Electric shaver

Abstract

This disclosure provides an electric razor that accurately detects the characteristics of body hair even in the case of white body hair. The electric razor (100) based on this disclosure is an electric razor (100) having a handle (110) and a head (120) connected to one end of the handle (110). The electric razor (100) includes: an imaging device (131) that captures images of the area near the skin where the shaving head (121) contacts; an illumination device (160) capable of illuminating the area captured by the imaging device (131) with light of different spectra; and an image processing device that processes the images obtained from the imaging device (131). The image processing device includes: an image control unit that controls the illumination device (160) and the imaging device (131) such that light of different spectra is individually illuminating and capturing images; and a characteristic information generation unit that generates characteristic information representing the characteristics of body hair based on the images captured by the imaging device (131).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an electric razor for removing body hair such as beard. Background Technology

[0002] Previously, a shaving guidance system was proposed, which has a camera device that records images of the user's body parts, determines the local hair growth direction based on the captured images, and instructs the user on the direction and location where the shaving device should be moved on the body based on the determined hair growth direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Existing technical documents

[0004] Patent documents

[0005] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-534806 Summary of the Invention

[0006] The problem the invention aims to solve

[0007] In addition, in previous systems, when the tonal difference between skin and body hair is small, such as when the white body hair on a person with fair skin has a small tonal difference from the skin, it is difficult to separate the skin and body hair through image processing, thus making it difficult to obtain information related to the characteristics of body hair.

[0008] This disclosure was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an electric razor that can detect the characteristics of body hair even when there is a small difference in color between the hair and the skin.

[0009] Solution for solving the problem

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, one embodiment of the electric razor disclosed herein includes a handle and a head, the handle being for a user to hold, and the head having a shaving section for cutting body hair. The head is connected to one end of the handle. The electric razor includes: a camera device for capturing images of the area near the skin contacted by the shaving section; an illumination device capable of illuminating the area captured by the camera device with light of different spectra; and an image processing device for processing the images obtained from the camera device. The image processing device includes: a camera control unit for controlling the illumination device and the camera device such that light of different spectra is individually illuminating and capturing images; and a morphology information generation unit for generating morphology information representing the morphology of body hair based on the images captured by the camera device.

[0011] The effects of the invention

[0012] The electric razor disclosed herein can effectively separate skin and body hair by irradiating them with light of different spectra individually, thereby enabling high-precision detection of the characteristics of body hair. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a perspective view showing the electric razor according to the embodiment.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a perspective view showing the head of the electric razor according to the embodiment.

[0015] Figure 3 It is a graph showing the relationship between the wavelength of light irradiating the skin and the reflectivity.

[0016] Figure 4 This is a block diagram showing the functional parts of the image processing apparatus of the electric razor according to the embodiment.

[0017] Figure 5 This is a block diagram illustrating the functional components of another example of the image processing apparatus for the electric razor according to the embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The embodiments of the electric razor disclosed herein will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, the embodiments described below are examples provided for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. For example, the shapes, structures, materials, constituent elements, relative positional relationships, connection states, numerical values, formulas, the content of each stage in the method, and the order of each stage shown in the embodiments below are examples, and sometimes include content not described below. Additionally, geometric representations such as parallel and orthogonal are sometimes used, but these representations do not indicate mathematical rigor, but rather include substantially permissible errors and deviations. Furthermore, representations such as simultaneous and identical also include substantially permissible ranges.

[0019] In addition, the accompanying drawings are schematic diagrams that have been appropriately emphasized, omitted or scaled for the purpose of illustrating this disclosure, and differ from the actual shapes, positional relationships and scales.

[0020] Furthermore, in the following description, multiple technical concepts are sometimes presented as a single implementation method. Additionally, a portion of the content described below is described as any constituent element relating to this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a perspective view showing the electric razor 100 according to the embodiment. Figure 2This is a perspective view showing the head 120 of the electric razor 100. Furthermore, the electric razor 100 has rounded edges and features anti-slip textures, but these are not shown in the illustration.

[0022] The electric shaver 100 is a device that uses an electric blade to cut and remove body hair such as beards. It includes a handle 110, a head 120, a camera device 131, a lighting device 160, and an image processing device 150. Figure 1 Not illustrated. See reference. Figure 4 and Figure 5 In this embodiment, the electric shaver 100 includes a notification device 140.

[0023] The grip section 110 is the part that the user holds when using the electric razor 100. In this embodiment, the grip section 110 functions as a housing for the image processing device 150, the battery, and control devices for controlling the driving of the shaving blades. A power switch 111 for turning the power on / off and an input button 112 for receiving input from the user are provided on the outer surface of the grip section 110.

[0024] The head 120 is a member having a shaving section 121 and being connected to one end of the holding section 110. The shaving section 121 has a blade for cutting body hair. In this embodiment, the head 120 is connected to the holding section 110 in a manner that allows it to move relative to the holding section 110. The direction of movement of the head 120 is not particularly limited, but the head 120 can swing circumferentially along each of the following directions as its axis: back-and-forth direction (X-axis direction in the figure), width direction Y (Y-axis direction in the figure), and up-and-down direction (Z-axis direction in the figure).

[0025] The shaving section 121 has a plurality of (four in this embodiment) first outer blades 122 that are semi-cylindrical in shape and have mesh-like through holes extending in the width direction in the front-back direction, and has second outer blades 123 with slit-like through holes disposed between the first outer blades 122. The first outer blades 122 and the second outer blades 123 are mounted on the head frame 124, and the shaving section 121 can be attached to and detached from the head base 125.

[0026] Inside the head 120 are disposed a first inner blade (not shown) corresponding to the first outer blade 122 and a second inner blade (not shown) corresponding to the second outer blade 123, and an inner blade driving device is provided for reciprocating vibration of the first inner blade and the second inner blade along the width direction (Y-axis direction in the figure). The first inner blade and the second inner blade are vibrated by the inner blade driving device, thereby cutting off body hair inserted into the through holes of the first outer blade 122 and the second outer blade 123 between the vibrating first inner blade and the second inner blade.

[0027] The camera device 131 is a device for capturing images of the area near the skin where the shaving head 121 contacts. In this embodiment, the camera device 131 has a field of view that, while the shaving head 121 is in contact with the skin, can capture images of the skin in a single shot, measuring a length corresponding to the length of the first outer blade 122 and the second outer blade 123 in the front-to-back direction (X-axis direction in the figure) and a length corresponding to the length of the skin in the width direction (Y-axis direction in the figure) corresponding to the width of the first outer blade 122 (Y-axis direction in the figure). This allows for accurate capture of the condition of the body hair and skin immediately before and immediately after shaving.

[0028] The type of camera device 131 is not particularly limited; for example, a so-called digital camera can be exemplified by having an optical system including lenses and an imaging element that converts the image formed by the optical system into an electrical signal. In this embodiment, the camera device 131 can capture any light of different spectra emitted by the illumination device 160.

[0029] The camera device 131 is fixed to the head base 125 of the head 120, and operates simultaneously with the movement of the head 120 relative to the holding part 110. Therefore, during shaving by the electric razor 100, the distance between the skin and the camera device 131 can be stabilized, enabling the capture of clearer images. Specifically, as... Figure 2 As shown, the camera device 131 is mounted at the center of the substrate 133, which protrudes forward from the front side (X-side) of the head base 125 in the width direction (Y-axis direction in the figure). Therefore, the camera device 131 will not obstruct the head frame 124 during assembly and disassembly, which is preferable. Furthermore, an illumination device 160, such as a light-emitting diode (generally referred to as "LED"), is mounted on the substrate 133 to illuminate the skin within the field of view of the camera device 131. The substrate 133, the camera device 131, and the illumination device 160 are covered by a cover 134.

[0030] The illumination device 160 is a device capable of illuminating an area captured by the imaging device 131 with light of different spectra. The various spectra illuminated by the illumination device 160 to a given area are not particularly limited, but examples of illumination devices 160 can be those equipped with light sources having different maximum peak wavelengths of emitted light. Furthermore, the light source equipped in the illumination device 160 can be a light source that emits light of approximately a single wavelength, such as an LED, or a light source equipped with an LED, an element that emits excitation light such as a laser, and a wavelength-changing material that converts the wavelength of light emitted from the element. In this embodiment, as... Figure 3 As shown, the lighting device 160 includes: a first light source 161 that emits light with a maximum peak value in the wavelength region (a) of 620 nm and above; and a second light source 162 that emits light with a maximum peak value in the wavelength region (b) of 580 nm and below. When skin is irradiated with light having a maximum peak value in the wavelength region (a) of 620 nm and above, the skin's reflectivity is high, resulting in a clear contrast with black body hair. Conversely, when skin is irradiated with light having a maximum peak value in the wavelength region (b) of 580 nm and below, the skin's reflectivity is low, resulting in a clear contrast with white body hair. In particular, when skin is irradiated with light having a maximum peak value in the wavelength region of 540–580 nm, the relative reflectivity of melanin, hemoglobin, etc., decreases, making this a preferred method.

[0031] Both the first light source 161 and the second light source 162 illuminate the entire area captured by the camera device 131. The first light source 161 and the second light source 162 are mounted on the substrate 133 on which the camera device 131 is mounted.

[0032] The notification device 140 is a device that notifies the user of the processing results of the image processing device 150. The notification method of the notification device 140 is not particularly limited, and examples include methods using sound (including voice), light, vibration, electrical stimulation, and combinations thereof. In this embodiment, the notification device 140 is a device that notifies information using light, and multiple light-emitting elements such as LEDs are arranged around the periphery of the end portion of the handle 110 on the head 120 side. The notification device 140 can change at least one of the brightness, color, and light emission mode of the light.

[0033] Figure 4This is a block diagram showing the functional units of the image processing apparatus 150. The image processing apparatus 150 is an apparatus that controls the lighting device 160 and the imaging device 131 and processes the images acquired from the imaging device 131. The image processing apparatus 150 includes an imaging control unit 157 and a feature information generation unit 151 as a processing unit implemented by causing a processor to execute a program. In this embodiment, the image processing apparatus 150 also includes a shaving information generation unit 152, a result notification unit 153, and an information acquisition unit 154.

[0034] The camera control unit 157 controls the lighting device 160 to illuminate each light of a different spectrum individually, and controls the camera device 131 to synchronize the shooting timing of the camera device 131 with the timing of the lighting device 160 illuminating the light individually. In this embodiment, the camera control unit 157 controls the lighting device 160 to alternately emit light from the first light source 161 and the second light source 162, and controls the camera device 131 to perform shooting in accordance with the timing of the first light source 161 and the second light source 162 emitting light individually.

[0035] The morphology information generation unit 151 processes images captured by the imaging device 131 through various spectra of light irradiating a specified area to generate morphology information representing the morphology of body hair. The morphology information includes, for example, information on at least one of the following: the length of the body hair, the direction of its growth, and the density of its body hair.

[0036] An example of how the feature information generation unit 151 generates feature information, such as the length of body hair, will be described. The feature information generation unit 151 performs contrast enhancement processing on images based on multiple different spectra of light acquired by the information acquisition unit 154. For example, the feature information generation unit 151 improves brightness contrast by performing a grayscale transformation on the brightness of each pixel of the image, such as making the output grayscale change large relative to the input grayscale. Furthermore, small noises such as skin texture can be removed by applying a low-pass filter to the image before or after this contrast enhancement.

[0037] Next, the feature information generation unit 151 performs contour extraction on the image after contrast enhancement. More specifically, the feature information generation unit 151 removes minor noise by performing dilation and contraction processing after binarization (i.e., whitening / blackening) where white pixels are output if the brightness difference with surrounding pixels is above a threshold and black pixels are output if the brightness difference with surrounding pixels is below a threshold. Furthermore, the dilation and contraction processing refers to dilation processing that replaces the pixel of interest with white even if there is a white pixel surrounding it, and contraction processing that replaces the pixel of interest with black even if there is a black pixel surrounding it. Through this contour extraction, an image showing the contours of each body hair is obtained.

[0038] Here, the feature information generation unit 151 may extract the contours of body hair from multiple images of the same area captured by light irradiated with different spectra, and integrate the contours from the multiple images. This allows for the effective generation of body hair feature information even when black and white body hair are mixed together, such as when black and white body hair grow in approximately the same proportion. Alternatively, the feature information generation unit 151 may compare multiple images of the same area captured by light irradiated with different spectra, and select an image based on predetermined conditions, such as the image with the most extracted contours. This allows for the accurate acquisition of feature information representing the characteristics of body hair from among black and white body hair that grow in greater quantities.

[0039] Next, the shape information generation unit 151 calculates the bounding rectangle for each region obtained by contour extraction. Specifically, the shape information generation unit 151 calculates the bounding rectangle for each region obtained by contour extraction in such a way that the outline of the rectangle is connected to the extracted region corresponding to the body hair. That is, for black body hair, the bounding rectangle enclosing the black part is calculated, and for white body hair, the bounding rectangle enclosing the white part is calculated. However, the method for calculating the bounding rectangle is not limited to this method; any other method can be used as long as it is possible to calculate the rectangle covering the outline of the body hair to estimate the length of the body hair. Through the above processing, an image showing the rectangles bounding the regions corresponding to each body hair is obtained.

[0040] Next, the feature information generation unit 151 determines the length of each body hair by calculating the length of the long side of each calculated circumscribed rectangle. For determining the length of the long side, the lengths of the two orthogonal sides of a right triangle with the long side as the hypotenuse and including two sides along the orthogonal direction of pixel arrangement are calculated (here, the length of one side is given by the number of pixels × pixel interval), and the length of the long side serving as the hypotenuse is calculated using the Pythagorean theorem. Alternatively, the direction of the body hair can be calculated as feature information based on the lengths of the two orthogonal sides.

[0041] (Length and direction of body hair)

[0042] In this way, the length and direction of each hair are determined based on the image captured by the camera device 131. Furthermore, the morphology information generation unit 151 performs statistical processing on the length and direction of the multiple hairs contained in the image to generate morphology information representing the length and direction of the multiple hairs in the image, which is then numerically quantified. During statistical processing, the length of the hair can be used as a weight, or only data on the length of hairs exceeding a predetermined length threshold can be used.

[0043] (Density of body hair)

[0044] An example of the case where the shape information generation unit 151 generates shape information representing the density of body hair will be described. The process continues as described above until the shape information generation unit 151 generates an image showing the outline of each body hair.

[0045] Next, the shape information generation unit 151 calculates the area of ​​each region obtained by contour extraction, and calculates the total area of ​​each region in the image. Furthermore, the shape information generation unit 151 generates shape information by quantifying the ratio of the total area of ​​the rectangular regions to the area of ​​the image as a representation of the density of body hair.

[0046] The shaving information generation unit 152 generates shaving information related to shaving based on the shape information generated by the shape information generation unit 151. The shaving information includes information on at least one of shaving direction and shaving end. Alternatively, for example, if the shape information representing body hair length falls below a length threshold, the shaving information generation unit 152 generates shaving information indicating the end of shaving. Alternatively, if the shape information representing shaving density falls below a shaving density threshold, the shaving information generation unit 152 generates shaving information indicating the end of shaving. Furthermore, the shaving information generation unit 152 may also generate shaving information indicating the direction of movement of the shaving section 121 relative to the skin, i.e., the shaving direction.

[0047] In this embodiment, the shaving information generation unit 152 can also calculate motion vectors focusing on body hair, skin texture, etc., based on images captured at predetermined intervals that have the same light spectrum. If the speed obtained from the motion vector is above a speed threshold, it generates shaving information with excessive speed. Furthermore, the shaving information generation unit 152 can also calculate the jitter amplitude of body hair, skin texture, etc., based on an image captured at a predetermined shutter speed (i.e., exposure time). If the speed obtained from the shutter speed and jitter amplitude is above a speed threshold, it generates shaving information with excessive speed.

[0048] In addition, the hair removal information generation unit 152 may, for example, have multiple thresholds that are different from the first length threshold (20% longer than the length threshold) and the second length threshold (40% longer than the length threshold) in advance, and generate hair removal information that increases or decreases in stages according to the stage of the length of the body hair.

[0049] Alternatively, after generating shaving information indicating the end of shaving based on the change in shape information to below a length threshold or below a shaving density threshold, the shaving information generation unit 152 may further generate shaving information indicating the end of shaving based on newly generated shape information, and then output shaving information indicating over-shaving.

[0050] The result notification unit 153 controls the notification device 140 to notify the user of the shaving information generated by the shaving information generation unit 152. For example, the result notification unit 153 notifies the user of the shaving information by controlling the light emitted by the light-emitting device of the notification device 140 to change at least one of brightness, color, and light emission mode. Alternatively, when the body hair is long, red light is emitted to notify the user that shaving is not finished; when shaving information indicating the end of shaving is received from the shaving information generation unit 152, blue light is emitted to notify the user that shaving is finished. Furthermore, when the user is shaving an area with body hair of a length below a certain threshold, the notification device 140 is controlled to flash red to notify the user that shaving has been overdone.

[0051] Furthermore, when the shaving information generation unit 152 is generating shaving information that increases or decreases in stages, the result notification unit 153 can also notify the user of the staged shaving information by controlling the light emitted by the light-emitting device to change at least one of brightness, color, and light emission mode in stages. For example, it is possible to stage the intensity of the light or decrease it, or to lengthen or shorten the flashing interval of the light emission.

[0052] According to the electric shaver 100 described above, information related to body hair, independent of its color, can be extracted from various images captured by the camera device 131 based on light of multiple spectra, and shaving information related to shaving can be communicated to the user. Therefore, the user can perform shaving while recognizing the speed at which the electric shaver 100 moves relative to the skin, the completion of shaving in a designated area, etc., and can suppress skin damage, performing shaving efficiently regardless of body hair color.

[0053] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. For example, other embodiments implemented by arbitrarily combining the constituent elements described in this specification or by excluding certain constituent elements may also be considered embodiments of this disclosure. In addition, variations that can be obtained by implementing various modifications to the above embodiments that would be conceived by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of this disclosure, i.e., the meaning expressed by the statements in the claims, are also included in this disclosure.

[0054] For example, in the above embodiment, the case of sequentially switching light of different spectra onto the skin was described, but as... Figure 5 As shown, the image processing device 150 can also acquire input information from the user via input button 112 through the information acquisition unit 154, and control the lighting device 160 and the camera device 131 through the camera control unit 157 so that only light corresponding to the spectrum of the input information is irradiated and an image is captured. Therefore, it is possible to recognize when the user is shaving black body hair, shaving white body hair, etc., and change the mode accordingly to perform shaving, thereby speeding up image processing.

[0055] Alternatively, the feature information generation unit 151 may extract wavelength images of specific regions from the acquired image and generate feature information based on the extracted images. This could potentially further emphasize the contrast between body hair and skin.

[0056] Additionally, a notification device 140 with a light-emitting element is shown as an example. However, the notification device 140 may also include a sound-emitting device such as a speaker, a vibration device that causes the grip 110 to vibrate, or an electro-muscle stimulation device that applies electrical stimulation to the hand holding the grip 110. Such a notification device 140 can notify shaving information by changing the intensity, generation mode, and direction of sound (including speech), vibration, electrical stimulation, etc.

[0057] In addition, in the above embodiment, a shaving section 121 with a total of 5 outer blades, including 4 first outer blades 122 and 1 second outer blade 123, is shown. However, the number of outer blades is not particularly limited, and the shaving section 121 may have 4 or fewer or 6 or more outer blades.

[0058] Alternatively, the shaving section 121 can be used to shave by rotating the inner blade relative to the outer blade.

[0059] Furthermore, the mounting position of the camera device 131 is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, it can be mounted on the rear side (X+ side in the figure), the side (Y- side, Y+ side in the figure), etc. Alternatively, it can be mounted on the grip portion 110. The number of camera devices 131 is not limited to one; multiple locations can be used to mount the camera devices 131.

[0060] Industrial availability

[0061] This disclosure relates to electric shavers that can be used for shaving beards, hair clippers, and other electric shavers that can shave the body hair of animals, including humans.

[0062] The technical ideas derived from this disclosure are described below.

[0063] The electric razor derived according to this disclosure includes a handle and a head, the handle being for a user to hold, and the head having a shaving section for cutting body hair. The head is connected to one end of the handle. The electric razor includes: a camera device for capturing images of the area near the skin where the shaving section contacts; an illumination device capable of illuminating the area captured by the camera device with light of different spectra; and an image processing device for processing the images obtained from the camera device. The image processing device includes: a camera control unit for controlling the illumination device and the camera device such that light of different spectra is individually illuminating and capturing images; and a morphology information generation unit for generating morphology information representing the morphology of body hair based on the images captured by the camera device.

[0064] In other words, the electric razor derived according to this disclosure has a handle and a head, the handle being for a user to hold, the head having a shaving section for cutting body hair, the head being connected to one end of the handle, and the electric razor having: a camera device for capturing images of the vicinity of the skin where the shaving section contacts; an illumination device capable of illuminating the area captured by the camera device with light of different spectra; and an electrical-electronic circuit for processing the images obtained from the camera device, wherein the electrical-electronic circuit performs the following processing during operation: controlling the illumination device and the camera device such that light of different spectra is individually illuminating and capturing images, and generating characteristic information representing the characteristics of body hair based on the images captured by the camera device.

[0065] Examples of electrical and electronic circuits are semiconductor elements such as integrated circuits (commonly referred to as "ICs") or large-scale integrated circuits (commonly referred to as "LSIs").

[0066] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0067] 100: Electric razor; 110: Handling part; 111: Power switch; 112: Input button; 120: Head; 121: Shaving part; 122: First outer blade; 123: Second outer blade; 124: Head frame; 125: Head base; 131: Camera device; 133: Base plate; 134: Cover; 140: Notification device; 150: Image processing device; 151: Shape information generation unit; 152: Shaving information generation unit; 153: Result notification unit; 154: Information acquisition unit; 157: Camera control unit; 160: Lighting device; 161: First light source; 162: Second light source.

Claims

1. An electric razor comprising a handle and a head, the handle being for a user to hold, the head having a shaving portion for cutting body hair, the head being connected to one end of the handle, the electric razor comprising: A camera device that captures images of the area near the skin where the shaving head contacts; The lighting device has a first light source and a second light source capable of illuminating the area captured by the camera device with light of different spectra; and An image processing apparatus that processes images acquired from the camera device. in, The image processing device includes: The camera control unit controls the lighting device to make the first light source and the second light source emit light alternately, and controls the camera device to perform shooting in accordance with the timing of the emission of the first light source and the second light source respectively; as well as The morphology information generation unit generates morphology information representing the morphology of body hair based on the images captured by the camera device.

2. The electric shaver according to claim 1, wherein, The image processing device further includes an information acquisition unit, which acquires input information input by the user. The camera control unit controls the lighting device and the camera device to illuminate light of a spectrum corresponding to the input information and to take a picture.

3. The electric shaver according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The lighting device is capable of illuminating light with a spectrum having a maximum peak value in the wavelength region above 620 nm and light with a spectrum having a maximum peak value in the wavelength region below 580 nm.

Images