Adaptive brushing cycle

Abstract

An oral care appliance for cleaning teeth of a user and a method of adapting a brushing cycle of the oral care appliance are disclosed. Specific embodiments disclosed herein adapt the at least one brushing cycle based on a variety of factors, either alone or in combination, such as the time elapsed since a last brushing event and the identity of a user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An oral care appliance comprising:
 a removable proximate component configured to be actuated during at least one oral care cycle;   a distal component comprising a control system configured to actuate the removable proximate component according to the at least one oral care cycle;   a dispenser containing a cleaning agent; and   a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions to:   determine a type of the cleaning agent; and   adapt the at least one oral care cycle automatically based on the type of the cleaning agent.   
     
     
         2 . The oral care appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one oral care cycle comprises at least one injection cycle and at least one contraction cycle, the at least one contraction cycle comprising a sequence of at least one contraction phase of the removable proximate component and at least one relaxation phase of the removable proximate component. 
     
     
         3 . The oral care appliance of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a connection assembly connecting the distal component to the removable proximate component; and   wherein the cleaning agent is a whitening solution;   wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores executable instructions to:   supply, using the connection assembly and during the at least one injection cycle, the whitening solution from the dispenser to the removable proximate component; and   adapt the at least one oral care cycle automatically by increasing a count of the at least one contraction cycle.   
     
     
         4 . The oral care appliance of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a connection assembly connecting the distal component to the removable proximate component; and   wherein the cleaning agent is an anti-periodontitis solution;   wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores executable instructions to:   supply, using the connection assembly and during the at least one injection cycle, the anti-periodontitis solution from the dispenser to the removable proximate component; and   adapt the at least one oral care cycle automatically by lowering a pressure within removable proximate component.   
     
     
         5 . The oral care appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the type of the cleaning agent is determined using at least one of: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a memory module, a communication module, a user interface module, a display module, a timer, a counter, and a clock. 
     
     
         6 . The oral care appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a tag attached to the dispenser, the tag containing information about the type of the cleaning agent contained in the dispenser; and   a tag reader for receiving the information about the type of the cleaning agent from the tag;   wherein the type of the cleaning agent is determined using the tag, the tag reader, and at least one of: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a memory module, and a communication module.   
     
     
         7 . The oral care appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one oral care cycle is adapted using at least one of: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a memory module, a communication module, a user interface module, a display module, a timer, a counter, a clock, and a user identification module. 
     
     
         8 . The oral care appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a tag attached to the removable proximate component; and   wherein the distal component comprises a memory module storing a profile in association with a user identity;   wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores additional executable instructions to:   determine the user identity using a signal from the tag;   obtain the profile from the memory module using the user identity; and   adapt the at least one oral care cycle automatically based on the profile.   
     
     
         9 . The oral care appliance of  claim 8 , wherein the profile includes preferences of a user. 
     
     
         10 . The oral care appliance of  claim 8 , wherein the profile includes one or more of personalized programs, clinical requirements, and medical and dental records. 
     
     
         11 . A method, in which each step is conducted by a computerized system, of adapting at least one oral care cycle of an oral care appliance having a removable proximate component, a distal component, a dispenser containing a cleaning agent, and a connection assembly, the method comprising:
 determining a type of the cleaning agent using a control system of the oral care appliance; and   automatically adapting the at least one oral care cycle using the control system of the oral care appliance, based on the type of the cleaning agent.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one oral care cycle comprises at least one injection cycle and at least one contraction cycle, the at least one contraction cycle comprising a sequence of at least one contraction phase of the removable proximate component and at least one relaxation phase of the removable proximate component. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the cleaning agent is a whitening solution; and   the adapting step is conducted by increasing a count of the at least one contraction cycle.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the cleaning agent is an anti-periodontitis solution; and   the adapting step is conducted by lowering a pressure within the removable proximate component.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the determining step is conducted using at least one of: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a memory module, and a communication module. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 transmitting, from a tag attached to the dispenser, a signal containing information about the type of the cleaning agent contained in the dispenser; and   receiving, at a tag reader attached to the distal component, the signal; wherein the determining step uses the signal and is conducted using (i) the tag, (ii) the tag reader, and (iii) at least one of: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a memory module, and a communication module.   
     
     
         17 . The oral care appliance of  claim 11 , wherein the adapting step is conducted using at least one of: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a memory module, a communication module, a user interface module, a display module, a timer, a counter, a clock, and a user identification module. 
     
     
         18 . The oral care appliance of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 transmitting, from a tag attached to the removable proximate component, a signal;   storing, in a memory module, a profile in association with a user identity;   determining the user identity using the signal from the tag;   obtaining the profile from the memory module using the user identity and the control system of the oral care appliance;   
       automatically adapting the at least one oral care cycle based on the profile; and
 actuating the removable proximate component of the oral care appliance using the control system according to the at least one oral care cycle. 
 
     
     
         19 . The oral care appliance of  claim 18 , wherein the profile includes preferences of a user. 
     
     
         20 . The oral care appliance of  claim 18 , wherein the profile includes one or more of personalized programs, clinical requirements, and medical and dental records. 
     
     
         21 . An oral care appliance comprising:
 a removable proximate component configured to be actuated during at least one oral care cycle;   a distal component comprising a control system configured to actuate the removable proximate component according to the at least one oral care cycle; and   a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions to:   determine a type of a cleaning agent;   determine an oral care action to provide based on the type of the cleaning agent; and   adapt the at least one oral care cycle automatically based on the oral care action to provide.   
     
     
         22 . The oral care appliance of  claim 21  wherein:
 the at least one oral care cycle comprises a sequence of at least one contraction phase of the removable proximate component and at least one relaxation phase of the removable proximate component; and 
 the adapting of the oral care action to provide includes modifying the sequence of at least one contraction phase of the removable proximate component and at least one relaxation phase of the removable proximate component. 
 
     
     
         23 . The oral care appliance of  claim 21 , wherein the oral care action to provide is based further on one or more definite goals that include one or more of: cleaning, whitening, curing oral diseases, treating halitosis, disinfecting and preparing a user for a surgical operation, and providing specific cleaning for denture or dental appliances. 
     
     
         24 . The oral care appliance of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 a dispenser containing the cleaning agent;   a tag attached to the dispenser, the tag containing information about the type of the cleaning agent contained in the dispenser; and   a tag reader for reading the information about the type of the cleaning agent from the tag;   wherein the type of the cleaning agent is determined using the tag, the tag reader, and at least one of: a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a memory module, and a communication module.   
     
     
         25 . The oral care appliance of  claim 21 , further comprising:
 a tag attached to the removable proximate component; and   wherein the distal component comprises a memory module storing a profile in association with a user identity;   wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium stores additional executable instructions to:   determine the user identity using a signal from the tag;   obtain the profile from the memory module using the user identity; and   adapt the at least one oral care cycle automatically based on the profile.