Curling Iron

Abstract

Curling iron comprises heating member and a flexible sleeve loosely fitted into said member, said sleeve being provided with external, radially projecting conical pins.

Description

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the conventional method of producing loose waves in long hair, the hair is wound up on curlers which are then pulled gently to impart a curvature to the hair which results in the production of waves. Such curlers are not, in general, very effective, since they are used at ambient temperature and rely on simple mechanical force.

It is also conventional to curl the hair by using heated curling irons capable of forming the hair into waves or loops while keeping the hair at a temperature higher than the ambient temperature in a shape analogous to the one which is to be imparted to it. These heated curling irons comprise, in general, a heating element which is substantially cylindrical and constitutes one of the jaws of a pair of pincers, the other jaw being applied against the first to hold the hair in the desired shape against the heated jaw. It has been found that this method of operation may result in local overheating of the hair which causes it to deteriorate by burning, or, even if the heating is not carried to this injurious point, marks the hair where it is gripped between the two jaws of the pincers. Moreover it is impossible to obtain with such heated pincers waves having a large radius of curvature which are sometimes desired for certain coiffures.

The present invention relates to a device for obtaining long waves or loops having a large radius of curvature by means of a heated curling iron having a shape providing a maximum efficacity for the curling of the hair.

It is the object of the present invention to produce as a new article of manufacture a heated curling iron designed to shape the hair and comprising at one end a handle to be held in the hand. This curling iron is characterized by the fact that it comprises a preferably cylindrical heating member and a sleeve consisting of one or more parts encircling said heating member, said sleeve comprising protuberances on its external surface which are preferably regularly distributed over said surface.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention the heated member of the curling iron is a cylindrical tube containing an electrical heating resistance. The sleeve which surrounds the heating member is mounted preferably with a slight play or a light grip on the heating member, its position being determined by an end member in the form of a threaded nut, the threads of which cooperate with threads on the outer surface of one end of the heating member. The curling iron according to the invention comprises a heat-insulatd handle against which the sleeve abuts when the nut at the end thereof is tightened. The sleeve is made of a relatively flexible material such as rubber containing silicones, or a polymer of 4-methyl-1-pentene. In a first embodiment, the sleeve consists of a single piece in the form of a cylindrical ring having on its external surface substantially conical pins, the tips of which are externally directed. In this case the sleeve may be made by molding it in a mold comprising a plurality of parts. In a second embodiment of the invention the sleeve consists of a stack of annular rings which are all identical, the stack being clamped between the handle of the curling iron according to the invention and a nut, the threads of which cooperate with the threads on the end of the heating member. In this case, each ring may be molded in a simple manner with all of the pins carried by each ring having their tips in the median plane of the ring and the two parts of the mold meeting in said median plane.

It has been found that by using the curling iron according to the invention excellent results are obtained and that the known effect due to the mechanical action of the mandrel about which the hair is rolled and on which one pulls to cause unrolling is clearly improved by the fact that the mandrel according to the invention is heated on the inside, and the protuberances or pins on the outer surface of the sleeve of the curling iron provide excellent contact between the hair and the heating surfaces and at the same time a combing and untangling action.

In order that the invention may be better understood, the two embodiments thereof will now be described, purely by way of illustration and example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a curling iron according to a first embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view taken through a curling iron according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, it will be seen that reference numeral 1 indicates the handle of the curling iron according to the invention. The handle 1 is attached to a tube 2 in alignment with the handle and coaxial therewith. Inside the tube 2 is a heating electrical resistance which is electrically insulated from the tube 2 and supplied with electricity by means of a wire 3 connected to the end of the handle remote from the tube 2. The tube 2 comprises a neck 3a against which the sleeve 4 in the form of a cylindrical ring abuts. The sleeve 4 is made of rubber containing silicones. It is made in a mold having a plurality of parts and comprises on its external surface pins 5 regularly distriubuted over that surface. The pins 5 have a conical shape with the tip of the cone directed outwardly away from the sleeve 4. The sleeve 4 is mounted on the tube 2 so as to grip it lightly. It is fastened at the end by a nut 6 the threads of which cooperate with external threads carried by the tube 2.

In a second embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIG. 2, the curling iron comprises a handle 11 attached to a heating member 12. The heating member 12 is a cylindrical tube containing an internal electrical heating resistance not shown in the drawing, said resistance being electrically insulated from the tube 12. The electrical resistance is supplied by a wire 13 which enters the handle 11 through the end of said handle remote from the tube 12. The tube 12 carries a spacing ring 13a and then a stack of rings 14. The stack 13a - 14 is fastened to the handle 11 by means of a nut 16 the threads of which cooperate with external threads on the end of the heating tube 12. All the rings 14 have conical pins 15 lying substantially in their peripheral median plane. The axes of these cones extend substantially radially of the ring in question. All the rings 14 of the stack may be identical but the two end rings may be slightly different from the others as is shown in FIG. 2. The rings 14 are molded in a two-part mold the median plane of which is situated in the median plane of the rings, which passes through the tips of all the pins 15. The rings 14 are made of a polymer of 4-methyl-1-pentene, the crystalline melting point of which is 245.degree. C.

When the heating electrical resistances of the heating tubes in either of the embodiments which has been described are supplied with electricity, the interface between the heating tube 2 or 12, on the one hand, and the sleeve 4 or the rings 14, on the other hand, may be brought to a temperature of about 170.degree. C. The material of which the sleeve 4 or the rings 14 is made is of course selected so as to be capable of resisting the temperature attained at the interface between it and the heating tube. Under these conditions it has been found that the pins 5 or 15 have a temperature suitable for producing curling, shaping, or waving in a satisfactory manner.

In order to use the apparatus according to the invention the hair is wound loosely about the sleeve 4 or the stack of rings 14 and retained in this position by the conical pins on the outer surface. The curling iron is rotated slightly to permit the winding of the hair on the sleeve while pulling the curling iron in an axial direction with respect to the lock of hair. Waves or loops having a large radius of curvature are thus obtained without risk of burning or marking the hair.

It will of course be appreciated that the embodiments hereinbefore described have been given purely by way of illustration and example and may be modified as to detail without thereby departing from the basic principles of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. Device for waving the hair comprising a heat-insulated handle, a heating member carried by said handle and consisting of a cylindrical tube containing an electrical resistance, a sleeve made of a heat-insulating material encircling and loosely mounted on said heating member, and a nut carried by said heating member and clamping said sleeve against said handle, said sleeve having protuberances on its external surface which are regularly distributed around said surface and conical in shape.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which the sleeve is made of a relatively flexible material selected from the group consisting of rubber containing silicone and a polymer of 4-methyl-1-pentene.

3. Device as claimed in claim 1 in which said sleeve consists of a plurality of parallel coaxial rings.