Tracking attachment for an oral care implement

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11877643-B2
Application number	US-202217987328-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 15, 2022
Priority date	Aug 3, 2018
Publication date	Jan 23, 2024
Grant date	Jan 23, 2024

Abstract

A tracking attachment for an oral care implement that includes a housing and a tracking unit configured to track position, orientation, or movement of the oral care implement. The housing may define a receiving cavity that is configured to receive a portion of the oral care implement. The housing may include a first housing portion having an inner surface that defines a first portion of the receiving cavity that is open at both of the first and second ends of the first housing portion and a second housing portion that mates with the first housing portion to detachably couple the second housing portion to the first housing portion. The second housing portion may have an inner surface that defines a second portion of the receiving cavity that is open at the second end of the second housing portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tracking attachment for an oral care implement, the tracking attachment comprising:
a housing defining a receiving cavity that is configured to receive a portion of an oral care implement, the housing comprising:
a first housing portion extending from a first end to a second end and comprising a first connection element, the first housing portion having an inner surface that defines a first portion of the receiving cavity that is open at both of the first and second ends of the first housing portion; and
a second housing portion extending from a first end to a second end and having a second connection element that mates with the first connection element of the first housing portion to detachably couple the second housing portion to the first housing portion, the second housing portion having an inner surface that defines a second portion of the receiving cavity that is open at the second end of the second housing portion; and

a tracking unit configured to facilitate tracking at least one of a position, orientation, or movement of the oral care implement within an oral cavity of a user;
wherein the housing comprises an alignment feature that is configured to interact with a feature on a handle of the oral care implement to prevent relative axial and rotational movement between the oral care implement and the housing, wherein the alignment feature comprises an aperture formed through the first housing portion from an outer surface of the first housing portion to the inner surface of the first housing portion.

2. The tracking attachment according to claim 1 wherein the first and second housing portions are alterable between: (1) a detached state wherein the first and second housing portions are separate from one another; and (2) an attached state wherein the first and second housing portions are coupled together and the first and second portions of the receiving cavity collectively form the receiving cavity that is configured to receive the portion of the oral care implement.

3. The tracking attachment according to claim 2 wherein in the attached state an outer surface of the first housing portion is flush with an outer surface of the second housing portion so that an outer surface of the housing is a smooth, uninterrupted surface.

4. The tracking attachment according to claim 1 wherein the receiving cavity extends along a longitudinal axis and the first portion of the receiving cavity has a transverse cross-sectional area that decreases with distance from the first end of the first housing portion to the second end of the first housing portion such that the first cavity has a minimum cross-sectional area at the second end of the first housing portion, and wherein the first end of the first housing portion is adjacent to the second end of the second housing portion.

5. The tracking attachment according to claim 1 wherein the second housing portion has an outer surface and the inner surface and a plurality of holes extending from the outer surface to the inner surface in a spaced apart manner, and wherein the tracking unit comprises a plurality of visual markers, each of the visual markers coupled to the second housing portion within one of the plurality of holes.

6. The tracking attachment according to claim 5 wherein each of the visual markers comprises an anchor portion, a protruding portion, and an intermediate portion extending between the anchor and protruding portions, the anchor portions located within the second portion of the receiving cavity, the intermediate portions located within one of the plurality of holes, and the protruding portions protruding from the outer surface of the second housing portion.

7. The tracking attachment according to claim 6 wherein the protruding portions of each of the visual markers has a spherical or semispherical shape.

8. The tracking attachment according to claim 5 wherein the second housing portion extends from the first end to the second end along a longitudinal axis, wherein the plurality of visual markers comprises a first set of visual markers that are aligned along a first plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and a second set of visual markers that are aligned along a second plane that is orthogonal to the longitudinal axis and parallel to the first plane.

9. The tracking attachment according to claim 8 wherein each of the visual markers of the first set of visual markers is a different color and wherein each of the visual markers of the second set of visual markers is a different color.

10. The tracking attachment according to claim 5 wherein each of the first and second housing portions is formed from a rigid material and wherein each of the plurality of visual markers is formed from a resilient material.

11. The tracking attachment according to claim 1 wherein the second portion of the receiving cavity extends from a floor of the second housing portion to the second end of the second housing portion, and further comprising a support post extending from the floor towards the second end of the second housing portion for supporting a proximal end of the oral care implement.

12. The tracking attachment according to claim 1 wherein the second housing portion comprises a main portion terminating in a distal end and a neck portion extending from the distal end of the main portion to the second end of the second housing portion, and wherein when the first and second housing portions are coupled together the neck portion of the second housing portion nests within the receiving cavity and the first end of the first housing portion is in contact with the distal end of the main portion of the second housing portion.

13. The tracking attachment according to claim 1 wherein the tracking attachment is free of electronic components.

14. An oral care system comprising:
an oral care implement;
a tracking attachment coupled to the oral care implement, the tracking attachment comprising:
a housing having an inner surface that defines a receiving cavity having a closed bottom end and an open top end, a support post extending from the closed bottom end to a distal end; and
a tracking unit configured to facilitate tracking at least one of a position, orientation, or movement of the oral care implement within an oral cavity of a user; and

wherein a portion of the oral care implement is positioned in the receiving cavity of the housing with a proximal end of the oral care implement resting on the distal end of the support post; and
wherein the housing comprises an alignment aperture and the oral care implement comprises a protrusion that extends into the alignment aperture to prevent relative axial and rotational movement between the oral care implement and the tracking attachment.

15. The oral care system according to claim 14 wherein at least a portion of the receiving cavity tapers towards the open top end, wherein an outer surface of the oral care implement is in contact with a portion of the inner surface of the housing that is adjacent to the open top end of the receiving cavity.

Assignees

• Colgate Palmolive Co

Inventors

• Yang Wu
• Okai Takahide

Classifications

• A46B15/0006 Primary

  with a controlling brush technique device, e.g. stroke movement measuring device · CPC title

• A46B15/0002

  Arrangements for enhancing monitoring or controlling the brushing process · CPC title

• A46B15/0022

  with an electrical means · CPC title

• A46B15/0097

  Self supporting, e.g. brushes that stand upright or in other particular ways · CPC title

• A61C17/222

  Brush body details, e.g. the shape thereof or connection to handle · CPC title