Source: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2011/0000501.html
Timestamp: 2014-07-23 22:13:58
Document Index: 586477817

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2007', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 42', 'art 42', 'art 2', 'art30', 'art43']

HAIR IRON - Create Co., Ltd.
HAIR IRON United States Patent Application 20110000501 Kind
A hair iron H in which a hair pinching region is formed between a heating surface 10 of a wrapping cylinder 1 and a presser inner surface 40 of a presser plate 4, wherein an elastic member 6 is mounted on the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder on the outer part of the hair pinching region, and at a position near the side edge of the aforementioned presser plate, the elastic member is mounted so as to extend in the long direction of the wrapping cylinder along the side edge of the presser plate in the state where its upper surface is equal with or slightly protruding from the heating surface. Also, the aforementioned elastic member 6 contains a multi-element mineral powder formed by crushing a multi-element mineral. Inventors:
Kaizuka, Kazutoshi (Fukuoka City, JP) Application Number:
12/684191 Publication Date:
Create Co., Ltd. (Fukuoka City, JP) Primary Class:
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20080300513TOE MASSAGERDecember, 2008Chouinard20090280150Targeted And Individualized Cosmetic DeliveryNovember, 2009Kamen et al.20080223397Dental floss and tape dispenserSeptember, 2008Yates20100037906Pedicure fileFebruary, 2010Ionis et al.20070221244PARTIAL CAP HAIR ACCESSORYSeptember, 2007Lane et al.20080301947Method For Removing Hair, Hair Removal Apparatus and Attachment ThereforDecember, 2008Dorber et al.20090004953SKIN SANDERJanuary, 2009Kinsey20100024839INTERDENTAL CLEANERS AND METHODS FOR MAKING SAMEFebruary, 2010Kalbfeld et al.20080257369Removable and Resuable Hair ExtensionOctober, 2008Poole20040069314Receptacle for holding fluid used to soak fingernailsApril, 2004Kim20060226164Compact with concealed compartmentOctober, 2006Graham Attorney, Agent or Firm:
WARNER NORCROSS & JUDD LLP;INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GROUP (900 FIFTH THIRD CENTER, 111 LYON STREET, N.W., GRAND RAPIDS, MI, 49503-2487, US) Claims:
1. A hair iron (H) comprising a wrapping cylinder (1), which is connected to a tip of a grip part (2) and whose outer surface is formed on a heating surface (10), and a presser plate (4), which is pivotally supported (42) such that it can open and close in a state where it extends in the direction from the base end side to the tip of said wrapping cylinder, and on the inside surface of which is formed a presser inner surface (40) which contacts the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder, and said presser inner surface is forced into a state where it constantly contacts the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder; in which a hair pinching region (S) is formed between the heating surface of said wrapping cylinder and the presser inner surface of the presser plate; characterized in that an elastic member (6) is mounted on the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder on the outer part of said hair pinching region, and at a position near the side edge (44) of said presser plate, said elastic member is mounted so as to extend in the long direction of the wrapping cylinder along the side edge of the presser plate in the state where its upper surface is equal with or slightly protruding from the heating surface. 2. The hair iron according to claim 1, wherein said elastic member (6) contains a multi-element mineral powder formed by crushing a multi-element mineral. 3. The hair iron according to claim 2, wherein a far-infrared radiating powder formed by crushing a far-infrared radiating material is mixed in said multi-element mineral powder. Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present idea relates to a hair iron provided as an industrial product for barber shops and beauty salons and as a commercial product for home use, which is used particularly when imparting curls or waves to hair.Hair irons impart curls or waves to hair by the user turning a grip part and wrapping hair around a heating surface in the state where hair is pinched between a heating surface of a wrapping cylinder and a presser inner surface of a presser plate. See Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-260059.In the past, a hair iron which has a pair of pressure members which open and close in opposing directions, wherein an elastic member is mounted on one of the pressure members in a state where its top surface protrudes from the top surface of the hair pinching surface, was proposed. See Japanese Patent No. 4152974.When an elastic member is mounted on the top surface of the hair pinching surface (inside the hair pinching region) in this way, it is an effective technique because hair can be pinched without gaps due to the elasticity of the elastic member, and there is the advantage that damage to hair can be limited by direct heating by the pressure members.In a hair iron having a wrapping cylinder and a presser plate, which imparts curls or waves to hair by the user turning a grip part and wrapping hair around a heating surface in the state where hair is pinched between a heating surface of a wrapping cylinder and a presser inner surface of a presser plate, it is important that the hair is securely wrapped around the heating surface.In this regard, hair irons in which an elastic member is mounted inside the hair pinching region as in the past are advantageous with regard to hair pinching, but they do not control slipping of the hair when it is wrapped around the heating surface.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThus, in the present idea, the problem is to provide a hair iron wherein hair can be securely wrapped around the heating surface while controlling slip when hair is wrapped around the heating surface.In addition, another problem is to provide a hair iron which enables hair care and also improves the feel of hair to have richness (smooth feel), a good feel when run through the fingers, and appropriate consistency and luster, by utilizing the action of negative ions and electromagnetic waves (of very low energy) of multi-element mineral powder.To solve the aforementioned problems, the hair iron of the present idea (claim 1) is a hair iron (H) including a wrapping cylinder (1), which is connected to a tip of a grip part (2) and whose outer surface is formed on a heating surface (10), and a presser plate (4), which is pivotally supported (42) such that it can open and close in a state where it extends in the direction from the base end side to the tip of said wrapping cylinder, and on the inside surface of which is formed a presser inner surface (40) which contacts the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder, and said presser inner surface is forced into a state where it constantly contacts the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder; in which a hair pinching region (S) is formed between the heating surface of said wrapping cylinder and the presser inner surface of the presser plate; characterized in that an elastic member (6) is mounted on the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder on the outer part of said hair pinching region, and at a position near the side edge (44) of said presser plate, said elastic member is mounted so as to extend in the long direction of the wrapping cylinder along the side edge of the presser plate in the state where its upper surface is equal with or slightly protruding from the heating surface.In the current embodiment, the aforementioned elastic member (6) contains a multi-element mineral powder formed by crushing a multi-element mineral. The multi-element mineral (multi-element mineral powder) is something which generates negative ions and electromagnetic waves (of very low energy). These negative ions act on the hair cuticles (glass-like fibers), and keep them in a glossy state.Also in the preferred embodiment, a far-infrared radiating powder formed by crushing a far-infrared radiating material is mixed in the aforementioned multi-element mineral powder. Electromagnetic waves (of very low energy) of wavelength 4-14 μm radiated from the multi-element mineral (multi-element mineral powder) electrically modify the surroundings of atomic nuclei and put atoms and their substances in an excited state (vibration). As a result, they have the effects of causing polymerization of water clusters to be cut off or shortened, reducing the volume of water, increasing specific gravity, and causing sufficient adhesion of water (free water) to the extracellular membranes of plants and animals, and they promote permeation of water together with Ca2+ into cells, and stimulate various cell functions. As a result, they enable hair care while increasing moisture retention of the hair and providing vibrancy (richness).In the hair iron of the present idea, a hair pinching region is formed between the heating surface of a wrapping cylinder and the presser inner surface of a presser plate, and an elastic member is mounted on the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder on the outer part of this hair pinching region.This hair iron imparts curls or waves to hair by the user turning the grip part and wrapping hair around the heating surface in the state where hair is pinched between the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder and the presser inner surface of the presser plate.Although prior art hair irons have an elastic member, they differ from the configuration of the present idea in that the elastic member is mounted on the hair pinching surface—that is, inside the hair pinching region.At this time, because an elastic member is mounted on the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder on the outside of the hair pinching region, slipping of the hair when hair is wrapped around the heating surface can be controlled by this elastic member. As a result, hair can be securely wrapped around the heating surface, and curls or waves can be imparted as intended by the user.By having the elastic member contain a multi-element mineral powder in this way, it enables hair care and also improves the feel of hair to have richness (smooth feel), a good feel when run through the fingers, and appropriate consistency and luster, by the action of negative ions and electromagnetic waves (of very low energy).Also, when a far-infrared radiating powder formed by crushing a far-infrared radiating material is mixed in the aforementioned multi-element mineral powder, far-infrared rays are radiated from this far-infrared radiating powder, which can heat hair from the inside, thereby accelerating infiltration of chemicals into the hair.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a hair iron pertaining to an embodiment of the present idea.FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional diagram along N-N of FIG. 1.DESCRIPTION OF THE CURRENT EMBODIMENTSThe hair iron H of this embodiment has a wrapping cylinder 1 by means of a round cylinder body, the outer surface of which is formed on a heating surface 10. The base end of the wrapping cylinder 1 is connected to the tip of a rod-shaped grip part 2 such that it extends in the long direction of the grip part 2.Furthermore, an end cap 11 is fit into the tip of the wrapping cylinder 1.A heating member 12 is fit inside the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1, and this heating member 12 is connected to a power cord 33 by electrical wires not shown in the diagram, via electrical parts such as a power switch 30, temperature switch 31 and pilot lamp 32 mounted on the top surface of the grip part 2.On the base end portion of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1, a presser plate 4 is pivotally supported (pivot part 42) such that it can open and close.On the inner surface of this presser plate 4, a presser inner surface 40 is formed, which contacts the heating surface 10 of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1. The aforementioned presser inner surface 40 is forced by a spring 5 into a closed state (indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1) where it constantly contacts the heating surface 10 of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1.In this case, the shape of the cross-section perpendicular to the long direction of the presser inner surface 40 is formed into a substantially arc-like shape such that it matches the shape of the cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction of the heating surface 10 (outer surface) of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1.Also, a hair pinching region S is formed between the heating surface 10 of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1 and the presser inner surface 40 of the presser plate 4.In this case, the inside width of the presser plate 4 is slightly shorter than the diameter of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1, and as a result, the presser inner surface 40 of the presser plate 4 is formed such that it makes contact in a region which is slightly narrower than the top half of the heating surface 10 of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1.The aforementioned presser plate 4 is formed into a spatula shape by a thin plate, such that its presser inner surface 40 and outer surface 41 are arc-shaped. In the closed state where the presser inner surface 40 contacts the heating surface 10 of the wrapping cylinder 1, hair can also be wrapped on top of the outer surface 41 of the presser plate 4, continuing to the heating surface 10 of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1.On the base end of the aforementioned presser plate 4, a lever 43 is formed, extending in the direction from the pivot part 42 to the grip part 2. By pressing this lever 43 downward against the aforementioned spring 5, it can be opened into an open state (indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 1), in which the presser plate 4 is released from the heating surface 10 of the wrapping cylinder 1.As the material of the aforementioned wrapping cylinder 1 and presser plate 4, aluminum, steel, stainless steel, ceramic materials and so forth can be used. In this embodiment, a plate member made of steel is used.Also, in the hair iron H of this embodiment, the shape of the cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction is a disk, but it is not limited thereto, and can be an elliptical shape or rectangular shape which is chamfered by an awl at the corners. In this case, the shape of the presser plate 4 is made to correspond to the shape of the heating surface 10 of the wrapping cylinder 1.On the heating surface 10 of the wrapping cylinder 1, an elastic member 6 is mounted on the outside of the aforementioned hair pinching region S. At a position near the side edge 44 of the aforementioned presser plate 4, this elastic member 6 is mounted so as to extend in the long direction of the wrapping cylinder 1 along the side edge 44 of the presser plate 4 in the state where its upper surface is equal with or slightly protruding from the heating surface 10 (the amount of protrusion is 1.0 mm or less, preferably about 0.1-0.2 mm).In this embodiment, elastic members 6 and 6 are provided along the two side edges 44 and 44 of the presser plate 4. In this case, a narrow groove 60 is formed along nearly the entire length in the long direction of the wrapping cylinder 1, at or near a part which intersects horizontal diameter line C in the cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction of the wrapping cylinder 1, as shown in FIG. 2. An elastic member 6 made of a silicone tube is fit inside this groove 60 such that it extends along the entire length of the wrapping cylinder 1.As the aforementioned elastic member 6, a heat-resistant elastic material, such as silicone, rubber or polyurethane, which has been formed into a hollow tube shape, or in which a narrow rod has been inserted inside a hollow tube, or which has been formed into a solid rod shape without a hollow center, can be used.Also, in this embodiment, two elastic members 6 and 6 are mounted along the two side edges of the presser plate, but it is also possible to mount only one elastic member 6 along either one of the side edges of the presser plate.Furthermore, in FIG. 1, 7 is an iron stand, which is pushed out (indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1) when the hair iron is placed on a table or the like, and is folded in (indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 1) when the hair iron H is in use.Also, the aforementioned elastic member 6 contains a multi-element mineral powder formed by crushing a multi-element mineral, and a far-infrared radiating powder formed by crushing a far-infrared radiating material.A multi-element mineral is a mineral which has a primary ingredient of silicon like tourmaline with perlite or pitch stone, and contains a good balance of multiple elements. Such multi-element minerals are known to emit negative ions.In order to mix multi-element mineral powder in with the starting materials of the elastic member 6, for example, a multi-element mineral is formed into a powder by crushing it to approximately 1-3 microns in a ball mill, jet mill or the like, and this is mixed into the starting materials of the elastic member (silicone rubber, for example) in a ratio of 0.5-10%.In this case, it is preferred that at least two types of multi-element mineral powder are appropriately compounded and used, but using one type is also acceptable.Also, the multi-element mineral powder can be mixed with water and heated or pressurized, after which the obtained supernatant liquid can be used, or a powder formed by vacuum freeze drying or spray drying can be used.The composition of perlite, which is an example of a multi-element mineral, is shown in Table 1 below.TABLE 1Anhydrous silicon (SiO2)71.94%Aluminum oxide (Al2O3)14.94%Iron oxide (Fe2O3) 2.54%Magnesium oxide (MgO) 0.44%Calcium oxide (CaO) 2.47%Alkali oxide (K2O + Na2O) 6.87%Manganese oxide (MnO) 0.03%Anhydrous phosphorus (P2O6) 0.14%Ignition loss 3.43%Loss on drying (at 110 degrees) 0.07%Other titaniumTrace In Table 1, ignition loss is based on ignition loss (500° C., isothermal) of kaolin cosmetics standards.As the far-infrared radiating material, there are alumina (Al2O3), titania (TiO2), ferrite (Fe2O3), chromium oxide (Cr2O3), silica (SiO2), yttria (Y2O3), magnesia (MgO) and the like. These can be used individually or in combination after being made into powder by crushing.Test results when hair was treated using the hair iron of the present idea are shown below.<Test Facility>Test Technology Center, Koei Chemicals Co., Ltd.<Test Contents>a) Measurement of hair moisture ratio for verifying good feel when run through fingers and appropriate consistency or richness of bundles of hair.<Objects of Testing>A. Untreated normal hair B. Hair treated by a hair iron having an elastic member in which no multi-element mineral powder or far-infrared radiating powder was mixed, on a plate in which 2.0-2.5% multi-element mineral powder and far-infrared radiating powder were mixed in the plating layer of the heating plate C. Hair treated by a hair iron having an elastic member in which 2.0-2.5% multi-element mineral powder and far-infrared radiating powder were mixed, on a plate in which 2.0-2.5% multi-element mineral powder and far-infrared radiating powder were mixed in the plating layer of the heating plate It is desirable that the multi-element mineral powder and far-infrared radiating powder of the plating layer and elastic member are mixed in the aforementioned ratios, but it does not matter if it is more or less.<Used Hair>27-year-old Japanese woman<Treatment of Hair>a) After being rinsed for one hour in 40° C. hot water, it was allowed to dry naturally (the hot water was replaced every 15 minutes). b) After it was dry, a hair iron was used under the following conditions of use. <Conditions of Use of Hair Iron>1) Temperature: 180° C.2) Sliding speed: Slid from the root to the tip of the hair, taking 4 seconds for hair 20 cm long 3) Pressure applied to hair during use of iron: 70.0±2 HPA <Calculation of Moisture Ratio>a) Left for 24 hours in an environment at 20° C.±1° C., 30±2% RH. b) Moved to an environment at 20° C.±1° C., 65±2% RH, and left for 24 hours. c) After that, it was dried at 105° C., after which the weight was measured and the moisture ratio was calculated. The results of measuring hair moisture ratio measured as described above are shown in Table 2.TABLE 2Moisture Ratio (%)Moisture RatioA. Untreated normal hair15.8B. Heating plate plating layer was ionized, elastic member was not ionized15.9C. Heating plate plating layer and elastic member were both ionized16.1 As is understood from the test results shown in Table 2, the moisture ratio of test object C was 0.2-0.3% higher than those of test objects A and B.The fact that the hair moisture ratio was 0.2-0.3% higher means that the hair exhibited a state as if it was wet, and the amount of moisture retention was markedly improved.Therefore, when the hair iron is used, it imparts curls or waves to hair by the user turning the grip part and wrapping hair around the heating surface in the state where hair is pinched between the heating surface of the wrapping cylinder and the presser inner surface of the presser plate.At this time, slipping of the hair when hair is wrapped around the heating surface can be controlled by the elastic member. As a result, hair can be securely wrapped around the heating surface, and curls or waves can be imparted as intended by the user.Also, by the effect of negative ions and electromagnetic waves (of very low energy) generated by a multi-element mineral and by the effect of far-infrared rays radiated from a far-infrared radiating powder contained in the elastic member, it enables hair care and also improves the feel of hair to have richness (smooth feel), a good feel when run through the fingers, and appropriate consistency and luster.SUMMARY OF REFERENCE NUMERALS1: Wrapping cylinder10: Heating surface11: End cap12: Heating member2: Grip part30: Power switch31: Temperature switch32: Pilot lamp33: Power cord4: Presser plate40: Presser inner surface41: Outer surface42: Pivot part43: Lever44: Side edge5: Spring6: Elastic member60: GrooveH: Hair ironS: Hair pinching region Previous Patent: DILUTION THICKENING, LIQUID CLEANSING COMPOSITIONSNext Patent: Automatic Flossing Device