Anti-splashing electric toothbrush and control circuit

Abstract

The utility model provides an anti-splashing electric toothbrush and a control circuit. The anti-splashing electric toothbrush comprises a pressure sensor, a motor and a control unit, the pressure sensor obtains a pressure value of a toothbrush head of the electric toothbrush; the motor drives the toothbrush head to move; the control unit is connected with the pressure sensor and the motor, and when the toothbrush head presses teeth, the control unit controls the motor to start under the condition that the pressure value reaches a first pressure threshold value; when the toothbrush head leaves the teeth and the pressure value reaches a second pressure threshold value, the control unit controls the motor to be turned off; under the condition that the time when the pressure value is 0 reaches the time threshold value, the control unit is closed; the effect of preventing the toothpaste from splashing can be effectively achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of electric toothbrushes, and in particular to an anti-splash electric toothbrush and a control circuit. Background Art

[0002] Electric toothbrushes are a common toothbrush tool. When powered on, they vibrate continuously and violently, causing some toothpaste or foam on the brush head to fly off. Currently, soft start is the primary method used to reduce toothpaste splashing. However, soft start only addresses the sudden, strong vibration of the brush head during startup; it doesn't address the subsequent splashing caused by the strong vibration after the soft start. Utility Model Content

[0003] The following is a summary of the subject matter described in detail herein. This summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0004] The purpose of this application is to solve one of the technical problems existing in the related art to at least a certain extent. The embodiment of this application provides an anti-splash electric toothbrush and a control circuit, which can avoid the splash of foam generated by brushing.

[0005] An embodiment of the first aspect of the present application provides a control circuit for an electric toothbrush, comprising:

[0006] A pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensor is used to obtain a pressure value of the toothbrush head of the electric toothbrush;

[0007] A motor, wherein the motor is used to drive the toothbrush head to move;

[0008] a control unit connected to the pressure sensor and the motor, the control unit being configured to control the motor to start when the pressure value reaches a first pressure threshold, control the motor to stop when the pressure value reaches a second pressure threshold, and control the control unit to stop when the time during which the pressure value is zero reaches a time threshold;

[0009] The second pressure threshold is smaller than the first pressure threshold.

[0010] According to certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the control unit is connected to the motor drive circuit, and the motor drive circuit is connected to the motor; the motor drive circuit includes a motor drive chip and a first filter capacitor for preventing breakdown, and the motor drive chip is connected to the first filter capacitor.

[0011] According to certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the control circuit includes a voltage stabilizing circuit, which is connected to the control unit; the voltage stabilizing circuit includes a voltage stabilizing chip, a first capacitor and a second capacitor, the first capacitor is connected between the input end and the ground end of the voltage stabilizing chip, and the second capacitor is connected between the output end and the ground end of the voltage stabilizing chip.

[0012] According to certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the control unit is connected to the pressure sensor via a first interface.

[0013] According to certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the output end of the first interface is connected to a second filter capacitor for filtering interference signals.

[0014] According to certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the control unit includes a pressure sensing processing chip and a central processing chip, and the pressure sensing processing chip and the central processing chip are connected.

[0015] According to certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the pressure sensing processing chip is provided with an internal reference voltage terminal, and the internal reference voltage terminal is connected to a third filter capacitor.

[0016] According to certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, a pull-up resistor is connected between the output end of the pressure sensing processing chip and the input end of the central processing chip.

[0017] According to certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the pressure sensor is a bridge pressure sensor.

[0018] Certain embodiments of the second aspect of the present application provide an electric toothbrush, comprising a toothbrush handle, a toothbrush head, and a control circuit for the electric toothbrush as described in the embodiment of the first aspect of the present application, wherein the toothbrush head is mounted on the toothbrush handle; the toothbrush head is connected to a motor of the control circuit of the electric toothbrush, and a pressure sensor of the control circuit of the electric toothbrush is arranged on the toothbrush head.

[0019] The above solution has at least the following beneficial effects: When a user uses an electric toothbrush and places it in their mouth to begin brushing, the toothbrush head contacts the teeth and generates pressure. This pressure is transmitted to the pressure sensor, causing the pressure sensor to deform, which in turn generates a resistance change that is converted into a voltage change via an electrical bridge. The pressure sensor acquires the pressure value of the electric toothbrush head. The control unit determines that the pressure value has reached a first, larger pressure threshold and sends a start signal to the motor. Upon receiving the start signal, the motor starts, and the toothbrush head begins to vibrate or rotate. When the toothbrush head is separated from the teeth, the pressure on the toothbrush head gradually decreases. The control unit determines that the pressure value has reached a second, smaller pressure threshold and sends a shutdown signal to the motor. Upon receiving the shutdown signal, the motor shuts down, and the toothbrush head stops vibrating or rotating. This effectively prevents toothpaste from splashing. When the toothbrush head is separated from the teeth for a certain period of time, the control unit determines that the pressure value has been zero for a time threshold and automatically disconnects the power supply and shuts down the device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the technical solution of the present application and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present application, they are used to explain the technical solution of the present application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution of the present application.

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a control circuit of an electric toothbrush provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 2 is another schematic diagram of the control circuit of the electric toothbrush provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 3 4 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit of an electric toothbrush provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of this application more clear, the following further describes this application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0025] It should be noted that although the device schematics illustrate functional module divisions and the flowcharts illustrate logical sequences, in certain circumstances, the steps shown or described may be performed in a sequence that differs from the module divisions in the device or the sequence in the flowcharts. The terms "first," "second," and the like in the specification, claims, or accompanying drawings are used to distinguish similar items and are not necessarily used to describe a specific sequence or precedence.

[0026] The embodiments of the present application are further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 3 , an embodiment of the present application proposes a control circuit for an electric toothbrush.

[0028] The control circuit of the electric toothbrush includes a pressure sensor 100 , a motor 300 and a control unit 200 .

[0029] Among them, the pressure sensor 100 is used to obtain the pressure value of the toothbrush head of the electric toothbrush; the motor 300 is used to drive the toothbrush head to move; the control unit 200 is connected to the pressure sensor 100 and the motor 300, and the control unit 200 is used to control the motor 300 to start when the pressure value reaches a first pressure threshold, control the motor 300 to turn off when the pressure value reaches a second pressure threshold, and control the control unit 200 to turn off when the pressure value is 0 for a time threshold.

[0030] It should be noted that the second pressure threshold is smaller than the first pressure threshold.

[0031] In this embodiment, when a user places an electric toothbrush in their mouth and begins brushing, the toothbrush head contacts their teeth and generates pressure. This pressure is transmitted to the pressure sensor 100, causing deformation of the pressure sensor 100, which in turn generates a change in resistance, which is converted into a voltage change via a bridge circuit. The pressure sensor is connected to a control unit on the toothbrush motherboard via a connecting cable. The pressure processing chip in the control unit collects, amplifies, and processes the voltage output by the pressure sensor, converting it into a data signal for output via an I2C interface to the control unit's central processing chip for interpretation. The pressure value of the electric toothbrush head is thus acquired through the pressure sensor 100. When the control unit 200 determines that the pressure value has reached a first, higher pressure threshold, it sends a start signal to the motor 300. Upon receiving the start signal, the motor 300 starts, and the toothbrush head begins to vibrate or rotate. When the toothbrush head is released from the teeth, the pressure on the toothbrush head gradually decreases. The control unit 200 determines that the pressure value has reached a second, lower pressure threshold and sends a shutoff signal to the motor 300. Upon receiving the shutoff signal, the motor 300 shuts off, and the toothbrush head ceases vibration or rotation. When the toothbrush head is away from the teeth for a certain period of time, the control unit 200 determines that the time when the pressure value is 0 reaches a time threshold, and the control unit 200 automatically disconnects the power supply and shuts down.

[0032] In one embodiment, the time threshold is set to 15 seconds, and when the control unit 200 determines that the pressure value is 0 for 15 seconds, the control unit 200 automatically disconnects the power supply and shuts down. Of course, in other embodiments, the time threshold can be set according to user needs.

[0033] Specifically, the pressure sensor 100 is a bridge-type pressure sensor 100 .

[0034] The control unit 200 includes a pressure-sensing processing chip U2 and a central processing chip U3, which are connected to each other. The pressure-sensing processing chip U2 collects, amplifies, and processes the voltage output by the pressure sensor 100, converting it into a digital signal. This digital pressure signal is output via an I2C interface to the central processing chip U3 for interpretation, thereby enabling pressure detection on the toothbrush head.

[0035] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 The control circuit includes a voltage stabilizing circuit 500, which is connected to the control unit 200; the voltage stabilizing circuit 500 includes a voltage stabilizing chip U1, a first capacitor C1, and a second capacitor C2. The first capacitor C1 is connected between the input end and the ground end of the voltage stabilizing chip U1, and the second capacitor C2 is connected between the output end and the ground end of the voltage stabilizing chip U1. The battery is connected to the input end of the voltage stabilizing chip U1, and the battery can be a 3.7V single-cell lithium battery. The battery voltage is converted into a stable DC voltage of 3V or 3.3V by the voltage stabilizing circuit 500 to power the pressure sensing processing chip U2 and the central processing chip U3.

[0036] Reference Figure 2 and Figure 3 The control unit 200 is connected to the motor drive circuit 400, which is in turn connected to the motor 300. The motor drive circuit 400 includes a motor drive chip U4 and a first filter capacitor, which is connected to the motor drive chip. The first filter capacitor includes capacitors C8 and C9, which prevent spikes from breaking through the motor drive chip U4. The motor drive circuit 400 also includes resistors R6 and R7. An output pin of the central processing chip U3 is connected to resistor R6, which is then connected to an input pin of the motor drive chip U4. Another output pin of the central processing chip U3 is connected to resistor R7, which is then connected to another input pin of the motor drive chip U4. One end of capacitor C8 is connected to the VDD pin of the motor drive chip U4, and the other end of capacitor C8 is grounded. The two ends of capacitor C8 are respectively connected to the two output terminals of the motor drive chip U4. One end of capacitor C9 is connected to the output pin OUTA of the motor drive chip U4, and the other end of capacitor C9 is connected to the output pin OUTB of the driver chip U4.

[0037] The control unit 200 is connected to the pressure sensor 100 via a first interface. The input of the pressure processing chip U2 is connected to the first interface. The output of the first interface is connected to a second filter capacitor. The pressure processing chip is provided with an internal reference voltage terminal, which is connected to a third filter capacitor. A pull-up resistor is connected between the output of the pressure processing chip and the input of the central processing chip.

[0038] The pressure sensing signal processing circuit comprises a pressure sensing processing chip U2, a capacitor C3, a capacitor C4, a capacitor C6, a capacitor C7, a resistor R4, a resistor R5, a resistor R1, a resistor R2, a resistor R3 and a socket CN1. The pressure sensing signal processing circuit is responsible for collecting, amplifying and processing the S1+ and S1- voltage signals output by the pressure sensor 100 inside the pressure sensing processing chip U2, converting them into digital signals and outputting them to the central processing chip U3 through the I2C SDA, I2C SCL and INT1 ports.

[0039] The first interface is the socket CN1.

[0040] The second filter capacitor includes capacitor C6 and capacitor C7. Capacitor C6 and capacitor C7 are filter capacitors for the S1- and S1+ voltage signal input terminals, respectively, and are used to filter external interference signals.

[0041] The third filter capacitor includes capacitor C4 and capacitor C3. Capacitor C4 and capacitor C3 are filter capacitors for internal reference voltage terminals VS0 and VS_CAP of the pressure sensing processing chip U2, respectively.

[0042] The pull-up resistors include resistors R1, R2, and R3. Resistors R1, R2, and R3 are pull-up resistors for the I2C SDA, I2C SCL, and INT1 ports, respectively.

[0043] The VSO pin of pressure processing chip U2 is the reference voltage output terminal, responsible for powering the power supply terminal of pressure sensor 100. Pressure processing chip U2 uses an internal WDT watchdog timer to intermittently wake up the pressure sensor 100, thereby controlling the VSO pin of pressure processing chip U2 to intermittently power the pressure sensor 100, thereby reducing the standby power consumption of pressure processing chip U2 and pressure sensor 100.

[0044] When pressure sensor 100 is subjected to pressure, the INT1 pin of pressure processing chip U2 generates a high-to-low level interrupt signal to wake up central processing chip U3 and resume normal operation. In other embodiments, if central processing chip U3 is in standby mode and does not require pressure to wake up, but instead requires touch or light touch to wake up, the INT1 pin of pressure processing chip U2 can be disconnected.

[0045] When the toothbrush head contacts the teeth and generates pressure, the pressure-sensing processing chip U2 detects the pressure change from the pressure sensor 100 and outputs an amplified voltage corresponding to the pressure via the I2C SDA, I2C SCL, and INT1 ports to the central processing chip U3 for processing. When the central processing chip U3 detects that the pressure exceeds a first pressure threshold, the OUTA and OUTB ports of the central processing chip U3 output the drive waveform for the selected operating mode to the INA and INB inputs of the motor driver chip U4. The OUTA and OUTB outputs of the motor driver chip U4 activate the motor 300, causing the toothbrush head to vibrate and begin brushing. When the central processing chip U3 detects that the pressure falls below a second pressure threshold, the OUTA and OUTB ports of the central processing chip U3 output a control waveform that causes the motor driver chip U4 to control the toothbrush head motor 300 to stop. When the toothbrush head is removed from the teeth and the pressure from the pressure sensor 100 disappears for 15 seconds, the central processing chip U3 issues a shutdown control command to automatically shut down the toothbrush, effectively preventing toothpaste from splashing and providing intelligent automatic shutdown. The power on and mode adjustment of the electric toothbrush can be controlled by any type of button such as a light touch button, a touch button, a pressure-sensitive button, and a long press or short press method.

[0046] Regarding the electronic components, capacitors C1, C2, C3, C5, C6, and C7 can be 1uF, capacitors C4 and C9 can be 100nF, and capacitor C8 can be 10uF. Their withstand voltage should be no less than 10V. Resistors R1, R2, and R3 can be 4.7kΩ, resistors R4 and R5 can be 300kΩ, and resistors R6 and R7 can be 1kΩ. Pressure sensor 100 can be a bridge-type pressure sensor such as the Ruihu RH163F, with a 4-pin FPC cable. For socket CN1, use a 0.5mm pitch, flip-top, 4-pin horizontal FPC socket such as the PFC0510-04RL-TAG. The pressure-sensing chip U2 can be the CSU18M68 dual-channel pressure-sensing chip, a SoC with a built-in 16-bit ADC, an 8K×16-bit MPT program memory, and an op amp with programmable amplification. It has forward and reverse force detection capabilities and consumes as little as 0.8uA in sleep mode. For the voltage regulator chip U1, a three-terminal voltage regulator with a maximum operating voltage of no less than 6V, an output voltage of 3V or 3.3V, and low static power consumption should be selected, such as the ME6206A30 or ME6206A33. The motor driver chip U4 can select H-bridge motor driver chips such as SA8301, BS23A02 with an operating voltage of 2V~7.5V and a continuous current of 1.8A. The central processing chip U3 can select a 32-bit microcontroller with an operating voltage of 2V (or 2.2V)~5.5V, a standby power consumption of <4uA, and an M0 core, such as MS32F031A6, to run built-in digital filtering, zero point correction, temperature compensation, segmented coefficient correction, coefficient power-off memory, deformation calibration memory and other algorithms.

[0047] The above is a specific description of the preferred implementation of the present application, but the present application is not limited to the embodiments. Those skilled in the art may make various equivalent modifications or substitutions without violating the spirit of the present application, and these equivalent modifications or substitutions are all included in the scope defined by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A control circuit for an anti-splash electric toothbrush, characterized in that: include: A pressure sensor, wherein the pressure sensor is used to obtain a pressure value of the toothbrush head of the electric toothbrush; A motor, wherein the motor is used to drive the toothbrush head to move; a control unit connected to the pressure sensor and the motor, the control unit being configured to control the motor to start when the pressure value reaches a first pressure threshold, control the motor to stop when the pressure value reaches a second pressure threshold, and control the control unit to stop when the time during which the pressure value is zero reaches a time threshold; The second pressure threshold is smaller than the first pressure threshold.

2. The control circuit of the anti-splash electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control unit is connected to the motor drive circuit, and the motor drive circuit is connected to the motor; the motor drive circuit includes a motor drive chip and a first filter capacitor for preventing breakdown, and the motor drive chip is connected to the first filter capacitor.

3. The control circuit of the anti-splash electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control circuit includes a voltage stabilizing circuit, which is connected to the control unit; the voltage stabilizing circuit includes a voltage stabilizing chip, a first capacitor and a second capacitor, the first capacitor is connected between the input end and the ground end of the voltage stabilizing chip, and the second capacitor is connected between the output end and the ground end of the voltage stabilizing chip.

4. The control circuit of the anti-splash electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control unit is connected to the pressure sensor via a first interface.

5. The control circuit of the anti-splash electric toothbrush according to claim 4, characterized in that: The output end of the first interface is connected to a second filter capacitor for filtering interference signals.

6. The control circuit of the anti-splash electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control unit includes a pressure sensing processing chip and a central processing chip, and the pressure sensing processing chip is connected to the central processing chip.

7. The control circuit of the anti-splash electric toothbrush according to claim 6, characterized in that: The pressure sensing processing chip is provided with an internal reference voltage terminal, and the internal reference voltage terminal is connected to a third filter capacitor.

8. The control circuit of the anti-splash electric toothbrush according to claim 6, characterized in that: A pull-up resistor is connected between the output end of the pressure sensing processing chip and the input end of the central processing chip.

9. The control circuit of the anti-splash electric toothbrush according to claim 1, characterized in that: The pressure sensor is a bridge pressure sensor.

10. An anti-splash electric toothbrush, characterized in that: The electric toothbrush includes a toothbrush handle, a toothbrush head and a control circuit for the splash-proof electric toothbrush as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the toothbrush head is mounted on the toothbrush handle; the toothbrush head is connected to the motor of the control circuit of the electric toothbrush, and the pressure sensor of the control circuit of the electric toothbrush is arranged on the toothbrush head.

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