The present disclosure relates generally to a pony tail holder for retaining strands of hair and, more particularly, to a pony tail holder generally known as a scrunchie including a friction member for more effectively retaining the strands of hair.
Pony tail holders and scruchies in particular are generally know in the art, and typically include an elastic core that is covered by a cloth or other material. Upon restriction of the elastic core on the strands of hair, the cloth or material bunches around the strands of hair.
One such example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,171 which discloses a pony tail holder having a relatively wide fabric ring having a tubular annulus around a central hole. An elastic ring is disposed in the tubular annulus and includes a portion that is readily grasped, such as a knob or bead. By pulling the elastic ring outside of the fabric ring, the elastic ring can encircle and grip the pony tail separately from the tubular annulus.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,696 discloses a decorative pony tail holder for securely holding the hair of a user. The pony tail holder includes a band of elastic material with fabric surrounding the band and forming a plurality of radial projections extending circumferentially around a portion of the band. The pony tail holder may thus be secured to the hair by twisting the elastic band into a generally figure-eight configuration and folding it over itself to provide a tight band securing the hair with the radial projections extending circumferentially around the held hair of the user.
These pony tail holders or scrunchie-type devices have opportunities for improvement. For example, because of the fabric that surrounds the elastic core, the strands of hair have contact with the cloth portion of the holder which may provide less than optimal frictional engagement between the hair and holder to prevent the holder from slipping from the hair in certain situations. Similarly, because of the large amount the cloth that is being bunched between the hair and the elastic core, the retaining force of the elastic compresses the cloth in addition to retaining the hair.
In one aspect, the invention is directed to a pony tail holder. The pony tail holder may include a fabric ring having an annular area at least a portion of which comprises a tubular annulus around a central hole in which a pony tail is to be gripped by the pony tail holder, and an elastic core disposed within the tubular annulus of the fabric ring and extending around the central hole. The pony tail holder may further include a friction member woven into the fabric ring proximate an inner edge of the fabric ring such that at least a portion of the friction member is exposed through the outer surface of the fabric ring and engages the pony tail when the pony tail holder is disposed thereon, with the coefficient of friction of the friction member being greater than the coefficient of friction of the outer surface of the fabric ring.
In another aspect, the invention is directed to a pony tail holder for securely holding a bundle of hair of a user. The pony tail holder may include a core of elastic material defining a central opening, and a fabric ring having an annular area at least a portion of which comprises a tubular annulus around a central hole in which the bundle of hair is to be gripped by the pony tail holder, with the fabric ring having the core disposed therein. The pony tail holder may further include a friction member woven into the fabric ring proximate an inner edge of the fabric ring such that at least a portion of the friction member is exposed through the outer surface of the fabric ring and engages the bundle of hair when the pony tail holder is disposed thereon, with the coefficient of friction of the friction member being greater than the coefficient of friction of the outer surface of the fabric ring.
In a further aspect, the invention is directed to a pony tail holder including a fabric ring having an annular area at least a portion of which comprises a tubular annulus around a central hole in which a pony tail is to be gripped by the pony tail holder, and an elastic band. The elastic band may include an elongate elastic core comprising a continuous loop, a sheath surrounding the elongate elastic core and having an outer surface, and a friction member woven into the sheath such that at least a portion of the friction member is exposed through the outer surface of the sheath. The elastic band is attached to the fabric ring along an inner edge of the fabric ring defining the central hole about the entire circumference of the central hole such that at least a portion of the friction member engages the pony tail when the pony tail holder is disposed thereon. Further, the coefficient of friction of the friction member is greater than the coefficient of friction of the outer surface of the sheath.
While the method and device described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Although the following text sets forth a detailed description of numerous different embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that the legal scope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment of the invention since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims defining the invention.
It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘_’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term by limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.
Referring now to the drawings, and with specific reference to
The core 22 of the pony tail holder 20 may be an elongate core 22 that is constructed from an elastic material, such rubber, plastic, natural rubber, silicone, or other elastic or visco elastic materials. The core 22 may form a continuous loop, but may also contain breaks therebetween. Similarly, the core 22 may be constructed from one single piece of elastic material formed as a loop or with opposite ends attached to form a loop, but may also be constructed from a plurality of pieces that may be connected in any known manner. The core 22 may have a generally round cross-sectional area, as seen in
The ring 24 of the pony tail holder 20, as seen in
The ring 24 may surround the entire core 22 and, as such, may have a ring-like or annulus shape having an inner portion 30 defined at one end by an inner edge 32 of the ring 24 and an outer portion 34 defined at one end by an outer edge 36 of the ring 24. In this embodiment, the core 22 is disposed in a tubular annulus or hollow area 37 defined by the ring 24 (
In order to improve the gripping force provided by the core 22 and the fabric ring 24 described above, the pony tail holders 20 and 21 further include one or more friction members 26 woven through the material of the ring 24 proximate the inner edges 32 of the pony tail holders 20 and 21. The friction members 26 may be constructed from a material that preferably has a higher friction coefficient than the material from which the ring 24 is constructed so that the frictional force at the points of contact with the hair about which the pony tail holders 20 and 21 are applied are greater between the hair and the friction members 26 than between the hair and the material from which the ring 24 is fabricated. The increased gripping force helps prevent excessive slippage of the pony tail holders 20 and 21 while they are worn, in particular during physical activities such as working out at a gym or running where the movements of the wearer may cause the pony tail holders to slide off the wearer's hair.
The friction member 26 may be constructed from materials including but not limited to plastic, rubber, natural rubber, silicone, or other elastic or visco elastic materials. The friction member 26 may form a continuous loop, but may also contain breaks there between. Similarly, the friction member 26 may be constructed from one single piece, or may alternatively be constructed from a plurality of pieces that may or may not be connected. The friction member 26 may have a round cross-sectional area, or may have other cross-sectional shapes, such as rectangular, oval, square, triangular, etc.
In the illustrated embodiment shown in
The pony tail holders 20 and 21 as disclosed herein may be disposed around objects, such as strands of hair. The pony tail holders 20 and 21 may be tightened by pulling a portion outwardly from the object, giving the extended portion a half twist, and pulling the object through the newly-formed loop. The process is repeated until the desire tension of the pony tail holder 20 or 21 around the object is achieved. In such an example, the friction member 26 may allow the pony tail holder 20 or 21 to obtain a better hold around the strands of hair such that during use the pony tail holder 20 or 21 is better able to resist sliding or movement relative to the bundle of hair. This result is further accomplished by placing the friction member 26 proximate the inner edge 32 of the ring 24 and near the elastic core 22, thereby ensuring that the friction member 26 does not loose contact with the stands of hair and retaining the core 22 proximate the inner edge 32. The core 22 may be fabricated from an elastomeric material and dimensioned such that the force or engagement of the pony tail holders 20 and 21 with the strands of hair is not so great as to cause excessive discomfort to the user by tugging the hair when the pony tail holders 20 and 21 are removed.
In another exemplary embodiment of the hair holder 20, shown in
This embodiment of the pony tail holder 20 may be constructed in several manners, one of which is illustrated in
In another alternative embodiment of a pony tail holder 50 illustrated in
In a further alternative embodiment of a pony tail holder 60 shown in
In a still further alternative embodiment of a pony tail holder 80 shown in
The sheath 82 may be manufactured using any known braiding or weaving system or method, including but not limited to, maypole braiding systems and flat braiding systems. A maypole braiding system 90, as seen in
The above exemplary embodiments may include many variations thereof to achieve and/or create additional or alternative features. For example, the friction member 26 may be attached to the pony tail holders 20, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 in alternate ways, including but not limited to gluing the friction member 26 to the pony tail holders, such as with hot melt glue or cyanoacrylate glue, and stitching the friction member 26 to the sheath 82 or ring 24. The adhesive can be applied at intervals along the length of the product to allow the stretch properties required for use to remain intact.
In operation, the user may dispose one of the embodiments of the pony tail holder 20, 40, 50, 6070, 80 around any variety of objects. For example, as seen in
While the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples, which are intended to be illustrative only and not to be limiting of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that changes, additions or deletions may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application claims priority from Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/727,134, filed on Oct. 13, 2005, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
60727134 | Oct 2005 | US |