Hair removal device

Abstract

The epilation device 5 comprises an epilation body 10 rotatable about a rotation axis R extending in a longitudinal direction L relative to the epilation body 10, an actuation mechanism 30 acting on the epilation body 10 to cause compression and elongation of the epilation body 10 in the longitudinal direction L during the rotational movement of the epilation body 10 about the rotation axis R, and a drive mechanism 20 driving the epilation body 10 and also the actuation mechanism 30. The actuation mechanism 30 is elastically coupled to a drive shaft 21 of the drive mechanism 20, for example via at least one leaf spring 51, which contributes to minimizing friction and noise in the epilation device 5 and can also assist in one of the compression and elongation of the epilation body 10.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a hair removal device having a hair removal body, an operating mechanism, and a drive mechanism. The hair removal body is rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the longitudinal direction with respect to the hair removal body and includes at least one hair capture space. The longitudinal dimension of the at least one hair capture space is variable by compression and extension in the longitudinal direction of the hair removal body. The operating mechanism is configured to act on the hair removal body during the rotational movement of the hair removal body about the rotation axis to cause compression and extension in the longitudinal direction of the hair removal body. The drive mechanism is configured to drive the hair removal body to perform a rotational movement about the rotation axis. The drive mechanism has a rotatable drive shaft coupled to the hair removal body to cause a rotational movement in the hair removal body, and is also configured to drive the operating mechanism so as to cause compression and extension in the longitudinal direction of the hair removal body.

Background Art

[0002] A hair removal device as described above is known from International Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 130385. In the known hair removal device, the operating mechanism includes a force inducing member that is compressible and extensible in the longitudinal direction. The force inducing member is configured to determine the level of the force applied longitudinally to the hair removal body by the operating mechanism when the longitudinal size of the force inducing member is changed while at least one hair capture space of the hair removal body is in a closed state. A specific example of the force inducing member is a spring. As a result of the presence of the force inducing member in the operating mechanism, the hair clamping force is determined not only by the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the hair removal body, but also by the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the force inducing member. This means that a configuration can be obtained in which the design of the hair removal body can be adapted to have an optimal hair capture function of the hair removal body, and the design of the force inducing member can also be adapted to have an optimal hair capture function of the hair removal body. At the same time, it is possible to have a configuration of a hair removal device that can be manufactured within acceptable and realistic manufacturing tolerances while the force by the force inducing member can clamp the hair and pull it out from the skin and stay within a range where the hair is not cut by excessive force.

[0003] The operating mechanism of a hair removal device known from International Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 130385 has, in one embodiment, two operating members that are both movable longitudinally. The first of these operating members is closer to the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction than the second of these operating members, and the force inducing member is located at a position where it connects the operating members to each other. Further, each of the operating members is bush-shaped and is located at a position surrounding a part of the drive shaft. In order to enable the transmission of torque from the drive shaft to each of the operating members and at the same time enable the longitudinal movement of the operating members, each of the operating members is provided with a longitudinally extending groove, and the drive shaft is provided with each protruding pin that is received in the corresponding groove.

[0004] The hair removal device known from International Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 130385 functions well to achieve the intended hair removal function, but there is room for improvement in the design of the hair removal device. The use of the combination of the groove and the pin described above is accompanied by the generation of frictional force and noise, and the combination of the groove and the pin is prone to wear. The object of the present invention is to provide a new type of hair removal device in which the disadvantages caused by the use of the combination of the groove and the pin are avoided or at least reduced.

[0005] Another document known from International Patent Application Publication No. WO94 / 14355 discloses a rotary hair removal device having an exposed hair removal head that protrudes from a hand-held housing and is adapted by a cylindrical helically wound strip attached to a rotating shaft, and is configured to open and close a plurality of annular gaps during rotation to capture and pull out skin hairs.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a new type of hair removal device in which the disadvantages caused by the use of the combination of the groove and the pin are avoided or at least reduced.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The present invention relates to - a hair removal body rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the longitudinal direction with respect to itself, comprising at least one hair capture space, wherein the dimension of at least one hair capture space in the longitudinal direction is variable via compression and extension of the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction; - an operating mechanism configured to act on the hair removal body to cause compression and extension of the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction during the rotational movement of the hair removal body about the rotation axis; - a drive mechanism configured to drive the hair removal body to perform a rotational movement about the rotation axis, having a rotatable drive shaft coupled to the hair removal body to impart a rotational movement to the hair removal body, and the operating mechanism is also configured to drive so as to cause compression and extension of the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction; - a connection device configured to elastically connect the operating mechanism to the drive shaft; and provides a hair removal device having the same.

[0008] According to the present invention, the torque transmission from the drive shaft to the operating mechanism is performed via a connection having elastic characteristics between the drive shaft and the operating mechanism while enabling a relative longitudinal movement necessary to cause compression and extension of the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction. Compared with the known groove / pin connection, the elastic connection is almost free of any friction and can even be called frictionless, has low noise characteristics and is hardly subject to wear. This is because while not requiring components with a slide configuration, the elastic connection can be designed to maintain the required torque transmission and freedom of longitudinal movement. In an actual embodiment, the connection device may be such as to have at least one elastic member. For example, it is practical for the connection device to have at least one bellows or at least one leaf spring.

[0009] It may be particularly advantageous if the connecting device has a spring device including two leaf springs connected together in a rectangular shape. This configuration can increase the robustness of the elastic connection and avoid the influence of excessive bending and tilting in the elastic connection without the need for other motion limiting measures such as stoppers (stop parts).

[0010] In the basic design of the elastic connection, at least one leaf spring directly fixed to both the operating mechanism and the drive shaft is applied. In that case, torque transmission can be achieved with minimal loss.

[0011] In the context of the present invention, when the connecting device includes at least one leaf spring, many designs of the at least one leaf spring are possible. According to practical possibilities, the at least one leaf spring is arranged to surround a part of the drive shaft or a part of the components of the operating mechanism. In that case, it is particularly advantageous if the at least one leaf spring is formed in a disc shape having a circular outer periphery. In that case, further, the at least one leaf spring is provided with a central hole to enable the components of the drive shaft or the operating mechanism to pass through, and slots to have appropriate elasticity / flexibility in consideration of the torque transmission to be achieved and other possible requirements associated with the intended operation of the depilation device.

[0012] In the actual case where the connecting device includes at least one elastic member, there is a possibility that the connecting device further includes at least one non-elastic connecting member. However, as described above, it would be practical to use at least one leaf spring directly fixed to both the operating mechanism and the drive shaft. When at least one leaf spring is used and the at least one leaf spring is formed in a disc shape having a circular outer periphery, it may be practical to use a kind of non-elastic connecting member having at least two legs. In that case, the ends of each leg are connected to the leaf spring at the position of the outer peripheral region of the leaf spring.

[0013] The arrangement of the hair removal body in the hair removal device can be such that one end of the hair removal body is a fixed end having a fixed position in the longitudinal direction and, preferably, also in the direction around the rotation axis, while the other end of the hair removal body is a movable end having a variable position in the longitudinal direction. In that case, the operating mechanism is configured to act on the hair removal body on the side of the movable end of the hair removal body. At least one hair capture space of the hair removal body is closed, and when the operating mechanism acts on the hair removal body to apply a force in a direction related to the compression of the hair removal body, the hair removal body is fixed in a fixed position and the hair clamping force is effectively increased. Further, by having a fixed portion of the hair removal body, it becomes easy to position the hair removal body with respect to the skin to be subjected to the hair removal operation.

[0014] In the context of the present invention, it is possible to realize a link between the function of causing compression and extension in the longitudinal direction of the hair removal body and the function of mechanically rotating the hair removal body. For example, it may be advantageous if the hair removal device has a motion imparting device including a cam and a cam follower, in which case one of the cam and the cam follower has a fixed position in the hair removal device and the other of the cam and the cam follower is integrated or fixed to one of the operating mechanism and the connecting device. In such a configuration, the longitudinal movement of at least one component of the operating mechanism is automatically induced in a predetermined manner according to the design of the cam and the cam follower when the drive shaft rotates. The design of the motion imparting device can be selected to achieve a speed at which at least one hair capture space of the hair removal body is closed (the speed is high enough to achieve good hair capture results and thus good hair removal results and low enough not to cause a large (peak) force in the hair removal device).

[0015] The above-described link between the function of causing compression and extension in the longitudinal direction of the hair removal body and the function of rotating the hair removal body can be fixed or adjustable. In the latter case, the motion imparting device may include a suitable actuator and a mechanism that allows the user of the hair removal device to adjust the moment at which at least one hair capture space of the hair removal body is opened and closed during the rotation of the hair removal body.

[0016] According to what is known from International Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 130385, it is advantageous that the actuating mechanism includes a force-inducing member that is longitudinally compressible and extensible and is configured to determine the level of the force exerted longitudinally on the depilation body by the actuating mechanism when the longitudinal dimension of the force-inducing member changes while at least one hair capture space of the depilation body is in a closed state.

[0017] As described above, by having the force induction member in the operating mechanism, the hair clamping force is determined not only by the force-displacement characteristics of the compression and extension of the depilation body but also by the force-displacement characteristics of the compression and extension of the force induction member. As a result, the design of the depilation body can be adapted to have the optimal hair capturing function of the depilation body, and a configuration can be obtained in which the design of the force induction member can also be adapted to have the optimal hair clamping function of the depilation body. That fact provides the possibility of making the hair clamping force in the depilation body mainly determined by the force induction member of the operating mechanism, and thus the hair clamping force is substantially not affected by the amount of hair captured in the depilation body. In the conventional case where the hair clamping force is determined by the configuration of the depilation body itself, the hair clamping force increases with the number of hairs in the depilation body. Such an effect can be offset when the operating mechanism includes a force induction member. This is because in that case, there is no longer a need for the hair clamping force to be directly determined by the position where the hair exists within the depilation body. Instead, it is possible to use the force induction member to determine the level of the force exerted longitudinally on the depilation body by the operating mechanism when the longitudinal dimension of the force induction member changes while at least one hair capturing space of the depilation body is in a closed state, and this force generates the hair clamping force under the above-described conditions. Further, when the force induction member of the operating mechanism is relied upon to set the level of the hair clamping force in the depilation body, surely, the variation in the dimensions of the depilation body due to the tolerance is compensated, and as a result, a predetermined level of the hair clamping force is always actually achieved. Thus, according to the present invention, when the depilation device is mass-produced, the consistency of performance is improved. The design of the force induction member can be adapted to have a sufficient tolerance spread for the parts to be manufactured by known proven manufacturing techniques.

[0018] In the context of this specification, the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension should be understood as the characteristics of an object that indicate the relationship between the level of force generated on the object and the level of displacement of the object in the form of elongation or compression of the object, or conversely, as the characteristics of an object that indicate the level of force to be exerted on the object to generate a specific displacement of the object in the form of elongation or compression of the object. The force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of an object are also called the rigidity of the object when the object is of a type having elastic / elastic / flexible characteristics.

[0019] The advantageous effect that the hair clamping force is mainly determined by the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the optional force-inducing member rather than the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the hair removal body is particularly obtained when the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the force-inducing member are significantly stronger than the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the hair removal body. The fact is that in such a case, when the operating mechanism acts to compress the hair removal body, this is done substantially without force until at least one hair capture space of the hair removal body is closed. After that point, the level of the longitudinally acting force at the position of the hair removal body is determined by the force-inducing member based on the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the force-inducing member, and in that case, the influence of the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the hair removal body on the level of the above force is extremely small. This affects the longitudinally acting force on the hair removal body, thereby affecting the possibility of grasping the hair so that the hair does not slip out of at least one hair capture space. It should be noted that stronger force-displacement characteristics mean force-displacement characteristics that relate a larger force to the same displacement.

[0020] Another notable advantage of applying a force - inducing member to the operating mechanism of the hair removal device is that it includes the possibility of adapting the operation of the hair removal device to the actual situation. For example, when there is grease on the skin, it is desirable to increase the hair clamping force to compensate for the decrease in frictional force that occurs in such a case. In the context of the present invention, this can be achieved when the force - inducing member is of a type having adjustable force - displacement characteristics in longitudinal compression and elongation. Thus, it is practical to equip the operating mechanism with a force - inducing member of such a type. Referring to an example where it is necessary to increase the hair clamping force, this involves adjusting the force - displacement characteristics of compression and elongation such that a specific displacement is accompanied by a higher level of force.

[0021] The force - inducing member can be of any suitable type. First, it should be noted that the force - inducing member can be a passive type of force - inducing member and can be of a type generally referred to as elastic, stretchable and / or flexible. In that case, the force - inducing member can have components of an elastic / stretchable material such as rubber, for example, or a spring. Regarding the option of a force - inducing member having a spring, the spring can be of any suitable type, such as a normally - closed or normally - open coil spring, and the option of adjusting the force - displacement characteristics of compression and elongation of the force - inducing member can include the hair removal device having an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust the spring constant of the spring. According to another advantageous option, the hair removal device can have an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust the pre - tension of the spring. Second, the force - inducing member can be an active type of force - inducing member designed to perform a force - guiding function in an activated and energy - imparted state and can have, for example, a solenoid.

[0022] In a practical embodiment of the hair removal device according to the present invention, the actuating mechanism comprises two actuating members that are both movable longitudinally, and the first of these actuating members is located closer to the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction than the second of these actuating members, in which case the force-inducing member is located at a position where it couples these actuating members to each other. In such a configuration, the first actuating member can be arranged to be in direct contact with the hair removal body. Also, these actuating members are preferably more rigid than the force-inducing member, in which case the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the combination of the actuating member and the force-inducing member are determined by the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the force-inducing member. Further, when the actuating mechanism comprises two actuating members as described above, it can be practical if each of these actuating members is bush-shaped and is located at a position surrounding a part of the drive shaft. Inducing two different movements of the hair removal body, namely rotational movement and longitudinal compression / extension movement, by separate components contributes to the overall accuracy of the hair removal device.

[0023] The hair removal body can be of any suitable design. Practical examples are a linear arrangement of a linear coil spring and a disk. The longitudinal dimension of the hair removal body can be freely selected, as can the number of hair capture spaces. In an exemplary case of a coil spring, the number of turns can be selected to be 2 or any suitable greater number in any case. If the hair removal device is intended to be used as a facial hair removal device, a small number of turns can be practical. In particular, in such a case, it is desirable to prevent, as much as possible, obstruction of the field of view by the hair removal body, since it can be appropriate for the hair removal device to be able to remove only one hair at a time or not many more hairs. Further, in the example of a coil spring, the wire of the spring can normally have a circular cross-section, but it is also possible to have other cross-sections such as a square or rectangular cross-section in order to increase the range of lengths of hairs to be captured by the hair removal body. The present invention covers both the option of a normally-open coil spring where the actuating mechanism acts to actively compress the coil spring, and the option of a normally-closed coil spring where the actuating mechanism acts to actively extend the coil spring.

[0024] When the actuating mechanism has two actuating members and the force inducing member has a coil spring, it is practical for the coil spring to extend longitudinally between the support surfaces of the actuating members. The longitudinal force transmission may be effected via the end points of the first and last coils of the coil spring, but this leads to off-center forces, so it is advantageous for the support surfaces of the actuating members to be oriented (tilted) according to the pitch angle of the coil spring with respect to the longitudinal direction. When this measure is applied, it is further advantageous for the depilation device to include a rotation limiting mechanism configured to limit the rotation of the actuating members relative to each other in the direction around the axis of rotation. In this way, it is avoided that the support surfaces of the actuating members can be rotated relative to each other to a noticeable extent (which, otherwise, assuming a design of a depilation device in which at least one of the actuating members is accessible from outside the depilation device, can be effected by the user of the depilation device grasping and holding at least one of the actuating members). The fact is that as a result of the support surfaces of the actuating members being oriented according to the pitch angle of the coil spring with respect to the longitudinal direction, the rotation of the support surfaces relative to each other can lead to a relative displacement of the support surfaces, and thus to a disturbance of the longitudinal setting of the depilation device and the longitudinal forces associated therewith (including the hair clamping force). Also, the longitudinal dimension of at least one hair capture space can be reduced, which is associated with a reduced possibility of capturing the hair to be pulled out of the skin.

[0025] In a practical embodiment, the rotation limiting mechanism has at least one of a stop surface in the connecting device and a stop surface in the actuating member. In order not to cause friction during normal operation, it is advantageous for the rotation limiting mechanism to be designed such that the stop surfaces do not contact each other during normal operation. This is achieved by designing the rotation limiting mechanism such that there is a space between the stop surface of the actuating member and the stop surface of the connecting device, which are arranged such that they can be moved towards and away from each other in the direction around the axis of rotation in the default / rest position of the rotation limiting mechanism.

[0026] The concept that the support surface of the actuating member is oriented according to the pitch angle of the coil spring with respect to the longitudinal direction can be implemented independently of the concept that the hair removal device is provided with a connecting device configured to elastically connect the actuating mechanism to the drive shaft. In view of this, the present invention relates to a hair removal body that is rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the longitudinal direction with respect to the hair removal body and is provided with at least one hair capture space, wherein the longitudinal dimension of the at least one hair capture space is variable via compression and extension in the longitudinal direction of the hair removal body, and an actuating mechanism configured to act on the hair removal body to cause compression and extension in the longitudinal direction of the hair removal body during the rotational movement of the hair removal body about the rotation axis. The actuating mechanism includes a force-inducing member that is compressible and extensible in the longitudinal direction, and is configured to determine the level of the force exerted on the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction by the actuating mechanism when the longitudinal dimension of the force-inducing member changes while at least one hair capture space of the hair removal body is in a closed state. The actuating mechanism has two actuating members that are both movable in the longitudinal direction, and the first actuating member is located closer to the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction than the second actuating member. The force-inducing member is located at a position where it connects the actuating members to each other. The force-inducing member includes a coil spring, and the coil spring extends longitudinally between the support surfaces of the actuating members. The support surfaces of these actuating members are oriented according to the pitch angle of the coil spring with respect to the longitudinal direction. In particular, the above option including a rotation limiting mechanism is equally applicable to the hair removal device according to this definition.

[0027] The above and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of various embodiments of a hair removal device including a hair removal body and an actuating mechanism configured to act on the hair removal body during operation of the hair removal device to continuously open and close the hair capture space of the hair removal body, and will be elucidated with reference to such description.

[0028] Aspects of the present invention and related background art will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which equal or similar parts are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] Figure 1 shows an example of a hair removal device 1 known from International Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 130385. The hair removal device 1 according to this example is a handheld device including a housing 100 for accommodating many components of the device. The housing 100 is schematically shown as a dotted rectangle in Figure 1. The hair removal device 1 may be intended for use, for example, as a facial hair removal device 1.

[0031] The hair removal device 1 is configured to be used for the purpose of performing a hair removal operation on the skin. In view of this, the hair removal device 1 includes a hair removal body 10 intended to actually interact with the hair to be pulled out from the skin. At least one hair capture space 11 is provided in the hair removal body 10 for the purpose of capturing and clamping (fixing) the hair. The hair removal body 10 is designed to be compressible and extensible in the longitudinal direction L and may have, for example, a coil spring. The longitudinal direction L is indicated by a double-headed arrow in Figure 1. Further, the hair removal body 10 is rotatable about a rotation axis R extending in the longitudinal direction L within the hair removal device 1.

[0032] The hair removal device 1 includes, in addition to the hair removal body 10, a drive mechanism 20 which is configured to actually drive the hair removal body to perform a rotational movement about the rotation axis R during the operation of the hair removal device 1. In the illustrated example, the drive mechanism 20 includes a drive shaft 21 which is also rotatable about the rotation axis R and an electric motor 22 for driving the drive shaft 21, while the hair removal body 10 is arranged at a position of an end of the drive shaft 21 on the drive shaft 21 such that when the drive shaft 21 is driven by the electric motor 22, the hair removal body 20 rotates together with the drive shaft 21.

[0033] Furthermore, the hair removal device 1 includes an operating mechanism 30 configured to act on the hair removal main body 10 to change the dimension in the longitudinal direction L of the hair removal main body 10 during the rotational movement of the hair removal main body 10 around the rotation axis R. In the illustrated example, one end of the hair removal main body 10 is fixedly connected to the drive shaft 21 and thus has a fixed position in the longitudinal direction L. In this configuration, the drive mechanism 30 is arranged to interact with the other end of the hair removal main body 10 for the purpose of displacing the other end of the hair removal main body 10 in the longitudinal direction L relative to the drive shaft 21. Hereinafter, the first-mentioned end of the hair removal main body 10 will be referred to as the fixed end of the hair removal main body 10, and the other end of the hair removal main body 10 will be referred to as the movable end of the hair removal main body 10.

[0034] The operating mechanism 30 includes a first operating member 31 having a bush-like shape extending in the longitudinal direction L and arranged to surround a portion adjacent to the end of the drive shaft 21 that supports the hair removal main body 10. In this case, the first operating member 31 is slidable in the longitudinal direction L on the drive shaft 21 and is arranged to contact the movable end of the hair removal main body 10. Further, the operating mechanism 30 includes a second operating member 32 having a bush-like shape extending in the longitudinal direction L and arranged to surround a portion further away from the hair removal main body 10 in the longitudinal direction L than the portion surrounded by the first operating member 31 on the drive shaft 21. In this case, the second operating member 32 is also slidably arranged in the longitudinal direction L on the drive shaft 21. Furthermore, the operating mechanism 30 has a force inducing member 33 located at a position connecting the operating members 31, 32 to each other, that is, at a position between the operating members 31, 32 in the longitudinal direction L. In the illustrated example, the force inducing member 33 has a coil spring arranged to surround the drive shaft 21, and the coil spring can be a normally closed coil spring or a normally open coil spring. The force inducing member 33 is covered by a cylindrical cover 34 that surrounds the force inducing member 33 and also overlaps with the ends of the drive members 31, 32, and the cylindrical cover 34 is connected to the second operating member 32.

[0035] This description is equally applicable when the force inducing member 33 does not have a coil spring, but has other components or combinations of components designed to be compressible and extensible in the longitudinal direction L. The actuating members 31, 32 and the force inducing member 33 can be provided as three separate components joined together, but this does not change the fact that other options are equally possible, such as an option where the actuating members 31, 32 and the force inducing member 33 are part of a single integral whole having different zones. In this option, the intermediate zone can have compression and extension force-displacement characteristics different from those of the other two zones on each side of the intermediate zone, or there can be only two zones of different flexibility. In the latter case, the first actuating member 31 is flexible while the second actuating member 32 is (more) rigid, and in that case it is particularly practical for the actuating members 31, 32 to be connected and for the force inducing member 33 to be integrated, so to speak, within the first actuating member 31.

[0036] Within the hair removal device 1, there is a motion imparting device 40 including a cam 41 and a cam follower 42 at a position of the other end of the second actuating member 32 different from the end related to the force inducing member 33. The motion imparting device 40 is configured to impart a longitudinal L motion to the second actuating member 32 when the drive shaft 21 rotates. For this purpose, one of the cam 41 and the cam follower 42 has a fixed position within the hair removal device 1, and the other of the cam 41 and the cam follower 42 is attached to the second actuating member 32. In the illustrated example, the cam follower 42 has a fixed position within the hair removal device 1 while the cam 41 is attached to the second actuating member 32. FIG. 1 also shows the application of locking portions 23, 24 on the drive shaft 21 for limiting the positions of the first actuating member 31 and the second actuating member 32 in the longitudinal direction L respectively. The locking portions 23, 24 are protruding pins housed in corresponding longitudinal grooves of the actuating members 31, 32. In this way, the locking portions 23, 24 function to enable the transmission of torque from the drive shaft 21 to each of the actuating members 31, 32 while also enabling the longitudinal L motion of the actuating members 31, 32.

[0037] The length of the hair removal body 10 can be freely selected according to the intended use of the hair removal device 1. When the hair removal body 10 has a coil spring, the number of turns of the coil spring can be freely selected, and the shape of the cross-section of the wire of the spring can also be freely selected. Furthermore, the material of the hair removal body 10 can be a processed material (a material subjected to processing such as mechanical processing, chemical processing, or heat treatment), so as to have a defined / improved grip force (holding force) of the hair removal body 10 against the hair. The hair removal body 10 can be rotationally symmetric so as to be effective at any position with respect to the skin on which the hair removal device 1 is to receive the hair removal effect. The drive shaft 21 can be connected directly to the electric motor 22 or via, for example, a suitable gearbox system.

[0038] Referring to the above description of the design aspect of the hair removal device 1, next, an explanation will be given of how the various components of the hair removal device 1 function so that the hair removal device 1 can perform the hair removal operation during its operation. The operation of the hair removal device 1 involves the operation of the electric motor 22, as a result of which the drive shaft 21 is driven to rotate around the rotation axis R. The rotational movement of the drive shaft 21 causes both the rotational movement of the hair removal body 10 around the rotation axis R and the periodic change in the dimension of the hair removal body 10 in the longitudinal direction L. The rotational movement of the hair removal body 10 around the rotation axis R directly results from the arrangement of the hair removal body 10 on the drive shaft 21. The process of alternately causing compression and extension of the hair removal body 10 in the longitudinal direction L results from the fact that the motion imparting device 40 defines the position of the second actuating member 32 in the longitudinal direction L. That fact is that as the drive shaft 21 rotates around the rotation axis R, the position of the cam 41 of the motion imparting device 40 in the longitudinal direction L is changed under the influence of the contact with the cam follower 42, and thus the position of the second actuating member 32 in the longitudinal direction L is also changed.

[0039] Unless at least one hair capturing space 11 of the hair removal body 10 is in a closed state, a change in the position of the second actuating member 32 causes a similar change in the position of the first actuating member 31 via the force inducing member 33. Based on the fact that the first actuating member 31 acts on the hair removal body 10, the rotation of the drive shaft 21 around the rotation axis R ultimately causes a change in the position of the movable end of the hair removal body 10 in the longitudinal direction L in addition to the rotation of the hair removal body 10 around the rotation axis R. The movement path followed by the movable end of the hair removal body 10 in this process is determined by the design of the motion imparting device 40 and is thus determined by the relationship between the number of times the hair removal body 10 is compressed and extended per rotation. When the at least one hair capturing space 11 of the hair removal body 10 is closed, changes in the position of the movable end of the hair removal body 10 and the position of the first actuating member 31 are no longer permitted, and the second actuating member 32 will move in the longitudinal direction L relative to the first actuating member 31, but this relative movement is permitted by the presence of the force inducing member 33 in the actuating mechanism 30. In this process, the force exerted on the hair removal body 10 in the longitudinal direction L by the actuating mechanism 30 is determined by the configuration of the force inducing member 33, particularly the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the force inducing member 33, and this force determines the hair clamping force at the position of the hair capturing space 11.

[0040] As a result of the cycle of compressing and stretching the hair removal body 10 in the longitudinal direction L, the size of at least one hair capture space 11 in the hair removal body 10 is alternately reduced and increased in the longitudinal direction L, and the hair capture space 11 is alternately changed between the above-described closed state and open state. When the hair removal body 10 is held at a position close to the skin from which the hair protrudes, these hairs are captured within the hair capture space 11 during the period when the state of the hair capture space 11 changes from the open state to the closed position. When the hair capture space 11 is in the closed position, the above hairs are fixed within the hair capture space 11 under the influence of a clamping force acting on these hairs in the longitudinal direction L. Assuming that the hair clamping force is greater than the holding force exerted on the hair at the position of the skin, these hairs are pulled out from the skin as a result of the rotational movement of the hair removal body 10. Based on the presence of the force inducing member 33 in the operating mechanism 30 of the hair removal device 1, it is possible to obtain an accurately defined hair clamping force in all situations, while compensating for the manufacturing tolerances of the hair removal body 10, and the design of the hair removal body 10 can also be selected to achieve optimal hair capture.

[0041] The manner of compensating for the manufacturing tolerances of the hair removal body 10 is advantageous for the following reasons. If there is no force inducing member 33 in the hair removal device 1, it may happen that, even if the hair capture space 11 has already reached the closed position, the motion imparting device 40 still acts to shift at least one hair capture space 11 to the closed position. In that case, the force acting on the hair removal device 1 increases to an unexpectedly high level, or it may happen that, although the hair capture space 11 has not yet been completely closed, the motion imparting device 40 has already reached the maximum position for compressing the hair removal body 10. In that case, the hair removal body 10 cannot effectively perform the hair removal function.

[0042] Aspects that enable having an accurately defined hair clamping force under all circumstances are obtained, in particular, when the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the force-inducing member 33 are significantly stronger than those of the compression and extension of the hair removal body 10. In fact, in the illustrated example, if the hair removal body 10 has force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension such that it can push back the components of the operating mechanism 30, it is sufficient when the motion-imparting arrangement 40 provides space for this.

[0043] An advantageous option associated with the hair removal device 1 is the option to adjust the force-inducing member 33, that is, the option to adjust the force-displacement characteristics of compression and extension of the force-inducing member 33. Such an option enables the hair removal device 1 to have different modes, and an appropriate one of these modes can be set according to environmental conditions such as skin dirt due to grease. Also, it becomes possible to set the pre-tension of the force-inducing member 33 to an appropriate value.

[0044] Notable aspects of the hair removal device 1 known from International Patent Application Publication No. WO 2021 / 130385 are summarized below. The hair removal device 1 has a hair removal body 10, which is rotatable about a rotation axis R extending in the longitudinal direction L with respect to the hair removal body 10 and includes at least one hair capture space 11. The hair removal device 1 further has an operating mechanism 30, which acts on the hair removal body 10 to cause compression and extension in the longitudinal direction L of the hair removal body 10 during the rotational movement of the hair removal body 10 about the rotation axis R, so as to change the dimension in the longitudinal direction L of at least one hair capture space 11 of the hair removal body 10. The operating mechanism 30 is compressible and extensible in the longitudinal direction L and includes a force-inducing member 31 having a function of determining the level of the hair clamping force in the hair removal body 10.

[0045] In the above description, it has been explained that it is possible to mechanically realize the interlocking between the function of compressing and expanding the hair removal body 10 in the longitudinal direction L and the function of rotating the hair removal body 10. Regarding this point, in the above-described known case where the hair removal device 1 includes a rotatable drive shaft 21 coupled to the hair removal body 10 and bush-shaped actuating members 31, 32 surrounding the corresponding portion of the drive shaft 21, it has been shown that it may be beneficial when the hair removal device 1 includes a motion imparting device 40 including a cam 41 and a cam follower 42, one of the cam 41 and the cam follower 42 has a fixed position within the hair removal device 1, and the other of the cam 41 and the cam follower 42 is attached to the second actuating member 32. Further, in such a configuration, it has been shown that as the drive shaft 21 rotates, the longitudinal direction L motion of the actuating members 31, 32 is automatically induced in a predetermined manner according to the design of the cam 41 and the cam follower 42.

[0046] The first other concept relates to possible details of the motion-imparting device 40 including the cam 41 and the cam follower 42. Generally speaking, using such a device 40 without any further measures has drawbacks. The fact is that the overall structure includes several components each having its own tolerance. The combination of the height tolerance of the cam 41 and the length tolerances of the actuating members 31, 32 results in a mechanical cam drive principle being used to induce the reciprocating motion of the actuating members 31, 32, while at the same time having a rotational motion of the actuating members 31, 32, which causes more or less travel from the open state to the closed state at the position of the depilation body 10. Also, when at least one hair-catching space 11 of the depilation body 10 is in the closed state, a greater or smaller force on the depilation body 10 is brought about. Assuming that the depilation body 10 has a coil spring, if the force is too strong, the coils of the spring will "cut" before attempting to pull out the hair. If the force is too weak, there is not enough friction between the coils of the spring and the hair to effectively pull the hair out of the skin. The concept embodied in the depilation device 1 known from International Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 130385 includes force control solution means in the form of a force-inducing member 33 arranged between the first actuating member 31 and the second actuating member 32. Here, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, the details of a practical alternative to using a coil spring as the force-inducing member 33 will be described.

[0047] Figures 2 to 6 relate to the hair removal device 2 according to the first alternative embodiment. In this embodiment, the force inducing member 33 includes a leaf spring 51, while the operating mechanism 30 includes a pressing bush 35 extending from the leaf spring 51 to the hair removal body 10. In FIG. 2, it can be seen that the motion imparting device 40 in the form of a cam drive system is coupled to the hair removal body 10 via the leaf spring 51 and imparts the force required to grasp without cutting the hair. An additional function of the leaf spring 51 is to enable the rotation of the pressing bush 35 associated with the drive shaft 21. Thus, the leaf spring 51 can be regarded as part of a connecting device 50 configured to elastically couple the operating mechanism 30 to the drive shaft 21. This additional function of the leaf spring 51 can also be realized in other ways. For this purpose, the drive shaft 21 has a flat concave planar portion 25 along at least a certain length surrounded by the leaf spring 51, as seen in FIG. 3.

[0048] Figure 2 shows that the leaf spring 51 is disposed so as to surround a part of the drive shaft 21 at a position between the cam drive system 40 and the pressing bush 35 in the longitudinal direction L. Figure 3 shows the leaf spring 51 as viewed in the longitudinal direction L and further shows a cross section of the drive shaft 21 extending through the central hole of the leaf spring 51. Generally speaking, the leaf spring 51 is formed in a disk shape having a circular outer periphery and provided with appropriate slots and holes. In the illustrated example, the leaf spring 51 contacts the flat concave planar portion 25 of the drive shaft 21 and has two tabs 52, 53 that enable transmission of torque from the drive shaft 21 to the leaf spring 51. Further, in the illustrated example, the leaf spring 51 includes two relatively thin arms 54, 55 that function to connect the central portion 56 of the leaf spring 51, i.e., the portion including the central hole and the tabs 52, 53, to the outer ring 57 of the leaf spring 51. At the position of the outer ring 57, the leaf spring 51 is provided with holes 58. Some of these holes 58 are for receiving screws or the like for interconnecting the leaf spring 51 and the pressing bush 35 and enabling transmission of torque from the leaf spring 51 to the pressing bush 35. In the figure shown in Figure 3, based on the structure of the arms 54, 55, particularly to avoid buckling of the arms 54, 55, the intended direction of rotation is counterclockwise.

[0049] The function of applying the required hair clamping force to the hair removal body 10 is achieved by an additional part screwed to the leaf spring 51 at the position of another number of holes 58 located on the outer ring 57 of the leaf spring 51. This part is shown in Fig. 4 and is a wheel holder 43 which is part of the cam follower 42 and is configured to hold a wheel 44 which is also part of the cam follower 42 and is configured to roll on the cam 41. During the assembly of the hair removal device 2, a slight pre-tension is applied to the leaf spring 51. As a result of the application of the leaf spring 51, the force acting on the hair removal body 10 and the rest of the system does not remain linear during the compression of the hair removal body 10. The fact is that when the system is in the position of applying the hair clamping force to the hair removal body 10, the leaf spring 51 is deformed asymmetrically and the wheel 44 is tilted. An example of the tilted direction of the wheel 44 thus obtained is shown in Fig. 5. The tilted direction of the wheel 44 induces a lateral force acting from the wheel 44 on the wheel holder 43. This leads to an undesirable additional friction. In order to compensate for such an effect and avoid the generation of lateral forces, it is proposed to provide a laterally tilted track 45 on the cam 41, i.e., the track 45 of the cam 41 has a tilted direction as shown in Fig. 6.

[0050] In Fig. 6, the wheel 44 is shown at a position on the side of the cam 41 associated with the open state of at least one hair capture space 11 of the hair removal body 10. When the wheel 44 is in this position, the pre-tension of the leaf spring 51 is small and the deformation is also small. However, when the wheel 44 is on the opposite side of the cam 41, there is a pre-tension for applying a pre-tension to the hair removal body 10 to obtain a sufficient level of hair clamping force. In that case, the leaf spring 51 needs to transmit a greater force and thus deforms more. As a result, the wheel holder 43 and the wheel 44 tilt more, and in consideration of this, the track 45 of the cam 41 is tilted more on the opposite side of the cam 41.

[0051] From the above, according to the first other concept, it can be seen that the force inducing member 33 includes the leaf spring 51 and the cam follower 42 is attached to the leaf spring 51. Otherwise, in order to prevent the friction force generated from the deformation of the leaf spring 51 and the inclined directions of the wheel 44 of the wheel holder 43 and the cam follower 42 associated therewith, the track 45 of the cam 41 has an inclined direction rather than a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis R, and this inclined direction changes in the direction around the rotation axis R and can be adapted to the various deformation degrees of the leaf spring 51 at different positions in the direction around the rotation axis R as described above. In this way, the force acting on the track 45 of the cam 41 at the position of the wheel 44 can always be perpendicular to the track 45. As a beneficial effect, the power loss of the drive system due to friction can be minimized, and the wear of the outer peripheral surface of the wheel 44 and the opposing surface of the wheel holder 43 can also be minimized. Therefore, the stroke of the wheel 44 in the longitudinal direction L and, thereby, the level of the hair clamping force are maintained throughout the life of the hair removal device 2.

[0052] It should be noted that the present disclosure includes modifications of the leaf spring 51 that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art, such as modifications related to the number of screw holes 58 in the leaf spring 51. The concept of the cam 41 having the inclined track 45 can be applied to any situation where a cam drive system is used and the cam follower 42 can be affected by the inclination.

[0053] A second alternative concept relates to an alternative to generally using a disk-shaped leaf spring 1 in a hair removal device and providing an inclined track 45 on a cam 41. In this regard, the relevant details of the hair removal device 3 according to the second alternative embodiment will be described here with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10. A notable difference between the hair removal device 3 according to the second alternative embodiment and the hair removal device 2 according to the first alternative embodiment relates to the design of the connecting device 50 of the hair removal device 2, and the fact that the leaf spring 51 of the hair removal device 2 according to the first alternative embodiment is replaced by a spring device 60 including two leaf springs 61, 62 joined together in a rectangular shape. With regard to the operation of the cam drive system 40, it should be noted that the spring device 60 functions as a spring with a preload that biases the wheel 44 onto the track 45 of the cam 41, thereby preventing the wheel 44 from losing contact with the track. As will become apparent hereinafter, the spring device 60 is configured not only to hold the wheel 44 against the track 45 of the cam 41, but also to hold the wheel 44 parallel to the track 45.

[0054] The spring device 60 is schematically shown in FIG. 8, illustrating that the two leaf springs 61, 62 of the spring device 60 are joined at one corner position of a rectangular shape and are also joined to a support structure which is the pressing bush 35 in the case of the hair removal device 3. The wheel 44 is attached to the diagonally opposite corner. The cross-sections of the two springs 61, 62 are such that these springs 61, 62 bend mainly within or in the vicinity of the corner region to achieve the parallel movement of the wheel 44 as indicated by the double-headed arrow in FIG. 8.

[0055] Figures 9 and 10 show perspective views of the spring device 60 and the wheel 44 held by the spring device 60. Figure 10 also shows the cam 41 and illustrates how the wheel 44 rolls on the track 45 of the cam 41. When the spring device 60 is clamped at the position of the clamp region 63, the two springs 61, 62 act as a parallelogram, and the clamp region 63 is provided with a screw hole 64 so that the spring device 60 can be connected to the pressing bush 35 by a screw. In order to avoid buckling of one of the leaf springs 61, 62 and / or bending of the two leaf springs 61, 62 together, the leaf springs 61, 62 are designed to bend only at specified portions that are close to the clamp region 63 on one side and close to the wheel 44 on the other side. These specified portions act as virtual pivot points, and as a result, the general orientation of the wheel 44 is maintained over the entire circumference on the track 45 of the cam 41.

[0056] From the above, according to the second other concept, it can be seen that the wheel 44 of the cam follower 42 is held by a spring device 60 including two leaf springs 61, 62 interconnected in a parallelogram configuration. In particular, the spring device 60 is designed so that the inclination of the wheel 44 is avoided, and a normal non-inclined design of the track 45 of the cam 41 is possible. Various embodiments of the spring device 60 are realizable, including embodiments in which the spring device 60 is designed as a single part with only a single bent leaf spring.

[0057] A third other concept relates to an alternative to the cam drive system for directing the movement of the pressing bush 35 in the longitudinal direction L. The force applied between the wheel 44 of the cam follower 42 to be supplied and the track 45 of the cam 41 is related to the required hair clamping force in the depilation body 10. Further, the forces from other drive elements must be overcome. In particular, due to the relation with the hair clamping force, a situation may occur where the longitudinal L cam load and peak torque requirements via the wheel 44 become so high that excessive wear occurs over the life of the depilation device. Considering this, another drive system is provided that aims to reduce the overall cam force in order to reduce wear by reducing friction. Further, when little friction, and thus little torque, is required, the generation of noise can be reduced.

[0058] Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, it should be noted that the present drive system has a hinge-moving lever mechanism 70 configured to convert the required hair clamping force and the required movement in the longitudinal direction L into a radial force (i.e., a force in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L) and a movement in the longitudinal direction L at a certain ratio. For this purpose, the hinge-moving lever mechanism 70 includes a drive shaft portion 71 and a radial cam 72 disposed on the drive shaft portion 71. The drive shaft portion 71 extends across two spaced-apart sleeve elements 73, 74, and the drive shaft portion 71 is rotatable within both sleeve elements 73, 74. In this case, one of the spaced-apart sleeve elements 73, 74, i.e., the one shown on the upper side of FIGS. 11 and 12 and on the hair removal body side of the hinge-moving lever mechanism 70, an output sleeve element 73 that can be connected to the pressing bush 35 via an axial bearing or the like is slidable in the longitudinal direction L on the drive shaft portion 71. The other sleeve element 74 is called an input sleeve element 74 and is under the influence of a spring 33 that is pre-tensioned to act on the input sleeve element 74 to receive a force acting longitudinally towards the output sleeve element 73. The two sleeve elements 73, 74 are interconnected via a lever system 75 that includes two lever arms 76, 77 that are hinge-movably connected to each other. The lever system 75 supports a roller element 78. The roller element 78 is pressed against the radial cam 72 by a suitable mechanism configured to exert a force on the roller element in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L, and the mechanism may have, for example, a leaf spring 79 as shown in the drawing.

[0059] Based on the above arrangement of the hinge movement lever mechanism 70, as the drive shaft portion 71 rotates, movement in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L of the roller element 78 is induced in a manner determined by the outer shape of the radial cam 72. In this process, the lever system 75 is moved between the most extended structure as shown in FIG. 11 and the most bent structure as shown in FIG. 12, and the output sleeve element 73 is alternately pulled towards the input sleeve element 74 and pushed away from the input sleeve element 74. The most extended structure of the lever system 75 is associated with the closed state of at least one hair capture space 11 of the depilation body 10, while the most bent structure of the lever system 75 is associated with the open state of at least one hair capture space 11 of the depilation body 10. In the most bent structure of the lever system 75, what acts on the lever system 75 from the depilation body side is the preloading force from the depilation body 10. As the lever system 75 is moved from the most bent structure to the most extended structure, a hair clamping force is added at a certain point and increases until it actually reaches the most extended structure.

[0060] The above-described ratio at which the hinge movement lever mechanism 70 converts the required hair clamping force and the required movement in the longitudinal direction L into a radial force and a movement in the longitudinal direction L depends on the lengths of the lever arms 76, 77 and the design of the changing diameter of the radial cam 72. What provides the force used to generate the hair clamping force as required is a spring with a pre-tension applied to the input sleeve element 74. The spring characteristics of both this pre-tensioned spring and the leaf spring 79 that presses the roller element 78 against the radial cam 72 can be selected so as to obtain appropriate mechanics and functions.

[0061] From the above, according to the third other concept, it can be seen that the hinge motion lever mechanism 70 is applied as a motion imparting device configured to impart a motion in the longitudinal direction L to the pressing bush 35. By having this type of motion imparting arrangement, the wear behavior can be improved compared to a cam drive system with a cam force acting in the longitudinal direction. The above-described configuration of the non-rotating lever arms 76, 77 and the rotating cam 72 can be reversed. In particular, various possibilities of applying the hinge motion lever mechanism 70 are realizable, including the possibility that the lever arm 76 rotates while the shaft 71 extends inside a "negative" cam profile (i.e., a cam profile provided on the inner surface of a ring element arranged to surround the shaft 71).

[0062] The fourth other concept relates to an alternative method of realizing the intended operation of the hair removal body 10 by enabling compression and extension of the hair removal body 10 and realizing the hair clamping force required in the compressed state of the hair removal body 10. In this regard, the relevant details of the hair removal device 4 according to the third alternative embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 13. The design of the hair removal device 4 according to the third alternative embodiment aims to reduce the number of components used in the device 4 and have a configuration that is less complex than the hair removal device shown in FIG. 1. One of the differences between the hair removal device 4 according to the third alternative embodiment and the hair removal device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is that it does not include a cam drive system, and thus, it can mitigate the drawbacks of applying such a type of drive system, such as a relatively high level of absorbed energy and noise during operation, and a relatively high level of wear.

[0063] In the hair removal device 4 according to the third alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13 and further described below, the cam drive system is replaced by a permanent magnet due to a specific configuration. On the right side of FIG. 13, the housing portion 101 of the hair removal device 4 is shown. This housing portion 101 is configured to be located at the boundary between the hair removal head 102 of the hair removal device 4 and the handle of the hair removal device 4, and components such as a motor, gears, a battery, and an electronic circuit are arranged in the housing portion 101 and / or the handle. The drive shaft 21 is driven by the output shaft of the handle via a connecting portion 26 housed in the housing portion 101. The operating mechanism 30 of the hair removal device 4 according to the third alternative embodiment includes a pressing bush 35, while the connecting device 50 of the hair removal device 4 has a bellows 36. One end of the bellows 36 on the handle side is fixed to the drive shaft 21, and the other end on the hair removal body side is fixed to the pressing bush 35. The bellows 36 functions to transmit the torque of the drive shaft 21 to the pressing bush 35 while realizing the axial movement freedom of the pressing bush 35.

[0064] The pressing bush 35 is rotatable together with the drive shaft 21 and is also slidable on the drive shaft 21. During the sliding movement, the pressing bush 35 acts to compress and release the hair removal body 10. In order to drive the pressing bush 35 to perform a sliding movement, a magnet assembly 80 is provided in the hair removal device 4 according to the third alternative embodiment. In the illustrated example, the magnet assembly 80 has a tubular magnet 81 disposed on a part of the pressing bush 35 surrounding the bellows 36. In particular, a steel sleeve 82 is disposed on a part of the pressing bush 35 described above, and the tubular magnet 81 is disposed on the steel sleeve 82. Further, the magnet assembly 80 has a steel tubular carrier portion 83, and the tubular carrier portion is fixed to the housing portion 101 and, in addition to the function of carrying two tubular magnets 84, 85 arranged side by side with each other, may have the function of shielding the environment from the magnetic field. The inner diameters of the magnets 84, 85 (hereinafter referred to as the outer magnets 84, 85) in the carrier portion 83 are slightly larger than the outer diameter of the magnet 81 (hereinafter referred to as the inner magnet 81) on the pressing bush 35, and thus, a small gap exists between the outer magnets 84, 85 and the inner magnet 81. The dimension of the inner magnet 81 in the longitudinal direction L is approximately the same as the dimension of each of the outer magnets 84, 85 in the longitudinal direction L.

[0065] When the drive shaft 21 is rotated, the inner magnet 81 also rotates, while the outer magnets 84, 85 remain stationary. All of the magnets 81, 84, 85 are provided as a single component, with half of the component having an N pole and the other half of the component having an S pole. The design of the magnets 81, 84, 85 is shown in Fig. 14, which shows a cross-section on the handle side of the inner magnet 81 and the outer magnet 85, and the inner magnet 81 and the outer magnet 85 are arranged relative to each other as shown in Fig. 13. The outer magnets 84, 85 are arranged in a rotated state by 180 degrees, and thus, the halves of different polarities extend side by side with each other. It is a known fact that while different polarities attract each other, moving the same polarities towards each other generates a strong separating force. Based on this principle, when the drive shaft 21 is rotated, a reciprocating motion of the pressing bush 35 in the longitudinal direction L is realized. Fig. 13 shows the first extreme position of the pressing bush 35, where the northern half of the inner magnet 81 completely faces the southern half of the outer magnet 85 on the handle side, while the southern half of the inner magnet completely faces the northern half of the outer magnet 85. Starting from this first extreme position, as the inner magnet 81 rotates, from this first extreme position, which is related to a 180° rotation of the inner magnet 81, the northern half of the inner magnet 81 completely faces the southern half of the outer magnet 84 on the depilation body side, while the southern half of the inner magnet 81 completely faces the northern half of the outer magnet 84, and due to the specific 180-degree rotated arrangement of the outer magnets 84, 85, and the attractive and repulsive forces acting between the corresponding northern and southern halves of the inner magnet 81 and the outer magnets 84, 85, a transition to the second extreme position is made. When the inner magnet 81 rotates further, a transition back to the first extreme position is made. As long as the drive shaft 21 is rotated, the reciprocating motion of the inner magnet 81 in the longitudinal direction L between the above two extreme positions is continuously repeated.

[0066] During the rotation of the drive shaft 21, the force acting on the pressing bush 35 in the longitudinal direction L is determined by the magnetic flux. As described above, the pressing bush 35 acts on the hair removal body 10 to compress and release the hair removal body 10 and supply the hair clamping force. The advantage of using the magnet assembly 80 is that since there is no mechanical friction, only a small driving torque is required.

[0067] The design of the magnets 81, 84, 85 with two halves of different polarities is not essential in the sense that alternatives are possible as long as there is an alternating sequence of polarities. Thus, it is also possible for the magnets 81, 84, 85 to have, for example, two quarters of N polarity and two quarters of S polarity, in which case each of the quarters of N polarity is arranged between the quarters of S polarity when viewed in the circumferential direction of the magnets 81, 84, 85, and as a result, each of the quarters of S polarity is arranged between the quarters of N polarity.

[0068] Applying the magnet assembly 80 as a means to enable the actuating mechanism 30 to act on the hair removal body 10 in the expected manner can be done without applying a cam drive system, as suggested above, but this does not change the fact that the present concept also covers the option of applying both a magnetic drive system and a cam drive system. When such an option is implemented, it is advantageous to design the corresponding hair removal device such that the force required for the intended operation of the hair removal body 10 is controlled by the magnetic drive system while the translational / displacement mode is controlled by the cam drive system. The advantage is that the compression and extension movements of the hair removal body 10 are more greatly controlled with fewer (minute) vibrations.

[0069] A fifth other concept relates to the hair removal body 10. Above, as a practical example of the hair removal body 10, a linear configuration of a linear coil spring and a disk was mentioned. For example, from FIG. 1, it can be seen that when a coil spring is used, it can indeed be practical if the coil spring is designed to have a constant diameter along the length of the spring. However, the problem associated with applying such a coil spring as the hair removal body 10 is that although such a coil spring is assumed to make line contact with the skin to be hair-removed, in reality, due to the irregular and non-flat outer shape of the skin, it becomes difficult to achieve the assumed line contact. Considering this, an alternative design for the hair removal body 10 is proposed. In this regard, FIG. 15 schematically shows a perspective view of a conical coil spring, FIG. 16 shows a coil spring generally in the shape of a beehive box, where the contour of the beehive box of the spring is shown by lines in this figure, FIG. 17 schematically shows a perspective view of a generally barrel-shaped coil spring, and FIG. 18 schematically shows a perspective view of a concave coil spring. Regarding this spring, the outer diameter is minimized at about half of the length of the spring and increases in two directions towards both ends of the spring.

[0070] Furthermore, it should be noted that the coil spring does not necessarily have to be of a linear type. Instead, as shown in FIG. 19 where an example of a non-linear type spring is illustrated, the pitch of the coil spring can vary along the length of the spring. When the coil spring has different pitches, the spring becomes suitable for capturing and clamping both relatively thick hairs and relatively thin hairs. This is relevant because the thickness of human hair varies. The coil spring can have coils that are in close contact with each other or coils with a changing distance between them. The possibility of capturing relatively thick hairs is higher at the position of the relatively large hair capture space 11 with a relatively large pitch, while the possibility of capturing a plurality of relatively thin hairs at once is higher at the position of the relatively small hair capture space 11 with a relatively small pitch.

[0071] From the above, when a coil spring is provided for use as the hair removal body 10, it can be understood that the coil spring does not need to have a design such that its outer diameter is constant along the length of the spring, nor does the coil spring need to be of a linear type.

[0072] Figure 20 schematically shows a perspective view of a wave spring (corrugated spring). Such an option having such a spring is also covered by this concept. When using a wave spring as shown in the figure, when the spring is in a completely compressed state, the advantage is obtained that the control of the uniform distribution of the hair clamping force between the clamping surfaces of the spring is improved. Another advantage of using a wave spring is that such a spring can transmit torsional weight. The wave spring can be provided as a coil as shown in Figure 20, but it is also possible that the wave spring is assembled from individual disc springs that are mechanically connected to each other, for example, by means of pin and hole connections or via welding, etc.

[0073] From the perspective that the springs shown in Figures 15 to 20 are intended to be used as the hair removal body 10, in these figures, the springs are referred to by reference numeral 10. It will be understood that this concept also covers a number of other alternative designs other than those shown in Figures 15 to 20.

[0074] A sixth other concept also relates to the depilation body 10. In this regard, it should be noted that the difference between the minimum length of the depilation body 10 in the compressed state and the maximum length of the depilation body 10 in the extended state (this difference is also called the stroke) must be small if the depilation body 10 has a linear coil spring. The fact is that when the hair is captured within the tweezers portion of the depilation body 10 (that is, the portion including the hair capture space 11 in the depilation body 10 and the winding portion defining the hair capture space 11), and when the tweezers portion is near the movable end of the coil spring, these two windings will move in the direction of the fixed end of the coil spring when the spring is compressed to hold the hair while grasping and pulling it out. If the upward displacement described above is, for example, 1.5 mm, this can actually be longer than the hair to be captured. Therefore, in such a case, before the tweezers portion can apply a hair clamping force to the hair, the hair may leave the tweezers portion. Generally, the fact is that the smaller the stroke, the shorter the hair that can be pulled out. Furthermore, the length of the stroke is limited by the mechanical aspects of the drive mechanism.

[0075] The longer the stroke, the greater the force required to compress and extend the coil spring, and the greater the vibration generated, resulting in wear, short battery life, and discomfort due to vibration to the hand and skin. This is another reason why it is beneficial to have a short stroke. However, the result of a small stroke can be that only a few windings are used, including a very short length of the coil spring in the fully compressed state, such as a short length of about 2 mm. This is generally not attractive to users who desire an effective depilation system of sufficient length.

[0076] Another consideration when using a linear coil spring as the hair removal body 10 is that it can be practical when the diameter of the end of the actuating member that contacts the movable end of the coil spring is somewhat larger than the outer diameter of the spring at the movable end. However, this means that the skin that undergoes the hair removal operation by the coil spring cannot directly touch the first one or two coils close to the movable end, and thus, the coil spring is not very effective in terms of capturing (short) hair at such coil positions. Further, considering that the practical value of the wire thickness of the coil spring can be in the range of about 0.2 to 1 mm, these coils are close to each other, and probably closer to each other than the hairs of a person's skin. This means that placing two tweezers directly adjacent to each other is not very effective compared to depending on, for example, the first and fifth tweezers.

[0077] In view of the above, an embodiment of the hair removal body 10 is proposed in which the hair removal body 10 is provided with a coil spring having different pitches for each winding or each set of windings. For example, it may be beneficial to create some windings with a pitch similar to the wire thickness. In this case, the coils are in contact with each other, but the pitch becomes larger at other positions of the coil spring. In this case, the tweezers are set further away from at least one end of the coil spring or further away from each other.

[0078] A first example of a coil spring with different pitches for each winding or each set of windings is shown in FIG. 21. The coil spring of this example has a closed winding at the end of the spring that is to be the movable end. In this way, it is ensured that the skin always contacts the open winding. Further, by having a closed winding, the effective cross-sectional area appears larger, and thus, the appearance of the coil spring can be more attractively recognized by the user.

[0079] A second example of a coil spring with a pitch that varies from coil to coil or from set of coils is shown in FIG. 22. The coil spring of this example has closed coils that are distributed over the entire length of the spring, and thus the tweezers are set further apart to cover a wider area on the skin. The distribution of the closed coils is different from that of the coil spring of the example shown in FIG. 21, but the total coil opening of the coil spring is the same.

[0080] A third example of a coil spring with a pitch that varies from coil to coil or from coil set to coil set is shown in FIG. 23. The coil spring of this example can be considered a combination of the coil springs of the two examples described above. That is, the amount of closed coils between the tweezers decreases from the end of the spring that is to be the movable end toward the end that is to be the fixed end. In this way, the portion of the coil spring near the end that is to be the fixed end is most effective in the sense that the tweezers are close to each other. The coil spring can pull out hair even in the region near the end that is to be the movable end, but at this position of the region, it is expected that the operation is less effective and the accuracy is lower than at the position of the region near the end that is to be the fixed end.

[0081] In view of the fact that the springs shown in FIGS. 21 to 23 are intended to be used as the hair removal body 10, in these figures the spring is indicated by the reference numeral 10. It will be understood that this concept also covers many other optional spring designs, such as designs including a large number of effective / open tweezers, other than those shown in FIGS. 21 to 23.

[0082] A seventh other concept also relates to the hair removal body 10. As described above, the hair removal body 10 is compressed and extended during operation. Assuming that the hair removal body 10 compresses the coil spring, the fact is that the hair clamping force needs to be evenly distributed along the entire circumference of the spring for the hair removal operation to function properly. If so, indeed, the force of each coil of the coil spring acting on each other is the same at any angular position of the coil spring, that is, at any position around the rotation axis R.

[0083] Generally, a coil spring is formed from a wire wound to obtain the coil spring, and the wire has two ends. At each of these two ends, the coil spring can contact a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L through only the ends of the outer coil, rather than through the entire outer coil (i.e., the end coil, the first / last coil), as desired to achieve a uniform distribution of the aforementioned hair clamping force. Here, several countermeasures to mitigate this problem are proposed.

[0084] The first possible countermeasure involves performing a grinding operation on the outer coil to remove material from the outer coil, thereby shaping the outer coil so that the coil spring can contact a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L through the entire outer coil. This possibility is shown in Figure 24, in which the original appearance of the end of the coil spring is shown on the right side, and the appearance of the end of the coil spring after grinding is shown on the left side.

[0085] The second conceivable countermeasure involves adapting the design of the element to contact the end of the coil spring. In particular, such an element can be provided with recesses whose depth increases in the circumferential direction, as shown in Figure 25, and by following the inclined direction of the outer coil, a support surface 37 of the outer coil of the coil spring that is surface-oriented to be able to contact the entire outer coil, as shown in Figure 26, can be obtained. Figure 26 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the compressed coil spring 10 and a part of the pressing bush 35. In fact, the depth of the aforementioned recesses increases from zero to the thickness of the wire of the spring. In the illustrated example, one of the elements for contacting one end of the coil spring is the pressing bush 35, and the coil cap located at the other end of the coil spring is the other of these elements.

[0086] A third possible measure involves taking into account specific requirements during the process of winding the spring wire to manufacture the coil spring. In the context of this concept, based on the flexibility of the coil spring and the related property of slightly displacing relative to each other under the influence of the force in the longitudinal direction L of the coil, it has been found that the spring can be brought into contact with a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction along approximately half of the outer coil, i.e., when the outer coil is within the range of 60% to 90% of a complete coil, preferably within the range of 70% to 80% of a complete coil. This is shown in FIG. 27, in which the coil spring is shown with the reference planes of the partial outer coil and what would be a complete coil. In practice, the optimal coil ratio of the outer coil depends on several factors including the total amount of coils in the coil spring, the thickness of the wire, the properties of the wire material, and the play inside the coil towards the central shaft 21. It is understood that simply making an appropriate selection regarding the coil ratio of the outer coil constitutes a very interesting possibility that can be more preferable than subjecting the spring to a grinding operation and / or adapting the design of the contact elements to achieve an even distribution of the hair clamping force along the entire circumference of the coil spring.

[0087] In view of the fact that the springs shown in FIGS. 24, 26 and 27 are intended to be used as the hair removal body 10, in these figures the spring is indicated by the reference numeral 10.

[0088] An eighth other concept relates to the design of the central shaft 21 at the position of the hair removal body 10.

[0089] When the hair removal body 10 is pressed against the skin during the hair removal operation, the reaction force exerted by the skin on the hair removal body 10 is counteracted by the central shaft 21 within the hair removal body 10. Referring to FIG. 28 which shows a part of the pressing bush 35, the coil spring-shaped hair removal body 10 and the central shaft 21, and the contour of the skin on the right side, it can be seen that the presence of the central shaft 21 at the position of the hair removal body 10 has drawbacks.

[0090] First, when the hair 200 is located within the hair capture space 11 of the hair removal body 10 as shown in FIG. 28, the extent to which the hair 200 can extend inwardly in the hair removal body 10 is restricted by the central shaft 21. The actual value of the wire thickness is 0.3 mm, and the actual value of the play inside the coil towards the central shaft 21 is 0.1 mm. Thus, in reality, the hair 200 will hit the central shaft 21 when it enters between the coils of the hair removal body 10 at a distance of about 0.4 mm. As a result, some of the hairs 200 may not be grasped firmly enough to be pulled out from the skin, or when hitting the shaft, the hair 200 will bend to other places outside the grasping range of the hair removal body 10. In this way, the extraction is not optimized due to the interaction between the hair 200 and the central shaft 21.

[0091] Second, the pulled-out hair, dirt picked up from the skin, makeup picked up from the skin, etc. can accumulate between the central shaft 21 and the hair removal body 10 and clog there. The narrower the gap between the central shaft 21 and the hair removal body 10 becomes clogged, the more difficult it is to remove the hair 200.

[0092] In view of the above, it is proposed to adapt the design of the central shaft 21 at the position of the hair removal body 10 such that recesses 27 are provided in each part of the central shaft 21, particularly as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The recess 27 may have a generally elongated shape extending in the longitudinal direction L along the entire length to be covered by the hair removal body 10 of the central shaft 21 as seen in FIG. 30. The appropriate number of recesses 27 is 3, but other numbers are also possible as long as the central shaft 21 can perform the function of supporting the hair removal body 10. FIG. 31 shows how the hair removal body 10 is attached onto the central shaft 21 having the recesses 27.

[0093] Figure 32 shows a plurality of alternative possibilities. In this figure, the circle represents the hair removal body 10, and the central one represents the cross-section of the central shaft 21 at the position of the hair removal body 10. The less the contact line / area of the central shaft 21 with respect to the hair removal body 10, the larger the space available for the hair 200 to be grasped, and the larger the space available for storing the extracted hair.

[0094] By providing a recess 27 in the central axis (central shaft) 21, the hair 200 can further enter between the coils of the hair removal body 10, enhancing the hair removal effect. The extracted hair 200 caught in the recess 27 can be removed by the user using a brush or the like after use of the hair removal device.

[0095] A ninth other concept relates to an option of the operating mechanism 30 having a first operating member 31 and a second operating member 32, and including a force inducing member 33 at a position where the operating members 31, 32 are coupled to each other, the force inducing member 33 being combined with an option having a coil spring. In this regard, the relevant details of the hair removal device 5 according to the fourth alternative embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 33 to 38.

[0096] In the hair removal device 5 according to the fourth alternative embodiment, the coil spring of the force inducing member 33 extends in the longitudinal direction L between the support surfaces 38, 39 of the operating members 31, 32. The force inducing member 33 has two functions, namely, the function of transmitting rotational torque in the hair removal device 5 and the function of transmitting a longitudinal force in the hair removal device 5. Considering this, the end points of the coil spring are arranged so as to push the tabs as seen with respect to the end point existing on the side of the first operating member 31 in FIG. 33. As a result, the coil spring should not have a ground end. According to the insight of the present invention, when the support surfaces 38, 39 are oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L, the transmitted longitudinal force is off-center, thereby generating a lateral force within the hair removal device 5, and this force acts on components of the hair removal device 5 such as the drive shaft 21 and the bearings of the drive shaft. As a result, the friction between the movable parts of the hair removal device 5 increases due to the above lateral force, and thus the torque required to drive these parts must be increased. This causes adverse effects such as further wear and a reduction in battery life. To avoid such effects, the support surfaces 38, 39 are oriented with respect to the longitudinal direction L according to the pitch angle α of the coil spring as seen in FIG. 35. p is oriented.

[0097] Based on the adapted orientation of the support surfaces 38, 39, line contact is obtained between the coil spring and the first operating member 31 at one end of the coil spring, and between the coil spring and the second operating member 32 at the other end of the coil spring. FIG. 35 shows the coil spring in a state where the coil spring is not compressed and thus does not generate much force in the longitudinal direction L. However, when the hair removal body 10 is in a compressed state, the coil spring is further compressed, and the support surfaces 38, 39 abut against the first coil and the last coil (a part thereof) of the coil spring. Therefore, the force in the longitudinal direction L is further concentrated or even completely concentrated, and the friction caused by the lateral force becomes smaller than when only the end points of the coil spring are used to transmit the force.

[0098] As a result of the adapted orientation of the support surfaces 38, 39, if the end points of the coil springs do not contact the tabs (this can occur when at least one of the actuating members 31, 32 is accessible from outside the depilation device 5 and is twisted from the default / predetermined position for some reason or accidentally by the user of the depilation device 5), the actuating members 31, 32 are moved further apart from each other as long as the ends of the coil springs slide on the support surfaces 38, 39. This relative displacement of the actuating members 31, 32 results in a more compressed extended state of the depilation body 10 and a greater longitudinal force in the compressed state of the depilation body 10. The consequences are that the possibility of gripping the hair due to the small space between the coils in the extended position of the depilation body 10 is reduced, and the possibility of cutting the hair due to an excessively large force between the coils when gripping the hair is increased. Since both consequences are undesirable, measures are taken to prevent the rotation of the support surfaces 38, 39 relative to each other. In particular, these measures include providing a rotation limiting mechanism 90 configured to limit the rotation of the actuating members 31, 32 relative to each other in the direction around the rotation axis R.

[0099] Regarding the design of the rotation limiting mechanism 90, there are many possibilities. In this example, the fact that the connecting device 50 of the depilation device 5 comprises both a leaf spring 51 and a non-elastic connecting member 65 including two legs 66, 67 is utilized, where each end of each of the legs 66, 67 is connected to the leaf spring 51 at a position in the outer peripheral region of the leaf spring 51. As shown in FIGS. 36 to 38, in which the coil springs of the force inducing member 33 are omitted for clarity in FIGS. 37 and 38, the first actuating member 31 is provided with two end tabs 91, 92, and the non-elastic connecting member 65 is also provided with two end tabs 93, 94. FIG. 38 shows a perspective cross-sectional view cut in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction L at the level of each of the end tabs 91, 92, 93, 94.

[0100] Figs. 36 to 38 show the default position of the rotation limiting mechanism 90, in which the end tabs 91, 92 of the first actuating member 31 and the end tabs 93, 94 of the inelastic connecting member 65 are at the same height on the drive shaft 21 in the direction around the rotation axis R, but do not contact each other. In this way, the presence of the rotation limiting mechanism 90 is avoided from increasing the friction during the longitudinal L movement of the first actuating member 31 and the inelastic connecting member 65 relative to each other during the operation of the hair removal device 5. However, when the first actuating member 31 is twisted so as to rotate around the rotation axis R, this movement is blocked as soon as the relevant stop surface 95 on the end tab 91, 92 side of the first actuating member 31 abuts against the relevant stop surface 96 on the end tab 93, 94 side of the inelastic connecting member 65. Another advantage of providing the rotation limiting mechanism 90 is that the rotation limiting mechanism 90 also functions to avoid that the leaf spring 51 can be twisted to such an extent that it is damaged or even broken. Also, even if the leaf spring 51 is damaged for some reason, the hair removal device 5 can still function. This is because the rotational movement of the various components of the device 5 is maintained based on the presence of the rotation limiting mechanism 90, although it is not in an optimal manner.

[0101] As described above, the connection device 50 of the hair removal device 5 has a combination of a leaf spring 51 and an inelastic connection member 65. The design of the leaf spring 51 is the same as the design of the leaf spring 51 described in relation to the hair removal device 2 according to the first alternative embodiment with reference to FIG. 3. The leaf spring 51 is disposed on the second actuating member 32, and the inelastic connection member 65 couples the outer peripheral region of the leaf spring 51 to the drive shaft 21 at a position closer to the hair removal body 10. In the longitudinal direction L, the leaf spring 51 is held between the inelastic connection member 65 and the support portion on the second actuating member 32. When the position of the motion imparting device 40 is such that the hair removal body 10 is in an extended state, the leaf spring 51 is in a rest position, while when the position of the motion imparting device 40 is such that the hair removal body 10 is in a compressed state, the leaf spring 51 is deformed to some extent. The inclination for the leaf spring 51 to return to the rest position supports the process of shifting the hair removal body 10 from the compressed state to the extended state. Generally, the advantage of using the leaf spring 51 is that the friction is minimal and only the force required to deform the leaf spring 51 under the influence of the movement in the longitudinal direction L is needed.

[0102] The present disclosure includes any possible combination of the other concepts described above that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art. The present disclosure includes the following, namely, i) a hair removal body 10 that is rotatable about a rotation axis R extending in the longitudinal direction L with respect to the hair removal body 10, includes at least one hair capture space 11, and the longitudinal dimension of the at least one hair capture space 11 in the longitudinal direction L of the hair removal body 10 is variable by compression and extension in the longitudinal direction L of the hair removal body 10, and ii) an actuating mechanism 30 configured to act on the hair removal body 10 to cause compression and extension in the longitudinal direction L of the hair removal body 10 during the rotational movement of the hair removal body 10 about the rotation axis R, and to realize a longitudinal hair clamping force on the hair removal body 10 when at least one hair capture space 11 of the hair removal body 10 is in a closed state, including any one or more possible applications of the other concepts described above in the general context of a hair removal device.

[0103] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples described above, and that some modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It is intended that the present invention cover all such modifications and variations as long as they fall within the scope of the claims or the scope of their equivalents. Although the present invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the description, such illustrations and descriptions should be considered as illustrative or exemplary only and not restrictive. The present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The drawings are schematic and some details that are not necessary for understanding the present invention may be omitted and they are not necessarily to scale.

[0104] 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 drawings, the description and the appended claims. In the claims, the term "comprising" does not exclude other steps or elements, and the singular does not exclude the plural. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

[0105] Elements and aspects described with respect to or in connection with a particular embodiment can be appropriately combined with elements and aspects of other embodiments, unless otherwise stated. Thus, the mere fact that certain means are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these means cannot be used advantageously.

[0106] As used herein, the terms "having" and "comprising" will be understood by those skilled in the art to include the term "consisting of". Thus, the terms "having" or "comprising" may mean "consisting of" with respect to an embodiment, but may mean "including / having / comprising at least the defined thing and optionally one or more other things" in other embodiments.

[0107] Notable aspects of the present invention are summarized as follows. The hair removal devices 2, 3, 4, 5 include a hair removal body 10 rotatable about a rotation axis R extending in the longitudinal direction L with respect to the hair removal body 10, an operating mechanism 30 configured to act on the hair removal body 10 to cause compression and elongation of the hair removal body 10 in the longitudinal direction L during the rotational movement of the hair removal body 10 about the rotation axis R, and a drive mechanism 20 configured to drive the hair removal body 10 and also drive the operating mechanism 30. The operating mechanism 30 is elastically connected to the drive shaft 21 of the drive mechanism 20 via at least one leaf spring 51, 61, 62 or the like, which contributes to minimizing friction and noise in the hair removal devices 2, 3, 4 and can also support one of the compression and elongation of the hair removal body 10.

Claims

1. A hair removal body rotatable about a rotation axis extending longitudinally with respect to itself, comprising at least one hair capture space, wherein the dimension of the at least one hair capture space in the longitudinal direction is variable through compression and extension of the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction, and a hair removal body; An operating mechanism acting on the hair removal body to cause compression and extension of the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction during rotational movement of the hair removal body about the rotation axis; A drive mechanism for driving the hair removal body to perform a rotational movement about the rotation axis, having a rotatable drive shaft coupled to the hair removal body for imparting a rotational movement to the hair removal body, and the operating mechanism is also driven so as to cause compression and extension of the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction by relative longitudinal movement of the operating mechanism and the drive shaft; A connecting device elastically connecting the operating mechanism to the drive shaft with at least one bellows or at least one leaf spring to enable relative longitudinal movement of the operating mechanism and the drive shaft and torque transmission from the drive shaft to the operating mechanism; A hair removal device having the above.

2. The hair removal device according to claim 1, wherein the connecting device comprises a spring device including two leaf springs joined together in a rectangular shape.

3. The hair removal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one leaf spring is directly fixed to both the operating mechanism and the drive shaft.

4. The hair removal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one leaf spring is formed in a disk shape having a circular outer periphery and provided with a central hole and a slot.

5. The hair removal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting device further has at least one non-elastic connecting member.

6. The hair removal device according to claim 5, wherein the non-elastic connecting member has at least two legs, and ends of each leg are connected to the leaf spring at a position in the outer peripheral region of the leaf spring.

7. One end of the hair removal body is a fixed end having a fixed position in the longitudinal direction, while the other end of the hair removal body is a movable end having a variable position in the longitudinal direction, and the operating mechanism acts on the hair removal body on the side of the movable end of the hair removal body. The hair removal device according to claim 1 or 2.

8. A hair removal device having a motion imparting device including a cam and a cam follower, wherein one of the cam and the cam follower has a fixed position in the hair removal device, and the other of the cam and the cam follower is integrated with or fixed to one of the operating mechanism and the connecting device, the hair removal device according to claim 1 or 2.

9. The operating mechanism includes a force inducing member that is compressible and extensible in the longitudinal direction, and when the longitudinal dimension of the force inducing member is changed while the at least one hair capturing space of the hair removal body is in a closed state, the level of the force exerted on the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction by the operating mechanism is determined, the hair removal device according to claim 1 or 2.

10. The operating mechanism has two operating members that are both movable in the longitudinal direction, and a first one of the operating members is closer to the hair removal body in the longitudinal direction than a second one of these operating members, and the force inducing member is at a position that couples the operating members, the hair removal device according to claim 9.

11. The force inducing member has a coil spring, the coil spring extends in the longitudinal direction between support surfaces of the operating members, and the support surfaces of the operating members are oriented according to the pitch angle of the coil spring with respect to the longitudinal direction, the hair removal device according to claim 10.

12. The hair removal device according to claim 11, having a rotation limiting mechanism that limits the rotation of the operating members relative to each other in the direction around the rotation axis of the operating members.

13. The hair removal device according to claim 12, wherein the rotation limiting mechanism has at least one of a stop surface in the operating member and a stop surface in the connecting device.

Images