Patent Application
20250000225
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-108812, filed Jun. 30, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. This invention relates to a hair iron.
Conventionally, a hair iron for curling hair by winding the hair around a curved surface of a cylindrical heating unit has been known (see Patent No. 2022-046204).
However, if using such a hair iron, damage to hair due to heat cannot be avoided.
In the light of the above problems, we have decided to provide a hair iron that can care the hair while minimizing the damage to the hair.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a hair iron is provided. The hair iron includes: a grip section configured to be grasped by a user; and an iron section which is provided at a front end part of the grip section and is used to wind therearound and curl hair. The iron section includes: a cylindrical main body; and a pair of electrodes which are provided opposing to each other on a peripheral surface of the main body and are exposed from the main body.
According to the aspect, a hair iron which can care hair while minimizing the damage to the hair.
Hereinafter, a description will be given of an embodiment of the present disclosure with reference to drawings. Various features described in the following embodiment can be combined with each other.
The hair iron according to an aspect of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
In the following description, a good thermal conductor denotes a material with high thermal conductivity, and examples thereof include: aluminum; copper; graphite sheets; aluminum nitride; and the like. In addition, a poor thermal conductor denotes a material with low thermal conductivity, and examples thereof include: polyethylene terephthalate; polycarbonate; ABS resin; and the like.
A hair iron 1 includes: a grip section 2; an iron section 3; and a press section 4, as shown in
The hair iron 1 can curl hair by, for example, winding the hair around the iron section 3 that is heated.
The cap 6 is located on a front end side (part) (+X side in the figure) of the hair iron 1, and is mainly made of the poor thermal conductor. Thereby, a user can hold both of the grip section 2 and the cap 6, so that, even if his/her force to grasp the grip section 2 is weak, the user can style the hair stably.
The grip section 2 is configured to be grasped by the user. As shown in
The grip body 21 has an elongated shape and is shaped so that its front end side (+X side in the figure) may be thicker than its base end side (−X side in the figure) for the user's easy grasping. A surface of the grip body 21 may be further coated with a sheet having a cushioning and/or anti-slip function. Thereby, the user can grasp the grip body 21 more stably.
The operation unit 22 includes: a power button 221; and a temperature adjustment button 222, which are operated by the user. The operation unit 22 further includes a display panel 223 for displaying a temperature of the iron section 3.
The leg 23 is a convex portion provided on an opposite side (−Y side in the figure) of the press section 4 of the hair iron 1. The leg 23 functions as a support structure together with the cap 6. When the hair iron 1 is placed on a desk or the like with the press section 4 facing up, the leg 23 and the cap 6 touch the desk or the like to support the entire hair iron 1. Herein, since the iron section 3 can be prevented from touching the desk or the like directly, the user can place the hair iron 1 on the desk or the like, even when the iron section 3 is still hot. In addition, since the leg 23 is provided on the opposite side of the press section 4, the press section 4 is not likely to interrupt such placement of the hair iron 1 onto the desk or the like.
Incidentally, the part to constitute the support structure together with the leg 23 may be, as a replace of the cap 6 on the front end side, a part (base end part) on the base end side (−X side in the figure) of the grip body 21. In this case, by adding a weight inside or outside the base end part of the grip body 21, the entire hair iron 1 can be stably supported by the leg 23 and the base end part of the grip body 21 when the hair iron 1 is placed on a desk or the like. At this time, the front end side (+X side in the figure) of the iron section 3 is raised diagonally upward against the gravity, thereby preventing the iron section 3 from touching the desk or the like.
To the base end side (−X side in the figure) of the grip body 21, a power supply unit 7 is attached. When the power supply unit 7 is connected to a power source (not illustrated), electrical energy is supplied to the hair iron 1. The electrical energy supplied from the power supply unit 7 is supplied to the respective parts via the wiring (not illustrated) and the like inside the grip body 21.
The iron section 3 is provided on the front end side (+X side in
The iron body 31 is configured to have a cylindrical shape so that the user's hair can be curled by being wound therearound. Since the iron body 31 is mainly made of the good thermal conductor, heat generated by the heaters 38 can be conducted well to the hair wound around the iron body 31.
The pair of the electrodes 32 are provided at positions opposing each other on a peripheral surface of the iron body 31, more specifically, at opposite positions on both lateral sides (+Z side and −Z side in the figure) of the iron body 31, where an upper side denotes a side closer to the press section 4 (+Y side in the figure). Further, the pair of the electrodes 32 are exposed from the iron body 31. Therefore, the hair wound around the iron body 31 can be in contact with the electrodes 32 at the respective lateral positions.
Exposed surfaces of the respective electrode 32 are shaped in curved face, thereby preventing to cause bumps to the curl shape of the hair wound around the iron body 31.
Each electrode 32 has an elongated shape and is provided along a longitudinal direction (X direction in the figure) of the iron body 31. Thereby, even if the user's hair is short, if the hair can be wound around only a half of the periphery of the iron body 31, the hair can be surely in contact with both of the electrodes 32.
With an inner surface of the respective electrodes 32, contact points 321 are in contact. To the respective contact points 321, wiring 322 that is connected to the wiring (not illustrated) inside the grip body 21 is connected. An electric charge (current) flows into or out of the respective electrodes 32 via the contact points 321 and the wiring 322.
The respective electrodes 32 have a function of conducting ions into or out of the hair. Specifically, in the state where the hair is wound around the iron body 31, that is, in the state where the hair is in contact with the respective electrodes 32, when applying a pulse-waveform current, the electrodes 32 conducts ions into and/or out of the hair. Thereby, beauty ingredients contained in hair treatment or the like can be ionized, and can sufficiently permeate the hair. Moreover, the electrodes have an effect of adsorbing dirt from the electrically charged hair.
Between the respective electrodes 32 and the iron body 31, electrode holders 33 are disposed. The electrode holders 33 are mainly made of the poor thermal conductor, which can prevent overheating of the electrode 32 by the heat conducted from the iron body 31.
The respective electrodes 32 are inserted from the front end side (+X side in the figure) or the base end side (−X side in the figure) into the electrode holders 33 that are fixed to the iron body 31 with screws (not illustrated), so as to be fixed in a vertical direction (Y direction in the figure) and a horizontal direction (Z direction in the figure). Then, the cap 6 and the grip section 2 are respectively fixed to the iron body 31, where the cap 6 is on the front end side (+X side in the figure) and the grip section 2 is on the base end side (−X side in the figure) of the respective electrodes 32. Thereby, the respective electrodes 32 are prevented from falling off from the iron body 31 in the respective directions.
The pair of the heaters 38 generate heat by electrical energy supplied via the power supply unit 7. The pair of the heaters 38 are provided facing each other between the pair of the electrodes 32, inside the iron body 31. Such arrangement can prevent overheating of the hair pinched between the iron body 31 and a press plate 41 (the press section 4) more effectively than arrangement that the heaters 38 are disposed on a side closer to the press section 4 (upper side, +Y side in the figure) inside the iron body 31. Thereby, damage to the hair caused by heat and loss of moisture can be suppressed.
The respective heaters 38 have elongated shape and are provided along the longitudinal direction (Y direction in the figure) of the iron body (main body) 31. Inside each of the heaters 38, a heater holder 381 is provided to prevent the heater 38 from being separated from the iron body 31. By providing the two heaters 38 in this manner, heat can be conducted throughout the entire iron body 31 rapidly and uniformly. Therefore, psychological stress of the user caused by long waiting time for the hair iron to be ready for use can be reduced, while enabling the user's desired hair styling.
Each of the heaters 38 includes: a heating element (not illustrated); and an insulator that coats the heat generator.
Each of the heaters 38 preferably has an insulator that contains aluminum oxide as a main component. In this case, the respective heaters 38 are also called as metal ceramic heaters (MCH).
Herein, a heater used as a heat source of such a hair iron is generally configured to have an insulator that contains barium titanate as a main component. However, since this kind of heater has a property of decreasing in current flowability after reaching a certain temperature, linear temperature control of such a heater with high efficiency is relatively difficult.
On the other hand, in the case where the heater 38 includes the insulator that contains aluminum oxide as a main component, current flowability thereof is not likely to be decreased (resistance is not likely to be increased) even when increasing the temperature, thereby enabling the linear temperature control with high efficiency. Thus, the user can begin styling more quickly at his/her aimed temperature.
Alternatively, using a heater with an insulator that contains zirconium dioxide instead of the aluminum oxide as the main component, the similar effect can be expected.
The iron section 3 further includes a thermal fuse 39. The thermal fuse 39 includes: a thermal fuse body 391; and a lead wire 392. The thermal fuse body 391 is in contact with the inside of the iron body 31. Wiring (not illustrated) is connected to the lead wire 392, and is extended inside the grip body 21.
When the iron body 31 is overheated, an electric current becomes interrupted in the thermal fuse body 391, and no more current flows into the heater 38. In this way, the overheating of the iron body 31 by the heater 38 can be forcedly stopped, thereby enabling to prevent accidents such as a fire.
The iron section 3 further includes a temperature sensor 310. The temperature sensor 310 is in contact with the inside of the iron body 31. The wiring (not illustrated) is connected to a base end side (−X side in the figure) of the temperature sensor 310, and is extended inside the grip body 21. A temperature of the iron body 31 detected by the temperature sensor 310 is displayed on the display panel 223 of the grip section 2.
The temperature sensor is preferably an NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient) thermistor. In this case, minute temperature changes can be sensitively detected, so that the user can know by the display panel 223 whether the iron body 31 is at his/her desired temperature or not with high accuracy.
The iron section 3 further includes a light emitting unit 34. By applying light emitted by the light emitting unit 34 to scalp, hair growth and hair care effects due to activation of scalp cells can be expected. The light emitting unit 34 is provided in an upper position (+Y side in the figure) of the iron body 31, where the upper position denotes a position closer to the press section 4 (+Y side in the figure), as shown in
The light emitting unit 34 includes: LEDs (light emitting device) 341; an LED holder (support) 342 that supports the LEDs 341; and an LED cover (support) 343. The LED 341 is preferably a red LED which emits light with a wavelength ranging from 615 nm or more and 655 nm or less. Incidentally, as a replace of the LEDs 341, halogen lamps may be used as the light emitting devices.
As shown in
The LED holder 342 is fixed to the LED cover 343 with screws 344. By supporting the LEDs 341 from above and below (Y direction in the figure), the LEDs 341 and the necessary wiring can be held stably. In addition, since the LED holder 342 and the LED cover 343 are mainly made of the poor thermal conductor, conduction of the heat from the iron body 31 to the LED 341 and the wiring can be prevented.
The LED cover 343 has an opening 3431 through which the light emitted by the LED 341 passes.
The iron section 3 further includes a spring cushion (force member) 36 that applies force to the light emitting unit 34 from the iron body 31 toward the upper direction (+Y side in the figure). The spring cushions 36 are respectively fit into spring grooves 3422 that are formed in the LED holder 342, as shown in
As described below, when the hair of the user is pinched between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41 (press section 4), the hair is pressed against the iron body 31 by the press plate 41, whereby this pressing force is applied to the LED cover 343 before being applied to the iron body 31. Thus, the spring cushion 36 is shrunk, and the LED holder 342 sinks downward (toward −Y side in the figure). Thereby, the damage of the hair caused by being crushed between the press plate 41 and the iron body 31 can be suppressed.
The iron section 3 further includes a silicone cushion 35 which is provided in the upper position of the light emitting unit 34 in the iron body 31. The silicone cushion 35 is a sheet-shaped stress release member. The silicone cushion 35 has an effect of diffusing light emitted by the LEDs 341, so that the light can be applied uniformly to a wide area of the hair wound around the iron body 31.
The silicone cushion 35 is fixed to the light emitting unit 34 with a silicone cushion holder (fixing member) 37. The silicone cushion holder 37 is mainly made of the good thermal conductor, so that the heat from the iron body 31 can be conducted well to the hair.
The silicone cushion holder 37 has an opening hole (opening) 371 through which light emitted by the light emitting unit 34 can pass. Thereby, the light which is emitted by the LED 341 of the light emitting unit 34 and is transmitted through the silicone cushion 35 can be applied to the hair pinched between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41.
The silicone cushion 35 is fit into a lower side (−Y side in the figure) of the silicone cushion holder 37. Then, the silicone cushion holder 37 has a plurality (six in the present embodiment) of fixing legs 372, and these fixing legs 372 penetrate the same number of fixing holes 3421 provided in the LED holder 342. At front ends of the fixing legs 372, fixing nails 3721 having a larger width than those of the fixing holes 3421 are provided. In a state where the fixing legs 372 are inserted into the fixing holes 3421, each of the fixing nails 3721 is hooked by an opening edge of the fixing hole 3421, so that the fixing leg 372 cannot be pulled off from the fixing hole 3421 easily. Therefore, even if the LED holder 342 sinks downward (−Y direction in the figure) due to the shrinkage of the spring cushion 36, or the silicone cushion holder 37 is about to be moved (displaced) upward (+Y direction in the figure) due to impacts or the like, a position of the silicone cushion holder 37 with respect to the LED holder 342 is not changed significantly.
Whereas, the fixing leg 372 on the upper side (+Y side in the figure) of the front end thereof is composed of a shaft 3722 having a smaller width than that of the fixing hole 3421. Therefore, the silicone cushion holder 37 can be displaced by a length of the shaft 3722 with respect to the LED holder 342 in a vertical direction (Z direction in the figure).
Then, as shown in
Therefore, when the hair is pressed against the iron body 31 by the press plate 41, the pressed hair becomes in contact with the silicone cushion holder 37 so as to convey the pressing force thereto. The silicone cushion holder 37 can slightly sink into the silicone cushion 35 toward the LED holder 342 (−Y side in the figure) while shrinking the silicone cushion 35. Thereby, the damage of the hair caused by being crushed can be suppressed securely.
When the silicone cushion holder 37 is displaced by the length of the shaft 3722 of the fixing leg 372, the silicone cushion holder 37 becomes in contact with the LED holder 342, and cannot be further displaced with respect to the LED holder 342. Therefore, the pressing force is applied to the LED holder 342 and the spring cushion 36 located below the LED holder 342. At this time, the spring cushion 36 is shrunk, thereby the light emitting unit 34 including the LED holder 342, the silicone cushion 35 and the silicone cushion holder 37 sink downward.
Herein, when the spring cushion 36 is fully shrunk, an outer peripheral surface of the silicone cushion holder 37 becomes substantially matched with the outer peripheral surface of the iron body 31.
That is, according to the hair iron 1, before the hair is crushed between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41, the force of the press plate 41 to press the hair against the iron body 31 can be released by both of the spring cushion 36 and the silicone cushion 35. Thereby, the damage of the hair caused by being crushed can be suppressed effectively.
Incidentally, instead of being fixed to the LED holder 342 with the silicone cushion holder 37, the silicone cushion 35 may be fixed to the LED cover 343 with a translucent adhesive.
Moreover, the iron section 3 may have, as a replace of the silicone cushion 35, another elastic cushion as the stress release member. Further, a shape of the stress release member is not limited to a sheet shape, but may be, for example, a block (spherical, rectangular or the like) shape. In this case, as the stress release member, a plurality of silicone blocks may be fixed to the LED holder 342 with, for example, a fixing member or an adhesive.
Incidentally, in addition to or as a replace of the silicone cushion 35 and the silicone cushion holder 37, a silicone cushion (stress release member) may be provided to the surface of the press plate 41 of the press section 4 on the iron section 3 side. In this case, the silicone cushion can be fixed to the press plate 41 with adhesive bonding, fusion bonding (heat sealing, ultrasonic welding or high-frequency welding) or the like. In addition, the silicone cushion and the silicone cushion holder may be provided on the surface of the press plate 41 closer to the iron section 3.
The press section 4 functions as a hair holding mechanism for holding the state of the hair being wound around the iron body 31. The press section 4 includes: the press plate 41; and a finger rest 42, as shown in
The press plate 41 is a plate-shaped member which is provided to be movable close to and apart from the iron section 3, and is configured to press the hair wound around the iron section 3 against the iron section 3. By pinching the user's hair between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41, or by winding the hair around the iron body 31, the hair can be curled. As described above, since the light emitting unit 34 is provided in the upper position of the iron body 31 (+Y side in the figure), the light from the light emitting unit 34 can also be applied to the hair effectively, when pinching the hair between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41.
Further, since the press plate 41 is mainly made of the good thermal conductor, the heat from the iron body 31 can be conducted to the hair favorably.
The finger rest 42 is a portion on which the user places his/her finger, palm or the like to perform the operations for moving the press plate 41 closer to and away from the iron section 3.
Further, an outer peripheral surface of the finger rest 42 is provided with a plurality of anti-slip convex strips or grooves (concavo-convex). The finger rest 42 is attached to the grip section 2 rotatably within an X-Y plane in the figure. Thereafter, when the finger rest 42 is pressed down (−Y direction in the figure), the front end side of the press plate 41 can be moved up (+Y direction in the figure, see
Therefore, by pressing down the finger rest 42, the user can put the hair between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41, and by releasing the pressing force, the user can hold the hair between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41.
The press plate 41 has an opening hole (opening) 411 penetrating in a thickness direction thereof. The opening hole 411 is provided corresponding to the opening hole 371 of the silicone cushion holder 37, and thus is provided so as to allow the light emitted by the LED 341 to pass therethrough. Therefore, even when the hair is not pinched between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41, but is wound around over the iron body 31 and the press plate 41, the light emitted by the LED 341 can be applied to the hair.
Furthermore, when the heat is apply to the hair pinched between the iron body 31 and the press plate 41, vapor generated from the hair can be escaped through the opening hole 411, thereby preventing the overheating of the hair.
According to the above-described hair iron 1, hair can be cared while minimizing the damage to the hair.
Hereinafter, respective modified examples of the hair iron 1 according to the present disclosure will be described below, focusing on the differences from the above configuration examples, and descriptions of similar components will be omitted.
In Modified Example 1 of the hair iron 1, following configurations are different, and other components are the similar to those of the above-described configuration examples.
That is, as shown in
When the user presses down a suction button 224 on the operation unit 22 of the grip section 2, while winding the hair around the iron body 31, the fan (not illustrated) is operated to suck air via the suction inlet 312 into the iron body 31, and exhaust the air via the exhaust outlet. Herein, the hair of the user wound around the iron body 31 is sucked onto the outer peripheral surface of the iron body 31 by air flow which is sucked into the iron body 31. Thereby, although the hair iron 1 does not have the press section 4, the hair can be held by being wound around the outer peripheral surface of the iron body 31.
Therefore, the user does not need to press down the finger rest 42 frequently, thereby preventing the user from losing balance in grasping the grip section 2 or feeling fatigue in the fingers by pressing down the finger rest 42.
Incidentally, the iron body 31 may have a plurality of the suction inlets 312. In this case, the hair can be sucked at the plural points, thereby enabling more stable styling. In addition, the force to suck the hair can be divided into the plurality of the suction inlets 312, whereby the damage of the hair can be reduced.
In Modified Example 1, the hair iron 1 does not have the press section 4, whereby the damage of the hair by being crushed is less likely to be caused. Thus, the silicone cushion 35, the silicone cushion holder 37 and the spring cushion 36 are omitted from the iron body 31.
In the iron body 31, as shown in
Further, the LED holder 342 is supported not via the spring cushion 36, but directly by the iron body 31 as shown in
Thus, according to Modified Example 1, the hair iron 1 which can suppress the damage of the hair while reducing user's fatigue can be provided.
In Modified Example 2 of the hair iron 1, following configurations are different, and other components are similar to those of the above-described examples.
That is, the hair iron 1 is provided with, as a replace of the press section 4, a brush section as a hair holding mechanism. The brush section is provided on a wide area of the outer peripheral surface of the iron body 31, and includes a plurality of brushes (protrusions) which protrude in a radial direction of the iron body 31. The brush section is mainly made of the poor thermal conductor.
When the user winds the hair around the iron body 31, the hair can enter between the plurality of the brushes of the brush section, thereby holding a wound state. The user can hold the wound state more stably by placing his/her hand, which is not grasping the grip body 21, on the hair over the brushes of the brush section. At this time, even if the iron body 31 is heated, tips of the brushes of the brush section are not likely to become a high temperature, thereby preventing the user's hand or the like from being exposed to the high temperature.
Some users can style the hair more intuitively by holding the hair between the brushes than by pinching the hair between the press section 4 and the iron body 31.
In addition, similarly to Modified Example 1, the hair iron 1 does not have the press section 4, whereby the damage of the hair by being crushed is less likely to be caused. Thus, the silicone cushion 35, the silicone cushion holder 37 and the spring cushion 36 are omitted from the iron body 31. Incidentally, the configuration of the light emitting unit 34 can be similar to those in Modified Example 1.
As described above, according to Modified Example 2, the hair iron 1 that enables intuitive styling while suppressing the damage of the hair can be provided.
In addition, it may be provided in each of the following forms.
The present invention is not limited to the above-described forms.
As described, various embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, but these are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made within the scope of the spirit of the disclosure. The embodiments and its modifications are included in the scope and the spirit of the disclosure and are included in the scope of the invention described in claims and the equivalent scope thereof.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-108812 | Jun 2023 | JP | national |
