EP0696915A1

EP0696915A1 - Individual treatment cubicle

Info

Publication number: EP0696915A1
Application number: EP94916257A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Philippe Joliet; Louis Jagut
Original assignee: ISECA-SARL(en liquidation judiciaire)
Current assignee: ISECA-SARL(en liquidation judiciaire)
Priority date: 1993-05-07
Filing date: 1994-05-06
Publication date: 1996-02-21
Also published as: FR2704750B1; FR2704750A1; CA2162285A1; WO1994026230A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to an individual treatment cubicle or to a steam-bath cubicle. An industrial treatment cubicle comprises an enclosure (1) defined by walls (2), water vapour production means (3), at least one container (4) capable of receiving at least one therapeutic liquid (5), an air pressurizing means (6), and a vaporization device (7) for vaporizing said liquid into very fine droplets by means of said pressurized aid. The invention can be applied to the manufacture of aromatherapy cubicles.

Description

INDIVIDUAL CARE CABIN

The present invention relates to an individual treatment cabin (or steam bath or sauna cabin) for performing aromatherapy treatment.

The technical field of the invention is that of the manufacture of aromatherapy treatment booths.

We already know by patent application GB 1240839 (RELION

Radiation Limited) in particular, an individual sauna cabin comprising an enclosure delimited by partially flexible walls and equipped with means for producing steam located outside the cabin.

It is known in bathing or showering establishments to have plants or aromatics in contact with the atmosphere of the bath, which plants or aromatics are generally placed on supports for example of stone which are brought to high temperature, and this in the purpose of diffusing into the atmosphere of the steam bath active ingredients from said plants or herbs; patent application GB 2095105 (HOESCH and Sohne) also describes a device for introducing steam into a sauna cabin, in which a conduit for introducing essential oils into the stream of steam is provided.

Furthermore, the document DE 1162970 (J0D UND SCH EFELBAD-WIESSEE) describes a bath appliance projecting liquid droplets of dimensions between 50 and 100 microns, thanks to a double gas and liquid diffuser.

The object of the present invention is to provide an individual treatment cabin which makes it possible to diffuse active ingredients of plant origin into the atmosphere of the cabin enclosure and which thus allows aromatherapy treatment by the skin of the person using the treatment cabin, improved efficiency.

The object of the present invention is more particularly to provide such a cabin which is inexpensive to manufacture and which makes it possible to easily adapt the composition of the atmosphere contained in the enclosure and more particularly which makes it possible to avoid the degradation of the active principles. of the plants used (by exposing them to a high temperature for example). The solution to the problem posed consists in providing a treatment cabin by individual steam bath, comprising a device such as a pump or compressor for pressurizing or compressing outside air and comprising an enclosure delimited by walls and comprising at least one pipe for introducing compressed or pressurized air into said enclosure, which enclosure contains means for producing steam, a container capable of receiving an aromatherapy treatment liquid such as an essential oil of plant origin, and a device for spraying said treatment liquid into very fine droplets or particles, using said compressed or pressurized air.

According to any preferred embodiment, the invention consists in providing an individual treatment cabin comprising an enclosure delimited by walls of which a flexible part has an opening (allowing the passage of the patient's neck and allowing a leak to the outside of the enclosure), which enclosure contains a seat, a device for generating steam and heating said enclosure to a temperature between 20 and 70 ° C., a removable vase (or bottle) capable of containing essential oils for treating the patient, which vessel has a pressurized outside air inlet orifice, which enclosure comprises a device for vaporizing said essential oils by said pressurized air to form particles of size less than 10 microns, which vessel is thermally insulated in its part forming a container of essential oils (treatment liquid).

Said vaporization device produces droplets or particles whose average size (or equivalent diameter) is preferably between 0.1 and 1 micron; it has been found that said particles leaving said vaporizer are then divided inside said enclosure by a phenomenon of evaporation of the volatile parts of said particles, which causes the appearance of smaller particles of essential oils whose size is less than 1 micron, preferably close to 0.05 to 0.5 micron.

Thanks in particular to the very small size of the particles of essential oils obtained, very effective and very rapid absorption (and / or transfer) has been observed by the skin of the user, and a very rapid aromatherapeutic effect thanks to the characteristics of the treatment rooms according to the invention.

Furthermore, thanks to the treatment cabins equipped with a heating means causing the atmosphere contained in said enclosure to be kept at relatively high temperature, recondensation of the volatile parts of the atomized essential oils is avoided, which also improves the efficiency of the device according to the invention.

Advantageously, said cabin comprises means of thermal insulation of at least part of said container so that said liquid can be maintained at a temperature, for example close to 20 ° C., substantially lower than the temperature of the atmosphere of said enclosure during operation, which is for example between 30 and 60 ° C, so that it is possible to avoid heating of said treatment liquid and thus prevent its degradation and / or limit the evaporation of the volatile parts of the treatment liquid located inside the vase (evaporation which leads to increased consumption and loss of treatment liquid).

Advantageously, said cabin comprises means for sucking outside air, that is to say external to said enclosure, that is to say fresh air, and means for filtering said sucked air, such as '' a filter, for example located between a suction port and said pump, so that one can avoid pollution of the air circuit and the heating of the liquid during contact between the treatment liquid and the pressurized air .

Advantageously, said air circulation and compression means make it possible to ensure a flow of air blown into said enclosure, the ratio of which to the volume of said enclosure is between 0.02 and 2 (hour) "- * -, for example neighboring 0.2 (hour) "I; for example in the case of an enclosure whose volume is close to one cubic meter it is advantageous to use an air flow rate of the order of 200 liters / hour.

Advantageously, said pressurization device is an electric membrane pump (or diaphragm) driven by an electromagnet, such as for example the pump sold under the designation "OPTIMAL" by the company SCHEMEL G0ETZ Gmbh, Offenbach am Main, Germany, from so as to produce little noise and vibration.

Advantageously, said vaporization device comprises a device for forming a high speed air jet nearby an outlet orifice for said liquid, which allows the suction of said liquid by a depression caused by said air jet and the division of said liquid into fine droplets.

Advantageously, said spraying device comprises jet-breaking walls which are arranged substantially in the extension of said pressurized air outlet jet driving said droplets, so that said droplets are divided when said droplets are impacted on said walls; said device and / or said container preferably comprises a neck located downstream of said breeze walls and, the diameter of which causes a speed of passage of the mist, that is to say of said air jet entraining said fine droplets, of which the value is preferably between 0.1 and 1 meter / second, for example close to 0.5 meter / second; preferably said device comprises an inclined diffuser, located downstream of said neck, terminated by an outlet orifice of said mist which is preferably inclined relative to the horizontal, by an angle for example close to 30 to 60 °.

Advantageously, said cabin comprises means for regulating the flow of compressed air blown into said enclosure, which means for regulating can include means for varying the speed and / or the operating frequency of said pump, so that the the flow rate of treatment liquid entrained by said jet of compressed air can be varied and so that the concentration of air treatment liquid in said enclosure can be adapted in particular as a function of the operating temperature, the duration of a patient's exposure, the patient's capacities and tolerance and the therapeutic effects sought.

Advantageously, said cabin comprises means for controlling the content of liquid for treating the atmosphere contained in said enclosure.

Advantageously, said enclosure comprises at least one part of flexible wall in which is formed an opening allowing the passage of the neck and / or the head of a patient, and allowing a leak towards the outside of said enclosure, of the atmosphere. contained in it; advantageously, at least part of some of said walls can fold back.

Advantageously, said container or reservoir and / or said vaporizer is mounted on a mobile assembly, preferably pivoting, so that said reservoir and / or said vaporizer is accessible from the interior of said enclosure, or else is accessible from the exterior of said enclosure depending on the position of said mobile assembly, which allows the reloading of said container and / or of said vaporizer when said cabin is used.

Said treatment liquid preferably consists of essential oils of plant origin, hydrosols or special preparations of natural origin and of recognized aromatherapy quality. Thanks to the characteristics of the invention, it is possible to obtain a cold nebulization (or vaporization or micronization) of the treatment liquid such as an essential oil, which makes it possible to avoid the degradation of the treatment liquid, which can be caused either by contact between the treatment liquid with a support such as a metallic support or another material and which consequently risks altering the aromatherapeutic qualities of the treatment liquid, or by heating the liquid to excessively high temperatures.

Advantageously, said container and said vaporizer can constitute a one-piece assembly (a single piece) which can be made of blown glass.

The treatment cabin according to the invention comprises in known manner means making it possible to regulate the temperature and the humidity inside said cabin so that the temperature and the humidity are adapted according to the patient, the condition to be treated, essential oils or mixture used, quantities of oil used, frequency of sessions and desired effects.

The numerous advantages provided by the invention will be better understood through the following description which refers to the appended drawings, which illustrate without any limiting character, particular embodiments of treatment booth according to the invention.

Figure 1 illustrates in partially exploded perspective view, the main components of a treatment cabin according to the invention. FIG. 2 illustrates in an exploded perspective view a detail of an pivoting sprayer support that can be incorporated into a wall of a treatment cabin according to the invention.

REPLACEMENT SHEET i FIG. 3 illustrates a detail of embodiment of a spray container intended for a treatment cabin.

Figure 4 schematically illustrates the main components of a treatment cabin according to the invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a treatment cabin is essentially constituted by an enclosure delimited by walls 2, namely a floor wall 2b, side walls 2a and 2e, a bottom wall 2d, a wall 2c constituting the wall upper and a front wall of said enclosure; said wall 2c is advantageously flexible and can be provided with a zipper 26 allowing when said closure is open, the entry or exit of the patient in said cabin, and allowing when it is closed to define an opening 27, substantially circular in said wall, which opening 27 allows the passage of the patient's neck, the head of which remains outside of said treatment cabin, when said patient is seated on a seat 8 provided inside said cabin.

Said cabin also comprises, in a known manner, means 3 for producing steam and for heating which may comprise a tank 9 receiving water and tubular heating elements 10 for heating and producing steam, the whole being surrounded by 'a protective cover 11 ensuring the safety of the user.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, at least one of said walls, namely the wall 2a in this figure, is provided with an opening 12 in which a frame 13 can be fixed itself provided with an opening, said substantially rectangular opening of said frame allowing the fixing of a mobile assembly 15 which can pivot relative to said frame along an axis, for example horizontal, said assembly 15 comprising a panel 17 forming a hatch for closing the opening provided in said wall 2a and in said frame, and comprising a support 16 of a container 4 capable of receiving the treatment liquid; said container is advantageously surrounded by a block 14, for example made of silicone, forming a thermal insulator around said container 4 relative to the atmosphere or the atmosphere of said enclosure.

Said container 4 can be connected, as illustrated also in FIG. 2, to a tube 24 for conveying compressed air, said tube being connected by a first end to said vaporizing container 4, and by its second end to the discharge orifice of an air pump 6 which can be integrated in a housing 18 for monitoring and controlling said treatment cabin; said housing 18 can be mounted on the external face of said wall 2a (with reference to FIG. 1).

Said pump 6 is provided with a suction port 25 for fresh air (outside said enclosure) equipped with a filter 38, and can be supplied by means such as a source of electrical energy (not shown). . Inside said control box 18, there may be provided, in addition to said pump 6, a bulb 19 of a thermostat 21 as well as a regulator 20 for controlling the humidity of the atmosphere prevailing in said enclosure and / or of the content of particles (droplets) of said treatment liquid in suspension in said atmosphere of said enclosure.

A panel 22 capable of closing said control-command box 18 can receive the control-command members on its external face 23, so that the user can preset the various parameters of use of the cabin such as temperature, humidity, duration of treatment. , air flow and / or concentration of particles of treatment liquid vaporized in the enclosure.

With reference to FIG. 4, it can be seen that according to one of the essential characteristics of the invention, the device comprises said air compression or pressurization pump which is sucked outside of said enclosure 1 by a suction orifice 2; the air circulates in a filter 38 for removing impurities, then is compressed by said pump 6, and transported in said cabin by said pipe 24 to said vaporizing container 4, 7-

Said container 4 receives said treatment liquid 5 and preferably comprises a dip tube 33, the lower end of which is embedded in said liquid and allows said liquid to enter said tube 33. and the upper end of which is close to the exit end of said pipe 24 where a high speed air jet 30 is formed which causes (by forming a depression in the upper part of said tube 33) the suction of the treatment liquid via said tube 33. then its division into fine droplets and its diffusion inside said enclosure 1.

REPLACEMENT SHEET Due to the overpressure caused by the injection of said air into said enclosure, a leakage rate 39 is caused in particular at the orifice 27 provided in one of the walls of said enclosure and adapted to the shape of the neck of the 'user. With reference to FIG. 2, it can be seen that according to a preferred embodiment, said frame 13 fixed to one of said walls 2a of said enclosure (which walls are preferably thermally insulating), can receive said mobile assembly 15 forming support for said container 4 comprising said vaporizer 7 and receiving said liquid 5. which assembly 15 comprises a support portion 16 of said vaporizer container, and is pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis (not shown) so as to allow access either from the the exterior of said cabin is from the interior of said cabin, to said container 4 and to said vaporizer. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. said container 4 comprising said vaporizer 7. which is in the form of a vase or bottle, can be made of blown glass, and has at its lower part an orifice 28 for connection of the pipe 24 of supply of said compressed air, which orifice 28 opens into a pipe 32 for transporting said compressed air to an outlet orifice 29 of said tube 32. at the outlet of which the air jet 30 is driven at a high speed.

Near said orifice 29 for the outlet of the air jet 3 is provided an orifice 31 located at the upper end of the tube 33 whose lower end 34 plunges into the liquid 5 placed in the container 4; thus causing the suction (by the depression caused near the orifice 31 of the outlet of the bent tube 33, by said air jet) of the treatment liquid and its rise in said tube 33 to said orifice 31. its consecutive entrainment by said air jet and its division into fine droplets.

As shown in Figure 3 at least the lower part of said container 4 is surrounded by a thermal insulator 14 for maintaining said liquid 5 at a temperature significantly below the ambient temperature or the atmosphere prevailing in said enclosure.

Said insulator 14 is essentially constituted by a block of plastic material of generally thick tubular shape, with an axis

REPLACEMENT SHEET i substantially vertical, provided with a cylindrical recess 43 terminated in its lower part by a bottom 44 pierced with a central orifice 45; said recess 43 has in its upper part an annular bead 47; when said container 4 (whose lower external wall 48 is substantially cylindrical with a diameter close to the internal diameter of said bead), is engaged in said recess 43 as illustrated in FIG. 3. the bottom of said container rests on said bottom 44, and a cavity 46 delimited by said walls 48, said bead 47, said bottom 44 and said recess 43 is formed, which is filled with air and improves the thermal insulation of the lower part of said container from the atmosphere external to said block (thanks to the contact substantially sealed between said bead and said walls 48).

As shown in FIG. 3. said air jet entraining said liquid droplets strikes jet breaker walls 35 located substantially in the extension of said tube 3 and said air jet outlet orifice 29, so that said fine droplets transported by said air jet are divided upon impact against said walls 35 into even finer droplets; the mixture of said jet of compressed air and of said fine droplets escapes from said container 4 and from said vaporizer 7 by passing through a substantially cylindrical conduit comprising a neck 36 whose diameter is preferably such that it makes it possible to ensure sufficient speed to the mist thus formed, which neck 3 is followed by a diffuser 40 of increasing section (when moving in the direction of the fluid) and terminated by an outlet orifice 41 which is advantageously inclined relative to the horizontal of an angle 42 which can for example be close to 45 °. the assembly making it possible to ensure a homogeneous distribution of the mist throughout the volume of said enclosure of said treatment cabin.

Thanks to the particular characteristics of the treatment booths according to the invention, it was possible to observe and measure the following performances: average consumption of treatment liquid (essential oils): between 1 and 10 milliliters / hour, generally between 2 and 5 milliliters /hour ;

- particle size (in number) stable over time

REPLACEMENT SHEET a treatment (approximately 30 minutes): of the order of 1000 to 5000 particles / cm3 at 20 ° C, and up to 100,000 particles / cm3 at 60 ° C;

- particle size: at 20 ° C: a large number of particles are observed, the size of which is close to 0.1 micron and / or 0.25 micron; at 60 ° C: a large number of particles are observed, the size of which is close to 0.05 microns.

Claims

1. Individual treatment cabin comprising an enclosure (1) delimited by walls (2), part of which is flexible, and comprising a device (6) for pressurizing outside air and for introducing pressurized air into said enclosure, which enclosure contains means (3) for producing water vapor, a container (4) capable of receiving a treatment liquid (5), a device (7) for vaporizing said treatment liquid in very fine droplets with using said pressurized air.

2. Cabin according to claim 1 characterized in that it comprises means (14) for thermal insulation of at least part of said container (4).

3- Cabin according to any one of claims 1 to 2 characterized in that said container (4) and / or said vaporizer (7) is mounted on a mobile support (15,16).

4. Cabin according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that said air compression moj'ens ensure a flow of air blown into said enclosure whose ratio to the volume of said enclosure is between 0.02 and 2 (hour) "1.

5. Cabin according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that said pressurization device is an electric diaphragm pump.

6. Cabin according to any one of claims 1 to 5 characterized in that said device (7) spraying comprises a device for forming a jet (30) of high speed air near an orifice (31 ) outlet of said liquid.

7. Cabin according to any one of claims 1 to 6 characterized in that said device (7) of vaporization comprises walls (35) breaker- and which are arranged substantially in the extension of said jet (30) of air outlet pressurized, and in that said device (7) comprises a neck (36) located downstream of said jet breaker walls, and in that said device comprises an inclined diffuser (40) located downstream of said neck.

8. Cabin according to any one of claims 1 to 7 characterized in that it comprises means for regulating the flow of compressed air blown into said enclosure.

REPLACEMENT SHEET 9. Cabin according to any one of claims 1 to 8 characterized in that it comprises means for controlling the content of liquid for treating the atmosphere contained in said enclosure. 10. Individual treatment cabin comprising an enclosure (1) delimited by walls (2), a flexible part of which comprises an opening (27), which enclosure comprises a seat (8), a device (3.

9. 10) for generating steam and heating said enclosure to a temperature between 20 and 70 ° C., a removable vase (4) capable of containing essential treatment oils and comprising an outside air inlet orifice pressurized, a device (7) for vaporizing said essential oils by said pressurized air to form particles of dimension less than 10 microns, which vase is thermally insulated in its part forming a container for the treatment liquid.

REPLACEMENT SHEET