Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FOLDABLE CORDLESS HAIR STYLER
The invention relates generally to cordless hair stylers and more specifically
to a
foldable cordless hair styler which is enclosed in a soft protective fabric-
like body and
which is designed for travel and may be unwrapped, unfolded and rewrapped to
assume a
usable condition wherein a user may style his or her hair.
Previously proposed foldable/collapsible cordless electric hair curling
appliances have
been proposed wherein the heating element (e.g. wand) and the hair clamp
member are
pivotally supported on a handle in which the wand is stored during non-use.
However,
these arrangement are constructed of rigid bodies/components whose
configurations are not
variable, and which can resist being disposed in very limited and odd shaped
spaces which
is inevitably left in over-filled bags/suitcases when a person is about to
embark on a trip,
for example. Further, due to the rigid nature of the housing in which the
wand/batteries
(for example) are housed, damage can occur if the bag/suitcases in which the
styler is
carried is dropped or subject to excessive force by surrounding luggage items.
The present invention is directed to a foldable cordless hair styler wherein
the body of the
device is formed of a soft pliable protective member which can be wrapped and
unwrapped, in a manner similar to a padded blanket, and thus about the
accessory (e.g.
wand/clamp) and batteries. This soft body allows for a limited amount of
displacement
between the just mentioned elements as well as eliminating the rigid handle
element which
are used in the prior art hair styler arrangements. The soft, flexible housing
member also
allows for unwrapping of the housing, pivoting of an attachment to an
operative position,
and the re-wrapping of the body in which pulls the battery pack or packs into
position
against an elongate support member on the end of which the attachment is
pivotally
supported. The battery pack or packs, in which the batteries are stored, are
therefore
moved into the position previously occupied by the attachment and, with the
elongate
member, form a handle arrangement having a thickness suitable for the user to
hold is
formed while the device is in use.
More specifically, the present invention relates a cordless hair styler
comprising: a
flexible body (102) comprising a flat flexible sheet of fabric which can be
wrapped and
unwrapped about rigid members ( 110, 112, 116) of the cordless hair styler to
hold the rigid
members in a selected compact storage and handy operative positions,
respectively.
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In the disclosed embodiments, the rigid members comprise an attachment (112);
an
elongate member (110) on which the attachment is pivotally supported; and an
elongate
battery pack (116).
Further, the above-mentioned flexible body (102) is formed with pockets (104,
106,
108) in which the elongate member (110) and one or more battery packs (116)
are
respectively disposed and held in an essentially parallel relationship. This
flexible body
includes a flexible extension portion (102A) which extends from one of the
pockets and
which is wrappable about the elongate member (110) and the battery packs (116)
so that
one or more pockets (106, 108) in which one or more battery packs (116) are
disposed, and
which are hinged to the pocket in which the elongate member is disposed by a
portion or
portions (102C) of the flexible body (102), are moved into the space
previously occupied
by the attachment. With this, the elongate member and battery packs) are held
together
and comprise a handle member which can be grasped during application of the
attachment
for hair styling.
A further aspect of the invention resides in a method of housing a hair styler
comprising: disposing an elongate member (110) on which an hair styling
attachment (112)
is pivotally mounted, in one of a plurality of pockets (104, 106, 108) formed
in a flexible
body (102); disposing a battery pack (116) in another of the pockets; folding
the hair
styling attachment so that it assumes a storage position parallel to the
elongate member;
wrapping the flexible body around the pockets so as to pull the elongate
member (110), the
hair styling member (112) and the battery pack (116) into snug proximity with
respect to
each other; and fastening the flexible body (102) to itself using a fastener
(102B) to
maintain the flexible body wrapped about the elongate member (110), the hair
styling
member (112) and the battery pack (116).
This method also comprises releasing the fastener (102B); unwrapping the
flexible
body (102) to uncover the attachment; unfolding the attachment (112) so that
it is assumes
a predetermined operative position with respect to the elongate body (110);
rewrapping the
flexible body about the elongate member (110) and the battery back (116) so as
to pull the
battery pack (116) into close proximity of the elongate member and to form a
handle which
can be used during use of the attachment; and refastening the fastener (102B).
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The various aspects and advantages of the exemplary embodiments will become
more clearly appreciated as a detailed description of the drawings is given
with reference to
the appended drawings wherein:
Fig. 1 is a underside plan view of a first embodiment of the invention in
wherein
the soft extension wrapping member has been unwrapped and the flexible body
laid out
such that the attaclnnent (wand) is uncovered ready to be pivoted to an
operative position;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the attaclunent partially pivoted from
the
storage position and showing the space in which it was received/stored;
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the attachment fully extended to an
operative
position and with the soft extension wrapping member re-wrapped to tighten the
two
battery packs against the elongate member on which the wand is pivotally
supported;
Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the attachment folded back into its
storage
position and with the soft extension wrapping member wound around and fastened
in place
to render the arrangement ready for packing/travel;
Fig. 5 is a top plan view showing a second embodiment of the invention which
has
a differently shaped soft extension wrapping member and fastening arrangement.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the second embodiment showing the soft
extension
wrapping member opened to expose the attachment which is still folded in its
storage
position; and
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the second embodiment showing the attachment
fully
extended and the space between the pontoon-like battery pack pockets in which
it was
disposed during storage.
The first exemplary embodiment of the invention 100 comprises a flexible body
102 formed of fabric (woven or non-woven) or similar type of material and
which, in this
embodiment, resembles a quilt. The flexible body 102 is formed of mufti layers
of material
which are sewn or connected (e.g. heat staked together) to form three elongate
pockets 104,
106, 108. A layer of impact absorbing padding (not shown) is suitably disposed
between
the layers and held in place the sewing/connection which produces the quilt-
like
appearance.
The center pocket 104 is arranged to receive an elongate member 110 on which
an
attachment 112 (hereinafter referred to as a wand) is pivotally mounted by way
of a pivot
arrangement. The pivot arrangement allows the wand 112 to be folded back
beside the
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elongate member 110 during storage, and to be pivoted out to assume an
operatively
position wherein the wand 112 and the elongate member 110 are essentially
aligned with
one another. The elongate member 110 forms a part of the handle when the
cordless hair
styler is in use. In this embodiment, two pockets, viz., pocket 106, 108,
which are formed
on either side of the center pocket 104 in which the elongate member 106 is
disposed, have
battery packs disposed therein.
The flexible body 102 further includes a flexible extension portion 102A which
resembles a flap or tie portion. This flap-like flexible extension portion l
OZA is arranged
to be wrapped about the rigid elements of the cordless hair styler and to be
secured in its
wrapped condition by a fastening arrangement 102B. This embodiment the
fastening
arrangement 102B comprise a so called Velcro~ type hook and loop fastener.
This type of
fastener is free of hard elements which may generate localized pressure on the
rigid
elements of the cordless hair styler and thus continues the theme of soft
enveloping
protective wrapping which is provided by the flexible body 102.
The battery packs 116 which are disposed in the pockets 106, 108 are arranged
to
have hinged caps (no numerals) to allow dry cells or rechargeable cells to be
inserted
therein. A spring or the like (not shown) is disposed at the bottom of the
elongate tubular
members which define the pack bodies. This spring acts as one of the two
electrodes that
are necessary in order to conduct the direct current from the cells which are
slid into the
battery packs, to the heating element provided in the wand. Although not show,
a flexible
connectors are disposed through the narrow hinge like portion 102C of the
flexible body
which separates the battery pack pockets 106, 108 and the center pocket 104,
and connects
the battery pack electrodes via a power supply switch (not shown per se) which
is disposed
with the elongate member 110, to the heating element in the wand 112.
In the first embodiment the switch is operated by a lever 120. In the second
embodiment, the switch is operated by a button 220 formed on the elongate
member.
Inasmuch as this type of wiring and switch connection are well within the
purview of those
skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, no further disclosure
will be given for
brevity.
In the case that the lever 120 is used to control the power supply switch, the
lever is
120 stored in a position wherein it lies flat against the wand 112 in the
manner shown in
Fig. 1. After the wand 112 is deployed, the lever 120 is pivoted through about
120-140° to
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the position illustrated in Fig. 3. Depressing the lever 120 down from this
position toward
the elongate member 110 moves the tongue-like angled member formed at the end
of the
lever 120 (see Fig. 4) in a manner which activates the power supply switch.
If desired the hinge can be provided with a click stop to prevent the wand 112
from
folding back on the operators hand during use.
When it is desired to use the cordless hair styler, all that is necessary is
for the
fastener to be released and for the flexible body 102 to be unwrapped to
assume the state
shown in Fig. 1 for example. After this, the wand 112 can be pivoted all the
way from its
storage position (see Fig. 2 showing the wand 112 partially pivoted from its
storage
position) to its operative position wherein it may clicklock in position.
After this, the soft
pliable member 102A can be wrapped around the battery packs 116 in a manner
which
draws them in under the elongate member 110 and the fastener 102B is fastened
to hold the
battery packs in position under the elongate member in the manner illustrated
in Fig. 3.
When the use of the cordless hair styler is no longer required, the fastener
102B can
be unfastened, the flexible body 102 unrolled and the wand 112 folded back
against the
elongate member 110 to assume a position between the battery packs 116. The
flexible
body 102 is then rolled up and the flexible extension portion 102A wrapped
around the
flexible body 102 and rigid elements (viz., the elongate member 110, the wand
112 and the
battery packs 116) and the fastener 102B fastened. This results in the
arrangement
depicted in Fig. 4.
A socket for a charger connection is provided in the end of the elongate
member
110 and concealed by a rectangular cover in the manner illustrated in Fig 7.
This allows
for the recharging of rechargeable batteries in the battery packs 116 and/or
the operation of
the hair styler using an external source of power such as a cigarette lighter
socket in an
automotive vehicle.
While the invention has been disclosed with reference to a limited number of
embodiments, the various modifications and variations which can be made
without
departing from the scope of the invention, which is limited only by the
appended claims,
will be self evident to those skilled in the art of container construction and
shipping. For
example, embodiments are possible wherein there is only one battery pack or
wherein the
flexible body is formed of patterned/textured material having grip improving
shock
absorbing bumps/projections formed therein to improve the protection of the
attachment
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/accessory and the battery packs against impact damage or the like. Of course,
any
electrically operated device could be used in place of the attachment which
has been
described and illustrated in this disclosure.
