Drive system and drive module for a hand-held device for locally piercing of human or animal skin, and hand-held device

Abstract

The invention relates to a drive system for a hand-held device for locally piercing human or animal skin, having a drive means which is arranged to provide a rotary drive movement; and a conversion mechanism (4b) which couples to the drive means for tapping the rotary drive movement and is arranged to provide a linear forward and backward movement starting from the rotary drive movement, the conversion mechanism (4b) having: a wobble plate arrangement arranged on a bearing means and coupling via a rotary joint to a distal joint component which is accommodated by the bearing means; a wobble plate formed on the wobble plate arrangement which, in operation, performs a wobbling motion due to the rotary driving motion; a tap, which is coupled to the wobble plate and is adjusted to provide the forward and backward linear movement for tapping by cooperation with the wobble plate; and an adjustment component, which is coupled to the wobble plate arrangement and is displaceably arranged such that for adjusting a stroke of the forward and backward linear movement provided at the tap, a tilt of the wobble plate with respect to the longitudinal direction can be changed by displacing the adjustment component. Furthermore, a drive module and a hand-held device are provided.

Claims

1. A drive system for a hand-held device for locally piercing a human or animal skin, having: a drive means adapted to provide a rotary drive movement; and a conversion mechanism, which is coupled to the drive means for tapping the rotary drive movement and is adapted to provide a linear forward and backward movement starting from the rotary drive movement, the conversion mechanism having: a wobble plate arrangement arranged on a bearing means and coupled via a rotary joint to a distal joint component received by the bearing means; a wobble plate formed on the wobble plate arrangement, which during operation performs a wobbling motion due to the rotating drive motion; a tap, which is coupled to the wobble plate and adapted to provide linear forward and backward movement for tapping by engaging with the wobble plate; and an adjustment component which is coupled to the wobble plate arrangement and displaceably arranged such that for adjusting a stroke of the linear forward and backward movement provided at the tap, a tilt of the wobble plate with respect to the longitudinal direction can be changed by displacing the adjustment component.

2. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment component is pivotally mounted on the wobble plate arrangement.

3. The drive system according to claim 1, the adjustment component is formed using a flat component whose flat sides extend in the longitudinal direction.

4. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment component is displaceably arranged on a component bearing in such a way that for adjusting the stroke of the linear forward and backward movement provided at the tap the tilt of the wobble plate, relative to the longitudinal direction, can be changed by means of displacing the adjustment component, wherein for this purpose, the component bearing being displaceable in the longitudinal direction.

5. The drive system according to claim 4, wherein the component bearing can be displaced in such a way as to change a distance between a rotary joint center of the rotary joint and the component bearing.

6. The drive system according to claim 4, wherein the component bearing has a bearing journal which is rotatably arranged in an associated bearing bush.

7. The drive system according to claim 4, wherein the component bearing can be displaced following a displacement of the drive means in the longitudinal direction.

8. The drive system according to claim 4, wherein the component bearing is arranged on a component which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction relative to the drive means.

9. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein the drive means and the conversion mechanism (4b) are arranged in a housing, the bearing means being arranged fixedly in the housing.

10. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein the bearing means has a bearing means which is proximal with respect to the drive means and a bearing means which is distal with respect to the drive means and is spaced apart from the proximal bearing means in a longitudinal direction.

11. The drive system according to claim 10, wherein the wobble plate arrangement is arranged between the proximal and distal bearing means.

12. A drive module for a hand-held device for locally piercing a human or animal skin, which has a drive system according to claim 1 and can be coupled to a needle module having a piercing means for local skin piercing.

13. A hand-held device for locally piercing a human or animal skin, having a drive module according to claim 12 and a needle module coupled thereto with a piercing means for locally piercing the skin.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0028] In the following, further embodiments are explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. Here:

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a hand-held device for local piercing of human or animal skin with a drive module and a needle module coupled to it;

[0030] FIG. 2 shows a perspective representation of a drive system for the hand-held device;

[0031] FIG. 3 shows a perspective representation of the drive system from FIG. 2 in the section;

[0032] FIG. 4 shows a perspective representation of the drive system from FIG. 3 with a different operating position in the section;

[0033] FIG. 5 shows a perspective representation of the drive system from FIG. 3 with a further operating position in the section;

[0034] FIG. 6 shows a perspective representation of the drive system from FIG. 3 with another changed operating position in the section;

[0035] FIG. 7 shows a schematic functional representation for members of the drive system from FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 with a stroke adjustment A;

[0036] FIG. 8 shows a schematic functional representation for members of the drive system from FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 with a stroke adjustment B;

[0037] FIG. 9 shows a schematic functional representation for members of another configuration of a drive system with a stroke adjustment A, and

[0038] FIG. 10 shows a schematic functional representation for members of the other configuration according to FIG. 9 with a stroke adjustment B which is different from stroke adjustment A.

[0039] FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a hand-held device for the repeated local piercing of human or animal skin (skin piercing device) with a housing 1. In the example shown, housing 1 is modularly built with a drive module housing 1a of a drive module 2 and a needle module housing 1b of a needle module 3, which is detachably coupled to drive module 2.

[0040] A drive system 4 is provided in the drive module housing 1a, which has a drive means 4a with a motor and a conversion mechanism 4b in the represented embodiment. Using the motor in the example, a rotary drive movement (drive force) is provided, which is converted, by means of the conversion mechanism 4b, into a drive force acting in a linear direction in the longitudinal direction (back and forth movement) of housing 1, whether for carrying out a single stroke or for a repetitive movement.

[0041] For power supply, the hand-held device can be connected to a supply voltage via a feed line 5. The feed line 5 can additionally comprise cables through which control signals are transmitted between a control device (not shown) and the hand-held device.

[0042] The driving force generated mechanically by the drive system 4 is transmitted via a coupling means 6 to a piercing means 7 having a piercing tool 7a, which is arranged in a tool holder 8. When using one or more needles as a piercing tool 7a, the tool holder 8 can be a needle shank arranged in the needle module housing 1b in an associated guide so that the repetitive or cyclical drive force can be converted in a linear direction for forward and backward movement of tool holder 8 with piercing tool 7a. The piercing tool 7a is passed through a housing opening 9 at the front of the needle module housing 1b, so that at least in one extended position a piercing tool tip 10 is arranged outside the needle module housing 1b to pierce the skin to be treated. The housing opening 9 in the shown embodiment is formed at the front end of the needle module housing 1b on the needle module 3, which is detachably mounted on the drive module housing 1a.

[0043] In the shown embodiment of the hand-held device, a reservoir 11 is also provided in housing 1, which serves to accommodate a chemical to be introduced into the skin, for example a color in the case of producing a tattoo or permanent make-up. The chemical is fed to the piercing tool 7a via an outlet 12, in order to provide the chemical at the piercing tool tip 10 for introducing it into the skin. Alternatively, the reservoir 11 can also be arranged in the drive module housing 1a or outside the housing 1. Various configurations for such a reservoir and the provision of the chemical to be introduced in the area of the piercing tool 7 are known as such, for example, and also with the use of a pumping means on the reservoir 11.

[0044] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective representation of a drive system 20, which can be used for drive module 2, for example. FIGS. 3 to 6 show respective sectional representations of the drive system 20 with different operating positions.

[0045] With the aid of an electric motor 21, a rotary drive movement is provided via a drive shaft 22, which is tapped off by the conversion mechanism 4b and converted into a linear forward and backward movement, which can be tapped off via a tap 23, in order to couple this linear forward and backward movement as a drive movement to a piercing means of the needle module 3. The tap 23 can be part of the coupling means 6.

[0046] In the conversion mechanism 4b, a proximal and a distal bearing means 24, 25 are provided in relation to the electric motor 21, which in one embodiment can be mounted stationary or fixedly in a housing of the drive module 2. A bearing component 26 with a ball head 27, which is integrally formed in the example shown, is mounted on the distal bearing means 25. On the ball head 27 rests a wobble plate arrangement 28 with a wobble plate 29. The ball head 27 forms a ball joint together with an inner component 30 of the wobble plate arrangement 28.

[0047] The wobble plate arrangement 28 is coupled to an adjustment component 31 which is pivotally mounted on the wobble plate arrangement 28 as well as on a component bearing 32. In the represented embodiment, the adjustment component 31 is formed with a disk or flat component. The component bearing 32 is firmly connected to the drive shaft 22 via a coupling component 33. Due to the rotating drive movement which is provided by the drive shaft 22, the coupling component 33 as well as the adjustment component 31 and parts of the wobble plate arrangement 28 rotate relative to the proximal and distal bearing means 24, 25, causing the wobble plate 29 to perform a wobbling movement that allows the tapping off of the linear back and forth movement at the tap 23.

[0048] By displacing the component bearing 32 in longitudinal direction the distance of the component bearing 32 to the center of the ball head 27 can be changed, which causes a changing of the tilt or inclination of the wobble plate 29 to the longitudinal direction, so that a stroke of the linear forward and backward movement can be adjusted.

[0049] Different configurations can be provided for displacing the component bearing 32 in the longitudinal direction. In an example, the electric motor 21 can be displaced in longitudinal direction. Via the drive shaft 22 and the coupling component 33 which is firmly connected to it, the component bearing 32 is then also displaced in the longitudinal direction. Alternatively, the electric motor 21 can be fixedly accommodated in the housing of drive module 2. The coupling component 33, which is non-rotatably connected to the drive shaft 22, can then be moved in the longitudinal direction to shift the component bearing 32. For this purpose, a drive (not represented) can be provided to displace the coupling component 33.

[0050] FIGS. 7 and 8 show schematic functional representations for members of the drive system from FIGS. 2 to 6 with different stroke adjustments A, B. The same reference signs as in FIGS. 2 to 6 are used for the same features. In FIGS. 7 and 8 two different rotary positions for the wobble plate 29 are shown, whose wobbling movement leads to stroke A (FIG. 7) or stroke B (FIG. 8) for the linear forward and backward movement. The different strokes are caused by the different inclinations of the wobble plate 29. In the example shown, the electric motor 21 is displaced (motor shift).

[0051] FIGS. 9 and 10 show schematic functional representations for members of another configuration with different stroke adjustments A, B. The same reference signs as in FIGS. 2 to 6 are used for the same features. In FIGS. 9 and 10 two different rotary positions for the wobble plate 29 are shown, whose wobbling movement leads to stroke A (FIG. 9) or stroke B (FIG. 10) for the linear forward and backward movement. The different strokes are caused by the different inclinations of the wobble plate 29. In the alternative example shown, the electric motor 21 remains stationary if the component bearing 32 (relative to the ball head 27) is moved for stroke adjustment. For implementation, for example, a housing/adjustment sleeve with a circumferential groove on the inside can be provided which can be shifted in the axial direction, in which a shift cam on a rotating component revolves in the groove and is displaced relative to the rotating component by means of sleeve displacement.

[0052] The features disclosed in the above-mentioned description, claims and drawing can be relevant to the realization of the different configurations either individually or in any combination.