This invention relates to a hair styling apparatus and, in particular, such an apparatus for curling hair.

There are in existence various hair styling apparatus for drying, heating, curling, straightening, or otherwise treating or styling hair. Most such apparatus are electrically operated for providing air flow for treatment of hair. Some conventional hair styling apparatus provide heated air flow for curling the hair being treated. However, it is found in practice that, during such treatment, it is relatively difficult to release the curled hair from the apparatus. In addition, it is also found that it is difficult for a user to adjust the extent of curling of the hair so treated.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a hair styling apparatus and an accessory for a hair styling apparatus in which the aforesaid shortcomings are mitigated, or at least to provide a useful alternative to the public.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair styling apparatus including a body with an air flow generator and an air inlet, and a head at one end of said body, said head including a plurality of perforations and at least one teeth row with at least two teeth, wherein air is adapted to enter said body via said air inlet and exit said apparatus via said perforations, wherein said head and said at least one teeth row are rotatable simultaneously relative to said body about a longitudinal axis of said head, and wherein each of said at least two teeth of said at least one teeth row lies on a different longitudinal plane through said head and containing said longitudinal axis of said head.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an accessory for a hair styling apparatus, said accessory including a head including a plurality of perforations and at least one teeth row, wherein said at least one teeth row includes at least two teeth, wherein said head and said at least one teeth row are movable simultaneously with each other, and wherein each of said at least two teeth of said at least one teeth row lies on a different longitudinal plane through said head and containing said longitudinal axis of said head.

An electric hair curling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a rear view of an electric hair curling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a top view of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a left side view of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 shows a front view of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 shows a front perspective of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 shows an exploded perspective view of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 shows an enlarged view of the head of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 shows a schematic view of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1 in operation;

Fig. 10 shows a top view of the head of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 11 shows a schematic top view of the head of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 shows a side view of the head of Fig. 10 engaged with the coupling ring;

Fig. 13 shows a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Figs. 14 and 15 show the flow of air through the hair during operation of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Figs. 16 to 20 show steps of operating the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1;

Fig. 21 shows a further manner of operating the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 22 shows another accessory which may be detachably engaged with the body of the hair curling apparatus of Fig. 1.

An electric hair curling apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figs. 1 to 5, and generally designated as 10. The apparatus 10 includes an elongate body 12 with a first longitudinal end 14 and a second longitudinal end 16 which are opposite to each other. Adjacent the first longitudinal end 14 of the body 12 is an air inlet 18 through which air from the outside environment may enter the interior of the body 12. A generally dome- shaped metal head 20 is detachably engaged with the second longitudinal end 16 of the body 12. The head 20 is rotatable relative to the body 12 about a central longitudinal axis L-L of the head 20, further details of which will be discussed below.

On the body 12 are a manually operable ON/OFF switch 21 for activating or deactivating the apparatus 10 and a manually operable LEFT/RIGHT switch 23 for controlling the direction in which the head 20 rotates relative to the body 12.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the apparatus 10 houses within its body 12 an electric motor 22 serving two functions. Firstly, the motor 22 is coupled to a fan (not shown) within the body 12 for generating air flow. Downstream of the fan is a heating filament (not shown) for heating up the air which passes by. Upon operation of the fan, air is drawn from the outside environment into the interior of the body 12 via the air inlet 18. Such air is then caused to pass through the heating filament in the interior of the body 12 and to subsequently enter the interior cavity of the head 20. The ON/OFF switch 21 may further be operated to control the temperature to which the heating filament is heated, thus controlling the temperature of air exiting the apparatus 10.

The head 20 is detachably engaged with the body 12 via a coupling ring 24 for simultaneous movement. The motor 22 is also coupled (e.g. via a gear chain) with the coupling ring 24, and thus with the head 20 to drive the head 20 to rotate relative to the body 12 about a common central longitudinal axis L-L of the head 20 and the body 12. The coupling between the motor 22 and the head 20 is such that the head 20 may rotate relative to the body 12 about the axis L-L selectively in clockwise or anti-clockwise directions, as controlled by operating the LEFT/RIGHT switch 23. Of course, it is possible to provide two electric motors, one for driving the fan and one for driving the head 20.

The head 20 has a wider open end 26 and a narrower open end 28, and the wider open end 26 of the head 20 is fixedly engaged with the coupling ring 24, which is detachably engaged with the body 12. In operation, the motor 22 causes the coupling ring 24 to rotate and thus to bring about corresponding rotational movement of the head 20. The head 20 has a number of holes 30 which communicate with the interior cavity of the head 20. By way of such an arrangement, air in the interior cavity of the head 20 is forced by the fan to exit the head 20 (and thus the apparatus 10) via the holes 30 and the narrower open end 28 of the head 20. It can be seen that the narrower open end 28 of the head 20 is larger than each of the holes 30.

A teeth frame 32 is fixedly mounted on an outer surface 33 of the head 20 for simultaneous movement. The teeth frame 32 has a ring portion 34 carrying four generally helical shape teeth rows 36. Each teeth row 36 has a base rib 38 extending in a helical manner away from the ring portion 34 and on which a number of teeth 40 are formed. Thus, when the teeth frame 32 is fixedly mounted on the head 20, each of the teeth rows 36 lies on the dome-shaped outer surface 33 of the head 20 in a generally helical manner. The teeth 40 extend away from each respective base rib 38 and away from the outer surface 33 of the head 20. The free distal end 42 of each tooth 40 is in a ball shape. The teeth frame 32 is an integral whole, which means that the ring portion 34, the teeth rows 36 and all the teeth 40 are integrally formed with one another.

Referring now to Fig. 8, it can be seen that the angle between the central longitudinal axis L-L of the head 20 and each respective tooth 40 of each teeth row 36 differs from one another. In particular, and as shown in Fig. 8, such an angle is the smallest with the tooth 40 closest to the ring portion 34 of the teeth frame 32 (and thus farthest away from the longitudinal end 16 of the body 12 when the head 20 is engaged with the body 12) and increases gradually to the tooth 40 farthest away from the ring portion 34 of the teeth frame 32 (and thus closest to the longitudinal end 16 of the body 12 when the head 20 is engaged with the body 12) for which the relevant angle is the largest. This is the case whether the angles are measured in a two-dimensional manner (i.e. as a two-dimensional projection) or in a three-dimensional manner. Fig. 8 shows measurements of the angles of various teeth 40 relative to the central longitudinal axis L-L of the head 20 in a two-dimensional manner.

Generally speaking, during operation of the apparatus 10, and as shown in Fig. 9, the head 20 rotates relative to the body 12 while the apparatus 10 is moved through the hair in a direction away from the head of the person whose hair is being treated, so as to create curling effect on the hair.

It should be noted that although the teeth 40 of the teeth rows 36 are shown here as of equal length, it is possible to arrange the teeth 40 such that their length increases, for each respective teeth row 36, from the tooth 40 closest to the ring portion 34 gradually to the tooth 40 farthest away from the ring portion 34, or in a reverse manner.

Turning now to Figs. 10 and 11, it can be seen that, when observed from the top, each teeth row 36a, 36b, 36c, 36d curves by about 90° on the outer surface 33 of the head 20. Take the teeth row 36a as an example, its topmost tooth (i.e. the tooth closest to the ring portion 34) is positioned at Al whereas its lowermost tooth (i.e. the tooth farthest away from the ring portion 34) is positioned at B2. It can also be seen that each tooth 40 of each respective teeth row 36a, 36b, 36c, 36d lies on a different longitudinal plane through the head 20 and containing the central longitudinal axis L-L of the head 20. By way of such an arrangement, and as shown in Fig. 12, more teeth 40 may be provided, as compared with the case where all the teeth 40 of a teeth row 36 lie on a common longitudinal plane through the head 20 and containing the central longitudinal axis L-L of the head 20. The present invention provides a higher teeth density and thus facilitates hair catching for styling purposes. This also reduces the possibility of blocking the air flow through the narrower open end 28 and holes 30 of the head 20.

It can be seen from Fig. 13 that, after entering the interior of the body 12 of the apparatus 10, the air travels through the entire apparatus 10 and exits (via the open end 28 and holes 30 of the head 20) in a generally straight path which is parallel to the common central longitudinal axis L-L of the body 12 and the head 20. In addition, as the narrower open end 28 of the head 20 is larger than each of the holes 30, more air passes through the narrower open end 28 of the head 20 than through each of the holes 30. Thus, and as shown in Figs. 14 and 15, heated air from the apparatus 10 flows into the hair being treated in a generally straight path which is parallel to the common central longitudinal axis L-L of the body 12 and the head 20. Such hot air flows directly to the core of hair roll, thus providing more efficient and long lasting curling effect on the hair.

Turning now to Figs. 16 to 20, which show steps of operation of the apparatus 10, a tress of hair is sectioned out under which the head 20 of the apparatus 10 is positioned. The LEFT/RIGHT switch 23 is then operated to select the direction in which the head 20 rotates relative to the body 12. During rotation of the head 20, such locks the tress of hair in a roll by such rotation, while the apparatus 10 is continuously moved away from the root of the tress of hair, such that the tress of hair will be continuously curled by the rotation of the teeth 40 carried by the head 20, with the assistance of hot air flowing to the centre of the hair roll. After treatment by the apparatus 10, and as shown in Figs. 19 and 20, the tresses of rolled hair are left for cooling for around two minutes, and are then released. A user may customize the curling effect by adjusting (a) the amount of hair sectioned out for curling, (b) the degree of tightness to which the tress of hair is rolled, (c) the temperature of the hot air directed to the tress of hair being treated, and (d) the time to release the hair roll. As shown in Fig. 21, a user may "add volume" to the hair by inserting the head 20 of the apparatus 10 deeper into the inner part of the tress of hair, allowing hot air exiting the apparatus 10 to blow to the hair root for a longer period of time, and by pulling the apparatus 10 through and away from the tress of hair slowly.

The apparatus 10 may form part of a hair styling kit including the body 12 and a number of accessories (of which the head 20 with the teeth frame 32 is one) selectively detachably engageable with the body 12. For example, Fig. 22 shows a brush member 44, being another accessory, which may be releasably engaged with the body 12 for rotation relative to the body 12. Such an arrangement provides more versatility in use and convenience to the user.

It should also be noted that the head 20 may form part of any manually or electrically driven rotatable brush.

It should be understood that the above only illustrates an example whereby the present invention may be carried out, and that various modifications and/or alterations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should also be understood that various features of the invention which are here, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any appropriate sub-combinations.