JP2011143238A - Hair styling appliance with heat resistant, resilient hair engaging surface - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid damaging hair because of the difficulty to hold a tuft of hair in a desired position and too much compressive force applied thereto inadvertently. <P>SOLUTION: A hair styling appliance 1 has a handle 2, a barrel 4, and a heat element enclosed in the barrel 4 and adapted to produce heat from electrical energy. A clamping spoon is pivotally attached to the appliance and includes an operation lever 10 to enable a user to press down on it with the thumb while holding the handle 2. A silicone strip 17 is provided to partially cover and extend through the spoon so that it may deform when compressed against a bundle of hair during use. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

[Related applications]
This application is related to the prior provisional US provisional applications 61 / 257,111 (filed November 2, 2009) and 61 / 261,126 (filed November 13, 2009). It claims priority based on the prior application.

  The present invention relates to a hair styling appliance, and more particularly, by applying heat, force, and movement to a user's hair so that the hair engages the hair so that it is styled, shaped, and conditioned. The present invention relates to a styling iron including one or more members to be heated.

[Background of the invention]
A variety of known hair styling irons are formed by metal, ceramic or glass surfaces that are rigid and conduct heat from the thermal elements in the appliance to the hair to shape, style, or condition the user's hair It includes one or more heated elements. Includes a clamp member (in the case of a cylindrical barrel styling device) or a pair of flat opposing members (in the case of a straightener or flat iron) that are hinged and can be opened and closed with each other to clamp across the hair There are appliances. Whether in the case of a barrel iron or flat iron, the hair is pressed against the heated surface and clamped or wound and clamped, and the user Pull or move the instrument against. This generates compressive force on the hair, sliding frictional force on the hair, and thermal energy applied to the hair. These affect the physical and aesthetic properties of the hair in the sense that hair shaping, straightening, glossing, etc. are possible.

  In such known devices, the contact surface of the hair is hard, so that the hair slides freely against those hard surfaces that are smooth for efficient heat transfer and during use, the hair strands Is difficult to hold in the desired position. In addition, these hard surfaces are not deformable, so when a hair tress is pressed against the surface, only the hair fibers outside the tress or bundle of hair are subject to heat and physical contact. possible. In such a case, if the user unintentionally applies excessive compression force, or if the device is moved in such a way that the hair is suddenly twisted or bent suddenly, it may damage the hair. Absent.

[Object of the present invention]
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hair styling appliance that avoids the deficiencies.

  It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hair styling appliance that improves the appearance and texture of the hair by contacting a larger surface area of a larger amount of hair fibers than is possible with conventional hair styling appliances. Is the purpose.

  These and other objectives are achieved by the present invention.

[Summary of Invention]
The present invention provides at least one member to be heated that engages with the hair to be styled, and approaches or separates from the member to be heated to selectively clamp a bundle of hair against the member to be heated. And a hair styling appliance comprising at least one opposing clamping member configured to. One or both of the clamp member and the heated member is a portion of a heat resistant elastomer, such as silicone, disposed on part or all of the hair contacting surface to direct heat to the hair in direct contact with the hair It is included. The silicone may be partially or wholly smooth, and may include one or more hooks or one or a series of ridges or other textured surfaces. There may be.

1 is a top view of a hair styling appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view of a hair styling appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of a hair styling appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in an open position. FIG. 3 is a side view of one component of a hair styling appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of one component of a hair styling appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an end view of a hair styling appliance according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

[Description of Preferred Embodiment]
Referring to FIGS. 1-6, hair styling appliance 1 includes an electrical cord 3 with a handle 2 configured to extend therefrom and plug into an external power source. A barrel-like hair engaging member extends from the handle 2. As is generally known to those skilled in the art, a thermal element (not shown) is enclosed in the barrel 4 and is configured to generate heat from electrical energy. As generally known to those skilled in the art, for controlling basic functions, including an ON / OFF switch 5, a temperature lowering button 6, a temperature increasing button 7, and an LCD display 8 for displaying information related to operation, A set of control buttons and associated displays is provided. A clamp spoon 9 is rotatably attached to the electric appliance 1 around the connecting portion between the handle 2 and the barrel 4. The spoon 9 includes an operation lever 10 that can be pushed down with the thumb while the user holds the handle 2. When the lever 10 is pushed down, the spoon 9 moves from the closed position as shown in FIG. 2 to the open position as shown in FIG. A spring (not shown) biases the spoon 9 to the closed position. The collar 11 isolates the handle 2 from the barrel 4 and is made of a heat insulating material, thereby preventing the user's hand from inadvertently touching the heated barrel 4. A pair of hinge cover caps 12 and 13 cover the hinge connecting portion of the spoon 9 to the electric appliance 1 and function as an installation support for placing the electric appliance 1 on a flat surface such as a table. A connection point is provided for the pivotally attached wire bracket 14 to prevent contact with the table. A heat insulating end 15 may be provided at the tip of the barrel 4 to provide a means for the user to grip the end of the appliance 1 without the risk of burns or injury. The end 15 is preferably tapered to facilitate gripping, and may include an opening 16 for increasing gripping ease or hanging on a hook.

  Silicone strips 17 that pass through openings (not shown) provided in the spoon 9 are provided, and hair contact surfaces are formed on both sides of the spoon. The strip 17 has a shape like a so-called I-beam in a cross-sectional view in which there is a narrow central portion that is substantially vertical and both ends that extend in two directions perpendicular to the central portion. The strip 17 can maintain safety and durability against the heat generated by the heated barrel 4 and preferably transfers and holds heat during use to the hair in contact with the strip 17. Made of heat-resistant material that diffuses uniformly. The present invention is not limited to silicone, so the strip 17 may be made of other elastic heat resistant materials that conduct heat and deform when pressed against the hair bundle.

  The strip 17 preferably extends through the spoon 9 and forms surfaces on both sides, but may be on only one side. The side surface of the strip 17 extending to the upper surface of the spoon 9 is shown as 20 on the upper surface 21 of the spoon 9. The strip portion 20 is raised on the upper surface 21.

  In use, the user moves the spoon 9 to the open position and places the hair bundle between the barrel 4 and the spoon 9. Depending on the desired effect, the user may or may not wind the hair around the barrel 4 many times. The spoon 9 is closed to press against the hair bundle. Due to the compressibility of the silicone strip 17, the hair fibers sink into the silicone, so that the surface of the hair fibers can be brought into contact more than a hard surface as known in the prior art. This allows the hair to be positioned and gripped in a more desirable position with respect to the heated barrel than the conventional appliance having only a hard surface. Also, during use, the appliance is gently pulled out of the hair and in frictional contact with the hair in the process, so that the hair is carefully polished and polished.

  A common styling technique using a barrel iron is to first clamp the hair bundle between the barrel and the spoon and then twist the iron further to wrap the remaining hair of the bundle around the outside of the spoon and barrel. . Thus, using the appliance 1 of the present invention, the strip portion 20 touches the hair to gently polish and condition it, and when the appliance is pulled away from the user's head, the wound hair is removed. Unscrew from instrument 1.

  Although the present invention has been described with respect to a barrel-like styling iron, it is not limited thereto and includes a heated hair contact surface including (but not limited to) a flat iron of the type used for hair straightening. It can be used with any type of various hair styling appliances utilized. The deformation of the silicone strip, ribs, hooks, etc. may form the surface of a member to be heated that incorporates an active thermal element or a member that is not heated, and protrudes from the surface. Also good.

  While the preferred embodiment has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims (5)

Electric hair appliances,
A handle,
A hair engaging barrel extending from the handle;
A thermal element enclosed in the barrel 4 and configured to generate heat from electrical energy;
A set of control buttons and associated display;
A clamp spoon pivotably attached around the connection between the handle and the barrel of the instrument;
An operating lever associated with the spoon so that a user can hold down the handle and push down with a thumb to move the spoon away from the barrel;
An instrument comprising: a silicone cover attached to the spoon, wherein there is a portion that penetrates the opening of the spoon so as to form a hair contact surface on both sides of the spoon. The instrument according to claim 1, wherein the cover forms a strip having the shape of an I-beam in cross-section with a substantially vertical narrow central part and both ends extending perpendicularly from the central part in two directions. . The said cover is fitted so that most of the bottom face of the said spoon may be covered, The said bottom face is defined as a surface facing the barrel side of the said spoon. Appliances. The instrument according to claim 3, wherein the surface of the cover is substantially smooth and conforms to the shape of the spoon having a concave shape in end view that substantially matches the outer shape of the barrel. The instrument of claim 4, wherein the strip is raised above the top surface.

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