EP2165622A2

EP2165622A2 - Depilatory device

Info

Publication number: EP2165622A2
Application number: EP09011878A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Tomoyuki Inoue; Tetsuro Hashiguchi
Original assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Co Ltd
Current assignee: Panasonic Electric Works Co Ltd
Priority date: 2008-09-22
Filing date: 2009-09-17
Publication date: 2010-03-24
Also published as: EP2165622A3; RU2415627C1; JP2010069240A; JP4720887B2; US20100076457A1; CN101683208A

Abstract

A depilatory device (1) in this invention comprises a housing (200), a plucking cylinder (16), a pinching mechanism, and a plucking mechanism. The housing is formed at its upper end with a head. The plucking cylinder is supported to the head. The plucking cylinder is driven to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder. The plucking cylinder carries a plurality of pinching units (300L,300R). Each pinching unit is composed of a first blade (31L) and a second blade (23L) which are arranged in an opposed relation with each other. Each pinching unit has a pinching length extending circumferentially of the plucking cylinder. At least one of the first blade (31L) and the second blade (23L) is movable toward and away from the other of the first blade and the second blade to move between an opened position for making a gap and a pinch position for pinching the hair. A pinching mechanism is configured to drive the at least one of the first blade and the second blade. A plucking mechanism is configured to rotate the plucking cylinder. The at least one of the first blade and the second blade is formed at a portion intermediate its pinching length with a cutout.

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a depilatory device for removal of a user's hair, and especially for plucking the user's hair for removal of the user's hair.

BACKGROUND ART

Japanese patent application publication No. 2006-524521 A (United States patent application publication No. US2006/0271071 , and PCT application publication No. WO2004/095973 ) discloses a conventional plucking cylinder of a depilatory device. The conventional depilatory device comprises a housing, the plucking cylinder, a pinching mechanism, and a plucking mechanism. The housing is formed at its one end with a head. The plucking cylinder is supported to the head. The plucking cylinder carries a plurality of pinching units. Each of the pinching units has a stationary blade and a movable blade. Each of the stationary blade and the movable blade has a pinching surface which extends along a circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder. The movable blade is disposed to have its pinching surface in an opposed relation to the pinching surface of the stationary blade. The movable blade is configured to be movable toward and away from the stationary blade. Therefore, the movable blade is configured to be movable between a pinch position and an opened position. The movable blade in the opened position is spaced from the stationary blade to have a gap between the movable blade and the stationary blade. Therefore, the movable blade in the opened position is spaced from the stationary blade by a gap width defined by the gap. The movable blade in the pinch position closes the gap. The pinching mechanism is configured to the move the movable blade between the opened position and the closed position. Consequently, the pinching surface of the movable blade in the pinch position is cooperative with the pinching surface of the stationary blade to pinch the hair in the gap. The plucking mechanism is configured to rotate the plucking cylinder in order to rotate the stationary blade and the movable blade in the pinch potion. Consequently, the plucking cylinder plucks the hair between the stationary blade and the movable blade in the pinch portion. In this manner, the depilatory device removes the user's hair from the user's skin.
However, each of the movable blades and the stationary blades extends along the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder. Therefore, each of the pinching units is configured to pinch the hair which is grown along the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder. Consequently, the depilatory device is configured to pluck the hair which is grown along the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder. In other words, the conventional depilatory device is configured to pluck only the hair which is grown along the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder. Therefore, there is a necessary to use the depilatory device many times in order to pluck the hair of the skin.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

This invention is achieved to solve the above problem. An object of this invention is to provide a depilatory device which is configured to pluck the hair which is grown toward a various direction.
To solve the above problem, this invention discloses the depilatory device for removal of human hairs which comprises a housing, a plucking cylinder, a pinching mechanism, and a plucking mechanism. The housing is formed at its upper end with a head. The plucking cylinder is supported to the head. The plucking cylinder is driven to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder. The plucking cylinder carries a plurality of pinching units. Each pinching unit is composed of a first blade and a second blade. The first blade is arranged in an opposed relation with the second blade. Each pinching unit has a pinching length extending circumferentially of the plucking cylinder. At least one of the first blade and the second blade is movable toward and away from the other of the first blade and the second blade to move between an opened position and a pinch position. The first blade and the second blade are configured to form a gap therebetween within the pinching length in opened position. The first blade and the second blade are configured to close the gap for pinching the hair in the gap between the first blade and the second blade. The pinching mechanism is configured to drive the at least the first blade and the second blade between the opened position and the pinch position. The plucking mechanism is configured to rotate the plucking cylinder for plucking the hair which is pinched to the first blade and the second blade. The at least one of the first blade and the second blade is formed at a portion intermediate its pinching length with a cutout.
In this case, the pinching unit is configured to receive the hair which is grown along a direction parallel to the pinching length. In addition, the pinching unit is configured to receive the hair which passes through the cutout. Therefore, the pinching unit is configured to receive the hair which is directed toward a direction different from the pinching length. Therefore, this configuration makes it possible for the pinching units to pinch the hair which is grown toward the various directions.
It is preferred that the pinching unit has its pinching length inclined with respect to the circumferential direction. The pinching unit has its pinching length inclined with respect to the axial direction of the plucking cylinder.
In this case, the pinching unit is configured to pinch the hair in a predetermined length of the skin and in a predetermined width of the skin.
It is preferred that each of the first blades has an inside face and an outside face which is opposite to the inside face of the first blade. Each of the first blades has the inside face which faces with an inside face of the second blade. The first blade is arranged to have the outside face directed forwardly of the plucking cylinder with respect to a rotation direction of the plucking cylinder. The first blade is formed with the cutout.
It is preferred that the pinching unit is formed at its one pinching length with a lead end with respect to a rotation direction of the plucking cylinder. The pinching units are disposed to have the leading end directed axially outwardly from a lengthwise center of the plucking cylinder. Each of the first blades has an inside face and an outside face which is opposite to the inside face of the first blade. Each of the first blades has the inside face which faces with an inside face of the second blade. The first blade is arranged to have the outside face directed forwardly with respect to a rotation direction of the plucking cylinder. The first blade is formed with the cutout.
In this case, the pinching unit is configured to receive the hair which passes through the cutout according to a rotation of the plucking cylinder. Therefore, this configuration makes it possible to enhance an efficiency of plucking the hair.
It is preferred that the second blade is fixed to the plucking cylinder while the first blade is movable relative to the second blade along the longitudinal axis. The first blade is formed with the cutout.
In this case, the cutout is moved according to movement of the first blade. According to the movement of the first blade, the efficiency of passing the hair into the gap through the cutout is enhanced. Therefore, this configuration makes it possible for the depilatory device to improve depilation efficiency.
It is preferred that the at least one of the first blade and the second blade is formed at its lengthwise center with cutout.
It is preferred that each of the first blade and the second blade has an outwardly curved edge.
It is more preferred that the outwardly curved edge has a curvature radius which is equal to or shorter than a curvature radius of the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder.
In this case, it is possible for the pinching units to prevent pinching of the skin.
It is preferred that at least one of the first blade and the second blade is formed with a bent plate extending from one end of the cutout in an inclined relation with the pinching length.
In this case, the bent plate guides the hair into the cutout. Therefore, this configuration makes it possible to enhance the efficiency of the plucking of the hair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 (a) is a front view of a depilatory device in this invention.
Fig. 1 (b) is a top view of the depilatory device in this invention.
Fig. 1 (c) is a side cross-sectional view taken along the line A - A of the depilatory device in this invention.
Fig. 1 (d) is a front cross-sectional view taken along the line B - B of the depilatory device in this invention.
Fig. 2 (a) is a front view of a guard in this invention.
Fig. 2 (b) is a top view of the guard in this invention.
Fig. 2 (c) is a side cross-sectional view of the guard in this invention.
Fig. 2 (d) is a perspective view of the guard in this invention.
Fig. 3 is a top view of the head with a pair of plucking cylinders in this invention.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 5 (a) is a front view of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 5 (b) is a side view of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 5 (c) is a side cross-sectional view of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 7 is a front cross-sectional view taken along the line C - C of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 8 is a side cross-sectional view taken along the line D - D of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 9 (a) is an arrangement of pinching units of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 9 (b) shows pinching widths of the pinching units in Fig. 9 (a).
Fig. 10 (a) is a side view of the movable blade in this invention.
Fig. 10 (b) is a top view of the movable blade in this invention.
Fig. 10 (c) is a front view of the movable blade in this invention.
Fig. 11 is an arrangement of the pinching units of the plucking cylinder in this invention.
Fig. 12 (a) is a side view of the movable blade in a modification of this invention.
Fig. 12 (b) is a top view of the movable blade in a modification of this invention.
Fig. 12 (c) is a front view of the movable blade in a modification of this invention.
Fig. 13 (a) is the stationary blade and the movable blade in an opened position in this invention.
Fig. 13 (b) is the stationary blade and the movable blade in a pinch position in this invention.
Fig. 14 is an arrangement of the pinching units of the plucking cylinder in this invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The depilatory device in this invention is explained with attached drawings. Fig. 1 (a), (b), (c), and (d) show the depilatory device in this invention. X direction indicated by arrow in Fig. 1 (a) indicates a right direction of the depilatory device. Y direction in Fig. 1 (a) indicates an upper direction of the depilatory device. In addition, components of reference numeral with suffix letter of R are symmetrically formed with respect to components of reference numeral with suffix letter of L. Therefore, explanations of the components of the reference numerals with the suffix letter of R are omitted by the explanation of the components of the reference numeral with the suffix letter of L. Similarly, explanations of motions of the components of the reference numeral with the suffix letter of R is omitted by the explanations of motions of the components of the reference numeral with the suffix letter of L. As shown in Fig. (a) to Fig. 8, the depilatory device comprises a housing 200, a pair of plucking cylinders 16, actuation bars 39, gears 6, and a driving source 4.
The housing 200 is provided for housing a pair of the plucking cylinders 16, the actuation bar 39, the gears 6, and the driving source 4. The housing 200 includes a body 2 and a head 7 which is attached to an upper end of the head 7. That is, the housing 200 is formed at its upper end with the head 7. The body 2 is formed with a switch 3. The head 7 is formed with a guard 10. The guard 10 is formed with a pair of openings and cross bars 12 which divide the each opening 13 into a plurality of opening sections. The opening 13 is provided for communicating an outside of the head 7 with an inside of the head 7 and is provided for exposing the plucking cylinder 16 to the outside of the head 7. The cross bars 12 are provided for suitable contact between the skin and the plucking cylinder 16. In particular, the cross bars 12 in the left half of the guard 10 has an inclination which is different from an inclination of the cross bars 12 in the right half of the guard 10.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the plucking cylinder 16a and 16b. The plucking cylinder 16 has a longitudinal axis and has a length along the longitudinal axis. The plucking cylinder 16 carries a shaft 47, pinching units 300L, 300R, holders 250L, 250R, 250c, support plates 40, and fixing pins 44. The shaft 47 extends through the center of the plucking cylinder 16 along the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16. Therefore, the plucking cylinder 16 is supported to the head 7 by the shaft 47 to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis such that the plucking cylinder 16 is driven to rotate along a rotation direction T which is indicated by rotation arrow in Fig. 4. In addition, the plucking cylinder 16 is exposed to the outside of the head 7 through the opening 13. The plucking cylinder 16 is formed to have six insertion holes 19. Each of the insertion holes 19 extends through the plucking cylinder 16 along the longitudinal axis. Each of the insertion holes 19 is parallel to the longitudinal axis. Each of the insertion holes 19 is spaced from the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16. The insertion holes 19 are provided for receiving the actuation bar 36a, 36b, 36c, 36d, 36e and 36f. The insertion holes 19 are revolved about the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16. The plucking cylinder 16 is formed at its circumference surface with six recesses 46 each of which is formed to have a rectangular and each of which is arranged along the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder 16. Each of the plucking cylinders 16 has one longitudinal axial end with a gear 17.
The pinching units 300L are disposed at a left half of the plucking cylinder in Fig. 6. On the other hand, the pinching units 300R are disposed at a right half of the plucking cylinder 16 in Fig. 6. Each of the pinching units 300L has a stationary plate 210L and movable plate 220L.
The stationary plate 210L includes a pair of stationary blades 23L, a coupling plate 22L, and guide plates 24L. The coupling plate 22L is formed into flat, is formed to have a parallelogram shape, and is formed with a hole 25. The coupling plate 22L has one side coupled to a bottom end of the stationary blade 23L, and has the other side opposite from the one side coupled to a bottom end of the stationary blade 23L. The stationary blade 23L is defined as a second blade. The stationary blade 23L has a length along the one side of the coupling plate, a thickness, and a height along a direction perpendicular to the coupling plate. The stationary blades 23L are formed into flat. Therefore, the stationary blade 23L has an inside face and an outside face which is in an opposite relation to the inside face. The stationary blade has one height end with an edge which is outwardly curved. For more detail, the stationary blade has the one height end with the edge which has a curvature radius. The curvature radius of the edge of the stationary blade 23L is shorter than a curvature radius of the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. The stationary blade 23L has one length end with a leading end 233a and the other length end with the trailing end 234a with respect to the rotation direction T of the plucking cylinder 16. The leading end of the stationary blade 23L is same as a leading end of the pinching unit 300L with respect to the rotation direction of the plucking cylinder 16. The leading end 233a is coupled to the guide plate 24L which extends toward a direction inclined with respect to the length of the stationary blade 23L.
The movable plate 220L has a movable blade 31 a, a fulcrum plate 33a, and a guide plate 32a. The movable blade 31 L is defined as a first blade. The movable blade 31 a has a length, a thickness, and a height. The movable blade 31 a is formed into flat. The movable blade 31 a has an inside face and an outside face which is opposite to the inside face. The inside face of the movable blade 31 a is formed with a groove which extends along a length of the movable blade. It is noted that the groove of the inside face of the movable blade 31 L is not shown in the illustrations. However in Fig. 6, the movable blade 31 R is has an inside face with a groove 35 which corresponds to the groove of the inside face of the movable blade 31 L. The movable blade 31 L has one height end with an edge which is outwardly curved. Fig. 10 (a) to (c) respectively shows the side view, the top view, and the front view of the movable blade 31 L. The movable blade 31 L has the one height end with the edge which has a curvature radius which is shorter than a curvature radius of the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. The movable blade 31 a has a lower end coupled to the fulcrum plate 33a which is formed with a hole 34 extending along the thickness of the plucking cylinder 16. The movable blade 31 a is cooperative with the stationary blade 23L to pinch the user's hair of the skin. The movable blade 31 a has one length end with a leading end 243a and the other length end with a trailing end 244a with respect to the rotation direction T of the plucking cylinder 16. The leading end 243a of the movable blade 31 a is coupled to the guide plate 32a which extends toward a direction inclined with respect to the length of the movable blade 31 a. It is noted that the pinching units 300R are disposed at a right half of the plucking cylinder. Each component of the pinching unit 300R is formed to have a symmetrical form with respect to each component of the pinching unit 300L.
As shown in Fig. 6 and Fig. 10 (a) to (c), the movable blade 31 L has the edge which is formed at its intermediate portion with a cutout 48L. In particular, the movable blade 31 L has its lengthwise center of the edge with the cutout 48L.
The holder 250L is disposed at the left half of the plucking cylinder shown in Fig. 6. The holder 250L includes a base plate 26a, a projection 28a, and a leg 29a. The base plate 26a is formed into flat. The projection 28c is projected from an upper surface of the base plate 26a. The projection 28c is formed to have a projection length which extends along the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. The projection 28c is formed to have a projection length which extends along the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. The projection 28c has one length end with a leading end and the other length end with a trailing end with respect to the rotation direction of the plucking cylinder 16. The leg 29a extends toward a lower direction from a lower surface of the base plate 26a. The leg 29a is formed with a hole which is not shown and which passes through a thickness of the holder 250L. It is noted that the holder 250R is disposed at the right half the plucking cylinder 16. Furthermore, the holder 250C is disposed at a center in longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16.
The support plates 40 are formed into rectangular shape to have a length along the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16. The support plates 40 are disposed on the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16 such that each of the support plate 40 covers the recess 46. Therefore, the support plate 40 is arranged along the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. The support plate 40 is provided for mounting the stationary plate 210L, 210R and the movable plate 220L, 220R. The stationary blade 23L mounted on the support plate 40 is located in an opposed relation to the movable blade 220L. In addition, the pinching units 300L, 300R are arranged along the length of the support plate 40. That is, the pinching units 300L, 300R are arranged in a plurality of rows. The rows are arranged along the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder 16, and are spaced circumferentially of the plucking cylinder. The row includes a plurality of the pinching units which is spaced from each other along said longitudinal axis.
The actuation bars 36a to 36f in Fig. 7 include a main bar 37, a pad 39 coupled to one end of the main bar 37, and a boss 399 coupled to the other end of the main bar 37. The main bar 37 has its upper surface with notches 38 which is provided for receiving a tip of the fulcrum plate 33a.
The actuation bars 36a to 36f are configured to receive pressure from rollers 9 which is disposed at a tip of the head 7. When the actuation bar 36a to 36f receives the pressure along the longitudinal axis, the actuation bar 36 is moved into the insertion hole 19. The actuation bars 36a to 36f are cooperative with the roller 9 to define the pinching mechanism.
Fig. 7 shows the front cross-sectional view of the plucking cylinder 16. As shown in Fig. 7, a spring 45 is disposed in the recess 46. The actuation bars 36a to 36f are inserted into the insertion hole 19 such that the boss 399 is inserted into one end of the spring 45. In addition, when the actuation bars 36a to 36f are inserted into the insertion hole 19, the notches 38 are exposed through the recess 46. The recess 38 is covered by the support plate 40, and subsequently the stationary plate 210L is mounted on the support plate 40. The movable plate 220L is mounted on the support plate such that the fulcrum plate 33L passes through the opening of the stationary plate 210L. The fulcrum plate 33L which is passed through the opening is disposed such that a lower end of the fulcrum plate 33L is inserted into the notch. Consequently, the movable blade 31 L is disposed in an opposed relation to the stationary blade 23L. In this way, the pinching units are arranged on the support plate 40 such that the pinching units are arranged along the length of the support plate 40. In addition, two pinching units 300L and two pinching units 300R are mounted on the support plate 40. Therefore, the number of the pinching units 300L is equal to the number of the pinching units 300R in the row. Furthermore, because the lower end of the fulcrum plate 33L is inserted into the notch 38, the movable blade 31 L is configured to be movable toward and away from the stationary blade 23L. Therefore, the movable blade 31 L is movable to have an opened position of forming a gap between the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade and to have a pinch position which is explained below. The stationary blade 23L has the inside face which extends along the length of the stationary blade 23L. The inside face of the stationary blade 23L is faced to the inside face of the movable blade 31 L. The inside face of the movable blade extends along the length of the movable blade 31 L. Therefore, the movable blade has the inside face which is located in an opposed relation to the inside face of the stationary blade 23L. So, the inside face of the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade 31 L have length directions extending along the length of the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade, respectively. This length direction extends along the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. The stationary blade 23L is cooperative with the movable blade 31 L to pinch the hairs within the length of the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade 31 L in the pinch position. Therefore, the length of the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade 31 L is defined as a pinching length L.
Because the coupling plate 22L is formed to have the parallelogram, the stationary blades 23L have the pinching length along the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. In addition, because the coupling plate 22L is formed to have the parallelogram, the pinching length of the pinching unit 300L is inclined with respect to the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder 16 as well as the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16. Meanwhile, it is preferred that the pinching unit is disposed to have the pinching length inclined at 30 degrees with respect to the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder 16. The gap between the movable blade 31 L and the stationary blade 23L receives the hairs along the pinching length. This pinching length is inclined with respect to the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder 16 as well as the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16. In particular, the pinching length is inclined at 12 degrees to 13 degrees with respect to the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder 16. However, the inclination angle of the pinching length with respect to the circumferential direction is not limited to 12 degrees to 13 degrees. It is preferred that the pinching length is inclined at 30 degrees with respect to the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder 16.
In addition, as shown in Fig. 3, the pinching units in the left half of the plucking cylinder 16 has the pinching length which is oppositely inclined with respect to the pinching length of the pinching units in the right half of the plucking cylinder 16. In particular, the pinching units 300L in the left half of the plucking cylinder 16 has the pinching length which is inclined with respect to the circumferential direction such that the pinching length of the pinching units 300L is directed outward from the lengthwise center of the plucking cylinder 16. Consequently, the pinching units 300L has the leading end 233L which is located at an axially outwardly of the plucking cylinder than the trailing end 234L Similarly, the pinching units 300R in the right half of the plucking cylinder 16 has the pinching length which is inclined with respect to the circumferential direction such that the pinching length of the pinching units 300L is directed outward from the lengthwise center. Consequently, the pinching units 300R has the leading end 233R which is located at an axially outwardly of the plucking cylinder 16 than the trailing end 234R. Accordingly, the pinching length of the pinching units 300L are oppositely directed to the pinching length of the pinching units 300R. Therefore, the movable blade 31 L is disposed to have its outside surface directed forwardly of the plucking cylinder 16 with respect to the rotation direction of the plucking cylinder 16. In other words, the movable blade 31 L is disposed to have its outside surface directed axially inwardly from the lengthwise end of the plucking cylinder 16.
Furthermore, the stationary blade 23L is cooperative with the movable blade 31 L to define a depilation area D therebetween in Fig. 9. The depilation area is along the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. The depilation area has a pinching width S in Fig. 9 (b) parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16, and a pinching length along the length of the movable blade 31 L and the stationary blade 23L. The pinching width is defined by a distance between the leading end of the stationary blade 23L and the trailing end of the movable blade 31 L.
The holder 250L is mounted on the support plate 40 such that the holder 250L is located between the stationary blades 23L. In addition, the coupling plate 22L is interposed between the holder 250L and the support 40. The projection 28L is arranged between the pinching units 300L. Therefore, the projection 28L has the projection length which is inclined with respect to the pinching length of the adjacent pinching units 300L. Therefore, the projection 28L is arranged to have the leading end which is directed axially inwardly from the lengthwise end of the plucking cylinder 16.
The holder 250C is mounted on the support plate 40. Consequently, the projection 28L is arranged between the pinching unit 300L and the pinching unit 300R. Therefore, the projection 28C has the projection length which is inclined with respect to the pinching length of the adjacent pinching unit 300L and the adjacent pinching unit 300R. Subsequently, the fixing pin 44 is inserted through the plucking cylinder 16 such that the fixing pin 44 passes through the holes 34 and the holes of the leg 29L, 29C, 29R. Consequently, the movable blade 31 L swings about a tip of the fulcrum plate 33L according to the movement of the actuation bar 36a. Consequently, the movable blade 31 L swings about a tip of the fulcrum plate 33L according to the movement of the actuation bar 36a.
In this manner, the pinching units 300L, 300R are disposed on the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. A pair of the plucking cylinders 16 is supported to the head 7 through the shaft 47 such that the plucking cylinder 16a has the longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16b. The plucking cylinders 16 are arranged along a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the plucking cylinder 16. As shown in Fig. 6, the stationary blade 210L and the movable blade 220L have the length along the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. When the actuation bar 36a to 36f is driven to reciprocate along the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16, the movable blade 220L is swung about a tip of the fulcrum plate 33L. Therefore, according to the movement of the actuation bar 36a to 36f along the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16, the movable blade 31 L is moved toward and away from the stationary blade 23L about a tip of the fulcrum plate 33L. When the movable blade 31 L is moved away from the stationary blade 23L, the movable blade 31 L is moved into the opened position such that the movable blade 31 L is spaced from the stationary blade 23L. Therefore, in a condition where the movable blade 31 L is in the opened position, the movable blade 31 L is cooperative with the stationary blade 23L to form the gap between the movable blade 31 L and the stationary blade 23L. On the other hand, when the movable blade 31 L is moved toward the stationary blade 23L, the movable blade 31 L is moved into the pinch position such that the movable blade 31 L closes the gap. Therefore, the stationary blade 23L is fixed to the plucking cylinder 16. The movable blade 31 L is configured to move relative to the stationary blade 23L. Fig. 5 (a) shows an arrangement of the pinching units 300L, 300R on the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. As shown in Fig. 5 (a), the pinching units are arranged on the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16 such that the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade 31 L has their lengths inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16 as well as the circumferential direction D of the plucking cylinder 16. In addition, a plurality of the support plates 40 is mounted at the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. Therefore, the pinching units 300L, 300R are arranged in a plurality of rows which are spaced circumferentially of the plucking cylinder. Each row includes a plurality of the pinching units which are spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis. In addition, one row is offset from the other adjacent rows in the longitudinal axis. Therefore, the pinching units 300L, 300R are arranged along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis and spaced from each other in said longitudinal axis.
The gears 6 are provided for rotation of the plucking cylinder 16. For more detail, one of the gears 6 is meshed with the gear 17 of each of the plucking cylinder 16. Therefore, the plucking cylinder 16 is rotated according to the rotation of the gears 6. In addition, both of the plucking cylinders 16 are rotated in the same rotation direction.
The drive source 4 is provided for rotating one of the gears 17. The drive source 4 is such as a motor and a battery. The drive source 4 is started upon the switch 3 being pressed.
The depilatory device is operated as follows. To begin with, the plucking cylinders 16 are urged against the user's skin through the opening of the guard 10 of the head 7. Consequently, the hairs are inserted into the head 7 through the opening with the cross bars. Subsequently, the switch 3 is pressed. Upon the button 3 is pressed, the battery supplies electrical power to the motor 4. When the motor 4 is energized by the battery, the motor 4 rotates one of the gears 6 through a connecting shaft 400. Therefore, rotation movement of the gears 6 is transmitted to the plucking cylinders 16 through the gears 6. Accordingly, the plucking cylinders 16 are rotated in the rotation direction shown in Fig. 4. In this way, the motor 4 activates gears in order to rotate the plucking cylinder 16. Therefore, the gears 6 are cooperative with the gear 17 to define the plucking mechanism. The plucking cylinder 16 runs on the user's skin according to the rotation of the plucking cylinder 16, thereby the depilatory device moving toward a direction U. Therefore, the depilatory device plucks the hairs in the depilatory area of the skin by one of the plucking cylinder16, and subsequently plucks the hairs in the depilatory area of the skin again. In addition, the plucking cylinder 16 carries the pinching units 300L. The leading ends 233L, 243L of the stationary blade 210L and the movable blade 220L are respectively directed axially outwardly from the lengthwise center of the plucking cylinder 16. Therefore, according to the rotation of the plucking cylinder 16, the pinching units 300L are cooperative with the pinching units 300R to stretch the user's skin. Consequently, the hair in the skin is erected by the pinching units 300L, 300R. The guide plates 32L, 24L guides the erected hairs into the gap between the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade 31 L.
At this moment, the rollers 9 continuously apply the pressure along the longitudinal axis to one of the pads of the actuation bars 36a to 36f which is located at the tip of the head 7. According to the pressure from the rollers 9, the actuation bar 36a is moved toward the inside of the plucking cylinder 16 along the insertion hole 19. Upon the actuation bar 36a moving toward the inside of the plucking cylinder 16, the movable blade 31 L is swung about the lower end of the fulcrum plate 33L. Therefore, according to the movement of the actuation bar 36 toward the inside of the plucking cylinder 16, the movable blade 31 L is moved toward the stationary blade 23L such that the gap between the movable blade 31 L and the stationary blade 23L is closed. That is, the movable blade 31 L is moved into the pinch position. Therefore, the stationary blade 23L is cooperative with the movable blade 31 L to pinch the hair in the gap.
In addition, because the movable blade 31 L is formed with the cutout 48L, the hairs are inserted into the gap through the cutout 48L. Therefore, the stationary blade 23L is cooperative with the movable blade to pinch the hair which is passed through the cutout 48L.
The motor 4 continuously rotates the plucking cylinder 16 continuously toward the rotation direction T. Therefore, the pinching units 300L carried by the plucking cylinder 16 are rotated about the shaft 47 while pinching the user's hairs within the depilation area. Consequently, the plucking cylinder 16 plucks the user's hairs. When the plucking cylinder 16 is rotated along the rotation direction while the pinching unit 300L pinching the user's hairs, the actuation bar 36a is moved from a tip of the head to the lower end of the head 7. Therefore, according to the rotation of the plucking cylinder 16, the pressure applied to the actuation bar 35a from the rollers 9 is removed. Therefore, the spring 45 applies the spring biases to the actuation bar 36a so that the actuation bars 36a is moved toward an outside of the plucking cylinder along the longitudinal axis. Upon the actuation bars 36a to 36f are moved toward the outside of the plucking cylinder 16 along the longitudinal axis, the movable blade 31 L is moved away from the stationary blade 23L. That is, the movable blade 31 L is moved into the opened position. Consequently, the pinching units 23L release the user's hair. In this manner, the rollers 9 apply the pressure to the actuation bars 36a to 36f in order, and the plucking cylinder continuously plucks the user's hairs. In addition, this plucking cylinder 16 has the pinching units. The pinching units 300L, 300R are arranged in rows which are arranged along the circumferential direction. Therefore, the depilatory device is configured to pluck the hairs many times per one rotation. Consequently, the depilatory device is configured to pluck a large amount of the hairs per one rotation of the plucking cylinder 16.
The depilatory device in this invention has the pinching units 300L which has a large pinching width. Fig. 9 (a) shows a development view of the plucking cylinder 16 with the pinching units in the present invention. The pinching units are arranged in the rows. The rows are arranged along the circumferential direction of the plucking cylinder 16 such that the pinching units in the rows are staggered from the other pinching units in the other adjacent rows. The plucking cylinder has a depilatory length within which the pinching units are arranged. Each of the pinching units has the depilation area which has the pinching width which continuously extending along the longitudinal axis in the longitudinal axis. Therefore, a sum of the pinching widths is equal to the depilatory length. However, it is also possible that a sum of the pinching widths is larger than the depilatory length. Further, the pinching units 300L in the left half of the plucking cylinder has the pinching length which is differently inclined with respect to the pinching length of the pinching units 300R in the right half of the plucking cylinder 16. Therefore, the pinching units 300L is disposed to have the introducing direction which is differently inclined with respect to the introducing direction of the pinching units 300R in the same row. Therefore, the hairs which are grown toward a various direction is received by the pinching units 300L, 300R which have the pinching lengths differently inclined each other. Therefore, the depilatory device in the present invention with the pinching units 300L, 300R is capable of receiving the hairs which are grown toward a various direction. That is, the depilatory device in this invention has a large depilation effect of removing the hairs.
Fig. 9 (a) shows a development view of the plucking cylinder with the pinching units. The pinching units are arranged in the rows. Therefore, the pinching units are arranged along a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plucking cylinder 16. In addition, the pinching units 300L, 300R are spaced from each other in said longitudinal axis.
As above mentioned, the plucking cylinder 16 carries a plurality of pinching units 300L, 300R. Each of the pinching units 300L has the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade 31 L. Therefore, the hairs are inserted into the gap through a portion between the leading end 233L and the leading end 243L. In addition, the hairs are inserted into the gap through the cutout 48L. Consequently, when the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade 31 L are in the pinch position, the stationary blade 23L is cooperative with the movable blade 31 L to pinch the hair which is inserted into the gap through the cutout 48L and the portion between the leading end 233L and the leading end 243L. Therefore, the pinching unit 300L with the cutout 48L is configured to pinch the hairs which are grown toward the various directions. Therefore, the pinching unit 300L with the cutout 48L is configured to pinch a large amount of the hairs.
Further, the stationary blade 23L has the edge which is outwardly curved. The radius curvature of the outwardly curved edge of the stationary blade 23L is shorter than the curvature radius of the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. Similarly, the movable blade 31 L has the edge which is outwardly curved. The radius curvature of the outwardly curved edge of the movable blade 31 L is shorter than the curvature radius of the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder 16. Consequently, the edge of each of the stationary blade 23L and the movable blade 31 L prevents the skin from entering between the movable blade 31 L and the stationary blade 23L. Therefore, the movable blade 31 L and the stationary blade 23L never pinch the skin.
Fig. 12 and Fig.13 show a modification of the movable blade 31 L. The movable blade 31 L in this modification is formed with a bent plate 49L. The bent plate 49L extends from one end of the cutout 48L and extends forwardly with respect to the rotation direction of the plucking cylinder 16. In particular, the bent plate 49L extending toward a direction opposite from the pinching length of the pinching unit 300L. That is, as shown in Fig. 14, the bent plate 49L extends toward the direction which is inclined with respect to the pinching length. Therefore, stationary blade 23L is cooperative with the movable blade 31 L to pinch a large amount of the hairs.

Claims

A depilatory device for removal of human hairs comprising:
a housing formed at its upper end with a head;

a plucking cylinder supported to said head and being driven to rotate about a longitudinal axis of said plucking cylinder, said plucking cylinder carrying a plurality of pinching units at a circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder, each pinching unit being composed of a first blade and a second blade arranged in an opposed relation with each other, each pinching unit having a pinching length extending along the circumferential surface of said plucking cylinder, at least one of said first blade and said second blade being movable toward and away from the other of said first blade and said second blade to move between an opened position and a pinch position, said first blade and said second blade being configured to form a gap therebetween within said pinching length in opened position and being configured to close the gap for pinching the hair in said gap between said first blade and said second blade;

a pinching mechanism being configured to drive said at least the first blade and the second blade between said opened position and said pinch position;

a plucking mechanism configured to rotate said plucking cylinder for plucking the hair pinched by said first blade and said second blade; and
wherein
said at least one of the first blade and the second blade being formed at a portion intermediate its pinching length with a cutout.
The depilatory device as set forth in claim 1, wherein
said pinching unit has its pinching length inclined with respect to the circumferential direction as well as the axial direction of the plucking cylinder.
The depilatory device as set forth in claim 2, wherein
each of said first blades has an inside face which faces with an inside face of said second blade, and an outside face which is opposite to said inside face of the first blade,
said first blade being arranged to have said outside face directed forwardly of said plucking cylinder with respect to a rotation direction of the plucking cylinder, and
said first blade being formed with said cutout.
The depilatory device as set forth in claim 2, wherein
said pinching unit is formed at its one pinching length with a leading end with respect to a rotation direction of plucking cylinder,
said pinching units being disposed to have said leading end directed axially outwardly from lengthwise center of the plucking cylinder,
each of said first blade has an inside face which faces with an inside face of said second blade, and an outside face which is opposite to said inside face of the first blade,
said first blade being arranged to have said outside face directed forwardly with respect to a rotation direction of the plucking cylinder, and
said first blade being formed with said cutout.
The depilatory device as set forth in claim 1, wherein
said second blade is fixed to said plucking cylinder while said first blade is movable relative to said first blade along said longitudinal axis, and
said first blade is formed with said cutout.
The depilatory device as set forth in claim 1, wherein
said at least one of the first blade and the second blade being formed at its lengthwise center with said cutout.
The depilatory device as set forth in claim 1, wherein
each of said first blade and said second blade has an outwardly curved edge.
The depilatory device as set forth in claim 7, wherein
said outwardly curved edge has a curvature radius which is equal to or shorter than a curvature radius of the circumferential surface of the plucking cylinder.
The depilatory device as set forth in claim 1, wherein
at least one of said first blade and said second blade is formed with a bent plate extending from one end of said cutout in an inclined relation with the pinching length.