Personal care implement having a display

Abstract

A personal care implement or toothbrush includes a sensor for detecting a position of the toothbrush and orientation display for providing content to a user. The display may be configured to present content in a mirror-image format. The personal care implement may be configured to operate in one or more modes of operation. One or more components may be included for setting variables associated with the modes of operation, for changing an orientation of the displayed content between a mirror-image format and forward-facing format, and for changing the particular mode of operation.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A personal care implement defining a longitudinal axis and comprising:
 a head;   a handle coupled to the head by a neck portion;   a display configured to present visual content for viewing by a user;   a sensor arranged on the personal care implement and configured to detect a relative change in orientation of the personal care implement about an axis normal to the longitudinal axis; and   a control system operatively connected to the sensor and the display, wherein the control system is configured to receive and process signals from the sensor indicative of the relative change in orientation of the personal care implement, and wherein the control system is configured to change the visual content on the display depending on the detected orientation of the personal care implement.   
     
     
         2 . The personal care implement of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is selected from the group consisting of an accelerometer, a gyroscopic sensor, a MEMS accelerometer device, and a combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The personal care implement of  claim 1 , wherein the personal care implement comprises a toothbrush and the head includes tooth cleaning elements extending therefrom in a first direction. 
     
     
         4 . The personal care implement of  claim 3 , wherein the display is oriented in a second direction opposed to the first direction. 
     
     
         5 . The personal care implement of  claim 3 , wherein the display is included within the neck portion of the toothbrush. 
     
     
         6 . The personal care implement of  claim 3 , further comprising a second sensor configured to track a number of brushing strokes of the toothbrush, wherein the second sensor is operatively connected to the control system, wherein the control system is configured to receive and process signals from the second sensor and output to the display a counted or remaining number of brushing strokes during a brushing session. 
     
     
         7 . The personal care implement of  claim 6 , wherein the control system actuates an alarm upon the number of brushing strokes reaching a predetermined threshold. 
     
     
         8 . The personal care implement of  claim 1 , further comprising an actuator configured to change a mode of operation of the display. 
     
     
         9 . The personal care implement of  claim 8 , wherein the mode of operation of the display comprises at least two of a clock mode, a timer mode, and a counter mode. 
     
     
         10 . The personal care implement of  claim 9 , wherein when the mode of operation of the display is in the clock mode, a time of day is displayed on the display, wherein when the mode of operation of the display is in the timer mode, a timer is displayed on the display, and wherein when the mode of operation of the display is in the counter mode, a stroke counter is displayed on the display. 
     
     
         11 . The personal care implement of  claim 8 , further comprising an alarm associated with the change of the mode of operation of the display.