DEVICE FOR GENERATING COLD PLASMA COMPRISING ELECTRODES AND DIELECTRICS

Abstract

A treatment device for a body surface to be treated using a dielectric barrier plasma, including a high-voltage generator connected to a headpiece having a conductive element at least partially shielded by a dielectric wall that forms at least one part of an end wall facing the surface to be treated.

Claims

1. A treatment device for a body surface to be treated using a dielectric barrier plasma, comprising a high-voltage generator connected to a headpiece comprising a conductive element at least partially shielded by a dielectric wall that forms at least one part of an end wall facing the surface to be treated, characterized by the fact that the conductive element is provided with one or more projecting conductive elements and the dielectric wall conforms to the shape of the projecting conductive elements.

2. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the conductive element is an electrode.

3. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the conductive element is an ionized noble gas.

4. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein an external surface of the end wall is provided with a plurality of reliefs.

5. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the end wall delimits with the body surface to be treated one or more gas chambers when the end wall bears on the surface to be treated, the dielectric barrier plasma being generated in the gas chambers.

6. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the dielectric element is constant over the whole surface of the end wall facing the surface to be treated.

7. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the reliefs comprise a curved external surface.

8. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting conductive elements have a concave surface with a concavity turned towards the electrode.

9. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the projecting conductive elements have a circular, elliptical, oval or polygonal cross section perpendicular to their longitudinal axis.

10. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the plasma is of direct type, in particular DBD type.

11. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the plasma is generative violet ray.

12. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the reliefs are distributed within the external surface of the end wall.

13. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the reliefs are distributed at the periphery of the external surface of the end wall.

14. The treatment device according to claim 1, wherein the reliefs are regularly distributed on the external surface of the end wall.

15. A cosmetic process for treating a body surface using a dielectric barrier plasma, wherein a device according to claim 1 is moved on the body surface.

16. Use of a device according to claim 1 for preventing and/or treating aesthetic disorders of a healthy scalp or of a healthy skin.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] The invention may be better understood from reading the following detailed description of non-limiting implementation examples thereof, and with reference to the appended drawing, schematic and partial, in which:

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a view of a first embodiment of a treatment device according to the invention in the assembled state;

[0049] FIG. 2 shows an enlarged representation of the headpiece of FIG. 1 in longitudinal cross section.

[0050] The device 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a hand piece 10 and a headpiece 11. It has a longitudinal axis X. The plasma generator is, for example, of DBD ampule type, and in this case, the headpiece 11 may comprise a conductive element 12, which is here a noble ionised gas. The electrode is spaced apart from the dielectrical wall 14 by the noble ionized gas.

[0051] The electrode can be supplied with high-voltage pulses generated by a generator 100. On this figure, the projecting elements of the electrode are not represented.

[0052] The dielectric wall 14 comprises an external surface provided with reliefs 13.

[0053] The skin of the person serves as a counter electrode, and receives a harmless electric current.

[0054] The hand piece 10 can be formed as a tube made of plastic or metal, while the hand piece 10 can be removably inserted in its proximal end.

[0055] The device can be turned on/off by pressing the on/off button 24.

[0056] The headpiece 11 shown in FIG. 2 and disposed on the skin 20 of a person, comprises an electrode 12 totally shielded by a dielectric wall 13 that forms an end wall 15 facing the surface to be treated. The electrode 12, which is here the conductive element, is provided with a plurality of projecting conductive elements 16. The projective elements 16 are arranged to fit into a corresponding groove 28 of the dielectric wall 14.

[0057] The projecting elements 16 represented are hemisphere, but projective elements such as tooth, spheres, hemispheres, rings, crowns or annular beads, formed on the electrode 12 are other examples of their possible shapes.

[0058] The dielectric wall 14 defines an external end wall 15 provided with protruding studs forming reliefs 13 which are integral with the dielectric wall 14. When the reliefs 13 rest on the skin of the person, the gas chambers 17 are delimited between the skin and the surface 19 which is offset with respect to the reliefs 13, and in which the dielectric barrier plasma can form. Its volume might be reduced by means of a pressure applied onto the surface to be treated. Whatever the applied pressure is, there is always a gas chamber in which the plasma is generated.

[0059] The dielectric wall 14 can be assembled to the electrode 12 by clamping, sticking, gluing. It can also be sprayed onto the electrode or be injected molded. In other process, the electrode can be printed or sprayed on to the dialectical wall.

[0060] In other cases, the ampule can be formed by dielectric material like glass, polymers or else. An electrode and a noble gas can be gapped inside the ampule. The electrical field which is generated can be used to ionized the noble gas during plasma generation.

[0061] The invention is not limited to the illustrative embodiments which have just been described, the characteristics of which may be combined with one another as parts of variants which are not illustrated. Any other shape of reliefs and/or dielectric wall could be contemplated.