Claims
- 1. A hair styling appliance comprising:a handle portion; a heating portion extending from said handle portion, said heating portion having a heating zone for heating and styling curls or waves of hair; and a cooling portion extending adjacent said heating portion, said cooling portion having a cooling zone for cooling the hair, wherein, during operation, a temperature difference between a first surface temperature associated with the heating zone and a second surface temperature associated with the cooling zone amounts to at least 80 kelvin.
- 2. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein the heating portion and the cooling portion together provide a styling member for hair treatment which generally has one of a circular and an elliptical cross-sectional surface, and the heating and cooling portions have a substantially equal cross-sectional area.
- 3. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein each of the heating and cooling portions has an outer surface and an inner surface, the outer surface of the heating portion forming the heating zone, the outer surface of the cooling portion forming the cooling zone, the inside surface of each of the heating and cooling portions being generally planar and arranged so as to be opposite and spaced from each other by a distance of between approximately 1.5 and 3 mm.
- 4. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein a thermal uncoupling element is provided between the heating portion and the cooling portion.
- 5. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein a hair retaining clip for producing a pressing force onto the hair is provided, with the hair adapted to be placed between the heating portion and the hair retaining clip.
- 6. The hair styling appliance of claim 5, wherein one end of the hair retaining clip is movably coupled to one of the handle portion and the heating portion by a pivot, the hair retaining clip being urged by a spring element to one of a position against the heating zone of the heating portion and a position forming a substantially uniform gap between the hair retaining clip in its inactive position and the heating portion.
- 7. The hair styling appliance of claim 6, wherein the hair retaining clip is made of a heat-conducting material and is indirectly heatable by the heating portion.
- 8. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein the heating portion comprises a member made of an appropriate heat conducting material having a surface temperature which at least in the area of the heating zone amounts to more than 120° C.
- 9. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein the heating portion includes one of an electric heating element and a gas heating appliance.
- 10. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein the cooling portion comprises a member made of one of metal and plastic, the cooling portion having at least one of a heat-conducting coating and cooling ribs.
- 11. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein the cooling portion comprises a cooling member that can be cooled actively by one of cooling air and a Peltier element.
- 12. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein at least one of the heating portion, the cooling portion and the hair retaining clip has ribs on an outer surface thereof for guiding and/or spacing.
- 13. The hair styling appliance of claim 12, wherein the ribs are arranged substantially transversely to a main axis of the appliance, adjacent ribs forming a circumferential channel.
- 14. The hair styling appliance of claim 13, wherein at least one boundary rib is provided.
- 15. The hair styling appliance of claim 13, wherein two external ribs are designed as boundary ribs and project beyond ribs positioned intermediate the boundary ribs, at least in areas, in a plane transverse to the main axis of the appliance.
- 16. The hair styling appliance of claim 12, wherein the ribs are provided on the hair retaining clip, in one of a bow-shaped, waved and arrow-shaped configuration.
- 17. The hair styling appliance of claim 12, wherein the ribs are arranged generally in parallel to the main axis of the appliance.
- 18. The hair styling appliance of claim 12, wherein the ribs extend substantially radially away from the main axis of the appliance.
- 19. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein the handle portion of the appliance has one of a generally elliptical and a generally oval contour in a plane that is vertical to a main axis of the appliance.
- 20. The hair styling appliance of claim 19, wherein the cross-sectional surface of the handle portion decreases continuously from a front end towards a rear, free end.
- 21. A method of styling hair with a hair styling appliance, the method comprising:initially heating a hair strand that is to be styled at a heating zone of a heating portion of the appliance, the heating portion being shaped by a domeshaped surface of the heating zone; and subsequently cooling the hair strand at a cooling zone of the appliance, wherein a surface temperature of the heating zone differs from a surface temperature of the cooling zone by at least 80 kelvin.
- 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the hair is heated in the heating zone at least to a styling temperature of approximately 120° C., with a relative moisture in the hair of 30% approximately, and the surface temperature of the heating zone is preferably set to 145° C. approximately.
- 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the hair is pulled in a tightened condition over the heating zone and the cooling zone.
- 24. The method 23, wherein the hair is placed into a clamping area between a hair retaining clip and the heating portion, a clamping force is applied to the hair being styled, and the hair is then pulled through the clamping area and thereafter along the cooling zone.
- 25. The method of claim 24, wherein a direction of movement of the hair just prior to being heated in the heating zone is equal to the direction of movement of the hair in the heating zone.
- 26. The method of claim 25, wherein a relative speed between the hair styling appliance and the hair is variable.
- 27. The method of claim 26, wherein straight hair is curled.
- 28. The method of claim 26, wherein curled hair is straightened.
- 29. The method of claim 26, wherein the hair is placed into the clamping area between the heating portion and the hair retaining clip, and the hair styling appliance is turned about its main axis by roughly 120° to 180° so that the hair will bear against the heating zone and at least in areas against the cooling zone of the cooling portion, and subsequently the hair styling appliance is moved away from a head of a user so that the hair is cooled at the cooling zone of the cooling portion.
- 30. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein the heating zone is domeshaped.
- 31. The hair styling appliance of claim 1, wherein said temperature difference amounts to at least 100 kelvin.
- 32. The method of claim 21, wherein the surface temperature of the heating zone differs from the surface temperature of the cooling zone by at least 100 kelvin.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
197 48 067 |
Oct 1997 |
DE |
|
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of PCT application Ser. No. PCT/EP98/06092, filed Sep. 24, 1998, which claims priority from German application serial number 19748067.5, filed Oct. 31, 1997, (pending).
US Referenced Citations (9)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
3215232 |
Oct 1983 |
DE |
WO 9742848 |
Nov 1997 |
WO |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
PCT/EP98/06092 |
Sep 1998 |
US |
Child |
09/547570 |
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US |