EP0434903B1

EP0434903B1 - Hair treating implement

Info

Publication number: EP0434903B1
Application number: EP90116790A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kenji Hashimoto
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-12-29
Filing date: 1990-08-31
Publication date: 1994-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2010-08-31
Also published as: CA2023908A1; ATE106001T1; EP0434903A1; AU625947B2; JPH0614649Y2; DE69009159D1; CA2023908C; DE69009159T2; AU6138990A; JPH0392404U

Abstract

A hair treating implement having an electrical heating wire (3), a support which tensely supports the heating wire (3) and a hand grip (2) which is connected to the support. Electrical power is supplied to the heating wire (3), and a hair is cut by the heating wire (3) heated by the electrical power.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hair treating implement, and more precisely it relates to a new hair remover or hair dresser which can be advantageously used to cut an unwanted hair or dress the body hair.

2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

A conventional cutting tool, such as scissors or a razor is used to treat a hair of head or a body hair or to cut an unwanted hair, in particular before a woman wears a hi-leg swim suit. However, the conventional cutting tool is dangerous because cutting portions are exposed. Further, the tips of the cut hair are sharp due to shearing cutting, so that the sharp tips easily thrust into clothes (e.g. swim suit) which he or she wears to come out or cause him or her to feel pain upon touching.
DE-A-2 107 951 discloses a hair treating implement comprising an electrical heating wire, a support which tensely supports the heating wire, wherein said support being provided with terminals to which the opposite ends of said heating wire are connected to supply an electrical power thereto, a comb tooth portion and a hand grip connected to said comb tooth portion.
For changing the heating wire e. g. in the case of damage of the latter, the support and the comb tooth portion have to be replaced. As the comp tooth portion combined with the support is relatively large and expensive compared with the heating wire a waste of material and costs is involved there with. Furthermore it is complicate and hard to replace the support inclusive the comp tooth portion, as such a combined element has to be connected accurately and securely to the hand grip. Otherwise the assembled hair treating implement may bend at the joint of the hand grip and the support/comb tooth portion element upon an applied pressure during usage. This may result not only in damage of the complete hair treating implement but also in mechanical and electrical injuries of the treated person.
As also is provided with a hair treating implement according to DE-A-2 107 951 only the heating wire can be replaced. But the fixing of the wire to the support is very complicate and requires talent to manage the usually small fixings of the wire. Therefore the replacement procedure lasts a long time. Additionally the replacement causes the risk of a burn for the operator if he has forgotten to switch out the operating current before mounting the new heating wire since the latter will quickly heat up when connected to the operating current and the operator contacts the wire with his fingers.
In a hair treating implement according to US-A-1 744 525 for the replacement of the heating wire either the complete arrangement comprised of a support and a comb tooth portion or only the heating wire itself has to be replaced. Therefore this hair treating implement includes the same disadvantages as the one disclosed in DE-A-2 107 951.
According to EP-A-0 102 289 there is provided a heating wire being fixed to plugs at its ends. For mounting this wire the plugs have to be inserted into sleeves on the support. In addition to the problems and dangers of only replacing the heating wire itself, as already stated above, the usually small plugs have to be inserted into the corresponding small sleeves while simultaneously stretching the wire. This requires extra talent and strength of the operator's fingers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to provide an improved hair treating implement which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks.
According to the present invention, this object is achieved by a hair treating implement having the features of claim 1.
Such a hair treating implement comprises a heater cassette in which the heating wire and a substrate serving as support for the wire are included, and said heater cassette is detachably attached to the comb tooth portion or the hand grip. This means that only the heater cassette has to be replaced upon e. g. damage of the heating wire. Thus the operation of the hair treating implement according to the present invention is cheaper, easier and safer than of the one according to the prior art stated above.
Furthermore through the easiness of the interchange of the heater cassette provided by the invention the advantage is attained that heater cassettes with different heating wires and dimensions may simply be exchanged in adaptation to individual needs of the operating and/or treated person.
With this arrangement, since the hair is burnt and cut by the heat of the electrical heating wire, unlike the prior art in which the hair is cut by the shearing by a cutting tool, such as a razor or scissors, the tips of the hair are rounded, and accordingly, the round tips create a smooth stream of hair and have a natural feeling. Furthermore, in particular, in case of treatment of flagged or split ends of hair of a human head, the round tips of the cut hair can be easily dressed, permed and arranged, so that a desired hair style can last for a long time.
Advantageous developments of the subject of claim 1 are stated in the dependent claims 2 to 20.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A detailed description of the present invention will be made below in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the attached drawings, in which:

Figures 1A and 1B are a side elevational view and a plan view of a hair treating implement, according to a first embodiment of the present invention, respectively;
Figs. 2A and 2B are an enlarged side elevational view and a front end view, of a comb tooth portion of a hair treatment implement shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, respectively;
Fig. 2C is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 2C-2C in Fig. 2A;
Figs. 3A and 3B are an enlarged side elevational view and a front end view, of a comb tooth portion of a hair treatment implement with a removed heater cassette (cartridge) shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, respectively;
Fig. 3C is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 3C-3C in Fig. 3A;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a heater cassette used in the present invention;
Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a receptacle and a supplier (plug) used in the present invention;
Fig. 6 is a partially broken side elevational view of a hair treating implement comprising a rotary switch usable with the embodiments of the present invention;
Figs. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are a side elevational view, a plan view, a bottom view, a front elevational view, a back view and a perspective view, of a hair treating implement, according to a second embodiment of the present invention, respectively;
Fig. 13 is a partially broken side elevational view of a comb tooth portion with a removed heater cassette of a hair treating implement, according to the second embodiment shown in Figs. 7 through 12;
Fig. 14 is a partially broken side elevational view of a comb tooth portion with a heater cassette attached thereto, according to the second embodiment shown in Figs. 7 through 12;
Fig. 15 is a schematic view of an electrical power supply circuit of a heater cartridge shown in Fig. 14;
Fig. 16 is an exploded perspective view of a heater cartridge, according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 17 is a side elevational view of a heater cartridge in an inactive position in which no electrical power is supplied to a nichrome wire, in the second embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 18 is a side elevational view of a heater cartridge in an active position in which an electrical power is supplied to a nichrome wire, in the second embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 19 is a perspective view of a rear base plate of a heater cartridge and a leaf spring, in the second embodiment of the present invention; and,
Figs. 20 and 21 are views similar to Fig. 19, showing a notch and notches which is and are additionally provided on a rear base plate shown in Fig. 19, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Figs. 1A and 1B show a first embodiment of the present invention in which a hair treating implement of the present invention essentially has a comb tooth portion 1 and a hand grip 2 which is connected to one end of the comb tooth portion 1. The comb tooth portion 1 has a pair of first and second comb tooth plates 1a and 1b which are spaced from one another at a distance W (e. g. about 5 mm) and which are symmetrically opposed to each other with respect to a longitudinal center line of the hair treating implement. In a space W defined by and between the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b is provided an electrical heating wire 3 which extends in the longitudinal direction of the hair treatment implement in the vicinity of the base portions of the comb teeth. The electrical heating wire 3 is included in an interchangeable heater cassette (cartridge) 30 which is provided between the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b. The hand grip 2 has a hollow portion which defines a battery room 2a in which batteries B are stored. In the illustrated embodiment, two or three SUM-3 batteries B as a power source are received in the battery room 2a of the grip 2 which is closed by a plug cap 4 detachably attached to the open end of the battery room 2a. The grip 2 has thereon a push button switch 5 to start the operation of the hair treatment implement, so that the power supply of the battery B is applied to the heating wire 3.
Figs. 2A through 2C and Figs. 3A through 3C show a comb tooth portion 1 in the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 4 shows the heater cassette 30 used in the hair treatment implement.
The heater cassette 30 has a generally arched substrate 31 which has a shape corresponding to the shape of the spine portion of the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b, first and second electrical conductive terminals 32 and 33 which are provided to project from the inner faces at front and rear end portions of the substrate 31, the above-mentioned electrical heating wire 3 which tensely extends between the terminals 32 and 33, first and second projecting terminals 34 and 35 which project to rearward from the substrate 31, a first conductor (connecting line) 36 for connecting the first conductive terminal 32 and the first projecting terminal 34, a second conductor (connecting line) 37 for connecting the second conductive terminal 33 and the second projecting terminal 35, longitudinally extending elongated guide projections 38a and 38b which are provided on the right and left side faces of the substrate 31, and a front lug 39 which is provided on the front face of the substrate 31.
In the illustrated embodiment, the first conductive terminal 32, the first conductor 36 and the first projecting terminal 34 are made of a single annealed aluminium wire which is properly bent, and similarly, the second conductive terminal 33, the second conductor 37 and the second projecting terminal 35 are made of a single annealed aluminium wire which is properly bent. The first and second conductors 36 and 37 are embedded in the substrate 31 which is molded of heat-resisting resin, such as polycarbonate-delrin (polyacetal resin), together with the elongated guide projections 38a and 38b and the front lug 39. The heating wire 3 is made of nichrome fine wire of about 0.1 ∼0.14 mm ⌀ or may be a sheathed heater. In the illustrated embodiment, the effective length ℓ of the nichrome wire 3 is 40 ∼50 mm and has a high electrical resistance, so that when a voltage of 3 ∼4.5 V is applied to the opposite ends of the heating wire 3, the wire 3 generates a red heat or is heated without being burnt and broken.
On the inner side faces of the spine portions of the right and left comb tooth plates 1a and 1b of the comb tooth portion 1 are provided longitudinally elongated guide grooves 11a and 11b in which the corresponding left and right guide projections 38a and 38b of the heater cassette 30 can be slidably engaged. On the front face of the hand grip 2 are provided first and second power supplying receptacles (suppliers) 51 and 52 in which the corresponding first and second projecting terminals 34 and 35 are received to establish an electrical connection therebetween.
The comb tooth portion 1 and the hand grip 2 are made of a heat-resisting resin material, similar to the heater cassette 30.
The heater cassette 30 is inserted in the space between the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b from the front end side of the comb tooth portion 1 in such a way that the guide projections 38a and 38b of the heater cassette 30 are slid in the associated guide grooves 11a and 11b of the comb tooth portion 1. When the heater cassette 30 is completely inserted in the body of the hair treating implement, the first and second projecting terminals 34 and 35 are engaged in the corresponding first and second receptacles 51 and 52 of the hand grip 2, so that the electrical connection is established. Upon inserting the heater cassette 30, the leading end thereof is the end on which the projecting plugs 34 and 35 are provided. When the heater cassette 30 is attached to the comb tooth portion 1, the heating wire 3 extends between the left and right comb tooth plates 1a and 1b with a tension to be close to the base portion of the comb teeth, as can be seen from Figs. 1B and 2A.
When a user who grasps the hand grip 2 pushes the push button switch 5 to make the switch ON, a closed electrical circuit of the switch 5→ the batteries B housed in the battery room 2a of the hand grip 2→ a line 53 (Fig. 2A) → the first receptacle terminal 51 → the first projecting terminal 34 → the first conductor 36 → the first conductive terminal 32 → the heating wire 3→ the second conductive terminal 33 → the second conductor 37→the projecting terminal 35→ the second receptacle 52 → the switch 5 is formed. Consequently, the heating wire 3 immediately becomes a red-heat state through the whole length thereof.
When the push button switch 5 is released, the above-mentioned electrical circuit is broken, so that the heating wire 3 stops generating red-heat and rapidly decreases in temperature due to its small heat capacitance.
Thus, when the heating wire 3 is brought into contact with the body hair at a desired length of the hair, while combing the hair by the comb tooth portion 1, if the push button switch 5 is pushed down, the heating wire 3 generates red-heat, so that the body hair with which the heating wire comes into contact is easily burnt and cut. The tip edges of the burnt and cut hair are not sharp but round, unlike the case where the hair is cut by shearing by a cutting tool (scissors etc.), thus resulting in no drawback of prior art mentioned before.
It should be noted that no direct contact of the heating wire 3 with a user's skin occurs, since the heating wire 3 is placed in the space between the right and left comb tooth plates 1a and 1b.
If the heating wire is broken, the front lug 39 of the heater cassette 30 is grasped with user's fingers to pull the heater cassette out in the opposite direction thereby to disengage the same from the comb tooth portion 1, so that the heater cassette 30 can be exchanged with a new cassette. The interchangeability of the heater cassette or the heating wire has an economical merit.
The batteries B received in the hand grip 2 provide an easily operable cordless hair treating implement. Alternatively, it is possible to provide a receptacle 6, for example, on the rear end of the hand grip 2, so that a detachable plug 7 which is connected to a separate battery holder 9 with batteries through a cord 8 can be inserted in the receptacle 6 to supply the power to the hair treatment implement, as shown in Fig. 5. The separate battery holder 9 makes the hair treatment implement lighter and more operable. It is possible to directly connect the hair treatment implement to the separate battery holder through the connecting cord without using the receptacle and the plug. It is also possible to connect the hair treating implement to a commercial power source through a voltage reducer by a connecting cord.
Fig. 6 shows another detail usable with the embodiments of the present invention, in which the components corresponding to those in Figs. 1 through 4 are designated with the same numerals as those in Figs. 1 through 4. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the plug cap 4 provided on the rear end of the hand grip 2 serves also as a rotary switch to make the hair treating implement ON and OFF.
The hair treating implement shown in Figs. 1 through 4 can be particularly advantageously used as a hair dressing tool in a barber culture or a beauty culture. Namely, the heating wire 3 is brought into slide-contact with the tips of the dressed hair to burn and cut the same, so that the cut tips are rounded, curled, or frizzled to obtain a desired hair style.
Figs. 7 through 12 show a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the hair treating implement essentially includes a comb tooth portion 1 and a hand grip 2 connected to one end of the comb tooth portion 1. The comb tooth portion 1 has a pair of comb tooth plates 1a and 1b which are spaced from one another at a distance W (e.g. about 5 mm), in a symmetrical arrangement with respect to the longitudinal axis of the comb tooth portion 1, as shown in Fig. 9. The electrical heating wire 3 strings close to the base end portion of the comb teeth, in the space (distance W) defined between and by the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b. The heating wire 3 is included in the interchangeable heater cassette 30 (Fig. 12) which can be detachably inserted in the space between the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b. The hand grip 2 has a hollow body which constitutes a battery room 2a in which the batteries B (e.g. three SUM-2 batteries) are stored and which is closed by the plug cap 4. Left and right push button switches 5a and 5b are provided on the opposite side faces of the hand grip 2 adjacent to the comb tooth portion 1.
The comb tooth plates 1a and 1b, the hand grip 2, and the plug cap 4 are molded of synthetic resin such as ABS resin, polycarbonate resin or delrin resin or the like.
As can be seen in Fig. 16, the heater cassette 30 has an elongated substrate having electrically insulated front and rear base plates 3₁ and 3₂ of for example, glass epoxy which are split from one another at the center portion of the substrate along an oblique line, predetermined patterns of conductor layers (Cu) 3₃, 3₄, 3₅, and 3₆ formed on the side faces of the front and rear base plates 3₁ and 3₂, the electrical heating wire 3 (e.g. nichrome fine wire of 0.1∼0.14 mm ⌀) which strings between a front upward projection 3₇ of the front end of the front base plate 3₁ and a rear upward projection 3₈ of the rear end of the rear base plate 3₂, and elongated left and right side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀ which hold therebetween the substrate (i.e. the front and rear base plates 3₁ and 3₂) in a sandwich fashion and which have a generally inverted L-shaped cross section.
The substrate consisting of the front base plate 3₁ and the rear base plate 3₂ forms a printed circuit board. Namely, the conductor pattern layers 3₃ and 3₄ are formed on the substantially whole right side face of the front base plate 3₁ and the left side face of the projection 3₇ thereof, respectively, and the conductor pattern layers 3₅ and 3₆ are formed on the substantially whole left side face of the rear base plate 3₂ and the right side face of the projection 3₈ thereof, respectively.
The front base plate 3₁ and the left side plate 3₉ are interconnected by a pin 3₁₁ which extends through the front base plate 3₁ and the left side plate 3₉ and which is calked. Similarly, the front base plate 3₁ and the right side plate 3₁₀ are interconnected by a pin 3₁₂ which extends through the front base plate 3₁ and the right side plate 3₁₀ and which is calked. Accordingly, the front base plate 3₁ and the left and right side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀ are integrally connected to each other by the pins 3₁₁ and 3₁₂.
The left and right side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀ are made of metal plates, such as iron plates and the pins 3₁₁ and 3₁₂ are also made of metal, in the illustrated embodiment. To prevent the left and right side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀ from being electrically connected to each other through the metal pins 3₁₁ and 3₁₂, the right side plate 3₁₀ is provided with a through hole 3₁₃ which has a diameter larger than the associated pin 3₁₁, so that the pin 3₁₁ which secures the front base plate 3₁ to the left side plate 3₉ does not contact the right side plate 3₁₀. Similar, the left side plate 3₉ is provided with a through hole 3₁₄ which has a diameter larger than the associated pin 3₁₂, so that the pin 3₁₂ which secures the front base plate 3₁ to the right side plate 3₁₀ does not contact the left side plate 3₉. Alternatively, it is possible to make the side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀ and the pins 3₁₁ and 3₁₂ of an electrically insulated material, so that the above-mentioned through holes 3₁₃ and 3₁₄ can be dispensed with.
The rear base plate 3₂ and the left and right side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀ are connected by a single electrically insulated pin 3₁₅, so that the rear base plate 3₂ can rotate about the pin 3₁₅ between the side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀.
The nichrome thin wire 3 is firmly connected to the front and rear projections 3₇ and 3₈ of the front base plate 3₁ and the rear base plate 3₂ to have an effective length of for example 40 ∼50 mm.
Due to the tension of the nichrome wire 3, the rear base plate 3₂ is biased to have a rotational moment about the insulation pin 3₁₅ in the clockwise direction in Fig. 17, so that a downward inclined edge (lower oblique edge) of the inclined front end of the rear base plate 3₂ is pressed against an upwardly inclined edge (upper oblique edge) of the rear oblique end of the front base plate 3₁.
The spine portion of the left and right comb tooth plates 1a and 1b of the comb tooth portion 1 is provided, on its inner side faces, with elongated guide grooves 11a and 11b (Figs. 10, 12 and 13) in which the left and right guide projections 3₁₆ and 3₁₇ of the heater cassette 30 are slidably engaged.
The heater cassette 30 is inserted from the front end of the comb tooth portion 1 into the space between the left and right comb tooth plates 1a and 1b, with the front base plate 3₁ being a leading end upon insertion (Figs. 12 and 14). Upon insertion, the guide projections 3₁₆ and 3₁₇ of the heater cassette 30 are slidably guided in the corresponding left and right guide grooves 11a and 11b of the comb plates 1a and 1b.
When the heater cassette 30 is fully inserted in the comb tooth portion 1, front ends of elastically deformable left and right electrode plates 6a and 6b (Figs. 13∼16) which are provided on the inner side faces of the spine portion of the left and right comb tooth plates 1a and 1b are brought at their front ends into elastic contact with the conductor pattern layers 3₅ and 3₃ through recessed windows 3₁₈ and 3₁₉ which are formed on the left and right side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀ of the heater cassette 30 to establish an electrical connection therebetween, respectively. On the other hand, a leaf spring 7 which is provided in the comb tooth portion 1 to be placed below the heater cassette 30 inserted in the space between the left and right comb tooth plates 1a and 1b is brought at its front end into elastic contact with the front end of the lower edge of the rear base plate 3₂, as shown in Figs. 14 and 17, so that the rear base plate 3₂ is biased to rotate about the pin 3₁₅ in the counterclockwise direction (Fig. 17) against the tension of the heating wire 3.
When the heater cassette 30 is mounted to the comb tooth portion 1 (Figs. 9 and 14), the heating wire 3 tensely extends in the space (distance W) between the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b, close to the base end of the comb teeth.
When an operator who grasps the hand grip 2 pushes one of or both the push button switches 5a and 5b, the power supply circuit 58 (Fig. 15) is made ON, so that an electrical connection of the batteries B, the electrode plate 6a, the conductor pattern layer 3₅, the heating wire 3, the conductor pattern layer 3₃ and the electrode plate 6b is established.
As a result, the heating wire 3 immediately is heated through the whole length thereof. When the push button switch 5a and/or 5b is released, the power supply circuit 58 is made OFF, so that no current is fed to the heating wire 3 from the batteries B. Consequently, the nichrome wire 3 is no longer heated, and decreases in temperature due to a small heat capacitance thereof.
Thus, at the operation of the push button switch 5a and/or 5b, when the nichrome wire 3 is brought into contact with the body hair to be treated at a desired length thereof, while combing the hair by the comb tooth portion 1, the nichrome wire 3 is heated, so that the hair brought into contact therewith is burnt and cut. Unlike the shearing by a cutting tool, the tips of the hair thus burnt and cut are not sharp but round.
As the nichrome wire 3 is guarded by the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b, there is no danger that a man or women who is treated by the present implement or an operator directly touch the heated wire 3.
The nichrome wire 3 which extends between the front and rear projections 3₇ and 3₈ of the front and rear base plates 3₁ and 3₂ of the heater cassette 30 is slightly elongated due to a thermal linear expansion upon heating. The elongation of the heating wire 3 causes the rear base plate 3₂ to rotate about the pin 3₁₅ with the help of the spring force of the leaf spring 7 in the counterclockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 18, resulting in an increase of the distance between the front and rear projections 3₇ and 3₈ to which the heating wire 3 is connected. Consequently, the elongation of the heating wire 3 due to the thermal linear expansion can be absorbed by an increase of the distance of the projections 3₇ and 3₈, so that the heating wire 3 is always kept in a tensioned state. Therefore, the comb tooth plates 1a and 1b can be prevented from being thermally damaged by the heating wire 3 which would be otherwise repeatedly loosened and elongated due to the thermal linear expansion, resulting in a direct contact with or coming very close to the left and right comb tooth plates 1a and 1b.
When the power supply to the nichrome wire 3 is broken, the nichrome wire 3 is linearly contracted due to a decrease in temperature thereof, so that the rear base plate 3₂ rotates about the pin 3₁₅ in the clockwise direction in Fig. 18 against the leaf spring 7 from a position shown in Fig. 18 to a position shown in Fig. 17 in which the nichrome wire 3 extends with a tension between the projections 3₇ and 3₈. Namely, the nichrome wire 3 is always kept tensioned in both the active position of the hair treating implement in which an electrical power is supplied and the inactive position in which no electrical power is supplied.
The power supply circuit 58 has a timer function in which a power supply to the nichrome wire 3 is automatically stopped in a predetermined time (e. g. 30 ∼60 second) after the push button switch 5a and/or 5b is made ON, so that even if the push button switch 5a and/or 5b continues to be pushed down, no over-heat of the nichrome wire 3 takes place. The timer function is reset every time the push button switch 5a or 5b is pushed down. When the power supply to the nichrome wire 3 is automatically broken by the timer function, the power supply can be effected again by pushing the push button switch 5a or 5b.
Fig. 20 shows a modified embodiment in which the rear base plate 3₂ is provided, on its lower edge against which the leaf spring 7 bears, with a notch 3₂₁ of for example about 0.3 mm depth. In a variant shown in Fig. 21, additional notches 3₂₂ are provided on the lower edges of the left and right side plates 3₉ and 3₁₀ corresponding to the above-mentioned notch 3₂₁ of the rear base plate 3₂. The notch 3₂₁' shown in Fig. 21 is deeper than the notch 3₂₁ shown in Fig. 20.
The provision of the notch 3₂₁ (3₂₁') and/or the notches 3₂₂ not only provides a click upon completion of attachment of the heater cassette 30 to the comb tooth portion 1 but also contributes to a stable hold of the heater cassette 30. Furthermore, the notch 3₂₁ (3₂₁') and the notches 3₂₂ permit the rear base plate 3₂ to rotate about the pin 3₁₅ within an increased angular displacement.
Means for absorbing the looseness and elongation of the heating wire 3 as a heat generating means due to the thermal expansion to always maintain the heating wire 3 in a tensioned state is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. For instance, it is possible to provide a spring or springs (not shown) which is or are connected to one end or both ends of the heating wire 3 to tension the same.
In Fig, 15, a pilot lamp unit (e.g. LED) 59 of green lamp and red lamp is provided on the front end of the comb tooth portion 1. The pilot lamp unit 59 is controlled by the power supply circuit 58, so that when the electrical power is supplied to the heating wire 3 by the operation of the push button switch 5a and/or 5b, the green lamp is lightened. When the batteries B are consumed and when the push button switch 5a or 5b is pushed down, the red lamp is continuously or discontinuously lightened to indicate that the batteries B must be exchanged.
When the nichrome wire 3 is broken, a lever 10 (Figs. 9, 12 ∼14) which is provided on the connecting portion of the comb tooth portion 1 and the hand grip 2 so as to rotate about a shaft 10a provided on the comb tooth portion 1 is rotated with an operator's finger in the counterclockwise direction to a position shown by an imaginary line in Fig. 14. As a result, the heater cassette 30 which is attached to the comb tooth portion 1 is pushed out at the front end thereof by the lever 10, so that the lug 3₂₃ provided on the rear end of the rear base plate 3₂ projects from the comb tooth portion 1, so that the lug 3₂₃ can be grasped by operator's fingers to pull the heater cassette 30 in the direction opposite to the insertion direction upon attachment thereof in order to disengage the heater cassette 30 from the comb tooth portion 1. Consequently, the heater cassette 30 can be exchanged with another.
When the hair treatment implement is not used, the plug cap 4 of the battery room 2a of the hand grip 2 is rotated by about 45 ° from an operative position shown in Fig. 8 in which a mark 4c of the plug cap 4 is registered with a mark 4a of the hand grip 2 to an inoperative position in which the mark 4c is registered with a mark 4b of the hand grip 2, so that a switch 11 (Fig. 15) which is associated with the plug cap 4 is opened to open the battery circuit. In this position, no power is supplied to the heating wire 3, even if the push button switch 5a or 5b is actuated. When the plug cap 4 is rotated by 45° in the reverse direction (clockwise direction), so that the mark 4c meets the mark 4a, the switch 11 is closed to close the battery circuit.
When the plug cap 4 is detached from the hand grip 2 to load or unload the batteries B into and from the battery room 2a of the hand grip 2, the plug cap 4 is rotated by about 90° in the clockwise direction from a position shown in Fig. 8 in which the mark 4c is registered with the mark 4a.
The batteries B received in the hand grip 2 can realize a cordless hair treating implement which can be easily operated. Alternatively, it is possible to provide a receptacle an a plug as shown in Fig. 5. Namely, for example, a receptacle is provided on the rear end of the hand grip 2 while a a detachable plug is provided with a separate battery holder through an electrical connecting cord, so that the plug can be inserted in the receptacle to supply the power to the hair treatment implement. The separate battery holder makes the hair treatment implement lighter and more operable.
It is possible to directly connect the hair treatment implement to the separate battery holder through the connecting cord without using the receptacle and plug.
It is also possible to connect the hair treating implement to a commercial power source through a voltage reducer by an electrical connecting cord.

Claims

A hair treating implement comprising
an electrical heating wire (3),
a support which tensely supports the heating wire (3), said support being provided with terminals (32, 33) to which the opposite ends of said heating wire (3) are connected to supply an electrical power thereto,
a comb tooth portion (1) and
a hand grip (2) connected to said comb tooth portion (1),
characterized
in that it further comprises a heater cassette (30) in which the heating wire (3) and a substrate serving as support for the wire are included, and in that said heater cassette (30) is detachably attached to the comb tooth portion (1) or the hand grip (2).
A hair treating implement according to claim 1, characterized in that said hand grip (2) comprises a power source receiving portion in which a power source (B) is stored.
A hair treating implement according to claim 2, characterized in that said hand grip (2) comprises a power switch which makes the power source (B) ON and OFF.
A hair treating implement according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the power source (B) is a predetermined number of battery or batteries stored in the power source receiving portion of the hand grip (2).
A hair treating implement according to anyone of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said hand grip (2) comprises a connecting portion which can be connected to an external power source.
A hair treating implement according to anyone of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the comb tooth portion (1) comprises a pair of opposed and spaced comb tooth plates (1a, 1b), and in that said heating wire (3) being located in a space between said comb tooth plates (1a, 1b) when said heater cassette (30) is attached to said comb tooth portion (1) or said hand grip (2).
A hair treating implement according to anyone of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said heater cassette (30) comprises electrical terminals (34, 35) to which an electrical power is supplied to supply the electrical power to the heating wire (3).
A hair treating implement according to claim 7, characterized in that said hand grip (2) comprises supplier terminals (51, 52) which can be connected to said electrical terminals (34, 35) to supply the electrical power to the heating wire (3).
A hair treating implement according to anyone of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that there is provided an absorbing means for absorbing the looseness and elongation of said heating wire (3) due to the thermal expansion upon heating.
A hair treating implement according to claim 9, characterized in that said support comprises a stationary base plate (31) and at least one movable base plate (32) movable relative to said stationary base plate, said movable base plate (32) being connected to one end of said heating wire (3) and which constitutes the absorbing means.
A hair treating implement according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that said absorbing means comprises a biasing means (7) for biasing the movable base plate (32) in one direction.
A hair treating implement according to anyone of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that it further comprises a first power supply circuit (58) in the support.
A hair treating implement according to anyone of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it further comprises a second power supply circuit in the hand qrip.
A hair treating implement according to claims 12 and 13, characterized in that said first or second power supply circuit (58) controls the time of supply of the electrical power to the heating wire.
A hair treating implement according to claims 12 and 14, characterized in that it comprises an indicating means (59) on the support for indicating the supply of the electrical power to the heating wire (3).
A hair treating implement according to claims 13 and 14, characterized in that it comprises an indicating means on the hand grip for indicating the supply of the electrical power to the heating wire.
A hair treating implement according to claim 15, characterized in that it further comprises an indicating means on the support for indicating the consumption of the electrical power to the heating wire.
A hair treating implement according to claim 16, characterized in that it further comprises an indicating means on the hand grip for indicating the consumption of the electrical power to the heating wire.
A hair treating implement according to anyone of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that said support comprises a predetermined pattern (33 - 36) of electrical conductor.
A hair treating implement according to anyone of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that said hand grip (2) includes said comb tooth portion (1), and in that said heating wire (3) being located at said comb tooth portion (1) when said heating cassette (30) is attached to said hand grip.