Positioning of light source and carrier in housing of skin treatment device

Abstract

In the field of skin treatment, a type of device 40 is provided having a housing 41 with a skin contact surface 42 configured to contact a user's skin 100. At least one light source 50 is arranged in the housing 41 and generates treatment light that is applied to the skin 100 through a light transmitting portion 43 of the skin contact surface 42, where the light source 50 is attached to a first side 61 of a carrier 60, said first side 61 facing away from the skin contact surface 42, and the housing 41 housing a light reflector 70. Furthermore, at least a portion of the second side 62 of the carrier 60 is attached to the inside of a wall of the housing 41 that includes a portion of the skin contact surface 42 or forms part of the skin contact surface 42.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a skin treatment device having a housing with a skin contact surface configured to contact a user's skin during use of the device, and at least one light source disposed within the housing for generating treatment light that is applied to the skin through a light transmitting portion of the optically transparent skin contact surface.

[0002] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a shaving unit of an electric shaver, which comprises a support member, at least one hair-cutting unit supported on the support member, and at least one skin treatment device as described above.The present invention also relates to an electric shaver having a main body and a shaving unit coupled to the main body. [Background technology]

[0003] Such skin treatment devices are known in the art. For example, WO2022 / 069324A1 discloses a skin heating unit for use in a shaving unit of an electric shaver. The shaving unit further comprises at least one hair-cutting unit and a base member supporting the at least one hair-cutting unit. The hair-cutting unit is of the type having an external cutting member with a hair entry opening in a cutting track surface and an internal cutting member with at least one hair-cutting element and movable relative to the external cutting member. The skin heating unit comprises a skin contact member with a skin contact surface arranged adjacent to the at least one hair-cutting unit to contact the skin during use of the shaving unit, and at least one infrared or near infrared light source integrated into the skin contact member, the light source configured to emit infrared or near infrared light through the optically transparent skin contact surface. The light source is attached to a printed circuit board (PCB) and the assembly of the light source and PCB is embedded in an optically transparent and thermally conductive potting material, where the light source is attached to the side of the PCB facing the skin-contacting surface such that light generated by the light source passes through the potting material directly to the skin-contacting surface. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The reason for equipping a shaving unit with a skin heating unit as known from WO2022 / 069324A1 is found in the fact that exposure of the hair to infrared or near infrared radiation helps to soften the hair. In general, exposing the hair to infrared or near infrared radiation during the shaving operation improves the comfort experienced by the user. Infrared or near infrared radiation can have a beneficial effect on the skin, stimulating the skin and invoking skin lightening. In fact, the skin heating unit functions to obtain an effect called deep light-thermal heating. Deep light-thermal heating differs from conductive thermal heating by a thermal applicator that includes a heating element in conductive thermal contact with the skin, because the penetration depth of light into the skin is relatively high. The skin is heated throughout the penetration depth of light, without depending on the thermal conductivity of both the thermal applicator and the skin. In the skin heating unit known from WO2022 / 069324A1, the light source is thermally coupled to the skin contact surface via said optically transparent and thermally conductive potting material, so that in addition to the deep photo-thermal heating of the skin obtained by infrared or near infrared radiation during operation, the skin is also heated by thermal conduction of the residual heat generated by the light source to the skin. In this respect, it is noted that in general any light source has a limited efficiency in converting electrical power into light power, and part of the electrical power supplied to the light source is converted into thermal energy, so that the light source generates not only light but also residual heat during operation.

[0005] Two major problems in the field of heating the skin through both photo-thermal heating and thermal conduction heating by a device such as that disclosed by WO2022 / 069324A1, which is configured to contact the skin at an optically transparent skin contact surface and emit light, such as infrared or near infrared light, through the skin contact surface during operation, are insufficient optical diffusion of light across the skin contact surface and loss of residual heat generated by at least one light source of the device. As a result of insufficient optical diffusion of light across the skin contact surface, optical hot spots may be created, leading to the user experiencing an unpleasant pain sensation. Loss of residual heat generated by the light source is related to the fact that the light source is located away from the skin contact surface and that part of the generated heat is absorbed by materials present between the light source and the skin contact surface or is conducted to other parts of the device. In view of this, it is an object of the present invention to provide a skin treatment device designed to limit or avoid the creation of optical hot spots during operation and to efficiently conduct residual heat generated by the light source to the skin contact surface to heat the skin during treatment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a skin treatment device comprising: a housing having a skin contact surface configured to contact the skin of a user during use of the device; at least one light source disposed within the housing for generating treatment light that is applied to the skin through a light transmitting portion of the optically transparent skin contacting surface; a carrier having a first side to which a light source is attached, the first side facing away from the skin contact surface; a light reflector contained by the housing and configured to reflect treatment light generated by the at least one light source toward the light-transmitting portion of the skin contact surface; wherein at least a portion of a second side of the carrier opposite the first side of the carrier is i) attached to an inside of a wall of a housing, the wall including a portion of a skin-contacting surface, the portion of the skin-contacting surface being disposed on the outside of the wall opposite the inside of the wall; or ii) Forms part of the skin-contacting surface.

[0007] The present invention relates to the arrangement of a light source and its carrier in the housing of a skin treatment device. From the above definition of the skin treatment device according to the invention, it can be seen that, compared to the case in conventional devices such as the skin heating unit known from WO2022 / 069324A1, the light source is mounted on another side of the carrier, i.e. the side facing away from the skin contact surface (this is called the first side of the carrier), and the light emitted by the light source during operation reaches the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface via reflection at a light reflector. Furthermore, the carrier is configured such that at least a part of the other side of the carrier, called the second side of the carrier, is mounted on the inside of a wall of the housing that includes a part of the skin contact surface, said inside being opposite to the outside of said wall on which said part of said skin contact surface is located, or the carrier is arranged such that said part of the second side of the carrier constitutes a part of the skin contact surface. A practical example of the carrier is a PCB. A practical example of the light source is a light-emitting diode (LED). It would be particularly practical if the light source is configured to generate infrared or near infrared light. Instead of infrared or near infrared, the treatment light can have a wavelength in the visible part of the light spectrum. For example, blue light can be generated to treat acne and red light can be generated to promote wound healing. In such cases, the skin treatment device combines the light therapy with skin heating.

[0008] The fact that the treatment light reaches the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface via reflection by the light reflector contributes to the diffusion of light over the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface, so that the treatment light can be emitted more uniformly over a larger part of the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface than in the situation where the treatment light is emitted directly towards the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface. The invention covers any suitable type of light reflector, which can be configured to reflect the treatment light towards the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface via a specular, a diffusive or a combination of a specular and a diffusive surface. The fact that at least a part of the second side of the carrier is attached to the inside of the wall of the housing containing a part of the skin contact surface or constitutes a part of the skin contact surface contributes to an efficient conduction of the residual heat from the light source to the skin in contact with the skin contact surface. Advantageously, in the first case, the distance between said part of the second side of the carrier and said part of the skin contact surface contained by said wall part of the housing is equal to or slightly larger than the thickness of said wall part of the housing, while in the second case, said distance is zero. For the sake of completeness, it is noted that in the second case, direct contact of said part of the second side of the carrier with the skin being treated is possible. In any case, arranging the carrier in the skin treatment device so that at least a part of the second side of the carrier can be close to the skin contact surface or even be a part of the skin contact surface is facilitated by the fact that the treatment light is made to reach the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface indirectly, i.e., via reflection on a light reflector. In the conventional case where the treatment light is made to reach the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface directly, the distance between the light source and the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface needs to be large, and therefore, in the conventional case, the thermal path between the light source and the skin contact surface is quite long, which leads to a larger loss of the residual heat generated by the light source.

[0009] In general, when the present invention is applied, the light and residual heat generated by the light source is delivered to the skin being treated in the most efficient manner, thus providing at least one of the following advantageous possibilities: the possibility of applying a relatively low-power light source, the possibility of applying a relatively light / small battery to power the light source, and the possibility of utilizing a battery that is charged for a relatively long time before the battery needs to be recharged.

[0010] In a practical embodiment of the skin treatment device according to the invention, the housing has an optically transparent wall which contains said light-transmitting part of the skin-contacting surface. In the context of such an embodiment, either of the following two options can be chosen: 1) the second side of the carrier is attached in direct contact with the inner surface of the optically transparent wall; or 2) A carrier is disposed in the opening in the optically transparent wall, the skin contacting surface comprising a second side of the carrier. According to a first option, the wall of the housing to which the second side of the carrier is attached is optically transparent.

[0011] It is even more practical if the space in the skin treatment device that is present on the skin-facing side of the light reflector and that contains the light source is filled with an optically transparent sealing material, such as silicone curing gel or other epoxy mixture. To ensure that the reflected treatment light that falls on the carrier is optimally recycled and directed to the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface, it is advantageous if the first side of the carrier is coated with a diffuse reflection layer. By designing the skin treatment device such that the heat part of the skin contact surface associated with the second side of the carrier is located adjacent to the light-transmitting part of the skin contact surface, in other words, by designing the skin treatment device such that the light and heat are emitted from the skin contact surface side by side during operation, the treatment of the skin with the light and heat from the light source of the skin treatment device can be optimized.

[0012] As mentioned above, it would be particularly practical if the light source is configured to generate infrared or near infrared light. In this regard, a practical example of a wavelength range of the treatment light is in the range of 900 nm to 1,100 nm. However, infrared or near infrared light is invisible to humans. In such a case, additional visible light can be used to indicate the operating status of the skin treatment device to the user. In this regard, the present invention covers an embodiment of the skin treatment device further comprising at least one indicator element configured to emit visible light through a light-transmitting portion of the skin contact surface when the light source emits treatment light. The indicator element can have any suitable location on the skin treatment device and can have a function of indicating an on / off status of the skin treatment device, and possibly also a more advanced function such as a function of indicating the intensity of the treatment light / heat. The indicator element can, for example, comprise an LED emitting visible light and is attached to a first side of the carrier adjacent to the at least one light source generating infrared or near infrared treatment light.

[0013] A possible application of the present invention is in the field of electric shavers. In view of that, the present invention further relates to a shaving unit of an electric shaver, comprising a support member, at least one hair-cutting unit supported by the support member, and at least one skin treatment device as previously defined and described herein as a skin treatment device according to the present invention. In particular, the hair-cutting unit of the shaving unit is of the type having an external cutting member with a hair entry opening, an internal cutting member covered by the external cutting member and rotatable relative to the external cutting member, and a skin support member surrounding the external cutting member, the skin treatment device being integrated into the skin support member of the hair-cutting unit. If the skin treatment device comprises a plurality of light sources, the light sources being arranged over the skin support member in a configuration at least partially surrounding the external cutting member, optimal use of the available space in the skin support member can be made. If the shaving unit comprises at least two hair-cutting units, it is advantageous if the shaving unit comprises at least one skin treatment device associated with each hair-cutting unit, so that each hair-cutting unit can be combined with at least one skin treatment device.

[0014] The invention also relates to an electric shaver having a main body and a shaving unit coupled to the main body as defined and explained in the preceding paragraphs.

[0015] The present invention covers various manners in which the operation of the skin treatment device is controlled. For example, the skin treatment device may be controlled manually, where the user may switch the skin treatment device on and off as desired, and / or control the light intensity. It is also possible to automatically control the skin treatment device. For example, as mentioned above, when the skin treatment device is used together with a hair cutting unit in a shaving unit, the skin treatment device may be turned on and off together with the hair cutting unit. The present invention covers the use of any suitable user interface, which may be present on an external device such as a smartphone, that allows a user to control the on / off state of the skin treatment device and / or set the light intensity and / or select an automatic mode of operation, etc.

[0016] The above and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from and will be elucidated with reference to the following detailed description of a skin treatment device adapted for use in a shaving unit of an electric shaver. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a perspective view of an electric shaver according to an embodiment of the present invention, the electric shaver having a shaving unit and a body. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the external cutting member, decorative cap and internal cutting member of a hair-cutting unit of a shaving head, with both the external cutting member and the cap shown partially cut away; [Diagram 3] 13A-13D show options for setting up a skin treatment device according to the present invention for use on the skin, which is integrated into a skin support member of a hair-cutting unit; [Figure 4] 13A-13D show options for setting up a skin treatment device according to the present invention for use on the skin, which is integrated into a skin support member of a hair-cutting unit; [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective front view showing an assembly of elements of a shaving unit according to the present invention, the shaving unit having a support member, three hair-cutting units supported by the support member, and a skin treatment device associated with each hair-cutting unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective rear view showing the assembly of elements of a shaving unit according to the present invention, the shaving unit having a support member, three hair-cutting units supported by the support member, and a skin treatment device associated with each hair-cutting unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 shows diagrammatically a cross-sectional representation of a portion of an assembly of one element of a hair-cutting unit of a shaving unit and a skin treatment device associated with the hair-cutting unit. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an assembly of the elements of a shaving unit, the assembly being shown partially cut away; [Figure 9] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view showing only the skin support members and skin treatment devices of the three hair-cutting units of the shaving unit. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of only one skin support member and skin treatment device of a hair-cutting unit of a shaving unit. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 shows a schematic perspective view of only one skin support member and skin treatment device of a hair-cutting unit of a shaving unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the figures, in which equivalent or similar parts are designated with the same reference numbers.

[0019] FIG. 1 shows a rotary electric shaver suitable for use in shaving as a practical example of an electric shaver 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electric shaver 1 comprises a main body 2 and a shaving unit 3, where the main body 2 is designed to enable a user of the shaver 1 to hold and handle the shaver 1, and the shaving head 3 is the part of the electric shaver 1 that is placed on the skin and moved over the skin for hair removal. In this example, the shaving unit 3 comprises three hair-cutting units 4 supported on a support member 5 of the shaving unit 3. When the electric shaver 1 is actually applied to perform a shaving operation, the actual cutting process of the hair protruding from the skin is performed at the position of the hair-cutting units 4. In the context of the present invention, the number of hair-cutting units 4 can be freely selected and does not necessarily have to be three. The main body 2 can have the function of housing at least one electric motor for driving the elements of the individual hair-cutting units 4. The main body 2 can further comprise a means, such as a rechargeable battery, for supplying power to the at least one electric motor. As known per se in the field of electric shavers, it is practical if the shaving unit 3 and the main body 2 are releasably connectable to each other.

[0020] Each hair-cutting unit 4 comprises a combination of an external cutting member 10 and an internal cutting member 20. Furthermore, each hair-cutting unit 4 comprises a skin support member 30 configured to surround the external cutting member 10.

[0021] In the following, the combination of the external cutting member 10 and the internal cutting member 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2. The external cutting member 10 is of a generally cup-shaped design, suitable for at least partially accommodating the internal cutting member 20 therein. The external cutting member 10 has an annular shaving track 11, the upper surface 12 of which is intended to face and contact the skin to be shaved. The shaving track 11 has lamellae 13 extending along the width of the shaving track 11 in a substantially radial direction relative to a central axis 14 of the hair-cutting unit 4, which axis coincides with an axis of rotation 21 about which the internal cutting member 20 is rotatable relative to the external cutting member 10. The openings present between the lamellae 13 constitute hair entry openings 15 of the shaving track 11. The lateral surfaces of the lamellae 13 constitute hair-cutting surfaces 16 suitable for cutting hair in cooperation with the hair-cutting edges 22 of the hair-cutting elements 23 of the internal cutting member 20. The invention also relates to cases where the shaving path 11 does not have lamellae 13 or does not only have lamellae 13, for example where the entire shaving path 11 is provided with tooth-like elements and / or a (circular) hole pattern instead of or in addition to the lamellae 13. The invention also relates to cases where there are multiple shaving paths 11 on the external cutting member 10.

[0022] The shaving action can be performed when the internal cutting member 20 is actuated to rotate and a portion of the skin is actually contacted by the external cutting member 10 at the location of the upper surface 12 of the shaving path 11. The actuation of the internal cutting member 20 can be performed in a known manner by the drive mechanism of the electric shaver 1. When the combination of the external cutting member 10 and the internal cutting member 20 is moved over the portion of the skin while the internal cutting member 20 is actuated to rotate, it is realized that, as a result of the cooperation between the hair-cutting surface 16 of the shaving path 11 of the external cutting member 10 and the hair-cutting edge 22 of the hair-cutting element 23 of the rotating internal cutting member 20, the hair protruding from the portion of the skin is captured in the hair entry opening 15 of the shaving path 11 of the external cutting member 10 and cut at that location.

[0023] Besides the shaving track 11, the external cutting member 10 has a central part 17 including a central bearing designed to be used for rotatably supporting the internal cutting member 20 in the hair-cutting unit 4. The central part 17 of the external cutting member 10 also serves to support a decorative cap 25 arranged to cover a part of the outer surface of the external cutting member 10. In the illustrated example, the central part 17 has a centrally located recess and the cap 25 has a protrusion which is received in the recess.

[0024] As will now be explained in more detail with reference to figures 3 to 11, each of the hair-cutting units 4 is equipped with a skin treatment device 40. Two options for the set-up of the skin treatment device 40 are shown in figures 3 and 4. It is noted that the skin treatment device 40 does not necessarily have to be integrated in the structure of the hair-cutting unit 4 of the shaving unit 3, although this is a practical option. The main elements of the skin treatment device 40 are: a housing 41 having a skin-contacting surface 42 including an optically transparent light-transmitting portion 43; At least one light source 50; A carrier 60 for the light source 50; and an optical reflector 70.

[0025] The skin contact surface 42 serves to contact the skin 100 of a user, it being noted here that in Figures 3 and 4 a portion of the skin 100 is shown diagrammatically and the functional arrangement of the skin treatment device 40 with the skin contact surface 42 abutting the skin 100 can be seen in the figures. During operation of the skin treatment device 40, the light source 50 is in an active state generating treatment light that is applied to the skin 100 via the light transmitting portion 43 of the skin contact surface 42. The light source 50 can be, for example, an LED, in particular an LED configured to emit infrared light, near infrared light, blue light or red light.

[0026] It is practical if the carrier 60 is a PCB. In any case, the light source 50 is attached to a side 61 of the carrier 60 facing away from the skin contact surface 42, which side is referred to as the first side 61 of the carrier 60. Thus, during operation of the skin treatment device 40, the treatment light is not emitted directly towards the light transmitting portion 43 of the skin contact surface 42. Instead, the treatment light reaches the light transmitting portion 43 of the skin contact surface 42 via a light reflector 70, which is located away from the skin contact surface 42 and can have a specular surface, a diffusive surface, or a combination of specular and diffusive surfaces for reflecting the treatment light. In any case, the reflective surface 71 of the light reflector 70 can have any suitable shape, such as a flat shape as shown in Figures 3 and 4, or a curved shape. In Figures 3 and 4, the boundaries of the emitted light and the reflected light are indicated by dotted lines. Optionally, the carrier 60 is coated with a diffuse reflection layer, so that the treatment light falling on the carrier 60 can be optimally recycled and directed towards the skin 100.

[0027] With regard to the carrier 60, it is noted that the light source 50 is attached to a first side 61 of the carrier 60 as described above, and furthermore, at least a part of the opposite side 62 of the carrier 60, referred to as the second side 62 of the carrier 60, is in thermal contact with the skin contact surface 42 through a part of the housing 41, as shown in FIG. 3, or constitutes a part of the skin contact surface 42, as shown in FIG. 4. At the skin interface, it is practical if the housing 41 has an optically transparent wall 44, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is further practical if the space between the light reflector 70 and said optically transparent wall 44 is filled with an optically transparent encapsulant 80. In FIG. 3, a first option is shown for the second side 62 of the carrier 60 to be attached in direct contact with the inner surface 45 of said optically transparent wall 44, while in FIG. 4, a second option is shown in which the carrier 60 is placed in an opening provided in said optically transparent wall 44. Regarding the second option, it is noted that if the carrier 60 is a PCB, in fact the PCB may be of the type that is provided with a finish, such as a metallic finish, or with a suitable coating on the second side 62, so that an attractive overall appearance of the skin-contacting surface 42 can be achieved, even if the second side 62 of the carrier 60 is visible. In both options, two parts can be distinguished on the skin-contacting surface 42: a light-transmitting part 43 and a thermal part 46 located at the second side 62 of the carrier 60. Regarding the first option, it is noted that it is possible to apply an optically transparent wall except for the area located at the second side 62 of the carrier 60.

[0028] Due to the above-mentioned configuration of the skin treatment device 40, a long optical path of the treatment light is created, so that it can be realized that the treatment light can diverge more than in the situation where the treatment light is emitted directly towards the light-transmitting part 43 of the skin contact surface 42. As a result, a larger area of ​​the skin 100 is illuminated, where the light spreads over the light-transmitting part 43 of the skin contact surface 42, and hot spots are avoided. A further advantage of the above-mentioned configuration of the skin treatment device 40 consists in the fact that at least a part, possibly the entire second side 62 of the carrier 60 is in close thermal contact with the skin contact surface 42 via the optically transparent wall 44 or forms a part of the skin contact surface 42, because in connection with this fact, it can be ensured that the thermal path from the light source 50 to the skin 100 is as short as possible. Therefore, based on the configuration of the skin treatment device 40 as described above, the output of the light source 50 is used in an effective and optimal manner to achieve treatment of the skin 100 in terms of the light and heat generated by conductive thermal heating and by other phenomena such as deep photo-thermal heating if the light source is configured to emit infrared or near infrared light. Due to the short thermal path from the light source 50 to the skin 100, the conductive heat transport from the light source 50 to the skin 100 is fast, allowing the user to experience the heating effect on the skin 100 immediately after the start of operation of the skin treatment device 40. Advantageously, the optically transparent wall 44 comprises a material that has good thermal conductivity properties in addition to being optically transparent or moderately scattering, such as sapphire or sintered / annealed alumina.

[0029] The manner of integration of the hair-cutting units 4 of the shaving unit 3, and in particular the skin treatment device 40 in the skin support member 30 of each hair-cutting unit 4, becomes clear by considering figures 5 to 11. In the figures, two metal pins 51, 52 of each skin treatment device 40 can be seen for connecting the skin treatment device 40 to an energy source, such as a battery of the electric shaver 1 of which the shaving unit 3 is part. In the illustrated example, each treatment device 40 has a number of light sources 50 mounted on a common carrier 60, where each light source 50 is an LED and the carrier 60 is a PCB, and a second option is applied in which the carrier 60 is arranged in an opening provided in the optically transparent wall 44, so that when the shaving unit 3 is held against and / or moved over the skin 100, the skin 100 is directly contacted by the second side 62 of the carrier 60. The optically transparent wall 44 is located on the outside of the skin support member 30 and the light reflector 70 is arranged inside the skin support member 30. In each hair-cutting unit 4, the light source 50 and carrier 60 of the skin treatment device 40 are configured to partially surround the external cutting member 10, so that the user can experience the skin treatment from a large-sized area around the area where the shaving action is performed. Due to the shape of the skin support member 30, most of the treatment light is confined inside the skin support member 30 and can escape only in contact situations between the skin contact surface 42 and the skin 100, i.e. situations where escape of the treatment light is expected to achieve the intended skin treatment.

[0030] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that some modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention defined in the appended claims. It is intended that the present invention be construed as including all such modifications and changes insofar as they are within the scope of the claims or their equivalents. Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and description, such illustrations and descriptions are merely explanatory or exemplary and not restrictive. The present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The drawings are schematic, in which details that are not necessary for understanding the present invention may be omitted and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0031] Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the figures, the description, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other steps or elements, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

[0032] Elements and aspects discussed for or in connection with a particular embodiment can be combined with elements and aspects of other embodiments as appropriate, unless otherwise expressly stated. Thus, the mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

[0033] The terms "having" and "including" as used herein will be understood by those skilled in the art to cover the term "consisting of." Thus, the terms "having" or "including" may mean "consisting of" in one embodiment, but may mean "including / having / comprising at least the specified species and, optionally, one or more other species" in another embodiment.

[0034] Notable aspects of the invention can be summarized as follows: In the field of skin treatment, a device 40 is provided, which is of a type having a housing 41 with a skin contact surface 42 configured to contact the skin 100 of a user during use of the device 40. In the device 40, at least one light source 50 is arranged in the housing 41 for generating treatment light to be applied to the skin 100 through a light transmitting portion 43 of the optically transparent skin contact surface 42, where the light source 50 is attached to a first side 61 of a carrier 60, said first side 61 facing away from the skin contact surface 42, and the housing 41 contains a light reflector 70 for reflecting the treatment light generated by the at least one light source 50 towards the light transmitting portion 43 of the skin contact surface 42. Furthermore, at least a part of a second side 62 of the carrier 60 opposite the first side 61 is attached inside a wall of the housing 41 including a part of the skin contact surface 42 or constitutes a part of the skin contact surface 42, whereby a short thermal path from the light source 50 to the skin 100 is realized.

Claims

1. 1. A skin treatment device comprising: a housing having a skin contact surface adapted to contact a user's skin during use of the device; at least one light source disposed within the housing and generating treatment light that is applied to the skin through a light transmitting portion of the optically transparent skin contacting surface; a carrier having a first side to which the light source is attached, the first side facing away from the skin contact surface; a light reflector contained by the housing for reflecting treatment light generated by the at least one light source toward the light transmitting portion of the skin contact surface; At least a portion of a second side of the carrier opposite the first side of the carrier; i) attached to an inside of a wall of the housing, the wall including a portion of the skin-contacting surface, the portion of the skin-contacting surface being disposed on an outside of the wall opposite the inside of the wall; or ii) a skin treatment device forming part of said skin contact surface;

2. The skin treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the housing has an optically transparent wall that includes the light transmissive portion of the skin contacting surface.

3. The skin treatment device of claim 2 , wherein the second side of the carrier is mounted in direct contact with an inner surface of the optically transparent wall.

4. the carrier is disposed in an opening in the optically transparent wall; and The skin treatment device of claim 2 , wherein the skin contacting surface comprises the second side of the carrier.

5. 5. The skin treatment device of claim 1, wherein a space in the skin treatment device on a skin-facing side of the optical reflector and containing the light source is filled with an optically transparent encapsulant material.

6. The skin treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the first side of the carrier is coated with a diffuse reflective layer.

7. 7. The skin treatment device of claim 1, wherein a thermal portion of the skin contacting surface associated with a second side of the carrier is located adjacent to the light transmissive portion of the skin contacting surface.

8. the light source is an LED; and The skin treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the carrier is a printed circuit board.

9. The skin treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the light source generates infrared or near infrared light.

10. 10. The skin treatment device of claim 9, further comprising at least one indicator element that emits visible light through the light transmissive portion of the skin contacting surface when the light source emits the treatment light.

11. A shaving unit for an electric shaver, comprising a support member, at least one hair-cutting unit supported by said support member, and at least one skin treatment device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. the hair-cutting unit comprises an external cutting member having a hair entry opening, an internal cutting member covered by the external cutting member and rotatable relative to the external cutting member, and a skin support member surrounding the external cutting member; The shaving unit of claim 11 , wherein the skin treatment device is integrated into the skin support member of the hair-cutting unit.

13. the skin treatment device having a plurality of light sources; The shaving unit of claim 12 , wherein the light source is positioned across the skin support member in a configuration at least partially surrounding the external cutting member.

14. 14. A shaving unit according to any one of claims 11 to 13, comprising at least two hair-cutting units and at least one skin treatment device associated with each hair-cutting unit.

15. An electric shaver comprising a main body and a shaving unit according to any one of claims 11 to 14 coupled to the main body.

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