Search

EP-4735218-A1 - PERSONAL CARE APPLIANCE AND PERSONAL CARE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING THE SAME

EP4735218A1EP 4735218 A1EP4735218 A1EP 4735218A1EP-4735218-A1

Abstract

Provided is a personal care appliance to which a personal care attachment is attachable. The personal care attachment comprises circuitry and an electrical connector assembly for connecting to the circuitry. The personal care appliance comprises appliance circuitry, and electrically conductive member(s) (116, 126) for connecting the appliance circuitry to the electrical connector assembly.

Inventors

  • DE GOEIJ, Geert Willem
  • KOENEN, Maurits
  • Balestrini, Luigi
  • NIJDAM, JEROEN CHRISTIAN
  • HEERINGA, SCHELTE

Assignees

  • Koninklijke Philips N.V.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240617

Claims (15)

  1. Claim 1. A personal care appliance to which a personal care attachment (102) is attachable, the personal care attachment comprising circuitry and an electrical connector assembly (107) for connecting to the circuitry, the personal care appliance comprising: a handle portion (100) comprising: appliance circuitry; and a pair of electrically conductive members (116, 126) for connecting the appliance circuitry to the electrical connector assembly, wherein the appliance circuitry is configured for power transmission to and data communication with the circuitry of the personal care attachment via the pair of electrically conductive members; and an interface member (108) for releasably attaching the personal care attachment to the handle portion, characterized in that the interface member at least partly delimits a first opening (110) and at least partly delimits a second opening (130), the pair of electrically conductive members being positioned so that one of the electrically conductive members (116) protrudes through the first opening and the other of the electrically conductive members (126) protrudes through the second opening so that each of the electrically conductive members is exposed for connection with the electrical connector assembly.
  2. Claim 2. The personal care appliance according to claim 1, wherein the pair of electrically conductive members (116, 126) are spaced apart from each other by at least 1 mm; and/or wherein the personal care appliance comprises a water-resistant sleeve surrounding the exposed electrically conductive members.
  3. Claim 3. The personal care appliance according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the appliance circuitry is configured such that the power transmission to and data communication with the circuitry of the personal care attachment (102) via the pair of electrically conductive members (116, 126) is with or without signal modulation.
  4. Claim 4. The personal care appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the appliance circuitry is configured to adjust a rate of data transfer and/or an amount of data being transferred via the pair of electrically conductive members (116, 126) based on a power demand of the personal care attachment (102).
  5. Claim 5. The personal care appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a seal member (112) for providing a moisture barrier between the appliance circuitry and the personal care attachment (102).
  6. Claim 6. The personal care appliance according to claim 5, wherein the seal member (112) at least partly delimits a first seal opening (114) and at least partly delimits a second seal opening, each of the electrically conductive members (116, 126) being mounted in the personal care appliance separately from the seal member but positioned so that one of the electrically conductive members (116) protrudes through the first seal opening and the other of the electrically conductive members (126) protrudes through the second seal opening so that each of the electrically conductive members is exposed for connection with the electrical connector assembly (107).
  7. Claim 7. The personal care appliance according to claim 6, wherein the seal member (112) comprises a first protrusion (117) that protrudes through the first opening (110) of the interface member (108), the first protrusion delimiting the first seal opening (114) of the seal member; and/or wherein the seal member comprises a second protrusion (137) that protrudes through the second opening (130) of the interface member, the second protrusion delimiting the second seal opening of the seal member.
  8. Claim 8. The personal care appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a first drainage channel (120) is defined in the interface member (108), the first drainage channel laterally extending away from the first opening (110) to guide moisture collected in the first drainage channel away from the electrically conductive member (116) protruding through the first opening; and/or wherein a second drainage channel (140) is defined in the interface member, the second drainage channel laterally extending away from the second opening (130) to guide moisture collected in the second drainage channel away from the electrically conductive member (126) protruding through the second opening.
  9. Claim 9. The personal care appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein one or both of the pair of electrically conductive members (116) comprise(s) a pin that protrudes through the respective opening (110; 130) at least partly delimited by the interface member (108), the pin being thereby exposed for connection within a socket included in the electrical connector assembly (107).
  10. Claim 10. The personal care appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising a circuit board assembly (118) to which the pair of electrically conductive members (116) are mounted.
  11. Claim 11. The personal care appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the interface member (108) comprises a first wall (124) that extends at least partly around one of the exposed electrically conductive members (116), the first wall being arranged and dimensioned to restrict access by a user’s finger to the electrically conductive member around which the first wall extends; optionally wherein the interface member further comprises a second wall (144) that extends at least partly around the other of the exposed electrically conductive members (126), the second wall being arranged and dimensioned to restrict access by a user’s finger to the electrically conductive member around which the second wall extends.
  12. Claim 12. The personal care appliance according to claim 11, wherein a first non-conductive rib member (125) is arranged between the first wall (124) and the electrically conductive member (116) around which the first wall extends; and/or wherein a second non-conductive rib member (145) is arranged between the second wall (144) and the electrically conductive member (126) around which the second wall extends.
  13. Claim 13. The personal care appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising a motorized drive system for driving movement of at least part of the personal care attachment (102) when attached to the personal care appliance; optionally wherein the interface member delimits an aperture (111A) through which a drive shaft (11 IB) of the motorized drive system extends.
  14. Claim 14. A personal care assembly (104) comprising: a personal care appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 13; and a personal care attachment (102) attachable to the personal care appliance, the personal care attachment comprising circuitry and an electrical connector assembly (107) for connecting to the pair of exposed electrically conductive members (116, 126) to enable the circuitry and the appliance circuitry to be connected to each other when the personal care attachment is attached to the personal care appliance.
  15. Claim 15. The personal care assembly (104) according to claim 14, wherein the electrical connector assembly (107) comprises a pair of sockets, each of the sockets being arranged to receive one of the electrically conductive members (116, 126).

Description

PERSONAL CARE APPLIANCE AND PERSONAL CARE ASSEMBLY COMPRISING THE SAME FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a personal care appliance to which a personal care attachment is attachable so that circuitry included in the personal care attachment is electrically connected to appliance circuitry included in the personal care appliance. In particular, the invention relates to a personal care appliance to which a personal care attachment is attachable, wherein the personal care attachment comprises circuitry and an electrical connector assembly for connecting to the circuitry, and wherein the personal care appliance comprises a handle portion comprising appliance circuitry, a pair of electrically conductive members for connecting the appliance circuitry to the electrical connector assembly, and an interface member for releasably attaching the personal care attachment to the handle portion, wherein the appliance circuitry is configured for power transmission to and data communication with the circuitry of the personal care attachment via the pair of electrically conductive members. The invention further relates to a personal care assembly comprising the personal care appliance and the personal care attachment. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various types of personal care appliances are known, such as hair removal appliances for removing hair, skin exfoliators, and so on. A functional head, in other words a personal care attachment, may be detachable from a handle portion of the personal care appliance. Detachment of the functional head may facilitate cleaning of the functional head and/or the handle portion. The functional head may also be detachable in order to enable a different functional head to be attached to the handle portion. In some cases, the functional head may include its own circuitry. This may necessitate electrically connecting the functional head to the handle portion. WO 2023/110416 Al discloses a personal care appliance to which a personal care attachment is attachable as described in the section “field of the invention”. In this known personal care device, the pair of electrically conductive members of the handle portion is a pair of spring elements, and the electrical connector assembley of the personal care attachment comprises a pair of electrical contact elements provided on a pair of engagement surfaces of a coupling member of the personal care attachment. When the personal care attachment is attached to the handle, the pair of spring elements of the handle engages the pair of engagement surfaces of the coupling member of the personal care attachment. By said engagement, both a mechanical and an electrical connection are realized between the handle and the personal care attachment. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Electrically connecting the functional head to the handle portion may be achieved using overmolded conductive components, e.g. wires, copper tracks, etc. However, this construction can present technical challenges, and in particular may limit possibilities for opening the handle portion in case repair and/or servicing of the handle portion is required. Overmolded conductive components may also in some cases necessitate a pair of nonpermanent electrical connections: one exterior non-permanent connection for connecting with the functional head and another interior non-permanent connection within the handle portion that is disconnected when opening the handle portion for servicing and/or repair. This pair of non-permanent electrical connections can undesirably increase transition resistance. One option may be to employ sealed connectors that are separate parts with respect to the handle portion and the functional head. However, this may increase complexity and cost for achieving the required functionality. The invention is defined by the claims. According to examples in accordance with an aspect of the invention, there is provided a personal care appliance to which a personal care attachment is attachable, the personal care attachment comprising circuitry and an electrical connector assembly for connecting to the circuitry, the personal care appliance comprising: a handle portion comprising: appliance circuitry; and a pair of electrically conductive members for connecting the appliance circuitry to the electrical connector assembly, wherein the appliance circuitry is configured for power transmission to and data communication with the circuitry of the personal care attachment via the pair of electrically conductive members; and an interface member for releasably attaching the personal care attachment to the handle portion, the interface member at least partly delimiting a first opening and at least partly delimiting a second opening, the pair of electrically conductive members being positioned so that one of the electrically conductive members protrudes through the first opening and the other of the electrically conductive members protrudes through the second opening so that each of