The present invention is concerned with hair clip devices, and in particular hair claw devices for use in managing hair style.
There are a variety of hair accessories for use in managing hair. Different such accessories are often different in terms of their functionaries and effectiveness. Despite some hair accessories are lower cost items, yet many users of hair accessories have high expectations and are cost-sensitive, and as such hair accessories that do not provide sufficient comfort or reliability, or are made with complicated manufacture steps, would be commercially impractical. Further, different users are different in terms of hair volume, hair texture, hair management requirements, etc. As such, a hair accessory which can satisfactorily address hair securement needs of a user may not also not work similarly on another user.
One particular type of hair accessories is hair claw for securing hair in place. While there are a variety of hair claws in the market, at least some are unsatisfactory in that they do not provide sufficiently tight hair fastening capability.
The present invention seeks to address the above problems, or at least to provide alternatives to the public.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair clip device comprising a first arm defining an inwardly facing surface and provided with a plurality of claw members, a second arm defining an inwardly facing surface and provided with a plurality of claw members, wherein at default the claw members of the first arm and the second arm are arranged alternately and complementarily, and a first handle member connected to the first arm, and a second handle member connected to the second arm, the first and second handle members pivotably connected together and cooperatively configured for controlling relative pivotable movement of the first and second arms, and first and second spikes members extending from the inwardly facing surface of the first and second arms, wherein the claw members of the first arm are substantially longer than the first and second spike members, and the first and second spike members are of different length. Specifically, the first and second spike members of the first arm are different in length, and the first and second spike members of the second arm are different in length.
Preferably, the first and second arms may be of a first material, and the first and second handle members are made of a second material stiffer than the first material, wherein the first material may be selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), general purpose polystyrene polymer (GPPS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), acrylic, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene (ABS), nylon, polyoxymethylene (POM) and acetate, and the second material is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), general purpose polystyrene polymer (GPPS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), acrylic, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene (ABS), nylon, polyoxymethylene (POM) and acetate.
Suitably, the first arm, the claw members of the first arm and the first and second spike members of the first arm may be made of the first material, and the claw members of the second arm, the second arm and the first and second spike members of the second arm may also be made of the first material.
Advantageously, the device may comprise a first connector for securing the first arm to the first handle member, and a second connector for securing the second arm to the second handle member.
In an embodiment, the first spike members of the first arm may become progressively shorter towards a rear end of the first arm, the second spike members of the first arm become progressively shorter towards the rear end of the first arm, the first spike members of the second arm become progressively shorter towards a rear end of the second arm, and the second spike members of the second arm become progressively shorter towards the rear end of the second arm.
In one embodiment, the inwardly facing surface of the first arm may be non-planar, distal ends of the first spike members of the first arm extending from the inwardly facing surface of the first arm may define a plane where the first spike members thereof end, distal ends of the second spike members of the first arm extending from the inwardly facing surface of the first arm define a plane where the second spike members thereof end, the inwardly facing surface of the second arm may be non-planar, distal ends of the first spike members of the second arm extending from the inwardly facing surface of the second arm may define a plane where the first spike members thereof end, and distal ends of the second spike members of the second arm extending from the inwardly facing surface of the second arm may define a plane where the second spike members thereof end.
In a specific embodiment, the first spike members of the first arm and the first spike members of the second arm do not overlap with each other, and the second spike members of the first arm and the second spike members of the second arm do not overlap with each other.
In a preferred embodiment, the first spike members of the first arm may have a length less than half of the length of the first claw members, and the first spike members of the second arm may have a length less than the length of the first claw members,
The first claw members and the first and second spike members of the first arm generally may extend in a first direction or the same direction, and the second claw members and the first and second spike members of the second arm generally may extend in a direction opposite to the first direction.
The first claw members, and the first and second spike members, of the first arm, may extend in different directions, the second claw members, and the first and second spike members, of the second arm, may extend in different directions, and the first and second spike members of the first and second arms are oriented towards the first and second handle members.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair clip device comprising a first arm defining an inwardly facing surface and provided with a plurality of claw members, a second arm defining an inwardly facing surface and provided with a plurality of claw members, wherein at default the claw members of the first arm and the second arm are arranged alternately and complementarily, a first handle member connected to the first arm, and a second handle member connected to the second arm, the first and second handle members pivotably connected together and cooperatively configured for controlling relative pivotable movement of the first and second arms, and first and second spikes members extending from the inwardly facing surface of the first arm, and wherein the first and second arms are made of a first material, and the first and second handle members are made of a second material stiffer than the first material, wherein the first material is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), general purpose polystyrene polymer (GPPS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), acrylic, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene (ABS), nylon, polyoxymethylene (POM) and acetate, and the second material is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), general purpose polystyrene polymer (GPPS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), acrylic, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene (ABS), nylon, polyoxymethylene (POM) and acetate.
Preferably, the claw members of the first arm may be substantially longer than the first and second spike members, and the first and second spike members may be of different length.
Suitably, the first spike members of the first arm may become progressively shorter towards a rear end of the first arm, the second spike members of the first arm may become progressively shorter towards the rear end of the first arm, the first spike members of the second arm may become progressively shorter towards a rear end of the second arm, and the second spike members of the second arm may become progressively shorter towards the rear end of the second arm.
In an embodiment, first claw members, the first and second spike members of the first arm, may generally extend in a first direction or the same direction, and the second claw members, and the first and second spike members of the second arm, generally may extend in a direction opposite to the first direction.
In one embodiment, the first claw members, and the first and second spike members, of the first arm, may extend in different directions, the second claw members, and the first and second spike members, of the second arm, may extend in different directions, and the first and second spike members of the first and second arms may be oriented towards the first and second handle members.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair clip device comprising a first arm defining an inwardly facing surface and provided with a plurality of claw members, a second arm defining an inwardly facing surface and provided with a plurality of claw members, wherein at default the claw members of the first arm and the second arm are arranged alternately and complementarily, and a first handle member connected to the first arm, and a second handle member connected to the second arm, the first and second handle members pivotably connected together and cooperatively configured for controlling relative pivotable movement of the first and second arms, first and second spikes members extending from the inwardly facing surface of the first arm, wherein the first spike members of the first arm become progressively shorter towards the rear end of the first arm, the second spike members of the first arm become progressively shorter towards a rear end of the first arm, the first spike members of the second arm are become progressively shorter towards a rear end of the second arm, and the second spike members of the second arm become progressively shorter towards the rear end of the second arm.
Preferably, the claw members of the first arm may be substantially longer than the first and second spike members, and the first and second spike members may be of different length.
Preferably, the inwardly facing surface of the first arm may be non-planar, distal ends of the first spike members of the first arm extending from the inwardly facing surface of the first arm may define a plane where the first spike members thereof end, distal ends of the second spike members of the first arm extending from the inwardly facing surface of the first arm may define a plane where the second spike members thereof end, the inwardly facing surface of the second arm may be non-planar, distal ends of the first spike members of the second arm extending from the inwardly facing surface of the second arm may define a plane where the first spike members thereof end, and distal ends of the second spike members of the second arm extending from the inwardly facing surface of the second arm may define a plane where the second spike members thereof end.
In an embodiment, at default the first spike members of the first arm and the first spike members of the second arm do not overlap with each other, and the second spike members of the first arm and the second spike members of the second arm do not overlap with each other.
In one embodiment, the first spike members may have a length less than half of the length of the first claw members.
Some embodiments of the present invention will now be explained, with reference to the accompanied drawings, in which:
a to 16e are schematic diagrams of the hair clip of
The present invention is concerned with a hair managing and styling accessory, and more particularly a hair clip in the form of a claw device for securing hair so as to maintain a hair style.
Referring to
Despite the difference in length of the spike members and the inwardly facing surface from which the spike members extend, the spike members can be categorized into two groups, namely a first group and a second group or first spikes and second spikes. In the first group distal ends of the (first) spike members define a first plane, while in the second group distal ends of the (second) spike member define a second, different, plane. The first plane is closer to axis X-X′ compared to the second plane.
The first arm 4 is provided with spike members with similar configuration. Please see for example
The first and second arms are made of a first material, and the first and second handle members are made of a second material stiffer than the first material. The use of a stiffer material for the first and second arms is to provide sturdier handles for controlling the first and second arms. The use of softer first and second arms provides more flexibility for securing hair and to provide better contact comfort to the hair. In this embodiment, the first material is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), general purpose polystyrene polymer (GPPS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), acrylic, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene (ABS), nylon, polyoxymethylene (POM) and acetate, and the second material is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), general purpose polystyrene polymer (GPPS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS), acrylic, polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene (ABS), nylon, polyoxymethylene (POM) and acetate.
The first arm, its claw member and spike members are made of one integral component of the same material. Likewise, the second arm, its claw member and spike members are also made of one integral component of the same material. On the other hand, the first handle member is made of another integral component of a different material. Likewise, the second handle member is made of another integral component of a different material.
The hair clip 2 comprises a first connector for securing the first arm to the first handle member. As illustrated above, the first connector includes the protrusion with the two legs and the through aperture. Likewise, the hair clip 2 comprises a second connector for securing the second arm to the second handle member, and includes its respective protrusion with two legs and through aperture.
As explained above, the spike members can be categorized into two groups. One characteristic is that the first spike members of the first arm become progressively shorter towards a rear end of the first arm, the second spike members of the first arm become progressively shorter towards the rear end of the first arm, the first spike members of the second arm are become progressively shorter towards a rear end of the second arm, and the second spike members of the second arm become progressively shorter towards the rear end of the second arm.
Referring to
One difference of the hair clip 102 is that, compared to the first and second handle members 8, 14 of the hair clip 2, the first and second handle members 108, 114 are enlarged and they reach out and extend forward beyond the respective first and second arms 104, 106. Referring to
It should be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the content of separate embodiments, may be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the content of a single embodiment, may be provided separately or in any appropriate sub-combinations. It is to be noted that certain features of the embodiments are illustrated by way of non-limiting examples. Also, a skilled person in the art will be aware of the prior art which is not explained in the above for brevity purpose.