Oral Irrigator Electrolysis Chamber with Hypochlorite Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
The administration of electrochemically activated solutions (ECAS) for oral care poses challenges due to potential high concentrations of hypochlorite being risky or painful, degradation issues, and the need for a system that can safely generate and control antimicrobial output in varying hygiene conditions, especially in private home environments.
Innovation Solution
An oral irrigator system with an electrolysis chamber, hypochlorite sensor, and oxidation-reduction potential sensor that generates and controls the concentration of hypochlorite/hypochlorous acid solution in situ, ensuring safe and effective dispensing by adjusting the electrolysis reaction based on contaminant levels and maintaining optimal concentrations below 500 ppm.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ECAS is generated with high hypochlorite concentration for effective antimicrobial action, then biofilm removal efficacy is improved, but safety and comfort for oral administration deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the hypochlorite concentration parameter in real-time based on sensor feedback, maintaining it within the safe range (below 500 ppm) while ensuring sufficient antimicrobial activity. This resolves the contradiction by making the concentration adaptable rather than fixed at high levels.
Solution Approach 2:
Hypochlorite sensors continuously monitor the generated solution concentration and provide feedback to the control system, which adjusts electrolysis parameters accordingly. This closed-loop feedback ensures the concentration remains effective yet safe for oral administration.
2Ease of operation
If ECAS is generated in advance and stored for later use, then convenience of operation is improved, but solution stability and antimicrobial activity deteriorates due to degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary generation of ECAS immediately before use rather than in advance, ensuring the solution is fresh and stable. The on-demand generation eliminates storage time, preventing degradation while maintaining convenience through automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically generates ECAS on-demand without requiring user preparation or storage management. The automated on-demand generation serves itself by eliminating the need for advance preparation and storage, resolving the contradiction between convenience and stability.
3Productivity
If ECAS generation system is designed for high output in varying hygiene conditions, then productivity is improved, but control precision and safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Hypochlorite sensors and ORP sensors provide continuous feedback on the generated solution characteristics, enabling the control system to maintain precise concentration control even when operating at high output levels or with varying input water quality. This resolves the contradiction by enabling adaptive control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts electrolysis parameters based on real-time sensor readings, allowing it to maintain precise concentration control while adapting to varying hygiene conditions and operating at different productivity levels. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between output and precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system ensures safe and effective generation and dispensing of ECAS for oral care, reducing the risk of high concentrations and degradation, while maintaining antimicrobial efficacy by controlling contaminants and adjusting output in real-time, ensuring effective biofilm removal without the need for advance storage.
Implementation Method 1
These solutions are based on a process in which antimicrobials are generated by passing a current through a salt solution. Particularly, in such a process a current passes between, e.g., titanium or carbon electrodes to generate the reactive chlorine species hypochlorite (ClO-) and hypochlorous acid (HClO).
Implementation Method 2
the liquid processing section comprises, downstream of the electrolysis chamber, a hypochlorite sensor and an oxidation-reduction potential sensor
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed is a set-up for an oral irrigator, as a system of components and preferably as a single, hand-held device. Herein a provision is made to dispense oral irrigation fluid comprising antimicrobial ions/chemical species produced in situ (in the system or device) by electrolysis of an appropriate salt solution, i.e., an electrochemically activated solution (ECAS). The production of ECAS is enabled by providing an electrolysis chamber. The ECAS output liquid is controlled by means of two different sensors, viz. a hypochlorite sensor and an ORP (oxidation reduction potential) sensor. The sensors allow the determination of undesirable contaminants after ECAS generation, by determining a possible difference in the increase (or decrease) of the values for hypochlorite and ORP.