Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02995481 2018-02-12
WO 2017/031417 PCT11JS2016/047757
AUTOMATIC HAIR CURLER
Background
100011 With the development of society, hair styling has become a lifestyle
in the
pursuit of beauty of people, thus various hair styling tools have come into
being, such
as hair straighteners, hair curlers and the like. The hair curler is a hand-
held electronic
product used for curling hair, and main components thereof are a handle and a
heating
drum. In the design of the hair curler, a circuit panel is used for
controlling the
temperature, and the heating drum is made of a tourmaline ceramic panel, which
can
averagely disperse heat, circularly heat, improve hair protein structures to
generate
curls and protect the hair during the curling.
100021 The existing hair curlers on the market can be divided into manual
hair curlers
and semiautomatic hair curlers based on ways of using them, and heating parts
of the
hair curlers are generally exposed at the outside, so scald is likely to occur
in use. If
the manual hair curlers are used for curling hair at home, it can be completed
only
with the help of others, so the operation is inconvenient. If the
semiautomatic hair
curlers are operated by the users themselves, they have to choose hair curlers
with
clips, because hair curlers without clips are difficult to operate by the
users
themselves, and thus having certain limitation in use.
Summary
[0003] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that
are further
described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to
identify
key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to
be used as
an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0004] In one aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an
automatic
hair curler that includes a handle, a hair curling component installed on the
handle,
wherein the hair curling component includes a heating rod extending from the
handle,
a shell disposed at least partially around the heating rod, a rotating seat
that is sleeved
around the heating rod and rotatable relative to the heating rod, and a hair
curling
cavity formed between an inner surface of the rotating seat and an outer
surface of the
1
heating rod, the hair curling cavity having an upper end opening, and a
driving device operatively
connected to the rotating seat to rotate the rotating seat relative to the
heating rod.
100051 In another aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to
an automatic hair curler
that includes a handle, a heating rod extending from the handle, a rotating
seat extending at least
partially around a circumference of the heating rod and extending a height
from the handle at
least partially overlapping a height of the heating rod, and a hair curling
cavity formed between
an inner surface of the rotating seat and an outer surface of the heating rod.
100061 In yet another aspect, embodiments of the present disclosure relate
to an automatic hair curler
that includes a handle, a heating rod extending from the handle, a rotating
seat extending at least
partially around the heating rod, and a hair curling cavity formed between an
inner surface of the
rotating seat and an outer surface of the heating rod, the hair curling cavity
having an opening
formed at an upper end of the rotating seat opposite the handle.
10006A1 In a broad aspect, the present invention pertains to an automatic
hair curler comprising a
handle, and a hair curling component installed on the handle. The hair curling
component
comprises a heat rod extending from the handle, a shell disposed at least
partially around the
heating rod, a rotating seat that is sleeved around the heating rod and
rotatable relative to the
heating rod, and a hair curling cavity formed between an inner surface of the
rotating seat and an
outer surface of the heating rod, the hair curling cavity having an upper end
opening. A notch
extends downwards from a top end face of the shell, the notch being in
communication with the
upper end opening of the hair curling cavity, and a driving device is
operatively connected to the
rotating seat to rotate the rotating seat relative to the heating rod.
10006B1 In a further aspect, the present invention provides an automatic
hair curler comprising a
handle, a heating rod extending from the handle, and a rotating seat extending
at least partially
around a circumference of the heating rod and extending a height from the
handle at least
partially overlapping a height of the heating rod. A hair curling cavity is
formed between an
inner surface of the rotating seat and an outer surface of the heating rod. A
shell is mounted to
the handle, and extends a height greater than the height of the heating rod
from the handle. The
2
CA 2995481 2019-05-13
shell comprises a notch extending from an upper end of the shell towards the
handle, the notch
being in communication with an opening of the hair curling cavity.
[0006C] Yet further, the present invention provides an automatic hair
curler comprising a handle, a
heating rod extending from the handle, and a hair curling cavity formed
between an inner surface
of the rotating seat and an outer surface of the heating rod. The hair curling
cavity has an opening
formed at an upper end of the rotating seat opposite the handle, and there is
a positioning elastic
part extending from the inner surface of the rotating seat into the hair
curling cavity.
[0007] Other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following
description and the
appended claims.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0008] Fig. I is a schematic diagram of a hair curler according to
embodiments of the present
disclosure;
[0009] Fig. 2 is a cross sectional schematic diagram of a hair curler
according to embodiments of the
present disclosure;
[0010] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a rotating seat according to
embodiments of the present
disclosure;
[0011] Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a rotating seat according to
embodiments of the present
disclosure.
2a
CA 2995481 2019-05-13
CA 02995481 2018-02-12
WO 2017/031417 PCT/US2016/047757
[0012] Reference signs: 10: handle, 20: shell, 21: notch, 30: heating rod,
31: cover
body, 40: rotating seat, 41: shifting part, 41': shifting part, 42:
positioning elastic part,
43: slecving part, 44: shifting piece, 45: elastic piece, 51: motor, 52:
mounting shaft,
53: gear, 54: bearing and 60: hair curling cavity.
Detailed Description
100011 Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to hair
styling tools,
and particular embodiments relate to an automatic hair curler.
[0002] Automatic hair curlers according to embodiments of the present
disclosure,
which can achieve automatic hair curling, may improve hair curling efficiency
while
also being simple to operate.
[0003] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, an automatic
hair curler
may include a handle, a hair curling component installed on the handle. The
hair
curling component may include a shell arranged on the handle, a heating rod
arranged
on the handle and a rotating seat that is sleeved at the outside of the
heating rod and
rotatable relative to the heating rod. A hair curling cavity with an upper end
opening
may be formed between an inner surface of the rotating seat and an outer
surface of
the heating rod. A notch extending downwards from a top end face of the shell
for
placing hair may be formed at an upper end of the shell, where the notch may
be
communicated with the opening of the hair curling cavity. A shifting part for
shifting
the hair to wind the hair on the heating rod when the rotating seat rotates
may be
arranged on the rotating seat. The automatic hair curler may also include a
driving
device used for driving the rotating seat to rotate relative to the heating
rod. When
hair is inserted into a hair curling cavity of the automatic hair curler and
the driving
device drives the rotating seat, one or more features on the rotating seat
(e.g., a
shifting part or a positioning elastic part) may wind the hair around the
heating rod as
the heating rod is heated, thereby automatically curling the inserted hair.
[0004] The driving device may include a motor installed on the handle, a
mounting
shaft fixedly connected with the handle, a bearing for pivoting the rotating
seat on the
mounting shaft and a gear that is fixed on the rotating seat and is
synchronously
3
CA 02995481 2018-02-12
WO 2017/031417 PCT/US2016/047757
coupled with a rotating shaft of the motor. The heating rod may be installed
at an
upper end of the mounting shaft.
[0005] A rotating seat may include a sleeving part that is sleeved on an
outer ring of
the bearing and fixedly connected with the outer ring of the bearing and a
shifting
piece distributed on the periphery of the sleeving part, where the hair
curling cavity
may be located between an inner surface of the shifting piece and the outer
surface of
the heating rod.
[0006] A shifting part may be composed of projections that are convexly
arranged on
a side wall of the shifting piece, and a positioning elastic part may be
arranged on an
inner wall of the shifting piece.
[0007] An elastic piece gradually inclined outwards from bottom to top may
be
arranged at an upper end of the shifting piece, and the shifting part may be
located at a
juncture of the shifting piece and the elastic piece.
[00081 The automatic hair curler may further include a cover body installed
at a top
end of the heating rod, where an outer surface of the cover body is an arc
surface.
100091 According to embodiments of the present disclosure, hair may be put
in a
notch formed in the shell of an automatic hair curler, and since the notch is
communicated with the opening of the hair curling cavity, the hair put in the
notch
can enter the hair curling cavity, and the shifting part can wind the hair on
the heating
rod during rotation of the rotating seat to achieve automatic hair curling in
a simple
operation. In addition, due to the arrangement of the shell and the rotating
seat, the
heating rod may be effectively prevented from scalding a user, and thus may be
safer
to use when compared with prior art hair curlers.
[0010] Specific embodiments according to the present disclosure will be
further
described below in combination with the drawings.
100111 An automatic hair curler, as shown in Fig. 1 to Fig. 4, may include
a handle
10, a hair curling component installed on the handle 10 and a driving device.
When in
use, under the action of the driving device, the hair curling component starts
working
4
CA 02995481 2018-02-12
WO 2017/031417 PCT/US2016/047757
to accomplish a hair curling process, and since a user holds the handle 10,
scalding
may be avoided.
[0012] The hair curling component may include a shell 20, a heating rod 30
and a
rotating seat 40. The shell 20 may extend at least partially around (and up to
entirely
around) the circumference of the heating rod 30, and may extend a height
axially
overlapping the entire height of the heating rod 30. The shell 20 may be
radially
spaced from the heating rod 30, such that hair may be inserted between the
shell 20
and the heating rod 30. In some embodiments, the rotating seat 40 may be
disposed
between the heating rod 30 and the shell 20, wherein the heating rod 30,
rotating seat
40 and shell 20 may be radially spaced apart from each other, and wherein hair
may
be inserted between the heating rod 30 and the rotating seat 40. The rotating
seat 40
may extend at least partially around a circumference of the heating rod 30 and
may
extend a height from the handle 10 that at least partially overlaps the
heating rod 30.
100131 Fig. 1 shows a partial sectional view of an automatic hair curler
according to
embodiments of the present disclosure, where a portion of the shell 20 is
sectioned to
show the internal features, including the heating rod 30 and the rotating seat
40. As
shown, a shifting part 41 for shifting hair may be arranged on the rotating
seat 40.
Both of the heating rod 30 and the shell 20 are fixed on the handle 10, while
the
rotating seat 40 is sleeved around the outside of the heating rod 30 and can
rotate
relative to the heating rod 30 under the drive of the driving device.
Meanwhile, a hair
curling cavity 60 used for curling the hair can be formed between an outer
surface of
the heating rod 30 and an inner surface of the rotating seat 40, where an
upper end of
the hair curling cavity 60 is open. In addition, a notch 21 communicated with
the hair
curling cavity 60 is formed on the shell 20, where the notch 21 extends from a
top end
face of the shell 20 downwards. In this way, during use by the user, the hair
may be
put in the hair curling cavity 60 from the notch 21, and under the drive of
the driving
device, the rotating seat 40 starts rotating. Since both of the shell 20 and a
mounting
shaft 52 are fixed relative to the handle 10, a shifting part 41 arranged on
the rotating
seat 40 can wind the hair on the heating rod 30 with the rotation of the
rotating seat
40, where a curling effect of the hair wound on the heating rod 30 can be
achieved in
a continuous heating process of the heating rod 30. Furthermore, due to the
CA 02995481 2018-02-12
WO 2017/031417 PCT/US2016/047757
arrangement of the shell 20 and the rotating seat 40, the user can be
effectively
isolated from a heat source of the heating rod 30 to avoid scalding the user
by the
heating rod 30 in a hair curling process, thus being safer to use.
[0014] Fig. 2 shows a cross sectional view of the hair curler shown in Fig.
I. As
shown in Fig. 2, a driving device of the hair curler may include a motor 51,
the
mounting shaft 52, a bearing 54 and a gear 53. The motor 51 may be installed
on the
handle 10, and the gear 53 may be fixedly connected with the rotating seat 40,
where
the gear 53 is synchronously coupled with a rotating shaft of the motor 51. In
addition, the mounting shaft 52 may be fixed to the handle 10, the heating rod
30 may
be fixed at the upper end of the mounting shaft 52, and the rotating seat 40
may be
pivoted on the mounting shaft 52 by the bearing 54. In this way, under the
drive of
the motor 51, the gear 53 starts rotating, and the rotating seat 40 can rotate
under the
action of the gear 53 and the bearing 54, and the rotating seat 40 can stably
rotate
relative to the heating rod 30.
[0015] As shown in Fig. 3, a rotating seat 40 may include a sleeving part
43 and a
shifting piece 44, where the shifting piece 44 is distributed on the periphery
of the
sleeving part 43 and extends outwardly from the sleeving part 43. The sleeving
part
43 may be sleeved on an outer ring of the bearing 54 and fixedly connected
with the
outer ring of the bearing 54. A hair curling cavity 60 can be formed by the
inner
surface of the shifting piece 44 and the outer surface of the heating rod 30
in
cooperation, so the entire structure is more stable.
[0016] The shifting piece 44 may extend at least partially around a
circumference of
sleeving part 43 (such that the shifting piece may extend at least partially
around an
assembled heating rod). For example, in the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 4,
two
shifting pieces 44 may be spaced apart around the circumference of the
sleeving part
43, thereby extending less than the entire circumference of the sleeving part
43. In
some embodiments, one or more shifting pieces may extend the entire
circumference
around the sleeving part or less than the entire circumference of the sleeving
part.
Further, the shifting piece 44 may include at least one shifting part 41,
where shifting
parts 41 may be formed of projections that are convexly arranged as part of a
side
6
CA 02995481 2018-02-12
WO 2017/031417 PCT/US2016/047757
wall of the shifting piece 44. Shifting parts 41 may help shifting or
otherwise
maneuvering of hair inserted into the automatic hair curler. Meanwhile, a
positioning
elastic part 42 may be arranged on an inner wall of the shifting piece 44, so
the hair
can be wound on the heating rod 30 more smoothly in a hair curling process,
and
accordingly, the hair curling effect may be better. The positioning elastic
part 42 may
extend inwardly from the side wall of the shifting piece 44, such that the
positioning
elastic part 42 may extend into the hair curling cavity 60 formed between the
inner
surface of the shifting piece 44 and the outer surface of the heating rod 30.
[0017] In some embodiments, a rotating seat may adopt the structure as
shown in Fig.
4. where an elastic piece 45 may be arranged at an upper end of the shifting
piece 44.
The elastic piece 45 may gradually incline outwards from the upper end of the
shifting
piece 44, inclining in a direction from a bottom of the elastic piece to a top
of the
elastic piece. The elastic piece 45 may have certain flexibility, and thus may
shake
during rotation of the rotating seat 40 and may also play a certain combing
function
on the hair, so as achieve the effect of winding the hair on the heating rod
30 more
smoothly. The shifting part 41 may be located at a juncture of the shifting
piece 44
and the elastic piece 45. The positioning elastic part and the elastic piece
described
above may be made of a silica gel material or such elastic materials as rubber
blocks
or plastic blocks, etc.
[0018] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an
automatic hair
curler may include a handle, a heating rod extending from the handle, a
rotating seat
extending at least partially around the heating rod, a hair curling cavity
formed
between an inner surface of the rotating seat and an outer surface of the
heating rod, a
motor installed in the handle, a mounting shaft fixedly connected to the
handle, and a
gear fixed on the rotating seat and synchronously coupled with a rotating
shaft of the
motor, wherein the heating rod is installed at an upper end of the mounting
shaft. A
sleeving part of the rotating seat may be sleeved around at least a partial
axial length
of the mounting shaft, such that the sleeving part may be axially retained to
the handle
of the automatic hair curler and rotatable around the mounting shaft. For
example, the
hair curler shown in Fig. 2 includes a mounting shaft 52 fixed to the handle
and a
heating rod 30 fixed to the mounting shaft 52. A rotating seat 40 is disposed
around
7
CA 02995481 2018-02-12
WO 2017/031417 PCT/US2016/047757
at least a portion of the heating rod 30 and rotatably retained to the handle.
Particularly, a sleeving part of the rotating seat 40 may be sleeved around at
least a
partial axial length of the mounting shaft 52 and rotatable around the
mounting shaft
52 by gear 53 when driven by the motor 51. In some embodiments, the diameter
of
the heating rod 30 may be greater than the diameter of the mounting shaft 52,
whereby the diameter of the heating rod may act to axially retain the sleeving
part of
the rotating seat 40. In some embodiments, one or more gears 53 may act to
axially
retain the sleeving part of the rotating seat 40 to the handle.
[0019] In some embodiments, such as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a bearing 54
may be
disposed between a mounting shaft 52 and a sleeving part 43 of a rotating seat
40,
where the bearing 54 may be fixed to either the mounting shaft 52 or the
sleeving part
43. In some embodiments, an outer surface of a mounting shaft and/or an inner
surface of a sleeving part may be coated with a bearing material, such as a
reduced
friction material, where the coated surface may act as the bearing between the
mounting shaft and the sleeving part of a rotating seat.
[0020] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, an automatic hair curler may further
include a
cover body 31 installed at a top end of the heating rod 30. An outer surface
of the
cover body 31 may be an arc surface, which may provide a better guide function
for
the hair in the hair curling process.
[0021] While the present disclosure has been described with respect to a
limited
number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this
disclosure, will
appreciate that other embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the
scope of the disclosure as described herein. Accordingly, the scope of the
disclosure
should be limited only by the attached claims.
8