IMPROVED APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MICRO-ABRASIONS OF HUMAN TISSUE AND/OR HIDES

APPAREIL ET PROCEDE AMELIORES PERMETTANT D'EFFECTUER DES MICRO-ABRASIONS SUR DES TISSUS HUMAINS ET/OU SUR DES CUIRS

English Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for making micro-abrasions including a
handle (12) having an inlet passage (16) and an outlet
passage (18) communicating with an aperture (14) in said handle (12). The
aperture (14) in use is adapted to be positioned on a surface
to be treated, such as the skin, and a pneumatic means provides a variable
supply of abrasive particies to the aperture (14) of the handle.
The pneumatic means includes a vacuum source (32) having a suction outlet (35)
that is operatively connected to the outlet passage (18)
of the handle (12) and an exhaust outlet (37) that is operatively connected to
the inlet passage (l6) of the handle (12), to thereby cause the
abrasive particles from the supply container (24) to flow through said handle
(12). By providing both a suction and pressurised effect the
particles are caused to flow much more freely and assist in making micro-
abrasions on skin surface that is being treated.

French Abstract

Un appareil permettant d'effectuer des micro-abrasions comprend un manche (12) comportant un passage d'entrée (16) et un passage de sortie (18) qui communiquent avec une ouverture (14) formée dans ledit manche (12). En utilisation, l'ouverture (14) est prévue pour être placée sur une surface à traiter, telle que la peau, et un système pneumatique envoie une quantité variable de particules abrasives à l'ouverture (14) située dans le manche. Le système pneumatique comprend une source (32) de vide comportant une sortie (35) d'aspiration qui est reliée au passage (18) de sortie du manche (12) et une sortie (37) d'évacuation qui est reliée au passage (16) d'entrée du manche (12), ceci permettant aux particules abrasives contenues dans le réservoir (24) d'alimentation de circuler dans ledit manche (12). Le fait d'utiliser les effets de l'aspiration et de la pression permet aux particules de circuler plus librement et facilite le réalisation de micro-abrasions sur une surface cutanée qui est traitée.

Claims

7
CLAIMS
1. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions comprising:
a handle having an inlet passage and an outlet passage communicating with an
aperture in the handle, the aperture adapted to be positioned on a surface to
be
treated;
a pneumatic means operatively connected in series with a recovery container,
the
handle and a supply container to cause abrasive particles to flow from the
supply
container through the handle and into the recovery container, whereby the
pneumatic means includes a vacuum source having a suction outlet that is in
fluid
communication, through the recovery container, with the outlet passage of the
handle and an exhaust outlet that is in fluid communication, through the
supply
container, with the inlet passage of the handle, to thereby cause the abrasive
particles from the supply container to flow through the handle and into the
recovery
container; and
a variable inlet valve in communication with the atmosphere and operatively
located between the exhaust outlet and supply container.
2. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions as in claim 1 comprising an outlet
regulator in communication with the outlet passage of the handle and the
atmosphere so
as to control the amount of air entering the pneumatic means.
3. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions as in any one of claims 1 or 2
comprising an inlet regulator in communication with the inlet passage of the
handle and
the atmosphere so as to control the amount of air exiting the pneumatic means.
4. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions as in claim 1 wherein the
recovery container comprises a filter means so as to prevent the abrasive
particles from flowing into the pneumatic means.
5. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions as in any one of claims 1 to 4
wherein
the pneumatic means is a vacuum pump.
6. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions as in any one of claims 1 to 5
wherein
fluidly located between the suction outlet and the recovery container is a
filter so as to
prevent particulates from being sucked into the pneumatic means.

8
7. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions as in claim 1 wherein the handle
comprises a cap having an aperture configured to correspond with the aperture
in
the handle to allow abrasive particles to flow therethrough.
8. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions as in claim 1 wherein the cap is
replaceable.
9. An apparatus for making micro-abrasions comprising:
a handle having an inlet passage and an outlet passage communicating with an
aperture in the handle, said aperture adapted to be positioned on a surface to
be
treated;
a pneumatic means operatively connected in series with a recovery container,
the
handle and a supply container to cause abrasive particles to flow from the
supply
container through the handle and into the recovery container, whereby the
pneumatic means includes a vacuum source having a suction outlet that is in
fluid
communication, through the recovery container, with the outlet passage of the
handle, to thereby cause the abrasive particles from the supply container to
flow
through the handle and into the recovery container; and
a variable inlet valve in communication with the atmosphere and in fluid
communication, through the supply container, with the inlet passage of the
handle.

Description

CA 02290652 1999-11-19
WO 99/23951 PCT/AU98/00936
IMPROVED APPARATUS AND fvIETHOD FOR vllCRO-ABRHSIONS OF
HUMAN TISSUE ANDIOR HIDES
This invention is for an apparatus and method for making micro-abrasions,
particularly on human tissue or on hides.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to an apparatus and method for
making micro-abrasions, particularly for cosmetic treatment of human tissue
such as the removal of scars and other skin blemishes but may also be used
for therapeutic treatment. In addition, the invention can be used to treat
hide
or other similar type of materials which require fine abrasion to remove
particular attributes.
Apparatus and methods for making micro-abrasions are known but which
rely exclusively on a vacuum source to provide a pneumatic carrier ability for
abrasive particles. It has been found that this method and apparatus
~ s provides insufficient abrasive properties to properly treat human tissues
or
skin working simply on the basis of a vacuum source.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, according to one form of the invention there is proposed an
apparatus for making micro-abrasion including:
2o a handle having an inlet passage and an outlet passage communicating
with an aperture in said handle, said aperture adapted to be positioned on
the surface to be treated;
a pneumatic means for the variable supply of abrasive particles in a
pneumatic carrier to the aperture of the handle whereby the supply means
2s includes a vacuum source whose suction outlet is connected to the outlet
passage of the handle and whose exhaust outlet is connected to the inlet
passage of the handle, to thereby cause the abrasive particles from the
supply container to flow through said handle.
In preference, the amount of sucticn may be regulated by a regulator
3o connected to the atmosphere.
In preference, the positive air pressure entering said inlet handle is
regulated by the use of a regulator connected to the supply container.
Preferably, said supply container is heated so as to heat the abrasive
particles.
s5 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF Ti~E DRAVV1NGS

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2
To further assist in understanding the invention reference is now made to the
following figures in which:
FIG 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus;
FIG 2 is a schematic of the invention;
FIG 3 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the handle;
FIG 4 is a cross-sectional view of the handle of Figure 3;
FIG 5 is a cross-sectional view of the supply container;
FIG 6 is a cross-sectional view of a handle according to a second
embodiment; and
FIG 7 is a close up view of the handle of FIG 6 in use.
BEST MODE OF THE INVENTION
Turning now to the figures in detail there is shown in FIG 1 an apparatus 10
for
making abrasions including a handle 12 having an aperture 14 an inlet passage
16 and an outlet passage 18, said inlet passage 16 being connected by an inlet
tube 20 to a supply container 24 via supply connector 26. Outlet tube 22 is
connected to recovery container 28 via recovery connector 30.
An electric vacuum pump 32 operable by switch 34 has a suction outlet 35 which
provides suction through tube 36 that passes through filter 29 and a three-way
suction connector 40, one end of which is fed into the recovery container 28
and a second end of which is connected to a suction regulator 42 and vacuum
gauge 46. The suction regulator 42 has a suction aperture 44 in connection
with the atmosphere. The filter 29 ensures that any particulates within the
tube
36 do not enter the vacuum pump 32 and potentially damage it.
The electric vacuum pump 32 includes an exhaust outlet 37 which is connected
via pressurised tube 38 to a three-way pressure connector 39 one outlet of
which
is an aperture 50 in connection with the atmosphere whilst the other is fed
into a
flow regulator 48, i.e. a variable inlet valve, itself connected to pressure
connector
52.
In use, after the electric vacuum pump 32 has been activated, it provides
suction
through suction outlet 35, suction tube 36, filter 29, three-way suction
container 40
to the recovery container 28 and then through the recovery connector 30 the
outlet tube 22, through the outlet passage 18 and through the handle 12. When
the aperture 14 is applied against a surface to be

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3
treated, the suction causes air to be then sucked through the inlet passage
16 inlet tube 20 supply connector 26 to the supply container 24 and
therefore causes the reducing substances 54 to be sucked or flow back
through that arrangement and be collected in the recovery container 28. To
ensure that the particles remain in the recovery container 28 the container
has a filter 27 with apertures that are smaller than the particulates thus
ensuring that they remain within the recovery container. In the case where
some of the particles may be sucked though the tube 36, the filter 29 ensures
that potentially none reach into the vacuum pump. This double-filtering
i o action therefore protects the vacuum pump from potential damage.
The suction may be regulated by the suction regulator 42 which allows the
introduction of atmospheric air through suction aperture 44, the vacuum
being indicated by the vacuum gauge 46. For maximum suction, the suction
regulator 42 is closed so that no outside air enters the system through
suction aperture 44. To reduce the amount of suction and thus the amount of
reducing substances 54 being sucked from the supply container 24 and thus
flowing through the handle the suction regulator may be slightly opened to
allow outside air to enter the system.
At the same time the exhaust outlet 37 from the vacuum pump pressurises
2o tube 38 and is fed into the supply container 24 through a three-way
pressure
connector 39 and flow regulator 48. By closing the flow regulator 48 all of
the pressurised air from the exhaust outlet exits to the atmosphere through
aperture 50. When the flow regulator 48 is opened, the pressure causes air
to flow into supply container 24 through pressure corrector 52 to enable the
25 reducing substances to flow to the handle 7 2. As shown in more detail in
Figure 5, the pressurised air flows into the supply container through
distributor 56 which is made from a fine mesh material whose size is of the
same order or smaller than the particle sizes. The flow of air 58 out through
the distributor 56 causes the particulates to be aired and which then enter
so collection tube 60 through aperture 62. The collection tube is chosen to be
of
a sufficient height to ensure that the particulates do not directly enter into
the
tube but rather through the aperture 56. After passing through the aperture
62 the particulates flow through passageway 64 , through supply connector
26 and into the inlet tube 20.
3s Accordingly, as a result of the pressurised supply container and the
vacuum.
the reducing substances 54 held in supply container 24 are pneumatic lly
transported to the handle 12 and the aperture 14 by the assistance or both a
vacuum source and a pressure source and thus pass over the region ef the

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4
surface to be treated defined by the aperture 14 2.~,d thereby causing micro-
abrasions. The reducing substances, together with any particles and detritus
removed from the surface being treated are then sucked through the outlet
passage 18 outlet tube 22 and into recovery container 28 to be thereafter
disposed of.
Both the recovery and supply containers are fitted with quick release seals
66 that allow access to the bottom of the recovery container enabling it to be
emptied of particulate and to the tap of supply container 24 enabling
particulates to be added. In addition, both the supply and recovery
~ o containers are mounted on the side of the apparatus via quick release
connectors 68 allowing them to be removed for cleaning, storage,
replacement or transportation purposes.
Obviously the degree of micro-abrasion caused on the surface is adjustable
by operating both the suction regulator 42 and the flow regulator 48
5 associated with the electric vacuum pump 32. however it has been shown
that the system is virtually ineffective if there is no pressurisation within
the
system and a degree of this always has to be present for the apparatus to
effectively work.
Figures 3 and 4 exhibit in further detail a first embodiment of the handle 12.
2o The handle 12 as discussed above includes aperture 14 and is connected to
inlet and outlet tubes 20 and 22 by connectors 16 and 18 respectively.
Disposed within the handle 12 are two passageways, passageway 70
operatively connected with inlet tube 20 and passageway 72 operatively
connected to outlet tube 22. Removably attached over the end of the handle
25 12 adjacent the ends of passageways 70 and 72 is cap 74 within which is
disposed aperture 14. The axis of the aperture 14 is substantially coaxially
aligned with the longitudinal axis of the end of supply passageway 70 with
the plane of the aperture being substantially perpendicular to the coaxial
axis of the end of passageway 70. Also disposed within the end of
so passageway 70 is a hollowed length adjustable rod 76 that allows
particulates to flow therethrough and allows for the adjustment of the
distance between the effective end of passageway 70 and the aperture 14.
By adjusting the distance one can adjust the amount of dispersal of the
particulates by the time they reach the apertura. In this particular
35 embodiment the length adjustability is accomplished by the red being
screwable into the end of passageway 70 allowing the distance to be
adjusted by the use of a screwdriver which engages slit 73 at the end of rca
76. In addition the dimension of the hcllow of the rod can also be chosen to

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be less than that of the passageway and thereby adjust the now or
particulates therethrough. To ensure that there is a good seal between the
cap 74 and the rest of the handle there may be an '0' ring 80.
Figures 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the handle including an inlet
s passage 16 and an outlet passage 18. Positioned at the end of inlet
passage 16 is plug 82 which is so shaped so as to reduce the diameter of
the inlet passage 16 and thereby affect the number of reducing substances
or particles 54 passing through the inlet tube 16 and through handle 12. To
adjust the position of the plug 82 in relation to the aperture 14 the inlet
tube
~ 0 16 can be affixed relative to the handle by the use of a nut 84 which
engages
both the handle 12 and the inlet tube 16. Similarly the outlet passage 18 is
fixed in place by a similar type of nut 60.
As indicated in Figure 7 reducing substances 54 are caused to impact the
surface to be treated 86 with the reducing substances causing micro-
~ 5 abrasions of the surface and the residual of both the reducing substances
54
and particles of skin 88 is sucked up through outlet passage 18 and into the
recovery container.
Thus one can see that due to the use of the exhaust outlet 37 of the vacuum
pump 32 particles will be caused to flow through the system even when
2o external air enters the system through aperture 14 when the aperture is not
placed abutting the surface of the treated thereby not being a closed system.
By sealingly placing said aperture 14 against surface 86 the vacuum in the
inlet tube 16 is increased to thereby cause an increase in the flow of
particles which can be regulated by the use of the suction regulator 42 and
25 the flow regulator 48.
The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the present invention and
modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art, can be made thereto
without
departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the inlet
tube 20 passing through supply 26 may open into a manifold structure within
3o the supply container to include multiple holes and shaking filters (not
shown). The supply container may also include an electrical heating means
to thereby heat the reducing substance and improve the micro-abrasion
effect.
To assist in using the apparatus other instrumentation may be attached to
3s the apparatus such a timer 90 to ensure that the length of the treatment
bees
not exceed the necessary levels.

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Thus one can see that the present apparatus provides for the flow of
abrasive particles though not only suction but a positive pressure. By
providing both a suction and a pressurised effect the particles are caused to
flow much more freely and assist in making microabrasions on a skin surface
that is being treated.
Furthermore, the vacuum pump could be replaced by equivalent means
adapted to create a pneumatic system to cause the reducing substances to
flow through the loop.
Throughout this specification the above description has been intended to
l o illustrate the invention and not to limit it thus,. Other embodiments may
equally well be applied by those skilled in the art without deviating form the
scope of the invention.

Representative Drawing