EP1884174A1 - Hair-removing device with pain-reduction means - Google Patents

Abstract

The device has an antipain unit with a fan (17) e.g. centrifugal fan, mounted directly on an output shaft (12). The fan is driven by an electric motor (10) for generating an air flow between an inlet opening of a casing and an outlet opening of the casing. Air flow leaving pressure chamber of the fan is canalized towards a skin of a human body by an aeraulic conduit (21) that is extended by a flat nozzle (20). The nozzle is prominent to exterior of the casing. The nozzle is arranged behind a hair removal roller (3), in a direction of displacement of the roller on the skin.

Description

The present invention relates to a tweezers of the type comprising pliers for tearing unwanted hair, unwanted, the human body, and more particularly relates to such an apparatus equipped with means for reducing the pain caused by tearing of the bristles. fur.

This type of apparatus generally comprises blade or disk-shaped grippers arranged on a rotating or oscillating roller, arranged in the upper part of a housing forming a gripping means, the roller being driven in motion by an electric motor arranged in a the same case. The forceps are caused to close and open periodically so as to grasp the hair close to the skin, tear them off, and then evacuate them, during the movement of the roller. Hair removal by pulling hair is a very effective method against their regrowth, but it is sometimes quite painful. This pain is due to the repeated pulling on the hair, or to the lesions or irritations of the hair follicles caused by the pulling of the hairs.

In order to overcome these disadvantages, certain epilators have been equipped with devices for vibratory stimulation of the skin. Such devices have been proposed in the documents EP 0 493 849 , where a vibrating grid covers the hair removal means, or in EP 0 760 219 wherein the housing of the apparatus comprises a vibrating frame or additional vibrating rollers, the frame or the rollers being arranged next to the gripper roll. These vibrator means have the main disadvantages of masking the area to be depilated, being noisy and using the drive mechanisms that make the construction of the device complex. Furthermore, the vibration is perceived by the user through the housing, which causes a poor grip of the device resulting in the decline in efficiency and accuracy of the operation.

An interesting solution has been proposed in the document EP 0 668 734 on behalf of the plaintiff describing a device for hair removal by pulling out bristles comprising means for dispensing a liquid to the skin area prior to tearing and a blower to dry this area. This apparatus thus performs a forced evaporation of the fluid spread on the skin having the effect of insensitization by lowering the temperature of the area of the skin to be depilated. Operating to satisfaction, this device is however of limited autonomy, it is determined by the capacity of the tank. In addition, it was found that the diffused air sent by the blower could not ensure, by itself, the desired effect of cooling the skin. Therefore, the device must be loaded with liquid constantly and, therefore, it requires regular maintenance, or even disassembly of some components. Moreover, this device is of a large size, mainly due to the presence of a fluid reservoir inside its housing.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to provide a tweezers with peelers having pain-relieving means for numbing the area of the skin to be epilated effectively during the epilation process, without limitation autonomy.

Another object of the invention is to provide a depilatory device with silent pain-killing means, which are simple in structure, reliable and economical to achieve.

Another object of the invention is to provide a depilatory apparatus of compact construction, of small dimensions, which can easily be held by hand, while incorporating effective and reliable pain relief means over time.

These objects are achieved with a depilatory apparatus comprising a housing intended to be hand-held comprising hair removal means for tearing the hair on the skin and means for driving the hair removal means, and a driven fan by an electric motor to create a flow of air between an inlet opening of the housing and an outlet opening of the housing, because the air flow exiting the fan pressure chamber is channeled to the skin by a air duct extended by a flat nozzle.

The epilator comprises, within a hand-held housing, depilatory means driven by an electric motor for actuating at least one pulling pliers in a cyclic movement of closing, relative movement by to the skin for tearing the hairs inside the closed clamp, and opening to start a new cycle of hair removal. The housing of the apparatus also contains a fan set in motion by an electric motor (which may be that of driving hair removal means or a different motor), this fan being provided to create an air flow between an inlet air in the housing and an air outlet from the housing.

According to the invention, the flow of air leaving the fan pressure chamber is directly recovered by a duct which directs it towards the skin, without losses, while forcing the flow of air out through a nozzle flat. This produces an accelerated and concentrated airflow in the form of an air knife which can then be directed towards the skin area to be treated. This air gap moves with the device ensuring a continuous scan of the skin.

Such an accelerated and concentrated airflow proves to be very effective in creating a sensation of freshness and reducing the pain during hair removal, whether before or after tearing. In addition, the sensation of freshness obtained with such a concentrated flow of air is accentuated by the natural transpiration of the skin or when the skin becomes wet in the summer or when it is hot.

Such a flat nozzle connected to the fan not only concentrates the flow of air out of the fan, but also to direct to the skin a stream of air in continuous flow whose dimensions are adapted to those of the area to be treated. In laboratory tests, it has been found that a flat nozzle having a surface exit section of between 80 mm ² and 180 mm ^{2 can} provide sufficient airflow to create pain-relieving pain. uprooting. Such a nozzle has a generally rectangular shape, of length preferably between 20 mm and 50 mm and with a width of preferably between 2 mm and 8 mm.

Such a depilatory device can therefore operate as long as it is powered by a source of electrical energy from rechargeable batteries or by a wired power supply, virtually without limitation in autonomy, for easy and comfortable use of the device .

Preferably, said nozzle is prominent outside the housing in order to direct the flow of air closer to the skin. In a variant, the outlet nozzle is mounted movably relative to the housing in order to be able to take different orientations with respect to the skin.

Advantageously, the epilation means comprise an epilation roller rotating about an axis arranged parallel to the skin and the nozzle is arranged parallel to the roller, close to the latter.

Other means of hair removal with tear-off pliers could have been envisaged, in particular in the form of an epilation head carrying tongs driven in translation, or an epilation head comprising tongs arranged on the front face of a rotating disk, or carried by a chain, etc. A rotating roll is preferred because it is capable of treating large areas of skin while being of very compact construction. During its movement on the skin, the roller rotates about an axis parallel to the plane of the skin, the clamps being arranged along its generator. The air outlet nozzle being parallel to the axis of the roller and therefore to its generator, then allows to blow a flat airflow closer to the skin area treated or to be treated. Such an outlet nozzle may then have a width substantially equal to that of the roller, which provides a very effective pain treatment of the entire treated area.

Preferably, the outlet nozzle is arranged behind the epilating roller, in the direction of movement of the latter on the skin.

This arrangement was found to be the most effective against pain because the airflow makes the skin feel numb immediately after pulling out, creating a soothing sensation.

Advantageously, said fan is a centrifugal fan squirrel cage.

A centrifugal fan called squirrel cage or direct acting is a centrifugal fan with blades facing forward in the direction of rotation. This type of fan, operating at low pressure, provides a high flow rate and total pressure, for a low power consumption.

The sensation of freshness obtained with a flow of air blown towards the skin is determined mainly by two parameters: the flow rate and the speed of the air flow, these parameters varying in opposite directions and being connected by the exit section. Thus, it has been found, during laboratory tests, that for a section of the determined outlet nozzle, a centrifugal fan is capable of providing an air flow rate of between 2 and 4 m ³ / h and a speed of between 10m / s and 30m / s.

Preferably, the fan is mounted directly on the output shaft of the epilating roller drive motor and is underlying the roller.

To simplify the construction of the apparatus, it is advantageous to use for the fan drive the same motor as that used to drive the hair removal roller. It is then preferable that the fan is directly rotated by the motor so that it can rotate at high speed, especially at the speed of the motor shaft, because the flow rate depends linearly on the speed. Its underlying arrangement with the roller makes it possible to reduce the flow of the air flow inside the casing and therefore the aeraulic losses, while obtaining a more compact apparatus.

Advantageously, the output shaft of the motor is transverse to the axis of rotation of the hair removal roller.

Although the motor can be oriented in a horizontal position, its output shaft being parallel to the skin and supporting the fan, it is however preferable to vertical motor, whose output shaft is perpendicular to the skin and drives the fan. Such a vertical motor fits well into an elongated housing, more easily manageable and ensuring a better grip.

Preferably, the air inlet opening is disposed on the front face of the housing, in the proximity of the epilation roller.

This allows the air to be directly sucked by the underlying fan to the roller, through an opening placed in a place that is never obscured by the hand of the user during hair removal.

Advantageously, a suction chamber of height at least equal to that of the fan is provided below the epilation roller.

It has been observed during laboratory tests that such a suction chamber provides a good compromise between the volume of air supplied to the ventilator (a large volume of air being necessary for the proper functioning of the ventilator) and a compact construction of the device.

Preferably, the booster chamber is a volute surrounding the fan.

Such a volute is an envelope that surrounds the fan wheel, it has a shape of snail, or even logarithmic spiral, and allows to gradually increase, from its beak, the flow of the centrifugal fan and thus improve the yield of it.

In order to minimize the aeraulic losses, said air duct has a smooth surface and sealingly connects the outlet of the volute to the outlet nozzle.

Advantageously, the outlet of the volute is connected to the air duct with a radius equal to or greater than 5 mm.

The air duct is connected tangentially to the outlet of the volute, and it then has a right-angled elbow to connect its air outlet to the nozzle placed next to the hair removal roller. In order to reduce as much as possible the pressure losses in this configuration, the radius of connection between the volute and the duct must be as large as possible, preferably greater than 5 mm.

Preferably, the volute is formed at least in part by the walls of the housing.

This provides a very compact construction of the device, while allowing to simplify the construction and assembly of the device.

Advantageously, the hair removal roller is supported by a head portion of the casing pivotally mounted relative to a second handle portion.

This allows the epilation head to better adapt to the contour of the skin, the air outlet nozzle can be secured to the housing or the head and in this case, it will be connected to the housing by a flexible bellows .

Preferably, the hair removal roller is removably mounted relative to the housing.

This allows disassembly for cleaning or replacement with another roller having a different number of clamps, or by a hair removal accessory. Such an epilation accessory can be a skin scrubbing device, a trimmer head to shorten the hair before tearing or a shaving head.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un appareil à épiler selon l'invention;
• la figure 2 est une vue similaire à celle de la figure 1, l'appareil étant positionné verticalement et son boîtier éclaté;
• la figure 3a est une vue avant de l'appareil de la figure 1 et la figure 3b est une vue en coupe selon le plan A-A de la figure 3a.

The invention will be better understood with the study of the embodiments taken in no way limiting and illustrated in the accompanying figures in which:

• Figure 1 is a perspective view of a depilatory device according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a view similar to that of Figure 1, the apparatus being positioned vertically and its housing exploded;
• Figure 3a is a front view of the apparatus of Figure 1 and Figure 3b is a sectional view along the plane AA of Figure 3a.

The depilatory apparatus shown in FIG. 1 comprises a housing 1 and a tweezers head 2. The depilatory head 2 comprises an epilation roller 3 which has tear-off tongs and is rotated about its longitudinal axis , parallel to the skin during the operation of hair removal. The apparatus also comprises a control button 5 located on the middle part of the front face of the housing 1.

As best seen in Figure 2, the housing 1 is made in two parts and contains an electric motor 10 which drives a gear train 11 transmitting the rotational movement about a vertical axis of the output shaft 12 of the motor 10 to a transmission wheel 14, rotating, it, about a horizontal axis, and coming directly into engagement with a drive gear (not visible in the drawings) of the hair removal roller 3. The electric motor 10 and the gear train 11 are supported by a frame 16 mounted within the housing 1 by elastic stops 22.

The depilatory head 2 is removably mounted relative to the housing 1 and the transmission wheel 14 of the latter. More particularly, a support 15 is made on the upper part of the housing 1 and is intended to removably receive the epilator head 2. For this, the epilator head 2 and the support 15 are provided with locking means to the help from which they are attached to each other and are then separated from each other. Thus, the depilatory head can be provided with tenons automatically engaging with lock tabs of the housing. An unlocking button 4 is provided on one side of the housing 1 by means of which the tenons of the depilatory head are released and the latter can be removed from the housing 1. Advantageously, the support 15 is hingedly mounted relative to the housing 1 , the support 15 being pivoted, under the force of a return spring, about a horizontal pivot axis, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the rotating roller 3, during movement of the device on the skin. The pivot axis of the support 15 is materialized by a rod carried by the upper part of the frame 16.

The tweezer head 2 has two side covers 6,7 that cover the hair removal roller 3. The hair removal roller 3 comprises a number of tear-off modules carried by a peripheral cage concentric with the longitudinal axis of the roller and rotated by a drive pinion receiving the movement of the electric drive motor 10, via the gear train 11 and the transmission wheel 14. A pulling module comprises a plurality of pulling tongs, each clamp being formed of a movable blade 8 and a fixed blade 9 adjacent. The base of a movable blade 8 follows the groove of an inner cam and applies and moves successively from an adjacent fixed blade 9 during its driving in rotation about the longitudinal axis of the hair removal roller 3 The grippers of the pulling modules are angularly offset on the periphery of the rotary cylinder 3. In operation, when the electric motor 10 is energized, it rotates the epilation roller 3, the clamps of which close and open successively. and pull out the hairs from the area to be depilated that appear in front of the depilatory head. Such a rotary cylinder is better described in the patent application FR 2,858,528 in the name of the applicant and is an embodiment of the depilatory device according to the invention.

The apparatus of the invention comprises pain-relieving means comprising a fan 17 (FIG. 2) mounted directly on the output shaft 12 of the electric motor 10, and thus rotating at the same speed as this one, for example at 13000 rpm. / min, to draw ambient air from an inlet opening 18 of the housing 1 and send it towards the skin through an outlet opening 19 (Fig. 1). According to the invention, the air blown by the fan 17 is recovered at the outlet of its overpressure chamber by an air duct 21 which directs it towards the outlet opening 19 of the housing, which is formed as a flat nozzle 20 oriented towards the skin. The nozzle 20 is prominent outside the housing 1 and is adjacent to the depilating roller 3, behind it in the direction of movement of the device on the skin. This makes it possible to send a stream of concentrated and flattened air, forming a blade or curtain of air blown behind the roller during hair removal to soothe the pain felt during tearing. As for example, the outlet nozzle shown is generally rectangular in shape with rounded corners, approximately 28mm in length and approximately 5mm in width.

Referring to Figure 2, there are three main subassemblies of the apparatus, including a central portion constituting the internal structure of the apparatus, the front shell 25 of the housing 1 and the rear shell 26 of the latter. The rear shell 26 has reliefs 23 for supporting the internal structure of the apparatus, in particular elastic stops 22 of the frame 16. The rear shell 26 also includes hooks 27 engaging with tabs 28 of the front shell 25 ensuring the locking of the two shells of the housing and thus the closure of the entire device.

The front face of the front shell 25 comprises a grid 30 having a plurality of orifices 31 and forming the air inlet opening inside the housing 1. The grid 30 is preferably made of a plastic material molded with the shell before 25 and has the role of promoting the entry of air, while providing protection of the internal parts of the device. In order to allow a good flow of air through the orifices 31 and to reduce the pressure drops when the air passes through the orifices 31, all the edges of the gate at the inlet of the orifices 31 are rounded, in being made with a connection radius. To ensure a good performance of the fan, the air inlet area must have a fairly large area. In the example shown in the figures, the grid has a surface of about 5.5 cm ² , the orifices having a mean diameter of 1.5 mm and a mean pitch of 2 mm, which ensures a good compromise between the aeraulic transparency and the visual transparency of the grid.

As illustrated by the arrows in FIG. 2, the air entering through the grid 30 arrives in a suction chamber 32 situated below the roller 3, in particular between the support 15 and the fan 17. The suction chamber 32 is delimited between the inlet grille 30, the fan 17 and the walls of the frame 16. As recalled above, the air inlet volume is very important for the operation of the fan 17. To ensure a good volume of air suction, without increasing the size of the device, the volume of the chamber suction 32 is equal to or slightly greater than that occupied by the fan 17 below.

The fan 17 is of the centrifugal type squirrel cage or vane bent forward in the direction of rotation, according to the arrow of Figure 3b. The fan 17 comprises a wheel 34 surrounded by a volute 35 (FIG. 3b) in the form of a snail. In order to be able to be adapted to operation with a depilatory device, the fan 17 of the invention must fulfill conditions of good aeraulic performance (flow, air velocity), low operating noise and compactness of the air. its construction. After calculations and tests carried out in the laboratory, the design and the optimum characteristics of the fan 17 have been determined. Thus, the wheel 34 has a diameter of approximately 26 mm comprising twenty blades 36 lying forward, the height of a blade 36 being approximately 10 mm and the blade spacing approximately 3 mm. The volute 35 has a snail shape and ensures the gradual increase of the fan flow from its spout 37 to the exit 38.

The outlet 38 of the volute 35 opens at the inlet 39 of the air duct 21 (FIG 2). The air duct 21 is vertical, parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel 34 and it directs at right angles the tangential air flow leaving the volute 35, according to the arrows of FIG. As the air velocity leaving the volute 35 is very high, the section of the inlet 39 of the air duct 21 must be large (FIG. 3b). In order to reduce the pressure losses at the outlet, due mainly to the abrupt change of direction of the air flow leaving the volute 35 (FIG 2), the passage of the air flow must be through a smooth duct, free steps or sharp edges. Thus, the connection 40 at the corner of the duct 21 must be under a large connection radius, preferably greater than 5 mm in the example shown, the same orientation being at the opposite side of the duct 21 formed in the frame 16. In addition, the inner surface of the air duct 21 is polished ice at a very low roughness.

According to an advantageous aspect of the invention and as best seen in FIG. 2, the volute 35 is integrated in the housing and in the structure of the apparatus, it is formed by the assembly of three parts: a front portion 42 formed integrally with the front shell 25 of the housing 1, two side portions 43 formed in one piece with the frame 16 and a rear portion 44 formed integrally with the rear shell 26 of the housing 1. As seen in Figures 2 and 3b, the front portion 42 of the volute has a curved shape surrounding the volute 35 about half of its periphery, the front part which is fitted at each of its ends with a side portion 43 The scroll is closed at its rear portion 44 by the rear shell 26 of the housing 1. This volute construction around a centrifugal fan wheel contained inside the housing of a device tweezers allows for a very compact device, while having an efficient operation in terms of flow rate and air speed.

To further reduce the size of the apparatus of the invention, the air duct 21 is formed between the rear shell 26 of the housing 1 and a rear wall 45 of the frame 16. As can be seen in Figure 2, the air duct 21 is extended by a flat nozzle 20 whose exit in the form of rectangle with rounded corners is adjacent to the hair removal roller 3 (fig.1).

In operation, the apparatus is started by actuating the control knob 5. More particularly, the electric motor 10 which turns the epilation roller 3 and, simultaneously, the fan 17 is supplied with power. rotation, it creates an air flow between an air inlet 18 and an air outlet 19 of the apparatus. As best seen in Figure 1, the air flow circuit produced through the housing has a generally U-shaped or J-shaped, the inlet being on a longitudinal side of the epilation roller 3 and the outlet on the opposite side.

The apparatus of the invention makes it possible to produce a concentrated stream of air, shaped like a blade or air curtain, directed towards the skin and having a good flow rate, of about 3m ³ / h and a good speed. , about 20m / s producing a feeling of cold and therefore appeasing when pulling. The printed form to the air flow makes it possible to obtain a device having excellent ergonomics in use while blowing a powerful air flow, because the pressure losses are greatly reduced by the construction of its air flow and the choice of its operating parameters. The painter means of the device are thus effective in operation while integrating well with a depilatory device of compact construction.

Other variants and embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of its claims.

Thus, one can consider the use of another type of fan associated with a flat nozzle capable of concentrating the flow of air and directing it towards the skin.

It would also be possible to use a separate motor for actuating the fan according to its own operating parameters, or even a self-powered removable blower module that attaches to the body of the apparatus.

Claims (15)

Tweezers comprising a housing (1) intended to be held by hand, comprising means for hair-removal epilation on the skin and means for driving the depilation means, and a ventilator (17) driven by an electric motor (10) for creating an air flow between an inlet opening (18) of the housing and an outlet opening (19) of the housing, characterized in that the flow of air exiting the overpressure of the fan (17) is channeled to the skin by an air duct (21) extended by a flat nozzle (20). Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that said nozzle (20) is prominent outside the housing (1). Apparatus according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the depilation means comprise an epilation roller (3) rotating about an axis arranged parallel to the skin and that the nozzle (20) is arranged in parallel by roller, close to the latter. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the outlet nozzle (20) is arranged behind the depilating roller (3) in the direction of movement of the latter on the skin. Apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said fan (17) is a centrifugal fan squirrel cage. Apparatus according to one of Claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the fan (17) is mounted directly on the output shaft (12) of the epilation roller drive motor (3) and is lay with the scroll. Apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that the output shaft (12) of the motor (10) is transverse to the axis of rotation of the hair removal roller (3). Apparatus according to one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that the air inlet opening (18) is arranged on the front face of the housing (1), in the proximity of the depilating roller (3). . Apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that a suction chamber (32) of height at least equal to that of the fan (17) is provided below the depilating roller (3). Apparatus according to one of claims 5 to 9 characterized in that the pressure chamber is a volute (35) surrounding the fan (17). Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that said air duct (21) has a smooth surface and sealingly connects the outlet of the volute (35) to the outlet nozzle (20). Apparatus according to one of claims 10 or 11, characterized in that the outlet of the volute (35) is connected to the air duct (21) by a radius equal to or greater than 5 mm. Apparatus according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the volute (35) is formed at least in part by the walls of the housing (1). Apparatus according to one of claims 3 to 13, characterized in that the hair removal roller (3) is supported by a head portion of the casing pivotally mounted relative to a second gripping handle portion. Apparatus according to one of claims 3 to 14, characterized in that the epilation roller (3) is removably mounted relative to the housing (1).

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