U.S. patent number 3,608,548 [Application Number 04/809,862] was granted by the patent office on 1971-09-28 for oral hygiene device.
Invention is credited to Terreil D. Lewis.
United States Patent |
3,608,548 |
Lewis |
September 28, 1971 |
ORAL HYGIENE DEVICE
Abstract
An oral hygiene device comprising a brush having a tubular
handle with rows of bristles extending laterally from one end and a
discharge nozzle positioned between the outside rows of bristles
substantially contacting the adjacent bristle tufts to brace such
tufts and provide a clear discharge space for liquid issuing from
the nozzle so the liquid will directly contact the teeth and gums
and means are provided to produce a pulsating action on the liquid
to increase the stimulation of circulation and to flush the
loosened particles and also dilute the mouth acids. The handle is
made in two parts with the bristle-carrying portion removable for
replacement.
Inventors: |
Lewis; Terreil D. (Sebring,
FL) |
Family
ID: |
25202373 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/809,862 |
Filed: |
March 24, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
601/162; 401/207;
401/288; 401/289 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A46B
11/063 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A46B
11/00 (20060101); A46B 11/06 (20060101); A61h
009/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;128/62,66,67,65
;401/196,207 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Trapp; L. W.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An oral hygiene device comprising a handle having a passage for
liquid therethrough, a brush at one end of the handle having a
base, rows of tufts of bristles extending outwardly from the base,
a single outwardly projecting nozzle having an outer discharge
orifice within said rows of bristle tufts and extending a
substantial distance outwardly in a direction normal to the base
for directing fluid substantially parallel to the bristle tufts
intermediate the outer rows of bristle tufts thereby providing a
clear discharge space between the adjacent tufts so the emerging
liquid can directly contact the area to be cleaned, massaged and
stimulated, said discharge orifice communicating with the passage
in said handle whereby pulsating liquid under pressure can be
forced through the passage in the handle and discharged from said
orifice adjacent the teeth to provide an effective flushing action
while the teeth are being brushed, wherein the brush includes two
outer rows of bristles and an intermediate row of bristles, and the
discharge orifice is located at approximately the center of the
intermediate row of bristles and the nozzle extends outwardly in
the direction of the bristles at least approximately one-third of
their length and is of sufficient diameter so that the nozzle
prevents the adjacent bristles from interfering with the liquid
impinging on the areas to be cleaned.
2. The invention according to claim 1 in which a supply of
pulsating water is connected to the handle and communicates with
the passage therethrough.
3. The invention according to claim 1 in which the handle includes
a handgrip which is removable from the bristle section of the
device to provide for replacement of the bristle section so the
handgrip portion may be used by others without danger of
contamination.
4. The invention according to claim 3 in which a threaded nipple is
provided on one section and a threaded socket on the other section
with an O-ring to seal the connection.
5. The invention according to claim 1 in which the handle is
connected to a source of pulsating liquid under a pressure of from
approximately 15 to in the order of 100 p.s.i.
6. The invention according to claim 1 in which the passage in the
handle extends substantially the length thereof and the
hand-engaging section of the handle is removably connected to the
bristle-carrying section by an axial threaded connection and the
outer end of the handle is connected to a source of pulsating-water
jet supply of at least 15 p.s.i. pressure.
7. The invention according to claim 1 in which the passage in the
handle is connected to a source of pulsating liquid under a
pressure of from approximately 15 to in the order of 100 p.s.i.
Description
The present invention relates to oral hygiene and more particularly
to brushing of the teeth, stimulating the flow of blood in the gums
and the surrounding area and flushing away the foreign
particles.
Heretofore it has been conventional practice to brush the teeth
with hand-operated tooth brushes and recently many mechanical types
of vibrators have been added in an effort to increase the
effectiveness of the brushing action without requiring as much
physical effort, also various washing and pulsating devices have
been provided to additionally assist in the oral hygiene operation.
However, none of these have been entirely satisfactory because it
has frequently required several independent means to accomplish the
final end result of preserving the teeth against decay and
pyorrhea. Although a conventional tooth brush will produce
satisfactory results in combination with some of the other
available devices, the amount of time required and the effort
involved has prevented satisfactory cleaning of the teeth even with
the many dentifrices which are available.
An object of the present invention is to provide an oral hygiene
device which overcomes the objections of the prior art and provides
for effectively cleaning the teeth, stimulating the circulation and
the health of the adjacent tissue and diluting the acids in the
mouth.
Another object is to provide a tooth brush with means to produce a
liquid-pulsating action which accomplishes the effective cleaning
and preserving of the teeth.
Other and further objects will be apparent as the description
proceeds and upon reference to the accompanying drawing,
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a plan view of the brush in assembled relation showing
the hollow handle connected to a source of pulsating water;
FIG. 2 shows the handle;
FIG. 3 is an end view of the tooth brush;
FIG. 4 is an elevation of the brush showing the threaded connection
for attachment to the handle; and
FIG. 5 is a bottom view showing the rows of bristle tufts and the
liquid discharge nozzle in the center.
Briefly, the invention includes a brush having a tubular handle
with the bristle section of the brush removable from the handle for
replacement and to permit the handle to be used by different
members of the family and the handle is connected by a flexible
tube to a source of pulsating water while the bristle-carrying
section of the handle is provided with a nozzle to carry the liquid
which normally is water in a direction parallel with the bristle
tufts against the teeth and the gums while the tooth brush is used
in the conventional manner of brushing the teeth, the flushing
water serving to stimulate the circulation and also carrying away
the loosened particles.
Referring specifically to the drawing the tooth brush includes a
handle having a handle grip 1 with a passage 2 therethrough for
water and a brush shank 3 also has a longitudinally extending
passage 4 which terminates in the mid portion of the rows of
bristles 5 and the brush shank 3 is provided with a threaded nipple
end 6 having a cylindrical portion 7 at the free end thereof and
the nipple portion 6 is threaded into the female threaded socket 8
in the adjacent end of the handle section while the cylindrical
portion 7 extends further into the socket and engages an O-ring 9
to assure sealing relation. It will be noted that the handle
section 1 and the shank section 3 can be connected together by the
screwing action and to facilitate this operation the adjacent end
of the handle is made of a polygonal configuration 10 with the
handle section 1 tapering from the polygonal portion 10 toward the
free end of the handle. Connected to the free end of the handle by
any suitable means such as a coupling 11 is a coiled flexible tube
12 which is connected to a source of pulsating water 13 which may
be of the type shown in Mattingly U.S. Pat. No. 3,393,673 issued
July 23, 1968 and a suitable supply of water from a valve
controlled source 14 is connected in any suitable manner to the
supply of pulsating water 13 to assure continuous operation.
When the handle sections are connected together as shown in FIG. 1
liquid is supplied to the section within the rows of bristle tufts
by means of a nozzle 15 having an orifice 16 therethrough, the
nozzle being secured to the brush section 3 by any suitable means
and the orifice 16 being relatively small so that the pulsating
flow of water through the nozzle against the teeth and other parts
of the mouth will produce the healthful pulsating action to remove
plaques of decay and pyorrhea from the teeth and flush the mouth
simultaneously while stimulating the circulation.
The nozzle is made of a size to substantially fill the space
between the bristle tufts on the adjacent outside rows of tufts and
the nozzle extends in the direction of the bristle tufts a
sufficient distance to brace the adjacent tufts for a distance of
approximately one-third the length of the bristles so that a clear
space is provided for the discharge of liquid from the nozzle to
the teeth of the user and for this purpose the sides of the nozzle
are substantially straight for this distance.
The bristles of the brush can be of any type including hard, soft
or medium and may have different arrangements of rows of bristles,
but the arrangement with three rows of bristles is particularly
desirable since one bristle tuft may be omitted at the center of
the brush and the nozzle positioned at such location.
The pulsation produced by the source of pulsating liquid produces a
stimulating action in contrast to a steady stream or a steady
pressure in a manner similar to a steady pressure on the arm where
the steady pressure produces white indicating that the blood is not
circulating while the alternating pressure produces pink or red as
the blood is made to circulate and the present invention makes use
of this advantage in addition to the rubbing action with the brush
thereby producing a healthful stimulation of the gums.
Heretofore there have been steady streams issuing from nozzles
arranged as pics but there has not been the pulsating forceful
stimulating jet in combination with a brush which is directed on
the gums and the teeth as targets so that the stimulation of the
oral cavity and the gums is greatly increased in the simple
operation of brushing with the brush connected to the course of
pulsating liquid.
The pressures used may be from the city water supply which may vary
from 15 to 100 p.s.i. and the invention operates satisfactorily at
pressures of this order and such pressures are contemplated within
the scope of the invention.
From the above description the advantages of the brush attached to
a source of pulsating jet flow of water is believed to be obvious
since the brush can be used in the usual manner while the jet flow
action takes place to enhance the cleaning action and obtain the
numerous advantages of flushing away the particles including
plaques, pyorrhea and decay and simultaneously stimulating the
circulation of blood and there is no danger of the brush clogging
up since the passages 2 and 4 in the brush sections are larger than
the discharge opening in the nozzle.
It will be apparent that changes may be made within the spirit of
the invention as defined by the valid scope of the claims.
* * * * *