Year: 1897

page_text: I, HEINRICH FÜTTERER, Hairdresser, of Immermannstrasse 9, Düsseldorf, in the
German Empire, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has for its object, to provide a hairdrier which is not injurious
to the hair, does not dry it unequally, and does not produce excessive heat.
For this purpose I produce the necessary heat by means of an electric current
in the manner hereafter described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings,
of which Fig. 1 is a front view of a hairdrier embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a
side view of the same, while Figs. 3 to 7 represent details of construction and
modifications.
The two conducting wires 1, are connected at one end with a suitable source of
electricity, and at the other end with a platinum wire d or other suitable conductor
embedded in a layer a of insulating material.
If an electric current passes through the conductors 1, 1, the platinum wire will
become red-hot and communicate heat to the insulating layer, which in its turn
heats the cover plate or casing enclosing the said layer, where such a plate or
casing is employed. The said casing may be mounted over a stand, or applied to
the back of a chair, in such a manner that the hair can easily be spread out on the
same; as represented by Fig. 7; or it may be provided with a handle, like a brush,
as represented by Figs. 1 and 2, said handle serving also to conduct the leading-in
and leading-out wire.
The said cover plate or casing may be smooth, as indicated by Figs. 3 and 7,
or it may be armed with teeth 2, either on one side only, as shown Figs. 4 and 5,
or on both sides, as shown by Figs. 1 and 2. The said teeth receive heat from the
metallic casing and rapidly dry the hair, when the instrument is applied in the
same manner as a comb.
In the drier represented by the longitudinal section Fig. 5, the teeth z are not
mounted directly on the metallic casing b, but on an exchangeable lid or plate p,
which closes one face of the casing, and the two narrow sides of the casing b are
dovetailed to form suitable guides for the sliding cover p. Consequently the slid-
ing cover p, together with the teeth, may easily be removed and exchanged when
required. The alternative sliding covers belonging to the same drier may be
made of different materials and with teeth of different lengths or placed at various
distances apart.
To regulate the heat of the drier for a given current, variable resistances may be
inserted between the source of electricity and the heating wire d.
To prevent excessive heating of the points of the teeth which come in contact
with the scalp, they may be perforated once, as shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, or

page_text: vention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
1. An electric hair drier chiefly consisting of a plate or casing provided with a
thin platinum wire d or equivalent conductor, said conductor being insulated
from the plate and connected with a suitable source of electricity, substantially as
described.
2. An electric hair drier having teeth z formed or mounted on an exchangeable
base plate p in order to vary their length or their heating effect, substantially as
described.
3. An electric hair drier having teeth z provided with perforations or ventilating
holes to keep the temperature of their points within allowable limits, substantially
as described.
Dated this 9th day of December 1897
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
Agents, 37 and 39, Essex Street, Strand, London.