Patent Application
20080251095
This invention relates to hair styling, specifically the use of curlers used in shaping/texturing hair with or without the use of chemicals.
Many devices have been devised to texture hair, with the most common being the use of cylinder shaped devices. There are also examples of the use of flat panels that hair is pressed between. As a part of these devices, numerous mechanisms have been employed to secure the shaping devices to other curlers, the head, or hair while the hair is being set or “permed”.
Current hair curlers and attachment mechanisms have a tendency to be complex in design, especially when the use of multiple curlers is needed for texturing hair. This leads them to be difficult to place on the head, difficult to remove, and can be damaging to the hair during the application, perming, and removal processes.
The earliest example of a device that produces a Z-shaped curl that I could find is U.S. Pat. No. 789,686 to Dunlap (1905). This device shows clearly how the hair is to be wrapped, but the fixed nature of the device makes it difficult to wrap the hair and it is also not designed for the use of chemical perms. These comments are also true of U.S. Pat. No. 5,623,953 to McDowell (1997).
There are a number of inventions that couple curlers together, thus making it possible to produce a Z-shaped curl. U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,787 to Moea (1980) could produce the z-shaped curl, but it would be very difficult to wrap the hair around the curlers, and would not get close to the hair root. These comments are also true of U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,754 to Hildreth (1982).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,725 to Beal (2002) could also be used to create the Z curl, but the coupling mechanism does not allow for a hinged action that would be needed. Also, due to the ends of the curler, it would require the unwrapping of the hair from the curler, where as, with my curler the wrapped hair is simply pushed off the curler. These comments are also true of U.S. Pat. No. 6,314,968 to Navarro (2001).
Two other inventions: U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,892 to Hill (1990) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,419 to Brams (1998), while not curlers per se, both do produce Z-shaped curls, but with these, hair actually can and does break during the chemical perming process. This occurs at the folds as the hair expands because of the chemical reaction.
In accordance with the present invention, a cylindrical body that is tapered, hollowed, and is free of end pieces, and has a coupling device that acts as both a hinge and the mechanism in which to attach the curlers to a tress of hair.
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are:
Further objects and advantages are to provide a curler design which is easy to use to produce the desired texture, which is inexpensive to manufacture, which can be used singularly to simplify the removal of the hair for other textures, and which allows close placement to the hair root. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and drawings.
(A) main embodiment of invention. Two identical units make up main embodiment of invention.
(A1) wide end of each unit of main embodiment (A)
(A2) narrow end of each unit of main embodiment (A)
(A3) flat surface on wide end (A1) of each unit of main embodiment (A)
(A4) slot on wide end (A1) of each unit of main embodiment (A)
(A5) slot on narrow end (A2) of each unit of main embodiment (A)
(A6) chemical exchange perforation
(B) elastic band to serve as hinge and connection device
(B1) & (B2) spherical ends on elastic band (B)
(C) connection cap
(C1) cylindrical protrusion of connection cap (C)
(C2) slot for spherical end (B2) of elastic band (B).
(D) alternate elastic band to serve as hinge and connection device
(D1) spherical end of alternate elastic band (D)
(D2) tabbed end of alternate elastic band (D)
(E) representation of tress of hair
(E1) end of tress of hair
(E2) end of tress of hair next to scalp
As shown in
Specifically, it will be noted in the various Figures that the device relates to a hair curling device for texturing tresses of hair. In its broadest context, the device consists of a cylindrical tapered hollowed body, an elastic band, and a connection cap. The components are individually configured and correlated with respect to each other so as to attain the desired objective.
The Z-shaped curl is created by wrapping a trees of hair around two curlers that are coupled together with a single elastic band type connector that also secures the curlers to the head and tress of hair. The tapered structure of my curler allows close placement to the scalp, and allows for easy removal. The combination of my curler, elastic band, and connector also minimizes damage to hair during the chemical reaction period by allowing the hair to expand.
The main embodiment (A) is a pair of cylindrical bodies that are tapered and hollowed with perforations along the length. On end (A1) of each unit of the main embodiment (A), a flat surface (A3) exists. In use, the flat surfaces (A3) of each unit of the main embodiment (A) will be facing each other. Perpendicular to each flat surface (A3), a slot (A4) exists in which spherical end (B1) of elastic band (B) is entrapped.
The elastic band (B) has spherical ends (B1) and (B2), of which, spherical end (B1) is entrapped by slots (A4) of each unit of the main embodiment and acts as a hinge while a tress of hair (E) is wrapped. Spherical end (B2) of elastic band (B) is entrapped into slot (C2) of connection cap (C). Elastic band (B) is of such length that will be in stretched form once the main embodiment (A) and all its parts are engaged with tress of hair (E) wrapped.
Connection cap (C) is oval in shape, approximately equal in size to two narrow ends (A2) of main embodiment (A). Connection cap (C) has on one side a cylindrical protrusion (C1) that is approximately equal in size to the inside of narrow end (A2) of one unit of main embodiment (A) and is of adequate length to be secured into the inside of one unit of main embodiment (A). Opposite the cylindrical protrusion (C1) is slot (C2) of connection cap (C) in which spherical end (B2) of elastic band (B) is entrapped.
In use, spherical end (BI) of elastic band (B) is placed into wide ends (A1) of each unit of main embodiment (A) to create a hinge, and end (B2) of elastic band (B) is placed into slot (C2) of connection cap (C). A tress of hair (E) is then wrapped around each unit of the main embodiment (A) in a circular weaving fashion starting on the wide ends (A1) of main embodiment (A). This will continue until the entire length of the tress of hair (E) is wrapped onto main embodiment (A). Once the tress of hair (E) is completely wrapped around the main embodiment (A), elastic band (B) is then extended over main embodiment (A) and cylindrical protrusion (C1) of connection cap (C) is placed into the narrow end (A2) of the unit of main embodiment (A) that is opposite the unit of the main embodiment (A) in which elastic band (B) has been extended across. Note
An alternate embodiment can be created without use of a connection cap (C).
To conclude, as can be seen, the curler and attachment devices of the invention, as a whole, provide a simple device that is easy to use and manufacture.
While my above description contains much specificity, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as an example of one preferred embodiment and one alternate embodiment.
While the drawings do not show this, additional attachment devices can be included that would allow the curler to be used individually, rather than in pairs as shown. The main bodies and attachments can vary in size, color, texture, and type of material used to manufacture them. The main bodies could also be hinged with another device versus an elastic band. And the attachment device could be a solid mechanism in the shape of a C that would clamp the hair and curlers together.
The Scope of the curler and attachment mechanism should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.
