GB2526779A

GB2526779A - Hair roller

Info

Publication number: GB2526779A
Application number: GB1407091.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert John Watkins
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-04-22
Filing date: 2014-04-22
Publication date: 2015-12-09
Also published as: GB201407091D0

Abstract

A hair roller 10 having a body 11 with a hair rolling surface 12 and an electrically-powered heating element 16 in thermal contact with the rolling surface 12. An internal power source 26 is provided to energise the heating element 16. The internal power source may be a rechargeable battery. The roller may be provided with a controller 27 to control the heating element. The controller may comprise a wireless receiver 28 to allow wireless operation of the heating element. The roller may be provided with a remote control (32 figure 4) and charging unit (31 figure 4).

Description

HAIR ROLLER

This invention relates to a roller for use in curling hair and more specifically to a hair roller which includes an internal battery and a heating element to produce a self-heating effect.

Hair rollers have been around for many years and are available in a range of shapes and styles. Typically rollers have a cylindrical configuration and provide an annular curling surface around which hair may be wound.

Rollers usually include a fastening member to secure and hold the hair around the curling surface. Fastening members may include a strip of hook and loop fasteners mounted to the curling surface or may comprise one or more distinct components arranged to secure the wound hair to the roller, such as a pin, clip or sleeve. To curl the hair effectively heat must be applied to the hair when it is wound around the curling surface. Conventional heated rollers are heated in an electric heating station before being applied to the hair. This method has several disadvantages.

Firstly, there is an inherent safety issue when handling heated rollers, particularly when attempting to apply the rollers to the hair which can often be difficult. Secondly, to obtain a consistent curl, each of the heated rollers should ideally be worn on the hair for the same amount of time; this is hard to achieve and is impractical since each heated roller is applied separately to the hair and the specific order of application and time taken would have to be strategically applied in reverse. Thirdly, the heat of the roller will start to dissipate as soon as the roller is removed from the heating station. As such, the application of a roller to the hair must be carried out in a time efficient manner to ensure sufficient heat is retained by the roller on application.

It is a principal aim of the present invention to provide a hair roller which seeks to address at least some of the above-identified problems and which is safe and easy to use.

According to a first aspect of this invention there is provided a hair roller comprising: a body having a hair rolling surface for winding hair therearound; an electrically-powered heating element in thermal contact with the rolling surface; and an internal power source to energise the heating element.

The heating element may be any suitable mechanism such as a thermistor or resistance wire such as copper and/or nickel wire. The heating element may be directly connected to the rolling surface. The choice of appropriate heating element depends on the desired heating effect.

The roller may further comprise fastening means to secure and hold the hair around the curling surface. Preferably the fastening means includes hook and/or loop fasteners mounted to the rolling surface and to which hair will engage. The body of the roller may be formed from and/or include conventional materials including plastics, metals or ceramics.

For safety purposes, it is recommended that the temperature of a hot surface touching the skin should not exceed 42°C. To achieve optimum curling performance it is preferred that the heating element of this invention be capable of reaching at least 60°C. Preferably, the roller is configured such that it is hard for the heating element to come into contact with the scalp of a user. Thermal insulation, to slow heat transfer from the heating element to the outer periphery of the roller, may thus be provided to protect the scalp of the wearer. This may simply be an air gap provided between the rolling surface and the periphery of the roller. An air gap may be achieved by having one or more member protruding from the body and arranged to contact the scalp such that the roller body is spaced therefrom. An array of projecting filaments or fibres such as in a hook and loop fastener may be mounted around the rolling surface, as discussed above, and may serve to provide a sufficient gap to protect the wearers scalp. Alternatively or additionally the heating element may be mounted in a recess or channel formed in the rolling surface.

The internal power source is preferably an internal battery comprising one or more cells. Internal means within the body rather than being separate.

The battery is preferably lightweight and may be rechargeable or single use.

Where the hair roller comprises a single use battery, easy access to the battery mount is preferably provided so that the battery may be replaced without difficulty or the need for tools.

The hair roller may include control means configured to control the heating element. The control means may enable the temperature of the heating element to be varied and/or regulated. The control means may include a thermistor or other safety cut out device. Preferably, the control means includes one or more actuator, such as one or more switch, to provide user controls for turning the heating element on and off and/or to vary the temperature thereof.

Preferably, the one or more actuator is provided on the body. More preferably the one or more actuator are positioned away from the rolling surface so that they can be accessed easily, when the rollers are in use, to operate the heating element. A convenient position is the end face of a cylindrical roller.

The roller may be configured to communicate wirelessly. This may be an alternative to the roller being operated by direct actuation, or it may be in addition thereto. In this case the control means may include a wireless receiver configured to permit control of the heating element in response to a wirelessly transmitted control signal. This arrangement is beneficial where direct access to the roller is difficult, for example: where the roller is covered with hair or within very close proximity to another roller.

In this arrangement a remote control unit may be provided, the control unit including a transmitter arranged to communicate with the receiver wirelessly to control operation of the heating element. The control unit preferably comprises one or more actuator, such as a button or switch to operate the heating element. Separate actuators may be provided for turning the heating element on and off and for varying the temperature.

In all embodiments, the control means may be arranged automatically to turn the heating element off or to provide a visual or aural indication when the heating element has been on for a fixed period of time. The period of time may be user variable and thus there may be a control switch or dial provided on the control means or control unit which allows a user to set the period of time.

The control means may comprise one or more indicator signal to provide a visual or aural indication of operation of the roller. This may include, for example, one or more LEDs which light to indicate certain conditions. In this case, indicators may, for example, show whether the heating element is turned on, whether the heating element has reached the required temperature and/or whether the battery life is low.

According to a to a second but closely related aspect of this invention there is provided a hair roller set comprising more than one hair roller as hereinbefore described. Each hair roller in the set may include a wireless receiver. In this case, a remote control unit may be further provided and may include one or more transmitter arranged to communicate with the roller receivers wirelessly to control operation of the heating element. Preferably, the remote control is configured to control each of the hair rollers in the set simultaneously.

According to a to a third but closely related aspect of this invention there is provided a hair roller assembly comprising a hair roller or hair roller set as hereinbefore described and a charging unit for charging the internal power source. The charging unit may be configured to charge a single roller or multiple rollers simultaneously. The charging unit may further comprise a remote control for operating the, or each, hair roller wirelessly and/or indicators to provide a visual or aural indication of operation of the roller.

By way of example only, one specific embodiment of hair roller of this invention will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hair roller according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective showing the other side of the hair roller of Figure 1 and the fastening means partially cut away.

Figure 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view through the roller of Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a charging unit for charging the internal batteries of a set of hair rollers.

Referring initially to Figures 1 and 2 there is shown a hair roller 10 comprising a substantially cylindrical body 11 having a generally annular rolling surface 12, around which hair may be wound. The body 11 includes two generally circular end faces 13, 14.

An electrically-powered heating element in the form of resistance wire 16 is wrapped around the annular rolling surface 12 and is connected (connection not shown) to energising means (described in more detail below) to enable an increase in the temperature of the heating element 16.

Self-holding fasteners in the form of hooks 17, such as those forming the hooks of a hook and loop fastener are mounted around the rolling surface 12 of the body 11 and over the heating element 16. Figure 2 shows the roller 10 with the fasteners 17 partially cut away. The fasteners 17 are designed to engage with hair wrapped around the rolling surface 12 to hold the roller 10 in place during use. The fasteners 17 also provide an air gap, spacing the rolling surface 12 away from the wearers scalp, to prevent the heating element 16 from over-heating the scalp.

A switch 18 is provided on one of the end faces 13 to turn the heating element 16 on and off respectively. The switch 18 is located in a recess 19 formed in the side face 13 to prevent accidental and unintentional actuation.

This is highly advantageous as it allows the heating element 16 to be off until required and thus can be turned on once the roller 10 has been applied to the hair.

Indicator means, in the form of three LEDs, is provided on the circular end face 13 of the body 11 to provide a visual indication of operation. A first LED 20 is provided to indicate operation of the heating element, a second LED 21 is provided to indicate that the heating element has reached the required temperature and a third LED 22 is provided to indicate that the power of the energising means is low. A socket 25 is provided in the other end face 14 of the roller body 11 and this is configured to permit engagement with an external power supply, as discussed in more detail below.

Referring now to Figure 3, the internal configuration of a roller 10 is shown and this includes energising means in the form of an internal rechargeable battery 26. The socket 25 engages a projection in an external power supply to permit the internal battery 26 to be recharged. The socket 25 illustrated shows an inductively charged arrangement but other types of charging means may be provided, each of which is equally applicable.

The roller 10 includes control means 27 to control operation of the heating element 16. The control means 27 is arranged to distribute power from the battery 26 to the heating element 16 and to the indicators 20, 21, 22 and operates the heating element 16 depending on the status of the switch 18. The control means 27 also comprises a wireless receiver 28 and is configured to operate upon receiving a wireless signal from a cooperating transmitter.

A charging unit 30 for a set of rollers 10 is shown in Figure 4 and this will typically include an AC to DC converter (not shown) for converting mains AC power to DC for charging a roller 10. In the embodiment illustrated the unit 30 charges inductively, though other charging means could equally be employed as discussed above. The unit 30 includes more than one charging pod 31 into which a roller 10 is located in order to receive charge. Charging of more than one roller 10 may be carried out simultaneously.

The charging unit 30 may also function as a remote control 32 for operating the roller 10 wirelessly. The remote control 32 includes control means 33 similar to the control means 27 of the roller 10 described above but having a transmitter 34 for transmitting a control signal to the roller 10. The remote control 32 comprises a screen 36 providing a visual indication of the status of the, or each, roller 10, including temperature and charging status.

Three indicator LED lights are mounted on the control 32. A first LED 37 is provided to indicate operation of the heating element 16, a second LED 38 is provided to indicate that the heating element 16 has reached the required temperature and a third LED 39 is provided to indicate that the power of the energising means 26 is low. Switches are also provided to control operation of the, or each, roller 10. One switch 40 controls operation of the heating element 16. Another switch 41 serves to vary the temperature of the heating element 16. A further switch 42 is a programmable timer which allows the control means 33, 27 automatically to turn off the heating element 16 after the programmed period of time.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A hair roller comprising: a body having a hair rolling surface for winding hair therearound; an electrically-powered heating element in thermal contact with the rolling surface; and an internal power source to energise the heating element.
2. A hair roller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heating element is a resistance wire.
3. A hair roller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heating element is a thermistor connected to the rolling surface.
4. A hair roller as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the internal power source is a battery comprising one or more cells.
5. A hair roller as claimed in claim 4, wherein the battery is rechargeable.
6. A hair roller as claimed in any of the preceding claims, further comprising control means configured to control the heating element.
7. A hair roller as claimed in claim 6, wherein the control means comprises one or more actuators for operating the heating element.
8. A hair roller as claimed in claim 7, wherein the one or more actuators is provided on the body.
9. A hair roller as claimed in claim 6, wherein the control means includes a wireless receiver configured for wireless operation of the heating element.
10. A hair roller as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a remote control unit having a transmitter arranged to communicate with the receiver wirelessly to control operation of the heating element.
11. A hair roller as claimed in any of claims 6 to 10, wherein the control means further comprises one or more indicator signal to provide a visual or aural indication of operation.
12. A hair roller as claimed in claim 1 and substantially as hereinbefore described, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
13. A hair roller set comprising more than one hair roller as defined in any of claims ito ii.
14. A hair roller set as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a remote control arranged wirelessly to control the heating elements.
15. A hair roller set as claimed in claim 14, wherein the remote control is configured to control the hair rollers simultaneously.
16. A hair roller assembly comprising a hair roller as defined in any of the preceding claims and a charging unit for charging the internal power source.
17. A hair roller assembly as claimed in claim 16, wherein the charging unit is configured simultaneously to charge more than one hair roller.