Patent Publication Number: US-9841177-B2

Title: Cosmetic mirror

Description:
This is a National Phase Application filed under 35 U.S.C. 371 as a national stage of PCT/CN2014/078969, filed May 30, 2014, an application claiming benefit from Chinese Patent Application No. 201310693857.1 filed on Dec. 17, 2013, the content of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the technical field of electronic equipment, and in particular relates to a cosmetic mirror. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In daily life, people always need to keep good makeup at all times, and particularly for ladies, a carry-on portable cosmetic mirror may bring convenience to makeup fix at any time and any place. 
     The function of an existing cosmetic mirror is relatively simple, and the biggest disadvantage thereof lies in that, when the ambient light is relatively weak, the imaging effect of the mirror surface is greatly degraded, and particularly at night or in a room with a weak light source, the cosmetic mirror can hardly be used, which greatly impairs the user experience. To solve such a problem, a cosmetic mirror with a light source has been proposed in the prior art, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a plurality of LED (Light Emitting Diode) point light sources  2  are arranged around a mirror surface  1 , so that it is possible to solve, to a certain extent, the problem that the cosmetic mirror cannot be used due to weak ambient light. However, such cosmetic mirror has the following shortcomings: since the LED point light sources arranged on the cosmetic mirror are generally thick, the cosmetic mirror is over-large, and thus unfavorable for carry-on and unattractive; besides, the LED point light sources  2  have problems of dazzle light, poor color rendering property and the like, therefore it is unlikely to simulate the effect of natural light properly and the colors of mirror images cannot be well reflected. In addition, in the structure of the existing cosmetic mirror in which the point light sources  2  are arranged around the mirror surface  1 , only a single light irradiation angle may be produced, and consequently, the existing cosmetic mirror cannot meet the actual demand of users for light of multiple angles and therefore brings inconvenience to the users. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide a cosmetic mirror, which is capable of reducing the thickness of a light source in the cosmetic mirror and improving the quality of the light source. Moreover, the cosmetic mirror provided by the embodiments of the present invention also allows a user to adjust angle and intensity of lighting and even the position and area of the light-emitting surface according to needs, so as to bring convenience to use of the user. 
     To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present invention adopt the following technical solutions. 
     In an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, provided is a cosmetic mirror, including a mirror surface part and a lighting part, wherein 
     a mirror surface of the mirror surface part and a light-emitting surface of the lighting part are positioned on the same side of the cosmetic mirror; and the lighting part is a surface light source formed by an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) panel. 
     Preferably, in the cosmetic mirror with the above-mentioned structure, an angle between the mirror surface of the mirror surface part and the light-emitting surface of the lighting part is adjustable. 
     According to the cosmetic mirror provided by the embodiments of the present invention, the lighting part is a surface light source formed by an OLED panel. Because the OLED surface light source has the characteristics of ultra-thinness, no dazzle light, high color rendering property and the like, the lighting pan adopting the OLED surface light source can effectively reduce the overall thickness of the cosmetic mirror and improve the quality of the light source. Moreover, the cosmetic mirror provided by the embodiments of the present invention further has such a structure that the angle between the mirror surface of the mirror surface part and the light-emitting surface of the lighting part is adjustable. By adopting the cosmetic mirror with the structure, when light needs to be supplemented, the relative angle between the lighting part and the mirror surface part may be changed according to the requirement of a user, and then the light irradiation angle is changed, so that great convenience is brought to use of the user. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       To illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or in the prior art more clearly, a brief introduction to the accompanying drawings which are needed in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be made as below. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the description below are merely some of the embodiments of the present invention, based on which other drawings may be obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without any creative effort. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a structure of an existing cosmetic mirror; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a structure of a cosmetic mirror provided by Embodiment 1 of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of a structure of a cosmetic mirror provided by Embodiment 2 of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of a solar cell in a cosmetic mirror provided by a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of a dimming unit in a cosmetic mirror provided by a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of circuit connection of a dimming circuit in the dimming unit shown in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of a preferred structure of a cosmetic mirror provided by a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE SYMBOLS 
     
         
           1 —mirror surface, 
           2 —LED point light source; 
           21 —mirror surface part, 
           211 —handheld area, 
           22 —lighting part, 
           23 —connecting part, 
           24 —solar cell, 
           25 —protective cover, 
           26 —switching unit; 
           31 —transparent OLED device, 
           32 —reflective material layer; 
           41 —solar panel, 
           42 —cell controller, 
           43 —battery, 
           44 —AC-DC converter; 
           50 —dimming unit, 
           51 —dimming circuit, 
           52 —touch dimming module, 
           53 —photosensitive dimming module. 
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and thoroughly in combination with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Apparently, the embodiments described are merely a part, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All of other embodiments, obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments described in the present invention without any creative effort, fall into the protection scope of the present invention. 
     Embodiment 1 
     A cosmetic mirror provided by the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 2 , includes a mirror surface part  21  at one end of the cosmetic mirror and a lighting part  22  at the other end of the cosmetic mirror. The mirror surface part  21  may adopt various reflectors with known structures. 
     The mirror surface of the mirror surface part  21  and the light-emitting surface of the lighting part  22  are positioned on the same side of the cosmetic mirror. 
     Wherein, the lighting part  22  is a surface light source formed by an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) panel. 
     Different from a traditional LED point light source, an OLED device mainly includes a very thin electroluminescent layer, which may emit light by applying an electric field thereto. Thus, a surface light source capable of stably emitting light, namely an OLED surface light source, may be formed by adopting a planar electroluminescent layer. Compared with the LED point light source, the OLED surface light source has the characteristics of thin thickness, no dazzle light, uniform light emitting, high color rendering property and the like. Thus, the cosmetic mirror with the above structure can truly reflect the status of an object in front of the mirror, improve the quality of the light source, and reduce the overall thickness of the cosmetic mirror. 
     Preferably, in the cosmetic mirror of this embodiment, a bendable connecting part  23  for movably connecting the mirror surface part  21  with the lighting part  22  is arranged between the mirror surface part  21  and the lighting part  22 , so that the angle between the mirror surface of the mirror surface part  21  and the light-emitting surface of the lighting part  22  may be adjusted. 
     By adopting the cosmetic mirror with the preferred structure, when light needs to be supplemented, the relative angle between the lighting part  22  movably connected with the mirror surface part  21  and the mirror surface part  21  may be changed according to the requirement of a user, and then the light irradiation angle is changed, so that great convenience is brought to use of the user. 
     Embodiment 2 
     Embodiment 2 of the present invention provides a cosmetic mirror. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the difference between the cosmetic mirror provided by this embodiment and the cosmetic mirror provided by Embodiment 1 shown in  FIG. 2  lies in that the mirror surface part  21  and the lighting part  22  may be integrated as an OLED panel. 
     Specifically, the OLED panel may include a transparent OLED device  31  and a reflective material layer  32  formed on the surface of one side of the transparent OLED device  31 . 
     Wherein, an electroluminescent element, a driving circuit and the like of the traditional OLED device are generally non-transparent, and these non-transparent elements may be highly integrated in a small area of each pixel unit of the OLED panel during design, so that the large area of the OLED panel may be light transmittable; by further arranging transparent electrodes on both sides of the electroluminescent element, the transparent OLED device  31  may emit light, such that the transparent OLED device  31  is formed as an OLED surface light source. In this way, the transmittance and luminance of the transparent OLED device  31  may be controlled by controlling the display gray-scale value of the transparent OLED device  31 . Further, the reflective material layer  32  may specifically adopt mercury or other metal coating with good reflecting property, and when the transparent OLED device  31  is in a transparent state, the transparent OLED device  31  and the reflective material layer  32  are used cooperatively to form a structure similar to a mirror, so that the function of the mirror surface part  21  is realized; and when the transparent OLED device  31  emits light, the reflective material layer  32  may further reflect the light emitted by the transparent OLED device  31 , so that all the light emitted by the transparent OLED device  31  exits from the surface of the transparent OLED device  31 , so as to realize the function of the lighting part  22 . Thus, the positions, shapes and sizes of the mirror surface part and the lighting part of the cosmetic mirror may be changed freely by users according to actual needs. 
     Further, different from the structure shown in  FIG. 2  that the mirror surface part  21  is movably connected with the lighting part  22  by adopting the bendable connecting part  23  between the mirror surface part  21  and the lighting part  22 , the mirror surface part  21  and the lighting part  22  in this embodiment may be formed as an integrated structure as shown in  FIG. 3 , and the OLED panel may be made of a flexible material. Thus, the angle between the mirror surface of the mirror surface part and the light-emitting surface of the lighting part may be changed by bending the cosmetic mirror with the flexible structure to select an optimal lighting angle, so that the user experience of using the cosmetic mirror is greatly improved. 
     The cosmetic mirror as shown in  FIG. 3  may further include: 
     a control unit (not shown in  FIG. 3 ), which may be used for controlling the display gray scale of the OLED device  31  in different areas of the OLED panel, so that the transparent OLED device  31  in a certain area is in a transparent state, the mirror surface part  21  is formed in this area, the transparent OLED device  31  in the other area emits light, and the lighting part  22  is formed in the other area. 
     It should be noted that, the areas and positions of the mirror surface part  21  and the lighting part  22  in the cosmetic mirror may be changed according to actual needs of users. For example, multiple lighting modes may be preset in the control unit, e.g. the area ratio of the mirror surface part  21  to the lighting part  22  is 1:1, 2:1 or 3:1 and the like, and a user may select one of the multiple modes according to the actual need. For another example, a touch screen may be arranged on the surface of the cosmetic mirror, and a user may select and mark out the positions and areas of the mirror surface part  21  and the lighting part  22  by finger. Of course, marking out of areas and selection of positions of the mirror surface part  21  and the lighting part  22  may be realized in other selection manners, and the present invention is not limited thereto. After the lighting mode is set, the control unit may control the corresponding area to realize the transparent state or light emitting of the transparent OLED device  31 . 
     Particularly, when the lighting part is not marked out in the cosmetic mirror, the cosmetic mirror may be only used as a mirror, e.g. when a user uses the cosmetic mirror outdoors (full of light), in order that the range reflected by the mirror is maximized, the lighting part does not need to be marked out. Or, when the mirror surface part is not marked out in the cosmetic mirror, the cosmetic mirror may be only used as a lighting device, e.g. when a user is in a dark environment and does not need to use the mirror, the mirror surface part does not need to be marked out, so that whole of the cosmetic mirror may be used as a lighting device for lighting. 
     By adopting the cosmetic mirror with such a structure, because the light source formed by the OLED panel has the characteristics of ultra-thinness, no dazzle light, high color rendering property and the like, the lighting part adopting the OLED surface light source may reduce the overall thickness of the cosmetic mirror and improve the quality of the light source. Further, the cosmetic mirror of this embodiment adopts a transparent flexible OLED panel with an integrated structure, so that a user may change the shapes and sizes of the mirror surface part and the lighting part of the cosmetic mirror freely according to actual needs and change the angle between the mirror surface part and the lighting part by bending the cosmetic mirror to select an optimal lighting angle, and therefore the user experience of using the cosmetic mirror is greatly improved. 
     Further preferably, in each embodiment of the present invention, the cosmetic mirror may further include: 
     a solar cell  24 , which is mainly used for being charged under the irradiation of a light source and supplying power to the lighting part  22  when the lighting part  22  is needed for lighting. 
     It should be noted that, the solar cell  24  may be arranged on the front surface or back surface of the cosmetic mirror; in the cosmetic mirror as shown in  FIG. 2 , it is used as an example for illustration that the solar cell  24  is arranged around the lighting part  22 ; and when the cosmetic mirror is in an environment with a light source, the solar cell  24  is in a charging status. 
     Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the solar cell  24  may structurally include a solar panel  41 , a cell controller  42 , a battery  43  and an AC-DC converter  44 . Wherein, the solar panel  41  can convert solar energy into electric energy, the electric energy obtained by the solar panel  41  through conversion is input to the cell controller  42 , one output end of the cell controller  42  is used for outputting DC driving current to the OLED panel, and the other output end of the cell controller  42  is used for inputting charging current to the battery  43 ; when the cosmetic mirror is in an environment without a light source or with a weak light source, the battery  43  may output DC current to the OLED panel; and when AC output is needed, the solar cell  24  may output the AC current through the AC-DC converter  44  connected with the battery  43 . It should be noted that, the AC-DC converter  44  may be an optional device for the solar cell  24 . 
     By adopting the cosmetic mirror with the solar cell, power supply for lighting of the lighting part may be realized through the solar energy, so that the battery does not need to be replaced, thereby achieving effects of energy saving and environmental protection. 
     Further preferably, in each embodiment of the present invention, the cosmetic mirror may further include: 
     a dimming unit  50 , which is mainly used for adjusting the brightness of light emitted by the lighting part  22 . 
     Specifically, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the dimming unit  50  may specifically include a dimming circuit  51  and at least one of a touch dimming module  52  and a photosensitive dimming module  53 . 
     In the embodiments of the present invention, the dimming circuit  51  may adopt various known dimming circuits in the prior art. For example, the structure of the dimming circuit  51  may be as shown in  FIG. 6 , and multi-level output of current is realized through an OZ8022T chip. Of course, it is only an example for illustration, and the present invention is not limited thereto. 
     Wherein, the touch dimming module  52  is mainly used for controlling the dimming circuit  51  according to a touch signal input by a user to adjust the brightness of light emitted by the lighting pan  22 . 
     For example, a touch screen may be arranged on the surface of the lighting part  22  of the cosmic mirror; when a user needs to adjust the lighting brightness, the level thereof may be adjusted according to the brightness level displayed on the touch screen; or it is possible to set that the lighting brightness is gradually increased when a finger of the user slides along a first direction, while the lighting brightness is gradually reduced when the finger of the user slides along a second direction, such that the user may adjust an appropriate lighting brightness according to actual needs. 
     The photosensitive dimming module  53  is mainly used for controlling the dimming circuit  51  according to the brightness of ambient light to adjust the brightness of light emitted by the lighting part  22 . 
     For example, the photosensitive dimming module  53  may be a photosensitive sensor arranged on the surface of the cosmetic mirror. When the lighting part  22  is turned on, the photosensitive dimming module  53  may automatically control the dimming circuit  51  according to the intensity of ambient light, so that the brightness of the light emitted by the lighting part  22  is correspondingly changed as changing of the intensity of the ambient light, and an optimal light supplementing effect is achieved. 
     Further preferably, as shown in  FIG. 7 , in each embodiment of the present invention, the cosmetic mirror may further include: 
     a protective cover  25 , which covers the mirror surface of the mirror surface part  21  and the light-emitting surface of the lighting part  22  in an openable and closeable manner. 
     Specifically, the protective cover  25  may be made of a soft material, such as leather. By adopting the protective cover  25 , the surfaces of the mirror surface part  21  and the lighting part  22  may be prevented from being scratched or crashed due to careless use or storage, so that the service life of the product is effectively prolonged. 
     The cosmetic mirror as shown in  FIG. 7  may further include: 
     a switching unit  26 , which is used for controlling the lighting part  22  to perform lighting when the protective cover  25  is opened to a preset angle. 
     Specifically, the switching unit  26  may adopt any existing sensor with an opening angle measuring function. In the cosmetic mirror as shown in  FIG. 7 , it is used as an example for illustration that the switching unit  26  is arranged on the surface of the cosmetic mirror. Wherein, the preset angle may be an angle threshold preset according to the actual need, e.g. 20°, and when the included angle between the protective cover  25  and the cosmetic mirror is greater than the angle, the switching unit  26  turns on the lighting part  22  to supplement light. 
     Further preferably, as shown in  FIG. 2 , in the cosmetic mirror of each embodiment of the present invention, the mirror surface part  21  may further be provided with a handheld area  211 . 
     Wherein, patterns may be formed on the surface of the handheld area  211  of the mirror surface part  21 . 
     Through the patterns, the mirror surface may be prevented from being contaminated by fingerprints or stains due to handholding of a user, the imaging performance of the mirror surface may be ensured, the appearance attractiveness of the cosmetic mirror may be further improved, and the user experience is significantly improved. 
     The foregoing descriptions are merely specific embodiments of the present invention, rather than limiting the protection scope of the present invention. Any skilled one who is familiar with this art could readily think of variations or substitutions within the disclosed technical scope of the present invention, and these variations or substitutions shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the protection scope of the claims should prevail over the protection scope of the present invention.