Hair styling iron having interchangeable heating tips

In a hand-held hair styling iron having electrical power supply means,

• a handle,
• an elongated housing detachable from said handle and having a heating element therein heated by the electrical power supply means, and
• means for holding strands of hair against the heated housing,
• said handle having means at one end to detachably receive and support said housing and electrically connect the heating element in said housing to the electrical power supply means
• the improvement comprising:
• release means pivotally mounted on the handle, lock means associated with the detachable housing and the handle, said lock means holding said housing to said handle in an electrical and mechanical, operative assembled relationship, the release means cooperable with the lock means to engage and disengage the same upon pivotal operation thereof by the operator using the same hand in which the handle is held, and urging means, mounted between said housing and said handle, such that said urging means is biased to exert a separating force between said tip and said handle when said tip is held to said handle by said lock means, for self-separating the housing from the handle upon manual operation of the release means to disengage the lock means, and said hair holding means being pivotally mounted to the handle having an elongated flat blade portion overlying the housing and cooperable therewith to hold strands of hair therebetween and a flipper arm portion formed integral with the blade portion and disposed generally under the handle but displaced a short distance therefrom.

A hair styling iron comprising

• electrical power supply means,
• a handle,
• a detachable hollow metal housing elongated about its longitudinal axis and formed with at lease one flat side surface portion,
• the others of the side surface portions of the housing being formed integral with the one flat side surface portion and being joined therewith at side edges,
• the interior angles formed therebetween not exceeding substantially right angles,
• the side edges of the one flat side surface portion being slightly rounded,
• a heating element mounted in the housing,
• the handle having means at one end to detachably receive and support said housing and electrically connect to said heating element and at the other end having a swivel connector means mounted in circuit between said electrical power supply means and the electrical connection at said one end,
• release means pivotally mounted on the handle, lock means associated with the detachable housing and the handle, said lock means holding said housing to said handle in an electrical and mechanical, operative assembled relationship, the release means cooperable with the lock means to engage and disengage the same upon pivotal operation thereof by the operator using the same hand in which the handle is held, and urging means mounted between said housing and said handle, such that said urging means is biased to exert a separating force between said tip and said handle when said tip is held to said handle by said lock means, for self-separating the housing from the handle upon manual operation of the release means to disengage the lock means, and
• hair holding means pivotally mounted to the handle and having an elongated flat blade portion overlying the one said flat side surface portion and cooperable therewith to hold strands of hair therebetween and a flipper arm portion formed integral therewith and disposed generally under the handle but displaced a short distance therefrom.