Patent Application
20050284493
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to devices for imparting waves into hair.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
In this patent disclosure the term “section” means a cluster of hair on a person's head selected and isolated for treatment by a beautician. A section is approximately one to two inches in width and is comprised of hundreds of strands of hair. The isolation of a section is termed slicing, parting, or sectioning.
Style in hair preparation is subject to rapid change. Current styles include relatively long strands of hair with multiple relatively small crimps or folds in the strands. The hair is maintained in this style by treatment with permanent wave preparations followed by setting with a hair curler or by placing wet hair into a hair curler.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,936,766 discloses a hair curler comprising of a strip with perforations and with a crease in the middle. The crease is used to prevent curling until the hair is laid on the strip. The strip is then allowed to curl.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,108,603 discloses a hair curler comprising two strips which are attached by flexible connectors through openings along one of the long sides on each strip. There are arms or legs at one end which are used to spread the sheets for insertion of hair on the strips, when the strips are allowed to come together and curl, containing the hair between the strips comprising the now cylindrical roll.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,375 discloses a hair curler and crimper with two washboard shaped section connected by a living hinge. Hair strands are placed on one s section and is engulfed and waved by closing the second section over the first.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,714,820 discloses an electrically heated hair curler system with an electrically heated strip hinged connected to a flap. Hair is placed on the strip, the flap is closed, and the strip rolled. Alternatively, the strips may be corrugated to create a pleated hair pattern.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,185 discloses a hair waving device of two complementary washboard shaped sides connected by a living hinge which are folded over a stand of hair. A number of devices may be connected to obtain curls extending through the length of the hair strand.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,813,419 discloses a hair curler of a sheet of semi-rigid material with perforations folded in the middle, and then folded in zigzags. The hair is placed in the between the sides and the zigzags compressed, then the device locked in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,763 discloses a microwavable hair curler with a microwave heatable element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,029 discloses a hair curler strip with hooks on one side and loops on the other. Hair is placed on one side; the strip is curled, and is secured in place by the hooks and loops.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,101 discloses a flexible hair curler with holes and hooks along the outer edges. Hair is placed on one side, the curler is allowed to curl into a cylindrical form, and the cylindrical form is secured in place by the holes and hooks.
None of the prior art discloses a hair curler with dimensions suitable for providing relatively small sections or locks of hair having small curls or crinkles, especially when adjacent sections have crinkles which are not in phase
This patent application discloses embodiments of resilient hair setters comprising a resilient ribbon shaped base panel having left and right long sides and upper and lower short sides, the long sides of length approximately 4 to 15 times the length of the short sides, an interior and an exterior surface. The base panel is shaped with waves having crests and troughs parallel to the short sides. There is a rectangular flexible ribbon shaped top panel having left and right long sides and upper and lower short sides, the long sides of length approximately 4 to 15 times the length of the short sides, and an interior and an exterior surface. The top panel is shaped with waves having crests and troughs parallel to the short sides.
The top panel is attached to the base panel by hinges located on the long sides of the base and the top panels, the crests on the interior surface of the base panel is aligned with the troughs on the interior surface of the top panel. On both the base and top panels the one short side is at a crest and the other short side is at a trough. In use, a section of hair to be curled is placed on the interior surface of one panel and the curler or setter is closed, with the interior portion of the other panel engulfing the section of hair and imparting curls and crimps to it.
The upper short side and lower short side of the base panel have an attachment site for attaching the setter to the short side of another hair setter base panel. This provides an array of setters aligned end to end and used for curling a section of hair longer than the length of the setter.
The left and right long sides of the base panel have attachment sites for attaching the setter to the long side of an adjacent hair setter. This allows a wide swath of hair to be curled. If the adjacent setters are aligned with the upper ends adjacent, the swath of hair will have curls with the crest and troughs aligned across the width of the sections. If the adjacent setters are aligned with the upper and lower ends alternating, the swath of hair will have curls in which the crests and troughs alternate.
The objective of this invention is to provide a hair setter which imparts curls into narrow sections of hair.
Another objective of this invention is to provide hair setters which may be connected serially in order to impart curls into long sections of hair.
Another objective of this invention is to provide hair setters which may be connected adjacently in order to impart curls in a wide swath of hair.
Another objective of this invention is to provide hair setters which impart curls into a wide swath of hair with aligned crests and troughs over the wide swath.
Another objective of this invention is to provide hair setters which impart curls into a wide swath of hair with alternating crests and troughs over the wide swath of hair.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a hair setter which may be easily and inexpensively manufactured without adverse effects on the environment
Also visible in
The width of the base and top panels, approximately equal to the length of the short sides, preferably is from approximately 1 to 3 inches. A preferred width is 2 inches. The length of the base and top panels, approximately equal to the length of the long sides, is at least 4 times the width of the panels, 4 to 12 inches. Preferred lengths are 6, 10, or 14 inches,
Small holes 30 and 60 which penetrate the base 10 and top 50 panels are distributed throughout the curler. Such holes allow the penetration of steam into the setter and allow the escape of water and water vapor from the hair engulfed by the setter.
Any suitable hinge 30 and 32 may be used to connect the base 10 panel and top 50 panels. The hinges allow the curler to be closed over a section of hair, thereby engulfing the section between the interior sides of the base and top panels. A preferred hinge is a living hinge, a strip of flexible material such as plastic which extends from the side of the base and top panels. Other suitable preferred hinges such as a wire loop or ring extending between holes in the base and top panels may be used. Other suitable materials may be used, such as, a plastic band.
Any suitable latch 68 may be used to secure the curler in the closed position with a section of hair engulfed between the interior surfaces of the base panel and top panel. In the this embodiment a friction latch 68 extending from the interior surface 64 of the top 50 panel secures the top panel in a closed position by friction fit against an indent 67 located on the left long side 16 of the base panel 10.
The attachment devices used to connect one setter to another are described as male 38 and female 36 connectors. A number of suitable configurations may be used, one of which uses holes or loops 36 in the base panel as female connection into which a male connector in the shape of a hook 38 is inserted.
Any suitable strong, resilient material capable of formation in the shape of the panels of the present invention, such as plastic, aluminum, copper, or steel may be used. A preferred material is plastic. Another preferred material is a metal which is a conductor of heat such as aluminum. Use of such a metal facilitates the transfer of heat generated by a hair drier or other source of heated air to the hair section engulfed by the setter and speeds the drying and setting of the section of hair. In a preferred embodiment, setters of different sizes have different colors.
Alternatively, the panels may have provisions for heating in order to speed formation of curls or drying of the hair being curled. Electrical heatable inserts heated by resistance heating which are oriented along the length of the interior of the panel may be used.
In one method of use, it is contemplated that some 25 to 30 setters are used in setting a single persons hair. Sections of hair in setters may overlap. It is contemplated that a line of setters may be arrayed around a person's hair from one side of the head to the other. Another line of setters may be arrayed above the first line with the effect that the setters of the second line overlap those of the first.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the examples and embodiments described herein are by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that other examples may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as set forth in the appended claims.
