Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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110~495
1 BACKGROUND OF THE I~VENTION
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radiation
apparatus.
More particularly, the invention relates to
apparatus for producing ultraviolet radiation.
Still more specifically, the invention relates
to apparatus for producing ultraviolet radiation fOE medical
applications (e.g. treatment of psoriasis) and for cosmetic
applications (e.g. quick tanning of portions of the human
body).
The Prior Art
An apparatus of this general type is known rom
U. S. Patent No. 4,095,113, which is incorporated herein by
reference. In that apparatus a series of at least five
(and as many as twenty) low-pressure mercury lamps of rod-
shaped configuration is arranged in parallel, with each
lamp being located in a trough-shaped reflector. The
apparatus produces at its outlet a substantially uniform
2U high-density ultraviolet radiation field. A filter inter-
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1101 495
1 ¦ cepts at least the major percentage of the ultraviolet
¦ radiation bands below approximately 315 nm, so that the
¦ field coming in contact with the body of a user consists
¦ essentially of the remaining waveband length of ultra-
¦ violet radiation, i.e. in the WA range and at most a
¦ bordering portion of the UVB range.
¦ This apparatus has been found to be highly
¦ efficacious for administering treatments to the human
l body without causing discomfort and burning,.e.g. during
¦ ~uick tanning of the skin.
¦ However, its use is practical only for the
treatment of large parts of the human body, for example
l the front or the back of a person. In many instances it
¦ is necessary only to treat smaller parts of the body, e.g.
¦ the face or an arm, either to effect tanning or for medi-
cal purposes (e.g. to treat psoriasis). The prior art
apparatus is too large and expensive for such applications~
since much of the radiation emitted by it will be wasted
l when only a small body part is to be treated. Also, if
¦ the body part to be treated is strongly rounded--as is the
case with e.g. the face (including the cheeks and ears)
and arms and legs--, the prior art appaxatus generally can
be successfully used only if the user is resigned to under-
I going repeated treatments in each of which the body part
¦ is made to assume a different orientation with respect to
1~01495
1 the emitted radiation field.
S~MMARY OF THE I~VENTIO~
It is an object of the invention to provide
further improvements over the prior art.
A more particular object of the invention is
to provide an apparatus of the type in question, which is
especially suited for the treatment of the smaller body
parts, such as the face, arms and legs of a user.
Another object is to provide such an apparatus
which requires a minimum amount of time and energy to
effect the desired treatmentsO
Still a further object is to provide an appara-
tus of the type in question which is simple in its con-
struction and highly reliable in its operation.
In pursuance of these objects, and of others
which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the
invention resides in an apparatus for producing ultra-
violet radiation, particularly--but not exclusively--a
quick-tanning sunlamp. Briefly stated, such apparatus
may comprise a source of substantially uniform ultraviolet
radiation, including at least two closely adjacent tubular
low-pressure mercury lamps; means for intercepting at
~1~149S
least the major percentage of wavelength bands of ultra-
violet radiation below approximately 315 nm; and reflector
means cooperating with the source and defining at least one
opening for the escape of ultraviolet radiation consisting
essentially of the remaining wavelength band of ultraviolet
radiation, the reflector means including for each of the
lamps a trough-shaped reflector surrounding the lamp along
an arc, and the reflector means including at least one
intermediate portion hetween adjacent ones of the lamps
and two lateral portions having parts which project forward
ly of the intermediate portion and have forward edge por- .
tions defining the opening, the space between the lateral
portions and forwardly of the intermediate portion being
substantially unobstructed and the source and reflector
means cooperating to establish in the vicinity of the
opening a high-density radiation field, the heat output of
the lamps being sufficiently low so that the temperature
in the region of the radiation field is below the range of
discomfort of a person exposed to the field.
¦ The apparatus according to the invention may
with advantage have up to four of the mercury lamps, in
which case it will then have three of the intermediate
reflector portions. More than four of the lamps would
make the apparatus uneconomical to construct and operate
. I
~L()1495
1 (loss of radiation past the body part being treated).
The apparatus will, however, operate completely satis-
factorily with as few as two of the lamps.
Because it has only two, or at most four, of
the mercury lamps the apparatus according to the invention
is simple and can be produced quite inexpensively. Further-
more, the loss of unused radiation past the body part to
be treated is eliminated or at least minimized, since the
body part can be at least in part positi~ned in the free
space between the parts o~ the lateral reflector portions,
i.e. the space which is defined forwardly of the inter-
mediate portion or portions. Moreover, due to the parts
of the lateral portion which extend forwardly beyond the
intermediate portion, the radiation is directed against
the body part not only from the front, but also from the
sides thereof. This means that even strongly rounded
body parts (e.g. the face and check, an arm, or the like)
can be exposed to beneficial radiation in a single treat-
ment over a large surface area, including portions which
could not be reached by the front-radiating prior apparatus
unless the body portion was repeatedly turned and each new-
ly exposed surface portion was subjected to a new radiation
treatment. Accordingly, the number of radiation treatments
can be correspondingly smaller with the novel apparatus.
~evertheless, the apparatus according to the invention can
1 ~10~4~5
I
¦ also be used with advantage for the radiation treabment of
¦ larger body portions (e.g. the chest) which are positioned
at a small spacing from its outlet opening, because the
forwardly extending parts of the lateral reflector portions
prevent dissipation of the radiation and concentrate the
radiation field at and in the vicinity of the outlet opening
The novel features which are considered as char~
acteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in
the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both
as to its construction and its method of operation, together
with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be
best understood from the following description of specific
embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying
drawing.
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. ~10~495
BRIEF I)ESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIGo 1 is a perspective view, showing one
embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention;
and
FIG. 2 is a horizontal section through another
embodiment of the apparatus.
1101495
1 l DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
According to the embodiment illustrated in
FIG. 1 the apparatus has a housing 1. Mounted in the
l housing (the mountings are known per se and not shown)
¦ are two parallel tubular low-pressure mercury lamps 2 and
3. When electrically energized, the lamps excite a lumines-
cence layer 4 (shown only in FIG. 2 but applicable to all
embodiments) so that it yields ultraviolet radiation having
l its maximum concentratio~ in the UVA range. The glass en-
¦ velopes 5 of the lamps 2, 3 are constructed as filters
which intercept at least the major percentage of the UVB
and WC wavelength bands, i.e. the bands below approximately
315 nm, so that skin burns are avoided. Such lamps and
filters are described in U.S Patent No. 4,095,113, to
which reference may be had.
Each lamp 2, 3 has associated with it a trough-
shaped reflector 6) 7, respectively. These may be discrete
or of one piece. They will subsequently be more fully de-
scribed.
The usually lower end of the housing 1 contains
a box or enclosure 8~ in which a timer 9 is mounted. The
timer 9 may be calibrated from O to about 25 or 30 minutes.
The timer 9 may simply be an alarm timer which rings or
otherwise attracts the attention of a user when the pre-
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1 I selected time has elapsed: in that case, the apparatus is
¦ provided with a manually operable on-off switch. Alter-
¦ natively, the timer 9 may be o~ the type which controls
¦ the operation of the lamps 2, 3; i.e. which swîtches them
¦ on when the timer is turned from its zero setting and
switches them off when it returns to its zero setting.
Such timers are known per se, as are the electrical connec-
l tions between the lamps and the source of electrical energy
¦ and the timer, and therefore no ~tails need be illustrated,
other than to dlagrammatically show the sockets 10 in which
the upper and lower ends of the lamps 2, 3 are removably
held .
The housing 1 surrounds the reflector means 6, 7
with clearance and defines therewith a ventilation (i.e.
cooling) space which communicates with the ambient atmosphere
via ports 29 which may be slot-shaped (as shown) or have
other shapes. The housing 1 is preferably of parallelepiped 1
configuration, as illustrated, so that it will have several
surfaces with which it can rest on a substrate. In FIG. 1
these are the bottom face 11, the side face 12 and the rear
face 13. Legs or protuberances 14 may be provided on
these surfaces to prevent blockage of the ports 29 when the
housing rests on a surface which is provided with such
ports.
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1 l In the embodiment of FIG. 2 the ref~ ctor means
6, 7 is formed as a part of the inner surface of the hous-
l ing 15, instead of being separate therefrom as in FIG. 1.
¦ In all other respects the two em~odiments are alike.
¦ The trough-shaped reflectors 6, 7 of the re-
f~ ctor means (this applies to both embodiments) have in
cross-section two inner wall portions 16, 17 which together
define an intermediate;reflector portion that is located
between the lamps 2, 3. They also have laterally outer
wall portions 18 and 19 which merge into straight, planar
parts 20 and 21, respectively; these parts extend parallel
to one another and project forwardly beyond the intermediate
portion 16, 17 by a depth t which is slightly greater than
the maximum width _ of the reflector troughs. The wall
portions 18 and 19 each also merge into respective arcuate
portions 24, 25 the inner ends of which in turn merge
under respective obtuse angles into the laterally outer
ends of inner arcuate portions 22, 23. The merger line
between portions 22 and 24, and between portions 23 and 257
coincides in each case with the longitudinal center line
(line of symmetry) of the respective trough formed by these
portions. The inner ends of the inner arcuate portions 22
and 23 merge with the wall portions 16, 17 and their merger
line, in turn, is the longitudinal line of symmetry of the
reflector means 6, 7.
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:~ . .. 1 ~101495
l .
.. 1 ¦ The d~ tance a between the parts 20, 21 iS
somewhat greater than the width of a human face, i.e.
between about 17 and about 20 cm. The depthJ as considered
from front to back of the housing, of the intermediate por-
tion formed by the wall portions 16, 17 is short enough
SO that at least most of the surface area of the parts 20,
21 can be impinged by direct radiation from the respective-
ly laterally remote lamp 2, 3. In other words, part 20 can
be impinged by direct radiation from lamp 2 and part 24
by direct radiation from lamp 3, as indicated by the arrows
Sl, S2. Thus, direct radiation at a forward angle (i.e.
toward the outlet opening between the free ed~es of parts
20 and 21) will be present in the free space between parts
20, 21 forwardly of the intermediate portion 16, 17, as
well as direct forward radiation towards the outlet opening
(i.e. radiation parallel to the parts 20, 21).
It is evident, therefore, that a body portion
(e.g. the face 27 which is illustrated in broken lines
in FIG. 2) which is inserted into this free space, will be
subjected to the direct radiation from the lamps 2 and 3.
In addition, however, those portions of the direct radia-
tion which do not impinge upon the face 27, i.e. which
pass laterally beyond it and impinge the parts 20, 21, are
reflected by these parts and, depending upon their angles
of incidence and reflection, ei~her also impinge the face 2 7
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1101495
1 l (as indicated by arrow 23) or impinge the body part rela-
tively far rearwardly, e.g. in the case of the face 27 on
the checks or ears (as indicated by the arrow S4). Thus,
l even a strongly curved body portion such as a face, an arm
or a leg, will be subjected to radiation over a large part
of its surface area, including parts which do not face t~e
source of radiation and would, in prior-art radiation de-
vices, not receive any treatment at all. Of course, the
radiation exiting rearwardly from the lamps 2, 3 is reflect-
ed by the arcuate portions 22-25 of the reflector means and
then al~o impinges the body portion, either directly or
upon undergoing renewed reflection from one of the parts
20, 21. The disclosed reflector means thus utilizes sub-
stantially the entire radiation of the lamps 2, 3 for the
intended purpose and waste due to radiation loss is effec-
tively eliminated.
The apparatus according to the invention may,
in any embodiment thereof, also be provided with one or mor~
preferably arcuate me~bers or brackets 28 (one shown in
phantom lines in FIG. 1). These may be secured, releasably
or permanently (e.g. by clips, screws
or the like) to the apparatus across the outlet opening of
the same, and serve to position a body part, e.g. an arm,
in a precisely predefined position relative to the device.
This is especially advantageous if the apparatus is used
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` 1 ¦ for dermatological treatments, particularly for the treat-
I ment of psoriasis, since affected portions of a member (e.g.
¦ anm) can thus be positioned precisely in the region of
l greatest strength of the radiation field, approximately at
¦ the plane of symmetry of the apparatus and at a predetermine~ L
l distance from the lamps 2, 3.
¦ The spacing a between the parts 20, 21 could be
¦ different from that of a human face. However, the indicated
¦ distance of about 17-20 cm makes the device well suited for .
¦ the treatment of fa~e, arms and legs, i.e. of those body
portions for which it is primarily intended.
The portions 20, 21 need not extend parallel to
l one another. This is, however, of advantage because it
¦ offers excellent accessibility of the free space defined
¦ between them. Also, it assures that the radiation is re-
flected under the smallest possible anglesj so that the
field of ultraviolet radiation is well defined and concen-
trated upon the area in which the body portions will be
located. The overlapping of the radiation from the two
lamps within the free space bounded by the parts 20, 21
produces a particuIarly strong field in this relatively
large free space, a factor which is of importance for rapid
tanning and for successful medical treatments of e.g.
psoriasis.
It goes without saying that the reflector means
I ~L10~9~95
1 ¦ could have a shape different from that illustrated in FIGS~
¦ 1 and 2, as long as the hereinbefore described free space
¦ is obtained and the radiation field is concentrated in
¦ this free space and in an area somewhat outside but adjacent
to the outlet opening of the free space. The reflector
means may, of course, be of any suitable material, such
as metal, synthetic plastic (e.g. synthetic plastic on
which the surface that is to act as a reflector has been
made reflective by deposition of a reflective layer of
coating, e.g. by vapor deposition or sputtering deposition
of a metallic coating).
The housing need not have the illustrated shape,
although this is especially advantageous since it allows
the unit to be used standing on end (e.g. to treat a face),
or to rest on one of its side faces or on the rear face
(e.g. to treat an arm or a leg). The unit can then be
placed into whichever position is most convenient and com-
fortable for the user when treating a particular body por-
tion.
The housing~ also, may be made of various dif-
ferent materials. For example, it may be made of metal and
produced by stamping, punching, extrusion or the like. If i :
is of metaL, the housing itself acts as a heatsink for heat
radiated by the lamps, since such heat is radiated by the
housing to the ambient atmosphere. This is especially true
1101495
1 ¦ when a portion of the housing itself tsee FIG. 2) constitutec
¦ the reflector means. However, in some circumstances--these
¦ include the use of discrete reflectors separate from the
¦ housing--or the use of a housing of e.g. synthetic plastic
¦ material (vinyl, polystyrene) which has a low coefficient
of thermal transmissivity, the use of the ventilation space
discussed with reference to FIG. 1 will be indicated. In
any case, the heat developed during operation of the unit
l is very low, so that problems do not develop in connection
¦ with its dissipation. This is the reason why the body part
to be treated can be placed so close to the lamps, and also
why the use of synthetic plastic material is feasible for
the housing and/or the reflector meansO
l From a practical point of view, i.e. in considera
¦ tion of the quick-tanning action or the medical-treatment
efficacy which is desired, as well as from an economic
point of view, the use of from two to four lamps is the
most advantageous. However, it will be clear that if a
I lowered efficiency is acceptable, the use of a single lamp
and correspondingly modified reflector means may still pro-
duce acceptable results. Conversely, if a higher construc-
tion cost is acceptable, then more than four lamps could be
used. However, in either of these two cases the optimum
parameters obtained by constructing the unit in accordance
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1101495
1 ¦ with the disclosure hereinbefore, would not be attainable.
¦ While the invention has been illustrated and de-
¦ scribed as embodied in an apparatus for producing ultra-
l violet radiation, it is not intended to be limited to the
¦ details shown, since various modifications and structural
changes may be made without departing in any way from the
spirit of the present invention.
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so
fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others
10can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for
various applications without omitting features that, from
the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential
characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this
. invention.
15What is claimed as new and desired to be pro-
tected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appen~ed
claims.
