APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR MODIFYING KERATINOUS SURFACES

• US 20150360016A1
• Filed: 06/11/2015
• Published: 12/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Original Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
• Inventors: RABE, Thomas Elliot, SHERMAN, Faiz Feisal, BUSH, Stephan Gary, MESCHKAT, Stephan James Andreas
• Granted Patent: US 9,924,875 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0075 by spectroscopy, i.e. measuring spectra, e.g. Raman spectroscopy, infrared absorption spectroscopy A61B5/0071 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0077 Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/444 Evaluating skin marks, e.g. mole, nevi, tumour, scar
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4887 Locating particular structures in or on the body
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/407 for marking on special material
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/628 Memory colours, e.g. skin or sky

Abstract

A method and device for analyzing and treating tonal imperfections on human skin. The method has the steps of taking at least one background image of at least 10 μm² of skin and calculating the average background L value of the image on a grey scale. One or more treatment images of the skin are taken and at least one localized L value of individual pixels or group of pixels is calculated within the treatment image. The local L value is compared to the background L value. Skin deviations are areas of skin where the absolute value of the difference between a local L and the background L is greater than a predetermined ΔL_S. Skin deviations are identified by this method and then treated with a treatment composition.

Claims

1. A method of analyzing and treating tonal imperfections on human skin that comprises the steps of:

a. taking at least one background image of at least 10 μ

m² of skin;

b. calculating the average background L value of the image on a grey scale;

c. taking a treatment image of the skin and calculating at least one localized L value of individual pixels or group of pixels within the treatment image;

d. comparing the local L value to the background L value;

e. identifying a skin deviation where the absolute value of the difference between the local L and the background L is greater than a predetermined Δ

L_S value; and

,

f. treating the skin deviation with a treatment composition.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined Δ

L_S value is plus or minus 1.5%, preferably plus or minus 1.0% even more preferably plus or minus 0.5%, of the background L.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the contrast ratio of the treatment composition when treating the skin is at least 0.1 and has a lightness value of at least 1.5%, preferably at least 1.0% even more preferably at least 0.5% greater than the background L.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the image is either taken in a grey scale or converted to a grey scale, the grey scale having a range of about 0-255 units.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined Δ

L_S value is greater than 3, preferably greater than 2 and more preferably greater than 1.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment composition is applied to the skin deviations in a discontinuous deposition pattern of discrete droplets between about 0.1 μ

m to about 50 μ

m in size.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein no more than 95% of the skin deviation is covered by the treatment composition, and more preferably no more than 85%.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the skin deviation is treated with skin treatment composition one or more times until the difference between the background L and the local L of the skin deviation is less than 1.5%, preferably less than 1.0%, even more preferably less than 0.5% of the background L.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment composition is applied via a array of nozzles and the local L is calculated along the length of, and in the firing range of, the array of nozzles.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein an individual nozzle is fired to deposit the treatment composition, and the number of nozzles fired along the array of nozzles can be adjusted based on the size of the Δ

L_M and the size of the skin deviation.

11. An apparatus for treating human skin according to the method of claim 1, comprising:

an applicator comprising a head and one or more nozzles, preferably in an array;

a reservoir comprising the skin treatment composition;

a sensor;

a CPU;

wherein the sensor takes the background image of at least 10 μ

m² of skin;

the CPU analyzes the background image to calculate the background L value and then the treatment image is taken to find the localized L value of individual pixels or group of pixels;

the CPU then compares the local L value to the background L value to identify the skin deviations.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the sensor is a camera capable of taking continuous images at a rate of at least 4 frames per second and preferably greater than 100 frames per second and even more preferably greater than 200 frames per second, and even more preferably greater than 600 frames per second.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the applicator is a thermal inkjet printer and cartridge assembly.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment composition comprises particles and has a particle settling rate of less than 0.03 mm per day at 25°

C. and 1 atm pressure, and an elastic modulus between about 0.1 Pa to about 1000 Pa at 25 C and 1000 Hz.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the particles in the treatment composition have a refractive index of between about 1.1 and about 5.0.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment composition further comprises one or more particulate suspending agents in a concentration of from about 0.05% to about 2.0%;

one or more film forming polymers in a concentration of from about 0.1% to about 5.0%;

particles in a concentration of from about 1.0% to about 20.0%;

one or more humectants in a concentration of from about 2.0% to about 20.0%, by weight of the treatment composition; and

, water.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the background L is calculated two or more times throughout a treatment cycle.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the background L is recalculated when the time interval between finding two sequential skin deviations exceeds a preset time interval and more preferably 200 milliseconds.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the background L is recalculated when the number of skin deviations treated per unit of time exceeds a preset limit for treatments within that same unit of time and more preferably 1 second or greater.

20. The apparatus of claim 4 where the difference between grey scale steps is at least 1/255.

21. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein the readings made by the sensor contain a value for a characteristic selected from the group of color, brightness, reflectance, refractance, temperature, texture and mixtures thereof.