HEATING APPARATUS FOR HEATING HAIR CURLERS

Abstract

A heating apparatus for heating hair curlers is disposed in a housing and clamped by at least one hair clip. The heating apparatus comprises two assembling members and two thermal conductive members which are coupled one another and disposed on a base. Each of the thermal conductive members includes a heating member and an elastic piece for fixing the heating member. Above the assembling members and the thermal conductive members is disposed a cover. The two heating members are closely pushed against the thermal conductive layers of the hair clip, so as to reduce the length of heat transferring route, and consequently improving heating efficiency and enhancing temperature control accuracy. Furthermore, the heating apparatus has a simple structure and can be easily assembled at a low manufacturing cost.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a heating apparatus, and more particularly to a heating apparatus which is used in combination with hair clips to form a heating hair curler, the heated hair clips are suitable for use on Velcro or spongy rollers, and can also be used in combination with pre-heating rollers.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Many heating type hair styling apparatuses have been developed. One of them is a heat apparatus for heating hair clips as shown in FIGS. 1-3, wherein a plurality of clips A, which are each provided with a thermal conductive layer A1, are disposed in a receiving space B1 of a base B. In the base B are further disposed two parallel heating members 10 and a control circuit C. The clips A for heating and styling hair are clipped on and heated by the heating members 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a direction along which the heating members 10 extend is defined as a longitudinal direction, in each of the heating members 10 is disposed an elongated electronic heating element 11 electrically connected to the control circuit C. Between the electronic heating element 11 and the thermal conductive layer A1 are disposed a pair of balancers 12, a plurality of arc-shaped heat conductive members 13 and two thermal insulators 14.

The balancers 12 and the thermal insulators 14 are formed with openings for allowing the heat conductive members 13 to extend into contact with the thermal conductive layers A1 of the clip A. The electronic heating element 11 is clamped in space defined by the two balancers 12, the heat conductive members 13 and two opposed clampers 15. Between each of the thermal insulators 14 and the heat conductive members 13 and the clampers 15 is provided a fixing member 16 to fix the thermal insulators 14.

It is to be noted that temperature control of the heating members 10 is a very important factor in hair styling, hair will be hurt if temperature is too high, or hair cannot be styled if temperature is too low. However, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a space distance D between the balancers 12 and the corresponding thermal conductive members 13, which is not conducive to heat transfer. Therefore, the balancers 12, the clampers 15 and the thermal conducive members 13 become the main heat transferring route for transferring the heat generated from the electronic heating elements 11 to the clip A. The thermal conductive members 13 are arc-shaped and only partially in contact with the balancers 12, resulting in a small heat transferring area. Besides, the heat transferring route from the electronic heating elements 11 to the clip A is long, which will cause great heat loss. The electronic heating elements 11 have a low heating efficiency, and it is difficult to control the temperature of the clip A to be heated by the heating elements 11. On top of that, this conventional heat apparatus for heating retaining hair clips has the problems of complicated structure, and high manufacturing cost.

The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a heating apparatus for heating hair curlers, wherein the heating apparatus is provided with two heating members to be closely pushed against the thermal conductive layers of the hair clip, so as to reduce the length of heat transferring route, and consequently improving heating efficiency and enhancing temperature control accuracy.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a heating apparatus for heating hair curlers, which has a simple structure and can be easily assembled at a low manufacturing cost.

To achieve the above objects, a heating apparatus for heating hair curlers in accordance with the present invention is disposed in a housing and clamped by at least one hair clip. The heating apparatus comprises a base, two assembling members, two thermal conductive members, two heating member, two elastic piece and a cover. The base includes two assembling portions at two opposite ends thereof. At a bottom of each of the assembling portions is formed an elastic portion which is provided at an end thereof with an engaging block, a direction extending between the two ends of the base is defined as X. The two assembling members are engaged in the assembling portions of the base and each includes a board which is provided along the direction X with an inner surface and an outer surface. The inner surface of each of the boards is provided along the direction X with two T-shaped engaging cavities, an engaging hole between the engaging cavities, and two positioning protrusions. The boards of the two assembling members are engaged in the assembling portions of the base with their inner surfaces opposed to each other in such a manner that the engaging blocks of the elastic portions of the base are engaged in the engaging holes of the assembling members. The two thermal conductive members are each provided along the direction X with an assembling surface and a thermal conductive surface which is arc-shaped to fit the shape of the hair clip. The assembling surface is formed with a receiving groove, along an outer edge of the receiving groove are formed two engaging ribs extending in the direction X, and along a bottom of the receiving groove is formed a locking rib with a T-shaped cross section. The thermal conductive members are disposed between the two assembling members with their assembling surfaces opposed to each other, and both ends of the locking ribs of the thermal conductive members are engaged in the engaging cavities of the two assembling members. The two heating members are disposed in the receiving grooves of the two thermal conductive members and electrically connected to a control circuit disposed in the housing. The two elastic pieces are each provided with two opposed elastic edges extending in the direction X and an elastic abutting portion between the two elastic edges. The elastic pieces are disposed in the receiving grooves of the thermal conductive members in such a manner that the elastic edges are engaged with the engaging ribs of the thermal conductive members, and the heating members are pressed into the receiving grooves of the thermal conductive members by the elastic abutting portions of the elastic pieces. The cover is provided at two ends thereof in the direction X with two positioning portions, and an arc-shaped rest portion being formed between the positioning portions to fit the hair clip, the positioning portions of the cover being assembled to the two assembling members in such a manner that each of the positioning portions is provided with two positioning cavities for engaging with the two positioning protrusions of each of the assembling members, and the rest portion is rested against positioning walls of the two thermal conductive members, the rest portion and the thermal conductive surfaces of the thermal conductive members define a structure to fit the shape of the hair clip.

When in use, the hair clip is clamped on the cover and the two thermal conductive members, and two thermal conductive layers inside the hair clip are pushed against the thermal conductive surfaces of the two thermal conductive members, the control circuit controls the two heating members to heat the conductive layers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional hair curler;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view of the conventional hair curler;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of a heating apparatus of the conventional hair curler;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a hair curler in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an assembly view of a heating apparatus and the heating curler in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the heating apparatus for heating hair curlers in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view of the heating apparatus for heating hair curlers in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 4-7, a heating apparatus for heating hair curlers in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is disposed in a housing 80 and clamped by at least one hair clip 90. The heating apparatus comprises two assembling members 30 and two thermal conductive members 40 which are coupled one another and disposed on a base 20. Each of the thermal conductive members 40 includes a heating member 50 and an elastic piece 60 for fixing the heating member 50. Above the assembling members 30 and the thermal conductive members 40 is disposed a cover 70.

The base 20 includes two assembling portions 21 at two opposite ends thereof, each of the assembling portions 21 is a stepped structure which includes a first notch 211 and a second notch 212. At a bottom of the second notch 212 is formed an elastic portion 22 which is provided at the end thereof with an engaging block 221. A direction extending between the two ends of the base 20 is defined as X, and a direction perpendicular to the direction X is defined as Y. In this embodiment, the housing 80 includes a lower half 801 and an upper half 802 pivotally coupled to each other. The base 20 is disposed in the lower half 801.

The assembling members 30 are engaged in the assembling portions 21 of the base 20 and each include a board 31 which is provided along the direction X with an inner surface 311 and an outer surface 312. The outer surface 312 is provided along the direction Y with a pair of first engaging protrusions 32 and a pair of second engaging protrusions 33. The inner surface 311 of each of the boards 31 is provided along the direction X with two T-shaped engaging cavities 34, an engaging hole 35 between the engaging cavities 34, a clamping notch 36 extending along the direction Y, and two positioning protrusions 37 at two sides of the clamping notch 36. The boards 31 of the two assembling members 30 are engaged in the assembling portions 21 of the base 20 with their inner surfaces 311 opposed to each other in such a manner that the second engaging protrusions 33 are engaged in the second notches 212 of the base 20, the first engaging protrusions 32 are engaged in the first notches 211, and the engaging blocks 221 of the elastic portions 22 of the base 20 are engaged in the engaging holes 35 of the assembling members 30.

The two thermal conductive members 40 are made of aluminum and disposed between the two assembling members 30. Each of the thermal conductive members 40 is provided along the direction X with an assembling surface 401 extending in the direction X and a thermal conductive surface 402 which is arc-shaped to fit the shape of the hair clip. The assembling surface 401 is formed with a receiving groove 41 which is defined by two positioning walls 411 extending in the direction X. Each of the positioning walls 411 is provided along an outer edge of the receiving groove 41 with an engaging rib 412. Along a bottom of the receiving groove 41 is formed a locking rib 42 with a T-shaped cross section. The thermal conductive members 40 are disposed between the two assembling members 30 with their assembling surfaces 401 opposed to each other, and both ends of the locking ribs 42 of the thermal conductive members 40 are engaged in the engaging cavities 34 of the two assembling members 30.

The heating members 50 are disposed in the receiving grooves 41 of the two thermal conductive members 40 and electrically connected to a control circuit 81 disposed in the housing 80 via the clamping notches 36 of the assembling members 30. In this embodiment, the control circuit 81 employs a power supply (not shown) to supply electric power to the heating members 50, and the power supply can be AC power or DC power.

Each of the elastic pieces 60 is provided with two opposed elastic edges 61 extending in the direction X and an elastic abutting portion 62 between the two elastic edges 61. The elastic pieces 60 are disposed in the receiving grooves 41 of the thermal conductive members 40 in such a manner that the elastic edges 61 are engaged with the engaging ribs 412 of the thermal conductive members 40, and the heating members 50 are pressed into the receiving grooves 41 of the thermal conductive members 40 by the elastic abutting portion 62 of the elastic pieces 60.

The cover 70 is provided at two ends thereof in the direction X with two positioning portions 71, and an arc-shaped rest portion 72 is formed between the positioning portions 71 to fit the hair clip 90. The positioning portions 71 of the cover 70 are assembled to the two assembling members 30 in such a manner that the each of the positioning portions 71 is provided with two positioning cavities 711 for engaging with the two positioning protrusions 37 of each of the assembling members 30, and the rest portion 72 is rested against the positioning walls 411 of the two thermal conductive members 40. Hence, the rest portion 72 and the thermal conductive surfaces 402 of the thermal conductive members 40 define a structure to fit the shape of the hair clip 90.

When in use, the hair clip 90 is clamped on the cover 70 and the two thermal conductive members 40, and the structure combined by the cover 70 and the thermal conductive members 40 pushes the hair clip 90 open, so that two thermal conductive layers 91 inside the hair clip 90 are pushed closely against the thermal conductive surfaces 402 of the two thermal conductive members 40. Using the control circuit 81 can control the two heating members 50 to heat the conductive layers 91, so that the hair clip 90 can be heated to do hair styling.

In summary, the same number of heating members 50 as the thermal conductive layers 91 of the hair clip 90 are disposed inside the heat apparatus, and the base 20, and the assembling members 30, the thermal conductive members 40 and the cover 70 are assembled into a structure which can substantially reduce the distance D between the heating members 50 and the thermal conductive layers 91 of the hair clip 90, while considerably increasing the heat transferring area between the heating members 50 and the thermal conductive members 40. Hence, the present invention is not only capable of improving heating efficiency of the heating apparatus, but also can reduce the temperature difference between the heating members 50 and the thermal conductive layers 91 of the hair clip 90, providing more precise temperature control.

While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A heating apparatus for heating hair curlers being disposed in a housing and clamped by at least one hair clip; the heating apparatus comprising:

a base including two assembling portions at two opposite ends thereof, at a bottom of each of the assembling portions being formed an elastic portion which is provided at an end thereof with an engaging block, a direction extending between the two ends of the base being defined as X;

two assembling members engaged in the assembling portions of the base and each including a board which is provided along the direction X with an inner surface and an outer surface, the inner surface of each of the boards being provided along the direction X with two T-shaped engaging cavities, an engaging hole between the engaging cavities, and two positioning protrusions, the boards of the two assembling members are engaged in the assembling portions of the base with their inner surfaces opposed to each other in such a manner that the engaging blocks of the elastic portions of the base are engaged in the engaging holes of the assembling members;

two thermal conductive members, each of which being provided along the direction X with an assembling surface and a thermal conductive surface which is arc-shaped to fit the shape of the hair clip, the assembling surface being formed with a receiving groove, along an outer edge of the receiving groove being formed two engaging ribs extending in the direction X, along a bottom of the receiving groove being formed a locking rib with a T-shaped cross section, the thermal conductive members are disposed between the two assembling members with their assembling surfaces opposed to each other, and both ends of the locking ribs of the thermal conductive members are engaged in the engaging cavities of the two assembling members;

two heating members disposed in the receiving grooves of the two thermal conductive members and electrically connected to a control circuit disposed in the housing;

two elastic pieces each provided with two opposed elastic edges extending in the direction X and an elastic abutting portion between the two elastic edges, the elastic pieces being disposed in the receiving grooves of the thermal conductive members in such a manner that the elastic edges are engaged with the engaging ribs of the thermal conductive members, and the heating members are pressed into the receiving grooves of the thermal conductive members by the elastic abutting portions of the elastic pieces; and

a cover provided at two ends thereof in the direction X with two positioning portions, and an arc-shaped rest portion being formed between the positioning portions to fit the hair clip, the positioning portions of the cover being assembled to the two assembling members in such a manner that each of the positioning portions is provided with two positioning cavities for engaging with the two positioning protrusions of each of the assembling members, and the rest portion is rested against positioning walls of the two thermal conductive members, the rest portion and the thermal conductive surfaces of the thermal conductive members define a structure to fit the shape of the hair clip;

when in use, the hair clip is clamped on the cover and the two thermal conductive members, and two thermal conductive layers inside the hair clip are pushed against the thermal conductive surfaces of the two thermal conductive members, the control circuit controls the two heating members to heat the conductive layers.

2. The heating apparatus for heating hair curlers as claimed in claim 1, wherein a direction perpendicular to the direction X is defined as Y;

each of the assembling portions is a stepped structure which includes a first notch and a second notch, at a bottom of the second notch is formed the elastic portion;

the outer surface of each of the two assembling members is provided along the direction Y with a pair of first engaging protrusions and a pair of second engaging protrusions, the engaging hole runs through each of the boards and is located between the engaging cavities and the first and second engaging protrusions, the second engaging protrusions of the assembling members are engaged in the second notches of the base, the first engaging protrusions are engaged in the first notches of the base, and the engaging blocks of the elastic portions of the base are engaged in the engaging holes of the assembling members.

3. The heating apparatus for heating hair curlers as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiving groove of each of the thermal conductive members is defined by the two positioning walls extending in the direction X, the engaging ribs are provided on the positioning walls.

4. The heating apparatus for heating hair curlers as claimed in claim 1, wherein a direction perpendicular to the direction X is defined as Y, each of the boards is provided with a clamping notch extending along the direction Y, the two positioning protrusions are located at two sides of the clamping notch, and the heating members are electrically connected to the control circuit via the clamping notch.

5. The heating apparatus for heating hair curlers as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two thermal conductive members are made of aluminum.

6. The heating apparatus for heating hair curlers as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing includes a lower half and an upper half pivotally coupled to each other, and the base is disposed in the lower half.