Abstract:
The present invention is a facial iron comprising a heating element and separate charging base. The facial iron heating element has a spoon shaped heating surface for applying heat to a users skin. The heating surface is attached to a handle having LED&#39;s for indicating the charge state of the heating element. The facial iron is constantly being recharged when it is in the charging base. A thermostatically controlled circuit activates the heating element when the temperature of the heating surface falls below a certain temperature. It activates the heating element when the temperature of the heating element reaches a preset temperature. The invention also comprises a three position switch allowing the invention to be shut off and stored in a charged condition for later use. The preferred embodiment herein is a direct plug in version using AC wall power to power the heat. Another embodiment uses a wall unit to rectify the AC signal to a low voltage DC signal for powering the heater.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/240,561 filed Jan. 29, 1999, U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,070, which was a C.I.P. of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/150,325 filed Sep. 9, 1998, now abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The field of the present invention relates to cosmetic devices, more particularly to facial irons for alleviating or reducing wrinkles on the face of a user through the application of massage and heat. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Cosmetic devices know in the art are used to apply cremes and ointments to a person&#39;s face. Heated surfaces are taught that, when applied to the skin, the heated surface causes the creme to be more readily absorbed by the skin. The iron used to apply the heat generally is heated by a remote element, and is then applied to a user&#39;s face. The iron heater is activated by plugging the iron into a wall socket. The device warms the iron, which is then applied to the face of a user. 
     Representative of the art is: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,702 (1998) to Gelfgat et al. discloses an improvement for devices which provide local massage of the facial skin for improvement of the effectiveness of the massage while making the device more ergonomic. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,705 (1998) to Belcher discloses the reduction of facial wrinkles by rolling the face and scalp with implements having free wheeling rollers. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,585 (1996) to Nash-Morgan discloses a disposable adhesively engagable neck and facial wrinkle gathering device. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,646 (1996) to Miller discloses a jaw and neck muscle exercise apparatus which includes a spring-loaded support arm attached to a soft chin support on one end and to a chest plate on the other end. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,561 (1995) to Schweisfurth discloses a massage device for the rolling massage of skin areas and reflex zones of the human body which includes a shaft mounted on a handle and massage rings or rolling bodies which are freely rotatably mounted on the shaft. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,955 (1993) to Gueret discloses a massage device which is adapted to be applied to the skin. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,092 (1990) to Klein discloses a facial mask for use in effecting isometric toning of facial muscles. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,373 (1988) to Vogel discloses a facial ironer. The facial ironer apparatus includes a housing which holds a heating element having a base and a head. There is an electrical cord connecting the apparatus to a conventional AC electrical cord outlet. There is a thermostatic switch in the housing for maintaining the temperature of the heating element at a predetermined setting. The facial ironer itself is demountably attached to the head of the heating element. The facial ironer includes a triangular-shaped soleplate. The soleplate is heated by the transfer of heat from the heating element. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,685 (1981) to Taelman discloses a therapeutic heat and cosmetic applicator. A cosmetologist cleans the skin with unscented makeup remover and lotions. Then a lubricant is applied with a small hot iron to soften the pores. This face ironing is followed by a herbal or seaweed steam facial, manual and deep-pore cleaning. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,141 (1980) to Rooney discloses a mask which completely covers the face and which has pockets in which weights may be placed while the facial muscles are exercised. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,909 (1975) to Di Matto discloses a facial wrinkle remover. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,507,493 (1970) to Robins discloses an eye and forehead area muscle exerciser in which a portion of the face is covered by the device to hold the facial muscles against movement. 
     What is needed is a portable facial iron for applying a heated facial message for an effective 15 to 30 minute period. What is needed is a facial iron having a spoon shaped heating element. What is needed is a facial iron having a temperature control circuit. What is needed is a facial iron having a separate charger base and rechargeable batteries for convenience and safety. What is needed is a facial iron having an ergonomically shaped handle for improved ease of control and leverage. What is needed is a facial iron having LED&#39;s for indicating the charge and operational status of the heating element. What is needed is a facial iron having a three position switch. The present invention meets all these needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The primary aspect of the present invention is to provide a facial iron for providing a controlled, heated massage to a users face. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a facial iron having rechargeable batteries. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a facial iron having a spoon shaped heating element. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a facial iron having LED&#39;s for indicating the charge status of the heating element. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a facial iron having an ergonomically shaped handle. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a facial iron having a temperature control circuit. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a facial iron having a separate charger base. 
     Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a facial iron having a three position switch. 
     Other aspects of this invention will appear from the following description and appended claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views. 
     The invention comprises a facial iron having a charger base. The facial iron contains a battery pack. The battery pack charge status is indicated by a set of LED&#39;s. A red LED in the iron indicates the functional status of the unit. The red LED illuminates when the batteries are discharging and the spoon shaped heating surface is heating. When the facial iron is in the charger base, the red LED in the base is illuminated until the batteries in the facial iron are fully charged. When they are fully charged, a green LED in the base lights up. When the facial iron is removed from the charger base the LED&#39;s go out. The batteries then heat a heating element adjacent to the spoon shaped heating surface on the facial iron to approximately 110 degrees F. A red LED on the iron illuminates while the iron is in use and the batteries are discharging. The facial iron circuitry includes a thermistor and controller designed to maintain the spoon shaped surface at a temperature of 98° to 120° F. In the preferred embodiment the range is 108° to 110° F. A full charge allows for up to 30 minutes of use. When the charge in the facial iron is exhausted, it is returned to the charger base where the batteries are recharged. The facial iron decreases wrinkles in a user&#39;s face through heated massage. A three position switch allows a user to operate the invention in the preferred mode; to turn on the invention regardless of its location; or, to turn off the invention upon removal from the charger for use at a later time. 
     Alternate embodiments include an iron having a 120V electrical cord for connecting the facial iron directly to an outlet for use. The iron maintains heat on the spoon shaped surface while it is plugged into the outlet. Yet another alternate embodiment includes an iron having rechargeable batteries which are recharged by connecting the iron to a recharger which plugs into an outlet, such as the type in use with portable rechargeable shavers. The iron is then disconnected from the cord for use. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a user massaging her face with the iron portion of an alternate embodiment. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the iron. 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the iron. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the charger. 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the charger. 
     FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 9 is an electrical schematic drawing of the iron for the invention of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 10 is an electrical schematic drawing of the charger for the invention. 
     FIG. 11 is a side view of the preferred embodiment. 
     FIG. 12 is a side view of an alternate preferred embodiment. 
     FIG. 13 is a schematic depicting a three-position switch. 
     Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown, since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a user massaging her face with an alternate embodiment. Iron  200  is shown in use by a user. Iron  200  is applied to areas of a user&#39;s face where wrinkles W are located, such as around a user&#39;s eyes. Use in other locations of a user&#39;s face is possible due to the specialized shape of the spoon shaped heating surface. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the iron. Spoon shaped heating surface  240  is attached to the handle  205 . Recess  210  in handle  205  allows for ease of holding. Handle  205  is ergonomically shaped allowing a user to more effectively control the manipulation of the spoon shaped heating surface. For example, placement of a user&#39;s palm upon the back of handle  205  results in greater leverage for applying pressure to a user&#39;s facial features, in particular, wrinkles. Electrical contact  215  provides the connection between the charger base (shown in FIG. 4) and the rechargeable batteries contained within the handle  205 . 
     FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the iron. Spoon shaped heating surface  240  it attached at one end of handle  205 . Spoon shaped heating surface  240  may comprise any heat conductive material, including metal and plastic, known in the art. It may also comprise metal impregnated plastic, also known in the art. Spoon shaped heating surface  240  generally describes any solid section of an elliptically shaped solid, the convex surface of the solid comprising the spoon shaped heating surface. The section may also be oval or spherical. In the preferred embodiment, the spoon shaped surface comprises a narrower end and a wider end, in a form which may be described in part as “egg-shaped”, each being convex, thereby allowing application of the surface to a wide variety of a user&#39;s facial features. For ease of reference, and not by way of limitation, reference to the described surface shall be to the “spoon shaped heating surface”. Electrical contacts  215  and  230  provide the connection between the charger (not shown) and the rechargeable batteries in the handle  205  as shown in FIG.  8 . If the red LED  220  on FIG. 2, on the iron is illuminated, this indicates the batteries are discharging to heat the spoon shaped heating surface. It takes approximately 40 seconds for the spoon shaped heating surface  240  to reach the operating temperature of 98° F. to 120° F. The preferred embodiment operates in the range of 108° F. to 112° F. The electronic circiut described in FIG. 9 controls the temperature of the spoon shaped heating surface to approximately plus or minus 2° F. The current to the heater element is 650 mA to 750 mA. Three AA batteries, ¾ size—known in the art, should maintain this heat for up to 30 minutes. The heat in the spoon shaped surface is thermostatically controlled by a thermostat as shown in FIG.  9 . Once use of the iron is completed, the iron is returned to the charger for recharging of the batteries to full charge. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . Iron  200  is received by charger  410 . Electrical cord  415  is used to connect charger  410  to any standard 120V AC supply. Electrical cord  415  may comprise any plug type necessary to accommodate the electrical system in the country of use, for example, 220V in Europe. Contour  420  allows the iron  200 , having a co-operating contoured shape, to be received by charger  410 . The charger  410  is plugged into a standard 120V outlet. When the iron is placed in the charger, the quick charge of the iron rechargeable batteries occurs. The rechargeable batteries typically consist of 3 AA batteries. The red LED in the charger base, see FIG. 6, illuminates as the batteries in the iron are being recharged. The current from the charger base to the iron batteries is 80 to 120 mA. After 3-5 hours the batteries are completely charged. Once the charging is complete the red LED turns off and the green LED illuminates. The charger  410  is then delivering 0 mA to the iron batteries. If the iron  200  is removed and used and returned to the charger, the charger will reactivate at 80 mA. The red LED will illuminate for as long as charging takes. The green LED will then illuminate again once the batteries are recharged, indicating the iron ready for use. 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . Iron  200  is received by charger  410 . AC power cord  415  allows connection to a 120V wall socket. Red LED  220  illuminates to indicate the spoon shaped heating surface is heating. 
     FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the charger. Charger  410  has two electrical contacts  610  and  615  which electrically connect to contacts  215  and  230  in FIG. 3 to allow charging of the rechargeable batteries. Recess  620  receives the spoon shaped heating surface when the iron (not shown) is placed in the charger  410 . Operation of green LED  625  and red LED  630  are described in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the charger  410  without the iron. 
     FIG. 8 is a side elevation cut-away view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . Contained within iron  200  are rechargeable batteries  805 . Red LED  220  illuminates when the heating element  800 , which is connected to the spoon shaped heating surface  240 , is operating. Electrical contact  230  on the iron  200  contacts electrical contact  610  on the charger  410 . This allows the batteries  805  to be recharged while the iron is in the charger. The circuitry for charging the iron and controlling the operation of the iron are set forth in FIGS. 9 and 10. Charger electronics  820 , known in the art, are contained within charger  410 . Iron electronics  830  as described in FIG. 9 are contained within iron  200 . 
     FIG. 9 is an electrical schematic drawing of the iron for the invention. Contacts  215  and  230  are described in FIG.  3 . Rechargeable batteries  905  are in series with switch  910 . Relay  915  causes relay contacts to close when the iron is placed in the charger. Magnetic reed switch  920  turns on the heater when the iron is removed from the charger. Magnetic reed switch  920  cooperates with magnet  840  on FIG. 8, contained within the charger. Resistor  935  protects op amp  950 . Switch  920  closes the circuit to op amp  950 . Resistors  925 ,  930 ,  940  and  945  determine the voltage delivered to the inverting and non-inverting inputs of op amp  950 . Output from op amp  950  determines the state of transistor  960 . The heater circuit comprises resistor  955 , thermistor  970  and red LED  965 . When the iron is being recharged in the charger, transistor  960  opens the heater circuit. When the iron is removed from the charger, relay  915  closes switch  910  thereby providing a voltage of 3.6 V across the circuit. This causes op amp  950  to output a voltage to transistor  960 , which changes state and closes the heater circuit. Once the heater circuit is closed, current flows through thermistor  970  and red LED  965  thereby heating the spoon shaped heating surface. Red LED  965  illuminates when thermistor  970  is operating. Once the voltage delivered to the circuit by the batteries reaches a predetermined level, transistor  960  changes state and opens the heating circuit. 
     FIG. 10 is an electrical schematic drawing of the charger for the invention. AC power cord  1005  is connected to rectifier bridge  1015  through transformer  1010 . Rectifier bridge  1015  rectifies the AC signal to a DC signal. Capacitor  1020  smoothes the rectified output waveform from rectifier bridge  1015 . Red LED  1025  is in series with resistor  1030 . Green LED  1040  is in series with resistor  1050 . Resistor  1035  is in parallel with red LED  1025  and resistor  1030 . While the charger is recharging the iron, red LED  1025  is illuminated. Current flows through SCR  1045  to contact  615  when the iron is in the charger. As charging is completed, the voltage across contacts  615  and  610  decreases until SCR  1045  changes state. Variable resistor  1060  determines the resistance between contacts  615  and  610 . Transistor  1055  controls the value of variable resistor  1060 . This in turn short circuits the charging current which eliminates the charging current through the iron. Once charging is complete the red LED  1025  goes out and green LED  1040  is illuminated. 
     FIG. 11 is a side view of the preferred embodiment. In this embodiment, an electric cord  1100  is used to plug the iron  1200  directly into a 120V outlet. The iron is used while it is plugged into the outlet. The heating element is connected in series with a thermostat. The heating element is heated to and maintained at 108° to 120° F. 
     FIG. 12 is a side view of an alternate preferred embodiment. Recharger  1300  is plugged into a 120V outlet. It is connected to iron  1220  by a plug  1210 . Plug  1210  is disconnected once the rechargeable batteries are charged. The rechargeable batteries are 6V and are known in the art. The iron circuit is as shown in FIG.  9 . In yet another alternate embodiment, the wall unit  1300  comprises a transformer and rectifier circuit which provides a low voltage output to the iron  1220 . A thermostat contained within the iron maintains the temperature of the heating surface at 108 to 120° F. 
     FIG. 13 is a schematic depicting an alternate embodiment showing a three position switch. Three-position switch  1300 , known in the art, is connected into the circuit in FIG. 9 to operate in co-operation with magnetic reed switch  920  and relay  915 . 
     Switch  1300  may be placed in one of three positions. In position 1, the invention is placed in the charger  410  for battery recharging. In position 1, thermistor  970  is activated upon removal from the charger, as described above in FIG.  9 . 
     In position 2, thermistor  970  is activated regardless of the status or location of the invention. This is a result of switch  1300  closing a circuit around relay  915  and magnetic reed switch  920 , thereby directly activating thermistor  970 . In this position 2, a user de-activates the invention by returning the switch  1300  to position 1, for return to the charger, or position 3 as described below. 
     In position 3, the thermistor or heating element circuit is “opened” so that it is not possible for the thermistor to be activated. This is accomplished by switch  1300  opening the circuit connection to ground, thereby preventing activation of the thermistor  970 . This allows a user to store the invention, without it being in the charger, with fully charged batteries for use at a later time, for example, at a location where the charger is not available. To use at a later time, a user simply moves switch  1300  from position 3 to position 2. Once the user has completed use of the invention, the user places the switch in position 3 to de-activate the thermistor circuit; or to position 1 with the return of the facial iron to the charger base for re-charging the batteries as described above. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made and still the result will come within the scope of the invention. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred.