{
  "patent_number": "US RE48170",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Automatic Rotating Curling Irons Capture and Wind Hair",
  "original_title": "USRE48170E1 - Hair styling apparatuses and related methods",
  "summary": "A motorized hair styling tool that uses a rotating ring with tabs to automatically catch and wrap hair around a heated barrel.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a curling iron that simplifies the process of wrapping hair around a hot barrel. Instead of manually twisting the hair, the device features a rotating ring (the rotating member) positioned at the end of the barrel. This ring has specific tabs or ridges that catch strands of hair and pull them around the heated surface as the ring spins. The design ensures that the retaining tabs stay spaced away from the barrel when not in use, and the entire system is built so the barrel can rotate while the handle remains stationary in the user's hand.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover traditional manual curling irons that lack a motorized rotating member.",
    "Does not cover hair styling tools that use suction or air-flow to wrap hair around a barrel.",
    "Does not cover devices where the retaining elements are permanently fixed to the barrel surface rather than on a separate rotating member.",
    "Does not cover flat irons or straighteners that use two plates to press hair."
  ],
  "filed": "2018-08-24",
  "granted": "2020-08-25",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Kiss Nail Products Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/kiss-nail-products-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Kyong Hak Lee",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/kyong-hak-lee"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 5,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "The present disclosure relates to hair styling apparatuses and related methods. The hair styling apparatus includes a heated barrel defining a hair styling surface and a central axis, and a rotating member disposed at an end of the hair styling surface. The rotating member is configured to rotate around the central axis of the heated barrel. The rotating member includes one or more retaining elements configured to retain the hair and wind the hair around the hair styling surface. The one or more retaining elements projects away from the hair styling surface.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE48170/airwrap-styler",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE48170/airwrap-styler/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USRE48170",
  "relatedPatents": []
}