LED ILLUMINATOR AND COMPLEXION RECOVERY METHOD USING SAME

Abstract

The present invention relates to an LED illuminator including a face lens, and a complexion recovery method using same. Specifically, the present invention relates to: an LED illuminator including a face lens for controlling the direction and intensity of light radiated from an LED light source; and a method for alleviating skin aging and wrinkles by using same.

Claims

1-27. (canceled)

28. An LED irradiator comprising: a case unit configured to cover at least a part of a face of a user; and a light source unit provided inside the case unit, the light source unit comprising a plurality of LEDs configured to irradiate the face of the user with light.

29. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, wherein the light source unit comprises: the plurality of LEDs; and a face lens provided at a front surface of each of the plurality of LEDs, the face lens being configured to adjust at least one of a wavelength, direction, dispersion, and intensity of the light radiated to the face of the user.

30. The LED irradiator according to claim 29, wherein the face lens is at least one of: a) a microarray lens; b) a Fresnel lens; c) a concave mirror lens having a light source disposed on a parabolic focus thereof; d) a lens comprising a microscopic dispersion portion disposed at a front surface of an LED light source; e) a reflection portion configured to reflect the light radiated from the LEDs; and f) a polymer material configured to disperse light.

31. The LED irradiator according to claim 29, wherein the face lens adjusts a diffusion angle of the light radiated from the LEDs such that symmetry of light in a predetermined region of the face of the user exceeds 50% irrespective of a distance between the LEDs and the face or adjusts the light radiated from the LEDs so as to be radiated as parallel light.

32. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, wherein at least one of a wavelength, energy, and intensity of the light radiated to the face of the user is changed: by an upper part of the face, which is above an eyebrow, a middle part of the face, which is from a part under the eyebrow, including the eyebrow, to a part above a lip, and a part under the face, which is under the lip; or by a forehead, an infraorbital margin, a Crow's foot, an eyeball, a nasolabial fold, and other parts.

33. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, wherein the light radiated from the light source unit forms a wave irradiation pattern by adjusting at least one of a wavelength, direction, intensity, and flashing pattern of each individual LED.

34. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, further comprising a screening unit configured to prevent direct irradiation of an eye of the user with the light radiated from the light source unit.

35. The LED irradiator according to claim 34, wherein the screening unit is made of an elastic material configured to reflect or absorb light at a surface thereof.

36. The LED irradiator according to claim 34, wherein the screening unit comprises: a cover portion configured to cover a periphery of the eye, the cover portion being made of an elastic material; and a cover fixing portion configured to push the cover portion from an outer surface of the cover portion such that the cover portion and the face of the user at the periphery of the eye are brought into tight contact with each other.

37. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, further comprising: 1) an orbital light irradiation unit directly attached to the face or disposed adjacent to the face on at least a part of the face, at least a part of the orbital light irradiation unit being transparent; and 2) an orbital light source unit configured to provide light to the orbital light irradiation unit.

38. The LED irradiator according to claim 37, wherein the orbital light irradiation unit is: 1) a structure configured such that at least a part of a surface of the orbital light irradiation unit that abuts a skin is transparent and the other surfaces of the orbital light irradiation unit are opaque or are configured to prevent exposure of light to an outside; or 2) an optical fiber connected to the orbital light source unit.

39. The LED irradiator according to claim 37, wherein the orbital light source unit provides light to the orbital light irradiation unit using at least one of: 1) an LED disposed adjacent to the orbital light irradiation unit; 2) an LED inserted into and disposed in the orbital light irradiation unit; and 3) an LED disposed spaced apart from the orbital light irradiation unit and an optical fiber or a light guide configured to connect the LED and the orbital light irradiation unit to each other.

40. The LED irradiator according to claim 37, wherein the light radiated to the orbital light irradiation unit is radiated only to the face of the user around the eye.

41. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, further comprising: an eye patch unit configured to have any one of: a doughnut structure extending in a leftward-rightward direction such that both eyes are located therein; a structure in which a partition wall is added to a middle part of the doughnut structure extending in the leftward-rightward direction; and two doughnut structures corresponding to a left eye and a right eye, wherein light from the light source unit is radiated only to an infraorbital periphery of the user while not being directly radiated to the eyes of the user.

42. The LED irradiator according to claim 41, wherein the eye patch unit comprises: a light source blocking portion located in a middle of the doughnut structure, the light source blocking portion being configured to block the light from the light source unit; and an outer circumferential portion continuously connected to the light source blocking portion, the outer circumferential portion comprising an infraorbital irradiation portion configured to irradiate the light from the light source unit to at least a part of an infraorbital skin of the user.

43. The LED irradiator according to claim 42, wherein an inside or an outside of the light source blocking portion comprises a material configured to prevent transmission of light therethrough, and the infraorbital irradiation portion irradiates the light from the light source unit in a state of directly contacting the infraorbital skin of the user or in a state of not contacting the infraorbital skin of the user.

44. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, wherein a total energy and intensity (mW) of light radiated from the light source unit to the face of the user are changed depending on position of face of the user.

45. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, wherein the case unit comprises a fixing portion configured to allow the plurality of LEDs to be fixed thereto.

46. The LED irradiator according to claim 28, further comprising an outer skin unit disposed at an outermost side of the case unit, the outer skin unit being made of a transparent material.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0076] FIG. 1 is a view showing the anatomy of the skull for describing the circumference of an eyeball.

[0077] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an LED irradiator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0078] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing only a face lens, a fixing portion, and an outer skin unit of the LED irradiator according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0079] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a face lens according to a first embodiment of the present invention and an example in which LEDs are disposed with respect thereto.

[0080] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a face lens according to a second embodiment of the present invention and an example in which LEDs are disposed with respect thereto.

[0081] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a face lens according to a third embodiment of the present invention and an example in which LEDs are disposed with respect thereto.

[0082] FIG. 7 is a schematic view of unit lenses of a face lens according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0083] FIG. 8 is a schematic view of unit lenses of a face lens according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[0084] FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an orbital light irradiation unit and an orbital light source unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0085] FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing an orbital light irradiation unit and an orbital light source unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0086] FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing an orbital light irradiation unit and an orbital light source unit according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

[0087] FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an eye patch unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0088] FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the section of the eye patch unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0089] FIGS. 14 to 17 are schematic views showing only the eye patch unit according to the embodiment of the present invention when a light blocking portion of the eye patch unit is and when the light blocking portion of the eye patch unit is not removed.

BEST MODE

[0090] Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings such that the preferred embodiments of the present invention can be easily implemented by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. In describing the principle of operation of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail, however, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when the same may obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

[0091] In addition, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to parts that perform similar functions or operations. In the case in which one part is said to be connected to another part in the entire specification, not only may the one part be directly connected to the other part, but also, the one part may be indirectly connected to the other part via a further part. In addition, that a certain element is included does not mean that other elements are excluded, but means that such elements may be further included unless mentioned otherwise.

[0092] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments. However, the embodiments are provided merely to illustratively describe the present invention, and therefore the scope of the present invention is not limited by the embodiments.

[0093] Now, a description will be given with reference to FIGS. 2 to 17. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an LED irradiator 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing only a face lens 130, a case unit 120 including a fixing portion 121, and an outer skin unit 110 of the LED irradiator 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0094] The present invention provides an LED irradiator 100 including a case unit 120 configured to cover at least a part of a face of a user and a light source unit 140, 240, or 340 provided inside the case unit 120, the light source unit including a plurality of LEDs configured to irradiate the face of the user with light.

[0095] The light source unit 140, 240, or 340 includes the plurality of LEDs and a face lens 130 provided at a front surface of each of the plurality of LEDs, the face lens being configured to adjust at least one of the wavelength, direction, and intensity of the light radiated to the face of the user.

[0096] In FIG. 3, the outer skin unit 110 may be disposed at the outermost side and may be made of a transparent material. Various kinds of resins may be used as the material for the outer skin unit 110, which may include at least one of the following resins.

[0097] Polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), polyamide (PA), polystyrene (PS), polyester (PES), polycarbonate (PC), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyacetal (POM), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyetherimide (PEI), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polylactic acid (PLA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), modified polyphenylene oxide (MPPO), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), and polyvinyl acetate (PVA).

[0098] The fixing portion 121 according to FIG. 3 may include rib-shaped frames 125 and a space 122 defined between the frames. The fixing portion 121 may also be made of a resin or a metal. A metal coated with an insulative resin may be used.

[0099] The face lens 130 according to FIG. 3 may include unit lenses 135 and a space 132 defined between the unit lenses 135 so as to partition the unit lenses from each other.

[0100] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a face lens 130 according to a first embodiment of the present invention and an example in which LEDs are disposed with respect thereto. The face lens 130 may include unit lenses 135 and a space 132 defined between the unit lenses 135 so as to partition the unit lenses from each other. Each individual LED of the light source unit 140 is fixed to the fixing portion 121 disposed at a front surface of the face lens 130. When the fixing portion 121 and the face lens 130 are coupled to each other, however, individual LEDs of the light source unit 140 may be disposed as shown in FIG. 4.

[0101] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a face lens 230 according to a second embodiment of the present invention and an example in which LEDs are disposed with respect thereto. In the face lens 230 according to FIG. 5, unit lenses 235 are disposed without gaps therebetween so as to form a latticed structure. In FIG. 5, one LED is disposed at one unit lens 235. Alternatively, however, one LED may correspond to one unit lens, a plurality of LEDs may correspond to one unit lens, or one LED may correspond to a plurality of unit lenses.

[0102] FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a face lens 330 according to a third embodiment of the present invention and an example in which LEDs are disposed with respect thereto. In the face lens 330 according to FIG. 6, unit lenses 335 are disposed without gaps therebetween so as to form a latticed structure.

[0103] FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic views of unit lenses of face lenses according to fourth and fifth embodiments of the present invention, respectively.

[0104] Each unit lens may be a circular Fresnel lens, as shown in FIG. 7, or may be a microarray lens, as shown in FIG. 8. The microarray lens, which is a single large lens constituted by a plurality of gathered microlenses, is a lens formed like an insect eye, particularly a dragonfly eye.

[0105] Although not shown in the drawings, the face lens according to the present invention may be made of one polymer material that simply disperses light. Similarly to the conventional art in which a glass surface of an incandescent lamp is coated so as to be milky such that light is dispersed, the inside of the face lens may be coated, or the face lens may be made of a semitransparent material.

[0106] FIGS. 9 to 11 are schematic view respectively showing orbital light irradiation units and orbital light source units according to various embodiments of the present invention.

[0107] The LED irradiator further includes 1) an orbital light irradiation unit 150, 250, or 350 directly attached to the face or disposed adjacent to the face in the vicinity of an eye 400 of the user, at least a part of the orbital light irradiation unit being transparent, and 2) an orbital light source unit 160, 260, or 360 configured to provide light to the orbital light irradiation unit 150, 250, or 350.

[0108] At least a part of the surface of the orbital light irradiation unit 150, 250, or 350 that contacts the skin must be transparent, and the other surface must be opaque or configured to prevent exposure of light to the outside.

[0109] The orbital light source unit may be constituted by 1) LEDs 162 disposed adjacent to the orbital light irradiation unit 150, 2) LEDs 262 inserted into and disposed in the orbital light irradiation unit 250, or 3) LEDs 362 disposed spaced apart from the orbital light irradiation unit 350 and an optical fiber or a light guide 365 configured to connect the LEDs 362 to the orbital light irradiation unit 350. These may be fixed by an orbital light fixing portion 170, 270, or 370, and the orbital light fixing portion 170, 270, or 370 may not be separately provided but may be substituted by the face lens or the fixing portion.

[0110] An orbital light supporting portion 166 or 266 may be provided to support the orbital light irradiation unit, or the optical fiber or the light guide 365 may also serve as the orbital light supporting portion. FIG. 10 shows that an empty space is provided between the orbital light irradiation unit 150 and the orbital light fixing portion 170, and FIG. 11 shows that an orbital light screen 266 is provided to block light.

[0111] FIG. 12 is a schematic view of an eye patch unit 180 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the section of the eye patch unit 180 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0112] Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the eye patch unit 180 is configured to have a doughnut structure extending in a leftward-rightward direction such that both eyes are located therein, wherein light from the light source unit is radiated only to the infraorbital periphery of the user while not being directly radiated to eyes of the user. The eye patch unit 180 includes a light source blocking portion 184 located in the middle of the doughnut extending in the leftward-rightward direction, the light source blocking portion being configured to block light from the light source unit while opening the eyes of the user to the outside, and an outer circumferential portion 188 continuously connected to the light source blocking portion 184, the outer circumferential portion including an infraorbital irradiation portion 187 configured to radiate light from the light source unit to at least a part of an infraorbital skin of the user.

[0113] The part that is open to the outside may be hidden by a separate means.

[0114] An optical fiber configured to provide light to the infraorbital irradiation portion 187 or a resin configured to transmit light is disposed in the eye patch unit 180.

[0115] Each of the light source blocking portion 184 and the outer circumferential portion 188 may be made of an elastic material, preferably a material that weakly stimulates or does not stimulate human skin when being brought into contact therewith. Each of the light source blocking portion 184 and the outer circumferential portion 188 may be made of a semitransparent material. In particular, the light source blocking portion 184 may be generally made of a semitransparent material, and the part that faces the eyes of the user may be made of an opaque material or metal foil may be added to the inside thereof so as to be opaque.

[0116] FIGS. 14 to 17 are schematic views showing only the eye patch unit according to the embodiment of the present invention when a light blocking portion of the eye patch unit is removed and when the light blocking portion of the eye patch unit is not removed.

[0117] FIGS. 14 and 16 show the eye patch unit 180 in the state in which there is no light source blocking portion 184, and FIGS. 15 and 17 show the eye patch unit 180 in the state in which the light source blocking portion 184 is mounted. When there is no light source blocking portion 184, it can be seen that light is also directly radiated to the eyes of the user, whereby the vicinity of each of the eyes is bright. In the state in which the light source blocking portion 184 is mounted, the eyes and the vicinity thereof are dark.

[0118] In Patent Document 12, a face contact unit 242 configured to protect each eye such that light is not directly radiated to the eye, such as swimming goggles, is provided. In Patent Document 12, the face contact unit 242 surrounds the eyes in a circle while also contacting the skin. One of the very important functions of the LED irradiator according to the present invention is to remedy the infraorbital margin; however, the construction disclosed in Patent Document 12 has a problem in that the face contact unit 242, which may be made of rubber or silicone while having an opaque color, contacts the skin at the part at which the infraorbital margin located very close to the eye (the infraorbital margin and the periphery thereof shown in FIG. 1 of the present invention) is located, whereby no light is radiated to the region.

[0119] In the present invention, the light source blocking portion 184 and the outer circumferential portion 188 are provided in order to solve the above problem while light is not directly radiated to the eye, thereby guaranteeing safety. In particular, the light source blocking portion 184 may not directly contact the skin. The minimum angle is necessary for light to be radiated to the eye. When the light source blocking portion 184 contacts the skin or is located very close to the skin, however, internal light is not directly radiated to the eye. In addition, the light source blocking portion 184 is made of a material configured to prevent transmission of light through the part located closest to the eye around the eye. Furthermore, the light source blocking portion 184 is not disposed perpendicular to the skin but is disposed inclined outwards so as to have open feeling around the eye such that the infraorbital irradiation portion 187 is disposed as close to the eye as possible, whereby the infraorbital margin remedy effect is improved.

[0120] It can be seen from FIGS. 14 to 17 that it is possible for the eye patch unit 180 according to the present invention to prevent direct radiation of light to the eye, thereby guaranteeing safety, and to clearly recognize that light is radiated to the infraorbital margin.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0121] 100: LED irradiator

[0122] 110: Outer skin unit

[0123] 120: Case unit

[0124] 121: Fixing portion

[0125] 122: Space between frames

[0126] 125: Frame

[0127] 130, 230, 330: Face lenses

[0128] 132: Space between unit lenses

[0129] 135, 235, 335, 435, 535: Unit lenses

[0130] 140, 240, 340: Light source units

[0131] 150, 250, 350: Orbital light irradiation units

[0132] 160, 260, 360: Orbital light source units

[0133] 162, 262, 362: LEDs

[0134] 166: Orbital light supporting portion

[0135] 266: Orbital light screen

[0136] 365: Optical fiber or light guide

[0137] 170, 270, 370: Orbital light fixing portions

[0138] 180: Eye patch unit

[0139] 184: Light source blocking portion

[0140] 186: Eye patch unit light source

[0141] 187: Infraorbital irradiation portion

[0142] 188: Outer circumferential portion

[0143] 400: Eye of user

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0144] The present invention relates to an LED irradiator capable of adjusting the direction and intensity of light radiated from an LED light source, and therefore the present invention is industrially applicable.