JPH0429364B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a hair removal device useful for cosmetic purposes.

Hair in unwanted areas of the human body remains a source of embarrassment and trouble to an entire generation of women to this day. Cream hair removal agents are widely used despite their discomfort during use, but they sometimes cause irritation to the skin. Melting waxes have also been applied to the skin for hair removal.

Both hand-operated and power-driven mechanical hair removal devices are known. Examples of hand-operated devices include U.S. Pat.
No. and Swiss Patent No. 268696, this uses a coil spring, and the hair is sandwiched between the spirals of the coil spring, and when the space between the spirals is closed, the hair is released. It is something that pulls out. The operation of this type of device has the drawbacks of being very inefficient, slow and painful during hair removal.

For power-driven hair removal devices, U.S. Pat.
No. 2900661 and US Pat.
No. 4079741. US Patent No. 2900661
In this issue, a wedge-shaped rotating drum is described for trapping and removing feathers, hair, etc. from poultry. U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,741 describes a tweezing device using coil springs arranged in a shaft-like manner. It is compressed and tensioned in a reciprocating manner by a cam operated by. This device is relatively complex and expensive, and is not suitable for home use.

In summary, among the conventional mechanical hair removal devices, there is no device suitable for home use that efficiently performs cosmetic tweezing. In short, products similar to men's electric razors are known to have the disadvantage of not being able to be used to pull out female hair from the root, but considering the high range, advertising and sales of creams. , it can be readily appreciated that there is a widespread need for such devices.

An object of the present invention is to provide on the market a hair removal device that can effectively remove hair using a device that is advantageous in size, complexity, cost, and convenience compared to electric razors.

Embodiments of the present invention include a portable housing, a motor device disposed in the housing, and a plurality of hairs arranged to be driven by the motor device to produce a rotary sliding motion relative to the hair-bearing skin to be plucked. a coil spring having adjacent windings, the coil spring being arranged to define a convex side where the windings are spread apart and a corresponding concave side where the windings are pressed together. The coil spring has an engaging part with arc-shaped bristles, and by the rotational movement of the coil spring, the windings are continuously moved from the direction in which the convex side spreads apart to the direction in which they are pressed together on the concave side, and To provide a hair removal device that engages and pulls hairs from the skin of the skin, such that the surface speed of the winding relative to the skin is much greater than the surface speed of the housing relative to the skin.

Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the arcuate hair engagement portion of the coil spring is spread along an arc of 90 degrees or more, preferably 180 degrees or more, so that the surface velocities of the windings of the coil spring are perpendicular to each other. The hair removal rate is sufficiently increased by simultaneously including the component force that stretches the hair.

Other embodiments of the invention include a portable housing, a motor device disposed in the housing;
a plurality of adjacent windings arranged in a loop and driven by a motor arrangement for rotational movement; a convex side with the windings spread apart by a loop of a coil spring; The wires are pressed against each other by limiting the engagement portion with the arc-shaped bristles over almost the entire length, and from the direction in which the convex side spreads and separates due to the rotational movement of the coil spring. To provide an electric hair removal device in which windings are continuously moved in a direction in which concave surfaces are pressed against each other, and engage and pull out hair on the skin of an object.

In embodiments of the present invention, the coil spring may be oriented such that on the convex side of the bristle engagement portion, the angle between adjacent windings is at least The temperature should be 1.5 degrees, preferably 2.0 degrees.

Furthermore, embodiments of the invention provide for orienting the coil spring such that on the convex side of the bristle engagement portion, the direction of adjacent windings spread apart provides a maximum separation distance of at least 0.15 mm, preferably 0.2 mm. Make it so that

Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention drive the coil spring at least 70 meters/min, preferably
The rotational movement is made at a surface speed in the range of 100 m/min to 200 m/min.

Further, in an embodiment of the present invention, the housing is defined as a housing consisting of two parts, one part containing the motor device and the other part containing the coil spring. To enable a coil spring to be easily sterilized or replaced as desired by making a part including a motor device easily removable from a part including a motor device.

The motor arrangement is preferably of the electric type, but other driven motor arrangements such as aerodynamic or hydraulic motor arrangements can also be used. The motor device typically has a pair of motors coupled to respective free ends of the coil springs. However, one motor may also be used.

The present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to the drawings.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 3, the housing 2 has a size that can be comfortably held with one hand. Electric motors 4 and 4' connected in opposite directions are disposed in the lower part of the interior of the housing 2. The shafts 6 of these electric motors are fitted with tongues 8 of couplings, typically in the form of simple staggered joints, and groove members 10 are also fitted, in this example, to the first and second spindles 12 and 12'. together with,
Both spindles are rotatably mounted on ball bearings 14 seated in bearing mounts 16 insertable into recesses 17 suitably formed in the upper part of the housing 2.

In this connection, the word “spindle” is
In its broadest sense, it is intended to include any means available for connecting the end of the coil spring to a rotational bearing and/or to a source or medium of rotational force. Alternatively, the coil springs can be attached directly to the shafts 6 of the electric motors 4 and 4' without any intermediary.
Furthermore, rotational force may be transferred from one or more electric motors to the coil spring by engaging one or more annular locations along the surface of the spring. Here, the engagement positions do not necessarily have to be at both ends of the spring.

For the purpose described below, it is necessary to make the bearing mounting part 16 replaceable, so this mounting part 16 can be attached and removed from the housing by sliding it in the recess 17 of the upper housing. Configure it so that When the bearing mounting part 16 is fully seated in the recess 17, an elastic tongue 18 integral with the mounting part 16 is snapped onto the lower part of a catch 20 bounded by the housing 2. To remove the bearing mounting portion 16 from the recess 17,
This can be done by pressing the elastic tongue 18 until its tip 22 bends beyond the reach of the hook 20, and then pulling out the bearing mounting portion 16.

The spindles 12 and 12' are formed with slightly narrowed ends 23 on which surfaces the ends of small, tightly wound coil springs 24 are secured. A preferred shape of the coil spring is shown in FIG. FIG. 4 shows an enlarged cross-section of the curved portion marked A in FIG. 1. As is clear from this figure, the curvature of the spring 24 has the effect of spreading out the windings on the convex side of the arc, while on the concave side of this arc the windings are squeezed together even more. In this way, a wedge-shaped gap 26 is formed, which serves as a means for the hair removal operation of the device, as described below.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, by suitably orienting the coil spring, on the convex side of the bristle-engaging portion, the direction of the windings extending adjacent to each other and away from each other allows for an angle between them. is at least 1.5 degrees, preferably at least 2.0 degrees.

Furthermore, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, by properly orienting the coil spring, the direction of the windings adjoining each other and extending apart on the convex side of the bristle engagement portion provides a maximum separation distance. is at least 0.15 mm, preferably at least 0.2 mm.

A reinforcing wire 28 is inserted into the spring 24, as shown in FIG. 2, to provide some stiffness to the spring 24 so that it can conform to the user's skin, as shown below. . The wire is preferably made of steel or other suitable material and is stopped at both ends by terminal elements 30 located inside the groove member 10. The reinforcing wire 28 does not need to be involved in the rotation of the spring 24. To reduce the friction between the rotating spindles 12, 12' and the portions of the wire 28 located inside these spindles, bushings 32 are typically provided of a low friction material such as bronze or Teflon. .

The operation of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1-4 can be understood by considering each of these figures in conjunction with FIG. 5. FIG. 5 shows a portion of the skin S that has unwanted hair H that is desired to be removed. In the illustrated embodiment, the windings are arranged to suit rotation of the motor 4 in a clockwise direction, and the motor 4'
The windings are arranged to rotate in a counterclockwise direction, thereby causing the operating range of spring 24 in FIG. 5 to rotate as indicated by arrow B. As the device in the housing 2 moves forward in the direction indicated by arrow C, the bristles H3 just enter the gap 26 shown in FIG. 4, while the bristles H4 already fully enter the gap 26. The hair H5 is about to be squeezed between two adjacent windings, the rotating spring has just pulled out the hair H6, and the hair H7 is in the ejected state.

In the present invention, the winding surface on the spring 24 produces a sliding movement, rather than a rotational movement, relative to the hair to be pulled. This type of action pulls out almost all the hair in the engagement area. Furthermore, in the present invention, the surface rotation speed of the winding is much greater than the operating speed of the entire housing relative to the skin. It should be noted that the device of the present invention does not need to be pressed against the skin for proper operation.

Although the spring configuration shown in FIG. 1 has been found to be suitable for most applications, by replacing the bearing mount 16 and its associated spring 24 as described above, various other configurations may be made that are particularly suitable for particular parts of the body. It becomes possible to use a spring with a shape of .
A spring of such shape is shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 9-14. It goes without saying that each of them is now provided with its own bearing mounting. This ability to separate the components allows the spring 24 and its associated body-contacting assemblies to be disinfected separately from the motor housing, using techniques not applicable to the motor housing. Spring 2
4 can be cleaned.

The shape of the looped spring of the present invention is a feature of the present invention, and the engagement portion with the arc-shaped bristles of the spring is 90 mm.
spread along an arc greater than or equal to a degree, preferably
Make it spread along an arc of 180 degrees or more, for example 360 degrees. Thereby, the windings of the coil spring are always present at the same time, such that the velocity components are spread in mutually perpendicular directions relative to the bristles. Thus, the device of the invention operates to remove hair oriented in various directions without the need to move the housing relative to the skin in all these directions, and the hair removal efficiency is sufficiently high. be enhanced.

The actual hair plucking takes place quickly, with the spring winding having a surface velocity in the range between approximately 100 meters/min and 150 meters/min. Therefore, the degree of pain felt by the user is minimized. To alleviate this user discomfort, the present invention provides a surface speed of the spring winding of at least about 70 m/min;
Preferably the range is between 100 meters/minute and 150 meters/minute.

Another embodiment constructed and operative in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIGS. 6-8. In this example, 1
Two electric motors 4 are used and a gear transmission mechanism is used to drive both spindles 12 and 12'. An integral gear 34 is provided at the lower end of each spindle. Motor 4 drives gear 36 through the staggered joint described above with respect to FIGS. 1-4. The gear 36 is attached to a shaft 38 attached to the bearing attachment portion 16, as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the gear 36 is connected to the groove member 1.
Make it one with 0. The other spindle 12 is driven by the same gear 36, but in this case an idle gear 40 is interposed between the idle gear 40 and the idle gear 40.
0 so as to provide the desired opposite rotation relative to the spindle 12'.

In another simplified version of this embodiment, one motor 4 can be connected directly to one of the two spindles, for example spindle 12. In this case, the gear train and spindle 12' are not provided, and the bearing 14 is connected to the spring 24.
provided only for rotatably resistive attachment of the non-drive end to the housing.

In still other embodiments, a single motor having a pair of output shafts 6 may be used. In this embodiment, each output shaft can drive each one of both ends of the spring 24 to rotate it.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, a fixed motor is used in the form of a flexible output shaft and an associated chuck for connection with a selectable rotating implement. I can do it. In such embodiments, the device also includes 34,4
0, 36, 34, a coil spring mounted on the gear train to be driven by the gear train, and a connecting spindle for coupling the flexible output shaft to the chuck.

Figures 9 to 14 are self-explanatory schematic illustrations of several other forms of spring arrangement. The shapes shown in FIGS. 9 to 12 are generally flat if the thickness of the spring itself is ignored, but the shape of the number 8 in FIG. 13 and the spiral shape of FIG. 14 are the "legs" of these shapes. ” exists in a plane that is almost perpendicular to the plane of

Although in the preferred embodiment illustrated, the motor as described above is an electric motor powered by a storage battery or by line current from the utility mains, in embodiments of the invention it is Aerodynamic or hydraulic motors with suitable speed controls may also be used.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the embodiments illustrated above and that it can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its essential characteristics. ,it is obvious. Therefore, the present embodiments are illustrative in all respects and are not intended to be limiting, and it is desirable to consider the appended claims rather than the above description. It is therefore intended that the invention include all modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway, slightly enlarged front view of a hair removal device constructed and operative in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is also shown in FIG.
3 shows the device of FIGS. 1 and 2 as shown in FIG. 1 - A side sectional view taken along the plane, FIG. 4 shows the coil spring used in the device of FIG. 1. An explanatory diagram showing an enlarged view of the part indicated by the reference character A, FIG. 5 shows the spring in FIG.
6 is a diagram showing the mechanical interconnection in another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the device of FIG. 6 in the plane of FIG. 8 is a side sectional view of the device shown in FIG. 6 taken along the plane of FIG. 6, and FIGS. 9 to 14 each show the shape of a coil spring that can be used in the device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example. 2... Housing, 4, 4'... Electric motor,
6... Shaft, 8... tongue member, 10... groove member, 12, 12'... spindle, 14... ball bearing, 16... bearing mounting part, 1
7...Indentation, 18...Elastic tongue piece, 20...Latching part, 22...Tip part, 23...End part, 24...Spring, 26...Gap, 28...Reinforcing wire, 3
0... Terminal element, 32... Bush, 34... Gear, 36... Gear, 38... Shaft, 40...
Gear, S...Skin, H, H3, H4, H5, H6, H7
……hair.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A portable housing, a motor means arranged in the housing, and arranged to be driven by the motor means to produce a rotational sliding movement against the hair-bearing skin to be plucked. , a flexible rotating body having a plurality of gaps formed on its outer surface, the rotating body having a convex side where the gaps are spread apart and a corresponding concave side where the gaps are pressed together. The gap has an engaging portion with arc-shaped bristles arranged so as to reach a limit, and the gap continues from the direction in which the convex surface side spreads and separates to the direction in which the concave surface side is pressed together by the rotational movement of the rotary body. and engage and pull hair on the skin of the object, such that the surface speed of the rotating body relative to the skin is much greater than the surface speed of the housing relative to the skin. Hair removal device. 2. In the hair removal device according to claim 1, the flexible rotating body is a coil spring, and
A hair removal device characterized in that a gap on the outer surface is also formed by adjacent windings. 3. A hair removal device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the flexible rotating body is driven to rotate at a surface speed of at least 70 meters/minute. Device. 4. A hair removal device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the flexible rotating body is driven to rotate at a surface speed of at least 100 meters/minute. Device. 5. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the flexible rotating body is driven by a spindle rotatably attached to the motor means. A hair removal device characterized in that: 6. The hair removal device according to claim 5, wherein the rotatably attached spindle is disposed in a bearing mounting portion that is detachably attached to the housing. 7. The hair removal device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible rotating body has a reinforcing wire therein. 8. The hair removal device according to claim 2, wherein a reinforcing wire is provided inside the coil spring, and the wire is kept substantially stationary with respect to the spring. 9. The hair removal device according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the reinforcing wire inside the flexible rotating body rotates together with the flexible rotating body. 10 In the hair removal device according to claim 1, the arc-shaped hair engagement portion of the flexible rotating body is expanded along an arc of 90 degrees or more, thereby increasing the surface speed of the rotating body. A hair removal device characterized in that the hair removal efficiency is sufficiently increased by including components of force that extend vertically to each other at the same time. 11. The hair removal device according to claim 1, wherein the arc-shaped hair engagement portion of the flexible rotary body extends along an arc of 180 degrees or more. . 12. In the hair removal device according to claim 1, the flexible rotary body is oriented so that the shape of adjacent gap surfaces that spread apart on the convex side of the hair engagement portion is A hair removal device characterized in that the angle is at least 1.5 degrees. 13. In the hair removal device according to claim 1, the flexible rotary body is oriented so that the shape of adjacent gap surfaces that spread apart on the convex side of the hair engaging portion is A hair removal device characterized in that the angle is at least 2.0 degrees. 14. The hair removal device according to claim 1, 12, or 13, wherein the flexible rotary body is oriented so that the hair-engaging portion is on the convex side. A hair removal device characterized in that the maximum separation distance of the gap that spreads apart is at least 0.15 mm. 15. In the hair removal device according to any one of claims 1, 12, and 13, the flexible rotating body is oriented so that the hair-engaging portion is on the convex side. A hair removal device characterized in that the maximum separation distance of the gap that spreads apart is at least 0.2 mm. 16. In the hair removal device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, the housing is defined as a housing consisting of two parts as constituent elements, one part containing a motor device and the other part containing a motor device. The part includes the flexible rotating body, and the part including the rotating body can be easily removed from the part including the motor device, so that the rotating body can be easily disinfected or replaced as desired. A hair removal device characterized by being able to perform hair removal. 17. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the motor means has one motor. 18. The hair removal device according to claim 17, wherein the motor is an electric motor. 19. A portable housing, a motor means disposed in the housing, and a flexible rotating body arranged in a loop so as to be rotated by the motor means and having a plurality of gaps formed on its outer surface. The rotating body has an engaging portion with arc-shaped bristles arranged so as to define a convex side where the caps are spread apart by the loop and a corresponding concave side where the caps are pressed together. The gap is limited over almost its entire length, and the rotational movement of the rotating body causes the gap to move continuously from the convex side in the direction of spreading apart to the concave side in the direction of being pressed together, and A hair removal device characterized by engaging and pulling out hair. 20. The hair removal device according to claim 19, wherein the flexible rotating body is a coil spring, and a gap on the outer surface is formed by adjacent windings. 21. The hair removal device according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the flexible rotating body is driven to rotate at a surface speed of at least 70 meters/minute. Device. 22. The hair removal device according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that the flexible rotating body is driven to rotate at a surface speed of at least 100 meters/minute. Device. 23. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein the flexible rotating body is driven by a spindle rotatably attached to the motor means. A hair removal device characterized in that: 24. The hair removal device according to claim 23, wherein the rotatably attached spindle is disposed in a bearing mounting portion to which the housing is detachably attached. 25. The hair removal device according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that a single electric motor is used and a gear train is used to drive the rotatably mounted spindle. Hair removal device. 26. The hair removal device according to claim 19, wherein the flexible rotating body has a reinforcing wire therein. 27. In the hair removal device according to claim 19, the flexible rotary body is oriented so that the shape of adjacent gap surfaces that spread apart on the convex side of the hair engaging portion is A hair removal device characterized in that the angle is at least 1.5 degrees. 28. In the hair removal device according to claim 19, the flexible rotary body is oriented so that the shape of adjacent gap surfaces that are spread apart on the convex side of the hair engagement portion is A hair removal device characterized in that the angle is at least 2.0 degrees. 29 The hair removal device according to any one of claims 19, 27, or 28,
A hair removal device characterized in that the flexible rotating body is oriented so that the maximum separation distance of the gap that spreads apart on the convex side of the hair engaging portion is at least 0.15 mm. . 30. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 19, 27, or 28,
A hair removal device characterized in that the flexible rotating body is oriented so that the maximum separation distance of the gap that spreads apart on the convex side of the hair engaging portion is at least 0.2 mm. . 31. In the hair removal device according to any one of claims 19 to 30, the housing is defined as a housing consisting of two parts as constituent elements, one part containing a motor device and the other part containing a motor device. The portion includes the flexible rotating member, so that the portion including the rotating member can be easily removed from the part including the motor device to facilitate disinfection or replacement of the rotating member as desired. A hair removal device characterized by being able to. 32. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 19 to 31, wherein the motor means includes a pair of motors coupled to respective opposite free ends of the flexible rotating body. Characteristic hair removal device. 33; a portable housing; at least one motor means contained within the housing; and first and second spindles rotatably mounted, at least the first spindle being coupled to the at least one motor. first and second spindles that are driven by the first spindle; one end is fixed to the first spindle and is rotatable by the at least one motor; the other end is fixed to the second spindle, and a plurality of a flexible rotating body formed with gaps of at least 180 mm, and at least a portion of the rotating body between the two spindles is formed into an arc shape with a gap of at least 180 mm.
The gap of the rotating body is spread out on the convex side of the arc shape, and the gaps of the rotating body are pressed against each other on the concave side of the arc shape, thereby creating a wedge shape. A hair removal device characterized in that a gap is formed between adjacent section portions along at least a main portion of the arcuate portion. 34. The hair removal device according to claim 33, wherein the flexible rotating body is a coil spring, and a gap on the outer surface is formed by adjacent windings. 35. The hair removal device according to claim 33 or 34, characterized in that the flexible rotating body is driven to rotate at a surface speed of at least 70 meters/minute. Device. 36. The hair removal device according to claim 33 or 34, characterized in that the flexible rotating body is driven to rotate at a surface speed of at least 100 meters/minute. Device. 37. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 33 to 36, wherein the motor is an electric motor. 38. A hair removal device according to any one of claims 33 to 36, comprising two electric motors having windings arranged to rotate in opposite directions. Device. 39. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 33 to 37, which includes only one electric motor and also drives the second spindle using a gear train, and the gear train A hair removal device comprising an idle gear that reverses the direction of rotation of the second spindle with respect to the first spindle. 40. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 33 to 39, characterized in that a reinforcing wire is provided inside the flexible rotating body. 41. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 33 to 40, characterized in that the rotatably attached spindle is disposed in a bearing attachment part that is detachably attached to the housing. Hair removal device. 42 Rotatably mounted first and second
a housing for accommodating a spindle and configured to drive at least the first spindle coupled to a rotational power source; one end fixed to the first spindle and rotatable by the rotational power source; a flexible rotating body fixed to the second spindle and having a plurality of gaps formed on its outer surface, at least a portion of the rotating body between the two spindles having an arc shape of at least 180 mm.
The gap of the rotating body is spread out on the convex side of the arc shape, and the gaps of the rotating body are pressed against each other on the concave side of the arc shape, thereby creating a wedge shape. A hair removal device characterized in that a gap is formed between adjacent section portions along at least a main portion of the arcuate portion. 43. The hair removal device according to claim 42, wherein the flexible rotating body is a coil spring, and a gap on the outer surface is formed by adjacent windings. 44. A hair removal device according to claim 42 or claim 43, characterized in that the portion of the coil spring between the two spindles forms an angle of at least 360 degrees. 45. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 42 to 44, characterized in that the rotating body is driven to rotate at a surface speed of at least 70 meters/minute. Device. 46. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 42 to 44, characterized in that the rotating body is driven to rotate at a surface speed exceeding 100 meters/min. Device. 47. The hair removal device according to any one of claims 42 to 46, characterized in that the rotatably attached spindle is disposed in a bearing attachment part that is detachably attached to the housing. Hair removal device.