The present invention relates generally to hair clipping devices, whether manually operated or powered. Specifically, the present invention relates to such trimming devices intended for use in trimming the hair around one's ears.
It is well known to use a powered hair trimmer or hair clipper for trimming the hair, either at home or by a barber or hair stylist. One aspect of hair styling is the trimming of hair which has grown over the ears. For those desiring a shorter hairstyle, this hair is usually removed so that the hair line totally clears the peripheral margin of the ear, particularly the upper margin.
One challenge of using conventional clippers for this purpose is that the ear area must be made clear of stray hair without clipping the ear itself. In addition, in trimming the ear hair, care needs to be taken to prevent clipping adjacent areas of the head in a way which provides an uneven appearance. Typically, the clipper must be carefully positioned to achieve the goals of ear area trimming while maintaining the overall taper of the hairstyle. Inexperienced stylists or home users often hold the clipper at an inappropriate angle which increases the chances of obtaining poor results around the ear area, or accidentally cutting portions of the ear.
Thus, there is a need for a device for trimming the hair around the ear which facilitates the clipping of any hair overlying the ear, and also protects the ear from inadvertent clipping. In addition, there is a need for such a device which prevents the inadvertent clipping of hair while the ear area is trimmed.
The above-identified needs are addressed by the present ear area comb attachment for a hair clipper, which is removably attachable to a conventional hair trimmer or hair clipper blade end. The attachment of the present device is similar to that of a conventional attachment comb. One feature of the present attachment is a hair feed guide configured for gathering hair overlying the ear and guiding it into the exposed clipping blades. Another feature is a blade guard for obscuring, masking or blocking a significant portion of the width of the cutting edge of the conventional wide clipper blade, and revealing only a relatively small portion of the blades for access to the ear area. In this manner, the user's ears as well as the hair above the user's ears is protected from the moving clipper blades. Another optional feature of the present ear area attachment comb is that provisions are made for trimming both left and right ears.
More specifically, the present invention provides an ear area comb attachment for attachment to a hair clipper having a bladeset with a moving blade laterally reciprocating relative to a stationary blade. The attachment includes a base configured for attachment to the clipper and a guard formation associated with the base for blocking access to a central portion of the bladeset and defining a cutting area at at least one end portion. At least one hair feed guide is associated with the base for guiding hair strands toward the cutting area. In the preferred embodiment, the hair feed guide is configured for guiding the hair laterally toward the blade area.
In another embodiment, an ear area comb attachment for attachment to a hair clipper having a bladeset with a moving blade laterally reciprocating relative to a stationary blade, includes a base configured for attachment to the clipper and having a pair of ends and a pair of hair feed guides associated with the base for guiding hair strands disposed over the ear and defining a cutting area therebetween, each the hair feed guide associated with a respective one of the ends configured for guiding hair strands toward the cutting area.
Referring now to
For facilitating ear area trimming, and for addressing some of the above-identified needs, the present ear area comb attachment 20 is releasably attachable to the bladeset 14, preferably to the stationary blade 16. The attachment 20 is specifically designed to promote the movement of hair overlying the ear toward the bladeset 14 for accurate trimming while avoiding nicking the ear. In addition, the inadvertent trimming of the hair above the general ear area is prevented. In the preferred embodiment, the attachment 20 is integrally molded from a suitably durable plastic material, however other materials are contemplated as are known in the art.
More specifically, and referring to
A guard formation 32 is associated with the base 22 for blocking access to a central portion 34 (
The guard formation 32 preferably has a curved or radiused leading edge 40 and is generally wedge-shaped when viewed from the side, which generally corresponds to the profile of cutting portion of the bladeset 14 (
Referring now to
Each of the preferably two hair guides 44 has a root 46 preferably integrally joined to the base 22 and being generally wider than a tip 48 at the opposite end. Thus, the guide 44 tapers from the root 46 to the tip 48. Two guides 44 and two cutting areas 36 are preferably provided so that the attachment 20 can readily be used on both left and right ears. A generally planar bottom surface 50 of the guard formation 32 is generally coextensive with a bottom 52 of the base 22, however in the preferred embodiment, the bottom surface 50 is oriented at an inclined angle relative to the base 22 (
Referring now to
It will be seen that an important advantage of the present guide 44 is that hair strands are guided laterally toward the cutting area 36. Thus, each hair feed guide 44 is configured to extend generally normal to a cutting line defined by the blades 16, 18 of the clipper 10, the hair feed guides extending farther in front of the bladeset 14 than any other structure of the attachment 20 for guiding hair laterally into the cutting area. It has been found that the tapered surface facilitates rapid, relatively low-friction movement of hair strands toward the cutting area 36. Also, to minimize the snagging of the attachment 20 in the hair, the cutting area 36 as well as a peripheral edge 58 and the guard formation 32 are all provided with a radiused or rounded configuration. Further, and referring to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Thus, it will be seen that the present attachments 20, 60 and 70 facilitate the use of a standard clipper 10 for trimming ear areas. Hair strands are lifted and moved laterally toward a restricted cutting area. The small size of the cutting area reduces the chances of ear nicking and inadvertent hair trimming. Radiused edges facilitate the movement of the attachment through the hair and prevent snagging. While the present specification is directed to the use of the attachments 20, 60 and 70 for ear area trimming, it is contemplated that these attachments could be used in any hair trimming application in which hair is lifted away from the skin for trimming, such as, but not restricted to trimming of bangs.
While a particular embodiment of the present ear area comb attachment for a hair clipper has been described herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the invention in its broader aspects and as set forth in the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040250429 A1 | Dec 2004 | US |