Ion-Releasing Toothbrush Electrodes for Taste-Controlled Brushing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Oral care devices that release beneficial ions can cause negative taste sensations due to the introduction of ions during oral care sessions, necessitating improvements to control the release rate and reduce unpleasant tastes.
Innovation Solution
An oral care device with sacrificial electrodes and a controller to manage the electric potential between electrodes, allowing controlled release of ions during brushing sessions, adjusting the release rate based on fluid presence in the mouth to mask the taste and enhance oral health benefits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional toothbrush is used, then it can remove some plaque, but it cannot effectively reach between teeth and along the gumline
Solution Approach 1:
The brush head is divided into multiple independent bristle rows with different orientations (vertical, diagonal, horizontal) that can independently contact different surfaces of teeth and gumlines, enabling comprehensive coverage of hard-to-reach areas
Solution Approach 2:
The brush head is designed with three-dimensional bristle arrangements including vertical, diagonal, and horizontal orientations, adding spatial dimensions to plaque removal capability and enabling access to multiple tooth surfaces simultaneously
2Productivity
If manual brushing is used, then it requires no additional power sources, but it is time-consuming and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The manual mechanical brushing action is replaced with an automated rotary motion mechanism that uses rotational movement of the brush head to perform brushing actions, reducing manual labor while maintaining cleaning effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The brush head is designed with dynamic rotary movement capability, allowing the bristles to rotate and flex during operation to adapt to tooth surfaces and provide effective cleaning with reduced manual effort
3Ease of operation
If the brush handle is made with grip enhancement features, then it improves comfort and control, but it increases manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The handle incorporates a flexible outer layer with textured patterns that provide grip enhancement through surface friction, using a simple coating or molding technique rather than complex mechanical structures
Solution Approach 2:
The handle is designed with curved and ergonomic contours that naturally fit the user's hand, using smooth curved surfaces rather than complex geometric features to achieve comfort and control
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An oral care device may include: a body including a head; a plurality of teeth cleaning elements extending from the head; a first electrode on the head; a second electrode on the head and spaced apart from the first electrode, wherein at least one of the first and second electrodes is a sacrificial electrode; a power source; and a controller configured to operably couple the power source to the first and second electrodes to create an electric potential between the first and second electrodes so that ions are released from the sacrificial electrode during a brushing session; wherein the controller is configured to change a magnitude of the electric potential the brushing session ends.