Skin care device

Abstract

The invention relates to a skin care device comprising: a portable main body (2) which has a skin care surface (4) and a receiving portion (8) outside the skin care surface (4); a holding element (6) which is designed to be positioned on the receiving portion (8) of the main body (2) and thereby bring a portion of a skin care element (12), that is to be positioned at least on a region of the skin care surface (4), into clamping engagement between itself and the receiving portion (8); and locking means (10a, 10b) for detachably securing the holding element (6) to the receiving portion (8) of the main body (2). The distinguishing feature of the invention is that the locking means (10a, 10b) are designed to bring at least sections of the holding element (6) into abutting contact with the receiving portion (8) of the main body (2) by means of magnetic forces.

Description

[0001] skin care device

[0002] The invention relates to a skin care device with a portable base body which has a skin care surface and a receiving section outside the skin care surface, with a holding element which is designed to be arranged on the receiving section of the base body and in doing so to bring a section of a skin care element which is to be arranged on at least one region of the skin care surface into clamping engagement between itself and the receiving section, and with locking means for releasably fastening the holding element to the receiving section of the base body.

[0003] Such a skin care device is known from the prior art, for which reference is made, for example, to EP 2 382 893 A1 or WO 2007 / 015 729 A1. In the prior art, the holding element for fixing a skin care element, which is usually a textile substrate impregnated with a care product, to the skin care surface is brought into mechanical clamping engagement with the receiving section on the base body. For this purpose, the locking means are designed as mechanical locking means and usually have at least one locking projection or a latching nose, which engages in a locking groove or locking opening correspondingly formed in the receiving section of the base body. This type of fastening of the holding element has several disadvantages. Firstly, the holding element is difficult to release against the locking force, which cannot be precisely dimensioned, which already makes handling cumbersome.Secondly, it is generally unavoidable that the skin care element, which is usually designed as a textile substrate and is arranged on the base body, ends up lying between the locking projections on the one hand and the locking openings on the other, thereby hindering the engagement of the locking projections in the locking openings. This leads to complications when detaching the holding element from the receiving section of the base body, as the holding element can only be removed from the base body under difficult conditions, since the additional engagement with the skin care element unintentionally increases the locking forces. To avoid these disadvantages, it would be conceivable to recess the skin care element accordingly at those points where it comes into contact with the locking projections or latching lugs.However, this requires specially manufactured skin care elements on the one hand and complicated handling on the other, since when placing the skin care element it is always important to ensure that the recesses are correctly aligned with the locking projections or latches.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to propose an improved solution for the locking means which avoids the problems mentioned above.

[0005] This object is achieved according to the invention with a skin care device having a portable base body which has a skin care surface and a receiving section outside the skin care surface, with a holding element which is designed to be arranged on the receiving section of the base body and in doing so to bring a section of a skin care element which is to be arranged on at least one region of the skin care surface into clamping engagement between itself and the receiving section, and with locking means for releasably fastening the holding element to the receiving section of the base body, characterized in that the locking means are designed to bring the holding element into contact with the receiving section of the base body, at least in sections, by means of magnetic forces.The special feature of the invention is that the locking means are designed to use magnetic forces to bring the holding element, at least in sections, into contact with the receiving section of the base body. This inventive measure offers several advantages. The magnetic forces can be dimensioned such that, on the one hand, a sufficient attractive force can be achieved for a reliable clamping engagement, and, on the other hand, the holding element can be easily released from the receiving section of the base body without excessive force. Furthermore, the inventive solution offers the possibility of a flat contact of the holding element with the receiving section, avoiding projections, locking lugs, or the like.A further advantage of the flat contact of the holding element with the receiving section is that the skin care element can be easily arranged between the holding element and the receiving section, particularly with an edge section, without compromising the fastening effect of the holding element. Furthermore, the skin care element does not need to be adapted accordingly; any skin care element can be used, in any arrangement and orientation.

[0006] Preferred embodiments and further developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

[0007] Preferably, the holding element is designed to bring into clamping engagement between itself and the receiving section of the base body a substantially planar skin care element which is designed as a flexible, preferably textile-like, substrate suitable for receiving liquid and / or viscous care products.

[0008] The locking means expediently comprise first magnetic means provided on and / or in the holding element and second magnetic means provided on and / or in the receiving section of the base body, wherein the first magnetic means and the second magnetic means are designed and aligned with one another in such a way that an attractive force acting on the first magnetic means and the second magnetic means is generated, wherein in particular (1.) the first magnetic means comprise magnetic material and the second magnetic means comprise magnetizable material or (2.) the first magnetic means comprise magnetizable material and the second magnetic means comprise magnetic material or (3.) both magnetic means each comprise magnetic material.

[0009] For maximum utilization of the skin care surface, it should preferably be adjacent to the receiving section that accommodates the holding element.

[0010] For an optimal use of the skin care area on the one hand and for a particularly effective attachment of the holding element to the receiving section on the other hand, the receiving section on the base body should preferably enclose the skin care area, for which purpose the holding element can in particular be designed and constructed as a surrounding frame to enclose the skin care area when attached to the receiving section of the base body.

[0011] In a further preferred embodiment, the receiving section on the base body forms a recess relative to the skin care surface. The recess serves, in particular, as a type of stop for the holding element, ensuring a substantially fixed alignment and arrangement of the holding element relative to the skin care surface.

[0012] For practical purposes, the receiving section should essentially be designed in the shape of a strip.

[0013] A further embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the base body is provided with means for heating and / or cooling the skin care surface and / or with means for subjecting the base body and in particular the skin care surface to vibrations and / or with means for generating light radiation.

[0014] A preferred embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying figures. They show:

[0015] Fig. 1 is a plan view of a skin care device according to a preferred embodiment with a strip-shaped holding frame arranged on the portable base body; Fig. 2 is a side view of the skin care device of Fig. 1;

[0016] Fig. 3 the skin care device of Fig. 1 in a side view with the holding frame removed;

[0017] Fig. 4 a plan view of the surrounding support frame as an individual view;

[0018] Fig. 5 is the same view as Fig. 2, but additionally with a skin care element attached to the skin care device; and

[0019] Fig. 6 shows in cross section an edge section of the skin care device of Fig. 1.

[0020] Fig. 1 shows a plan view of the skin care device according to a preferred embodiment, comprising a portable base body 2, on one side of which a skin care surface 4 is provided. The base body 2 preferably contains a device for heating and / or cooling the skin care surface 4 and / or a device for subjecting the base body 2 and in particular the skin care surface 4 to vibrations and / or a device for generating light radiation for light therapy, wherein the aforementioned devices are not shown in the figures.

[0021] Furthermore, Fig. 1 shows a holding frame 6 arranged on the base body 2, which in the illustrated embodiment is strip-shaped and encloses the skin care surface 4.

[0022] While Fig. 2 shows the skin care device from Fig. 1 with the holding frame 6 arranged thereon, Fig. 3 shows the skin care device in the same perspective with the holding frame 6 removed and thus reveals a receiving section 8 which is formed on the base body 2 as a recess opposite the skin care surface 4. The receiving section 8 also has a strip shape which is essentially adapted to the strip shape of the holding frame 6 and encloses the skin care surface 4. The circumferential receiving section 8 receives the likewise circumferential holding frame 6, which is thus arranged accordingly on the receiving section 8. In the illustrated embodiment, the circumferential holding frame 6 and the circumferential receiving section 8 are dimensioned such that when arranged on the receiving section 8, the surface of the holding frame 6 is essentially flush with the skin care surface 4, as can be seen in Fig. 2.The recess formed by the receiving section 8 in the illustrated embodiment relative to the skin care surface 4 acts as a stop to align and position the holding frame 6 on the base body 2 without significant tolerances relative to the skin care surface 4. As can also be seen from Figs. 1 to 3, the receiving section 8 runs along the side edge of the base body 2 and thus simultaneously forms a circumferential edge section of the base body 2 and thus also of the skin care device.

[0023] The holding frame 6 can be releasably attached to the receiving section 8 of the base body 2. For this purpose, locking means are provided which have first magnetic elements 10a and second magnetic elements 10b, wherein the first magnetic elements 10a have a magnetic polarity opposite to that of the second magnetic elements 10b. In the illustrated embodiment according to Figs. 4 and 6, the first magnetic elements 10a are arranged within the circumferential holding frame 6, as shown by dashed lines in Fig. 4, while the second magnetic elements 10b are arranged within the base body 2 essentially directly below the receiving section 8, as can be seen in Fig. 6.In the illustrated embodiment, the first magnetic elements 10a and the second magnetic elements 10b are each designed as discrete bodies which are spaced apart from one another, preferably substantially equidistantly, and are positioned such that when the holding frame 6 is arranged on the receiving section 8, a first magnetic element 10a is located adjacent to or at the level of a second magnetic element 10b, as indicated in Fig. 6. The first magnetic elements 10a can comprise magnetic material and the second magnetic elements 10b can comprise magnetizable material, or conversely, the first magnetic elements 10a can comprise magnetizable material and the second magnetic elements 10b can comprise magnetic material, or alternatively, it is also conceivable for the first and second magnetic elements 10a, 10b to each comprise magnetic material.Alternatively, it is also conceivable, for example, to design at least one of the two magnetic elements 10a, 10b as a strip-shaped body that surrounds the holding frame 6 or the receiving section 8. A further alternative possibility could, for example, consist in implementing at least one of the first or second magnetic elements 10a, 10b by inserting or applying magnetic or magnetizable material, optionally either at discrete locations or essentially continuously along the surrounding holding frame 6 or the surrounding receiving section 8 in the form of a strip. As can also be seen from Figs. 5 and 6, the holding frame 6, when releasably attached to the receiving section 8, serves to bring a section of a skin care element 12, which is to be arranged on the skin care surface 4, into clamping engagement between itself and the receiving section 8.The skin care element 12 to be used is preferably a flexible, preferably textile-like, substrate suitable for absorbing liquid and / or viscous care products.

Claims

Claims Skin care device with a portable base body (2) which has a skin care surface (4) and a receiving section (8) outside the skin care surface (4), with a holding element (6) which is designed to be arranged on the receiving section (8) of the base body (2) and in doing so to bring a section of a skin care element (12) to be arranged at least on a region of the skin care surface (4) into clamping engagement between itself and the receiving section (8), and with locking means (10a, 10b) for releasably fastening the holding element (6) to the receiving section (8) of the base body (2), characterized in that the locking means (10a, 10b) are designed to bring the holding element (6) into contact with the receiving section (8) of the base body (2) at least in sections by means of magnetic forces.Skin care device according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding element (6) is designed to bring into clamping engagement between itself and the receiving section (8) of the base body (2) a substantially flat skin care element (12), which is designed as a flexible, preferably textile-like, substrate suitable for receiving liquid and / or viscous care products. Skin care device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the locking means comprise first magnetic means (10a) provided on and / or in the holding element (6) and second magnetic means (10b) provided on and / or in the receiving section (8) of the base body (2), wherein the first magnetic means (10a) and the second magnetic means (10b) are designed and aligned with one another in such a way that an attractive force acting on the first magnetic means (10a) and the second magnetic means (10b) is generated. Skin care device according to claim 3, characterized in that (1.) the first magnet means (10a) comprise magnetic material and the second magnet means (10b) comprise magnetizable material, or (2.) the first magnet means (10a) comprise magnetizable material and the second magnet means (10b) comprise magnetic material, or (3.) both magnet means (10a, 10b) each comprise magnetic material. Skin care device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receiving section (8) adjoins the skin care surface (4). Skin care device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receiving section (8) on the base body (2) encloses the skin care surface (4). Skin care device according to claim 6, characterized in that the holding element (6) is designed as a circumferential frame and is configured to enclose the skin care surface (4) when attached to the receiving section (8) of the base body (2).Skin care device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receiving section (8) on the base body (2) forms a recess relative to the skin care surface (4). Skin care device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receiving section (8) is substantially strip-shaped. Skin care device according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base body (2) is provided with means for heating and / or cooling the skin care surface (4) and / or with means for subjecting the base body (2) and in particular the skin care surface (4) to vibrations and / or with means for generating light radiation.

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