EP1959787A1

EP1959787A1 - Hair-removal appliance with different tool attachments

Info

Publication number: EP1959787A1
Application number: EP06829228A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Pedro Sanchez-Martinez; Michael Klotz; Ralf Dorber; Klaus Ramspeck; Thomas Schamberg; Christof Ungemach
Original assignee: Braun GmbH
Current assignee: Braun GmbH
Priority date: 2005-12-14
Filing date: 2006-12-01
Publication date: 2008-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 2026-12-01
Also published as: ATE533376T1; JP2009519060A; RU2426489C2; RU2008128433A; JP5122475B2; WO2007068363A1; DE102005059572A1; US20090157097A1; PL1959787T3; US8328821B2; EP1959787B1

Abstract

A hair removal appliance includes a hand-held part and interchangeable tool attachments. The hand-held part includes a housing on which various tool attachments are mountable, as well as a drive mechanism which is arranged in the housing and includes a driving element to which a respective tool attachment is adapted to be coupled with its attachment-side driving element. The tool attachments each have a coupling portion of identical construction and are connectable to a complementary coupling portion on the hand-held part of the hair removal appliance. Each of the tool attachments includes a driving element adapted to be coupled to a driving element on the side of the hand-held part.

Description

Hair removal device

The present invention relates to a hair removal device, in particular epilation and / or depilation. The invention relates on the one hand the hand part of such a hair removal device with a housing on which various tool attachments are fastened, and a drive device which is arranged in the housing and a drive element, in particular -rad, to which a respective tool attachment with his on - Set-side drive element can be coupled. On the other hand, the invention further relates to a tool attachment set for such a hair removal device comprising at least two mutually exchangeable tool attachments, each having a coupling portion which are identical to each other and connectable to a complementary coupling portion on the handpiece of the hair removal device, wherein the tool attachments each having a drive element, the can be coupled with a handpiece side drive element.

In hair removal devices, it is known to put on the handpiece of the device various tool attachments in exchange for each other to accomplish the body hair removal in various ways. On the one hand, an epilation head is used, by means of which the hair to be removed is grasped, clamped and pulled out of the skin with the root by means of periodically opening and closing forceps-like clamping members. The latter process is realized in that the tweezer-like clamping elements are quickly moved away from the skin after pinching the hair or hair. Regularly include such Epilierköpfe doing a rotatably driven cylinder, distributed over the circumference clamping elements are arranged, which open and close periodically in dependence on the rotational position, so that is carried out by the rotating cylinder epilation.

On the other hand hair cutting heads can be placed on the hand part of such hair removal devices, which work like the long-hair trimmer of a razor and cause a so-called depilation of body hair. In this case, the Haarschneideaufsatz may comprise a translationally reciprocable cutter bar, which is moved over a shear plate or a shear bar, so that between them pinched body hairs are sheared.

Instead of working on different principles of action tool attachments, it is also possible to use different tool attachments, which in itself after the same Hair removal principle work. Thus, it is known, for example, to use different embodiments of the abovementioned epilation heads, which may differ, for example, by the number of clamping members or the rotational speed of the pinch roller in order to carry out the tearing of the hair with different intensity.

One problem that arises is the diversity of the drive movements to be realized. On the one hand, this can only be a different rotational speed of the pinch roller. On the other hand, however, completely different drive movements may be required, such as the translationally oscillating drive movement of the hair cutting attachment on the one hand and the rotational drive movement of the epilating attachment on the other.

To solve this problem has already been proposed to install different gear stages in the respective tool attachments in order to allow them to be coupled to the same drive in the handle. For example, EP 0 630 596 B1 shows a hair removal device of the type mentioned in the introduction, in which the tool attachments can each be coupled to a drive gear arranged on the front side of the handpiece. In order nevertheless to be able to achieve different drive movements for the hair cutting head and the epilation head, an oscillation gear stage is installed in the hair cutting head, which converts the rotary rotational movement of the handpiece side drive pinion into a reciprocating translatory movement of the cutting bar. However, this solution is relatively expensive, since a separate gear stage is necessary for each tool attachment when a different drive movement is to be realized. Even if, however, the same motion principle is to be implemented at different speeds per se, as is the case, for example, with two epilation heads to be driven at different speeds, corresponding gear stages are to be installed in the tool attachments. This is particularly disadvantageous if the tool attachments are to be replaced over time because of wear.

The present invention is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved hair removal device of the type mentioned above, which avoids the disadvantages of the prior art and the latter further develops in an advantageous manner. In particular, a realization of various drive movements should be achieved in an economical manner. This object is achieved by a handle according to claim 1 and a tool attachment set according to claim 14. Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

According to the invention, it is therefore proposed to provide several drive options on the handpiece. As a result, each tool attachment can be coupled to the appropriate drive for him. On the other hand, one and the same tool attachment can also be coupled, for example by converting, to different drives in order, for example, to realize different drive speeds for one and the same tool attachment. According to the invention, the handpiece-side drive device has at least two drive elements, which can alternatively be coupled with a respective tool attachment. As a result, either the one or the other drive element can be used to drive the attachment-side drive train. Both drive elements are arranged accessible from the outside, preferably in the region of the coupling portion of the handle on which the tool attachments are attached. The respectively not required drive element transmits no drive movement to the currently coupled tool attachment, wherein the drive element not required in this case run empty or can be turned off. As intended, each drive element alone can drive the respective attached tool attachment.

In order to achieve that the respective tool attachment is coupled with the correct one of the two drive elements, the at least two tool attachments of the tool attachment set according to the invention are distinguished by the fact that their drive components which can be coupled to the handpiece-side drive have identical coupling portions with respect to one another Coupling portion of the hand part are attached, are arranged at different locations and / or are aligned differently. For example, in one tool attachment, the drive element can be arranged on the left and on the other tool attachment on the right. The different arrangement and / or alignment ensures that the attachment-side drive element can be brought into engagement with only one of the two drive elements on the handpiece.

In a further development of the invention, the two handpiece-side drive elements are formed differently from each other and / or arranged differently and / or provided for the transmission of various drive movements. If, for example, only different drive speeds, in particular rotational speeds, should be realized, can - A -

basically identically designed and also with respect to their axis of movement arranged in parallel drive elements are used. To realize the various drive speeds, two separate drive motors and / or two separate, differently designed gear stages can be provided in the handset.

Preferably, however, the two handpiece-side drive elements are at least differently oriented, in particular they may have movement axes pointing in different directions. In addition, they themselves can also be designed differently. In particular, when trained as gears, they may have a different number of teeth, a different diameter or a different toothing education, for example, on the one hand form a bevel gear and on the other hand, a spur gear.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the two drive elements are each designed as wheels, in particular gears, wherein they are drivable in different directions of rotation and at different speeds.

In order to achieve the simplest possible training with regard to the handpiece-side drive device, preferably the multiple drive elements of the handset are driven by a common drive motor. The drive movement provided by the drive motor is divided, so to speak, into a plurality of drive trains, at whose handpiece-side ends said drive elements are seated.

In particular, the drive elements can be driven via a respective gear stage by an output element, in particular pinion forth, sitting on the motor shaft of the drive motor.

The respectively not required drive element of the handpiece-side drive trains can basically run empty. The respective tool attachment can for this purpose be designed such that in the region of its coupling portion, with which it is placed on the handpiece, a corresponding recess is provided or the coupling portion does not reach into the region of the idler drive element.

In a further development of the invention, however, it can also be provided to switch off the respectively not required drive element or, in the case of more than two drive elements, the drive elements which are not required and to set only the required drive element in operation. Zen. For this purpose, a coupling device may advantageously be provided on the handpiece, by means of which a non-required drive element can be uncoupled from the respective drive train provided in the handpiece or can be coupled again.

In particular, an automatic coupling is advantageously provided, which engages the drive element required for the respective attached tool attachment when the corresponding attachment is mounted on the handle. In a further development of the invention, the coupling device may advantageously comprise a mechanical actuator, which is actuated by a jack-side actuator when a suitable tool attachment is placed in place and engages the coupling. If another tool attachment does not have the appropriate actuator, the coupling device remains disengaged.

The concrete design of the coupling can of course be different. A preferred embodiment may be that the respective drive train has a gear that is movably mounted beyond its rotation, so that it can be brought into and out of engagement with a preceding or downstream gear. Here, a Stirnradpaarung be provided, wherein the engagement and disengagement causing gear frontally on the cooperating gear to and can be moved away in the opposite direction. The clutch engagement is effected by a relative movement perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the wheel or perpendicular to the toothing. This also lends itself to a friction wheel. Alternatively, however, it may be provided in particular that the gear wheel which can be engaged and disengaged is displaceably mounted in the direction of its axis of rotation, so that it can be brought into engagement and disengage with the gearwheel cooperating with the gearwheel cooperating with the toothed gear when formed as a gear. This may be particularly advantageous if the axis of rotation of said gear extends parallel to the Aufsteck- or -setzrichtung of the tool attachment. In this way, the gear can be easily pressed by the tool attachment itself directly into its engaged position when the tool attachment is placed translationally on the handle.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the displaceably mounted gear can be directly engageable with and disengaged from the drive wheel, which sits on the motor shaft of the drive motor of the handpiece side drive device. The coupling device for switching off the drive element which is not required can in principle be designed to be manually operable. For example, an actuating lever or switch could be provided, by the actuation of which the movably mounted gear element can be brought into its engagement position and into its non-engagement position. In development of the invention, however, the coupling device comprises a spring means by which the movably mounted gear element is biased in its non-engaged position. As a result, the coupling device always automatically disengages when a corresponding tool attachment is not attached. If such, however, put on, this forces the coupling device against the spring preload in its engaged position.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to a preferred embodiment and associated drawings. In the drawings show:

1 is a schematic partial sectional view of a hair removal device, on the hand part of an epilator with a rotating, movable clamping members having pinch roller is arranged,

2 shows a schematic representation of the handpiece-side drive device of the device of FIG. 1, wherein the drive train for a hair cutting attachment in the disengaged state is shown, FIG.

3 shows a schematic representation of the drive device similar to FIG. 2, wherein the drive train for the hair cutting attachment is shown in the engaged state,

4 shows a schematic side view of the drive device from FIG. 3 with a view of the drive train which can be engaged and disengaged, FIG.

5 shows a schematic side view of the drive device from FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 with a view of the permanently coupled drive train, and FIG

6 shows a schematic partial sectional view of a hair cutting attachment with oscillating knife bar. In the hair removal device 1 shown in FIG. 1, an epilator attachment for hair removal on the human body is placed on the epilation principle on the handpiece 2, which in the illustrated embodiment has an epilating roller 5 that can be driven in rotation about a horizontal transverse axis and rotates about its longitudinal axis , possibly also oscillates. The epilating roller 5 has fixedly arranged on the roller body clamping discs 8, which extend approximately radially on the circumference of the depilation 5. Between the clamping discs 8 distributed about the circumference about tweezer-shaped clamping elements 9 are arranged, the comb-like each sitting on a clamping bar 11 which is mounted parallel to the axis of rotation of the depilation 5 at this longitudinally displaceable. The clamping bar 11 stand with a plunger 12 on the front side over the body of the depilation 5 and slide on a cam-shaped cam control surface 14 on the attachment housing, which extends annularly around the axis of rotation of the depilation 5. As a result, each clamping bar 11 and thus the clamping elements 9 is cyclically pressed according to the rotation of the depilation 5 against the clamping plates 8 and pushed away by a on the opposite side of the plunger 12 spring 17 again, and in particular at defined locations above the orbit.

To drive the depilation 5, this includes a drive wheel 7, which is formed in the illustrated embodiment as a spur gear and sits directly on the axis of rotation of the depilation 5 or is formed by a peripheral portion of the depilation 5. This tower-side drive wheel 7 is driven by a handpiece-side drive wheel 4, which is also formed in the illustrated embodiment as a spur gear and is rotatably mounted about a rotational axis of the depilation 5 parallel axis of rotation on the housing 6 of the handle 2. As FIG. 1 shows, the drive wheel 4 projects from the housing 6 out of the housing 3 facing the attachment 3, so that it comes into engagement with the attachment-side drive wheel 7 when the attachment 3 is placed on the handpiece 2. For the connection of handpiece 2 and attachment 3, these each comprise mutually complementary coupling portions 10, which may in principle be designed differently and preferably form a plug-in connection, so that the attachment 3 can be placed on the end face substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handpiece 2.

As indicated in FIG. 1 and shown in further FIGS. 2 to 5, the handpiece 2 comprises, in addition to the said drive wheel 4, a further drive wheel 13 which is provided for realizing a different drive movement for a further tool attachment. The handpiece-side drive device 15, the hand part side ends in the two mentioned drive wheels 4 and 13, comprises the drive motor 16 shown in more detail in Figures 2 to 5, which can be aligned with its motor shaft parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handle 2 and a seated on the motor shaft driven wheel 18, which is formed in the illustrated embodiment as a spur gear. The drive movement of the output gear 18 is tapped by two gear stages 19 and 20, each forming a drive train and drive the aforementioned drive wheels 4 and 13, via which the respective drive train with the respective attached attachment can be coupled.

As FIGS. 2 through 5 illustrate, the first gear stage 19, via which the drive wheel 4 is driven, is permanently coupled to the output gear 18 of the drive motor 16. The gear stage 19 comprises two gear stages which drive the drive wheel 4 on the output side, the gear stages reducing the rotational speed of the drive motor 16 to the desired rotational speed of the drive wheel 4.

The second transmission stage 20 includes only one spur gear. A spur gear 21 meshes with the seated on the motor shaft output gear 18 and drives the aforementioned drive wheel 13, which is rigidly connected to the spur gear 21. As a comparison of Figures 2 and 3 illustrates, the gear stage 20 is formed auskuppelbar. The corresponding coupling device 22 is formed by said spur gear 21 and its movable mounting. In the illustrated embodiment, the spur gear 21 is slidably mounted parallel to its axis of rotation 23, so that it is disengaged from the seated on the motor shaft output gear 18, and that substantially parallel to the spur gear teeth. The coupling device 22 in this case comprises a spring device 24, which presses the spur gear 21 with the drive wheel 13 seated thereon in the disengaged position. Advantageously, the coupling movement is substantially perpendicular to the end face of the handle 2, to which the respective attachment 3 is placed. In other words, the coupling movement thus takes place in the aforementioned embodiment of the coupling portions 10 between attachment and handpiece 2 parallel to the mounting direction of the attachment 3, so that upon placement of a matching tool attachment, the gear stage 20 is depressed and engaged against the bias of the spring means 24, i. is brought into engagement with the output gear 18.

As Figure 3 shows, the two driven wheels 4 and 13, which provides the handpiece 2, both differently formed and aligned. While the drive wheel 4 about a lying, ie perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the handle 2 aligned axis rotate In addition, the gear stage 20 is formed with respect to the gear stage 19 less underdeposit, so that the rotational speed of the driven gear 13 is considerably higher than the rotational speed of the drive wheel 4. This can be driven with the drive wheel 13 in particular a hair cutting attachment with shear bar with a considerably higher oscillation frequency, as shown for example in Figure 6. This Haarschneideaufsatz 28 includes a cutting or knife bar 25 which is mounted parallel to its longitudinal translational reciprocating and sitting on a shear bar 26 and reciprocates over this, so that between them trapped hairs are cut off. Said cutter bar 22 is reciprocally driven by an eccentric wheel 27, which can be brought into engagement with the previously described drive wheel 13 of the handpiece 2 when the hair cutting attachment is placed on the handpiece.

It is understood that the attachment set for the hair removal device described is not limited to the two exemplary embodiments of the tool attachments shown. It can also find exfoliating attachments, massage attachments and the like.

Claims

claims

1. hand part of a hair removal device (1), in particular epilator, with a housing (6) on which various tool attachments (3, 28) can be fastened, and a drive device (15) which is arranged in the housing (6) and a drive element (4, 13), in particular wheel, to which a respective tool attachment (3, 28) with an attachment-side drive element (7, 27) can be coupled, characterized in that the drive device (15) at least two drive elements (4, 13 ), which alternatively can be coupled with a respective tool attachment (3, 28).

2. Handpiece according to the preceding claim, wherein the two drive elements (4, 13) formed differently from each other and / or arranged and / or are provided for the transmission of various drive movements.

3. Handpiece according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the two drive elements (4, 13) in each case as wheels, in particular gears, are formed and in different directions of rotation and / or can be driven at different speeds.

4. Handpiece according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the drive device (15) has a common drive motor (16) for the drive elements (4, 13).

5. Handpiece according to the preceding claim, wherein the two drive elements (4, 13) via a respective gear stage (19, 20) of an output member connected to the drive motor (18), in particular Motorwellenabtriebsrad be driven.

6. Handpiece according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a coupling device (22) for coupling and uncoupling at least one of the drive elements (4, 13) is provided on or from the drive element driving the drive train.

7. Handpiece according to the preceding claim, wherein the coupling device (22) by placing a tool attachment (28), the intended purpose of the detachable drive element (13) is driven, is automatically actuated.

8. Handpiece according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the coupling device (22) has a displaceably mounted gear (21) which is engageable with a drive train in the upstream or downstream gear (18) and out of engagement therewith.

9. Handpiece according to the preceding claim, wherein the displaceably mounted gear (21) in the mounting direction of the associated tool attachment (28) is movably mounted and / or parallel to its direction of rotation on the upstream or downstream gear (18) is slidable.

10. Handpiece according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the coupling means (22) is biased by a spring means (24) in its disengaged position.

11. Handpiece according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the upstream gear (18) is a seated on the motor shaft output pinion.

12. Handpiece according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the two drive elements (4, 13) each have an axis of rotation, which are aligned in mutually perpendicular directions.

13. Handpiece according to one of the preceding claims, wherein on the housing (6) a plug-in coupling portion is formed on the various tool attachments by mounting and / or plugging can be fastened, wherein the plug-in coupling portion has a slip-on, which is parallel to the axis of movement of the aforementioned coupling device is.

14. Tool attachment set for a hair removal device, in particular epilator and / or Depiliergerät, with at least two mutually interchangeable tool attachments (3, 28), each having a coupling portion (10) which are identical to each other and with a complementary coupling portion (10) on Handpiece (2) of the hair removal device (1) are connectable, wherein the tool attachments (3, 28) each have a drive element (7, 27) which can be coupled to a handpiece side drive element (4, 13), characterized in that the drive elements ( 7, 27) of the various tool attachments (3, 28) relative to the identical coupling portions (10) arranged at different locations and / or different are aligned such that they can be coupled with various handpiece-side drive elements (4, 13).

15. Tool set set according to the preceding claim, wherein the at least two tools on sets (3, 28) comprise an epilator attachment with rotatably driven epilating and a hair cutting attachment with oscillating drivable blade.

16. Hair removal device with a handle according to one of claims 1 to 13 and a tool attachment set according to claim 14.