Koninklijke Philips Corporation N.v.

Meng Peng

Sungsoo Lee

Scott Robert Wills

Vincent Jeanne

Evan Dak Wah Dengler

Jianxun Feng

Wan-Tzu Chen

A personal care appliancecomprises an actuator, a current sensorfor monitoring a driving current, and a controller. The actuator, operable according to a non-linear response characteristicof amplitude versus frequency, includes a movable shaftconfigured for resonant movementin response to a drive signal, further for being coupled with a workpiece. The controller(i) detects at least one of a plurality of different characteristic load states () in response to a perturbation in the monitored driving currentand (ii) actively delivers the drive signalto the actuatorselected from at least two different drive signals () as a function of a detected characteristic load state. In this manner, the controllerimplements self-adaptive amplitude regulation of the movable shaft's resonant movementamong the plurality of difference characteristic load states that include additional loads of force, spring, mass, and/or damping to a given load state of a resonant spring mass system of actuatorcoupled with workpiece

Personal care appliance with self-adaptive amplitude regulation via actuator non-linearity and active driving adjustment and method thereof

A drivetrain assembly () for a personal care device (), the drivetrain assembly including a resonator () connected to a transmission component () configured to transmit oscillations to the removable attachment; and a drive coil () configured to oscillate the resonator in a first direction; where the drive coil is configured to generate an installation or removal signal in response to installation or removal of the removable attachment, the installation or removal of the removable attachment generating movement of the resonator in a second direction; and where the drivetrain assembly is configured to communicate the generated signal to a controller.

Method for detecting attachment head installation and removal

A whitening smart pen apparatus () for automatically dispensing a teeth whitening substance onto one or more teeth of a user comprises a fluid reservoir (), a nozzle () having an output port (), a fluid dispenser (), a sensor () and a controller (). The fluid dispenser dispenses the teeth whitening substance from the fluid reservoir to the nozzle and is output via the output port. The sensor, positioned in an advance dispensing direction of the nozzle, senses a target surface that comprises either (i) a tooth surface () or (ii) other surface (). The controller () is configured for (i) controlling a gating of the fluid dispenser () to dispense the teeth whitening substance from the fluid reservoir () in response to the sensor () detecting the tooth surface (), and (ii) stopping or disabling the gating of the fluid dispenser to stop or disable a dispensing of the teeth whitening substance from the fluid reservoir in response to the sensor () detecting the other surface ().

Method and apparatus for protection of soft tissues against a teeth whitening substance

An oral care appliance (), such as an electric toothbrush, utilizing non-linear resonant systems is described herein. In one exemplary embodiment, the oral care appliance includes a longitudinal shaft (), a brush head (), and a handle (). The handle includes a motor () that generates a first amplitude () for the brush head based on the brush head being outside of the user's mouth, when no mass is applied to the brush head. In response to the brush head being inside of the user's mouth, when mass is applied, such as by pressing the brush head against the teeth, the motor causes a second amplitude () to be generated for the brush head that is larger than the first amplitude.

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Bothell, WA, United States of America

Meng Peng