Electronic toothbrush

A toothbrush including an elongated handle, a bristle head, a plurality of bristles, and an electronic device. The elongated handle includes a recess suitable for housing an electronic device. The bristle head is connected to the elongated handle. The plurality of bristles are embedded in the bristle head. The electronic device is configured to produce a detectable output sequence after a condition has been satisfied. In one embodiment, the detectable output comprises an audio signal while in an alternative embodiment, the detectable output comprises a visual signal such as light. In one embodiment, the electronic device includes a sequence initiator, a timer, and an output device all coupled to a control unit. The control unit is preferably adapted to initiate the timer upon receiving an initiation signal from the sequence initiator. The control unit is further configured to receive a signal from the timer after a minimum specified duration has expired. The control unit, upon receiving the signal from the timer, is preferably configured to enable the output device to produce a desired output signal.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to the field of dental care and more 
particularly to an improved toothbrush into which an electronic device is 
integrated for indicating to the user of the toothbrush and others when a 
certain brushing condition has been satisfied. 
2. Description of the Relevant Art 
In the field of dental care, a wide variety of improvements to the common 
toothbrush have been made typically to improve the efficiency with which 
the user can brush his or her teeth. The long term benefits provided by 
consistent and regular brushing of the teeth are well-established. The 
many improvements to the toothbrush are intended to improve the benefits 
provided by brushing, typically by facilitating a more complete and 
thorough cleaning of the teeth through various ergonomic and other related 
improvements designed to make it easier for the user of the toothbrush to 
achieve a complete brushing. While the existing toothbrush improvements 
are beneficial, however, these benefits are substantially wasted if the 
toothbrush is not used properly and replaced at periodic intervals. 
The effectiveness of any toothbrush depends on several factors including, 
for example, the frequency and regularity with which the toothbrush is 
used, the amount of time or thoroughness of each brushing, and the 
frequency with which the user replaces a toothbrush with a new one. The 
benefits provided by any particular toothbrush diminish over time as the 
bristles become used and are no longer able to adequately provide the 
necessary cleaning and massaging of the teeth and gumline. In addition, 
the effectiveness of any toothbrush depends upon the amount of time spent 
brushing. If, for example, a particular user has a tendency toward 
brushing for an inadequately short period of time, the user may not 
receive the benefit provided by a more regular and thorough brushing. 
Among the group of users who might be expected to tend towards brushing 
their teeth for an undesirably short duration are children. Parents will 
readily appreciate that long term dental care is not typically uppermost 
in the mind of their children as they brush their teeth. In many cases, 
children must be reminded repeatedly and consistently to brush their teeth 
and to take an adequate amount of time in doing so. It will be further 
appreciated that children (and others) are often motivated to complete an 
undesirable task by the prospect of obtaining a particular reward upon 
completion of the task. It would therefore be useful to provide a 
toothbrush which actually encouraged users to brush their teeth for a 
minimum duration by, for example, providing them with a reward for doing 
so. 
In addition, it is common among users of all ages to retain a particular 
toothbrush for longer than a useful lifetime of the particular toothbrush. 
Most organizations related to the field of dentistry, including the 
American Dental Association, recommend regularly replacing a used 
toothbrush with a new toothbrush to maximize the benefits provided by 
brushing and to ensure adequate massaging of the gumlines during each 
brushing. Unfortunately, however, it will be appreciated that many users 
frequently forget to regularly replace an existing toothbrush with a new 
toothbrush. 
While the existing toothbrush improvements are beneficial, they are not 
directed at the goal of prompting or encouraging users to brush their 
teeth for a predetermined duration or to replace their toothbrushes at 
specified intervals. Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a 
toothbrush that actually notified the toothbrush user when his or her 
teeth have been brushed for the proper amount of time and that further 
reminded the toothbrush user when a useful lifetime of the existing 
toothbrush has been exceeded. It would be further beneficial if the 
toothbrush providing these benefits was economical, readily 
manufacturable, and simple to use. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The problems identified above are in large part addressed by an improved 
toothbrush into which an electronic device is incorporated to inform the 
user when a specified condition related to the brushing of the teeth has 
been satisfied. By incorporation an electronic device into a toothbrush, 
an automated means of informing the user when, for example, a minimum 
brushing duration has been exceeded or when a useful lifetime of a 
toothbrush has been exceeded is provided. These improvements might 
encourage children and others to brush their teeth for a minimum duration 
by providing them with a reward in the form of an audio or visual output 
sequence upon satisfying a predetermined brushing condition. 
Broadly speaking, it is an object of the present invention to provide a 
toothbrush comprised of an elongated handle and a bristle head connected 
to the elongated handle. The toothbrush includes a recess suitable for 
housing an electronic device, preferably located within the elongated 
handle. The bristle head includes a plurality of bristles embedded within 
the bristle head. The improved toothbrush includes an electronic device 
within the recess. The electronic device is configured to produce a 
detectable output sequence after a condition has been satisfied thereby 
providing notification to the user of the toothbrush that the condition 
has been satisfied. In one embodiment, the detectable output sequence 
comprises an audio signal such as a series of musical notes designed to 
entertain a child. In an alternative embodiment, the detectable output 
sequence may comprise a visual signal such as the light produced by a 
flashing LED. 
In one embodiment, the electronic device includes a sequence initiator, a 
timer, and an output device coupled to a control unit. The control unit is 
adapted to initiate the timer upon receiving an initiation signal from the 
initiator. The timer is configured to produce and the control unit is 
configured to receive a signal after a predetermined duration has expired. 
In one embodiment, the sequence initiator includes a motion detector 
configured to produce the initiation signal automatically when the 
toothbrush is in motion. In one embodiment, the sequence initiator is 
simply comprised of a push button designed to activate a switch thereby 
generating the initiation signal upon depressing the push button. In one 
embodiment, the timer circuit includes a preset register for storing a 
value indicative of the minimum duration. Preferably, this preset register 
is programmable and the control unit is adapted to store a predetermined 
value in the preset register. The preferred embodiment may further include 
a battery coupled to the electronic device. In one embodiment, the bristle 
head is detachable from the elongated handle. In this embodiment, the 
bristle head may be suitably replaced without replacing the electronic 
device. In an embodiment in which the battery is housed within the bristle 
head, the battery is replaced simultaneously with the bristle head. 
It is still further an object of the present invention to provide an 
improved toothbrush including an elongated handle, a bristle head 
connected to the elongated handle, and a plurality of bristles embedded in 
the bristle head. The toothbrush includes a recess, preferably within the 
elongated handle, an electronic device within the recess, and a battery 
housed within a battery housing of the toothbrush and connected to the 
electronic device. The electronic device is configured to produce an 
output sequence after a predetermined condition has been satisfied. In one 
embodiment, the electronic device includes a timer configured to produce a 
cumulative interval signal after a predetermined cumulative time elapses 
from a first initiation of the timer. In this embodiment, the control unit 
is preferably adapted to receive the cumulative interval signal and to 
initiate an output sequence in response thereto, thereby indicating to the 
user that the predetermined cumulative time has elapsed. In still another 
embodiment, the battery is designed with a current delivering capacity 
calibrated with respect to the power consumption of the electronic device 
and associated circuitry, such that the available power of the battery is 
consumed after the predetermined cumulative duration.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative 
forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the 
drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, 
however, that the drawings and detailed description presented herein are 
not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiment 
disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all 
modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and 
scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a prospective view of an improved 
toothbrush 102. Toothbrush 102 includes an elongated handle 104 attached 
to a bristle head 106. Bristle head 106 includes a plurality of bristles 
108 embedded into bristle head 106 and extending away from the bristle 
head in a familiar fashion. Elongated handle and bristle head 106 may be 
fabricated from a variety of durable plastics or other suitable materials 
designed for economy and durability. Although the elongated handle 104 of 
FIG. 1 is shown as substantially straight, it will be appreciated that 
bristle head 106 may be oriented at an angle with respect to elongated 
handle 104 and that elongated handle 104 itself may include one or more 
angles designed to produce an ergonomically efficient toothbrush 102 for 
comfort, ease of use, and facilitating access to all regions of the user's 
mouth. Toothbrush 102 defines a recess 110, preferably located within 
elongated handle 104, and adapted to receive an electronic device 112. The 
electronic device 112 is preferably configured to produce a detectable 
output sequence after a predetermined condition, typically related to the 
use of the toothbrush, has been satisfied. In this manner, toothbrush 102 
notifies the user when a predetermined condition has been satisfied. 
In one embodiment of the present invention, the detectable output sequence 
produced by the electronic device may comprise an audio signal. In an 
embodiment designed to encourage children and other users of toothbrush 
102 to brush their teeth for a minimum duration, the output sequence 
produced by electronic device 112 may comprise a series of musical notes 
such as a child's tune whereby the user of the toothbrush is rewarded for 
satisfying a brushing condition by hearing a musical tune played. In an 
alternative embodiment, the output sequence may comprise a vocal sequence 
such as a complimentary or encouraging phrase, possibly spoken by a person 
or fictional character familiar to the user of the toothbrush. In still 
another alternative embodiment, the detectable output sequence produced by 
electronic device 112 may comprise a visually detectable output in the 
form of, for example, light produced by an LED (not shown) integrated into 
or connected to the toothbrush 102. 
Turning now to FIG. 2, a block diagram of one embodiment of electronic 
device 112 is shown. In this embodiment, electronic device 112 includes a 
control unit 114 coupled to a sequence initiator 116, a timer 118, and an 
output device 120. The sequence initiator 116 is designed to produce an 
initiation signal 113 to control unit 114. In one embodiment, sequence 
initiator 116 may comprise a motion detector whereby the sequence 
initiation signal is provided automatically whenever the user starts 
brushing his or her teeth. A suitable motion detector may be comprised of, 
for example, a commercially available mercury-free motion switch wherein 
the switch is designed to be either normally open or normally closed and 
may further include a variety of damping mechanisms including an 
embodiment in which the switch is un-damped, air damped, or fluid damped. 
In one embodiment, the motion detector may be of a one-shot variety such 
that the timer sequence is initiated upon detecting an initial movement of 
the toothbrush. In another embodiment, it may be useful to provide 
continuous monitoring of the movement of the toothbrush such that the user 
cannot obtain the detectable output sequence unless the toothbrush is kept 
in adequate motion for a predetermined duration. For example, the motion 
detector may include a switch that is closed only when the toothbrush is 
kept in continuous motion such that the timer increments (or decrements) 
only when toothbrush is actually moving. Such an embodiment may provide a 
mechanism for monitoring the actual brushing time. Suitable motion and 
disturbance detectors are commercially available from, among others, 
Aerodyne Controls Corporation in Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 
In other embodiments, the motion detector may comprise a mercury-type 
switch in which a flowable conducting material connects the two ends of an 
otherwise open circuit when the toothbrush is oriented in a particular 
direction such as by tilting the toothbrush. Such switches are 
commercially available and common in, for example, the temperature control 
units found in many homes. Ideally, the flowable material used in such an 
embodiment is consistent with the use of the present invention as a 
toothbrush designed to be used in close proximity to a person's mouth. 
Accordingly, suitable non-toxic and non-hazardous materials are preferred 
in the switch. In an alternative embodiment, sequence initiator 116 may 
simply comprise a push button designed to produce the initiation signal to 
control unit 114 when the push button is depressed. FIG. 4 shows such an 
embodiment, including a push button 105 located towards an end of 
elongated handle 104. The push button embodiment of the sequence initiator 
116 might result in a simpler and more economical method of initiating the 
sequence. 
The timer circuit 118 includes any variety of commercially available 
digital electronic timer circuits. In one embodiment, timer circuit 118 
may include a register 119 wherein the register value is indicative of the 
duration that is monitored by timer circuit 118. In one embodiment, 
register 119 is programmable such that control unit 114 may preset the 
duration required. In alternative embodiments, the preset of such a 
register may occur prior to or subsequent to purchase by the consumer. In 
one embodiment, the timer circuit is designed to monitor, in conjunction 
with the sequence initiator 116, a minimum brushing duration. In this 
embodiment, the control unit 114 sends a signal 115 to timer circuit 118 
upon receiving an initiation sequence from sequence initiator 116. Upon 
receiving the appropriate signal 115 from control unit 114, timer circuit 
118 begins to monitor or otherwise record the duration of time that has 
elapsed since the sequence initiator 116 produced the initiation signal 
113 to control unit 114. A suitable mechanism for recording this duration 
may simply comprise a countdown circuit in which the timer circuit 116 
counts down a number of clock cycles. A suitable countdown circuit, 
familiar to those in the field of digital electronics, requires timer 118 
to include a presetable register value and associated circuitry in which 
the register value is decremented each clock cycle until a zero value is 
produced whereby the timer circuit returns a signal 117 to the control 
unit indicating that the specified number of clock cycles has elapsed. In 
this manner, the minimum duration may be adjusted by changing the value 
stored in register 119 thereby adjusting the number of clock cycles 
counted by the timer circuit 118. 
Turning momentarily to FIG. 5, a block diagram depicting selected features 
of control unit 114 is presented. Preferably, control unit 114 includes 
storage means such as the memory array 154 and a clock circuit 150. Clock 
circuit 150 is configured to receive an oscillating signal from oscillator 
152 and to produce a digital clock signal that is passed to control logic 
156 and routed to timer 118 as clock signal 123. In addition, control 
logic 156 is coupled to memory array 154 and configured to route an output 
sequence over bus 125 to output device 120 (shown in FIG. 2) upon 
receiving the appropriate signal 117 from timer 118. 
In one embodiment useful for monitoring the cumulative lifetime of bristles 
108, timer circuit 118 is further configured to produce a cumulative 
interval signal 121 after a predetermined cumulative time has elapsed from 
a first initiation of the timer. Such a cumulative interval signal 121 may 
be produced, in one embodiment, by including a cumulative register (not 
shown in the drawings) within timer circuit 118. The cumulative register 
may be designed to decrement from a predetermined value without resetting. 
In this manner, the useful lifetime of the toothbrush may be monitored. 
Thus, control unit 114 may be configured to reset a first register within 
timer 118 upon each initiation signal 113 received from sequence initiator 
116 for monitoring a minimum duration of each brushing, but timer circuit 
118 may include a register that is not preset upon each new initiation by 
sequence initiator 116 such that the cumulative lifetime of the toothbrush 
is monitored. One embodiment of the present invention contemplates a 
control unit 114 adapted to produce a first output sequence each time a 
minimum brushing duration has been exceeded and a second output sequence 
when the useful lifetime has been exceeded. 
Upon receiving an appropriate signal from timer circuit 118, control unit 
114 is preferably adapted to produce a detectable output sequence on 
output device 120. In one embodiment, output device 120 may comprise a 
miniaturized speaker suitable for use with a low power DC circuit 
contemplated by control unit 114. In this embodiment, the audio signal 
produced by control unit 114 may be in the form of a musical sequence such 
as a series of notes from a song familiar to children, a vocal sequence 
such as one or more words, or other suitable audio sequence designed to 
inform the user of the toothbrush when a minimum brushing duration has 
been exceeded. Preferably, the output sequence produced by control unit 
114 and output device 120 generate an incentive for the user of the 
toothbrush to continue brushing his or her teeth for the minimum duration 
in order to receive the output sequence. Applying this concept to 
children, the output sequence may comprise a song familiar to children, a 
vocal sequence spoken by a person or fictional character familiar to 
children, or other suitable output sequence generally pleasing to 
children. Preferably, the control unit 114 includes appropriate storage 
means including, in one embodiment, non-volatile memory cells into which a 
digitally encoded audio sequence is stored. In one embodiment, a plurality 
of electronic devices 112 may each include a different encoded audio 
sequence such that the particular audio sequence produced to the user may 
be changed on a regular basis by replacing electronic device 112 with a 
different electronic device 112 that plays a different audio sequence to 
keep the user motivated to obtain the sequence. In addition, each 
individual electronic device 112 may include a plurality of encoded output 
sequences such that the detectable output sequence may vary from use to 
use without replacing device 112. It will appreciated that this embodiment 
might be useful in further motivating the toothbrush user to satisfy the 
appropriate brushing condition. 
In an alternative embodiment, output device 120 may comprise an LED or 
other suitable means for producing a visually detectable sequence upon 
receiving an appropriate signal from control unit 114. A visual signal may 
be a more economical approach in some embodiments of the present 
invention. In addition, a visual signal is more suitable for an 
application in which the user may be hearing impaired. The LED may be 
suitably integrated into the electronic device 112 or incorporated into 
other regions of the toothbrush 102 and connected to electronic device 112 
through wires embedded within toothbrush 102. 
Turning now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of the present invention is depicted 
in which the bristle head 106 is detachable from the elongated handle 104. 
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, bristle head 106 further includes a 
battery housing 130 adapted to receive a power source such as a battery 
132. By providing for a detachable bristle head 106, the present invention 
contemplates the ability to replace bristle head 106 when the useful 
lifetime of the bristles 108 has been exceeded. This useful lifetime of 
the bristles 108 may be monitored by the timer circuit 118 as described 
previously. In an alternative embodiment, the useful lifetime of bristles 
108 may be monitored by providing for a battery 132 calibrated in 
conjunction with the circuitry associated with control unit 114 and output 
device 120 whereby the useful charge within battery 132 is substantially 
consumed after the useful lifetime of bristles 108. Thus, in this 
embodiment, the useful lifetime of the bristles 108 is detected by the 
user when the toothbrush 102 fails to produce the desired output sequence. 
In an embodiment in which the output sequence is designed to motivate the 
user to satisfy a minimum brushing duration, the user is thereby 
additionally motivated to replace the bristle head 106 after the useful 
lifetime of battery 132 has expired if he or she desires to continue to 
receive the output sequence. By providing for a detachable bristle head 
106, it is contemplated that the bristle head 106 may be economically 
replaced while retaining the potentially more expensive elongated handle 
including the electronic device 112. In this embodiment, bristle head 106 
may be attached to elongated handle 104 by means of a threaded screw 134 
or other suitable attaching means. The power provided by battery 132 is 
supplied to electronic device 112 by means of a pair of wires 136 within 
bristle head 106 designed to connect to a corresponding pair of wires 138 
within elongated handle 104 when bristle head 106 is connected to 
elongated handle 104. Although the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3 shows the 
battery 132 and battery housing 130 within the bristle head 106, it will 
be appreciated that these elements may be suitably arranged or placed 
within elongated handle 104. Similarly, recess 110 and electronic device 
112, although depicted within elongated handle 104 in FIG. 1, may suitably 
be located within bristle head 106. 
It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that the present 
invention contemplates an improved toothbrush for providing a notification 
to a user of the toothbrush whenever a predetermined condition has been 
satisfied. It is understood that the form of the invention shown and 
described in the detailed description and the drawings are to be taken 
merely as presently preferred examples. It is intended that the following 
claims be interpreted broadly to embrace all the variations of the 
preferred embodiments disclosed.