JP2014521410A - Skin treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

  The present invention relates to a skin treatment device used for industrial and personal use. In particular, the present invention comprises a drive unit (20), a first attachment (30), and a second attachment (40), the first attachment (30) comprises a brush, and the second attachment is a hair removal or tweezer unit. The first attachment comprises a gear box, the second attachment comprises a gear box, and the gear box provided on the second attachment provides a gear reduction of at least 1.25 to 4. The invention further relates to a method of using such a device for human skin treatment.

Description

  The present invention relates to a skin treatment device used for industrial and personal use. The device can be used to obtain cosmetic or health benefits, for example, a massage effect, or skin cleansing and refreshing, or for applying a cosmetic composition.

  There are a wide variety of moisturizers and other cosmetics to satisfy interest in clean and healthy beautiful skin and face. Compared to these proposals in the cosmetic industry, the use of skin care devices and devices is somewhat limited, but much effort has also been made in the field.

  U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,788 discloses an electric motor, a polishing pad holder, and a hair removal device provided with a polishing pad. This device is intended, for example, to remove body hair such as legs from the skin by friction.

  EP 1 429 670 A2 discloses an ultrasonic cleaning device comprising a handle and a brush located at the proximal end of the handle. The cleaning device further includes an ultrasonic vibrator operably attached to the brush. A battery placed in the interior space of the handle supplies power to the ultrasonic vibrator. Ultrasonic vibration is transmitted from the vibrator through the brush to the bristle material. In this way, the cleaning device can be used for cleaning the skin.

  WO 2010/100527 A1 discloses a device for face care. This face care device includes a tubular body and a so-called face pack extending in the axial direction from the tubular body. The face pack includes a face tool that rotates about an axis and a subassembly coupled to the axis. The subassembly includes a spinner that is pivoted to rotate about an axis extending from the tubular body. The spinner includes release fingers that extend radially in opposition and are elastically biased. These release fingers removably implement an applicator tool (eg, a facial tool) for rotation with the spinner. The spinner is attached to the main gear by a slip bearing.

US Pat. No. 2,714,788 European Patent No. 1 429 670 A2 International Patent No. 2010/100527 A1

  An object of this invention is to provide the skin treatment apparatus which can be used for multiple purposes. The skin treatment device should be suitable for use with one or several devices, and its use should be intuitive and safe. Furthermore, the skin treatment device should be gentle, but provide effective hair removal tailored to each individual's preference and skin properties.

  The present invention relates to a skin treatment device used for industrial and personal use. In particular, the present invention comprises a drive unit (20), a first attachment, and a second attachment, the first attachment comprises a brush, the second attachment comprises an epilation or depilation unit, The first attachment comprises a gear box, the second attachment comprises a gear box, and the gear box provided on the second attachment provides a gear reduction of at least 1.25-4. The invention further relates to a method of using such a device for human skin treatment.

The top view of the skin treatment apparatus of this invention provided with a 1st attachment is shown. 2 shows a side view of the skin treatment device of FIG. The top view of the skin treatment apparatus of this invention provided with a 2nd attachment is shown. The partial cutaway side view of a skin treatment apparatus provided with the 1st attachment is shown.

  The skin treatment device includes a drive unit and first and second attachments. The skin treatment device may be provided as a kit with two, three or more attachments. One attachment at a time can be used with the drive unit. In addition or alternatively, the drive unit may activate two or more attachments simultaneously. However, a drive unit that can operate one attachment at a time has proven useful. Therefore, the attachment is removably attached to the drive unit. The drive unit can be operated manually or by a motor. In many cases, the drive unit is operated by an electric motor. This electric motor is operated by a battery, for example by a rechargeable battery. A drive unit that requires a cable to connect to a power source during operation is also useful.

  The first attachment can comprise, for example, a brush-shaped skin treatment tool or element, and can comprise an output element. Alternatively, an output element such as a gearbox shape can be part of the drive unit. Alternatively or additionally, the drive unit can further comprise a gearbox or a power transmission element.

  The second attachment can be a tweezer or a hair removal attachment. The tweezer attachment is used to remove hair from the skin surface by cutting the hair slightly above the skin surface and generally near the skin surface. This can also be called shaving. In this way, tweezers can be carried out by a wet shaving process, preferably using a cartridge blade with two, three, or four or more blades. Further, the hair removal process may be an electric shaving process, and generally the movable block of the blade moves relative to a metal foil having an opening for body hair. Another useful embodiment of the invention comprises a first attachment in the shape of a hair removal attachment. In the hair removal treatment, the body hair is pulled out of the skin. Therefore, the entire body hair is removed from the skin. Both treatments cause some stress in the area of the skin to be treated, especially in the hair removal treatment. For example, in the case of a hair removal treatment, the treatment can be made more efficient by increasing the hair removal speed or by increasing the number of hair removal for pulling out. However, efficiency gains from such methods often expose the skin to more stress and sometimes increase pain sensation. Therefore, there is always a need for providing a gentle but efficient process.

  It has been found that the skin treatment device is quite effective when used with the first attachment. Treating the skin with a brush can give a certain amount of massage and cleansing effects. The appearance of the skin can be improved overall. In addition, the first attachment can enhance the effectiveness of the skin treatment device when used with a second attachment (which is widely used). Surprisingly, it has been found that it is more efficient to treat the skin with the second attachment before using the first attachment, particularly in removing hair by removing hair. Although such an effect has not yet been fully elucidated, the second attachment may have removed particles on the skin surface, thereby increasing access to body hair. Thereby, the hair removal by a 1st attachment is made more efficient.

  It has been found that this effect is particularly significant when the rotational speed of the first attachment is adapted to the situation. For a drive unit for use with a second attachment, and in particular with a hair removal attachment, the second attachment comprises a gearbox, and the gearbox provided on the first attachment provides a gear reduction of at least 1.25 to 10 Is useful. 1.25 to 5, or 1.25 to 4, or 1.5 to 3 have also been found useful. Gear reduction leads to a reduction in the rotational speed of the brush compared to the rotational speed from the output shaft. In this way, the brush rotates at a lower speed than the output shaft.

  In the case where the first attachment includes a gear box that provides a first gear reduction and the second attachment includes a gear box that provides a second gear reduction, the first gear reduction is greater than the second reduction, and the ratio Should be 1 to 5 or 2 to 3.

  Further, it has been found useful for the brush head provided in the first attachment to have a specific range of average diameters. If the brush is circular, the average diameter is the standard diameter. If the brush is non-circular, the average diameter is the diameter of the circular brush equal to the area of the actual non-circular brush. An average diameter of 1 cm to 7 cm or 3 cm to 5 cm has been found useful. Such a diameter allows the skin treatment device to be easily handled and an appropriate strength force applied to the skin when the device is gripped by the user's hand. It has also been found that the device can be used efficiently and gently enough when the ratio between the gear reduction and the average diameter in centimeters is 1 to 2. As an example, a gear reduction 2 is useful for a brush with an average diameter of 4 centimeters, and thus a centimeter value of 4. It can also provide a drive unit that can be battery powered and provides sufficient power for an efficient skin treatment process. Selecting an appropriate gear reduction will also help to avoid damage to the drive unit. When manually operating the first attachment, a force that is not too great should be transmitted to the drive unit. The gear reduction described above helps in this case.

  Furthermore, a disengagement mechanism can be provided to protect the drive unit and the gear box. Such a disengagement mechanism of the first attachment enables the chassis and drive unit supporting the skin treatment element, such as a rotating support element that supports the brush and chassis and is connected to the gearbox, to be separated. To do. It is useful to provide such a disengagement mechanism as follows. That is, the drive unit includes an output element such as a gear box and a rotation support element, the rotation support element includes a protrusion, the attachment includes a skin treatment element and a chassis for the skin treatment element, and the chassis includes the rotation support element of the drive unit. A plurality of recesses that engage with the projections of the chassis, the chassis can be supported by the rotation support element, and the projections can be guided to the engagement position with the recesses, and the chassis is supported by the rotation support element While being supported, it can be guided to the disengagement position with the recess. It is useful that the recess forms a toothed ring. Thereby, many recessed parts can be provided in the proximity position. It is useful to make the shape of the protrusion into a latch shape, for example, a latch shape biased by a spring.

  It is equally useful to connect the first attachment and the drive unit through an eccentric part. This increases the efficiency of driving the first attachment.

  Useful first attachment gear reduction can be achieved by providing: That is, the first attachment includes a drive shaft for transmitting rotational motion from the drive unit to the drive axis, the drive shaft is connected to the sprocket, the sprocket is engaged with the crown gear, and the crown gear is connected to the drive axis. The

In the present invention, a method for treating human skin comprising the following steps is useful:
-Treating the skin with a vibrating brush, treating the skin with a skin treatment device comprising a drive unit and a first attachment comprising a brush;
Removing body hair from the skin using a skin treatment device comprising a drive unit and a second attachment comprising a hair removal or tweezer unit;
The drive unit can operate at a first set speed, the set speed being used for both steps;

  The method can be performed in a different order. For example, body hair can first be removed from the skin, and the skin can be treated with a vibrating brush in subsequent steps. This method does not increase the efficiency of the hair removal treatment, but can provide a massage and a soothing effect. If the method includes an additional step of applying lotion to the skin or brush, the sedative effect can be enhanced.

  Alternatively, skin treatment with a vibrating brush can be performed before removing hair from the skin. This process sequence has been found to improve the efficiency of hair removal. As one efficient treatment, the skin is treated with a brush for 24 to 72 hours before the step of removing hair from the skin. The brushing process is considered as a preparation for the removal of hair from the skin. As already explained, removal of particles on the skin surface can contribute to the realization of this effect. This brushing process causes some stress on the skin. Waiting for 24 to 72 hours before applying another skin treatment step restores the skin. Alternatively, the step of treating the skin with a vibrating brush is performed for 60 to 1 minute before the step of removing body hair from the skin. Although there is a possibility of acclimatization, the skin is exposed to slightly increased stress, and the timing of these two treatments makes it possible to perform both processes basically once, especially in one place such as a bathhouse. Therefore, a time-efficient hair removal process is realized. In any case, especially when the hair removal treatment is performed, but not limited to the hair removal treatment, pretreatment of the skin by brushing will significantly improve the efficiency of the hair removal treatment. By using the first and second attachments at the gear reduction ratio described above, a specific effect can be obtained.

  It is particularly beneficial to be able to use one and the same drive unit with the first and second attachments. In particular, the case where four speed settings are possible in the drive unit is, for example, the case of the first (slower) and second (faster) speeds. Various users will generally select individual speed levels according to personal preferences. Such preferences can be influenced by skin properties. For example, a user with more sensitive skin will often use a slower speed. The user can use the first and second attachments with the same drive unit and the same personal speed setting. As an example, if a slower speed is used, both processing steps will be relatively friendly to this particular user. The gear reduction level of the second attachment relative to the first attachment should be selected to suit typical user habits that most users will reapply their personal speed settings in both processing steps. Can do.

  FIG. 1 shows a skin treatment device 10 with a first attachment together with the essential elements of the present invention. The device 10 comprises a drive unit 20. The drive unit comprises a motor that generally provides rotational or oscillating motion to an output device. The motor is typically an electric motor that can be driven by a battery, preferably a rechargeable battery. The drive unit 20 comprises a switch 22 for turning the unit on or off and / or selecting another operating mode. The switch 22 can select the first speed by matching the position 24 and can select the second speed by matching the position 26.

  The attachment 30 can be connected to the drive unit 20. A variety of suitable coupling means are well known, but in many cases a positive fit is useful. Other attachments can also be coupled to the drive unit, for example, attachment 30 can serve as the first attachment, and another attachment can serve as the second or third attachment, which are also the same drive unit. 20 can be connected. As shown, the attachment 30 includes a brush 32. Here, the term brush is used in a broad sense and refers to a tool that can be provided with conventional bristle materials made of a variety of materials, as is known in other fields. The brush may be provided with rubber tools, which may be in the form of bristle or in the form of a bar or string. The brush 32 is generally circular in outer shape, but may have another shape.

  FIG. 2 shows a side view of the same device 20. As is apparent from this side view, the main axis of the drive unit and the rotation axis of the brush 32 are inclined in the directions of each other. Angles in the range of 90 ° to 135 ° and 100 ° to 120 ° have been found to be convenient and efficient for operation. As can be easily seen from this side view, the attachment 30 includes a gear box 60 on which a brush 32 is mounted together with a brush chassis 34. The gear box 60 is connected to the brush chassis 34 through the rotational support element 50, but in this drawing can only be seen as a connecting structure such as a ring between the brush chassis 34 and the gear box 60.

  FIG. 3 shows a skin treatment device 10 with a second attachment together with the essential elements of the present invention. The second attachment is a hair removal attachment 40. The hair removal attachment 40 includes a hair removal cylinder 42. The epilation cylinder 42 can contact the skin. The epilation cylinder 42 rotates about its main axis (located in the horizontal direction in FIG. 3). The rotation is induced by the drive unit 20 described above. The hair removal cylinder 42 is provided with a tweezer that can pull out the body hair. A skin contact roller 46 is arranged to facilitate device guidance and to reduce pain sensation to some extent. Roller can also provide additional massage functions. As described above, the present invention broadly relates to the skin treatment apparatus 10, and the skin treatment apparatus 10 includes the driving device 20, the first attachment 30, and the second attachment 40, and the first attachment 30 is usually perpendicular to the skin. The second attachment 40 includes a skin contact roller 46 that rotates about an axis parallel to the skin.

  FIG. 4 shows a partially cutaway side view of the skin treatment device 10 with the second attachment. The details of the gearbox 60 can be easily known from this figure. Power is transmitted from the drive unit 20 to the (input) drive shaft 64. A sprocket 66 is attached to the drive shaft. A crown gear 68 is provided to cooperate with the sprocket. The crown gear 68 is attached to the drive axis 70. This axis is inclined at an angle of about 110 ° with respect to the drive shaft 64. Angles in the range of 90 ° to 135 ° and 100 ° to 120 ° have been found to be convenient and efficient for operation. In this way, an angle gear that serves as a two-stage reduction unit is arranged overall. Gear (or speed) deceleration can be from 1.25 to 10 times. 1.25 to 5, or 1.25 to 4, or 1.5 to 3 have also been found useful. It is also clear that this robust structure easily fits inside the outer shape of the gearbox 60.

  The drive axis 70 is parallel to the central support axis 72 (as can be seen from the side view). The central support axis 72 is not a driven axis. Thus, the central support axis 72 supports the rotation support element 50 in rotation. Accordingly, the rotational support element 50 has one degree of freedom to move around the support axis 72.

  The rotation support element 50 includes a rotation plate 52 to which a latch 54 is attached. The latch 54 is spring-biased by a spring element 56. Further, a support plate 58 is attached on the rotating plate 52. The support plate 58 provides support for a skin treatment element (not shown). A rotational oscillating motion can be imparted to the rotational support element 50. This movement is transmitted by the drive axis 70. This drive axis has an eccentric portion 74. The eccentric portion 74 includes an eccentric ring 76 having an eccentric pin 78. The pin 78 may cooperate with a slot (not shown here) in the rotating plate 52.

  The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Rather, unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 millimeters” is intended to mean “about 40 millimeters”.

Claims (14)

A skin treatment device (10),
A drive unit (20), a first attachment (30), and a second attachment (40);
The first attachment (30) comprises a brush, and the second attachment (40) comprises a hair removal or tweezer unit;
A skin treatment device (10) wherein the first attachment comprises a gearbox, the second attachment comprises a gearbox, and the gearbox provided on the second attachment provides a gear reduction of at least 1.25-4.   The skin treatment device (10) according to claim 2, wherein the brush comprises a brush head, the brush head having an average diameter of 1 cm to 5 cm.   The skin treatment device (10) according to claim 2, wherein the ratio of the gear reduction to the centimeter value of the average diameter is 2 to 3.   The skin treatment device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first attachment is connected to the drive unit through an eccentric. A skin treatment device (10),
A drive unit (20) and an attachment (30);
The drive unit (20) includes an output element (60) and a rotation support element (50),
The rotational support element (50) comprises a protrusion, and the attachment (30) comprises a skin treatment element (32) and a chassis (34) for the skin treatment element (32);
The chassis comprises a number of recesses that cooperate with the protrusions of the rotational support element (50) of the drive unit;
The chassis (34) can be supported by the rotational support element (50);
The protrusion can be guided to an engagement position with the recess, and is in an engagement release position with the recess while the chassis (34) is supported by the rotation support element (50). The skin treatment device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, which can be guided.   The skin treatment device (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the recess forms a toothed ring.   The skin treatment device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the protrusion is provided as a latch shape (54). A skin treatment device (10),
A first attachment (30) having a drive shaft (62) for transmitting rotational motion from the drive unit (20) to the drive shaft (70);
The drive shaft (62) is connected to a sprocket (66), the sprocket (66) engages a crown gear (68), and the crown gear (68) is connected to the drive shaft (70). The skin treatment device (10) according to any one of Items 1 to 7. A human skin treatment method,
-Treating the skin with a vibrating brush, treating the skin with a skin treatment device comprising a drive unit and a first attachment comprising said brush;
Removing body hair from the skin using a skin treatment device comprising a drive unit and a second attachment comprising a hair removal or tweezer unit; and
The driving unit can operate at a first set speed, and the set speed is used in both steps.   The method of claim 9, further wherein a second set speed can be used.   11. A method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the step of treating the skin with a vibrating brush is performed for 24 to 72 hours prior to the step of removing body hair from the skin.   The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the step of treating the skin with a vibrating brush is performed for 60 minutes to 1 minute before the step of removing body hair from the skin.   13. The first attachment of claim 1, wherein the first attachment comprises a gear box, the second attachment comprises a gear box, and the gear box of the second attachment provides a gear reduction of at least 1 to 2.5. The method according to any one of the above. A kit,
A drive unit (10), a first attachment (30), and a second attachment;
The first attachment (30) comprises a brush, the second attachment comprises a hair removal or tweezer unit;
The first attachment includes a gear box, the second attachment includes a gear box, and the gear box included in the second attachment provides a gear reduction of at least 1 to 2.5.

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