Timing toothbrush

Abstract

A toothbrush may remind a user when to replace his or her toothbrush. The toothbrush may include a display that displays the number of days left in the recommended life of the toothbrush. The display may also be used to remind the user of the remaining time period, provide messages to the user, or provide advertisements.

1 . A toothbrush, comprising:
 at least one processor; and   memory comprising a set of instructions, wherein   the set of instructions and the at least one processor cause the toothbrush to:
 determine an amount of time that has lapsed since initial activation of the toothbrush, and 
 display a notification to a user identifying a number of days that have lapsed since the initial activation of the toothbrush, wherein 
   the internal timer remains active regardless of whether the toothbrush is turned on or off after the initial activation of the toothbrush.   
     
     
         2 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions and the at least one processor further cause the toothbrush to activate an internal timer upon the initial activation of the toothbrush. 
     
     
         3 . The toothbrush of  claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions and the at least one processor further cause the toothbrush to increment a value of an internal timer based on the determined amount of time that has lapsed since the initial activation of the toothbrush. 
     
     
         4 . The toothbrush of  claim 3 , wherein the set of instructions and the at least one processor further cause the toothbrush to determine whether the value of the internal timer is greater than or equal to a maximum value. 
     
     
         5 . The toothbrush of  claim 4 , wherein the set of instructions and the at least one processor further cause the toothbrush to display an encouragement message when the value of the internal timer is less than the maximum value. 
     
     
         6 . The toothbrush of  claim 4 , wherein the set of instructions and the at least one processor further cause the toothbrush to display a toothbrush replacement message when the value of the internal timer is greater than or equal to the maximum value. 
     
     
         7 . The toothbrush of  claim 4 , wherein the set of instructions and the at least one processor further cause the toothbrush to display an advertisement for replacement of the toothbrush with a same or similar toothbrush when the value of the internal timer is greater than or equal to the maximum value. 
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
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         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions and the at least one processor further cause the toothbrush to subtract a number of hours that have elapsed since the initial activation of the toothbrush to determine the amount of time that has lapsed. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the set of instructions and the at least one processor further cause the toothbrush to subtract a number of hours that have elapsed since a previous activation of the toothbrush to determine the amount of time that has lapsed.