HAIR STYLING ATTACHMENT AND APPARATUS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a hair styling attachment, and in particular to such an attachment, for example a diffuser, volume brush, styling brush or the like, that may be attached to a hair dryer. This invention also relates to a hair styling apparatus with a hot air blower.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many types of hair dryer attachments are known, air diffusers, volume brushes and styling brushes being only a small representative sample. Such attachments may be fitted to the hot air outlet of the barrel of a hair dryer so that they may be used simultaneously with the hair dryer or hair blower. This is particularly convenient since many of the functions of these attachments are only properly effective when carried out simultaneously with the act of drying wet hair. Providing an attachment to a hair dryer saves a user from having to use two separate tools and leaves one hand free.

Such attachments are normally releasably fitted to the air dryer so that when not required they may be removed and the dryer used conventionally, and in addition this allows different types of attachment to be interchanged.

A disadvantage, however, of this type of attachment is that they are fixed in position on the end of the hair dryer barrel. In some respects this gives slightly less flexibility and ease of use in comparison with a completely separate tool. In

particular it is not easy to adjust the position of the attachment relative to a user's head. For example, in some circumstances the tool may work best when it is in full contact with the user's head, but this may require the dryer to be held in an uncomfortable position.

US 5,765,292 discloses a hair attachment with a styling portion and a hair attachment portion. The attachment portion is for coupling the hair attachment to a hair blower, such as a hair dryer. The styling portion of such a hair attachment is connected to the coupling portion by a partially spherical joint so that the downstream end of the styling portion is rotatable about the downstream end of the coupling portion following a circular path so that a user can adjust the downstream end of the styling portion to a suitable angle relative to the hair dryer for more comfortable application during use. The styling portion and the attachment portion are engaged by friction so that the relative field between the axis of the coupling portion and the attachment portion will remain at a pre-set condition until changed by a user.

Although such a hair attachment provides improved versatility, heating of the hair styling portion during use has made such an attachment not sufficiently user friendly. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved hair styling attachment.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved hair styling attachment for use with a hot hair blower. At a minimum, it is an object of this invention to provide the public with a useful choice of a hair styling attachment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is described a hair styling attachment for use with a hot air blower, the attachment comprising a coupling portion having an upstream end for engagement with a hot air blower, and a styling portion in fluid communication with and pivotably engaged with said coupling portion and having a downstream end for delivery of hot air from said hot air blower for hair styling, wherein the styling portion and the coupling joint are pivotably engaged in a manner such that the weight of the styling portion effects relative movement between the coupling portion and the styling portion. This facilitates one hand styling operation since the styling portion will follow the head of a stylee when a stylist moves, turns or twist his/her hand.

Preferably, the styling portion and the coupling portion are engaged via a swivel joint.

Preferably, the styling portion is movable on a conical or part-conical surface about the swivel joint to provide enhanced flexibility of operation.

Preferably, the swivel joint comprises a ball joint, a universal joint, a gimbal joint or other appropriate connection joints. In a preferred embodiment, the universal joint comprises a pair of co-operatively engaging partial spherical housings. In a preferred embodiment, the swivel joint comprises a partially spherical joint which is assembled from an inner joint housing and an outer joint housing, each of the inner and outer joint housings being partially spherical and being concentric.

In an embodiment, the coupling portion defines an air-flow axis, and the styling portion is pivotally moveable relative to the coupling portion between a first and a second angle with the air-flow axis intermediate the first and second angles.

To enable the inclination of the styling portion to be fixed relative to the coupling portion, the attachment preferable comprises an optional locking mechanism which is operable by a user to releasably lock the styling portion with respect to the coupling portion.

Preferably the locking mechanism comprises a resiliently biased actuator which is movable between a locking position for locking the styling portion and a released position at which the styling portion is movable by its own weight relative to the air-flow axis. Yet more preferably, the locking mechanism further comprises a latching mechanism for latching the locking mechanism in the locking position.

So that the styling portion is operable in the unlocked mode unless locked by a user, the actuator is preferably resiliently biased towards the releasing position. In a preferred embodiment, the locking mechanism locks the styling portion by increasing friction between the styling portion and the coupling portion. For example, the locking mechanism is mounted on either the coupling portion or the styling portion for applying increased friction to the swivel joint.

In a specific example, the actuator is movable along a path which is orthogonal to the air-flow axis. More particularly, the actuator is arranged to drive a resilient stop to frictionally lock the swivel joint.

In a preferred embodiment, the attachment comprises a locking mechanism for locking the styling portion at an angle relative to the air-flow axis

wherein, the locking mechanism is operable by a user to lock the styling portion at an angle relative to the air-flow axis, the locking mechanism comprising a resiliently biased actuator which is movable between a locking position for locking the styling portion and a released position at which the styling portion is rotatable by its own weight relative to the air-flow axis.

Exemplary application of the hair styling attachments include a volume brush, a diffuser or a flow concentrator.

According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided a hair styling apparatus comprising a hot air blower and a styling attachment mentioned herein.

According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided hair styling attachment for use with a hot air blower, the attachment comprising:

a coupling portion including an upstream end for engagement with and receiving hot air from a hot air blower, a downstream end and a passage extending therethrough having a central axis; and a styling portion in fluid communication with the coupling portion and including an upstream end for receiving hot air from the downstream end of said coupling portion and a downstream end for delivery of hot air for hair styling and a passage extending therethrough having a central axis; wherein the downstream end of said coupling portion and the upstream end of said styling portion are articulated with respect to each other in a manner such that the inclination of the central axis of the styling portion is variable with respect to the inclination of the central axis of the coupling portion from a minimum angular variation to a maximum angular variation whilst maintaining fluid communication; and

the downstream end of said coupling portion and the upstream end of said styling portion are articulated with respect to each other in a manner such that the weight force of the styling portion causes the styling portion to move relative to the coupling portion towards said maximum angular variation.

Preferably the coupling portion and the styling portion are articulated with respect to each other via a swivel joint arrangement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be explained in further detail below by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a hair styling attachment illustrating a first preferred embodiment of this invention,

Fig. 1A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 1 along the section line A-A,

Fig. 1B is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 1 A with the latching mechanism in a first alternative configuration,

Fig. 1C is a transversal cross-sectional view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 1 A along the section line B-B of Fig. 1 A,

Fig. 1D is a transversal cross-sectional view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 1A along the section line C-C of Fig. 1 A,

Fig. 1E shows the hair styling attachment at a first and second alternative configurations,

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 3 shows a rear view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 shows a front view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 6 shows an exploded view of the hair styling attachment of Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 7 illustrates a hair dryer incorporating a hair styling attachment of Fig. 1 ,

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of an air concentrator illustrating a second preferred embodiment of this invention,

Fig. 8A is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air concentrator of Fig. 8 along the line A-A,

Fig. 8B is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the air concentrator of Fig. 1 with the latching means in a first alternative configuration,

Fig. 8C is a transversal cross-sectional view of the air concentrator along line B-B of Fig. 8A,

Fig. 8D is a transversal cross-sectional view of the air concentrator along line C-C of Fig. 8A,

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the air concentrator,

Fig. 10 is a side view of the air concentrator of Fig. 8,

Fig. 11 shows a rear view of the air concentrator,

Fig. 12 shows a front view of the air concentrator,

Fig. 13 shows a perspective view of the air concentrator,

Fig. 14 shows an exploded view of the air concentrator of Fig. 13, and

Fig. 15 shows a hair blower incorporating a hair concentrator of this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Figs. 1 to 6, there is shown a hair diffuser attachment 100 illustrating a first preferred embodiment of this invention. The diffuser comprises a coupling portion 120 and a styling portion 140. The coupling portion 120 comprises an upstream end 122 for attaching to the nozzle of a hot air blower and a downstream end 124 for connecting to the styling portion by a swivel joint. As can be seen more clearly in Fig. 1A, the coupling portion 120 comprises a hollow tubular housing 126 with a partial spherical housing 128 connected at its longitudinal end. The partial spherical housing is hollow to allow passage of air so that hot air coming from a hot air blower will enter the upstream end 122 of the coupling portion 120 and leave at the downstream end 124 of the partial spherical housing. The tubular housing 120 is substantially cylindrical with its cylindrical axis X-X parallel to the longitudinal axis Y-Y of the coupling portion.

When the coupling portion is attached to a hot air blower, the cylindrical axis (or the longitudinal axis) of the coupling portion also defines the air-flow axis since air flowing through the tubular housing will be flowing along a direction which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical tubular portion. The styling portion 140 comprises an upstream end 142 and a downstream end 144. The upstream end comprises a partial spherical housing 140 which co-operates with the partial spherical housing of the coupling portion to form the swivel joint. Both partial spherical housings are hollow to facilitate co-operative swivelling as well as free air passage therethrough. More particularly, the partial spherical housings of the coupling portion and the styling portion are concentric so that the downstream end of the styling portion can rotate at various angles about the airflow axis. The swivel joint resembles a ball-joint or a universal joint so that the downstream end is rotatable following a circular path or a partially circular path with the cylindrical axis of the tubular portion of the coupling portion forming the centre of the circular path. In another perspective, the styling portion is rotatable about the air-flow axis and following a conical or part-conical surface with the downstream end describing the largest or base circle of a cone. Other appropriate swivel joints include ball joint, universal joint, gimbal joint or the like.

The downstream end of the styling portion of the hair diffuser attachment comprises an enlarged hollow compartment 146 so that the speed of air exiting at the downstream end of the air diffuser will be lower than that entering its upstream end. At a further downstream end of the styling portion, there is a baffle 150 with a plurality of apertures 152 for air exit. A plurality of styling fingers 148 are distributed on the baffle 150. The styling fingers are elongated and extending from the downstream end of the diffuser housing. The axes of the elongated

fingers are substantially parallel to the air-flow axis of the coupling portion when the axes of the partial cylindrical housings of both the coupling portion and the styling portion coincide. When the styling portion and the coupling portion are moved out of the co-axial alignment (that is, axis Y-Y at an angle to axis X-X), there will be an angle between the axes of the partial spherical housings.

The swivel joint is configured so that the styling portion will be rotated relative to the coupling portion due to its own weight when the coupling portion is turned, rotated or when the inclination of the coupling portion is changed. More particularly, the styling portion operates like a pendulum member or a plumb so that the downstream end of the styling portion is always downwardly or substantially downwardly faced due to gravity. This is particularly useful since the downstream outlet of the styling portion will always follow the head of a person whose hair is being styled, even when the stylist has turned or moved his/her hand, since a stylist typically operates a hair care styling device above the head level of a customer ("stylee") while hot air needs to apply to a stylee's head. The following of a stylee's head by the downstream end of the styling portion enables a stylist to work more comfortably so that the stylist do not have to twist his/her arms or bend his/her bodies in order to align the air outlet with the customer's hair.

To facilitate this pendulum-like operation of the styling portion, the friction at the swivel joint is minimized and the weight of the styling portion must be sufficient so that the weight of the styling portion will cause the styling portion to dip towards the head of a user, provided that the downstream end is located above the head to be styled. To reduce friction, the partial spherical housings are rather loosely fitted together. Ball bearings 132 are distributed on the swivel joint

and between the partial spherical housings for a smooth joint operation. The contact surfaces of the partial spherical joint may be made very smooth for a more "frictionless" joint.

Usually, both the coupling and the styling portion are made of hard or durable plastics. To increase the pendulum effect of the downstream end of the styling portion, some or all of the styling fingers may be metallic or metallic coated.

Although it is desirable to have the downstream end of the styling portion dipped towards the head of a user, sometimes it is desirable to fix the styling portion at an angle relative to the coupling portion. For example, it may be desirable to lock the styling portion in the configuration of Fig. 1 or any of the alternative configurations of Fig. 1 E.

In order to set the styling portion at a specific angle or inclination relative to the coupling portion, and in particular to the air-flow axis of the coupling portion, a locking mechanism is provided. The locking mechanism 180 comprises an actuator 162 for facilitating releasable locking of the styling portion relative to the coupling portion. The actuator is movable between a locking position at which the relative inclination or the angle between the styling portion and the coupling portion is fixed and a releasing position at which the styling portion is freely rotatable by its own weight relative to the coupling portion. To maintain the actuator at either its locking or its releasing position, a latching means is provided.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1A, 1 B and 6, the locking mechanism comprises an actuator and a latching member 164. The actuator and the latching member are housed by an adjunct housing formed externally on the housing 166

of the styling portion and adjacent the partial spherical member of the styling portion. An aperture is formed on the partial spherical housing of the styling portion at a position immediately adjacent the partial spherical housing of the coupling portion. This aperture enables a stop 172 to move between a locking position and a releasing position. This stop comprises a frictional engaging surface to increase the friction between the contact surfaces of the partial spherical joint when in the locking position to prevent relative movements between the styling portion and the coupling portion. The stop shown in Figs. 1A and 1B comprises a resilient resistance member, with an "inverted T" cross section so that the stem of the stop can be fitted within a bore of the actuator so that the resilient member moves in synchronization with the actuator into or out of the locking position. The actuator is spring biased and is always urged towards the releasing position so that, unless the actuator is pressed into the locking position, the styling portion will be freely rotatable relative to the coupling portion. In order to latch the actuator at a specific position, a latching member is provided. The latching member is movable transversally to the axis of the actuator between a latching position and a releasing position. The latching member is spring urged towards the latching position by a spring clip member 168 so that a user does not need to hold the actuator in its locking position if it is desirable to lock the styling portion. To release the latching, a hand piece 170 of the latching member is moved towards the downstream end of the styling portion and the spring bias will return the actuator member to its spring neutral, releasing, position.

In use, the styling attachment is typically attached to the outlet nozzle of a hair blower 180 to form a styling apparatus 190 with the downstream end of the hair styling attachment aligned with the hair of a stylee. By moving the actuator

into the releasing position, the downstream end of the hair styling attachment will always follow the head of a stylee due to the freely-rotatable swivel joint arrangement and the own weight of the styling portion of the hair styling attachment. This facilitates one-hand one operation of the hair styling attachment as well as alleviating the need to frequently adjust a hot styling attachment in order to move the downstream end of the styling attachment for alignment with the hair of a stylee.

Referring to Figs. 8 to 14, there is shown an air concentrator 200 illustrating a second preferred embodiment of this invention. Similar to the first preferred embodiment, the air concentrator comprises a coupling portion, a styling portion and a swivel joint interconnecting the styling portion and the coupling portion. The coupling portion is substantially identical to that of the first preferred embodiment while the styling portion is characterized with a narrowed exit nozzle typical of an air concentrator so that air exiting from the downstream of the styling portion is at a higher speed than that entering the coupling portion. To facilitate air acceleration, the exit area at the downstream nozzle end 292 of the styling portion has a smaller surface area than the upstream end of the styling portion. Apart from the difference in the styling portion as a result of the functional requirements, the swivel joint and the locking mechanism are substantially identical to that of the first preferred embodiment. In Figs. 8 to 14, parts which are like, identical, similar or equivalent to that of the first preferred embodiment are designated by the same numerals plus 100. To enhance the plumbing or pendulum effect of the styling portion, the downstream nozzle portion 292 of the air concentrator 200 is preferably made of metal or metallic coated. A hair styling apparatus comprising a hair blower for similar use is shown in Fig. 15 for completeness.

While the present invention has been explained by reference to the examples or preferred embodiments described above, it will be appreciated that those are examples to assist understanding of the present invention and are not meant to be restrictive. Variations or modifications which are obvious or trivial to persons skilled in the art, as well as improvements made thereon, should be considered as equivalents of this invention.

Furthermore, while the present invention has been explained by reference to a volume brush and a concentrator, it should be appreciated that the invention can apply, whether with or without modification, to other hair styling attachments without loss of generality.