COSMETIC DEVICE
The present invention relates to a cosmetic device, particularly suitable for the cosmetic treatment and care of the hands and feet.
It is common knowledge that cosmetic and personal hygiene treatments include caring for the hands and feet, and particularly the cosmetic care and hygiene of the nails on the hands and feet.
Said treatment substantially involves treating both the nail and the cuticle that covers the base and sides of the nail, as well as the skin underneath the nail itself.
Various devices are used to implement such treatments, such as nail clippers, files for rounding and smoothing the edges of the nail, and sharp instruments for cosmetic treatments needed both on the nail groove and on the epidermis underneath the nail.
The cutting devices of known type substantially comprise a cylindrical instrument-holder or handpiece, complete with an area providing a grip and, at one end, means for retaining or locking a sharp instrument in place.
Said locking means enable the instrument to be changed and include a fixed jaw, integral with the cylindrical handpiece, and a mobile jaw complete with a threaded pin that is coupled to a corresponding threaded hole in said handpiece.
After selecting the sharp instrument they require, users place the instrument manually between the two open jaws and then proceed to mutually rotate the cylindrical handpiece and the jaw, thereby tightening the jaws in order to lock the instrument in place.
Such a device advantageously enables the instrument or blade to be changed, thus enabling the user to suitably configure the device according to the treatment to be performed on the patient.
A first drawback of the devices as described lies in that, in order to suitably position the instrument between the two jaws, users are obliged to hold the instrument itself between their fingers, thereby contaminating it.
Another drawback lies in that the tightening procedure is far from easy, the user being obliged to hold the blade in position while at the same time mutually rotating the cylindrical handpiece and mobile jaw.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks.
A particular object of the invention is to provide a device that enables the instrument to be changed without having to hold it. Another object is to provide a device that enables the instrument to be changed
more quickly and easily compared to the devices of known type. A further object is to provide a device that enables the instrument to be changed without it coming into contact with any foreign bodies that might contaminate the instrument and make it a potential source of infection for the patient. Another, yet not the least object of the invention is to provide a device that is simple, economical and reliable, and that requires no particular maintenance. The aforesaid objects are achieved through the implementation of a cosmetic device particularly, but not exclusively for use in pedicures and/or manicures that, in accordance with the main claim, consists of a handpiece in which there is at least one area providing a grip and means for locking an instrument in place, characterized in that the locking means include at least one first jaw and at least one second jaw, between which said instrument is inserted, said jaws being usually kept closed by elastic means. Advantageously the proposed solution enables the user to use only one hand to open and close the locking means in order to change the instrument.
The aforementioned objects and advantages will be highlighted in greater detail in the following description of several preferred embodiments, provided as indicative and non-restrictive examples, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein: - Figure 1 shows an axonometric view of a cosmetic device according to the invention;
- Figure 2 shows an exploded axonometric view of the device shown in Figure i;
- Figure 3 shows a longitudinal cross section of the device shown in Figure 1 ; - Figure 4 shows another longitudinal cross section of the device shown in Figure 1 during the insertion of the instrument;
- Figure 5 shows a further longitudinal cross section of the device shown in Figure 1 after inserting the instrument;
- Figure 6 shows an exploded axonometric view of another cosmetic device according to the present invention;
- Figure 7 shows an exploded axonometric view of a further cosmetic device according to the present invention.
An embodiment of a cosmetic device, particularly suitable for use in pedicure and/or manicure treatments, forming the subject of the present invention, is illustrated in Figures 1 to 5, where it is indicated as a whole by the numeral 1.
It comprises a handpiece 2, consisting of a hollow tubular element 3 complete with a grip 2a, and means 4 for locking a sharp instrument 500 in the form of a shaped blade in the example in position.
In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herein, the locking means 4 consist of a first and a second jaw, indicated respectively by the numerals 5 and 6, between which the instrument 500 is inserted. The two jaws are usually kept closed by elastic means, indicated as a whole by the numeral 7, that take effect by pressing them one against the other.
The locking means 4 are integral with a supporting element 8 that is removably associated, by connection means 9, with the handpiece 2.
Said connection means 9 consist of a threaded section 9a obtained on the handpiece 2, suited to be coupled with a corresponding threaded part 9b on the supporting element 8.
Other embodiments of the invention provide for equivalent connection means 9 such as, for instance, rapid coupling systems, snap-on or bayonet couplings.
In the embodiment of the invention represented herein, the first jaw 5 is integral with the supporting element 8, with which it forms a single body, while the second jaw 6 has a guide stem 10 suitable for fitting slidingly in a corresponding guide through hole 11 made in the supporting element 8. This enables the second jaw 6 to move elastically with respect to the first jaw 5, along an axis 12 substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the handpiece 2, when the user takes action on the operating means indicated as a whole by the numeral 13.
Said operating means 13 comprise an operating rod 14 slidingly coupled to the handpiece 2 with one end 14a in contact with the guide stem 10 and the opposite end 14b extending from the handpiece 2 and serving as a manual operating button 15.
The device 1 also comprises means 16 for controlling the closing force generated by the elastic means 7 consisting, in the case illustrated, of a compression- operated helical spring 7a.
Said control means 16, in the case illustrated, include a threaded ring 16a that is coupled with a threaded end 16b of the guide stem 10 and comes up against one end of the spring 7a, as illustrated in the figures from 3 to 5.
As for the cutting instrument 500, illustrated in detail in Figure 2, this consists of a blade wherein a first part 502 has a sharp or working profile and a second part
503 is suitable for being inserted between the jaws 5, 6.
The shape of the jaws 5 and 6 clearly depends on the shape of the instrument 500 that they are required to clamp. Figures 6 and 7 show other variants of said jaws.
A further embodiment of the invention, not illustrated herein, is differentiated from the previously-described embodiment in that the device additionally comprises a jaw locking system designed to prevent any accidental release of the instrument.
Said locking system consists of a retainer suitable for preventing any longitudinal movement of the operating rod 14. Having identified the instrument 500 with the shape best suited to the treatment the patient requires, the user or chiropodist proceeds to assemble the corresponding supporting element on the handpiece 2, screwing it down as illustrated in figure 3.
The user then grips the device 1 and uses a finger to exert a pressure P on the operating button 15.
This makes the operating rod 14 and the guide stem 10 slide longitudinally with respect to the handpiece 2 and to the supporting element 8, thereby determining the mutual separation of the jaws 5 and 6 and the opening of the locking means, as illustrated in detail in figure 4. Said movement further loads the elastic means 7, which consequently exert a stronger force against the axial movement and thus recall the two jaws 5, 6 to their naturally closed position, as illustrated in figure 3.
The user can thus easily take action, with his/her other free hand, to position the instrument 500, in this case a blade, between the jaws 5 and 6, taking care not to touch it directly in order to avoid contaminating it.
The instrument 500 can advantageously be contained in sterilized blister type packaging and opened only just before it is fitted on the device 1.
Finally, the user releases the button 15 to enable the elastic and automatic return of the jaws 5, 6 to their initial position, as illustrated in figure 5, thereby locking the instrument 500 in place.
To increase/decrease the clamping force of the jaws, the user simply needs to take action on the threaded ring 16a, screwing or unscrewing it as necessary, before installing the supporting element 8 on the handpiece 2.
It should be noted that, in the case in point, the coupling between the two jaws is of the conical type. This advantageously enables the self-centering of the second
jaw 6, as well as assuring greater accuracy and effectiveness in locking the instrument in place.
It is clear from the above description that the proposed solution simplifies the procedure for changing the cutting instrument. 5 In consideration of its characteristics, the proposed device is particularly useful for chiropodists and beauticians.
Although the invention is described with reference to the attached drawings, upon implementation it may undergo modifications that are all included within the inventive concept expressed in the following claims and are consequently l o protected by the present patent.