GB2288727A - Hairbrush with a detachable handle - Google Patents

Abstract

A hair brush comprises a handle 2 which connects and disengages from the brush head 1, allowing the head 1 to be left in someones hair. A plurality of brush heads may therefore be applied through out the hair, during blow drying with a hand held dryer. The handle can connect and disengage to a variety of different sized brush heads, from a set containing a comprehensive selection according to the length of the hair to be blow dried. Connection and release of the handle 2 from the head 1 is achieved by pressing a button 3 on the handle 2, which subsequently releases a location pin 4 from the brush head 1. The brush heads are stored in a colour coded set designed for easy identification and stenlisation. The primary objective is that this brush can be used with the use of one hand only, so the other hand is free to hold the hair dryer during blow drying. <IMAGE>

Description

A Hair styling Aid This invention relates to hair styling appliances, inparticular those intended for use with hand held dryers , such as round brushes.

Since the invention of the hand held hair dryer there has been a fast and constant change in hairstyles that specifically require the use of the hand held dryer instead of hooded dryers.

The styling of hair using a hooded dryer is most commonly done by placing with both hands a plurality of setting rollers in the wet hair and then sitting under the hooded dryer until all the hair is dry, the rollers are then removed. The hair now has to be "brushed out this means using an appropriate hairstyling tool to brush out the roller marks in the hair roots and dress the hair into the required style. The size and type of roller used and the direction that they are placed into the hair will determine the style.

The invention of the hand held dryer has taken over from the hooded dryer as the most popular method to dry hair, and where as hooded dryers are virtually always used to dry hair that has been set with rollers which are all basically the same, blow drying with hand held dryers has prompted the invention of brushes specifically for use with it. However unlike setting or heated rollers where a plurality is used , blow drying is achieved using one brush at a time, one such brush is the round brush.

Round brushes are manufactured in many ways, they are made of many different materials and combinations of materials. They all comprise of a head and a handle. The handle helps the person blow drying the hair to control the brush head . The heads are all circular in shape and are made of different materials such as bristle, nylon, plastic, and rubber. The size and type of brush head will help determine the style created. All these brushes are designed to be held in either hand, while a blow dryer is held in the other.

During blow drying the round brush is wound into one section of wet hair at a time and then heat is applied. Once the section is dry the brush is then removed and put into the next section of wet hair, this is usually adjacent to the first. This procedure is repeated until all the hair is dry or a different brush is required.

Blow drying with round brushes is very popular, particularly in professional hair salons where there is a high demand from clients who like the effect but find the process of using them at home very difficult. The problem in the salon is that it is very labour intensive for the stylist using them. Unlike setting which takes maybe only 4 or 5 minutes to put the rollers in the wet hair and as little as 1 or 2 minutes to "brush out" and while the client is under the dryer the stylist is free to deal with other clients, if they are blow drying with a round brush they have to be booked out a much longer time slot, typically 30 minutes .The most common complaints by non proffesional people using a round brush to blow dry are, they do not achieve the root lift, they struggle to manipulate the brush through the back, they find trying to use the opposite hand to their natural hand in manipulating the brush virtually impossible while holding a hair dryer in the other, and the air blast from the dryer distorts the already dried sections of hair.

Despite all these problems experienced by proffesionals and non, round brush blow drying remains as popular as ever, probably because setting is not as versatile and in most peoples opinions is not natural enough plus one can not dry a set with just a hand held dryer, and as of yet no other brush can achieve the same desired root lift and movement as using a round brush.

Unlike setting or some electrically operated hot hair styling appliances, which use a plurality of rollers and two hands to put them in, blow drying always involves the use of one brush at a time and only one hand to hold the brush, therefore in most cases it is much harder to do, as one only has one hand free to control the brush head while the other hand holds a dryer.

Therefore it is the primary objective of the present invention to provide a method of round brush blow drying that is quicker easier and more effective to perform, whether carried out in a salon or at home. It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a round brush that is easy to manufacture, and a clear and simple way of storing, identifying and cleaning them.

Keratin in the hair shaft is an elastic substance which can be reversibly deformed using heat. When the hair is wet, the water breaks down the hydrogen and saline bonds , causing the keratin chains to slide against each other . This makes it possible to realign the chains into a new shape. As the hair dries , new saline and hydrogen bonds are formed , which keep the hair in shape. When a round brush is rolled into its section in some ones wet hair and heat from a blow dryer is applied, this is what happens. However more often than not the brush is removed from its section when the hair may be dry, but is still warm or even hot. Therefore these hydrogen and saline bonds have not set into the desired shape yet. To maximise the effect of the round brush in each section the hair needs to cool down either naturally or by applying the cold air setting found on proffesional type dryers.A problem with this it is very time consuming, so more often then not the brush is removed from its section before it has time to cool, this makes the desired effect much weaker with less root lift. Another problem is as most people dry the hair systematically one section at a time by once having removed the brush from its current section and placed it into the next adjacent wet section of hair, as they proceed to dry it the heat and air blast from the dryer deranges the previously completed section, destroying or weakening the effect, as well as quite often over drying the hair.

As a direct result of the often reduced effect of the finished blow dry , most people use further heated appliances such as electrically operated hot brushes or curling tongs. It is a further objective of the current invention to avoid the need for these heated appliances, there by saving time and energy.

Summary of invention This Invention accomplishes its desired objectives by providing a selection of round brush heads of different sizes and materials, with at least one handle that can connect simply and easily to the chosen head using just one hand to do so, while the other hand is free to hold a hair dryer. The round brush is then used as normal and worked into a wet section of hair, applying heat from a blow dryer, and at the point when one would normally remove the brush to go to the next section of wet hair the handle is detached from the brush head by pressing a button or similar device located on the handle that would allow the smooth and light release of the handle so as not to disturb the brush head from its section, and perform the action with just one hand.However the mechanism connecting the handle to the brush head should be sufficiently secure as to be able to work the brush head through the hair with out the head disconnecting.

This process is continued until all the round brush heads required have been used. One can now remove all the heads preferably commencing with the first one to be put in. Because every section has been allowed to cool evenly and accurately all that is needed to do is dress out the hair with ones hands for a perfect finish in a quick time with no need to tong or hot brush.

According to the present invention there is a hairstyling brush that is operated with just the use of one hand only. This brush is used in conjunction with a hand held dryer. There is a handle which connects and disengages with just one hand only to the head , in order to be able to apply a plurality of round brush heads through out the hair. The effect on each section of blow dried hair is maximised in a quicker time by being able to leave each brush head in its own section of hair there by helping to avoid previously blow dried sections of hair being distorted, over dried, or tangling, while at the same time creating increased root lift and desired directional movement to the hair by allowing each section of hair with a brush head in, to evenly cool down before its removal.This is achieved by having a handle that can connect and disengage to different size brush heads using just one hand while the other holds a hair dryer. This connection and release of the brush head from the handle is achieved with a push button release mechanism situated on the handle, when pressed this releases a location pin from the brush head allowing the light and smooth disengagement of the brush head with just one hand.

In order to attain the above objective , the invention suggests having a handle with a push button release mechanism that when pushed, releases a location pin from the head of the round brush This pin is located on a 12mm nylon hexegon on the end of the handle , this hexagon fits inside a 15mm nylon hexegon fixed to the base of the round brush head , this 15mm nylon hexegon is undercut for the location pin. The relationship between the two nylon hexogans means that it is very easy to align the head to the handle using just one hand when connecting the two parts, but still be able to withstand considerable sideways force as applied while rolling the brush head through the hair. Nylon is an advantageous material with regard to the two hexogan pieces, as there is very little friction between the two engaging surfaces, however it is to be understood that any suitable material can be used and that the mechanism for attaching and releasing the heads from the handles could be used to attach and release different styling aids This embodiment is particularly advantageous with respect to manufacturing considerations because virtually any existing round brush head can be adapted to fit the handle containing the location pin. However it is to be understood that various combinations of the mounting arrangements of the head and the handle may be employed.

It should be further understood that in practically all cases of using this present invention that a plurality of round brush heads are used with the handle. Such a set of round brush heads may comprise round brush heads of different sizes. The present invention therefore includes among its suggestions a novel round brush box for the storage of at least one complete set of round brushes and at least one handle. These sets can comprise different sizes and amounts of brush heads depending on weather the intended use is for home or proffesional use, and the length of the hair and the desired effect. Each head would be stored in its own compartment separating it from the other heads.These heads would be colour coded to indicate at a glance which size head has been selected before removing it from its compartment, and each separate compartment would be colour coded to show clearly where each head has to be returned. It is a further novel suggestion that the tray containing the brush heads should have drain holes through out its base and thus the tray can be placed in a larger water tight box so as to be able to easily pour sterilising fluid or brush cleaner over the heads.

The primary objective to have a handle that connects and releases to and from the head with just one hand can be applied to other hairstyling devices such as heated and setting rollers. Combs and other shaped brushes and appliances that are used one at a time could still benefit from the current invention because one could have a variety of different brush heads and combs that connect and disengage to one handle. Heated rollers and setting rollers both require the use of two hands to put the rollers into the hair, with the current invention it is possible to carry this out with one hand only.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows the brush with the handle connected.

Figure 2 shows the brush with the handle disengaged Figure 3 shows the handle and the mechanism used to connect and disengage the handle from the larger hexagon which is permanently connected to the brush head Figure 4 shows a cross section of the larger section.

Figure 5 shows the larger hexegon connected to a brush head.

Figure 6 shows the mechanism for push button release with the location pin.

Figure 7 shows a plurality of brush heads in some ones hair with the handle disengaged.

Figure 8 shows the brush heads in someones hair, the third head shows the handle attached.

Figure 9 shows a perspective view of an example brush head and handle container.

Figure 10 shows a perspective view of a brush head and handle container within a larger water tight box used for sterilisation.

Figure 11 12 13 and 14 shows the handle connecting and disengaging from different styling aids.

Description of the preferred embodiments In Fig 1 and 2 is illustrated a hair styling appliance in the form of a round brush comprising a head 1 attached and disengaged to the handle 2. The handle 2 includes a button 3 which when pushed releases a location pin 4 from the main body 6 containing the internal hexegon 7 The main body 6 is bonded onto the brush head 1.

fig 3 shows the handle 2 and the main body 6 with its internal hexagon 7 internally undercut 8 to hold the location pin 4 so as to secure the main body 6 onto the smaller external hexogan 5.

Fig 4 shows a cross section of the main body 6 and the internal hexegon 7 Fig 5 shows the main body 6 permanently bonded onto the head 1.

Fig 6 shows the location pin 4 with the push button 3 Fig 7 shows a plurality of brush heads 1 with the main body 6 having been blow dried into someones hair using just one hand and the handle 2 having been disengaged so the brush heads 1 can cool down evenly and accurately prior to removing them from the hair, there by maximising the effect of each brush head in the hair, creating root lift and increased directional hold.

Figure 8 shows three brush heads 1 in someones hair the first two brush heads 1 are shown with the handle 2 disengaged, the third shows the handle 2 still attached prior to its disengagement by pressing the release button 3. This system is very advantageous as once each brush head 1 has been blow dried into each section not only do they benefit from the extra root lift and directional movement but it is easier to blow dry each new section, as the preceding brush head 1 helps stop tangling of the hair, and the hair dryer blowing all the previously dried hair out of shape. All these brush heads 1 can be blow dried into place, and the handle 2 disengaged using just one hand while the other can keep hold of the drier with out having to keep putting it down.

Fig 9 shows a suggested container box for the storage, identifying, and cleaning of the brush heads 9 and handle 15.

According to the size and how many heads need to be stored, the compartments storing them can vary in quantity and diameter. The compartments 9 can be colour coded to match the different size brush heads for easy identification. The brush heads would also be presented at a 45 degree angle for additional ease of selection and connection.

Fig 10 To steralise or clean the brush heads and handle one would place the whole storage box 12 into a larger water tight box 16 as shown in figure 10, pour in sterilising fluid or brush cleaner. To remove simply lift the inner box 12 by the handles 11, the sterilising fluid then drains through the holes 14 into the larger water tight box 16 leaving the brush set clean and ready for use.

In figures 11 12 13 and 14 the same handle is shown connecting and disengaging from a vent brush and comb. Although there is no advantage putting a plurality into the hair the invention would work very well if one had a set of different brush or comb heads that could attach and disengage from the one handle.

Claims (12)

Claims

1 A hairstyling brush with a handle that can be connected and disengaged from the brush head with one hand only. the connection and release of the handle from the head is provided by pressing a button on the handle that releases a location pin from the head of the round brush, this pin is located on a nylon hexagon on the end of the handle, this hexogan fits inside a larger hexagon which is permanently bonded to the round brush head. The larger hexagon is undercut for the location pin.

2 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 1 wherein Means are provided for the handle to connect and disengage from the brush head by the use of one hand only.

3 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 where the mechanism that connects and disengages the brush head from the handle can be provided by any suitable means that allow its operation with just one hand.

4 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 1 2 and 3 wherein the handle can connect and disengage to different size brush heads

5 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 1 2 3 and 4 wherein the handle can connect and disengage by any means that allow its operation with just one hand only, and the angle position and point of connection and release can be anywhere along it, or the hairstyling aid it connects to.

6 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 12 3 4 and 5 wherein there is provided method of hairstyling comprising placing a plurality of round brushes into someones wet hair, applying heat, disengaging the handle, and dressing out the hair style once all the sections have cooled

7 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 12 3 4 Sand 6 wherein means are provided on the brush head and the brush handle to connect and disengage lightly and smoothly with minimum friction during the release of the head from the handle. Means provided by the brush handle to disengage the brush head with an axial pull which is considerably less then the weight of the hair brush head.

8 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 12 3 4 5 6 and 7 wherein the brush heads can be stored in colour coded sets comprising at least one handle and any number of heads in various combinations of size and materials according to the length of the hair and the style desired, and that these sets have separate colour coded compartments and matching brush heads so as to be able to easily identify and return the heads.

9 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 12 3 4 5 6 7 and 8 wherein the set containing the brush heads and handle should have drainage holes through out its inner base so that it can be placed in a larger water tight outer box so as to enable the sterilisation of the heads by pouring brush cleaner or other suitable solution in to it. The inner set is removed when clean allowing the cleaning fluid to flow away through the drainage holes.

10 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 and 9 wherein the set containing the heads and handle is designed so its upper surface holding the heads presents them at a 45 degree angle to any flat work top they are placed on. This allows for easier selection, identification, and connection to the handle.

11 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 and 10 wherein the handle can connect and disengage to setting and heated rollers.

12 A hairstyling brush as claimed in Claim 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 and 11 wherein the handle can connect and disengage to combs, vent brushes and any other styling aid that has a handle.