WO2009123424A1

WO2009123424A1 - Hair curling iron

Info

Publication number: WO2009123424A1
Application number: PCT/KR2009/001720
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young Soo Choi; Tae Keun Yoon
Original assignee: Young Soo Choi; Tae Keun Yoon
Priority date: 2008-04-04
Filing date: 2009-04-03
Publication date: 2009-10-08
Also published as: KR20090106269A

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a hair curling iron that is easy to carry and store, convenient to use, and suited to preparing various hairstyles. The hair curling iron includes upper and lower handles hingedly coupled at one ends thereof to each other, an elastic member elastically supporting the upper and lower handles to be opened, extension members coupled to the other ends of the upper and lower handles to be expandable therefrom, respectively, and heating plates provided on opposite sides of the extension members facing each other. The extension member is classified into a foldable type, a swing type and a sliding type according to its operating manner.

Description

HAIR CURLING IRON

The present invention relates to a hair curling iron and, more particularly, to a hair curling iron that is easy to carry and store, convenient to use, and suited to preparation of various hairstyles.

A hair curling iron is a kind of beauty tool for preparing various hairstyles, which uses a heating member to apply heat to hair and sets the hair in the form of a straight perm, a wave perm, a roll perm, etc.

Fig. 7 shows a conventional hair curling iron. Referring to Fig. 7, a conventional hair curling iron 1 includes a main body 10, a controller 20 connected to the main body 10 and having a driving circuit therein, and a power plug 30 through which power is supplied to the main body 10.

The main body 10 includes an upper plate 12 and a lower plate 14 which are hingedly coupled at one ends thereof to each other and are provided at the other ends with heating members 16, 18 on opposite surfaces thereof, respectively. The controller 20 includes a power on/off switch 22, a temperature control switch 24, an operation lamp 26, etc., and is provided therein with the driving circuit (not shown) that receives commercial power (alternating current (AC) power) through the power plug 30 to control operation of the heating members 16, 18.

The conventional hair curling iron 1 is very useful since a user can set a desired temperature using the temperature control switch 24. Further, the heating members 16, 18 may be configured to have a curved shape as well as a flat shape, so that hair can be permed curly as well as straight, thereby providing various hairstyles.

In the conventional hair curling iron 1, however, the heating members 16, 18 are disposed at the other ends of the main body 10 opposite to the one ends thereof at which the upper plate 12 and the lower plate 14 are hingedly coupled to each other, thereby providing a long and bulky structure which makes the conventional hair curling iron 1 inconvenient to carry and store. Further, since the conventional hair curling iron 1 is operated by AC power, places where it may be used are limited and a power cord thereof is liable to become entangled during the use of the hair curling iron 1, thereby lowering operation efficiency. Moreover, when setting the hair using the conventional hair curling iron 1, it is necessary to replace the heating members 16, 18 with others according to hairstyle (e.g., straight or wave), thereby causing inconvenience in use.

The present invention is directed to solve the problems of the related art as described above, and an aspect of the present invention is to provide a hair curling iron that can be reduced in volume according to user's demand so as to be easily carried and stored.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a hair curling iron that is free from a power cord for power supply, so as to be usable at any place without restriction, thereby providing not only convenience in carriage and storage, but also improved operating efficiency.

A further aspect of the present invention is to provide a hair curling iron capable of preparing various hairstyles such as a straight perm or a wave perm without replacing heating plates.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a hair curling iron includes: upper and lower handles hingedly coupled at one ends thereof to each other; an elastic member elastically supporting the upper and lower handles to be opened; extension members coupled to the other ends of the upper and lower handles to be expandable therefrom, respectively; and heating plates provided on opposite sides of the extension members facing each other.

The extension member may be classified into a folder type, a swing type, and a sliding type according to an opening/closing manner.

In the folder type, the extension members may be rotatably coupled by shafts horizontally penetrating the other ends of the upper and lower handles, and be rotated about the shafts to be extended from or inserted into the hair curling iron.

In the swing type, the extension members may be swivelly coupled by shafts vertically penetrating the other ends of the upper and lower handles, and be swiveled about the shafts to be extended from or inserted into the hair curling iron.

In the sliding type, guide grooves may be longitudinally formed on the upper and lower handles, and the extension members may be slidably coupled to the upper and lower handles along the guide grooves to be extended from or inserted into the hair curling iron.

In the hair curling iron according to an embodiment of the invention, extension members each including a heating plate have a expandable structure, so that the hair curling iron can be sufficiently reduced in volume according to a user's demand and can be easily carried and stored. Further, a battery pack may be provided inside one of handles to eliminate a power cord, so that the hair curling iron can be easily carried and used while providing improved operating efficiency. Furthermore, the extension members may be provided with heating plates for a straight perm and a wave perm, respectively, so that various hairstyles can be prepared without replacing the heating plates.

The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are views of a folder-type hair curling iron according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 illustrates extension members unfolded from the hair curling iron according to the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 illustrates curling caps mounted on the extension members of the hair curling iron according to the embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a view of a swing-type hair curling iron according to one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 shows a sliding-type hair curling iron according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

Fig. 7 is a view of a conventional hair curling iron.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the detailed description of the embodiments, like components will be denoted by like reference numerals throughout the drawings.

Figs. 1 and 2 are views of a folder-type hair curling iron according to one embodiment of the invention, Fig. 3 illustrates extension members unfolded from the hair curling iron according to the embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 4 illustrates curling caps mounted on the extension member of the hair curling iron according to the embodiment of the invention.

In Figs. 1 to 3, a hair curling iron 100 according to this embodiment includes upper and

lower handles

110, 120 hingedly coupled at one ends thereof to each other. Further, an elastic member 130 is provided to the one end of the upper or

lower handle

110, 120 at which the upper and

lower handles

110, 120 are hingedly coupled to each other, and extension members 140 are rotatably coupled to the other ends thereof. Further, heating plates 150 are respectively provided to opposite sides of the upper and lower extension members 140 facing each other.

The hair curling iron 100 with this configuration is a folder type hair curling iron. In the hair curling iron 100, the extension members 140 are coupled to the other ends (i.e. free ends not hingedly coupled) of the upper and

lower handles

110, 120 by

shafts

142, 144 which horizontally penetrate the other ends, respectively. Accordingly, the extension members 140 are rotated about the

shafts

142, 144 to be extended from or inserted into the hair curling iron 100.

The foregoing components 110 to 150 will be described in more detail.

The upper and

lower handles

110, 120 are hingedly coupled at the one ends thereof to each other to be folded or opened at a predetermined angle as needed. With this foldable structure, the upper and

lower handles

110, 120 are formed with

grip grooves

112, 122 on upper and lower surfaces thereof to receive a thumb and an index finger for easy grip of the handles, respectively.

The upper handle 110 has a battery pack 160 formed therein for power supply and is provided at one end thereof with a charging terminal 114 for charging the battery pack 160. Further, the upper handle 110 is provided at one side thereof with a power and temperature control switch 116 and a display unit 118 for displaying a heating temperature and a battery level. In addition, an indicator light 119 is provided below the charging terminal 114 to indicate a charged state of the battery pack 160.

The power and temperature control switch 116 turns on/off the hair curling iron 100 or controls the temperature of the heating plate 150 according to the number of times or the amount of time for which the switch 116 is pressed. For example, when the power and temperature control switch 116 is pressed for about 1 second or more, the hair curling iron 100 is turned on/off. When the power and temperature control switch 116 is pressed with the hair curling iron 100 turned on, the temperature of the heating plate 150 is changed in order of low, middle and high temperatures.

The display unit 118 displays the temperature of the heating plate 150 and the battery level of the battery pack 160. Specifically, the display unit 118 displays the temperature of the heating plate 150 while setting the temperature of the heating plate 150 through manipulation of the power and temperature control switch 116, and is automatically switched to display the battery level of the battery pack 160 when the temperature of the heating plate 150 is completely set.

The display unit 118 includes three light emitting diodes (LEDs) that emit green, yellow, and red light, respectively. According to the color emitted from the LEDs and the number of LEDs turned on, the temperature of the heating plate 150 and the battery level of the battery pack 160 are displayed. For example, a low temperature is indicated when a single LED is turned on to emit green light, a middle temperature is indicated when two LEDs are turned to emit green and yellow light, and a high temperature is indicated when three LEDs are turned to emit green, yellow and red light. Further, a battery level of 30~55% is indicated when a single LED is turned on to emit green light, a battery level of 55~70% is indicated when two LEDs are turned to emit green and yellow light, and a battery level of 75~100% is indicated when three LEDs are turned to emit green, yellow and red light.

The indicator light 119 for indicating the charged state of the battery pack 160 includes green and red LEDs, in which the red LED is used to indicate a state of charging the battery pack 160 and the green LED is used to indicate a completely charged state of the battery pack 160.

Although not shown in the drawings, a printed circuit board (PCB) for controlling operation of the hair curling iron 100 is provided inside the upper handle 110. One main function of the PCB is controlling power supplied to the heating plate 150 to adjust the heating temperature thereof. Here, the PCB stores data of the heating temperature at the moment when power is cut off, and controls the heating plate 150 to be heated to the stored heating temperature. This function is provided to enhance continuity of hair-setting operation such that another operation can also be intervened during the hair-setting operation.

In this embodiment, the

grip grooves

112, 122 are illustrates as being respectively formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the upper and

lower handles

110, 120. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the grip grooves may be formed at other locations as needed, for example, on a lower surface of the upper handle 110 or on an upper surface of the lower handle 120, etc.

The elastic member 130 is provided at the one end of the upper or

lower handle

110 or 120 where the upper and

lower handles

110, 120 are hingedly coupled to each other, and is located between the upper and

lower handles

110, 120. The elastic member 130 elastically supports the upper and

lower handles

110, 120 to be opened from each other while elastically maintaining a predetermined opening angle (about 60 degrees). The elastic member 130 includes a supporting member 132 protruding from the upper surface of the lower handle 120, and a spring 134 elastically supporting the supporting member 132 in an upward direction.

The extension members 140 are rotatably coupled to the other end (not hingedly coupled) of the upper handle 110 and the other end of the lower handle 120, respectively. Specifically, the

shafts

142, 144, each of which has a predetermined length, horizontally penetrate the other ends of the upper and

lower handles

110, 120. In addition, the extension members 140 are rotatably coupled to the upper and

lower handles

110, 120 by the

shafts

142, 144, respectively. That is, the extension members 140 rotate about the

shafts

142, 144 to be extended from or inserted into the upper and

lower handles

110, 120 in a folding or unfolding manner.

As shown in Fig. 3, each of the extension members 140 is provided with an auxiliary handle 146 at one end thereof (i.e. a free end not coupled to the handle) to allow curling operation with the hair curling iron 100 gripped by two hands. As such, operating efficiency can be enhanced when using the auxiliary handle 146.

Referring to Fig. 4, a curling cap 170 having various hair-setting projections 172 formed on the surface thereof may be coupled to the extension member 140, so that various curling styles can be created using the curling cap 170. The curling cap 170 may be mounted to one side or another of the heating plate 150 of the extension member 170, as shown in Fig. 4.

The heating plates 150 serve to generate heat for hair setting when receiving power, and are positioned on the opposite surfaces of the extension members 140 facing each other. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the heating plates 150 may be positioned on both upper and lower surfaces of each of the extension members 140. For example, when the heating plates 150 are placed on both the upper and lower surfaces of each of the extension members 140, hair setting can be performed either in a folded state or in an open state of the extension member 140.

In this embodiment, a planar heating plate for a straight perm is illustrated as the heating plate 150, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As needed, the heating plate 150 may have a curved shape for a wave perm.

In the hair curling iron 100 according to this embodiment as described above, the extension members 140 are rotatably coupled to the

handles

110, 120, so that the extension members 140 can be folded or unfolded, thereby reducing the volume of the hair curling iron 100 and making it easy to carry and store the hair curling iron 100. Further, since the hair curling iron 100 according to this embodiment includes the battery pack 160 and the charging terminal 114 to charge the battery pack 160, it can be used without a separate power cord. Thus, the hair curling iron 100 is not only easy to carry and use, but also used for a long time when connecting with the power cord through the charging terminal 114. In other words, the hair curling irons 100 according to this embodiment may be manufactured as a wireless type, a wired type, and a wired-wireless combination type, respectively.

Fig. 5 shows a swing-type hair curling iron according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 5, a hair curling iron 200 according to this embodiment includes upper and lower handles 210, 220 hingedly coupled at one ends thereof to each other. Further, an elastic member 230 is provided to the one end of the upper or lower handle 210, 220 at which the upper and lower handles 210, 220 are hingedly coupled to each other, and extension members 240 are swivelly coupled to the other ends. Further, heating plates 250 are respectively provided to opposite sides of the upper and lower extension members 240 facing each other. Further, the upper handle 210 is provided therein with a battery pack (not shown) for power supply.

The hair curling iron 200 with this configuration is a swing type hair curling iron. In the hair curling iron 200, the extension members 240 are coupled to the other ends (i.e. free ends not hingedly coupled) of the upper and lower handles 210, 220 by shafts 242, 244 which vertically penetrate the other ends. Accordingly, the extension members 240 can be swiveled about the shafts 242, 244 to be extended from or inserted into the hair curling iron 200.

Specifically, the shafts 242, 244, each of which has a predetermined length, vertically penetrate the other ends of the upper and lower handles 210, 220. In addition, the extension members 240 are swivelly coupled to the upper and lower handles 210, 220 by the shafts 242, 244, respectively. Accordingly, the extension members 240 are swiveled about the shafts 242, 244 to be extended from or inserted into the upper and

lower handles

110, 120 in a swing manner.

Fig. 6 shows a sliding-type hair curling iron according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In Fig. 6, a hair curling iron 300 according to this embodiment includes upper and

lower handles

310 and 320 hingedly coupled at one ends thereof to each other. Further, an elastic member 330 is provided to the one end of the upper or

lower handle

310, 320 at which the upper and

lower handles

310, 320 are hingedly coupled to each other, and extension members 340 are slidingly provided at the other ends of the upper and

lower handles

310, 320. Further, heating plates 350 are respectively provided to opposite sides of the upper and lower extension member 340 facing each other. Further, the upper handle 310 is provided therein with a battery pack (not shown) for power supply.

The hair curling iron 300 with this configuration is a sliding type hair curling iron. In the hair curling iron 300, the upper and

lower handles

310, 320 are formed with

guide groves

312, 322 on inner sides thereof, and the extension members 340 are formed with

guide projections

314, 324 corresponding to the

guide grooves

312, 322 on the lateral sides thereof. Thus, the extension members 340 can be extended from or inserted into the hair curling iron 300 in a sliding manner.

Although some embodiments have been provided to illustrate the present invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments are given by way of illustration only, and that various modifications, additions and substitutions can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as defined only by the accompanying claims and their equivalents.

Claims

A hair curling iron comprising:

upper and lower handles hingedly coupled at one ends thereof to each other;

an elastic member elastically supporting the upper and lower handles to be opened;

extension members coupled to the other ends of the upper and lower handles to be expandable therefrom, respectively; and

heating plates provided on opposite sides of the extension members facing each other.
The hair curling iron according to claim 1, wherein the extension members are rotatably coupled by shafts horizontally penetrating the other ends of the upper and lower handles.
The hair curling iron according to claim 1, wherein the extension members are swivelly coupled by shafts vertically penetrating the other ends of the upper and lower handles.
The hair curling iron according to claim 1, wherein the extension members are slidably coupled to the upper and lower handles along guide grooves longitudinally formed on the upper and lower handles, respectively.
The hair curling iron according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one of the upper and lower handles is provided therein with a battery pack.
The hair curling iron according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the upper and lower handles is provided with a charging terminal.
The hair curling iron according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the upper and lower handles is provided on a lateral side thereof with a power and temperature control switch, and a display unit indicating a heating temperature and a battery level.
The hair curling iron according to claim 6, wherein the heating plates are provided on upper and lower surfaces of the extension members, respectively.
The hair curling iron according to claim 8, wherein the heating plate comprises a planar heating plate for a straight perm and a curved heating plate for a wave perm.
The hair curling iron according to claim 6, wherein the extension member is provided at one end thereof with an auxiliary handle.
The hair curling iron according to claim 6, further comprising:

a curling cap formed with hair-setting projections on a surface thereof and coupled to the extension member.
The hair curling iron according to claim 6, wherein each of the upper and lower handles is formed with a grip groove.
The hair curling iron according to claim 6, further comprising:

an indicator light disposed below the charging terminal to indicate a charged state of the battery pack.