Toilet – Methods
Patent
1986-11-26
1989-04-11
Wilson, John J.
Toilet
Methods
12830318, 132212, 219223, A45D 2600
Patent
active
048196690
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a method of shaving and to apparatus enabling the method to be implemented.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
From time immemorial, man has removed hair from the surface of the skin initially by using a knife of wood or bone, and subsequently by using a metal blade, either dry or in conjunction with soaps or other products. Electric apparatuses were then designed making use of rotating or vibrating blades placed behind a grille having small openings for dry shaving. Various paths have been followed to find improvements to these means, but nevertheless the results have generally been disappointing.
A limitation on shaving action is established by the impossibility of using blades to go beyond the surface of the epidermis, and consequently the bristles grow back again within a few hours and show up sufficiently for a second shave to be necessary towards the end of the day, particularly for dark haired people.
Patent application No. GB-A-2 123 287 and US-A-3 693 623 have already proposed using an epilation device which includes a laser ray generator of the type developed for medical applications, whose beam is guided by flexible optical fibers so as to be directed onto the roots of individual hairs. This technique takes a long time and is therefore fundamentally incompatible with shaving the beard which in practice requires a set of bristles to be removed rapidly and simultaneously within a limited period of time. In the above-mentioned epilation technique, each hair root must be treated individually. In addition, transmitting a laser beam over optical fibers may cause problems in home applications.
Further, FR-A-1 560 498 proposes singeing hairs under the action of the impacts from sparks which strike the hairs lengthwise. However, in addition to the problem of rapid head wear due to spark formation, this solution has not proved satisfactory.
The object of the present invention is to mitigate these drawbacks.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, the method of shaving is characterized in that it consists in applying thermal energy to the top ends of a set of hairs passing through a very fine grille of electrically and thermally insulating material, so as to apply said energy over the entire length of the hairs to be removed, thereby singeing them.
It is common observation that hairs singe in a fraction of a second, for example when barbers apply a flame to the ends of cut hairs. In contrast to what might have been thought, such singeing is practically imperceptible to the skin. This fact may be observed by rapidly passing the flame of a match tengentially near the back of a hand or an arm. The hairs are consumed right into the pores without the epidermis suffering from any burning sensation. Several hours must then elapse before the hairs reappear at epidermis level, i.e. up to the level which is obtained immediately after shaving with a blade. Removing hair by combustion goes deeper than eliminating it by shaving to skin level since singeing continues into the pores, thereby making it possible to reduce the frequency of shaving by a factor of about 2, since a blade can only act above the surface of the epidermis. In addition, the act of shaving by singeing is comparable to a rubbing out motion which is considerably quicker than the present conventional shaving techniques. Finally, there is no need to replace worn blades as is necessary with current apparatuses.
In a first implementation, the method of shaving the beard without using a blade makes use of energy delivered by a laser source and is characterized in that the light energy emitted by the source is caused to impact on the top ends of a set of hairs emerging from the skin in order to cause a singeing thermal effect on said ends, which effect extends over the entire length of the hairs right into the pores beneath the epidermis.
In accordance with the new shaving technique, use is made of the thermal energy of light radiation which is conveyed in a properly limited manner to the ends of hairs to
REFERENCES:
patent: 1378137 (1921-05-01), Ross
patent: 1720775 (1929-07-01), Welden
patent: 3093724 (1963-06-01), Johnson
patent: 3197612 (1965-07-01), Reich
patent: 3659613 (1972-05-01), Bredemeier
patent: 3693623 (1972-09-01), Harte et al.
patent: 4388924 (1983-06-01), Weissman et al.
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