Surgery – Instruments – Optic – otic or oral scrapper or abrader
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-15
2001-11-27
Mancene, Gene (Department: 3731)
Surgery
Instruments
Optic, otic or oral scrapper or abrader
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322573
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to oral hygiene, and more particularly to an electrically powered device for cleaning the surface of the tongue, and most particularly to an electric tongue cleaning device that uses high-speed oscillation to dislodge bacterial plaque and other debris from within the surface of the tongue to enhance the cleaning thereof, and to methods of using such a device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Halitosis or bad breath is a cosmetic problem that afflicts millions of people. The primary source of halitosis is bacteria of the oral cavity, and particularly those that inhabit the dorsal surface of the tongue. Certain kinds of bacteria produce volatile sulfur compounds (VSC's) that are responsible for the most common malodors associated with bad breath. In addition to taste buds, the dorsal or top surface of the tongue also includes papillae, which are microscopic finger-like projections resembling a thick carpet on the surface of the tongue.
The carpet-like structure of the tongue papillae provides a favorable harbor for bacteria to accumulate and propagate between 5 the papillae, thereby often producing a bacterial tongue plaque, which may also include other debris such as food, tobacco byproducts, and salivary residue. The presence of bacterial tongue plaque on and within the surface of the tongue facilitates the production of oral; VSC's, thereby contributing to halitosis or 10 bad breath.
Many methods have been employed to remedy the problem of halitosis often, the odors are simply masked, for example by using flavored breath mints or candies, mouth drops, aerosol sprays, lozenges or chewing gum. These products employ aromatic oils or compounds, such as wintergreen or peppermint, to overpower and thereby mask the malodors of halitosis, as well as food-related odors, such as garlic or onions. Alternatively, mouth washes and mouth rinses may be used. These products usually include anti-bacterial agents, such as alcohol, or a combination of chemical agents and aromatic compounds, such as oil of wintergreen. Anti-bacterial or chemical agents may kill bacteria to consequently prevent them from producing VSCIs, while aromatic components simply mask any prevailing odors, and give the user a feeling of refreshment.
Another method widely used to eliminate halitosis involves cleaning the tongue. Besides using chemical agents, two basic categories of tongue cleaning devices are often used, namely tongue brushes and tongue scrapers. Tongue brushes have head and bristle designs, e.g. wide heads and/or low profile bristles, that are specifically adapted for brushing the tongue, although sometimes toothbrushes may simply be used for this purpose. Tongue scrapers are long, narrow blades of metal or plastic, which are manually pulled over the dorsal surface of the tongue. Some tongue scrapers may resemble a common disposable razor, except with a plastic edge or ridge in place of the razor blade. other scrapers are a long, narrow blade which is held by a user on both ends of the blade and then pulled or scraped over the dorsal surface of the tongue.
One of the problems often encountered with conventional scrapers or brushes is that they have difficulty cleaning the relatively inaccessible areas of the tongue surface, particularly those areas adjacent to the base of the papillae. Because of the relatively slow speeds at which these devices are operated, they generally only clean the outermost surface of the tongue papillae. The bristles or blades provide poor access into the “carpet” of the papillae to loosen debris therein, and consequently conventional devices may not effectively remove the bacterial tongue plaque located within the surface of the tongue, i.e. between or adjacent to the base of the tongue papillae, which contributes substantially to halitosis.
Accordingly, there is a need for more effective devices and methods for removing bacterial tongue plaque and/or treating halitosis.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an electrically powered device for cleaning the surface of the tongue. In a preferred embodiment, the device includes an electrically, powered handle having a longitudinal axis, and an elongate member extending axially from the handle and terminating in a cleaning head adapted to reciprocate in predetermined direction. The cleaning head includes a plurality of agitation members for loosening debris within the surface of the tongue, and/or one or more cleaning members for removing debris from the surface of the tongue. An electric motor is provided within the handle adapted to operate at a predetermined frequency and thereby reciprocate the elongate member in the predetermined direction at the predetermined frequency.
Preferably, the agitation members are arranged on the cleaning head substantially perpendicular to the predetermined direction of reciprocation, and the cleaning member extends across the cleaning head substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle. One or more of the agitation members and/or the cleaning member may be an elongate blade or an elongate bank of bristles.
The elongate member preferably is a tongue cleaning attachment that may be detachably mounted on the handle. The tongue cleaning attachment preferably has a predetermined configuration that is tuned to resonate when reciprocated at a predetermined frequency, preferably within the sonic range, i.e. between about 1,000 and about 20,000 cycles per minute, thereby inducing a resonance action in the cleaning head.
In a preferred embodiment of the handle, an eccentric counterweight is attached to the motor, the counterweight being adapted to produce sonic vibrational energy. The sonic energy may be transmitted to the tongue elongate member, i.e. through the handle and the elongate member, thereby reciprocating the cleaning head.
During use, the cleaning head is placed in contact with the surface being cleaned, preferably the dorsal surface of the tongue. The cleaning head is reciprocated, preferably at speeds of between about 2,000 and about 40,000 strokes per minute, whereby the agitation members engage the dorsal surface to 10 dislodge debris therefrom. The cleaning head is manually directed along the surface of the tongue, whereby the cleaning member cleans the surface thereof.
Thus, an important feature of the present invention is that the cleaning head includes a plurality of agitation members and one or more cleaning members. The agitation members are oriented on the cleaning head substantially perpendicular to the direction of reciprocation to serve an agitating function to loosen bacterial tongue plaque from within the surface of the tongue, while the cleaning members are oriented preferably across the width of the cleaning head to remove the loosened bacterial plaque and other debris from the surface of the tongue, and thereby substantially reducing the production of VSC's that may contribute substantially to halitosis.
Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide an electrically powered device for cleaning the tongue, and particularly for loosening plaque and other debris within the surface of the tongue.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from consideration of the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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pate
Lyon & Lyon LLP
Mancene Gene
Robert Eduardo C.
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