Enhanced hair product application with concurrent styling

Abstract

Embodiments of hair care apparatus and methods are provided generally comprising a location to provision hair care product, an applicator and a manipulator configured to enable concurrent product application and hair manipulation, and may comprise a product heater, configured to heat product provisioned therein, or be configured for use with an external heating source such as a microwave oven, and provide application of heated product at temperatures both safe for hair health and enhanced absorption. Apparatus may comprise a source of pressure, such as a pump or piston, to generate hair product flow through an applicator, and may be configured to receive product in user fillable or prepackaged product cartridges usable in the apparatus, a product chamber within the apparatus or a removable product reservoir useable in the apparatus. An apparatus may further be configured to support a plurality of manipulators, active applicators and passive applicators.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A hair care apparatus product distribution system comprising:
 a threaded shaft;   a selectively and bidirectionally actuatable motor coupled to the threaded shaft;   a dispensing arm comprising threads engaged with the threaded shaft, wherein the motor may be selectively actuated to move the dispensing arm in a dispensing direction and selectively actuated to move the dispensing arm in a reverse direction from the dispensing direction;   a product pod or cartridge comprising a reservoir having product therein, the product pod engageable by the dispensing arm, wherein:   when the dispensing arm is engaged with a product pod and the motor is actuated to move the dispensing arm in a dispensing direction, the capacity of the reservoir is reduced and a flow of product is forced from the product pod; and   when engaged with a product pod and the motor is actuated to move the dispensing arm in a reverse direction from the dispensing direction, the dispensing arm is disengaged from the product pod.   
     
     
         2 . A hair care apparatus product pod interface configured to removably receive a product pod, provide a liquid tight seal between the product pod and the hair care apparatus for liquid hair product flowing from the product pod to the hair care apparatus when the product pod is received, and facilitate heating of a flow of hair product after its dispensing from the product pod and prior to a dispensing from the hair care apparatus, the product pod interface comprising:
 a pod spout;   a heating plate comprising a hair product flow side and a heated side upon which one or more heating elements are disposed;   a heating plate orifice passing through the heated side to the hair product flow side;   a spout gasket comprising a gasket opening though a central portion thereof and disposed on the heated side of the heating plate orifice, wherein:
 the pod spout of a received product pod is seated against the spout gasket providing a liquid seal between the pod spout and the heating plate orifice wherein: 
 hair product dispensed from the product pod flows through the pod spout and through the gasket to the product flow side of the heating plate and is heated prior to a dispensing from the hair care apparatus. 
   
     
     
         3 . A hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system comprising on-demand heating of dispensing product, the product heating and distribution system further comprising:
 a heating plate;   a thermistor in thermal contact with the heating plate;   at least one heating element in thermal contact with a heated side of the heating plate; and   an applicator plate, wherein:
 the applicator plate comprises a channel side and a dispensing side; 
 the channel side is situated against a product flow side of the heating plate, wherein the heating plate and the applicator plate form at least one channel, having at least one applicator orifice, in which a flow of product may flow while in direct contact with the product flow side of the heating plate prior to a dispensing through the at least one applicator orifice to the dispensing side; 
 the at least one channel is in fluid communication with a heating plate orifice which may receive the flow of product; 
 the at least one channel is in fluid communication with an applicator orifice configured to dispense product from the dispensing side; and 
 the at least one heating element is selectively energized to heat the heating plate and the flow of product that is in direct contact with the heating plate based on a temperature indicated by the thermistor being below a predetermined temperature or predetermined temperature range, thereby providing on-demand heating of dispensing product. 
   
     
     
         4 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , wherein the heating plate orifice is an opening between the heated side and the product flow side. 
     
     
         5 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 4 , further comprising a spout gasket, wherein:
 the spout gasket is seated against at least a perimeter of the heated side heating plate orifice and comprises a central opening through which product may flow from the heated side to the product flow side;   the spout gasket may receive a product pod spout and provide a liquid seal between the product pod spout and the heating plate proximate to the heating plate orifice; and   product may flow through the product pod spout, through the spout gasket and through the heating plate orifice to the product flow side of the heating plate.   
     
     
         6 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , further comprising a microcontroller unit and program code executable by the microcontroller, wherein upon execution of the program code, the microcontroller is configured to execute a heating program. 
     
     
         7 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 6 , wherein the heating program is executed in response to a pressing of a heat/no heat button. 
     
     
         8 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 6 , wherein the heating program is configure to indicate a status of the heating program on an LED. 
     
     
         9 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 6 , wherein the heating program comprises an on-demand heating function. 
     
     
         10 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 9 , wherein the on-demand heating function comprises a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. 
     
     
         11 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one heating element is two heating elements and the thermistor is disposed on the heating plate and located between two heating elements. 
     
     
         12 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one channel comprising at least one orifice is a plurality of channels, and the at least one orifice is a plurality of orifices comprised by the plurality of channels. 
     
     
         13 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , wherein the applicator plate is an applicator manipulator plate further comprising a plurality of manipulator members disposed on a projecting outwardly from the dispensing side. 
     
     
         14 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 13 , wherein the applicator manipulator plate is removably mountable to a hair care apparatus comprising the hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system. 
     
     
         15 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 14 , wherein the applicator manipulator plate comprises a first mating component of a tongue and groove mount and the hair care apparatus comprising the hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system comprises a second mating component of a tongue and groove mount, wherein the first mating component is mateable to the second mating component when mounting the applicator plate to the hair care apparatus. 
     
     
         16 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 14 , wherein the applicator plate is an applicator manipulator plate further comprising a plurality of manipulator members disposed on a projecting outwardly from the dispensing side and the hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system further comprises a plurality of applicator manipulator plates having a variety of different manipulator member configurations or a variety of different applicator orifice configurations or both thereof. 
     
     
         17 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , wherein the hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system is configured to cease heating the heating plate and the flow of product that is in direct contact with the heating plate when the temperature based on a temperature indicated by the thermistor reaches the predetermined temperature. 
     
     
         18 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , wherein the predetermined temperature is 125° F. 
     
     
         19 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , wherein the predetermined temperature is 120° F. 
     
     
         20 . The hair care apparatus product heating and distribution system of  claim 3 , further comprising a thermally conducting compound applied between the thermistor and the heating plate.