Patent Application
20210045512
The present invention relates to shaving, and particularly to a device and method for shaving in the presence of steam.
Seeking to minimize the harmful effects of shaving and to obtain a better-quality shave, it's common practice to shave while taking a shower, under the effect of hot water and steam. The main goal of this practice is to, under the action of water, open up pores and consequently allow the shaving blade greater access to the base of the hair. The hot water and steam also provoke softening of the hair, thus facilitating the cut.
This practice, however, also have some inconveniences: one must shave and shower at the same time, which is not always desirable; one must use a mirror in or near the shower, which soon becomes fogged due to the steam; it provokes excessive expense because a large amount of hot water is used; shaving in the shower uses excessive amounts of water which is problematic during droughts. etc.
Despite all these issues, however, it remains that exposure to steam creates a huge positive impact on the shaving process, ensuring a closer shave that is more uniform, hygienic, and causes less damage to the skin.
The invention disclosed herein provides a device settable to a steaming mode that allows users to shave outside of the shower while retaining many of the benefits. The device is height and angle adjustable, and delivers a stream of steam. The stream of steam may be adjusted to be delivered from an ideal position partially from in front and partially from under the person's face. The device may include a mirror that is adjustable so that the person may see their face, but the steam does not fog the mirror.
The device is also transformable from the steaming mode to a compact put-away mode ideal for storage or shipping.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various example systems, methods, and so on, that illustrate various example embodiments of aspects of the invention. It will be appreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. An element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale.
The device 1 may include a base 3 that rests on a counter C of, for example, a bathroom. The base 3 may include a water reservoir 5 inside an inner cylinder 6 and a water heating element 7 in thermal proximity to the reservoir 5 to heat the water sufficiently to progressively transform at least some of the water into a stream of steam. The device 1 may also include a steam outlet 9 disposed distal the base 3 along a longitudinal axis a of the steaming device 1. The steam outlet 9 outputs the stream of steam. The steam outlet 9 may include a planar surface 11 that has formed thereon orifices 13 from which the stream of steam flows out. The device 1 may also include a steam delivery conduit 15 that may include a receiving end 15a fluidly connected to the base and a discharge end 15b fluidly connected to the steam outlet 9. In the steaming mode, the steam deliver conduit 15 delivers the stream of steam from the base 3 to the steam outlet 9. The device 1 may also include a hingedly attached mirror 17 that is user adjustable and, when flipped up, reveals the orifices 13.
The device 1 may include a power cord 19 for connecting the device 1 to a standard power outlet (e.g., 120 VAC) and an on/off switch 21. The reservoir 5 in the inner cylinder 6 may be filled with water which the heating element 7 heats when the switch 21 is in the on position. The heating element 7 heats the water to create steam which flows upward through the steam delivery conduit 15 to the steam outlet 9 which delivers the steam to the user's face via the orifices 13.
The device 1 may also include an outer cylinder or movable body element 23, which surrounds most of the steam delivery conduit 15 and slides along the longitudinal axis a upwards to the steaming mode of
In the deployed or steaming mode of
In the steaming mode, the planar surface of the steam outlet 9 may be set to a diagonal orientation such that the orifices 13 direct the stream of steam partially from in front and partially from under the person's face. The mirror 17 may be adjustable to a diagonal orientation so that the person may see their face on the mirror 17 but the steam does not fog the mirror. The mirror 17 is pivotably attached to the steam outlet 9 and configurable from a position in the steaming mode in which the mirror's surface is pivoted away from the planar surface of the steam outlet 9 such that the stream of steam reaches the person's face but substantially misses the mirror's surface to prevent fogging to a position in which the mirror's surface is parallel the planar surface of the steam outlet 9 in the put-away mode.
The steam delivery conduit 15 may be an accordion-type flexible tube that connects to the reservoir 7 at the receiving end 15a and to the steam outlet 9 at the delivery end 15b. The collapsible accordion nature of the steam deliver conduit 15 allows it to extend and contract depending on whether the device 1 is in the steaming mode or the put-away mode.
The device 1 may include a view window 27 that allows the user to see how much water remains in the reservoir 5. The power cord 19 may be extendable and retractable from the base 3 via a spring reel assembly 29, which may include a button 39 to activate the reel action. In one embodiment, the device 1 includes a heat shield 31 that protects the user from accidentally touching the hot steam delivery conduit 15 during use.
In
In one embodiment, the power cord 19 may be extendable and retractable from the base 3 via a spring reel assembly 29. The spring reel assembly 29 may include a spring reel holding button 39 that, when pressed by a user, retracts the cord 19. The spring reel assembly may also be used in the steaming mode to adjust the length of the cord 19. The device 1 in the put-away mode is also compact for shipping.
In one embodiment, the outer cylinder 23 may be separated from the base 3 by twisting the outer cylinder 23 approximately 45 degrees which disconnects the steam delivery conduit 15 from the reservoir 5. Removal allows the user to easily fill the reservoir 5 with water and then to replace the outer cylinder 23 by inserting and twisting the outer cylinder 23 to the base 3, which reengages the steam delivery conduit 15 to the reservoir 5.
Once the reservoir 5 is filled with water, the user may set the device 1 to the steaming mode (by sliding up the movable body element or outer cylinder 23, angling the steam outlet 9 and the mirror 17, etc.), plug the power cable 19, turn on the switch 21, and adjust the steam valve ring 33.
While example systems, methods, and so on, have been illustrated by describing examples, and while the examples have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the systems, methods, and so on, described herein. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific details, and illustrative examples shown or described. Thus, this application is intended to embrace alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, the preceding description is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
To the extent that the terms “in” or “into” are used in the specification or the claims, it is intended to additionally mean “on” or “onto.” Furthermore, to the extent the term “connect” is used in the specification or claims, it is intended to mean not only “directly connected to,” but also “indirectly connected to” such as connected through another component or components. An “operable connection,” or a connection by which entities are “operably connected,” is one by which the operably connected entities or the operable connection perform its intended purpose. For example, two entities may be operably connected to each other directly or through one or more intermediate entities.
To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is employed in the detailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “or” is employed in the detailed description or claims (e.g., A or B) it is intended to mean “A or B or both”. When the applicants intend to indicate “only A or B but not both” then the term “only A or B but not both” will be employed. Thus, use of the term “or” herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use. See, Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 624 (3D. Ed. 1995).
