DEVICE FOR TREATING HUMAN KERATINOUS MATERIAL, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AID OF AN ELECTRIC CURRENT

Abstract

Device for treating human keratinous material, in particular with the aid of an electric current. The device includes a reservoir containing a composition, in particular cosmetic or dermatological, to be applied to the keratinous material, a member for dispensing the composition contained in the reservoir, in particular a pump, an end fitting for the application of the composition contained in the reservoir, comprising at least one application member, in particular a plurality of application members, the application member being received in a housing supplied with composition from the reservoir by the dispensing member, the application member being movable in its housing under the pressure of the composition between a first position and a second position, at least one intermediate storage chamber for the composition being delimited by the bottom of the housing and the application member, the volume of the intermediate chamber varying when the application member passes from its first position to its second position.

Claims

1. A device for treating human keratinous material, comprising: a reservoir containing a composition, to be applied to the keratinous material, a dispensing member for dispensing the composition contained in the reservoir, an end fitting for the application of the composition contained in the reservoir, comprising at least one application member, the application member being received in a housing supplied with composition from the reservoir by the dispensing member, the application member being movable in its housing under the pressure of the composition between a first position and a second position, at least one intermediate storage chamber for the composition being delimited by the bottom of the housing and the application member, the volume of the intermediate chamber varying when the application member passes from its first position to its second position.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, comprising several application members.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one application member is a ball.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the maximum volume of the intermediate chamber made between the bottom of the housing and the application member disposed in said housing housing (32) is between 5 and 100 microliters.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dispensing member is actuated manually.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dispensing member is actuated automatically, for example by means of an electric motor.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the dispensing member is configured to dispense the composition jerkily in fits and starts.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the dispensing member includes at least one motor.

9. The device as claimed in claim 1, configured to allow the composition to be dispensed onto the keratinous material with a flow rate comprised between 0.5 and 20 L/s.

10. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing is supplied with composition from the reservoir through a supply orifice.

11. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing has a shape configured so as to retain the application member in the latter.

12. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing has an opening of smaller cross-section than a larger transverse cross-section of the application member.

13. The device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the housing has a transverse cross-sectional shape that is larger than a semicircle, the application member being of circular shape in transverse cross-section.

14. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprises an electrical supply system for exposing the keratinous material to an electric treatment current in a zone of application of the composition.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0136] The invention will be better understood on reading the detailed description which will follow, of nonlimiting examples of implementation of the invention, and on examining the appended drawing in which:

[0137] FIGS. 1, 2, 4 and 5 are schematic and partial views, in perspective, of a device in accordance with the invention,

[0138] FIG. 3 is a schematic and partial view, in perspective, of the cap for closing the device of FIG. 1,

[0139] FIGS. 6a and 6b are schematic and partial views, in transverse cross-section, of the application member in its housing, respectively in the first position and in the second position,

[0140] FIGS. 7a and 7b are schematic and partial views, in transverse cross-section, of the application member of a variant embodiment, in its housing, respectively in the first position and in the second position, and

[0141] FIGS. 8a and 8b are schematic and partial views, in transverse cross-section, of the application member of another variant embodiment, in its housing, respectively in the first position and in the second position.

[0142] Represented in FIGS. 1 to 5 is a device 1 in accordance with the invention. It comprises a body 12 on which is mounted an end fitting 2 comprising six application members 6 each having a ball shape, and a composition reservoir 3 housed inside the body 12, and represented dashed. The end fitting 2 is fixed by snap-fastening on the body 12. It could be mounted in some other manner. In the example considered, the body 12 is made of thermoplastic material. As a variant, the latter may be made of any other material. Furthermore, the application members 6 are plastic balls. The application members 6 could have any other shape, being for example rollers.

[0143] The application members 6, six in number in the example described, are disposed as a triangle, thereby making it possible to facilitate the application and the treatment of zones that are difficult to access, for example the wings of the nose.

[0144] The device 1 comprises an electrode 4, visible dashed in FIG. 1, the electrode 4 being housed inside the end fitting 2, as well as a counter-electrode 5 disposed on the body 12. The counter-electrode 5 is in contact with the hand of the user when the latter holds the device 1 in their hand, in such a way that the electrical circuit between the electrode 4 and the counter-electrode 5 closes, the current passing into the body of the user at the time of the treatment. The polarization of the electrode 4 and that of the counter-electrode 5 may be reversible (+or ) according to the nature of the composition used.

[0145] The electrode 4 is connected to a pole of an electrical supply system 10 housed in the body 12 and communicates with the composition when the latter passes into a distributor 30, visible in FIG. 5. The composition thereafter passes over the application members 6 to arrive at the application surface, the skin in the example described, with a view to treatment. The counter electrode 5 is connected to the other pole of the electrical supply system 10, which is powered by a battery (cells or rechargeable battery).

[0146] To begin the treatment, the user turns on the device by means of a push-button 25. An electric current then begins to flow between the electrode 4 and the counter-electrode 5, when the apparatus is applied to the person's face for example, at the same time as the composition is dispensed by a member 8 for dispensing the composition contained in the reservoir, in particular a pump, automatically or by action of the user on a control member 22.

[0147] In a variant embodiment, the intensity of the current may be adjusted by the user by virtue of an adjustment member 26 for adjusting the current density between the electrodes, which is a graduated rotary button in the example of FIG. 1.

[0148] If there is insufficient composition between the electrode 4 and the skin, the impedance of the skin increases. The device comprises a control system that is sensitive to the impedance of the skin and configured to detect such an impedance variation. The device also comprises a warning facility 20 making it possible to provide the user with a signal as a function of information originating from the control system. In the example described, the warning facility 20 provides a luminous signal. The user may then dispense an additional dose of composition by pressing the composition dispensing control member 22, which is a push-button in the example of FIG. 1.

[0149] The structure of the end fitting 2 will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6b.

[0150] The end fitting firstly comprises a closure cap 28, illustrated in isolation in FIG. 3, which is configured to be fixed by snap-fastening onto the remainder of the device, and more particularly onto a cover 40 of the application members 6. The closure cap 28 comprises, in the bottom thereof, reliefs 29 for setting the application members 6. This closure cap is preferably not electrically conducting.

[0151] The cover 40 makes it possible to retain the application members 6 in place on the distributor 30. The cover 40 comprises openings through which the application members 6 protrude toward the exterior to allow application of the composition. The cover 40 is fixed on a diffuser 50, itself fixed on an upper ring 65 of the body 12. The diffuser 50 is directly in contact with the distributor 30, making it possible to feed the composition into the distributor.

[0152] The distributor 30, disposed under the cover 40, receives the plurality of application members 6, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5. The distributor is electrically conducting, being formed from a thermoplastic material comprising an electrically conducting filler, in particular a carbon filler or a metallic filler. The distributor is electrically connected to the electrical supply system 10 so as to make it possible to ensure the transfer of the electric current from the electrical supply system 10 to the distributor and then to the composition. The distributor and the composition are the only elements in the end fitting to be electrically conducting.

[0153] The distributor 30 comprises a first face 31 on which are made housings 32 for the application members 6, in particular a housing 32 for each of the six application members 6. The first face 31 also comprises a rib 33 with several branches, separating the housings 32 from one another.

[0154] The application members are each movable in its housing 32 under the pressure of the composition between a first position illustrated in FIG. 6a, which is the position of the application member when at rest in its housing, and a second position illustrated in FIG. 6b, in which an intermediate storage chamber 100 for the composition is made between the bottom of the housing and the application member. The second position is the position of the application member which moves in its housing under the pressure of the composition.

[0155] The maximum volume of the intermediate chamber 100 is for example of the order of 20 L. It corresponds to the clearance existing around the application member 6 when the latter is disposed in its housing 32.

[0156] A height h of the intermediate chamber 100 extends between the extreme positions of the application member.

[0157] The housing 32 is supplied with composition from the reservoir 3 through a supply orifice 39. The supply orifice may be disposed in the bottom of the housing, or as a variant be disposed elsewhere than in the bottom of the housing, as illustrated.

[0158] When a certain quantity of composition has been dispensed by the dispensing member from the reservoir, said quantity moves through the device to reach the intermediate chamber 100 where it may be stored before being dispensed onto the keratinous material by the application members. Under the pressure of the composition, each application member moves in its housing toward the second position, allowing the storage of the surplus composition. The application of composition by the application members may then continue, by using the surplus composition stored in the intermediate chamber, even if the dispensing of composition by the dispensing member from the reservoir is performed jerkily. Thus, the dispensing of the composition onto the keratinous material is smoothed.

[0159] In the example which has just been described, the application members 6 are retained in their housing by the cover 40, but it could be otherwise.

[0160] In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7a and 7b, the housing is itself configured so as to retain the application member 6. The shape of the housing 32 is chosen so as to prevent the application member 6 from escaping from the latter. The housing 32 has in this example an opening 38 of smaller cross-section than a larger transverse cross-section of the application member 6. The opening 38 of the housing allows the application of the composition to the keratinous material by means of the application member which protrudes from the housing therethrough.

[0161] The housing 32 has a transverse cross-sectional shape, in a sectional plane perpendicular to the axis of the end fitting 2, that is larger than a semicircle, the application member being of circular shape in transverse cross-section.

[0162] In this exemplary embodiment, the bottom of the housing 32 is slightly flattened, just where the supply orifice is situated 39.

[0163] In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8a and 8b, the application member has a cylinder shape, being for example a roller, and the housing has a shape slightly greater than a half-cylinder. The housing 32 is supplied with composition from the reservoir 3 through a supply orifice 39 disposed in the bottom of the housing, at the end of a vertical supply duct.