U.S. patent application number 13/361156 was filed with the patent office on 2012-08-02 for portable electric toothbrush.
Invention is credited to Jung Tsung Lin.
Application Number | 20120192367 13/361156 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46459108 |
Filed Date | 2012-08-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120192367 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Jung Tsung |
August 2, 2012 |
Portable Electric Toothbrush
Abstract
A portable electric toothbrush is disclosed. The portable
electric toothbrush includes: a main body having a switch; a brush
head having a plurality of bristles and connected to one end of the
main body; a holding portion connected to the other end of the main
body; a charging circuit configured in the main body; a chargeable
battery coupled to the charging circuit; a control circuit coupled
to the switch; a motor coupled to the control circuit; and an USB
interface coupled to the charging circuit, whereby providing
electricity to the chargeable battery, thereby achieving the
purpose of charging.
Inventors: |
Lin; Jung Tsung; (New
Taipei, TW) |
Family ID: |
46459108 |
Appl. No.: |
13/361156 |
Filed: |
January 30, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
15/22.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61C 17/224
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
15/22.1 |
International
Class: |
A46B 13/02 20060101
A46B013/02; A46B 9/04 20060101 A46B009/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 1, 2011 |
TW |
100202424 |
Claims
1. A portable electric toothbrush, comprising: a main body having a
switch; a brush head having a plurality of bristles and connected
to one end of said main body, wherein said brush head is removable
so as to be replaced when said brush head is malfunctioned; a
holding portion connected to the other end of said main body; a
charging circuit configured within said main body; a control
circuit coupled to said switch; a motor coupled to said control
circuit; and an universal serial bus interface coupled to said
charging circuit in order for an external power source to provide
electricity to said charging circuit through said universal serial
bus interface to perform charging.
2. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 1, further comprising
a microprocessor coupled to said charging circuit and said control
circuit.
3. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 2, further comprising
a display component coupled to said microprocessor to provide a
function of light indication.
4. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a run time
of said portable electric toothbrush is determined by said control
circuit.
5. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 1, wherein a rotation
speed of said motor is determined by said control circuit.
6. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 1, further comprising
a brush protecting cover combined with said holding portion
correspondingly to protect said brush head.
7. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 1, further comprising
a chargeable battery coupled to said charging circuit.
8. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 7, further comprising
a wireless charging module coupled to said chargeable battery.
9. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 7, further comprising
a voltage detecting circuit coupled to said chargeable battery and
said control circuit to stabilize a rotation speed of said
motor.
10. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 7, further comprising
a voltage stabilizing circuit coupled to said chargeable battery
and said control circuit to stabilize a rotation speed of said
motor.
11. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 7, further comprising
a boost circuit coupled to said chargeable battery and said control
circuit to drive said motor.
12. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 1, wherein said
universal serial bus interface is hidden into said holding portion
through rotation or pressing.
13. The portable electric toothbrush of claim 1, further comprising
an universal serial bus interface protecting cover combined with
said holding portion correspondingly to protect said universal
serial bus interface.
14. An electrically vibrational product, comprising: a main body
having a switch; a holding portion connected to one end of said
main body; a charging circuit configured within said main body; a
control circuit coupled to said switch; a motor coupled to said
control circuit; and an universal serial bus interface coupled to
said charging circuit in order for an external power source to
provide electricity to said charging circuit through said universal
serial bus interface to perform charging.
15. The electrically vibrational product of claim 14, further
comprising a protecting cover combined with said holding portion
correspondingly.
16. The electrically vibrational product of claim 14, further
comprising a chargeable battery coupled to said charging
circuit.
17. The electrically vibrational product of claim 16, further
comprising a wireless charging module coupled to said chargeable
battery.
18. The electrically vibrational product of claim 16, further
comprising a voltage stabilizing circuit coupled to said chargeable
battery and said control circuit to stabilize a rotation speed of
said motor.
19. The electrically vibrational product of claim 14, wherein said
universal serial bus interface is hidden into said holding portion
through rotation or pressing.
20. The electrically vibrational product of claim 14, further
comprising an universal serial bus interface protecting cover
combined with said holding portion correspondingly to protect said
universal serial bus interface.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an electric toothbrush, and
particularly to a portable electric toothbrush.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Oral cleaning has long been concerned with human's health.
Especially for modem people who pay attention to health care, oral
health is significantly important. Among various types of
instruments for oral health and cleaning, the most commonly used
one is the toothbrush. Regardless of age or sex, people have been
quite used to cleaning their teeth by employing the toothbrush when
getting out of bed, before sleep or even after meals.
[0003] In the age of immature science, the toothbrush used by
people is only composed of a holding portion and a brush head. When
the user would like to brush his/her teeth, the user has to operate
the toothbrush manually to rub the bristles on the brush head
against the teeth and the gaps thereamong back and forward, so as
to remove the dirt, the vegetable dregs or the bacteria thereon and
achieve the function of cleaning the teeth. However, brushing the
teeth in such way may easily cause the hand of the user to ache and
is inconvenient for the user.
[0004] In view of the foregoing, in the present age of well
developed science, a power controlled electric toothbrush is
developed. Generally, the electric toothbrush is powered by
batteries to provide the power needed by the motor of the
toothbrush, so as to render the brush head (or the entire brush) to
vibrate back and forward. Thereby, the electric toothbrush may
automatically render the bristles on the brush head to rub the
teeth back and forward, such that the user can brush his/her teeth
in a much more easy and relaxed way.
[0005] The batteries of the traditional electric toothbrush may
include a chargeable type and a non-chargeable type. The chargeable
type electric toothbrush usually must utilize a charging seat to
charge. However, the present power supply voltage specifications
around the world are not unified yet, such that if the user would
like to carry the electric toothbrush to other countries, he/she
may need to additionally carry transformers of different
specifications to charge the electric toothbrush with the charging
seat. It is undoubtedly an extra burden to the user. If the user
employs the non-chargeable type electric toothbrush, he/she often
has to buy or replace the batteries to maintain the power of the
electric toothbrush. It is quite inconvenient and is further a cost
burden to the user.
[0006] Moreover, no matter business travel, private tour or work
has been a part of human's life because of the development of
traffic, such that there are more and more portable products, such
as mobile phones, notebooks, etc. But, in the aspect of
sanitization, some products are often omitted. Few years ago,
because of the concern about uncleanly washed chopsticks in the
restaurants, disposable chopsticks are massively utilized, which
unfortunately results in other big problems, i.e. environmental
problems and the waste of resources. Therefore, many environmental
groups have progressively promoted environmental chopsticks (i.e.
bringing our own chopsticks).
[0007] However, in the aspect of the toothbrushes, disposable
toothbrushes are still employed nowadays. For the same reasons,
disposable toothbrushes are also waste of resources and will
destroy the environment. Therefore, the inventor of the present
invention provides different concepts and designs, and the present
invention shall not be simple combination of conventional
techniques but be a huge breakthrough in the field of electric
toothbrush.
[0008] Based on the foregoing, there are still some defects in the
conventional electric toothbrush, which will cause inconvenience
and cost burden to the user and is truly a problem urgently needed
to be overcome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] In view of the foregoing, to overcome the aforementioned
inconvenience in life, the applicant provides a portable electric
toothbrush, especially an electric toothbrush which is chargeable
through USB.
[0010] One object of the present invention is to employ the
universal serial bus (USB) interface, the specification of which is
unified in the world, to charge the electric toothbrush, thereby
the user can charge the electric toothbrush through USB interface
no matter anywhere in the world and doesn't need to carry
transformers of different specifications or replace the batteries
from time to time, so as to render the electric toothbrush easy to
be carried and used.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
electric toothbrush which can be carried relaxedly and easily, so
as to decrease the waste of resources and environmental destruction
caused by the traditional disposable toothbrush and further aid in
energy saving, carbon reduction and environmental protection.
[0012] To achieve the aforementioned objects, the present invention
discloses a portable electric toothbrush, including a main body
having a switch in order for the consumer to turn on the electric
toothbrush; a replaceable brush head connected to the main body,
wherein the brush head is removable so as to be replaced when the
brush head is malfunctioned or damaged; a display component to
provide the function of light indication in order for the user to
understand the instant state of the electric toothbrush; a motor
coupled to a control circuit; and an universal serial bus interface
coupled to a charging circuit in order for the consumer to perform
charging. Furthermore, the present invention further includes a
brush protecting cover to protect the brush head from damage when
carried by the user. The control circuit may further control the
turn-on time of the electric toothbrush to prevent the situation
that the user forgot turning off the electric toothbrush, which
causes waste of the power of the battery, because the consumer
often forgot turning off the electric toothbrush when using it.
Since the voltage of the chargeable battery may vary, in order to
render the rotation speed of the motor to be unaffected by the
voltage of the battery, the present invention further employs a
voltage detecting circuit or a voltage stabilizing circuit to force
the control circuit to control and render the rotation speed of the
motor to be unaffected by the voltage variation of the battery.
[0013] The foregoing illustrates the objects of the present
invention, the technical means to achieve these objects and the
generated advantages, etc. The present invention can be clearly
understood by the reader from the following description of
preferred embodiments taken together with the accompanying drawings
and the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The present invention may be understood by some preferred
embodiments and detailed descriptions in the specification and the
attached drawings below. The identical reference numbers in the
drawings refer to the same components in the present invention.
However, it should be appreciated that all the preferred
embodiments of the invention are provided only for illustrating but
not for limiting the scope of the Claims and wherein:
[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an outer diagram of an electric
toothbrush of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates another outer diagram of an electric
toothbrush of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates still another outer diagram of an
electric toothbrush of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates yet another outer diagram of an electric
toothbrush of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates a structure diagram of the circuit of a
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 6 illustrates a specific circuit diagram of a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 7 illustrates a structure diagram of the circuit of
another embodiment of the present invention;
[0022] FIG. 8 illustrates a structure diagram of the circuit of
another embodiment of the present invention; and
[0023] FIG. 9 illustrates a structure diagram of the circuit of
another embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] The invention will now be described with the preferred
embodiments and aspects and these descriptions interpret structure
of the invention only for illustrating but not for limiting the
Claims of the invention. Therefore, except the preferred
embodiments in the specification, the present invention may also be
widely used in other embodiments.
[0025] Generally, the electric toothbrush disclosed by the present
invention may include an universal serial bus interface coupled to
a charging circuit to perform charging and may further include a
switch and a control circuit to control the turn-on time and the
turn-off time and the rotation speed of the electric toothbrush.
Through the design mentioned above, the user can utilize the
universal serial bus, the specification of which is unified, to
charge the electric toothbrush, so as to improve the defects of the
conventional techniques.
[0026] Please refer to FIG. 1, which illustrates an outer diagram
of the portable electric toothbrush disclosed by the present
invention. The portable electric toothbrush of the present
invention includes a brush head 101, a main body 102 and a holding
portion 103. The brush head 101 is connected to one end of the main
body 102 and has a plurality of bristles for the user to brush
his/her teeth. In certain embodiments, the brush head is removable,
such that the brush head can be replaced when malfunctioned. A
switch is formed on the surface of the main body 102 and is coupled
to the inner control circuit (not shown) to turn on or off the
motor in the electric toothbrush.
[0027] Moreover, an universal serial bus (USB) interface 104 is
disposed below the holding portion 103 and is coupled to the
charging circuit in the main body 102. When the universal serial
bus interface 104 is inserted into or connected to a corresponding
universal serial bus host, the host can provide electricity to the
charging circuit through the universal serial bus interface 104 to
perform charging. The holding portion 103 is connected to the other
end of the main body 102.
[0028] Please refer to FIG. 2, which illustrates another outer
diagram of the electric toothbrush of the present invention. As
shown in FIG. 2, the electric toothbrush disclosed by the present
invention further includes a brush protecting cover 105, that may
be combined with the holding portion 103 correspondingly to protect
the inner brush head 101 and the inner main body 102, so as to aid
in the carry of the electric toothbrush and prevent the electric
toothbrush from the damage caused by external factors.
[0029] Please refer to FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the holding
portion 103 may be a hollow cylindrical casing to accommodate the
universal serial bus interface 104. In other words, the universal
serial bus interface 104 is hidden in the holding portion 103. For
example, the universal serial bus interface 104 may be received
into the inner space of the holding portion 103 through rotation,
or the universal serial bus interface 104 may be hidden into the
holding portion 103 through pressing.
[0030] Furthermore, please also refer to FIG. 4, which illustrates
another embodiment for protecting the universal serial bus
interface. As shown in FIG. 4, the electric toothbrush of the
present invention may further include an USB interface protecting
cover 106, that may be combined with the bottom of the holding
portion 103 correspondingly to protect the universal serial bus
interface 104 and prevent the universal serial bus interface 104
from the damage of external forces.
[0031] Please refer to FIG. 5, which illustrates a structure
diagram of the circuit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of
the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, an universal serial bus
interface 201, a charging circuit 202, a chargeable battery 203, a
switch 204, a control circuit 205 and a motor 206 are included. In
the present embodiment, the universal serial bus interface 201 is
coupled to the charging circuit 202, and the charging circuit 202
is further coupled to the chargeable battery 203, such that when
the universal serial bus interface 201 is connected with an
external host, the power may be transmitted to the chargeable
battery 203 through the charging circuit 202 to perform charging.
Further, the switch 204 is coupled to the control circuit 205, and
the control circuit 205 is further coupled to the chargeable
battery 203 and the motor 206, such that the user can determine
whether the control circuit 205 is in a conducting state or not by
operating the switch 204. When the control circuit 205 is in the
conducting state, the power may be provided to the motor 206 by the
chargeable battery 203 to drive the motor 206 to run, so as to
render the brush head (or the entire brush) to vibrate and achieve
the function of electrically brushing the teeth. In certain
embodiments, the control circuit 205 can control the turn-on time
and the turn-off time of the motor to avoid the situation that the
user forgot turning off the electric toothbrush, which causes waste
of the power.
[0032] Please refer to FIG. 6, which illustrates a specific circuit
layout diagram in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
present invention. However, it should be appreciated by the person
having ordinary skill in the art that the following circuit layout
is described to further illustrate the present invention in order
for the reader to clearly understand the spirit of the present
invention but not to limit the present invention. As shown in FIG.
6, the circuit elements of the present invention basically includes
an universal serial bus interface 201, a chargeable battery 203, a
switch 204, a motor 206, a microprocessor 301, a first
semiconductor component 302, a second semiconductor component 303
and a display component 304. The first semiconductor component 302
may be P type MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect
transistor), and the second semiconductor component 303 may be N
type MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor). In
the present embodiment, the contact point of the voltage bus (Vbus)
of the universal serial bus interface 201 is coupled to the
microprocessor 301 and the drain electrode of the first
semiconductor component 302, and the ground point of the universal
serial bus interface 201 is coupled to the negative electrode of
the chargeable battery 203. Moreover, the source electrode of the
first semiconductor component 302 is coupled to the positive
electrode of the chargeable battery 203, and the gate electrode of
the first semiconductor component 302 is coupled to the
microprocessor 301, thereby when the universal serial bus interface
201 is inserted into the external host, the first semiconductor
component 302 may be conducted to form a closed circuit, so as to
transmit the power to the chargeable battery 203 and achieve the
purpose of charging. Furthermore, the switch 204 is coupled to the
microprocessor 301 to control the microprocessor 301 to provide the
voltage of the gate electrode of the second semiconductor component
303.
[0033] One end of the motor 206 is coupled to the chargeable
battery 203, and the other end of the motor 206 is coupled to the
drain electrode of the second semiconductor component 303. When the
user turns on the switch 204, the microprocessor 301 may be forced
to provide the voltage of the gate electrode of the second
semiconductor component 303, so as to conduct the second
semiconductor component 303 to form a closed circuit and drive the
motor 206 to run. In certain embodiments, the control circuit can
control the rotation speed of the motor based on the choice of the
user, which specifically may be achieved by the microprocessor 301
utilizing pulse width modulation (PWM).
[0034] Moreover, in the present embodiment, the present invention
may further include a display component 304, for example light
emitting diodes. The light emitting diodes may be coupled to the
microprocessor 301 to emit light when the electric toothbrush is
being charged, when the electric toothbrush is performing the teeth
brushing procedure, when the electric toothbrush is in a standby
state or when the power of the electric toothbrush is not enough,
so as to provide the function of light indication and aid in
reminding or cautioning the user about the instant state of the
electric toothbrush.
[0035] Please refer to FIG. 7, which illustrates a structure
diagram of the circuit in accordance with another embodiment of the
present invention, which is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG.
5. The present embodiment also includes an universal serial bus
interface 201, a charging circuit 202, a chargeable battery 203, a
switch 204, a control circuit 205 and a motor 206. The difference
between the embodiments shown in FIGS. 7 and 5 is that the
embodiment shown in FIG. 7 further includes a wireless charging
module 401 coupled to the chargeable battery 203. When the power
providing end has a corresponding wireless charging device, the
resonant energy may be transmitted to the wireless charging module
401 through wireless transmission and further be transformed into
the power to be provided to the chargeable battery 203, so as to
achieve the function of charging. Regarding the specific methods or
means of wireless charging, it may refer to a Taiwan patent No.
1254195, entitled "Contactless power sensing circuit," which is
incorporated herein for reference.
[0036] Please refer to FIG. 8, which illustrates a structure
diagram of the circuit in accordance with another embodiment of the
present invention, which is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG.
5. The present embodiment also includes an universal serial bus
interface 201, a charging circuit 202, a chargeable battery 203, a
switch 204, a control circuit 205 and a motor 206. The present
embodiment further includes a voltage detecting circuit 501 coupled
between the chargeable battery 203 and the control circuit 205.
Specifically, the voltage of the chargeable battery 203 may differ
based on the amount of the remaining power, so as to affect the
rotation speed of the motor 206. Therefore, the present invention
employs a voltage detecting circuit 501 to detect the voltage
variations of the chargeable battery 203 and modulates the voltage
inputted into the motor 206 to avoid the unsteadiness of the
rotation speed.
[0037] In certain embodiments, the voltage detecting circuit 501
may also be replaced with a voltage stabilizing circuit. The
voltage stabilizing circuit may include a voltage stabilizing
integrated circuit (IC) to stabilize the amount of the voltage and
the current inputted into or outputted from the motor 206.
[0038] Please refer to FIG. 9, which illustrates a structure
diagram of the circuit in accordance with another embodiment of the
present invention, which is similar to the embodiment shown in FIG.
5. The present embodiment also includes an universal serial bus
interface 201, a charging circuit 202, a chargeable battery 203, a
switch 204, a control circuit 205 and a motor 206. The present
embodiment further includes a boost circuit 601 coupled between the
chargeable battery 203 and the control circuit 205 to boost the
voltage outputted from the chargeable battery 203, so as to provide
higher voltage to the motor 206 through the control circuit 205 and
aid in driving the motor 206.
[0039] The foregoing description is a preferred embodiment of the
present invention. It should be appreciated that this embodiment is
described for purposes of illustration only, not for limiting, and
that numerous alterations and modifications may be practiced by
those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and
scope of the invention. It is intended that all such modifications
and alterations are included insofar as they come within the scope
of the invention as claimed or the equivalents thereof.
* * * * *