Small Electrical Appliance And Electric Motor Drive Unit For A Small Electrical Appliance

• US 20120112566A1
• Filed: 12/12/2011
• Published: 05/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Braun GmbH (The Procter & Gamble Company)
• Original Assignee: Braun GmbH (The Procter & Gamble Company)
• Inventors: Schober, Uwe, Kressmann, Frank, Ziegler, Frank, Doll, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US13/316,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20120112566A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 310/37
• CPC Class Codes: A61C 17/34 driven by electric motor
• CPC Class Codes: B26B 19/28 Drive layout for hair clippers or dry shavers, e.g. providing for electromotive drive electric motors per se H02
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 16/02 Machines with one stator and two or more rotors
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 21/28 with armatures rotating within the magnets
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 2201/18 Machines moving with multiple degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 41/0356 moving along a straight path

Abstract

A small electrical appliance is disclosed. The small electrical appliance includes a head element which carries out a rotational movement and a translational vibration movement; a housing; an electric motor drive unit in the housing, with a first output for generating a rotational movement relative to the housing, which includes at least a first component of the electric motor drive unit, and a second output for generating a translational vibration movement relative to the housing, which includes at least a second component of the electric motor drive unit; a shaft which is connected to the first component of the electric motor drive unit in order to transmit the rotational movement to the head element; and a rocker which is connected to the second component of the electric motor drive unit in order to transmit the translational vibration movement to the head element.

Claims

1. A small electrical appliance, comprising

a head element which carries out a rotational movement and a translational vibration movement;

a housing;

an electric motor drive unit in the housing, with a first output for generating a rotational movement relative to the housing, which includes at least a first component of the electric motor drive unit, and a second output for generating a translational vibration movement relative to the housing, which includes at least a second component of the electric motor drive unit;

a shaft which is connected to the first component of the electric motor drive unit in order to transmit the rotational movement to the head element; and

a rocker which is connected to the second component of the electric motor drive unit in order to transmit the translational vibration movement to the head element;

wherein the first component and the second component are decoupled in such a way that the first component does not follow the vibration movement of the second component.

2. The small electrical appliance according to claim 1, wherein the first component and the second component have no rigid mechanical connection.

3. The small electrical appliance according to claim 1, wherein the first component and the second component include permanent magnets which can move independently of one another in the field of an electromagnetic coil.

4. The small electrical appliance according to claim 1, further comprises a buffer between the housing and the rocker.

5. The small electrical appliance according to claim 1, wherein the rotational movement is a rotational vibration movement.

6. The small electrical appliance according to claim 1, wherein the at least one head element is a brush head for an electric toothbrush.

7. An electric motor drive unit for a small electrical appliance, comprising:

at least one first and at least one second vibratable component;

a coil for generating a magnetic field;

a first magnet arrangement which includes at least one first permanent magnet which, in cooperation with a magnetic field generated by the coil, generates a force for inducing a rotational vibration of the at least one first vibratable component;

a second magnet arrangement which includes at least one second permanent magnet which, in cooperation with a magnetic field generated by the coil, generates a force for inducing a linear vibration movement of the at least one second vibratable component; and

at least one flux conducting element which is arranged in such a way that it conducts magnetic flux generated by the coil to interact with the at least one second permanent magnet;

wherein the at least one flux conducting element includes a metal yoke which passes through the coil windings.

8. The electric motor drive unit according to claim 7, wherein the at least one flux conducting element follows the movement of the at least one first vibratable component.

9. The electric motor drive unit according to claim 7, wherein the linear vibration movement is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the rotational vibration movement.

10. The electric motor drive unit according to claim 7, wherein the at least one first and the at least one second vibratable components have different resonant frequencies (f_R, f_L).

11. The electric motor drive unit according to claim 7, wherein the at least one first vibratable component, the first magnet arrangement and the coil are configured in such a way that a reluctance torque which acts after the coil current has been switched off and which causes an angular movement of the first vibratable component acts as a return torque.

12. The electric motor drive unit according to claim 7, wherein the at least one flux conducting element, the second magnet arrangement and the coil are configured in such a way that a reluctance torque which acts after the coil current has been switched off and which causes a linear movement of the second vibratable component acts as a return torque.