The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 13, 2000
Filed:
Dec. 15, 1998
Antonius M Nuijs, Eindhoven, NL;
Andreas J Garenfeld, Eindhoven, NL;
Robert H Munnig Schmidt, Groningen, NL;
U.S. Philips Corporation, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
The invention relates to a depilation apparatus, comprising a housing which accommodates a pinching member for consecutively pinching hairs growing from human skin and twisting the pinched hairs about their longitudinal axes. According to the invention, the pinching member holds the pinched hairs in a substantially constant position relative to the housing while twisting the hairs. In this manner, the pinching member does not pull at the hairs and, therefore, does not cause any pain while twisting the hairs. The hairs are twisted by the pinching member until the adhesion between the hairs and the skin tissue is broken or until the hairs are broken beneath the skin surface. After having been twisted in this manner, the hairs can be removed from the skin substantially without pain. The pinching member of a preferred embodiment of the depilation device comprises at least two co-operating pinching elements which are periodically movable from a hair trapping position to a pinching position and from the pinching position back to the hair trapping position, the pinching elements sliding along one another in the pinching position at speeds which are equal but oppositely directed relative to the housing.