Patent Publication Number: US-6712290-B2

Title: Skin cleaner

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a skin cleaner and, more particularly, to a skin cleaner of a domestic type which massages as well as cleans the face of users. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     There are many devices for improving the skin of a face. For example, a face massager is disclosed in Taiwan Pat. Publication No. 375,931 which, as shown in FIG. 6, includes a casing  90  for receiving a reciprocator  93  and a driving unit  94 . When the driving unit  94  is actuated, the reciprocator  93  is moved to and fro to repeatedly push a pad  92  out of a mouth  91  and to press the pad  92  against the face of users. 
     Although the face massager can repeatedly press the users&#39; face, it can not clear greasy debris off pores in the skin. On the other hand, the skin may become rougher by inevitable rubbing of the pad  92  over the face. 
     A face steamer is disclosed in Taiwan Pat. Publication No. 223,239 which, as shown in FIG. 7, includes an upper cover  81 , a lower container  82  and an adjacent upright duct  83 , with an opening defined in the upper cover  81 . In the lower container  82 , there is provided a fan, a heater, a vibrator and an ultrasonic oscillator, all being used for producing a steam which is then discharged from the upright duct  83 . 
     This complex and expensive face steamer is designed to be used only for a commercial purpose. While the discharged vapor may open the pores in the face skin, the steamer can neither massage nor clean the face. 
     OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a skin cleaner of a domestic type which massages as well as cleans the face of a user. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A skin cleaner includes a lower container, and an upper bowl having a rim defining an opening for receiving the face of a user. The container has a chamber for containing a first liquid while the bowl has a cup located in the opening for containing a second liquid. A heater is provided for heating and converting the second liquid into vapor, which is then discharged from the cup into the opening of the bowl. The skin cleaner further includes a nozzle disposed in the bowl, and a pump for pumping the first liquid to the nozzle and spurting the first liquid from the nozzle over the face in the bowl. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a transverse sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a skin cleaner in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view showing the skin cleaner of FIG. 1 operated in a first mode; 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the operation of the skin cleaner of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the operation of the skin cleaner of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a circuit involved in the skin cleaner of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view of a conventional face massager; and 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional face steamer. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The figures show a preferred embodiment of a skin cleaner in accordance with the present invention for massaging as well as cleaning the face of a user. 
     Referring to FIG. 1, the inventive cleaner includes a container  1  having a chamber  11  for containing a first liquid, such as water, milk, perfume or the mixture thereof. The first liquid can be introduced into the chamber  11  through an inlet  12 , which is normally covered with a lid  13 . A first heater  14  is provided for heating up the first liquid to a predetermined temperature under the control of a control unit  15 . 
     Atop the container  1  is a bowl  2  that may be formed integrally with the container  1  or, alternatively, may be made separately from the container  1  and then attached thereto. The bowl  2  has a rim  21  defining an opening for receiving the face of users, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Additionally, the bowl  2  is provided at the rim  21  with a pair of detectors  22  that detect the distance from the rim  21  to the face of the user and then send signals, which is to be described hereinafter in detail. 
     In a lower place within the opening of the bowl  2  there is a cup  23 , covered with a cover  232 , for containing a second liquid, such as water, milk, perfume or the mixture thereof. The second liquid can be heated up by a second heater  231  also under the control of the control unit  15  and converted into vapor, which is then discharged from the cup  23  into the opening of the bowl  2  through a plurality of orifices  233  defined in the cover  232 . 
     The inventive cleaner further includes a nozzle  25  disposed in the bowl  2  and a pump  17  for pumping the warm first liquid from the chamber  11  of the container  1  to the nozzle  25  via a hose  18 , which is provided with a filter  16  to separate the first liquid from any foreign matter suspended therein. 
     It is preferable that the nozzle  25  is articulated, at its joint  26 , with the bowl  2  and is therefore adjustable in its orientation relative to the bowl  2 . More preferably, the pump  17  is selected so that the warm liquid may be spurt intermittently from the nozzle  25 , thereby cleaning and massaging the face of the users. 
     Any liquid either spurt from the nozzle  25  or condensed from the vapor would accumulate in the opening of the bowl  2  and even overflow unless it is removed time to time. For this reason, the bowl  2  has a drainpipe  24  to drain out the liquid accumulating in the bowl  2 . In the illustrated embodiment, the drainpipe  24  is additionally formed with a valve  241  that allows the drainpipe  24  to be in fluid communication with the chamber  11  of the container  1  or, alternatively, with a recycle pipe  242 . Therefore, the liquid in the bowl  2  can be lead either to the chamber  11  or to the exterior of the cleaner through the recycle pipe  242 . 
     Furthermore, an air-pipe  27  is provided for introducing fresh air into the bowl  2 . In detail, the air-pipe  27  has a first end outside the bowl  2  and a second end inside the bowl  2 , with a removable contact part  28  attached to the second end of the air-pipe  27 . The second end of the air-pipe  27  is positioned in such a place that at least one nostril or the mouth of the users may be moved close to the contact part  28 , thus enabling the users to breathe properly while his/her face is being treated in the bowl  2 . 
     Referring to FIG. 2, the inventive cleaner can be used by operating the control unit  15  to actuate the second heater  231 . Once the liquid in the cup  23  is heated up and vaporized, the user can put his/her face into the bowl  2  for a period of time to force the face to meet the rising vapor. The hot vapor will finally open the pores in the skin, so that greasy debris in the pores can be easily cleared. This is beneficial to the skin of the user&#39;s face. 
     During the process, however, the user should put his/her face into the bowl  2  at a certain distance from the rim  21 . If the face is located at a distance closer than a safety distance, the detectors  22  positioned at the rim  21  will send a first signal that makes the second heater  231  inactive, so as to prevent the user from scalding the face by the hot vapor. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the control unit  15  may also actuate the first heater  14  and the pump  17 . As soon as the actuated heater  14  heats up the liquid contained in the chamber  11  to the predetermined temperature, the pump  17  is actuated and begins to pump the warm liquid from the chamber  11  to the nozzle  25 , where the warm liquid is spurt intermittently over the face of the users, cleaning and massaging the face. This is much more beneficial to the skin of the users&#39; face. 
     Here again, if the face is located at a distance beyond a necessary distance from the rim  21  of the bowl  2 , the detectors  22  will send a second signal that makes the pump  17  inactive, so as to preventing spurt liquid from splashing any part of the users other than the face. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, the inventive cleaner can be selectively operated either in a SPA (single cleaning) mode or in a vapor cleaning mode, such as by depressing a particular key in a function selection. An IC (integrated circuit), acting as the above-mentioned control unit, is electrically connected both to the keys in the function selection and to the detectors S, which send signals to the IC if the users&#39; face is located at a improper distance from the rim of the bowl. 
     In addition, the IC is electrically connected to the first heater H L , an adjustable thermal switch T.H 1 , a first thermal overload relay T.S 1  and the pump for the operation in the SPA (single cleaning) mode. The IC is further electrically connected to the second heater H H  and a second thermal overload relay T.S 2  for the operation in the vapor cleaning mode. That is, the IC actuates the first heater H L , the adjustable thermal switch T.H 1 , the first thermal overload relay T.S 1  and the pump if the SPA (single cleaning) mode is selected, but actuates the second heater H H  and the second thermal overload relay T.S 2  if the vapor cleaning mode is selected. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a diagram of a circuit involved in the inventive cleaner. The circuit includes a voltage transformer, a rectifier, an electrical filter, a voltage stabilizer, and a power supply for the IC. 
     Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, in the SPA (single cleaning) mode the detectors S will send a first signal to the IC whenever the users&#39; face is located at a too long distance from the rim of the bowl, as illustrated in FIG.  2 . The IC then sends out a signal that makes the pump P inactive. 
     The IC is additionally connected in series with the adjustable thermal switch T.H 1  and the first thermal overload relay T.S 1 , which may stop the electrical current from passing through the first heater H L  either directly or by turning off a switch SW 1  in case the heater H L  overheat the liquid contained in the chamber of the container. 
     Referring still to FIGS. 4 and 5, in the vapor cleaning mode the detectors S will send a second signal to the IC whenever the users&#39; face is at a too short distance from the rim of the bowl and tends to be scaled, as illustrated in FIG.  3 . The IC then sends out a signal that makes the second heater H H  inactive. As a result, the operation of the inventive cleaner is automatically shifted into the SPA (single cleaning) mode. 
     The IC is additionally connected in series with the second thermal overload relay T.S 2 , which may stop the electrical current from passing through the second heater H H  by turning off another switch SW 3  in case the heater H H  overheat the liquid contained in the cup. 
     Referring to FIG. 5, the IC is still in operation even when the electrical current passing through the first heater H L  or the second heater H H  is stopped by the switch SW 1  or switch SW 3 . 
     From the foregoing, it is apparent that this invention has the advantage of opening the pores in the skin and enabling greasy debris therein to be easily cleared. Furthermore, the warm liquid spurt intermittently from the nozzle can massage as well as clean the face of the users, bringing a more beneficial effect to the skin. 
     While the principles of this invention have been disclosed in connection with specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that these descriptions are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and that any modification and variation without departing the spirit of the invention is intended to be covered by the scope of this invention defined only by the appended claims.