FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present disclosure relates to a hair holder, and more particularly to a hair holder with firm holding effect.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The conventional hair holder, e.g. ponytailer, is a ring-shaped object with little elasticity. By wrapping the ponytailer around hair, a specific hairstyle can be secured and held. For fastening a piece of hair or a tress, the ponytailer is adapted as several smaller loops. However, the size of the smaller loops may be unfit for a thick hair because the ponytailer with any loop number is either too tight or too loose. Furthermore, the elasticity of the hair holder is easily damaged after certain pulls, or even breaks to cause waste. Another disadvantage is that the ponytailer usually leaves marks or dents on the hair, maybe damage hair quality. Therefore, the holding effect of the conventional hair holder is unsatisfactory.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An aspect of the present disclosure provides a hair holder. The hair holder includes a ring body having an inner boundary defining an inner hole for allowing hair to go through. The hair holder further includes a plurality of posts, connected to the ring body, to be stuck into the hair to fasten the hair going though the inner hole of the ring body.
In an embodiment, the ring body is a coil ring body having a continuous spiral structure which includes a plurality of circles connected end-to-end in series. The posts are arranged on the ring body and located inside at least one of the circles and/or outside at least one of the circles and/or between any two adjacent circles.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above objectives and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a ponytailer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a ponytailer according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing the use of the ponytailer with an updo stick;
FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram showing a pull through stick used with the ponytailer of the present disclosure;
FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating a ponytailer according to a further embodiment of the present disclosure;
FIGS. 4B˜4D are schematic diagrams showing another use of the ponytailer of FIG. 4A;
FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams illustrating applications of the ponytailer according to the present disclosure;
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a further embodiment of the ponytailer according to the present disclosure;
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a further embodiment of the ponytailer according to the present disclosure; and
FIGS. 8A˜8G are schematic diagram illustrating embodiments of coil hair ties according to the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed.
In the description, a ponytailer is taken as an example for illustration purpose. However, the related description can be applied to various types of hair holder, e.g. hair tie, coil hair tie, hair band, hair elastic, hair knick knacks, head band, hair wrap. Please refer to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram illustrating a ponytailer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The ponytailer 1 includes a ring body 11 and a plurality of spaced posts (protruding parts, teeth or pins) 12. The posts 12 may be equally spaced or not according to the design and shape of the ring body 11. Furthermore, the posts 12 may be formed of equal length or varied lengths (FIG. 2). The width of each post 12 and the number of the posts 12 may be determined according to real practice and are not limited herein. One end 121 of each post 12 is connected to an inner boundary 111 of the ring body 11, and the other end 122 extends inwards, e.g. toward the center of the ring body 11. The ring body 11 may be made of a rigid material or a flexible material with or without elasticity. Similarly, the posts 12 may be made of a rigid material or a flexible material. The ring body 11 and the posts 12 may be made of the same material and integrally formed. In another embodiment, the posts 12 are softer or more rigid than the ring body 11. Thus, the posts 12 may be connected to the ring body 11 by welding or other processing when the posts 12 are made of thermoplastic material.
The ponytailer 1 fastens hair by confining a bundle of hair inside the ring body 11 and sticking the posts 12 into the bundle of hair. The posts 12 with different extending directions can firmly holding the bundle of hair. Since the ponytailer 1 is not twisted to provide smaller multi-loops, the size (circumference) should be designed to substantially fit or be slightly larger than the circumference of the bundle of hair to be fastened. In one design, each post 12 has uniform width along its own extending direction. In another design, the end 122 near the center of the ring body 11 is sharper than the end 121 connected to the ring body 11. To prevent from hurting finger or scalp, the end 122 is a round end, or a tiny beam (not shown) is integrally formed on the end 122 or detachably coupled to the end 122. The shape of the posts 12 is not limited to this embodiment. For example, protruding spots (not shown) may be arranged on surfaces of the posts 12, or small hook structures (not shown) may be formed at the end 122 to increase force of friction between the hair and the posts 12.
Please refer to FIG. 3A, a schematic diagram showing the use of the ponytailer with an updo stick. Since the size of the ponytailer 1 substantially fits the circumference of the bundle of hair to be fastened, another tool could be provided to pass the bundle of hair through the ponytailer 1. For example, an adjustable updo stick 30 is used to guide the bundle of hair 35 to go through the inner hole 13 defined by the inner boundary 111 of the ring body 11 of the ponytailer 1 along a direction 37 (e.g. central axis of the ring body 11), and then the updo stick 30 is removed and the gripped bundle of hair 35 fills the inner hole 13 of the ponytailer 1 adaptively. Another type of pull through stick 31 having a hook 311 at one end is shown in FIG. 3B. The bundle of hair to be fastened is held within the hook 311 and then goes through the inner hole 13 of the ponytailer 1. It is to be noted that the present disclosure does not limit the guiding tool cooperating with the ponytailer 1. It is only required that the guiding tool can catch the bundle of hair and guide the caught hair bundle to go through the inner hole of the hair holder along a designated direction.
According to the present disclosure, the ponytailer 1 can provide various visual effects. In an embodiment, at least the ring body 11 of the ponytailer 1 is made of a transparent material so that the ponytailer 1 put on hair is invisible from a certain distance. In another embodiment, the ring body 11 of the ponytailer 1 may be coated with bright color and/or decorated with various kinds of accessories (not shown) to serve as a hair jewelry. Such modifications are included in the present disclosure.
Please refer to FIG. 4A, a schematic diagram illustrating a ponytailer according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The shape of the ring body 11 of the ponytailer 1 is adjustable. To achieve this purpose, a soft metal wire 40 is embedded in the ring body 11 of the ponytailer 1. The user may press or pull the ring body 11 at corresponding positions to change the shape of the ring body 11 as desired before or after the bundle of hair goes through the ponytailer 1. After removing the shaping force 45 exerted on the ring body 11, the ring body 11 can remain its shape due to specific rigidity of the metal wire 40 supporting the ring body 11 until a next exerted shaping force. According to this concept, the size of the ponytailer 1 is also adjustable. For example, after the bundle of hair is guided to go through the ring body 11 and the hair bundle is still gripped tightly in one hand, the user can press points 115 and 116 on the ring body 11 together, or even twist around the contact points 115 and 116, to reduce the hole size. Then, the user relinquishes her grip on the bundle of hair as the hole size is fixed. The number/position of the contact points and the press direction are not limited, and thus the ring body 11 can have varied shapes in response to the press force.
FIGS. 4B˜4D shows another application of the ponytailer 1. The ring body 11 is bendable and foldable to be shaped as desired. For example, after the hair bundle is held in the inner hole 13, two ends 47, 48 of the ring body 11 are pulled back together along a direction 461 (FIG. 4B) so that the ring body 11 is bent at bent portions 471, 481. The ring body 11 can remain its folded form (FIG. 4C) due to specific rigidity of the metal wire 40 supporting the ring body 11 until a next exerted shaping force. In another embodiment, one end 47 is folded backward along a direction 461 and the other end 48 is folded forward along a direction 462 (FIG. 4B) to provide another folding effect (FIG. 4D). According to the description, the ring body 11 could be bent at any desired bent portions 117 with any bent direction as descried. Since the ring body 11 is bendable, foldable, twistable and shapeable, the bundle of hair confined in the ring body 11 could also show a variety of patterns. The reshaping of the ponytailer 1 could be derived from the above description, and no further elaboration about the shaping patterns is given.
Please refer to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B illustrating applications of the ponytailer according to the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5A, a star hair accessory is provided by integrated the ponytailer 1 into a star object 51. A through hole 510 is formed in the star object 51 and defined by an internal wall 511. The through hole 510 may has a cross-section of any proper shape, e.g. circle, oval, a conformal shape of the object 51. The outer boundary 112 of the ring body 11 is completely or partially attached to the internal wall 511 to fix the ponytailer 1 into the star object 51, or the ring body 11 is integrally formed with the star object 51 of the same material. The star object may be modified to be in any other popular shape or form to provide particular impression or feeling. FIG. 5B shows another example. Two halves of a bow object 52 are respectively connected to the ring body 11 at two sides to provide a bow hair accessory. According to the concept, the object 52 in any popular shape or form may be a combination of at least two parts, which are connected to different portions of the ring body 11, with consideration of load bearing and weight balance.
Please refer to FIG. 6 showing a variant of the ponytailer. The ponytailer 6 includes a thick ring body 61 and a plurality of tiny posts 62. An inner hole 63 is defined by the inner boundary 611 of the ring body 61. The tiny posts 62 are arranged on the inner surface 611 of the ring body 61 and distributed in any possible pattern, in one-dimensional arrangement or two-dimensional arrangement. In another embodiment, the tiny posts 62 may be omitted if the material of the thick ring body 61 can provide enough fastening or holding effect. Under this condition, the inner surface 611 of the ring body 61 may be roughened to provide equivalent holding effect. The roughness of the ring body 61 is determined according to the material of the ring body 61. The materials and modifications described in the above embodiments are also applicable to the ponytailer 6.
Please refer to FIG. 7 showing another variant of the ponytailer. The ponytailer 7 includes an open ring body 71, instead of a closed ring body, and a plurality of spaced posts (protruding parts, teeth or pins) 72. Please refer to the above embodiments for the arrangement and function of the posts 72, and similar description is not repetitively given here. Two coupling means 711 are formed at two ends of the open ring body 71 to connect the two ends together in a close state or disconnect the two ends from each other in an open state. The coupling means 711 may be provided in any fastening form, e.g. hooks, hook and eye, snap fastener, knot button fastener (frog fastener), twist fastener, resilient gripping member, hinge and latch clasp, hinged clasp, and the present disclosure is not limited to these. To wear the ponytailer 7, the bundle of hair to be fastened is put into the ring body 71 in the open state. More hair can be put into space defined in the ring body 71 in the open state than that in the closed state because of the elasticity of the ring body 71. Then, the coupling means 711 are pressed together and coupled (connected) to each other to close the ring body 71, so that the bundle of hair is well fastened by the ponytailer 7. No auxiliary tool such as a pull through stick is needed to guide the bundle of hair in this case, and it is easy to open or close the ring body 71, even by a single hand.
Further, hair holders of a specific type according to the present disclosure, i.e. coil hair ties, are illustrated in FIGS. 8A˜8G. The coil hair tie 8 includes a coil ring body 81 and a plurality of posts 82a, 82b, 82c, 82d, 82e, 82f or 82g arranged at different portions of the coil ring body 81. The coil ring body 81 has an inner boundary 811 defining an inner hole 83 and an outer boundary 812 opposite to the inner boundary 811. The coil ring body 81 has a continuous spiral structure in which a plurality of circles 810 are connected end-to-end in series. The continuous spiral structure can provide a restoring force while being stretched so as to form an elastic structure to fasten hair. In other words, the spiral structure becomes longer with greater radius and has a lower coil density in response to a tensile force, and restores to its normal length and has a greater coil density due to the elasticity of the spiral structure while removing the tensile force.
There is variation in arrangement of the posts 82a˜82g in FIGS. 8A˜8G In FIG. 8A, long posts 82a are provided at the inner boundary 811 of the coil ring body 81 and extend inwards (i.e. toward the center of the coil ring body 81). In FIG. 8B, long posts 82b are provided at the outer boundary 812 of the coil ring body 81 and extend outwards (i.e. away from the center of the coil ring body 81). In FIG. 8C, tiny posts 82c are provided inside the circles 810 of the coil ring body 81. In FIGS. 8D˜8F, tiny posts 82d˜82f are provided outside the circles 810 of the coil ring body 81. For example, the tiny posts 82d˜82f may be located at the inner boundary 811 (FIG. 8D) and/or located at the outer boundary 812 (FIG. 8E) and/or located between the inner boundary 811 and the outer boundary 812 (FIG. 8F). In FIG. 8G tiny posts 82g are provided between any two circles 810 of the coil ring body 81. It is to be noted that the posts 82a˜82g may be arranged at at least one cycle 810, arranged at few cycles 810, arranged at any cycle 810 or arranged at all of the cycles 810. The number of the posts 82a˜82g is not limited to the embodiments. Further, it is to be noted that the coil hair tie 8 may have mixed-size posts arranged at different positions of the circles 810 of the coil ring body 81. In other words, the posts 82a˜82g in different embodiments may be arbitrarily selected and combined into new configurations. The posts 82a˜82g in the embodiments are provided for hair-fixing and/or decorative purposes as described above. Therefore, the materials of the posts 82a˜82g may vary according to the function themselves. The material of the posts 82a˜82g may be softer or more rigid than that of the coil ring body 81 to meet requirements. For example, the posts 82a in FIG. 8A are made of slightly flexible material; the posts 82b in FIG. 8B are made of much soft material, e.g. fiber; and the posts 82c˜82g are made of rigid or elastic material. The examples are given for illustration purposes, but not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In another embodiment, the posts 82a˜82g (e.g. made of silicone rubber) may be integrally formed with the coil ring body 81 to simplify the manufacturing process.
The hair holder in each of the above embodiments is applicable to many hairstyles, e.g. ponytail, pigtails, braids, bunches. Increased flexibility is achieved because the hair holder can fit all hair, no matter thin or thick. Furthermore, the hair holder may be used around hair near scalp or at any portion between the head and the hair ends depending on preferred look. It is easy to put on or take off the hair holder without improperly pulling the hair. Some research tells that when hair is put in a tight bun or ponytail, that will pull the nerves in the scalp. The pulling of the nerves will activate the sensory nerves even more, and result in the headache. The hair holder of the present disclosure does not hold hair in a tight manner, and can solve this problem.
In conclusion, the present disclosure provides a hair holder showing variety and suitable for many hairstyles. The design can be easily integrated with many types of hair accessories. Because the hair holder can last multiple uses without loosing elasticity or being broken, the hair holder will greatly eliminate the waste resulting from the conventional nylon elastic which sustains only one or few uses. Furthermore, the hair holder does not cause headache and is worth popularizing.
While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
Patent Application
20200077762
