JP3340090B2 - Laser hair removal probe - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a laser hair removal probe for performing hair removal treatment by irradiating a skin surface with a laser beam.

[0002]

In the laser hair removal, laser light is applied to the skin after removing the unwanted hair to cause protein degeneration in the hair papilla and sebaceous glands, thereby suppressing the growth of hair. Methods for removing waste hair include pulling out with tweezers, dissolving with a depilatory cream, and peeling off with a depilatory tape, all of which may damage the skin or cause pain. For this reason, shaving with a safety razor or an electric shaver is the most painless and comfortable hair removal method.

Further, laser hair removal needs to be repeatedly performed continuously for a long period of time so that a change appears only about three months after the application of the laser beam. However, laser hair removal needs to remove unwanted hair each time before treatment, which is troublesome and time-consuming. It was.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a probe for irradiating a laser beam with shaving means and irradiates the skin with a laser beam while shaving the hair on the surface of the skin, thereby efficiently removing hair without pain at the time of hair removal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a laser hair removal probe that can perform the method.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

Namely, the invention of claim 1, Rutotomoni includes a shaving unit on the tip of the probe for irradiating a laser beam, before
The laser beam that forms the beam waist on the skin surface
Comprising a lens, wherein the distance between the condenser lens and the skin surface
This is a laser hair removal probe which is kept constant through shaving means and irradiates the skin with laser light while shaving the hair on the skin surface. The invention according to claim 2 is the laser hair removal probe according to claim 1, wherein the shaving means is an electric shaver .

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a front view and a partially cutaway side view of a laser hair removal probe embodying the present invention.
The laser hair removal probe 1 includes a plurality of semiconductor laser diodes 3 that irradiate laser light to both sides of an outer blade 2 of an electric shaver.
Are arranged. The semiconductor laser diode 3 has a through hole a inserted into the heat sink 4 and is fitted therein, and a spherical lens 5 is disposed in front of the light emitting surface thereof. The spherical lens 5 condenses the laser light of the semiconductor laser diode 3 and forms a beam waist at the tip of the outer cutter 2. Note that the semiconductor laser diodes 3 may be arranged on only one side of the outer blade 2. The electric shaver may be a rotary type as well as a vibration type. In the case of the rotary type, a plurality of semiconductor laser diodes 3 are arranged in a ring shape on the outer periphery of a cylindrical head. Instead of an electric shaver, a safety razor may be simply attached to the tip of the probe.

The semiconductor laser diode 3 is inserted into the heat sink 4 as shown in FIG.
Connected to the input end of the large diameter optical fiber 7 through
The large-diameter optical fiber 7 is branched into a large number of small-diameter optical fibers 9 via a melt-stretched optical coupler 8, and their emission ends are respectively arranged on both sides of the outer cutter 2 so as to face the rear of the spherical lens 5. Is also good. The coupling module 6 squeezes outgoing light of the semiconductor laser diode 3 with a coupling lens (not shown) and makes it enter at an angle smaller than the light receiving angle of the large-diameter optical fiber 7.

Since the spherical lens 5 has a shorter focal length than an ordinary lens, the light power can be narrowed down to a small and narrow range. Conversely, from the position beyond the focal point, the light beam spreads at the same angle, and the light power is dispersed over a wide range. For this reason, at a position beyond the focal point, the energy density is reduced and the optical power is reduced, so that there is less danger of damaging the living body even if it is erroneously irradiated.

The outer blade 2 serves as a spacer, and keeps the distance between the spherical lens 5 and the skin surface constant so that the beam waist of the laser light condensed by the spherical lens 5 just comes to the skin surface. I do.

The heat sink 4 diffuses heat generated during operation of the semiconductor laser diode 3 by heat conduction, thereby suppressing a decrease in performance. For this reason, aluminum or an alloy thereof having good heat conduction efficiency is cast, and several dummy through holes are provided to enhance the heat radiation efficiency.

The semiconductor laser diode 3 is made of GaAs
(Gallium arsenide) and other PN junction diodes using a semiconductor such as a semiconductor are excited by passing a current directly, and a laser beam with a peak wavelength of 600 to 1600 nm and an optical output of 5 mW to 3 W is output, and sufficient photothermal reaction on the skin is achieved. Wake up. Also,
In addition to the thermal reaction, it causes a photoelectric reaction, a magnetooptical reaction, a photodynamic reaction, a photochemical reaction, a photoimmune reaction, a photoenzymatic reaction, etc., and promotes the metabolism of living tissue by photobiological activation to enhance skin blood circulation. There is no action to damage living tissue at an appropriate power density, and there is no danger of causing skin damage.

The laser hair removal probe of the present invention is configured as described above. When performing hair removal treatment, first, the power is turned on, the electric shaver is driven, and the tip of the outer blade 2 is pressed against the skin to attach the probe. Move slowly. The semiconductor laser diode 3 on the opposite side of the moving direction is turned on in conjunction with the movement of the probe, whereby the skin after shaving is constantly irradiated with laser light.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, a laser hair removal probe of the present invention, Rutotomoni includes a shaving unit on the tip of the probe for irradiating a laser beam, the beam waist of the laser beam
A condensing lens that forms a
The distance between the skin and the skin surface is kept constant via the shaving means
It irradiates the skin with laser light while shaving the hair on the skin surface. Therefore, according to the present invention, hair removal to be performed before laser hair removal and laser beam irradiation can be performed at the same time, so that the efficiency of hair removal treatment is improved and painless and comfortable hair removal treatment can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a laser hair removal probe embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view in which a part of FIG. 1 is cut away.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a probe that irradiates a laser beam linearly using an optical fiber.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 laser hair removal probe 2 outer cutter 3 semiconductor laser diode 4 heat sink 5 ball lens 6 coupling module 7 large diameter optical fiber 8 optical coupler 9 small diameter optical fiber a through hole

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A45D 26/00 A61B 18/20

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A shaving method for a tip of a probe for irradiating a laser beam.
Equipped with hair meansTogether with,Focusing the beam waist of the laser light on the skin surface
Equipped with a lens, The distance between the condenser lens and the skin surface is determined via the shaving means.
And keep it constant, Then irradiate the skin with laser light while shaving the hair on the skin surface.
A laser hair removal probe configured to emit light. 2. The laser hair removal probe according to claim 1, wherein said shaving means is an electric shaver .