 19 to control the relative amounts of liquid fed back to the
pump 62 and discharged from the jet nozzle 18, depending on its
relative position within discharge chamber 151. Discharge chamber
151 is formed by three separate pieces that are mounted within an
outer cylindrical casing 155 of control handle 19. Two of these
three pieces consist of a block member 156 and a cylindrical block
member 158 which clamp a sealing gasket 157 between their adjacent
surfaces. At its upper end, cylindrical block member 158 is
threadedly engaged at 162 with the interior of outer casing
155.
The third piece forming the discharge chamber 151 is a valve guide
159 that is secured in an upwardly extending axial passageway 161
in cylindrical block member 158. Valve mechanism 150 consists of a
valve member 163 having a center spider piece 163a, and extending
below (as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6) the spider piece 163a is a
feedback valve stem 164 which cooperates with a conical seat 165 to
control the amount of liquid fed back to feedback tubing 123. The
upper end of the valve member 163 controls the on-off release of
the jet pulses and includes a shutoff valve stem 166 which is
slidably received in valve guide 159. An O-ring 167 carried by
valve member 163 and positioned between spider piece 163a and stem
166 seats between spider piece 163a and valve guide 159 to seal the
upper outlet from chamber 151. The shutoff valve stem 166 is
constructed as a hollow cylinder with several slots 170 to permit
the liquid to discharge from chamber 151 into the stem 33 of jet
nozzle 18. Valve member 163 is constantly biased by spring 171
upwardly (as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6) to urge the O-ring into a
sealing engagement with valve guide 159.
When the oral hygiene appliance 10 is to be used, one of the jet
nozzles 18 is taken from socket 31 and its stem 33 is inserted into
the center opening 172 in the upper end of jet nozzle handle 19.
The jet nozzle 18 is then pushed through opening 172 and moves
through the center bore 161 of cylindrical block member 158 until
the ball section 173 of stem 33 passes below the O-ring 160 which
is compressed as the ball section 173 passes therethrough. In this
position, the ball section 173 engages the top 168 of shutoff valve
stem 166.
To turn on the jet pulses, the user depresses the fluted knob 36 of
the jet nozzle 18 towards the jet nozzle handle 19. This depressing
motion by the user will cause the ball section 173 of stem 33 to
push the valve member 163 downwardly (as viewed in FIGS. 5 and 6)
and unseat the O-ring 167 which permits the passage of liquid into
the cylindrical section 166 and through stem 33 and out jet nozzle
18. When the user desires to turn off the jet pulses, he simply
releases the slight pressure being exerted on fluted knob 36, and
the spring pressure of spring 171 returns the valve mechanism 150
to the off position. In order to facilitate the operation of valve
mechanism 150 to a particular position which would produce a
desired rate or force of pulsed liquid discharged from the nozzle
18, handle 19 is provided with a adjustable collar 175.
In FIGS. 5 and 6, there is illustrated two different positions of
valve mechanism 150 with the fluted knob 36 depressed against
collar 175. FIG. 5 represents the condition of feedback valve stem
164 in sealing engagement with seat 165 to prevent any feedback of
the liquid pulses through tube 123. FIG. 6 represents the condition
of feedback valve stem 164 in the fully open feedback position with
the largest possible separation between feedback valve stem 164 and
seat 165. For the purpose of positioning collar 175 in various
axial locations with respect to handle 19, the upper end of block
member 158 is formed with a helical cam groove 177 within which a
pin 176 on the collar 175 rides as a cam follower. In FIG. 6, pin
176 is at the upper limit of its travel which will be termed the
0.degree. angular position. As collar 175 of stop device 174 is
turned between the angular positions shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the
distance between feedback valve stem 164 and seat 165 will vary
between the sealing position of FIG. 5 and the fully open position
of FIG. 6.
One of the goals in designing the oral hygiene appliance 10 was to
construct the jet nozzle handle 19 with a control that could
provide a reasonably linear variation between pulse intensity and
the amount of rotation of the control means. A jet nozzle handle
was constructed as described above and was found to have the
following test results: ##SPC1##
The above chart illustrates the large range of control over the
intensity of the pulses. By contrast, a current commercial unit
with its pulse intensity control knob mounted on its housing was
tested, and it was determined at the low setting, 368 ml. per
minute were discharged and at the high setting, 495 ml. per minute
were discharged.
One of the factors to be considered in designing an on-off control
for the jet liquid pulses in the jet nozzle handle is that the
liquid pump is continuously operating. If a valve mechanism
prevents the discharge of the liquid pulses, a large back pressure
is built up between the valve mechanism and the liquid pump which
will eventually cause a fault to develop and also causes the liquid
pump to waste power. In designing the valve mechanism 150 for jet
nozzle handle 19, this problem was overcome by arranging the
feedback valve stem 164 to be separated from seat 165 whenever
O-ring 167 seals off the discharge of the liquid pulses from jet
nozzle 18. As can be readily appreciated by referring to FIGS. 5
and 6, when O-ring 167 is in its shutoff position with valve member
163 in its uppermost position, all the liquid delivered by liquid
pump 62 to jet nozzle handle 19 enters discharge chamber 151 from
tube 122 and is fed back to liquid pump 62 through feedback tube
123. It should also be understood that in any intermediate position
of the valve mechanism 150 in which flow is limited through outlet
port 169, the feedback valve stem 164 will be separated from the
seat 165 and permit return flow through feedback tube 123.
Although the reasons for including the return feedback line 123 in
the above described system are not immediately evident, a
consideration of the alternatives is helpful in developing an
appreciation of the advantages of the instant invention. If the
flow of liquid through nozzle 18 is cut down by closing off the
slots 170, there will be an increase in the load on the pump 13.
This condition will cause the pump motor 70 to draw more power and
produce more wear and tear on the pump parts as well as the means
for conducting the liquid to the jet nozzle 18. When the flow
through the outlet port 169 is completely cut off, there is a
substantial increase in the pressure throughout the system and an
additional load on the motor and pump. The use of the feedback tube
123 permits one to employ a control positioned in the jet nozzle 18
while avoiding the pressure and overload problems inherent in a
non-circulating system. It is also possible with the feedback
arrangement to obtain the reasonably linear control of flow volume
over a fairly wide range. Accordingly, the oral hygiene appliance
disclosed herein is characterized by lower operating costs, better
and more accurate control of the water flow through the nozzle,
greater convenience, and longer life of the parts because of the
absence of the overloads.
While the invention has been described in connection with
particular pump unit construction, various other devices and
methods of practicing the invention will occur to those skilled in
the art. Therefore, it is not desired that the invention be limited
to the specific details illustrated and described and it is
intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications which
fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
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