Collapsible cordless electric hair curling appliance

In a hair curling appliance of the type including:

• an elongate handle adapted for being grasped by a user of the appliance and including a hollow portion extending substantially axially therethrough;
• an electrically heated curling wand including a heat retaining working portion, said wand being slidably extensibly mounted in said handle hollow portion for movement between an exposed use position outwardly of said handle and an enclosed heating position inwardly of said hollow portion of said handle;
• and
• an electric plug means slidably mounted in the hollow interior of said handle and adapted to be moved from a position enclosed within said handle to a position externally thereof for connection with a conventional electric wall socket, said plug means being conductively connected to the heating means of said wand working portion;
• the improvement wherein cooperative means are provided on said wand and said plug means for moving, in response to sliding movement of said wand in said handle, said plug means to its external position only when said wand is in its enclosed heating position in said hollow portion of said handle.

A hair curling appliance comprising in combination:

• an elongate handle of impact-resistant high-temperature plastic adapted for being conveniently grasped by a user, said handle including a pair of connected molded half-shell portions defining an exterior surface and a hollow interior space, said half-shell portions further defining an elongate top aperture, a circular bottom aperture, and a front aperture, a resiliently outwardly biased movable actuator being retained on said handle by the edge of said top aperture, the interior space of said handle including a first pair of opposed rectangular slots therein positioned substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said handle, and a second pair of opposed rectangular slots therein positioned substantially perpendicular to a plane defined by said circular bottom aperture,
• an electrically heated curling wand including a heat retaining working portion, said wand having an end slidably retained in said first pair of opposed slots for user operated movement outwardly and inwardly of said handle through said front aperture between an exposed use position outwardly of said handle and a heating position enclosed within said handle;
• electrical connection means slidably retained in said second pair of slots in said handle and extensible therefrom through said circular aperture for conductively engaging a conventional wall socket, said connection means, when in extended position, being in conductive operating condition with said working portion of said wand;
• and
• cooperative means on said wand and said connection means and responsive to the slidable movement of said wand in said handle for moving said connection means to its extended position only when said wand is substantially fully inserted into its heating position within said handle.

In a hair curling appliance of the type including

• an elongate handle adapted to be conveniently grasped by the hand of a user;
• a curling wand extending from one end of said handle, said curling wand including a hollow thermally conductive cover and a cylindrical electric heater positioned therein, and
• means positioned in said handle in electrically insulative relation therewith for receiving and conducting electric current, said means being conductively connected with said electric heater;
• the improvement wherein said electric heater includes
• a positive temperature co-efficient heating element, said heating element defining a disc having generally flat and spaced apart opposed parallel faces;
• means including two electrically conductive plates positioned in spatial relation to each other and in electrical contact with said opposed parallel faces of said element for providing voltage thereacross when connected to a power source, said plates being electrically connected to said means for receiving and conducting electric current;
• electrical insulation means positioned between said plates and said hollow cover;
• and
• at least two insulating members poistioned laterally of the opposite side edges of said element and parallel to said opposed parallel faces of said element and sandwiched between said conductive plates,
• and wherein said plates include
• bendable elongate tabular portions extending from opposed ends thereof for securing said plates to said insulating members.

In a hair curling appliance of the type including:

• an elongate handle adapted for being grasped by a user and including a hollow portion positioned substantially axially therethrough;
• a curling wand including a hollow tubular thermally conductive cover and a cylindrical electric heater positioned therein, said wand being slidably extensibly mounted in said handle hollow portion for movement through an opening in said handle from a first exposed working position outwardly of said handle and a second heating position enclosed within said handle portion;
• and
• an electric plug means slidably mounted in the hollow interior of said handle and adapted to be moved to a position externally thereof for connection of same with a conventional electric wall socket, said plug means being conductively connected to said electric heater of said wand working portion;
• the improvement wherein said heater includes
• a positive temperature coefficient heating element, said heating element defining a disc having generally flat and spaced apart opposed parallel faces;
• means including two electrically conductive plates positioned in spatial relation to each other and in electrical contact with said opposed parallel faces of said element for providing voltage thereacross when connected to a power source, said plates being electrically connected to said plug means;
• electrical insulation means positioned between said plates and said hollow cover;
• and
• at least two insulating members positioned laterally of the opposite side edges of said element and parallel to said opposed parallel faces of said element and sandwiched between said conductive plates,
• and wherein said plates include
• bendable elongate tabular portions extending from opposed ends thereof for securing said plates to said insulating members.