Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A45—HAND OR TRAVELLING ARTICLES
  • A45D—HAIRDRESSING OR SHAVING EQUIPMENT; EQUIPMENT FOR COSMETICS OR COSMETIC TREATMENTS, e.g. FOR MANICURING OR PEDICURING
  • A45D26/00—Hair-singeing apparatus; Apparatus for removing superfluous hair, e.g. tweezers
  • A45D26/0014—Hair-singeing apparatus; Apparatus for removing superfluous hair, e.g. tweezers using wax

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a hand-held dispenser of hot-melt material, in particular depilatory wax.
• hot-melt material is meant all types of material taking a solid, semi-solid or pasty physical state at room temperature, and transforming into a liquid state under the action of heat, which then allows, among other things, its spreading in a thin layer.
• This hot-melt material can also be a cream, an ointment, a glue, or a varnish.
• a dispenser comprises a housing forming a manual gripping means, inside which is provided a reservoir of solid hot-melt material, such as wax in granules or in the form of a loaf.
• This reservoir may include means for pushing the wax towards its outlet.
• the outlet from the reservoir leads to distribution means which may be an intermediate conduit ending in a spout or a roller for transferring and applying a thin layer of molten wax to the skin of the user.
• the reservoir, the distribution, transfer and application means are in thermal relation with heating means for melting all or only the front portion of the wax so that it can flow out of the dispenser.
• Document EP-A-0055157 describes a dispenser with a spout which is particularly intended for depilating the face, and in which the wax in the form of a stick housed in a reservoir is pushed manually into a first rectilinear part of duct surrounded by a heating resistor. Once the wax has melted, it flows into the second bent part of the conduit opening into a dispensing spout. In order to prevent the molten wax from cooling during its passage through the second part, this duct is made of a material which is a good conductor and accumulates heat.
• the heat coming from the periphery has a great deal of difficulty reaching the heart of the wax stick, given its low thermal conductivity.
• the heating means stop the duct and the spout do not cool instantly due to their thermal inertia. Wax continues to melt and to flow in this conduit where it ends up sticking. This makes subsequent start-ups difficult because it is then necessary to wait until not only the heating duct has resumed its working temperature, but also that all the wax present in the downstream distribution part is also melted to restart.
• roller Distributors known as "roller” distributing a layer of wax in the form of a strip on an application surface are described in documents FR-A-2520601, FR 2 706 261, EP 499 317 or US 3 103 689.
• the dispenser is previously installed in a heating sleeve within a support box all the time necessary for all of the wax contained in the reservoir to melt.
• the reservoir made of aluminum comprises a central diffusion fin, and is heated by an electrical resistance placed against one of its longitudinal walls. It is also advisable to wait until all the wax contained in the tank is melted before being able to use this distributor.
• a single electrical resistance is arranged in the intermediate zone little above and parallel to the roller. If desired, the resistance is supplemented by a fin oriented towards the roller to also heat it. Starting can only start when all the wax present in the intermediate zone is melted.
• the applicant has proposed in its patent application FR-9615686 a distributor in which the heating means are a homogeneous grid formed of resistive electric heating wires arranged in the entire outlet surface of the tank, this grid having passages of the hot-melt material only in the molten state.
• This grid has low inertia and good thermal conductivity.
• the external face of this heating grid then constitutes the distribution surface of the molten wax in a sheet either directly on the skin of the user, or on a transfer and application roller.
• the entire content of this request FR-9615686 is included in this request by virtue of this quotation.
• the entire front part of the block or roll of material is found directly in contact with the heating grid, and only this front part melts very quickly and simultaneously over its entire section, thus allowing rapid dispensing of the dispenser.
• This heating grid therefore makes it possible to transform, as and when requested, only the quantity necessary for the production of the strip.
• this resistance is easy to achieve, and the heat dissipated by it is easily controllable depending on the intensity of the current flowing through it.
• a piston, carriage or slider pushing the wax towards the grid is provided in the tank.
• This carriage can be advanced either under the action of thrust means, such as a spring bearing on the one hand against the carriage and on the other hand against the upstream end of the housing; either under the action of traction means, such as a spiral spring whose barrel-casing is integral with the housing close to the outlet of the reservoir, and whose elastically movable end is attached to the carriage.
• thrust means such as a spring bearing on the one hand against the carriage and on the other hand against the upstream end of the housing
• traction means such as a spiral spring whose barrel-casing is integral with the housing close to the outlet of the reservoir, and whose elastically movable end is attached to the carriage.
• the block or the wax bar being pressed against the grid, its molten front part then flows quickly enough through the passages of the grid to be distributed by the roller.
• the dispenser can then be used in all positions, and the entire block or bread of material can be consumed.
• This hand-held dispenser of hot-melt material may include means for adjusting the electric power delivered to the heating grid, which makes it possible to adjust the flow of molten wax proportionally.
• the temperature of the wax obtained is proportional to its flow rate passing through this grid.
• Document GB-1 164 446 describes a distributor of hot-melt material comprising a housing comprising means for advancing a stick of adhesive towards a heating element situated at the outlet of said housing and also comprising means cutting off the supply heating grid as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material towards the grid falls below a predetermined minimum value.
• Said power cut off means consist of a spring pushing the heating element in the opposite direction to that of the advancing means and opening a contact arranged in parallel which cuts off the electric power supply.
• the heating element having the rough form of a circular grid, slides with a certain play in a cylindrical housing. It comprises, at a single point on its periphery, an electrical contact actuated by a spring to control the electrical supply as a function of the pressure exerted by the stick of adhesive on said grid.
• a spring to control the electrical supply as a function of the pressure exerted by the stick of adhesive on said grid.
• Blocking the grid in the tank gives false information for the operation of the heating element. So, as there is only one contact, if you push on the side of it with a stick of adhesive badly engaged in the tank, the grid is likely to get caught and at the same time maintain the contact closed. In this case, inadmissible local overheating could occur in an appliance of the type described.
• the object of the present invention is a hand-held dispenser of hot-melt material, in particular depilatory wax, comprising a housing forming a manual gripping means, inside which is a reservoir or a housing of solid hot-melt material in granules or in the form of a bread, this reservoir being supplemented with means for advancing the material hot-melt to a heating grid arranged in the outlet surface of this tank, this distributor further comprising means preventing in a simple and reliable manner the production of molten material at an inadmissible temperature.
• This dispenser must however be kept as simple as possible to ensure reliable operation over time, and to keep production and assembly costs at a reasonable level.
• the distributor comprises electromechanical means cutting off the electrical supply to the heating grid as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material towards the grid becomes less than a predetermined minimum value, said means being arranged to so that the result of their actions on the grid is located substantially in the center of it.
• the melted wax should flow quickly out of the grid under the action of the advance pressure, and the grid should always be in contact with solid wax. In doing so, the temperatures of the wax and the grid should only very slightly exceed the temperature of the melting of the wax.
• the Applicant has noted, however, that the melting cannot be frank, and that then the final temperature of the molten wax depends, for a given wax, on its speed of flow through the grid. .
• the originality of the invention then consisted in avoiding artificially imposing a wax or grid temperature by complex electronic feedback loops capable of drifting, but in guaranteeing a rapid flow whatever the orientation of the distributor, in particular by ensuring a minimum advance pressure condition.
• the means establishing the minimum advance pressure value are a calibrated spring acting on a surface located between the movable means for advancing the hot-melt material and the fixed housing.
• this surface of known dimensions can be the contact face of a lever exerting a force, or the rear face of wax bar or the surface of the grid or any other surface on which the advance pressure is reflected.
• a calibrated spring applying a known force to a predetermined deformation is a simple robust and proven way to reliably measure a pressure, even a low one, exerted on a known surface.
• the movement of the end of the spring can then be used to perform an action, for example flipping a switch cutting the supply circuit.
• the dispenser comprises means moving the grid towards the hot-melt material or, conversely, the hot-melt material towards the grid, shortly before the power supply to the heating grid is cut off when the advance pressure of the hot-melt material towards the grid becomes less than a predetermined value.
• the electromechanical means comprise one or more switches arranged on the advance means, each switch being provided with a button or an actuating lever protruding under the action of one or more springs calibrated and bearing against the hot-melt material.
• the electromechanical means comprise one or more switches arranged on the advance means, each switch being provided with a button or an actuating lever protruding under the action of one or more springs calibrated and bearing against the hot-melt material.
• the distributor comprises electromechanical means cutting off the electrical supply to the heating grid as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material towards the grid becomes lower than a predetermined minimum value, said means being arranged in at least two opposite sides of the slightly movable grid.
• the electromechanical means comprise a heating grid frame at the outlet of the tank mounted movable in translation against one or more springs so as to come into abutment against electrical contacts or to engage a switch when an advance pressure greater than the minimum is transmitted by the advance means to this grid through the hot-melt material.
• the electromechanical means comprise a heating grid frame at the outlet of the tank mounted so as to be movable in pivoting against a spring so as to abut against an electrical contact or to activate a switch when an advance pressure greater than the minimum is transmitted by the advance means to this grid through the hot-melt material.
• the dispenser comprises means for guiding the heating grid, said means being constituted by a frame for supporting the grid with respect to the housing, or which allows sliding parallel to the housing or pivoting with respect thereto.
• Such an arrangement of said springs and contacts cuts off the electrical supply if the wax bar does not advance parallel to the grid, therefore if it exerts more pressure on one side than on the other. In this case, there will be at least one of the contacts that will open and cut the power. This is necessary in the context of an apparatus as described, an apparatus in which the temperature of the molten wax depends on its speed of flow through the grid.
• the spring or springs simultaneously fulfill a triple function: measuring the presence of the minimum advance pressure, then, in the event of insufficient pressure, a switching function of a switch cutting the power supply and a function for moving the return grid in contact with the wax bar.
• the pivoting side of the grid frame is connected by a return rod to its hooking spring and / or to the button or actuation lever of its switch.
• This arrangement makes it possible to arrange the spring and / or the switch not adjacent to the grid, but in any other available space of the distributor.
• the means establishing the value of the advance pressure are three switches acting in points regularly distributed around the periphery of the slightly movable grid frame.
• the dispenser includes ventilation means arranged in the housing, capable of propelling or sucking a flow of air through the heating grid when the hot-melt material presses only on a part of said grid.
• the ventilation means are formed by a blower capable of propelling a flow of air through the heating grid when the hot-melt material presses only on part of said grid.
• This arrangement for sucking air outside the device avoids heating the inside of the device with a flow of air heated by the grid.
• the electromechanical means cutting off the supply of the heating grid as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material towards the grid becomes lower than a predetermined minimum value also cut the electrical supply of the ventilation means and by example of the wind tunnel.
• the electromechanical means cutting the supply to the heating grid as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material towards the grid becomes less than a predetermined minimum value switch the electrical supply to the ventilation means on an electrical circuit comprising a time delay capable of cutting off said supply with a given delay.
• This arrangement allows the device to continue to cool after the heating means have been switched off using the ventilation means.
• the electromechanical means cutting off the supply to the heating grid as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material towards the grid becomes less than a minimum value switch the electrical supply to the ventilation means on a circuit electric comprising a thermostat capable of cutting off said supply when the temperature of said thermostat reaches a given set value.
• This arrangement guarantees the cooling of the appliance after the heating means have been switched off, as long as the appliance remains supplied with electricity.
• the invention also relates to a method for controlling a hand-held dispenser of hot-melt material, in particular depilatory wax, comprising a housing forming a manual gripping means, inside which is a reservoir or a housing of hot-melt material solid in granules or in the form of a bread, this process being remarkable in that, when the advance pressure of the hot-melt material towards the grid becomes lower than a predetermined value, the heating grid is moved towards the hot-melt material or , conversely, the hot-melt material towards the grid, then the electrical supply to the heating grid is cut off.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic view in longitudinal section of a first embodiment of the wax dispenser with heating grid according to the invention
• FIG. 2 is a schematic view in longitudinal section of a second embodiment of the wax dispenser with a heating grid according to the invention
• FIG. 3 is a schematic view in longitudinal section of a second variant of the second embodiment of the wax distributor with a heating grid according to the invention
• FIGS. 4a, 4b and 4c illustrate sectional views, respectively front, longitudinal and transverse, of a wax distributor according to FIG. 3.
• FIG. 5 is a schematic view in longitudinal section of an embodiment of the wax dispenser with a heating grid according to the invention, comprising an advantageous arrangement.
• FIGS 1, 2 and 3 are very schematically illustrated depilatory wax distributors comprising in common a housing 10 of substantially rectangular shape acting as manual pressure means, and the front end face of which is that is to say in the lower part of the drawing, has a dispensing opening in which is housed a rotary roller 18. Inside this housing 10 is made a reservoir 15 receiving the hot-melt material 5, in this case a loaf depilatory wax.
• This grid can be made of expanded metal, such as stainless steel or thin titanium, the structure of which is of the tight mesh type, each mesh defining a passage for molten wax.
• This grid can also be made of metal cut in the form of a series of parallel resistors between two longitudinal distribution electrodes or by means of a resistive wire successively folded between two electrodes in the manner of a sinusoid.
• This grid is mounted in a frame 22 supported in different ways in the housing as will be explained later.
• the bottom of the tank that is to say in its upper part as illustrated in the figures, comprises means for advancing the wax bar 5 against the grid 20.
• these means comprise a carriage 30 of section corresponding substantially to that of the reservoir 15 and guided in sliding in the longitudinal direction of the reservoir by a guide rod 32.
• a carriage spring 34 acts between the bottom of the housing 10 and the face opposite the carriage 30 to push it in the direction of the heating grid 20. It is also possible to envisage a tension spring arranged parallel little above the wax bar and hung on the one hand at a fixed point of the housing and on the other hand to the carriage to pull it towards the heating grid.
• the carriage 30 can be completed with a cursor 36 emerging from the housing 10 through a longitudinal slot, this cursor making it possible to pull the carriage 30 backwards, when necessary.
• this transfer roller 18 also comprises heating means for maintaining the wax received at the level of the grid in the molten state until it is applied to the skin of the user.
• This heating grid dispenser is normally used as follows:
• the user begins by reversing the carriage 30 by acting on the slider 36 and this by compressing the spring 34. She then installs, by a side door not shown, the wax bar 5 in the reservoir 15. When the user releases the slider 36 after closing the door, the carriage 30 pushes the bread wax against the heating grid 20. If the user then switches on the electric power supply, for example by acting on a switch lever 41 (FIG. 2), the heating grid 20 rapidly rises in temperature and almost immediately melts the first front portion of the bread 5. This melted front portion flows through the passages of the grid 20 to reach the roller 18. This roller is simultaneously rotated by the movement of the distributor exerted by the user along a area to be depilated, this roller then distributing the melted wax in a thin layer.
• the spring 34 and the carriage 30 push at the rear of the wax bar 5 with sufficient pressure to force the flow of the already melted wax through the grid and thus immediately bring the next portion still solid into contact with this grid for an equally rapid new fusion.
• the distribution of molten wax should be relatively continuous, the temperature of the grate and of the wax then exceeding the melting temperature of the wax by only a few degrees.
• electromechanical means are then cut off the electrical supply to the grid in the event that the continuous flow can no longer be ensured.
• This is in particular achieved by simply and effectively monitoring the pressure of application of the wax against the grid as exerted by the advancing means, in this case the spring 34 acting on the carriage 30.
• This pressure advance can in particular decrease in the event that the carriage 30 or the wax bar 5 becomes jammed within the reservoir 15.
• This advance pressure also vanishes each time that the carriage 30 comes to stop against a marking stop the end of the reservoir 15 when the wax bar 5 is completely consumed.
• FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the invention based on two switches 40 arranged between the carriage 30 and the wax bar 5.
• switch levers 42 are pushed against the wax bar 5 by switch springs 43 exerting together a pushing force F2 corresponding to the minimum desired pushing force of this bread 5 against the grid 20.
• This force F2 is substantially weaker than the force F1 exerted by the main spring 34 on the carriage 30.
• switches 43 are inserted in series on the electrical supply line of the heating grid 5.
• the heating of the grid 20 could therefore have been stopped before the flow of the wax 5 stopped, thereby preventing the last portion from being overheated, or even being distributed at too high a temperature on the skin of the user.
• the grid frame 22 is mounted movable in translation by being suspended on two opposite sides by springs 44 and 44 'whose sum F2 of the traction forces is substantially lower than the thrust force F1 exerted by the main spring 34 on the carriage 30.
• the embodiment of the dispenser according to FIG. 3 differs from the embodiment of FIG. 2 only in that the grid frame 22 is here pivotally mounted around a rotation edge 48, the opposite edge being pulled back by a 45 gauge spring.
• the cancellation of the advance force F1 causes the force F2 of the spring 45 to raise the corresponding side of the frame 22, which triggers the opening of the contact 47 of the power supply mounted on this movable side.
• FIGS 4a, 4b and 4c illustrate a concrete embodiment of a wax dispenser according to the principle of Figure 3.
• a housing 10 for manual gripping with a valve 60 for inserting a loaf of bread. wax 5 within the reservoir 15.
• the carriage 30 is slidably mounted along a guide rod 32. This carriage is pulled forward by a spring 55 called “constant torque", that is to say in the form of a metallic ribbon winding around a drum 56.
• the carriage 30 pushes the wax bar 5 against a heating grid 20 located very little above the distributor roller 18.
• These members described above are mounted within a technical support 70 against which the housing 10 is assembled in the form of two snap-on shells.
• a control button not shown can act on the brake 57 to release the spring drum 56 56 and, simultaneously, activate a micro-switch 62 for supplying electrical power to the heating grid 20.
• the left lateral edge of the frame 22 of the heating grid 20 is pivotally mounted on the support 70, in particular here by a lateral tenon 48 of the frame snapping into a groove in the support 70.
• the opposite lateral edge of the frame 22 is for its part attached to a return rod 54 integral with the second flexible branch of a spring 50 in V whose the first branch is clipped to the support 70.
• the user begins by reversing the carriage 30 thus unwinding the spring 55 which is retained in its deployed position by the brake 57 acting on the drum 56.
• the user can then open the door 60 to install the wax bar 5 in the reservoir 15, that is to say between the carriage 30 and the heating grid 20.
• the user actuates the control button which, releasing the brake 57, allows the spring 55 to pull the carriage 30 forward so as to push the wax bar 5 against the grid 20.
• the grid frame 20 then pivots around its edge 48 thus pulling the return rod 54 down against of the upper spring 50 in V, which activates the switch 52. This engagement confirms that the wax bar 5 is correctly pressed against the heating grid 20.
• An additional pressure on the control finger activates the power switch 62 electric Grid. The front portion of wax melts quickly and can then be distributed by the roller 18.
• the advantage of the return rod 54 is that it makes it possible to arrange the spring 50 and the safety switch 52 in an available volume, in this case at the bottom of the device.
• the dispenser includes ventilation means 80 arranged in the housing 10, capable of propelling or sucking a flow of air through the heating grid 20 when the hot-melt material 5 presses on a only part of said grid.
• the ventilation means 80 are formed by a blower 85 capable of propelling a flow of air through the heating grid 20 when the hot-melt material 5 presses only on part of said grid.
• FIG. 5 illustrates a dispenser according to the third embodiment comprising a blower 85 forming the ventilation means 80.
• the blower 85 is disposed at the rear of the frame 10, which has an opening 81 provided for an air intake.
• the housing 10 is sufficiently tight so that the air sucked in by the blower 85 entering through the opening 81 is capable of emerging through the grid 20 when the latter is not closed off by the hot-melt material 5.
• Openings 82 formed in partitions 83 inside the frame 10 make it possible to favor the progression of the air towards the grid 20.
• the air flow discharged by the blower 85 cannot reach the grid 20, but the latter does not need to be cooled because the heat emitted by said grid is dissipated by the melting of the hot-melt material 5.
• the hot-melt material 5 is not in contact with the entire surface of the grid 20, for example at the level of a zone 84, as shown in FIG. 5, the flow of air discharged by the blower 85 passes through said zone 84 and makes it possible to dissipate the calories released by r this portion of grid 20.
• the electromechanical means 22, 45, 47, 48 cutting off the supply of the heating grid 20 as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material 5 towards the grid becomes less than a value predetermined minimum also cut the electrical supply to the ventilation means 80 and for example from the blower 85.
• the electromechanical means 22, 45, 47, 48 cutting the supply to the heating grid 20 as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material 5 towards the grid becomes less than a predetermined minimum value switch the electrical supply to the ventilation means 80 on an electrical circuit comprising a time delay capable of cutting off said supply with a given delay.
• the electromechanical means 22, 45, 47, 48 cutting the supply to the heating grid 20 as soon as the advance pressure of the hot-melt material 5 towards the grid becomes less than a minimum value switch the electrical supply to the ventilation means 80 on an electrical circuit comprising a thermostat capable of cutting off said supply when the temperature of said thermostat reaches a given setpoint.
• the safety device attached to the dispenser according to the invention is particularly simple and reliable insofar as it is composed only of electromechanical elements, namely a spring and a switch, i.e. proven components and reliable. The probability that superheated wax is distributed on the skin of the user is thus greatly reduced.
• the invention finds its application in the field of wax hair removal devices and more particularly in that of consumer devices.

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• Coating Apparatus (AREA)
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• Food-Manufacturing Devices (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

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• 1998
  • 1998-06-11 BR BR9809973-6A patent/BR9809973A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1998-06-11 WO PCT/FR1998/001219 patent/WO1998056275A1/fr not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1998-06-11 AU AU81132/98A patent/AU8113298A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1998-06-11 TR TR1999/03050T patent/TR199903050T2/xx unknown
  • 1998-06-11 EP EP98930835A patent/EP0987967A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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