WO2016108018A1

WO2016108018A1 - Improved accessory for an electric hair brush

Info

Publication number: WO2016108018A1
Application number: PCT/FR2015/053746
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sylvie Hoet; Martial Maisonneuve; Fabien Normand; Xavier Vacheron
Original assignee: Seb S.A.
Priority date: 2014-12-30
Filing date: 2015-12-23
Publication date: 2016-07-07
Also published as: FR3031019A1; ES2706410T3; EP3240455B1; CN107105860A; EP3240455A1; CN107105860B

Abstract

The invention relates to an accessory (1) for fitting to an electric hairdressing appliance (100) with an air stream, comprising a hollow sleeve (10) that has a longitudinal axis (L) and can be mounted on the hairdressing appliance (100), the sleeve (10) comprising a set of rows of tufts of bristles (11) and rows of passages (12, 12') through which the air stream flows. The accessory (1) comprises a heating means (4) for heating hair by conduction, said means being arranged such that it protrudes from the outer surface (Sext) of the handle (10).

Description

IMPROVED ACCESSORY FOR ELECTRIC HAIR BRUSH

[01] The present invention relates to the technical field of electric hair shaping apparatus comprising a hot air fan and an accessory in the form of a motorized or static hair brush. Such an accessory is traversed by a flow of air generated by the hot air fan, with a hollow sleeve and brush bristles emerging from the sleeve. The invention particularly relates to an accessory intended to adapt to such electrical shaping apparatus.

[02] Such hair shaping devices make it possible to form corrugations in the hair of a person, the hair being wet. The drying and shaping of the hair is then ensured by a hair brush, assisted by a flow of hot air that carries the necessary heat to the hair. This brush can be rotated manually by the user or automatically by an electric motor. The corrugations are formed while the brush is rotating manually or motorized, rotating the brush in a lock of hair to be shaped. Said lock of hair is wound as a result of the rotary drive of the hair grasped by the bristles and / or the coating surface of the brush, consecutive to the rotation thereof.

[03] A patent FR2978333 is known in the name of the applicant which describes an electric hair shaping apparatus with a hairbrush disposed on a handle which comprises a hot air flow device. The hairbrush includes a hollow sleeve including a set of bristle tufts and a set of through openings for passing the airflow. The sleeve described in this patent has a shape promoting the shaping of the hair. However, the hair being grasped by the tufts of bristles is only heated by the hot air discharged through the openings. It turns out that this configuration is not efficient enough for drying and shaping the hair due to heat loss.

[04] Another document FR2258814 is known which describes an electric hair shaping brush with rows of bristle tufts and a plurality of heating elements interposed between the rows of tufts of bristles. Said electrically heated elements are prominent with respect to the sleeve of the brush, to ensure a heat exchange between the brush and the hair. Nevertheless, the apparatus described in this document does not include a hot air flow device. The heat exchange is only through the contact of the hair with the heating elements which does not allow to have a uniform and effective drying.

[05] The object of the invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks and to provide an air-flow electric hairdressing apparatus having a better drying efficiency and shaping hair.

[06] Another object of the invention is an electric air-flow hairdresser with a reduced heater power at equal efficiency.

[07] Another object of the invention is an electric airflow hairdressing apparatus for shaping hair with reduced bulk.

[08] Yet another object of the invention is an electric airflow hairdresser which is easy to use and multipurpose

[09] These objects are achieved with an accessory adapted to fit on an electric air-flow hairdresser comprising a hollow sleeve having a longitudinal axis (L) and capable of mounting on the hairdressing appliance, the sleeve comprising a set of rows of bristle tufts and rows of through openings adapted to pass the flow of air. According to the invention, the accessory comprises a conductive hair heating means arranged prominently from the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve.

[10] Heating means means for diffusing heat by conduction to the hair, said means being itself heated by hot air from the hair styling apparatus. The heating means is thus passively heated by convection. It is not heated electrically, that is to say by an electric heating element, of the electric resistance type, in contact with the heating means of the hair. Since the heating means is arranged prominently from the outer surface of the sleeve, it is more easily in contact with the hair during use, which makes it possible to promote heat transmission and to increase the drying efficiency. shaping hair. [11] Furthermore, "bristles" are understood to mean any type of hair, natural or synthetic, of pins for example made of plastic or all of the two hairs and spikes, which make it possible to catch and / or train the wick. hair during its treatment with the accessory in the form of a brush. The bristles can be of different natures, but also of different lengths, to adapt to any type of hair or any length of hair. The bristles can be grouped by tufts of several or be individual if they are pimples for example.

[12] The addition of such a heating means improves the efficiency of the heat transfer to the hair in order to reduce the power of the heating element and thus reduce the diameter of the handle of the brush. This also makes it possible to gain compactness with the less bulky heating elements in the brush.

[13] Advantageously, said rows of through openings may be arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) and at least a portion of said heating means is intended to cover at least one row of through openings. Preferably, the heating means completely covers the row of through openings. Each row of through openings may comprise a plurality of through openings for passing the air flow, the openings being of identical or different shapes and / or sizes. It may also be a continuous longitudinal opening in the form of a through groove.

[14] In addition, said heating means comprises at least one longitudinal bar arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) on the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve. Said longitudinal bar being parallel to the rows of bristle tufts makes it possible to optimize its contact with the hair.

[15] According to a first embodiment of the invention, said at least one longitudinal bar comprises a reversible fixing means for making said longitudinal bar detachable from said sleeve.

[16] According to the first embodiment, the heating means comprises at least two longitudinal bars, each intended to cover a row of through openings. Thus, the longitudinal bars are directly in contact with the flow of hot air coming from the inside of the sleeve which makes it possible to create a convection in addition to the conduction of heat.

[17] Advantageously, a longitudinal bar is arranged on either side of each row of through openings. Thus, these rows of air outlets and the longitudinal bars are alternately arranged to better combine in a balanced way the two means of heating the hair namely heating by air blast and heating by thermal conduction.

[18] According to a second embodiment of the invention, the heating means comprises a hollow cylinder arranged on the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve, said hollow cylinder having at least one longitudinal bar. The hollow cylinder will therefore be in direct contact with the hair. Such a configuration makes it possible to make the monobloc heating means which facilitates the installation of the latter.

[19] Advantageously, said hollow cylinder has air flow passage zones parallel to and spaced apart with said longitudinal bars. In addition, said zones have through holes of identical section and opposite rows of through openings to pass the air flow. These passage zones make it possible to solidify the hollow cylinder without impeding the flow of air flow.

[20] In addition, the accessory includes a plug for holding the hollow cylinder on the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve. Thus, it does not require any fixing means on the hollow cylinder which facilitates the manufacture thereof.

[21] According to both embodiments, said longitudinal bar is made of metal, preferably aluminum. This makes it possible to increase the efficiency of thermal transmission to the hair.

[22] Advantageously, said longitudinal bar has, in section along a plane orthogonal to said longitudinal axis (L), an upper end constituting an arc of a circle. The upper end corresponds to the opposite side to the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve. This end of the longitudinal bar being in contact with the hair during use of the apparatus, has a greater contact area due to its rounded shape which promotes the transmission of heat to the hair. [23] In addition, said longitudinal bar has, in section along its longitudinal plane of symmetry, an upper end constituting a regular undulation or a comb. The longitudinal plane of symmetry corresponds to a plane of symmetry of the longitudinal bar to which the longitudinal axis (L) belongs. The upper end in regular waving or combing allows to distribute the hair homogeneously and thus optimize their drying and shaping.

[24] These goals are also achieved with an electric airflow hairdresser comprising an air inlet opening, a heating element, a fan, a fan drive means, and an exit aperture of blown air, the apparatus comprising an accessory according to the preceding characteristics.

[25] The invention will be better understood from the study of the embodiments taken as non-limiting and illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified sectional view of an electric hairbrush according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an accessory according to a first embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the accessory according to FIG. 2,

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the accessory according to FIG. 2,

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an accessory according to a second embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the accessory according to FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the accessory according to FIG. 5,

- Figures 8a, 8b and 9 illustrate sectional views of the longitudinal bar according to its different variants.

[26] The electric airflow hairdressing apparatus 100, particularly an electric hairbrush 100, is illustrated in a simplified sectional view in FIG. 1. The apparatus 2 without an accessory comprises a housing 200 forming a handle 201 gripping extended forward by a hair accessory 1. The handle 201 contains air circulation means between an air inlet opening 202 and an air outlet opening 204 located near the accessory 1. The housing 200 also contains, between its openings air inlet 202 and those of air outlet 204, a fan 207 rotated by a drive means of the fan 206, for example an electric motor, in the extension of which is arranged a heating element 205.

[27] As can be seen in FIG. 1, the hairdressing accessory 1 has a cylindrical tubular base 14 extending forwardly by an active part intended to come into contact with the hair. According to the invention and as illustrated in FIG. 1, in the case where the electric blower can be additionally rotated by means of a motor, the electric hairbrush 100 may comprise a second electric motor for driving the accessory 1 The construction of the apparatus 2 and the drive of the accessory 1 are in particular known from document FR2978333. These elements are part of the general knowledge of those skilled in the art and do not require further description.

[28] Figures 2 to 5 show the accessory 1 according to the invention. It comprises a sleeve 10 defining a hollow body having a longitudinal axis (L) capable of being mounted on the hairstyling apparatus 100. The sleeve has a cylindrical tubular Sext outer surface provided with several rows of tufts of bristles 11 and orifices or through openings 12, 12 'able to pass the flow of air. More specifically, the rows of bristle tufts 11 and the rows of through-openings 12, 12 'are arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L), each two rows of tufts of bristles 11 being spaced apart by a row of bristles. through openings 12, 12 '.

[29] In order to improve the drying efficiency and shaping of the brush, and in accordance with two embodiments of the invention, the accessory 1 comprises a means 4 for heating the hair by conduction, said means 4 is arranged prominently from the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve 10.

[30] According to a first embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, the heating means 4 comprises a plurality of longitudinal bars 41 parallel to each other and arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L ) to the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve 10. To do this, the sleeve 10 has a first series of rows of through openings 12, each row being composed of round openings of different sizes to pass the flow of air and a second series of rows of through openings 12 ', each row being a through groove 12' for receiving the longitudinal bar 41. The first series and the second row series of through openings are arranged alternately. Thus each longitudinal bar 41, once installed in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) on the sleeve, covers a row of through openings 12 '. The blast of hot air is retained every other time when all the longitudinal bars are put in place.

[31] Furthermore, the longitudinal bars 41 have a prominent thickness from the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve 10 which promotes contact with the hair and the heat transfer. As seen in Figure 4, each longitudinal bar has an upper end which corresponds to the side opposite the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve 10, the section along a plane orthogonal to said longitudinal axis (L) of said upper end constituting an arc. circle.

[32] Alternatively, the longitudinal bars are removable for use on several diameters of different brushes and for fixing the hairstyle in cold air position to avoid having to wait for their cooling. To do this, the longitudinal bars 41 each comprise a reversible fixing means 410, for example clipping.

[33] According to a second embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Figures 5 to 7, the heating means 4 comprises a hollow cylinder 40 adapted to be mounted on the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve 10. Said cylinder hollow 40 has a plurality of longitudinal bars 41 similar to those of the first embodiment. They are arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) and have a prominent thickness from the outer surface (Sext). The hollow cylinder also has air flow passage zones 42 parallel to longitudinal bars 41 and arranged alternatively therewith. Said zones 42 are intended to be placed over a row of through openings in order to let the air flow through. As a result, and according to the illustrated example, the sleeve 10 is provided with identical rows of through openings 12 with holes, whereas the zones 42 present through holes 420 of identical section and opposite the through openings 12.

[34] Thus, the longitudinal bars 41 and the air flow passage areas 42 forming part of the hollow cylinder 40 which is in one piece, are simultaneously mounted on the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve 10. As illustrated in FIG. , the hollow cylinder has between each longitudinal bar 41 and passage zone 42 a slot 44 for passing the tufts of bristles 11 when the hollow cylinder 40 slides on the sleeve 10. Once in place, the hollow cylinder 40 is maintained in place thanks to a plug 43 which is itself connected to the sleeve by screwing or clipping. As in the first embodiment, the hot air blast is retained once in two when the hollow cylinder 40 is mounted on the sleeve 10.

[35] As illustrated in Figure 7, each longitudinal bar has an upper end which corresponds to the opposite side to the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve 10, the section along a plane orthogonal to said longitudinal axis (L) of the said upper end constituting an arc. Thus, each longitudinal bar has a prominent thickness from the outer surface (Sext) to promote contact with the hair. The longitudinal bar may also be hollow below said upper end thereby creating spacing to receive more hot air and increase heating efficiency.

[36] According to the two embodiments described above, several variants concerning the longitudinal bars 41 are possible: they may have a corrugated contact surface, sinusoidal line or rectified sinusoidal line; they can also take the form of a comb. Cross-sectional views along the longitudinal plane of symmetry of the longitudinal bar which correspond to these variants are shown in FIGS. 8a, 8b and 9. These shapes make it possible to increase the exchange surface with the locks of hair, thus improving the heat transmission. In addition, the longitudinal bars 41 are made of metal, preferably aluminum for its thermal conduction performance.

[37] According to a non-illustrated alternative of the two embodiments, the longitudinal bars are arranged directly on the sleeve. Areas that are covered with longitudinal bars have no transverse openings. [38] In operation, when the brush is switched on, the air gradually warms the aluminum bars, which reach the air temperature at the outlet of the brush, around 90 ° C. These bars are heated by the hot air flow out of the mandrel and coming to "lick" the bars. They can be additionally heated by the air passing through the holes through the mandrel and covered by the bars, these bars then provide heat to the hair that comes into contact with it, for drying and for shaping.

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

Claims

1. Accessory (1) for fitting on an electric airflow hairdressing appliance (100) comprising a hollow sleeve (10) having a longitudinal axis (L) and capable of being mounted on the hairdressing appliance (100), the sleeve (10) comprising a set of rows of bristle tufts (11) and rows of through openings (12, 12 ') adapted to pass the air flow,

the accessory (1) comprising a conductive hair heating means (4) arranged prominently from the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve (10), characterized in that said rows of through openings (12, 12 ') ) are arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) and in that at least a part of said heating means (4) is intended to cover at least one row of through openings (12, 12 ').

2. Accessory (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said heating means comprises at least one longitudinal bar (41) arranged in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) on the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve ( 10).

3. Accessory (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said at least one longitudinal bar (41) comprises a reversible fixing means (410) for rendering said longitudinal bar (41) detachable from said sleeve (10).

4. Accessory (1) according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that the heating means (4) comprises at least two longitudinal bars (41), each being intended to cover a row of through openings (12). , 12 ').

5. Accessory (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that a longitudinal bar (41) is arranged on either side of each row of through openings (12, 12 ').

6. Accessory (1) according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the heating means (4) comprises a hollow cylinder (40) arranged on the outer surface (Sext) the sleeve (10), said hollow cylinder (40) having at least one longitudinal bar (41).

7. Accessory (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said hollow cylinder (40) has zones (42) of air flow passage parallel to and remotely spaced with said longitudinal bars (41).

8. Accessory (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said zones (42) have through holes (420) of identical section and facing the rows of through openings (12, 12 ') to pass the flow air.

9. Accessory (1) according to one of the three preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plug (43) for holding the hollow cylinder (40) on the outer surface (Sext) of the sleeve (10).

10. Accessory (1) according to one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that said longitudinal bar (41) is metal, preferably aluminum.

11. Accessory (1) according to one of claims 2 to 10, characterized in that said longitudinal bar (41) has, in section along a plane orthogonal to said longitudinal axis (L), an upper end constituting an arc.

12. Accessory (1) according to one of claims 2 to 10, characterized in that said longitudinal bar (41) has, in section along its longitudinal plane of symmetry, an upper end constituting a regular undulation or a comb.

Electric airflow hairdressing apparatus (100) comprising an air inlet opening (202), a heating element (205), a fan (207), a fan drive means (206) and an outlet opening (204) for blown air, characterized in that it comprises an accessory (1) according to one of the preceding claims.