LIGHTED EPILATOR

Abstract

A lighted epilating device is configured in an elongated manner, such as a substantially cylindrical configuration, with an operating area of a tweezer mechanism exposed at a side and on one end thereof, with the tweezer mechanism capable of performing an epilating function to areas of a user's skin placed at the operating area. A light source is contained in the main body and is configured to illuminate the operating area and a shield which surrounds the tweezer mechanism. The shield further has an opening defining the operating area and is transparent or translucent to provide viewing and further illumination.

Description

BACKGROUND

It is known that an epilator device can provide for the treatment and removal of unwanted hair in various areas of the human body. Such epilator devices have clamping elements arranged at an operating surface of the epilating device thereby allowing a user to treat desired areas. The clamping elements are designed to open and close in a defined manner and at specific locations adjacent to treatment areas, thereby providing an automated tweezer function. In many circumstances these clamping elements are arranged at an end of a housing or main body and allow for treatment of sizable skin areas. This is beneficial as it provides wide areas of coverage, but has drawbacks when attempting to perform precise and focused treatments to small areas, such as facial areas or sensitive skin areas.

As a further challenge, it is often difficult to see areas being treated by an epilating device. Since many devices are designed to treat sizable skin areas, the housing and treatments heads are also sizable, generally concealing the areas that are being treated. Thus, it would be beneficial to have a device capable of focused and precise epilating treatments where a user can easily see the areas being treated.

SUMMARY

A lighted epilating device is sized and configured to provide focused and precise treatment of a user's skin. The main body of the device is elongated with a tweezer mechanism contained therein. The tweezer mechanism is contained in a manner to cause an operating area to be positioned at a side of the device and in an orientation which is generally parallel with a central axis of the elongated main body. The operating area is defined by an opening in a shield that is placed adjacent the side of the housing and thus adjacent to the tweezer mechanism. The tweezer mechanism includes multiple clamping elements which are capable of performing an epilating function to small areas of a user's skin placed at the operating area. A light is contained in the main body and is configured to illuminate the operating area and the shield which surrounds the tweezer mechanism. Further, the shield is formed of a transparent or translucent material thereby allowing for additional lighting of the operating area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further details and advantages of the lighted epilator will be apparent from reading the following description, in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a first perspective view of the lighted epilator;

FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the lighted epilator with a removable cap removed;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the lighted epilator shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view thereof;

FIG. 5 is a rear view thereof;

FIG. 6 is a first side view thereof;

FIG. 7 is a second side view thereof;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the lighted epilator with a shield removed;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the lighted epilator shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the lighted epilator; and

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of the lighted epilator.

DESCRIPTION

To allow for the precise/focused treatment of small and sensitive areas of a user's skin, the epilating device described below has a small housing supporting various mechanisms configured to perform an epilating function. At one end of the device, a combined housing and shield structure contains a tweezer mechanism, while also having an opening that provides exposure to a limited operating section of the tweezer mechanism. A light is positioned within the housing to cooperate with these components, thus allowing a treatment area to be illuminated and allowing the user to easily see what they are doing. Further, portions of the shield are transparent or translucent and configured to cooperate with a light bulb that is contained within the housing so that additional illumination is provided. Appropriately positioning the light and the shield allows light to be directed to an operating area thereby helping the user to see the area being treated.

To aid in understanding multiple details of the lighted epilating device, the discussion below includes certain references to the relative placement and/or size of elements, such as outer, inner, upper, lower, central, top, bottom, etc. It is understood that these references are relative, could be altered depending on the circumstances, and are not intended to be limiting in any way.

Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective view of a lighted epilating device 10 is shown, with a removable cap 16 attached thereto. Epilating device 10 further comprises a substantially cylindrical lower housing 12 and a central coupling ring 14. When attached to central coupling ring 14, removable cap 16 is configured to sit adjacent to a ridge 18, thus forming a substantially continuous outer surface for epilating device 10. As also illustrated, lower housing 12 and removable cap 16 are shaped in a slightly curved conical manner to have a smaller diameter at the ends and be slightly larger in a middle section of lighted epilating device 10. Alternatively, these components could be cylindrical, rectangular, or several other elongated shapes. In one embodiment, lighted epilating device 10 is sized and configured to resemble a lipstick tube, thus being easily stored in a handbag and easily carried by the user wherever they go. While variations in size and configuration are possible, considerable advantages are achieved by having a cylindrical structure which is relatively small.

As will be discussed below, several components making up epilating device 10 are all axially aligned with one another to accommodate the desired compact configuration while also allowing for the desired precise and focused treatment of various body areas. The generally elongated shape of epilating device 10 allow for the desired treatment to easily occur without undue interference from other elements. In the illustrated embodiment this comprises a generally cylindrical or slightly curved conical overall shape, which again is compact and allows for focused treatments in relatively small areas. As will also be seen, the active area or treatment area of the lighted epilating device 10 will be positioned along the side and at one end of epilating device 10, which allows a user to reach areas of the body that may not be easily accessed with other products.

Turning now to FIGS. 2-9, lighted epilating device 10 is shown with cap 16 removed, thus exposing a tweezer mechanism 40, an outer housing 60 which encloses a back side of tweezer mechanism 40, a light 70 and a shield 80. As will be apparent, an opening 84 in shield 80 provides access to tweezer mechanism 40 and helps define the location of an operating area 38. Further details regarding the operation and features of these components are explained in additional detail below.

Turning now to FIG. 10, an exploded view of lighted epilator 10 is presented. As shown, a main body 20 has an inner structure 26 which is configured to receive a battery 24 and support a motor 22. Additionally, inner structure 26 is configured to be contained within lower housing 12. As shown, central coupling ring 14 is part of main body 20. It should be noted that motor 22 is not shown in FIG. 10, but is contained within a central region of main body 20 as generally shown in the cross-sectional view presented in FIG. 11. In this embodiment, electrical connections (not shown) are provided on main body 20 and within lower housing 12, so that twisting lower housing 12 will also perform a switching function and thus provide power to motor 22. More specifically, a first portion of the switch mechanism is coupled to the main body 20 and a second portion of the switch mechanism is coupled to the lower housing 12. Lower housing 12 is rotatable between a first position (i.e., an “off” position) and a second position (i.e., an “on” position), and the switch mechanism is configured so that power is supplied from the battery 24 to the motor when lower housing 12 is in the second position. As will be discussed in further detail below, powering motor 22 will cause tweezer mechanism to spin so that the epilating process can occur and will cause illumination of a light 70. Also, although battery 24 as illustrated in FIG. 10 is a well-recognized AA or AAA battery, it is contemplated that may types of batteries could be used with lighted epilator 10, including removable rechargeable batteries, or an internal rechargeable power source which is periodically charged using direct or wireless connections to chargers. The term “battery” as used within this description is intended to be interpreted broadly and encompass all of these possible configurations.

As best shown in FIGS. 8-9, tweezer mechanism 40 generally comprises a frame 42, which is part of main body 20 and is configured to support a rotating shaft 28 driven by motor 22. Frame 42 has an upper ramped portion 44 and a ramped lower portion 46 which are shaped to guide related components and achieve the desired tweezer function. Related components generally include a pair of rotating disks 48, a pair of pushing members 50, guides 54 and multiple pairs of converging plates 56, all of which are operably coupled to a rotating shaft 28 driven by motor 22. As will be appreciated, rotation of rotating disks 48, pushing members 50, guides 54 and converging plates 56 will cause the surfaces of converging plates 56 to open and close. Those skilled in the art will recognize that converging plates 56 will come together at a predetermined operating area 38, thus grabbing or grasping anything positioned therebetween at that time. In the context of epilator 10, it is contemplated that any body hair positioned in operating area 38 during operation of tweezer mechanism 40 will be plucked due to the rotation/operation of the components mentioned above. Continued rotation of tweezer mechanism 40 will create the necessary pulling action to achieve this plucking function. Guides 54 further help with the positioning of body hair within tweezer mechanism during this plucking process.

To allow for reduced overall size and to accommodate the desired precise operation of lighted epilator 10, the pairs of converging plates 56 in the illustrated embodiment are arranged in a single row. This embodiment has four (4) sets of converging plates arranged equally around the circumference of tweezer mechanism 40. Further, converging plates 56 are arranged so that only a single pair of plates will come together at the operating area 38, thus causing the epilating action to occur only at one defined location at the side of epilating device 10.

Turning again to FIGS. 2, 6, 7 and 9, frame 42 is surrounded by an outer housing 60, which is also an integral part of coupling ring 14. Outer housing 60 is half cylindrical and covers a back half of frame 42. A half-circular top plate 62 covers a top portion of frame 42. As will be appreciated, tweezer mechanism 40 is positioned within frame 42 so that the active area is positioned on the side which is not shielded by outer housing 60. A shield 80 is positioned to surround further portions of tweezer mechanism 40, while also having an opening 82 which allows operating area 38 to be exposed.

As also shown in multiple FIGS., main housing 20 supports a light source 70, which is positioned at a central location at the base of coupling ring 14. Light source 70 will include a lens 72 covering a light bulb (not shown), which is illuminated by power from battery 24. In this embodiment, light source 70 is operably coupled to the internal switch contained within lower housing 12 so that it will be illuminated when power is supplied to motor 22. As will be recognized, light source 70 will direct light toward the tweezer mechanism 40, and particularly toward the operating area 38.

As mentioned, lighted epilator 10 further includes shield 80 positioned in front of tweezer mechanism 40. Shield 80 has a half cylindrical wall outer 82 with an operating opening 84 therein, which allows the operating area 38 of tweezer mechanism to be exposed. In this manner, skin positioned adjacent operating opening 84 (which coexists with operating area 38) will undergo the desired epilating function. Half cylindrical wall 82 of shield 80 sits above ridge 18 and is configured to cooperate with outer housing 60 to further surround tweezer mechanism 40. A half circular top wall 86 helps to enclose the top portion of tweezer mechanism 40 and is generally aligned with half circular top plate 62. In addition, shield 80 is configured to sit immediately adjacent to light source 70, and includes a tab 88 extending from a bottom portion of shield 80 will be inserted into a slot 34 in main body 20 at a location such that it is also exposed to the internal light bulb mentioned above. Tab 88 is best shown in FIG. 10, which presents a view of shield 80 when removed from main body 20.

In the embodiment discussed above, and as generally illustrated in the figures, shield 80 is formed of a transparent or translucent material, thus allowing for partial viewing of tweezer mechanism 40. In addition, the transparent or translucent material of shield 80 allows for a portion of the light generated by light source 70 to illuminate all portions of shield 80. This will also help to illuminate operating area 38, which is particularly beneficial to users so they can more easily see the areas of skin being treated. In an effort to provide additional illumination, additional structures could be incorporated into shield 80 such as reflective surfaces or light tunnels which could help to direct additional light to operating area 38.

As generally outlined above, this embodiment of lighted epilating device 10 is substantially cylindrical, with operating area 38 positioned at the side of one end. Again, this allows the user to easily position operating area 38 in many areas of the body so that focused and precise treatments can be achieved. As also mentioned above, it is contemplated that epilating device 10 is also relatively small, thus further accommodating these focused and precise treatments.

Various embodiments of the invention have been described above for purposes of illustrating the details thereof and to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention. The details and features of the disclosed embodiments are not intended to be limiting, as many variations and modifications will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to be interpreted broadly and to include all variations and modifications coming within the scope and spirit of the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A lighted epilating device for the removal of hair, comprising: a substantially cylindrical main body;a battery holder contained within the main body;a motor configured to be powered by a battery when contained within the battery holder to drive a main drive shaft, wherein the main drive shaft is substantially aligned with a main axis of the substantially cylindrical main body;a switch for selectively providing power to the motor;a tweezer mechanism coupled to the main drive shaft and configured to have a plurality of plates which are configured to open and close at predetermined locations as the tweezer mechanism spins along with the main drive shaft, wherein the plates will close at an operating area, thereby perform a plucking function, wherein the operating area is a first side of the tweezer mechanism;a cover housing extension configured to cover a portion of the tweezers and extending from an end of the main body;a shield cooperating with the cover housing to cover a remaining portion of the tweezer mechanism, wherein the shield has an opening therein to expose the operating area; anda light bulb positioned within the main body at a position adjacent the shield and adjacent the operating area, wherein the light bulb is positioned to illuminate the operating area and the shield.

2. The lighted epilating device of claim 1 wherein the shield is translucent and capable of absorbing a portion of the light produced by the light bulb.

3. The lighted epilating device of claim 1 wherein the shield is transparent.

4. The lighted epilating device of claim 1 wherein the plates of the tweezer mechanism are configured in pairs and a plurality of pushing members will cause the pairs to come together at the operating area as the tweezer mechanism spins.

5. The lighted epilating system of claim 1 wherein the plates are arranged in a single row such that only one pair of converging plates will come together within the opening of the shield.

6. The lighted epilating device of claim 1 further comprising a lower housing surrounding the main body, the lower housing being rotatable and containing electrical elements to form the switch.

7. The lighted epilating device of claim 2 wherein the shield has a tab extending into the main body at a position adjacent to the light bulb to further accommodate lighting.

8. A lighted epilating device configured to perform focused and precise epilating treatments on defined areas of a user's skin, comprising: an elongated body;a tweezer mechanism contained within a portion of the elongated main body and having an operating area at a side of the elongated body proximate a first end, wherein epilating treatment is accomplished upon the defined areas of a user's skin when positioned adjacent the tweezer mechanism;a drive system contained within the elongated body to drive the tweezer mechanism;a shield partially containing the tweezer mechanism having an opening which is positioned to define the operating area thus allowing the defined areas of the user's skin to interact with the tweezer mechanism; anda light within the elongated body and positioned adjacent the shield, the light configured to illuminate both the operating area and the shield.

9. The lighted epilating device of claim 8 wherein the shield is transparent or translucent.

10. The lighted epilating device of claim 9 wherein the edges of the shield are illuminated by causing light to be transmitted through the shield thereby further illuminating the operating area.

11. The lighted epilating device of claim 10 wherein the drive system is a battery-operated motor contained within the elongated body which is operably coupled to the tweezer mechanism via a drive shaft.

12. The lighted epilating system of claim 11 wherein the elongated body comprises a main body and a lower housing, and wherein the main body and lower housing have switch elements configured so that twisting of the lower housing relative to the main body will cause the motor and the light to receive power from a battery.

13. The lighted epilating system of claim 12 wherein the tweezer mechanism comprises a plurality of pairs of converging plates and a plurality of pushing members positioned adjacent the pairs of converging plates to cause the pairs of converging plates to come together at the operating area as the tweezer mechanism spins, wherein the pairs of converging plates are arranged in a single row such that only one pair of converging plates will come together within the opening of the shield.

14. An epilating device configured to perform focused and precise epilating treatments on defined areas of a user's skin, comprising: a main body containing an electric motor and configured to support a battery, wherein the main body is generally elongated;a lower housing covering a lower portion of the main body, the lower housing rotatable between a first position and a second position;a switch mechanism with a first portion coupled to the main housing and a second portion coupled to the lower housing, the switch mechanism further operably coupled with the battery and the motor, wherein the switch mechanism causes power to be supplied from the battery to the motor when the lower housing is in the second position;a tweezer mechanism partially contained within a portion of the main body and having an operating area at a side of the main body proximate a first end, wherein epilating treatment is accomplished upon the defined areas of a user's skin when positioned adjacent the tweezer mechanism, the tweezer mechanism driven by a drive shaft operably coupled to the motor thus causing the tweezer mechanism to rotate about an axis generally aligned with an axis of the elongated main body, the tweezer mechanism further having a plurality of pairs of converging plates and a plurality of pushing members positioned adjacent the pairs of converging plates to cause the pairs of converging plates to come together at the operating area as the tweezer mechanism spins, wherein the pairs of converging plates are arranged in a single row such that only one pair of converging plates will come together at any point in time;a shield partially containing the tweezer mechanism and cooperating with the main body to protect areas of the tweezer mechanism, the shield having an opening which is positioned to adjacent to the operating area thus allowing the defined areas of the user's skin to interact with the tweezer mechanism through the opening; anda light within the main body and positioned adjacent the shield, the light configured to illuminate both the operating area and the shield.

15. The epilating device of claim 14 wherein the shield is transparent or translucent thereby allowing light to be through the shield and help to illuminate the operating area.

16. The epilating device of claim 15 wherein the opening in the shield has a plurality of edges which are configured to capture light transmitted through the shield and further illuminate the operating area.