Sultan Chemists, Inc.

Lester Heiman

John Lonczak

Christopher Goggin

An automatic cleaning device for delivering a cleaning fluid to a vacuum hose of a dental suction system is provided which automatically dispenses a measured amount of cleaning fluid into the vacuum hose each time that a dental instrument is changed. The automatic cleaning device includes a housing having a first end and a second end. The first end of the housing is adapted to releasably receive a hollow dental instrument, such as a suction tube. The second end of the housing is coupled to the vacuum hose. The housing of the automatic cleaning device includes a cavity which extends from the first end to the second end and a reservoir is disposed within the housing, the reservoir containing a cleansing fluid. A hollow piston is disposed within the housing and coupled to the first end of the housing such that receipt of the hollow dental instrument in the first end of the housing causes a forward-backward longitudinal movement of the hollow piston. The hollow piston provides an air-flow passage between the first end and the second end of the housing to provide air flow from the hollow dental instrument to the vacuum hose. A pair of longitudinally spaced apart protrusions extend outwardly from an outer surface of the hollow piston. A tab extends across a portion of the reservoir and contacts each of the protrusions during the forward-backward movement of the hollow piston. In accordance with a further aspect of this embodiment, the pair of protrusions are a pair of O-rings and the reservoir has an outer wall defined by the inner wall of the housing and has an inner wall defined by the outer surface of the hollow piston.

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Somerset, NJ, United States of America

Lester Heiman