Description HAIR ROD HAVING MAGNET ROTATABLY ATTACHED

THERETO

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates, in general, to a hair rod around which hair is curled when giving a permanent and, more particularly, to a hair rod in which a magnet is rotatably provided, thus allowing hair rods to be easily attached to each other using magnetic force. Background Art

[2] As is well known to people, hair rods have been generally used to roll hair when giving a permanent wave treatment.

[3] The permanent wave treatment is performed as follows. Permanent chemicals are applied to hair and non- woven fabric is laid to overlap with the hair. In such a state, the hair is rolled around each hair rod. Subsequently, an elastic member such as a rubber band is fastened to the opposite ends of each hair rod, thus holding the hair such that it is not released from the hair rod.

[4] However, such a permanent wave treatment is problematic in that the non- woven fabric for preventing the rubber band from contacting the hair, the rubber band for holding the hair, and other consumption articles are required, so that the cost of the permanent wave treatment is increased, it takes a long time to perform the permanent wave treatment, and it is very complicated and delicate work to fasten the rubber band to the hair rod so as to hold the hair.

[5] In order to solve the problem, Korean U.M Laid Open-Publication No. 1991-17687 discloses a hair rod which is constructed so that hair rods contact each other to be attached to each other.

[6] The conventional hair rod has on opposite ends thereof pieces of male and female magic tape, so that neighboring hair rods are detachably attached to each other, or has on opposite ends thereof ring-shaped magnets, so that neighboring hair rods are directly attached to each other using magnetic force.

[7] However, in the case of using the pieces of magic tape, hair may adhere to the magic tape during the permanent wave treatment, so that great attention is required to be paid thereto. The pieces of male and female magic tape are easily attached to each other, but a very strong force is required to separate the pieces of male and female magic tape from each other. Thus, unless careful attention is paid when the hair rods are separated from each other, hair is pulled.

[8] Further, in the case where the ring-shaped permanent magnets are secured to the

opposite ends of each hair rod, the permanent magnets are fixed at predetermined positions. Thus, when a user desires to magnetically attach the hair rods to each other, the positions of the hair rods must be adjusted such that N and S poles of the hair rods face each other. Thereby, the user must turn the hair rods to and fro to attach the hair rods to each other.

[9] Such a manipulation causes the permanent wave treatment to be very complicated and inconvenient, so that a beauty artist avoids using the above hair rods. Thus, when the permanent wave treatment is performed using the hair rods, the non- woven fabric and the rubber bands are used as in the conventional method, so that it is very complicated and inconvenient. Further, since the consumption articles including the non- woven fabric and the rubber bands are used, it is very uneconomical.

[10] Currently, the permanent wave treatment is performed using the non- woven fabric and the rubber bands as in the conventional method. Thus, if an unskilled person conducts the permanent wave treatment, permanent waves are poor.

[11] Reference document of related art

[12] [Document 1] KR 10-1991-17687 U 1991.11.28

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[13] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hair rod having a magnet rotatably attached thereto, so that adjacent hair rods are easily attached to each other by magnetic force, thus allowing a permanent wave treatment to be conducted very rapidly and conveniently.

[14] Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair rod, which allows even an unskilled person to conduct a permanent wave treatment conveniently and easily. Technical Solution

[15] In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a hair rod having a magnet rotatably attached thereto, including a non-magnetic hair rolling part around which hair is rolled, a contact part which is made of a non-magnetic material and provided on each of opposite ends of the hair rolling part, a magnet holding space which is defined in the contact part and has a space isolated from an exterior, and a magnet rotatably held in the magnet holding space.

[16] A partition member is integrally provided in the contact part, and a non-magnetic cap is secured to an outer portion of the contact part through adhesion, thus defining a magnet holding space.

[17] A non-magnetic magnet holding part is provided on the contact part, and includes a coupling part which is inserted into the contact part and has the magnet holding space

therein, a coupling groove which is provided in an outer circumference of the coupling part so that the contact part is fitted into and adheres to the coupling groove, and a sealing cap which is secured to an outer portion of the coupling part through adhesion.

[18] The contact part integrated with the hair rolling part has a plurality of separating protrusions therein, and a threaded part formed on an outer circumference of the contact part is fastened to and engages with a threaded part formed on an inner circumference of a non-magnetic nut cap, thus defining the magnet holding space to hold the magnet therein.

[19] Each of the hair rolling part, the contact part and the nut cap is made of a nonmagnetic aluminum material, and the magnet coated with a heat shielding coating member is held in the magnet holding space.

[20] The heat shielding coating member comprises ceramics.

[21] A non-magnetic isolation member is provided inside the contact part, and the magnet holding space is defined between the non-magnetic nut cap having the threaded part engaging with the threaded part of the contact part and the isolation member.

[22] The hair rolling part and the contact part are integrated into a single structure using a non-magnetic plastic material.

[23] The magnet holding part adheres to an inner surface of the contact part which is level with a surface of the hair rolling part, and holds the magnet which is rotatably provided in the magnet holding space. Advantageous Effects

[24] The present invention is advantageous in that magnets themselves rotate automatically to positions at which the magnets may be attached to each other using magnetic force in order to cause the magnets to be magnetically attached to each other when hair rods are being attached to each other, so that it is unnecessary to change the orientations of respective hair rods during the operation of attaching the hair rods, thus affording a very rapid and convenient permanent wave treatment.

[25] Further, since the attachment of hair rods is possible regardless of their attaching orientations, even an unskilled person can conveniently use the hair rods and excellently perform a permanent wave treatment. Description of Drawings

[26] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an entire hair rod according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[27] FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the attached state of the hair rods according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[28] FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view illustrating an entire hair rod according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[29] FIG. 4 is an exploded sectional view illustrating important parts of the hair rod of

FIG. 3; [30] FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the entire construction of a hair rod according to a further embodiment of the present invention; [31] FIG. 6 is an exploded sectional view illustrating important parts of the hair rod of

FIG. 5;

[32] FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line Y-Y' of FIG. 5;

[33] FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the state in which a magnet adapted for use in the present invention is coated; [34] FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the construction of a hair rod according to yet another embodiment of the present invention; and [35] FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the construction of a hair rod according to another embodiment of the present invention. [36] *Description of reference characters of important parts*

[37] 10 : hair rod / 11 : hair rolling part

[38] 12 : contact part / 13 : magnet holding space

[39] 14 : magnet / 15 : partition member

[40] 16 : cap / 17 : magnet holding part

[41] 18 : nut cap / 19 : isolation member

[42] 20 : magnet holding part

Best Mode [43] Herein below, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings for the purpose of providing a clear understanding of the invention. [44] FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a hair rod according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the attached state of the hair rods according to one embodiment of the present invention. [45] Referring to FIG. 1, a hair rod 10 of the present invention includes a hair rolling part

11 which has on opposite ends thereof contact parts 12. [46] The hair rod 10 is formed such that the surface of the hair rolling part 11 is concave to allow hair h to be rolled around the hair rolling part 11. The surface of each contact part 12 is formed to protrude outwards in comparison with the surface of the hair rolling part 11. [47] When viewing one end of the hair rod 10, it usually has a circular cross section.

However, if necessary, the hair rod 10 may have a rectangular shape or a triangular shape. [48] Thus, a magnet holding space 13 is defined in the contact part 12 which is provided on each of the opposite ends of the hair rolling part 11, and is isolated from the

exterior. A magnet 14 is rotatably held in the magnet holding space 13.

[49] Referring to FIG. 2, a partition member 15 is integrally provided in each contact part

12 to define the magnet holding space 13, and a non-magnetic cap 16 is secured to the outer portion of each contact part 12 through adhesion to define the magnet holding space 13. First, the magnet 14 is inserted into each contact part 12. Afterwards, the contact part 12 is closed by the cap 16.

[50] The cap 16 adheres to the contact part 12 through high frequency heat sealing or the use of an instant adhesive. If necessary, different kinds of adhesives may be used.

[51] Further, the size and shape of the magnet holding space 13 are set such that the magnet 14 is freely rotatable in the magnet holding space 13.

[52] Preferably, one disc-shaped magnet 1 is held in the magnet holding space 13, as shown in the drawings. If necessary, several magnets 14 may be held in the magnet holding space 13, or a bar magnet or magnetic powder may be held in the magnet holding space.

[53] The hair rolling part 11, the contact parts 12 and the caps 16 are integrally formed using a plastic material, thus providing a non-magnetic structure.

[54] Thus, each magnet 14 is freely movable in the magnet holding space 13 and does not adhere to the inner surface of the contact part 12 or the cap 16.

[55] Thus, according to the present invention, when one hair rod 10 approaches another hair rod 10, as shown in FIG. 2, the approaching contact parts 12 adhere to each other.

[56] In way of a detailed description, each magnet 14 has a N-pole and a S-pole. The N- poles and S-poles of the magnets 14 face each other, so that the plurality of magnets 14 magnetically adhere to each other.

[57] Thus, in the case where one hair rod 10 is placed independently, each magnet 14 is oriented in the magnet holding space 13 regardless of the positions of the N- and S- poles.

[58] However, when one hair rod 10 approaches another hair rod 10, magnetic force responsible for adhering the magnets 14 held in the magnet holding spaces 13 of the approaching contact parts 12 to each other is generated. Thus, one magnet 14 is rotated such that a facing magnetic pole becomes the N-pole, and the other magnet 14 is rotated such that a facing magnetic pole becomes the S-pole. Thereby, as shown by the solid lines of FIG. 2, the magnets 14 move toward the inner surfaces of the contact parts 12, so that the facing contact parts 12 adhere to each other using the magnetic force of the magnets 14.

[59] Further, the hair rods 10 attached to each other using magnetic force can be easily detached from each other by forcibly separating the hair rods 10 from each other by hand.

[60] Unless another hair rod 10 is adjacent to the separated hair rod 10, each magnet 14

may be freely movable in the magnet holding space 13. When the hair rods 10 approach each other again, in order to attach the magnets 14 to each other, the magnets 14 rotate in the magnet holding space 13 such that the N- and S-poles of the magnets 14 face each other while moving to the inner surfaces of the contact parts 12 in such a way as to be in close contact therewith. Thereby, the contact parts 12 are in contact with each other and adhere to each other, attaching the hair rods 10 to each other.

[61] Further, the hair rods 10 are attached to each other as shown in FIG. 2. To the outer portion of the attached hair rods may be attached another hair rod 10. A further hair rod 10 may be continuously attached to a side of an attached hair rod.

[62] Thus, according to the present invention, a lock of hair h is rolled around the hair rolling part 11 of one hair rod 10, and another lock of hair h is rolled around the hair rolling part 11 of another hair rod 10. In such a state, the hair rods 10 attach themselves to each other using magnetic force. In this case, the locks of hair h rolled around the respective hair rolling parts 11 are in contact with each other and compressed, so that the locks of hair h are not released from but are secured to the hair rolling parts 11.

[63] Therefore, unlike the conventional permanent wave treatment, the non- woven fabric and the rubber band which are used to prevent hair h from being released from the hair rolling part 11 are not required, and the operation of fastening the rubber band to the hair rod is not required, so that the time for the permanent wave treatment is very much shortened and the operation of the permanent wave treatment is very conveniently performed.

[64] Further, according to the conventional permanent wave treatment, when hair rods are attached to each other using magnets, the orientations of the hair rods must be changed so that the N and S poles face each other, so that it is very inconvenient and complicated to perform the permanent wave treatment. In contrast, according to the present invention, when the hair rods 10 are being attached to each other, the magnets 14 themselves automatically rotate to positions at which the magnets 14 are attached to each other using magnetic force. Thus, the hair rods 10 can be attached to each other without the necessity of changing the orientations of the hair rods, so that the permanent wave treatment is very rapidly and conveniently performed.

[65] Therefore, the hair rods 10 may be attached to each other without considering the orientations of the hair rods 10, so that even an unskilled person who is not accustomed to the permanent wave treatment using the non- woven fabric and rubber bands can excellently perform the permanent wave treatment conveniently using the hair rods 10. Mode for Invention

[66] FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention.

[67] According to this embodiment, a magnet holding part 17 which is made of a nonmagnetic material is provided on a contact part 12 which is on each of opposite ends of

a non-magnetic hair rolling part 11, and thus defines a magnet holding space 13 in which a magnet 14 is held.

[68] The magnet holding part 17 has a coupling part 17a which is inserted into the contact part 12, and the magnet holding space 13 is defined in the coupling part 17a.

[69] Further, a coupling groove 17b is formed along the outer circumference of the coupling part 17a, so that the contact part 12 is fitted into and adheres to the coupling groove 17b.

[70] Thus, after an adhesive is applied to the contact part 12, it is forcibly fitted into the coupling groove 17b. The magnet 14 is inserted into the magnet holding space 13, and subsequently a non-magnetic sealing cap 17c is secured to the opening of the magnet holding space 13 through adhesion.

[71] In this case, while the contact part 12 has the magnet holding space 13 and the magnet 14, a firmer structure is achieved, and thus the reliability of the hair rod is improved.

[72] FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a further embodiment of the present invention.

[73] According to this embodiment, several separating protrusions 12a are provided in a contact part 12 which is provided on each of opposite ends integrally provided on a non-magnetic hair rolling part 11, as shown in FIG. 7, and an external threaded part 12b is provided on the outer circumference of the contact part 12.

[74] Further, a non-magnetic nut cap 18 is provided, with an internal threaded part 18a provided on the inner circumference of the nut cap 18.

[75] Thus, when the magnet 14 is inserted into the contact part 12 and the internal threaded part 18a of the nut cap 18 engages with the external threaded part 12b of the contact part 12, a magnet holding space 13 holding the magnet 14 therein is defined.

[76] The contact part 12 and the nut cap 18 are constructed to be fastened to each other using the external and internal threaded parts 12b and 18a. In the case where the hair rolling part 11, the contact part 12 and the nut cap 18 are made of non-magnetic metal such as aluminum, strength is high because of the characteristics of the metal. Thus, a firm coupling state is maintained even though the contact part 12 and the nut cap 18 are coupled to each other using the external and internal threaded parts 12b and 18a.

[77] Further, in the case where the whole portion of the hair rod 10 is made of metal such as aluminum, the hair rod 10 may be heated.

[78] The permanent wave treatment may be conducted as follows. After permanent chemicals are applied to the hair h, the hair is rolled around the hair rod made of a plastic material, thus setting waves into the hair. Further, the hair rod itself may be heated to impart a permanent. Furthermore, after the hair is rolled around the hair rod, a hair drier is used, so that waves may be set into the hair. In this case, the hair rod 10 made of metal which is resistant to heat or ceramics is mainly used.

[79] Thus, in the case where the whole portion of the hair rod 10 is made of non-magnetic metal such as aluminum, the hair rod 10 perform a permanent wave treatment using external thermal energy transmitted to the hair rod 10.

[80] Hence, when thermal energy is transmitted to the hair rod 10 made of an aluminum material, the thermal energy is inevitably transmitted to the magnet 14 held in the magnet holding space 13. However, when the thermal energy is transmitted to the magnet 14, the magnetic force of the magnet 14 may undesirably become weak.

[81] Thus, according to the present invention, in order to prevent the magnetic force of the magnet 14 from being reduced, the surface of the magnet 14 is coated with a heat shielding coating member 14a, as shown in FIG. 8, thus preventing the magnetic force of the magnet 14 from being reduced because of the heat.

[82] The heat shielding coating member 14a comprises a ceramic solution which is applied to the magnet 14 at a thickness from about 0.8 to 1.2 mm and then is hardened, thus coating the magnet 14. Since the technology for coating ceramics is already known to those skilled in the art, the detailed description will be omitted herein.

[83] Thus, the ceramic heat shielding coating member 14a shields heat due to its properties, so that the magnet 14 is not heated and the magnetic force of the magnet 14 is not reduced. Particularly, since the temperature of the thermal energy transmitted to the hair rod 10 is not high and the hair rod 10 is not heated for a lengthy period of time, the heat can be sufficiently shielded by the heat shielding coating member 14a of the ceramic material.

[84] FIG. 9 illustrates yet another embodiment of the present invention.

[85] According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, a non-magnetic isolation member 19 is held inside the contact parts 12 which are provided on the opposite ends of a nonmagnetic hair rolling part 11. A sponge which is very light in weight is used as the isolation member 19.

[86] After a magnet 14 is inserted into the contact part 12, the internal threaded part 18a of a non-magnetic nut cap 18 is fastened to the external threaded part 12b of the contact part 12.

[87] Thus, a magnet holding space 13 is provided in the contact part 12 between the nut cap 18 and the isolation member 19, so that the magnet 14 is held in the magnet holding space.

[88] According to this embodiment, when the magnet 14 moves in the magnet holding space 13, the magnet 14 collides with the inner surface of the magnet holding space 13, so that the sound of their colliding is generated. Here, in the case where the magnet 14 collides with the isolation member 19 such as a sponge, the sound of the collision is reduced. Further, the isolation member 19 is light, thus providing a hair rod 10 which may be magnetically attached without considerably increasing the net weight of a hair

iron.

[89] FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment of the present invention. According to this embodiment, a hair rod 10 is constructed so that contact parts 12 are level with the surface of a non-magnetic hair rolling part 11 and magnet holding spaces 13 are provided to hold respective magnets 14 therein.

[90] The hair rod 10 may be constructed so that the hair rolling part 11 is level with the contact parts 12, or so that hair h is fitted between a number of bristles 11a formed on the outer surfaces of the hair rolling part 11 and the contact parts 12 which are level with each other, thus rolling the hair around the hair rod 10 so that the hair h does not become disheveled.

[91] Thus, according to this embodiment, a magnet holding part 20 adheres to the inner surface of each contact part 12 and holds the magnet 14 which is rotatably provided in the magnet holding space 13.

[92] The magnet holding part 20 includes separating members 21 and 21' which are separated in opposite directions. The separating members are butted and attached to each other forming a single structure. Before the separating members 21 and 21' are coupled to each other, the magnet 14 is inserted into the space defined between the separating members 21 and 21'. However, it is not necessary to construct the magnet holding part 20 as described above, as long as the magnet holding part 20 has the magnet holding space 13 which rotatably holds the magnet 14 and is inserted and secured to the inner surface of the contact part 12.

[93] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. Industrial Applicability

[94] The present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a hair rod having a magnet rotatably attached thereto, so that adjacent hair rods are easily attached to each other by magnetic force, thus allowing a permanent wave treatment to be conducted very rapidly and conveniently.

[95] So, the present invention has a lot of industrial applicability.

Sequence List Text

[96] NO RELATIONS.