HAIR SETTING SYSTEM

Abstract

An un-heated, light weight hair roller having a cylindrical outer surface for wrapping hair strands for around and a roller clip having a pair of semi-cylindrical thermal storage members. The clip is adapted to enable the thermal storage members to cooperatively enclose and conform to the roller and the wrapped hair strands to heat the wrapped hair strands while applying pressure thereto against the roller's cylindrical outer surface.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to hair curling systems and methods, and more specifically to curling hair using rollers and heat.

BACKGROUND

Hair rollers are popular as they promise to deliver a fast solution for curling hair. In reality, most hair rollers don't deliver on that promise.

It is known and understood that to change the shape of hair, the hydrogen-bonds in the hair must be broken and then reestablished to maintain the hair in its new shape. These hydrogen-bonds can be broken with water or heat. Originally “wet sets” were popular but have long been out of fashion. However, heated styling tools have stood the test of time. To use heat for setting hair, the hair must be brought to a high temperature and then be allowed to cool down fast while in its curled shape. If the hair is unwound from the roller before it is fully cooled, the newly curled form will be “stretched”.

As a rule of thumb an ideal heat styling roller should achieve the following:

• • Heats up quickly
  • Cools down quickly
  • Achieves a high temperature
  • Easy to apply and remove by the user
  • Not burn the user's scalp while in the hair
  • Not burn the user's fingers during application
  • Curl stays in its shape after the source of heat is removed

Over the years, many different designs and concepts have been invented and introduced into the market in an effort to improve the user experience associated with curling hair. The two areas on which developers focused were:

• • Faster heat-up—Designing better forms of heat transfer from the source of heat to the roller, by increasing the heat transfer area, improving the contact between roller and heater, utilizing PTC heaters in each roller, and using induction coils to heat up a steel core inside each roller.
  • Higher Roller Temperature—This is the single most challenging aspect of designing an effective heated hair roller due to the fact that the user must handle the hot roller with their fingers in the process of rolling hair around it. Attempts made to solve that issue included extending the length of the roller pins to keep the fingers farther away from the roller surface while rolling the hair, Isolating the rings from the roller body and partially exposing the hair to the metal core.

Despite these evolutions, what is needed is a hair curling system and method which overcomes the typical drawbacks mentioned above to meet all the criteria defining how to create a long-lasting curl.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention may be embodied in or practiced using, in combination. a number of self-grip lightweight rollers that are already well accepted by users and heated roller clips designed and shaped to clip over the self-grip rollers after hair strands have been rolled around the self-grip rollers. Since the self-grip rollers are maintained at room temperature, they are easy to use as all the users must do is wrap desired strands of hair around the roller. These rollers will stay in place once hair strands are wrapped around them even before the heated clip is placed over them. A simple bobby-pin may be used as an added securing means.

After placing one (or more) roller in the hair, the user applies the heated clips to the hair strands wrapped on the rollers and removes the heated clips after a nominal amount of time, still leaving the low weight plastic rollers in place for the hair to rapidly cool-down to room temp before removing the rollers. This process will result in a long-lasting tight curl.

Heated clips according to the invention include thermal storage members of a size and dimensions and choice of material to optimize its thermal storage capacity and to maximizing the heat transfer rate to the hair strands rolled around the rollers. The thermal storage members are heated prior to their application through heating elements that are integral to the heated clips or through an external source of heat. Typically, there are two thermal storage members per clip which are secured by a spring-loaded outer shell made of thermally insulating material to ensure the hot thermal storage members do not contact the user's skin.

By way of example, two systems for heating clips, including the clips associated with each system are described herein: one system includes PTC heating elements integral with the clip and permanently attached to the thermal storage member. The PTC heating elements are energized when the clips are placed in a storage unit that includes electric contacts; the other system includes a storage unit containing heating rods that transfer heat to the thermal storage members of the clips when the clips engage the heating rods, as will be described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first hair curling system;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hair curling system of FIG. 1 with its lid opened;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the hair curling system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4A is a side perspective view of a roller clip of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4B is an exploded perspective view of the roller clip of FIG. 4A and a roller of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4C is a perspective view of a roller clip/roller assembly of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of the roller clip of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the roller clip of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the roller clip of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 8 is a top view of the roller clip of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the roller clip of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of the roller clip/roller assembly of FIG. 4C;

FIG. 11 is an end view of the roller clip/roller assembly of FIG. 4C;

FIG. 12 is a side view of the roller clip/roller assembly of FIG. 4C;

FIG. 13 is a top view of the roller clip/roller assembly of FIG. 4C;

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of the roller clip/roller assembly of FIG. 4C;

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of the roller clip/roller assembly of FIG. 4C taken at Line 15-15 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the roller clip of FIG. 4A;

FIG. 17 is a top view of the hair curling system of FIG. 1 with its lid removed; and

FIG. 18 a cross-sectional view of the the hair curling system of FIG. 1 taken at Line 18-18 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a second hair curling system;

FIG. 20 is a front view of the hair curling sustem of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the hair curling system of FIG. 19 with one of its roller clips being inserted onto a heating rod to be heated;

FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the hair curling system of FIG. 19 with another of its roller clips being being removed after heating;

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional top view of the hair curling system of FIG. 19 taken at line 23-23 of FIG. 20;

FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional side view of the hair curling system of FIG. 19 taken at line 24-24 of FIG. 20;

FIG. 25 is a top view of a roller clip of the system of FIG. 19;

FIG. 26 is an exploded perspective view of the roller clip of the system of FIG. 25; and

FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view of the roller clip/roller assembly of FIG. 4C taken at Line 27-27 of FIG. 25;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT

FIGS. 1 through 18 illustrate a first exemplary system 100 having six heated roller clips 102 in combination with a roller clip heating and storing apparatus 104 and rollers 106.

The apparatus includes outer housing 108, inner housing 112, and lid 114, which is hingedly attached to the outer housing. Lifting of the lid exposes the inner housing, in which are disposed six clip-receiving recesses 116.

The housing includes power switch 120 to enable/disable power to the system through a typical power cord (not shown). Within each recess are four first electrical contacts 118. Centrally disposed at the top of the inner housing is a normally-open switch 122 which is forced into a closed state by probe 124 of the lid when the lid is closed. When the switch is open, the first electrical contacts are de-energized and when the switch is closed and the power switch is in its enabling position the first electrical contacts are energized such that a voltage differential exists between the contact pair in each side of the recesses. This is a safety feature to ensure that no live components are accessible when the lid is lifted. A thermal protector (not shown) within the housing may interrupt power when an abnormally high temperature is sensed. The inner housing contains electrical wiring to connect the various electrical components (not shown).

Strands of hair (not shown) are wrapped around each unheated roller in the traditional manner while the system is powered on with its lid closed and with the clips inserted into the recesses. The roller clips are then being heated as will be later explained while the rollers are being applied to the hair in their cool state.

Each roller clip is made of two halves 130R and 130L, each consisting of a heated inner semi-cylindrical thermal storage member 138 in close contact with a PTC heating element 132, covered by a preferably plastic semi-cylindrical outer shells 134R and 134L respectively. A support frame 136 made of electrically insulating material is disposed between the shells and the thermal storage members to position and support the PTC heating element. Thermally-insulating pads 139 surround the periphery of the support frame and cover the outer surface of the thermal storage members to shield the outer shells from the hot thermal storage members. Second electrical contacts 137 of the PTC elements pass through holes of the support frames and are disposed to make electrical contact with the first electrical contacts when the clips are fully inserted into their respective recesses. Closing of the lid may force the clips into their fully inserted position, as seen in FIG. 18. The closed lid also serves to retain the heat within the recesses.

Semi-circular extruded thermal storage members 138 overlay the PTC heating elements to line the inside surfaces of the clips. These thermal storage members are thermally-conductive to distribute the heat of the PTC element evenly across the entire inner surfaces. This ensures all the hair strands are heated evenly. Spring clips 142 are positioned between support frames 136 and the PTC elements to force the PTC elements against the extruded thermal storage members for optimal thermal contact. Additionally, thermally-conductive paste may be layered between the PTCs and the thermal storage members.

The outer shells are hingedly connected and are biased about connecting hinge 144 towards the closed position of FIG. 4A by torsion spring 146. The shells each include an extending gripping tab 148R and 148L respectively, to allow the user to both hold the heated clips comfortably thereby and to squeeze the tabs together to push the halves apart about the hinge and against the bias of the spring into the open positions of FIG. 4B. Such an arrangement is commonly referred to as a “clamshell” configuration and its function is commonly referred to as “clam-shelling”, which is the intended definition of the term as used herein. The clip may then be placed over a hair-wrapped roller and the tabs released to allow the clip to press the roller and the hair, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C.

As the gripping tabs are released, the spring biases the hot semi-cylindrical elements firmly around the rollers and applies both heat and pressure to the hair strands. The thermal storage members are shaped and sized to correspond to the outer diameter of the roller.

Once the clip has sufficiently heated the hair, it is removed. The rollers are low in mass and weight, have open ends, and are hollow to allow cooling airflow therethrough to speed the cooling of the hair.

The apparatus also serves as a compact and organized storing case when the system is not in use.

FIGS. 19 through 27 illustrate a second exemplary system 200 having a plurality of heated roller clips 202 in combination with a roller clip heating and storing apparatus 204. Reference should also be made to the first system of FIGS. 1 through 18 for any similar features and components not fully described again here.

Each roller clip is made of two halves 209, each consisting of a heated inner semi-cylindrical thermal storage member 206, which is preferably made of extruded aluminum. The thermal storage members are each covered by a semi-cylindrical outer shell 208 preferably made of thermally insulating material such as plastic. An insulating layer 210 is disposed between the shells and the thermal storage members to further prevent loss of heat from the thermal storage members and to keep the shells cool to the touch.

The outer shells are hingedly connected and are biased about connecting hinge 212 towards the closed position by torsion spring 214, as in the first embodiment. Also as in the first embodiment, the shells each include an extending gripping tab 216 to allow the user to both hold the heated clips thereby without being burned and to squeeze the tabs together to push the halves apart about the hinge and against the bias of the spring into their open positions.

The thermal storage members are first heated by apparatus 204 as will be explained later. Strands of a user's hair (not shown) are wrapped around a cylindrical hair roller 222 and each of the heated roller clips is removed from the apparatus, spread apart as above, and placed over the roller and strands of hair. As the gripping tabs are released, the spring biases the hot semi-cylindrical thermal storage members firmly around the rollers and applies both heat and pressure to the hair strands. The heated semi-cylindrical thermal storage members are shaped and sized to correspond to the diameter of the hair roller.

The rollers are low in mass and weight, have open ends, and are hollow to allow cooling airflow therethrough to speed the cooling of the hair.

As mentioned, the thermal storage members of the roller clips are pre-heated by the apparatus ahead of placing them over the hair/rollers. Metallic cylindrical heating tubes 232 heated by heating elements 234 therewithin and the tubes are of equal diameter to the rollers so that the clips grasp the tubes firmly as they do the rollers and maintain close and tight engagement therewith to maximize the transfer of heat to the thermal storage members.

The clips can be slightly opened and slid down onto the tubes through the circular openings 244 atop the apparatus, as seen in FIG. 21, with the gripping tabs of the slightly-opened clips being vertically slidable through slot 246 so that the clips can be stacked vertically for heating or storage. The lowermost roller clip grip can be pinched open for the roller clip to be removed from the apparatus at the bottom of the tubes through appropriately-sized opening 248.

The thermal storage member is secured within the plastic outer shell by a forked end 256 designed to be trapped by tabs 258 that are integral to the outer shell, and further to be secured by screws 252 that secure the other end of the thermal storage member. The insulating layer is sandwiched between the shell and thermal storage member. The outer shells cover the ends of the of the elements to shield the user from hot surfaces during use. The gripping tabs are provided with reinforcement ribs 254.

The heating and storing apparatus rapidly pre-heats the roller clips. Storage apparatus 204 houses controls and electric wiring of the heating tubes. Each tube has an insulated top 260 to prevent accidental contact of the hot tube by the user. The storage apparatus portion surrounding the tubes may be molded as a one-piece housing with a back panel two side panels a front panel and a top. The top has the two circular openings 244 and the front panel has the vertical slots 246 and widened openings 248.

Because some users might want to have more than one curl size, some of the clips may be larger and some smaller and the two heating tubes may be of different diameters to each accommodate either the larger or the smaller clips. Control knobs 262 allow the user to select a clip temperature and/or set a timer, as may be optimized for their type of hair and the style of curl they desire.

Alternatively, items 234 represent induction coils, tubes 232 are non-metallic and electrically insulating, and the semi-cylindrical thermal storage members 206 are heated by induction from the coils.

The use of induction coils for heating the thermal storage members offers several advantages, such as very rapid heat up time, which may allow the use of a single tube no longer than the axial dimension of the clip, it may not require different tube diameters for different diameter clips since induction heating occurs within the molecular structure of the thermal storage members and not by conduction. Additionally, since the tube containing the induction coils does not heat up it can be exposed and not be required to be protected from contact by the user. It should be noted that to be heated by induction the thermal storage members must be made of, or contain, paramagnetic metals such as, for example, iron.

A unique aspect of the disclosed system lies in the fact that the roller is lightweight and is at room temperature when applied to the hair. This distinguishes from the prior art, where the rollers are pre-heated prior to the hair being wrapped around them. This offers many advantages, including;

• • Rollers at room temperature are easier to handle than heated rollers allowing the user to wrap the hair strand tighter around them than if the rollers were hot and the user would have to worry about burning their fingers.
  • Because the roller is lightweight it will allow the hair wrapped around it to cool down faster after the hot clip has been removed thereby speeding up the hair curling process in comparison to a prior art pre-heated rollers that take long to cool down due to their necessarily greater mass.
  • A heated clip may be reused without having to be re-heated since the user just has to wait for the hair to reach its high temperature before the clip is removed and placed over another hair roller with hair strands wrapped around it.

The clips as disclosed herein are able to heat the hair rapidly to 150 C or higher, and then enable the hair to cool rapidly once the clip is removed. Heating of the clips may be accomplished by the PTC arrangement shown, or by one of resistive, radiant, or inductive heating in conjunction with the apparatus. For instance, the PTC element, known for their ability to heat up rapidly and for maintaining a constant steady state temperature due to their steep resistance vs temperature curve may merely be replaced with a resistive heating element, for cost or size considerations. Or the apparatus may include a induction field-generating coil and the PTC elements may be replaced by ferromagnetic chips that are not electrically connected to the apparatus but heated instead by their proximity to the energized coil. Or the PTC chips may be eliminated and the recesses may include heating elements to heat the extruded thermal storage members without an electrical connection to the clips. A timer or thermal control 152 allows control of the heating to obtain and hold the proper clip temperature.

Various other well-known ways of heating the clips may be employed without deviating from the invention, whose key aspects include heating a hair rolling clip rather than a roller to obtain a high level of heat quickly, and using a quick-cooling roller to then remove the heat quickly. It should be understood that while the invention has been shown and described with reference to the specific exemplary embodiments shown, various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the invention should therefore only be limited according to the following claims, including all equivalent interpretation to which they are entitled.

Claims

1. In combination, an un-heated hair roller and a hot roller clip; the hair roller having a cylindrical outer surface for wrapping hair strands there-around and the roller clip comprising a pair of thermal storage members; wherein the clip is adapted to enable the thermal storage members to cooperatively enclose and conform to the roller and the wrapped hair strands to heat the wrapped hair strands while applying pressure thereto against the roller's cylindrical outer surface.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the clip comprises a pair of thermally insulating shell portions, each capturing one of the thermal storage members and hingedly connected to the other shell portion to form a clamshell arrangement, and further comprising a spring adapted to bias the shell portions so that the thermal storage members enclose and conform to the roller and the wrapped hair strands to heat the wrapped hair strands while applying pressure thereto against the roller's cylindrical surface.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the insulating shell portions each comprise gripping portions adapted to both enable gripping of the clip and to enable relative spreading of the shell portions to release the roller and the wrapped hair strands from the clip.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the hair roller comprises a light-weight hollow tube.

5. The combination of claim 1 in further combination with an apparatus adapted to receive the one or more roller clips and enable the heating of the thermal storage members thereof.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the roller clip comprises a pair of insulating shell portions, each capturing one of the thermal storage members and hingedly connected to the other shell portion to form a clamshell arrangement, and further comprising a spring adapted to bias the shell portions so that the thermal storage members enclose and conform to the roller and the wrapped hair strands to heat the wrapped hair strands while applying pressure thereto against the roller's cylindrical surface.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein the insulating shell portions each comprise gripping portions adapted to both enable gripping of the clip and to enable relative spreading of the shell portions to release the roller and the wrapped hair strands from the clip.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein the hair roller comprises a hollow tube.

9. The combination of claim 5 wherein the thermal storage member comprises an electrical heating element; and the apparatus comprises recesses adapted for receiving one or more of the roller clips and having electrical contacts therein adapted to contact the heating element to enable energization and heating thereof.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein the heating element is one of a fixed resistance heater and a PTC heater.

11. The combination of claim 5 wherein the apparatus comprises one or more metallic tubes each heated by a heat source contained therewithin; and the thermal storage members are adapted to engage one of the tubes and are heated by thermal conduction therefrom.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein each heat source heats its associated tube through one of radiant heating and conductive heating,

13. The combination of claim 5 wherein the apparatus comprises one or more non-metallic tubes having an induction coil contained therewithin; and the thermal storage members are adapted to engage one of the tubes and comprise metallic members adapted to be heated by inductive radiation from the coil.

14. A method of curling hair using an un-heated hair roller and a hot roller clip in combination and comprising the steps of: heating a pair of thermal storage members of the roller clip;wrapping strands of a user's hair around a cylindrical outer surface of the hair roller; andpressing the wrapped hair strands between the heated heat storage members such that the wrapped hair strands are heated thereby while applying pressure thereto against the roller's cylindrical outer surface.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising repeating the steps of heating, wrapping, and pressing of one or more additional hair strands.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the repeating comprises heating, wrapping, and pressing of the plurality of hair strands is with one or more hair rollers and roller clips.

17. The method of claim 16 where the heating of the pair of thermal storage members is by an apparatus adapted to receive one or more of the roller clips and enable the heating of the thermal storage members thereof.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the roller clip comprises a pair of thermally insulating shell portions, each capturing one of the thermal storage members and hingedly connected to the other shell portion to form a clamshell arrangement, and further comprising a spring adapted to bias the shell portions so that the thermal storage members enclose and conform to the roller and the wrapped hair strands to heat the wrapped hair strands while applying pressure thereto against the roller's cylindrical surface.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the insulating shell portions each comprise gripping portions adapted to both enable gripping of the clip and to enable relative spreading of the shell portions to release the roller and the wrapped hair strands from the clip.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the hair roller comprises a hollow tube.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the apparatus comprises one or more recesses each adapted for receiving one of the roller clips such that electrical contact is made between the apparatus and the clip to energize the thermal storage member thereof.

22. The method of claim 17 wherein the thermal storage members are heated by one from the group including PTC, resistive, radiant, and inductive heating.