Haircare appliance

Abstract

A haircare appliance is described comprising a barrel around which hair may be wrapped, a heating element for heating the barrel, a sensor for sensing a parameter indicative of the presence or absence of hair in contact with the barrel, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine the presence or absence of hair in contact with the barrel based on data output by the sensor and control a supply of electrical power to the heating element based on the determination.

1 . A haircare appliance comprising:
 a barrel around which hair may be wrapped;   a heating element for heating the barrel;   a sensor for sensing a parameter indicative of a presence or absence of hair in contact with the barrel; and   a controller configured to:   determine the presence or absence of hair in contact with the barrel based on data output by the sensor; and   control a supply of electrical power to the heating element based on the determination.   
     
     
         2 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the haircare appliance comprises a further sensor for sensing a temperature of at least one of the barrel or heating element.   
     
     
         3 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to increase the supply of electrical power to the heating element to increase the temperature of the heating element in response to determining the presence of hair in contact with the barrel or to decrease the supply of electrical power to the heating element to decrease the temperature of the heating element in response to determining the absence of hair in contact with the barrel. 
     
     
         4 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 control the supply of electrical power to the heating element to maintain the temperature of the heating element at a setpoint; and   increase the setpoint in response to determining the presence of hair in contact with the barrel or decrease the setpoint in response to determining the absence of hair in contact with the barrel.   
     
     
         5 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 increase the setpoint from a first value to a second value in response to determining the presence of hair in contact with the barrel; and   decrease the setpoint from the second value to the first value in response to determining the absence of hair in contact with the barrel.   
     
     
         6 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the barrel comprises a plurality of zones;   the haircare appliance comprises:   a plurality of heating elements, each heating element for heating a respective zone of the barrel; and   a plurality of sensors, each sensor for sensing a parameter indicative of the presence or absence of hair in contact with a respective zone of the barrel; and   the controller is configured to:   determine the presence or absence of hair in contact with each of the zones of the barrel based on data output by the sensors; and   control a supply of electrical power to each of the heating elements based on the determination.   
     
     
         7 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein, in response to determining the presence of hair in contact with one or more of the zones of the barrel, the controller is configured to increase the supply of electrical power to only those heating elements of the zones for which the presence of hair is determined. 
     
     
         8 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 control the supply of electrical power to each of the heating elements to maintain the temperature of each of the heating elements at a respective setpoint; and   increase the setpoint for only those heating elements of the zones for which the presence of hair is determined.   
     
     
         9 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein, for only those heating elements of the zones for which the presence of hair is determined, the controller is configured to:
 increase the setpoint from a first value to a second value; and   decrease the setpoint from the second value to the first value for only those heating elements of the zones for which the subsequent absence of hair is determined.   
     
     
         10 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of zones comprises zones arranged longitudinally along a length of the barrel. 
     
     
         11 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the plurality of zones comprises zones arranged circumferentially around the barrel. 
     
     
         12 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the barrel comprises no less than 3 zones. 
     
     
         13 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the barrel comprises no more than 24 zones. 
     
     
         14 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the barrel has a wall thickness of no greater than 0.5 mm. 
     
     
         15 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the barrel has a wall thickness of no less than 0.05 mm. 
     
     
         16 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the haircare appliance comprises a support located inside of the barrel and having a wall thickness greater than a wall thickness of the barrel. 
     
     
         17 . The haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the heating element is attached directly to the barrel. 
     
     
         18 . haircare appliance as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the heating element comprises a resistive film heater. 
     
     
         19 . A method comprising:
 sensing a parameter indicative of a presence or absence of hair in contact with a barrel of a haircare appliance;   determining the presence or absence of hair in contact with the barrel based on the sensed property; and   controlling a supply of electrical power to a heating element of the haircare appliance based on the determination.