Epilator Roller Arrangement Reducing Skin Friction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing epilators cause pain and skin irritation due to increased friction between the skin and the plucking cylinder, leading to reduced effectiveness and increased current consumption.
Innovation Solution
The epilator incorporates a roller arrangement with elastically deformable elements that exert a greater biasing force than the plucking cylinder, allowing the rollers to absorb the force applied to the skin, reducing friction and enabling adjustable pressure for improved skin adaptation and pain reduction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the plucking cylinder is pressed firmly to the skin to reduce pain, then the well-being sensation and pain relief are improved, but the friction between the skin and plucking cylinder increases, leading to mechanical irritation, increased current consumption, and reduced hair removal effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces rollers as intermediary elements between the plucking cylinder and the skin. These rollers are biased by elastically deformable elements to contact the skin first, absorbing the pressing force and reducing direct friction between the plucking cylinder and skin. This mediator approach allows pain relief through pressure while avoiding the harmful effects of excessive friction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the contact function by separating the skin contact role (performed by rollers) from the hair plucking role (performed by the plucking cylinder). The rollers are divided into multiple individual elements, each capable of independent movement and force absorption, allowing distributed pressure application that reduces localized friction and irritation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the plucking cylinder is pressed firmly to the skin, then the skin adaptation and well-being sensation are improved, but the current consumption increases due to increased friction
Solution Approach 1:
The rollers serve as mediators that enable skin adaptation through adjustable pressure while minimizing energy loss. The elastically deformable elements biasing the rollers allow for compliant contact that adapts to skin contours without creating excessive friction on the plucking cylinder, thus maintaining low current consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamically adjustable biasing forces on the rollers through elastically deformable elements. This allows the system to adapt to different skin types and user preferences while maintaining optimal friction levels. The dynamic adjustment capability enables skin adaptation without the fixed high-friction contact that would increase energy consumption.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the plucking cylinder is pressed firmly to the skin, then the pain sensation is reduced through static pressure, but the hair removal effectiveness decreases due to reduced revolution speed
Solution Approach 1:
The rollers act as intermediaries that provide the pain-relieving static pressure independently of the plucking cylinder's rotation. By absorbing the pressing force, they allow the plucking cylinder to maintain its revolution speed and hair removal effectiveness without being hindered by excessive friction from firm skin contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the functions of pain relief and hair removal by assigning them to different components: rollers for pain relief through static pressure, and plucking cylinder for hair removal through rotation. This functional segmentation allows both objectives to be achieved simultaneously without one compromising the other.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design reduces mechanical irritation, decreases current consumption, and allows for personalized stimulation strength, enhancing the epilation experience by minimizing pain and improving hair removal efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
The epilator has the plucking cylinder mounted in or on the body such that the plucking cylinder is movable with respect to the body between an extended position and a retracted position. The epilator further comprises at least one elastically deformable element, for example a compression spring, a rubber-elastic element and/or a torsion spring, biasing the plucking cylinder into its extended position.
Implementation Method 2
The epilator incorporates a roller arrangement with elastically deformable elements that exert a greater biasing force than the plucking cylinder, allowing the rollers to absorb the force applied to the skin, reducing friction
Data Source
AI summary
An epilator having a body and a plucking cylinder which is rotatable about a rotation axis for plucking hair. The plucking cylinder is movable with respect to the body between an extended position and a retracted position. Further, the epilator has elastically deformable elements biasing the plucking cylinder and at least two rollers mounted on the same side of the body as the plucking cylinder with the plucking cylinder interposed between the rollers. When pressing the rollers and the plucking cylinder to a flat surface the force exerted by the rollers exceeds the force exerted by the plucking cylinder.