HAIR SHAPING DEVICE

Abstract

A hair shaping device comprises a main unit having a gripper, a head having a rod-shaped heating unit, and a drive unit configured to rotate said head around an axis of said heating unit, and wherein said head is provided, in an outer periphery of said heading unit, with a comb, and wherein said comb comprises a comb section, and said comb section is formed so as to slope, over the entire circumference of said comb, toward an axial direction of said heating unit with respect to a circumferential direction of said comb and to intersect with the axial direction of said heating unit.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to hair shaping devices and, more particularly, to a hair shaping device which maintains hair, led through a comb, into the intended shape through heat released by a heating unit.

2. Description of the Related Art

There has been eyelash shaping devices for shaping eyelashes, for instance, disclosed in Japanese Registered Utility Model No. 3042723 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-219571. The eyelash shaping device disclosed in the former document comprises a main unit having a handle, a spiral brush located in the tip side of the main unit, and a heating element that is spirally coiled in parallel to the inside of the brush. The eyelash shaping device disclosed in the latter document comprises a main unit casing that also functions as a gripper, and a head that is located in one end of the main unit casing, and then a heater for heating eyelashes is located in the head. Then, in a periphery of the head, a first shaping face and a second shaping face are located so as to face each other for shaping eyelashes, and then a comb unit for combing eyelashes is provided in each of the first and second shaping faces. In this eyelash shaping device, a user combs eyelashes using the comb unit, and thereby eyelashes are adjusted into the intended shape and the adjusted eyelashes are maintained through heat released by the heater.

Incidentally, in the conventional eyelash shaping devices of the above-mentioned documents, a user combs eyelashes using the brush or the head, and heats the eyelashes through the heating element or the heater, and then in this state, the user further curves the eyelashes while moving the user's hand holding the eyelash shaping device (or while moving the user's wrist), and thereby the eyelashes are adjusted into the intended shape.

Therefore, the conventional eyelash shaping devices are configured to adjust the eyelashes into the intended shape through moving the user's wrist, that is, through technology and operation of the user, and the work efficiency for the adjustment is not very high. Then, the eyelashes are adjusted while the same part of the head or the brush (the heating element) contacts the eyelashes. For this reason, the temperature of the part reduces easily, and the heat is insufficiently supplied to the eyelashes, and the curled shape is hardly maintained, and thereby there is a possibility that it becomes difficult to adjust the eyelashes into the intended shape (that is, the ability to shape hair is decreased).

In addition, because the user adjusts the eyelashes into the intended shape through moving the hand and/or the wrist, each part in the curved eyelashes may be adjusted into a different shape, and thereby nonuniformity may be generated. Therefore, for instance, it is difficult for the user to curve the eyelashes at the same bending angle or to curve the eyelashes so that the bending angle is continuously changed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a hair shaping device, which can easily adjust hair and can improve the ability to shape hair, and then can improve the work efficiency.

A hair shaping device of the present invention comprises a main unit having a gripper, a head having a rod-shaped heating unit, and a drive unit configured to rotate said head around an axis of said heating unit, and wherein said head is provided, in an outer periphery of said heading unit, with a comb, and wherein said comb comprises a comb section. Said comb section is formed so as to slope, over the entire circumference of said comb, toward an axial direction of said heating unit with respect to a circumferential direction of said comb and to intersect with the axial direction of said heating unit.

In this configuration, a clearance gap in said comb section can have a sloping shape, and therefore a user can easily shape hair using the hair shaping device, and furthermore said head can come into contact with hair while said head is rotated. Thus, the hair shaping device can improve the ability to shape hair, and then can improve the work efficiency.

In this hair shaping device, preferably, said comb section has a spiral shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in further details. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 is an oblique drawing of a hair shaping device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded oblique drawing of the hair shaping device according to said embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an oblique drawing of a head in the hair shaping device according to said embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an oblique drawing of a head in a state where a comb has been detached, in the hair shaping device according to said embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a front view of said head in the state where said comb has been detached, in the hair shaping device according to said embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plane view of said comb in the hair shaping device according to said embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a plane view of the modification of said comb in the hair shaping device according to said embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below referring to figures.

As shown in FIG. 1, a hair shaping device of the present embodiment comprises: a main unit 1 that has a power source built-in; a head 14 that has a heating unit 4 and a comb 5; a drive unit 3 that is configured to rotate head 14; and a cap 10 that is detachably attached to main unit 1 and covers head 14 (see FIG. 2). Then, the hair shaping device of the present embodiment is configured as a so-called eyelash curler that adjusts eyelashes into a curved shape (a curled shape).

As shown in FIG. 1, main unit 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape, and is provided with an operation unit 6 for operating the performance, which is exposed on a casing. The casing is formed with a battery cover 12 in which a battery 13 is stored, and a housing 11 in which operation unit 6 is located. Then, head 14 is located in one end of housing 11, and battery cover 12 is detachably located in the other end of housing 11. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, main unit 1 encloses battery 13 as the power source, a circuit unit 2 through which battery 13 is electrically connected to heating unit 4 and drive unit 3, and the drive unit 3 which comprises a motor 31 as a drive source. Hereinafter, an axial direction of the cylindrical-shaped main unit 1 will be simply described as an axial direction Ax.

Operation unit 6 comprises a switch 61 for operating the heat caused by heating unit 4, and a switch 62 for operating the rotation caused by drive unit 3. Switch 61 is slidably provided as a slide switch, and switch 62 is tiltably provided as a rocker switch. Then, when a user operates switch 61, ON-OFF of the heating action can be switched through circuit unit 2. Then, when the user operates switch 62, ON-OFF of the rotation can be switched through circuit unit 2, or a forward rotation and a reverse rotation of a rotation direction can be switched through circuit unit 2. In response to the operation in operation unit 6, circuit unit 2 is configured to perform ON-OFF operation of heating unit 4 and ON-OFF operation of motor 31 (that is, a rotation action of heating unit 4), and to switch the forward rotation and the reverse rotation with respect to the rotation direction of heating unit 4.

Drive unit 3 mainly comprises motor 31 as the drive source, and a drive transmission unit 32 that transfers a driving force of motor 31 to head 14. Motor 31 has a rotating shaft that extends along the axial direction Ax and corresponds with an axis of main unit 1, and then drive transmission unit 32 has for instance a planetary speed reducer mechanism. Then, drive transmission unit 32 outputs the rotation drive of motor 31 to head 14 so that a rotation axis of head 14 corresponds with the rotating shaft of the motor 31, and then drive unit 3 is configured to rotate heating unit 4 of head 14 around an axis of heating unit 4. As explained above, ON-OFF of the rotation action can be switched through switch 62.

As shown in FIG. 3, head 14 comprises heating unit 4 for heating eyelashes and comb 5 for combing eyelashes, and is provided so as to project along the axial direction Ax from one end of main unit 1.

Heating unit 4 has a heater wire 41 built-in (see FIG. 2), and an electrical power is supplied from battery 13 to heater wire 41 via circuit unit 2 in response to ON operation of switch 61, and thereby heater wire 41 releases heat. Then, the electrical power supplied from battery 13 is cut in response to OFF operation of switch 61, and thereby heater wire 41 stops releasing heat. Heating unit 4 heats hairs by means of using the heat released by heater wire 41.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, heating unit 4 projects along the axial direction Ax from one end of main unit 1 and is formed into a rod shape. Then, heating unit 4 is rotated around a shaft center of the rod shape through the rotation drive of drive unit 3. In addition, heating unit 4 has three contact surfaces 41a for heating eyelashes in the entire peripheral surface of the rod shape (an outer surface around the shaft center), and heats eyelashes coming into contact with contact surfaces 41a.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, heating unit 4 has a polygonal shape in when viewed from the axial direction Ax (when viewed from the front), and specifically, each corner (apex) of the polygonal shape is rounded off. In the present embodiment, heating unit 4 has almost a triangular shape in when viewed from the front, and each corner (apex) of the triangular shape is rounded off. For this reason, three plane surfaces function as three contact surfaces 41a of heating unit 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, comb 5 is formed into a cylindrical shape having the bottom, and comprises a comb section 51 as a periphery. Then, heating unit 4 is located within comb 5, and the tip of heating unit 4 is covered by the bottom of comb 5. As shown in FIG. 6, comb section 51 has a shaft center that corresponds with the rotation center of heating unit 4, and is formed into a spiral shape, and is located so as to cover three contact surfaces 41a of heating unit 4. In other words, comb section 51 is formed so as to slope, over the entire circumference of comb 5, toward the axial direction Ax with respect to a circumferential direction (a rotation circle) and to intersect with the axial direction Ax.

Then, a space (a clearance gap) of the spiral comb section 51 located in the axial direction Ax functions as a lead-in groove 52 for leading eyelashes in contact surfaces 41a of heating unit 4. That is, comb 5 is provided with the lead-in groove 52 formed into a spiral shape.

Comb 5 opens at one end, and a cylindrical member is located in the opening one end of comb 5. Then, one end of main unit 1 is attached to an inner periphery of the cylindrical member, and thereby comb 5 is supported by main unit 1. A long supporting member is located between the opening one end and the bottom of comb 5, and extends along the axial direction Ax, and supports comb section 51 from an inner periphery side. Therefore, in comb 5, the spiral shape of comb section 51 and a distance from the bottom to the opening one end are maintained by the supporting member. Further, the supporting member can prevent comb 5 from changing shape when comb 5 contacts a biological surface.

As explained above, heating unit 4 has three contact surfaces 41a over the entire circumference of the circumferential direction, and then one contact surface 41a contacting hairs (eyelashes) can be sequentially changed through the rotation of heating unit 4. Therefore, the hair shaping device can prevent the conventional problem that eyelashes are adjusted using only the same part of heating unit and thereby the temperature of the same part reduces and heat is insufficiently supplied to the eyelashes. Then, the user can easily adjust hair (can easily curl hair) using the hair shaping device, and the hair shaping device can easily improve the convenience, such as the work efficiency of the adjustment.

Then, comb section 51 in comb 5 is formed into a spiral shape, and thereby, in contact surfaces 41a of heating unit 4, a part exposed through lead-in groove 52 of comb section 51 is configured so as to slope with respect to a circumferential direction. Therefore, in a region provided with comb section 51, lead-in groove 52 is formed over the entire circumference, and the user can easily lead hairs in lead-in groove 52 and the hairs can easily come into contact with heating unit 4 (the hairs can be easily heated) and the present hair shaping device can improve the convenience.

In addition, heating unit 4 is formed into a polygonal shape when viewed from the axial direction Ax (when viewed from the front), and thereby each contact surface 41a has a plane surface and heating unit 4 can easily come into contact with hairs through a surface contact. For this reason, when coming into contact with hairs, the present hair shaping device can have a larger contact area with hair and can supply the heat to hairs more easily and can improve the work efficiency of the adjustment, compared with a heating unit which is formed into a circular shape when viewed from the front and which comes into contact with hairs through a point contact.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of this invention, namely claims. For instance, as shown in FIG. 7, comb 5 may comprise a plurality of comb sections 51, each of which is formed into a circular ring shape, and a center of each circular ring corresponds with the rotation center. Then, the plurality of circular-ring-shaped comb sections 51 may be located so as to slope in the axial direction Ax and to intersect with the axial direction Ax. Then, for instance, heating unit 4 may have a contact surface 41a that is formed over the entire circumference of the circumferential direction and that is formed into a circular shape in cross-section. Furthermore, for instance, both of heating unit 4 and comb 5 may be rotated. Then, the present hair shaping device is not limited to an eyelash curler.

Claims

1. A hair shaping device comprising: a main unit having a gripper;a head having a rod-shaped heating unit; anda drive unit configured to rotate said head around an axis of said heating unit,wherein said head is provided, in an outer periphery of said heading unit, with a comb,wherein said comb comprises a comb section, said comb section being formed so as to slope, over the entire circumference of said comb, toward an axial direction of said heating unit with respect to a circumferential direction of said comb and to intersect with the axial direction of said heating unit.

2. The hair shaping device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said comb section has a spiral shape.