WO2005016059A1

WO2005016059A1 - Hair removal device comprising tweezers

Info

Publication number: WO2005016059A1
Application number: PCT/FR2004/002096
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jérôme Fabron; Martial Maisonneuve; Bernard Gutty
Original assignee: Seb S.A.
Priority date: 2003-08-08
Filing date: 2004-08-06
Publication date: 2005-02-24
Also published as: FR2858528B1; BRPI0406521B1; CN1722965A; EP1651077B1; ES2308258T3; DE602004014155D1; RU2345690C2; ATE396630T1; BRPI0406521A; FR2858528A1; CN100462024C; EP1651077A1; RU2005120726A

Abstract

The invention relates to a hair removal comprising tweezers. The inventive device consists of a handheld casing housing an electric motor which drives a rotating roller (1) around a central shaft (7), said roller comprising one or more rows of tweezers. According to the invention, each tweezers consists of two blades which are disposed side by side in the longitudinal direction of the shaft (7), and at least one of said blades is a mobile blade (20). The invention further comprises a frame bearing the aforementioned blades, which is rotated around the shaft (7), as well as control means which are disposed inside said frame and comprising at least one cylindrical cam which is coaxial to the frame. Moreover, the frame comprises at least one peripheral groove forming a guide track for the above-mentioned mobile blade (20) which moves in an alternating manner against the adjacent blade. The mobile blade (20) receives the bearing force from an elastic compensation means at least when it is applied against the adjacent blade.

Description

HAIR REMOVAL APPARATUS

The present invention relates to a depilatory device with pliers capable of being held in the hand and intended for removing excess hair from the human body.

This type of hair removal device generally includes tweezers in the form of blades or discs arranged on a rotary roller, the tweezers being brought to close and open periodically so as to clamp the hairs close to the skin to pull them out. by the rotation of the roller and, respectively, to evacuate the torn hairs.

Such an apparatus is described in patent application WO 98/30125 in the name of the applicant, apparatus comprising a housing intended to be held in the hand and containing a drive motor for a roller movable in rotation around a central shaft arranged behind a window in the housing. The roller has several rows of pliers, each row being formed of a first series of parallel blades side by side movable interposed between a second series of blades also movable, the nipping edges of the blades being bent in the axial direction relative to the bases blades. The first series of blades is secured to a central player, the second series of blades is secured to a cage surrounding the player coaxially, the apparatus further comprises cams arranged laterally on the flanges of the roller, said cams applying to the player and to the cage of the movements in alternative translation and in opposite directions. Such curved blades constitute discrete elastic elements interposed in the control kinematics of the blades, these elastic elements ensuring a range of clamping force that is better controlled for less machining constraints.

Operating to satisfaction, this device proves to be of rather complex construction and assembly. In addition, due to its multi-component construction and side cams, the diameter of the rotating roller as well that its width have significant dimensions which can constitute a major drawback when handling such a depilatory head in areas with changing relief of the human body. We also note that all the clamps in a row are actuated simultaneously, which implies a significant power of the motor simultaneously actuating the series of clamps, a power which, moreover varies greatly over time, between a maximum value corresponding to the actuation of the grippers and a minimum value when they are no longer actuated. This requires a powerful, expensive and bulky motor with a reduced service life.

A solution has been proposed in the document FR 2 662 338 which describes a depilatory appliance comprising a depilatory head in the form of a rotary roller comprising fixed disks alternating with laterally movable blades. These discs and blades having a square central orifice are threaded alternately on a central rotary drive shaft of also square section. The fixed discs having an overall cross shape are kept equidistant by spacers and have four holes arranged in a cross for the passage of control levers located around the central shaft. The movable blades also have a cross shape and have an enlarged central orifice of square shape for fixing on the spacers for their rotation drive. Two control rods diametrically opposite the shaft are engaged with a first series of movable blades which they rotate in the direction of the fixed discs when the two control rods move in opposite directions with respect to each other . Two additional control rods, located at right angles to the first, engage a second series of movable blades and give them the same movement, but offset by 90 °. Each rod carries at its end a roller engaged in a helical groove of a fixed end bearing acting as a cam, this groove alone requiring the back and forth movement of the movable blades, without the aid of a spring. The movable blades will then pivot to alternately come into contact with the adjacent fixed disks. This device therefore uses cams having a groove with a continuous and shallow profile, the control rods needing a small lever arm to pivotally move the movable blades to close and respectively open the clamps. This certainly offers the advantage of reducing engine consumption and operating noise, but to the detriment of a rigid construction which becomes non-functional as soon as its components are worn down. Thus, the value of the clamping force at the nipping edges of the blades, which is then a multiple of the force applied to the cam control rod, as well as the regularity of this force along the row are determined by the positions of the components, which are rather rigid. The slightest dimensional error in the manufacture of one of these components (cam profile, position of the blades on the control rod, dimensions of the blades) adversely affects the value of the effective clamping force at the start of operation and even more. to wear. Thus, too high a value of the clamping force implies a risk of cutting the bristles, which is even more obvious for blades movable in pivoting making a large angle in their closed position, while a too weak clamping force does not allow the correct pulling of the hairs. We note above all that the slightest wear of the cam profile, amplified by the lever arm of the control rod has a direct implication on the value of the clamping force of all the blades, this value decreasing with the wear of the grooves of the cams results in a sharp deterioration in the quality of hair removal.

Document FR 2 663 519 describes a rotary hair-removing device comprising a series of fixed discs arranged transversely to the central shaft of the roller, movable blades being provided between the fixed discs to apply each periodically to a neighboring disc. The movable blades are independent of each other and are mounted freely sliding in the axial direction on two rods arranged parallel to the shaft and supported by two framing cheeks ensuring the rotational drive of the assembly. The central shaft of the rotary roller is fixedly mounted and has at its periphery grooves forming a cam path for the movable blades. Each pinch blade is engaged on its own path cam made on the circumference of the central shaft. During the rotation of the roller, the movable blades each follow their respective cam path, which causes their axial translational movement relative to the adjacent fixed disc so as to press against the neighboring disc and move away from it alternately.

Such a solution with movable blades each controlled by a separate cam which is there. clean eliminates the drawbacks of the apparatus of the previous document where, due to the common support of the blades, the wear of the cam encroached on the operation of the assembly. In the same way, due to the translational movement of the blades, the flat pinching zones distribute the clamping force better. Note, however, that the fixed discs and the movable blades are rather rigid parts with planar contact. Therefore, the value of the clamping force depends on the precision of each part (blade, disc, cam track) and it degrades strongly with the wear of the cam tracks, which adversely affects the efficiency of such a device over time.

The object of the invention is to remedy, at least in part, the abovementioned drawbacks and to propose an epilator with plucking pliers capable of ensuring correct nipping of the hairs and therefore a constant quality of epilation throughout its life cycle.

Another object of the invention is a depilatory device with tear-off pliers of compact construction, capable of operating with a motor of lower power, while being reliable in operation.

Another object of the invention is an apparatus with tearing pliers capable of reducing the pain felt during tearing, of attenuating the operating noise, while being of simplified construction and allowing it to be produced in large numbers at reduced cost .

These goals are achieved with a hair removal device comprising a housing provided to be hand-held and containing an electric motor driving a rotary roller around a central shaft; this roller comprising one or more rows of pliers, each plier being formed of two blades arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the shaft, at least one of which is a movable blade; a cage supporting said blades and driven in rotation around the shaft, as well as control means arranged inside said cage and comprising at least one cylindrical cam coaxial with the cage having at least one peripheral groove forming a guide path for said movable blade in its reciprocating movement against the adjacent blade, since said movable blade receives the pressing force of an elastic compensation means at least when it is applied against the adjacent blade.

The rotary roller forming the epilation head of such a depilatory appliance already comprises a central shaft which can be fixed or mobile in rotation, a peripheral cage coaxial with the shaft and driven in rotation around the latter, as well as means control arranged between the central shaft and the cage. The control means comprise at least one fixed cylindrical cam, coaxial with the cage and the shaft, said cam having on its periphery a groove forming a guide path for a movable blade during its movement relative to an adjacent blade forming with the latter pliers. tear. It is therefore noted that the rotary roller not only supports the pliers, but it also incorporates the mechanism for controlling the movement of the blades during their reciprocating movement towards one another. This control mechanism being located inside the diameter of the rotary roller, a hair removal device of reduced width is obtained, given the absence of side cams, and therefore much more manageable in difficult-to-access areas of the human body. This constructive solution has remarkable compactness and allows the industrialization of the rotary roller as a separate sub-assembly.

The use of a cam with a peripheral groove has significant advantages in terms of constructive simplification, as well as in terms of noise reduction, the blades being guided in the groove of said cam. when moving around the central shaft of the roller.

More particularly according to the invention, a movable blade receives the bearing force of an elastic compensation means at least when it is applied against the adjacent blade.

By elastic compensation means is understood an elastic means intended to make up for the play due to the manufacturing tolerances of the parts and / or to the assembly of the assembly and / or to the wear of the grooves of said cam. It is a separate means of possible elasticity in bending of the blades, an apparatus comprising such an elastic compensation means then being able to operate also with rigid blades. If the blades are designed to have elasticity in bending when they come into contact, this bending reflecting the clamping force will be the same during the life of the product because said elastic compensation means makes it possible to have a source of force. constant due to its low stiffness. By way of example, the stiffness of the elastic compression means is between 0.5 and 2 N / mm.

Said elastic compensation means can act during the entire period of rotation of the rotary roller, but its action is essential when closing a clamp when a well determined clamping pressure must be applied to the bristles between its blades.

According to a first embodiment of the invention, the cam is mounted fixed relative to the housing and the tear-off pliers are normally closed, each movable blade being pushed against the adjacent blade by said elastic compensation means (for example a spring compression). Thus, the clamps being closed under the action of a spring, the clamping force of the bristles gripped by the clamps is constant over time and well controlled without adjustments being necessary for assembly or during use. It does not depend on the stroke of the blades, nor on the degree of wear of the opening control means and reliability is thus increased. According to a second embodiment, the elastic compensation means exerts a thrust on said cam of the control means in order to maintain contact between the guide groove and the movable blade which runs through it. The clamps are therefore normally open, their closing being controlled by the profile of the cam groove, but the cam is in no way fixed, it moves under the thrust of said elastic compensation means. This elastic compensation means thus guarantees permanent contact of the movable blade with the wall of the groove against which it is applied, the manufacturing, mounting or wear clearances then being caught up by this elastic means. The force for closing the clamps by the elastic compensation means is determined so as to ensure optimum clamping allowing the hairs to be properly grasped, without however cutting them during pulling out. The clamping force of the clamps is then constant over time and well controlled, without adjustments being necessary during assembly or during use.

Preferably, said elastic compensation means is a spring which exerts its thrust on a movable cam, the force of the spring being oriented parallel to the longitudinal axis, in the direction of closing of a clamp.

The device uses an axial cam with the possibility of displacement in axial translation under the thrust of said spring. In the case of a fixed cam, the wear due to the friction of a lug forming part of the means for actuating a movable blade on the groove of the cam causes wear of the groove at the level of contact with the lateral closing flank, which increases over time the width of the groove with the consequence of reducing the clamping force of a clamp. The spring of the invention causes the movable cam to translate axially by the value of this wear, thus ensuring a constant clamping force of the clamp throughout the life cycle of the device.

Advantageously, said movable cam is supported by the central shaft mounted fixed relative to the housing of the device.

We could have considered mounting the cam in the lateral flanges of the housing, but its arrangement on the central shaft of the rotating roller makes it possible to reduce the lateral dimensions (in longitudinal direction) of the device.

Preferably, said movable cam is slidably mounted against a spring in a notch inside the shaft and it has grooves which form a continuous guide path with grooves made in their extension on the shaft .

This solution makes it possible to arrange said cam within the central shaft, where the cam and the shaft have grooves on their periphery, the grooved part of the shaft thus forming a fixed cam. This makes it possible to obtain a remarkable compactness in the radial direction of the rotary roller and, subsequently, a device with a hair removal head of reduced diameter, compact and capable of turning at a higher speed, which guarantees more effective from the first pass of the device on the skin. In addition, the spring acts only on the movable cam, causing the elastic load to be applied only when the clamps are closed, which reduces the consumption of the motor and allows the use of a motor. reduced power.

Advantageously, said movable blade has at its base a lug which follows the profile of the grooves of said cam.

Such a movable blade can be made in one piece with such a lug or the latter can be fixed in the lower part of the movable blade. This makes it possible to directly engage said movable blade in the guide path formed by the groove of said cam and thus obtain a translational displacement of the movable blade during rotation of the roller. In a variant, it is possible to envisage a pivoting mounting of the movable blade in a notch of a lever which, for its part, would comprise a lug which directly follows the profile of the cam, the translational movement of the lever then being transformed into a pivoting movement of the blade.

Preferably, the apparatus of the invention comprises two movable cams mounted side by side along the longitudinal axis of the tree having bent areas oriented in opposite directions relative to each other.

The areas. bent with the same angular orientation relative to a generator common to the two cams, the latter then ensure a movement in translation in opposite directions of the movable blades which at the same time follow the profile of their grooves, allowing the blades to approach and move away alternately.

Advantageously, said cage supports at least one movable blade and an adjacent support blade and said blades are curved in the longitudinal direction of the shaft, the curvatures of two adjacent blades facing each other.

The cage supports in translation the lifting pliers and ensures their rotation drive, this cage can be in one piece or then made up of several individual rods; each mounted on the side flanges of the rotating roller. A tear-off clamp is formed by a movable blade moving in the groove of the cam and an adjacent support blade. By support blade is understood a blade which is not driven in movement by the control means. This support blade can either be a fixed blade (it is understood to be mounted fixed with respect to a movable blade which is driven by the control means in an alternating movement against an adjacent support blade) or else it can have a some mobility to simplify the assembly line chain, as will be explained later. This allows the implementation of a bending elasticity of the edges or the nipping ends of the blades when they come into contact. The clamping force of a clamp is then represented by the sum of the forces exerted on the cam, and consequently on the lug of a movable blade, by the compensating spring and by the elasticity of the blades which acts directly on the nip edges of the two adjacent blades.

Usefully, a row of movable blades forms with a row of support blades and a bar a tear-off module arranged on the periphery of the cage.

Such a modular design of the epilation head allows the realization of many variants of devices. Thus, by changing the number of modules, the number of pliers is changed and the diameter of the epilation head can thus be varied, a single manufacturing tool being in this case necessary for obtaining various versions of devices.

Advantageously, a row of movable blades comprises four movable blades, two movable blades forming a movable monobloc piece, two movable monobloc parts being mounted in parallel in a bar.

Two movable clamps form a movable monobloc piece which is therefore actuated independently with respect to the other and, therefore, a crowded clamp does not affect the clamping of the other for more efficiency. It has been found that a row of four active tweezers that close at the same time provides sufficient efficiency while reducing pain. The parallel mounting of the movable blades makes it possible to reduce the bulk in the longitudinal direction.

Preferably, two support blades form a one-piece support piece, each one-piece support piece being supported inside a one-piece mobile piece.

In the context of a simplified assembly, two movable blades mounted in parallel each come into contact with an adjacent fixed blade mounted fixed relative to the movable blades. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the one-piece support piece has a degree of translation in order to better distribute the clamping forces on all of the blades requested when they are brought into contact.

Advantageously, the apparatus of the invention comprises several tear-off modules, the tear-off pliers of one module being angularly offset relative to the tear-off pliers of the next module. By shifting the nipping area of the tweezers which appear successively towards the epilation window, a complete sweeping of the area to be epilated is obtained, while reducing the number of active tweezers simultaneously.

Preferably, at least one stripping module is engaged on the ramps of the moving cams during the rotation of the rotary roller.

This allows the movable cams to be permanently activated by the compensating spring, under the push of the pins engaged in their grooves, in order to avoid cam jumps and therefore noise each time a tear-off module leaves movable cams. For a rotary roller comprising six tear-off modules, the angle at the top of a movable cam is advantageously between 80 ° and 100 °.

The invention will be better understood from the study of the embodiments taken without any limitation being implied and illustrated in the appended figures in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hair removal head of the apparatus of the invention;

- Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the depilation head of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts making up the depilation head of Figure 1;

- Figure 4 is a perspective view of an assembly forming a control shaft of the depilation head of Figure 1; - Figure 5 is a front view of the assembly forming the control shaft of Figure 4;

- Figure 6 is a perspective view of a subassembly forming a hair removal module of the hair removal head of Figure 1;

- Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts making up the module of Figure 6;

- Figure 8 is a developed view of the hair removal modules of the hair removal head of Figure 1;

- Figure 9 is a developed view of the hair removal modules constituting the head epilation, the pliers of each module being shown in the maximum open position.

In Figures 1, 2 and 3 is illustrated a depilation head comprising a rotary roller 1 comprising a shaft 7 in its central part around which are arranged several tearing modules 2 having an overall shape of a right prism of octagonal section. The tear-off modules 2 carry the tear-off pliers and are driven in rotation by two lateral flanges 4,5 supported by the shaft _. 7. The shaft 7 is mounted fixed relative to the housing of the device. More particularly, the flattened ends 6 of the shaft 7 pass through the bearings 3 of the side plates 4,5 and are each mounted in a side cover, such as the right cover 8. An identical left cover (not shown) is also provided around of the left flange 5, the two covers constituting the upper side walls of a housing intended to be held in the hand. The upper edges of each side cover define a depilation window through which the rotary roller 1 appears. A structure internal to the housing supports an electric motor for driving the rotary roller 1 by means of a set of pinions, the farther from the engine engages a ring gear made at the periphery of the side plates 4,5.

The rotary roller 1 supports a plurality of tear-off modules 2 uniformly distributed around its circumference. The tear-off modules 2 are inserted at the periphery of a cylindrical cage 10 the ends 11 of which are mounted in orifices 12 provided at the periphery of the lateral flanges 4,5, this being better visible in FIG. 3 where, to simplify , a single tear-off module 2 has been shown on the six tear-off modules that comprise the rotary roller 1. The lateral flanges 4,5 thus cause the cage 10 with the tear-off modules 2 to rotate in one and the same movement. The cage 10 is divided into several peripheral sectors 9 corresponding to the number of lifting modules 2 that they support. Each sector 9 has a bottom wall comprising guide rails 14,15 intended to receive the pliers, the side walls 17,18 of each sector 9 being intended to support a bar which covers the pliers. uprooting. A stripping module 2 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 7) comprises several stripping pliers, each stripping plier consisting of a movable blade 20 and an adjacent support blade 21, several pairs of blades d supports and mobiles being arranged side by side in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the stripping module 2, parallel to the shaft 7 of the rotary roller 1. The stripping pliers of a stripping module 2 are capped by a bar 24 comprising rectangular openings 25 distributed longitudinally through which project the ends constituting the nipping edges of the blades 20, 21. The bar 24 has, in its upper part, massage pins 26 arranged between two adjacent tearing pliers, as well as comb teeth 27 bordering on either side, in the direction of rotation of the rotary roller 1, a rectangular opening 25 revealing the edges of the blades 20, 21 of a pliers. In the lower part, the bar 24 has two notches 28, 29 (fig. 7) intended for its attachment to the side walls 17, 18 of a sector 9 of the cage 10. Such a bar 24 is preferably made of a material plastic, for example ABS, by an injection technique.

The movable blades 20 have at their base a lug 22 intended to come into contact with the profile of a cam which controls the reciprocating movement of the movable blade 20, which has the effect of opening and closing a clamp d uprooting. According to the invention, the profile of such a control cam is produced in the form of a groove formed around the periphery of an assembly forming a control shaft 40 of the epilation head. The shaft 7 has grooves 30 on its periphery, the profile of which forms a fixed cam. The profile of the grooves 30 is interrupted by two notches 32, 32 'which are formed on either side of a central wall 33 inside the shaft 7, each notch 32, 32' being intended to receive a 34.34 'moving cam. The movable cam 34, 34 ′ has the overall shape of a cylinder sector with an outside diameter identical to that of the shaft 7 and it has grooves 35, 35 ′ on its periphery in an arc of a circle. Each movable cam 34.34 'is slidably mounted inside one of the notches 32.32' against a compression spring 37.37 '. Spring 37.37 'is arranged in a hole 38.38 'made inside a cam 34.34' and it keeps the cams 34.34 'separated from the end wall 39 of each notch 32.32' by exerting a direction of the central wall 33. The cam 34, 34 ′ has at each of its ends a pair of longitudinal guide tabs 41 which slide on the external longitudinal edges of the two rectangular windows 42 provided for this purpose in the bottom wall of each notch 32.32. The longitudinal edges of the rectangular windows 42 are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 7 and provide translational guidance of the cams 34 parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 7. The shaft 7 with the grooves 30.30 'the movable cams 34.34' with the grooves 35.35 'and the springs 37.37' form the assembly called the control shaft 40. The shaft 7 can be made of metal, for example aluminum, by a technique machining or Zamak ^® by an injection technique and the movable cams 34,34 'are preferably made of a plastic material having a low coefficient of friction, for example POM. by an injection technique.

According to a non-negligible aspect of the invention, each movable cam 34, 34 ′ is kept apart from the central wall 33 by the continuous engagement of the pins 22 of the movable blades in its grooves 35, 35 ′. For this, the angle at the top of the movable cam 34,34 'is calculated such that there is always at least one row of blades 20,21 in the grooves of said movable cam 34,34'. Thus, when a stripping module comes out, the following stripping module is pre-engaged. For example, for a rotary roller 1 comprising six tear-off modules 2, the angle at the top of a movable cam 34.34 ′ must be greater than 60 °, it is preferably between 80 ° and 100 °.

As best seen in Figures 4 and 5, each movable cam 34, 34 'comprises a group of three parallel grooves on its periphery, in particular the movable cam 34 on the left has three grooves 35a, 35b, 35c and the movable cam 34' on the right has three grooves 35a ', 35b' and 35c '. The grooves 35.35 'of the movable cams 34.34' are located in the extension of the grooves 30.30 'formed on the periphery of the shaft 7. Thus, the shaft 7 comprises, towards its left end, a group of three parallel grooves 30a, 30b and 30c located in the extension of the grooves 35a, 35b and 35c of the movable cam 34 located on the left and, towards its right end, another group of grooves 30a ', 30b' and 30c 'which are arranged in the extension of the grooves 35a', 35b 'and 35c 'of the movable cam 34' situated on the right with respect to the central wall 33 of the shaft 7. Thus, for example, a groove 30a formed on the periphery of the shaft 7, interrupted at the level of the notch 32 , is continued by a groove 35a, formed on the periphery of the movable cam 34, groove which again joins in the upper part the groove 30a of the shaft 7. A continuous contour of groove is thus established around the periphery of the assembly forming control shaft 40, contour which is traversed by the lug 22 of a movable blade 20 during its drive in rotation about the longitudinal axis of the shaft 7.

The profile of a groove in the control shaft 40 determines the amplitude and the direction of the longitudinal translational movement of a movable clamp 20 when it is rotated about the longitudinal axis of the shaft 7. Thus the groove 30a located in the lower part of the shaft 7, as shown in FIG. 5, corresponds to the moment of maximum opening of the pliers, the movable pliers 20 being pushed away from an adjacent support blade 21 . The groove 35a located on the movable cam 34 has the role of ensuring the closing of a pliers. The groove 35a has for this purpose in its lower part a bent zone 36 with a fairly strong inclination, zone which corresponds to the moment of the approach of the movable blades 20 and of support 21 making it possible to obtain a rapid closure of the clamp. grubbing to properly grasp the hair to be epilated. The profile of the groove 35a in the upper part of the bent zone 36 corresponds to the holding of a pliers in the closed position during the tangential plucking of the hairs by the rotation of the rotary roller 1. The groove 30a located in part upper part of the shaft 7, as shown in FIG. 4, corresponds to the moment when the pliers begin to open again to release the plucked hairs. The profile of the groove 30a between the upper part of the start of opening of the pliers and the lower part of maximum opening of the pliers has a slight inclination to obtain a progressive opening of the pliers with favorable effects on the reduction of noise at opening of the clamps. In variant embodiments, any other opening cam profile can be envisaged, for example a profile which ensures an opening of the clamps at a pre-established moment of the rotation of the roller thus allowing the evacuation of the hairs in a specific place, for example the as far away as possible from the interior of the appliance in order to avoid contamination.

The grooves 35a, 35b, 35c of the movable cam 34 located in the left part of the central wall 33 converge towards the grooves 35a, 35b ', 35c' of the movable cam 34 'located in the right part of the central wall 33, their zones angled 36 and 36 'being oriented in opposite directions, which has the effect of translating movements in opposite directions to two movable blades 20 having their lugs 22 engaged one on a groove of the cam 34 and the other on a groove of the cam 34 ′ when the lifting pliers are closed. It is understood from the foregoing that the grooves ensuring the opening of the pliers 30a, 30b, 30c are divergent with respect to the grooves 30a ', 30b', 30c '. The movable cams 34, 34 ′ having the role of closing the tweezers, they are mounted on the shaft 7 so as to face the depilation window to ensure the closing of the pliers when they pass in front of the hair removal window.

In the example described, the pins 22 of the two movable blades of the same stripping module 2 are engaged in two parallel grooves 30a and 30a ', on the same generator of the assembly forming the drive shaft 40. Such a stripping module, better visible in Figures 6 and 7, comprises four movable blades 20 and four support blades 21, the movable blades 20 alternating with the support blades 21 being aligned along the longitudinal axis of the rotary roller 1 ; a bar 24 completes the assembly forming tearing module 2. Such a tearing module 2 therefore has four tearing pliers.

As best seen in Figure 7, two movable blades 20 are connected at their base by a spacer 43 and form, with the lug 22, a movable one-piece 44. The spacer 43 has an L-shape, the base 45 being wider than the arm 46, a movable blade 20 is located in the extension of the base 45 and another in the extension of the arm 46. The side walls 47 of the spacer 43 are provided for insertion and sliding on the rails 14 and 15 d 'a sector 9 of the cage 10 (fig.3). Two notches 48 are provided in the side walls 47 at the level of the base 45 of the spacer 43. Such a movable monobloc piece is produced on the basis of a metal sheet, for example made of stainless steel, by successive cutting operations and folding. A lug 22 is fixed on the lower part of the base 45 and completes the movable monobloc assembly 44. Such a lug is preferably metallic and can be fixed by riveting on the base 45 of the spacer 43.

Two support blades 21 are also connected at their base by two spacers 50 and form a one-piece support piece 51. Each spacer 50 has a projecting fin 52 which is intended to be inserted in a notch 48 of the spacer 43 of the movable one-piece 44 supporting it. The notch 48 has longitudinal dimensions (along the direction of the longitudinal axis of the tear-off module 2) greater than those of the fin 52, which allows a certain movement in translation of the monobloc support piece 51 by compared to the movable monobloc piece 44 ensuring adequate tightening on all the clamps of the same module. Such a movable monobloc piece is produced on the basis of a metal sheet, for example made of stainless steel, by successive cutting and folding operations.

The mounting of a tear-off module 2 begins with the assembly of a movable one-piece part 44 with a one-piece support piece 51, the fins 52 of the spacer 50 of the latter being positioned for this purpose at the inside the notches 48 of the spacer 43 of the movable one-piece 44. Two sub-assemblies of the one-piece pieces thus formed are then mounted on one of the sectors 9 of the cage 10, the lug 22 of each one-piece movable piece 44 being inserted into a corresponding groove 30, 30 'or 35, 35' of the control shaft 40 disposed inside the cage 10. When mounting the sub-assembly of the one-piece parts on the sector 9 of the cage 10, we orient the base 45 of each spacer 43 towards each of the ends of the sector 9, a first assembly formed by a movable monobloc piece 44 and a monobloc support piece 51 being placed in position with the base 45 at one end of the sector 9 and the arm 46 towards the center of the sector 9, the other assembly being pivoted 180 ° around an axis perpendicular to the spacer 43 or along the axis of the lug 22 before its installation at the opposite end of the sector 9. This gives a stripping module 2 where the central movable blades 20 of two adjacent movable monobloc pieces 44 are nested, that is to say that the two arms 46 of the movable monobloc pieces 44 are superimposed in transverse and longitudinal direction. A bar 24 then covers the subset of movable monoblock 44 and supporting monoblock parts 51 placed on the sector 9 of the cage 10 to thus complete the stripping module 2.

According to an advantageous aspect of the invention, two tearing modules 2 are arranged at 180 ° relative to each other in the same cam groove, which means that the movements of their clamps are angularly offset during the rotation of the roller, for example one has the pliers closed while the pliers of the other are open. This allows two lifting modules to be controlled at the same time with the same cam groove.

Advantageously, the movable one-piece parts 44 of the same tear-off module 2 each have a lug 22 at their base. The lug 22 of a movable monobloc piece 44 located on the left (FIGS. 6 and 7) is positioned at a different distance from a movable blade 20 at the end relative to the lug 22 of a movable monobloc piece 44 located on the right in the same pull-out module 2. Thus, as best seen in Figures 6 and 7, the lug 22 located in the left part is fixed on the base 45 at an end distance to the left (measured from the blade 20 at the left end of the module) which is less than the opposite end distance (measured from the blade 20 at the right end of the same module). The mounting of two diametrically opposed tear-off modules 2 within the same cam groove is done in an inverted manner, that is to say a first tear-off module 2 is mounted having a smaller end distance to the right and more important to the left and to 180 ° offset, a tear-off module 2 is mounted, which has a greater end distance on the right and a smaller end distance on the left. This makes it possible to increase the coverage area of the clamps actuated by the same groove, the two diametrically opposite modules having blades which are offset longitudinally when each of the modules passes at the same point on the circumference of the roller (for example the clamps two tear-off modules located on the same groove are offset in the longitudinal direction when they are closed or opened).

FIG. 9 illustrates a developed top view of the six tear-off modules 2.1 to 2.6 of the depilatory head in the position of maximum opening of their pliers (the bar 24 being removed in this view for greater clarity). This view makes it easier to see the coverage of the epilation window by the angularly offset pliers. The clamps of module 2.1 open first when the lugs of their movable blades arrive first in the region of the cam grooves 30a and 30a 'which controls their opening. They are followed by the clamps of module 2.2, when the pins of their movable blades arrive in the zones 30b and 30b 'of the cam grooves, and so on until the clamps of module 2.6 open, the pins of which are inserted in the grooves 30c, 30c '. As already explained above, we note in FIG. 9 the particularity of mounting the different modules having the lugs 22 more or less distant from a movable end blade 20. Thus, we note eccentric lugs 22e as being located more greater distance than the centered lugs 22c relative to a movable end blade. We note that the first three modules 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 have the pins 22e located on the left, the pins 22c being in the right part and that the following modules 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6 have the pins 22e located on the right, the pins 22c being located , them, in the right part of these modules. The difference in distance between the location of an eccentric lug 22e and a centered lug 22c relative to a movable end blade being approximately the width of a nip interval in its maximum open position, this arrangement allows the tweezers of the last three modules 2.4,2.5 and 2.6 to cover the epilation area not covered by the tweezers of the previous modules 2.1,2.2 and 2.3. The area epilation corresponding to the width of the epilation window or to that of the width of the epilating head (more particularly between the left clips of module 2.1 and the right clips of module 2.6), we note at FIG. 9 that this zone is completely covered by such an arrangement angularly offset by the pliers formed by the Iames20, 21 of the six tear-off modules 2.1 to 2.6.

The six stripping modules 2 are thus mounted in groups of two (diametrically opposite) on the six sectors 9 of the cage 10, in accordance with the grooves of the control shaft 40. Thus, with only three parallel grooves per cam mobile and an arrangement offset longitudinally by 180 ° of the pliers of two modules engaged in the same groove, we manage to actuate six tear-off modules, for more compactness and for maximum coverage of the epilation zone swept by these pliers.

In a variant, the assembly of the rotary roller 1 can be carried out by placing each subset of one-piece parts inside a bar 24, then mounting this assembly on one of the sectors 9 of the cage 10, l 'operation being repeated for all sectors 9 of the cage 10.

According to an important aspect of the invention, the movable blades 20 as well as the support blades 21 are bent in opposite directions with respect to each other. As best seen in Figures 2 and 7, the two support blades 21 of a one-piece support piece 51 are bent outward towards the movable blades 20 adjacent. The two movable blades 20 of a movable monobloc piece 44 are themselves curved one towards the outside and the other towards the inside, a movable blade 20 thus being inclined in the direction of the support blade 21 with which it comes in contact with. Thus, a pliers formed from two adjacent blades: movable 20 and support 21 has an inverted V shape, with an apex angle between 2 ° and 15 °, which allows the implementation of a bending elasticity of the edges or the nipping ends of the blades when they come into contact. The curvature of each blade can be evenly distributed over the entire height of the blade (starting from the spacer that connects two blades together), or else it can be concentrated in a fold at the junction base with the spacer, a second fold being able to if necessary be provided towards the nipping end of the blade, without excluding any combination of these curvatures.

FIG. 8 represents the development of the six tear-off modules 2 which make up the rotary roller 1, the tear-off modules 2 being arranged on the periphery of the rotary roller 1 so that the tear-off clips of a module d 'uprooting are offset angularly (or in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the module on the developed) relative to the stripping pliers of the next module. More particularly, the mobile blades 20 and support 21 of a module 2.2 are at a different longitudinal distance from that of the mobile blades 20 and support 21 of the next module 2.3, the blades of the different modules being spaced apart by the same not. This longitudinal offset of the pliers is chosen so that the different pliers sweep through the nip areas (area of action of the pliers of the pliers) at different and complementary locations on the skin, which ensures more efficiency and reduces pain when pulling out. In the example described, the rotary roller 1 has six tear-off modules which are therefore angularly offset by 60 ° relative to each other, as visible on the right side of FIG. 8. The first module 2.1 shown in position 0 ° is in the maximum open position; the next module 2.2 is in the pinching position where the blades have been quickly closed by the control means; modules 2.3 and 2.4 have the pliers also closed to pull the hairs grabbed by the blades; modules 2.5 and 2.6 have the pliers open in order to evacuate the hairs removed.

In operation, when the apparatus is started, the electric motor rotates the gear pinions of the toothed crowns of the flanges 4,5 driving the stripping modules 2 around the control shaft 40. The movable blades 20 then carry out a translational movement along the longitudinal axis of the rotary roller 1, sliding in the rails 14, 15 of the sectors 9 of the cage 10, they deviate or approach the adjacent support blades 21 as a function of the position of the lug 22 of each movable blade 20 in one of the grooves 30,30 'of the shaft 7 or in one of the grooves 35.35 ′ of the moving cams 34.34 ′. More particularly in the closed position, the lugs 22 survey the grooves 35.35 ′ of the closing cams 34.34 ′ against the force exerted by the springs 37.37 ′ on the movable cam 34 and push the blades mobile 20 towards the adjacent support blades 21, the closing of a clamp also taking place against the force due to the elasticity of the mobile blades 20 and supports 21 in contact. The springs 37, 37 ′ of the movable cams 34, 34 ′ and the elasticity of the blades 20, 21 are calculated so that a constant force is exerted on the bristles when the clamps are closed. The hairs gripped by the pliers are then torn off when the roller is rotated and evacuated outside the device.

The rotary roller 1 may include a more or less large number of tear-off modules 2, the number of modules increasing with the diameter of the rotary roller. Thus, a rotary roller 1 having a diameter of approximately 19 mm can receive six tear-off modules, while for a diameter of approximately 23 mm, one can provide eight.

Advantageously, the grooves of the cams are greased in order to reduce the friction of the pins on the walls of the latter.

Other variants and embodiments of the invention can be envisaged without departing from the scope of these claims.

In a variant of the invention, it is possible to envisage a construction of a rotary roller comprising a one-piece shaft, without comprising a movable cam, and mounted fixed relative to the housing. This one-piece shaft would then be provided with grooves over its entire circumference, the movable blades then being mounted normally closed against return springs relative to each other, the cam spring then being able to compensate for wear sides of the grooves of the cams. One can also consider means for actuating the blades in pivoting by interposing shuttles forming a support for the base of the blades to transform the translational movement of the shuttles into a pivoting movement of the blades.

Claims

1. epilating appliance comprising a housing intended to be held in the hand and containing an electric motor for driving a rotary roller (1) around a central shaft (7); this roller comprising one or more rows of pliers, each plier being formed of two blades arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the shaft (7) at least one of which is a movable blade (20); a cage (10) supporting said blades and driven in rotation around the shaft (7), as well as control means disposed inside said cage (10) and comprising at least one cylindrical cam coaxial with the cage ( 10) having at least one peripheral groove forming a guide path for said movable blade (20) in its reciprocating movement against the adjacent blade, characterized in that said movable blade (20) receives the bearing force of an elastic means of compensation at least when applied against the adjacent blade.

2. Hair removal device according to claim 1, characterized in that said elastic compensation means is a spring (37,37 ') which exerts its thrust on a movable cam (34,34'), the force of the spring being oriented in parallel to the longitudinal axis, in the direction of closing a clamp.

3. epilating appliance according to claim 2, characterized in that said movable cam (34,34 ') is supported by the central shaft (7) mounted fixed relative to the housing of the appliance.

4. Hair removal device according to claim 3, characterized in that said movable cam (34.34 ') is slidably mounted against a spring (37.37') in a notch (32.32 ') at the 'interior of the shaft (7) and that it has grooves (35,35') which form a continuous guide path with grooves (30,30 ') formed in their extension on the shaft (7).

5. epilating device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said movable blade (20) has at its base a lug (22) which follows the profile of the grooves of said cam.

6. hair removal device according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that it comprises two movable cams (34,34 ') mounted side by side, along the longitudinal axis of the shaft (7) having bent areas (36,36 ') oriented in opposite directions to each other.

7. epilating appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said cage (10) supports at least one movable blade (20) and an adjacent support blade (21), and in that said blades are curved in the longitudinal direction of the shaft (7), the curvatures of two adjacent blades facing each other.

8. epilating device according to claim 7, characterized in that a row of movable blades (20) forms with a row of support blades (21) and a bar (24) a tearing module (2) disposed on the periphery of the cage (10).

9. epilator according to claim 8, characterized in that a row of movable blades comprises four movable blades (20), two movable blades (20) forming a movable monobloc piece (44), two movable monobloc pieces (44) being mounted in parallel in a bar (24).

10. Hair removal device according to claim 9, characterized in that two support blades (21) form a monobloc support piece (51), each monobloc support piece (51) being supported inside of a movable monobloc piece (44).

11. Hair removal device according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that it comprises several tear-off modules (2), the tear-off pliers of a module being angularly offset relative to the tear-off pliers of next module.

12. Hair removal device according to claim 11, characterized in that at least one tear-off module (2) is engaged on the ramps (35,35 ') of the movable cams (34,34') during rotation of the rotary roller (1).