Rotation responsive motorized hair curler

Abstract

A curling iron having a handle, a heated barrel rotatable relative to the handle, a spring loaded clamp, and a motor coupled between the handle and the barrel and rotating the barrel in at least one of two directions relative to the handle. A motor control switch that enables and disables the rotation of the barrel and a rotation sensor coupled to the motor control switch to sense the initial direction of rotation of the handle. A motor control circuit is coupled to the motor, the motor control switch, and the rotation sensor, and the motor control circuit causes the barrel to rotate in an initial direction after rotation of the barrel has been enabled and rotation of the handle has been detected. The motor control circuit can cause the barrel to stop rotating once rotation of the barrel has thereafter been disabled.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A curling iron comprising:
 a handle;   a heated barrel rotatable relative to the handle;   a spring loaded clamp comprising:
 a spoon shaped paddle over the barrel clamping a lock of hair to the barrel; and 
 an elongated lever extending towards the handle for positioning the paddle away from the barrel; 
   a motor coupled between the handle and the barrel and rotating the barrel in at least one of two directions relative to the handle;   a motor control switch enabling and disabling the rotation of the barrel;   a rotation sensor coupled to the motor control switch sensing the initial direction of rotation of the handle after rotation of the barrel has been enabled by the motor control switch; and   a motor control circuit coupled to the motor, the motor control switch, and the rotation sensor,   wherein the motor control circuit causes the barrel to rotate in an initial direction after rotation of the barrel has been enabled and rotation of the handle has been detected, and   wherein the motor control circuit causes the barrel to stop rotating once rotation of the barrel has thereafter been disabled.   
     
     
         2 . The curling iron of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a temperature control switch controlling temperature of the barrel; 
 a display indicating at least one of the temperature set by the temperature control switch, a desired temperature and a current temperature; 
 a temperature control circuit controlling the temperature of the barrel; and 
 wherein the motor control circuit is also coupled to the temperature control switch to establish a desired rotational speed for the barrel. 
 
     
     
         3 . The curling iron of  claim 2 , wherein the temperature control switch is also used to turn the iron on and off, and either a fast or a slow rotational speed is selected when the iron is turned on prior to the selection of the desired barrel temperature. 
     
     
         4 . The curling iron of  claim 3 , wherein the display also indicates the selected rotational speed. 
     
     
         5 . The curling iron of  claim 1 , further comprising a guard surrounding the barrel at position adjacent the handle, the guard comprising:
 a foot configured to support the curling iron; and   a connection point coupling the clamp to the barrel,   whereby the clamp is maintained approximately opposite a work surface when the curling iron is resting on the work surface.   
     
     
         6 . The curling iron of  claim 1 , further comprising a current monitor monitoring the current draw of the motor at least during rotation,
 wherein if the monitored draw is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, stopping the rotation of the motor.   
     
     
         7 . The curling iron of  claim 6 , wherein if the monitored draw is less than a preset threshold value, permitting the motor to continue to function. 
     
     
         8 . The curling iron of  claim 1 , wherein the heated barrel is removably attached to the handle. 
     
     
         9 . The curling iron of  claim 8 , wherein the heated barrel includes a plurality of heated barrels each having a different diameter and being one of straight and tapered. 
     
     
         10 . A method of curling hair using a curling iron having a handle, a heated barrel rotatable relative to the handle, a spring loaded clamp capable of clamping a lock of hair to the barrel, a motor coupled between the handle and the barrel and rotating the barrel in at least one of two directions relative to the handle, a motor control switch for enabling and disabling the rotation of the barrel, and a rotation sensor coupled to the motor control switch, comprising the steps of:
 selecting, using the motor control switch, one of enabling and disabling the rotation sensor;   selecting, using the motor control switch, one of enabling and disabling rotation of the barrel;   sensing the initial direction of rotation of the handle after rotation of the barrel has been enabled by the motor control switch; and   rotating the barrel to rotate in the initial direction after rotation of the barrel has been enabled and rotation of the handle has been detected.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of setting a rotation speed of the motor to rotate the barrel. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein when the selecting step disables the rotation sensor, the method further comprises the step of rotating the barrel in only one of the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the steps of:
 monitoring a current draw of the motor; and   if the monitored draw is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, stopping the rotation of the motor.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein if the monitored draw is less than a preset threshold value, permitting the motor to continue to function. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of replacing the barrel with a second barrel.