Apparatus for treating the skin

Abstract

 Apparatus for treating the skin includes means to generate steam and a bellows (7) which may be reciprocated to generate an air current. The means to generate steam comprises a heater (11, 12), a water reservoir comprising water absorbent material (16) disposed in an annular configuration within a removable attachment (3) and a water supplying fabric (20) which contacts the water absorbent material (16) through apertures (18) in an annular retainer (17) and which also contacts the heater. In use, the air current produced by the bellows (7) passes through the apparatus and entrains the generated steam and then flows out through an aperture (23) against a selected portion of the users skin.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to apparatus for treating the skin, in particular the face, and is concerned with that type of apparatus which includes means to generate steam comprising a heater and means to supply water to the heater. Such apparatus generates steam which is then directed against a selected area of the skin to open the sweat glands or pores of the skin for the purpose of loosening or removing grease or other unwanted matter and to promote the circulation of blood by virtue of the fact that the application of heat increases the flow rate of the blood.

[0002] Apparatus of this general type is known including a water reservoir in the form of a water absorbent member which, in use, contains water and is in direct contact with a heat radiation member. This known construction has the disadvantage that a considerable period of time elapses between actuation of the heater and the commencement of the generation of the steam since the entire water reservoir, which constitutes a substantial thermal load, is in contact with the heater. An additional disadvantage is that the rate at which steam is generated is not constant. Furthermore, the disposition of the water reservoir in the form of an absorbent member in the vicinity of the heater means in practice that this water absorbent member must be relatively small having regard to space limitations and thus the time for which such apparatus can continuously generate steam is relatively short.

[0003] It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for treating the skin of the type referred to above which can generate steam very rapidly after activation of the heater and further which will generate steam at a substantially constant predetermined rate. It is a further object to provide such an apparatus whose construction readily permits the storage of a greater volume of water than was previously possible.

[0004] According to the present invention apparatus for treating the skin of the type referred to above is characterised in that the means to supply water to the heater includes a water reservoir remote from the heater and an absorbent water supplying member extending from the reservoir to the heater to supply water from the former to the latter and that means are provided to generate an air current which entrains the steam and is then expelled from the apparatus through one or more apertures.

[0005] Thus in the apparatus in accordance with the present invention the..reservoir is not situated adjacent the heater as was previously the case but is remote from the heater which means firstly that this reservoir can be larger than was previously the case and secondly that the reservoir does not constitute a thermal load on the heater and therefore does not result in a delay in the initial generation of steam. The reservoir is connected to the heater by means of an absorbent water supplying member to supply water to.the latter. This supply of water is by virtue of capillary effects and is thus substantially constant thereby resulting in a substantially constant rate of steam generation.

[0006] The water reservoir preferably contains water absorbent material which, in use, is wet with water and the water supplying member is maintained in contact with the water absorbent material thereby ensuring that water can be supplied from the reservoir to the heater.

[0007] In the preferred embodiment the or each aperture through which the air and entrained steam is expelled is formed in an attachment which is removably connected to the apparatus, the water absorbent material is of annular shape within this attachment and extends around the or each aperture through which the air and steam are expelled and the attachment is so constructed that when it is removed from the apparatus the water absorbent material is accessible for the addition of fresh water. The water supplying member is preferably of fabric which contacts the water absorbent material and the heater or a member heated thereby.

[0008] In this embodiment the reservoir constituted by the absorbent material is in a removable portion of the apparatus and it will be appreciated that it must be ensured that when the removable attachment is replaced the fabric reliably contacts the absorbent material. In the preferred arrangement the fabric is retained in position by a retainer in which one or more apertures are formed and the apparatus carries one or more projections which deform the fabric through these apertures into the space in the attachment occupied by the absorbent material and into contact with this absorbent material.

[0009] In the embodiment in which the fabric is retained in position by a retainer it is preferred that this retainer is annular with a radially extending portion and an axially extending portion which retains the fabric in contact with the heater or a member heated thereby and that a plurality of apertures is formed in the axial extending portion and that the fabric extends over these apertures so that in use the air current flows through the fabric and then flows with the entrained steam out of the apparatus.

[0010] Further features, details and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of one specific embodiment which is given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of facial treatment apparatus in accordance with the invention; and

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the principal portion of the head of the apparatus.

[0011] Referring firstly to Figure 1, the apparatus includes a casing comprising a handle 1 integral with which is a head (designated 4 in Figure 2). An electrical switch 2 carried.by the handle is arranged to actuate a steam generation device within the head, which will be described in more detail below, to squirt steam, designated S, through an attachment 3 carried by the head.

[0012] Referring now to Figure 2, the head 4 contains a cylinder 6 associated with a piston 5 which can reciprocate in the horizontal direction. The closed end of a bellows 7 is fixed to the end of the piston 5 whilst the other end which is open is fixed to a heat insulating cover 8 around the periphery of an aperture therein, which aperture communicates with an air passage 9 defined by the cover 8. Disposed centrally with the passage 9 is a thermostat 10 which is arranged to control a heater 11 which in turn is arranged behind and in contact with a heat radiating member 12. The radiating member 12 is of substantially bowl shape, that is to say of rectangular U-shaped cross-section, with its outer edge bent to extend radially and contacting the end surface of the heat insulating cover 8. An annular retainer 13 positioned at the end of the head 4 retains the.bent edge of the radiating member 12 in contact with the cover 8 to which the retainer 13 is connected by means of bolts 14. The attachment 3 at the end of the.head 4 comprises an annular hood or outer skirt 15 which engages the outer surface of the retainer 13 and is bent through approaching 180° to define a central space which is traversed by a web which extends in a radial plane and is formed with a central aperture 23. Within the triangular section annular space defined by the attachment 3 is a water container member which, in use, is damp with water. An annular retainer 17 is provided with an axially extending portion integral with a radially extending flange which retains the water containing member in position and in which spaced apertures 18 are formed. Projections 19 on the retainer 13 extend into and loosely engage in the apertures 18. A fibrous water-permeable member 20 with a good air permeability, e.g. a cloth, is sandwiched between the retainers 13 and 17 and extends adjacent the axially extending portion of the retainer 17 and over the end of the retainer 17 in close contact with the radiating member 12. At those points where the cloth 20 passes over the apertures 18 it is pressed through these apertures by the projections 19 into contact with the water containing member 16 so that, in use, water in the water containing member is passed through the entire area of the cloth 20 by capillary action.

[0013] The heat radiating member 12 is provided with holes in its axially extending portion and the retainer 17 is also provided with holes 24 in its axially extending portion which are in registry with or adjacent to similar holes in the attachment 3. In use, the air stream, which is designated 21, produced by the bellows 7 flows through the holes 22 and 24 and then through the central hole 23 in the web of the attachment 3.

[0014] In use, the attachment 3 is removed from the apparatus and the water containing member 16, which is thus exposed, is sufficiently wetted with water or some cosmetic fluid. The attachment 3 is then replaced and secured in position by cooperating projections and recesses on it and the retainer 13 which form a snap fit. When the switch 2 is actuated both the heater 11 and the piston 5 are energised. The heat generated by the heater 11, which is controlled by the thermostat 10, is transmitted to the radiating member 12 which is in. contact with the damp cloth 20 and thus vapourises the water contained by the latter. The vapourised water is constantly replenished at a fixed rate from the water containing member 16 by virtue of the capillary effect of the fibres of the cloth 20 which is pressed into contact with the water container member through the apertures 18 by the projections 19. Reciprocation of the piston 5 causes the bellows 7 to pump air into the passage 9, through the holes 22, through the cloth 20 through the apertures 24 and out through the hole 23. Any steam produced is entrained by this air flow and ejected as a steam/air mixture S out of the attachment 3 at a fixed rate. By virtue of the fact that the radiating member is in contact with only a small volume of water at any one time, steam begins to be produced extremely rapidly. The evaporated water is replaced at a constant rate determined by the geometry and characteristics of the cloth 20 and thus steam is produced at a constant rate.

[0015] The water containing member 16 preferably comprises a material with a good water retaining quality such as paper, resin, plastic, rubber sponge and the like. By virtue of the fact that the water containing member 16 is located remote from the radiating member 12, almost no problems arise in relation to the thermal resistance. On the other hand, the water-permeable or water supplying member, i.e. the cloth 20 is desirably made from a gauze-like woven material having a good water and air conductivity. However, the cloth 20 is made from a material which is resistant to temperatures of 100⁰C or more because it is heated by its contact with the radiating member 12.

[0016] As explained above, in the apparatus of the present invention, the water in the water containing member 16 is transmitted by capillary action through the cloth and is then vapourised. The starting time for the generation of steam is thus very short, the rate of steam generation is fixed, a long duration of steam generation can be expected and handling of the apparatus is easy.

[0017] Further, the water containing member is accommodated in the hood of the attachment remote from the radiation member and thus a further advantage is that the water containing member can be made larger than is conventional thus allowing the generation of steam for long periods of time due to the larger water holding capacity.

Claims

1. Apparatus for treating the skin including means to generate steam comprising a heater and means to supply water to the heater characterised in that the means to supply water to the heater includes a water reservoir (16) remote from the heater (11, 12) and an absorbent water supplying member (20) extending from the reservoir (16) to the heater (11, 12) to supply water from the former to the latter and that means (7) are provided to generate an air current which entrains the steam and is then expelled from the apparatus through one or more apertures (23).

2. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 characterised in that the water reservoir contains water absorbent material (16) and the water supplying member (20) is maintained in contact with the water absorbent material (16).

3. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 characterised in that the or each aperture (23) is formed in an attachment (3) which is removably connected to the apparatus, that the water absorbent material (16) is of annular shape within the attachment (3) and extends around the or each aperture (23) and that when the attachment (3) is removed from the apparatus the water absorbent material (16) is accessible for addition of fresh water.

4. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 characterised in that the water supplying member (20) is a fabric which contacts the water absorbent material (16) and the heater (11) or a member (12) heated thereby.

5. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 and Claim 4 characterised in that the fabric (20) is retained in position by a retainer (17) in which one or more apertures (18) are formed and that the apparatus carries one or more projections (19) which deform the fabric (20) through the apertures (18) into the space in the attachment (3) occupied by the absorbent material (16) and into contact with the said absorbent material (16).

6. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 4 characterised in that the fabric (20) is retained in position by an annular retainer (17) having a radially extending portion and an axially extending portion which retains the fabric (20) in contact with the heater (11) or a member (12) heated thereby, that a plurality of apertures (24) is formed in the said axially extending portion and that the fabric (20) extends over the apertures (24) whereby, in use, the air current flows through the fabric and then flows with the entrained steam out through the or each aperture .(23).

7. Apparatus as claimed in Claim 3 characterised in that the attachment (3) is of substantially circular section and has an outer skirt (15) by means of which the attachment may be snap connected to the apparatus and which is bent to substantially U section to define a space accommodating the water absorbent material (16).

8. Apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims characterised in that the means to generate an air current comprises a bellows (7) and means (5, 6) to reciprocate the bellows.

Drawing