Apparatus for storing and thermally insulating a hot curling iron from ambient objects
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a thermally insulating bag configured to receive a heated hair care device and insulate the device from ambient objects. The bag is capable of receiving multiple shapes, sizes, and types of heated devices, such as curling irons, flat irons, and straightening irons. Additionally, the bag provides multiple compartments configured to receive and thermally insulate multiple irons from each other, or the cord of a single iron from the heating element portion of the iron. The bag further includes at least one air vent configured to allow a small percentage of hot air to escape from the interior of the bag to the ambient air.
1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a thermally insulating bag configured to receive and insulate a hot curling iron from ambient objects.
2. Description of the Related Art
The health and beauty industry flourishes in nearly every economically developed country in the world, as persons in these countries are generally inclined to place substantial emphasis on their appearance. One of the most popular niches of the health and beauty industry is the hair care product industry, which generally includes both cleaning products, such as shampoos, conditioners, gels, sprays, etc., and maintenance products, such as hair dryers, curling and straightening irons, brushes, combs, etc. As such, persons in economically developed countries are very likely to regularly purchase and/or own several health and beauty hair care products.
Persons in economically developed countries are also very likely to travel, either for business or for pleasure, as the availability of travel services has become commonplace in economically developed societies. The combination of a substantial reliance upon hair care products along with the propensity of persons to travel has generated a need for several new products configured to address the challenges associated with meeting both hair care needs and portability needs. However, one challenge that has not been effectively addressed is the portability of hair care curling irons. More particularly, curling irons are generally heating devices configured to apply heat to a person's hair in order to impart or remove curls therefrom. In order for this process to be effective, the heating devices generally operate at temperatures between 100° F. and about 250° F. or more, for example. As such, these devices contain a substantial amount of thermal energy, which presents a challenge when traveling, as devices operating at these temperatures can take up to an hour or more to cool to an acceptable temperature for storage during travel. This is generally unacceptable for travelers, as waiting an hour or more for a curling iron to cool before stowing the iron in luggage for departure is an unwanted waste of time that may cause travelers to miss a plane or other travel related event.
Additionally, the heat contained in curling irons, flat irons and other heated health and beauty devices after the device has been turned off also causes challenges for domestic use. For example, in a domestic situation a hot curling iron left out on the counter is prone to melting other products positioned to closely, to burning persons that are unaware that the iron is still hot, and possibly even starting a house fire. Heated hair care devices therefore present a substantial danger to harming children and to damaging property as a result of the heat contained in the devices after they have been turned off or have been left unattended.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus configured to store a hot curling iron, flat iron, or other heated hair care product therein for travel or for domestic storage/protection, without requiring the hot device to cool before being stowed in the apparatus. There is also a need for such an apparatus to protect children and domestic objects from damage or harm that may occur from contact with the hot device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments of the invention generally provide a thermally insulating bag configured to receive a hot curling iron and insulate the hot iron from ambient objects. The bag is configured to receive multiple shapes of curling irons, i.e., traditional barrel-type irons of various diameters, flat surface-type straitening irons, along with other shapes of hot iron-type hair care devices. Further, the bag provides multiple compartments configured to receive and insulate multiple irons from each other or from ancillary components of a single iron, such as a cord, from the hot barrel or heating portion of the iron.
Embodiments of the invention may further provide a thermally insulating curling iron bag. The bag generally includes a first thermally insulating compartment, a second thermally insulating compartment, a thermally insulating partition positioned between the first and second compartments, a closable lid member positioned to cooperatively close the first and second compartments from ambient atmosphere, and a thermal vent configured to communicate heat from the first and/or second compartments to the ambient atmosphere.
Embodiments of the invention may further provide a thermally insulating curling iron bag. The bag may include a thermally insulating body defining a first and second compartments, the first compartment being thermally isolated from the second compartment by a thermally insulating partition. The bag may further include a thermally insulating lid member closably positioned over the first and second compartments, and a thermal vent positioned in an egress gap between the body and the lid member in a closed position. The bag is generally configured such that the body and partition member are formed from a multilayer construction comprising a thermally insulating metallized fabric, a thermally insulating padding layer, and an outer decorative layer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSIn order to better understand the specific details and aspects of the invention, a more particular description of the invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description and the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical or exemplary embodiments of the invention, and are therefore, not intended to be limiting on the scope of the invention, as the invention may admit to other, equally effective embodiments not expressly illustrated in the drawings.
Embodiments of the invention generally provide a thermally insulating bag configured to receive a heated hair care device and insulate the hot device from ambient objects. The bag is capable of receiving multiple shapes, sizes, and types of heated hair care devices, such as curling irons, flat irons, and/or straightening irons. However, although the following description of the invention describes the invention with respect to a curling iron, it is to be noted that the invention is not intended to be limited to any particular configuration of a curling iron. The inventors contemplate that essentially any sort of heated hair care device may be stored in the bag of the invention. Additionally, the bag provides multiple compartments configured to receive and thermally insulate multiple heated devices from each other, or the cord of a single device from the heating element portion of another device.
Bag 100 is constructed of multiple layers, wherein the combination of the multiple layers is configured to insulate a heated iron positioned in one of compartments 106, 108 from ambient objects. More particularly, the body 101, the partition 110, and the lid member 102 are manufactured from a multilayer construction of materials that generally includes a thermal barrier layer 202 positioned facing the interior 104 of bag 100, a thermally dissipative padding layer 204 positioned adjacent the thermally insulating layer 202, and a decorative and thermally insulating outer layer positioned adjacent the padding layer 204. For example,
The thermally insulating layer discussed above may generally be a fabric-type material that has the ability to dissipate heat. Exemplary fabrics with this capability include those fabrics used in fire protection equipment (gloves, coats, pants, etc. that are worn by fireman, steel workers, or others that are likely to be exposed to high temperatures or direct flames). Dupont's NOMEX® is an exemplary material that is regularly used for thermal protection that may also be used in the curling iron bag of the invention. Another thermally insulating material that may be effectively used in the curling iron bag of the invention is Basofil® fiber-type materials. Further, current technology in the thermal resistant fabric industry uses fabrics that have been metallized, i.e., fabrics that have been either infused, interwoven, or backed with a metal containing material. For example, several thermally resistant fabrics currently include a metal or foil backing that is configured to reflect heat. Exemplary metals that may be used for foil backing include aluminum containing foil materials, for example, wherein the aluminum containing foil material has a thickness of between about 0.1 mm and about 0.5 mm. Alternatively, other metallized fabrics include what is best described as a metal doped or infused fabric, that is to say that the fabric itself has a metal material woven therein. In this configuration, for example, the metal content of a fabric may be between about 10% and about 40%, for example. In other embodiments of the invention, fabrics may be infused or doped with other materials configured to assist with thermal energy dissipation. Examples of these materials include silica based materials, carbon based materials, and ceramic-type materials. Yet another exemplary material that may be used for the thermally insulating material of the curling iron bag of the invention is woven polyolefin fabrics.
The fabric perimeter of each of the above discussed layers is generally sewn or otherwise affixed together to form bag 100 of the invention. The perimeter of each of the layers may further be covered with a decorative band configured to conceal the fabric edges and sewing areas.
Although the foregoing is generally directed to at least one embodiment of the invention, other equally effective embodiments and/or variations of the invention may be constructed without departing from the essence or scope of the invention, wherein the essence and scope of the invention is defined by the following claims.
Claims
1. An apparatus configured to receive and thermally insulate a hot iron from ambient objects, comprising:
- a body portion having walls defining an interior volume, an interior surface of the body portion having a thermally insulating layer;
- a lid member configured to close the interior volume from ambient atmosphere;
- a partition member positioned in the interior volume, the partition member being positioned to separate a first compartment in the interior volume from a second compartment in the interior volume; and
- a thermally insulating layer on an outer surface of two opposing sides of the partition member adjacent the interior surface.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the walls include a multilayer construction comprising:
- the inwardly facing thermally insulating layer;
- an intermediate thermally insulating padding layer; and
- an outer decorative layer.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the partition member includes a multilayer construction comprising an outer thermally insulating layer on exterior surfaces of the partition and a thermally insulating padding layer positioned between the outer thermally insulating layers.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising at least one vent member.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one vent member comprises an air vent formed by an egress gap between the lid member and the walls of the body portion.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a cross sectional area of the at least one vent is between about 0.25 in2 and about 0.5 in2.
7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the intermediate thermally insulating padding layer comprises a material having a mass to total volume ratio of less than about 1:5.
8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the thermally insulating layer comprises at least one of a metallized fabric, a ceramic infused fabric, and a silica infused fabric.
9. A thermally insulating hot iron bag, comprising:
- a first thermally insulating compartment;
- a second thermally insulating compartment;
- a thermally insulating partition positioned between the first and second compartments;
- a closable lid member positioned to cooperatively close the first and second compartments from ambient atmosphere; and
- a thermal vent configured to communicate heat from the first and second compartments to the ambient atmosphere.
10. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 9, wherein the first and second compartment comprise thermally insulating walls, the thermally insulating walls comprising:
- a thermal barrier layer positioned facing the respective compartments;
- a thermally insulating padding layer positioned adjacent the barrier layer; and
- an outer layer positioned adjacent the padding layer.
11. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 9, wherein the thermally insulating partition comprises an outer thermal barrier layer and an inner thermally insulating padding layer.
12. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 9, wherein the thermal vent comprises an air passage connecting the first and second thermally insulating compartments to the ambient atmosphere.
13. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 12, wherein the air passage has a cross sectional area of between about 0.25 in2 and about 0.5 in2.
14. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 10, wherein the thermal barrier layer comprises a metallized fabric.
15. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 10, wherein the thermal barrier layer comprises a fireproof material.
16. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 10, wherein the padding layer comprises a a mass to total volume ratio of less than about 1:5.
17. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 10, wherein the outer thermal barrier layer comprises at least one of a fire resistant material and a metallized fabric.
18. The thermally insulating hot iron bag of claim 9, further comprising a means for securing the lid member in a closed position.
19. A thermally insulating hot iron bag, comprising:
- a thermally insulating body defining a first and second compartments, the first compartment being thermally isolated from the second compartment by a thermally insulating partition;
- a thermally insulating lid member closably positioned over the first and second compartments; and
- a thermal vent positioned in an egress gap between the body and the lid member in a closed position,
- wherein the body and partition member are formed from a multilayer construction comprising a thermally insulating metallized fabric, a thermally insulating padding layer, and an outer decorative layer.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 28, 2004
Publication Date: Jul 28, 2005
Inventor: Richard Devine (Houston, TX)
Application Number: 10/766,198