CLEANING APPLIANCE

• US 20180289456A1
• Filed: 04/25/2016
• Published: 10/11/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dyson Technology Limited (Beeswax Holdings UK Limited)
• Original Assignee: Dyson Technology Limited (Beeswax Holdings UK Limited)
• Inventors: FOLLOWS, Thomas James Dunning, BEX-RUSSELL, William John, COURTNEY, Stephen Benjamin, JONES, Jason Godfrey
• Granted Patent: US 11,076,939 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 1/0015 Electrical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 1/0061 Air and water supply systems; Valves specially adapted therefor A61C1/052 takes precedence; rinsing or air-blowing devices A61C17/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/0202 Hand-pieces
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/028 with intermittent liquid flow
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/221 Control arrangements therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/222 Brush body details, e.g. the shape thereof or connection to handle
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/36 with rinsing means

Abstract

A fluid delivery system of a dental cleaning appliance includes a fluid inlet, a pump for drawing a working fluid through the fluid inlet, a hydraulic accumulator for receiving working fluid from the pump, a nozzle having a fluid outlet, and a valve located between the accumulator and the nozzle. The valve has an open position for enabling the accumulator to deliver a burst of working fluid to the nozzle, and a closed position for enabling the accumulator to be replenished under the action of the pump. A control circuit actuates the pump and controls the position of the valve.

Claims

1. A dental cleaning appliance comprising:

a fluid delivery system comprising a fluid inlet, a pump for drawing a working fluid through the fluid inlet, a hydraulic accumulator for receiving working fluid from the pump, a nozzle having a fluid outlet, and a valve located between the accumulator and the nozzle, the valve having an open position for enabling the accumulator to deliver a burst of working fluid to the nozzle and a closed position for enabling the accumulator to be replenished under the action of the pump; and

a control circuit for actuating the pump and for controlling the position of the valve.

2. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the valve is a solenoid valve.

3. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the fluid delivery system comprises a one-way valve located between the fluid inlet and the pump.

4. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the fluid delivery system comprises a one-way valve located between the pump and the accumulator.

5. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the accumulator has a capacity in the range from 0.1 to 1 ml.

6. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the accumulator is one of a spring-type accumulator and a gas-charged accumulator.

7. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the pump is a diaphragm pump.

8. The appliance of claim 1, comprising a fluid reservoir for storing working fluid, and wherein the pump is arranged to draw working fluid from the fluid reservoir.

9. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the accumulator has a capacity that is smaller than the capacity of the fluid reservoir.

10. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the fluid reservoir has a capacity in the range from 5 to 50 ml.

11. The appliance of claim 1, comprising a handle and a cleaning tool connected to the handle.

12. The appliance of claim 8, compromising a handle and a cleaning tool connected to the handle, wherein the cleaning tool comprises the fluid reservoir and the nozzle.

13. The appliance of claim 11, wherein the handle houses the fluid inlet, the pump, the accumulator and the control circuit.

14. The appliance of claim 1, comprising a sensor, and wherein the control circuit is arranged to control at least one of the position of the valve and the actuation of the pump depending on an output from the sensor.

15. The appliance of claim 14, wherein the sensor is arranged to provide an output to the control circuit which is indicative of the volume of working fluid within the accumulator.

16. The appliance of claim 15, wherein the sensor is arranged to output a signal indicative of the pressure of working fluid within the accumulator.

17. The appliance of claim 15, wherein the sensor is arranged to output a signal upon contact with a moveable part of the accumulator.

18. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is arranged to control at least one of the position of the valve and the actuation of the pump in response to a user action on the appliance.

19. The appliance of claim 18, wherein the user action on the appliance is the actuation of a button of the appliance.

20. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is arranged to hold the valve in an open position for a time period in the range from 1 to 30 ms to deliver a single burst of working fluid to the nozzle.

21. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is arranged to replenish the accumulator following the delivery of a single burst of working fluid to the nozzle.

22. The appliance of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is arranged to replenish the accumulator following the delivery of a plurality of bursts of working fluid to the nozzle.

23. A handle for a dental cleaning appliance comprising a cleaning tool to which the handle is detachably connectable, the cleaning tool comprising a nozzle through which a burst of working fluid is delivered to the teeth of a user, the handle comprising:

a fluid inlet;

a pump for drawing working fluid through the fluid inlet;

a hydraulic accumulator for receiving working fluid from the pump;

a fluid outlet port which is in fluid communication with the nozzle when the cleaning tool is connected to the handle;

a valve located between the accumulator and the fluid outlet, the valve having an open position for enabling the accumulator to deliver a burst of working fluid to the fluid outlet and a closed position for enabling the accumulator to be replenished under the action of the pump; and

a control circuit for actuating the pump and for controlling the position of the valve.

24. The handle of claim 23, wherein the valve is a solenoid valve.

25. The handle of claim 23, comprising a one-way valve located between the fluid reservoir and the pump.

26. The handle of claim 23, comprising a one-way valve located between the pump and the accumulator.

27. The handle of claim 23, wherein the accumulator has a capacity in the range from 0.1 to 1 ml.

28. The handle of claim 23, wherein the accumulator is one of a spring-type accumulator and a gas-charged accumulator.

29. The handle of claim 23, wherein the pump is a diaphragm pump.

30. The handle of claim 23, comprising a sensor, and wherein the control circuit is arranged to control at least one of the position of the valve and the actuation of the pump depending on an output from the sensor.

31. The handle of claim 30, wherein the sensor is arranged to provide an output to the control circuit which is indicative of the volume of working fluid within the accumulator.

32. The handle of claim 31, wherein the sensor is arranged to output a signal indicative of the pressure of working fluid within the accumulator.

33. The handle of claim 31, wherein the sensor is arranged to output a signal upon contact with a moveable part of the accumulator.

34. The handle of claim 23, wherein the control circuit is arranged to control at least one of the position of the valve and the actuation of the pump in response to a user action on the handle.

35. The handle of claim 34, wherein the user action on the handle is the actuation of a button of the handle.

36. The handle of claim 23, wherein the control circuit is arranged to hold the valve in an open position for a time period in the range from 1 to 30 ms to deliver a single burst of working fluid to the nozzle.

37. The handle of claim 23, wherein the control circuit is arranged to replenish the accumulator following the delivery of a single burst of working fluid to the nozzle.

38. The handle of claim 23, wherein the control circuit is arranged to replenish the accumulator following the delivery of a plurality of bursts of working fluid to the nozzle.