Pivotable Sensor Projections for Skin Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing skin treatment devices face usability issues when treating angular or bony areas due to the requirement for multiple sensors to maintain skin contact, leading to reduced efficacy and increased treatment time, especially for home use devices.
Innovation Solution
A skin treatment device with projections that can move to accommodate the geometry of the skin, equipped with sensors to ensure safe and effective delivery of light energy pulses, even on complex body surfaces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple sensors are positioned around the output window to detect skin contact, then safety is improved by preventing stray radiation emission, but usability deteriorates on angular or bony body areas where sensors cannot all contact the skin
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the previously static sensor array dynamic by allowing individual sensor housings to pivot independently. This enables the sensor array to adapt its geometry to match angular or bony body surfaces while maintaining skin contact with all sensors, thus preserving safety without sacrificing usability on difficult-to-treat areas
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the sensor array into multiple independently pivotable sensor housings rather than a rigid fixed structure. Each sensor housing can pivot independently to contact the skin on angular surfaces, allowing the segmented array to conform to complex body geometries while maintaining all sensor contacts for safety verification
2Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple sensors are required to confirm skin contact before radiation emission, then stray radiation is minimized, but treatment time increases and efficacy is reduced on difficult body areas
Solution Approach 1:
By enabling dynamic pivoting of sensor housings to achieve skin contact on angular surfaces, the system eliminates treatment delays caused by failed sensor contact. All sensors can simultaneously contact the skin on difficult body areas, allowing immediate radiation emission without repeated positioning attempts, thus reducing treatment time while maintaining safety
3Device complexity
If a fixed sensor array is used around the output window, then device complexity is reduced, but adaptability to different body geometries deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces controlled movement through pivotable sensor housings, transforming the fixed sensor array into an adaptive structure. This dynamic capability allows the device to accommodate various body geometries including angular and bony areas, significantly improving adaptability while adding only moderate mechanical complexity through simple pivot mechanisms
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
The device enhances usability and safety by allowing effective treatment of various body geometries while minimizing stray light emission, improving user experience and treatment efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a light source housed within the housing for discharging light energy pulses
Implementation Method 2
the radiation is targeted to cause heating of the hair root causing the hair root to die
Implementation Method 3
Capacitive contact sensors are often utilized
Implementation Method 4
capacitive contact sensors or proximity sensors
Data Source
AI summary
A skin treatment device for delivery of light energy pulses to a subject's skin, including a housing, a light source housed within the housing and a control system for controlling discharge of the light source to deliver the light energy pulses. The housing has an output window for transmission of the light energy pulses emitted by the light source to external of the housing onto the subject's skin. At least one projection projects outwardly from the housing relative to the output window and has a skin contact surface. Each projection is at least partially moveable from a rest position to a deflected position to accommodate the geometry of the subject's skin. The projection further carries a sensor, and the control system is arranged to receive one or more sensor outputs from the sensor and based on the one or more sensor outputs control operation of the skin treatment device.