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Description  |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating the human body
and, more particularly, to an apparatus for applying paraffin to a subject
in a slimming treatment or for applying a depilatory agent.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a slimming treatment (defattening) in actual use, the human body or a
part thereof can be coated with paraffin at its melting point such that a
sheath or layer of paraffin surrounds the body part to induce
transpiration. More precisely, the paraffin has the effect of accelerating
the organic combustion process in the subcutaneous and the subadipose
cellular tissues of the skin and of eliminating wastes produced in the
reaction. The increased metabolism of the tissues below the epidermis
causes a loss of weight of the body part and a sloughing of dead skin.
In conventional techniques for practicing this process, the paraffin is
heated to its melting point, usually emulsified, and applied to the skin
by a brush. The paraffin layer is maintained in place for a variable
period of the order of fifteen minutes to one hour and is then removed.
This technique is time consuming and difficult, requiring fastidious
practitioners and is annoying to the subject treated.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved
apparatus for effecting a treatment of the human body which obviates the
disadvantages of earlier systems for this purpose.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for
coating the body of the subject with paraffin in a convenient and
economical manner.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a single unit which can
perform all the necessary functions relating to the coating of the human
body with paraffin in a slimming treatment.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a compact, efficient and
economical apparatus free from the disadvantages of earlier systems and
adapted to carry out an effective treatment of the human body with a
meltable substance, usually parafin.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
These objects are attained, in accordance with the invention, in an
apparatus which comprises, in combination and in a single mobile unit, a
first reservoir or receptacle adapted to hold the pure paraffin, a second
receptacle or reservoir adapted to recover and sterilize the used paraffin
after treatment of the subject, and a third receptacle or reservoir
holding washing water, each of these reservoirs being provided with
heating means to maintain the water and the paraffin at the desired
temperature levels. The apparatus is provided with pump means for
recycling the liquids (circulating same), means for distribution of the
paraffin preferably in a pulverized and emulsified form (e.g. as atomized
particles) onto the body of the subject who can be recumbent upon a
platform or bed during the treatment.
According to a feature of the invention, the apparatus comprises a four-way
valve permitting communication between an inlet conduit and the liquid of
the distributing means and one of the three reservoirs or receptacles
mentioned previously. Preferably, the second reservoir or receptacle is
formed as a decantation tank provided with a filter at its lower portion
for separating the platform from the water and the detritus formed in the
course of treatment. According to still another feature of the invention
the distributing means comprises a flexible conduit formed at its end with
a nozzle or spray gun for the platform.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present
invention will become more readily apparent from the following
description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view, partially in longitudinal
section, of an apparatus according to the invention;
FIG. 2 is a transverse cross section through a portion of the apparatus of
FIG. 1; and
FIGS. 3 through 5 are schematic illustrations of the mode of use of each of
the three reservoirs or receptacles of the apparatus in the course of a
slimming treatment.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
The apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprise, on a common support, a first
reservoir to be adapted to receive the pure paraffin shown in a liquid
state 3. Adjacent the reservoir 2, and on one side thereof, is a second
reservoir 4 adapted to hold recovered paraffin 5 for decantation to
separate it from water and detritus, and to sterilize it for reuse. On the
opposite side of the reservoir 2, there is a third reservoir 6 containing
the washing water 7. Each of these reservoirs is provided at its bottom
with heating means in the form of an electric resistance heater 8 adapted
to maintain the paraffin in the reservoirs 2 and 4 and the water in the
reservoir 6 at the desired temperatures above the melting point of the
paraffin.
The apparatus also comprises a pump 9 adapted to draw the liquid from one
of the three reservoirs 2, 4, 6 and to deliver the liquid to a feed
conduit 10 at the inlet side of a distributing means which, in the
embodiment illustrated, comprises a flexible hose 12 having a pistol-grip
spray nozzle 13 at its free end. An agitator or emulsifier 14 is provided
between the discharge side of the pump 9 and the inlet conduit 10 of the
distributing means. The unit 14 is designed for emulsifying the paraffin
fed to the hose 12.
A four-way valve 15 has a first inlet 26 connected to the reservoir 4 in
the portion thereof constituting the decantation tank, i.e. to the
relatively pure paraffin in the reservoir 4. A second conduit 27 is
connected to the valve 15 and the downwardly sloping bottom of the
reservoir 2 containing the pure paraffin. A further duct 28 connects the
water reservoir 6 with another port of the valve 15 whose discharge port
is connected, in turn, to the intake side of the pump 9.
Thus the four-way valve 15, which is connected along the conduit 10 but
ahead of the pump 9, permits communication between one of the three
reservoirs 2, 4, 6 and the pump 9 to supply the respective liquid to the
distributing means 12, 13.
The aforedescribed elements of the apparatus are, as shown, a unit mounted
upon a common support 16 displaceable on casters or rollers 17 along a
support surface, e.g. the floor. The upper part of this unit is provided
with a platform 18 constituting a bed upon which the subject to be treated
can lie in a substantially recumbent or horizontal position for the
treatment. The floor of this platform is slightly inclined downwardly
toward a drain 19 opening into the receptacle or reservoir 4.
As noted, the latter constitutes a decantation tank provided at its bottom
with a filter 20 adapted to separate the paraffin from the water and any
detritus formed in the course of treatment. The bottom of this tank, below
the filter 20, is inclined downwardly to the left to permit draining of
the water and the detritus through a valve 22 in the bottom of the tank.
The hose 12 and the spray gun 13 can be held on a wall 60 of the support 16
by a bracket 61 and a holder 62 in a position of nonuse. The wall 60 can
also carry the control board 23 of the apparatus which can be provided
with conventional circuitry for regulating the temperatures and for
programming the duration of heating for sterilization of the paraffin in
reservoir 4.
The reservoirs 2 and 4 can have capacities each of about 120 liters while
the water reservoir 6 has a capacity of about 60 liters. Each of these
reservoirs if formed as a double wall structure which as shown in FIG. 2,
is filled with thermal insulation (e.g. glass wool) deposited between the
walls. The reservoir, moreover, can lie inwardly from the outer walls 63
and 64 of the support 16, thereby preventing contact of any heated wall
portion with an operator. Each of the reservoirs can also be provided with
a temperature indicator as has been represented diagrammatically at 24.
The platform 18 can be swingably mounted by a hinge 65 upon the support 16
to enable it to be swung in the direction represented by arrow 25 for
access to the upper parts of the reservoir, e.g. for initial filling and
cleaning.
The unit shown in the drawing operates as follows:
In the first stage of operation, the paraffin 5 is pumped via the valve 15,
the pump 9 and the emulsifier 14 through the conduit 10 to the hose 12 and
the spray gun 13 for application to the body of a subject recumbent upon
the platform 18. Excess paraffin passes through the outlet 19 back into
the reservoir 4 (see FIG. 3). Since the paraffin has not yet been
previously used, it is pure.
Naturally, if the paraffin has been previously used, it is separated from
the detritus and water by the filter 20 and is sterilized by control of
the temperature in reservoir 4 to a level between 45.degree. and
110.degree. C. During this first phase of operation, the valve 15 is
controlled to communicate between the reservoir 4 and duct 26 whose upper
end opens above the filter 20 and the inlet conduit 10 has been
represented diagrammatically in FIG. 3.
During the second phase of operation, normally used for the treatment of
the subject, the pure paraffin from reservoir 2 is fed via the duct 27 and
valve 15 through the pump 9 and the emulsifier 14 to the hose 12 as
represented diagrammatically in FIG. 4. The paraffin 3 in the tank 2 is
held at a temperature sufficient to maintain it in a molten state,
generally between 45.degree. and 50.degree. C. The paraffin is applied to
the subject at the desired locations by the spray gun 13 whose nozzle
permits application of the paraffin in the form of a band having a width
of about 100 mm to a thickness determined by the rate at which the spray
is traversed over the part.
The third phase of operation, following the treatment of the subject,
consists in purging the distribution means. For this purpose, wash water 7
from the reservoir 6 at a temperature of about 90.degree. C. is
communicated by valve 15 via the duct 28 to the pump 9 and thence through
the emulsifier 14 into the hose 12. This connection path has been
represented diagrammatically in FIG. 5.
The wash water can be used to clean the platform 18 to scrub away any
detritus which may have accumulated thereon during treatment. The wash
water and entrained detritus and paraffin pass through the outlet 19 to
the reservoir 4 for decantation and sterilization. The paraffin can be
transferred from the reservoir 4 to the reservoir 2 by connecting via
valve 15 the ducts 26 and 27.
The apparatus thus simplifies considerably the application of paraffin to
the body of a subject and thus permits a more practically and rapid
treatment. The apparatus provides in a single unit all of the elements
necessary for carrying out the process and permits this apparatus to be
moved wherever desired.
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