Camera-Based Oral Care Position Tracking for Accurate Tooth Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing oral care devices struggle with inaccurate position identification due to varying user habits, leading to missed tooth surfaces and reduced cleaning effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a feature acquisition component on the oral care device to consistently capture human body features, allowing for precise determination of the current oral care position based on acquired human body feature information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a posture sensor on the handle is used to identify oral care position, then the device can detect user posture, but the identification accuracy is low due to varying user habits and holding postures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a camera as an intermediary component to capture images of the care element (brush head) and user's mouth area. This visual intermediary provides direct observation of the oral care position, bypassing the inaccuracies of posture-based inference. The camera acts as a mediator between the device and the oral cavity, enabling precise position identification through image processing rather than indirect posture sensing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical posture sensor system with an optical imaging system. Instead of using mechanical sensors to detect handle orientation and infer position, the system uses a camera to directly capture visual information of the care element and mouth area, then processes this visual data to determine the oral care position. This substitution from mechanical sensing to optical sensing significantly improves identification accuracy.
2Reliability
If the feature acquisition component is positioned to always capture the care element, then the component can consistently acquire feature information, but the component must be precisely positioned relative to the care element
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring the camera's optical axis to point toward the care element before use. The camera is positioned and oriented in advance so that when the device is held normally, the care element falls within the field of view. This pre-positioning ensures consistent capture without requiring complex real-time adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent addresses the positioning challenge by utilizing the third dimension (depth/distance) in addition to angular orientation. By controlling the distance between the camera and the care element, and adjusting the camera's focal length and field of view, the system ensures the care element remains within the field of view across different holding positions. This dimensional approach provides flexibility in maintaining proper framing.
Data Source
AI summary
An oral care position identification method and an oral care device are provided. The oral care position identification method is applied to the oral care device. The oral care device includes a handle, the care element, and a first positioning component. The first positioning component is disposed on the handle. The oral care position identification method includes steps of acquiring human body feature information of a user during an oral care process through the first positioning component of the oral care device and determining a current oral care position corresponding to the care element based on the human body feature information. The care element is within an energy field of the first positioning component, so that the first positioning component is able to acquire feature information of at least part of the care element when the first positioning component is turned on.