Simultaneous cleaning of multiple teeth

Abstract

A method and an apparatus are disclosed for simultaneously cleaning multiple teeth, such as one or both dental arches are disclosed. The Dental Cleaning Apparatus includes a cleaning engine enclosed in a main housing, a fluid tube, and a mouthpiece. The cleaning engine includes a fluid circuit having a number of pumps and solenoid valves, and a programmable controller to control the solenoid valves and other operations. The fluid tube includes a number of separate tubes for injection and evacuation of cleaning fluid from the interior of the mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is generally made from a flexible and supple material, such as silicone, and may have bristles of various shapes. The cleaning engine alternates the mouthpiece between a relaxation state and a contraction state to effectively scrub the surface of all enclosed teeth simultaneously. It may automatically learn and adjust the vacuum pressure needed for each user to optimize cleaning.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A Dental Cleaning Apparatus (DCA) comprising:
 a cleaning engine including a programmable controller, a plurality of computer-controlled pumps controlled by the programmable controller, and a plurality of computer-controlled valves coupled with the pumps and controlled by the programmable controller;   a fluid circuit;   a mouthpiece;   a pressure sensor deployed to measure pressure in the fluid circuit; and   wherein the cleaning engine controls the plurality of computer-controlled pumps and computer-controlled valves to alternate the mouthpiece between a relaxation state and a contraction state based on real-time pressure measurements from the pressure sensor.   
     
     
         2 . The DCA of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fluid transport tube coupled with the cleaning engine and the mouthpiece;   wherein the fluid circuit includes the fluid transport tube; and   wherein the cleaning engine controls the plurality of computer-controlled pumps and computer-controlled valves to move fluid through the fluid transport tube to the mouthpiece and to drain fluid from the mouthpiece.   
     
     
         3 . The DCA of  claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensor:
 measures pressure data within the fluid circuit; and   transmits the pressure data as a feedback signal to the programmable controller.   
     
     
         4 . The DCA of  claim 3 , wherein:
 the feedback signal is used to define a duration of at least one phase of a cleaning cycle.   
     
     
         5 . The DCA of  claim 3 , wherein:
 the feedback signal is used to define at least one of: (i) a pressure needed for at least one phase of a cleaning cycle of the DCA; and (iii) a duration of the at least one phase of the cleaning cycle.   
     
     
         6 . The DCA of  claim 3 , wherein:
 the feedback signal is used to detect a proper placement of the mouthpiece; and   the DCA starts a cleaning cycle automatically as a result of detecting the proper placement, without any user input.   
     
     
         7 . The DCA of  claim 3 , wherein:
 the feedback signal is used by the cleaning engine to control at least one of the plurality of computer-controlled pumps to adjust a pressure cycle of the cleaning engine.   
     
     
         8 . The DCA of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the plurality of computer-controlled pumps and the plurality of computer-controlled valves include control interfaces; and   the cleaning engine operates the plurality of computer-controlled pumps and the plurality of computer-controlled valves via electronic signals transmitted from the programmable controller to the control interfaces.   
     
     
         9 . The DCA of  claim 1 , wherein the pressure sensor:
 is located at an output port of the mouthpiece to measure pressure within the mouthpiece; and   transmits measured data to the programmable controller to calculate an optimal pressure exerted by the plurality of computer-controlled pumps.   
     
     
         10 . A Dental Cleaning Apparatus (DCA) comprising:
 a cleaning engine including a programmable controller, a plurality of computer-controlled pumps controlled by the programmable controller, and a plurality of computer-controlled valves coupled with the pumps and controlled by the programmable controller;   a mouthpiece, made from a flexible and supple material; and   a pressure sensor deployed to measure pressure in the mouthpiece;   wherein the cleaning engine controls the plurality of computer-controlled pumps and computer-controlled valves to alternate the mouthpiece between a relaxation state and a contraction state based on real-time pressure measurements from the pressure sensor.   
     
     
         11 . The DCA of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a fluid circuit;   a fluid transport tube coupled with the cleaning engine and the mouthpiece;   wherein the fluid circuit includes the fluid transport tube; and   wherein the cleaning engine controls the plurality of computer-controlled pumps and computer-controlled valves to move fluid through the fluid transport tube to the mouthpiece and to drain fluid from the mouthpiece.   
     
     
         12 . The DCA of  claim 10 , wherein the pressure sensor:
 measures pressure data within the mouthpiece; and   transmits the pressure data as a feedback signal to the programmable controller.   
     
     
         13 . The DCA of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the feedback signal is used to define a duration of at least one phase of a cleaning cycle.   
     
     
         14 . The DCA of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the feedback signal is used to define at least one of: (i) a pressure needed for at least one phase of a cleaning cycle of the DCA; and (iii) a duration of the at least one phase of the cleaning cycle.   
     
     
         15 . The DCA of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the feedback signal is used to detect a proper placement of the mouthpiece; and   the DCA starts a cleaning cycle automatically as a result of detecting the proper placement, without any user input.   
     
     
         16 . The DCA of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the feedback signal is used by the cleaning engine to control at least one of the plurality of computer-controlled pumps to adjust a pressure cycle of the cleaning engine.   
     
     
         17 . The DCA of  claim 10 , wherein:
 the plurality of computer-controlled pumps and the plurality of computer-controlled valves include control interfaces; and   the cleaning engine operates the plurality of computer-controlled pumps and the plurality of computer-controlled valves via electronic signals transmitted from the programmable controller to the control interfaces.   
     
     
         18 . The DCA of  claim 10 , wherein the pressure sensor:
 is located at an output port of the mouthpiece to measure pressure within the mouthpiece; and   transmits measured data to the programmable controller to calculate an optimal pressure exerted by the plurality of computer-controlled pumps.   
     
     
         19 . A method for adjusting a cleaning cycle of Dental Cleaning Apparatus (DCA), the method comprising:
 measuring, using a pressure sensor deployed a mouthpiece of the DCA, a pressure;   providing a feedback signal, from the pressure sensor to a programmable controller of the DCA, wherein the feedback signal is based on the pressure; and   adjusting, based on the feedback signal, at least one phase of the cleaning cycle of the DCA;   wherein the adjusting is carried out by the programmable controller by controlling at least one programmable pump and at least one programmable valve of the DCA.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 controlling, by a cleaning engine of the DCA, the at least one programmable pump and the at least one programmable valve to move fluid through a fluid transport tube to the mouthpiece and to drain fluid from the mouthpiece;   wherein the fluid transport tube is coupled with the cleaning engine and the mouthpiece.