Surgery – Instruments – Means for removal of skin or material therefrom
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-12
2002-06-18
Robert, Eduardo C. (Department: 3732)
Surgery
Instruments
Means for removal of skin or material therefrom
Reexamination Certificate
active
06406483
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a depilation device which consists of a depilation device and a cooling device, which cooling device comprises a housing containing a quantity of cooling agent designed to be cooled in a separate freezing device, and which cooling device is provided with a skin contact portion for the purpose of cooling skin regions of a user, which skin contact portion has a skin contact area and is made of a material having a thermal conductivity and in which the cooling device has a power to cool down skin regions by means of the skin contact portion.
The invention also relates to a cooling device for a depilation system which comprises a depilation device and a cooling device, which cooling device comprises a housing in which a quantity of cooling agent is contained, which cooling agent is designed to be cooled in a separate freezing device, and which cooling device is provided with a skin contact portion for cooling skin regions of a user, which skin contact portion has a skin contact surface area and is made of a material having a thermal conductivity, and which cooling device has a power for cooling skin regions by means of the skin contact portion.
Such a depilation system and such a cooling device are known, for example, from the patent document EP 0 348 862 A2. This patent document discloses no further data on the parameters of the cooling device. Such a cooling device for a depilation system involves the problem that a compromise is to be found between mutually contradictory parameters so as to achieve on the one hand an acceptable constructional arrangement of the cooling device and on the other hand an effective operation of the cooling device.
The invention has for its object to achieve an advantageous arrangement for such a depilation system and for such a cooling device by means of which both a satisfactory construction and a satisfactory operation are safeguarded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, the above-noted objects for an above-described depilation system and for an above-described cooling device are achieved by such a cooling device which has a power of at least 3 W for cooling down skin regions that is in contact with the skin contact portions, the cooling device contains at least 20 ml of the cooling agent and the skin contact portion has a skin contact area of at least 3 cm
2
.
To achieve the above object, furthermore, the characteristics as defined in the characterizing part of claim 14 are provided in a cooling device.
The invention as indicated above achieves a comparatively good compromise between on the one hand a smallest possible volume of the cooling device and accordingly of the depilation system and a smallest possible weight of the cooling device with an optimized ergonomy of the cooling device and accordingly of the depilation system and on the other hand a fastest possible cooling-down of a skin region to be cooled down to a skin temperature which is favorable for a painless depilation operation, which lies in a range between approximately 15° and 20°, and an effective operational time of the cooling device which is as long as possible.
It was found to be very advantageous in a depilation system according to the invention and in a cooling device according to the invention when the above-noted power of the cooling device for cooling down skin regions lies in a range between 3 W and 15 W, the amount of cooling agent contained in the cooling device is in a range between 20 ml and 80 ml, and the skin contact portion has a skin contact area that lies in a range of between 3 cm
2
and 11 cm
2
. A particularly good compromise between the parameters mentioned above, such as volume, weight, and ergonomy on the one hand and a fast cooling-down to a desired skin temperature and a long useful operational time on the other hand is achieved with such an arrangement.
Practical experiments have been carried out which have proved that it is particularly advantageous in a depilation system according to the invention and a cooling device according to the invention when the above-noted power of the cooling device is approximately 10 W, the cooling device contains approximately 50 ml of the cooling agent, and in which the contact surface area of the skin contact portion is approximately 5 cm
2
.
Skin contact portions having widely varying properties as regards their heat conductivity can be used in a depilation system according to the invention. It was found to be advantageous when the thermal conductivity of the skin contact portion is a least 0.1 W/mK. Such a skin contact portion may be made, for example, from synthetic resin and may be formed by a thin synthetic resin film with a thickness of approximately 0.2 to 0.5 mm. Eligible synthetic resins are polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polycarbonate, and polyamide.
It was also found to be advantageous as regards the thermal conductivity of the skin contact portion when the thermal conductivity of the skin contact portion is at least 70 W/mK. Such a skin contact portion may be made from various metal materials, for example from titanium, copper, silver, and other metals. The thickness of such a skin contact portion may lie between 1.0 mm and 6.0 mm.
It was found to be particularly advantageous when the thermal conductivity of the skin contact portion is approximately 120 W/mK. Such a construction was found to be particularly advantageous in practical experiments, in which a skin contact portion of aluminum was used with a thickness of 2.0 mm and 2.5 mm.
In a depilation system according to the invention and in a cooling device according to the invention, furthermore, it proved to be very advantageous when the skin contact portion is connected, in the interior of the housing, to a heat transport part which substantially has a plate shape and which is surrounded by the cooling agent, because a particularly good cooling-down by means of the skin contact portion is achieved in conjunction with such a heat transport part.
It was found to be advantageous for achieving a fast and satisfactory cooling result when in addition the surfaces of the skin contact portion and of the heat transport part wetted by the cooling agent have a total wetting surface area of at least 11 cm
2
. Preferably, this wetting surface area lies in a range from 30 cm
2
to 60 cm
2
and more preferably is approximately 40 cm
2
.
It was found to be advantageous for the purpose of achieving a good heat transport result when the construction of the heat transport part is such that its thermal conductivity is at least 70 W/mK and especially when it is approximately 120 W/mK.
In a depilation system according to the invention and in a cooling device according to the invention, furthermore, it was found to be very advantageous when the cooling agent consists of a mixture comprising water, a coloring agent and a preserving agent, especially as regards a good cooling action and an inexpensive construction.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4382446 (1983-05-01), Truelock et al.
patent: 4614191 (1986-09-01), Perler
patent: 5849018 (1998-12-01), Rosson et al.
patent: 0348862 (1990-01-01), None
patent: 0532106 (1993-03-01), None
patent: 0532107 (1993-03-01), None
Floessholzer Hannes
Obermann Wolfgang
Waldner Roland
Koninklijke Philips Electronics , N.V.
Robert Eduardo C.
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