Patent Grant
8091564
This application claims the benefit of German Application No. 20 2008 016 617.9, filed Dec. 17, 2008, which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
The invention relates to a volumizer attachment for use with a device that creates an air stream, such as an air curler. The volumizer unit has a concave surface with a plurality of long hair styling fingers protruding in parallel to one another. The volumizer unit is connected to the device with a curved coupling section. The hair styling fingers of the volumizer unit extend approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the device creating the hot air stream.
Volumizers introduce volume into hair that is styled by using an air stream, preferably a hot air stream. Such volumizer devices are typically attachments, which can be attached to a device that generates an air stream, e.g., an air curler or a hair dryer. Such a volumizer attachment has a coupling piece for mechanical connection to the hand-held device supplying the air stream. The volumizer unit has a plurality of hair styling fingers protruding in parallel to one another away from a concave surface, which is a complementary curvature to the curvature of the human head. The volumizer unit is attached to the device with coupling piece, which is typically designed as a coupling ring. In use, the air stream travels from the device through the coupling section into the volumizer unit. Openings in the base surface and/or in the hair styling fingers of the volumizer unit act as outlets for the air stream.
Hair volume can be improved if the volumizer unit rotates about its longitudinal axis with an oscillating motion. GB2,374,801A discloses a hair styling device of this variety. A traditional hair dryer supplies the air stream to a volumizer attachment. The hair styling fingers of the volumizer unit extend parallel to the longitudinal axis of the hair styling device. An electric motor drive unit is rotatably mounted within the housing of the hair dryer outside of the air flow channel. The electric motor drive unit connects to a coupling piece on the volumizer attachment. The electric motor drive unit thus moves the volumizer attachment in an oscillating rotational motion about its longitudinal axis. Therefore, the hair styling fingers move back and forth in an oscillating motion about the longitudinal axis of the volumizer attachment.
The arrangement shown GB 2,374,801A cannot be applied to volumizer attachments where the plane of coupling for connecting the attachment to the device and the plane of the actual volumizer unit are arranged at an angle to one another.
The foregoing example of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.
The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and illustrated in conjunction with systems, tool and methods which are meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not limiting in scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above described problems have been reduced or eliminated, while other embodiments are directed to other improvements.
An aspect of the present disclosure is to improve upon a volumizer attachment designed to attach to the hair styling device at an angle, so that the volumizer unit, either in whole or in part, may be driven with an oscillating rotational movement.
In one embodiment, a generic volumizer attachment is rotatably mounted to a hair styling device using a coupler. The volumizer attachment has a rotatably mounted drive shaft inside its coupling section. This first drive shaft includes a coupling piece to connect it to a rotatably mounted second drive shaft in the hair styling device. The output end of the first drive shaft has a drive element arranged eccentrically to the axis of rotation of the first drive shaft. This drive shaft acts as a force converter which converts the rotational drive movement of the drive element into an oscillating rotational movement of the volumizer unit, in whole or in part. Thus, the axis of rotation of the volumizer unit is at an angle to the axis of rotation of the drive shaft, whether rotating in whole or in part. In one embodiment, the axis of rotation of the volumizer unit is at an approximate right angle to the axis of rotation of the drive shaft.
It is possible to drive a part of the attachment because the first drive shaft is located in the volumizer unit. The coupling ring and angle piece form the stator of the rotatably mounted volumizer unit, or the rotatably mounted partial area thereof. Since the volumizer attachment is designed to attach to the hair styling device at an angle, it is necessary to convert the rotational motion introduced via the drive shaft into a drive motion at an angle thereto. This required conversion of force is utilized to convert a rotational movement of the drive shaft into an oscillating rotational movement of the volumizer unit and/or the rotatably mounted part thereof simultaneously with the conversion of force. To this end, a drive element is arranged eccentrically with respect to the axis of rotation of the drive shaft. The drive element engages with a force converter. The force conversion may be accomplished by placing the drive element at an end section of the drive shaft which is bent toward the outside in the radial direction and engages in a longitudinal groove about an axis of rotation running at an angle to the axis of rotation of the drive shaft. The measure of the oscillating rotational movement in this embodiment is defined by the measure of the bending and thus the offset of the drive element from the axis of rotation of the drive shaft.
In one embodiment, the force converter comprises a conversion element in a cardan mount, which reduces friction and the associated wear of the parts from moving against one another.
In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments described above, further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.
The invention is explained in greater detail below on the basis of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying figures, in which
Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown, since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Exemplary embodiments are illustrated in referenced figures of the drawings. It is intended that the embodiments and figures disclosed herein are to be considered illustrative rather than limiting. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
Referring first to
Volumizer unit 9 is separated from the coupling ring 2 by a curved piece. Volumizer unit 9 includes hair styling fingers 10. Hair styling fingers 10 are subdivided into an area 11, which is mounted to allow it to rotate in an oscillating manner, and a ring section 12 concentrically enclosing the rotatable area 11. The rotatable mounting of the area 11 of the volumizer unit 9 is not shown in greater detail. The volumizer attachment 1 has a second drive shaft 13 for moving area 11 of the volumizer unit 9. Second drive shaft 13 has a coupling piece 14 complementary to the coupling piece 8 of the first drive shaft 6 of the hand-held device 3. The two coupling pieces 8, 14 are in torque engagement when the volumizer attachment 1 is connected to the hand-held device 3. Arrow B shown above the volumizer attachment 1 in
The second drive shaft 13 has a drive element located on the end opposite the coupling piece 14. The drive element is arranged eccentrically with respect to the axis of rotation of second drive shaft 13. The drive element is a drive pin 15 in the depicted embodiment. The drive pin 15 engages with a conversion element 16. Conversion element 16 converts the rotational movement of second drive shaft 13 to a rotational motion executed at an angle to the axis of rotation of the second drive shaft 13. Conversion element 16 also converts the rotational movement of second drive shaft 13 to an oscillating rotational motion of output shaft 17. Output shaft 17 is connected to area 11 of volumizer unit 9. The oscillating rotational motion of output shaft 17 causes area 11 to oscillate and rotate as show by arrow D.
The air stream flows from the hand-held device 3 through the coupling ring 2 of the volumizer attachment 1 into the volumizer unit 9. The bottom of the volumizer unit 9 and individual hair styling fingers 10 have openings for discharging the air stream. The base of area 11 also has openings for allowing a partial stream of air to enter and for supplying the same to the hair held by the hair styling fingers 10 in the area 11.
The design and bearing of the conversion element 16 are described below with reference to
As the figures show, the conversion element 16 and the holder 18 supporting the conversion element 16 are situated within the volumizer attachment 1 at a distance from the side walls. Thus there remains an adequate cross-sectional area of airflow to be supplied to the volumizer unit 9. In the disclosed embodiment, the output shaft 17 is mounted in a bearing point 21 of holder 18. Bearing point 21 is connected to the wall of volumizer attachment 1 with spokes 22. The spoke interspace is also designed to supply a sufficient cross-sectional area of airflow.
In the engagement position shown in
The present invention is described on the basis of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the figures. Without going beyond the scope of the claims, additional embodiments capable of implementing the invention are derived for those skilled in the art without having to explain it explicitly.
While a number of exemplary aspects and embodiments have been discussed above, those of skill in the art will recognize certain modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations therefore. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims hereinafter introduced are interpreted to include all such modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations are within their true spirit and scope. Each apparatus embodiment described herein has numerous equivalents.
The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed. Thus, it should be understood that although the present invention has been specifically disclosed by preferred embodiments and optional features, modification and variation of the concepts herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in the art, and that such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.
In general the terms and phrases used herein have their art-recognized meaning, which can be found by reference to standard texts, journal references and contexts known to those skilled in the art. The above definitions are provided to clarify their specific use in the context of the invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 2008 016 617 U | Dec 2008 | DE | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3204069 | West | Aug 1965 | A |
| 3990460 | Shalvoy | Nov 1976 | A |
| 5287635 | Chan | Feb 1994 | A |
| 6907636 | Hafemann | Jun 2005 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 20113895 | Jan 2003 | DE |
| 2374801 | Oct 2002 | GB |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100147325 A1 | Jun 2010 | US |
