Patent Application
20180020797
The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present disclosure. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art nor material to the presently described or claimed inventions, nor that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
The present invention relates generally to the field of hair styling devices and more specifically relates to a device for creating protective hair styles.
Hairstylists may use a variety of tools such as hair irons (including flat and curling irons), hair dryers, hairbrushes (both flat and round), hair rollers, crochet hooks, etc. Different tools may be used to create protective hair styles. One such protective hair style includes crochet braids, also known as latch hook braids, which are techniques for braiding hair that involve crocheting synthetic hair extensions to a person's natural hair with a latch hook or crochet hook. However, crochet hooks have been found to be disadvantageous in the past by straining a hairstylist's wrist and being time consuming. Therefore, a solution is desired.
U.S. Pub. No. 2004/0134509 to Belton relates to a happy locs tool. The described happy locs tool includes a pinched end for holding sections of hair. The hair section is threaded through the bulb and pulled upward into the pinch of the needle. This device secures hair while sewing hair in looping patterns in the formation of the hairstyle dreadlocks.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known hair styling art, the present disclosure provides a novel hair styling device and method. The general purpose of the present disclosure, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a hair styling device and method efficient for use.
A hair styling device is disclosed herein. The hair styling device includes a needle having a shaft with a first-end and a second-end. The shaft may be formed into an eye along the shaft proximate the first-end and a tail. The tail may terminate with the second-end. The hair styling device may be configured to create protective hair styles when manipulated by a hair stylist or other such user.
According to another embodiment, a method of using a hair styling device is also disclosed herein. The method of using a hair styling device includes looping at least one braid once, placing the at least one braid through an eye, sewing the hair styling device under the pre-braided hair on a head, removing the shaft of the hair styling device from under the pre-braided hair on the head, pulling an end of the at least one braid through the eye at least two times, and optionally repeating previous steps until completing desired protective hair style.
For purposes of summarizing the invention, certain aspects, advantages, and novel features of the invention have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any one particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein. The features of the invention which are believed to be novel are particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings and detailed description.
The figures which accompany the written portion of this specification illustrate embodiments and methods of use for the present disclosure, a hair styling device and method, constructed and operative according to the teachings of the present disclosure.
The various embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements.
As discussed above, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to hair styling and more particularly to a hair styling device and method as used to improve the efficiency of hair styling of clientele.
Generally, the present disclosure allows a hair stylist to create protective hairstyles, such as crochet braids easily and quickly. It provides a device with an ergonomic shape that effectively reduces wrist pain. Furthermore, it eliminates the need to use a cumbersome crochet hook to create certain styles. It increases speed and productivity for women and hair stylists. The present invention enables hair stylists to style hair with minimal pulling and tangling.
Referring now more specifically to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in
The hair styling device 100 may be configured to create protective hair styles when manipulated by the hair stylist 5. Furthermore, the hair styling device 100, when manipulated, is hand-manipulated such that wrist-strain may be minimized.
According to one embodiment, the hair styling device 100 may be arranged as a kit 105. In particular, the hair styling device 100 may further include a set of instructions 107 (not shown). The instructions 107 (not shown) may detail functional relationships in relation to the structure of the hair styling device 100 such that the hair styling device 100 can be used, maintained, or the like, in a preferred manner.
The eye 120 of the hair styling device 100 may be along the shaft 112 proximate the first-end 114 and the tail 130, the tail 130 terminating with the second-end 116. The eye 120 may be substantially oval, and configured to receive a plurality of hairs 25 therethrough. The plurality of hairs 25 comprises at least one braid. The at least one braid may be selected from the group consisting of micro-braids, dreadlocks, and pre-braided styles. Those with ordinary skill in the art will now appreciate that upon reading this specification and by their understanding the art of hair styling as described herein, additional methods of using the hair styling device will be understood by those knowledgeable in such art. The at least one braid may be able to be looped through the eye 120 at least once such that it may be manipulated in relation to itself in order to create the desired protective hair style. The needle 110 may be configured to provide a means by which the hair stylist 5 may be able to rotate the at least one braid. Rotation of the at least one braid by the hair stylist 5 may create the protective hair style desired upon the head 15.
The tail 130 may be arcuate in relation to the eye 120, and may be shaped to fit a normalized hand-position when used by the hair stylist 5. The second-end 116 may comprise a round-end profile or a non-round-end profile, whichever may most benefit the hair stylist 5 and the desired protective hair style.
It should be noted that step six 506 is an optional step and may not be implemented in all cases. Optional steps of method of use 500 are illustrated using dotted lines in
The embodiments of the invention described herein are exemplary and numerous modifications, variations and rearrangements can be readily envisioned to achieve substantially equivalent results, all of which are intended to be embraced within the spirit and scope of the invention. Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application.
The present application is related to and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/364,306 filed Jul. 19, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62364306 | Jul 2016 | US |
