Heated personal care appliances

• US 4,499,355 A
• Filed: 03/16/1984
• Issued: 02/12/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/1982
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Remington Products Company
• Original Assignee: CLAIROL INCORPORATED (The Procter & Gamble Company)
• Inventors: Walter, Henry J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Leung, Philip H.
• Application Number:
  US06/589,857
• Time in Patent Office: 333 Days
• Field of Search: 219/10.49 R, 219/10.57, 219/10.67, 219/10.79, 219/10.75, 219/10.77, 219/222, 219/242, 219/390, 219/228, 219/521, 335/208, 335/146, 335/302
• US Class Current: 219/618
• CPC Class Codes: A45D 4/16 Independent devices characterised by heating the hair-curling or hair-waving means before use A45D1/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/02 Induction heating

Abstract

There is disclosed induction heated personal care appliances such as hair rollers, curling irons and massagers. The appliance is generally cylindrical and made of plastic. It has either a high permeability cylinder attached tightly on its inner surface, or has the high permeability material as a particulate filler in the plastic. The induction heater is a non-conducting plastic cylindrical well with from 20 to 60 turns of an insulated wire coiled around its outer perimeter. The coil is powered by an oscillator and produces about 1 to 100 kHz.

Claims

1. An apparatus for inductively heating hair curlers comprising in combination at least one hair curler and an associated inductive heating unit for receiving and heating same prior to engagement with a tress of hair, said hair curler further comprising:

an electrically non-conductive hollow outer member heatable by conduction;

a hollow core member within said outer member heatable by induction to a predetermined temperature;

means interposed between said core member and said outer member for conducting heat therebetween with a time delay between said core member reaching said predetermined temperature and said outer member reaching a final temperature, said delay being a predetermined duration to facilitate handling;

an alloy member having a predetermined Curie point, said alloy member being in thermal contact with said core member for being heated thereby, said alloy member being within said hair curler so as to be insulated from possible electrical contact with said inductive heating unit;

and said inductive heating unit further comprising;

coil means for substantially surrounding said curler during the inductive heating thereof;

circuit means for passing oscillating current through said coil means;

a movable magnetic switch member mounted so as to be in operative magnetic association with said alloy member when said curler is received by said inductive heating unit, said magnetic switch member and said alloy member being magnetically attracted while the temperature of said alloy member is under said Curie point;

switch means operatively connected to said magnetic switch member and to said circuit means for closing said circuit when said alloy member magnetically attracts said magnetic switch member and for opening same otherwise.