Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
  • A61C17/00—Devices for cleaning, polishing, rinsing or drying teeth, teeth cavities or prostheses; Saliva removers; Dental appliances for receiving spittle
  • A61C17/16—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices
  • A61C17/22—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like
  • A61C17/225—Handles or details thereof
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B15/00—Other brushes; Brushes with additional arrangements
  • A46B15/0002—Arrangements for enhancing monitoring or controlling the brushing process
  • A46B15/0016—Arrangements for enhancing monitoring or controlling the brushing process with enhancing means
  • A46B15/0036—Arrangements for enhancing monitoring or controlling the brushing process with enhancing means with a lighting means, e.g. laser, bulb
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A46—BRUSHWARE
  • A46B—BRUSHES
  • A46B15/00—Other brushes; Brushes with additional arrangements
  • A46B15/0002—Arrangements for enhancing monitoring or controlling the brushing process
  • A46B15/0038—Arrangements for enhancing monitoring or controlling the brushing process with signalling means
  • A46B15/0044—Arrangements for enhancing monitoring or controlling the brushing process with signalling means with light signalling means
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
  • A61C17/00—Devices for cleaning, polishing, rinsing or drying teeth, teeth cavities or prostheses; Saliva removers; Dental appliances for receiving spittle
  • A61C17/16—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices
  • A61C17/22—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like
  • A61C17/221—Control arrangements therefor
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61C—DENTISTRY; APPARATUS OR METHODS FOR ORAL OR DENTAL HYGIENE
  • A61C17/00—Devices for cleaning, polishing, rinsing or drying teeth, teeth cavities or prostheses; Saliva removers; Dental appliances for receiving spittle
  • A61C17/16—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices
  • A61C17/22—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like
  • A61C17/32—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like reciprocating or oscillating
  • A61C17/34—Power-driven cleaning or polishing devices with brushes, cushions, cups, or the like reciprocating or oscillating driven by electric motor
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
  • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
  • G09F13/00—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising
  • G09F13/20—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising with luminescent surfaces or parts
  • G09F13/22—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising with luminescent surfaces or parts electroluminescent

Definitions

• This invention relates generally to power toothbrushes and other personal care appliances, and more specifically concerns a user interface panel for such appliances.
• power toothbrushes and other personal care appliances will have a user interface panel which provides for user control of, and associated indications of, various operating modes of the appliance.
• a power toothbrush could have several different cleaning modes involving different brushhead speeds and/or amplitudes, and further could have various sequences of different modes for a set brushing time, e.g. two minutes.
• a control button or buttons is usually provided for selecting a particular mode, and the panel indication of the selected mode is typically illuminated or otherwise highlighted to provide a clear indication to the user of the mode in which the toothbrush is operating (the selected mode).
• Some appliances have a hidden interface panel, also referred to as a dead panel.
• a personal care appliance and corresponding method of manufacture of an interface panel portion thereof, comprising: an appliance handle; a brushhead assembly which includes a brush member for cleaning teeth; a drive assembly for the brushhead assembly, mounted within the handle and responsive to an on/off switch to produce an oscillating movement of the brushhead assembly; a mode select member; and a user interface assembly on the appliance which includes an interface panel, wherein the user interface assembly is structured so that when the appliance is off, the interface panel is blank, and when the appliance is on, an indicia on the panel corresponding to a selected mode is illuminated and visible to the user, wherein the handle is translucent and includes a plurality of illuminating elements therein, the interface panel including a first layer characterized by blocking light from proceeding therethrough, etched regions corresponding to the mode indicia of the appliance and a second layer covering at least the etched regions, the second layer being illuminated by one or more of the illuminating elements, with the illuminated indicia being
• Figure 1 shows a hidden panel toothbrush wherein the toothbrush is off.
• Figure 2 is an elevational view of the hidden panel portion when the toothbrush is on and one of its operating modes has been selected, with the other available modes being de- selected.
• Figure 3 is a diagram showing a cross-section of the hidden panel.
• Figure 4 is a top view showing a baffle structure around illumination elements for the handle having several different possible modes.
• Figure 5 is a cross-section showing the position of LED lights and the baffle structure of Figure 4.
• Figure 1 shows a toothbrush, generally at 10, including a handle portion 12 which in turn includes a drive system 14 therein and an on/off switch 16.
• a brushhead assembly 18 which typically includes an elongated neck portion 20 and a brush member 22 for cleaning teeth.
• a user interface assembly 24 Located in handle 12 is a user interface assembly 24, which includes a user interface panel 26.
• the user interface panel 26 is hidden or “dead”, when the appliance is off, and is illuminated with the particular selected mode of operation, as shown in Figure 2, when the appliance is on.
• the interface assembly will include a mode select button or switch element 23.
• the user interface assembly and the interface panel can take various arrangements.
• the interface assembly and the panel will have use indications representing a series of cleaning modes or other oral care modes, usually characterized by particular combinations of frequency and amplitude of the brush member action.
• the individual indications or indicia can be in the form of words or symbols or both.
• the panel 26 is brightly illuminated with the selected mode "clean", referred to at 27, while the other modes "white", “sensitive” and “polish", being de-selected, are less illuminated. This is only one example of a hidden panel.
• Other words/symbols can be used, for a wide variety of modes/operations of the toothbrush.
• Another panel example is shown in Figure 4.
• the panel indicia are illuminated by separate LEDs 31 , which are bright enough to illuminate the words for the user.
• One LED is illustrated in Figure 4 for example, for the mode "polish".
• the individual LEDs are separated by a baffle arrangement 30 which surrounds each of the LEDs, confining the light produced by each LED to its associated front panel indicia.
• This baffle arrangement is illustrated in Figure 4.
• the baffle assembly 30 is plastic and is positioned so that a front surface thereof abuts the internal surface 32 of the handle, as illustrated in Figure 5, which shows the internal structure of the handle, including the LEDs, which are positioned about 5 mm from the inner surface of the handle and their surrounding baffle structure. This structure is described in more detail in the following paragraphs.
• Figure 3 shows a cross-section of the user interface assembly/hidden panel and illustrates not only the final hidden panel, but also the particular process of manufacturing the user interface/hidden panel.
• the handle 40 in the region of the user interface panel 30 is translucent, i.e. it permits light from LEDs positioned internally of the handle to shine therethrough.
• the handle is plastic, approximately 2.2 mm thick.
• a first layer of paint 42 is applied, typically gray or black.
• the color must be such as to block light from the LEDs or other illumination sources in the handle.
• This first paint layer in the embodiment shown is 13 ⁇ + 3 ⁇ and is referred to as a masking layer.
• the desired mode indicia for the panel are etched in the first paint layer 42. Typically, this is done by a laser, although other means could be used. The etching extends down to the surface of the handle 40, so that light can proceed through the etched area 44 in Figure 3, from a source LED 45.
• the LEDs can be various colors but typically will be white. Examples of mode indicia are shown in Figures 2 and 4.
• a second paint layer 46 is applied over at least the areas that have been etched.
• the second paint layer is white, so that the illuminated mode indicia appear white.
• layer 46 is approximately 25 ⁇ + 5 ⁇ thick.
• Paint layer 46 should not contain any pigment which would otherwise block at least some of the light from going through. It is desirable that the illumination be bright enough that the indicia are readily visible.
• White paint is preferred, as indicated above, but other light colors, such as light pink, yellow or even silver could be used.
• Second paint layer 46 On top of second paint layer 46, a clear coat layer 48 of polyurethane or similar material is applied. Layer 4-8 protects the panel from wear.
• the panel includes a base layer of light-blocking paint, which is etched with the desired mode indicia, a second layer of paint which provides the desired color for the indicia, and a final protective coat.
• the user interface panel 26 which can be located anywhere on the toothbrush, is shown in the handle in Figure 1 for illustration, on which a plurality of different operating mode indicia can be provided.
• the illumination for the panel is supplied by a plurality of LEDs 31 positioned within the handle and spaced approximately less than 5 mm or so from the interior surface of the handle. Typically, there will be one LED per mode indicia.
• the LEDs will typically be white, but could also be other colors.
• the user interface assembly also includes a baffle arrangement 30 which confines light from each LED, respectively, to the area surrounding the associated mode indicia which it illuminates.
• the baffle arrangement usually of plastic, prevents light from one LED spilling over and at least partially illuminating a neighboring mode indicia.
• the baffle arrangement 30 is a few millimeters high and has a configuration shown in Figure 4, with individual baffle sections 49 encircling their associated LEDs and each section 49 being connected to adjacent sections by connecting portions 51. In the embodiment shown, there is a minimum 0.3 mm clearance in the vertical direction and 0.28 mm clearance in the horizontal direction between each baffle section in the baffle arrangement 30 and their associated etched indicia.

Landscapes

• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Dentistry (AREA)
• Epidemiology (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Brushes (AREA)
• Illuminated Signs And Luminous Advertising (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (1)

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Citations (1)

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• 2011
  • 2011-12-23 WO PCT/IB2011/055927 patent/WO2012090140A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2011-12-23 RU RU2013135249/14A patent/RU2589635C2/ru active
  • 2011-12-23 TR TR2018/07292T patent/TR201807292T4/tr unknown
  • 2011-12-23 JP JP2013546802A patent/JP5968906B2/ja active Active
  • 2011-12-23 US US13/995,364 patent/US9021646B2/en active Active
  • 2011-12-23 EP EP11815797.3A patent/EP2658475B1/en active Active
  • 2011-12-23 CN CN201180063267.XA patent/CN103281988B/zh active Active
  • 2011-12-23 BR BR112013016325A patent/BR112013016325A2/pt not_active IP Right Cessation

Patent Citations (1)

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