Hand-held device for locally piercing a skin

Abstract

A hand-held device for local piercing of skin includes: a housing; a drive unit within the housing adapted to provide a driving force; piercing means within the housing having at least one piercing needle disposed on a needle carrier; and coupling means within the housing and connecting the drive unit to the piercing means such that the driving force is transmissible to the piercing means to repeatedly move the needle carrier with the at least one piercing needle between a forward and a rearward position during operation. A lever mechanism receives a drive stroke provided by the drive device via an input of the lever mechanism on the drive side when the driving force is transmitted, to convert the drive stroke into a working stroke which is different from the drive stroke and to output the working stroke to the piercing device via an output of the lever mechanism.

Claims

1. A hand-held device for local piercing of a skin, comprising: a housing; a drive device arranged in the housing and adapted to provide a driving force; a piercing device arranged in the housing and having at least one piercing needle arranged on a needle carrier; and a coupling device is arranged in the housing and connecting the drive device to the piercing device so that the driving force is transmitted to the piercing device in order to move the needle carrier with the at least one piercing needle repeatedly between a front and a rear position during operation; wherein the coupling device has a lever mechanism which is set up to receive a drive stroke provided by the drive device via an input of the lever mechanism on the drive side when the driving force is transmitted, to convert the drive stroke into a working stroke which is different from the drive stroke, and to deliver the working stroke to the piercing device via an output of the lever mechanism.

2. The hand-held device according to claim 1, wherein the lever mechanism is arranged to convert the drive stroke having a drive stroke length into the working stroke having a working stroke length different from the drive stroke length.

3. The hand-held device according to claim 2, wherein the working stroke length is greater than the drive stroke length.

4. The hand-held device according to claim 2, wherein the working stroke length is smaller than the drive stroke length.

5. The hand-held device according to claim 1, wherein the lever mechanism is formed with at least two interacting levers.

6. The hand-held device according to claim 1, wherein the lever mechanism between the input and the output is designed as a rigid lever mechanism.

7. The hand-held device according to claim 1, wherein the needle carrier with the at least one piercing needle is displaceable during displacement from the rear position into the front position against a biasing force provided by a retraction device, and wherein the biasing force is arranged to provide, at least partially, a total biasing force to be applied for displacement of the needle carrier with the at least one piercing needle from the front position into the rear position.

8. The hand-held device according to claim 1, wherein a sealing membrane in the housing separates a front housing chamber from a rear housing chamber in a sealing manner.

9. The hand-held device according to claim 8, wherein the restoring means is formed with the sealing membrane such that the biasing force is formed when elastic membrane portions of the sealing membrane are stretched from the rear position to the front position when the needle carrier with the at least one piercing needle is displaced.

10. The hand-held device according to claim 8, wherein the sealing membrane comprises a sealing lip engaging a component in a sliding manner moveable between the rear position and the front position.

11. The hand-held device according to claim 1, wherein the needle carrier of the piercing device is directly connected to the output of the lever mechanism.

12. The hand-held device according to claim 11, wherein an output element, at which the output of the lever mechanism is formed, is pivotally mounted in an associated receptacle on the needle carrier of the piercing device.

13. The hand-held device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is configured comprising multiple pieces including housing parts detachable from one another.

14. The hand-held device according to claim 13, wherein a handpiece is formed with a rear housing part, in which the drive device is arranged, and a skin-piercing module is formed with a front housing part, in which the piercing device is arranged.

15. A hand-held device according to claim 14, wherein the rear housing part is a handpiece with a drive unit of an electric toothbrush.

16. A hand-held device according to claim 14, wherein the lever mechanism is arranged in the front housing part.

17. The hand-held device according to claim 8, wherein the lever mechanism is arranged in the rear housing space.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT EXAMPLES

[0034] The patent or application file contain at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of the patent or patent application publication with color drawings(s) will be provided by the Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

[0035] In the following, further embodiments are explained with reference to figures of a drawing. Here show:

[0036] FIG. 1 schematic perspective view of a hand-held device for local skin piercing;

[0037] FIG. 2 schematic perspective view of a skin piercing module;

[0038] FIG. 3 schematic perspective view of the skin piercing module from FIG. 2 in section;

[0039] FIG. 4 another schematic perspective view of the skin piercing module from FIG. 2 in section;

[0040] FIG. 5 schematic perspective view of another skin piercing module;

[0041] FIG. 6 schematic perspective view of the other skin piercing module of FIG. 5 partially in section;

[0042] FIG. 7 another schematic perspective view of the other skin piercing module from FIG. 5, with piercing needles retracted further;

[0043] FIG. 8 another schematic perspective view of the other skin piercing module from FIG. 5 in section;

[0044] FIG. 9 schematic perspective view of elements of the other skin piercing module in FIG. 5;

[0045] FIG. 10 another schematic perspective view of elements of the other skin piercing module from FIG. 5 in section;

[0046] FIG. 11 schematic perspective view of the other skin piercing module of FIG. 5, with the piercing needles arranged in an intermediate position;

[0047] FIG. 12 schematic perspective view of the other skin piercing module of FIG. 5 in section, with the piercing needles arranged in an extended (forward) position;

[0048] FIG. 13 schematic perspective view of a further embodiment of a hand-held device for locally brushing a skin with a handpiece of an electric toothbrush;

[0049] FIG. 14 schematic partial perspective view of the hand-held device of FIG. 13 and

[0050] FIG. 15 schematic partial perspective view of the handheld unit from FIG. 13.

[0051] FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a hand-held device 1 for local skin piercing. The hand-held device 1 has a housing 2 with a front and a rear housing part 3, 4, which are detachably connected to one another in the embodiment example shown. The rear housing part 4 provides a handpiece 4a which the user grips with fingers during operation.

[0052] FIGS. 2 to 4 show schematic perspective views of an exchangeable skin piercing module (skin piercing exchange module) 20, which is formed with the front housing component 3 in the hand-held device 1 of FIG. 1.

[0053] A piercing device 22 is arranged in a module housing 21, in which piercing needles 24 are arranged on a needle carrier 23. The needle carrier 23 is connected to a module-side coupling device 25 in such a way that, during operation, a driving force provided via a coupling component 26, which is provided by a drive device in the housing 2, is transmitted to the needle carrier 23, so that the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24 arranged thereon is moved back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the housing between a front and a rear position. FIG. 3 shows the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24 in the rear position, in which needle tips 27 of the piercing needles 24 are arranged behind a front housing opening 28 (cf. FIG. 2) (retracted position). To pierce the skin, the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24 is moved into a front position (cf. FIG. 12 below), in which the needle tips 27 protrude with respect to the front housing opening 28, in particular with respect to a front housing edge 29.

[0054] The needle carrier 23 is guided in the module housing 21 during back and forth movement in operation. A spring element 30 ensures that a housing sleeve 31 with a cap 31a is pressed against a bottom of a module receptacle on the handpiece 4a after docking and regardless of the setting of a needle protrusion of the piercing needle tip 27 with respect to the front housing opening 28 or the front housing edge 29.

[0055] After coupling the skin piercing module 20 to the handpiece, a housing part 21a on the module housing 21 is connected in the region of a rear housing section 21b to a sleeve 4b that can be adjusted or displaced in the longitudinal direction of the housing 2 (cf. FIG. 1) in such a way that an adjustment or displacement of the sleeve in the longitudinal direction of the housing 2, for example by means of rotating the sleeve 4b along a threaded bearing of the sleeve 4b on the rear housing section 4, changes the relative position of the housing section 21a with respect to the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24 and thus with respect to the needle tips 27, so that a needle projection or needle protrusion of the needle tips 27 relative to the front housing edge 29 is set as a result.

[0056] The housing part 21a abuts a circumferential ledge 21c on the module housing 21, which forms a stop for the housing part 21a.

[0057] In the shown embodiment example, the displacement into the front position towards the front housing opening 28 takes place against a biasing force of a sealing membrane 40, which is stretched in the process (cf. FIG. 4). The sealing membrane 40 is then part of a retraction device which provides a biasing force, and at the same time seals a front housing space 41 (front side with respect to the sealing membrane 40 in the housing of the hand-held device) against a rear housing space 42 (rear side with respect to the sealing membrane 40 in the housing of the hand-held device, in the direction of the drive device). Also with respect to the module housing 21, the sealing membrane 40 divides it into a front housing space and a rear housing space within the module housing 21.

[0058] The sealing membrane made of an elastic material then also contributes to moving the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24 back to the rear (retracted) position according to FIG. 3, after the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24 has previously been displaced to the front position. In this way, the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24 performs a back and forth movement in the longitudinal direction of the housing 2 during operation, in response to the coupled driving force, with a repetition frequency that can be varied, for example, with the aid of an electric motor of the drive device.

[0059] Referring to FIG. 4, a lever mechanism 32 is provided in the interchangeable skin cutting model as a component of a module-side part of the coupling device by means of which the driving force is transmitted to the needle carrier 23, which lever mechanism is formed in the embodiment example shown with a first lever 33 and a second lever 34, each of which is pivotally mounted on a bearing component 35. The bearing component 35 has limiting means 36 associated with the first and second levers 33, 34 and limiting their pivotal movement in operation. With the aid of the lever mechanism 32, a drive stroke which is transmitted via the coupling component 26 to an input 37 of the lever mechanism 32 is converted into a working stroke which is transmitted from the lever mechanism via an output 38 to the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24, the working stroke being different from the drive stroke coupled to the lever mechanism 32, for example having an increased or reduced stroke length. In this way, it is possible to convert or convert the drive stroke received from the drive device into a working stroke specifically transmitted to the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24, which then determines which path (stroke) the piercing needles 24, in particular their needle tips 27, execute during operation. For example, the stroke conversion can be used to influence the protrusion of the piercing needle tips 27 relative to the front housing edge 29, and thus the piercing depth during local piercing of the skin with the aid of the hand-held device 1.

[0060] In the example shown for the lever mechanism 32, this is designed to increase the stroke, which means that the decoupled working stroke is greater than the coupled drive stroke. The stroke length is increased. In alternative embodiments, the stroke length can remain the same or can be shortened by means of the lever mechanism 32.

[0061] In the embodiment shown, the biasing force provided by the sealing membrane 40 optionally supplements the lever mechanism 32 at least when moving the stay device back.

[0062] FIGS. 5 to 12 show schematic diagrams for an embodiment of another needle piercing module 50. The same reference signs are used in FIGS. 5 to 12 as in FIGS. 2 to 4 for identical features.

[0063] In FIGS. 5 to 12, a respectively set needle projection or needle protrusion, which the needle tips 27 assume in relation to the front edge of the housing 29 when the piercing device is moved to the front position (cf. FIG. 12), can be seen by means of a respectively set distance A (cf. for example FIGS. 5 to 7).

[0064] For this purpose, a housing part 51 is adjustable or displaceable after coupling to the handpiece 4a by means of the sleeve 4b formed thereon (cf. FIG. 1) relative to the needle carrier 23 with the piercing needles 24 and thus with respect to the needle tips 27. Here, FIG. 5 (as also FIG. 12) shows for the other needle piercing module 50 a position of the needle tips 27 with an adjusted maximum needle projection or needle protrusion (distance A minimum). FIG. 11 shows a sectional view of the other needle piercing module 50 in the position shown in FIG. 5.

[0065] FIG. 7 shows a minimum needle out or needle overhang with the piercing needles 24 retracted to the rear position. FIGS. 6, 8 to 10 show different sectional views of the other needle piercing module 50 with the position shown in FIG. 7.

[0066] If the other needle piercing module 50 is used for an insertion of a substance during local piercing of the skin, it is possible to insert the substance to be inserted via a module opening 52, so that it can reach the pierced skin in particular due to capillary forces along the piercing needles 24. In the embodiment of the needle piercing module 20 in FIGS. 2 to 4, the substance, for example a dye or a cosmetic/medical active ingredient, can be applied in the region of the front housing opening 28.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 9, a module tip 60 is detachably arranged on the module housing 21. The module tip 60 may be detachably arranged from the module housing 21 in unity with the piercing needles 24 or the needle carrier 23 (with piercing needles 24).

[0068] While the pins 24 are shown in particular in FIGS. 6 to 10 in a rear (retracted) position, FIG. 5 shows an intermediate position in which the pins 27 can be seen through the front housing opening 28 (see also FIG. 11). Finally, FIG. 12 shows the piercing needles 24 in a front (extended) position (maximum needle projection), in which the piercing needle tips 27 protrude from the front housing opening 28 protrusion well as the front housing edge 29. Hereby a needle protrusion is formed, which is characterized by a needle length with which the piercing needles 24 protrude with respect to the front housing edge 29.

[0069] In the examples in FIGS. 5 to 12, the lever mechanism 32 is also designed to increase the stroke.

[0070] FIG. 13 shows a schematic perspective view of another embodiment of a hand-held device 70, in which an attached needle piercing module 71 is detachably arranged on a handpiece 72, which is formed by a handpiece of an electric toothbrush with a drive device accommodated therein. FIGS. 14 and 15 each show a schematic partial perspective view of the hand-held device of FIG. 13. The same reference signs are used in FIGS. 13 to 15 as in FIGS. 1 to 12 for identical features.

[0071] The lever mechanism 32 is formed with the first and second levers 33, 34 formed in a crossed arrangement. The first and second levers 33, 34 are pivotally mounted to the module housing by means of a respective bearing 73, 74. The drive stroke is introduced to the lever mechanism 32 via a coupling component 75, and the converted working stroke is then transmitted to the needle carrier 23. In this way, the driving force provided by the handpiece of the electric toothbrush is transmitted to the needle carrier 23 with the positioning needles 24, with the stroke conversion or conversion taking place in this case.

[0072] An adjustment element 76, which in the example shown is formed with a rotary element, is arranged to adjust a needle protrusion or needle protrusion for the piercing needles 24 relative to the front housing opening 28 by rotating the rotary element. For this purpose, it is provided that the rotating element cooperates with an eccentric mechanism (not shown) in such a way that a position of a sleeve component 77, at which the front housing opening 28 is formed, can be changed relative to the piercing needle tips 27 in the extended (front) position of the piercing needles 24.

[0073] The features disclosed in the foregoing description, the claims, and the drawing may be significant, both individually and in any combination, for the realization of the various embodiments.