WO2024195957A1 - Energy-based device comprising roller electrode - Google Patents

Abstract

An energy-based device according to the present invention comprises: a head unit in which an electrode for applying electrical stimulation to the human body is disposed; and a main body unit having a driving circuit that generates an electrical signal applied to the electrode, wherein the head unit includes a roller electrode, wherein the roller electrode is formed in a cylindrical shape and the opposite ends of the roller electrode are mounted on the head unit such that the circumferential surface thereof rolls freely on the user's skin surface, and a plurality of electrode heads are arranged to be spaced apart from each other on the outer circumferential surface.

Description

Energy-based devices comprising roller electrodes

The present invention relates to energy-based devices.

Recently, Energy Based Devices (EBD) are widely used for medical or cosmetic purposes. Energy Based Devices (EBD) are devices that apply various types of energy to the human body and utilize them for skin beauty and medical treatment. For example, EBD can be used to promote and absorb effective ingredients contained in drugs or cosmetics into the human skin, thereby enhancing effects such as regeneration, wrinkle improvement, whitening, moisturizing, and hair loss treatment.

This transdermal drug delivery (TDD) using EBD is a method for delivering drugs through the skin to deliver active ingredients into the skin, and uses electroporation, iontophoresis, arcporation, microneedle, sonophoresis, etc. Among these, electroporation, iontophoresis, and arc discharge poration can control the promotion of skin absorption of active ingredients by changing the parameter values of the electrical signal (voltage, current, frequency) used. In addition, the electrical stimulation itself, such as microcurrent, high voltage, low frequency, high frequency, and pulse electric field output from EBD, can exhibit effects such as regeneration, whitening, wound healing, and pain relief.

As an example, a conventional skin care device is illustrated in FIG. 1. The skin care device (100) illustrated in FIG. 1 may be composed of a head portion (120) equipped with electrodes (130) that apply electrical stimulation to the human body, and a main body portion (110) that accommodates a predetermined driving circuit and power unit that generate electrical signals. When the head portion on which two electrodes are formed is brought into contact with the skin, the conventional skin care device applies an electrical signal to each electrode to create perforations in the keratin of the skin, thereby promoting absorption of a drug.

[Prior art literature]

[Patent Document]

(Patent Document 1) KR 10-2389659 B

The present invention is intended to solve the problems of the above-described prior art, and aims to provide an easy-to-use energy-based device that allows a user to uniformly form micropores in an application area by rolling a roller electrode formed on the head of a skin care device after bringing it into contact with the skin.

The purposes of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other purposes not mentioned will be clearly understood from the description below.

An energy-based device according to the present invention comprises: a head portion having electrodes arranged for applying electrical stimulation to a human body; and a main body having a driving circuit for generating an electrical signal applied to the electrodes; wherein the head portion includes a roller electrode, and the roller electrode is formed in a cylindrical shape such that opposite ends of the roller electrode are mounted on the head portion so that the circumference thereof can freely roll on a surface of a user's skin, and further, a plurality of electrode heads are arranged spaced apart from each other on the outer circumference thereof.

Here, the roller electrode may be configured to include a cylindrical roller case, a plurality of electrode terminals arranged along the longitudinal direction of the roller case, a first bracket and a second bracket respectively arranged at both ends of the roller case and selectively contacting one of the plurality of electrode terminals, first and second conductive bearings respectively contacting the first and second brackets, and a conductive contact portion on which the first and second conductive bearings are rotatably installed.

In addition, the roller case is characterized in that a plurality of openings are formed, and an electrode head provided at each of the plurality of electrode terminals is exposed through the corresponding openings.

In addition, it is preferable that the plurality of electrode terminals are divided into first group electrode terminals and second group electrode terminals, and the first group electrode terminals and the second group electrode terminals are alternately arranged along the outer circumference of the roller case, and the first group electrode terminals are electrically connected to the first bracket, and the second group electrode terminals are electrically connected to the second bracket.

In addition, the first group electrode terminal and the second group electrode terminal are characterized in that they are electrically separated.

Furthermore, the first and second conductive bearings may include an electrically conductive outer housing, an electrically conductive bearing ball, and an electrically conductive inner housing. Here, the outer housing is in electrical contact with the bracket, and the inner housing is in electrical contact with the conductive contact portion. Thus, the electrical signal input to the conductive contact portion is transmitted to the bracket via the inner housing, the bearing ball, and the outer housing.

In another aspect, the energy-based device according to the present invention is characterized by being an arcporation device capable of uniformly forming micropores on the skin surface of a subject.

According to the present invention, since the user can uniformly form micropores simply by rolling the roller electrode provided on the head of the skin care device against the skin, it is possible to prevent micropores from being formed locally and densely. Furthermore, since the user can perform the treatment simply by rolling the roller electrode, it is easy to use.

Figure 1 is a drawing illustrating an example of a conventional skin care device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of an energy-based device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a roller electrode applicable to an energy-based device according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is an exploded view of a roller electrode according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a drawing showing the inside of the roller electrode viewed in the direction Ⅱ shown in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a drawing showing the inside of the roller electrode viewed in a state where it is cut along the line Ⅰ-Ⅰ in Fig. 4.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram explaining the arcporation phenomenon.

An energy-based device according to the present invention comprises: a head portion having electrodes arranged for applying electrical stimulation to a human body; and a main body having a driving circuit for generating an electrical signal applied to the electrodes; wherein the head portion includes a roller electrode, and the roller electrode is formed in a cylindrical shape such that opposite ends of the roller electrode are mounted on the head portion so that the circumference thereof can freely roll on a surface of a user's skin, and further, a plurality of electrode heads are arranged spaced apart from each other on the outer circumference thereof.

Here, the roller electrode may be configured to include a cylindrical roller case, a plurality of electrode terminals arranged along the longitudinal direction of the roller case, a first bracket and a second bracket respectively arranged at both ends of the roller case and selectively contacting one of the plurality of electrode terminals, first and second conductive bearings respectively contacting the first and second brackets, and a conductive contact portion on which the first and second conductive bearings are rotatably installed.

In addition, the roller case is characterized in that a plurality of openings are formed, and an electrode head provided at each of the plurality of electrode terminals is exposed through the corresponding openings.

In addition, it is preferable that the plurality of electrode terminals are divided into first group electrode terminals and second group electrode terminals, and the first group electrode terminals and the second group electrode terminals are alternately arranged along the outer circumference of the roller case, and the first group electrode terminals are electrically connected to the first bracket, and the second group electrode terminals are electrically connected to the second bracket.

In addition, the first group electrode terminal and the second group electrode terminal are characterized in that they are electrically separated.

Furthermore, the first and second conductive bearings may include an electrically conductive outer housing, an electrically conductive bearing ball, and an electrically conductive inner housing. Here, the outer housing is in electrical contact with the bracket, and the inner housing is in electrical contact with the conductive contact portion. Thus, the electrical signal input to the conductive contact portion is transmitted to the bracket via the inner housing, the bearing ball, and the outer housing.

In another aspect, the energy-based device according to the present invention is characterized by being an arcporation device capable of uniformly forming micropores on the skin surface of a subject.

The present invention can have various modifications and various embodiments, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail through detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

In describing the present invention, if it is judged that a detailed description of a related known technology may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, numbers (e.g., first, second, etc.) used in the description of this specification are merely identifiers for distinguishing one component from another.

In addition, the following description will focus on examples in which an energy-based device including a roller electrode according to the present invention is used as an arcporation device, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and may be applied to various energy-based devices such as an electroporator, an electric iontophoresis device, a microcurrent device, a low-frequency stimulator, a high-frequency stimulator, a pulsed electric field stimulator, or these devices that apply electrical signals to the skin surface of a subject.

Arc discharge is a phenomenon in which electricity is released in the process of a charged body losing its charge, and a potential difference is generated at the electrode, causing insulation breakdown. When this arc discharge phenomenon is applied to the skin and an arc discharge based on a high-voltage discharge is induced, thermal energy is instantaneously generated, forming micropores on the skin, which is called arc-poration.

When arcporation is explained through Fig. 7, one electrode (ED1) first comes into contact with the skin as a ground electrode. Then, when another electrode (ED2) approaches the distance (BD) at which dielectric breakdown can occur, an arc discharge (ARC) occurs, and micropores (MP) are created on the skin surface by the heat energy. When both electrodes come into contact with the skin surface, the AC current drops due to high skin resistance, causing a current (C) to flow through the skin between the two electrodes. Thereafter, an arc discharge occurs from the moment one electrode (ED1) is separated from the skin, and micropores are created on the skin until the range at which dielectric breakdown can occur is exceeded. Through this mechanism, micropores can be easily created by sweeping, combing, or tapping the skin with an arcporation device.

In this way, in order to generate an arc discharge, one electrode must be in contact with the skin while the other electrode is positioned within the insulation breakdown distance, so there is an inconvenience in that the head must be swept, brushed, tapped, etc. in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 7. In particular, when the user performs sweeping, brushing, tapping, etc., the location where the arc discharge occurs changes irregularly, and because of this, it is difficult to uniformly form micropores on the skin surface of the subject.

The energy-based device according to the present invention is intended to solve the problems of the prior art described above, and can provide an easy-to-use energy-based device that allows a user to uniformly form micropores in an application area by rolling a roller electrode formed on the head of a skin care device after bringing it into contact with the skin.

Then, specific details for implementing the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an energy-based device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, a roller electrode (200) is arranged in the head portion (120), and a driving circuit that generates an electrical signal to be applied to the roller electrode (200) may be built into the main body portion (110). In addition, a control button (111) may be provided in the main body portion (110) for a user to operate the device according to the present invention. The user may operate the driving circuit by manipulating the control button (111) while holding the main body portion (110) with his/her hand. The driving circuit built into the main body portion (110) generates an electrical signal to be applied to the roller electrode (200), and may include, for example, an arc discharge circuit that generates a high voltage, a power supply circuit that supplies power, and the like, and further, may include a control circuit that controls various circuits according to a signal input through the control button (111). In addition, the main body (110) can accommodate a rechargeable battery via an external adapter. In addition, the head (120) is provided with a roller electrode (200) that can rotate freely. The user uses the device by rolling the roller electrode (200) on the skin surface to be treated while holding the main body (110).

Figure 3 illustrates a roller electrode (200). The roller electrode (200) is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the opposite ends (210b) are freely rotatably mounted on the head portion (120) so that the circumference (210a) can freely roll on the user's skin surface. That is, the roller electrode (200) is installed so as to be freely rotatably in the rolling direction (R) about the axis (X) mounted on the head portion (120). In addition, a plurality of electrode heads (221) are spaced apart and arranged on the outer circumference (210a). An electrical signal applied from a driving circuit is transmitted to the electrode heads (221) through the opposite ends (210b) of the roller electrode (200) mounted on the head portion (120). Among the plurality of electrode heads (221), one of them first comes into contact with the skin surface to function as a ground electrode, and according to the rolling motion of the roller electrode (200), the adjacent other electrode approaches a distance (BD) at which dielectric breakdown can occur, thereby generating an arc discharge. In addition, after both of the neighboring electrode heads (221) come into contact with the skin surface of the subject, an arc discharge can be induced as one of the electrode heads (221) is separated from the skin surface by the rolling motion of the roller electrode (200). As a result, micropores can be uniformly formed in the keratin of the skin. Using an energy-based device equipped with a roller electrode (200) according to the present invention, micropores can be uniformly formed simply by rolling the roller electrode on the skin. In the case of a conventional arc poration device, when a user performs sweeping, brushing, tapping, etc., arc discharge may not occur at a fixed location, so micropores may be irregularly created. However, the device according to the present invention can cause arc discharge to occur regularly at a fixed location by the rolling motion of the rolling electrode (220), so micropores can be uniformly formed on the surface of the user's skin.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view to explain the connection state of each component constituting the roller electrode (200). As shown in FIG. 4, the roller electrode (200) includes a cylindrical roller case (210). The roller case (210) has a hollow interior and may be formed of an electrically insulating synthetic resin material, and a plurality of electrode terminals (220) are accommodated inside the roller case. Each electrode terminal (220) includes an electrode head (221) exposed through an opening (211) provided in the roller case (210). The electrode terminal (220) may be formed of a metal material having excellent electrical conductivity, or may be formed by coating an electrically conductive metal layer on the surface of the synthetic resin material. Each electrode terminal (220) is arranged to be in close contact with the inner surface of the roller case (210). In addition, each electrode terminal (220) is arranged along the length from one end of the roller case (210) to the other end. In addition, a plurality of electrode heads (221) formed on each electrode terminal (220) are exposed to the outside through a corresponding opening (211).

In order to ensure that a plurality of electrode terminals (220) are in close contact with the inner surface of the roller case (210), a fixing member (230) may be installed inside the roller case (210). The fixing member (230) may be provided with a fixing surface (231) on which each electrode terminal (220) may be fixed. The fixing member (230) may be formed of an electrically insulating synthetic resin material. Each electrode terminal (220) disposed on the fixing surface (231) of the fixing member (230) is disposed spaced apart from each other and electrically isolated from each other. In addition, each electrode terminal (220) is electrically insulated by the electrically insulating roller case (210) and the electrically insulating fixing member (230).

Meanwhile, the plurality of electrode terminals (220) are arranged as first group electrode terminals and second group electrode terminals. That is, the first group electrode terminals and the second group electrode terminals are arranged alternately on the outer surface along the rolling direction (R) of the roller case (210). Then, the first group electrode terminals are electrically connected to the first bracket (240a), and the second group electrode terminals are electrically connected to the second bracket (240b). Specifically, a slit (233) is formed at one end of the mounting surface (231) of the fixing member (230), and the connection leads (241) formed on the first and second brackets are electrically connected by contacting each electrode terminal (220) through the slit (233). In addition, the first and second brackets (240a, 240b) are formed with connection leads (243), and are electrically connected to the first conductive bearing (250a) or the second conductive bearing (250b) through the connection leads (243), respectively. The first and second brackets (240a, 240b) may be formed of a metal material having excellent electrical conductivity, or may be formed by coating an electrically conductive metal layer on the surface of a synthetic resin material.

The first and second conductive bearings (250a, 250b) that contact the first and second brackets (240a, 240b), respectively, include an electrically conductive outer housing (251), an electrically conductive bearing ball (253), and an electrically conductive inner housing (255). Here, the outer housing (251) is in electrical contact with a connection lead (243) provided in the brackets (240a, 240b), and the inner housing (255) is in electrical contact with a conductive contact portion (260). Thus, an electrical signal input to the conductive contact portion (260) can be transmitted to the brackets (240a, 240b) via the inner housing (255), the bearing ball (253), and the outer housing (251), respectively.

After sequentially assembling an electrode terminal (220), a fixing member (230), a bracket (240a, 240b), a conductive bearing (250a, 250b), and a conductive contact portion (260) inside a roller case (210), both ends of the roller case (210) are finished with a cover (270), and then fixed to the head portion (120) using a screw (271). Through this configuration, the roller electrode (200) can be installed on the head portion (120) so that the roller case (210) can freely rotate in the rolling direction (R). In order to more easily understand the connection status of each component arranged inside the roller case (210), FIG. 5 shows a drawing of the inside of the roller electrode (200) viewed in the direction II shown in FIG. 4 before attaching the cover (270), and FIG. 6 shows a drawing of the inside of the roller electrode (200) viewed in a state where it is cut along the line I-I in FIG. 4.

Through the configuration of the roller electrode (200) described above, an electrical signal applied from a driving circuit can be transmitted to an electrode head (221) through a contact portion (260), a bearing (250a, 250b), a bracket (240a, 240b), and an electrode terminal (220). Here, the contact portion, the bearing, the bracket, the electrode terminal, and the electrode head are all formed of an electrically conductive material. These components may be integrally formed using a metal material, or a synthetic resin material coated with an electrically conductive metal may be used.

When used as a bipolar electrode, the electrical signal applied to the first group electrode terminal may have an opposite sign to the electrical signal applied through the second group electrode terminal. That is, the electrical signal applied to the first group electrode terminal connected through the first bearing (250) and the first bracket (240a) and the electrical signal applied to the second group electrode terminal connected through the second bearing (250b) and the second bracket (240b) may be driven to have opposite signs. Electrical insulation is secured by the fixing member and the roller case so that the electrical signal applied to the first group electrode terminal and the electrical signal applied to the second group electrode terminal do not short-circuit each other in each preferred transmission stage.

When the device according to the present invention equipped with a roller electrode (200) first comes into contact with the user's skin, the electrode head of the first group electrode terminal that came into contact first can function as a ground electrode, and as the roller electrode (200) rolls on the skin of the subject in the rolling direction (R), the adjacent second group electrode terminal comes closer to the user's skin. When the electrode head of the second group electrode terminal approaches the skin and the insulation breakdown distance for generating an arc discharge becomes large enough, an arc discharge occurs. At this time, the insulation breakdown distance required for the arc discharge may vary depending on the purpose of the skin care device, and since the distance between the ground electrode (first group electrode terminal) and the arc discharge electrode (second group electrode terminal) can be changed only by driving the roller electrode, there is no need to control the size of the electrical signal generated by the driving circuit. In addition, the distance between the electrode heads provided on the first group electrode terminals and the electrode heads provided on the second group electrode terminals is maintained constant, and the positions where the first arc discharge occurs and the second arc discharge occurs can be maintained constant by the rolling of the rolling electrode, so that micropores created on the skin of the subject can be uniformly formed. Accordingly, when an energy-based device equipped with a roller electrode according to the present invention is used, micropores can be uniformly formed simply by the motion of the user rolling the roller electrode of the head on the skin when using a skin care device.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, those skilled in the art will be able to implement the present invention in a modified form within a scope that does not depart from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention described herein should be considered from an illustrative rather than a restrictive viewpoint, and the scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the above description, and all differences within a scope equivalent thereto should be interpreted as being included in the present invention.

Claims (7)

An energy-based device comprising: a head portion having electrodes arranged to apply electrical stimulation to a human body; and a main body portion having a driving circuit that generates an electrical signal applied to the electrodes; The above head portion includes a roller electrode, An energy-based device characterized in that the roller electrode is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the two ends facing each other are mounted on the head portion so that the circumference can freely roll on the user's skin surface, and a plurality of electrode heads are spaced apart and arranged on the outer circumference. In the first paragraph, The above roller electrode, A cylindrical roller case, A plurality of electrode terminals arranged along the longitudinal direction of the above roller case, A first bracket and a second bracket, each positioned at each end of the roller case and selectively contacting one of the plurality of electrode terminals, First and second conductive bearings in contact with the first and second brackets, respectively; A conductive contact portion in which the first and second conductive bearings are rotatably installed; An energy-based device, characterized by comprising: In the second paragraph, A plurality of openings are formed in the above roller case, An energy-based device, characterized in that the electrode heads provided at each of the plurality of electrode terminals are exposed through the corresponding openings. In the second paragraph, The above plurality of electrode terminals are divided into first group electrode terminals and second group electrode terminals, The first group electrode terminals and the second group electrode terminals are alternately arranged along the outer surface of the roller case. An energy-based device, characterized in that the first group electrode terminals are electrically connected to the first bracket, and the second group electrode terminals are electrically connected to the second bracket. In paragraph 4, An energy-based device, characterized in that the first group electrode terminals and the second group electrode terminals are electrically separated. In the second paragraph, The above first and second conductive bearings, Comprising an electrically conductive outer housing, an electrically conductive bearing ball, and an electrically conductive inner housing, The outer housing is in electrical contact with the bracket, and the inner housing is in electrical contact with the conductive contact portion. An energy-based device, characterized in that an electrical signal input to the conductive contact portion is transmitted to the bracket via the inner housing, the bearing ball, and the outer housing. In any one of claims 1 to 6, The energy-based device is characterized in that the energy-based device is an arcporation device capable of uniformly forming micropores on the skin surface of a subject.

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