Swing-Triggered Flashing Toothbrush with Metallic Ball Trigger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flashing toothbrushes face issues with battery replacement and circuit board stability due to lack of a fixing structure, leading to potential breakdown and malfunction of press buttons.
Innovation Solution
A swing-triggered flashing toothbrush design featuring a metallic ball that rolls within a hollow brush handle to trigger a control circuit, allowing for easy battery replacement and reducing vibration-induced damage, with a mechanism that uses a press button to control the ball's movement and power light-emitting elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If batteries and circuit board are placed inside the brush handle without a fixing structure, then battery replacement is enabled, but the batteries and circuit board shake and collide with the inner wall during brushing, leading to circuit board breakdown and loose battery contact
Solution Approach 1:
The brush handle is divided into a hollow cavity structure that separates the movement space for the metallic ball from the fixed mounting areas for the circuit board and battery. The circuit board is secured to the inner wall of the hollow brush handle, creating distinct functional zones that prevent vibration-induced damage while maintaining battery replaceability.
Solution Approach 2:
The circuit board and battery are pre-fixed to the inner wall of the hollow brush handle before assembly. This preliminary fixing action ensures that these components remain stable during brushing operations, preventing the harmful effects of shaking and colliding that would occur without such pre-installation securing.
2Ease of operation
If a press button mechanism is used to control lighting, then user interaction is enabled, but long-term usage causes the press button to malfunction due to abrasion or inappropriate operation
Solution Approach 1:
The traditional press button mechanical switching mechanism is replaced with a swing-triggered metallic ball system. The metallic ball rolls along a groove on the cap's inner wall and triggers the lighting function through its movement, eliminating the wear and tear associated with repeated pressing actions while maintaining user control capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The control mechanism transitions from a static press button to a dynamic metallic ball rolling system. The metallic ball moves along a predefined groove path on the cap's inner wall, using rotational and rolling motion to activate the lighting function, which reduces mechanical stress and wear compared to linear pressing motion.
3Illumination intensity
If the brush handle is made transparent with patterns, then visual appeal and light emission effect are enhanced, but the structural integrity and protection of internal components may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The brush handle uses a transparent patterned layer that can be applied as a film or coating on the outer surface. This thin film approach maintains the structural integrity of the underlying handle material while providing the desired visual appeal and light emission enhancement, avoiding the need for thick transparent sections that would compromise strength.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances durability and usability by preventing circuit board damage and press button malfunctions, providing an amusing and effective oral health tool that encourages children to maintain good oral hygiene.
Implementation Method 1
A swing movement will drive the metallic ball to move inside the movement space and hit the interior of the electric-connection chute
Implementation Method 2
the control circuit is triggered to control the battery assembly to power the light emitting element. Thereby, the light emitting element projects light outwards through the transparent patterned layer
Data Source
AI summary
A swing-triggered flashing toothbrush comprises a hollow brush handle having a movement space; a transparent patterned layer formed on the surface of the hollow brush handle and having a press button and an operable grip coupled to the press button; a control circuit board arranged inside the hollow brush handle, and a metallic ball arranged inside the operable grip. The press button controls the operable grip to hold the metallic ball or release the metallic ball to the movement space. Once the metallic ball is released, a swing movement drives the metallic ball to hit the interior of an electric-connection chute of the control circuit board. Thus, the control circuit board is triggered to control a battery assembly to power light emitting elements. Thereby, the light emitting elements project light outwards through the transparent patterned layer.