Thermal hair styling appliance having interchangeable attachments
AssigneeClairol Incorporated
InventorRaymond W. Kunz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thermal hair styling appliance includes interchangeable attachments, such as hair retaining clips, comb-brush clips or other types of attachments which are selectively attached to an operating button that is pivoted on a handle of the appliance. The appliance further includes a main electric heater which is controlled by a thermostat which, in turn, responds to a pair of auxiliary heaters. By selectively energizing the auxiliary heaters, the temperature of the main heater is controlled. A versatile hair styling appliance is thus provided. According to one embodiment, the operating button includes at least one projection which engages a slot in the end of the attachment being used. The attachment is held within the button by detents which engage other slots in the end of the attachment.
Claims11
A hair treating device comprising:
- a tubular barrel extending along an axis, said tubular barrel having first and second ends and defining a heating chamber therein;
- heating means disposed in said tubular barrel;
- vapor generating means disposed in said tubular barrel and energized by said heating means;
- a hair treating section of said tubular barrel along which heat and vapor are transmitted to the hair;
- a housing attached to said first end of the tubular barrel, said housing forming a handle;
- a readily detachable hair styling attachment cooperating with said tubular barrel in styling the hair, said attachment including a longitudinally extending open slot in one end thereof and a pair of notches disposed adjacent said one end of the attachment;
- an operating button;
- means for mounting said operating button in said handle and adjacent to the first end of said tubular barrel, said mounting means mounting said operating button to both slide and pivot relative to said handle and said tubular barrel;
- and
- coupling means included in said operating button for detachably securing said attachment thereto, wherein the coupling means includes:
- a land within said button;
- at least one projecting means extending from the land toward the tubular barrel, said projecting means including an enlarged head portion spaced from said land a distance greater than the thickness of the attachment;
- and
- a leaf spring retained on said projecting means by said head portion, wherein said leaf spring includes a pair of detents having oppositely sloping ramps which converge to an apex, and wherein said attachment is held between the leaf spring and the land with the projecting means received in the slot of the attachment and the apexes of the detents received in the notches of the attachment in order to detachably couple the attachment to the button, so that the attachment may be removed from the button by pulling the attachment away from the button and coupled to the button by pushing the attachment toward the button.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.