Patent Publication Number: US-9901154-B2

Title: Hair iron

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a hair iron. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hair iron that is capable of selectively combining or releasing a clip with or from a heating part and can ensure a diversity of hair curling styles and improve manipulation of a hair iron by enabling a handle to be selectively rotated from a body. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, instruments for hair care and styling may be categorized into three categories: a hair dryer, a hair brush, and a hair iron. 
     A hair dryer is used to dry hair by applying high heat generated by a heater to the hair. A hair brush is used to comb and style hair, and a hair iron is used to set a hair in curled or waved style by using a heat source. 
     Among the instruments for the hair care and styling, as illustrated in  FIG. 11 , a conventional bar type hair iron is comprised of a grip  51  having a power supply part, a heating body  53  integrally combined with the grip  51 , the heating body  53  having a heater for generating heat, and a hair clip  55  installed to flexibly enable its rotation with reference to the heating body  53  and integrally provided with a manipulating handle  55   a  stably securing hair with reference to the heating body  53  during hair setting. 
     Though the foregoing conventional bar type hair iron can utilize the hair clip  55  during curling or waving, the hair clip  55  cannot be selectively combined with or released from the heating body  53 . Accordingly, there is choice between the independent use of the heating body  53  and the use of the combined heating body  53  and clip  55 , so the diversity of possible hair styles produced thereby is decreased. 
     The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present invention, and is not intended to mean that the present invention falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art. 
     DOCUMENTS OF RELATED ART 
     (Patent Document 1) Korean Patent No. 10-0499806 (Registered on Jun. 28, 2005); and 
     (Patent Document 2) Korean Patent No. 10-0539586 (Registered on Dec. 22, 2005) 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To address the conventional issues, the present invention is intended to provide a hair iron that is configured to enable a clip to be combined with or released from a heating part. 
     The present invention is also intended to provide a hair iron that is configured to increase the convenience of its manipulation in achieving hair curling by enabling a grip to be selectively rotated with reference to a body thus partially rotating the heating part and the clip by using a grip. 
     In order to achieve the above objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair iron including: a grip; a body combined with the grip, the body being provided with a switch that controls a current supply; a heating part combined with the body, the heating part generating heat by an operation of the switch; and a clip rotatably combined with the body by using a locking unit, the clip making contact with a surface of the heating part, wherein a manipulator is rotatably provided on a portion at which the body is combined with the heating part so that the locking unit of the clip can be selectively combined with the manipulator, thereby enabling lock/release of the clip relative to the body, and a control button is provided on a portion at which the grip and the body are combined, so that a rotation of the grip rotatably provided on the body is determined by an operation of the control button. 
     According to the present invention, the manipulator may include: a first guide having a first protrusion on an outer circumference of the manipulator, the first guide being combined with the heating part; and a second guide having a second protrusion on an outer circumference of the manipulator, the second guide being rotatably provided in contact with the first guide; and a locking unit, which includes: a first groove provided at a first side of an inner circumference of the locking unit so that the first protrusion fits into the first groove; and a stop rib provided along an edge of a second side of the inner circumference of the locking unit, wherein when the second protrusion is rotated and meets the stop rib, the second protrusion is caught by the stop rib, so that the manipulator and the locking unit are combined together, whereas when the second protrusion is rotated and released from the stop rib, the locked condition is released, so that the locking unit is released from the manipulator. 
     According to the present invention, the manipulator may include: a first guide having a first protrusion on an outer circumference of the manipulator, the first guide being combined with the heating part; a second guide having a second protrusion on an outer circumference of the manipulator, the second guide rotatably provided in contact with the first guide; and a locking unit, which includes: a first groove provided at a first side of an inner circumference of the locking unit so that the first protrusion fits into the first groove; and a stop rib provided along an edge of a second side of the inner circumference of the locking unit, with a second groove provided between the first groove and the stop rib, and with a third groove provided on the stop rib at a position corresponding to the first groove, and wherein when the first protrusion and the second protrusion of the manipulator are linearly arranged and are fitted into the first groove and the third groove of the locking unit respectively, and the second guide is rotated, the second protrusion is inserted into the second groove, so that the locking unit is combined with the manipulator. 
     According to the present invention, with the grip rotatably combined with the body, a first end of the grip may be provided with a locking recess, so that a locking member provided in the body, which operates in conjunction with a control switch of the control button, is selectively inserted into the locking recess, thereby enabling or disabling rotation of the grip. 
     According to the present invention, the body may be provided with a control button seat having a first guide hole on an upper portion thereof, and a stopper provided on a rear part of a bottom of the first guide hole, wherein with an upper part of the control switch being exposed to the control button seat, a lower part of the control switch may pass through the first guide hole so that the control switch can move in the first guide hole, and the control switch may operate in conjunction with the locking member provided at the lower part of the control switch; the locking member may be provided with a second guide hole that receives the lower part of the control switch, and a first side of the locking member may be provided with a locking jaw inserted into the locking recess of the grip, while a second side of the locking member may be provided with an elastic member supported by the stopper, so that the locking member is elastically supported toward the locking recess. 
     According to the present invention, a plate spring having a bent portion may be provided at a bottom of the control switch so that the control switch operates in conjunction with the plate spring, and whether the locking member is elastically supported by the elastic member may depend on whether the bent portion is caught by the stopper. 
     According to the present invention, the manipulator may be provided with a stop spring at a location between the first guide and the body, the stop spring operating in conjunction with the first guide, so that when the bent portion of the stop spring is caught in a recess provided at an end of the body by a rotation of the first guide, the first guide stops the rotation thereof. 
     As described above, the present invention provides a hair iron including: a grip; a body combined with the grip, the body being provided with a switch that controls a current supply; a heating part combined with the body, the heating part generating heat by an operation of the switch; and a clip rotatably combined with the body by using a locking unit, the clip making contact with a surface of the heating part, wherein a manipulator is rotatably provided on a portion at which the body is combined with the heating part so that the locking unit of the clip can be selectively combined with the manipulator, thereby enabling selective combination or separation of the heating part and the clip. Accordingly, the present invention is advantageous in that the heating part alone or both of the heating part and the clip can be used, thereby giving the effect of enabling various hair styles. 
     In addition, the hair iron of the present invention is advantageous in that it provides increased convenience in operating the hair iron for the sake of hair curling by providing the body with the rotatable grip so that the heating part and the clip can be slightly rotated by hand. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a hair iron of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the hair iron of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of the hair iron of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a front view illustrating a state of the hair iron of the present invention supported by a support projection. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a heating part and a body of the hair iron of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of a combined state of a manipulator and a clip of the hair iron of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a combined state of the manipulator and the clip according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a partially enlarged front view of the hair iron of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 9( a ) to 9( c )  are views illustrating an operation of a manipulator of the hair iron of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 10( a ) and 10( b )  are views illustrating a state of rotating the hair iron of the present invention by a hand-grip force. 
         FIG. 11  is a front view of the hair iron according to the related art. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in greater detail to an exemplary embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like elements or parts. In the following description, it is to be noted that, when the functions of conventional elements and the detailed description of elements related with the present invention may make the gist of the present invention unclear, a detailed description of those elements will be omitted. 
     Words of degree, such as “about”, “substantially”, and the like are used herein in the sense of “at, or nearly at, when given the manufacturing, design, and material tolerances inherent in the stated circumstances”, and are used to prevent the unscrupulous infringer from unfairly taking advantage of the invention disclosure where exact or absolute figures are stated as an aid to understanding the invention. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a hair iron of the present invention,  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the hair iron of the present invention,  FIG. 3  is a front view of the hair iron of the present invention,  FIG. 4  is a front view illustrating a state of the hair iron of the present invention supported by a support projection,  FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a heating part and a body of the hair iron of the present invention,  FIG. 6  is an exploded perspective view of a combined state of a manipulator and a clip of the hair iron of the present invention,  FIG. 7  is an exploded perspective view illustrating a combined state of the manipulator and the clip according to another embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 8  is a partially enlarged front view of the hair iron of the present invention,  FIG. 9  is a view illustrating an operation of a manipulator of the hair iron of the present invention, and  FIG. 10  is a view illustrating a state of rotating the hair iron of the present invention by a hand-grip force. 
     First, as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 4 , the hair iron  10  of the present invention is made up of a grip  100 , a body  200 , a heating part  400 , and a clip  500 . 
     The body  200  is provided with a switch that controls current supply, the body  200  being combined with the grip  100 . 
     Here, a support projection  204  is provided at the bottom of the body  200 , thereby the hair iron  10  is able to be supported apart from the floor. 
     It is determined by a switch whether heat is generated in the heating part  400  combined with the body  200 . 
     The clip  500  is rotatably combined with the body  200  by using a locking unit  510  and is enabled to make contact with a surface of the heating part  400 , and one end of the clip  500  is combined with a handle  515  to thus operate as a pair of scissors does. 
     The hair iron  10  constituted in this manner generates heat by controlling a switch with the use of electric energy. 
     And when hair is wrapped many times by the heating part and the clip  500  presses the heating part by the scissors-like operation of the clip  500  while applying heat to the hair, the hair is curled. 
     For example, the heating part and the clip  500  that are combined similar to the constitution of a pair of scissors hold the hair and apply high-temperature heat, thereby changing the style of the hair. 
     Here, a hair straightener may have a surface that is plate-formed for grasping hair, and curling tongs may have a curved surface that only contacts hair. The hair iron  10  has a variety of applications depending on how a hairstyling is performed. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , as for the hair iron  10  constituted in the manner illustrated above, the manipulator  300  is rotatably provided on a portion at which the body  200  is combined with the heating part  400  so that the clip  500  can be selectively combined with or released from the body  200 . The locking unit  510  of the clip  500  is selectively combined with the manipulator  300  so that the clip  500  can be combined with or released from the body  200 . 
     Whether to rotate the grip  100  is selectively determined, and since the grip  100  is rotatably provided at the body  200 , the grip  100  being able to be rotated by using the control button  210  provided on a portion at which the grip  100  is combined with the body  200 . 
     First, the following is the constitution for selectively combining or separating the body  200  and the clip  500 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the manipulator  300  according to a first embodiment is provided at the border between the heating part and the body  200 , and the manipulator  300  is made up of a first guide  310 , which is fixed, and a second guide  320 , which is able to rotate. 
     The first guide  310  is in contact with the heating part and is provided with a first protrusion  311  on an outer surface of the first guide  310  in a direction of the length of the heating part  400 . 
     The rotatable second guide  320  is provided in contact with the first guide  310  and is provided with a second protrusion  321  on an outer surface of the second guide. 
     The locking unit  510  is rotatably provided at the clip  500 , and can be combined with or released from the manipulator  300 . 
     To achieve this, the locking unit  510  is provided with a first groove  511  at a first side of an inner circumference of the locking unit so that the first protrusion  311  fits into the first groove  511 , and the locking unit  510  is provided with a stop rib provided along an edge of a second side of an inner circumference of the locking unit. When the second protrusion  321  is rotated and meets the stop rib  512 , the second protrusion of the second guide  320  is caught by the stop rib  512 , so that the manipulator  300  and the locking unit  510  are combined together. 
     Additionally, when the second protrusion  321  is rotated and released from the stop rib  512 , the locked condition is released, so that the locking unit  510  can be released from the manipulator  300 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9 , the manipulator  300  according to a second embodiment is provided at the border between the heating part  400  and the body  200 , and the manipulator  300  is made up of a first guide  310 , which is fixed, and a second guide  320 , which is able to rotate. 
     The first guide  310  is in contact with the heating part  400  and is provided with a first protrusion  311  on an outer surface of the first guide  310  in a direction of the length of the heating part  400 . 
     The rotatable second guide  320  is provided in contact with the first guide  310  and is provided with a second protrusion  321  on an outer surface of the second guide. 
     A first groove  511  is provided at a first side of an inner circumference of the locking unit  510  so that the first protrusion  311  fits into the first groove  511 ; a stop rib  512  is provided along an edge of a second side of the inner circumference of the locking unit  510 , with a second groove  513  provided between the first groove  511  and the stop rib  512 ; and a third groove  514  is provided on the stop rib  512  at a position corresponding to the first groove  511 . 
     That is, the first groove  511 , the second groove  513 , and the third groove  514  communicate with each other. 
     Due to such a constitution, when the first protrusion  311  and the second protrusion  321  of the manipulator  300  are linearly arranged and are fitted into the first groove  511  and the third groove  514  of the locking unit  510  respectively, and the second guide is rotated, the second protrusion  321  is inserted into the second groove  513 , so that the locking unit  510  is combined with the manipulator  300 . 
     In addition, when the second protrusion  321  is fitted into the third groove  514  by rotating the second protrusion  321  fitted into the second groove  513 , the second protrusion  321  is released from the second groove  513 , and thus the locked condition is released, thereby the locking unit  510  is released from the manipulator  300 . 
     Here, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the manipulator  300  is provided with a stop spring  322  at a location between the first guide  310  and the body  200 , the stop spring  322  operating in conjunction with the first guide  310 , so that when the bent portion of the stop spring  322  is caught in a recess  205  provided at an end of the body by rotating the first guide  310 , the first guide  310  stops the rotation thereof. 
     Through selective combination or separation of the heating part and the clip  500 , the heating part alone or both of the heating part and the clip  500  can be used, which gives the effect of enabling various hair styles. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , a rotation of the grip  100  rotatably provided on the body  200  is determined by operation of a control button  210  provided on a portion at which the grip  100  and the body  200  are combined. 
     That is, with the grip  100  rotatably combined with the body  200 , a first end of the grip  100  is provided with a locking recess  101 , so that a locking member  212  provided in the body, which operates in conjunction with a control switch  211  of the control button  210 , is selectively inserted into the locking recess  101 , thereby enabling rotation of the grip  100  relative to the body  200 . 
     To realize this, the body  200  is provided with a control button seat  201  having a first guide hole  202  on an upper portion thereof, and a stopper  203  is provided on a rear part of a bottom of the first guide hole  202 . 
     An upper part of the control switch  211  is exposed to the control button seat  201 , and a lower part of the control switch  211  passes through the first guide hole  202  so that the control switch  211  can move in the first guide hole  202 . The control switch  211  operates in conjunction with the locking member  212  provided at the lower part of the control switch  211 . 
     In addition, the locking member  212  is provided with a second guide hole  213  that receives the lower part of the control switch  211 , and a first side of the locking member  212  is provided with a locking jaw  214  inserted into the locking recess  101  of the grip  100 , while a second side of the locking member  212  is provided with an elastic member  215  supported by the stopper  203 , so that the locking member  212  is elastically supported toward the locking recess  101 . 
     a plate spring  216  having a bent portion  217  is provided at a bottom of the control switch  211  so that the control switch  211  operates in conjunction with the plate spring  216 , and whether the locking member  212  is elastically supported by the elastic member  215  depends on whether the bent portion  217  is caught by the stopper  203 . 
     The grip  100  constituted in this manner is selectively rotated as follows. 
     The state in which the grip  100  can rotate relative to the body  200  is kept when a locking jaw  214  of the locking member  212  is released from the locking recess  101  of the grip  100  due to the elastic member  215  compressed by locating the control switch  211  at a first side of the first guide hole  202  and the second guide hole  213  of the locking member  212 . 
     In this case, since the bent portion  217  of the plate spring  216  integrally combined with the control switch  211  is caught in the stopper  203 , the position of the control switch  211  is kept motionless. 
     This enables the control button  210  to be kept released from the grip  100 , and thus the grip  100  can rotate at the body  200 . 
     In addition, the control switch  211  is moved to a second side so that the grip  100  does not rotate at the body  200 . In other words, the control switch  211  moves to the second side of the first guide hole  202  and the second guide hole  213 . 
     In this case, the bent portion  217  of the plate spring  216  integrally combined with the control switch  211  is released from the stopper  203 , and thus the control switch  211  is free to move. 
     As described in the above, the elastic member  215  pushes the locking member  212  to the second side by the control switch  211 , accordingly the locking jaw  214  of the locking member  212  being stuck in the locking recess  101  of the grip  100 . 
     This causes the control button  210  to interlock with the grip  100 , so that the grip  100  does not rotate at the body  200 . 
     Here, when the locking jaw  214  of the locking member  212  does not correspond to the locking recess  101  of the grip  100 , the locking jaw  214  of the locking member  212  comes in close contact with an end of the grip  100 . 
     Thereafter, rotating the grip  100  allows the locking jaw  214  to be elastically inserted into the locking recess  101  by the elastic member  215 , and the control button  210  and the grip  100  turn back to a state in which both are combined, so that the grip  100  does not rotate at the body  200 . 
     As described in the above, a reason why the grip  100  is rotatably provided at the body  200  as illustrated in  FIG. 10 , is as follows. 
     Since, as in the related art hair iron  10 , a body  200  is integrally provided with a grip  100 , so when a user of the hair iron  10  puts his/her between a heating part and a clip  500 , the user rotates the hair iron  10  by using a twist of his/her wrist with the grip  100  in hand, thereby performing hair curling. 
     This repeated twisting of the wrist mainly contributes to pain caused in the wrist. 
     To prevent this pain, the present invention is intended to propose convenience in operating the hair iron for the sake of hair curling by providing the body  200  with the rotatable grip  100  so that the heating part and the clip  500  may be slightly rotated by a hand. 
     In other words, according to the present invention, rather than the hair iron  10  being manipulated by the twist of the wrist, it is rotated by squeezing with a hand, and thus the hair iron  10  can prevent wrist pain. 
     Terms or words used in this specification and claims should not be limited to a meaning in normal practice or in a common dictionary, and should be interpreted in the meaning and concept which corresponds to the spirit of the art of the present invention, based on the principle that an inventor may properly define the concept of terms in order to describe the invention in the best mode. 
     Accordingly, the embodiments written in the specification and the configuration illustrated in the drawings are only preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not representative of all spirits in the art of the present invention. Thus, it should be appreciated that the present invention may be replaced with a variety of equivalents and variations as of the filing date of the present invention. 
     The present invention described above is not limited to the aforementioned embodiment or the accompanying drawings, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the technical field to which the present invention belongs that a variety of any replacements, variations, or modifications are available within the scope of technical spirit of the present invention. 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                   
               
               
                 &lt;Description of the Reference Numerals in the Drawings&gt; 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                  10: Hair iron 
                 100: Grip 
               
               
                   
                 101: Locking recess 
                 200: Body 
               
               
                   
                 201: Control button seat 
                 202: First guide hole 
               
               
                   
                 203: Stopper 
                 204: Support projection 
               
               
                   
                 205: Recess 
                 210: Control button 
               
               
                   
                 211: Control switch 
                 212: Locking member 
               
               
                   
                 213: Second guide hole 
                 214: Locking jaw 
               
               
                   
                 215: Elastic member 
                 216: Plate spring 
               
               
                   
                 217: Bent portion 
                 300: Manipulator 
               
               
                   
                 310: First guide 
                 311: First protrusion 
               
               
                   
                 320: Second guide 
                 321: Second protrusion 
               
               
                   
                 322: Stop spring 
                 400: Heating part 
               
               
                   
                 500: Clip 
                 510: Locking unit 
               
               
                   
                 511: First groove 
                 512: Stop rib 
               
               
                   
                 513: Second groove 
                 514: Third groove 
               
               
                   
                 515: Handle