Patent Application
20200008549
Apparatuses for shaping hair include, for example, hair dryers, hair curling tongs, hair straightening irons, etc. Conventional apparatuses for shaping hair typically have temperature controls so the user may select an appropriate heat setting and thus avoid unnecessarily high temperatures that may damage the hair. The temperature may be indicated with a dial or LED indicator lights. Other apparatuses for shaping hair may use infrared light instead of or in addition to heat for straightening the hair.
There is a constant need for improved apparatuses for shaping hair. More specifically there is a need for apparatuses enabling reduced heat damage of the hair and affording ease and comfort in use.
A problem the inventors of the present disclosure encountered is that apparatuses for shaping hair such as, for example, hair straightening irons conventionally use flat plates to clamp the hair and/or to impart heat or light energy to the hair when straightening. The inventors noticed that flat plates tend to impair ease and comfort for the user.
The present disclosure provides a hair styling apparatus whose hair-contacting surfaces (e.g., heating surfaces) and/or housing curve as the surfaces and/or housing extend away from the handle towards the tip of the apparatus. This curved shaped of the hair-contacting surfaces and/or housing better conforms to the shape of a user's head, providing improved ease and comfort in use when compared to conventional apparatuses. The invention(s) disclosed here may provide these and other advantages over the prior art.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various example systems, methods, and so on, that illustrate various example embodiments of aspects of the invention. It will be appreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. An element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale.
The apparatus 1 may also include plates 8, 9 that may, for example, provide heat as energy for straightening hair. The top plate 8 is located on the top arm 3 adjacent the top arm's tip end 3b. The bottom plate 9 is located on the bottom arm 5 adjacent the bottom arm's tip end 5b. The top plate 8 has a top main surface 8a while the bottom plate 9 has a bottom main surface 9a that, in the closed position, contacts the top main surface 8a. In at least one embodiment, the top plate 8 and/or the bottom plate 9 are composed of metal. In at least one embodiment, the top plate 8 and/or the bottom plate 9 are composed of ceramic. In at least one embodiment, the top plate 8 and/or the bottom plate 9 are composed of aluminum or aluminum alloy.
In addition to or instead of heat as energy for straightening hair, the hair styling apparatus 1 may include a light source 13 provided in at least one of the top arm 3 and the bottom arm 5 adjacent the plates 8, 9. In one embodiment, the plates 8, 9 do not provide heat and, thus, only light energy is used for straightening hair. In another embodiment, a combination of heat energy and light energy may be provided for straightening hair. The light source 13 may be located proximal the top plate 8 and/or the bottom plate 9 such that, in the closed position, hair received between the top main surface 8a and the bottom main surface 9a receives light energy from the light source 13. The light source 13 may be, for example, one or more light emitting diodes (LED) such as, for example, infrared, ultraviolet, or visible light LED. In at least one embodiment, the light source 13 is capable of emitting radiation with a wavelength from about 300 nm to about 800 nm. In at least one embodiment, the light source 13 is capable of emitting light having a wavelength of from about 315 nm to about 450 nm, or from about 350 nm to about 440 nm.
The top arm 3 and the bottom arm 5 may each include a housing 10, 11 made from an insulating material (e.g., plastic, rubber, combinations thereof, etc.). Moreover, the housing 10, 11 may each have formed or installed thereon a handle portion 10a, 11a at the handle ends 3a, 5a, distal the plates 8, 9.
In the illustrated embodiment, the apparatus 1 comprises an electrical cable 12. In at least one embodiment, the apparatus 1 does not include the electrical cable 12. In such a cable-free embodiment, the apparatus 1 may include a rechargeable battery. A cabled apparatus may be preferred to avoid using a battery, which may be heavy and inconvenient because of battery-life limitations. However, a battery-powered device may be preferred to avoid tangling of the cable 12 and to make the apparatus 1 more easily transportable even during use.
A user may operate the apparatus 1 by plugging the electrical cable 12 to a power outlet. In one embodiment, the apparatus 1 includes a switch that a user may operate to turn on/off the apparatus 1. The user may hold the apparatus 1 by the handle portions 10a, 11a and compress the top and bottom arms 3, 5 together by squeezing at the handle portions 10a, 11 bringing the top and bottom main surfaces 8a, 9a together. The top arm 3 pivots with respect to the bottom arm 5 about the hinge barrel 7a of the spring-loaded hinge 7. Therefore, the top arm 3 and the bottom arm 5 form a sort of clamp for receiving hair positioned between the top and bottom arms 3, 5 when the apparatus is in the closed position. The user may then pull the apparatus 1, with hair clamped between the plates 8, 9, away from the user's scalp to straighten the hair with heat energy, light energy, or combinations.
A problem the inventors of the present disclosure encountered is that apparatuses for shaping hair such as, for example, hair straightening irons conventionally use flat plates to clamp the hair and/or to impart heat or light energy to the hair when straightening. The inventors noticed that flat plates tend to impair ease and comfort for the user.
The present disclosure provides a hair styling apparatus whose hair-contacting surfaces (e.g., heating surfaces 8a, 9a) curve as the surfaces extend away from the handle ends 3a, 5a towards the tip ends 3b, 5b of the apparatus 1. The top main surface 8a and the bottom main surface 9a complementarily curve as they extend away from the handle ends 3a, 5a towards the tip ends 3b, 5b. Similarly, housings 10, 11 of the top and bottom arms 3, 5, may curve as they extend away from the handle ends 3a, 5a towards the tip ends 3b, 5b. This curved shaped of the hair-contacting surfaces 8a, 9a and/or the housings 10, 11 better conforms to the shape of a user's head, providing improved ease and comfort in use when compared to conventional apparatuses.
As may be appreciated from
Returning to
This curved shaped of the hair-contacting surfaces 8a, 9a and/or housing 10, 11 better conforms to the shape of a user's head, providing improved ease and comfort in use when compared to conventional apparatuses.
In one embodiment, the apparatus 1 includes a magnet-hall sensor combination to detect whether the apparatus 1 is in the open or closed position. For example, as shown in
As shown in
The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein. The definitions include various examples or forms of components that fall within the scope of a term and that may be used for implementation. The examples are not intended to be limiting. Both singular and plural forms of terms may be within the definitions.
As used herein, an “operable connection” or “operable coupling,” or a connection by which entities are “operably connected” or “operably coupled” is one in which the entities are connected in such a way that the entities may perform as intended. An operable connection may be a direct connection or an indirect connection in which an intermediate entity or entities cooperate or otherwise are part of the connection or are in between the operably connected entities. In the context of signals, an “operable connection,” or a connection by which entities are “operably connected,” is one in which signals, physical communications, or logical communications may be sent or received. Typically, an operable connection includes a physical interface, an electrical interface, or a data interface, but it is to be noted that an operable connection may include differing combinations of these or other types of connections sufficient to allow operable control. For example, two entities can be operably connected by being able to communicate signals to each other directly or through one or more intermediate entities like a processor, operating system, a logic, software, or other entity. Logical or physical communication channels can be used to create an operable connection.
“Signal,” as used herein, includes but is not limited to one or more electrical or optical signals, analog or digital signals, data, one or more computer or processor instructions, messages, a bit or bit stream, or other means that can be received, transmitted, or detected.
To the extent that the term “includes” or “including” is employed in the detailed description or the claims, it is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as that term is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “or” is employed in the detailed description or claims (e.g., A or B) it is intended to mean “A or B or both”. When the applicants intend to indicate “only A or B but not both” then the term “only A or B but not both” will be employed. Thus, use of the term “or” herein is the inclusive, and not the exclusive use. See, Bryan A. Garner, A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage 624 (2d. Ed. 1995).
While example systems, methods, and so on, have been illustrated by describing examples, and while the examples have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit scope to such detail. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the systems, methods, and so on, described herein. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific details, the representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described. Thus, this application is intended to embrace alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, the preceding description is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
