Treatment Sheet Frame Member with Tabs for Stable Skin Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing personal care products face issues with metal blades that are prone to damage, require frequent replacement, and are not optimized for both skin treatment and hair removal, while non-metallic foils lack mechanical stability and effective skin contact on flat surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A frame member is designed to retain a flat, rigid treatment sheet with apertures, using materials like aluminum for durability and stability, and features tabs to secure the sheet to a housing, ensuring optimal skin contact and efficient hair removal and skin treatment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If metal blades are used for hair removal, then cutting effectiveness is improved, but durability and resistance to damage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs disposable foil sheets with integrated cutting edges that are replaced rather than repaired. These foils are designed for single-use or limited-use cycles, eliminating the need to maintain expensive metal blades while ensuring consistent cutting performance. The foils are discarded after a predetermined number of uses or when performance degrades.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses composite structures combining flexible substrate materials with embedded cutting elements. The foils integrate multiple functional layers including cutting edges, adhesive layers, and protective coatings on a single flexible substrate, creating a composite material system that provides both cutting effectiveness and durability through material composition rather than mechanical strength alone.
2Ease of operation
If convex or domed treatment surfaces are used to improve skin contact on curved surfaces, then skin contact on curved areas is improved, but treatment efficiency on flat surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The treatment surface is segmented into multiple zones with different geometries. The foil includes both convex portions for curved skin areas and flat portions for flat skin areas, allowing each segment to optimize its performance for the specific application area. This segmentation enables the single foil to effectively treat both curved and flat surfaces without compromising either function.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the foil are designed with locally optimized properties. The convex regions provide conformal contact for curved surfaces while flat regions maintain full surface contact for flat areas. This local quality variation allows the foil to adapt to different skin geometries, ensuring effective treatment across diverse body areas.
3Productivity
If protruding cutting edges are used on treatment sheets, then cutting capability is improved, but comfort and safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cutting edges are positioned in a different dimensional configuration relative to the foil surface. Instead of protruding outward, the cutting edges are arranged coplanar with the foil surface or recessed slightly below it. This dimensional change maintains cutting capability through precise edge geometry while eliminating the safety and comfort issues associated with protruding edges.
Solution Approach 2:
The geometric parameters of the cutting edges are optimized to achieve cutting effectiveness without protrusion. The cutting edges are formed with specific angles, radii, and depths relative to the foil surface that enable effective hair removal while maintaining a flush or recessed profile. This parameter optimization decouples cutting performance from edge protrusion.
4Device complexity
If clips retain blades only at their ends, then device complexity is reduced, but mechanical stability and support deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The retaining structure is merged with the foil itself through integrated features such as tabs, flanges, or adhesive zones that are part of the foil construction. This merging eliminates the need for separate clip components while providing distributed attachment points along the foil edges, enhancing mechanical stability without increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The foil is pre-formed with retention features such as bent tabs or adhesive zones during manufacturing, before assembly into the device. This preliminary action creates built-in mechanical interlocks or bonding surfaces that provide stable retention without requiring complex clips or additional components during final assembly.
Data Source
AI summary
This invention relates to a novel personal care product having a flat treatment sheet having an upper surface and a perimeter area on the upper surface, a frame member having an underside surface and at least one tab, wherein the frame member is disposed over the perimeter area of the flat treatment sheet and the underside surface of the frame member is coplanar with the upper surface of the flat treatment sheet and the at least one tab extends below the lower surface of the treatment sheet. An upper product end of the personal care product includes a housing having at least one housing window. The at least one tab of the frame member is bent into the housing window. The frame member includes a flat or chamfered upper surface. The flat treatment sheet treats skin, removes hair, or a combination thereof.