Hair appliance with ion generator

Abstract

A hair iron comprising an ion generator that generates ions comprises a slotted nozzle in communication with the ion generator for generating an ion curtain projecting from at least one side of a body of the hair iron, alongside and substantially parallel to a longitudinal edge of the heating element that contacts the hair in use.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of Hong Kong Application No. 18107340.2 filed on Jun. 5, 2018, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present invention relates generally to hair styling appliances, such as curling or straightening irons, that incorporate an ion generator.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]In hair styling, particularly hair straightening, where appliances are drawn along hair, static electricity can be problematic, as it can result in hair that either sticks out from the head, or clings to it. To counteract this tendency, and therefore to allow a smoother styling to be achieved, hair appliances may include ion generators. Typical prior art hair styling irons with ion generators are described in EP1208766B1, EP1672965B1 and EP1396208B1, for instance.[0004]Although these old ion generator type appliances address this problem of static electricity in hair during styling to ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0006]This invention provides a hair appliance which is effective and efficient in operational use, and which reliably allows smoother styling to be achieved for a range of different hair types and in different ambient conditions, particularly compared to appliances in which ions radiate toward the hair directly from what is effectively a point source, and this is attributed to the distribution of the ions applied to the hair that is achieved. Moreover, it is an arrangement that can be readily employed in hair irons for straightening, but also for curling hair. In one type of iron for straightening hair the hair-contacting face may be substantially planar and, in a hinged-type iron for straightening hair, a pair of hingedly connected arms may carry opposing heating elements, each with a hair-contacting face that is substantially planar. In a hair iron for curling a barrel-shaped or convex hair-contacting face is provided and, optionally, a hinged-type variant may further comprise a heating element having a concave face complementary to the convex face. In a comb-type hair iron of either the curling or straightening type each hair-contacting face may further comprise an array of projecting tines or bristles.

[0007]Preferably the at least one elongate heating element comprises a pair of substantially parallel elongate heating elements of like form and the slotted nozzle is disposed between adjacent longitudinal edges of respective ones of the heating elements. For instance, the form of hair-contacting faces of the elements of the pair are both either planar or concave (with or without an array of projecting tines). Configuring the slotted nozzle between a pair of heating elements in this manner provides for an even ion treatment before the heat styling treatment is applied, regardless of the direction in which the appliance is drawn along the hair in use providing for bidirectional movement and convenient left- and right-handed operation.

Problems solved by technology

In hair styling, particularly hair straightening, where appliances are drawn along hair, static electricity can be problematic, as it can result in hair that either sticks out from the head, or clings to it.

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