Skin care appliance
Patent No. US7282037 (titled "Skin care appliance") on Jun 16, 2004. The application was issued on Oct 16, 2007.
What is this patent about?
’037 is related to the field of personal care devices, specifically a compact skin care appliance designed for facial treatments. The device addresses the limitations of traditional motor-driven massagers, which often produce excessive noise and inefficient horizontal vibrations that fail to penetrate the skin effectively.
The underlying idea behind ’037 is to replace traditional rotary motors with a voice coil actuator mechanism to generate pure vertical oscillation. By utilizing a bobbin and magnet assembly similar to a loudspeaker driver, the device achieves precise up-and-down movement that maximizes stimulation depth while minimizing mechanical noise. This architecture also allows the vibrating head to serve as a functional electrode for electrical skin treatments.
The claims of ’037 focus on a vibration unit architecture where an oscillator is integrated with a dual-damper suspension system. A first damper guides the bobbin’s vertical travel through a housing, while a second damper, positioned above the first, is screw-coupled to the oscillator head. This arrangement ensures structural stability during high-frequency movement and facilitates an electrical path between the internal circuitry and the treatment surface.
In practice, the device functions as a multi-modal therapy tool by varying the current waveforms sent to the coil and the oscillator head. The control unit can switch between iontophoresis and galvanic massage by charging the oscillator head with specific polarities relative to a handle-mounted outer electrode. Because the drive mechanism is electromagnetic, the device can even translate audio signals from an external source into mechanical vibrations, allowing for bone-conduction sound therapy during the massage.
This approach differs from prior art by eliminating the cams and linkages required to convert motor rotation into linear motion, which are prone to wear and vibration loss. By using a stainless steel damper as both a mechanical spring and an electrical terminal, the invention provides a robust, low-noise interface that can deliver magnetic, color, and sound therapies simultaneously without the mechanical overhead of traditional vibrating appliances.
How does this patent fit in bigger picture?
Technical Landscape
In the early 2000s when ’037 was filed, portable skin care devices were typically implemented using rotary vibration motors to provide mechanical stimulation. At a time when systems commonly relied on the conversion of rotational movement into rectilinear motion via cams or linkages, hardware constraints made it non-trivial to achieve high-frequency vertical displacement without generating significant mechanical noise and power transmission loss. Engineering practices for handheld aesthetic tools generally focused on surface-level massage, as the horizontal diffusion of vibration energy in motor-based architectures limited the effective force exerted perpendicular to the skin surface.
Prosecution Position
The disclosed invention represents a technical advancement through the integration of a voice-coil type magnetic actuator into a handheld skin care architecture to enable precise vertical oscillation. By utilizing a magnet assembly, a bobbin-wound coil, and a multi-damper suspension system, the device shifts from traditional rotary-to-linear conversion to a direct electromagnetic drive that reduces noise and concentrates energy delivery perpendicular to the treatment surface. This architectural shift enables a multifunctional platform where the same vibration unit serves as both a mechanical massager and an acoustic transducer for sound therapy. Furthermore, the structural combination of a conductive-coated oscillator and a secondary damper creates a reliable electrical communication passage, overcoming the constraint of maintaining stable galvanic and iontophoresis currents during high-frequency mechanical vibration.
Claims
The patent contains a total of 16 claims, with claim 1 being the sole independent claim. This independent claim focuses on a skin care appliance featuring a specific vibration mechanism that utilizes a magnetic coil oscillator, a housing with dual dampers, and an outer electrode of opposite polarity to facilitate treatment. The 15 dependent claims serve to further define the structural components and functional capabilities of the device, specifying the material composition and geometry of the dampers, the conductive coatings on the oscillator and electrodes, the user interface for mode and intensity selection, and the integration of supplemental therapeutic features such as magnetic therapy, color therapy, and audio-synchronized vibration.
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US7282037
- Application Number
- US10870176A
- Filing Date
- Jun 16, 2004
- Publication Date
- Oct 16, 2007
- External Links
- Slate, USPTO , Google Patents