Patent Description:
<CIT> discloses a method for measuring the surface smoothness of hair, by using a handheld friction sensor comprising a clamping member and a load cell. A key indicator of the overall condition of hair is friction. Load cells are well known in the art for measuring friction, and can be readily incorporated into a variety of devices. A bundle of hair is placed between the clamping member and the load cell, and the clamping member is closed, which creates a substantially constant normal force against the hair sample and load cell. The device is pulled across the bundle of hair at a substantially constant rate in the root to tip direction of the bundle of hair, and the coefficient of friction of the material creates a voltage in the load cell, which is correlated to a hair smoothness value based upon the measured coefficient of friction.

<CIT> discloses a specialized hairdresser's comb, which incorporates a strain gauge that can be used quantitatively to assess the effectiveness of various kinds of hair treatment by measuring the resistance of hair to combing before and after treatment. A steel comb has a strain gauge mounted roughly between teeth and handle, with a cable and plug attachment. When the hair is combed, a reading is obtained from the circuit associated with the strain gauge of the deflection of the comb and so of the resistance to combing of the hair.

<CIT> discloses a flexible plastic comb that has a metallic plate riveted to it and which supports a sensor comprising four strain gauges connected in a bridge arrangement. The bridge is powered from a battery connected across one of its diagonals. A cable allows the battery to be located at the counter circuit and also allows the bridge output to be applied to a voltage to frequency converter. The output is applied to a pulse counter with a numerical readout. The counter reading is proportional to the force required to untangle the hair. This arrangement allows the relative characteristics of different shampoos to be compared.

<CIT> discloses an apparatus for measuring the incremental grooming force experienced by a hair tress during combing, and supplying an instantaneous readout of that force. The apparatus includes a comb or brush with strain gages attached to it which change resistance when mechanically deformed. The change in resistance is electrically measured to provide an indication of incremental grooming force. A continuous monitor is connected to the resulting electrical signal to provide an instantaneous indication of incremental grooming force.

<CIT> discloses a hair styling device having two arms. Each arm has a styling part, which cooperates with the styling part on the other arm for the hair styling operation. At least one styling part is designed for heating hair inserted into the hair styling gap located between the styling parts. A pressure measuring device is included in one of the two arms. The pressure measuring device detects the pressure, or a value representing this pressure, exerted on the hair between the styling parts when the hair styling gap is closed. The hair styling device also has a display device for displaying the pressure or pressure value thus detected.

<CIT> discloses an ultrasonic wave hair set apparatus comprising a main frame, an ultrasonic vibration generating means which is provided on the main frame and generates ultrasonic vibrations, and a burn injury prevention means that prevents a portion of a human body other than hairs from touching the vibration face of the ultrasonic wave generating means. An embodiment further comprises a pressing means having a pressing face which presses hairs to a vibration face, a pressure detection sensor which detects a pressure applied to the pressing face, and a driving circuit which drives the ultrasonic vibration generating means to generate ultrasonic vibrations only when a pressure detected by the pressure detection sensor becomes equal to or larger than a predetermined pressure.

It is, inter alia, an object of the invention to provide an improved device for measuring hair properties.

Embodiments of the invention provide a device for measuring hair properties. The device has a first part and a second part between which hair is guided. The first part comprises a measuring probe, and the second part is arranged for deforming (e.g. squeezing, bending) the hair against the measuring probe. While the device moves along the hair, the measuring probe experiences both a friction force resulting from the hair being guided along the measuring probe, and a deformation force resulting from the hair being deformed by the second part against the measuring probe.

The second part may comprise a pressure element for pressing the hair against the measuring probe, to squeeze the hair. Preferably, this squeezing results from pushing the pressure element into the direction of the measurement probe while the hair is being guided between the pressure element and the measuring probe, while the hair is not squeezed before the hair is being guided between the pressure element and the measuring probe. One of the pressure element and the measuring probe may comprise a pin, while another one of the pressure element and the measuring probe is provided with a hole for receiving the pin. A spacer may be applied between the first part and the second part so as to provide a minimum gap between the measuring probe and the pressure element. The minimum gap may have a width of about <NUM>.

In alternative embodiments, the second part comprises alignment elements at opposite sides of the measuring probe for bending the hair against the measurement probe, and guidance elements for mitigating an influence of an angle at which the device is applied to the hair to the friction force and/or the deformation force, while the measuring probe is mounted to a load cell module for measuring a load in two dimensions to measure friction force and deformation force, respectively.

The hair measurement may be embedded in a hair styling device having a treatment plate. If so, the measuring probe is preferably positioned along the treatment plate, and advantageously, a length of the measuring probe substantially matches a length of the treatment plate.

Preferably, the measuring device further comprises an arrangement to compensate for a weight of the measurement probe. The arrangement advantageously includes an accelerometer for measuring gravity in a measurement direction of the measurement probe.

There is a wish in the haircare domain to analyze and assess hair condition and/or hair health. Women tend to judge their own hair by touching and combing their hair with their fingers. One embodiment provides a product where the principle of determining "hair feel", i.e. a combination of surface roughness of the hair and the ease to deform a tress of hair, is measured in a separate analyzer outside of a laboratory environment and translated into an indication of hair health.

A first group of embodiments of the invention enable determination and quantification of hair characteristics by measuring a combination of surface friction force and squeeziness (squeezing a bundle of hair) of a tress of hair with a single sensor. The combination of friction and squeeziness is closely related to the way the human finger assesses hair. The sensor may include a measuring probe (e.g. a load cell, e.g. shaped as a cylinder) and a counterpart pressing a hair tress with a constant force to the measuring probe. By pulling the hair tress between the measuring probe and the pressure bar, the reaction force is measured by the load cell. By filtering and processing the measured values, hair characteristics are derived. The device quantifies the "hairfeel" by measuring a combination of surface friction and squeeziness while being small enough to be built into a hair styling device or other handheld device, and does not need special handling to operate and goes in one flow with the styling process. The best description of "hair feel" is a combination of surface roughness of the hair and the ease to deform a bundle of hair (squeeziness). For that, an embodiment of the measuring device comprises the following key features:.

In an embodiment, the sensor is built into a styling device like a hair straightener, but the sensor can alternatively be incorporated in other devices having an open/close functionality, or in a stand-alone device.

The embodiment of <FIG> has the following <NUM> key components:.

<FIG> shows an embodiment of a stand-alone device for measuring hair properties. While <FIG> only shows the measuring probe MP, in the upper half II of the device, there is a pressure bar PB pushed downwards by a spring S, and in the lower half I of the device, attached to the measuring probe MP there is a load cell LC, just like in <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrate principles of embodiments of the present invention belonging to the first group of embodiments. <FIG> shows a hair tress H, falling from the head of a person. <FIG> shows that on one side, the measuring probe MP is placed against the hair tress H. When the hair styling device HS is closed, the pressure bar PB is pressed to the opposite side of the measuring probe MP, with the hair tress H trapped in-between. The pressure spring S guarantees a constant force. The hair tress H is pulled through the system by moving the device in a downward direction. As illustrated in <FIG>, two things happen on the reaction force RF on the sensor (measurement direction according the arrow in the picture):.

<FIG> shows an example on how to change the ratio between surface friction and the deformation force DF. A hair bending element HB on the pressure bar PB is forcing the hair tress H to make it harder to squeeze, causing a larger reaction force to the lower part of the measuring probe MP. Many different executions can however be thought of.

An important aspect in hair characteristics is the level of entanglement of the hair tress. Based on surface friction and deformation alone, it is hard to determine this entanglement. Because of that, in the embodiment of <FIG>, a pin EP is mounted on the measuring probe MP, and a hole HL is made in the pressure bar PB. By a kind of combing action, it can be determined if hair tresses are entangled. One execution is as shown, another execution is one where the pin can easily be mounted and dismounted.

Although the results of the above measuring system are satisfying, the signal may be polluted by pulling on a few hairs. As long as sufficient hairs are present between measuring probe MP and pressure bar PB, the contact pressure is relative low. When just a few hairs are in the system, and this happens often at the ultimate tip of a tress, the pressure increases enormously resulting in a deformation of the hair (Hertz contact pressure), resulting in clamping. Not only the output of the sensor is polluted by a non-realistic value but also a painful sensation is felt on the user's head. To that end, in the embodiment of <FIG>, a spacer is applied between the first part I and the second part II so as to provide a guaranteed gap between the measuring probe MP and the pressure bar PB. It suffices to provide a guaranteed opening between the measuring probe MP and the pressure bar PB of about <NUM>. This size is based on the maximum thickness of a hair. To minimize the chance of trapping a hair, the element to create the gap should be narrow. A possible way to meet this both requirements is applying a wire with diameter <NUM> around the pressure bar PB or the measuring probe MP. In another execution, narrow elements with a height of about <NUM> can be fixed to the measuring probe MP or the pressure bar PB. In the embodiment of <FIG>, a <NUM> thick wire W is provided on the measuring probe MP to provide a gap G of <NUM>. In yet another execution, the narrow elements can be embossed in the measuring probe MP or the pressure bar PB. The width of the spacer is limited by the fact that the high pressure of the spacer to the opposite element should not exceed the maximum allowable contact pressure.

The above embodiments of the invention enable determination and quantification of hair characteristics by measuring a combination of surface friction force and squeeziness of a tress of hair with a single sensor. The sensor is meant to be used in a non-controlled user environment and should be able to measure small differences in forces on the hair. A preferred embodiment of the invention is based on the recognition that the changing orientation of the device, due to the user operating the device, may cause a significant error caused by the weight of the measuring probe. By measuring the contribution of the weight in the direction of the measurement direction, the effect of the weight of the measuring probe can be compensated. An advantageous embodiment provides a compensation of the weight by using a <NUM>-directional accelerometer.

A hair styler may be used in all possible orientations. The friction and deformation force is measured with a measuring probe having a certain weight. In an embodiment, this weight is added to the friction signal, depending on the orientation of the styler and based on the direction of the gravity vector. Because the weight of the measuring probe may be substantial in the signal, the contribution of the weight is advantageously eliminated from the force sensor readings. A main element of this embodiment is to know the momentary contribution of the weight of the measuring probe to the signal of the deformation force sensor. To that end, the embodiment uses:.

The resulting output is not influenced by the weight: <MAT>.

In an embodiment, the compensation involves:.

If due to handling of the device by the user, the orientation of the deformation force sensor has an angle ϕ to z-axis of the world coordinate system, where the z-axis is in the negative direction of earth's gravity, the output of the force sensor during use will be:<MAT>.

Because the orientation of the accelerometer is mechanically coupled to the orientation of the deformation force sensor, at the same time the output of the accelerometer will be:<MAT>.

Together with the known weight of the measuring probe, the microcontroller can calculate the compensation by multiplying the accelerometer output with this known weight:<MAT>.

If when the deformation force is measured, the compensation is added to the signal, only the required friction force is determined by the measurement system:<MAT>.

To ensure that the contribution of acceleration due to movements is low compared to gravity, the weight of the measuring probe is preferably as low as possible.

A second way to implement the present invention provides a hair health analyzer enabling determination and quantification of hair characteristics by determining a relative friction coefficient using two sensors, which can again be implemented as load cells. The basic principle for an embodiment of the second way to implement the invention is to use the bending stiffness of hair to apply a deformation force formed by a normal force to a surface to measure a dynamic friction coefficient of a hair tress and along the length of a hair tress. One sensor (load cell LC-Y in the Y direction) measures surface friction force between hair and a measuring probe, and the other sensor (load cell LC-X in the X direction) measures a dynamic bending stiffness of a tress of hair (which is the normal force applied on the measuring probe surface). The sensor combination is built into a hair analyzing device, or in a hair styling device e.g. as shown in <FIG>. Using the hair health analyzer, a tress of hair is clamped between two pins and the measuring probe, and the hair health analyzer is pulled from tip to root. A relative friction coefficient may be calculated by a hair health algorithm, using the output of the two sensors.

An embodiment of the device quantifies the "hair feel" by determining the friction coefficient using the output of a two sensor combination. Simultaneously, the sensors measure two forces, a force related to the motion of two surfaces upon each other, and a force perpendicular to the pulling axis, so friction and normal force, respectively. The normal force is generated by forcing the hair to be bent over the measuring probe. While being small enough to be built in into a separate analyzer, both sensor outputs are used to determine the friction coefficient over time, which limits the need for special handling to operate and can easily be used by a consumer and outside a controlled laboratory environment.

An embodiment provides a measuring device where friction force and deformation force (here: bending force) of hair are determined with the following key features:.

An embodiment as shown in <FIG> comprises four key components:.

In the embodiment of <FIG>, the left guidance elements G, the measuring probe MP and the load cell module belong to one part I of the device, while the right guidance elements G and the alignment elements AE belong to another part II of the device, between which the hair H is guided. The alignment elements AE and guidance elements G absorb the pulling forces required to remove additional forces from the sensor system, ensuring a clean friction measurement in Y direction, which is independent of velocity. The tip parts (distally) of the hair are free to move in all directions and the top (proximally) part of the hair is attached to the scalp.

The alignment elements AE and guidance elements G provide another advantage. With a hand-held device it is difficult to use same angle, velocity and volume of hair tress during measurements or per individual measurement. One of the factors is the angle of the incoming hair tress with respect to the device, which will change while using the device by an end user. The positioning of the guidance pins G and support pins AE provides an equal configuration between the hair tress H and the measuring probe MP for each measurement. By default, the chosen design ensures a constant angle at the area where the hair friction is measured. In particular, the guidance elements G will condition the hair to enter the test area with same angle, independent of the angle at which the user applies the device to the hair H. Through this configuration, the bending curvature of the hair is standardized independent of the user angle.

<FIG> show an embodiment of a standalone hair properties measuring device in accordance with the second way to implement the invention, with the measuring probe MP and half of the guidance elements G in the body part I, in which also the load cell module is located, and the alignment elements AE and the other half of the guidance elements G in the lid part II of the measuring device. The guidance elements G are preferably oriented such that the hair will enter flat and straight towards the measurement unit (supports and measuring probe MP), and to that end, they may have hinged surfaces.

In an embodiment, the measurement is carried out as follows:.

Herein, the various notions have the following meanings:.

The friction coefficient is used as parameter to determine the "hair feel" of the user.

Advantageously, the thus calculated friction coefficient, based on both the friction force and the deformation force measured by respective load cells LC-Y and LC-X, is not influenced by volume changes as may e.g. result from damaged hair, or from the hair H having been cut in layers so that the volume of the hair tress is not constant over the length of the hair tress. If only the normal force or the friction force were measured, the result would be a system that is highly influenced by the amount of hair that a user puts into the system.

<FIG> show a brush with a sensing module in the back. The hair is manually inserted in a slot that contains the measuring probe. The measuring device can thus be part of the top side of a brush B, of which the bristles Bt are mounted at the bottom side. <FIG> shows the top of the brush B, <FIG> shows a cross-section along a horizontal line in the middle of <FIG>, <FIG> shows a cross-section along a vertical line in <FIG> through the reference sign II, and <FIG> shows some sketches of the measuring probe MP and a guidance and holding part GHP for use in this brush B.

As shown in <FIG>, the top side of the brush B is provided with a slit S, in which the hair can be guided. The second part II of the measuring device of <FIG> is fixed, while in the embodiment of <FIG> it was hinged. The top of the second part II of the measuring device is at the same level as the top of the brush B, while the first part I of the measuring device is in a cavity in the top of the brush B. <FIG> shows a cross-section, having the same elements as discussed before: measuring probe MP and alignment elements AE. To allow the hair to easily enter the measuring device, it is possible that the measuring probe MP moves downwards when a lock of hair is entered, whereafter it moves upwards to ensure that the second part II deforms the hair H against the measuring probe MP while the hair H is guided between the first part I and the second part II. In an implementation, sketched in <FIG>, a guidance and holding part GHP, positioned before the measuring probe MP in the hair entrance direction, is in a down position when hair is entered (shown in the upper half of <FIG>), and in an up position preventing hair from escaping sidewards (i.e. in a direction perpendicular to the hair H) while the hair is guided between the first part I and the second part II, as shown in the lower half of <FIG>.

<FIG> show another embodiment of the measuring device of the present invention. <FIG> shows a front view, and <FIG> shows a cross section through line A-A in <FIG> shows three possible variations of the measuring probe MP and the alignment elements AE, as alternatives to the encircled part of <FIG>. The measuring device of <FIG> has a base Bs on top of which three teeth are placed, which form the two alignment elements AE and the measuring probe MP, respectively. The measuring probe MP comprises a sensor module SM on top of which a sensor tooth ST is placed. The sensor module SM may be positioned inside the base Bs. The teeth AE, ST can be either fully solid, or flexible above a bend line BL to prevent excessive hair pulling from occurring if the hair is tangled. Like the embodiment of <FIG>, the embodiment of <FIG> has no moving parts I and II.

As shown in <FIG>, the alignment elements AE and/or the sensor tooth ST preferably have tilted tips above the bend line BL to facilitate hair insertion into the measuring device. To ensure that while the device moves through the hair, the hair does not escape the device at the top (i.e. in a direction perpendicular to the hair H), the alignment elements AE and/or the sensor tooth ST may be provided with a hair blocking element (not shown) positioned at about the bend line BL, which hair blocking element is manually or automatically operated. This hair blocking element may also serve to block hair from entering further once a defined amount of hair has entered the sensing area. This hair blocking element can, for example, be actuated once the force sensor is above a certain threshold and deactivated if the sensor output appears stable.

<FIG> show embodiments of a brush B having a measuring device at the side where the bristles Bt are located. The device has the same elements as discussed with previous embodiments: measuring probe MP, alignment elements AE, and guidance elements G. Like in <FIG> and <FIG>, the first part I and second part II are mounted in a fixed relation; the various elements can be allocated to the first part I and the second part II like in the embodiment of <FIG>.

The embodiment of <FIG> is based on the measuring device of <FIG>. The basic execution is in such way, that while brushing the hair, the hair H is guided along the alignment elements AE and the measuring probe MP. By pulling the brush through the hair, a friction force in load cell Y (LC-Y) and a bending force in load cell X (LC-X) is induced.

The embodiments of <FIG> are aimed at increasing the amount of hairs that is caught in the system, so as to obtain a stronger measurement signal.

The embodiment of <FIG> is an improved version of the execution of <FIG>. The tops of the alignment element AE and the measuring probe MP are bent in such a way, that when brushing the hair, more hair is caught in the opening of the measurement system, resulting in a larger measurement signal. An additional guiding pin G is added to reduce dependency on the hold angle of the device.

In the embodiment of <FIG>, the entire measuring probe MP is put at a small angle. Because of the smaller angle, the hair is caught and kept in the system, as only small forces are needed to do so. As a consequence, the bending force is no longer constant over the length of the measuring system. Because the friction coefficient is the used parameter, tests showed the system is not influenced by the skewness.

In the embodiment of <FIG>, not only the measuring probe MP is at an angle, but also the alignment elements AE. Thereby, even more hair is captured in the system, resulting in a larger measurement signal.

Claim 1:
A device for measuring properties of hair (H), the device comprising:
a first part (I) comprising a measuring probe (MP), and
a second part (II) arranged, or arranged for being positioned, in relation to the first part (I) for bending the hair (H) against the measuring probe (MP) while the hair (H) is guided between the first part (I) and the second part (II), along the measuring probe (MP),
characterized in that the device is arranged for subjecting the measuring probe (MP) to both a friction force resulting from the hair (H) being guided along the measuring probe (MP), and a deformation force (DF) resulting from the hair (H) being bent by the second part (II) against the measuring probe (MP), and
wherein the measuring probe is configured to measure the friction force resulting from the hair being guided along the measuring probe and/or the deformation force resulting from the hair being bent by the second part against the measuring probe.