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(11) | EP 1 765 113 B1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION |
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| (54) |
BRUSH CONFIGURATION FOR A POWER SKIN CLEANING BRUSH APPLIANCE BÜRSTENKONFIGURATION FÜR EINE BÜRSTENVORRICHTUNG ZUR GRÜNDLICHEN HAUTREINIGUNG CONFIGURATION DE BROSSE POUR BROSSE DE NETTOYAGE DE PEAU ELECTRIQUE |
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| Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention). |
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates generally to powered skin cleansing brushes and more specifically to bristle arrangements for use in such a skin cleansing brush.
Background of the Invention
[0002] In a skin cleansing brush, particularly a powered brush which is constructed such that a portion of the brushhead and the bristles thereon remain stationary while another portion thereof oscillates, a number of factors are important for good cleansing action. The ability of the powered skin cleansing brush to effectively and safely function, including in addition to cleansing, exfoliation and increasing the absorption of various skin formulations, is significantly affected by the bristle morphology and bristle arrangement of the brush.
[0003] In some existing arrangements, the skin will be ineffectively cleansed, with little or no sense of cleansing by the user, while in other cases, the skin may be overly cleansed with a mild sensation of abrasion, which is undesirable.
[0004] Many design considerations contribute to overall effectiveness of a skin cleansing brush, including bristle length and diameter, and bristle material, as well as the overall bristle arrangement, including the number of bristle tufts in a given area and the number of bristles per tuft. It is important to select and arrange these various bristle considerations to provide the desired result of effective cleansing, accompanied by an actual sensation or feeling of cleanliness, but without discomfort. In certain applications, this will also include an increased ability of the skin to absorb selected skin formulations; while in another application, the effectiveness of shaving cream is enhanced.
[0005] WO 2005/091748 (filed before, but published after, the priority date of the present application) describes an apparatus for treating acne comprising circular rows of bristles. A single row of fixed bristles encircles moveable rows of bristles. The bristles have a diameter of 50 - 130µm (2 - 5 mils), and a length of 6.4 - 15 mm (0.25 - 0.6 inches). CH 616075 describes a massaging brush with a movable brush, driven by a water turbine, and an immobile brush.
Summary of the Invention
[0006] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bristle arrangement as claimed in claim 1.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0007] Figure 1 is a top view of skin care appliance with a brushhead having bristles of selected characteristics.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
[0008] Figure 1 shows an example of a hand held power skin care appliance 10 which is useful in facial skin care applications. The appliance includes a large brushhead 12, which in one embodiment is approximately 40.64mm (1.6 inches) in diameter and a driving system 15. The brushhead includes two portions, an outer annular-shaped portion 14 comprising two concentric rings of bristle tufts and a circular inner portion 16 comprising a significant number of spaced bristle tufts, sufficient to cover the annular opening defined by the outer bristle portion. In the embodiment shown, there is a gap or space between the inner and outer brushhead portions, in the range of 3.18 - 1.27mm (0.125 - 0.050 inches), preferably 2.13mm (0.084 inches). In operation of the appliance, outer bristle portion 14 remains stationary, while inner bristle portion 16 oscillates through a specified angle. In one embodiment the angle is within: the range of 8° to 26°, although this can be varied, depending upon the particular application.
[0009] The structure of such a brushhead, apart from the bristles, is shown and described in co-pending application titled "Oscillating Brushhead Attachment System for Personal Care Appliance". An example of an appliance, including a drive system for such a brushhead, is shown and described in co-pending application titled "Motor Providing Oscillating Action for a Personal Care Appliance". Both of the above applications are owned by the same assignee as the present invention.
[0010] The brushhead bristle arrangement shown and described herein, used in the appliance/brushhead disclosed in the above applications is effective for skin cleaning applications, particularly facial skin. The present brushhead bristle arrangement can also be used in other skin care applications, however, as discussed in the above applications, including acne and black head treatment, athlete's foot treatment, callused skin and psoriasis, razor bumps and related skin applications, wound cleansing and treatment of slow or non-healing wounds, scalp cleaning, chemical peel procedures and shaving cream applications. Preferred bristle configurations and arrangements will differ somewhat depending upon the particular application.
[0011] The following description concerns a brushhead/bristle arrangement for facial skin cleansing. It includes desired ranges of selected bristle characteristics and tufting, including the diameter of the bristles, the length of the bristles and the bristle material. The brushhead/bristle arrangement also takes into account the necessary time for the brush to dry, which must be fast enough to reduce microbial growth. The rate of drying is dependent upon both the number of bristles per tuft and the number of tufts in a given area. A brush may dry efficiently, but not have the ability to cleanse effectively, as well as cleanse effectively but not dry fast enough.
[0012] The optimum ranges for the important bristle characteristics and tufting requirements in order to provide the best performance and cleansing feel/impression depend to an extent upon the energy generated by the appliance which depends in turn upon both frequency and amplitude of bristle movement. In the embodiment shown, the frequency of brushhead movement will be within the range of 120 - 220 Hz. For a facial brush, the length of the bristles using a Tynex (DuPont) type bristle will be between 7.62mm (0.3 inches) and 10.8mm (0.425 inches) with a desired diameter of approximately 76µm (3 mils). For applications other than facial cleansing, such as those mentioned above, the diameter of the nylon bristles can be increased up to 127µm (5 mils), with the length remaining the same or slightly longer.
[0013] It has been discovered that generally, bristles with diameters less than 76µm (3 mils) are difficult to connect reliably into a bristle base element. Further, bristles with a diameter greater than 127µm (5 mils) produced discomfort in most users, although in some applications, a bristle diameter of greater than 127µm (5 mils), for particular applications such as aggressive foot cleansing, are appropriate.
[0014] With SuperSoft (DuPont) bristles, the ranges are slightly different, with the length of the bristles again being approximately 7.62 to 10.8mm (0.3 to 0.425 inches), while the diameter of the bristles can vary between 76 and 101µm (3 and 4 mils). For brush applications other than a facial cleansing application, the length of the bristles is approximately the same, in some cases slightly shorter for more aggressive applications and slightly longer for gentler applications, while the diameter of the bristles can be between 76 and 127µm (3 and 5 mils).
[0015] Relative to effective drying, the general range for the number of tufts is 40-100 in the outer brushhead portion and 40-120 in the inner brushhead portion. The preferred range is 60-90 for the outer brushhead portion and 70-110 for the inner brushhead portion, with 80 and 96 being optimal. The tufts should be evenly spaced.
[0016] Hence, particular characteristics of bristles are important (diameter and length) relative to effective skin cleansing, such as facial cleansing. Further, by maintaining the number of bristles in a particular tuft and the number of tufts in the movable brushhead portion within selected ranges, the overall brush can dry sufficiently fast to reduce microbial growth while at the same time cleansing effectively without harm or discomfort to the user.
[0017] Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed here for purposes of illustration, it should be understood that various changes, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in the embodiment without departing from the invention, which is defined by the claims which follow.
a first brush portion (14) which includes a first set of bristles with the first brush portion (14) remaining stationary in operation; a second brush portion (16) which includes a second set of bristles, the second brush portion (16) oscillating through a selected angle when the appliance is in operation,
characterised in that the first brush portion (14) comprises an annular arrangement of a plurality of rings
of bristle tufts, and the second brush portion (16) is circular and fits within the
annular arrangement of the first brush portion,
wherein the first and second sets of bristles are within the range of 76 to 127µm
(3 to 5 mils) in diameter and 8 to 13mm (0.3 to 0.5 inches) in length, and wherein
the first brush portion (14) includes 40 to 100 bristle tufts and the second brush
portion (16) includes 40 to 120 bristle tufts, spaced over the area of the brushhead,
the bristle arrangement including a space between the first brush portion (14) and the second brush portion (16), within the range of 1.27 - 3.18mm (0.050-0.125 inches).
ein erstes Bürstenteil (14), das einen ersten Satz Borsten aufweist, wobei das erste Bürstenteil (14) beim Betrieb feststehend ist; ein zweites Bürstenteil (16), das einen zweiten Satz Borsten aufweist, wobei das zweite Bürstenteil in einem ausgewählten Winkel oszilliert, wenn das Gerät betrieben wird,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass das erste Bürstenteil (14) eine ringförmige Anordnung einer Mehrzahl an Ringen von Borstenbüscheln aufweist und das zweite Bürstenteil (16) ringförmig ist und in die ringförmige Anordnung des ersten Bürstenteils passt,
worin der erste und der zweite Satz Borsten im Bereich von 76 bis 127 µm (3 bis 5 mils) Durchmesser und von 8 bis 13 mm (0,3 bis 0,5 Inch) Länge aufweist, und wobei das erste Bürstenteil (14) 40 bis 100 Borstenbüschel und das zweite Bürstenteil (16) 40 bis 120 Borstenbüschel aufweist, die über den Bereich des Bürstenkopfs beabstandet sind,
wobei die Borstenanordnung einen Abstand zwischen dem ersten Bürstenteil (14) und dem zweiten Bürstenteil (16) im Bereich von 1,27 - 3,18 mm (0,050-0,125 Inch) aufweist.
une première partie de brosse (14) qui comporte un premier ensemble de poils, la première partie de brosse (14) restant stationnaire pendant le fonctionnement, une seconde partie de brosse (16) qui comporte un second ensemble de poils, la seconde partie de brosse (16) oscillant
sur un angle choisi
lorsque l'appareil est en fonctionnement,
caractérisé en ce que la première partie de brosse (14) comprend un agencement annulaire d'une pluralité d'anneaux de touffes de poils et en ce que la seconde partie de brosse (16) est circulaire et tient à l'intérieur de l'agencement annulaire de la première partie de brosse,
les premier et second ensembles de poils étant dans la plage de 76 à 127 µm (3 à 5 mils) en diamètre et de 8 à 13 mm (0,3 à 0,5 pouces) en longueur, et la première partie de brosse (14) comprenant 40 à 100 touffes de poils et la seconde partie de brosse (16) comprenant 40 à 120 touffes de poils, répartis sur la surface de la tête de brosse,
l'agencement de poils comportant un espace entre la première partie de brosse (14) et la seconde partie de brosse (16) dans une plage de 1,27 à 3,18 mm (0,050 à 0,125 pouces).
REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION
This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.
Patent documents cited in the description