Hair Styling Appliance

Abstract

An appliance for simultaneously applying a spray and hot air stream to hair to aid in styling as it is combed or brushed. The hot air stream is generated by a blower and heater assembly contained within the head of the appliance for maximum efficiency, and the spray is generated by a pump and reservoir assembly contained within the handle of the appliance for maximum user convenience. The reservoir comprises a removable semi-cylindrical bottle adapted to fit within a complimentary shaped compartment with the handle for ease is removal and replacement. An in-line pressure relief valve provides protection against undesirable leakage from the spray nozzle, and a multiple-mode electrical circuit provides two different blower outputs at two different heat levels.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application relates in general to hair styling appliances, and more particularly to a hair styling appliance which simultaneously applies a spray and hot air stream to hair as it is being combed or brushed.

Appliances for styling men's and women's hair have generally consisted of a comb or brush combined with a blower and heater assembly to direct a hot air stream over the hair as it is combed or brushed. While such appliances provide generally satisfactory results, far better results are obtained when the hair is wetted just prior to applying heat. To this end, atomizers of various types have been incorporated in hair styling appliances to introduce a spray into the air stream prior to its application to the hair.

Unfortunately, previous attempts at incorporating atomizers into hair styling appliances have presented certain disadvantages. For example, those prior-art designs which incorporated the atomizer together with its water reservoir in the head of the appliance located the blower, blower motor and electrical heating elements in the handle of the appliance. As a result, the handle had to be undesirably large to accommocate air flow to the head and had a tendency to become uncomfortably hot from the electrical heating coils during extended use. When the handle was reduced to a convenient, manageable size, the air passageway through the handle to the head was severely restricted and a motor and blower assembly of marginal capacity were accommodated only with great difficulty. This had the effect of reducing air flow and heat output, and hence reducing the effectiveness of the hair styling appliance. Furthermore, because of space limitations the actuator for the water spray could not be conveniently located in the handle of these prior-art units, making their use with one hand inconvenient.

Another drawback of prior art hair stylers was that they operated with only 1.degree. of heat output. From a users standpoint this was not satisfactory since varying conditions of use, such as hair length, thickness and style, as well as the users personal preference, called for widely divergent degrees of heat.

Another problem with certain of the prior-art designs was their use of integral water reservoirs, which caused the blower and heater mechanisms of these hair stylers to be exposed to water each time their reservoirs were filled under a running faucet. Furthermore, when the spray mechanisms of such stylers became clogged from impurities in the water, their situs within the styler made repair or replacement unnecessarily difficult and expensive.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a new and improved spray-type hair styling appliance which provides high air flow and heating capability.

It is a still more specific object of the present invention to provide a spray-type hair styling appliance having a convenient handle-mounted trigger-like actuator for actuation of its spray mechanism.

It is still another specific object of the present invention to provide a hair styling appliance which has a removable water spray reservoir contained within the handle of the appliance.

It is a still more specific object of the present invention to provide a hand-held spray-type hair styling appliance wherein the blower for providing the air stream is in the head portion, and the motor and spray reservoir are in the handle portion for greater operating efficiency and user convenience.

It is a still more specific object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hand-held hair styling appliance which provides multiple heat levels to accommodate varying conditions of use.

The invention relates to a hair styling appliance of the type which simultaneously applies a spray and hot air stream to hair as it is combed and brushed. The appliance includes a housing comprising a grip-like handle portion and an enlarged head portion having a hair arranging attachment, a fan and heater assembly disposed within the head portion for providing a heated air stream onto the hair arranging attachment, and a nozzle disposed within the head portion for injecting a mist into the air stream. A motor disposed within the handle portion is provided for driving the fan. A liquid pump and reservoir are disposed within the handle, and lever means are provided in the handle portion for actuating the pump. Means extending between the reservoir and pump and the nozzle supply liquid from the pump to the nozzle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with the further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spray-type hair styling appliance constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom elevational view of the hair styling appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partially fragmentary, of a comb attachment for the hair styling appliance of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3A--3A of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a brush attachment for the hair styling appliance of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4A--4A of FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a side view, partially fragmentary and partially in cross-section, of the hair styling appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a top view, partially fragmentary and partially in cross section, along lines 6--6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 7--7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 7A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the spray-nozzle and associated pressure relief valve assmebly shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the pressure relief valve shown in FIG. 7A.

FIG. 7C ia a cross-sectional view taken along lines 7C--7C of FIG. 7B.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the fan shroud and blower duct assembly of the hair styling appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 9--9 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view, partially fragmentary, of the lower part of the handle of the hair styling appliance showing the water reservoir partially removed.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view, partially fragmentary, of the spray pump and actuator assembly contained within the hair styling appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of the electrical circuit of the hair styling appliance of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, the hair styling appliance 20 of FIG. 1 is seen to comprise upper and lower housing sections 21 and 22, respectively, which narrow into a grip-like handle portion at one end and widen into a head portion adapted to receive a removable comb 23 at the other end. An air intake 24 comprising a plurality of slots in sections 21 and 22 is provided to take in air for discharge over comb 23 in a manner to be presently described. A three position high-off-low function switch 25 is provided to facilitate operator control of the hair styler, and a power cord 26 is provided for connection to the AC line. An operator-actuable trigger-like lever 27 is provided for causing a mist or spray to be added to the air stream as it passes across comb 23, the manner in which this is accomplished to be covered presently.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which shows the bottom of the appliance with comb 23 removed. A grated air outlet 28 is seen to overly comb 23 for the purpose of directing air from a blower within the hair styler across the comb. At the bottom-center of this outlet a nozzle 29 is provided for introducing a spray into the air stream. A machine screw 30 extends through lower section 22 and is threaded into upper section 21 to secure the two sections in tight engagement.

Comb attachment 23, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A, consists of a generally channular molded body portion, open at one end and having a pair of opposed guide slots 31 along two opposed walls. These slots engage a pair of guide rails 32 on either side of outlet 28 to slidably secure the comb attachment in position over the port. A plurality of parallel spaced teeth 33 extend downwardly from the bottom of the channel or body portion to form the comb work area. A plurality of apertures 34 on either side of the comb body axis are provided to allow the air stream from outlet 28 to freely pass to the comb work area.

A brush attachment 35 is also available for use over outlet 28. As seen in FIGS. 4 and 4A this brush attachment, like comb attachment 23, comprises a generally channular body portion, open at one end and having a pair of opposed guide slots 36 for engaging rails 32. The bottom of the channular body portion is outwardly curved, and has a plurality of brush clusters 37 depending perpendicularly in transverse rows therefrom. A plurality of transverse slots 38 disposed between the brush cluster rows provide for free air circulation between outlet 28 and the brush work area. It will be appreciated that comb attachment 23 and brush attachment 35 can assume other forms depending on the specific requirements of the application. For example, multiple rows of comb teeth could be employed instead of a single row of comb teeth on the comb attachment, and alternate brush arrangements with a flat bottom surface could be employed on the brush attachment.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, hair styler 20 is seen to include in its head portion a blower assembly comprising a cylindrical transverse-flow fan 40. The fan is rotatably coupled to a coaxial low voltage commutator type drive motor 41 in the handle portion of the appliance by means of an axial drive shaft 42 at one end, and is supported at its other end by means of a shaft 43. The fan and motor are within body section 22 by means of a plurality of rubber grommets 44 fitted over annular abutments on either end of the motor and over a sleeve bearing 45 on shaft 43. Appropriate support ribs are molded into housing sections 21 and 22 for the purpose of engaging the grommets and thereby maintaining the fan and motor in proper alignment.

Fan 40, as seen in FIG. 7, includes a plurality of longitudinal forwardly curved vanes 46 which coact with the overlying vortex stabilizing wall 47 to direct air from inlet 24 to outlet 28. As the fan rotates clockwise it draws air radially inward in the vicinity of inlet 24, and discharges air radially outward through a different section of the fan periphery, in the vicinity of outlet 28. This occurs because the rotating vanes set up a cylindrical vortex of air just inside the rim of the fan adjacent the vortex stabilizing wall. This vortex has an axis parallel to the rotor shaft, and as it is rotated by the vanes it provides the necessary seal between the suction and pressure sides of the fan. A rectangular duct 48 leads from the discharge side of the fan to outlet port 28, the vortex stabilizing wall 47 being an extension of one of the side walls thereof. This can be better seen in FIG. 8, which shows duct 48 and the stabilizing wall in perspective.

While the transverse fan is ideally suited for this application because of the high static pressure it provides with low-speed small-diameter fans, and the particularly well-suited form factor such fans provide in conjunction with a handle-located motor, it will be appreciated that other types of fans could be used by appropriate modification of the appliance housing.

As seen in FIG. 7 and 8, a pair of flat rectangular heating elements 50 and 51 are contained within duct 48 for the purpose of heating the air stream discharged through outlet 28. These heating elements are preferably aligned edgewise to the air flow, each preferably has at least one tap for the purpose of controlling the temperature in the air stream in a manner to be presently described.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, hair styling appliance 20 incorporates a water spray system for conveniently injecting a water spray or mist into the air stream as it is discharged through outlet 28. Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, water for this system is stored in a semi-cylindrical water reservoir bottle 60. A screw-type cap 61 is threaded onto the mouth of the bottle. A single stroke liquid pump 62, which may be conventional in design and construction, extends through the cap and into the bottle. An additional length of tubing 63 is provided between the intake end of this pump to insure that substantially the entire contents of the bottle will be available to the pump. As pump 62 extends outside the bottle it abuts against one end of a pump actuator lever 64.

As shown in FIG. 11, the end of pump actuator lever 64 which abuts pump 62 contains a cup-shaped recess 65 for achieving a liquid-tight engagement with a pump. A gasket 66 of rubber or other pliable material forms a seal between the pump and the recess to prevent leakage. The recess necks down as it extends through the lever, exiting at the opposite end by way of a tubular protuberance 67. Pump actuator lever 64 is pivotally mounted between housing sections 21 and 22 by means of integral opposed pins 68 on the lever which engage complimentarily shaped sockets on the two housing sections. The other end of lever 64 extends toward the head of the hair styler and into operative engagement with trigger 27. Trigger 27 extends through a slot provided between the two sections of the housing, the end in engagement with pump actuator lever 64 being transversely enlarged by means of opposed pins 69 to preclude that end of the lever from passing through the slot. The other end of the lever is pivotally mounted to the body sections by means of an opposed pin and socket arrangement similar to that of lever 64.

Pump 62 can be conventional in design and construction, comprising a housing 70 having an enlarged portion containing a helical compression spring 71 and a slidable plunger 72. A slidable casing 73, coaxial with plunger 72, is fitted over the plunger between the inner wall of housing 70 and the outer wall of the plunger. This casing is flared outwardly against valve housing 60 at its inner end and necks down to an aperture 74 at its outside end to provide a seal with gasket 66 and to position the plunger within the valve housing. A check valve is formed at the intake end of the pump chamber by means of ball valve member 75 which seats against a narrowed portion of the valve housing 70 during down strokes of the pump. Another check valve is formed at the discharge end of the pump by a wall valve member 76, which fits against the inwardly tapered discharge end of the plunger to prevent fluid from reentering the pump chamber during upstrokes.

Casing 73 is loosely fitted within pump housing 70 to provide an air passageway between the interior of reservoir bottle 60 and the surrounding atmosphere. This is necessary for operation of the pump, since otherwise no pressure relief would exist and a vacuum would be developed above the liquid remaining in the reservoir. The passageway is formed by means of an aperture 77 contained in the pump housing and positioned so that the inside flared end of casing 73 will be between the aperture and the cap while the plunger is at rest in its fully extended position. This prevents the bottle from leaking, since the outwardly tapered edge of casing 73 coacts with valve housing 70 to form an effective liquid seal between aperture 72 and the outside of the bottle. When the pump is actuated the tapered end moves to a position below aperture 77, allowing free movement of air between the inside of the bottle and the atmosphere.

As shown in FIG. 10, the reservoir bottle 60 is removable from a compartment within the hair styler by means of a door 78 located at the bottom end of the handle portion of the housing. This arrangement is particularly advantageous, since the reservoir can be removed from the appliance without interference to the hair arranging attachments of the head, and without exposing any of the internal electrical or mechanical elements of the appliance. For maximum utilization of space within the handle, reservoir bottle 60 is shaped in the form of a half cylinder, one side wall of its body being arcuate to conform to the inside arcuate surface of housing section 21, and the other side wall being flat to provide space within the handle for receiving electrical power cord 26 and its associated anchor block, as illustrated in FIG. 9. The arcuate wall of the reservoir bottle may be provided with a plurality of indentions 79 for the purpose of facilitating the removal of the bottle. Access door 78 is pivotally mounted to housing section 22 by means of opposed outwardly extending integral pins which coact with complimentarily spaced slots on the housing.

It will be appreciated that when reservoir bottle 60 is removed from the appliance cap 61 can be conveniently removed for the purpose of filling the bottle. The bottle can be positioned under a running water faucet in performing the refilling operation, withoug fear of damaging the internal mechanism of the hair styling appliance. Furthermore, should the pump become clogged from minerals or other impurities in the spray solution, it can be readily cleaned while thus removed. Also, should the pump become defective, it can be replaced by merely fastening a new pump and cap assembly to the mouth of the reservoir bottle.

A flexible hose 80 is force fit over the protuberance 67 on the pump actuator lever 64 to carry liquid from the pump to spray head 19. This hose extends from the handle portion of the hair styler to the head portion, and is attached to the spray head by means of a force fit over a protuberance provided at the rear of spray head 29. Referring to FIG. 7A, spray head 29 comprises a hollow body portion 81 having a protuberance for receiviing hose 80 and further having a single aperture 82 for developing a fine spray of mist from the liquid forced into the head from hose 80. The inner chamber 83 of the spray head assembly is seen to be annular in cross section, having a ridge about its inner surface which forms an annular orifice 84 in which the spray is developed.

A pressure relief valve 85 is included in hose 80 near the spray head. Referring to FIGS. 7B and 7C, the pressure relief valve is seen to comprise a bullet-shaped member of neoprene or similar material frictionally positioned within hose 80. The forward or downstream end of this member is slit into three equal segments 86-88, as seen in FIG. 7C. Since the neoprene is semi-flexible, the outwardly convex downstream end of member 85 effectively comprise a trio of flexible hinges. Under pressure, these hinge sections 86-88 expand outwardly, forming an aperture through which fluid can pass. When not under pressure, the natural resiliency of the neoprene causes the three valve sections to return to their closed condition, preventing the flow of fluid through spray apertures 82 unless a positive force is exerted thereon by pump 70. This prevents water trapped within the hose from dripping out between uses.

As mentioned previously, provision is made in the circuitry of hair styling appliance 20 for operating at two different heat levels. Referring to FIG. 12, an AC current source, as represented by AC line cord 26, is connected to the first pole 90 of a three position two-pole mode switch 91. The other side of the AC line is connected by means of a thermal safety switch 92 to one end contact of a resistive heating element 93, which comprises four individual sections 94-97. The other end contact of heating element 93 is connected to the remaining pole 98 of mode switch 9l and thence to the low heat mode contact of the first pole of the switch. Resistive heating element 93 includes three taps 99-101 between sections 94 and 95, 95 and 96, and 96 and 97, respectively. Taps 99 and 101 are connected to the anodes of a pair of rectifiers 102 and 103, respectively, and the cathodes of these rectifiers are connected together and to one terminal of the DC fan motor 41. The remaining terminal of motor 41 is connected directly to tap 100 on heating element 93. Tap 101 is also connected to the high heat mode contact of pole 90, and the high heat mode contact of pole 98 is connected directly to the other side of the AC line.

In operation, when mode switch 91 is positioned for high heat operation, one side of the AC line is connected to both end terminals of the resistive heating element 93. The other side of the AC line is connected to tap 101, thus connecting segment 97 in parallel with the series combination of segments 94-96, and developing a voltage across segments 95 and 96 for application to motor 41. Diodes 102 and 103 rectify the alternating current developed across segments 95 and 96 for the purpose of supplying a direct current to the motor. It will be appreciated that the hair styler could employ other types of motors, including AC type motors by appropriate modification of the circuit components. Thus, the low heat mode allows full line current to be applied across section 97 of heating element 93, and allows sections 94-96 to operate in series while developing a suitable alternating current for motor 41.

When mode switch 91 is positioned for low heat operation, the AC line is connected across all four sections of heating element 93. Since the line is not connected to any one of the taps 99-101, all four sections of the heating element are now in series-circuit relationship and less current flows through the heating elements than did in the high heat operating mode. However, as before fan motor 41 receives its operating power by means of the voltage drop across sections 95 and 96 of heating element 93. Since the current through these sections is less, a lower voltage is applied to the blower motor 41 and the motor operates at a reduced speed, typically in the order of 50 percent of its high heat mode speed.

Thus, a hair styling appliance has been shown and described which combines maximum utility with minimum weight and size. This is made possible by a unique arrangement of components within the appliance housing. A transverse-flow fan and coacting housing are located in the head portion of the housing for maximum performance and efficiency, while the fan motor is located in the handle portion of the housing wherein its relatively modest size requirement is easily accommodated within the narrow confines of a conveniently sized handle. Adjacent the motor within the handle, a unique trigger-actuated pump is provided to force water from a reservoir bottle within the handle to a spray nozzle adjacent the work area of the appliance. An in-line pressure-relief valve is provided between the pump and the spray nozzle to prevent undesirable leaking from the reservoir when the appliance is not in use, and the reservoir of the spray system is shaped to slidably fit within the handle without interference to the electrical circuit components therein. No elements are contained within the handle which would render it uncomfortably hot to the touch, the heating elements for the air stream being contained entirely within the head for maximum separation from the user and maximum efficiency in heating the air stream.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects, and, therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

We claim:

1. A hair styling appliance for simultaneously applying a liquid spray and hot air stream to hair as it is combed or brushed, comprising, in combination:

a housing;

a nozzle for injecting a mist into said hot air stream;

a liquid reservoir;

means comprising a manually actuable liquid pump communicating with said reservoir for drawing liquid therefrom;

pump actuator means for actuating said pump;

means comprising a liquid passageway extending between said pump and said nozzle for supplying liquid under pressure to said nozzle; and

means comprising a pressure relief valve disposed within said liquid passageway adjacent the discharge end thereof for inhibiting the flow of said liquid through said passageway when said pump is not being actuated to prevent the unintentional discharge of liquid into said air stream.

2. A hair styling appliance as defined in claim 1 wherein said flow inhibiting means comprise a pressure relief valve serially disposed in said passageway which opens only in response to a predetermined minimum pressure in said passageway, and wherein said pump when actuated produces a pressure in said passageway equal to or greater than said predetermined minimum pressure.

3. A hair styling appliance as defined in claim 2 wherein said pressure relief valve comprises a plurality of resilient valve sections hinged about one end of a hollow cylindrical body member coaxially disposed within said passageway, which coact in the absence of said predetermined pressure to block said passageway.

4. A hair styling appliance for applying a liquid hair spray and hot air stream to hair as it is combed or brushed, comprising, in combination:

a housing;

a fan and heater assembly for generating a stream of heated air;

a spray nozzle for injecting a mist into said hot air stream;

a liquid reservoir, including a removable cap;

means comprising a manually actuable pump mounted on said cap for drawing fluid from said reservoir, said pump having a discharge port at one end;

means comprising a chamber within said housing for slidably receiving said reservoir, said chamber including an access opening dimensioned to enable said liquid reservoir to be removed from said housing;

means including a liquid receiving port within said chamber for establishing a liquid path between said discharge port and said spray nozzle when said reservoir is seated in said chamber; and

actuator means operable by a user for actuating said pump while said reservoir is in said seated position to inject liquid from said reservoir into said hot air stream.

5. A hair styling appliance as defined in claim 4 wherein said pump discharge port comprises an elongated nozzle, said liquid receiving port comprises a cup-like recess for receiving said nozzle in sealing engagement, and said actuator means include a linkage for forcing said recess against said nozzle to actuate said pump.

6. A hair styling appliance as defined in claim 5 which further includes a closure member hinged to said housing for closing said access opening and confining said reservoir in said seated position.