US 12,239,502 B2
Personal care system and method
Xiaonan Zhang, Hillsborough, NJ (US); and Yongxing Wu, Guangzhou (CN)
Assigned to Colgate-Palmolive Company, New York, NY (US)
Filed by Colgate-Palmolive Company, New York, NY (US)
Filed on Apr. 20, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/304,009.
Application 18/304,009 is a division of application No. 17/079,713, filed on Oct. 26, 2020, granted, now 11,654,008.
Prior Publication US 2023/0255737 A1, Aug. 17, 2023
Int. Cl. A61C 17/34 (2006.01); A61C 17/22 (2006.01); H03K 17/98 (2006.01)
CPC A61C 17/34 (2013.01) [A61C 17/221 (2013.01); A61C 17/225 (2013.01); H03K 17/98 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A personal care appliance comprising:
an electric motor having a drive shaft, the electric motor configured to, in response to a voltage signal, oscillate the drive shaft in an oscillatory motion having an oscillation amplitude; and
a control circuit comprising, in operable cooperation, a user interface, a pulse width modulation signal generator, a processor, a memory unit, and a power source, the control circuit operably coupled to the electric motor and configured to supply the voltage signal to the electric motor, the voltage signal having a frequency and a duty cycle, the control circuit configured to:
operate the electric motor in accordance with a selected one of a first mode or a second mode in response to a mode selection input from the user interface;
wherein when the first mode is selected, at least one of: the frequency or the duty cycle of the voltage signal is varied in response to an oscillation adjustment input received from the user interface so that the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a first rate of change profile relative to the frequency; and
wherein when the second mode is selected, at least one of: the frequency or the duty cycle of the voltage signal is varied in response to the oscillation adjustment input received from the user interface so that the oscillation amplitude of the drive shaft is varied along a second rate of change profile relative to the frequency, the first and second rate of change profiles being different than one another, and the first rate of change profile and the second rate of change profile being substantially linear.