Handle for oral-care implement having display and procedure for cleaning and disinfecting the same

US11980520B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The Braun Corporation · DE

Inventors

• Joern Utsch · Eschborn, DE
• Ulrich Stoerkel · Bad Nauheim, DE
• Bianka Becker-Salzsaeuler · Liederbach, DE
• Boris Atlas · Wiesbaden, DE
• Michael Anthony Kaminski · Ste. Anne, CA
• Todd Lynn Watterson · Kyles, US
• Darcie Ann Ohlman · Monroe, US
• Andrea Schuering · Eschborn, DE
• Alexander Hilscher · Oberursel, DE
• Kervin Heinrich Kuechler · Darmstadt, DE
• Andreas Maennchen · Frankfurt, DE
• Erwin Mark · Eschborn, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 9, 2022
• Grant date: May 14, 2024
• Expiry date: Oct 29, 2042

Classification

• Technology area (CPC A): Human Necessities
• CPC primary: A61C17/34
• WIPO field: Medical technology
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A handle for an oral-care implement for safe and hygienic use by multiple users includes an electrical motor and a detachable head. The handle has a display for displaying instructions to control functional operation of the handle, a microcontroller for controlling the motor and the display, and at least one switch to allow a user to control the functional operation of the handle, including causing the output element to vibrate in at least one oral-hygiene mode having an oral-hygiene frequency and causing the output element to vibrate in a disinfection mode when the handle is being disinfected before or after being used for the oral-hygiene routine. The disinfection mode has a modulated frequency, different from the oral-hygiene frequency, and alternating up and down between a low modulated frequency and a high modulated frequency, wherein the high modulated frequency is at least 50 percent greater than the low modulated frequency.