US 4,242,567 AGranted

Electrically heated hair straightener and PTC heater assembly therefor

AssigneeGeneral Electric Company

InventorRobert A. Carter

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Abstract

A heated hair straightener has a handle connecting to an electric source and a pair of scissor-like clamp housings pivoted on the handle and having facing coverplate surfaces for clamping and straightening the hair. This combination has an improvement in the heater sub-assembly fitting in one of the housings and formed as a sandwich arrangement including an aluminum coverplate, a copper elongated heater plate forming a first electrode connected to one side of the line and electrically insulated from the coverplate by a thin dielectric film. Plural PTC heater pellets are aligned on the heater plate and held by an insulating locator panel having cut-outs fixing the pellets on the heater plate. A second electrode, formed as a corrugated stainless steel spring plate covers and abuts the PTC pellets and is connected to the other side of the line. Next is a phenolic or ceramic insulator member with a recess for the corrugated spring plate to fit and abut therein. Alignment structure orients the heater plate, pellet locator panel, and phenolic insulator member with all the sandwich components of the entire sub-assembly fixed against horizontal or vertical movement permitting corrugated electrode flexing and good biasing of the pellets against the electrodes. A metallic mounting plate abutting the insulator member is provided for securing the heater sub-assembly in the housing.

A heated hair straightener including a handle having power supply means for connection to an electric source, a pair of facing clamp housings pivoted on said handle for a cooperative scissors action therebetween, the housings each having a coverplate facing the coverplate of the other housing for abutment and clamping of hair therebetween and a heater component subassembly in at least one housing for heating the coverplate thereof, said heater component subassembly comprising a sandwich arrangement of

the coverplate of said housing,
a metallic heater plate forming a first electrode connected to one side of said power supply means,
said heater plate overlying said coverplate and comprising a flat elongated plate covering a substantial portion of said coverplate,
a thin dielectric film between said heater plate and said coverplate for insulating said heater plate therefrom,
PTC heater means comprising multiple spaced pellets each having opposed terminal means and aligned on said heater plate with one of the terminal means of each pellet in electrical contact therewith,
a second electrode formed as a corrugated spring plate having one side covering and electrically contacting the other terminal means of each pellet, said spring plate being connected to the other side of said power supply means,
an electrically insulating locator panel substantially coextensive with said heater plate and provided with cutouts surrounding and locating said pellets between said heater plate and spring plate,
an electrical insulator member abutting the other side of said spring plate,
means aligning said PTC heater means, electrodes, and member in fixed assembled relation to one another, and means fastening together the parts comprising said heater component subassembly with said electrodes compressed against the terminal means of said pellets, and means adjacent said member securing said heater component subassembly in said housing.

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Abstract

Claims4