TOOTH CUP, TOOTH BRUSH AND ORAL CARE SYSTEM

Abstract

There is described a tooth cup comprising a cup body in which it is integrated with: a controller configured to issue a purification command based on a predetermined condition; and a purifier configured to purify the tooth cup in response to receiving the purification command issued by the controller. In addition, it further describes a tooth brush and an oral cavity care system. This helps people with improving the oral cavity health in daily lives.

Claims

1. A tooth cup comprising a cup body in which it is integrated with: a controller configured to issue a purification command based on a predetermined condition; and a purifier configured to purify the tooth cup in response to receiving the purification command issued by the controller.

2. The tooth cup according to claim 1, wherein in the cup body, it is further integrated with a power supply configured to supply power to at least one of the controller and the purifier.

3. The tooth cup according to claim 1, wherein the purifier comprises at least one of a drier and a UV sterilizer to purify the microorganism in the tooth cup.

4. The tooth cup according to claim 1, wherein in the cup body, it is further integrated with a detector configured to detect a degree of cleanness in the tooth cup.

5. The tooth cup according to claim 4, wherein the predetermined condition comprises the degree of cleanness as detected by the detector is below a cleanness threshold.

6. The tooth cup according to claim 4, wherein the detector comprises a testing probe comprising luciferin-luciferase thereon and configured to capture and detect a luminous value of a photon generated from an interaction between the luciferin-luciferase and the remaining liquid in the tooth cup.

7. The tooth cup according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition comprises the water volume in the tooth cup is reduced below a predetermined water volume threshold.

8. The tooth cup according to claim 1, wherein the purifier is further configured to purify the tooth cup in response to receiving a purification command issued by a user.

9. The tooth cup according to claim 1, wherein in the cup body, it is further integrated with a Bluetooth module through which the controller communicates with an external device.

10. The tooth cup according to claim 1, wherein in the cup body, it is further integrated with a display configured to display data under the control of the controller.

11. A tooth brush comprising a brush head in which it is integrated with: a controller configured to issue a purification command based on a predetermined condition; and a purifier configured to purify the brush head in response to receiving the purification command issued by the controller.

12. The tooth brush according to claim 11, wherein in the tooth brush, it is further integrated with a power supply configured to supply power to at least one of the controller and the purifier.

13. The tooth brush according to claim 11, wherein the purifier comprises at least one of a drier and a UV sterilizer to purify the microorganism on the brush head.

14. The tooth brush according to claim 11, wherein in the tooth brush, it is further integrated with a detector configured to detect a degree of cleanness of the brush head.

15. The tooth brush according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined condition comprises the degree of cleanness as detected by the detector is below a cleanness threshold.

16. The tooth brush according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined condition comprises the water volume on the brush head is reduced below a predetermined water volume threshold.

17. The tooth brush according to claim 11, wherein the purifier is further configured to purify the brush head in response to receiving a purification command issued by a user.

18. The tooth brush according to claim 11, wherein in the tooth brush, it is further integrated with a Bluetooth module through which the controller communicates with an external device.

19. The tooth brush according to claim 11, wherein in the tooth brush, it is further integrated with a display configured to display data under the control of the controller.

20. An oral cavity care system comprising at least one of the tooth cup according to claim 1 and a tooth brush, the tooth brush comprising a brush head in which it is integrated with: a controller configured to issue a purification command based on a predetermined condition; and a purifier configured to purify the brush head in response to receiving the purification command issued by the controller.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Now the present disclosure will be described in more detail and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a tooth cup according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0020] FIG. 2 is an exemplary structural diagram of a cup body of the tooth cup according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a tooth brush according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following description provides specific details for a thorough understanding of, and enabling description for, various embodiments of the disclosure. One skilled in the art will understand that the technical solution of the disclosure may be practiced without many of these details. In some instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of embodiments of the disclosure. It is intended that the terminology used in this disclosure be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain embodiments of the disclosure. For example, the terms based on or in response to are not exclusive, and are equivalent with the terms at least partially based on or in response to, and also include based on some additional factors that are not described in this context.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a tooth cup 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the tooth cup comprises a cup body 101. In the cup body 101, it may be integrated with, for example, a controller 102 and a purifier 103. The controller 102 may be configured to issue a purification command based on a predetermined condition. The purifier 103 may be configured to purify the tooth cup in response to receiving the purification command issued by the controller. Optionally, in the cup body 101, it may be further integrated with a display 107, as shown in FIG. 1. Additionally, in the cup body 101, it may be further integrated with any one or more of a power supply, a detector, a Bluetooth module, a timer, a memory, etc., which are some examples only and not shown in FIG. 1.

[0024] FIG. 2 is an exemplary structural diagram of a cup body 201 of a tooth cup according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, in the cup body, it is integrated with a controller 202 and a purifier 203. Additionally, in the cup body, it may be further integrated with one or more of a power supply 204, a detector 205, a Bluetooth module 206, and a display 207. Optionally, in the cup body, it may be further integrated with various types of sensors (not shown), e.g. a water volume sensor, a weight sensor, and so on.

[0025] The controller 202 may be configured to issue a purification command based on a predetermined condition. For example, the controller may be configured to obtain data from other integrated components in the tooth cup, and then analyze and process the obtained data. Then, the controller may determine the occurrence of the predetermined condition based on the analyzed and processed data, and performs actions based on this. The actions include, for example, issuing a purification command to the purifier. As an example, the controller may be configured to issue a purification command to the purifier based on the water volume within the tooth cup being reduced below a predetermined water volume threshold. The water volume within the tooth cup being reduced below a predetermined water volume threshold may be determined in many ways, e.g. by means of a water volume sensor or a weight sensor. The predetermined water volume threshold may be set by a user, e.g. to a value smaller than the water volume remained by the end of a brushing process conventionally. As an example, the controller may also issue a purification command to the purifier based on the water volume sensor sensing that the water volume in the tooth cup reduces from above a predetermined water volume threshold to below the predetermined water volume threshold. The controller may be implemented in a hardware unit and/or a software module, which hardware unit comprises an integrated circuit or a component of system-on-chip, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), and so on.

[0026] The purifier 203 is configured to purify the tooth cup in response to receiving the purification command issued by the controller. The purifier comprises a microorganism purifier. The microorganism purifier may be e.g. a drier for drying the microorganism environment in the tooth cup. Alternatively or additionally, the purifier may also be a UV sterilizer for sterilizing the microorganism environment in the tooth cup. It should be noted that any unit or component capable of purifying the intra-cup environment is contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0027] The power supply 204 may be connected to the controller and the purifier and configured to supply power to the controller and/or the purifier. The power supply 204 may be also be configured to provide the power required for the operations of the other components (such as the controller, the purifier, the Bluetooth module, the display, etc.) in the cup body 201. The power supply may be in the form of a mains supply, or in the form of a battery. Optionally, the power supply may be a rechargeable battery.

[0028] The detector 205 may be configured to detect a degree of cleanness in the tooth cup. As an example, the detector may use a testing probe to detect the content of microorganism in the tooth cup. The testing probe may comprise luciferin-luciferase thereon and may be configured to capture and detect a luminous value of a photon generated from an interaction between the luciferin-luciferase and the remaining liquid in the tooth cup. By detecting the luminous value, the content of microorganism in the tooth cup can be acquired. It should be noted that other techniques or devices for detecting the degree of cleanness in the tooth cup are also contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. As an example, the controller 202 may obtain data from the detector 205 and may analyze and process the data. Then, the controller issues a purification command to the purifier when analyzing that the degree of cleanness as detected by the detector is below a cleanness threshold. Additionally or alternatively, the user may directly issue to the purifier the purification command to purify the tooth cup, which can be implemented by e.g. a user directly pressing the purification switch button.

[0029] A Bluetooth module 206 may also be integrated in the cup body. The controller may communicate with an external device, especially an external mobile device (e.g. a mobile phone), by way of the Bluetooth module 206. For example, the controller 202 may forward the information about the degree of cleanness in the tooth cup to the external device through the Bluetooth module, in order that the user can know the degree of cleanness of the tooth cup at any time. For instance, the user may choose to brush his/her tooth when the degree of cleanness is relatively high. Alternatively or additionally, the controller 202 may receive data from the external device through the Bluetooth module, such as time data, image data (e.g. including video data), and even audio data, etc.

[0030] The display 207 may be connected to the controller. The display may be configured to display data under the control of the controller. The display may be, e.g. an LCD, an LED display, etc. The displayed data may be a degree of cleanness, time data, image data (e.g. including video data), and even audio data, etc., as described above.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a tooth brush 300 according to an aspect of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, the tooth brush 300 comprises a brush head 301. In the tooth brush, it is integrated with a controller 302 and a purifier 303. Optionally, the tooth brush may also be integrated with a power supply for supplying power to the controller and/or the purifier. It should be noted that one or more of the detector, the Bluetooth module, the display and the sensor, as described above with reference to FIG. 2, may also be integrated in the tooth brush and is/are not shown in FIG. 3 in order to avoid repetition.

[0032] The controller 302 may be configured to issue a purification command based on a predetermined condition. The purifier 303 may be configured to purify the brush head in response to receiving the purification command issued by the controller. As described above with reference to FIG. 2, the purifier may comprise a microorganism purifier. The microorganism purifier may be a drier and/or a UV sterilizer, for example. Any unit or component capable of purifying the brush head is contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0033] As an example, in the tooth brush, it may be further integrated with a detector, as described above, for detecting a degree of cleanness of the brush head. As described with reference to FIG. 2, the controller may be configured to issue a purification command to the purifier based on the water volume on the brush head being reduced below a predetermined water volume threshold. The water volume on the brush head being reduced below a predetermined water volume threshold may be determined e.g. by means of a water volume sensor or a weight sensor. Alternatively or additionally, the controller is configured to issue a purification command when analyzing that the degree of cleanness as detected by the detector is below a cleanness threshold. Alternatively or additionally, the user may directly issue to the purifier the purification command to purify the brush head.

[0034] As another example, in the tooth brush, it may be further integrated with a Bluetooth module, and the controller may communicate with an external device through the Bluetooth module. Optionally, in the tooth brush, it may be further integrated with a display that may be connected to the controller. The display may be configured to display data under the control of the controller.

[0035] It should be noted that the units or components and their operational principles described above with reference to FIG. 2 may be applied alike in the tooth brush described herein. As described above, the controller may also issue a purification command to the purifier when the water volume sensor senses that the water volume on the brush head reduces from above a predetermined water volume threshold to below the predetermined water volume threshold. The detector may also detect the content of microorganism on the brush head using the testing probe as described with reference to FIG. 2. Optionally, the detector and/or purifier may be arranged in the brush head, in order to obtain a more accurate detection result and/or purification effect.

[0036] It should be understood that for clarity, the embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to different functional units or components. However, it will be apparent that the functionality of each functional unit may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as a part of other functional units, without departing from the present disclosure. For example, the functionality described to be executed by a single unit may be executed by a plurality of different units. Therefore, the references to a particular functional unit are only regarded as references to an appropriate unit for providing the described functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logic or physical structure or organization. Therefore, the present disclosure may be implemented in a single unit, or physically and functionally distributed between different units and circuits.

[0037] Although the present disclosure has been described in conjunction with some embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific forms illustrated in this context. Rather, the scope of the present disclosure is only limited by the appended claims. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different claims, these may possibly be advantageously combined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous. The order of features in the claims does not imply any specific order in which the features must be worked. In addition, in the claims, the word comprise or include does not exclude other elements, and the indefinite article a or an does not exclude a plurality. Reference signs in the claims are provided merely as a clarifying example and shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims in any way.