Oral Care Lighting Control Using Predictive Position Modeling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing oral care devices with integrated lighting arrangements struggle to reliably target specific oral surfaces due to jaw and teeth shape variability, deformation during use, and interference from toothpaste and saliva, making it difficult to control light treatment effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method using a predictive model that processes operational status values and oral surface geometry to predict the position and deformation of the oral care device, determining control parameters for the lighting arrangement to illuminate target areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If optical sensing is used to determine device position, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex optical sensing systems with a predictive model that uses simple mechanical motion data from actuators to determine device position. The predictive model processes operational status values (such as actuator position and motion commands) to predict the current position and deformation of the oral care device, eliminating the need for complex optical sensors and their precise alignment.
2Measurement precision
If optical sensing is used to determine device position, then measurement precision improves, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes expensive optical sensing hardware with a software-based predictive model that processes readily available operational status data. This approach dramatically reduces manufacturing costs while maintaining position detection accuracy, as the predictive model uses simple data from existing actuators rather than requiring costly optical sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The predictive model creates a virtual copy of the device's physical state by simulating its position and deformation based on operational status values. This digital twin approach allows accurate position determination without physical optical sensors, reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining measurement precision.
3Reliability
If light treatment is applied for extended periods, then treatment effectiveness improves, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts light treatment duration and intensity based on the predicted real-time position of the oral care device. By continuously updating the predictive model with operational status values, the system optimizes light application to match the actual device position, ensuring effective treatment while minimizing unnecessary power consumption from prolonged or misplaced illumination.
Solution Approach 2:
The predictive model provides continuous feedback on device position and deformation, enabling the control system to adjust light treatment parameters in real-time. This feedback mechanism ensures that light is applied effectively when the device is in the correct position while reducing or stopping illumination when positioning is suboptimal, thereby balancing treatment effectiveness with power conservation.
Data Source
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AI summary
Proposed are schemes, solutions, concepts, designs, methods and systems pertaining to controlling an oral care device comprising an integrated lighting arrangement. Specifically, an operational status value (e.g., position and motion data, oral care treatment element cycle monitoring data, and/or contact force data) indicative of real-time motion and position of the oral care device relative to the oral surface is obtained. The operational status value, along with the oral surface geometry of the user, is processed using a predictive model. The predictive model is adapted to map the operational status value and the oral surface geometry to physical behavior of the oral care device, and thus to a predicted position and deformation of the oral care device. From the predicted position and deformation, control parameters for the lighting arrangement may be determined, which are suitable for controlling the lighting arrangement to illuminate a target portion (e.g., the interdental space or the gum line) of the oral surface of the user. Accordingly, the lighting arrangement may be more effectively controlled for illumination of target areas of the oral surface.