Field

[001 ] The present disclosure relates to facial care apparatus, and more particularly to handheld facial care apparatus having a motor driven facial care head. More particularly but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to handheld motorized powder puff applicators and accessories therefor.

Background

[002] Facial care apparatus such as facial cleansers, facial brushes or cosmetic applicators are useful to enhance personal grooming. Handheld facial care apparatus with a motorized facial care applicator are gaining increasing popularity, and it would be beneficial to provide improvements to such motorized facial care apparatus.

Summary

[003] There is provided a facial care apparatus comprising a main housing, a handgrip portion on the main housing, a motor drive mechanism inside the main housing and a moveable head to be driven by the motor drive mechanism; wherein the motor drive mechanism is to drive the movable head in a reciprocating sliding motion during operation. A reciprocating sliding motion of the movable head has been found to be particularly efficient in applying facial care substances such as cosmetic or powder to the face of a user. The movable head may project from the main housing orthogonally to the handgrip axis or at an obtuse angle to the handgrip axis. The obtuse angle may have a value between 125 and 145 degrees.

[004] In an example, the handgrip portion is elongate and defines a handgrip axis, and the movable head is to slide reciprocally along a sliding axis which is parallel to the handgrip axis when driven by the motor drive mechanism. [005] In an example, the sliding axis is an axis of symmetry of the main housing.

[006] In an example, the movable head is to slide back and forth relative to a neutral position, the sliding amplitude being within 3mm from the neutral position, preferably within 2mm.

[007] In an example, the movable head is to slide back and forth relative to a neutral position, the sliding frequency being less than 20 Hz, or less than 10Hz, or less than 7Hz. [008] The motor drive mechanism may comprises an eccentric drive conversion mechanism to convert rotational motion generated by a motor of the motor drive mechanism into a linear reciprocating sliding motion of the movable head. An eccentric drive mechanism is beneficial as it is more compact and silent compared to a gear drive mechanism. [009] The eccentric drive conversion mechanism may comprise an eccentric crank which is mounted on the motor shaft of the motor such that an eccentric drive pin on the eccentric crank moves around the motor shaft axis to convert rotation of the motor shaft into linear reciprocating motion of the movable head during operation.

[0010] In an example, the movable head comprises a powder puff applicator, the powder puff applicator being for applying a cosmetic or a skin care powder onto the face of a user.

[001 1 ] In another aspect, there is described a facial care apparatus comprising a main housing, a handgrip portion on the main housing and defining a handgrip axis, a motor drive mechanism and a moveable head to be driven by the motor drive mechanism; wherein the motor drive mechanism is to drive the movable head into a first reciprocating motion and a second reciprocating motion superimposed on the first.

[0012] In an example, the first reciprocating motion may be a sliding motion which is to bring the movable head to slide parallel to the face of a user during normal use.

[0013] For example, the sliding motion may be parallel to the handgrip axis.

[0014] The frequency of the sliding motion may be less than 20 Hz, or less than 10Hz, or less than 7Hz.

[0015] In an example, the first reciprocating motion is a padding or tapping motion which is to bring the movable head is to pad on the face of a user during normal use, the padding motion being at an angle, or orthogonal, or substantially orthogonal to the face of a user.

[0016] For example, the padding motion is at an angle to the handgrip axis. [0017] The frequency of the padding motion may be less than 100 Hz, or less than 80Hz, or less than 60Hz.

[0018] The amplitude of the first reciprocating motion may be within 3mm of a neutral position, or within 2mm.

[0019] The second reciprocating motion may be a vibration. [0020] For example, the vibration may be generated by a vibration source, such as a micro motor, mounted on the moveable head.

Description of Figures

[0021 ] Example facial care apparatus and accessories therefor will be described by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying Figures in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a facial care apparatus according to the present disclosure,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of Figure 1 ,

Figure 2A is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of Figure 1 taken along the handgrip axis A-A',

Figure 3 is an exploded view of the apparatus of Figure 1 ,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the facial care apparatus of Figure 1 with the facial care attachment detached,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of another example of a facial care apparatus according to the present disclosure,

Figure 6 is a partially exploded view of the apparatus of Figure 5,

Figure 7 is schematic view showing a drive mechanism of the apparatus of Figure 5, and

Figure 8 is front view of the drive mechanism of Figure 7, and

Figure 8A a cross-sectional view of the drive mechanism of Figure 8 taken along line C-C.

Description

[0022] A facial care apparatus 100 depicted in Figures 1 to 4 comprises a main housing 110 and a movable head 120 projecting from the main housing. The main housing 110 comprises a hollow plastic housing which defines a neck portion 102, an end portion 104 and a handgrip portion 106 intermediate the neck portion and the end portion. The neck portion 102 includes a peripheral wall defining a collar portion which projects from one longitudinal end of the main housing. This neck portion provides an interface region for the movable head to mechanically couple with the main housing and the motor drive mechanism inside the main housing 110.

[0023] The handgrip portion 106 is elongate and is shaped and sized to facilitate ergonomic holding of the apparatus by a user during normal use. The elongate handgrip portion 106 defines a handgrip axis A-A' which extends longitudinally through the center of the main housing and defines an axis of lateral symmetry of the main housing. An anti-slid surface 108 is formed on each of the lateral sides of the handgrip portion 106 to mitigate hand slipping during normal use when a user holds the apparatus by the handgrip portion 106 with the movable head facing and approaching the facial skin of a user. The main housing 1 10 also defines a motor drive mechanism compartment for housing a motor drive mechanism and a battery compartment for housing batteries to power the motor drive mechanism. The motor drive mechanism comprises a motor 142 and a drive mechanism 144 which is driven by the motor to bring the movable head into a reciprocating motion during operation. To facilitate single handed operation, operation switches 112, 114 are disposed on the side of the main housing on which the movable head projects.

[0024] The motor 142 is mounted on an axis of symmetry of the main housing with its shaft intercepting the handgrip axis at a right angle to drive the movable head. As shown in Figure 2, the drive mechanism 144 is arranged to convert rotation of the motor shaft into a linear reciprocating motion to drive the movable head 120 and comprises a first eccentric 146, a second eccentric 148, and a slide limiting member 150. Each of the 1 ^st and 2 ^nd eccentrics 146, 148 comprises a disc member and an eccentric drive pin that is offset from the center of the disc and parallel to a rotation axis of the disc which passes through the disc center. The first eccentric is mounted on the motor shaft, the second eccentric 148 is mounted on top of the eccentric drive pin of the first eccentric 146 in a freewheeling manner such that it is free to rotate with respect to the first eccentric, and the eccentric drive pin of the second eccentric is confined in a linear slot on the slide limiting member 150. When the motor shaft is in rotation, the eccentric pin of the second eccentric ('second eccentric pin') will undergo a linear reciprocating motion along the liner slot of the slide limiting member 150 due to confinement in the linear slot.

[0025] The top or free end of the second eccentric pin is mounted to the underside of a base member 122 of the movable head in order to bring the movable head to move in synchronization with the second eccentric pin. With the combination of the motor and the drive mechanism, rotation of the motor will be converted into a linear reciprocating motion along the direction of the handgrip axis, and this linear reciprocating motion drives the movable head into a reciprocating sliding motion on the skin of a user during use. The base member 122 serves as a movable platform which is covered by a plastic cap 124 to form a complete movable head.

[0026] The facial care apparatus 100 can be configured to perform different types of skin or facial care operation depending to a large extent on the type of applicator head on the movable head 120. For example, the facial care apparatus 100 will operate as a motorized cosmetic applicator when a cosmetic applicator is on the moveable head. Also, the facial care apparatus 100 will operate as a motorized powder puff applicator when a powder puff applicator 160 is carried on the movable head. Alternatively, the facial care apparatus 100 will operate as a motorized facial cleanser when the movable head carries a cleansing brush.

[0027] During operation, a user will hold the handgrip portion of the apparatus using one hand and turn on the motor by operating the ON/OFF switch 114. When the ON/OFF switch 114 is in the ON position, the motor will obtain power from the batteries 116 and drive the movable head into a reciprocating sliding motion to perform a designated skin care function as determined by the applicator on the movable head 120. To perform facial care operations, a user will bring the applicator head on the movable head to act against the face of a user and the moving applicator head will move back-and-forth on the face to perform a designated skin care operation. In general, the movable defines a facial or skin care surface which is parallel to but off-set from the handgrip axis A-A'.

[0028] In an example configuration, the handgrip portion is palm-sized and the reciprocating motion of the movable head has the following specification:

[0029] For example, when the apparatus carries a powder puff applicator on the movable head, cosmetic powder will be applied onto the face of a user by means of a sliding motion characteristic of this apparatus. The sliding motion resembles a rubbing motion which has been found to enhance skin care performance. The compact drive mechanism has resulted in a compact design such that the total length of the apparatus is about or less than 13 cm.

[0030] In a variation of this example, the skin care apparatus 100 may include a second reciprocating motion source which is to generate a reciprocating motion to superimpose on the first reciprocating motion generated by the primary motion source of the motor 142. More specifically, a micro-motor 152 as an example of a secondary motion source is mounted on the platform of the movable head with its shaft parallel to the handgrip axis A-A' and carrying an eccentric weight.

[0031 ] In operation, the eccentric weight of the micro-motor 152 will generate a second reciprocating motion which is to be superimposed on the primary reciprocating motion generated by the main or primary motor 142. The second reciprocating motion may be parallel to, at an angle or, orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the direction of the first or primary reciprocating motion which is a sliding motion in this example.

[0032] As depicted in Figure 2, the micro-motor 152 is mounted on a platform surface of the base member that is away or distal from the eccentric drive mechanism, and the shaft of this micro-motor 152 is substantially parallel to the platform surface and at an angle to handgrip axis. The second reciprocating motion is intended to be auxiliary or ancillary to the first reciprocating motion. Therefore, the second reciprocating motion has substantially smaller amplitude compared to the amplitude of the first reciprocating motion. For example, the amplitude of the second reciprocating motion can be, for example, less than 1 /10th, 1/20th, or 1 /30th of the first reciprocating motion. In addition, the second reciprocating motion has a substantially higher frequency compared to the first reciprocating motion. For example, the micro-motor 152 may operate at 10 times, 20 times or 30 times or even higher of the frequency of the first reciprocating motion generated by the primary motor 142.

[0033] When operating the apparatus 100 with both the first and the second reciprocating motion in operation, the second reciprocating motion will appear as a higher frequency vibration superimposed on the sliding motion. In use, a user will operate a mode selection switch 112 to select the mode to operate. Example modes which are available include:- a first mode of sliding motion only, a second mode of sliding motion in combination with vibration, and a third mode of vibration only. In the example of Figure 1 , an example vibration frequency of 200 Hz is used.

[0034] While a micro-motor 152 is shown in Figure 1 , it will be appreciated that the apparatus 100 can be with or without the micro-motor 152 as a source of the second reciprocating motion. In such a case, the mode selection switch 112 can be dispensed of or allocated for other functions without loss of generality. [0035] As mentioned above, different types of facial care attachments can be attached to the movable head 120 of the facial care apparatus to perform different facial care functions. In the example of Figure 1 , the facial care attachment is an applicator head 160 configured as a powder puff applicator which is releasably mounted on the moveable head 120. The applicator head 160 comprises a plastic cap which is complementary to the movable mead such that the applicator head 160 can be press or friction fitted on the movable head 120.

[0036] As depicted in Figures 1 to 4, the movable head and the applicator head has a tapered end so that the tip of the applicator can engage with corner portions of the face of a user. This tapered or water droplet or tear shaped applicator has been found to further enhance facial care performance, whether as a facial powder puff applicator, as a brush or as a cosmetic applicator, because the tapered tap can more effectively negotiate corners on the face of a user.

[0037] Another example of a facial care apparatus 200 is depicted in Figures 5 to 8. This facial care apparatus has a substantially identical construction to that of the apparatus 100 of Figure 1 except that the drive mechanism to produce the first reciprocating motion is different. The description on the first apparatus 100 is incorporated herein by reference except the drive mechanism and numerals of the related parts are added by 100 where appropriate and for succinctness.

[0038] Similar to the facial care apparatus 100, the drive mechanism 244 of this facial care apparatus 200 comprises a main or primary motor 242 and an eccentric mechanism to convert the rotation of the motor into a first reciprocating motion, although the first reciprocating motion is in a direction parallel to the motor axis or orthogonal to the handgrip axis. The eccentric mechanism includes a 1 ^st eccentric 246 which is mounted on a free end of the motor shaft in a freewheeling manner. An eccentric pin on the 1 ^st eccentric 246 is connected to a crank arm 244 which is confined to move up and down an aperture formed on a slide limiting member 250. In this example, the first reciprocating motion is a padding motion or a tapping motion which is to apply orthogonally to the facial surface of a user and the first reciprocating motion is orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the facial surface. To produce this orthogonal padding motion, the motor shaft in this example is parallel to handgrip axis and an eccentric is provided to convert the rotation of the motor shaft into a linear stroking or tapping motion characteristic of facial padding. An example range of tapping force is between 1 to 2 N.

[0039] In an example configuration, the reciprocating tapping motion of the movable head has the following specification: tapping frequency 80 Hz

tapping amplitude ± 2mm

[0040] In a variation, the tapping motion may be at an angle to the facial surface of a user, and the crank arm 244 will then move at an angle to the motor axis for application of force at an angle.

[0041 ] In a variation to the example apparatus of Figure 5, a micro motor 252 is mounted on the movable head 220 to produce an optional second reciprocating motion to be superimposed on the first reciprocating motion. Similarly, the second reciprocating motion is intended to be auxiliary or ancillary to the first reciprocating motion and has substantially smaller amplitude compared to the amplitude of the first reciprocating motion. For example, the amplitude of the second reciprocating motion can be, say, less than 1/10th, 1 /20th, or 1/30th of the tapping amplitude. The micro-motor 252 is to operate at a substantially higher frequency and the frequency of the second reciprocating motion can be several times the frequency of the first reciprocating motion generated by the motor 242. For example, the frequency of the second reciprocating motion can be 2 times, 2.5 times, 3 times, 3.5 times, 4 times or a selected frequency between the specified multiple of the frequency of the first reciprocating motion. In this variation, the vibration frequency is at 200Hz.

[0042] In this variation, the vibration generated by the eccentric weight on the micro-motor can be in the same direction or at an angle to the tapping motion generated by the first reciprocating motion without loss of generality.

[0043] While the above examples have been used to explain the disclosure, it should be appreciated that the examples are non-limiting examples and should not be used to limit or restrict the scope of disclosure. For example, the movable head projects at right angle to the handgrip axis in the examples, but the angle of projection can be an obtuse angle of more than 90 degrees to the handgrip axis. For example, the angle can be between 125 degrees and145 degrees. Furthermore, while the example apparatus have been illustrated with detachable facial care attachments as examples of applicator heads for mounting onto a movable head, it should be appreciated that the movable heads can be built with skin care applicators without loss of generality. Table of numerals

100 200

102 Neck portion 142 Main motor 242 Main motor

104 End portion 144 Drive mechanism 244 Drive mechanism

106 Handgrip portion 146 1 ^st eccentric 246 Eccentric

108 Anti-slid surface 148 2 ^nd eccentric 246 Crank arm

1 10 Main housing 150 Slide limiting 250 Slide limiting member member

1 12 Mode switch

1 14 ON/OFF switch

1 16 Batteries

120 Movable head

122 Base member 152 Secondary motor 252 Secondary motor

124 Plastic cap