Claims
- 1. A hair curling roller system comprising:
- a housing;
- a plurality of post members arranged within said housing and being capable of generating heat in hair rollers placed on said post members, all of said post members of said system being of substantially the same diameter;
- a plurality of rollers for curling hair, each of said rollers having an inner core means with an axially extending inner cavity and an outer surface for contact with hair to be rolled;
- a first group of said plurality of rollers having a first outer diameter along their center section of their outer surface and a second group of said plurality of rollers having a second outer diameter along their center section of their outer surface with said second outer diameter being larger than said first outer diameter, each of said rollers of both of said groups of rollers having said axially extending inner cavity extending from an opening at one end of said roller and said inner cavities of all of said rollers having substantially the same inner diameter, each of said rollers being capable of being arranged on one of said post members such that said post member extends into said inner cavity of the respective said roller;
- said core means of each of said rollers of said second group of rollers including heat transfer means for facilitating the transfer of heat from its said inner cavity to its said outer surface so that when both said groups of said rollers are positioned on said post members and are heated at approximately equal rates the level of heat on the outer surface of all of said rollers is approximately the same.
- 2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said heat transfer means in at least one of said rollers of said second group of rollers includes a plurality of heat radiating fins.
- 3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said heat transfer means in at least one of said rollers of said second group of rollers includes a cylindrical hub surrounding said inner cavity and a plurality of ribs arranged around said hub and extending in a radial direction out from said hub with air spaces remaining between adjacent ribs.
- 4. A system according to claim 3, wherein at least one of said rollers has an outer sleeve member and said outer sleeve member is coated with a flocking material so that the outer surface of said roller is a flocked outer surface.
- 5. A system according to claim 4, wherein at least one of said rollers has flanges mounted on its longitudinal ends, said flanges extend over but are spaced from said flocked outer sleeve.
- 6. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a prong member attached to one side of said housing and a carrying case for holding accessories for said rollers, said carrying case being capable of being hooked onto said prong member.
- 7. A system according to claim 6, wherein said prong member also serves to hold an electrical cord for said system which can be wrapped around said prong member.
- 8. A roller for curling hair comprising:
- a hollow outer sleeve;
- a central core member having an opening in one lateral end of said core member and extending longitudinally within said core member and said core member being formed of a material highly conductive of heat;
- a plurality of ribs attached to and extending in a radial direction out from said core member, said ribs being formed of a material highly conductive of heat and being spaced around said core member and separate from each other by an air space for facilitating rapid transfer of heat from said central core member to said hollow outer sleeve member; and
- said hollow out sleeve member being arranged around and being adjacent to said ribs.
- 9. A roller according to claim 8, further comprising a first end ring attached to said core member at one lateral end thereof; and
- a second end ring having an attachment member, said second end ring being connected to said core member at the other lateral end thereof by said attachment member.
- 10. A roller according to claim 9, wherein both said first and second end rings are formed of a low heat conducting material.
- 11. A roller according to claim 9, wherein said opening in said core member extends through said core member from one lateral end surface to the other lateral end surface, said attachment member is a prong mounted on an inner surface of said second end ring facing said core member, and said prong is inserted into said opening in said core member for securing said second end ring to said core member.
- 12. A roller according to claim 11, wherein the portion of said opening at the end of said core member adjacent said second end ring is of a smaller diameter than the remainder of said opening extending through said core member.
- 13. A roller according to claim 12, wherein said prong has two parts formed of a resilient material with a space between said parts so that said parts can be squeezed together upon insertion of said prong into said opening in said core member and will snap back to their original position once said prong is inserted so as to secure said second end ring to said core member.
- 14. A roller according to claim 13, wherein both said first and second end rings are formed of a material having low heat conducting properties.
- 15. A roller according to claim 13, wherein said first end ring has an opening therein, such opening in said first end member is aligned with said opening in said core member and is approximately of the same diameter as said opening in said core member.
- 16. A roller according to claim 15, wherein said remainder of said opening in said core member is of a sufficient diameter and extends for a sufficient length from said first end ring to enable said roller to be arranged on a heat conductive rod for transmitting heat to said roller.
- 17. A roller for curling hair comprising:
- a central core member having an axially extending inner cavity and a plurality of radially extending air gaps formed within said core members;
- a longitudinally extending cylindrical member surrounding said core member;
- a first end ring attached to said core member at one lateral end thereof; and
- a second end ring mounted at the opposite end of said cylindrical member.
- 18. A roller according to claim 17, wherein said first and second end rings are formed of a material having low heat conducting properties.
- 19. A hair curling roller system comprising:
- a housing;
- a plurality of post members arranged within said housing and being capable of generating heat in hair rollers placed on said post members;
- a plurality of rollers for curling hair, each of said rollers having an inner core means with an axially extending inner cavity and an outer surface for contact with hair to be rolled;
- a first group of said plurality of rollers having a first outer diameter along their center section of their outer surfaces and a second group of said plurality of rollers having a second outer diameter along their center section of their outer surfaces with said second outer diameter being larger than said first outer diameter, each of said rollers of both of said groups of rollers having said axially extending inner cavity extending from an opening at one end of said roller and said cavities of all of said rollers having substantially the same inner diameter, each of said rollers being capable of being arranged on one of said post members such that said post member extends into said inner cavity of the respective said roller:
- said core means of each of said rollers of said second group of rollers including a cylindrical hub surrounding said inner cavity and a plurality of heat radiating ribs arranged around said hub and extending in a radial direction out from said hub with air spaces remaining between adjacent ribs, for facilitating the transfer of heat from its said inner cavity to its outer surface.
- 20. A system according to claim 19, wherein each of said rollers has an outer sleeve member and said outer sleeve member is coated with a flocking material so that the outer surface of each of said rollers is a flocked outer surface.
- 21. A system according to claim 20 wherein each of said rollers has flanges mounted on its longitudinal ends, said flanges extend over but are spaced from said flocked outer sleeve, and said flanges are formed of a low heat conducting material.
- 22. A system according to claim 19, further comprising a prong member attached to one side of said housing and a carrying case for holding accessories for said rollers, said carrying case being capable of being hooked onto said prong member.
- 23. A system according to claim 22, wherein said prong member also serves to hold an electrical cord for said system which can be wrapped around said prong member.
- 24. A hair curling roller system comprising:
- a housing;
- a plurality of post members, all having substantially the same outer diameters, arranged within said housing and adapted to be heated for heating hair rollers placed on said post members;
- a plurality of rollers for curling hair, each of said rollers having an inner core means with an axially extending inner cavity and having an outer surface for contact with hair to be rolled;
- a first group of said plurality of rollers having a first group outer diameter along their center section of their outer surfaces and a second group of said plurality of rollers having a second group outer diameter along their center section of their outer surfaces, said second group outer diameter being larger than said first group outer diameter, each of said rollers of both of said groups of rollers having said axially extending inner cavity extending from an opening at one end of said roller and said cavities of all of said rollers of both of said groups having substantially the same inner diameters, each of said rollers of both of said groups being capable of being arranged on any one of said post members such that said post member extends into said inner cavity of the respective said roller;
- said core means of each of said rollers of said second group of rollers including a cylindrical hub surrounding said inner cavity and a plurality of heat radiating ribs arranged around said hub and extending in a radial direction out from said hub with air spaces remaining between adjacent ribs, for transferring heat from said inner cavity to said outer surface.
- 25. A hair curling roller system as in claim 24 wherein said post members and said inner cavities approximate right circular cylinders.
- 26. A hair curling roller system as in claim 25 wherein said inner core means of each of said rollers of said first group of rollers is essentially solid surrounding said axially extending inner cavity.
- 27. A hair curling roller system as in claim 26, wherein the dimensions of said heat radiating ribs have magnitudes such that the level of heat on the center section of said second group of rollers more closely proximates the level of heat on the center section of said first group of rollers than if said inner core means of said second group of rollers was an essentially solid core.
- 28. A hair curling roller system as in claim 26, wherein the dimensions of said heat radiating ribs have magnitudes such that at a temperature useful for curling hair, the level of heat on said center section of said second group of rollers more closely proximates the level of heat on said center section of said first group of rollers than if said inner core means of said second group of rollers was essentially solid core.
- 29. A hair curling roller system as in claim 26, wherein the dimensions of said heat radiating ribs have magnitudes such that the level of heat on said center section of said second group of rollers is approximately the same as the level of heat on said center section of said first group of rollers.
- 30. A hair curling roller system as in claim 24 wherein the said outer surface of said rollers is smoothly contoured.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 611,338, filed June 10, 1983, and entitled Hair Curling System, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 611,338, filed May 17, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,271, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 503,181, filed June 10, 1983, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,132 and entitled "Hair Curling System", now U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,033; the subject matter of said patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference. su
The invention relates to a flocked hair curling roller system in which the rollers are heated by the insertion of a cylindrical heating post member in an interior cylindrical bore contained within the roller.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,519,792; 3,600,552; Re. No. 26,766 and Des. No. 256,509 disclose hair curling roller systems having a plurality of hair curling rollers mounted on post members which generate heat within the rollers. Typically in such systems the post members have been of the same size when the rollers are of the same size and where the rollers have varied in size the post members have varied in size for accommodating the different size rollers. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,610,878 and 4,298,787 disclose hair curling roller systems having heating posts of different sizes for different size rollers.
For proper styling of the hair, it is desirable to use rollers of several different sizes. At the same time, it is convenient for the use of the hair curling roller system if all of the heating posts are of the same size so that the rollers can be placed onto any of the posts. If all of the posts are made with the same diameter then the posts must be small in order to accommodate the smaller rollers. In the larger rollers, however, if the diameter of the inner cavity into which the heating post is inserted is small so that the roller can be mounted on a small diameter post, the heat from the post does not sufficiently radiate out to the outer surface of the larger rollers. Consequently, when different size rollers are included in the system, larger heating posts have been included for heating the larger rollers.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,888,266 to Weldon and 4,202,360 to Walter both disclose flocked hair curling rollers. The hair curler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,266 has a flocked outer surface having a large number of upstanding short non-hydroscopic filaments or fibers capable of retaining moisture by capillary action. The hair curling roller disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,360 has a cylindrical member having a flocked outer surface and a hollow cylindrical core which is adapted to receive a heating element. A pair of end caps are joined directly to the outside surface of the flocked roller at the ends of the cylinder An inner cylindrical surface of each of the end caps directly engages the outer surface of the flocked roller and in order to secure such engagement, protrusions on such inner surface extend into recesses on the roller. The protrusions alternatively may be carried by either the end cap or the end of the flocked roller with the recesses being on the other member.
The flocked hair curling roller disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,360 does not contain a space between the outside surface of the flocked roller and the inside surface of the end caps at the point of engagement of the end caps with the flocked roller. Because of the periodic heating and cooling of the roller during its use and storage, the end caps are subjected to periodic expansion and contraction which may cause structural fatigue of the end caps thereby potentially damaging them.
Moreover, the direct engagement of the inner surface of the end caps disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,360 with the outer flocked surface of the roller can cause the flocking to be rubbed off the edge of the roller in the area of overlap between the end caps and the roller.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 463,662 to Arnold Thaler entitled "Flocked Hair Curling Roller" filed Feb. 4, 1983, which is assigned to the same assignee as the present application, discloses a flocked hair curling roller in which the end rings have flanges that extend over but are spaced from the layer of flocking material.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,209,766 discloses a hair curling roller with two snap on end caps. U.S. Pat. Nos. 698,578 and 4,403,621 disclose hair curlers having a plurality of longitudinally extending rods.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair curling roller system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair curling roller system in which all of the heating posts have substantially the same diameter and there are at least two different size rollers.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved flocked hair curling roller which creates a high heat transfer between a heating element disposed within a cylindrical bore within the roller and the exterior flocking carried on the outside surface of the roller.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved flocked hair curling roller having an inner metal sleeve within its cylindrical bore for insertion on a heating element for improving the heat transfer characteristics of the roller for transferring heat between the heating element and the exterior flocking on the outside surface of the roller.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved hair curling roller system having at least two different size rollers with the large rollers having core sections constructed for facilitating the transfer of heat to the outer surface so that the outer surface of the larger rollers are heated to substantially the same level as the smaller roller.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a flocked hair curling roller which is not subject to structural fatigue caused by expansion and contraction between the end caps and the outside surface of the hair curling roller to which the end caps are joined.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a flocked hair curling roller in which the flocking carried on the outside surface of the hair curling roller in proximity to the ends thereof is not rubbed off by the end caps attached to the end of the hair curling roller.
The hair curling roller system in accordance with the present invention includes a plurality of rollers and a plurality of post members for heating the rollers, which are mounted on the post members for heating. An elongated metal sleeve, or tube, is arranged within an elongated central inner cavity, or bore, in each of the rollers. The inner metal sleeve improves the transfer of heat from the heating element to the core of the roller and simultaneously protects the inner surface of the central inner cavity. The inner metal sleeve prevents the inner surface of the core member from sticking to the heating element when the roller is heated. While all of the post members having substantially the same diameter and the inner cavities of the rollers into which the post members are inserted have substantially the same diameter, the outer diameters of the rollers are of two different sizes. In addition to the use of the inner metal sleeve, the interior core of the rollers with the larger outer diameter is specially constructed for facilitating the transfer of heat from the inner cavity to the outer surface of the roller so that when the rollers are heated the level, i.e. temperature or concentration, of heat on the outer surface of all of the rollers is approximately the same. In the larger rollers, the inner core includes a cylindrical hub surrounding the inner cavity of the roller and a plurality of heat radiating ribs arranged around the hub and extending in a radial direction out from the hub with air spaces remaining between adjacent ribs; an outer sleeve then surrounds these ribs.
The hair curling rollers used in the roller system in accordance with the present invention preferably includes: a central core member having an opening in one lateral end of the core member and longitudinally extending within the core member to form an inner cavity and the core member being formed of a material highly conductive of heat; a metal sleeve member arranged inside of said inner cavity and attached to the core member such as during the molding process or by a press fitting of protrusions from the metal sleeve into the core member; a hollow sleeve member arranged on the core member, the sleeve member having a flocked outer surface; a first end ring attached to the core member at one lateral end thereof, the first end ring having a flange extending over but spaced from the adjacent end portion of the flocked outer surface of the sleeve member; and a second end ring having an attachment member, the second end ring being connected to the core member at the other lateral end thereof by the attachment member, the second end ring having a flange extending over but spaced from the adjacent end portion of the flocked outer surface. In accordance with the present invention, each of the larger rollers has a central core member with a plurality of heat radiating ribs extending out from this central core member and the flocked sleeve member surrounds the ribs.
The opening in the core member forming the inner cavity extends through the core member from one lateral end surface to the other lateral end surface. The attachment member is a prong mounted on an inner surface of the second end ring facing the core member, and the prong is inserted into the opening in the core member for securing the second end ring to the core member. The portion of the opening at the end of the core member adjacent the second end ring is of a smaller diameter than the remainder of the opening extending through the core member. The prong has two parts formed of a resilient material within a space between the parts so that the parts can be squeezed together upon insertion of the prong into the opening in the core member and snapped back to their original position once the prong is inserted so as to secure the second end ring to the core member.
The first and second end rings are preferably formed of a material having low heat conducting properties. The first end ring has an opening which is aligned with the opening in the core member and is approximately of the same diameter as the opening in the core member. The opening in the core member is of a sufficient diameter and of sufficient length measured from the first end ring to permit the insertion of the heating post member within the inner cavity within the core member for transmitting heat to the roller. The inner metal sleeve inside of the core member is formed of aluminum that is 0.5 mm thick. The flocking material is preferably formed of nylon which has a diameter preferably of 3 denier and a length of 0.5 mm.
A hair curling roller in accordance with the invention includes an interior core member having an inner hub and a plurality of ribs radially extending from such hub and a longitudinally extending cylindrical member surrounding such ribs; a first end ring mounted at one end of the cylindrical member and having a flange extending over but spaced from the adjacent portion of the outer surface of the cylindrical member; and a second end ring mounted at the opposite end of the cylindrical member, the second end ring having a flange extending over but spaced from the adjacent portion of the outer surface of the cylindrical member. The cylindrical member is formed of a heat conductive material. The first and second end rings are formed of a material having low heat conductive properties.
In order to further improve the transfer of heat between the central core member and the outer sleeve, a thin layer, or several thin layers, of a metal material, such as aluminum, can be wrapped around the ribs so as to lie between the ribs and the outer sleeve.
US Referenced Citations (6)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 7009363 |
Mar 1970 |
DEX |
| 801069162 |
Apr 1982 |
GBX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
503181 |
Jun 1983 |
|
Patent Grant
4881559
