FIELD
The present disclosure relates to an accessory for curling locks of hair, intended to be attached to a blowing and heating device.
INTRODUCTION
Hair curling devices are well known in the prior art. Said devices are generally in the form of a blower brush or in the form of a hair dryer comprising a curling accessory, the latter being usually removable.
Document KR1020190131892 discloses a hairstyling device having an air inlet and air outlet orifices. The air flow is guided by an internal deflector having a conical shape and allowing the air flow to be distributed uniformly along the length of the accessory.
Document KR20220039371 discloses a curler accessory for a hair dryer, having a cylindrical body with a series of orifices. The cylindrical body has a larger diameter at the base of the accessory. In addition, the inner surface of the cylindrical body comprises shoulders preventing the air flow from moving forward.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure is aimed at providing an accessory that uses less energy than the accessories of the prior art while guaranteeing the same performance. Owing to the annular slot of the accessory, an external air flow acts as a protective air knife around the hair styling mandrel, and makes it possible to limit the heat loss from the accessory, when the latter is in contact with ambient air. The operating temperature of the accessory can now be maintained using less power than with the prior art accessories of the same type. Moreover, the accessory provides an intelligent distribution of the air flow thanks to its conical geometry and its internal deflector.
Another aim of the present disclosure is to provide a hairstyling accessory for which the temperature necessary for curling hair is reached more rapidly, owing to the internal air flow deflected by the specific shape of the deflector located inside the hairstyling mandrel. More particularly, the deflector has an overall frustoconical shape and includes structural obstacles on the surface thereof making it possible to deflect an internal air flow radially toward the orifices of the mandrel (shoulders, protuberances, parallel or “spiral stairs”, etc.).
The present disclosure also provides an accessory for increasing volume at the base of the locks of hair of the user by means of the inverted frustoconical shape of the mandrel. The term “inverted frustoconical shape” means that the diameter of the mandrel is smaller on the side attached to the hot air source (proximal side). A tighter loop is thus formed in the hair wound at the base of the mandrel. The curls are less tight and looser as the lock of hair is wound towards the head of the accessory (distal side), thereby offering a larger volume at the base of the locks of hair.
Disclosed herein is a hair styling accessory designed to be attached to a blowing and heating device comprising:
- a cylindrical connector;
- a frustoconical mandrel comprising a distal side and a proximal side, the distal side having a diameter greater than the proximal side, said proximal side being connected to the cylindrical connector, said mandrel comprising a plurality of air outlet orifices;
- a frustoconical deflector located inside the mandrel;
the cylindrical connector comprising an annular slot allowing, in use, a protective hot air knife to be generated around the mandrel.
The particular embodiments of the present disclosure comprise at least one or a suitable combination of the following features:
- the frustoconical deflector comprises obstacles on its surface allowing, in use, an internal hot air flow to be radially deflected through the air outlet orifices of the mandrel;
- the obstacles on the surface of the frustoconical deflector are shoulders resulting from a succession of interconnected cylinders with increasing diameters;
- the conicity of the deflector is greater than that of the mandrel;
- the mandrel is connected to the cylindrical connector by a star-shaped attachment;
- the shoulders are perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the deflector;
- the ratio of the diameter of the distal side of the mandrel to the diameter of the proximal side of the mandrel is between 1.1 and 2, preferably between 1.3 and 1.7;
- the mandrel comprises, at its base, an opening allowing the internal hot air flow supplying the deflector to pass through, the ratio of the surface area of the opening to the surface area of the annular slot being between 2 and 5, preferably between 2.5 and 3.5;
- the ratio of the total surface area of all the air outlet orifices to the surface area of the annular slot is between 15 and 25, preferably between 18 and 22;
- the height of the annular slot is between 0.5 and 2 mm, preferably between 0.7 and 1.3 mm;
- the distance between the cylinders is between 8 and 14 mm, preferably between 10 and 12 mm;
- the mandrel (3) comprises a conductive metal, preferably aluminum or copper, said mandrel (3) preferably including a ceramic layer.
The present disclosure also discloses a blower brush comprising a handle to which the accessory is attached, said blower brush comprising a blowing and heating device. The blower brush may comprise a lock engaging with the lock of the accessory on the brush, making the accessory removable.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view of an example of the accessory according to the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 corresponds to the three-dimensional view of FIG. 1, but with a slot visible at the base of the mandrel. Said slot allows the air coming from the hot air source to pass through, making it possible to generate a cylindrical hot air knife around the mandrel, protecting the latter against heat losses.
FIG. 3 corresponds to FIG. 1 and shows the internal air flow, namely the flow blown inside the mandrel and exiting through the air outlet orifices of the mandrel of the accessory.
FIG. 4 represents a two-dimensional side view of the accessory of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 corresponds to the side view of FIG. 4, in which the external air flow generating the air knife for protection against thermal losses is shown.
FIG. 6 represents a longitudinal section of the accessory shown in FIG. 4 (section AA′). This Figure shows the internal air flow, namely the flow blown inside the mandrel and exiting radially through the air outlet orifices of the mandrel following the impact of said air flow on the structural obstacles, herein e.g. shoulders, of the deflector.
FIG. 7 shows an example of the deflector of the accessory shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 shows a lateral section of the accessory of FIG. 4 (section BB′).
FIG. 9 represents a three-dimensional view of an example of an accessory according to the present disclosure, removably mounted on a heating handle.
FIG. 10 compares the evolution of the temperature on the external surface of an accessory according to the present disclosure with the temperature of an accessory of the same type known from the prior art. The accessory of the prior art used for the comparison is shown in FIG. 11 and does not comprise an internal frustoconical deflector or an external slot generating the flow in the form of a protective air knife. The temperature is measured as a function of time, at three different locations, by sensors attached to the external surface of the accessories (at the base, middle and head of the accessories).
FIG. 11 shows the accessory of the prior art, used for the temperature measurements of FIG. 10.
FIG. 12 shows a three-dimensional view of another example of a deflector of the accessory according to the present disclosure (the structural obstacles being, in this case, protuberances).
LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS
1 Hair styling accessory
2 Cylindrical connector
3 Mandrel
4 Deflector
5 Structural obstacles on the surface of the deflector (shoulders in FIGS. 6 and 7, and protuberances in FIGS. 12 and 13)
6 Annular slot of the cylindrical connector
7 Mandrel head
8 Mandrel base
9 Internal airflow
10 External air knife
11 Blowing and heating handle
12 Means for attaching the accessory to the handle
13 Radial air outlet orifices of the mandrel
14 Frustoconical cylinder of the deflector
15 Opening surface supplying the deflector
16 Star-shaped attachment of the mandrel to the connector
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure discloses a hair styling accessory 1 for shaping hair, and in particular for forming curls. An example of said accessory is shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. In FIG. 9, the accessory is shown in combination with a handle 11 comprising a blowing and heating device.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the accessory comprises an external mandrel 3, around which the user winds locks of hair to be curled. The mandrel has a frustoconical shape and is connected to a cylindrical connector 2 that can be removably or permanently attached to a blowing and heating device. Throughout the description of the present disclosure, the “head” of the mandrel 7 refers to the distal end of the latter with respect to the cylindrical connector, whereas the “base” of the mandrel 8 refers to its proximal end with respect to the cylindrical connector.
Said mandrel includes a set of air outlet orifices 13 uniformly distributed over its lateral surface, thereby allowing hot air to be blown through the surface of the mandrel. As illustrated in FIG. 6, an internal air flow 9 is generated by the heating and blowing device. The mandrel is connected to the cylindrical connector at its smallest diameter so that the shape of the frustoconical mandrel is inverted, starting from the connector of the accessory. Preferably, the ratio of the diameter of the distal side (“head”) of the mandrel to the diameter of the proximal side (“base”) of the mandrel is between 1.1 and 2, preferably between 1.3 and 1.7.
Preferably, the mandrel is connected to the cylindrical connector by a star-shaped attachment 16, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8.
The cylindrical connector 2 of the accessory of the present disclosure comprises an annular slot 6, which allows a second air flow 10, referred to as the “external flow” throughout the description of the present disclosure, to be blown around the mandrel. Said external flow forms an air knife, such as a sheath for protection against heat losses around the mandrel, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. In this way, it is possible to limit said heat losses from the mandrel when the latter is in contact with ambient air. By means of the protective air knife, energy savings can be achieved because less power is used for a same air outlet temperature. In the embodiment of the present disclosure as shown in the Figures, the annular slot is interrupted here and there by the star-shaped attachment lugs 16 of the mandrel on the cylindrical connector. The height of the annular slot is comprised between 0.5 and 2 mm, preferably between 0.7 and 1.3 mm.
A deflector 4 is located inside the mandrel 3, as shown in FIG. 6. The frustoconical deflector includes a surface structure with obstacles 5 allowing the internal air flow to be deflected axially toward the outside of the accessory, through air outlet orifices provided on the surface of the mandrel. The surface structure of the frustoconical deflector may be of any type of shape serving to create an obstacle deviating the air gradually and more homogeneously through the mandrel. The structure may be, for example, in the form of a spiral, of protuberances suitably placed on the deflector (FIG. 12), of specific rough spots, of shoulders (FIGS. 6 and 7), or others.
Preferably, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the frustoconical deflector comprises air deflecting obstacles on the surface of the shoulders 5, generated by “an assembly of interconnected cylinders 14 with increasing diameters”. Said shoulders, similar to staircase steps as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, form an obstacle to the air flow which is blown along a longitudinal direction inside the mandrel. In this way, the internal flow abuts against each shoulder and then emerges radially from the mandrel via the air outlet orifices. The internal flow is already divided into a set of sub-flows, distributed evenly over the entire length of the mandrel. In the case of said particular deflector, the shoulders are preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the deflector. The deflector preferably comprises between 8 and 12 shoulders. The distance between said shoulders is preferably between 8 and 14 mm.
The mandrel and deflector diameters are smaller at their base than at their head. Preferably, the conicity of the deflector is greater than that of the mandrel, with a ratio of the conicity of the deflector to the conicity of the mandrel between 1.1 and 1.5, preferably between 1.2 and 1.3. The slope of the truncated cone of the mandrel is between 1 and 5° and preferably between 2 and 3°, whereas the slope of the deflector is between 2 and 5°, preferably between 2.5 and 4° with respect to the horizontal axis.
The combination of the two air flows, internal and external, allows on the one hand to achieve a rapid rise in the temperature of the mandrel and on the other hand a more homogeneous distribution of the flow over the entire length of the accessory. The graph in FIG. 10 compares the change in mandrel temperatures of an example of an accessory of the present disclosure (FIGS. 1-9) with those of a similar prior art accessory (FIG. 11), for the same heating power. Measurements are taken using temperature sensors positioned on the surface of each mandrel, at the base, center and head of the mandrels.
The prior art accessory is illustrated in FIG. 11. Same does not comprise an internal frustoconical deflector or a slot that generates a protective air knife. Moreover, the mandrel has a frustoconical shape with a diameter larger on the proximal side than on the distal side, unlike the mandrel of the present disclosure. As regards the accessory of the present disclosure used for the comparison, same is illustrated in FIGS. 1-9, namely the accessory comprising the deflector with the different shoulders.
For each point of comparison, the graph of FIG. 10 clearly shows a higher temperature for the accessory of the present disclosure, for identical heating power and air flow. Moreover, the graph shows that the accessory of the present disclosure is more rapidly brought to a higher temperature. After 15 seconds, the mandrel of the present disclosure is already at 89 degrees on the proximal side (47 degrees for the mandrel of the prior art), 93 degrees at the center (73 degrees for the mandrel of the prior art) and 38 degrees on the distal side (26 degrees for the mandrel of the prior art).
The mandrel of the accessory is generally made of conductive metal, preferably aluminum or copper, and preferably includes a ceramic layer for more uniform heat distribution.
The mandrel comprises, at its base, an opening 15 allowing the internal hot air flow 9 to pass through (see FIG. 8). The internal flow generated inside the mandrel is blown by the blowing device through the opening surface 15.
Preferably, the ratio of the surface area of the opening 15 supplying the deflector to the surface area of the annular slot is between 2 and 5, and more preferably between 2.5 and 3.5. The open surface area of the annular slot is preferably between 60 and 100 mm2, while the open surface area supplying the deflector is preferably between 200 and 300 mm2.
The total surface area of all the air outlet orifices 13 distributed over the mandrel is preferably between 1200 mm2 and 2000 mm2, preferably between 1500 mm2 and 1700 mm2. The ratio of the total surface area of all the air outlet orifices to the surface area of the annular slot is preferably between 15 and 25, preferably between 18 and 22.
The present disclosure is not limited to a hairstyling accessory, but may also extend to any type of blower brush comprising the accessory as described hereinabove.
The attachment can be removably attached to the blower brush, which then acts as a handle (see FIG. 9). The accessory can thus be part of a set of various accessories suitable for being attached to the same blower brush so as to provide different hairstyles. In such case, the accessory comprises locks 12 cooperating with locks provided on the brush (not shown), enabling the accessory to be reversibly locked on the brush.
The accessory can also be permanently attached to a blower brush, such as a fixed attachment.
Patent Application
20250234974
