Abstract:
A human skin treatment tool includes a sleeve to be fitted to an ultrasonically excitable blade of a human skin treatment apparatus. The skin treatment tool has a skin treatment face configured to be vibrated against the skin by operation of a blade to treat the skin. The human skin treatment tool can be removed from the blade to allow the blade to be applied to the skin do perform different skin treatments and other human skin treatment tools having different skin treatment faces may fitted to the blade to apply yet more different skin treatments.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The invention relates to human skin treatment tools for human skin treatment apparatus and methods. 
       BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    A human skin treatment apparatus may make use of ultrasonic energy to cleanse the skin. A handheld human skin treatment apparatus may comprise a casing containing a control unit and an ultrasonic exciter and a blade that protrudes from the casing. When the ultrasonic exciter is energised it causes the blade to vibrate at high frequency. The edge of the vibrating blade may be applied to the skin to cleanse the skin. Alternatively, the flat surface of the vibrating blade may be applied to the skin to massage the skin and assist the skin to absorb moisture and nutrients applied to the skin. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The invention provides a human skin treatment tool as specified in claim  1 . 
         [0004]    The invention also includes a human skin treatment apparatus as specified in claim  12 . 
         [0005]    The invention also includes a method of treating human skin as specified in claim  20 . 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    In the disclosure that follows, reference will be made to the drawings in which: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  is a schematic side view of a human skin treatment apparatus; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is schematic plan view of the human skin treatment apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a human skin treatment tool fitted to the human skin treatment apparatus of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a side view of the human skin treatment tool of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the human skin treatment tool of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another human skin treatment tool; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a plan view of still another human skin treatment tool. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0014]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a human skin treatment apparatus  10  may comprise a handle  12  and a vibration member  14  projecting from the handle. The handle  12  may take the form of a casing. In the illustrated example the vibration member is in the form of a blade  14 . The handle  12  may contain a power source  16 , a control unit  18  and an ultrasonic exciter  20 . The handle  12  may be provided with a user interface, which may comprise buttons  22  and a display  24 . The buttons  22  may be configured to switch the skin treatment apparatus on/off and switch between operational modes. The display  24  may provide an indication of the currently selected operational mode, features associated with that mode, available modes and, where appropriate, the battery level. The display  24  may comprise an LCD or, in other less sophisticated examples, a series of lights. In other examples, the skin treatment apparatus  10  may have no display. 
         [0015]    The power unit  16  may be a battery, which may be a rechargeable battery. If the power unit  16  comprises a rechargeable battery, the handle  12  may be provided with a socket (not shown) to connect with a transformer plug to facilitate charging from a source of mains electricity. Alternatively, the power unit  16  may be configured for contactless charging. Yet another alternative is for the skin treatment apparatus  10  to be mains powered, in which case the power unit  16  may comprise a transformer for conditioning incoming mains electricity. Yet another option is for the power lead to be provided with a socket comprising an integral transformer. 
         [0016]    The control unit  18  is connected with the user interface  22 ,  24  and the ultrasonic exciter  20  to enable control of the operation of the ultrasonic exciter in response to operation of the buttons  22  and an indication of the operation mode on the display  24 . The control unit  18  may comprise a chip or other suitable electronic circuitry. 
         [0017]    The blade  14  is a relatively thin metal body that projects from an end  26  of the handle  12 . The blade  14  may taper in the direction of extension away from the handle  12  such that its sides  28  converge towards a free end, or edge,  30 . The free end  30  of the blade  14  may comprise a straight edge. Alternatively, the free end  30  may be profiled. For example, the free end  30  may curve inwardly as shown in the  FIG. 2 . The blade  14  may have a generally planar first portion  32  that extends from the handle  12 . The first portion  32  may be generally coaxial with the handle. A second portion  34 , which forms the free end of the blade, may be inclined with respect to the first portion  32 . The blade  14  may, for example, be made of stainless steel. 
         [0018]    The ultrasonic exciter  20 , which may comprise a piezoelectric element, is directly or indirectly connected with the blade  14  such as to be able to cause high frequency, low amplitude, vibration of the blade. In some examples, the ultrasonic exciter  20  may cause the blade  14  to vibrate at a rate of 27,000 to 30,000 vibrations per second (vps). The control unit  18  may be operable to cause the ultrasonic exciter  20  to vibrate the blade  14  at different rates suited to different modes of operation so that a user can select a vibration mode for a desired treatment. 
         [0019]    In use, the free end  30  of the blade  14  may be moved across the skin while being vibrated by the ultrasonic exciter  20 . This mode of operation may push impurities to the surface and cause dead skin cells to become dislodged, thereby cleansing the skin. The rapid vibration of the blade  14  may also kill skin bacteria by causing the single cell walls of the bacteria cells to implode. In an alternative mode of operation, the blade  14  may be used to massage the skin. This can be done by applying the generally flat, or planar, front face  36  of the second end portion  32  of the blade  14  to the skin and pulling it over the skin while the blade is being vibrated by the ultrasonic exciter  20 . This may cause more effective penetration of the skin by beneficial substances, such as moisturisers and nutrients applied to the skin prior to the massage treatment. 
         [0020]    The human skin treatment apparatus  10  is also provided with at least one human skin treatment tool such as the skin treatment tools  50 ,  70  and  100  shown in  FIGS. 3 to 6 . The human skin treatment tools  50 ,  70 ,  100  can be fitted to the blade  14  to facilitate a particular skin treatment and removed when a different treatment is required or for cleaning. 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the human skin treatment tool  50  comprises a sleeve  52  that can be slid onto the blade  14 . The sleeve  52  defines a chamber, or recess,  54  that is open at a first end  56  of the sleeve. The chamber  54  is configured to receive the blade  14  and may be configured so that it at least substantially covers the blade up to the end  26  of the handle  12 . The sleeve  52  may be made of an elastomeric material such as silicone rubber and configured so that the sleeve is retained on the blade  14  by at least one of its natural resilience and friction. The sleeve  52  has edges  58  that extend from the first end  56  to the opposite end  60  of the sleeve and opposed major sides  62 ,  64  that extend between and connect the ends  56 ,  60  and edges  58 . 
         [0022]    The skin treatment tool  50  comprises at least one skin treatment face. In the illustrated example, the skin treatment face is provided on the major side  62  and comprises a plurality of projections  66  projecting from a generally planar surface defined by the major side  62 . While not essential, in the illustrated example the skin treatment face extends over at least substantially the entire surface area of the major side  62 . The projections  66  may be upstanding elongate members whose longitudinal axes extend transverse to the plane of the major side  62 . The projections  66  may be generally cylindrical rods. The projections  66  may have radiussed tips and in some examples may be conical. The projections  66  may be configured such that they are not rigid and can deflect under load. The skin treatment face of the sleeve  52  is configured for use in skin cleansing treatments. Optionally, a second skin treatment face may be provided on the major side  64 . For, example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the major side  64  may be provided with a plurality of projections  68  projecting from a generally planar surface defined by the major side  64 . The projections  68  may be shorter or thicker than the projections  64  so as to be generally stiffer than the projections  64 . 
         [0023]    Although not essential, as best seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the first end  56  of the sleeve may be enlarged to define a hood configured to fit over a mating formation (not shown) disposed at the end  26  of the handle  12 . Advantageously, the hood may assist in preventing the ingress of liquids between the blade  14  and the handle  12 . The hood may also be configured to make it easier for users to grip the skin treatment tool  50  while fitting it onto the blade  14 . 
         [0024]    The human skin treatment tool  70  is generally similar to the human skin treatment tool  50 , the difference being in the configuration of the skin treatment face. To avoid unnecessary repetition of description, corresponding or similar features will be referenced by the same reference numerals incremented by 20. The skin treatment face of the human skin treatment tool  70  is provided on the major side  82  of the sleeve  72  and comprises a plurality of projections projecting from a generally planar surface defined by the major side  82 . In this example the projections are ribs  86  that extend across the sleeve. The ribs  86  are spaced apart, but disposed relatively close together. The ribs  86  undulate in their lengthways direction and may be generally symmetric with respect to a longitudinal axis  90  of the sleeve  72 . The ribs  86  may be arranged such that the peaks and troughs of adjacent waves are aligned in the lengthways direction of the sleeve  72 . The ribs  86  may be of uniform height individually and collectively. The skin treatment face of the human skin treatment tool  70  is configured for skin treatments that improve skin circulation. 
         [0025]    The human skin treatment tool  100  is generally similar to the skin treatment tool  50 , the difference being in the configuration of the skin treatment face. To avoid unnecessary repetition of description, corresponding or similar features will be referenced by the same reference numerals incremented by  50 . The human skin treatment tool  100  comprises a sleeve  102  that has a skin treatment face provided on the major side  112  of the sleeve. The skin treatment face comprises a plurality of projections  116  provided on a generally planar surface defined by the major side  112 . In this example the projections comprise ribs  116  that extend across the sleeve  102 . The ribs  116  may be irregularly spaced and non-symmetric. The ribs  116  may be taller than the ribs  66  and there may be fewer ribs  116  that are spread over the major side  112  such that the rib density is somewhat lower than the rib density of the skin treatment tool  70 . The skin treatment face of the human skin treatment tool  100  is configured for skin massage treatments. 
         [0026]    In each case, the human skin treatment tools  50 ,  70 ,  100  can be readily fitted onto the blade  14  to facilitate a particular skin treatment. Providing a human skin treatment apparatus with one or more human skin treatment tools facilitates the provision of an increased range of skin treatments using the same apparatus. 
         [0027]    Examples of human skin treatment tools made of an elastomer, such as silicone, rubber can be stretched slightly to allow fitting and removal and when the stretch is released they may grip the blade by virtue of their natural resilience. 
         [0028]    The human skin treatment tools may have only one skin treatment face. However, as shown in  FIGS. 3 to 5 , both major sides may be configured to provide respective skin treatment faces. The skin treatment faces may have the same configuration or different configurations to facilitate different skin treatments. 
         [0029]    In the illustrated examples, the skin treatment faces are provided on a major side of the human skin treatment tool. In other examples, an edge of the skin treatment tool may be configured as a skin treatment face in addition to or as an alternative to a major side. 
         [0030]    In the illustrated examples, the skin treatment faces extend over at least substantially the entire surface area of the major side of the human skin treatment tool. This is not essential and instead a skin treatment face may occupy just a part of a major side. 
         [0031]    In the example shown in  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the upstanding projections lack rigidity so that they may deflect when in use. In other examples, a skin treatment face may be provided with upstanding projections that are configured so that they will not deflect significantly. The projections may for example take the form of small bumps or the like. 
         [0032]    In the illustrated examples, the sleeves are shown with skin treatment faces comprising just one form of projection. In other examples, a skin treatment face may comprise more than one form of projection. 
         [0033]    The human skin treatment tools may be provided with a human skin treatment apparatus or as separate items to be fitted to human skin treatment apparatus sold separately. Skin treatment tools may be sold as a kit comprising a plurality of skin treatment tools having different skin treatment faces. For example, a kit may comprise one each of the skin treatment tools  50 ,  70 ,  100 . 
         [0034]    In the illustrated examples the human skin treatment tools comprise a sleeve with an end provided with an opening to receive a vibration member of a human skin treatment apparatus and an opposite end that is closed. The sleeve can be fitted onto the vibration member like a glove and may cover the entire part of the vibration member that projects from the handle. In other examples, the sleeve may cover only a portion of the vibration member starting at its free end so that a portion of the vibration member between the handle and sleeve is exposed. In still other examples, the sleeve may be open at both ends and may for example be configured so that it can fit onto the vibration member while leaving the free end of the vibration member exposed. 
         [0035]    In the example illustrated by  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the human skin treatment apparatus is a handheld device with a control unit and user interface mounted in or on the handle. In other examples, one or both of a control unit and parts or all of a user interface may be provided as separate unit and the handle may be solid.