US20180055176A1

US20180055176A1 - Hair iron with variable diameter structure

Info

Publication number: US20180055176A1
Application number: US15/502,505
Authority: US
Inventors: Kinman WONG
Original assignee: Hang Shun Hing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hang Shun Hing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-05-18
Filing date: 2015-05-26
Publication date: 2018-03-01
Also published as: JP2017521216A; KR20170023170A; JP6352538B2; KR101890794B1; CN104824955A; CN104824955B; WO2016183861A1

Abstract

The invention discloses a hair iron with a variable diameter structure, comprising a handle and rolling components which comprise a hair roller, two fixed bases and two rotating blades, wherein the handle and rolling components are connected via the securing joint connection between a slot and a fixed base; the hair roller further comprises a fixed rolling element, a movable rolling element, an axis and two auxiliary rolling elements; a knob is provided at the outer end of the handle corresponding to the slot, and is in a tenon joint with the rotating blades of this end; by twisting the knob, the rotating blades drive the movable rolling element and two auxiliary rolling elements to move, so as to adjust the diameter of the hair roller. The hair iron of the invention, which is compact in structure and easy to use, can roll out various curls with sizes of 32 mm-38 mm.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of home appliances, and more specifically, to a hair iron with a variable diameter structure.

2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

A hair iron is a main tool for shaping the hair, and common hair irons include electric hair irons and steam hair irons. The heat-up function of the electric hair iron takes effect by virtue of resistance wires or other heating elements mounted inside; when using it, one winds a strand of hair around the hair roller, and electrically heats up the hair roller simultaneously, so that the heat emits from the inner layer of the curled hair toward the outside. The existing hair irons are commonly used to straighten or curl the hair; when it comes to a hair iron that curls the hair, the prior art focuses on the selected mode of ironing and shaping, but studies on variable diameters of the existing hair rollers are rare. The diameters of the hair rollers of the existing hair irons are fixed, commonly including 25 mm, 32 mm and 38 mm, so it makes the sizes of curls of hair styles ironed by common hair irons the same, and cannot meet the needs of variously sized curls.
In the prior art, there are following solutions to change the variable diameter structure of the tube body:
In one case, a diameter adjustable uniaxial fabric transfer stick (Patent Application No.: 201410350805.9) disclosed that: the circumferential surface of the main axis is provided with at least two trapezoidal guide slots with the same spaced angles, one end of the guide slot is connected to the main axis end provided with external threads, while the other end is closed; along one side of the external threads, it is plugged into the slot with roller shells featuring the same number and the same guide slot number, the roller shells plugged into the guide slot of the main axis can be formed as rollers with circular end faces; the diameter adjustable uniaxial fabric transfer stick can realize changeable diameters of rollers via several roller shells formed as circles;
In another case, a resizable pipe clamp (Authorized Publication No. CN 203836395 U) disclosed: it is provided with an upper pipe clamp and a lower pipe clamp, the diameter of the upper pipe clamp is greater than that of the lower pipe clamp, the upper pipe clamp is provided with a slideway corresponding to the lower pipe clamp; by controlling how much the lower pipe clamp slides into the slideway, it can change the size of the pipe clamp.
Among the two cases mentioned above, in terms of the first case, it needs to customize many sets of roller shells with various diameters and arrange the corresponding slots on the main axis when using it, so it needs to conduct precision processing on all components of this structure, and the application of the structural principle in hair irons will cause inconvenience and it is not easy to use. Meanwhile, the second case is also not suitable for the hair iron.
What kind of a variable diameter structure should be designed for the hair iron, and how to arrange the variable structure? It is a new topic for the sector! To design various hair styles by ironing according to people's own ideas, is also a strong demand of the majority of users. In terms of the variable diameter structure and how to design it, the prior art has given several technical solutions as follows:
The first one, a hair curler (Patent No. DT 2828822 A1) disclosed that its roller is a hollowed porous column with a fixed diameter, the outside of the roller is provided with many semi-cylindrical pieces with holes by taking the axis as center, and these semi-cylindrical pieces can rotate together around an axis outwards to increase the diameter of the roller, or inwards to reduce the diameter of the roller;
The second one, a hair curler (U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,648A) disclosed that the hair curler is a steam curling tong, and its roller comprises a hollow porous column with fixed diameter. The outside of the roller is provided with a porous, expandable and flexible stainless steel axis, which makes use of the elastic expansion of the flexible stainless steel axis, to increase or reduce the size of the roller;
The third one, a hand-held electric hair curler (Authorized Publication No. CN1043606C) disclosed that the roller of the hair curler comprises many slender rolling elements, and these elements are arranged along the same radial direction, basically forming an axially symmetric roller. These rolling elements can move together inwards and outwards along the radial direction, so as to reduce and increase the diameter of the roller, wherein, each rolling element comprises: a slender body, a row of brushes radially protruding outwards from the body, a row of holes provided on the body, and a lateral protrusion extending along one side of the slender body, so as to be used as a bottom of the body of adjacent rolling elements in a close-up or partly close-up state.
And there is a hair iron with another structure in the prior art, a retractable hair curler (Application Publication No. CN 103355924 A) disclosed using a big pipe to cover a small pipe, thus meeting the demand for adjusting the diameters of rollers and rolling out various curls.
The above-mentioned structures used in hair irons to adjust the diameters of rollers have the following shortcomings: firstly, the change of the diameter of a roller needs to rotate the main axis or the column in the center of the roller, which affects the electrical connection of heating elements, and affects the heat-up, thus causing a poor heating effect and high energy consumption; secondly, the adjustment of the roller diameter is not smooth, or the adjusting surface of the roller is not smooth, so it is easy to snag the hair; thirdly, the adjusting structure is set unreasonably, in this way, when ironing the curls, it is difficult to easily adjust the diameter of the roller.
Therefore, to design a durable hair iron with an adjustable diameter structure is highly expected by the market.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The technical problem to be solved herein is to provide a hair iron with a variable diameter structure by overcoming the design defects existent in the prior art.
The present invention relates to a hair iron with a variable diameter structure, comprising rolling components and a handle, wherein the handle is provided with rolling components in the axial extension direction; the rolling components comprise a hair roller, two fixed bases for mounting the hair roller and two rotating blades arranged on the two fixed bases; the joint end of the handle and the rolling components are provided with a slot, and the slot and the fixed base of this end are in a secured connection, which makes the rolling components fixed to the handle; the hair roller comprises a fixed rolling element, a movable rolling element, an axis and two auxiliary rolling elements; the fixed rolling element is arranged at the bottom of the hair roller in the radial direction; the movable rolling element is arranged on the top of the hair roller in the radial direction, and can move inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller; the two auxiliary rolling elements are arranged oppositely taking the axis as the axis of symmetry, and the two auxiliary rolling elements can move in the range from the axis to the outer end of the hair roller; the movable rolling element and the two auxiliary rolling elements pass through the fixed base and are connected to the rotating blades rotatably; a knob is provided at the outer end of the handle corresponding to the slot, and the knob is in a tenon joint with the rotating blades of this end; by twisting the knob, the rotating blades drive the movable rolling element and two auxiliary rolling elements to move, so as to adjust the diameter of the hair roller.
More details will be given to the above technical solution hereinafter:
In the above technical solutions, the securing joint of the slot and the fixed base is a rim arranged on the fixed base and matched with the slot, and the rim is embedded in the slot, which makes the rolling components fixed to the handle. Furthermore, the slot is provided with at least one rim groove, and the fixed base is provided with the corresponding number of rims.
In the above technical solutions, the through area of the two auxiliary rolling elements and the movable rolling element on the fixed base is provided with several guide grooves; these guide grooves comprise a first guide groove and two second guide grooves; the first guide groove is arranged along the hair roller in the radial direction, and matches the movement of the movable rolling element; the second guide grooves are arranged along the direction perpendicular to the first guide groove, so that the two auxiliary rolling elements can move in the range from the axis to the outer end of the hair roller. Furthermore, the length of the first guide groove is not less than the length of the moving distance that the movable rolling element moves to the outermost end of the hair roller in the radial direction.
In the above technical solutions, the fixed base is provided with a fixed column, through which the rotating blades are connected to the fixed base; the position of the fixed column, the movable rolling element and the two auxiliary rolling elements corresponding to the rotating blades are provided with a slideway; the ends of the fixed column, the movable rolling element and the two auxiliary elements are nested in the matched slideway; the slideway is an arc-shaped groove swirlingly distributed along the circumference of the rotating blades, and its arc length is not less than the length of the moving distance that the movable rolling element moves to the outermost end of the hair roller in the radial direction; when the rotating blades rotate, the fixed column, the movable rolling element and the two auxiliary rolling elements slide along the slideway, correspondingly driving the movable rolling element to move inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller, and also driving the two auxiliary rolling elements to move horizontally along the direction from the axis to the outer end of the hair roller.
In the above technical solution, the tenon joint structure between the knob and the rotating blades provides several mortises for the rotating blades along its circumferential outer rim at intervals, and arranges tongue-and-grooves with the location and number matched with the mortises in the inner ring of the knob; the mortises and the tongue-and-grooves are in a tenon joint, which makes the rotating blades fixedly connected to the knob; when twisting the knob, the mortises and the tongue-and-grooves are in a tenon joint, which makes the rotating blades rotate with the twist of the knob.
In the above technical solution, the range of the distance that the movable rolling element moves inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller is 0-20 mm, and the diameter of the hair roller is 25 mm-45 mm.
Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as below: firstly, it provides a diameter adjustable structure, namely, a hair iron using the structure can roll out variously sized curls; secondly, it is easy to use, namely, it can be smoothly adjusted without any obstacles by rotating to adjust the diameter of the hair roller; thirdly, it has good ironing and curling effects, namely, by rotating to adjust the diameter of the hair roller, it can improve the ironing and curling effects via the twisting force of rotation; fourthly, it is cost-saving and practical, namely, the hair iron is easy to carry and with a compact structure and full functions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional structure view of the hair iron of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the hair iron of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of Part C shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an assembly view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a complete assembly view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of rolling components and handle connection when part of handle cover has not been removed.

FIG. 7 is a view of the diameter adjustment principle of the hair iron of the present invention, wherein, A indicates the rotating direction of the knob, B indicates the moving direction of the movable rolling element and the auxiliary rolling elements, FIG. a shows the initial state of the hair roller, and FIG. b shows the maximum-diameter state of the hair roller.

In Figures, marks are as follows: 1. rolling components, 2. handle, 3, hair pin, 4. knob, 11. rotating blades, 111. mortises, 112. slideway, 12. fixed base, 121. rim, 122. fixed column, 123. first guide groove, 124. second guide groove, 13. hair roller, 131. auxiliary rolling elements, 132. axis, 133. fixed rolling element, 134. movable rolling element, 21. slot, 41, tongue-and-grooves, 4 a. upper knob, 4 b. lower knob.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In a bid to give a clearer description of the purposes, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention, the invention is further detailed in combination with the drawings and embodiments as follows. FIGS. 1-7 illustrate detailed embodiments of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1-7, a hair iron with a variable diameter structure of the present invention, comprising rolling components 1 and a handle 2, and the handle 2 is provided with rolling components 1 in the axial extension direction; wherein, the rolling components 1 comprise a hair roller 13, two fixed bases 12 for mounting the hair roller 13 and two rotating blades 11 arranged on the two fixed bases 12; the joint end of the handle 2 and the rolling components 1 are provided with a slot 21, and the slot 21 and the fixed base 12 of this end are in a secured connection, which makes the rolling components 1 fixed to the handle 2, as shown in FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 3-5, the hair roller 13 comprises a fixed rolling element 133, a movable rolling element 134, an axis 132 and two auxiliary rolling elements 131; the fixed rolling element 133 is arranged at the bottom of the hair roller 13 in the radial direction (in actual production, it arranges a slot on the semi-cylindrical wall of the fixed rolling element 133, uses injection molding to arrange a connecting column on the fixed base 12, snaps the connecting column into the slot, so that the fixed rolling elements 133 are cross-connected between the two fixed bases 12 and fixed relatively to the fixed bases 12); the movable rolling element 134 is arranged on the top of the hair roller 13 in the radial direction, and can move inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller 13; the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 are arranged oppositely taking the axis 132 as the axis of symmetry, and the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 can move in the range from the axis 132 to the outer end of the hair roller 13. The movable rolling element 134 and the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 pass through the fixed base 12 and are connected to the rotating blades 11 rotatably; a knob 4 is provided at the outer end of the handle 2 corresponding to the slot 21, and the knob 4 is in a tenon joint with the rotating blades 11 of this end. When using it, twist the knob 4 anticlockwise, to drive the rotating blades 11 to rotate, and the rotating blades 11 drive the movable rolling element 134 to move inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller 13; the diameter of the hair roller 13 get smaller or larger, while the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 move relatively to the axis 132 driven by the rotating blades 11 to make up the spacing gap between the movable rolling element 134 and the fixed rolling element 133, thus to make the diameter of the hair roller of the hair iron changed so as to roll out variously sized curls. It needs to be noted that, just like other hair irons, the top of the rolling components 1 is also provided with a hair pin 3, wherein the hair pin comprises of a mental tongue extending basically along the entire length of the hair roller 13 and a handle supporting one end of the tongue. The handle comprises a pivot, the pivot is provided inside the handle 2 (not shown in the figures) and is supported to the radial end of the handle 2 adjacent to the hair roller 13. The handle controls the tongue to move between the hair gripping position and the hair releasing state. When it needs to iron the hair, the tongue is placed on the top of the curly face of the movable rolling element 134 of the hair roller 13, so as to grip the hair between the tongue and the movable rolling element; after the hair curling is completed, the tongue leaves away from the hair roller to release the hair. Preferably, the range of the distance that the movable rolling element 134 moves inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller 13 is 0-20 mm, and the diameter of the hair roller 13 is 25 mm-45 mm.
Wherein, as shown in FIG. 6, the securing joint of the slot 21 and the fixed base 12 is a rim 121 arranged on the fixed base 12 and matched with the slot 21, and the rim 121 is embedded in the slot 21, which makes the rolling components 1 fixed to the handle 2. Preferably, the slot 21 is provided with at least one rim groove (not shown in the figures), and the fixed base 12 is provided with the corresponding number of rims 121.
Wherein, as shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the through area of the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 and the movable rolling element 134 on the fixed base 12 is provided with several guide grooves; these guide grooves comprise a first guide groove 123 and two second guide grooves 124; the first guide groove 123 is arranged along the hair roller 13 in the radial direction, and matches the movement of the movable rolling element 134; the second guide grooves 124 are arranged along the direction perpendicular to the first guide groove 123, so that the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 can move in the range from the axis 132 to the outer end of the hair roller 13; the first guide groove 123 and the second guide grooves 124 have the orthogonal relation in coordinates. To match the movement of the movable rolling element 134, the length of the first guide groove 123 is not less than the length of the moving distance that the movable rolling element 134 moves to the outermost end of the hair roller 13 in the radial direction, and to the two auxiliary rolling elements 131, their thickness matches the length of the moving distance that the movable rolling element 134 moves to the outermost end of the hair roller 13 in the radial direction; the fixed base 12 is provided with a fixed column 122, through which the rotating blades 11 are connected to the fixed base 12; the position of the fixed column 122, the movable rolling element 134 and the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 corresponding to the rotating blades 11 is provided with a slideway 112, that is to say, after the movable rolling element 134 and the auxiliary rolling elements 131 pass through the fixed base 12, their ends are corresponding to the slideway 112 provided on the rotating blades 11; the ends of the fixed column 122, the movable rolling element 134 and the two auxiliary elements 131 are nested in the matched slideway 112; the slideway 112 is an arc-shaped groove swirlingly distributed along the circumference of the rotating blades 11, and its arc length is not less than the length of the moving distance that the movable rolling element 134 moves to the outermost end of the hair roller 13 in the radial direction (it needs to be noted that in practical implementation, the fixed base 12 of another end of the connecting end of the handle 2 and the hair roller 13 is not provided with the column 122, the rotating blades 11 is embedded in the slideway 112 through the axis end of the axis 132 which is embedded in its central hole and the movable element 134 and the auxiliary rolling element 131, and indirectly connected to the fixed base 12 and the hair roller 13; through the axial transmission of the axis 132, the auxiliary rolling elements 131 and the movable rolling element 134, the rotating blades 11 of this end rotate). In use, when the rotating blades 11 rotate, the fixed column 122, the movable rolling element 134 and the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 slide along the slideway 112, and the slideway 112 makes use of the corresponding thrust generated by the rotation of the rotating blades 11, to drive the movable rolling element 134 to move inwards or outwards in the radial direction of the hair roller 13 along the first guide groove 123, and also to drive the two auxiliary rolling elements 131 to move horizontally along the direction from the axis 131 to the outer end of the hair roller 13 along the second guide grooves 124; the above moving directions are shown in A and B as shown in FIG. 7-a.
Wherein, as shown in FIGS. 3-6, the tenon joint structure between the knob 4 and the rotating blades 11 provides several mortises 111 for the rotating blades 11 along its circumferential outer rim at intervals, and arranges tongue-and-grooves 41 with the location and number matched with the mortises 111 in the inner ring of the knob; the mortises 111 and the tongue-and-grooves 41 are in a tenon joint, which makes the rotating blades 11 fixedly connected to the knob 4; when twisting the knob 4, the mortises 111 and the tongue-and-grooves 41 are in a tenon joint, which makes the rotating blades 11 rotate with the twist of the knob 4.
In practical implementation, the handle 2 is assembled by an upper part and a lower part, along with it, the knob 4 is also assembled by an upper knob 4 a and a lower knob 4 b, of course, the corresponding connection does not affect its twisting around the handle 2; and the corresponding heating part of the hair iron and the electrical structure and the circuit assembly are all provided in the handle 2, without particular limits. As shown in FIG. 7, when using the hair iron of the present invention, the diameter of the hair roller 13 of the hair iron in the initial state stays at 32 mm (commonly used size); the positions of all corresponding elements are shown in FIG. 7-a, the movable rolling element 134 and the auxiliary rolling elements 131 are not moving, there is no gap between the fixed rolling element 133 and the movable rolling element 134, and the auxiliary rolling elements 131 are covered by the above-mentioned fixed rolling element 133 and the movable rolling element 134; at this time, the curly face of the hair roller 13 is determined by the fixed rolling element 133 and the movable rolling element 134. When it needs curls of other sizes, twist the knob 4 in the twisting direction as shown in FIG. 7-a, and the movable rolling element 134 and the auxiliary rolling elements 131 move in the coordinate direction as shown in A and B. When the movable rolling element 134 moves to the outermost end of the hair roller 13, as shown in FIG. 7-b, the diameter of the hair roller 13 is adjusted to the maximum. At this time, the curly face of the hair roller 13 comprises the fixed rolling element 133, the movable rolling element 134 and the auxiliary rolling elements 131. The auxiliary rolling elements 131 are embedded in the gap between the fixed rolling element 133 and the movable rolling element 134, which provides a complete curly face to the hair roller 13, to prevent the hair roller 13 from twining the hair caused by changes of the diameter of the hair roller 13. In an actual product, we may provide many kinds of products in different ranges according to the diameters of the hair rollers 13, including those with many specifications like 25 mm-32 mm, 32 mm-38 mm and 32 mm-45 mm, and in use, we usually choose hair rollers 13 with sizes corresponding to the two end values in the ranges to roll out curls.
The foregoing are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent structures and amendments made based on the Specification of the technologies of the present invention are all covered in the scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A hair iron with a variable diameter structure, characterized in that, it comprises rolling components and a handle, wherein the handle is provided with rolling components in the axial extension direction; the rolling components comprise a hair roller, two fixed bases for mounting the hair roller and two rotating blades arranged on the two fixed bases; the joint end of the handle and the rolling components are provided with a slot, and the slot and the fixed base of this end are in a secured connection, which makes the rolling components fixed to the handle; the hair roller comprises a fixed rolling element, a movable rolling element, an axis and two auxiliary rolling elements; the fixed rolling element is arranged at the bottom of the hair roller in the radial direction; the movable rolling element is arranged on the top of the hair roller in the radial direction, and can move inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller; the two auxiliary rolling elements are arranged oppositely taking the axis as the axis of symmetry, and the two auxiliary rolling elements can move in the range from the axis to the outer end of the hair roller; the movable rolling element and the two auxiliary rolling elements pass through the fixed base and are connected to the rotating blades rotatably; a knob is provided at the outer end of the handle corresponding to the slot, and the knob is in a tenon joint with the rotating blades of this end; by twisting the knob, the rotating blades drive the movable rolling element and two auxiliary rolling elements to move, so as to adjust the diameter of the hair roller.

2. The hair iron with a variable diameter structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the securing joint of the slot and the fixed base is a rim arranged on the fixed base and matched with the slot, and the rim is embedded in the slot, which makes the rolling components fixed to the handle.

3. The hair iron with a variable diameter structure as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that the slot is provided with at least one rim groove, and the fixed base is provided with the corresponding number of rims.

4. The hair iron with a variable diameter structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the through area of the two auxiliary rolling elements and the movable rolling element on the fixed base is provided with several guide grooves; these guide grooves comprise a first guide groove and two second guide grooves; the first guide groove is arranged along the hair roller in the radial direction, and matches the movement of the movable rolling element; the second guide grooves are arranged along the direction perpendicular to the first guide groove, so that the two auxiliary rolling elements can move in the range from the axis to the outer end of the hair roller.

5. The hair iron with a variable diameter structure as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the length of the first guide groove is not less than the length of the moving distance that the movable rolling element moves to the outermost end of the hair roller in the radial direction.

6. The hair iron with a variable diameter structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the fixed base is provided with a fixed column, through which the rotating blades are connected to the fixed base; the position of the fixed column, the movable rolling element and the two auxiliary rolling elements corresponding to the rotating blades are provided with a slideway; the ends of the fixed column, the movable rolling element and the two auxiliary elements are nested in the matched slideway; the slideway is an arc-shaped groove swirlingly distributed along the circumference of the rotating blades, and its arc length is not less than the length of the moving distance that the movable rolling element moves to the outermost end of the hair roller in the radial direction; when the rotating blades rotate, the fixed column, the movable rolling element and the two auxiliary rolling elements slide along the slideway, correspondingly driving the movable rolling element to move inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller, and also driving the two auxiliary rolling elements to move horizontally along the direction from the axis to the outer end of the hair roller.

7. The hair iron with a variable diameter structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the tenon joint structure between the knob and the rotating blades provides several mortises for the rotating blades along its circumferential outer rim at intervals, and arranges tongue-and-grooves with the location and number matched with the mortises in the inner ring of the knob; the mortises and the tongue-and-grooves are in a tenon joint, which makes the rotating blades fixedly connected to the knob; when twisting the knob, the mortises and the tongue-and-grooves are in a tenon joint, which makes the rotating blades rotate with the twist of the knob.

8. The hair iron with a variable diameter structure as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the range of the distance that the movable rolling element moves inwards or outwards along the radial direction of the hair roller is 0-20 mm, and the diameter of the hair roller is 25 mm-45 mm.