EP2888970B1 - Hair styling apparatus provided with a means for locking an accessory - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a hair styling appliance, of the type straightener, comprising two arms for thermal treatment of the hair by pinching and equipped with removable accessories. Such accessories may be combs for disentangling and styling the hair during a pre-smoothing, and may be removed for a finishing smoothing or simply for cleaning combs and the hairdressing apparatus.

Hairdressing appliances of the straightener type are known to those skilled in the art. It appears in particular from the prior art the publications EP 1 652 445 B1 and US 2011/0220141 A1 which each disclose a hairdressing apparatus comprising two arms articulated together to form a clamp and each comprising a heating system for the treatment of the hair when they are pinched between these two arms. The hairdressing apparatus comprises two combs mounted in sliding connection on one of the two arms in the direction of its longitudinal axis. Each slide connection consists of a longitudinal groove arranged on the arm and a longitudinal rail arranged on the comb and of complementary shape to said groove. The rail comb is introduced into the groove of the arm, which allows the guide and the sliding of the comb on the arm for its introduction and removal. In the document EP 1 652 445 B1 the comb is simply engaged in a sliding connection on the arm; only the friction force exerted between the rail and the groove allows the comb to be held in position on the arm. It is the same in the document US 2011/0220141 A1 which however provides, in a variant, a nesting between the rail and the groove for holding the comb on the arm.

It is understood that according to this design of the hairdressing appliance, as described in the publications EP 1 652 445 B1 and US 2011/0220141 A1 , it is necessary to exert a sufficiently important friction between the rail and the groove to properly maintain the comb on the arm during use of the hairdressing apparatus and, therefore, to provide a more or less tight assembly between these elements. This has the disadvantage of making it difficult to place the comb on the arm because of the friction exerted during the sliding of the rail in the groove. It is the same during the removal of the comb, this difficulty may be accentuated due to the expansion of the rail and / or the groove generated by the actuation of the heating system. In addition, the use of the hairdressing appliance can cause wear of the rail and / or slide, which, by use, causes play in the slide connection and, consequently, poor maintenance of the comb on the arm.

The object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of known hairdressing appliances and to provide a hairdressing apparatus having a hair treatment accessory locking means for mounting thereof easier.

Another object of the invention is a locking means of a more reliable and more robust accessory.

To this end, the invention relates to a hair styling appliance intended for shaping the hair, comprising two arms mounted on a hinge, at least one of which comprises a heating plate, said arms being configured to form a clamp allowing said hotplate to shape the hair; at least one hair treatment accessory intended to be assembled in a slide connection on at least one of the two arms, said arm comprising a groove in the longitudinal axis of the arm intended to receive and maintain said accessory; locking means, on the one hand, an attached working position in which the at least one attachment is locked in the groove and, on the other hand, a detached working position in which the at least one accessory is detached from the arm. Said locking means comprises at least one piece mounted flexible on either said accessory or said groove, said part being intended to bear against respectively a part of the accessory or part of the groove to define a plastic-metal bearing surface.

The term "plastic-metal support surface" means a support of a plastic surface against a metal surface. A bearing surface defined by a plastic part in contact with a metal part makes it possible to have a safer and more reliable locking, thanks to the reduction of expansion during heating. In addition, the fact of providing a flexible part to the locking means makes it possible to eliminate the frictional hold and to provide a looser mounting clearance, which will make the sliding of the accessory more fluid in the groove.

A hair treatment accessory makes it possible to provide care or treatment or shaping or dishing or brushing the hair before or after or during the heating. In order to properly separate the hair and to spread it correctly on the hotplates, the accessory may comprise for example a comb or a brush.

Advantageously, the locking means is arranged at one end of said groove, preferably at the proximal end of said hinge and at the bottom of the groove. This helps to avoid breakage of parts and make the device more robust. The arrangement at the bottom makes it possible to have a symmetrical support.

In addition, said piece is a metal leaf spring having at least one protruding portion intended to partially form said bearing surface. The protruding part makes it possible to make the support surface more stable and to hook the accessory in the groove.

According to the invention, a wall of said groove is at least partially made of plastic, said wall may be the bottom of the groove or a side wall. Said accessory comprises a guide bar of which at least one surface is made of plastic. The use of plastic in these components reduces the cost of the product and facilitate their manufacture.

According to a first embodiment of the invention, said leaf spring is secured to said plastic wall, and said surface of the accessory has a housing for receiving said protruding portion. Thus, said bearing surface consists of the protruding portion and the housing. Connecting the spring blade to the groove reduces the cost of the product when there are several interchangeable accessories between them.

According to a second embodiment of the invention, said spring blade is integral with said accessory, and said wall of said groove has a housing for receiving said protruding portion. Thus, said bearing surface consists of the protruding portion and the housing.

According to a first variant of the accessory, it comprises a comb having a series of plastic teeth. This allows the hair to be disentangled during their shaping and to distribute the wick to be treated on the heating plate.

According to a second variant of the accessory, it comprises a brush having a series of tufts of bristles, such as for example bristles. This makes it possible to brush the hair during their shaping to make them smoother and to distribute the wick to be treated on the heating plate.

Finally, the other arm comprises another heating plate, and the two heating plates are in particular planar.

In order to offer several functionalities in a single product kit, the apparatus comprises at least two interchangeable accessories in the groove.

• La figure 1 illustre une vue d'ensemble en perspective d'un appareil de coiffure selon l'invention ;
• La figure 2 illustre une vue de dessus du premier bras sans accessoire selon un premier mode de réalisation ;
• La figure 3 illustre une vue en perspective de la lame ressort métallique selon le premier mode de réalisation ;
• La figure 4 illustre une vue de face d'un peigne selon le premier mode de réalisation ;
• La figure 5 illustre un deuxième mode de réalisation du moyen de verrouillage ;
• La figure 6 illustre une alternative de l'accessoire.

The characteristics and advantages of the hairdressing apparatus which is the subject of the invention will become apparent on reading the attached description with reference to the drawings which illustrate nonlimiting embodiments, among which:

• The figure 1 illustrates an overall perspective view of a hairdressing apparatus according to the invention;
• The figure 2 illustrates a top view of the first arm without accessories according to a first embodiment;
• The figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of the metal leaf spring according to the first embodiment;
• The figure 4 illustrates a front view of a comb according to the first embodiment;
• The figure 5 illustrates a second embodiment of the locking means;
• The figure 6 illustrates an alternative of the accessory.

As illustrated in figure 1 , the hairstyling apparatus 1 is of the straightener type and comprises two arms 2, 3 which are hinged to each other by means of a pivot connection 4 of the hinge type. Thus, the two arms 2, 3 constitute a clamp which allows either an angular spacing between these two arms 2, 3, or an approximation one against the other of these two arms 2, 3 to allow the pinching of hair arranged between said two arms 2, 3.

These arms 2, 3 each comprise a heating system. In addition to electric heating means (not shown) and thermal control and regulation means (not shown), these heating systems each comprise a heating plate 5, 6, taking the form of a flat surface 5, 6 such that illustrated on the Figures 2 and 3 . These planar heating surfaces 5, 6 are arranged on the inner faces of the arms 2, 3. Thus, during a nip, the two flat heating surfaces 5, 6 are arranged facing one another and allow concomitantly to achieve a heat treatment of the hair, to perform their smoothing.

As illustrated on the figure 1 , the first arm 2 comprises an accessory 9 in the form of a comb which is mounted in sliding connection on a side 5a of the heating plane surface 5. The comb is entirely of plastic. The comb 9 makes it possible to disentangle and comb the hair during their smoothing and to evenly distribute the wick on the plate. As illustrated in figures 2 and 4 , the slide connection is constituted by a guide groove 18 arranged on the arm 2 in the direction of the longitudinal axis X of said arm 2 and a guide bar 91 arranged on the comb 9 in the direction of the longitudinal axis X. The guide bar 91 engages and slides in both direction within the groove 18, in the direction of the longitudinal axis X, which allows sliding in one direction or the other, to mount the comb 9 on the arm 2 or, conversely, the disassemble. The groove 18 consists of two side walls, at least one has two pins 181, 182 for sliding in a rail 93 along the guide bar 91, which keeps the comb when it is in place . Of course, slide link variants can be envisaged. For example, a guide rail could be provided on the arm 2 and a groove on the comb 9 slidably engaged on the guide rail.

As illustrated on Figures 1 to 4 , the arm 2 comprises a first embodiment of a locking means 15 which is arranged in the groove 18 at the proximal end 18b of said hinge. If necessary, the locking means 15 may also be arranged at the distal end 18a of said hinge. The locking means 15 comprises a leaf spring 16 of metal located on a wall 19 constituting the bottom of the groove 18 which is she plastic. Said leaf spring 16 consists of a foot 160 for fixing the leaf spring 16 to the arm 2 and an active blade 165 deformable with respect to the foot 160 in the case of compression comprising a protruding portion 161. Said active blade 165 se located at the bottom of the groove 18 and extends in the direction of the longitudinal axis X. Is also included in the locking means 15 a housing 92 on the guide bar 91 for receiving said spring blade 16 and to form with its protruding portion 161 a bearing surface (SA) plastic-metal when the comb is in the working position attached. According to this embodiment, the guide bar 91 is entirely made of plastic and has a plastic surface 91 'on which there is said housing 92.

As illustrated in figure 5 a second embodiment of the locking means 15 may also be envisaged. According to this embodiment, the locking means 15 comprises an L-shaped leaf spring 16 'comprising a first branch 162 fixed in the groove 18, and a second branch 163 is slightly flexible relative to the first branch 162. The second branch 163 has a protruding portion 161 'and the comb 9 has on one lateral side of the guide bar 91, which is a plastic surface 91', a housing 92 in the form of a through hole, intended to receive said protruding portion 161 'and form therewith a bearing surface (SA) plastic-metal when the comb is in the working position attached.

In the case where the apparatus is equipped with a vaporization system, the arm 2 comprises a series of orifices 7 for the steam outlet, as visible in FIG. figure 1 . Preferably, the comb is arranged between the heating plate and the orifices 7.

Of course, other variants of the locking means that are not illustrated can be imagined, for example an arrangement according to which the leaf spring 16 or 16 'is fixed to the comb and its protruding portion 161 or 161' interacts with a cavity on the wall of the groove 18 to form a contact surface. The spring blade can also take other forms while allowing reliable locking.

In order not to comb the hair but to brush them to make them brighter, it is possible to propose another accessory in the form of a brush comprising tufts of hair designated by the reference 10 comprising a guide bar 11 having a surface plastic 11 'and a housing 12 for receiving the leaf spring 16, 16'. It is also possible to propose the two types of comb 9, 10 to the users so that they can change them if necessary.

Thus, alternatively to a straightener, one can consider another hair shaping apparatus, such as a curling iron, etc.

Of course, other modifications may be made to the invention within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (11)

1. Hairdressing appliance (1) intended for shaping the hair, comprising

   - two arms (2, 3) mounted on a hinge (4) of which at least one (2) comprises a heating plate (5, 6), said arms being configured to form a clip allowing said heating plate (5, 6) to style the hair,

   - at least one accessory (9, 10) for treating the hair intended to be assembled with a sliding connection on at least one (2) of the two arms, said arms (2) having a groove (18) in the longitudinal axis of the arm for receiving and holding said accessory (9, 10)

   - locking means (15) allowing, on the one hand, an attached working position in which the at least one accessory (9, 10) is blocked in the groove (18) and, on the other hand, a detached working position in which the at least one accessory (9, 10) is detached from the arm (2), characterised in that said locking means (15) comprise at least one part (16, 16') flexibly mounted on either said accessory (9, 10) or said groove (18), said part (16, 16') being intended to press against respectively either a part of the accessory or a part of the groove to define a plastic-metal bearing surface (SA) consisting of a plastic surface bearing against a metal surface.
2. Appliance according to claim 1, characterised in that the locking means (15) are arranged at one end (18a, 18b) of said groove (18), preferably at the proximal end (18b) of said hinge (4) and at the bottom of the groove (18).
3. Appliance according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that said part (16, 16') is a metal leaf spring (16, 16') having at least one protruding part (161, 161') intended to partially form said bearing surface (SA).
4. Appliance according to the preceding claim, characterised in that a wall (19) of said groove (18) is at least partially made of plastic.
5. Appliance according to the preceding claim, characterised in that said accessory (9, 10) comprises a guide bar (91, 11) of which at least one surface (91', 11') is made of plastic.
6. Appliance according to claims 4 and 5, characterised in that said leaf spring (16, 16') is attached to said plastic wall (19), and in that said surface (91', 11') of the accessory (9, 10) has a housing (92, 12) for receiving said protruding part (161, 161').
7. Appliance according to claims 4 and 5, characterised in that said leaf spring (16, 16') is attached to said accessory (9, 10), and in that said wall (19) of said groove (18) has a housing for receiving said protruding part (161, 161').
8. Appliance according to one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the at least one accessory (9) comprises a comb having a series of plastic teeth.
9. Appliance according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the at least one accessory (10) comprises a brush having a series of tufts of bristles.
10. Appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the other arm (3) comprises another heating plate, and the two heating plates are in particular flat.
11. Appliance according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that it comprises at least two accessories (9, 10) interchangeable in the groove (18).

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