Patent Grant
7011097
This invention relates to an improved braiding device particularly one that can be used to create a style of braids called herringbone or fishbone braids. While the braider of this invention has been designed specifically to create herringbone braids, it is also adaptable to several other styles of braids. The braider of this invention has several advantages over existing prior art devices that are described in the following paragraphs.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,011 inventor Nash describes a device that can be used to weave hair. This device comprises an elongated handle member which terminates in a comb base. A plurality of spaced fingers or tines extend from the comb base in substantially parallel relation to one another to define a series of hair receiving slots. Hair is woven through the series of slots in a predetermined sequence to form a braid. Nash's device, sold under the tradename Wonder Weave(R), is meant mainly for the conventional 3-strand braids. Also, Nash's device is hard to use because there are multiple slots to receive hair; thus it is hard for a user to keep track of which slot to use for which strands of hair. The problem of trying to determine which slot to use for which strand of hair is especially pronounced when a user is trying to braid her own hair at the back of her head.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,297 by Hatchett et al describes a device consisting of a plurality of adjacent elongated rigid members joined to and arising in a perpendicular manner in such a way that slots are formed between the adjacent elongated members to retain sections of hair. Hatchett's device, like Nash's, is intended for standard 3-strand braids. Hatchett's device, sold under the tradename Easy Braid®, is hard to manufacture because of the use of a rigid body portion with flexible foam components. Additionally, Hatchett's device has the same shortcomings as Nash's device mentioned in the preceding paragraph: because of the presence of multiple slots, it is difficult for a user to determine which slot to use for which strand of hair.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,666, Schach describes a braiding device that can be used for making braids. Schach's device, sold under the tradename Braidini®, includes a plurality of apertures formed in a serpentine shaped extension. Schach's device is likely to intimidate the average consumer because of its complex design. Schach's device is also hard to use for the same reason as the devices described by Nash and Hatchett: there are multiple openings for receiving strands of hair making it difficult for a user to figure out which aperture to use for which strands of hair.
In patent DE 3008162 inventor Schmehling provides a device for securely attaching a hairpiece or a wig to the remaining hair on a wearer's head. Some of the embodiments of Schmehling's device consist of two opposing cavities. However the cavities of that device have been shaped to optimally prevent hair from escaping easily from them since the idea is to secure the device immovably. This would make the device inappropriate for making herringbone braids since such braids require repeated removal of strands of hair from cavities as well as repeated insertion of hair into cavities. Additionally, Schmehling's device has several notched areas, again for securely fastening a wig. These notches would snag hair and interfere with the braiding process. Finally, Schmehling's device has been designed specifically for affixing wigs and not for braiding.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,655,926 Parrilla describes a Hair Curler that has an elongate structure with hair receiving slots at opposite ends. However, Parrilla's device differs significantly from the device of this invention. Parrilla's device is intended for curling hair and is therefore restricted to being cylindrical in shape. The two ends of Parrilla's device are necessarily asymmetrical in order to provide the user with two different curling diameters. The two slots of Parrilla's device are used only one at a time depending on the size of the curl desired by the user. In contrast, the two cavity-containing ends of the device of the current invention are necessarily symmetric. Parrilla's device is relatively expensive to make because it is constructed of multiple components. The spring blade that forms the flexible hair-retaining element has to be assembled separately from the process of forming the main body of the curler. In contrast, the device of the current invention does not require assembling. Parrilla's device requires that at least one surface of each slot be flat so that the spring blade element can press against it. In fact, Parrilla's device has been designed primarily for retention of hair. Such a design would be a hindrance in the creation of herringbone braids since hair strands have to be repeatedly removed as well as inserted into the cavities during the braiding process. Any design that focuses primarily on the retention of hair inside a cavity would not work well for the purpose of creating a herringbone braid.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,761 Sloan describes a hair braiding device that consists of a flat elongate body having at least one opposing pair of slotted openings with the openings being lined with a resilient material that permits hair strands to be introduced thereinto and that allows the device to be rotated to create a rope braid. Like the device by Parrilla, Sloan's invention is primarily intended to retain hair within the cavities and prevent strands from escaping during the twisting process. Sloan's device requires an opposing yieldable lining that will grab on to hair strands when the device is being rotated. In fact, Sloan's device has been especially designed with rotation in mind. It requires that hair strands not escape from the openings during rotation. The use of tillable lining in Sloan's device is, in fact, intended to prevent hair strands from being easily removed. Thus Sloan's intention is quite contrary to the device of the current invention. The braider of this invention requires that the cavities allow repeated removal from the cavities as well as insertion into the cavities of hair strands for the purpose of braiding. The use of lining inside the cavities of Sloan's device is likely to snag hair and prevent a smooth creation of herringbone braids. This makes Sloan's device less than ideal for braids such as the herringbone that require that sections of hair be removed often from the openings during the braiding process. Sloan's device is also hard and expensive to manufacture because it includes a lining attached on the inside of each of the slots. Additionally, the method taught by Sloan is restricted to a single style of braid, the rope braid.
Thus, it is the object of this invention to provide a braider that has a user-friendly design and operation. This is in contrast to many prior art devices that are likely to intimidate the user with their complicated appearance.
Additionally, it is the object of this invention to provide a hair braiding device that can be used to create many different styles of braids including herringbone braids, rope braids, chevron braids, diagonal braids, twisted braids, coil braids and many others.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a braiding device that is very inexpensive and easy to manufacture.
Another object of this invention is to provide a device that will allow the user to interrupt the braiding process temporarily if needed without worrying about the braid unraveling during the interruption.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a compact device that can easily be packed for travel. The braider can also be provided with its own hanger hole so as to allow for low packaging costs for commerce.
A still further object of this invention is to provide several methods for making a variety of braids using the braider of this invention.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an aesthetic hair accessory that can be used to create non-braided hair styles.
Other and still further objects, features and advantages of the braider will become obvious from a reading of the following detailed description of the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The present invention provides a braider that can be used to make many different styles of braids very easily. Methods for making such braids with the aid of the braider are also provided.
The design of the current invention presents several advantages.
The simple design of the braider allows for easy manufacturing and translates to lower costs for the consumer. It can be made inexpensively from a wide variety of materials including but not limited to polymers, wire, cardboard, metal, piping, flexible clay, foam rubber and various composites.
The simple design of the braider has an additional advantage: unlike many prior art devices it does not intimidate the user. The complicated user instructions and complex appearance of many prior art devices made them unappealing to the user. In contrast, the braider of this invention is very simple in design.
The braider of this invention is also very easy to use. Even very young users will have little trouble mastering the many different hair styles that can be created with the braider of this invention.
The braider is very compact and can be easily carried in a purse without adding either bulk or weight. It can easily be packed for travel.
The braider is a great gift item for anyone with medium to long hair.
The braider will also make a great toy item allowing little girls to braid the hair on their dolls.
Thus the braider of this invention has great potential for market success. It is highly versatile; it is inexpensive to manufacture; it can be offered to the consumer at an easily affordable price; it is both a tool and an accessory; additionally, it is a brand new item in a market that is very receptive to innovative new products.
Various aspects of the present invention will evolve from the following detailed description which should be taken in conjunction with the prior described drawings.
Braider 26 is a sixth embodiment of the braiding tool of this invention. It includes a third cavity 27 that can be used to make chevron braids and other related styles.
Braider 38 is a ninth embodiment of the braider of this invention. Braider 38 can be seen to have two additional cavities 40 and 42. The presence of these cavities allows for a braiding method that is slightly different from the two-cavity braider embodiments. The presence of these extra cavities also allows for additional, more complex braiding styles. However, the presence of extra cavities also increases the complexity of the braiding process thus reducing the ease-of-use and the consumer appeal of the braider.
In
An asymmetric diagonal braid can be formed by repeating the process shown in
In
In yet another variation of the step shown in
Aside from the various braids described above, non-braided hairstyles can also be achieved with the braider of this invention. For instance, the braider may be used in the manner of a clip to hold sections of hair.
The order in which hair sections are inserted into cavities and looped over the braider may be varied infinitely. The result of this weaving will be updos in which the braider becomes a part of the hair style. Thus, anyone skilled in the art will see that the braider can not only help make braids, but it can also be more than a tool. It can be used as a decorative hair accessory in its own right.
The braider of this invention can also be used in place of a hair clip. A miniature braider can be made in the shape of a flower. In this use, the braider cavities can be made very small in order to hold very small sections of hair. Small sections of hair may be anchored together by weaving them through the cavities of a braider. Miniature braiders made in many other attractive shapes may be scattered throughout a wearer's hair. Aside from flower designs, a braider may be made in many other styles such as butterflies, animals, etc. It may be encrusted with gemstones. Alternatively, strings of beads or ribbons may be attached to the braider. It may also be used to attach hair extensions to a wearer's hair. The user's hair and hair extensions may be interwoven through a braider by looping them through the cavities of the braider. The braider may be anchored to the wearer's hair by inserting sections of the wearer's hair through the cavities of the braider.
Aside from the different braids and methods of braiding hair shown in the above figures, many others are possible by making minor adjustments to the structure of the braider or the process of braiding. Elements of the various embodiments may be mixed and matched. The method for braiding hair can also be modified without taking away from the spirit of this invention. For instance, selective subsections of hair can be twisted during the braiding process. Using thick sub-sections of hair will result in a braid that will look very different from one made with very thin sub-sections. Likewise, using different sizes of sub-sections of hair in the same braid can result in a pattern that will appear to be complex but be as easy to make as the standard herringbone braid. Using a braider with cavities that are far apart or closer together can result in different looks of braids.
In using braider 1 to make a basic herringbone braid, the wearer first divides the hair to be braided into two approximately equal sections. These sections 46 and 48 can be seen in
Once braider 1 is placed in the wearer's hair as shown in
Next the preceding step is repeated for section 48. A sub-section of hair 52 is separated from section 48 and removed from cavity 6. This sub-section of hair should ideally be removed from the outermost region of cavity 6. A hooked or rat-tailed tool may be employed for separating sub-section 52 of hair. This sub-section of hair is then inserted into cavity 4 so that it crosses over diagonally from section 48 to section 46. Sub-section 52 should ideally be pushed into the innermost region of cavity 4 as shown in
Subsequently, sub-sections of hair are separated alternately from sections 46 and 48 and transferred to the opposite cavity as described in the preceding paragraphs: first a sub-section is removed from the outer portion of section 46 and transferred to join the innermost region of cavity 6. Then a sub-section of hair is removed from the outermost portion of section 48 and transferred to join the innermost region of cavity 4. As the braiding progresses, braider 1 is gradually moved downward along sections 46 and 48 to make room for the growing braid.
The resulting braid 70 can be seen in
A variation of herringbone braid 54 of
The braiding method for braider 26 of
Braider 38 uses a slightly different method for braiding hair. First the two approximately half sections of hair are placed in cavities 4 and 6. Then a sub-section of hair is removed from cavity 4 and placed in cavity 42 of
Aside from the basic herringbone braid and the twisted herringbone braid, many other varieties of braids may be easily created with the two-cavity embodiment. One such braid is the diagonal braid. First, the hair to be braided is divided into two sections. The sections may be of equal thickness or one section may be much larger than the other. In an extreme case, the entire section of hair can be placed in one cavity. In
Yet another braid that can be made with the braider is the coil braid. This method can start off with a twisted sub-section such as sub-section 56 shown in
This braid as well as many of the other braids previously described in this application may be started high up on the wearer's head or they may be started at the nape of the neck or at any point along the length of the wearer's hair. When a basic herringbone braid is started high up on the wearer's head, it is called a French herringbone braid.
A braider may also be used to create a non-braid hairstyle. An attractively manufactured braider may become a part of a hairstyle. To achieve this hair style, sections of a wearer's hair may be woven through the cavities of the braider several times. For example, a section of hair can be first inserted into cavity 6, then looped diagonally over the braider, and then reinserted into cavity 4. Depending on the length of the hair-strand, it may be looped again over the braider and inserted into either cavity 4 or cavity 6. Several sections of hair may be woven through the braider in this fashion.
Likewise, a non-braid hairstyle may be created with the help of a miniature braider made in the shape of a flower. In this use, the braider cavities can be reduced in size to hold very small sections of hair. Small sections of hair may be anchored together by weaving them through the cavities of the braider. Miniature braiders made in attractive shapes may be scattered throughout a wearer's hair. Aside from flower designs, a braider may be made in many other styles such as butterflies, animals, leaves, moon, sun, etc. It may also be encrusted with gemstones. Alternatively, strings of beads or ribbons may be attached to the braider. An embodiment of the braider may also be used to attach hair extensions to a wearer's hair. The user's hair and hair extensions may be inter-woven through a braider. Alternatively, hair extensions may be attached permanently to a braider. The braider may be then be anchored to the wearer's hair by inserting sections of the wearer's hair through the cavities of the braider.
While certain novel features and uses of this invention have been shown and described, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and its operations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Thus the reader will see that the braider of this invention provides a simple tool for making a wide variety of very attractive braids and other hairstyles. This tool is an improvement on existing prior art devices because it is much simpler in construction and use. Because of its simple design, the braider of this invention is very easy and inexpensive to manufacture. The low manufacturing costs will eventually translate to better value for the user.
The simple design of the braider has an additional advantage: unlike prior art tools, it does not intimidate the user with its complex appearance. Most prior art tools had complicated user instructions. A novice user felt defeated even before attempting to use those prior art devices. In contrast, the very simple design of the braider of this invention will appeal to users.
Despite its simplicity, however, the braider of this invention is very versatile and allows a user to achieve a wide variety of hair styles, both braided and non-braided. Most of the prior art devices were intended for very specific one or two braids. In contrast, the braider of this invention can help create a number of very different braids: the herringbone braid, the diagonal braid, the coil braid, the rope braid, the multi-twisted braid, the chevron braid and many others. Additionally, the braider can help create non-braid styles as well. For instance, the braider can help create an updo by acting as a hair clip into which sections of hair may be anchored. The braider can be made in beautiful colors and shapes so that miniature versions can be used as hair clips throughout a wearer's hair.
Even though the braider of this invention is very versatile and can create many different hair styles, it is very easy to use. Most of the prior art devices had multiple cavities for receiving sections of hair. That made the braiding process very complicated because the user had to keep track of which cavity to use for which hair section. This complication was even more pronounced for a user attempting to braid her own hair at the back of her head where she couldn't see the braider.
In contrast, the preferred embodiment of the braider of this invention has just two cavities. Hair sections removed from one cavity have only one other cavity to go to. Thus the braiding process is much simplified. A user no longer has to keep track of which cavity to put a hair section into. The preferred positioning of the cavities opposite each other further helps the user avoid any confusion about which cavity the hair sections are supposed to be inserted into.
Even though the device described by Sloan in U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,761 also has two cavities, the design of Sloan's device makes it unsuitable for many uses. Sloan describes a hair braiding device that consists of a flat elongate body having at least one opposing pair of slotted openings with the openings being lined with a resilient material that permits hair strands to be introduced thereinto and that allows the device to be rotated to create a rope braid. The braiding device by Sloan requires multiple manufacturing steps. It is hard to manufacture because it includes a lining attached on the inside of each of the slots. Additionally, even though Sloan's device has two openings, those openings are designed especially to prevent hair strands from escaping from the slots. Sloan's device requires an opposing yieldable lining that will grab on to hair strands when Sloan's device is being rotated. In fact, Sloan's device has been especially designed with rotation in mind. It requires that hair strands not escape from the openings during rotation. The use of fillable lining in Sloan's device is, in fact, intended to prevent hair strands from being easily removed. This makes Sloan's device less than ideal for braids such as the herringbone that require that sections of hair be removed often from the openings during the braiding process. Thus, Sloan's device has several disadvantages as compared to the braider of this invention.
From the preceding discussion, the reader will see that the braider of this invention has many advantages over prior art devices including those of ease of manufacturing, ease of use, extreme versatility, compact structure, and aesthetic appeal.
It is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. While this description is directed to particular embodiments, it is understood that those skilled in the art may conceive modifications and/or variations to the specific embodiments shown and described herein. Any such modifications or variations which fall within the purview of this description are intended to be included as well. For instance, the two cavities of the braider do not need to be placed opposite to each other but may be more proximate. The braider may be made in the form of a trident with two parallel cavities. The body portion of the tool may have a wide variety of different shapes. The cavities themselves may differ in their size, shape and hair retention mechanism. The material of construction of the tool may vary from polymers to wood to cardboard to metal to any of a variety of suitable materials. Thus even though the description above contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention.
This application is filed under 35 CFR 1.114 and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/127,629, based in turn and claiming priority from U.S. Provisional App. Ser. No. 60/370,654, filed Apr. 8, 2002, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1774390 | McGrath | Aug 1930 | A |
| 2430766 | Gregory | Nov 1947 | A |
| 2590166 | Farrell | Mar 1952 | A |
| 2669239 | Smith | Feb 1954 | A |
| 2844154 | Solomon | Jul 1958 | A |
| 3930511 | Roney | Jan 1976 | A |
| 4509231 | Paxton | Apr 1985 | A |
| 4760624 | Fish | Aug 1988 | A |
| 5311646 | Eischen, Sr. | May 1994 | A |
| 5518011 | Nash | May 1996 | A |
| 5544666 | Schach | Aug 1996 | A |
| D373654 | Schach | Sep 1996 | S |
| 5564445 | Query | Oct 1996 | A |
| 5575297 | Hatchett | Nov 1996 | A |
| 5810023 | Jones et al. | Sep 1998 | A |
| 5819761 | Sloan | Oct 1998 | A |
| 6164289 | Ogunro | Dec 2000 | A |
| 6427701 | Roth | Aug 2002 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20030188759 A1 | Oct 2003 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60370654 | Apr 2002 | US |
