Toothbrush with adaptive load sensor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A toothbrush comprising:
- a brushhead including a set of bristles attached thereto;
a drive assembly connected to said brushhead so as to cause selective movement of said brushhead;
an energizing circuit connected to said drive assembly for selectively applying a drive signal to said drive assembly so as to actuate said drive assembly, wherein the drive assembly signal varies in accordance with variations in a load on said drive assembly;
a load sensing assembly for producing a load signal representative of said drive signal, said load sensing assembly being adapted to compare said load signal to a threshold value, and to generate an alarm signal when the load signal/threshold value comparison indicates said brushhead is subjected to a predetermined excessive load, wherein said threshold value is initially set to a preselected load value plus a reference value, prior to the drive assembly being actuated, wherein load value is representative of a no-load condition for the brushhead and wherein the load value and hence the threshold value decrease during a brushing operation as the load value decreases to the smallest amount thereof sensed during each brushing operation, the load value remaining at the smallest load value sensed for the remainder of each brushing operation; and
an alarm circuit connected to said load sensing assembly and responsive to said alarm signal, said alarm circuit being constructed to generate a warning indicative of the brushhead overloading.
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Abstract
An electric toothbrush (10) with an adaptive load sensor (12) is disclosed. The toothbrush of this invention includes a brushhead (16) that is vibrated by a drive assembly (18). The load sensor monitors the current drawn by the drive assembly to determine the mechanical load to which the toothbrush is exposed. The load sensor assembly produces an adaptive threshold signal that represents the instantaneous maximum pressure load. If the sensed load voltage exceeds the adaptive threshold signal, the load sensor assembly deenergizes the drive assembly and generates an alarm signal so as to give the user a warning that the toothbrush has been excessively loaded.
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Citations
28 Claims
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1. A toothbrush comprising:
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a brushhead including a set of bristles attached thereto; a drive assembly connected to said brushhead so as to cause selective movement of said brushhead; an energizing circuit connected to said drive assembly for selectively applying a drive signal to said drive assembly so as to actuate said drive assembly, wherein the drive assembly signal varies in accordance with variations in a load on said drive assembly; a load sensing assembly for producing a load signal representative of said drive signal, said load sensing assembly being adapted to compare said load signal to a threshold value, and to generate an alarm signal when the load signal/threshold value comparison indicates said brushhead is subjected to a predetermined excessive load, wherein said threshold value is initially set to a preselected load value plus a reference value, prior to the drive assembly being actuated, wherein load value is representative of a no-load condition for the brushhead and wherein the load value and hence the threshold value decrease during a brushing operation as the load value decreases to the smallest amount thereof sensed during each brushing operation, the load value remaining at the smallest load value sensed for the remainder of each brushing operation; and an alarm circuit connected to said load sensing assembly and responsive to said alarm signal, said alarm circuit being constructed to generate a warning indicative of the brushhead overloading. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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Specification