Patent Publication Number: US-8967160-B2

Title: Removable hair clip for hair iron

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 20-2012-0007860 filed on Sep. 4, 2012. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates, in general, to removable hair clips for hair irons and, more particularly, to a removable hair clip for a hair iron which can be commonly used with various kinds of bar-shaped hair irons and can be selectively installed on a hair iron when necessary to set the hair. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Generally, hair tools for making the hair beautiful are classified into hair dryers, hair brushes, hair irons, etc. 
     Hair dryers are used to make the hair dry by providing hot air that has been heated by high temperature heat generated by a heater to the hair, hair brushes are used to arrange the hair by combing, and hair irons are used to set the hair specifically by making the hair curly or by creating desired crimps in the hair using heat. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a conventional bar-shaped hair iron that is one of a variety of typical hair tools includes: a handle  51  having an electric power supply unit therein, a heating barrel  53  integrated with the handle  51  into a single body and having a heater therein, and a hair clip  55  coupled to the heating barrel  53  such that the hair clip  55  can be resiliently rotated relative to the heating barrel  53 , with a manipulation lever  55   a  integrated with the hair clip  55  so as to stably and effectively hold the hair on the heating barrel  53  when setting the hair. 
     When the conventional bar-shaped hair iron having the above-mentioned construction is used to set the hair by making the hair curly or by creating desired crimps in the hair, the hair clip  55  of the hair iron may be effectively used. However, when the hair iron is used for some purposes, the hair clip  55  may induce an unnecessary interference with the hair, thereby causing inconvenience to a user. 
     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 Application Publication No. 2002-0009073(Invention Title: Electric Hair Iron); and 
         (Patent Document 2) Korean Patent Application Publication No. 2005-0103532 (Invention Title: Iron for Hair Curling) 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present invention is intended to propose a hair clip for a hair iron, in which a hair clip that is used to hold the hair on the outer circumferential surface of a heating barrel when setting the hair is configured to form a removable structure such that the hair clip can be removably installed on the heating barrel of the hair iron, so when the hair iron is used for specified purposes requiring the use of the hair clip, a user can use the hair clip after installing the hair clip on the heating barrel and, when the hair iron is used for purposes that do not require the use of the hair clip, the user can use the hair iron after removing the hair clip from the heating barrel in an effort to avoid an unnecessary interference of the hair clip with the hair. 
     In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a removable hair clip for a hair iron, the hair clip being installed on a heating barrel of the hair iron such that the hair clip can be resiliently rotated relative to the heating barrel and can hold the hair on the heating barrel, the hair clip comprising: a cylindrical holder having an opening removably installed around an outer circumferential surface of the heating barrel and rotatably installing the hair clip on the heating barrel; and a locking unit provided on the holder so as to removably install the holder on the heating barrel, thereby controlling a removable installation of the hair clip on the heating barrel. 
     In the present invention, the locking unit may comprise: a locking lever rotatably coupled to a first end of the opening of the holder; and a locking loop rotatably coupled to the locking lever and selectively locked to a second end of the opening of the holder. 
     In the present invention, the holder may be provided with a locking hook in the second end thereof, the locking hook being bent outward such that the locking hook can lock the locking loop by hooking the locking loop. 
     The removable hair clip may further comprise: an anti-slip pad inserted into the cylindrical holder such that the anti-slip pad comes into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the heating barrel so as to restrict a rotation and movement of the holder relative to the heating barrel. 
     The present invention is advantageous in that it provides a removable hair clip that is removably installed on the heating barrel of the bar-shaped hair iron, so when the hair iron is used to set the hair, the hair iron can more stably and effectively hold the hair on the heating barrel using the hair clip, thereby realizing improved hair setting effects by making the hair curly and by creating crimps in the hair more effectively. 
     Another advantage of the present invention resides in that, when it is not required to use the hair clip while setting the hair, the hair clip can be removed from the heating barrel of the hair iron, thereby avoiding an unnecessary interference with the hair. 
    
    
     
       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 view illustrating a conventional bar-shaped hair iron; 
         FIG. 2  is a view illustrating the use of a removable hair clip for a hair iron according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a detailed construction of the hair clip removed from the hair iron of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view illustrating the hair clip for the hair iron according to the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  is a side view illustrating the hair clip for the hair iron according to the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Hereinbelow, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a bar-shaped hair iron of the present invention includes a handle  10  having an electric power supply unit therein, and a heating barrel  12  integrated with the handle  10  into a single body and having a heater therein. In the present invention, a hair clip  14  is removably installed on the heating barrel  12  so as to more stably and effectively hold the hair on the heating barrel  12  when setting the hair by making the hair curly or by creating desired crimps in the hair. 
     The hair clip  14  includes a pressure clip body  14   a  that is installed on a holder  16  such that the clip body  14   a  can be resiliently rotated relative to the holder  16  and holds the hair on the heating barrel  12 , and a manipulation lever  14   b  that can control the pressure of the pressure clip body  14   a  applied to the hair and can release the pressure clip body  14   a . Here, the pressure clip body  14   a  and the manipulation lever  14   b  are integrated into a single body. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 to 5 , the holder  16  has a cylindrical structure having an opening which can be removably installed around the outer circumferential surface of the heating barrel  12 . Thus, the holder  16  can removably install the hair clip  14  on the heating barrel  12 , with both the pressure clip body  14   a  and the manipulation lever  14   b  rotatably mounted to a first hinge point H- 1  of the holder  16 . In this case, to realize the resilient rotation of the hair clip  14  relative to the holder  16 , an elastic member (not shown), such as a torsion spring, is installed in the first hinge point H- 1 . 
     Further, to realize the removable installation of the hair clip  14  on the heating barrel  12  by removably installing the holder  16  on the heating barrel  12 , the holder  16  is provided with a locking unit  18 . The locking unit  18  includes a locking lever  18   a  that is rotatably coupled to the first end of the opening of the holder  16  using a second hinge point H- 2 , and a locking loop  18   b  that is rotatably coupled to the locking lever  18   a  using a third hinge point H- 3 . 
     In this case, the holder  16  is provided with a locking hook  16   a  that is integrally formed in the second end of the opening of the holder  16 . The locking hook  16   a  is bent outward in the second end of the opening of the holder  16  such that the locking hook  16   a  can lock the free end of the locking loop  18   b  by hooking the locking loop  18   b.    
     Further, the present invention further includes an anti-slip pad  20  that is inserted into the cylindrical holder  16  such that, when the holder  16  is tightened and locked to the heating barrel  12  by fastening the locking unit  18 , the anti-slip pad  20  can come into close contact with the outer circumferential surface of the heating barrel  12 , thereby restricting a rotation and movement of the holder  16  relative to the heating barrel  12 . 
     That is, when the holder  16  is locked to the heating barrel  12  by fastening the locking unit  18 , the holder  16  can be tightened to the outer circumferential surface of the heating barrel  12  by the anti-slip pad  20 , so an unnecessary rotation and movement of the holder  16  relative to the heating barrel  12  can be restricted. 
     Accordingly, in the removable hair clip  14  of the present invention, the locking loop  18   b  can be tightly hooked by the locking hook  16   a  that is formed in the first end of the holder  16 , by manipulating the locking lever  18   a  of the locking unit  18 . As described above, the hair clip  14  of the present invention can be installed on the heating barrel  12  of the hair iron using the holder  16 , so when setting the hair, the present invention can realize improved hair setting effects by making the hair curly or by creating desired crimps in the hair in a state in which the pressure clip body  14   a  of the hair clip  14  holds the hair on the heating barrel  12  more stably and effectively. 
     In this case, the anti-slip pad  20  that is placed around the inner circumferential surface of the holder  16  can effectively restrict the rotation and movement of the holder  16  relative to the heating barrel  12 , so the hair clip  14  can more firmly hold the hair on the heating barrel  12 , thereby further improving the hair setting effects of the hair iron. 
     Further, when the hair iron is used for purposes that do not require the use of the hair clip  14  when setting the hair, a user can use the hair iron after removing both the hair clip  14  and the holder  16  from the heating barrel  12  by releasing the locking unit  18 , thereby avoiding an unnecessary interference of the hair clip  14  with the hair. 
     In addition, the hair clip  14  of the present invention is advantageous in that it can be commonly used with various kinds of bar-shaped hair irons using both the holder  16  and the locking unit  18 , if the heating barrels  12  of the bar-shaped hair irons which have different shapes have the same diameter. 
     Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.