Heating Device For Hair Curlers And Clips

Abstract

A heating device for heating hair curlers and clips each having a heat storing member. The hair curlers are of the tubular type and the hair clips are of the type having a pair of synthetic resin clipping plates hinged at one end to rockably and resiliently engage each other and with one of the clipping plates being provided on its inner surface with a flat heat-storing member having a higher thermoconductivity than the clipping plates. The heating device comprises an open-top housing containing therein an electric heat generating means including a plate-shaped heating member provided with a plurality of projected pins each adapted to receive a hair curler. A flat plate-shaped member in heat exchange relation with the heat generating means is provided in the housing and adapted to be engaged by a clip. The housing is provided with a camming member for camming the heat-storing plate in the hair clip into thermoconducting contact with the flat plate-shaped member. In an alternative embodiment, each of the projected pins is integrally formed with a flat end portion adapted to be engaged by a hair clip.

Description

This invention relates to hair clips provided with a heat-storing member, for use in the pin-curling of hair and, further, to heating devices for the heat-storing member of the hair clips.

There have been known various hair clips for the purpose of pin-curling of hair. However, these known hair clips have been ordinarily used at the normal ambient temperature and, for this reason, it has required a long time to make the intended curl formed with such known clips. Thus, their usage has been inconvenient in that, for example, the clips have to be set in the user's hair while the user is in bed.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a hair clip which has no such defect as described above. An important feature of the present invention resides in that the heat-storing member provided at the inner surface of the clipping plate is brought into direct contact with heating means prepared separately from the clip and the clip is used after being heated. This feature permits the curl to be formed in a shorter time.

Another important feature of the hair clip according to the present invention is that the respective clipping plates are designed in such a manner that one of the clipping plates has the heat-storing member at its inner surface, a part of which member protrudes from the surface and the other part is merged in the plate, and the other clipping plate is provided with a groove into which the protruding extruded part of the heat-storing member will engage. This causes the heat-storing member to be effectively brought into contact with the heating means so that the hair clip will store the heat quickly and on the other hand the heat-storing member itself will discharge the heat gradually.

In another aspect of the present invention, the clipping plates are formed substantially in a disk shape so that the hair curled in a spiral will be effectively held in the clip, so that the heat will be effectively utilized.

The heating device for use with the hair clip of the present invention is an electric heating device having a heating member extending therefrom to allow the hair clip to hold the member and to be heated thereby.

In one of the aspects of the heating device according to the present invention, the device is characterized in that the heating member of the device is provided with a proper clearance from an engaging plate formed at a part of the device case to establish a close contact of the heat-storing member of the clip with the heating member, so that the hair clip holds the heating member to be heated.

In another aspect of the heating device for the hair clip according to the present invention, the electric heating device is provided with a projected metal pin for heating tubular hair curlers, so that the heating of the heating member for the hair clip and of the metal pin for heating the hair curlers is simultaneously carried out with the same electric heating device.

Further in another aspect of the present invention, the heating device is provided with a flat plate heating member for the clip at the forward end of the heating pin for the tubular hair curler, so that simultaneous heating of the tubular hair curler and the hair clip can be performed by means of such heating pin.

The present invention shall now be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the hair clip according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a section of the hair clip taken along the line X--X in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken along the line Y--Y in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the hair clip according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a section of the hair clip of FIG. 4 taken along the line Z--Z in the same.

FIG. 6 shows a cross sectional view of an embodiment of a heating device for the hair clip according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 show a cross sectional view of another embodiment of the heating device for the hair clip.

Referring to the drawings, there are shown embodiments of the hair clips according to the present invention for winding hair into a spiral shape and pin-curling the same. In the drawings, a pair of upper and lower clipping plates A and B, made of a molded plastic synthetic resin, are hinged together by means of a pin 3 inserted through respective holes in receiving pieces 1 and 2 projecting from the plates A and B, respectively. The plates A and B are caused to be pressed against each other by means of a spring 4 mounted at the hinged end of the clip. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the upper clipping plate A, formed in a rectangular shape with a synthetic resin, is provided with a longitudinally extending heat-storing member C made of a metal plate having a large heat capacity and readily heatable. The member C is located at the center of the plate A for clipping purposes with both longitudinal side edges embedded in the plate A so as to be fixed thereto and its central part 5 protruding from the plate. The lower clipping plate B is similarly formed in a rectangular shape and is provided with a groove 6 into which the protruding central part 5 of the heat-storing member C fits. At both side edges of the lower surface of the plate B are formed a pair of projecting ribs 7 so that the lower clipping plate B is prevented from touching the user's scalp with its whole surface when the clip is set to the hair, so that the user will not sense any unpleasant heat at the scalp.

In the alterative embodiment as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the clipping parts of the clipping plates A and B are formed substantially in a disk shape. At the inner surface of the clipping part of the upper plate A, a disk-shaped heat-storing member C is secured, so that a strand of hairs wound in a spiral can be held between the disk-shaped upper and lower clipping plates A and B in a flat manner and heated therebetween.

The heat-storing member C may be, rather than a metal plate, formed from a synthetic resin of the type that is high in thermal conductivity and heat capacity, into which powdery or fibrous glass, aluminum, asbestos and the like are mixed.

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary electric heating device according to the present invention, which is provided with heating pins for the hair curlers. A casing G is opened at the top of the case body K, which opening is partially closed with a lid 8 having a slit 9 and an engaging plate 10 downwardly extended with an inclination from an inner edge of the slit in the case wall. Inside the casing G, a heat generating means E comprising a stack of a heater base J and a heater H of an electric heat generating material heats a holding fixture 12 made of a metal plate having a flat clip heating member or plate L bent from one end thereof. The clip heating plate L extends upwardly past and is spaced from the engaging plate 10. Upward extensions of the edge portions of the plate 12 are folded over the stack formed by members J and H to integrally clamp such stack to the plate 12. Screws 13 passed through the over-folded portions of the stack secure E to the bottom of the casing G. A plurality of heating members or pins 11 of columnar shape are formed integrally with the base J so as to extend upwardly through the opening of the casing G.

The heater H is supplied with electric power through a connecting cord not shown and heats the heating base J and heating plate L thermally coupled thereto. Tubular hair curlers M having a heat-storing substance 16 sealed in the space between a metal inner tube 14 and an outer tube 15 of a plastic material are fitted over the heating pins 11 so that the inner tubes 14 contact the pins 11 to heat the curlers. The before mentioned hair clip is placed over the heating plate L in such a manner that its upper clipping plate A is inserted into the clearance between the plate L and the engaging plate 10, so that the forward end of the plate A engages the engaging plate 10 to automatically cam the entire area of the heat-storing member C of the clip against one side surface of the heating plate L. Both clipping plates A and B thus grip the heating plate L and are heated by the latter.

In the alterative aspect of the heating device as shown in FIG. 7, a flat-shaped heating plate L is formed integrally at the upper end of each columnar pin 11 of the heating body E encased and fixed inside the case body K. In this arrangement, the device is adapted to heat the hair curlers M at the columnar parts of the heating pins 11 and also to heat the hair clip on any of the flat-shaped heating plates L.

Claims

1. A heating device for hair curlers and clips each having a heat-storing member, the heat-storing members of said clips being in the form of flat plates, said device comprising an electric heat generating means, a first heating member thermally coupled to said heat generating means and stacked thereon and having a plurality of projected pins adapted respectively to receive said curlers therearound for heating said heat-storing members in said curlers, a second heating member thermally coupled to said heat generating means and having at least one flat plate-shaped edge section extended in the same direction as said projected pins of said first heating member, said second heating member being generally in a plate shape and having at least an upward extension at an edge portion separate from said extended plate-shaped edge section and adapted to receive said clips thereon for engaging and heating said heat-storing members of said clips, said stack of said heat generating means and first heating member being placed on said plate shaped second heating member and integrally clamped thereto by said upward extension folded over the stack, and a case for receiving said heat generating means and said first and second heating members, said case being opened at the side of said projected pins and extended plate-shaped edge section of said first and second heating

2. A heating device as defined in claim 1 wherein said stack of said heat generating means and first and second heating members are fixed to the

3. A heating device for hair curlers and clips each having a heat-storing member, the heat-storing members of said clips being in the form of flat plates, said device comprising an electric heat generating means, a first heating member thermally coupled to said heat generating means and having a plurality of projected pins adapted respectively to receive said curlers therearound for heating said heat-storing members in said curlers, a second heating member thermally coupled to said heat generating means and having at least one flat plate-shaped edge section extended in the same direction as said projected pins of said first heating member and adapted to receive said clips thereon for engaging and heating said heat-storing members of said clip, a means for providing a slanted camming surface adjacent said extended plate-shaped edge section of said second heating member, said slanted camming surface being adapted to cam said heat-storing member of said hair clip into surface contact with said extended edge section of said second heating member, and a case for receiving said heat generating means and said first and second heating members, said case being opened at the side of said projected pins and extended plate-shaped edge section of said first and second heating

4. A heating device as defined in claim 3 wherein said means for providing said slanted camming surface includes a plate extending laterally from a side wall of said case.