A hair apparatus

Abstract

An insert 20 Is disclosed for mounting to a bed 11 of a hair apparatus 10. The insert comprises at least one bristle 21 comprising an elongate stem 22 upstanding from a base 23. The base comprises at

Description

BACKGROUND Some hair apparatuses, such as hairbrushes, include bristles upstanding from a bed. Bristles can aid in smoothing and detangling hair, as well as applying tension to a tress of hair, for example for styling. Hair apparatuses having bristles can take a variety of forms. For example, the hair apparatus may be a standalone apparatus or it may take the form of an attachment for mounting to a haircare appliance such as a hair dryer. SUMMARY In a first aspect, there is disclosed an insert for mounting to a bed of a hair apparatus, the insert comprising at least one bristle, the at least one bristle comprising an elongate stem and a base, the stem upstanding from the base, wherein the base comprises at least one deformable chamber. By providing a bristle having a deformable chamber in this way, flexing of the bristle relative to the bed may be facilitated by deformation of the chamber. As a result, flexibility of the bristle may be achieved by the bristle and the base rather than the bed of the hair apparatus. The bed of the hair apparatus can therefore be made of a rigid material, such as a metal or a hard plastic, which may simplify construction of the hair apparatus thereby reducing cost. Furthermore, as flexibility results from deformation of the chamber, stiffness of the bristle may be retained in the elongate stem, allowing users of the hair apparatus to achieve the tension required when styling hair. This may be particularly suitable for curly and coily hair (e.g. type 3 hair, or type 4 hair), as the hair apparatus may be used to achieve the desired stretch to the coil of hair whilst maintaining limited compliance to the bristle, reducing snagging and ensuring confidence when the hair apparatus is passed over the scalp. Optionally, the base may have a flexible upper wall, an outer (or top) surface of the upper wall supporting the elongate stem. An inner (or bottom) surface of the upper wall may define at least part of the deformable chamber. Optionally, the insert may comprise at least one reinforcing rib extending across the chamber. Deformation of the chamber may be affected by the placement and structure or configuration of the reinforcing rib, and so the reinforcing rib may be implemented so as to ensure deformation occurs in a desired or advantageous manner. The reinforcing rib may provide additional structural strength to the deformable chamber in the region where the reinforcing rib connects to a wall of the chamber, and so the reinforcing rib may be arranged such that deformation occurs preferentially in at least one particular direction and may be resistant to deformation in one or more other directions. For example, a reinforcing rib may extend across the deformable chamber at an angle (e.g., dividing the chamber into two tapered portions), or may be positioned away from a central axis of the chamber, such that the chamber is more susceptible to deformation in a particular direction away from the reinforcing rib. In some examples, the insert may comprise a plurality of such reinforcing ribs. For example, two reinforcing ribs may be provided which each extend across the deformable chamber. These may be provided at an angle to one another, such that deformation of the chamber occurs in a desired manner (e.g., in a direction in which the chamber has less or no additional support from the reinforcing ribs). Optionally, the insert may further comprise an engagement feature for securing the base to the bed. This may help simplify construction of the hair apparatus thereby reducing cost. For example, the engagement feature may be a male engagement feature (e.g., a tongue) adapted to engage a corresponding female engagement feature on the bed (e.g., a groove); or the engagement feature may be a female engagement feature (e.g., a groove) adapted to engage a corresponding male engagement feature on the bed (e.g., a tongue). The engagement feature may extend along the length of the insert, or the insert may comprise a plurality of engagement features spaced along the length of the insert, for example. Such an arrangement may ensure that substantially the whole length of the insert is fixedly connected to the bed of a hair apparatus. Optionally, the insert may comprise a plurality of bristles, wherein the plurality of bristles comprises at least one pair of laterally spaced bristles. The bases of the at least one pair of laterally spaced bristles may be unitarily formed to provide a unitary base. For example, the insert may comprise multiple pairs of laterally spaced bristles, such that only one or a small number (e.g., three or less) of inserts are required for a hair apparatus to provide a suitable number of bristles. It will, however, be appreciated that, in some examples, the insert may comprise only a single pair of bristles, and a larger number of such inserts may be secured to a base of a hair apparatus in order to provide a suitable number of bristles. By ‘pair of laterally spaced bristles’ it may be understood that the bases of at least two laterally spaced bristles may be unitarily formed. For example, there may be at least one trio of bristles (i.e., three bristles) wherein the bases of the three bristles are unitarily formed; or four or more bristles etc. It will be appreciated that, in certain examples, all of the plurality of bristles may be provided in laterally spaced pairs of bristles (or trios of bristles etc.). The chambers of the at least one pair of laterally spaced bristles may be unitarily formed to provide a unitary deformable chamber. This may provide the at least one pair of laterally spaced bristles with the required flexibility, but in a simplified construction. For example, the unitary deformable chamber may be formed from a single moulding of material. The unitary deformable chamber may comprise a central chamber interposed between a pair of lateral chambers. The central chamber and the lateral chambers may be at least partly defined by reinforcing ribs extending across the unitary deformable chamber. The reinforcing ribs provide additional structural strength to the deformable chamber in the regions where the reinforcing ribs connect to a wall of the chamber, and so the reinforcing ribs may be arranged such that deformation occurs preferentially in at least one particular direction and the unitary deformable chamber may be resistant to deformation in one or more other directions. For example, the reinforcing ribs may extend across the unitary deformable chamber at an angle to one another (e.g., such that the central chamber and at least one of the lateral chambers may taper in at least one direction). The unitary deformable chamber may thereby effectively form a plurality of abutting chambers. Optionally, the plurality of bristles may be longitudinally spaced to form a longitudinally extending row. The bases of the plurality of bristles may be unitarily formed to form an elongate unitary base. For example, the elongate unitary base may comprise a unitary outer surface (or top surface) supporting each of the plurality of bristles, and / or may comprise a unitary inner surface (or lower surface) defining at least part of the unitary deformable chamber. In one example, an upper wall of the elongate unitary base may be divided into sections, wherein each section comprises a subset of the plurality of bristles (e.g., one or more bristles). The elongate unitary base may comprise a tubular deformable chamber. It will be appreciated that the tubular deformable chamber may be provided in any suitable shape. For example, the tubular deformable chamber may have an oval cross-sectional shape. The longitudinally extending row of bristles may comprise pairs of laterally spaced bristles. The pairs of laterally spaced bristles may be as described above. The bases of each pair of laterally spaced bristles may be unitarily formed with the elongate unitary base. The insert may further comprise a longitudinally extending reinforcement ridge which extends between pairs of laterally spaced bristles, or between bristles within a pair. In an example, the longitudinally extending reinforcement ridge may extend between each (that is, every) pair of laterally spaced bristles, for example substantially along the entire length of the insert, though in other examples the ridge may not be continuous, and / or may extend between any number of pairs of bristles (such that the ridge is not provided along the whole length of the insert). For example, the reinforcement ridge may be a region of increased thickness of the insert, whereby the increased thickness resists deformation of the insert and the deformable chamber. For example, the ridge may be twice the thickness of an upper wall of the base. The reinforcement ridge may extend substantially along the entire length of the insert. This may provide additional strength in the longitudinal direction to reduce flexibility of the bristles in the longitudinal direction by resisting deformation of the chamber in that direction. The magnitude to which deformation is resisted may be varied by adjusting the configuration of the reinforcement ridge, for example a thickness of the ridge may be increased to reduce deformation. Optionally, the elongate stem may have a stem constriction having a reduced transverse cross-sectional area proximal to the base. The stem constriction may thereby provide additional flexibility of the bristle proximal to the base. The magnitude and direction of the additional flexibility may be varied by adjusting the dimensions of the stem constriction according to the desired effect. For example, reducing the diameter along one axis may increase flexibility of the bristle along that axis, and reducing the diameter of the stem around its entire circumference may provide additional flexibility of the bristle in all directions. A greater reduction in the diameter of the stem may corresponding to a greater increase in flexibility. For example, the stem constriction may be half the diameter of the elongate stem or more, such as three-quarters of the diameter, in the given direction. To provide greater flexibility of the bristle in a particular direction, the diameter along a portion of the circumference may be reduced. Optionally, the stem and the base may be made of the same material. This may simplify construction and thereby reduce costs. The material may comprise a plastics material e.g. nylon, polyamide, polypropylene, and / or a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). The material may comprise a flexible plastics material. In other examples, the stem and the base may be made of separate materials, for example by multi-shot moulding or over moulding, which may allow greater control during manufacture over the flexibility and comfort properties of the bristle. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair apparatus comprising a bed and at least one insert according to the first aspect of the present invention mounted to the bed. Optionally, the bed and the insert may comprise mutually engaging features for securing the insert to the bed. This may enable simple construction of the hair apparatus. One of the bed and the insert may comprise a male engagement feature, and the other of the bed and the insert may comprise a female engagement feature. For example, the male engagement feature may be a tongue and the female engagement feature may be a groove. In some examples, this may allow the insert to be easily replaced if necessary. For example, the insert may comprise a male engagement feature and the bed may comprise a female engagement feature; or the insert may comprise a female engagement feature and the bed may comprise a male engagement feature. In some examples, at least one of the engagement features may be an elongate engagement feature (e.g., an engagement feature may extend along substantially the entire length of the insert, and / or may extend along substantially the entire length of the bed) and / or a plurality of engagement features may be provided on one or both of the bed and the insert to ensure a strong connection between the bed and the insert. Optionally, the insert may extend longitudinally along the bed. For example, this may ensure flexibility of the or each bristle in a desired direction. In other examples, the insert may extend laterally across the bed. Optionally, the hair apparatus may comprise a plurality of inserts. The plurality of inserts may be parallel to one another and laterally spaced across the bed. In other examples, the plurality of inserts may be non-parallel, such that tension produced by the hair apparatus may vary across the hair apparatus due to the relative spacing of the plurality of inserts in certain areas (e.g., tension may be greater where inserts are closer together). In some examples, a plurality of bristles may be provided on a plurality of inserts such that a user may customize a bristle pattern on a bed of a hair apparatus. The hair apparatus may be a hairbrush. The hair apparatus may be an attachment for a hair care appliance (e.g. a hair dryer). Thus, for example, the hair apparatus may comprise a mounting portion for releasable mounting to a hair care appliance. It will be appreciated that the above examples and aspects of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable combination to provide further examples, except where such a combination is clearly impermissible or expressly avoided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure lisa top view of a hair apparatus; Figures 2A and 2B are, respectively, perspective and front views of an insert for a hair apparatus; Figure 3 shows a front view of a second insert for a hair apparatus; and Figure 4 shows a front view of a third insert for a hair apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1 is a top view of a hair apparatus 10 in the form of a hairbrush that includes a bed 11 and two inserts 12a, 12b mounted to the bed. The bed 11 forms part of a brush head 13 of the hair apparatus 10 and an elongate handle 14 extends from the brush head 13 (along a handle axis 15 which runs in a longitudinal direction of the hair apparatus 10), allowing a user to grip the hair apparatus 10 in use. The inserts 12a, 12b are identical to one another. It will be appreciated that although two inserts 12a, 12b are shown in Fig. 1, the hair apparatus is not limited by the number of inserts which may be provided as part of the hair apparatus 10. For example, three or more inserts may be used in examples of the hair apparatus. The inserts 12a, 12b extend longitudinally along the bed, that is, in a direction which is parallel to the handle axis 15, and are laterally spaced across the bed. Each of the inserts 12a, 12b comprises a plurality of bristles 16, wherein the bristles are arranged as pairs of laterally spaced bristles, with the pairs of laterally spaced bristles being longitudinally spaced to form a longitudinally extending row. Figs. 2A and 2B show, respectively, a perspective view and a front view of an insert 20 for a hair apparatus. For example, the insert 20 may be used in a hair apparatus as described above with respect to Fig. 1. The insert 20 comprises a plurality of bristles 21, each bristle comprising an elongate stem 22 and sharing a unitary base 23. The elongate stem 22 generally tapers in an upwards direction (that is, in a direction away from the base 23). The bristles 21 are arranged such that each bristle 21 comprises an individual stem 22, but the plurality of bristles 21 share a unitary base 23. In particular, the plurality of bristles 21 are arranged in laterally-spaced pairs, wherein the pairs of bristles 21 are longitudinally spaced from one another to form a longitudinally extending row, such that the bases of the plurality of bristles 21 are connected to form an elongate unitary base 23. In this example, the stem 22 and the base 23 are made of the same material. For example the insert 20 may be formed as a single unitary moulding. As a result of its construction as described in more detail below, the insert 20 itself provides flexibility of each bristle 21, in contrast to known arrangements in which flexibility is provided by the bed of a hair apparatus. The insert 20 may therefore be mounted to a rigid bed, thereby simplifying construction of the hair apparatus and reducing cost. The base 23 is generally hollow, such that the base 23 comprises a tubular deformable chamber, wherein deformation of the chamber provides flexibility to the bristles 21 while stiffness of the bristles 21 is retained in the elongate stem 22 which is passed through a user’s hair. As can be seen most clearly in Fig. 2B, the elongate stem 22 of each bristle 21 extends from an upper wall of the base 23, such that an outer surface of the upper wall supports the stem 22 and an inner surface of the upper wall defines part of a unitary deformable chamber. The unitary deformable chamber comprises a central chamber 25 interposed between a pair of lateral chambers 26, wherein the central chamber 25 and the lateral chambers 26 are partly defined by reinforcing ribs 24a, 24b which extend across the unitary deformable chamber. Each of the central chamber 25 and the lateral chambers 26 extends in a longitudinal direction along the entire length of the insert 20, such that the central chamber 25 and the lateral chambers 26 may be considered as abutting tubular structures. The reinforcing ribs 24a, 24b help to support the elongate stems 22 such that deformation of the unitary chamber occurs in a desired manner. In this example the reinforcing ribs 24a, 24b are angled such that deformation of the unitary chamber favours flexing of the pair of elongate stems shown in Fig. 2B towards each other rather than away from each other in a lateral direction. In particular, the reinforcing ribs 24a, 24b are arranged such that the central chamber 25 tapers in a direction away from the stems 22 to provide this preferential flexing, and resists flexing of the stems 22 in a direction away from one another. Furthermore, as the reinforcing ribs 24a, 24b extend along the length of the deformable chamber, flexing of each bristle 21 in the longitudinal direction is resisted. In order to further reduce deformation of the unitary chamber and flexing of the stems 22 in a longitudinal direction, the base 23 further comprises a longitudinally extending reinforcement ridge 27 which extends between each pair of laterally spaced bristles along the length of the insert 20. In particular, the reinforcement ridge 27 provides a region of the upper wall of the base which is thicker, and is therefore less flexible. Each elongate stem 22 has a stem constriction 28, which is a region of the elongate stem 22 having a reduced cross-section area, proximal to the base. The stem constriction 28 thereby provides additional flexibility of each bristle 21 in a region where the elongate stem 22 meets the base 23. In this example, the stem constriction 28 extends around the entire circumference of the elongate stem 22 such that the stem may flex in any direction. However, it will be appreciated that the stem construction 28 may, in other examples, reduce the diameter of the stem 22 along one axis only, such that flexing of the bristles may preferentially occur along that axis. The insert 20 comprises a tongue 29 extending longitudinally along each edge of the base 23. This provides a male connector for engaging with a corresponding female connector of a bed of a hair apparatus (e.g., the female connector may be a correspondingly shaped groove to receive the tongue 29). This allows the insert 20 to be easily mounted to the bed of a hair apparatus. In some examples, this may also allow the insert 20 to be swapped out after construction of the hair apparatus, allowing another insert to be used in its place. For example, this may allow a new insert to be used if the insert 20 becomes damaged, or another insert may be used which is configured in a different manner (for example, having bristles with greater or lesser flexibility than of the insert 20 described with respect to Figs. 2A and 2B). Fig. 3 shows a front view of an insert 30 for a hair apparatus. The insert 30 may be mounted to the bed of a hair apparatus, such as the hair apparatus 10 described above with respect to Fig. 1. The insert 30 comprises a laterally spaced pair of bristles 31a, 31b, each bristle 31a, 31b comprising an elongate stem 32a, 32b and a base, the elongate stem 32a, 32b upstanding from the base. The bases of each bristle 31a, 31b are joined together to provide a unitary base which comprises two deformable chambers 33a, 33b having a central reinforcing rib 35 to define a sidewall of each chamber 33a, 33b. In this example, the two deformable chambers 33a, 33b have an oval cross-section. The insert 30 comprises two engagement features 34a, 34b, with an engagement feature on each lateral side of the base, for securing the insert 30 to a bed of a hair apparatus. Although not shown in Fig. 3, it will be appreciated that the insert 30 comprises a plurality of such pairs of bristles 31a, 31b which are spaced apart from one another in a longitudinal direction to form longitudinally extending rows of bristles. The bases of the bristles are unitarily formed, such that each chamber 33a, 33b is generally tubular. In this way, each chamber 33a, 33b may be more flexible and deformable in a lateral direction than a longitudinal direction, allowing greater flexibility of the elongate stems 32a, 32b in a lateral direction than the longitudinal direction. It will, however, be appreciated that, in some examples, the insert 30 may comprise only a single pair of bristles, and a larger number of such inserts may be secured to a base of a hair apparatus in order to provide a suitable number of bristles. Fig. 4 shows a front view of an insert 40 for a hair apparatus. The insert 40 may be mounted to the bed of a hair apparatus, such as the hair apparatus 10 described above with respect to Fig. 1. The insert 40 comprises a laterally spaced pair of bristles 41a, 41b, each bristle 41a, 41b comprising an elongate stem 42a, 42b and a base, the elongate stem 42a, 42b upstanding from the base. The bases of each bristle 41a, 41b are joined together to provide a unitary based which comprises a deformable chamber 43. The insert 40 comprises two engagement features 44a, 44b, with an engagement feature on each lateral side of the base, for securing the insert 40 to a bed of a hair apparatus. Although not shown in Fig. 4, it will be appreciated that the insert 40 comprises a plurality of such pairs of bristles 41a, 41b which are spaced apart from one another in a longitudinal direction to form longitudinally extending rows of bristles. The bases of the bristles are unitarily formed, such that the deformable chamber 43 is generally tubular. As the chamber 43 does not comprise a reinforcing rib extending across the chamber 43 (e.g., in contrast to the reinforcing rib 35 described above with respect to Fig. 3), the chamber 43 is less resistant to deformation, providing greater flexibility of the bristles 41a, 41b compared to the insert 30 described above with respect to Fig. 3. In addition, the base of the bristles 41a, 41b does not comprise a reinforcement ridge (e.g., in contrast to the reinforcement ridge 27 described above with respect to Figs. 2A, 2B), allowing greater deformation of the chamber 43 in the longitudinal direction compared to the insert 20 described above with respect to Figs. 2A, 2B. While the invention has been described in conjunction with the exemplary embodiments described above, many equivalent modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art when given this disclosure. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments of the invention set forth above are considered to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

1. An insert for mounting to a bed of a hair apparatus, the insert comprising at least one bristle, the at least one bristle comprising an elongate stem and a base, the stem upstanding from the base, wherein the base comprises at least one deformable chamber.

2. The insert of claim 1, wherein the base has a flexible upper wall, an outer surface of the upper wall supporting the elongate stem and an inner surface of the upper wall defining at least part of the deformable chamber.

3. The insert of claim 1 or claim 2, comprising at least one reinforcing rib extending across the chamber.

4. The insert of any preceding claim, further comprising an engagement feature for securing the base to the bed.

5. The insert of any preceding claim, comprising a plurality of bristles, wherein the plurality of bristles comprises at least one pair of laterally spaced bristles, and wherein the bases of the at least one pair of laterally spaced bristles are unitarily formed to provide a unitary base.

6. The insert of claim 5, wherein the chambers of the at least one pair of laterally spaced bristles are unitarily formed to provide a unitary deformable chamber.

7. The insert of claim 6, wherein the unitary deformable chamber comprises a central chamber interposed between a pair of lateral chambers, wherein the central chamber and the lateral chambers are partly defined by reinforcing ribs extending across the unitary deformable chamber.

8. The insert of any preceding claim, comprising a plurality of bristles, wherein the plurality of bristles are longitudinally spaced to form a longitudinally-extending row,wherein the bases of the plurality of bristles are unitarily formed to form an elongate unitary base.

9. The insert of claim 8, wherein the elongate unitary base comprises a tubular deformable chamber.

10. The insert of claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the longitudinally extending row of bristles comprises pairs of laterally spaced bristles, wherein the bases of each pair of laterally spaced bristles are unitarily formed with the elongate unitary base.

11. The insert of claim 10, further comprising a longitudinally extending reinforcement ridge which extends between each pair of laterally spaced bristles.

12. The insert of any preceding claim, wherein the elongate stem has a stem constriction having a reduced transverse cross-sectional area proximal to the base.

13. The insert of any preceding claim, wherein the stem and the base are made of the same material.

14. A hair apparatus comprising a bed and at least one insert according to any one of the preceding claims mounted to the bed.

15. The hair apparatus of claim 14, wherein the bed and the insert comprise mutually engaging features for securing the insert to the bed.

16. The hair apparatus of claim 14, wherein one of the bed and the insert comprises a male engagement feature, and the other of the bed and the insert comprises a female engagement feature.

17. The hair apparatus of claim 16, wherein the male engagement feature is a tongue and the female engagement feature is a groove.

18. The hair apparatus of any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the insert extends longitudinally along the bed.

19. The hair apparatus of any one of claims 14 to 18, comprising a plurality of inserts 5 wherein the plurality of inserts are parallel to one another and laterally spaced across the bed.

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