# US 11,076,939 B2 · Cleaning appliance > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,076,939 B2 - Document ID: US11076939B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/573,939 - Filed: 2016-04-25 - Published: 2018-10-11 - Granted: 2021-08-03 - Earliest claimed: 2015-05-15 - Assignees: Dyson Technology Limited - Applicants: Dyson Technology Limited - Inventors: Thomas James Dunning Follows; William John Bex-Russell; Stephen Benjamin Courtney; Jason Godfrey Jones - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11076939B2 ## CPC - A61C 17/028: with intermittent liquid flow - A61C 1/0015: {Electrical systems} - A61C 1/0061: {Air and water supply systems; Valves specially adapted therefor (A61C1/052 takes precedence; rinsing or air-blowing devices A61C17/02)} - A61C 17/0202: {Hand-pieces} - A61C 17/221: {Control arrangements therefor} - A61C 17/222: {Brush body details, e.g. the shape thereof or connection to handle} - A61C 17/36: with rinsing means - A61C: DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE (non-driven toothbrushes A46B; {tongue scrapers A61B17/24;} preparations for dentistry A61K6/00; preparations for cleaning the teeth or mouth A61K8/00, A61Q11/00) ## 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 ### Claim 1 A dental cleaning appliance comprising: a fluid reservoir configured to store working fluid; a fluid delivery system comprising a fluid inlet, a pump configured to draw the working fluid from the fluid reservoir through the fluid inlet, a hydraulic accumulator configured to receive the 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 and a closed position and being configured so that in the open position the accumulator can deliver a burst of the working fluid to the nozzle for delivery to teeth of a user and in the closed position the accumulator can be replenished from the fluid reservoir by action of the pump; and a control circuit configured to actuate the pump and control the position of the valve. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the valve is a solenoid valve. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the fluid delivery system comprises a one-way valve located between the fluid inlet and the pump. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the fluid delivery system comprises a one-way valve located between the pump and the accumulator. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the accumulator has a capacity in the range from 0.1 to 1 ml. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the accumulator is one of a spring-type accumulator and a gas-charged accumulator. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the pump is a diaphragm pump. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the accumulator has a capacity that is smaller than the capacity of the fluid reservoir. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the fluid reservoir has a capacity in the range from 5 to 50 ml. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, comprising a handle and a cleaning tool connected to the handle. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The appliance of claim 10, wherein the handle houses the fluid inlet, the pump, the accumulator and the control circuit. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, compromising a handle and a cleaning tool connected to the handle, wherein the cleaning tool comprises the fluid reservoir and the nozzle. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) 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. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The appliance of claim 13, 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. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The appliance of claim 14, wherein the sensor is arranged to output a signal indicative of the pressure of working fluid within the accumulator. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The appliance of claim 14, wherein the sensor is arranged to output a signal upon contact with a moveable part of the accumulator. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) 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. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The appliance of claim 17, wherein the user action on the appliance is the actuation of a button of the appliance. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) 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. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) 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. ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) 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. ### Claim 22 (depends on 1) The appliance of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to open the valve to deliver the burst of working fluid from the accumulator and then close the valve and actuate the pump to replenish the accumulator.