SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING AMPLITUDE OF A POWER TOOTHBRUSH BRUSHHEAD IN THE MOUTH
First Claim
1. A power toothbrush, comprising:
- a handle;
a drive assembly, including a processor, for driving a brushhead at a selected frequency of brushhead oscillation and amplitude of brushhead motion, the drive assembly being located within the handle; and
a miniature gyroscope mounted on at least one of (i) the brushhead and (ii) a portion of the drive assembly within the handle, the miniature gyroscope for detecting angular velocity of a brushhead motion, when the brushhead is operating in a user'"'"'s mouth,wherein the processor is configured for processing angular velocity information from the gyroscope to provide amplitude information of the brushhead motion, and wherein said amplitude information of the brushhead motion is at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) provided to the user and (ii) used to control brushhead operation.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The power toothbrush includes a handle (12), a brushhead (14) and a drive assembly (20) which includes a processor (22) for driving the brushhead at a selected frequency and amplitude. A miniature gyroscope (MEMS) (26) and an accelerometer (28) are mounted on the brushhead or on a portion of the drive assembly within the handle for detecting rotational velocity of the brushhead and orientation of the brushhead in the mouth during operation. Information from the gyroscope (rotational) and the accelerometer are then provided to the processor for determining amplitude of brushhead movement. The amplitude information is provided to the user, or can be further processed and fed back (30) to the drive assembly for control of brushhead movement.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A power toothbrush, comprising:
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a handle; a drive assembly, including a processor, for driving a brushhead at a selected frequency of brushhead oscillation and amplitude of brushhead motion, the drive assembly being located within the handle; and a miniature gyroscope mounted on at least one of (i) the brushhead and (ii) a portion of the drive assembly within the handle, the miniature gyroscope for detecting angular velocity of a brushhead motion, when the brushhead is operating in a user'"'"'s mouth, wherein the processor is configured for processing angular velocity information from the gyroscope to provide amplitude information of the brushhead motion, and wherein said amplitude information of the brushhead motion is at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) provided to the user and (ii) used to control brushhead operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A power toothbrush, comprising:
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a handle; a brushhead; a drive assembly, including a processor, for driving a brushhead at a selected frequency of brushhead oscillation and amplitude of brushhead motion, the drive assembly being located within the handle; and an accelerometer mounted on the brushhead or on a portion of the drive assembly within the handle, the accelerometer for detecting forces present on the accelerometer due to motion of the brushhead, including an angular velocity of the brushhead motion, when the brushhead is operating in a user'"'"'s mouth, wherein the processor is capable of processing angular velocity information from the accelerometer to provide amplitude information of the brushhead motion wherein said amplitude information of the brushhead motion is at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) provided to the user and (ii) used to control brushhead operation. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A processor for use in a power toothbrush which includes a handle, a brushhead, a drive assembly for driving the brushhead at a selected frequency of brushhead oscillation and amplitude of brushhead motion, the drive assembly being located within the handle, and a miniature gyroscope mounted on the brushhead or on a portion of the drive assembly within the handle for detecting angular velocity of a brushhead motion when the brushhead is operating in a user'"'"'s mouth, the processor comprising:
- means, located in the drive assembly, for processing angular velocity information from the gyroscope to provide amplitude information of the brushhead motion, wherein during an operation of the power toothbrush, said amplitude information of brushhead motion is at least one selected from the group consisting of (i) provided to the user, and provided to the drive assembly to control brushhead operation.
Specification