EP0102289B1 - Device to trim and condition hair - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an apparatus for cutting hair, and more particularly an apparatus ensuring both cutting and care of the hair.

Various devices or accessories are known for cutting or caring for the hair. Cutting devices are most often formed by scissors, the structure of which can be more or less complex, or razors, actuated mechanically or electrically. However, all of these known devices only provide haircut, while care or treatment must be provided separately.

Furthermore, we know that it can be advantageous to treat certain hair by burning or by tapering, and more particularly we know very old techniques consisting in treating hair by burning with a candle flame. French patent 903 526 describes a device intended for burning the end of the hair by means of an electrical resistance combined with a comb, but this device cannot provide satisfactory results for cutting and caring for the hair. German patent 2,107,951 describes a heating wire device whose expansion is not compensated for. On the other hand, patent US-A-2386409 describes a heating wire device whose expansion is compensated for.

Thus, there is no device to ensure in good conditions of safety and efficiency, both the haircut and their care by the technique of burning.

The present invention therefore relates to an apparatus for ensuring the cutting and burning of hair in excellent conditions of safety and efficiency.

The invention also relates to a device for cutting and caring for hair by burning, of simple constitution and easy and inexpensive to manufacture.

The present invention also relates to an improved device of the type described above, allowing the cutting and care of the hair in good conditions, in which the wire is effectively held in place, ensuring excellent electrical contact, and can be changed. easily.

The apparatus for cutting and caring for hair by burning according to the present invention comprises a wire or a metal blade capable of being heated incandescently, at a temperature of approximately 700 to 1000 ° C., of length between 3 and approximately 20 cm, held at each of its ends by two fasteners secured to a support, at least one of which is flexible and ensures a substantially constant tension of the wire or of the blade whatever its temperature.

The wire or the metal blade is mounted parallel to the support, at a distance from the latter of between approximately 0.5 and 4 cm, and preferably between 1 and 1.5 cm. The wire can consist of any steel or alloy wire with a diameter between 0.1 and 0.8 mm and preferably between 0.3 and 0.4 mm, with a length between 3 and 20 cm approximately. In the case of a metal blade, the length is the same, the thickness of the blade is between 0.1 and 0.3 mm and its width is preferably about 1 mm, but can be if necessary on the order of a few millimeters.

The blade or the wire is preferably made of an alloy, for example a nickel-chromium alloy, of the type used in electrical resistances, capable of being quickly brought to incandescent, that is to say at a temperature of between 700 and approximately 1000 ° C, and more particularly 800 to 900 ° C, preferably under the action of an electric current. The temperature setting can be adjusted according to the conditions of use and the desired results.

At least one of the wire or metal blade fasteners is flexible to ensure constant tension despite variations in length due to heating. This result can be obtained simply by making at least one of the fasteners in the form of a metal tongue fixed to the support by one end, the flexibility and elasticity of which ensure the tension of the wire or of the blade.

The apparatus according to the present invention comprises a metal wire capable of being worn incandescent, of length between 3 and 20 cm approximately, mounted on a support serving as a handle, and held at each of its ends by a pin s' engaging in a female socket, one of which is fixed and integral with the support of the device while the other is mounted on a sliding rod parallel to the wire, subjected to the action of a spring which tends to separate it of the fixed sleeve, and thus ensures the tension of the thread.

The assembly constituted by the wire and the two pins fixed at each of its ends can thus be easily put in place on the device, by engaging the pin in the socket mounted on the sliding rod, by pushing back the pin-socket assembly. against the action of the spring until the second pin faces the other socket (fixed) in which we can then engage it. There are no difficulties in removing the wire from the device.

The pin and the socket are made of an electrically conductive material, and, according to a preferred embodiment, the fixed socket is screwed into the support and the movable socket is fixed in the head of the movable rod.

More particularly, the sliding rod is guided by a barrel secured to the support, arranged parallel to the metal wire, and comprises a head forming a shoulder into which is screwed the sleeve receiving the pin fixed to one end of the wire, the spring being compressed between the guide barrel and the head of the rod. This spring bears on the guide barrel and tends to push back the rod whose travel can be limited by a stop formed in the support.

The rod is made of an electrically conductive material, for example brass, and is connected to an electrical supply wire, the current passing through the rod, the sockets, the pins, and the metal wire, which is brought to incandescent.

The support can be made of any electrically insulating material and preferably offering good heat resistance. It can for example be produced by plastic molding.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the apparatus also comprises a comb, fixed to the support, parallel to the wire or to the metal blade, which has the advantage of ensuring a double function of disentangling and guiding the hair d on the one hand, and of protection of the wire or of the metal blade brought to high temperature on the other hand. This comb is preferably made of metal or a metal alloy but can also be made of plastic material resistant to the heat given off by the blade or the heated wire. It is arranged at a distance from the wire or from between 0.2 and 1 cm approximately, and preferably between 0.4 and 0.6 cm. It can if necessary be replaced by another usual hairdressing accessory.

Incidentally, this comb can be fixed on the support, on either side of the metal wire, for example by means of screws cooperating with tapped holes provided for this purpose in the support, by clipping, or by self-tapping screw in the case a plastic support, or any other suitable means. It is thus possible to fix a single comb on one side of the metal wire, or two combs, on either side, according to the choice of the user. When two combs are fixed on the support, these two combs are not necessarily of the same dimensions. However, the comb is not essential for the effective operation of the device.

The support for the wire or the metal blade is extended by a handle formed so as to be easily held in the hand by the user. This handle can optionally be removable or orientable in various positions to facilitate the use of the device.

The wire or metal blade is electrically heated either from an alternating current supply via a transformer and a voltage regulator, or from a direct current source such as a battery accumulators or electric batteries. For example, in the case of an alloy blade 8 cm long, 1 mm wide and 0.15 mm thick, the current intensity is approximately 7A and the voltage approximately 6V.

• Figure 1: une vue de face avec coupe partielle d'une variante du dispositif de l'invention.
• Figure 2: une coupe suivant II-II sur la figure 1.
• Figure 3: une demi-coupe suivant III-III sur la figure 1.
• Figure 4: une coupe éclatée suivant IV-IV sur la figure 1.
• Figure 5: une vue suivant la flèche F sur la figure 1 (peignes en éclatement).

The characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear in more detail from the description below, relating to a preferred and non-limiting embodiment, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which represent:

• Figure 1: a front view with partial section of a variant of the device of the invention.
• Figure 2: a section along II-II in Figure 1.
• Figure 3: a half-section along III-III in Figure 1.
• Figure 4: an exploded section along IV-IV in Figure 1.
• Figure 5: a view along arrow F in Figure 1 (bursting combs).

The apparatus for cutting and caring for hair by burning according to the present invention, shown in Figure 1, comprises a support (1) extending by a handle, two sockets (12) and (12 ') each receiving a pin (13) and (13 '), respectively, and a conductive metal wire (4) mounted on each pin (13) and (13') on which it is locked by means of screws (15) and (15 ') .

As shown in Figure 4, the sleeve (12) is fixed in the support by screwing in the intermediate piece (16) secured to the support (1). The support, consisting of two half-shells manufactured by molding in a suitable plastic material, is extended by the handle (7) arranged angularly so as to facilitate gripping by hand by promoting the efficiency of the movement of the device allowing the user to cut the hair.

The electrical supply wire (8) penetrates at the end of the handle (7) and is connected to the wire (4) via the rod (20), its head (19), the socket (12 ') and the corresponding pin (13') on the one hand, and the intermediate piece (16), the sleeve (12) and the corresponding pin (13) on the other hand.

The sleeve (12 ') is fixed by screwing into the head (19) of a rod (20) sliding in the guide barrel (21). A spring (22) compressed between the head (19) of the rod (20) and the barrel (21) tends to push back the rod and the socket-pin assembly which is attached to it, thus ensuring the tension of the wire ( 4).

A stop (23) made in the support makes it possible to limit the travel of the sliding rod (20), and avoids any risk of the rod (20) overflowing in the event of accidental breakage of the metal wire (4), thus ensuring safety. additional.

The support is formed by molding two half-shells assembled by screwing by means of the three screws (24). It further comprises two holes (25) allowing the possible fixing of two combs (26) and (27) by screwing.

One of the combs can be replaced in particular by an accessory in the form of a plate curved in an “L” around the wire (4) and comprising a notch intended to guide a lock of hair to cut it at a point on the incandescent blade, in traversing it lengthwise, like the blades of a pair of scissors.

The supply wire (8) can be connected to the mains (alternating current) via a transformer and a voltage regulator, or to a power supply by accumulators or electric batteries.

Claims (6)

1. Appliance for hair cutting and hair care by singeing, comprising a metal wire or strip (4) capable of being made incandescent, of a length between approximately 3 and 20cm, retained at each of its ends by two fasteners fixed to a support (1), at least one of which is flexible and ensures a substantially constant tension of the wire or strip, whatever its temperature, characterized in that the fasteners consist of a pin (13, 13') engaging into a female socket, one (12) of which is stationary and fixed to the support (1), whilst the other (12') is mounted on a sliding rod (20) guided by a sleeve (21), parallel to the wire (4) and subjected to the action of a spring (22) which tends to move it away from the stationary socket (12) thus ensuring the tension of the wire.

2. Appliance as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the sliding rod guided by a sleeve (21) fixed to the support and parallel to the wire (4), has a head (19) in which is screwed the socket (12') which receives the pin secured to one of the ends of the wire (4), the spring (22) being compressed between the guide sleeve (21) and the head (19) of the rod (20).

3. Appliance as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the support is parallel to the wire or to the metal strip, at a distance from the latter of between approximately 0.5 and 4 cm, and is fitted on a handle.

4. Appliance as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a metal strip of a width equal to approximately 1 mm and a thickness of between 0.1 and 0.3 mm.

5. Appliance as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that one or two removable combs (26, 27) can be fastened to the support (1) on either side of the metal wire (4).

6. Appliance as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the metal wire or strip is heated by an electrical supply.

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