Patent Application
20200268129
The present invention relates to a device for securing and collecting loose hair. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a device for securing and collecting loose hair from a wet environment.
While showering, washing, conditioning, styling, blow-drying, curling, straightening and braiding, a user may end up with strands of loose hair or synthetic hair stuck in his or her hand when his or her hand is run over his or her long hair. Further it is possible for the user to attempt to gather loose hair that have fallen to the shower floor and discard of it in a bin outside of the shower. It is in the user's interest to get the strands removed so that the user's hand is free from the entangled hair strands. However, those who have tried to remove loose long hair from a wet hand would find it difficult if not impossible to remove the loose hair from their hands until the hand is dried with a towel. Accessing a towel while taking a shower is not an option most would partake. If unattended to, fallen long hair in a drain of the shower can sufficiently collect in a drain to clog it up over time. In some cases, a user may alternatively attempt to “stick” the fallen hair to the wall of a shower or bath, by virtue of the fallen hair being already wetted from the shower or bath. However, the wetted fallen hair strands can quickly dry up to cause them to be released from the wall and be washed down the drain. There exists a need for a device for temporarily securing and collecting or retaining fallen hair in a shower or bath room in order to keep the fallen hair from reaching the drain of the shower or bath which can clog the drain over time. The device is preferably easy to use and the hair temporarily collected or lodged in the device is preferably separable easily from the device for disposal. Several devices have been attempted in the past. However, none of the prior art devices disclosed elsewhere herein were suitable to be used in a wet environment as they will require excessive maintenance while not allowing “no look” uses of the devices, i.e., using the devices without having to pay attention to the devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,131,810 to Reile (Hereinafter Reile) discloses a hair collection system including a backboard for providing a location for detached hair collection, a basin for capturing detached hair, and an attachment means to couple the system to a wall. The system provides a method and apparatus for collecting detached hair before it becomes entrapped in the drain. Although a collection box to contain fallen hair is placed therein and an insert that can be used to lift the collected fallen hair to be disposed of is provided in Reile, no part of Reile is provided to facilitate separation of the fallen hair from one's hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,549,611 to Bocanegra (Hereinafter Bocanegra) discloses a shower caddy including horizontal shelves and a vertically sloped panel having a smooth surface. A bottom edge of the panel is positioned above and in registration with a hair screen carried within a lowermost shelf. Hair from one's head and body caught on one's hands and fingers during washing are transferred to the panel by touching the panel or land directly on the panel. Water overspray during showering or direct splashing causes the hair to slide down the panel and become trapped in the screen. Bocanegra's caddy is a complex structure with a collection of parts, among many other parts, a rectangular planar panel and a hair collection screen that tends to collect overspray in use. Further, Bocanegra's caddy allows loose hair collected in its hair collection screen to fall out as the loose hair is sufficiently secured, especially after the loose hair and hair collection screen have dried.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,407,142 to Lopez (Hereinafter Lopez) discloses a hair collection device for collecting hair from the hand of a user to remove hair from the head left on the hand of the user during a shower. The hair collection device includes a collection member being designed for being selectively coupled to a wall of the shower. The collection member is designed for receiving the hair from the hand of the user to allow the user to collect the hair at a later time to be thrown out when the hand of the user is wiped across the collection member. Lopez discloses a device having protrusions covered with hook and loop materials which helps segregate and transfer hair strands from the user's hand to the device. Lopez's device requires an excessive amount of maintenance as overspray received in a shower can clog up hook and loop materials disposed on the large protrusion. Lopez's device is not intuitive from the perspective of a user and the result of using Lopez's device may cause any user-accessible parts of Lopez's device to be tangled with loose hair, making the device difficult to clean.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a loose strand retainer including:
In accordance with the present invention, there is further provided a loose strand retainer including:
In one embodiment, the base further includes a central plane and the plurality of protrusions are biased with respect to the central plane. In one embodiment, the attachment means includes a lip disposed about a periphery of the base, the lip configured to seal the base on the bottom surface from an ambient environment when the loose strand retainer has been attached to the support surface to avoid intrusion of any fluids at the bottom surface. In one embodiment, the attachment means is a suction cup.
In one embodiment, the loose strand retainer is constructed as a single unit. In one embodiment, the loose strand retainer is constructed from a resilient material. The resilient material may be silicone, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). In one embodiment, the plurality of protrusions are disposed on the top surface at a density of about 15 to about 20 per square inch.
In one embodiment, at least one of the plurality of protrusions extends from the top surface to a pointed end. In one embodiment, the loose strand retainer further includes a pull tab attached to the base. In one embodiment, the height of at least one of the plurality of protrusions ranges from about 0.5 inch to about 1 inch.
An object of the present invention is to provide a loose strand retainer that can be used without requiring meticulous attention on the part of a user of the loose strand retainer.
An object of the present invention is to provide a loose strand retainer that is minimalist and simplistic in construction so as to avoid soiling of the loose strand retainer in use such that the loose strand retainer requires little or no cleaning or maintenance.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a temporary loose hair collection device that is capable of sufficiently securing the loose hair before the device is being emptied.
Whereas there may be many embodiments of the present invention, each embodiment may meet one or more of the foregoing recited objects in any combination. It is not intended that each embodiment will necessarily meet each objective. Thus, having broadly outlined the more important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated, there are, of course, additional features of the present invention that will be described herein and will form a part of the subject matter of this specification.
In order that the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and objects of the invention are obtained, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:
2—loose strand retainer
4—base
6—protrusion or bristle
8—attachment means
10—edge of base
12—extension
14—central plane
16—support surface
18—hair
20—length of base
22—width of base
24—hand
26—bias angle
28—height of protrusion
30—lip
32—structure providing rigidity to base
34—pull tab
36—height of loose strand retainer
The present loose strand retainer is compact, simplistic in its construction and presents a minimal surface areas to get soiled as there exists only one attachment means and the device is configured to be attached to a surface, e.g., a wall, a countertop or a table top, etc., with the attachment means concealed such that it does not get soiled or wetted. All exposed surfaces are surfaces used for user interaction, thereby eliminating any need for the attachment means to be cleaned. Front surfaces that are exposed to splashes or overspray of a shower can readily dry as they do not collect and retain splashes, therefore not allowing mold to develop. Further, the present loose strand retainer may be constructed as a single piece or unit, e.g., via casting.
The present loose strand retainer is easy to use. A user, upon grasping a few strands of hair can simply wipe his or her hand across the loose strand retainer without looking or paying attention to the loose strand retainer and the manner in which the hair can be transferred onto the loose strand retainer. Contrast this to the devices of Reile, Bocanegra and Lopez disclosed elsewhere herein where a user of each of these devices must first locate the specific part/s of the devices which are designed to retain the loose hair the user is intending to transfer to the device. Then, non-intuitively, the user must manipulate and rub his or her hand against the specific part/s to transfer the loose hair from his or her hand to the device. Further, the present loose strand retainer is constructed from a resilient material which causes the protrusions to be sufficiently flexible, further enhancing the ease of transferring loose hair to the device.
In one embodiment, the attachment means of the present device is self-contained and does not require other additional parts for the attachment means to function. No modifications of a surface to which the attachment means is used to attach the device to the surface, is required.
The term “about” is used herein to mean approximately, roughly, around, or in the region of. When the term “about” is used in conjunction with a numerical range, it modifies that range by extending the boundaries above and below the numerical values set forth. In general, the term “about” is used herein to modify a numerical value above and below the stated value by a variance of 20 percent up or down (higher or lower).
In one embodiment, the loose strand retainer 2 is constructed as a single unit. In one embodiment, the loose strand retainer 2 is constructed from a mold-free, mildew-resistant, resilient material, e.g., silicone, thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The resilience of the protrusions allows a user's hand to interact more snugly with the protrusions, facilitating transfer of one or more strands of loose hair to the spaces amongst the protrusions. The same resilience also allows the user to grasp loose hair more readily while removing the loose hair collected in the loose strand retainer.
The detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific aspects and embodiments in which the present disclosed embodiments may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice aspects of the present invention. Other embodiments may be utilized, and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosed embodiments. The various embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. The detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, with the full scope of equivalents to which they may be entitled. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement that is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive, and that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Combinations of the above embodiments and other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon studying the above description. The scope of the present disclosed embodiments includes any other applications in which embodiments of the above structures and fabrication methods are used. The scope of the embodiments should be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
