Handheld personal care appliance

Abstract

Personal care appliances, systems, and methods are provided. In certain embodiments, the appliances are have substantially linear shape and are sized to fit in a hand of a user. The appliances include a handle assembly, a motor assembly for driving a personal care end effector, and one or more treatment components configured to control the motor assembly via one or more protocols. Exemplary treatment protocols include a clean-shaven face protocol and a bearded protocol.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: 
     
         1 . A handheld appliance, comprising:
 a handle assembly having a substantially linear shape with a major dimension:minor dimension ratio ranging from about  1  to about  1 . 4 ;   a motor assembly for driving a personal care end effector; and   a clean-shaven face component operably coupled to the motor assembly.   
     
     
         2 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the personal care end effector comprises a brush assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the personal care end effector comprises a periodically oscillating brush assembly. 
     
     
         4 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component includes circuitry configured to implement a clean-shaven face protocol. 
     
     
         5 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component includes circuitry configured to actuate the motor assembly to cyclically displace at least one moving contacting element of the personal care end effector bi-directionally about a neutral position relative to at least one adjacent contacting element, to produce alternating tension and compression of a region of skin. 
     
     
         6 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component includes circuitry configured to actuate the motor assembly to apply a cyclical mechanical strain to a region of skin. 
     
     
         7 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component includes circuitry configured to drive a periodically oscillating brush assembly responsive to one or more inputs associated with a clean-shaven face protocol. 
     
     
         8 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component includes circuitry configured to manage a duty cycle associated with a clean-shaven face protocol. 
     
     
         9 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component includes circuitry configured to manage a duty cycle associated with at least one of a daily cleanse protocol or a power cleanse protocol. 
     
     
         10 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component includes circuitry configured to manage a duty cycle comprising a plurality of cleanse phases separated by at least one pulse. 
     
     
         11 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face protocol component includes circuitry configured to actuate a duty cycle having at least a daily cleanse phase and a power cleanse phase separated by a pulse. 
     
     
         12 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face protocol component includes circuitry configured to actuate a duty cycle having at least a first daily cleanse phase and second daily cleanse phase separated by a pulse. 
     
     
         13 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face protocol component includes circuitry configured to actuate a duty cycle having at least a first period and a second period separated by a pulse. 
     
     
         14 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component is operably coupled to one or more capacitive touch sensors configured to effectuate a user input. 
     
     
         15 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the clean-shaven face component is operably coupled to one or more haptic interface devices. 
     
     
         16 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a partial facial hair protocol component operably coupled to the motor assembly.   
     
     
         17 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a bearded protocol component operably coupled to the motor assembly.   
     
     
         18 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a deep cleansing protocol component.   
     
     
         19 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a daily cleansing protocol component.   
     
     
         20 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a post-workout cleansing protocol component.   
     
     
         21 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the major dimension:minor dimension ratio ranges from about 1.1 to about 1.2. 
     
     
         22 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the major dimension:minor dimension ratio is about 1.2. 
     
     
         23 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the major dimension ranges from about 60 millimeters to about 80 millimeters. 
     
     
         24 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a daily cleansing protocol component.   
     
     
         25 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a deep cleansing protocol component.   
     
     
         26 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cleansing regimen communication interface having circuitry configured to initiate a discovery protocol that allows a client device and the handheld appliance to identify each other and negotiate one or more pre-shared keys.   
     
     
         27 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cleansing regimen communication interface having circuitry configured to initiate a discovery protocol that allows a client device and the handheld appliance to identify each other and exchange control information.   
     
     
         28 . The handheld appliance of  claim 27 , wherein the control information includes one or more control commands associated with at least one of a duty cycle, a pulsing mode, pulse duration, and a pulse frequency. 
     
     
         29 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a cleansing regimen communication interface having circuitry configured to initiate a discovery protocol that allows an enterprise server and the handheld appliance to exchange cleansing regimen information.   
     
     
         30 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the handheld appliance is configured to withstand total submersion in water so as to satisfy a fluid ingress rating of IPX7. 
     
     
         31 . The handheld appliance of  claim 1 , wherein the handheld appliance is configured to satisfy a water ingress rating of IPX7.