Oral care pattern determination device, oral care pattern determination method, and program

Abstract

An oral care mode determination device is provided with: a tartar adhesion amount detection unit (156) that detects the amount of tartar (99a) adhered in an oral cavity on the basis of an image obtained by imaging the interior of the oral cavity; a defect detection unit (157) that detects, on the basis of the image, the degree of defect, which is the degree of defect in the gingival portion in the oral cavity; a care mode determination unit (153b) that determines, on the basis of the detected amount of tartar and the detected degree of defect, a care mode for determining the drive control of an oral care device that is a device for caring the inside of the oral cavity; and a result output unit (153c) that outputs the result of determination of the care mode to the oral care device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an oral care mode determination device, an oral care mode determination method, and a program. Background Art

[0002] As an oral cleaning device using a liquid such as a cleaning liquid (in other words, an oral care device for caring for the inside of the oral cavity), a cleaning device is disclosed in Patent Document 1, which provides a liquid containing nanobubbles into the oral cavity, integrates the toothbrushing process and the mouthwash process, thereby enabling the cleaning of the inside of the oral cavity and the cleaning of the tooth surface to be performed at the same time.

[0003] (Prior art literature)

[0004] (Patent Document)

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-118940 Summary of the invention

[0006] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0007] Here, it is important to control the cleaning power (in other words, the ability to care for the oral cavity) of the oral cleaning device. The present disclosure provides an oral care mode determination device that can determine a care mode for controlling the oral cleaning device with an appropriate cleaning power.

[0008] Means for solving problems

[0009] An oral care mode determination device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises: a plaque adhesion amount detection unit for detecting the amount of plaque adhesion, i.e., the amount of plaque, in the oral cavity based on an image obtained by photographing the oral cavity; a defect detection unit for detecting the degree of defect, i.e., the degree of defect, of the gum part in the oral cavity based on the image; a care mode determination unit for determining a care mode for determining the drive control of an oral care device based on the detected plaque amount and the detected degree of defect, wherein the oral care device is a device for caring for the oral cavity; and a result output unit for outputting the determination result of the care mode to the oral care device.

[0010] An oral care mode determination method involved in one embodiment of the present invention is an oral care mode determination method executed by a computer, and the oral care mode determination method includes: a step of detecting the amount of dental plaque adhesion, i.e., the amount of dental plaque, in the oral cavity based on an image obtained by photographing the oral cavity; a step of detecting the degree of imperfection, i.e., the degree of imperfection, of the gum part in the oral cavity based on the image; a step of determining a care mode for determining the drive control of an oral care device based on the detected amount of dental plaque and the detected degree of imperfection, wherein the oral care device is a device for caring for the oral cavity; and a step of outputting the determination result of the care mode to the oral care device.

[0011] A computer program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute the above-mentioned oral care pattern determination method.

[0012] Effects of the Invention

[0013] The oral care mode determination device and the like of the present disclosure can determine a care mode for controlling the oral cleaning device with an appropriate cleaning force. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 It is a figure which shows the usage example of the oral cleaning device etc. which concern on embodiment.

[0015] Figure 2 It is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the oral cleaning device and the like according to the embodiment.

[0016] Figure 3 This is a flowchart showing an operation example of the oral cleaning device according to the embodiment.

[0017] Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing an example of operation in the dental plaque detection spray mode of the oral cleaning device according to the embodiment.

[0018] Figure 5 : is a graph showing the relationship between the detection result and the control amount in the oral cleaning device according to the embodiment.

[0019] Figure 6 This is another graph showing the relationship between the detection result and the control amount in the oral cleaning device according to the embodiment.

[0020] Fig. 7A This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an oral cleaning device and the like according to Modification 1 of the embodiment.

[0021] Figure 7B This is a diagram showing an example of data used for machine learning in the oral cleaning device according to Modification 1 of the embodiment.

[0022] Figure 8 This is a flowchart showing an operation example of the oral cleaning device according to Modification 1 of the embodiment.

[0023] Fig. 9 This is a flowchart showing an example of operation in the dental plaque detection injection mode and the failure detection injection mode of the oral cleaning device according to the first modification of the embodiment.

[0024] Fig.10 This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an oral cleaning device and the like according to Modification 2 of the embodiment.

[0025] Fig.11 This is a flowchart showing an example of operation in the dental plaque detection injection mode and the failure detection injection mode of the oral cleaning device according to the third modification of the embodiment.

[0026] Fig.12 This is a diagram showing an example of an oral health status table according to a modification of the embodiment.

[0027] Fig.13 This is a diagram showing an example of an oral health status table according to another modification of the embodiment.

[0028] Fig.14 This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an oral cleaning system according to Modification 4 of the embodiment.

[0029] Fig.15 This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an oral cleaning system according to Modification 5 of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The oral care mode determination device involved in the first embodiment of the present invention comprises: a plaque adhesion amount detection unit, which detects the amount of plaque adhesion in the oral cavity, i.e., the amount of plaque, based on an image obtained by photographing the oral cavity; a defect detection unit, which detects the degree of defect, i.e., the degree of defect, of the gum part in the oral cavity based on the image; a care mode determination unit, which determines the care mode that determines the drive control of the oral care device based on the detected plaque amount and the detected degree of defect, wherein the oral care device is a device for caring for the oral cavity; and a result output unit, which outputs the judgment result of the care mode to the oral care device.

[0031] This oral care mode determination device can detect the amount of dental plaque and the degree of imperfection in the oral cavity based on an image obtained by photographing the oral cavity. When the amount of dental plaque is large, the cleaning force should be increased, but a strong cleaning force is not suitable for the gum part with a high degree of imperfection. From this point of view, since the appropriate care mode is determined based on both the amount of dental plaque and the degree of imperfection, the appropriate care mode can be output as a judgment result. Therefore, it is possible to judge the care mode of controlling the oral care device (oral cleaning device) with an appropriate cleaning force. Moreover, in the oral care device that has received the output of the judgment result of the care mode, it is possible to perform oral care through drive control determined by the care mode as the judgment result.

[0032] In addition, the oral care mode determination device involved in the second embodiment of the present invention is based on the oral care mode determination device involved in the first embodiment, and the image is captured by detecting the light generated by sensing the irradiated light when irradiated light with a specified wavelength to which dental plaque reacts is irradiated into the oral cavity.

[0033] According to this, when light having a predetermined wavelength to which dental plaque reacts is irradiated into the oral cavity, the amount of dental plaque can be detected using an image of light generated by sensing the irradiated light. In other words, the accuracy of the detection of the amount of dental plaque can be improved.

[0034] In addition, the oral care mode determination device involved in the third embodiment of the present invention is based on the oral care mode determination device involved in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, wherein the image is two or more images including a first image and a second image, the first image is an image of a part of the oral cavity, and the second image is an image of another part of the oral cavity, the plaque adhesion amount detection unit detects the amount of plaque for the part of the oral cavity and the other part of the oral cavity, respectively, the defect detection unit detects the degree of defect for the part of the oral cavity and the other part of the oral cavity, respectively, the care mode determination unit determines the care mode for the part of the oral cavity and the other part of the oral cavity, respectively, and the result output unit outputs a determination result of the care mode of the part of the oral cavity associated with the part of the oral cavity, and outputs a determination result of the care mode of the other part of the oral cavity associated with the other part of the oral cavity.

[0035] Thus, the amount of plaque, the degree of imperfection, and the care mode can be detected for one part and another part of the oral cavity, respectively. Therefore, an appropriate care mode corresponding to the amount of plaque and the degree of imperfection of each part and another part of the oral cavity can be output.

[0036] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the fourth embodiment of the present invention is based on the oral care mode judgment device involved in the third embodiment, and the result output unit will associate the position in the oral cavity corresponding to a part of the oral cavity with the judgment result of the care mode of the part of the oral cavity and output it, and will associate the position in the oral cavity corresponding to another part of the oral cavity with the judgment result of the care mode of the other part of the oral cavity and output it.

[0037] Accordingly, the judgment result of the output care mode can be determined and used according to the positions in the oral cavity corresponding to a part of the oral cavity and another part of the oral cavity. In other words, the judgment result of the care mode associated with the position can be obtained according to the positions in the oral cavity corresponding to a part of the oral cavity and another part of the oral cavity. For example, when the oral care device is used to clean a certain position in the oral cavity, the cleaning can be performed with the appropriate care mode associated with the position.

[0038] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the fifth embodiment of the present invention is an oral care mode judgment device involved in any one of the first embodiment to the fourth embodiment, and the care mode judgment unit judges the care mode by selecting a candidate from a plurality of candidates, and each of the plurality of candidates for the care mode includes a control parameter, which is a control parameter set according to each of the plurality of candidates for the care mode, and is at least two control parameters that determine different drive controls of the oral care device.

[0039] According to this, the drive control can be determined according to the determined care mode by using two or more control parameters included.

[0040] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the sixth embodiment of the present invention is based on the oral care mode judgment device involved in the fifth embodiment, and at least one of the at least two control parameters is a parameter for adjusting the cleaning power of the teeth of the oral care device, and at least the other one is a parameter for supplementing the cleaning power of the oral care device.

[0041] Accordingly, for the determined care mode, it is possible to easily achieve a balance between the cleaning power and the suppression of factors that increase the degree of defect by using the parameters for adjusting the cleaning power of the teeth of the oral care device and the parameters for supplementing the cleaning power of the oral care device among the two or more control parameters included.

[0042] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the seventh embodiment of the present invention is an oral care mode judgment device involved in any one of the first embodiment to the sixth embodiment, and the oral care device is a water-flow oral cleaning device that sprays cleaning fluid onto the teeth. The care mode includes at least one control parameter for determining different drive controls of the oral care device, and the at least one control parameter is at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning fluid, the spraying water pressure, the spraying time, and the spraying frequency. The care mode judgment unit judges the care mode based on the at least one control parameter included, so that the higher the degree of undesirability, the smaller the load applied to the gum part when spraying the cleaning fluid.

[0043] Accordingly, in a water flow oral cleaning device, the care mode can be determined based on at least one control parameter of the cleaning liquid flow rate, spraying water pressure, spraying time, and spraying frequency, so that the higher the degree of defect, the smaller the load applied to the gum part when spraying the cleaning liquid.

[0044] In addition, the oral care mode determination device involved in the eighth embodiment of the present invention is an oral care mode determination device involved in any one of the first to sixth embodiments, the oral care device is an electrically driven toothbrush device that drives the configured bristles, the care mode includes at least one control parameter for determining different drive controls of the oral care device, at least one control parameter is at least one of the drive torque, drive stroke, drive speed, and drive time of the bristles, and the care mode determination unit determines the care mode based on the at least one control parameter included, so that the higher the degree of undesirability, the smaller the load applied to the gum part when driving the bristles.

[0045] Accordingly, in an electrically driven toothbrush device, the care mode is determined based on at least one control parameter of the driving torque, driving stroke, driving speed, and driving time of the bristles, so that the higher the degree of defect, the smaller the load applied to the gum part when driving the bristles.

[0046] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the ninth embodiment of the present invention is based on the oral care mode judgment device involved in the eighth embodiment, and the oral care device comprises: a brushing pressure detection unit, which detects the brushing pressure applied to the bristles; and a brushing information notification unit, which notifies the user of feedback information related to the brushing pressure, the brushing information notification unit sets one or more thresholds for the brushing pressure, and when the detected brushing pressure is higher than the threshold, notifies the user to urge the user to reduce the brushing pressure, the care mode also includes parameters related to the threshold, and the care mode judgment unit judges the care mode based on the parameters related to the threshold, in a manner that the threshold is reduced as the degree of undesirability increases.

[0047] This allows the user to be informed that the brushing pressure does not exceed the threshold value set according to the determined care mode. As a result, the oral cavity can be cared for with an appropriate brushing pressure.

[0048] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the tenth embodiment of the present invention is an oral care mode judgment device involved in any one of the first embodiment to the ninth embodiment, and the result output unit further sends the judgment result of the care mode to a terminal device connected to the oral care mode judgment device, and the terminal device has at least one of a display unit and a notification unit, the display unit displays the judgment result of the care mode received from the result output unit, and the notification unit uses sound to notify the judgment result of the care mode received from the result output unit.

[0049] According to this, the terminal device that has received the output of the determination result of the care mode can at least either display the determination result or notify the determination result.

[0050] In addition, the oral care mode determination device involved in the eleventh aspect of the present disclosure is the oral care mode determination device involved in any one of the first aspect to the tenth aspect, wherein the degree of failure is scale information that quantifies the state of at least one of swelling and bleeding of the gum part.

[0051] This makes it possible to detect the degree of failure in which at least one of the state of swelling and bleeding of the gum part is quantified.

[0052] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the twelfth embodiment of the present invention is an oral care mode judgment device involved in any one of the first embodiment to the eleventh embodiment, and the care mode is a mode judged based on an oral health status table, which is a combination of two types of scale information, namely, scale information that quantifies the amount of dental plaque and scale information that quantifies the degree of undesirability of at least one of the swelling and bleeding of the gum part, and a corresponding table is established with the judgment result of the care mode.

[0053] According to this, the care mode suitable for care can be determined based on the oral health status table.

[0054] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the thirteenth embodiment of the present invention updates the oral health status table based on the oral care mode judgment device involved in the twelfth embodiment, based on at least one of the changing trends of the past detection results of the amount of plaque and the changing trends of the past detection results of the poor degree.

[0055] Accordingly, the oral health status table can be updated based on at least one of the change tendency of the past multiple detection results of the amount of dental plaque and the change tendency of the past multiple detection results of the degree of undesirability. For example, when the care mode judged in the past based on the oral health status table has a tendency to be unsuitable for care from the perspective of at least one of the amount of dental plaque and the degree of undesirability, the oral health status table can be updated to be suitable for care.

[0056] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the fourteenth embodiment of the present invention is based on the oral care mode judgment device involved in the thirteenth embodiment. When the changing trend of the past multiple detection results of the amount of dental plaque does not show a reduction in the amount of dental plaque, the oral health status table is updated in a manner that the care ability in the judgment result becomes higher.

[0057] According to this, when the care pattern determined in the past based on the oral health status table tends to be unsuitable for care in terms of the amount of dental plaque, the oral health status table can be updated to be suitable for care.

[0058] In addition, the oral care mode judgment device involved in the fifteenth embodiment of the present invention, according to the oral care mode judgment device involved in the thirteenth embodiment or the fourteenth embodiment, updates the oral health status table in a manner that the care ability in the judgment result becomes lower when the change trend of the past multiple detection results of the poor degree shows an increase in the poor degree.

[0059] According to this, when the care pattern determined in the past based on the oral health status table tends to be unsuitable for care in terms of the degree of unsuitability, the oral health status table can be updated to be suitable for care.

[0060] In addition, the oral care mode judgment method involved in the sixteenth embodiment of the present invention is an oral care mode judgment method executed by a computer, and the oral care mode judgment method includes: a step of detecting the amount of dental plaque adhesion in the oral cavity, i.e., the amount of dental plaque, based on an image obtained by photographing the oral cavity; a step of detecting the degree of imperfection of the gum part in the oral cavity, i.e., the degree of imperfection based on the image; a step of judging the care mode that determines the drive control of the oral care device based on the detected amount of dental plaque and the detected degree of imperfection, the oral care device being a device for caring for the oral cavity; and a step of outputting the judgment result of the care mode to the oral care device.

[0061] This can produce the same effects as the oral care pattern determination device described above.

[0062] Furthermore, a computer program according to a seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute the above-mentioned oral care pattern determination method.

[0063] According to this, it is possible to achieve the same effect as the oral care pattern determination device described above using a computer.

[0064] An oral cleaning device according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is an oral cleaning device for cleaning teeth by impacting a sprayed cleaning liquid onto the teeth, the oral cleaning device comprising: a cleaning liquid spraying unit for spraying the cleaning liquid from a spray port in a predetermined direction; a spray control unit for controlling at least one of a flow rate and a spray water pressure of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the spray port; a light irradiation unit for irradiating an irradiation area with irradiation light, the irradiation area being an area extending intersecting the extension line and including a predetermined point on an extension line extending from the spray port in a predetermined direction; and a light detection unit for detecting detection light emitted in accordance with the irradiation light in a two-dimensional detection area included in the irradiation area including the predetermined point, the spray control unit for estimating a plaque portion in the detection area based on a detection result of the light detection unit, and determining a control amount of at least one of a flow rate and a spray water pressure based on the estimation result of the plaque portion, so that the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spray port in such a manner that at least one of the flow rate and the spray water pressure becomes the determined control amount.

[0065] This oral cleaning device can set at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure injected from the injection port to a control amount determined according to the estimated result of the dental plaque portion. The estimated result of the dental plaque portion is estimated by detecting the detection light emitted according to the irradiation light in a two-dimensional detection area when the irradiation light is irradiated. For example, if the irradiation light is a light that can selectively cause the dental plaque to emit a color, then as the detection light, as long as the light generated by the color emitted by the dental plaque is detected, the detection accuracy of the dental plaque portion can be improved. In this way, the dental plaque portion in the detection area can be properly estimated, and the control amount of at least one of the flow rate and the injection water pressure corresponding to the estimated dental plaque portion for the detection area can be determined. Therefore, the oral cleaning device can be used to clean the oral cavity by properly controlling the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure.

[0066] In addition, for example, in another embodiment, the injection control unit calculates the area of ​​the dental plaque portion within the detection area by the area of ​​the detected detection light portion within the detection area based on the detection result, and determines the control amount in such a manner that the larger the calculated area, the greater the control amount of at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid injected from the injection port and the injection water pressure.

[0067] According to this, the dental plaque portion in the detection area can be properly estimated as the calculated area, and the control amount of at least one of the flow rate and the injection water pressure corresponding to the estimated dental plaque portion area for the detection area can be determined. Therefore, the oral cleaning device can clean the oral cavity according to the properly controlled flow rate and injection water pressure of the cleaning liquid.

[0068] In addition, for example, in another embodiment, the injection control unit calculates the amount of adhesion of the dental plaque portion within the detection area based on the detection result by using the brightness value of the detection light within the detection area, and determines the control amount in such a manner that the larger the calculated adhesion amount, the greater the control amount of at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid injected from the injection port and the injection water pressure.

[0069] According to this, the dental plaque portion in the detection area can be properly estimated as the attachment amount calculated by the brightness value of the detection light, and the control amount of at least one of the flow rate and the injection water pressure corresponding to the estimated attachment amount of the dental plaque portion in the detection area can be determined. Therefore, the oral cleaning device can clean the oral cavity according to the properly controlled flow rate and injection water pressure of the cleaning liquid.

[0070] Furthermore, for example, in another embodiment, the irradiation light may include light of a wavelength for exciting a metabolic product of bacteria contained in the dental plaque portion, and the detection light may be fluorescence emitted by the excited metabolic product.

[0071] According to this, the irradiated light can excite the metabolites of bacteria contained in the dental plaque portion, and the fluorescence emitted by the excited metabolites can be detected as the detection light. Therefore, the light emitted by the dental plaque can be selectively detected, and the detection accuracy of the dental plaque portion can be improved.

[0072] Furthermore, for example, in another embodiment, the injection control unit may prohibit injection of the cleaning liquid from the injection port during a prohibition period at least partially overlapping with a detection period from when the light detection unit starts to detect the detection light to when it ends.

[0073] According to this, since the sprayed cleaning liquid is easy to scatter as droplets, it may affect the detection. However, a prohibition period for prohibiting the spraying of the cleaning liquid can be set, and during this period, a condition in which the cleaning liquid is difficult to scatter can be created to detect the detection light.

[0074] In addition, for example, in another embodiment, there may be further a judgment unit that judges that there is an obstruction that blocks at least one of (i) the detection light between the detection area and the light detection unit, or (ii) the irradiation light between the light irradiation unit and the irradiation area, when the brightness of the detection light continues to be below a specified value for more than a specified time; and an output unit that outputs the judgment result of the judgment unit.

[0075] Accordingly, the presence of an obstruction that blocks at least one of (i) the detection light between the detection area and the light detection unit, or (ii) the irradiation light between the light irradiation unit and the irradiation area can be judged by determining whether the brightness of the detection light remains below a specified value for more than a specified time, and the judgment result can be outputted.

[0076] In addition, a control device involved in another embodiment of the present disclosure is a control device used in an oral cleaning device for cleaning teeth by impacting a sprayed cleaning liquid onto the teeth, the control device comprising: a jet control unit that controls at least one of a flow rate and a jet water pressure of the cleaning liquid sprayed from a jet port, the jet port being used to spray the cleaning liquid in a specified direction; and an acquisition unit that obtains a detection result of detecting a detection light in a two-dimensional detection area included in an irradiation area including a specified point, the detection light being light emitted in accordance with the irradiation light irradiated to the irradiation area, the irradiation area being an area extending intersecting the extension line and including a specified point on an extension line extending from the jet port in a specified direction, the jet control unit estimates a plaque portion in the detection area based on the obtained detection result, and determines a control amount of at least one of a flow rate and a jet water pressure of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the jet port based on the estimated result of the plaque portion, so that the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the jet port in a manner such that at least one of the flow rate and the jet water pressure becomes the determined control amount.

[0077] Such a control device can make the oral cleaning device using the control device achieve the same effect as the oral cleaning device described above.

[0078] In addition, a computer program involved in another embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute a control method used in an oral cleaning device for cleaning teeth by impacting a sprayed cleaning liquid onto teeth. In the control method, a detection result of detecting a detection light in a two-dimensional detection area included in an irradiation area including a specified point is obtained, and the detection light is light emitted according to the irradiation light irradiated to the irradiation area. The irradiation area is an area extending in a manner that includes a specified point on an extension line extending in a specified direction from a spray port for spraying the cleaning liquid in a specified direction and intersects with the extension line. Based on the obtained detection result, a dental plaque portion in the detection area is estimated, and based on the estimated result of the dental plaque portion, a control amount of at least one of a flow rate of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the spray port and a spray water pressure is determined, so that the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spray port in a manner that makes at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the spray water pressure become the determined control amounts.

[0079] Such a computer program can achieve the same effects as the above-described control device by using a computer.

[0080] In addition, another embodiment of the present invention relates to an oral cleaning method for cleaning teeth by impacting a sprayed cleaning liquid onto the teeth. In the oral cleaning method, a detection light is detected in a two-dimensional detection area included in an irradiation area including a specified point. The detection light is light emitted according to the irradiation light irradiated to the irradiation area. The irradiation area is an area extending in a manner that includes a specified point on an extension line extending in a specified direction from a spray port for spraying the cleaning liquid in a specified direction and intersects with the extension line. Based on the detection result of the detection light, a dental plaque portion in the detection area is estimated. Based on the estimation result of the dental plaque portion, a control amount of at least one of a flow rate of the cleaning liquid sprayed from the spray port and a spray water pressure is determined, so that the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the spray port in a manner that makes at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the spray water pressure become the determined control amounts.

[0081] This oral cleaning method can achieve the same effect as the oral cleaning device described above.

[0082] In addition, a further embodiment of the present invention relates to an oral cleaning device for cleaning teeth, the oral cleaning device comprising: a cleaning control unit for controlling the cleaning force acting on the teeth via the teeth cleaning unit; and a light detection unit for detecting an image in a two-dimensional detection area including an effective cleaning area having the cleaning effect of the teeth cleaning unit. When the detected image includes a gum part, the cleaning control unit estimates the state of the gum part based on the detected image, determines the control amount of the cleaning force based on the estimation result of the state of the gum part, and controls the teeth cleaning unit in such a way that the cleaning force of the teeth cleaning unit becomes the determined control amount.

[0083] This oral cleaning device can make the cleaning force a control amount determined according to the estimated result of the state of the gum part. Regarding the estimated result of the state of the gum part, when the image detected in the detection area expanded in a two-dimensional shape includes the gum part, the estimated result of the state of the gum part is estimated according to the detected image. In this way, the state of the gum part in the detection area is properly estimated, and the control amount of the cleaning force corresponding to the estimated state of the gum part for the detection area can be determined. Therefore, in the oral cleaning device, the oral cavity can be cleaned by properly controlling the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure.

[0084] Furthermore, for example, in an oral cleaning device according to still another aspect, according to the oral cleaning device of the first aspect, the teeth cleaning portion is a bristle, and the cleaning control portion includes a drive control portion that controls a drive pattern of the bristle as a cleaning force of the bristle.

[0085] This oral cleaning device can set the driving mode of the bristles to a driving mode determined according to the estimated result of the state of the gum part. Regarding the estimated result of the state of the gum part, when the gum part is included in the image detected in the detection area expanded in a two-dimensional shape, it is estimated based on the detected image. In this way, the state of the gum part in the detection area can be properly estimated, and the driving mode corresponding to the estimated plaque part in the detection area can be determined. Therefore, in the oral cleaning device, the oral cavity can be cleaned by the properly controlled driving mode of the bristles.

[0086] In addition, for example, in an oral cleaning device involved in another embodiment, according to the oral cleaning device described in the first embodiment, the tooth cleaning part is a water flow type cleaning liquid injection part that causes the cleaning liquid injected from the injection port to impact the teeth, and the cleaning control part functions as an injection control part, which controls at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid, the injection water pressure and the injection frequency of the cleaning liquid as the cleaning force of the cleaning liquid injection part.

[0087] This oral cleaning device can set at least one of the flow rate, injection water pressure and injection frequency of the cleaning liquid ejected from the injection port to a control amount determined according to the estimated result of the state of the gum part. Regarding the estimated result of the state of the gum part, when the gum part is included in the image detected in the detection area expanded in a two-dimensional shape, it is estimated based on the detected image. In this way, the state of the gum part in the detection area can be properly estimated, and at least one control amount of the flow rate, injection water pressure and injection frequency corresponding to the estimated state of the dental plaque part for the detection area can be determined. Therefore, in the oral cleaning device, the oral cavity can be cleaned by the flow rate, injection water pressure and injection frequency of the cleaning liquid that are properly controlled. And with respect to the injection frequency, by setting it to an appropriate injection frequency corresponding to the state of the gum part, in other words, by performing appropriate intermittent injection corresponding to the state of the gum part, it has the effect of being able to suppress the following damage, which is the damage that makes the gum part in the case of a defect further deteriorated.

[0088] In addition, for example, in the oral cleaning device involved in yet another embodiment, according to the oral cleaning device described in the third embodiment, the estimation result shows at least one of the presence or absence of swelling and bleeding in the gum part, and when the estimation result shows at least one of swelling and bleeding in the gum part, the injection control unit determines the control amount in a manner such that at least one of the control amounts of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid injected from the injection port, the injection water pressure and the injection frequency becomes smaller than when there is no swelling and bleeding in the gum part.

[0089] According to this, as the estimated state of the gum part, it is estimated whether at least one of swelling and bleeding exists in the gum part, and when the estimation result shows that at least one of swelling and bleeding exists in the gum part, at least one of the flow rate, injection water pressure and injection frequency of the cleaning liquid ejected from the ejection port is determined to be smaller than when there is no swelling and bleeding in the gum part. Therefore, in the oral cleaning device, the oral cleaning can be performed by appropriately controlling the flow rate, injection water pressure and injection frequency of the cleaning liquid.

[0090] In addition, for example, in an oral cleaning device involved in yet another embodiment, according to the oral cleaning device described in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, the injection control unit prohibits the injection of cleaning liquid from the injection port during a prohibited period that at least partially overlaps with a detection period, and the detection period is a period from the start of detection of the detection light by the light detection unit to the end of detection of the detection light.

[0091] According to this, since the sprayed cleaning liquid is easy to scatter as droplets, it may affect the detection. However, a prohibition period for prohibiting the spraying of the cleaning liquid can be set, and during this period, a condition in which the cleaning liquid is difficult to scatter can be created to detect the detection light.

[0092] In addition, for example, in the oral cleaning device involved in yet another embodiment, according to the oral cleaning device described in any one of the first to fifth embodiments, the cleaning control unit estimates the state of the gum part in a part of the detection area and in the cleaning effective area having the cleaning effect of the tooth cleaning unit based on the detection result of the light detection unit, and determines the control amount of the cleaning force based on the estimation result of the state of the gum part.

[0093] In addition, a control device involved in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is a control device used in an oral cleaning device that cleans teeth through a tooth cleaning portion, and the control device comprises: a cleaning control portion that controls the cleaning force acting on the teeth via the tooth cleaning portion; and an image acquisition portion that acquires an image that is an image of a two-dimensional detection area including a cleaning effective area having the cleaning effect of the tooth cleaning portion, and when the acquired image includes a gum portion, the cleaning control portion estimates the state of the gum portion based on the acquired image, and determines the control amount of the cleaning force acting on the teeth via the tooth cleaning portion based on the estimated result of the state of the gum portion, so as to control the cleaning force in such a manner that it becomes the determined control amount.

[0094] Such a control device can make the oral cleaning device using the control device achieve the same effects as the other oral cleaning device described above.

[0095] In addition, a computer program involved in yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer to execute a control method used by an oral cleaning device that cleans teeth through a tooth cleaning portion, in which an image of a two-dimensional detection area including an effective cleaning area having the cleaning effect of the tooth cleaning portion is obtained, and when the obtained image includes a gum portion, a state of the gum portion is estimated based on the obtained image, and a control amount of the cleaning force acting on the teeth via the tooth cleaning portion is determined based on the estimation result of the state of the gum portion, so that the cleaning force is controlled in such a manner that it becomes the determined control amount.

[0096] This computer program can achieve the same effects as the other control devices described above using a computer.

[0097] In addition, another embodiment of the present invention involves an oral cleaning method used by an oral cleaning device that cleans teeth through a tooth cleaning part. In this oral cleaning method, an image of a two-dimensional detection area including an effective cleaning area having the cleaning effect of the tooth cleaning part is obtained, and the control amount of the cleaning force acting on the teeth through the tooth cleaning part is determined based on the detection result of the image, so that the cleaning force is controlled in a manner that becomes the determined control amount.

[0098] This oral cleaning method can achieve the same effects as the other oral cleaning device described above.

[0099] In addition, these general or specific methods can be implemented by systems, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs, or computer-readable recording media such as CD-ROMs, or by any combination of systems, methods, integrated circuits, computer programs, or recording media.

[0100] In addition, the embodiments to be described below all show general or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, constituent elements, configuration positions of constituent elements, connection forms, steps, and the order of steps shown in the following embodiments are all examples, and their purpose is not to limit the present disclosure. Moreover, among the constituent elements of the following embodiments, the constituent elements that are not recorded in the independent technical solutions are described as arbitrary constituent elements.

[0101] In addition, each figure is a schematic diagram, not a strict illustration. Therefore, for example, the scales in each figure are not necessarily the same. In addition, in each figure, the same symbols are given to substantially the same structure, and repeated descriptions are omitted or simplified.

[0102] In addition, in this specification, terms indicating the relationship between elements such as parallel, consistent, or orthogonal, terms indicating the shape of elements such as rings, and numerical values ​​and numerical ranges are not only expressions of strict meanings, but also include ranges indicating substantial equivalence, for example, may also include expressions with differences of approximately a few percent (e.g., approximately 10%).

[0103] (Implementation Method)

[0104] Hereinafter, regarding the oral cleaning device involved in this embodiment, refer to Figures 1 to 6 To explain.

[0105] [1. Structure of the oral cleaning device]

[0106] First, regarding the structure of the oral cleaning device involved in this embodiment, refer to Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 To explain. Figure 1 2 is a diagram showing an example of use of the oral cleaning device, etc. according to the present embodiment. Figure 1 In FIG. 1 , (a) shows the oral cleaning device 100 being used, and (b) shows the terminal device 200 connected at that time. Figure 1 (c) shows an oral cleaning device 100c according to another example of this embodiment. Figure 1 In (c), in order to make it easier to see the structure of the portion overlapping with the bristles 103b, a portion of the bristle bundles constituting the bristles 103b are omitted from the illustration. Figure 2 It is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the oral cleaning device and the like according to the embodiment.

[0107] like Figure 1 As shown in (a), the oral cleaning device 100 is a water-flow cleaning device, which uses a cleaning liquid spraying unit 103 as an example of a tooth cleaning unit to spray cleaning liquid into the user's oral cavity to remove attachments attached to the user's teeth 99, thereby cleaning the oral cavity. Figure 1 As shown in (c), the oral cleaning device 100c can also be implemented as an electrically driven toothbrush device, which is intended to remove attachments attached to the user's teeth 99 and is provided with bristles 103b as an example of a tooth cleaning unit. Figure 1 (a) and Figure 1In the state where the holding part shown in the figure is omitted in (c), the holding hand is moved to change the position and posture of the injection port 103a for spraying the cleaning liquid or the bristles 103b driven on the tooth surface, and the sprayed cleaning liquid is impacted to any position in the oral cavity (for example, the tooth 99) or the bristles 103b are contacted to any position in the oral cavity. The impacted cleaning liquid can remove the attachments attached to the impact position due to the impact. In addition, the contacting bristles 103b are driven back and forth in a certain direction along the tooth surface around it, thereby removing the attachments attached to the track of the bristles. Such attachments include food residues of food and food, and plaque 99a and tartar composed of bacteria that reproduce with the food residues as a medium. Below, as an oral cleaning device without special restrictions, a water flow type oral cleaning device 100 that sprays cleaning liquid when removing attachments attached to the user's teeth is described as an example.

[0108] In this embodiment, the oral cleaning device 100 is configured to visually confirm the position where the cleaning liquid impacts. Specifically, the oral cleaning device 100 includes a camera unit 101, and the image captured by the camera unit detecting the light in the oral cavity is displayed, for example, on the terminal display unit 203 of the terminal device 200 owned by the user. Thus, the user can clean the oral cavity while visually confirming the position where the injection port 103a is currently facing and spraying the cleaning liquid.

[0109] Here, the color of the dental plaque 99a in the attachment is similar to the color of the teeth 99 (white to beige or other pale white), so it is difficult to distinguish using only a normal camera. Therefore, in the oral cleaning device 100 of this embodiment, by selectively making the dental plaque 99a emit color, a Figure 1 The image shown in (b) shows the color of the dental plaque 99a in a form that can be distinguished from the color of the tooth 99. Furthermore, by analyzing the image in the oral cleaning device 100, the intensity of the cleaning liquid injection (at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid, the injection water pressure, and the injection frequency) when the dental plaque 99a is located in the relative area of ​​the injection port 103a is changed, and the cleaning liquid injection of the appropriate intensity (in other words, the cleaning force) can be used to perform appropriate cleaning in the oral cavity.

[0110] From the perspective of oral care, it is not good if the cleaning force is too strong or too weak. For example, when the cleaning force (care ability) is high, it can promote the removal of dental plaque, but the damage to the gum part tends to increase. Moreover, when the cleaning force (care ability) is low, it becomes difficult to remove dental plaque, but the damage to the gum part becomes smaller. Therefore, as a cleaning force (care ability) for appropriate oral cleaning corresponding to the state of the gum part, it is necessary to set a cleaning force that is neither too high nor too low. Regarding whether the cleaning force is considered to be too high or too low in oral cleaning, different standards are set each time according to the amount of dental plaque attached to the teeth and the degree of poor gum part. Therefore, in the modified example of the present disclosure, the appropriate cleaning force (care ability) set in consideration of the poor gum part is also described.

[0111] In the example of the oral cleaning device 100c, the setting of the intensity of the cleaning force is equivalent to the selection of the driving mode of the bristles 103b. In other words, the oral cleaning device 100c is a toothbrush device. The driving modes of the bristles 103b include a horizontal brushing mode driven by the bristles 103b along the arrangement direction of the teeth and other adjacent teeth, and a knocking brushing mode driven by the bristles 103b along the gap between the teeth and other adjacent teeth (i.e., the gap between the teeth), and several driving modes corresponding to the set values ​​such as the driving cycle and the driving torque. In other words, in each driving mode of the bristles 103b, the intensity of the horizontal brushing mode and the intensity of the knocking brushing mode are different, and the oral cavity can be properly cleaned with a driving mode of appropriate intensity according to the position and amount of attachment of the dental plaque 99a. This driving mode also includes a driving mode of only the knocking brushing method with the intensity of the horizontal brushing method mode being 0, and a driving mode of only the horizontal brushing method with the intensity of the knocking brushing method mode being 0. Alternatively, although not shown, an oral cleaning device having rotationally driven bristles may be considered. In this case, the oral cavity can be properly cleaned by a driving pattern of appropriate intensity.

[0112] Next, continue to refer to Figure 1 as well as Figure 2 The detailed configuration of the oral cleaning device 100 and the terminal device 200 used in combination with the oral cleaning device 100 will be described.

[0113] like Figure 2As shown, the oral cleaning device 100 includes a camera unit 101, an LED lighting unit 102, a cleaning liquid injection unit 103, an input unit 104, and a control device 150. The camera unit 101, the LED lighting unit 102, the cleaning liquid injection unit 103, and the input unit 104 are the hardware parts of the oral cleaning device 100, and are also referred to as the hardware unit. On the other hand, the control device 150 is a functional part that generates and outputs various control signals for controlling the operation of the hardware unit, or obtains information obtained as a result of the operation of the hardware unit. The control device 150 is implemented by executing a prescribed program using a computer, more specifically, a processor and a memory. Therefore, it can also be said that the functional body of the control device 150 is a program executed using a processor and a memory.

[0114] In addition, in the following description, Figure 2 The example in which the control device 150 is provided inside the oral cleaning device 100 is used for explanation, however, the control device 150 may be configured in any manner as long as it is configured to communicate with the hardware unit. For example, the control device 150 may be built into the terminal device 200, or may be built into a server device (not shown) such as an edge server or a cloud server. In this way, when the control device 150 is built into the server device, the hardware unit and the control device 150 are connected via a network such as a wide area network or a local communication network, and the oral cleaning system is realized as a combination of the hardware unit and the control device 150 connected via the network.

[0115] The control device 150 includes a camera control unit 151 connected to the camera unit 101, an LED lighting control unit 152 connected to the LED lighting unit 102, an injection control unit 153 connected to the cleaning liquid injection unit 103, and a memory unit 154 connected to the input unit 104. In addition, the control device 150 includes an image processing unit 155 and a plaque deposition amount detection unit 156 operating therein.

[0116] The camera unit 101 is an example of a light detection unit. Figure 1 As shown, the camera unit 101 is a camera realized by combining a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix and various optical elements such as a lens, an aperture, and a filter, which correspond to the detection area 101a extending in a two-dimensional shape and detect the brightness of each point in the detection area 101a. The camera unit 101 starts shooting when it receives a shooting start signal from the camera control unit 151, and ends shooting when it receives a shooting end signal from the camera control unit 151. In addition, the camera unit 101 sends the shot image to the camera control unit 151. The image here represents the brightness values ​​of red, green, and blue detected at each point in the detection area 101a.

[0117] In addition, the detection area 101a includes a predetermined point on an extension line extending from the injection port 103a to the direction in which the cleaning liquid is injected, that is, the injection direction (or also referred to as the predetermined direction). Moreover, the predetermined point is located between the injection port 103a and the tooth 99 when the appropriate distance from the tooth 99 is maintained when the oral cleaning device 100 is used. Thus, the position of the surface of the tooth 99 impacted by the cleaning liquid is projected on the image captured in the detection area 101a. For example, the thick dotted arrow extending from the injection port 103a in the predetermined direction in the figure passes through the detection area 101a. Furthermore, the detection area 101a has a thickness in the direction intersecting the surface of the area extension. The thickness corresponds to the direction in which the camera unit 101 receives light (the thin dotted arrow in the figure), and can suppress the influence of the concave and convex parts such as the concave part between the two teeth 99 in the detection area 101a.

[0118] The camera control unit 151 controls the image shooting of the camera unit 101 and receives the resulting image from the camera unit 101 to obtain the image. In other words, the camera control unit 151 is an example of an obtaining unit. Furthermore, the camera control unit 151 outputs the obtained image to the image processing unit 155.

[0119] The LED lighting unit 102 is an example of a light irradiation unit. Figure 1 As shown, the LED lighting unit 102 irradiates irradiation light from the injection port 103a to the irradiation area (the fan-shaped area extending between the two dot-dash lines in the figure), and the irradiation area is an area that includes a specified point on an extension line extending in the injection direction and extends intersecting with the extension line. The LED lighting unit 102 is implemented by an LED light source, a lens, and a power conversion unit for driving the LED light source. The LED lighting unit 102 starts irradiating light when it receives an irradiation start signal from the LED lighting control unit 152, and ends irradiating light when it receives an irradiation end signal from the LED lighting control unit 152. The light irradiated from the LED lighting unit 102 (irradiation light) is a synthetic light that includes light that enables the outline of the teeth 99 or gums 98 to be visually observed at the terminal device 200 and excitation light for selectively causing the dental plaque 99a to emit color.

[0120] Here, dental plaque 99a is composed of a mass of bacteria and their metabolites attached to the teeth 99, and is also called dental plaque. The metabolites include substances that emit fluorescence due to excitation of light of a specific wavelength. Therefore, in this embodiment, the irradiation light includes light of such an excitation wavelength for exciting the metabolites, and does not include a part of the light of the fluorescence wavelength of the shifted wavelength. Therefore, the LED lighting unit 102 includes an optical element such as a bandpass filter that can select the wavelength.

[0121] As an example of the above-mentioned metabolites, porphyrin can be cited. Porphyrin, a substance produced by bacteria contained in dental plaque 99a, emits purple-red to orange-yellow light near 660nm when irradiated with blue light near 405nm. This fluorescent light cannot be obtained through the enamel on the surface of the tooth 99, so it is possible to selectively make the dental plaque 99a emit color. In addition, the example of porphyrin is an example, as long as the excitation wavelength and the fluorescence wavelength are far enough apart in the metabolic products of bacteria contained in the dental plaque 99a. In this way, the difference in the wavelengths of the excitation light and the fluorescence can be distinguished from the reflected light reflected only on the surface, so as mentioned above, the dental plaque 99a can be selectively colored.

[0122] In addition, since porphyrin accumulates as the bacteria grow, it can also be used as an indicator to measure the period during which the attached dental plaque 99a continues to exist. The camera unit 101 can be configured to detect the fluorescence wavelength of the fluorescence emitted from such a metabolite.

[0123] The cleaning liquid injection unit 103 is composed of an actuator for injecting cleaning liquid from the injection port 103a and a container for storing the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid injection unit 103 injects cleaning liquid from the injection port 103a at a flow rate and injection water pressure of the cleaning liquid determined by the injection control unit 153. Therefore, the cleaning liquid injection unit 103 receives a control signal for specifying the flow rate and injection water pressure from the injection control unit 153, and injects cleaning liquid according to the received control signal. However, since the flow rate and injection water pressure of the cleaning liquid injected from the cleaning liquid injection unit 103 change according to the image of the detection area 101a captured by the camera unit 101, the cleaning liquid injection unit 103 receives a control signal for specifying the flow rate and injection water pressure from the injection control unit 153 each time.

[0124] The cleaning liquid sprayed by the cleaning liquid spraying unit 103 may be simple tap water or the like, or may be a liquid medicine for improving the cleaning effect, or a slurry containing minute particles for brushing off the dental plaque 99a.

[0125] The input unit 104 is Figure 1 The input unit 104 is a functional unit for the user to input data in a gripping portion (not shown) or the like, and is implemented by various sensors such as a physical switch and a touch screen that can detect the input data of the user. The input unit 104 is used, for example, by the user to input the set values ​​of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the spray water pressure suitable for the user. The input set values ​​are stored via the memory unit 154.

[0126] The memory unit 154 is a controller that stores information in a storage device such as a semiconductor memory (not shown) and reads it out as needed. Therefore, the memory unit 154 has a function of accessing the storage device to store information or reading out stored information by referring to the stored information.

[0127] In addition, the terminal device 200 may also have the same function as the input unit 104. Specifically, the terminal input unit 202 is similar to the input unit 104, and is used by the user to input the set values ​​of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure suitable for the user. Moreover, these input set values ​​can be stored via the communication unit 201 and the memory unit 154.

[0128] The image processing unit 155 transforms the image output from the camera control unit 151, thereby improving the accuracy of estimating the amount of dental plaque 99a in the dental plaque amount detection unit 156 described later. Specifically, the image processing unit 155 performs a process of enhancing the brightness near the fluorescence wavelength of the target metabolite for the image output from the camera control unit 151. According to this, it is possible to easily estimate the dental plaque portion to which the dental plaque 99a is attached in the image based on the difference in the brightness value. The image processing unit 155 outputs the transformed image to the dental plaque amount detection unit 156.

[0129] The plaque adhesion amount detection unit 156 estimates the amount of plaque 99a adhered to the detection area 101a reflected in the image. Moreover, the amount of plaque 99a adhered estimated by the plaque adhesion amount detection unit 156 is output to the injection control unit 153 and used when determining the flow rate and injection water pressure of the cleaning liquid. In this way, the amount of plaque 99a adhered to the teeth 99 can be estimated based on the detected fluorescence, that is, the captured image, and the cleaning liquid can be injected with an appropriate flow rate and injection water pressure corresponding to the amount of plaque 99a adhered. In addition, the image processing unit 155 and the plaque adhesion amount detection unit 156 can be included in the injection control unit 153 as part of the function. In other words, the injection control unit 153 can directly determine the flow rate and injection water pressure of the cleaning liquid based on the image.

[0130] When detecting the amount of plaque 99a, the plaque amount detection unit 156 calculates the area ratio of the plaque-attached portion to the entire detection area 101a. When the area ratio is above a predetermined threshold, the cleaning liquid is sprayed at a flow rate and spray water pressure in the case of plaque attachment. However, the detection of the amount of plaque attachment specifically for the jet-type oral cleaning device 100 will be further described here. In the jet-type oral cleaning device 100, since the cleaning liquid is sprayed in a specified direction, the cleaning liquid is impacted with a specified point on the extension line as the center.

[0131] Therefore, it is possible to set a cleaning effective area 101aa in which the expected cleaning effect is above a certain level (or only has a cleaning effect) by the impact of the cleaning liquid narrower than the detection area 101a. In the case of being realized by a toothbrush device, the cleaning effective area 101aa corresponds to the portion of the toothbrush device held at a certain position that contacts the bristles in the trajectory of the bristles 103b when the bristles 103b are driven. However, it is conceivable that the following situation occurs, that is, the detection itself is performed before the bristles contact the teeth, and the toothbrush device is moved in the same posture from the position where the detection is performed to the direction in which the bristles extend (in other words, toward the teeth), and the toothbrush device is held at a certain position.

[0132] In this embodiment, the plaque adhesion amount detection unit 156 calculates the area ratio of the portion where plaque is adhered to the entire cleaning effective area 101aa, and when the area ratio is above a predetermined threshold, controls are performed to spray the cleaning liquid at a flow rate and spray water pressure when plaque is adhered. Therefore, the plaque adhesion amount detection unit 156 or the image processing unit 155 has a function of cutting out an image of a portion within the cleaning effective area 101aa from the detection area 101a.

[0133] As described above, the terminal device 200 is an information processing device such as a smart phone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer owned by the user of the oral cleaning device 100, and can communicate with the oral cleaning device 100 via the communication unit 201. The terminal device 200 includes a communication unit 201, a terminal input unit 202, and a terminal display unit 203. Since the functions of these components are the same as described above, the description is omitted here.

[0134] [2. Operation of the oral cleaning device]

[0135] Next, the operation (oral cleaning method) of the oral cleaning device 100 constructed as described above will be described with reference to Figures 3 to 6 Provide explanation. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of operation of the oral cleaning device according to the embodiment. Figure 4 This is a flowchart showing an example of operation in the dental plaque detection spray mode of the oral cleaning device according to the embodiment.

[0136] First, when the operation of the oral cleaning device 100 starts, the jet control unit 153 reads the normal jet intensity of the cleaning solution pre-set by the user (S101). For example, the jet control unit 153 reads the normal jet intensity stored in the storage device as a set value by querying the memory unit 154. Moreover, the jet control unit 153 reads the normal jet intensity via the memory unit 154. In addition, the normal jet intensity includes the flow rate of the cleaning solution and the jet water pressure, which is a value used as a default value when there is no plaque adhesion 99a. In addition, when the set value of the normal jet intensity is not stored in the storage device, the normal jet intensity of the initial value is read, or a notification is output to the user to urge the user to enter the set value of the normal jet intensity.

[0137] Next, the input unit 104 receives an input from the user for switching on / off for turning on the dental plaque detection spray mode (S102). If there is no input, that is, if it is determined that the dental plaque detection spray mode is not turned on ("No" in S103), the cleaning liquid is always sprayed at a normal spray intensity (S104, also referred to as a normal spray mode). Then, the process ends.

[0138] On the other hand, when the input unit 104 receives input from the user for turning on the plaque detection spray mode, that is, when it is determined that the plaque detection spray mode is on ("Yes" in S103), the cleaning liquid is sprayed in the plaque detection spray mode (S105) and the process ends.

[0139] Regarding the above step S105, Figure 4 This is described in detail in Figure 4 As shown, when "Yes" is given in step S103 and the spraying starts in the plaque detection spray mode, the spray control unit 153 reads the plaque detection spray intensity of the cleaning solution set in advance by the user (S201). For example, the spray control unit 153 reads the plaque detection spray intensity stored in the storage device as a set value by querying the memory unit 154. Moreover, the spray control unit 153 reads the plaque detection spray intensity via the memory unit 154. In addition, the plaque detection spray intensity includes the flow rate of the cleaning solution and the spray water pressure, and is a value used when plaque 99a is attached. In addition, when the set value of the plaque detection spray intensity is not stored in the storage device, the initial value of the plaque detection spray intensity is read, or a notification is output to the user to urge the user to input the set value of the plaque detection spray intensity.

[0140] Here, refer to Figure 5 The normal spray intensity and the plaque detection spray intensity are described. Figure 5is a graph showing the relationship between the detection result and the control amount in the oral cleaning device involved in the embodiment. Figure 5 As shown, the control amount of the plaque detection injection intensity (in this case, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure are both included) is larger than the normal injection intensity. Moreover, the switching of the injection intensity is based on the threshold value set for the area and amount of the attached plaque 99a. When the area and amount of the attached plaque 99a are larger, the cleaning liquid is injected with a larger control amount, that is, a larger plaque detection injection intensity.

[0141] In other words, when the amount of dental plaque 99a attached is greater, the cleaning is performed more intensively with a greater jet intensity. Here, the area and the amount of attached dental plaque 99a are described. In this embodiment, the area of ​​the dental plaque portion to which the dental plaque 99a is attached in the detection area 101a is used as the amount of attached dental plaque 99a. If this area is large, it can be estimated that there is a lot of dental plaque 99a attached in the detection area.

[0142] Furthermore, in order to remove the relatively large amount of dental plaque 99a, the cleaning liquid is sprayed with a stronger spray intensity, and the spray intensity can be appropriately set from the viewpoint of the removal efficiency of the dental plaque 99a. In addition, the determination of whether the dental plaque 99a is attached is determined by whether the brightness of the color corresponding to the fluorescence wavelength in each pixel of the captured image exceeds the brightness threshold. Furthermore, when the number of pixels exceeding the brightness threshold is greater than the number of pixels exceeding the brightness threshold, the cleaning liquid is sprayed with a stronger spray intensity. Figure 5 When the value corresponding to the threshold value is set, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure of the dental plaque removal injection intensity are injected. In addition, the brightness threshold is also affected by conditions such as pigmentation, so it is preferably set according to each user.

[0143] In addition, as another method for calculating the amount of dental plaque 99a, the amount of dental plaque 99a in the detection area 101a can be estimated by summing the brightness of the color corresponding to the fluorescence wavelength of each pixel in the detection area 101a. The brightness of the color corresponding to the fluorescence wavelength in each pixel corresponds to the amount of metabolic product accumulated at the position on the surface of the actual tooth 99 corresponding to the pixel, so it can be considered that the total sum of the brightness of the color corresponding to the fluorescence wavelength in the detection area 101a as a whole is related to the amount of dental plaque 99a, so the amount of dental plaque 99a can be calculated in this way. In this case, when the sum of the brightness exceeds the value corresponding to Figure 5 When the value corresponding to the threshold value is reached, the cleaning liquid flow rate and the injection water pressure of the dental plaque removal injection intensity are injected. In addition, each of the area and the brightness sum value can be used in parallel to determine the control amount of the injection intensity.

[0144] Figure 6is another graph showing the relationship between the detection result and the control amount in the oral cleaning device involved in the embodiment. Figure 5 The example shows that when the area and the total brightness value exceed the threshold value, the injection intensity changes sharply, but it can also be as follows Figure 6 The relationship between the area and the sum of the brightness values ​​and the spray intensity is shown as a continuously changing function. Figure 6 As shown in (a), a relationship such as a logarithmic function can be applied, which is a function that increases the injection intensity sharply in intervals with relatively small area and total brightness values, and increases the injection intensity slowly in intervals with relatively large area and total brightness values. And, for example Figure 6 As shown in (b), a proportional function relationship can be applied, and the proportional function is a function that increases the injection intensity regardless of whether the area and the total brightness value are relatively small or relatively large. Figure 6 As shown in (c), a relationship such as an exponential function can be applied. The exponential function is a function that slowly increases the injection intensity in a range where the area and the total brightness value are relatively small, and sharply increases the injection intensity in a range where the area and the total brightness value are relatively large.

[0145] Refer again Figure 4 After step S201, the LED lighting unit 102 irradiates the irradiation area with irradiation light containing a wavelength of light that excites the metabolites (S202). Then, in the irradiation area, when the excited metabolites return to the base state in the dental plaque portion where the dental plaque 99a is attached, fluorescent light is generated, and the state of selectively emitting colors is achieved.

[0146] The camera unit 101 uses the fluorescence as detection light and detects it in the detection area 101a including the position on the surface of the tooth 99 corresponding to the direction of the spraying of the cleaning liquid on the extension line extending from the spray port 103a in the specified direction. In other words, an image containing the fluorescence is photographed (S203). The detection here is performed in the two-dimensional detection area 101a, so as the above-mentioned area and brightness sum value, an image that can be comprehensively evaluated in the detection area 101a can be obtained. In addition, during the prohibition period that at least partially overlaps with the detection period from the start of the camera unit 101 to the end of the image shooting, the operation of the cleaning liquid spray unit 103 is prohibited so that the cleaning liquid is not sprayed. When the cleaning liquid is sprayed, the droplets of the cleaning liquid fly in the oral cavity, so there is a possibility of optical influence. Therefore, during the prohibition period as described above, prohibiting the operation of the cleaning liquid spray unit 103 is effective for not spraying the cleaning liquid.

[0147] When the area and brightness value (the amount of plaque adhesion) are less than the threshold value ("No" in S204), the cleaning liquid is sprayed at a normal spray intensity in the detection area 101a (S205). And, when the area and brightness value are above the threshold value ("Yes" in S204), the cleaning liquid is sprayed at a plaque detection spray intensity (in other words, a strong spray intensity) in the detection area 101a (S206). After steps S205 and S206, the user further moves his hand while holding the oral cleaning device 100, and performs the same operation on another detection area 101a. Therefore, the user determines whether the cleaning is finished (S207). When the user is judged to have finished cleaning, for example, by pressing an end button (not shown) ("Yes" in S207), the process is terminated. When the user continues cleaning as it is ("No" in S207), the process returns to step S202 and the same process is repeated.

[0148] In this way, the bacterial metabolites contained in the dental plaque 99a are selectively colored by fluorescence, thereby selectively detecting the attachment position of the dental plaque 99a, and the detection is performed on a two-dimensionally extended area such as the detection area 101a. As a result, the cleaning liquid can be sprayed with a strong spray intensity (flow rate and spray) to the portion where the dental plaque 99a is attached in large quantities, so that the spray intensity can be appropriately controlled from the viewpoint of removing the dental plaque 99a.

[0149] [3. Modification 1 of the oral cleaning device]

[0150] Next, use FIG. 7A to FIG. 9 , an oral cleaning device according to Modification 1 is described. In Modification 1 described below, differences from the above-described embodiment are described, and description of substantially the same contents as those of the above-described embodiment is omitted.

[0151] Fig. 7A 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an oral cleaning device and the like according to a first variation of the embodiment. Fig. 7A As shown, in this modification 1, the difference from the embodiment is that the oral cleaning device 100 a includes a failure detection unit 157 .

[0152] The defect detection unit 157 estimates the state of the gum part and controls the spray of the cleaning liquid so that the spray intensity corresponds to the state of the gum part. The defect detection unit 157 is connected to the image processing unit 155, obtains the transformed image, and estimates the state of the gum part based on the image. In addition, the defect detection unit 157 can also obtain the image before the transformation from the camera control unit 151.

[0153] The defect detection unit 157 has a pre-learned machine learning model, which is a machine learning model that has learned the correlation between the gum part reflected in the image and the presence or absence of defect in the gum part. The defect detection unit 157 inputs the obtained image into the machine learning model, so that when the gum part is reflected in the image, the presence or absence of defect in the gum part can be obtained as an output. The defect in the gum part here refers to, for example, at least one of swelling and bleeding in the gum part. In addition, the defect here may also include other states of the gum part that are clinically considered to be defective. In this case, the image of the defective gum part and the correct answer data with the defect can be used as teacher data to enable the machine learning model to learn.

[0154] For example, Figure 7B FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of data used for machine learning in the oral cleaning device according to the first modification of the embodiment. Figure 7B In Figure 2, images of the oral cavity in two cases are shown. Figure 7B As shown, for each symptom such as "gingiva with red color (the shadow position indicated by the arrow in (a) in the figure)", "gingiva between teeth with curvature (the position indicated by the arrow in (b) in the figure)", "exposed tooth roots (the position indicated by the arrow in (c) in the figure)", "receding gums between teeth (the position indicated by the arrow in (d) in the figure)", "deformed gums (the position indicated by the arrow in (e) in the figure)", "bleeding from gums (the shadow position indicated by the arrow in (f) in the figure)", etc., a teacher image data consisting of multiple images of similar symptoms and a data set of correct answer data such as probe values ​​and / or dentist's diagnosis data corresponding to each teacher image data can be used to enable the machine learning model to learn.

[0155] In addition, Figure 7B The image of the teeth observed from the outside (the front side of the subject, the so-called front side of the teeth) is shown in FIG. However, the image of the teeth observed from the inside (the back side of the subject, the so-called back side of the teeth) can also be used to evaluate the presence or absence of defects in the gum part for the front side area and the back side area of ​​each tooth respectively. In addition, the machine learning model can also be trained using a dataset of teacher image data consisting of multiple images of similar symptoms and correct answer data such as probe values ​​and / or dentist diagnosis data corresponding to each teacher image data.

[0156] In addition, there is no particular limitation on the correspondence between the bad gum state and the teeth. The bad gum state may be evaluated for a single tooth, that is, for each tooth, or for a group of multiple teeth (e.g., upper and lower jaws, posterior teeth and anterior teeth, etc.).

[0157] Moreover, for the detection area 101a including such a bad gum part, if the cleaning liquid is sprayed with a strong spray intensity, it is possible to cause the bad gum part to worsen. Therefore, in this modification 1, when the gum part is detected to be bad, the bad gum part can be suppressed by weakening the spray intensity of the cleaning liquid of the detection area 101a (for example, a spray intensity weaker than the usual spray intensity). For example, the above-mentioned evaluation result can be converted into a plurality of grades of scores according to the degree of bad gum part. In this way, the spray intensity is weaker when the score is larger (the degree of bad gum part is large), and the spray intensity is stronger when the score is smaller (the degree of bad gum part is small). In addition, the number of grades of the score can correspond to the number of grades of the spray intensity, that is, the cleaning power that can be set. In the case of evaluating the degree of badness with 5 grades of scores, any one of the 5 grades of cleaning power can be determined to clean the teeth. As an example of a specific operation, the oral cleaning device 100a works in the following manner.

[0158] Figure 8 : is a flowchart showing an operation example of the oral cleaning device according to the first modification of the embodiment. Fig. 9 This is a flowchart showing an example of operation in the dental plaque detection injection mode and the failure detection injection mode of the oral cleaning device according to the first modification of the embodiment.

[0159] like Figure 8 As shown, step S301 and step S302 are Figure 3 The steps S101 and S102 correspond to each other, so the description is omitted here. After step S302, the input unit 104 further receives an input from the user for switching on / off the failure detection injection mode (S303). Step S304 corresponds to step S101 and step S102, so the description is omitted here. Figure 3 If the result is "No" in step S304, the process proceeds to step S305. If the result is "Yes" in step S304, the process proceeds to step S308. In both steps S305 and S308, it is determined whether there is an input for turning on the defect detection injection mode.

[0160] In the case of "No" in step S305, both the plaque detection spray mode and the defect detection spray mode are turned off, so the cleaning liquid is always sprayed at the normal spray intensity (S306, also referred to as the normal spray mode). Then the process ends. In the case of "Yes" in step S305, the plaque detection spray mode is turned off and the defect detection spray mode is turned on, so the cleaning liquid is sprayed in the defect detection spray mode (S307), and the process ends.

[0161] In the case of "No" in step S308, the plaque detection spray mode is on and the defect detection spray mode is off, so the cleaning liquid is sprayed in the plaque detection spray mode (S309), and the process ends. In the case of "Yes" in step S308, both the plaque detection spray mode and the defect detection spray mode are on, so the cleaning liquid is sprayed in both the plaque detection spray mode and the defect detection spray mode (S310), and the process ends.

[0162] Regarding the above step S310, refer to Fig. 9 For detailed description. Fig. 9 As shown, in step S308, if "yes" is given, when the spraying is started not only in the plaque detection spray mode but also in the defect detection spray mode, the spray control unit 153 reads the plaque detection spray intensity and the defect detection spray intensity of the cleaning solution pre-set by the user (S201a). For example, the spray control unit 153 reads the plaque detection spray intensity and the defect detection spray intensity stored in the storage device as set values ​​by querying the memory unit 154. Moreover, the spray control unit 153 reads the plaque detection spray intensity and the defect detection spray intensity via the memory unit 154. In addition, the defect detection spray intensity includes the spray frequency in addition to the flow rate of the cleaning solution and the spray water pressure, and is a value used in the case where the gum part in the detection area 101a has a defect. Regarding the spray frequency, by setting it to an appropriate spray frequency corresponding to the state of the gum part, in other words, performing appropriate intermittent spraying corresponding to the state of the gum part, it has the effect of being able to suppress the following damage, which is damage to the gum part in the case of a defect that makes the state worse. Furthermore, when the setting value of the failure detection injection intensity is not stored in the storage device, the initial value of the failure detection injection intensity is read, or a notification is output to the user to urge the user to input the setting value of the failure detection injection intensity.

[0163] Moreover, with Figure 4Similarly to step S202, the LED lighting unit 102 irradiates the irradiation area with irradiation light including the wavelength of light that excites the metabolites (S202a). The irradiation light here includes white light, and not only the fluorescent image but also the normal image can be captured. Then, since the inside of the oral cavity is captured including the detection light (S203a), the dental plaque part becomes a state of selectively emitting color, and when the gum part is reflected in the detection area 101a, an image that can estimate the state of the gum part can be obtained.

[0164] Moreover, Figure 4 In the case of "No" in step S204, the process proceeds to step S401, and in the case of "Yes" in step S204, the process proceeds to step S402, and both of them determine whether a defect of the gum part is detected for the estimated gum part state. When it is determined that a defect is detected in the gum part ("Yes" in S401 or S402), the cleaning liquid is sprayed at the defect detection spray intensity for the detection area 101a (S403).

[0165] Other content and Figure 4 The steps S205 to S207 are the same, so the description is omitted. Here, an example is described in which when a defect is detected in the gum part, even if the amount of plaque 99a attached, that is, the area and the total value of brightness are above the threshold, the defect detection injection intensity is used for injection. In this case, it can be said that the defect detection injection mode takes precedence over the plaque detection injection mode. For example, in the case of giving priority to the plaque detection injection mode, step S402 is not executed, and when the answer is "yes" in step S204, step S206 can be entered.

[0166] In the above description, the operation is described in the case where both the plaque detection injection mode and the failure detection injection mode are turned on. However, when the plaque detection injection mode is turned off and the failure detection injection mode is turned on, the operation may be omitted. Fig. 9 Therefore, after step S203a, the process proceeds to step S401 to determine whether a defect in the gum part is detected. And, according to the determination result, the cleaning liquid is sprayed at either the normal spray intensity or the defect detection spray intensity.

[0167] [4. Modification 2 of the oral cleaning device]

[0168] Next, use Fig.10 The oral cleaning device according to Modification 2 will be described. In Modification 2 described below, differences from Modification 1 of the above-described embodiment will be described, and description of substantially the same contents as Modification 1 of the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

[0169] Fig.10 The block diagram shows the functional configuration of an oral cleaning device according to Modification 2 of the embodiment. The oral cleaning device 100b according to Modification 2 is different from the oral cleaning device 100a according to Modification 1 in that the oral cleaning device 100b includes a determination unit 158 ​​and an output unit 159 .

[0170] The judgment unit 158 ​​and the output unit 159 judge whether the light required for generating an image for determining the spray intensity of the cleaning liquid has arrived properly, and when an abnormality occurs that the light has not arrived, the function unit notifies the abnormality. More specifically, when the judgment unit 158 ​​obtains the transformed image from the image processing unit and the overall brightness of the image decreases for a certain period of time or more (the brightness of the detection light is below a specified value for a specified time or more), it judges that there is an obstruction that blocks at least one of (i) the detection light between the detection area 101a and the camera unit 101 or (ii) the irradiation light between the LED lighting unit 102 and the irradiation area. Examples of such obstructions include oral structures such as lips, teeth, and gums, as well as dust, foreign matter, and the like. In the presence of such obstructions, both the detection of dental plaque and the detection of defects in the gum part may not be performed correctly. In the oral cleaning device 100b according to the present modification, the determination result indicating the presence of the obstruction is outputted by the output unit 159 and displayed on the terminal display unit 203 of the terminal device 200 as an image, for example, to notify the user.

[0171] When the user sees this notification, he or she can take measures to ensure that various detections are performed normally, such as changing the posture of the oral cleaning device 100b or removing the obstruction.

[0172] [5. Modification 3 of the oral cleaning device]

[0173] Next, use Figures 11 to 13 , an oral cleaning device according to Modification 3 is described. In Modification 3 described below, differences from Modification 1 of the above-described embodiment are described, and description of substantially the same contents as Modification 1 of the above-described embodiment is omitted.

[0174] Fig.11 1 is a flowchart showing an example of operation of the oral cleaning device according to the third variant of the embodiment in the dental plaque detection spray mode and the defect detection spray mode. The oral cleaning device according to the third variant is not different from the oral cleaning device 100a according to the first variant in terms of functional configuration. Fig. 7A, the operation of the oral cleaning device according to this modification will be described while referring to the structure of the oral cleaning device. Fig.11 part of Fig. 9 The same, so the description is omitted.

[0175] In the oral cleaning device involved in this modification example 3, the plaque adhesion amount detection unit 156 digitizes the plaque adhesion amount in a discrete scale. Specifically, the plaque adhesion amount is classified into one of eight levels from 1 to 8 (the smaller the value, the less the adhesion amount, and the larger the value, the more the adhesion amount), and the numerical value corresponding to the level is output as the detection result of the adhesion amount. The estimated value of the adhesion amount used as the basis for detecting the adhesion amount is the same as the description in the embodiment, so the description is omitted here. In this example, the adhesion amount is detected by replacing the estimated value of the adhesion amount with scale information. In addition, in the oral cleaning device involved in this modification example 3, the defect detection unit 157 digitizes the degree of defect of the gum part (in other words, the degree of defect) in a discrete scale. Specifically, the degree of defect of the gum part is classified into one of eight levels from 1 to 8 (the smaller the value, the healthier, and the larger the value, the worse), and the numerical value corresponding to the level is output as the detection result of the degree of defect. The estimated value of the degree of defect used as the basis for detecting the degree of defect is the same as the conversion of the degree of defect score described in the first modification of the embodiment, so the description is omitted here. In this example, the degree of defect is detected by replacing the degree of defect score with scale information. In addition, the number of levels of scale information shown above is an example. The number of levels can be any number of levels as long as it is greater than two levels.

[0176] Moreover, in this variant, the jet control unit 153 uses the scale information of the amount of dental plaque and the scale information of the degree of imperfection to control the cleaning force used in the control of the oral cleaning device. Specifically, based on the combination of the scale information of the amount of dental plaque and the scale information of the degree of imperfection, the appropriate care mode, which is the working mode of the oral cleaning device, is judged, and control information for driving and controlling the oral cleaning device in a manner that drives the care mode obtained as a result of the judgment is output. In other words, the care mode is a mode for determining the drive control of the oral cleaning device. Therefore, the jet control unit 153 in this variant is a functional unit that has both the functions of a care mode judgment unit and a result output unit and the function of a control signal generation unit that generates a control signal for the oral cleaning device.

[0177] The injection control unit 153 reads the oral health status table stored in the storage device by querying the memory unit 154 in advance. The oral health status table is a table that establishes a correspondence between the combination of the scale information of the amount of dental plaque and the scale information of the degree of poorness and the judgment result of the care mode. In addition, the injection control unit 153 reads the oral health status table through the memory unit 154 (S501). Fig.12 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an oral health status table according to a modification of the embodiment. Fig.12 As shown, in the care mode in the oral health status table, any one of the four care modes of care modes 1 to 4 is output as a judgment result according to the combination of the scale information of the amount of dental plaque and the scale information of the degree of poorness. For example, when the scale information of the amount of dental plaque is 8 and the scale information of the degree of poorness is 8, care mode 1 is output as the judgment result.

[0178] like Fig.12 As shown, in this example, the degree of badness is generally used preferentially in the judgment of the care mode, and when the scale information of the amount of dental plaque is any one of 1 to 6, when the scale information of the badness is 5 to 8, the care mode 1 is output as the judgment result, when the scale information of the badness is 4, the care mode 2 is output as the judgment result, when the scale information of the badness is 2 to 3, the care mode 3 is output as the judgment result, and when the scale information of the badness is 1, the care mode 4 is output as the judgment result. However, in the case where the scale information of the amount of dental plaque is 7 to 8, when the scale information of the badness is 5 to 8, the care mode 1 is output as the judgment result, when the scale information of the badness is 4, the care mode 2 is output as the judgment result, when the scale information of the badness is 3, the care mode 3 is output as the judgment result, and when the scale information of the badness is 1 to 2, the care mode 4 is output as the judgment result.

[0179] In addition, the care mode can set a more diverse cleaning power. Specifically, Fig.13 As shown, when another example of the oral health status table is read, the oral cleaning device can be controlled in an appropriate care mode among various cleaning power options (care modes). Fig.13: is a diagram showing an example of an oral health status table involved in another example of a variation of the embodiment. In the oral cleaning device in this example, it is set to be able to individually control the flow rate of the jetted water flow, the jetting water pressure, and the frequency of the intermittent water flow during the jetting. Specifically, the numerical value corresponding to x in the care mode xy represents the flow rate of the jetted water flow and the jetting water pressure, and one of the flow rates and jetting water pressures of the six jetted water flows from 1 to 6 can be set. In addition, the letter corresponding to y in the care mode xy represents the frequency of the intermittent water flow during the jetting, and one of the frequencies of the intermittent water flow during the jetting from a to d can be set. In this way, in the oral health status table of this example, one of the 6×4=24 care modes of care modes 1a to 6d is output as a judgment result. For example, when the scale information of the amount of dental plaque is 8 and the scale information of the degree of badness is 8, the care mode 1c is output as the judgment result.

[0180] In this example, when the scale information of the amount of dental plaque is 1, the frequency of the intermittent water flow during the injection is uniformly a, and the flow rate of the injected water flow and the injection water pressure vary between 1 and 4 according to the degree of imperfection. In this way, it is possible to control the oral cleaning device by specifying two or more parameters (control parameters) for each care mode. In this case, the contribution of the scale information of the amount of dental plaque for the two or more parameters and the contribution of the scale information of the degree of imperfection may be different.

[0181] For example, one of the two parameters can be set as a parameter for adjusting the cleaning power of the teeth of the oral cleaning device. As such a parameter, an example is the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure. In order to maintain the cleaning power, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure need to be kept above a certain value.

[0182] In addition, another parameter can be set as a parameter for supplementing the cleaning power of the oral cleaning device. As such a parameter, the injection time (length) and the injection frequency are cited in one example. In order not to increase the degree of defect and to reduce the load applied to the gum part, it is necessary to reduce the flow rate of the above-mentioned cleaning liquid and the injection water pressure. At this time, the reduced cleaning power can be supplemented by increasing the injection time and the injection frequency. In other words, the load applied to the gum part can be reduced by adjusting the cleaning power, and the reduced cleaning power can be supplemented by adjusting the injection time and the injection frequency. As a similar example, in the driving mode of the bristles 103b of the oral cleaning device 100c, the numerical value corresponding to x in the care mode xy represents the intensity of the horizontal brushing mode, and one of the six intensities from 1 to 6 can be set, and the letter corresponding to y in the care mode xy represents the intensity of the tapping brushing mode, and one of the four intensities from a to d can be set.

[0183] In this case, for example, one of the two parameters can be set as a parameter for adjusting the cleaning power of the teeth of the oral cleaning device 100c (toothbrush device). As such a parameter, a driving torque and a driving stroke of the bristles 103b are cited in one example. In order to maintain the cleaning power, the driving torque and the driving stroke of the bristles 103b need to be kept above a certain value.

[0184] In addition, another parameter can be set as a parameter for supplementing the cleaning power of the oral cleaning device 100c. As such a parameter, a driving speed and a driving time are cited in one example. In order not to increase the poor degree and to reduce the load applied to the gum part, it is necessary to reduce the driving torque and the driving stroke of the bristles 103b. At this time, the reduced cleaning power can be supplemented by increasing the driving speed and the driving time. In other words, the load applied to the gum part can be reduced by adjusting the cleaning power, and the reduced cleaning power can be supplemented by adjusting the driving speed and the driving time. In addition, in the oral cleaning device 100c (toothbrush device), the user holds the oral cleaning device 100c and presses the bristles 103b to the teeth. Such a method of use is more common. Therefore, the brushing pressure when pressing the teeth also plays an important role in the cleaning power and the poor degree. This will be described later in Modification Example 5.

[0185] The reason why each parameter contributes differently to the scale information of the amount of plaque and the degree of defect is that each parameter (in other words, the flow rate of the sprayed water flow, the spraying water pressure and the frequency of the intermittent water flow during the spraying, or the intensity of the horizontal brushing mode and the intensity of the tapping brushing mode) has a different effect on the degree of plaque removal and the degree of defect.

[0186] In addition, although Fig.13 In the embodiment, two parameters (a combination of numerical values ​​of 1 to 6 and letters of a to d) are used to set the care mode, but three or more parameters that are further combined with one or more other parameters may be used to set the care mode. For example, when the care mode is set using three parameters, the oral cleaning device may be configured to be able to individually control a portion of the cleaning function that uses the three parameters to contribute to the cleaning force, and the three parameters are parameters corresponding to the flow rate of the jetted water flow, the jetting water pressure of the jetted water flow, and the frequency of the intermittent water flow during the jetting.

[0187] Reference again Fig.11, after reading the oral health status table, irradiation light is irradiated (S202a), and the oral cavity including the detection light is photographed (S203a). Moreover, the plaque adhesion amount detection unit 156 obtains the image obtained by photographing the oral cavity, and detects the adhesion amount (S502). Moreover, the defect detection unit 157 obtains the image obtained by photographing the oral cavity, and detects the degree of defect (S503). Steps S501, S502, and S503 do not need to be in this order, and can also be performed in an interchangeable order. The injection control unit 153 uses the detected adhesion amount and degree of defect to determine the care mode with reference to the oral health status table (S504). Moreover, the injection control unit 153 outputs the judgment result as a function of the control signal generation unit, and controls the oral cleaning device according to the judged care mode (S505).

[0188] In this way, the oral cavity can be cleaned in an appropriate care mode according to both the amount of plaque adhesion and the degree of gum defect.

[0189] In addition, the oral health status table is usually different for different users and is prepared for each user. Therefore, in order to read the oral health status table of the user, sometimes an operation of user authentication not shown in the figure is performed. And, with regard to the oral health status table, sometimes even if it is the oral health status table of the same user, it becomes inappropriate over time. Therefore, the work of updating the oral health status table can be performed. Specifically, the oral health status table can be updated based on at least one of the changing trend of the detection results of the amount of dental plaque in the past and the changing trend of the detection results of the bad degree in the past. In this case, for example, when the changing trend of the detection results of the amount of dental plaque in the past does not show a reduction in the amount of dental plaque, the oral health status table is considered inappropriate from the perspective of removing dental plaque, and therefore the oral health status table is updated so that the care ability in the judgment result becomes higher. For example, the oral health status table is updated in a way that all care modes become care modes with a higher level of care ability.

[0190] Alternatively, if the change trend of the past multiple detection results of the poor degree shows that the poor degree is increasing, it can be considered that the oral health status table is inappropriate from the perspective of maintaining the state of the gum part, so the oral health status table is updated to make the care ability in the judgment result lower. For example, the oral health status table can be updated to make all care modes become care modes with a lower care ability by one level. In addition, machine learning can be used in the update of such an oral health status table.

[0191] [6. Modification 4 of the oral cleaning device]

[0192] Next, use Fig.14The oral cleaning device according to Modification 4 will be described. In Modification 4 described below, differences from Modification 3 of the embodiment described above will be described, and description of substantially the same contents as Modification 3 of the embodiment will be omitted.

[0193] Fig.14 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an oral cleaning system according to a fourth variation of the embodiment. The oral cleaning system 100d according to the fourth variation is a system that implements the same functions as the oral cleaning device according to the third variation by using a plurality of devices. Compared with the oral cleaning device according to the third variation, there is no difference in actual operation except that the functional configuration is distributed among a plurality of devices. Fig.14 Part of Fig. 7A The same, so there are cases where the description is omitted. Fig.14 As shown, this variant is different from the above-mentioned variant 3 in that a part of the control device is included in the terminal device. Specifically, the control device 150 involved in this example is composed of a processing part for input and output with the hardware part, and the terminal device 200 has functional parts such as data processing. Specifically, the terminal device 200 has an image processing unit 155, a plaque adhesion detection unit 156, a defect detection unit 157, a care mode judgment unit 153b (a part of the injection control unit 153 of variant 3), and a result output unit 153c (a part of the injection control unit 153 of variant 3). Therefore, it can also be said that the terminal device 200 in this variant is equipped with an oral care mode judgment device. The terminal device 200 obtains an image from the control device 150 as an external device. The subsequent work to output the care mode judgment result using the image is the same as that of variant 3.

[0194] The result output unit 153c outputs the judgment result to the memory unit 154 of the control device 150 via the communication unit 201. As a result, the judgment result is stored in the storage device. The injection control unit 153a (a part of the injection control unit 153 of the modification 3) reads the judgment result from the storage device via the memory unit 154 and controls the cleaning liquid injection unit 103.

[0195] On the other hand, in this variant, the camera unit 101 and the LED lighting unit 102 are configured as independent devices (sensing device 800), and the cleaning liquid injection unit 103 and the input unit 104 are configured as other independent devices (monomer cleaning device 900). In other words, the oral cleaning system 100d in this variant is composed of four devices. In this variant, the communication between the devices can be performed wirelessly or by wire. In addition, there is no special limitation on the communication method used for communication between the devices.

[0196] In this way, the oral cleaning device can also be implemented as an oral cleaning system composed of a group of devices with the same function. In addition, by providing the terminal device 200 with an oral care mode judgment device, the various information generated (the image in the oral cavity, the amount of plaque adhesion, the degree of bad gums, and the judgment result of the care mode, etc.) can be displayed as an image in real time, or the above-mentioned various information can be notified by sound, which helps to improve user usability. The display of the image can be performed by the terminal display unit 203 (an example of the display unit), and the sound notification can be performed by the terminal speaker (an example of the notification unit) not shown in the figure. In addition, the display of the various information generated in this way can be realized by the above-mentioned oral cleaning device sending information to the terminal device 200 via communication. Although the real-time performance is somewhat reduced, it can be realized.

[0197] [7. Modification 5 of the oral cleaning device]

[0198] Next, use Fig.15 The oral cleaning device according to Modification 5 is described. In Modification 5 described below, differences from Modification 3 of the above-mentioned embodiment, especially the oral cleaning device 100c (toothbrush device), are described, and description of substantially the same contents as Modification 3 of the embodiment is omitted.

[0199] Fig.15 This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an oral cleaning system according to Modification 5 of the embodiment. The oral cleaning system 100e according to Modification 5 is different from the oral cleaning device 100c of the type in which the bristles 103b are slid in that notification is performed in consideration of the brushing pressure. Fig.15 part of Fig.10 The same, so there are cases where the description is omitted. Fig.15 As shown, in this modified example, the oral cleaning system 100e removes the attached matter on the teeth, etc. by making the bristles 103b contact the teeth and slide. The bristles 103b are electrically driven, and receive power supply from a power source (not shown) so that the motor 103c rotates, and the rotation drive is converted into a reciprocating drive or the rotation drive is used as it is, so that the bristles 103b are reciprocatingly driven or rotationally driven.

[0200] The cleaning force and the strength of the increase in the degree of imperfection of the oral cleaning system 100e are determined by the pressure of the bristles 103b pressing the teeth, i.e., the brushing pressure, which makes the bristles 103b contact and slide with the teeth. In other words, to obtain the appropriate cleaning force without increasing the degree of imperfection, an appropriate brushing pressure is required.

[0201] Therefore, in this modification, the oral cleaning system 100e is provided with a pressure detection unit 105 for detecting the pressure of brushing teeth. The pressure detection unit 105 is an example of a pressure detection unit for brushing teeth. Moreover, the pressure detection unit 105 outputs the detected pressure of brushing teeth to the output unit 159. In this modification, the output unit 159 is an example of a brushing information notification unit, which compares the detected pressure of brushing teeth with one or more threshold values ​​set in advance, and notifies the user to adjust the pressure of brushing teeth. Specifically, when the detected pressure of brushing teeth is greater than the threshold value, the output unit 159 urges the user to reduce the pressure of brushing teeth, and when the detected pressure of brushing teeth is lower than the threshold value, the output unit 159 urges the user to increase the pressure of brushing teeth. The threshold value for urging to increase the pressure of brushing teeth and the threshold value for reducing the pressure of brushing teeth may also be set to different values. Thus, within a certain range that can be applied artificially, the user can press the bristles 103b against the teeth with appropriate pressure of brushing teeth.

[0202] Here, the above threshold value can be set for each user according to the amount of dental plaque (in other words, the required cleaning power) and the degree of badness of the user. Therefore, in this example, the threshold value for brushing pressure is included in the care mode as one of the parameters. Fig.13 When the care mode corresponding to the amount of dental plaque and the degree of badness is determined, the user can press the bristles 103b against the teeth with an appropriate brushing pressure through the threshold value included in the care mode. Here, the parameters of the threshold value included in the care mode are read by the output unit 159 and compared with the detected brushing pressure to achieve the above processing. The above describes the oral cleaning device and the like involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure is not limited to such embodiments.

[0203] For example, in Variation 3 and Variation 4 of the above-mentioned embodiment, the determination of the care mode based on the image is described. In the case where the image includes the entire inside of the user's oral cavity, etc., a care mode can be calculated based on the image according to the comprehensive state of the user's oral cavity. On the other hand, although not described in detail, in Variation 3 and Variation 4, the care mode can also be determined for each part of the user's oral cavity. This determination can be performed by cutting out a portion of the image that becomes the determination object from the image. For example, it is possible to cut out a corresponding image for each of a plurality of teeth of the user, detect the amount of plaque for each of the cut images, detect the degree of imperfection of the gum portion surrounding the tooth, and determine the care mode for each tooth. Alternatively, it is also possible to detect the amount of plaque in a tooth group consisting of a plurality of teeth and a portion of the teeth of the user, detect the degree of imperfection of the gum portion surrounding the tooth group, and determine the care mode for each tooth group.

[0204] In this way, when the image includes two or more images such as a first image that captures a part of the oral cavity and a second image that captures another part of the oral cavity, the amount of dental plaque can be detected for each image, and the degree of defect can be detected to determine the respective care modes. However, when such multiple care modes are output as the judgment result, information is required as to which tooth or which tooth group each care mode is for. In other words, the result output unit needs to output the judgment result of the care mode of the part of the oral cavity associated with the part of the oral cavity, and output the judgment result of the care mode of the other part of the oral cavity associated with the other part of the oral cavity. The part of the oral cavity and the other part can be assigned identifiers that determine the teeth in the oral cavity, respectively, and determined by the identifiers, or the position in the oral cavity can be determined by using a sensor, etc., and determined according to the determined position in the oral cavity. In addition, the relationship between the first image and the second image can be different parts extracted from one image by cutting, etc., or two images taken by the same imaging element at different timings, or two images taken by different imaging elements at the same timing. Moreover, the first image and the second image can also be different parts included in one image. In other words, the above-mentioned cropping process may not include the output of the actual image after cropping, and the image may be input as it is, and only a part of the pixel values ​​or only another part of the pixel values ​​may be selectively used to detect the amount of plaque and the degree of defect and to determine the care mode.

[0205] In addition, each processing unit included in the oral cleaning device according to the above embodiment is typically implemented by an integrated circuit, that is, LSI. These may be made into separate chips, or part or all of them may be included in one chip.

[0206] Furthermore, integrated circuits are not limited to LSIs and can be implemented using dedicated circuits or general-purpose processors. FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) that are programmable after LSI manufacturing or reconfigurable processors that can reconfigure the connections or settings of circuit cells within LSIs can also be used.

[0207] In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiments, each component can be composed of dedicated hardware, or can be implemented by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component can be implemented by a program execution unit such as a CPU or a processor, which reads out a software program recorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory and executes it.

[0208] In addition, one aspect of the present disclosure may be implemented as an oral cleaning method executed by an oral cleaning device or a method for controlling an oral cleaning device, etc. Furthermore, one aspect of the present disclosure may be a computer program that causes a computer to execute the characteristic steps included in the oral cleaning method or the control method.

[0209] In addition, the oral cleaning device involved in the above-mentioned embodiments can be implemented as a single device or by multiple devices. In the case where the oral cleaning device is implemented by multiple devices, the various components of the oral cleaning device can be arbitrarily distributed among the multiple devices. For example, the control device can be provided by a portable terminal. And, for example, at least one of the functional components of the control device can be implemented by a portable terminal or a server (for example, a cloud server) that can communicate with the portable terminal. In the case where the oral cleaning device can be implemented by multiple devices, the communication method between the multiple devices is not particularly limited, and can be wireless communication or wired communication. In addition, wireless communication and wired communication can be combined between devices. In addition, the cloud server can be a server that can communicate with the portable terminal via the Internet, etc., and can provide the portable terminal with an application for using an intraoral camera. For example, the user downloads the application from the cloud server and installs it to the portable terminal. In addition, the cloud server obtains the image taken by the oral cleaning device via the portable terminal.

[0210] In addition, the division of the functional blocks in the block diagram is an example, and multiple functional blocks can be implemented as one functional block, or one functional block can be divided into multiple blocks, or a part of the function can be transferred to other functional blocks. In addition, the functions of multiple functional blocks with similar functions can be processed in parallel or in time-sharing by a single hardware or software.

[0211] In addition, the order in which each step in the flowchart is executed is an example shown for the purpose of specifically explaining the present disclosure, and may be an order other than the above. Furthermore, part of the above steps may be executed simultaneously (in parallel) with other steps.

[0212] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned one or more methods. Without departing from the main purpose of the present disclosure, methods obtained by performing various modifications that can be thought of by those skilled in the art on the present embodiment and methods constructed by combining constituent elements in different embodiments can all be included in the scope of one or more methods of the present disclosure.

[0213] Industrial Applicability

[0214] The present disclosure can be applied to an oral cleaning device.

[0215] Description of Reference Numerals

[0216] 98 gums

[0217] 99 Teeth

[0218] 99a Tartar

[0219] 100, 100a, 100b, 100c Oral cleaning device

[0220] 100d Oral Rinse System

[0221] 101 Camera Department

[0222] 101a Detection Area

[0223] 101aa Cleaning effective area

[0224] 102 LED Lighting Department

[0225] 103 Cleaning fluid injection unit

[0226] 103a Injection port

[0227] 103b Brush

[0228] 104 Input section

[0229] 150 Control Device

[0230] 151 Camera control unit

[0231] 152 LED lighting control department

[0232] 153, 153a Injection control unit

[0233] 153b Nursing Model Judgment Unit

[0234] 153c Result output unit

[0235] 154 Memory unit

[0236] 155 Image Processing Department

[0237] 156 Plaque adhesion detection unit

[0238] 157 Defective Detection Department

[0239] 158 Judgment Department

[0240] 159 Output

[0241] 200 Terminal Device

[0242] 201 Ministry of Communications

[0243] 202 Terminal input unit

[0244] 203 Terminal display unit

[0245] 800 Sensor Device

[0246] 900 Monomer Cleaning Device

Claims

1. An oral care mode determination device, comprising: A dental plaque attachment amount detection unit detects the amount of dental plaque attachment in the oral cavity, i.e., the amount of dental plaque, based on an image obtained by photographing the oral cavity; a defect detection unit that detects the degree of defect, i.e., the degree of defect, of the gum part in the oral cavity based on the image; a care mode determination unit for determining a care mode for determining a drive control of an oral care device based on the detected amount of dental plaque and the detected degree of imperfection, the oral care device being a device for performing care in the oral cavity; as well as The result output unit outputs the determination result of the care mode to the oral care device.

2. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 1, The image is captured by detecting light generated by sensing the irradiated light when irradiated light having a predetermined wavelength to which dental plaque reacts is irradiated into the oral cavity.

3. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 1, The image is two or more images including a first image and a second image, wherein the first image is an image of a portion of the oral cavity, and the second image is an image of another portion of the oral cavity. The dental plaque adhesion amount detection unit detects the amount of dental plaque in a part of the oral cavity and another part of the oral cavity, respectively. The defect detection unit detects the defect degree of a part of the oral cavity and another part of the oral cavity, respectively. The care mode determination unit determines the care mode for a portion of the oral cavity and another portion of the oral cavity, respectively. The result output unit outputs a judgment result of the care mode for a part of the oral cavity associated with the part of the oral cavity, and outputs a judgment result of the care mode for another part of the oral cavity associated with the other part of the oral cavity.

4. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 3, The result output unit will output the position in the oral cavity corresponding to a part of the oral cavity and the judgment result of the care mode regarding the part of the oral cavity, and will output the position in the oral cavity corresponding to another part of the oral cavity and the judgment result of the care mode regarding the other part of the oral cavity.

5. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 1, The nursing mode determination unit determines the nursing mode by selecting a candidate from a plurality of candidates. Each of the plurality of candidates for the care mode includes a control parameter that is set for each of the plurality of candidates for the care mode and is at least two control parameters that determine different drive controls of the oral care device.

6. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 5, At least one of the at least two control parameters is a parameter for adjusting the cleaning power of the oral care device on teeth, and at least another one of the at least two control parameters is a parameter for supplementing the cleaning power of the oral care device.

7. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 1, The oral care device is a water-flow type oral cleaning device that sprays cleaning liquid toward teeth. The care mode includes at least one control parameter for determining different drive controls of the oral care device, The at least one control parameter is at least one of the flow rate of the cleaning liquid, the injection water pressure, the injection time, and the injection frequency, The care mode determination unit determines the care mode based on the at least one control parameter included so that the load applied to the gum portion when the cleaning liquid is ejected becomes smaller as the degree of defect becomes higher.

8. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 1, The oral care device is an electrically driven toothbrush device that drives the configured bristles. The care mode includes at least one control parameter for determining different drive controls of the oral care device, The at least one control parameter is at least one of the driving torque, driving stroke, driving speed and driving time of the bristles. The care mode determination unit determines the care mode based on the at least one control parameter included so that the load applied to the gum portion when the bristles are driven becomes smaller as the degree of poor quality becomes higher.

9. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 8, The oral care device comprises: a toothbrushing pressure detection unit for detecting the toothbrushing pressure applied to the bristles; and The toothbrushing information notification unit notifies the user of feedback information related to the toothbrushing pressure. The toothbrushing information notification unit sets one or more thresholds for toothbrushing pressure, and when the detected toothbrushing pressure is higher than the threshold, notifies the user to urge the user to reduce the toothbrushing pressure. The care model also includes parameters related to the threshold, The care mode determination unit determines the care mode based on the included parameter related to the threshold value so that the threshold value is reduced as the degree of poor quality increases.

10. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 1, The result output unit further sends the judgment result of the care mode to a terminal device connected to the oral care mode judgment device. The terminal device includes at least one of a display unit that displays the determination result of the care mode received from the result output unit and a notification unit that notifies the determination result of the care mode received from the result output unit by sound.

11. The oral care mode determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The degree of failure is scale information obtained by numerically expressing at least one of the state of swelling and bleeding of the gum portion.

12. The oral care mode determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The care mode is a mode determined based on an oral health status table, which is a combination of two types of scale information: scale information that quantifies the amount of dental plaque and scale information that quantifies the degree of undesirability of at least one of the swelling and bleeding of the gum part, and a corresponding table is established with the judgment result of the care mode.

13. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 12, The care mode determination unit updates the oral health status table based on at least one of a change tendency of the detection results of the plaque amount over a plurality of past times and a change tendency of the detection results of the degree of poorness over a plurality of past times.

14. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 13, The care mode determination unit updates the oral health status table so that the care ability in the determination result becomes higher when the change trend of the detection results of the dental plaque amount in the past multiple times does not show a decrease in the dental plaque amount.

15. The oral care mode determination device according to claim 13, The care mode determination unit updates the oral health status table so that the care ability in the determination result becomes lower, when the change tendency of the past detection results of the poor degree indicates an increase in the poor degree.

16. A method for determining an oral care mode, which is executed by a computer. The oral care mode determination method comprises: The step of detecting the amount of dental plaque attached to the oral cavity, i.e., the amount of dental plaque, based on an image obtained by photographing the oral cavity; A step of detecting the degree of defect of the gum part in the oral cavity, i.e., the degree of defect, based on the image; A step of determining a care mode for driving and controlling an oral care device according to the detected amount of dental plaque and the detected degree of imperfection, wherein the oral care device is a device for caring for the oral cavity; as well as The step of outputting the determination result of the care mode to the oral care device.

17. A computer program for causing a computer to execute the oral care pattern determination method according to claim 16.

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