US-12622498-B2 - Cleansing device having a nebulizer and a suction unit

US12622498B2US 12622498 B2US12622498 B2US 12622498B2US-12622498-B2

Abstract

A device for cleansing and applying a composition to the hair, including a body structure having a first, dispensing opening and a second, vacuum opening, a nebulizer with an outlet connected to the first, dispensing opening, a vacuum system with an inlet connected to the second, vacuum opening, and a handle extending the body structure, the body structure having a support having a peripheral edge delimited by a perimeter line, and application elements extending from a longitudinal face of the support.

Inventors

Grégoire Charraud
Dominic Akerele
Nicholas SINCLAIR
Matthieu JACOB

Assignees

L'OREAL

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220131
Priority Date: 20210218

Claims (12)

1 . A device for cleansing and applying a composition to the hair, comprising: a body structure comprising a first, dispensing opening and a second, vacuum opening, a nebulizer with an outlet connected to the first, dispensing opening, a vacuum system with an inlet connected to the second, vacuum opening, and a handle extending the body structure, wherein the body structure has a support having a peripheral edge delimited by a perimeter line, the support extending along a longitudinal axis, and application elements extending from a longitudinal face of the support along a longitudinal axis, the application elements having a first, free end and a second end connected obliquely or perpendicularly to the longitudinal face of the support, the first, dispensing opening and the second, vacuum opening onto the longitudinal face of the support without passing through the application elements, and wherein the body structure has a suction nozzle that is movable in translation along its longitudinal axis and ends with the second, vacuum opening, a drive mechanism setting the suction nozzle in motion with an oscillating movement along the longitudinal axis of the suction nozzle.
2 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal face is flat.
3 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the support has an external surface of non-circular shape in cross section perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the support.
4 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the support has an external cross section perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the support of polygonal and/or flattened shape.
5 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the application elements are closer to the perimeter line than to the longitudinal axis of the support.
6 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first, dispensing opening and the second, vacuum opening are closer to the longitudinal axis of the support than to the perimeter line.
7 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the application elements are disposed in rows, with bases of the application elements in the rows being aligned or disposed in a staggered manner.
8 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the support has a symmetric shape relative to a median plane containing the longitudinal axis of the support.
9 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the vacuum system comprises an air pump or a water pump.
10 . The device according claim 1 , wherein each suction nozzle is connected to a pump outlet by its own dedicated outlet duct.
11 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein at least two suction nozzles are connected to the same outlet of a pump by a common outlet duct.
12 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the first, dispensing opening is positioned at the centre of the longitudinal face of the support.

Description

The present invention relates to a cosmetic device for treating hair fibres, in particular for cleansing the hair. More generally, a cosmetic product is a product as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 Nov. 2009 on cosmetic products. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND Haircare devices that dispense a cleansing fluid are known. The patent DE3800954 discloses a hair styling device having a hollow rotary body provided on its external circumferential surface with protrusions and recesses for winding, shaping and drying the hair. The body can be driven by a motor disposed in a housing in the form of a handle, with blowing openings arranged in the protrusions and suction openings arranged in the recesses. The openings are connected via ducts to a soundproof central device which contains at least one fan, an outlet connector, an intake connector and an air heater. Via the outlet openings, a permanent-waving, fixing, hair-dyeing agent or other hair treatment agent in the form of steam can be discharged through a blowing nozzle extending parallel to the hollow body along the housing. The hair treatment agent reaches the hair, while excess components are sucked in immediately by the suction openings. The patent application EP0659363A1 discloses a device for treating the hair, having a generator, a tool holder provided with a gripping handle, and a tool. The generator and the tool holder are designed to provide the tool with at least one supply of steam. They are positioned at a distance from one another and connected by a flexible bundle having at least one duct for supplying the tool holder with steam. The tool holder supports a steam outlet channel, the wall of which has steam dispensing orifices passing through it. The generator may be designed to pass other fluids through the tool, the other fluids being able to be blown and/or sucked through the tool. The French patent application no. 2003401, filed by the Applicant on 6 Apr. 2020, discloses a device for applying a formulation to the hair, which comprises a body structure having one or more teeth at a front end, wherein one end of a tooth includes a first and a second opening; a nebulizer with an outlet connected to the first opening; a vacuum system with an inlet connected to the second opening; and a handle continuing the body structure at an obtuse angle with respect to the front end of the body structure. Definition of the Invention The invention aims to provide a device for cleansing human keratin fibres, in particular the hair, making it possible to cleanse said fibres effectively with a cleansing composition, and to improve and shorten the routine of removing the particles of a mixture of sebum and shampoo from the hair and the scalp after the cleansing composition has been applied. In particular, the aim of the invention is to provide a, preferably portable and compact, device which is capable of washing the hair effectively without rinsing with water being necessary. To this end, the invention provides an all-in-one device that is capable of dispensing a composition onto the hair, the scalp or the roots, of mixing the composition with the sebum, and of removing, with the aid of a suction system, the waste generated by this mixture, the suction system comprising a low-noise air pump or water pump that is easy to incorporate in the body of the device. Definition of the Invention The subject of the invention is a device for cleansing and applying a composition to the hair, comprising a body structure comprising a first, dispensing opening and a second, vacuum opening, a nebulizer with an outlet connected to the first, dispensing opening, a vacuum system with an inlet connected to the second, vacuum opening, and a handle extending the body structure, the body structure having a support having a peripheral edge delimited by a perimeter line, the support extending along a longitudinal axis X, and application elements extending from a longitudinal face of the support along a longitudinal axis Y, the application elements having a first, free end and a second end connected obliquely or perpendicularly to the longitudinal face of the support, the first, dispensing opening and the second, vacuum opening opening onto the longitudinal face of the support without passing through the application elements. In one embodiment, the device removes more than “macro” particles such as dandruff. The device provides a cleansing formulation together with massaging for dissolving and absorbing the oils, sebum, and other odour-trapping articles so as to leave the hair with signs of cleanliness/refreshing. The device creates a mist for dispersing the formulation, and includes teeth for mechanical massaging, and removal under vacuum so as to achieve the aim of cleansing. Since the device can cleanse the hair in an equivalent manner to a shampoo used in the shower, the hair is subsequently easy to style, resulting in hair that is healthi