EP-4740904-A2 - ORAL IRRIGATOR

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an oral irrigator. In one embodiment, the oral irrigator comprises: a housing; at least one rechargeable battery received within the housing; and at least one housing magnet connected to the housing; and a charging unit selectively connectable to the housing of the oral irrigator and configured to provide a charge to the at least one rechargeable battery, the charging unit comprising at least one charger magnet connected to the charging unit. The at least one housing magnet and the at least one charger magnet cooperate to removably connect the charging unit to the housing of the oral irrigator.

Inventors

• LUETTGEN, HAROLD A.
• SENFF, OSCAR
• WOODARD, BRIAN
• HANSON, BLAINE
• HUBER, Jonathan

Assignees

• Water Pik, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20151201

Claims (15)

1. An oral irrigation assembly comprising: an oral irrigator (100) comprising: a housing (138, 140); at least one rechargeable battery received within the housing; and at least one housing magnet (420, 450a, 450b) connected to the housing; and a charging unit (134) comprising a charger housing (454) selectively connectable to the housing of the oral irrigator and configured to provide a charge to the at least one rechargeable battery, the charging unit comprising at least one charger magnet (476a, 476b) connected to the charging unit; wherein the at least one housing magnet and the at least one charger magnet cooperate to removably connect the charging unit to the housing of the oral irrigator.
2. The oral irrigation assembly of claim 1, wherein: the oral irrigator comprises a secondary charging coil (486); and the charging unit comprises a primary charging coil (466), wherein at least one of the secondary charging coil or the primary charging coil include a plurality of twisted copper wires.
3. The oral irrigation assembly of claim 1 or 2, wherein the charging unit is made of plastics or other low-heat resistant products.
4. The oral irrigation assembly of claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the charging unit includes a plurality of cooling grooves (462a, 462b) defined in a side of the housing (454) of the charging unit.
5. The oral irrigation assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the charging unit generally conforms to the shape of the oral irrigator body.
6. The oral irrigation assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the charging unit comprises an activation switch (487) that activates the charging unit when the charging unit is connected to the housing of the oral irrigator.
7. The oral irrigation assembly of claim 6, wherein the activation switch comprises a Hall effect sensor that interacts with the at least one housing magnet.
8. The oral irrigation assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the housing comprises a front shell (138) and the charging unit couples to the front shell of the housing.
9. The oral irrigation assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the at least one housing magnet comprises an activation magnet (420) and a lateral magnet (450a, 450b).
10. The oral irrigation assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the charging unit comprises a curved interior surface and a convexly curved exterior surface.
11. The oral irrigation assembly of any preceding claim, wherein the charging unit comprises: a power cord (136) extending into the charger housing; and an O-ring (473) received around the power cord and positioned between the power cord and the charger housing.
12. The oral irrigation assembly of claim 11, wherein the power cord further comprises a strain relief section (458) at a connection location to the charger housing.
13. A method of charging an oral irrigator comprising: aligning a charging unit (134) to a front shell (138) of a housing (138, 140) for an oral irrigator based on a magnetic force; activating the charging unit based by an activation magnet (420) in the oral irrigator; inducing a current in a coil assembly (466, 486) of the oral irrigator by the charging unit; and transmitting the current form the coil assembly of the oral irrigator to a rechargeable battery of the oral irrigator.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the charging unit further comprises an activation switch (487) activated by the activation magnet.
15. The method of claim 13 or 14, further comprising allowing air to flow between the charging unit and the front shell via one or more cooling grooves (562a, 462b).

Description

Cross Reference to Related Applications This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/086,051 filed December 1, 2014 and entitled "Waterproof Cordless Oral Irrigator," and to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/132,319 filed March 12, 2015 and entitled "Waterproof Cordless Oral Irrigator," the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to health and personal hygiene equipment and more particularly, to oral irrigators. Background Oral irrigators typically are used to clean a user's teeth and gums by discharging a pressurized fluid stream into a user's oral cavity. The fluid impacts the teeth and gums to remove debris. Many oral irrigators include electrical components, such as batteries, a motor, or the like. For example, typically oral irrigators include a motor driven pump that pumps fluid from a reservoir to the tip. Often oral irrigators are used in a wet environment, such as a bathroom and some users may even take the irrigators into the shower or bath, but conventional oral irrigators are not waterproof, merely water resistant. Hence, conventional oral irrigators may be protected from splashes and incidental fluid contact, but as they are not waterproof may not protect electronic components when submersed in water or exposed to large amounts of water. When water and other fluids reach the electronic components, the fluids can cause the oral irrigator to malfunction and may even prevent the oral irrigator from operating completely. As such, there is a need for an oral irrigator that is waterproof. Summary One example of the present disclosure may take the form of an oral irrigator pump. The oral irrigator pump may include a motor, a pump body, a connecting rod, and a diaphragm seal. The connecting rod may be at least partially received within the pump body and movably connected to the motor and the motor moves the connecting rod between a first position and a second position within the pump body. As the connecting rod moves from the first position to the second position, the diaphragm seal deforms from a first orientation to a second orientation. Another example of the present disclosure may take the form of an oral irrigator. The oral irrigator may include a reservoir, a tip fluidly connected to the reservoir, a motor having a drive shaft, and a pump fluidly connected to the reservoir and the tip. The pump may include a pump body including a pump inlet fluidly connected to the reservoir and a pump outlet fluidly connected to the tip, a pinion gear placed on the drive shaft and including a plurality of pinion gear teeth that curve along their length, and a driven gear including a plurality of driven gear teeth that mesh with the pinion gear teeth. In this embodiment, the pinion gear teeth and the driven gear teeth are spiral gears with beveled edges. The pump may also include a connecting rod eccentrically connected to the driven gear and a piston connected to a first end of the connecting rod and received within the pump body. In operation, movement of the drive shaft of the motor causes the pinion gear to rotate, which causes the driven gear to rotate, translating the connecting rod and moving the piston laterally within the pump body to pull fluid from the reservoir and push the fluid to the tip. Yet another example of the present disclosure may take the form of an oral irrigator including a handle fluidly connected to a reservoir and a tip latch assembly connected to the handle. The tip latch assembly may include a latch with an integrally formed biasing structure and at least one prong selectively movable from an engaged position to a disengaged position. The tip latch assembly may also include a tip release button engaging at least one surface of the latch. To operate the latch, a user exerts a force on the tip release button, which causes the tip release button to exert a force against the at least one surface of the latch, overcoming a biasing force exerted by the biasing structure and causing the at least one prong to move from the engaged position to the disengaged position. When the user removes the force from the tip release button, the biasing structure exerts the biasing force on the tip release button as the at least one prong moves from the disengaged position back to the engaged position. Another example of the present disclosure may take the form of a waterproof oral irrigator. The waterproof oral irrigator may include a body including a front shell and a rear shell connected together to define a cavity, an interior housing received within the cavity, and a control assembly connected to an outer surface of the interior housing and positioned between an interior surface of the front shell and the interior housing. The waterproof oral irrigator may also include a first sealing member connected to the front shell and the interior housing, where the first sealing member surrounds th