KR101615438B1 - The apparatus for sensing operation status of electric toothbrush - Google Patents

Abstract

A controller for measuring the frequency or amplitude of the vibration sound input from the receiver and determining when the measured frequency or amplitude is out of a predetermined reference value;
And a feedback unit that provides feedback to a user when the reference value is removed. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 13 >

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush,

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for measuring the intensity of a pressure applied to a tooth by a bristles of an electric toothbrush such as a sonic wave or an ultrasonic wave. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electric toothbrush operating state sensing apparatus for measuring the intensity of a pressure applied to a tooth by a bristles of an electric toothbrush using sound generated from the electric toothbrush.

Many people have used toothbrushes with very stiff bristles, or they have exerted too much pressure on the teeth (which makes the toothbrush harder), causing enamel damage to the gums and teeth. In particular, in the case of an electric toothbrush, the technique has been advanced in the direction of increasing the frequency of the bristles to increase the removal efficiency of the toothbrush. Especially, when brushing the area of the tooth contacted with the gums such as a narrow side or a snowy side, enamel is destroyed, The probability of giving is high.

In response to this problem, educational functions have been applied to brush teeth with the proper amount of force. That is, when the pressure of the bristles on the tooth is counted, the brushes are mechanically or electrically detected to inform the user of the warning. However, such an additional function causes an increase in cost, and thus there is a problem that the electric toothbrush such as a general-purpose sonic toothbrush and an ultrasonic toothbrush, which are inexpensive, have no functions.

In addition, a variety of IT technologies are applied to the electric toothbrush to detect the pressure applied to the bristles or the bristles to provide feedback to the user, or to transmit data wirelessly to the smart device or the like to provide feedback in the smart device This trend is gradually applied. In addition, functions for providing feedback to a user by using a toothbrush operation and position detecting device detachably engageable with the electric toothbrush, or transferring the brushing data to a smart device or the like wirelessly to induce habit correction and the like are applied.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an electric toothbrush state detecting unit, such as a microphone or a wireless communication unit, which measures a sound generated from a powered toothbrush and detects a change in frequency or an amplitude of vibration from the sound, a sound input from the electric toothbrush state detecting unit A controller for detecting whether the frequency or amplitude of vibration is changed and detecting a difference in frequency variation or a variation in amplitude so as to determine whether a pressure applied to the toothbrush is a proper brushing pressure or an excessively applied pressure; And a feedback unit for providing a user with a state of a pressure applied to the bristles determined by the user.

In order to attain the above object, an apparatus and a method for measuring pressure applied to a toothbrush of a toothbrush according to the present invention include: a microphone or a microphone for measuring a sound generated from the electric toothbrush and detecting a change in frequency from the sound, The electric toothbrush state signal receiving unit such as a wireless communication unit detects whether a frequency or a vibration amplitude is changed from a sound input from the electric toothbrush state signal receiving unit and detects a difference in frequency variation or a variation in amplitude, A pressure measuring device to be applied to the electric toothbrush bristles constituted by a control part for measuring whether the applied pressure is an appropriate brushing pressure or an excessively applied pressure and a feedback part for giving a state of the pressure applied to the bristles determined by the control part, The purpose of providing a method is to have.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to measure the pressure applied to the bristles of the electric toothbrush only in a circuit manner by receiving the state signal of the electric toothbrush, so that the function can be realized at a low cost, It can detect only one hour of brushing and is effective for habit correction.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a load condition measuring device of a powered toothbrush bristle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates an apparatus for measuring the load state of a powered toothbrush bristle according to another embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a graph showing a vibration frequency change curve according to a change in contact pressure between a bristle and a tooth.
4 is a graph showing a vibration amplitude change curve according to a change in contact pressure between a bristle and a tooth.
5 is a flowchart for explaining a program for detecting a pressure contact with a toothbrush and a tooth according to a load state of the bristles of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a feedback screen of the apparatus for measuring the load state of the bristles according to the embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a program for implementing the feedback screen of FIG.

FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus for measuring the load state of a powered toothbrush bristle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electric toothbrush 500 such as a sonic toothbrush or an ultrasonic toothbrush emits a unique sound when the driving unit is operated. This sound has a unique frequency for each electric toothbrush, and has its own frequency band when the pressure is applied to the bristles, or when the pressure is applied to the bristles excessively, or the amplitude of the natural vibration.

The circuit portion of the powered toothbrush bristle pressure sensing device 100 in Figure 1 includes a motorized toothbrush body 502 and a microphone 190 that is a receiver for receiving sound emitted from a powered toothbrush 500 configured as a toothbrush formed with bristles 501 A power supply switch (not shown), an operation display lamp (not shown), a control unit 110, a wireless communication unit 140, a storage unit 150, a feedback unit 160, a charging circuit unit 170, ).

The control unit 110 detects a vibration frequency change or an amplitude change from a signal input from a microphone unit 190 that receives a sound to determine whether or not the bristles are vibrating, whether the bristles are touching the teeth, And can generate a warning alarm through the feedback unit 560 as a result of the detection.

Here, the load condition measuring device of the electric toothbrush bristles may be a smart phone.

FIG. 2 illustrates an apparatus for measuring the load state of a powered toothbrush bristle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The powered toothbrush 500 includes a power switch 502, an operation indicator lamp 504, and a micro USB connector 506. The circuit portion of the electric toothbrush 500 includes a control unit 510, a bristle driving unit 520, a three-axis sensor 530, a wireless communication unit 540, a storage unit 550, a feedback unit 560, a charging circuit unit 570, A battery 580, and a microphone 590. [ The powered toothbrush 500 includes a motion sensor 530 for measuring the brush bristle driving means 520 and the location of the brushing and brushing operation, or measuring the vibration frequency or amplitude of the toothbrush, a microphone 590 for receiving the vibration sound of the toothbrush, And the pressure applied to the bristles through the change of the frequency or amplitude of the input signal from the operation sensor 530 or the microphone 590. If the current pressure state is the no-load state and the appropriate pressure is applied to the toothbrush A controller 510 for detecting whether the toothbrush is excessively wiped by applying pressure to the brush bristles above the threshold value or for transmitting the electric toothbrush vibrating sound received from the mic directly to the outside, And a wireless communication unit 540 for wirelessly transmitting the vibration sound of the electric toothbrush received from the wireless communication unit 540.

The controller 510 controls the bristle driving unit 520 to transmit the sensing signal detected by the 3-axis sensor 530 to the bristle pressure measuring apparatus 100 through the wireless communication unit while driving the bristles. Similarly, the control unit 510 detects a change in vibration frequency or amplitude through the three-axis sensor 530 or detects a change in frequency or amplitude of the vibration noise through the microphone 590 to detect the pressure contact state with the toothbrush tooth And a warning alarm can be generated through the feedback unit 560 as a result of the detection. In addition, the electric toothbrush 500 may have the same functions as those of the integral type, except that the bristle driving means 520 is omitted and the other components are removably attached to one end of the electric toothbrush.

In the case of FIG. 1, when the distance between the electric toothbrush 500 and the bristle-pressure measuring apparatus 100 is more than a certain distance, or when there is a lot of noise around, the accuracy of measurement may be somewhat lowered, Even if the distance is long, the vibration noise generated from the electric toothbrush is transmitted to the inside of the electric toothbrush or the electric toothbrush by a wireless signal transmitted from a microphone formed in a small device connected to the portable device in a detachable manner so that the electric toothbrush 500 and the bristle- If the distance is within the range, accurate vibration sound is transmitted without loss of sound, and the accuracy of the measurement can be maintained.

The circuit portion of the powered toothbrush brassiere pressure sensing device 100 of FIG. 2 includes a wireless toothbrush body 502 and a wireless communication portion 502, which is a receiver for receiving a wirelessly transmitted signal from the powered toothbrush 500 configured as a toothbrush with bristles 501, (Not shown), a control unit 110, a wireless communication unit 140, a storage unit 150, a feedback unit 160, a charging circuit unit 170, a battery (not shown) (180).

The control unit 110 includes a wireless communication unit 140 that receives a signal transmitted from the electric toothbrush 500, and a controller 160 that detects a change in vibration frequency or amplitude of the electric toothbrush from a signal input from the wireless communication unit, It is possible to detect whether or not the bristles are touching the teeth and the pressure contact state with the teeth and generate a warning alarm through the feedback unit 560 as a result of the detection.

Here, the load condition measuring device of the electric toothbrush bristles may be a smart phone.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing a vibration frequency variation curve according to a change in contact pressure between the bristles and the teeth.

Referring to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the vibration frequency is reduced to 259 Hz when the pressure is from 302 Hz to 300 g, and to 241 Hz when the pressure is 500 g at no load.

Generally, when power is applied to a powered toothbrush having a driving portion, a driving vibration or vibrating portion emits a constant vibration frequency such as " a ", and the vibration frequency changes to a frequency depending on the pressure applied to the bristles . Therefore, as in the section (1) of FIG. 10, the constant frequency section can be defined as a no-load state. This is because the general method of use of electric toothbrushes is to apply power to the toothbrush after toothpaste is applied to the bristles or after placing the bristles slightly in contact with the teeth or in the mouth. This is a problem in that toothpaste is scattered by a strong vibration of the toothbrush unless the toothbrush is applied with a toothbrush and then a portion of the toothbrush or a portion of the toothbrush that is not inside the mouth is used. Therefore, this is the reason why the frequency (f0) of the starting phase which touches the tooth is set to a certain range. In addition, (2) section refers to a section where the bristles touch the tooth, which can be usefully used for measuring the time of brushing using an electric toothbrush in the future.

The value of f0, which can be used to measure the time of brushing correctly, or the value of fc, which can be used to distinguish excessive application of pressure to bristles and to measure the time of incorrect brushing, depends on the shape of the bristles, the strength of the bristles And the frequency of the brush bristles can be determined in advance by experiment. It can be seen that the load applied to the bristles, that is, the frequency is reduced in inverse proportion to the intensity of brushing, which is strongly exerted on the tooth by pressure.

Fig. 4 is a graph showing a variation curve of the vibration amplitude according to the change of the contact pressure between the bristles and the teeth.

4 is a graph showing an amplitude variation curve according to a change in the contact pressure between the bristles and the teeth.

Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that when no load is applied, the amplitude is reduced to 0.2048V when the pressure is from 0.3029V to 300g, and to 0.1369V when the pressure is 500g.

When power is applied to the powered toothbrush, a magnitude of 0.3029V appears, such as "a ", by the drive or vibrator. The magnitude of this amplitude "A" becomes smaller as the pressure applied to the bristles increases. Therefore, the amplitude section having a constant amplitude as in the section (1) of FIG. 12 can be defined as a no-load state. This is because the general method of use of electric toothbrushes is to apply power to the toothbrush after toothpaste is applied to the bristles or after placing the bristles slightly in contact with the teeth or in the mouth. Therefore, this is the reason why the magnitude of the amplitude of 0.2433 V in the starting phase (A0) reaching a slight tooth is set to a certain range. In addition, (2) means a magnitude of amplitude corresponding to a portion of the bristles touching the tooth, which can be usefully used for measuring the time of brushing using an electric toothbrush in the future. Ac point In the section (3) above, the bristles are strongly pressed against the teeth and the pressure is applied to the tooth surface so that the tooth surface is worn by the bristles.

Ac values that distinguish the A0 value or excessive pressure on the bristles and measure the time of incorrect brushing are determined by experiments according to the shape of the bristles, the strength of the bristles, and the frequency of the bristles .

Thus, it can be seen that the magnitude of the amplitude is inversely proportional to the load applied to the bristles, that is, the intensity of brushing, which is strongly exerted by pressure against the teeth.

5 is a flowchart for explaining a program for detecting pressure contact with bristles and teeth according to the load state of the bristles of the present invention.
The control unit 110 detects the sound of the electric toothbrush 502 through the three-axis motion sensor 530 and transmits the sensed signal to the electric toothbrush 520 in real time through the wireless communication unit. And receives the signal transmitted to the state sensing apparatus 100 or detects the sound of the electric toothbrush 500 detected by the microphone 190. [ The control unit 110 detects the frequency fd or the amplitude Ad of the electric toothbrush sound when the program is operated (S102). The controller 110 determines whether the detected amplitude has changed (S106). If the amplitude is not changed, the controller 110 determines that the detected vibration frequency is equal to or greater than the no-load vibration frequency f0 (S104) (S130), it is determined that the bristles are in contact with the teeth (S108). If the detected vibration frequency fd falls below the critical vibration frequency fc (S110), the controller 110 determines that the bristles are in an overpressure contact state with the teeth (S112). When the controller 110 detects an overpressure contact state, the controller 110 feeds back a warning alarm through the feedback unit 160. [ Here, the no-load vibration frequency f0 and the critical vibration frequency fc can be set differently depending on the type of electric toothbrush. The electric toothbrush model can be set in advance to be used so that the corresponding no-load vibration frequency f0 and the critical vibration frequency fc are selected corresponding to the electric toothbrush to be fastened.

If the detected amplitude of the electric toothbrush 200 is equal to or larger than the amplitude A0 at no-load (S124), the control unit 110 determines whether the detected amplitude has changed (S106) If it is judged in the no-load state (S130), it is judged that the bristles are in contact with the tooth, that is, the brushing state (S126). When the detected amplitude Ad falls below the threshold amplitude Ac (S132), the controller 110 determines that the toothbrush is in an over-pressure state with the tooth (S134). If the controller 110 detects an over-pressure condition, the controller 110 feeds back the warning alarm through the feedback unit 160 (S136). Herein, the no-load amplitude (A0) and the critical amplitude (Ac) can be set differently depending on the type of electric toothbrush. The electric toothbrush model can be set in advance so that the corresponding no-load amplitude (A0) and the critical amplitude (Ac) are selected corresponding to the electric toothbrush to be fastened.

Table 1 below shows the vibration frequency characteristics of the electric toothbrush according to the manufacturer.

maker pressure 0g 100g 200g 300g 400g 500g Company A Hz 405 375 (f0) 365 315 (fc) 300 300 Company B Hz 302 288 (f0) 273 259 (fc) 247 241

Therefore, in the present invention, when the vibration frequency of the electric toothbrush becomes lower than the vibration frequency at no-load, it is detected as a tooth contact state of the bristles, and when the vibration frequency falls below a certain frequency, it is detected whether or not the bristles are touching the teeth with excessive pressure can do. When the brush bristles touch the bristles with an excessive pressure of 300 g or more, the user may pay attention to hearing, vision or tactile feedback.

If the variation is less than a predetermined value, the control unit 110 determines that the frequency has not changed (s106). The control unit 110 detects the amplitude (Ad) A0) or more (S124), it is determined as a no-load state (S130). If it is less than A0, it is determined that the bristles are in contact with teeth, i.e., brushing is performed (S126). When the detected amplitude Ad falls below the threshold amplitude Ac (S132), the controller 110 determines that the toothbrush is in an over-pressure state with the tooth (S134). If the controller 110 detects an over-pressure condition, the controller 110 feeds back the warning alarm through the feedback unit 160 (S136). Herein, the no-load amplitude (A0) and the critical amplitude (Ac) can be set differently depending on the type of electric toothbrush. The electric toothbrush model can be set in advance so that the corresponding no-load amplitude (A0) and the critical amplitude (Ac) are selected corresponding to the electric toothbrush to be fastened.

Table 2 below shows the amplitude characteristics of a particular electric toothbrush.

maker pressure 0g 100g 200g 300g 400g 500g Company A amplitude 0.3029 0.2433
(A0) 0.2178 0.2048
( Ac ) 0.1689 0.1369

Therefore, in the present invention, when the amplitude of the electric toothbrush is lower than the vibration frequency at no-load, it is detected as a tooth contact state of the bristles, and if the vibration frequency falls below a certain frequency, it is detected whether or not the bristles are touching the teeth with excessive pressure . When the brush bristles touch the bristles with an excessive pressure of 300 g or more, the user may pay attention to hearing, vision or tactile feedback.

In the above-described embodiment, the controller 110 of the bristle pressure measuring apparatus performs the pressure contact detection program with the bristles and the teeth according to the change of the vibration frequency or the amplitude. However, the present invention is not limited to this, A warning alarm can be generated through various feedback means. (Step S106) for determining whether the frequency is changed for sensing the pressure of the bristles only for the electric toothbrush model in which the frequency is changed, and performing all the steps (s124, s126, s132, s134, s136) (S106) for determining whether the frequency is changed only for sensing the pressure of the bristles of the electric toothbrush model whose amplitude changes, and performing all the steps (s104, s108, s110, s112, s114) You do not have to.

As such, the sonic electric toothbrush, the ultrasonic electric toothbrush, and the mechanical electric toothbrush emit a signal having a specific frequency and amplitude when the power source is applied to the driving unit and the operation of the driving unit is started and the bristles start to vibrate.

As in the case of FIG. 3, the magnitude of the pressure applied to the bristles is increased as in the case of the electric toothbrush of the Mediclean family of 551 (Omron), whose frequency becomes smaller as the magnitude of the pressure applied to the bristles increases. Philips' Sonicare Elite e9800 professional electric toothbrush with reduced amplitudes depends on the method and structure that generate the vibration of each sonic toothbrush, ultrasonic toothbrush, and mechanical powered toothbrush. For example, one of the causes is the difference between the case of the Medicure 551 from Omron, where the vibration source is located at the end of the bristles, and the structure of the Sonicare Elite e9800 Professional by Philips at the body handle .

6 is a feedback screen of the apparatus for measuring the load state of the bristles according to the embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is an embodiment of the feedback unit of Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. When the user turns on the electric toothbrush, if the vibration sound is received and it is determined that the frequency band or amplitude band of the vibration sound corresponds to the section (1) of FIG. 3 or the section (1) of FIG. 4, When the yellow light is turned on and it is determined that the frequency band or the amplitude band of the vibration sound corresponds to the section (2) of FIG. 3 or the section (2) of FIG. 4,

When turning on the green light of the display unit 402 during the brushing of the display unit and judging that the frequency band or the amplitude band of the vibration sound corresponds to the section (3) of FIG. 3 or the section (3) of FIG. 4, The user can turn on the red light on the pressure display unit 403 and provide the user with real time feedback on whether he or she is brushing with the correct pressure. A total brushing time display unit 404 for counting a start time and an ending time when the brushing is finished and displaying a total brushing time and an effective brushing time display unit 404 for accumulating only the time for brushing with a proper pressure, And a position movement guide graph 405 for guiding the teeth to be wiped evenly.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a program for implementing the feedback screen of FIG.

That is, the user counts the time for brushing with the brushing pressure within the valid range, thereby showing the correct brushing time to the user, thereby helping the user to correct the habit, and more accurately measuring the actual brushing time, It may be the basis for providing objective data on the insurance premium adjustment of an insurance company.

A method of accumulating the time count only when the amplitude is located between A0 and Ac only in the case of 7 degrees is shown. However, it is also possible to accumulate the time count when the frequency is located between f0 and fc, It is well known that a method of examining the frequency variation or the amplitude variation at the same time is also possible as shown in Fig.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. It can be understood that it is possible.

100: electric toothbrush operating condition detecting device
500: electric toothbrush 501: bristles
502: electric toothbrush handle 190: microphone
160: feedback section 140: wireless communication section
110: control unit 520: bristle driving means

Claims (16)

A detector for detecting a sound of the electric toothbrush;
A sound input from the detection unit,
If the detected amplitude of the electric toothbrush 200 is equal to or greater than the preset no-load amplitude A0 (S124), it is determined as no-load state (S130). If the detected amplitude is less than the predetermined no- (S126). When the detected amplitude Ad falls below a preset threshold amplitude Ac (S132), the bristles are judged to be in an over-pressure contact state with the teeth (S134)
If it is determined that the amplitude of the sound to be received is not changed (S104), it is determined that the sound frequency is equal to or higher than the predetermined no-load frequency f0 (S104)
When it falls below the predetermined no-load frequency f0, it is determined that the bristles are in contact with the teeth (S108)
When the detected frequency fd falls below the threshold frequency fc (S110), the controller determines that the bristles are in an overpressure contact state with the tooth and outputs an alarm signal; And
And a feedback unit for receiving the alarm signal of the control unit and providing visual and auditory feedback to the user. (delete) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detecting unit
Measuring the vibration frequency or amplitude of the electric toothbrush to measure the position and brushing motion of the electric toothbrush brushing and to measure the on / off state of the electric toothbrush and the overpressure state on the bristles, Wherein the electric toothbrush operating state detecting device detects the operating state of the electric toothbrush. (delete) (delete) (delete) (delete) (delete) (delete) (delete) 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 3,
Wherein the state of the electric toothbrush is determined as a stop state, a no-load state, a state in which the bristles touch the tooth, and an overpressure state in which an excessive pressure is applied to the bristles. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11,
Calculating a sum of times when the bristles are in contact with the teeth as effective brushing time,
Wherein the feedback unit includes an effective brushing time, an overloaded state, and a position movement guidance graph. (delete) (delete) (delete) (delete)

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