System for determining amplitude of a power toothbrush brushhead in the mouth

摘要

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.

主权项

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; an accelerometer which provides information as to an orientation of the brushhead in the user's mouth and a miniature gyroscope for detecting angular velocity of a brushhead motion, when the brushhead is operating in a user's mouth, wherein one of the gyroscope and the accelerometer is located in (i) the brushhead and the other is located (ii) in the handle 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.