Patent Publication Number: US-8539964-B2

Title: Hair curling tong

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a hair curling tong. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Traditionally electrical hair curling tongs comprise a tube body that can be heated, equipped with a movable clamp, to grasp a lock of hair between the tube body and the clamp and hold it while the curling tong is rotated to wind the hair in a curly shape after a few moments of heating the hair. The lock of hair is then released, now in a curly shape. 
     A disadvantage of this kind of traditional electrical hair curling tongs is that the complete curling tong needs to be rotated, which makes it difficult to hold the curling tong in a fixed position and to avoid burns to the scalp by the heated tube body. 
     Another disadvantage of traditional curling tongs is that the electric cord is rotated also with ensuing torque on the cord, and with hindrance to the rotational movement of the curling tong. 
     Another disadvantage of traditional curling tongs is that they cause strain in the arm of the operator, due to the rotation that the entire curling tong needs to make. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an objective of one or more embodiments of the present invention to provide a solution to one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages. 
     To this end, various embodiments of the present invention provide a hair curling tong with a fixed handle and a heated tube body fixed thereto provided with a clamp that is fixed in a tilting way to the curling tong and can be tilted between a closed position wherein the clamp is held in contact with the tube body by means of a button activated spring and an open position wherein the clamp is tilted away from the tube body, characterized in that the clamp, and only the clamp, is fixed in a rotatable way to the curling tong by means of a ring which is concentrically rotatable over 360° around the longitudinal axis of the tube body. 
     An advantage of such a curling tong is that the complete curling tong no longer needs to be rotated, which makes it easier to hold the curling tong in a fixed position and to avoid burns to the scalp by the heated tube body. 
     Another advantage of such a curling tong is that the electrical connection cord is no longer rotated while curling the hair and thus torque on the cord is avoided, and so is hindrance by the cord to the rotational movement of curling the hair. 
     Yet another advantage of such a curling tong is that it no longer causes strain in the arm of the operator, since the entire curling tong does not have to be rotated anymore. 
     Preferably, the ring is realized as a bush with a cylindrical grip, situated adjacent to the fixed handle and rotatable with respect to the fixed handle by fingers of the same hand that holds the fixed handle. 
     The advantage of the cylindrical grip is that it can be rotated by two fingers and that the movements needed to curl the hair are minimal, while the curling tong can be held steady with the same hand. In this way, strain in the hand and arm of the operator is avoided, and the curling operation is speeded up and moreover the curling operation requires only one hand which means that the other hand is now free for other manipulations. 
     The grip is preferably made of a thermally insulating material, such as a silicone. 
     Preferably the clamp is made of a metal, or of a synthetic thermally resistant material. 
     The advantage of the clamp made in such a material, is that its shape and function are not affected by the heat of the heated tube body. 
     Preferably, the clamp can be closed or opened by releasing or pushing a button. 
     The advantage of such a button is that the clamp can be closed or opened by the action of the thumb only and that this button can be operated without having to rotate the curling tong. 
     In the most preferred embodiment, the heated tube body has a circular cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. 
     The advantage of such a circumference is that curls are obtained with a constant curl radius. 
     In another embodiment, the heated tube body surface has a knurled circular cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal axis so that the tube body surface shows ribs and grooves stretching in the longitudinal axis of the tube. 
     The advantage of such a knurled circular cross-section is that curls are obtained with an extra wavy pattern. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, hereafter, by way of example, without intending any limitation thereto, a preferred form of embodiment is described of an improved curling tong, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  schematically and in perspective represents a curling tong according to the invention in a non-used position; 
         FIG. 2  represents the curling tong in an exploded view; 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate the use of the curling tong of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The curling tong  1  shown in the  FIGS. 1 and 2  comprises a fixed handle  2  consisting of two parts  2   a  and  2   b , between which is held a PCB board(s)  3  with a switch  4  and a switch cover  5 , which may be transparent, linked to an electrical cord  6 , and is also held one end of a connect axis  7 , on which a rotatable element  8  is mounted carrying two halves  9   a ,  9   b  of a bush  9 , held together by a ring  10  and by a bush shaped cover  11 , which may be made of skidproof silicone. 
     On the connect axis  7  a tube body  12 , which may be made of aluminum or another suitable metal, further fixed by means of a screw connector  13 , that is fixed to the tube body by means of a small locking screw  14 . The tube body  12  comprises two heating elements  22  and the tube body  12  is capped at its end with a tip cover  15  with its fixing pad  16 . 
     The bush  9  formed by two half bushes  9   a ,  9   b  together with the bush shaped cover  11  constitute a rotatable element  8  on which a clamp  17 , which may also be made of aluminum or another suitable metal, is fixed. A turning spindle  18  at the base of the clamp  17  allows the clamp  17  to tilt from a closed position in contact with the tube body  12  to an open position whereby the clamp  17  is tilted away from the tube body  12 . 
     The clamp  17  is held in a closed position by means of a spring  19   a  with its spring fixer  19   b , mounted between the base of the clamp  17  and the rotatable element  8  on which the clamp is fixed. The clamp  17  can be opened with a button  20  covered with a silicone button cover  21 . 
     The heating elements  22  are connected to the main supply by means of the electrical cord  6 . 
     The use of the curling tong according to the invention is simple and straightforward. 
     After connecting the tong  1  to an electric power source by means of the electrical cord  6 , the heating of the tube body  12  is switched on by the switch  4  on the fixed handle  2 . 
     The clamp  17  is tilted upwards as shown by arrow A in  FIG. 3  by pressing the button  20  in direction B in  FIG. 3 , in order to overcome the action of spring  19   a , and a lock of hair is inserted between the clamp  17  and the tube body  12 , after which the button  20  is released so that the clamp  17  is closed due to the action of the spring  19   a.    
     The clamp  17  is now rotated around the longitudinal axis X-X′ of the tube body  12  by rotating the ring  10  between thumb and index finger. During this rotation the clamp  17  is held in close contact with the tube body  12  by means of the spring  18  and is revolved around the tube body  12  so as to wind the lock of hair  23  around the heated tube body  12 , while holding the fixed handle  2  and the tube body  12  attached to it in a fixed position. 
     The ring  10  can rotate 360° and more so that when the ring  10  is rotated, the lock of hair  23  is curled around the tube body  12  in multiple windings as shown in  FIG. 4 , during which the lock of hair  23  is heated by the tube body  12  which results in fixing a curly pattern in the lock of hair  23 . 
     After the heated tube body  12  has generated curls in the lock of hair  23 , the clamp  17  is tilted up again by pressing the button  20 , thereby releasing the curled lock of hair  23  without moving the tube body  12  itself. 
     As illustrated in the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 1 to 4 , the tube body  12  may have a cylindrical shape with a circular cross-section perpendicular to its longitudinal axis. Alternate embodiments may have tube bodies with different shapes e.g. with a conical shape or a tube body  12  with a knurled circular cross-section  24  with ribs and grooves stretching in the longitudinal direction X-X′ of the tube body  12 , (as shown in the enlarged view in FIG.  1 ),or with any other shape deemed useful for the heated tube body  12 . 
     The heated tube body  12  with a circular cross-section will result in evenly curled hair, while a knurled circular cross-section will result in a extra wavy curl of the treated hair. 
     The bush shaped cover  11  capable of rotating the clamp  17 , can be realized in a skid-proof material, such as a silicone or in other materials, with a finishing that is not smooth. 
     Although the embodiment described is provided with a ring  10  which is freely rotatable by hand, it is not excluded to provide the curling tong  1  with driving means to rotate the ring  10  supporting the clamp  17 . 
     The present invention is in no way limited to the form of embodiment described by way of an example and represented in the figures, however, such an improved curling tong can be realized in various forms without departing from the scope of the invention.