1. A method for promoting oral hygiene, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a mouthpiece supporting a plurality of electrodes coupled to a variable direct current power source;
(b) positioning a first electrode of said plurality of electrodes between a cheek and an exterior gumline of a human, and in physical contact with gingival tissue;
(c) positioning a second electrode of said plurality of electrodes medial to said first electrode, and in physical contact with gingival tissue;
(d) delivering direct current from said power source to said gingival tissue,
(e) regulating said current delivered to said gingival tissues to approximately between 1 and 500 microamperes; and
(f) wherein said first electrode and said second electrode maintain opposing polarity such that said direct current is delivered from one of said first or said second electrodes to said gingival tissue and surrounding oral structures, to the other of said first or said second electrodes on a transverse gumline.
2. The method of claim 1, further including the step of applying an electrically-conductive medium to said gingival tissue.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein said electrically-conductive medium comprises a teeth whitening agent.
4. The method of claim 2, further including flavoring substances added to said electrically-conductive medium.
5. The method of claim 2, further including oil of oregano added to said electrically-conductive medium.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising at least one of the steps in the group consisting of: killing oral microbes, increasing oral circulation, fostering gingival regeneration, and promoting osteogenesis.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first electrode and second electrode are exposed electrodes supported by a mouthpiece, said mouthpiece comprising an arcuate trough, wherein said first electrode is disposed on a first side of said trough and said second electrode is disposed on a second side of said trough.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein said regulating step comprises a step of regulating said current delivered to said gingival tissues to approximately between 50 and 250 microamperes.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said exterior gumline is disposed at least one of lateral and anterior to a portion of a mandible of said human.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein said interior gumline is disposed at least one of medial and posterior to said portion of said mandible.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein said first electrode and said second electrode comprise the same electrode material.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein said electrode material is selected from the group consisting of silver, stainless steel, copper, gold, platinum, palladium, aluminum, aluminum alloy, electrically-conductive nanotubes, carbonized rubber, electrically-conductive silicone, and electrically conductive polymer.
13. An apparatus for promoting oral hygiene, said apparatus comprising:
(a) a variable direct current power source capable of delivering approximately 1 to 500 microamperes,
(b) a plurality of exposed electrodes coupled to said direct current power source, and
(c) a mouthpiece comprising an arcuate trough, wherein a first of said exposed electrodes is a cathode electrode disposed on a first side of said trough and a second of said exposed electrodes is an anode electrode disposed on a second side of said trough, wherein when the mouthpiece is inserted into a mouth of a human, each of said exposed electrodes physically contacts gingival tissue of said human.
14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said exposed electrodes are partially embedded in said mouthpiece.
15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said power source is embedded in said mouthpiece.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A method of driving an electrical load having a complex electrical impedance, comprising:
providing a voltage-mode driver generating drive signals for the electrical load in response to drive commands;
filtering the drive commands for the voltage-mode driver for obtaining compensated drive commands compensating for a phase shift between electrical quantities delivered to the electrical load; and
supplying the compensated drive commands to the voltage-mode driver.
2. The method according to claim 1, in which said filtering comprises approximating a closed-loop current-mode drive.
3. The method according to claim 2, in which said filtering comprises inserting a zero in correspondence of a pole of a transfer function of the electrical load.
4. The method according to claim 3, in which said generating drive signals for the electrical load comprises generating a pulse width modulated output or a phase shift modulated output, with a duty cycle determined by the compensated commands.
5. The method according to claim 1, comprising estimating characteristic parameters of the electrical load during the operation, and adapting said filtering to the estimated characteristic parameters.
6. The method according to claim 5, in which said estimating comprises performing a Kalman filtering, particularly an extended Kalman filtering.
7. The method according to claim 6, in which said adapting the filtering comprises modifying filtering parameters for tracking the phase shift between electrical quantities delivered to the electrical load.
8. The method according to claim 7, in which the electrical load is an actuator of a disk drive system, particularly a voice-coil motor controlling the position of a readwrite head.
9. The method according to claim 8, in which said Kalman filtering is based on a fifth-order model of the electrical load, said fifth-order model including as state variables an angular position and an angular speed of the readwrite head, a current sunk by the voice-coil motor, a windings resistance of the voice-coil motor and a disturbance torque acting on the voice-coil motor, and is performed for estimating the windings resistance of the voice coil motor.
10. The method according to claim 8, in which said Kalman filtering is based on a fourth-order model of the electrical load, said fourth-order model including as state variables an angular speed of the readwrite head, a current sunk by the voice-coil motor, a windings resistance of the voice-coil motor and a disturbance torque acting on the voice-coil motor.
11. The method according to claim 10, in which a value of the angular speed is either measured or derived by calculation from a measure of the readwrite head position.
12. The method according to claim 1, in which said performing a Kalman filtering includes providing a sampled angular speed at a sample frequency which is a multiple, a sub-multiple or is equal to a sample frequency of a readwrite head position servo-control.
13. The method according to claim 10, in which said performing a Kalman filtering includes receiving an input equal to or derived from an output from said filtering, at a rate that is a multiple, a sub-multiple or is equal to a sample frequency of a readwrite head position servo-control.
14. The method according to claim 8, in which said Kalman filtering is based on a third-order model of the electrical load, said third-order model including as state variables an angular speed of the readwrite head, a current sunk by the voice-coil motor and a windings resistance of the voice-coil motor, and is performed for estimating a windings resistance of the voice-coil motor.
15. The method according to claim 14, in which said performing the Kalman filtering includes receiving as an input a disturbance torque acting on the voice-coil motor.
16. The method according to claim 15, in which said performing a Kalman filtering includes establishing a relationship between the disturbance torque and an innovation value by means of an integrator.
17. The method according to claim 14, in which a value of the angular speed is either measured or derived by calculation from a measure of the readwrite head position.
18. The method according to claim 14, in which said performing Kalman filtering includes providing a sampled angular speed at a sample frequency which is a multiple, a sub-multiple or is equal to a sample frequency of a readwrite head position servo-control.
19. The method according to claim 14, in which said performing a Kalman filtering includes receiving an input equal to or derived from an output from said filtering, at a rate that is a multiple, a sub-multiple or is equal to a sample frequency of a readwrite head position servo-control.
20. The method according to claim 8, further comprising compensating a back electro-motive force of the voice-coil motor by means of a feed-forward technique.
21. A driver circuit for driving a complex electrical impedance load, comprising:
a voltage-mode driver generating drive signals for the load in response to drive commands;
a drive commands generator generating the drive commands; and
a compensation filter receiving the drive commands and supplying the voltage-mode driver with compensated drive commands, the compensation filter compensating for a phase shift between electrical quantities delivered to the load by the voltage-mode driver.
22. The driver circuit according to claim 21, in which the compensation filter has a transfer function such that the driver circuit approximates a closed-loop current-mode drive.
23. The driver circuit according to claim 21, in which the compensation filter is an analog filter.
24. The driver circuit according to claim 21, in which the compensation filter is a digital filter.
25. The driver circuit according to claim 21, in which the voltage-mode driver is a pulse width modulator or a phase shift modulator, modulating a duty cycle according to the compensated commands.
26. The driver circuit according to claim 21, further comprising estimator means for estimating characteristic parameters of the load during the operation.
27. The driver circuit according to claim 26, in which the estimator means control the compensation filter for adapting the compensation filter to the estimated characteristic parameters, for tracking the phase shift between electrical quantities delivered to the load.
28. The driver circuit according to claim 27, in which said estimator means comprise a Kalman filter, particularly an extended Kalman filter.
29. A storage disk drive system, comprising:
a data storage disk;
a readwrite head for readingwriting data frominto the data storage disk;
a motor for controlling a position of the readwrite head; and
a driver circuit for driving the motor, the driver circuit including:
a voltage-mode driver generating drive signals for the electrical load in response to drive commands;
a drive commands generator generating the drive commands; and
a compensation filter receiving the drive commands and supplying the voltage-mode driver with compensated drive commands, the compensation filter compensating for a phase shift between electrical quantities delivered to the motor by the voltage-mode driver.
30. The storage disk drive system according to claim 29, in which the compensation filter has a transfer function such that the driver circuit approximates a closed-loop current-mode drive.
31. The storage disk drive system according to claim 30, in which the compensation filter is an analog filter.
32. The storage disk drive system according to claim 30, in which the compensation filter is a digital filter.
33. The storage disk drive system to claim 29, in which the voltage-mode driver is a pulse width modulator or a phase shift modulator, modulating a duty cycle according to the compensated commands.
34. The storage disk drive system according to claim 29, further comprising estimator means for estimating characteristic parameters of the motor during the operation.
35. The storage disk drive system according to claim 34, in which the estimator means control the compensation filter for adapting the compensation filter to the estimated characteristic parameters, for tracking the phase shift between electrical quantities delivered to the motor.
36. The driver circuit according to claim 35, in which said estimator means comprise a Kalman filter, particularly an extended Kalman filter.