HAIR ROLLER HEATER
First Claim
1. An electrical resistance heater for a set of hair rollers, comprising:
- a housing having a floor, at least one upper opening, and a closure for closing each upper opening, wherein the housing is an insulating material or is thermally insulated;
a mounting member having an inner side facing the floor and an opposing outer side;
a plurality of posts disposed on the mounting member and projecting from the outer side, each post having an outer surface with a shape complementary to an inner surface of a hair roller, each post including a post heating element for heating each post, and each post having a thermal time constant in heating and cooling;
an emulator body mounted to the inner side of the mounting member;
an emulator heating element thermally coupled to the emulator body, the emulator body having a time constant that is substantially equal to the thermal time constant of each post;
a circuit connecting the post heating elements and emulator heating element for receiving power from a power supply; and
a thermostatic switch thermally coupled to the emulator body, the thermostatic switch being connected in series between the power supply and the post heating elements.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
For controlling the heating of heating posts in a hair roller heater in which each heating post includes a respective resistive heating element, an emulator or physical model has a thermal time constant that is about equal to the time constant of each post assembly to emulate the thermal behaviour of the heating posts during both heating and cooling. Direct temperature feedback from the emulator to a thermostatic switch is used for controlling the current delivered to the heating elements. The emulator includes a pair of insulators between which a heating element is provided, one of the insulators being thermally coupled to a conductive mounting to which the posts are directly connected
8 Citations
7 Claims
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1. An electrical resistance heater for a set of hair rollers, comprising:
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a housing having a floor, at least one upper opening, and a closure for closing each upper opening, wherein the housing is an insulating material or is thermally insulated; a mounting member having an inner side facing the floor and an opposing outer side; a plurality of posts disposed on the mounting member and projecting from the outer side, each post having an outer surface with a shape complementary to an inner surface of a hair roller, each post including a post heating element for heating each post, and each post having a thermal time constant in heating and cooling; an emulator body mounted to the inner side of the mounting member; an emulator heating element thermally coupled to the emulator body, the emulator body having a time constant that is substantially equal to the thermal time constant of each post; a circuit connecting the post heating elements and emulator heating element for receiving power from a power supply; and a thermostatic switch thermally coupled to the emulator body, the thermostatic switch being connected in series between the power supply and the post heating elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An electrical resistance heater for a set of hair rollers comprising:
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a plurality of post heating elements electrically connected in series; a circuit connecting the post heating elements for receiving power from a power supply; a plurality of post assemblies, each post assembly having an outer surface with a shape complementary to an inner surface of a hair roller, each post assembly enclosing one of the post heating elements, and each post assembly having a thermal time constant in heating and cooling; an emulator heating element connected in the circuit in series with the post heating elements; an emulator body thermally coupled to the emulator heating element for emulating thermal response of each post assembly,; and a thermostatic switch co-located with and thermally coupled to the emulator body, the thermostatic switch being connected in series with the post heating elements.
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6. A process for controlling heating of heating posts in a hair roller heater in which each heating post includes a respective resistive heating element, comprising:
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emulating thermal behaviour of the heating posts during both heating and cooling, and, using temperature feedback from the emulation, controlling the current delivered to the heating elements. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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Specification