Patent Publication Number: US-2019183225-A1

Title: Hair treatment tool and spacing accessory

Description:
SUMMARY 
     This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     The present disclosure provides, in a first aspect, an assembly that includes: (1) a hair treatment tool having two opposed heating surfaces disposed, respectively, on two arms configured to move relative to each other between an open configuration, for inserting hair between the two heating surfaces, and a closed configuration, in which hair is pressed between the two heating surfaces; and (2) a spacing accessory selectively deployable to maintain the two heating surfaces in a spaced relationship in the closed configuration and thereby prevent hair from being pressed between the two heating surfaces. 
     Thus, when the spacing accessory is deployed, the heating surfaces are maintained in a spaced relationship, allowing the hair treatment tool to be used with hair, such as wrapped hair, in a manner that does not press the hair between the heating surfaces. When the spacing accessory is not deployed, the heating tool may be used to press hair between the heating surfaces. 
     In some embodiments, the spacing accessory includes at least one spacing member configured to extend between the two arms when the spacing accessory is deployed. In some of such embodiments, the spacing accessory is deployable by removably fastening the spacing accessory to the hair treatment tool, such as by clipping, interlocking, a friction fit, and so forth. 
     The spacing accessory, in some embodiments, includes an elongate body having a top portion and opposing side portions extending generally downwardly therefrom, in which a spacing member protrudes inwardly from one of the side portions, such that the spacing accessory removably fastens to the hair treatment tool by substantially encompassing an exterior surface of one of the two arms of the hair treatment tool. In some configurations, the spacing member takes the form of an opposed pair of tabs extending inwardly from the opposing sides, which maintain the heating surfaces in a spaced relationship. 
     In some embodiments, the spacing accessory maintains a distance between the heating surfaces in the closed configuration that is constant over at least a portion, and in some cases the entire area, of the heating surfaces. Although this distance is not limited, in some of such embodiments, the distance between the two heating surfaces when in the spaced relationship is from 0.5 mm to 5.0 mm. In certain of these embodiments, the distance between the two heating surfaces when in the spaced relationship is from 1.0 mm to 2.5 mm. In some embodiments, the distance between the two heating surfaced when in the spaced relationship is equal to or greater than 2.5 mm, for example equal to or greater than 5.0 mm. The distance between the heating surfaces may allow sufficient clearance so that wrapping material used on treated hair is not dragged along the hair when the tool moved along the hair. In some cases, the distance between the heating surfaces in the closed configuration may allow a lower temperature treatment of the hair as compared to when the hair is pressed between the heating surfaces. 
     In some embodiments, instead of being removably fastenable to the hair treatment tool, the spacing accessory is integral with the hair treatment tool, such as in an embodiment in which the spacing member is movable relative to the spacing accessory between a deployed configuration in which the spacing member extends between the two arms, and a non-deployed orientation in which the spacing member does not extend between the two arms. 
     Various configurations of the assembly, and the spacing accessory, are described in greater detail herein. 
     The present disclosure provides, in a second aspect, a spacing accessory configured for removable attachment to a hair treatment tool such as a straightening iron, that is, a hair treatment tool of the type characterized by having two opposed heating surfaces disposed, respectively, on two elongate arms configured to move relative to each other between an open configuration, for inserting hair between the two heating surfaces, and a closed configuration, in which hair is pressed between the two heating surfaces. In embodiments in accordance with this aspect, the spacing accessory includes a body configured to removably fit around at least a longitudinal section of one of the two arms, to thereby removably attach the spacing accessory to the hair treatment tool. In such embodiments, the body further includes an interior surface and an exterior surface, and at least one spacing member disposed on and protruding inwardly from the interior surface. The spacing member is thereby configured to extend between the two arms when the spacing accessory is removably attached to the hair treatment tool, and includes opposing sides configured to respectively abut both of the arms of the hair treatment tool when in the closed configuration, to thereby maintain a spaced relationship between the two heating surfaces in the closed configuration. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a three-dimensional view of an illustrative example of an assembly in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, which includes a hair treatment tool with its arms disposed in an open configuration, and a spacing accessory removably fastened thereto. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the assembly of  FIG. 1 , but with the arms of the hair treatment tool disposed in a closed configuration. 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the assembly along the line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIGS. 4 and 5  are three-dimensional views of the spacing accessory of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the spacing accessory of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom view of the spacing accessory of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 8 and 9  are opposing side views of the spacing accessory of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 10 and 11  are opposing end views of the spacing accessory of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Some hair treatment tools are used by moving the tool along the length of the hair. For example, a straightening iron can be used to straighten a lock of hair, such as by closing the opposed heating surfaces of the tool on a lock of hair and then moving it along the lock. The design of the tool, and/or the pressure applied by the user, keeps the hair pressed between the heating surfaces. 
     In some cases, a straightening iron can be used with hair to which a cosmetic product has been applied. For example, a product may be applied to hair, such as when the hair is wet, and then the tool is passed along the treated hair to melt or activate the product. In some forms of such a treatment, sections of treated hair are wrapped in foil prior to the use of the tool, for example to retain the product on the treated hair, to isolate locks of treated hair from other hair, and so forth. However, when a straightening iron is passed over wrapped sections of hair, the pressure applied by the tool may drag the wrapping off of the hair, or abrade the heating surface(s) of the tool. Further, the pressure of the tool may carry the product off the hair and onto the tool and/or the user, which can cause malfunctions of the tool and/or irritation to the user. This may be especially problematic as some cosmetic hair products may include oxidizing agents or other irritants. 
     Thus, there is a need to be able to use such a tool to straighten hair, and also, when desired, to heat and/or activate a product on treated hair without encountering the aforementioned difficulties. 
     The present disclosure addresses the aforementioned need, and relates to devices for treating hair and their accessories, and more particularly hair treatment tools intended for shaping and/or heating the hair by pressing the hair between two heating surfaces, such as a straightening iron. 
     In a first aspect, the disclosure relates more particularly to an assembly that includes (1) a hair treatment tool with opposed heating surfaces disposed on two arms configured to open, to allow hair to be inserted between the heating surfaces, and close, to press hair between the heating surfaces, and (2) a spacing accessory selectively deployable to maintain the heating surfaces in a spaced relationship, when the arms are closed. In a second aspect, the disclosure relates to a spacing accessory configured for removable attachment to a hair treatment tool of the aforementioned type, with the spacing accessory including a spacing member configured to extend between the two arms of the tool to maintain a spaced relationship between the heating surfaces when the arms are closed. 
       FIG. 1  shows an illustrative example of an assembly  10  in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, which includes a hair treatment tool  20  and a spacing accessory  22 . 
     Hair treatment tool  20  of assembly  10  is shown as a straightening iron, and as such includes two arms  30 ,  32 , extending from a base portion  34 . The tool is supplied with power by means of a power cord  36 . The arms are configured to move relative to each other as indicated by arrow A, between the open configuration as shown, and a closed configuration, such as by means of a hinge portion or assembly that is indicated generally at  38 . As can be seen also with reference to  FIG. 2 , each arm includes an elongate housing  40 ,  42  extending from a proximal end near the hinge portion to a distal end, and two opposed heating surfaces  44 ,  46  disposed, respectively, on the inner surfaces  50 ,  52  of the distal portions of the two arms. As such, it can be understood that in use, a user may grasp the tool and introduce a lock of hair between the arms, then close the arms manually in order to subject the lock of hair to the heat output of the heating surfaces. 
     As is typical with straightening irons, when the arms are moved to a closed configuration, hair is pressed between the heating surfaces. However, assembly  10  is shown to be provided with a spacing accessory  22 , which maintains the heating surfaces in a spaced relationship in the closed configuration, such as shown in  FIG. 2 . More specifically, spacing accessory  22  includes a spacing member, generally indicated at  60 , in the form of an opposed pair of tabs  62 , which extend between the two arms. So deployed, the spacing accessory prevents hair between the arms from being pressed between the two heating surfaces when the arms are closed. Such a configuration may be useful, for example, when moving the tool along wrapped sections of hair, such as to provide heat, but without dragging the wrapping material off of the hair. Maintaining the heating surfaces in a spaced relationship, but proximate to each other, may also reduce abrasion of the heating surfaces that might otherwise be caused by moving the heating surfaces against wrapping material such as foil. It may also reduce removal of product off hair as the tool is moved along the lock of hair, which may occur when hair is pressed directly between the heating surfaces. Also, a lower temperature treatment of the hair may be provided when the heating surfaces are spaced apart, as compared to when the hair is directly pressed between the heating surfaces. 
     The spacing accessory  22  is selectively deployable to provide the spacing effect, which allows a user to elect to use the straightening iron with the spacing accessory deployed to maintain the heating surfaces in spaced relationship, or without deploying the spacing accessory, such as to press hair directly between the heating surfaces. 
     In the illustrative embodiment, the spacing accessory is selectively deployable in that it is configured to be removably fastened to the tool  20 . More specifically, as described further below and with reference to  FIGS. 3-11 , the accessory  22  is configured to removably clip into place on the tool by encompassing a longitudinal portion of one of the arms of the tool. 
     In particular, spacing accessory  22  is shown in the illustrative embodiment to include an elongate body  70  having a top portion  72  and opposing side portions  74  extending generally downward therefrom. The spacing member  60 , in the form of opposed tabs  62 , protrude inwardly from the side portions  74 . The top portion and side portions cooperate to form an interior surface  76  that fits to the arm of the heat treatment tool. Further, as perhaps shown best in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , tabs  52  are configured such that when the spacing accessory is so deployed and the arm  30 ,  32  are moved to a closed configuration, opposing sides of tabs  52  abut, respectively, the inner surfaces of the arms, spacing the heating surfaces  44 ,  46  from each other. 
     The spacing accessory maintains a distance between the heating surfaces in the closed configuration that is constant over at least a portion of the heating surfaces. In the illustrative assembly  10 , tool  20  is provided with planar heating surfaces. Also, as is typical with some straightening irons, hinge portion  38  is configured to adjust in order to accommodate locks of hair of varying thickness, by maintaining the heating surfaces parallel to each other when the arms are closed over thicker locks of hair. As such, the spacing accessory  22  in the illustrative assembly  10  is shown to maintain a distance between the heating surfaces in the closed configuration that is constant over the entire area of the heating surfaces. The configuration of the spacing member may determine this distance, such as by means of the thickness of the tabs  52 . In addition, in some configurations of tool  20 , the heating surfaces may be flush with, or raised or lowered relative to, the inner surfaces of arms  30 ,  32 , or at least the portion(s) of the inner surfaces abutted by the spacing member  50 . Whatever the configuration, example distances between the two heating surfaces when in the spaced relationship that are suitable to provide the benefits discussed above (e.g., to reduce or avoid interfering with wrapping material on treated hair and/or removing product from treated hair, to provide a lower temperature treatment, etc.) are from 0.5 mm to 5.0 mm, such as distances from 1.0 mm to 2.5 mm. However, other distances are within the scope of this disclosure, as are distances that may vary over the areas of the heating surfaces. 
     Spacing accessory  22  is fashioned from a material of sufficient flexibility, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, so that the side portions may deflect somewhat from their normal configuration, in order to clip on and off arm  30  of tool  20 . 
     Spacing accessory  22  is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  to clip to arm  30  so that it does not interfere with the use of the tool when heating hair, in that the accessory, when deployed, clips to a predetermined location on arm  30  that is between the heating surface  44  and the hinge portion  38 . Thus deployed, the spacing accessory does not laterally obstruct access to the space between the opposed heating surfaces. In the illustrated embodiment, this is accomplished by means of providing the spacing accessory with an interior surface that corresponds to the exterior surface  40 —or a predetermined longitudinal section thereof—of arm  30 . More specifically, the configuration of arm  30  is such that the width increases from the distal end to the proximal end, while the thickness decreases. The interior surface of spacing accessory  22  is correspondingly tapered in order to permit clipping of the spacing accessory  22  in the predetermined location, and also restrict inadvertent movement of the spacing accessory along the arm when deployed. 
     Moreover, so as to reduce the possibility of inadvertent removal of the spacing accessory from the tool, the material(s) and/or dimension(s) of the spacing accessory may be selected to require a predetermined amount of force to be applied in order to unclip the accessory. For example, the spacing accessory may be configured to require a force of a certain magnitude to be applied in order to sufficiently deflect the side portion to unclip the spacing accessory. An example force is on the order of 5 N. 
     It can be seen, from the explanation of the various components and concepts in the preceding paragraphs, that a number of variations to the physical configuration of a spacing accessory that is removably fastenable to an arm of a hair treatment tool such as a straightening iron may be made, without departing from the scope of the disclosure. 
     For example, the interior surface of the spacing accessory may take any suitable form in order to provide a clip fit to one or more predetermined locations on the arm of the hair treatment tool, and/or restrict movement of the spacing accessory along the axis of the arm in one or both directions when attached thereto. In some embodiments, such as that shown in the illustrative assembly, the spacing accessory may be designed to fit a specific model of hair treatment tool, such as the Redken “Heatcure” device. Such embodiments may, therefore, also accord with a second aspect of the present disclosure, that is, by providing a spacing accessory configured for removable attachment to a hair treatment tool such as the type described and shown above; that is, of the type characterized by having two opposed heating surfaces disposed on two arms configured to move relative to each other between an open configuration, for inserting hair between the two heating surfaces, and a closed configuration, in which hair is pressed between the two heating surfaces. In other words, the present disclosure encompasses embodiments that include both a heat treatment tool and a spacing accessory, as well as embodiments that include only a spacing accessory for use with a suitable heat treatment tool. 
     In either aspect, some embodiments may be configured to removably attach to more than one predetermined location on one or both arms of a hair treatment tool, such as to maintain the heating surfaces at different distances when the arms are in the closed configuration. For example, the arms of a hair treatment tool may be configured such that the spacing accessory clips onto a first longitudinal section on one arm and a second longitudinal section on the other arm, which respectively correspond to two different distances between the heating surfaces, to allow a user to choose between two different spaced configurations for hair treatment. 
     In some embodiments in accordance with the second aspect of this disclosure, the spacing accessory may be provided with a flexible inner cuff and/or interior surface such that it can be fitted to a variety of hair treatment tool models, and so forth. 
     In embodiments of the spacing accessory that are configured for selective deployment by means of being configured to be removably fastened to the hair treatment tool, the spacing accessory may be provided with fastening mechanism(s) or component(s) other than to provide a clip fit, including a friction fit, a mechanical interlock, a magnetic attachment, and so forth. 
     In some embodiments, the spacing member of a removably fastenable spacing accessory may take any suitable configuration to maintain the heating surfaces in a spaced relationship when the arms are in a closed configuration. This may include, for example, spacing members in the form of tabs or other structural components that protrude between the arms of the tool, as well as configurations that may alternatively or additionally engage structure on the exterior surface of one or both arms of the tool, and so forth. 
     Further, in some embodiments in accordance with the first aspect of this disclosure, the spacing accessory may be integral to the hair treatment tool. Embodiments of this configuration may include a spacing member that is movable relative to the spacing accessory between a deployed configuration in which the spacing member extends between the two arms, and a non-deployed orientation in which the spacing member does not extend between the two arms. One example configuration may include a spacing accessory disposed in one of the arms, which includes a movable, spring-biased spacing member that in a deployed configuration extends upward from the arm to abut the other arm when the arms are closed, and in a non-deployed configuration recesses within a chamber in the arm. Another example configuration may include a spacing accessory that includes a spacing member in the form of a movable arm configured to pivot about a vertical axis between a deployed position in which the movable arm is pivoted to extend between the arms of the tool, and a non-deployed position in which the movable arm is pivoted to a non-obstructing position. 
     While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.