ES2424051B1 - Treatment device for emission of light flashes and corresponding procedure - Google Patents

Abstract

Treatment device for emission of light flashes and corresponding procedure, in particular for hair removal for a vascular treatment, comprising: a handpiece (10), this handpiece comprising a flash lamp and an optical guide that receives the light emitted by the flash lamp, the optical guide having an exit face, an optical extension (20), provided with removable fixing means (40) on the handpiece, the optical extension receiving the light emitted by the output face of the optical guide, the optical protractor having an exit face of smaller section than the exit face of the optical guide, the optical guide being adapted for use without an extension, being applied to the skin.

Description

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the treatment devices for emission of light flashes.

State of the art

Publications EP 1 547538, EP 1 602 340 and EP 1 749494 of the applicant disclose devices comprising a handpiece connected to a base post. The handpiece comprises at least one flash lamp and the base station comprises the electric generator that provides the necessary energy to the flash lamp to generate the light pulses. The handpiece comprises an optical guide that receives the light emitted by the flash lamp and has an exit face that can be applied to the skin for treatment.

In known manual parts, the exit face of the optical guide has a generally rectangular shape that is convenient for the treatment of large surfaces, but which is inadequate for the treatment of areas of the body such as the ears or the nose.

Application EP O 775 504 discloses a treatment apparatus by means of light flashes that can accommodate different optical filters. There is a need to further refine treatment devices by emission of light flashes.

Summary of the invention

A subject of the invention is a treatment device for emission of

light flashes, in particular for hair removal or for vascular treatment, comprising:

-

a handpiece, this comprising a flash lamp and an optical guide that receives the light emitted by the flash lamp, the optical guide having an exit face, and

-

an optical extension, provided with removable fixing means on the handpiece, the optical extension receiving the light emitted from the optical guide's exit face, the optical extension having a section face smaller than the output side of The optical guide

Thanks to the invention, a conventional handpiece can easily be transformed by the user into a handpiece that can treat the nose or ears, in particular for hair removal.

In the invention, the optical guide on which the protractor is sanded can be applied to the skin for treatments. The extension can be placed without removing the optical duct.

The optical extension comprises an optical conduit that is advantageously at least partially covered by an opaque coating, on its particular lateral surface.

This opaque coating is advantageously reflective, on its inner face at least, in order to reduce light losses during the propagation of light in the optical conduit. The opaque coating is obtained, for example, by a metallization of the optical conduit, which is, for example, a glass conduit OR any other optically transparent material suitable for the propagation of the light pulses.

The length of the extension, measured between the face intended to be applied against the optical guide and that intended to be applied to the skin, may be greater than half that of the optical guide, even greater than the length of the optical guide. The optical guide can be fixed permanently on the handpiece, and the change of the optical guide can only be done by disassembling the handpiece. The change of extension or its placement and its removal can be done without intervening on the optical guide.

The length of the optical extension is, for example, greater than or equal to 45 mm, the optical extension having, for example, a sharp shape in the direction of its distal end, for example a truncated or truncated pyramidal shape.

The section of the output face of the optical extender may be, for example,

less than or equal to 80 mm, for example less than or equal to 70 mm, better than 65 mm2.

The optical extension can comprise various fixing means on the handpiece, for example fixing means by means of a mechanical coupling, for example by means of a strap, a tape, interlocking reliefs, a band of hooks and loops of type Velcro�. As a variant, the optical extension can be fixed to the handpiece by means of an attached fixing part. The fixing means can also be fixing means by magnetization. The output side of the optical guide can be placed in front of the handpiece, that is, the rest of the handpiece is located behind the output face when the handpiece is used.

The optical extender may comprise a dichroic filter, in order to correct, for example, the spectrum of light to treat the skin, for example, with less depth. The extender may be provided, for example, with a dichroic filter that blocks the infrared.

The extender may also be devoid of optical filter. The spectral characteristics of the light exiting the optical guide and the one exiting the protractor can be substantially the same.

The optical conduit of the optical extension can have faces that form, with the longitudinal axis of the optical conduit, a constant angle between the input and output faces.

As a variant, the optical conduit may have faces that form a variable angle with the longitudinal axis of the optical conduit as it travels along its longitudinal axis.

The object of the invention is also according to another of its aspects, a method of depilation of the nose or ears, in which it is removably fixed, on a handpiece comprising a flash lamp and an optical guide, an optical extender such as defined above, and the nose is treated

or the ears with the light emitted by the output face of the optical extension.

Brief description of the drawings

The invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description, non-limiting embodiments thereof, and from the examination of the accompanying drawing, in which:

-

Figure 1 represents in elevation a handpiece made in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, - Figure 2 represents the optical protractor not assembled in the handpiece of Figure 1, - Figure 3 represents the optical protractor of Figure 2 assembled in the handpiece of Figure 1,

-

Figure 4 represents a detail of Figure 3,

-

Figure 5 represents the optical protractor ready to be placed on the handpiece, - Figure 6 is a schematic and partial axial section of the handpiece provided with the optical extension, - Figure 7 is an axial section representing the isolated optical conduit of the optical extension, - Figure 8 represents in an isolated way the optical conduit

of the optical extender,

-

Figure 9 is a front view according to IX of Figure 7, and

-

Figure 10 is a view analogous to Figure 6 representing a variant embodiment.

Detailed description of an embodiment of the invention

A manual part of a light-emitting treatment device is shown in Figure 1.

Such devices are described in European patent applications EP 1 749494 A2 and EP 1 602340 A2 And an example of a handpiece is described in European patent EP 1 547538 B 1. The handpiece 10 comprises a case 11 forming a handle and which supports an optical guide 12 that receives the light emitted by a flash lamp located inside the box 11, not visible in the drawing, to route it to an exit face 13 that is to be applied against the skin for example a hair removal treatment.

The optical guide 12 is fixedly mounted on the handpiece, that is, it cannot be separated from it without having to completely disassemble the handpiece.

Figure 2 shows an optical extension 20 intended to be mounted on the handpiece 10 in order to perform treatments of specific areas such as the nose or ears.

This optical extension 20 comprises an optical conduit 21 which is shown in isolation in Figures 7 to 9. The optical conduit 21 has, for example, an elongated shape along a longitudinal axis X with an inlet face 22 and an outlet face. 23, of smaller section than the entrance face 22.

In the illustrated example, the optical conduit 21 has a general truncated pyramid shape, the exit face 23 being substantially perpendicular to the X axis with rounded edges, and of square section with for example an 8 mm side.

The conduit 21 is made, for example, in glass or in quartz or in any other transparent material, for example in transparent plastic material, and is coated over most of its length, including almost all of its length, by an opaque coating 25 which in the example considered is formed by a metallization of the transparent material of the conduit. This metallization extends along the lateral faces 26 from the inlet face 22 to a distance d from the outlet face 23, for example a distance d less than or equal to 3 mm, for example of the order of 2mm.

In the example considered, the faces 26 of the optical conduit are flat and form a constant angle with the X axis although it could be otherwise and these faces 26 could for example form a variable angle with the X, in particular an angle that increases at approach the exit face.

The optical conduit 21 is mounted on a support 30 to allow its mounting on the end of the optical guide 12 protruding out of the box 11. The support 30 has a mounting skirt 31 adapted to the optical guide, for example a substantially parallelepipedic form in the example considered.

The maintenance of the support 30 on the optical guide 12 is carried out in the example considered by means of a tape 40 that is hooked on a hook 41 of the support 30, and can be coupled through the opening 14 of the handpiece handle. The other end of the tape 40 is provided with a loop 43 that can be attached to a second hook 37 of the support 30.

The tape 40 is advantageously made of an elastically deformable material, which allows the support 30 to be contacted against the box 11 as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.

The fixing of the optical extension on the handpiece could also be done in another way, for example by interlocking reliefs 50 formed on the support 30 in complementary reliefs 52 formed in the case 11 of the handpiece, as illustrated in the figure 10.

The optical extender 20 may comprise an AFM optical filter 60 to modify the spectrum of the light emitted by the handpiece, for example to limit the depth of penetration of the light into the skin.

The filter 60 is for example a dichroic filter formed by a metallization of the inlet face 22 of the optical conduit 21. This dichroic filter is arranged, for example, to block infrared radiation.

If necessary, the optical extension may be provided with means that allow the device to be indicated on the handpiece.

Thus, the base station can modify the characteristics of the voltage applied to the flash lamp and for example adapt the power and / or the duration of the impulses so that the presence of the optical extension is taken into account.

The handpiece may comprise, for example, a switch that is actuated by the support of the optical conduit 21 when the optical extension is placed on the handpiece. The activation of this switch can be detected by the generator and then a predefined action can be performed to modify the characteristics of the generator's operation.

The extension can also comprise electrical contacts and / or an electronic memory that indicates to the device the characteristics of the optical conduit so that the emitted energy adapts as best as possible to the geometry of the optical conduit and the treatment to be carried out.

The removable nature of the optical protractor can make it possible to modify existing handpieces in order to allow treatment of areas of the body that are otherwise inaccessible to these handpieces.

In addition, the removable nature of the optical extender can facilitate cleaning between uses. Obviously, the invention is not limited to the examples just described.

5 In particular, the optical extension can also be fixed on the handpiece, for example, by means of a magnetic fixation or by incorporating a band with a Velcro type mechanical coupling.

Several optical extensions can be proposed to the user that have different characteristics, for example in terms of the shape of the optical conduit of the extensions, or in the presence of a filter in the extension to modify

Its optical characteristics. The expression "comprising a" should be understood as a synonym for "comprising at least one", unless otherwise specified.

Claims (10)

1. Device for treatment by emission of light flashes, in particular for hair removal or for vascular treatment, comprising: a handpiece (10), this handpiece comprising a lamp of flashes and an optical guide that receives the light emitted by the lamp flash, presenting the optical guide an exit face (13), an optical extension (20), equipped with removable fixing means (40) on the handpiece, the optical extender receiving the light emitted by the output face (13) of the guide �plica, presenting the optical extension an exit face (23) of smaller section than the exit face (13) of the optical guide, the optical guide being adapted for use without extension, being applied to the skin.

2.

Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the optical extension comprises an optical conduit at least partially covered by an opaque coating, on its lateral surface.

3.

Device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the opaque coating is reflective.

Four.

Device according to claim 2 3, characterized in that the opaque coating is obtained by a metallization of the optical conduit.

5.

Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the length of the extension is greater than or equal to 45 mm.

6.

Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the section of the output face of the optical extension is lower

or equal to 80 mm • 7. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the optical extension comprises an optical conduit having a truncated pyramidal shape. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the removable fixing means comprise a tape. 9. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the removable fixing means comprise interlocking reliefs. 10. Device according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the optical extension comprises a dichroic filter. 15 11. Device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the dichroic filter blocks the infrared. 12. Procedure of depilation of the nose or ears, in which The nose or ears are exposed to the light emitted by a treatment device according to any of the preceding claims, provided with the extension.