US 2023/0190433 A1Published application

Cleaning unit for an oral cleaning and/or treatment device

AssigneeKoninklijke Philips N.V.

InventorsLucas Petrus Henricus SCHEFFERS, Ravindra BHAT, Cornelis Reinder RONDA, Lutz Christian GERHARDT, Mark Thomas JOHNSON

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Abstract

An oral cleaning unit, e.g. a head for an oral cleaning and/or treatment device, includes electrodes for generating an RF field for providing an oral cleaning and/or treatment function. The unit includes at least a first and second protruding structure, which protrude in a same general direction away from a base or support structure. Each comprises one or more electrodes. The protruding structures are arranged facing one another and separated by a space or gap which is configured so as to be able to receive a tooth pushed or inserted therein between the first and second protruding structures, and with the protruding structures extending on either side of the tooth, i.e. straddling the tooth. This allows the RF electrodes comprised by the protruding structures to reach to a location at least part way down side faces of the tooth, closer to interproximal spaces, enabling interproximal spaces to be better cleaned, and optionally also to be sensed using RF energy/fields interacting with dental features, when the electrodes are suitably driven by an RF signal.

Claims13

Dependent claims

A cleaning unit for an RF-energy based oral cleaning and/or treatment device, the cleaning unit for being received in an oral cavity of a user, the cleaning unit comprising:

a first protruding structure extending outward from a surface of the cleaning unit, the first protruding structure comprising one or more first RF electrodes,
a second protruding structure extending outward from the surface of the cleaning unit, and comprising one or more second RF electrodes,
the second protruding structure spaced from the first protruding structure by a gap , wherein the gap consists of a space extending from the first protruding structure to the second protruding structure,
wherein the gap is arranged such that at least one tooth is receivable in the gap between the first and second protruding structures, with the first and second protruding structures extending on either side of the gap, wherein, with the at least one tooth received in the gap, the first and second protruding structures extend at least partway down outer side surfaces of the tooth,
wherein the first and second protruding structures each comprise a plurality of protruding members, and wherein at least a portion of the protruding members of each protruding structure are flexible.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.