ELECTRIC LINEAR REPETITIVE PULSED DRIVE FOR OPERATING EQUIPMENT

Abstract

An electric linear repetitive pulsed drive for an operation of apparatuses, in particular for an operation of apparatuses for improving an efficiency of which a working energy that is output in a pulsed manner, with at the same time low repetition frequencies, is advantageous, includes a magnetic circuit with an air gap and an electric coil, a magnetic shape-memory adjustment element and a reset unit, and a control electronics unit, wherein the electric linear repetitive pulsed drive outputs its energy in discrete-time fashion, bundled in short time intervals, that is in pulses.

Claims

1. An electric linear repetitive pulsed drive, in particular for an operation of apparatuses for improving an efficiency of which a working energy that is output in a pulsed manner, with at the same time low repetition frequencies, is advantageous, comprising a magnetic circuit with an air gap and an electric coil, a magnetic shape-memory adjustment element and a reset unit, and a control electronics unit, wherein the electric linear repetitive pulsed drive outputs its energy in discrete-time fashion, bundled in short time intervals, that is in pulses.

2. The electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to claim 1, wherein each of the parameters, namely rise time, rise course, deflection, pulse duration, fall time, fall course and repetition frequency, may be set for the respective application case during manufacture or may be manually set by a user to optimize the respective, also individual, application and that, if only the repetition frequency is changed, the energy that is output per working pulse remains constant.

3. The electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to claim 1, wherein, in particular for the purpose of minimizing a reset time of the pulsed drive, an inversely polarized current pulse, i.e. advantageously a deletion pulse, which is preferably initiated in the reversal point of the working pulse, abruptly deletes the magnetic field of the magnetic circuit, as a result of which the adjustment element is brought back to its original length by the reset spring, advantageously without hindrance and preferably at the maximum possible velocity.

4. The electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to claim 1, wherein, for the purpose of minimizing the rise time of the pulsed drive, the reset unit comprises a further actuated magnetic shape-memory adjustment element, and thus the rise time is further improved as the hindering effect of the reset spring is omitted.

5. The electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to claim 1, wherein a noise production of the magnetic shape-memory adjustment element of the pulsed drive is improved by noise-optimizing courses of the rise and fall curves of the magnetic field and/or a performance-affecting acoustic damping of the cinematics and of the housing by which the pulsed drive is encompassed is dispensed with.

6. The electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to claim 1, wherein in an operation of said apparatuses there is/are, relative to drives according to the prior art, substantially less noise, smaller vibrations, less heating-up and an increased service time with accumulator/batteries, due to the discrete-time pulsed actuation of the pulsed drive.

7. A usage of an electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to claim 1, for an operation of apparatuses for improving an efficiency of which an energy that is output in a pulsed manner, with at the same time low repetition frequencies, is advantageous, e.g. skin treatment apparatuses, beard cutting and hair cutting apparatuses and dental cleaning apparatuses and manicure apparatuses.

8. An apparatus, in particular a body care apparatus and/or a body treatment apparatus, in particular a shaver apparatus, a beard cutter, a haircutter, an epilator apparatus, a hair-removal apparatus, a pigmenting apparatus, a tattoo apparatus, a pricking apparatus, an electric toothbrush, or the like, with at least one electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to claim 1.

Description

DRAWINGS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

[0018] In the following the invention is explained in detail by way of an exemplary embodiment, with reference to drawings, wherein it is shown in:

[0019] FIG. 1: a schematic representation of an exemplary pricking apparatus for the purpose of a stimulation therapy for organic skin, which is operated with the electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to the invention.

[0020] FIG. 2: path-time diagrams of the exemplary pricking apparatus operated with the pulsed drive according to the invention that is shown in FIG. 1, in comparison to a pricking apparatus having a continuous-time drive according to the prior art.

[0021] FIG. 1 exemplarily shows a pricking apparatus for stimulation therapy for organic skin, which is operated with the electric linear repetitive pulsed drive according to the invention comprising a magnetic circuit 2 with an air gap 4, an electric coil 1, a magnetic shape-memory adjustment element 5 with its non-magnetic abutment 3 and a reset unit with a reset spring 6. In particular, the reset unit is implemented as the reset spring 6. In an activation of the coil 1 by a control electronics unit 9, a magnetic field builds in the magnetic circuit 2 and the air gap 4, bringing the magnetic shape-memory adjustment element 5 into an expansion counter to the spring 6 and forcing a pricking element 8 out of a housing 7 by an amount X. When the built-up magnetic field has been deleted by an inversely polarized electric pulse, the spring 6 brings the adjustment element 5 back into its original position until the following electric working pulse occurs, such that a spectrum of repetition frequencies ranges from a standstill to a limit frequency of the drive, each pricking process having the same energy, independently from the repetition frequency. This feature is, for example, of importance for the exemplarily mentioned pricking apparatus for a stimulation therapy of organic skin, as the skin is to be pricked respectively only once in moderate path and time intervals, and this should be effected ideally always with the same energy per prick.

[0022] FIG. 2 shows path-time diagrams of the exemplary pricking apparatus, which is operated with the pulsed drive according to the invention, of FIG. 1, in comparison to a pricking apparatus with a continuous-time drive according to the prior art. A curve 10 exemplarily shows the discrete-time path-time diagram of the tip of the pricking element of the exemplary pricking apparatus for stimulation therapy, which is operated via the pulsed drive according to the invention with a pulse width of 1 ms (millisecond) and a pricking depth in an organic skin of 0.2 mm, indicated by the dashed line 12. In comparison, curve 11 shows the continuous-time path-time diagram of a customary pricking apparatus according to prior art, with a frequency of 100 Hz, i.e. a period of 10 ms. It is clearly perceivable that a prick-in velocity is substantially higher with the drive according to the invention than with the pricking apparatus according to the prior art. For example, in case of a reduction of the repetition frequency of the pulsed drive according to the invention, with the pulse duration kept constant, the advantages of the pulsed drive according to the invention increase, which at the same time corresponds to a more gentle treatment of the skin. In a comparison of both systems, it is furthermore clearly discernible that the pulsed drive according to the invention provides considerable advantages in regard to a power consumption, to energy conversion efficiency regarding the pricking energy, to system-power dissipation, to vibrations and to an operating time with accumulators/batteries.

[0023] In their different embodiments, the features of the invention disclosed in the above description, in the drawings and in the claims may implement a realization of the invention individually as well as in any combination, independently from the abstract, in respective claims or their back-referencing.

[0024] In particular, as has been mentioned before, a different apparatus is conceivable, like for example a body care apparatus and/or a body treatment apparatus with a linear repetitive pulsed drive. In particular, a shaver apparatus and/or haircutter and/or beard cutter is conceivable which is implemented analogously to the pricking apparatus described.