Hair treatment system

• US 20060200115A1
• Filed: 03/04/2005
• Published: 09/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gearbox LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Myhrvold, Nathan P., Tegreene, Clarence T., Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Jung, Edward K.Y., Ferren, Bran
• Granted Patent: US 8,540,701 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/9
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/203 applying laser energy to the outside of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00452 Skin
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00476 Hair follicles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/208 with multiple treatment beams not sharing a common path, e.g. non-axial or parallel
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/065 for measuring contact or contact pressure

Abstract

Embodiments of methods and systems for hair treatment are disclosed. According to various embodiments, light is used to shave, trim, or otherwise modify hair shafts.

Claims

1. A hair removal method comprising:

a) manually positioning a handheld device containing a light source adjacent to a skin surface;

b) detecting or determining a distance of said light source from the skin surface; and

c) if said determined distance is within a specified range, activating said light source to generate a highly convergent beam of a frequency band significantly absorbed by hair and having a narrow, spatially limited beam waist located at a selected distance above the skin surface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said light source is a laser, a laser diode, or a light-emitting diode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said selected distance is between about about 25 μ

m and about 300 μ

m.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said beam waist has a diameter of between about 25 μ

m and about 300 μ

m.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said specified range is selected so that said beam waist is located at said selected distance above the skin surface when said light source is within said specified range of the skin surface.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said selected distance is located just above the skin surface at the base of one or more hair shafts.

12. The method of claim 1, including generating a beam having an angle of convergence of between about 25 and about 70 degrees relative to the axis of said beam.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the light fluence at said beam waist is between about 4 and about 100 times the light fluence at said skin surface.

17. The method of claim 1, including discontinuing exposure of a skin region to said beam prior to injury of the skin region by said beam.

21. The method of claim 1, including activating said laser to generate a highly convergent beam with duration and intensity sufficient to cause absorption of between about 50 and about 200 Joules per gram by said hair shaft at said beam waist.

24. The method of claim 1, including activating said laser to generate a highly convergent beam with duration and intensity sufficient to cause absorption of between about 10 and about 80 Joules per gram by said skin surface.

25. The method of claim 1, including delivering said highly convergent beam to said skin surface through a light-conducting medium interposed between said handheld device and said skin surface.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein said light-conducting medium is a light activated medium.

45. The method of claim 17, including discontinuing exposure of the skin region by at least one of moving the handheld device along the skin surface to an adjacent skin region, deactivating the light source, and blocking the delivery of light from the light source.

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29. A depilation device comprising:

a) a housing having at least one active surface and sized and configured to be held by a human hand;

b) at least one light source housed within said housing;

c) at least one lens configured to modify light from said light source to produce a beam having a short, narrow beam waist of limited spatial extent, said beam exiting said active surface such that said beam waist occurs at a first specified distance range from said active surface;

d) a proximity sensor mounted in said housing and configured for detecting when said active surface of said housing is within a second specified distance range from a skin surface; and

e) a light source driver configured to active said light source when said proximity sensor indicates that said active surface is within said second specified distance range.

30. The device of claim 29, wherein said light source comprises a laser, a laser diode, or a light-emitting diode.

31. The device of claim 29, wherein said lens is a high numerical aperture lens.

32. The device of claim 29, further comprising a microprocessor configured to process at least one sensor signal from said proximity sensor and to generate a laser drive signal.

33. The device of claim 29, wherein said first specified distance range is located just above said skin surface when said active surface is within said second specified distance range.

35. The device of claim 29, wherein said at least one lens has a numerical aperture of between about 0.64 and about 0.87.

41. The device of claim 29, wherein said light source comprises a laser array.

42. The device of claim 29, further comprising at least one motion sensor capable of detecting motion of said active surface across a skin surface.

44. The device of claim 29, wherein said light source driver is configured to activate said light source when said proximity sensor indicates that said active surface is within about 50 and about 1000 μ

m of said skin surface.

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46. A depilation device comprising:

a) a housing having at least one active surface and sized and configured to be held by a human hand;

b) at least one lens having a numerical aperture of between about 0.64 and about 0.87;

c) at least one light source housed within said housing and producing a beam that exits said housing at said active surface, said beam modified by said lens to have a beam waist with a diameter of between about 1 and about 3 hair diameters that occurs at a first specified distance range from said active surface;

d) a proximity sensor mounted in said housing and configured for detecting when said active surface of said housing is within a second specified distance range from a skin surface;

e) a motion sensor including at least one of an optical sensor, an electromechanical sensor and a mechanical sensor; and

f) a light source driver configured to active said light source when said proximity sensor indicates that said active surface is within said second specified distance range.