U.S. patent application number 10/721256 was filed with the patent office on 2004-07-08 for moisturizing hairdressing apparatus.
Invention is credited to Hayashida, Makoto, Ura, Yoshihisa.
Application Number | 20040128853 10/721256 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32677025 |
Filed Date | 2004-07-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040128853 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Ura, Yoshihisa ; et
al. |
July 8, 2004 |
Moisturizing hairdressing apparatus
Abstract
A moisturizing hairdressing apparatus, which has a main unit for
generating steam to moisturize one's hair and a handpiece movably
attached to the main unit. In this moisturizing hairdressing
apparatus, the handpiece is provided with a steam injecting unit
and a negative ion injecting unit. The steam injecting unit injects
the steam supplied by the main unit, and the negative ion injecting
unit injects negative ions. In this apparatus, injection of either
steam or negative ions or simultaneous injection of both can be
selected, and injection and suspension of injection can be locally
controlled by a trigger switch or a selecting switch.
Inventors: |
Ura, Yoshihisa; (Tokyo,
JP) ; Hayashida, Makoto; (Tokyo, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LINIAK, BERENATO & WHITE
Suite 240
6550 Rock Spring Drive
Bethesda
MD
20817
US
|
Family ID: |
32677025 |
Appl. No.: |
10/721256 |
Filed: |
November 26, 2003 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
34/96 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45D 2001/008 20130101;
A45D 19/16 20130101; A45D 2007/001 20130101; A45D 7/02 20130101;
A45D 2200/202 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
034/096 |
International
Class: |
A45D 001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 26, 2002 |
JP |
2002-341638 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A moisturizing hairdressing apparatus comprising: a main unit
for generating steam to moisturize one's hair; and a handpiece
movably attached to said main unit, wherein said handpiece is
provided with a steam injecting unit for injecting steam supplied
by said main unit and a negative ion injecting unit for injecting
negative ions, such that injection of either steam or negative
ions, or simultaneous injection of both can be selected.
2. The moisturizing hairdressing apparatus as set forth in claim 1,
further comprising: a switching mechanism for selecting either a
first mode of injecting at least one of steam and negative ions
while a switch remains held, or a second mode of selecting
continuous injection or suspension of injection by another touch of
the switch.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a moisturizing hairdressing
apparatus for supplying steam or the like to one's hair, to be used
in a beauty salon, a barbershop, etc.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] A conventional apparatus for supplying steam to one's hair
for use in a beauty salon, a barbershop, etc., is found, for
example, in Patent Literature 1 cited below, which discloses a hair
moisturizing apparatus.
[0005] The hair moisturizing apparatus disclosed therein is
configured to generate steam in a steam generating pot, such that
the steam that has been generated is supplied through a steam
conducting tube and a stretchable bellows hose into a cap put on
one's head so as to cover his/her hair. Droplets that have emerged
through dew condensation in the cap are discharged to a drain tank
through an opening provided at a bottom portion of a U-shaped
curvature formed halfway through the steam conducting tube.
[0006] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei-10-323213
teaches one known configuration. However, according to such
configuration of the apparatus, it takes a long period of time to
provide sufficient moisture over the entire head of hair because
the steam that has been generated is directly utilized as it is.
Furthermore, since the entire head is covered with a cap it is
impossible to moisturize only a part of the head of hair when
necessary, nor to simultaneously perform another job such as
brushing the hair. Naturally it is desirable that another hair-care
process can be simultaneously performed during use of such an
apparatus.
[0007] Accordingly, a hairdressing apparatus that permits
appropriate moisturization of a desired portion of one's hair, and
performance of additional care processes whenever necessary, has
been required.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention relates to a moisturizing hairdressing
apparatus including a main unit and a handpiece. The main unit
generates steam to moisturize one's hair. The handpiece movably
attached to the main unit is provided with a steam injecting unit
for injecting the steam supplied by the main unit and a negative
ion injecting unit for injecting negative ions. In this apparatus,
injection of either steam or negative ions, or simultaneous
injection of both can be selectable.
[0009] According to such a configuration, the apparatus permits the
operator to inject steam to a desired portion simply by bringing
the handpiece thereto. Furthermore, the handpiece can also inject
negative ions. The negative ions can be injected alone or
simultaneously in combination with steam.
[0010] In the present invention, additionally, it is preferable
that the moisturizing hairdressing apparatus includes a switching
mechanism for selecting a first operation mode and a second
operation mode. In the first operation mode, at least one of steam
and negative ions is injected when a switch remains held. In the
second operation mode, the continuation of an injection or
suspension of injection of at least one of steam and negative ions
is controlled in compliance with a touch of another switch.
[0011] As a result of such a configuration, the first mode can be
preferably selected for intermittent injection to a desired
portion, while the second mode can be suitably selected when
continuing the injection for a long period of time. When an
operator must handle other tools during the injection process the
first mode is more convenient, while when the operator wishes to
inject evenly over an entire object the second mode is more
effective.
[0012] According to the present invention, injection can be
executed from a handpiece that can be moved with respect to a main
unit, and injection of either steam or negative ions or
simultaneous injection of both can be selected. Therefore, it is
possible to appropriately moisturize a desired portion, and to
inject negative ions whenever necessary.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a
moisturizing hairdressing apparatus according to an embodiment of
the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 2 shows an example of an operation panel;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a handpiece;
and
[0016] FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a negative ion injecting
unit.
[0017] FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of a negative ion
injecting unit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] Referring to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of the
present invention will be described in details.
[0019] As outlined in FIG. 1, a moisturizing hairdressing apparatus
1 according to this embodiment is provided with a main unit 2 for
generating steam and a handpiece 4 connected to the main unit 2
through a supply hose 3 for injecting steam or negative ions into
one's hair.
[0020] The main unit 2 is provided with a steam pot 11 for
generating steam, a purified water tank 12 from which purified
water is supplied to the steam pot 11, a control unit 13 for
controlling supply of the purified water or steam generation, an
operating unit 19, and a power source, a drain cock for discharging
water, etc., which are omitted from the drawing.
[0021] The steam pot 11 has a capacity sufficient to temporarily
store a predetermined amount of purified water, and is provided
with a heater 14 therein for heating the purified water. Also, the
steam pot 11 is provided with a level sensor 15 for detecting a
water level of the purified water. The purified water heated up by
the heater 14 converts to steam, and the steam is guided to the
supply hose 3 through an opening 11a located at an upper face of
the steam pot 11 and a conducting tube 16a.
[0022] The purified water tank 12 is detachably installed at an
upper portion of the main unit 2, for storing the purified water to
be supplied to the steam pot 11. The conducting tube 16b connecting
the purified water tank 12 and the steam pot 11 is provided with a
valve 18, so that the control unit 13 controls the valve 18 for
adjusting a supply amount or a supply timing of the purified water
from the purified water tank 12 to the steam pot 11. Here, the
supply amount or supply timing of the purified water is to be
determined by the control unit 13 once the level sensor 15 has
detected that the water level in the steam pot 11 has fallen below
a predetermined value.
[0023] The operating unit 19 is provided with a main power switch
of the moisturizing hairdressing apparatus 1, a switch for
selecting either steam injection or negative ion injection and so
on, for accepting an operation of an operator. FIG. 2 shows an
example of an operation panel by which the steam injection, etc.,
can be selected. The operation panel 51 is provided thereon with a
negative ion injection selecting button 52 and an LED 53 for
confirmation of the selection, and also a steam injection selecting
button (activation of the heater 14 in FIG. 1) 54 and an LED 55 for
confirmation of the selection. In addition, an LED 56 showing an
on/off status of the power, an LED 57 for alerting an abnormal
level in the steam pot 11, and an LED 58 for alerting an abnormal
temperature are also provided on the operation panel 51.
[0024] The supply hose 3 is comprised of a bendable flexible tube,
and an end portion 3a thereof is attached to the main unit 2 via an
attachment 17. The other end portion 3b is connected to the
handpiece 4 for injecting steam into one's hair. The attachment 17
is rotatably supported by the main unit 2, so that an entirety of
the supply hose 3 can be rotated with respect to the main unit 2.
Also, the handpiece 4 is attached to the supply hose such that the
handpiece 4 can rotate around a longitudinal axis of the supply
hose 3. Because of the supply hose 3 being bendable and rotatably
attached to the main unit 2, and the handpiece 4 being rotatably
attached to the supply hose 3, it is quite easy for an operator to
move the handpiece 4 to a desired position for injecting steam.
Further, it is preferable to provide a stopper on the main unit 2
for restricting a rotating angle of the attachment 17, in order to
prevent a portion of the supply hose 3 close to the attachment 17
from being oriented downward to form a U-shape or the like when the
supply hose 3 is rotated together with the attachment 17.
[0025] The handpiece 4 is provided with a hand grip 21 to be held
by an operator, and a lower end portion of the hand grip 21 is
connected to the supply hose 3. The hand grip 21 is provided with a
trigger switch 22 for locally controlling injection of steam or
negative ions. Further, a portion of the handpiece 4 extending from
an upper end portion of the hand grip 21 is formed in a protruding
shape, thus comprising a projecting section 23 containing therein a
steam nozzle, etc.
[0026] As shown in the cross-sectional drawing of FIG. 3, the hand
grip 21 internally contains a pipe 31 for conducting the steam
supplied through the supply hose 3 to an injecting unit 42, and is
provided with the lever-type trigger switch 22 and an associated
circuit 32, and also a negative ion generating unit 33 for
generating a high voltage to inject negative ions, respectively
disposed at remaining positions inside the hand grip 21.
[0027] The projecting section 23 has a larger space than the pipe
31 because of its protruding shape. Inside the projecting section
23, a negative ion injecting unit 34 for injecting negative ions
and a steam injecting unit 35 for injecting steam are adjacently
disposed in a vertical direction. The negative ion injecting unit
34 and the steam injecting unit 35 are oriented so that a
longitudinal side thereof becomes substantially parallel to a
protruding direction (the arrow A in FIG. 3) of the projecting
section 23, so that negative ions and steam are respectively
injected through a nozzle cap 36 attached to a front end portion
23a of the projecting section 23. Also, an LED 37 for showing that
negative ions and/or steam are being injected, and a press-button
type selecting switch 38 for performing continuous injection of
negative ions and/or steam are provided at a rear face 23b of the
projecting section 23. The selecting switch 38 serves to select
either on or off of the contact upon being pressed by an operator,
and to maintain the selected state until a subsequent pressing.
Meanwhile, the trigger switch 22 keeps the power on while the lever
is being held by a finger or the like, but turns off the power once
the finger is removed.
[0028] The steam injecting unit 35 is comprised of an injection
chamber 41, which is a container having a predetermined capacity,
and an injecting tube 42 including an injecting nozzle 42a through
which steam is to be injected.
[0029] The injection chamber 41 is provided with a slanted face 45
located between its front face 43 on the side of the front end
portion 23a of the projecting section 23 and its downwardly located
bottom face 44 on the side of the pipe 31, so as to reduce a
longitudinal cross-sectional area of the injection chamber 41 (in a
direction parallel to the arrow A). Also, another slanted face 47
is provided between a rear face 46 opposite to the front face 43
and the bottom face 44, so as to reduce the longitudinal
cross-sectional area of the injection chamber 41 (in a direction
parallel to the arrow A). These slanted faces 45 and 47 serve to
return droplets produced by dew concentration to the main unit 2
through the pipe 31.
[0030] The injecting tube 42 is comprised of a cylindrical pipe for
urging the steam supplied to the injection chamber 41 to be
injected outward, and is inserted into the injection chamber 41
through the front face 43. An opening provided at an end portion of
the injecting tube 42 is exposed from the front face 43 to comprise
the nozzle 42a. On the other hand, an opening 42b provided at the
other end portion of the injecting tube 42 is located closer to the
rear face 46 of the injection chamber 41 than a longitudinal
extension B (shown by dot-dashed line in FIG. 3) of the pipe 31
extrapolated from the opening 31a, therefore droplets are prevented
from being injected directly to one's hair. Meanwhile, the droplets
hit an outer surface of the injecting tube 42 or an inner wall of
the injection chamber 41 and flow down to the bottom face 44,
wherein they return toward the main unit 2 through the pipe 31.
[0031] Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, the negative ion injecting
unit 34 is comprised of a holder 61 of a hollow rectangular
parallelepiped form and a needle pin 62 fixed at the center of a
cylindrical space 66 provided inside the holder 61. The needle pin
62 is fixed along a longitudinal direction of the holder 61 at the
center thereof, penetrating through a wall face 61a, and a high
voltage is to be applied to the needle pin 62 through a wiring (not
shown) connected to an end portion 62a of the needle pin 62. The
holder 61 includes a front face 64 confronting the other end
portion 62b of the needle pin 62 which is sharply pointed, and a
bottom face 65 extending further forward from the front face 64.
The extended portion 65a of the bottom face 65 serves to impede the
negative ions emitted from the needle pin 62 from being attracted
toward the steam injecting nozzle 42a (Ref. FIG. 3) disposed right
below the holder 61, and the entire holder 61 is insulated.
[0032] Now according to FIG. 1 through FIG. 4B, operation of the
moisturizing hairdressing apparatus 1 comprised as above will be
described hereunder.
[0033] First, when injecting steam to a subject's hair, an
appropriate amount of fresh purified water is deposited in the
purified water tank 12 and the steam pot 11 respectively, and the
power is turned on at the main unit 2. An operator takes up the
handpiece 4 and presses the button 54 of the operation panel 51 as
shown in FIG. 2 to select steam generation. At this stage the LED
55 on the operation panel 51 lights up to notify the operator that
steam has been selected, and the operating unit 19 of FIG. 1
outputs a selection signal for notifying of the selection of steam
to the control unit 13. Then according to a controlling action of
the control unit 13 the heater 14 in the steam pot 11 is activated,
so that the purified water is heated up.
[0034] Then the operator directs the nozzle cap 36 of the handpiece
4 toward the subject's hair and pulls the trigger switch 22. This
turns on the contact of the trigger switch 22, so that the circuit
32 (Ref. FIG. 3) connected thereto outputs an injection instructing
signal to the main unit 2. According to a controlling action of the
control unit 13 a temperature setting for the heater 14 in the
steam pot 11 is raised so that evaporation of the purified water
begins.
[0035] Thereafter, the purified water is guided to the handpiece 4
through the supply hose 3 in a form of steam, and is injected
toward the subject's hair through the nozzle cap 36 (more
specifically from the nozzle 42a). The operator can move the
handpiece 4 to a desired portion of the subject's hair, thus
continuing the moisturizing process. In a case where the steam
injection becomes temporarily unnecessary, for example when
changing a position of the handpiece 4, the operator can release
the trigger switch 22. Since the trigger switch 22 is urged to turn
the contact off, releasing the trigger switch 22 suspends the
output of the injection instructing signal. Accordingly temperature
inside the steam pot 11 drops to a predetermined temperature and
the steam generation is suspended. However, when the trigger switch
22 is pulled again, the steam generation is started as described
above and the steam injection is restarted toward the subject's
hair. Meanwhile, a predetermined temperature that suspends the
steam generation is to be set at a level that can maintain a
sufficiently high temperature of the purified water in the steam
pot 11 so that steam can be promptly generated once the trigger
switch 22 is pulled again.
[0036] Second, when injecting negative ions to the subject's hair,
the operator releases the trigger switch 22 to suspend the steam
injection. Then the operator presses the button 54 on the operation
panel 51 of the main unit 2, to extinguish the LED 55 indicating
the selection of steam. The operator then presses the button 52 to
light up the LED 53 indicating the selection of negative ion
injection. Accordingly, a selection signal for notifying that the
negative ion injection has been selected is input to the control
unit 13.
[0037] Once the operator pulls the trigger switch 22 at this stage,
the circuit 32 (Ref. FIG. 3) outputs an injection instructing
signal to the control unit 13. The control unit 13 supplies the
power to the negative ion generating unit 33 in the handpiece 4
according to the selection signal already received and the
injection instructing signal. The negative ion generating unit 33,
upon being activated by the power, generates a high voltage and
applies the high voltage to the needle pin 62 of the negative ion
injecting unit 34. The negative ions thus generated by the needle
pin 62 are injected through the opening provided in the nozzle cap
36 toward a grounded human body, i.e. the subject's hair. For
suspending the negative ion injection, the operator releases the
trigger switch 22.
[0038] For shifting to steam injection again from the negative ion
injection, the operator presses the button 52 for negative ion
selection to extinguish the LED 53 and presses the button 54 for
steam selection to light up the LED 55.
[0039] Further, the moisturizing hairdressing apparatus 1 is also
capable of injecting both of steam and negative ions. In this case,
the operator presses both the button 52 for negative ion selection
and the button 54 for steam selection, to light up both LED's 53
and 55. Upon pulling the trigger switch 22 under such setting, the
control unit 13 raises the temperature of the purified water in the
steam pot 11, and also supplies the power to the negative ion
generating unit 33. Since injecting positions thereof are quite
close to each other, the negative ions can be simultaneously
injected to the subject's hair while moisturizing the hair by
steam.
[0040] During the foregoing operation, the operator can also press
the press-button type selecting switch 38 instead of pulling the
trigger switch 22. In this case, pressing the selecting switch 38
causes the circuit 32 to similarly output an injection instructing
signal to the control unit 13, and continues to output the same
signal until the selecting switch 38 is pressed again. Accordingly,
since the steam injection is continued once the selecting switch 38
is pressed, the operator does not have to keep pulling the trigger
switch 22 when he/she wishes to continue the steam injection for a
long period of time, which is a significant advantage.
[0041] Also, the LED 37 is located at the rear face 23b for
confirmation of an operating status of the trigger switch 22 and/or
the selecting switch 38, such that the LED 37 lights up while a
steam generation instruction is effective (while the trigger switch
22 is pulled or when the selecting switch 38 is pressed down), and
extinguishes when suspension of the steam generation is instructed
(when the trigger switch 22 is released or the selecting switch 38
is pressed back). Therefore, the steam generation status can be
visually confirmed upon checking the LED 37.
[0042] As described above, according to this embodiment an operator
can perform a job holding in hand the handpiece 4 for injecting
steam. Also, a start or suspension of the steam injection can be
locally selected by the same hand holding the handpiece 4.
Accordingly, it becomes possible to sufficiently moisturize a
desired portion of a subject's hair for a permanent wave or hair
coloring process. In addition, injecting negative ions promotes an
effect of hair care or coloring. Further, providing two types of
switches that perform different functions permits selection of two
injection modes, thereby improving work efficiency. Here, "two
injection modes" refers, as already described, to a first mode of
performing the injection only while the trigger switch 22 is
pulled, and a second mode of selecting either injection or
suspension of the injection by the selecting switch 38, so that the
injection continues or remains suspended. The first mode is
effective for appropriate injection to a desired portion, while the
second mode is effective for injection over an extensive area.
* * * * *