Patent Application
20250024934
The present invention relates to mannequin head holders, which are used to hold mannequin heads, particularly for hairdresser training purposes.
Traditionally, mannequin heads have been used as training tools for hairdressers. Oftentimes, mannequin heads are outfitted with wigs attached thereto, so that hairdresser trainees may practice performing haircuts and hair styles. There have been a number of developments regarding mannequin head holders over the years, and the following references all disclose various types of mannequin head holders that are used for such purposes. Each of the documents cited below are hereby incorporated by reference, in their entireties:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,383 Swivel Support for Mannequin Head
A support for a mannequin head in the form of a generally C-shaped clamp on which is swivelly supported a spindle with which the mannequin head is adapted to be connected. The swivel connection includes a plastic ball and socket joint wherein the ball is press-fitted within the socket member of the joint.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,825 Wig Styling Rack
A wig styling rack for mounting on a chair having a back, a seat, and a pair of spaced arms consisting of a central portion having a pair of laterally adjustable arms for resting on said arms of said chair, a downwardly depending adjustable leg mounted on said central portion for resting on said seat of the chair for preventing pivotal movement of said body portion in a first direction, a rearwardly extending arm mounted on said central body portion for resting against the back of said chair and thus preventing pivotal movement of said central body portion in a direction which is opposite to said first direction, and a frame member extending upwardly from said central body portion for mounting a wig form at the top thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,118 Angularly Adjustable Wig Block Support
An improved block support for simulated heads, called blocks, on which wigs are mounted for styling. The support includes a vertically extending shaft adapted at its top for connection to the block and a base portion having a clamp for securing it to a table and a horizontally extending plate. The plate has spherically rounded upper and annular portions through which the reduced, threaded lower end of the shaft extends. A locking nut on the threaded shaft is adapted to squeeze spherically curved annular members carried on the shaft against the upper and lower plate annular portions which are spaced from the shaft to allow the shaft to tilt.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,934,804 Support for Mannequin Heads
Two pivotally secured jaws can be placed inside a bore in a mannequin head and pivoted away from each other by lock means to press tightly inside the bore, to detachably secure the head to the jaws. The jaws are supported by an upwardly extending rod, the lower end of the rod being attached to a sphere. The upward and sideways motions of the sphere are constrained by a hollow enclosure in which the sphere is disposed, and the downward motion of the sphere is constrained by a wedge that extends upwardly into the enclosure from the top surface of a table near the table's edge. An adjustable clamp presses the enclosure downwardly towards the top surface of the table. As the clamp is tightened, the wedge presses ever more tightly against the sphere, wedging it tightly against the enclosure and preventing the sphere from moving therewithin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,729 Manikin Head Support
An apparatus is described for mounting a manikin head with a wig thereon, so the wig occupies substantially the same position as the head of a person seated on a chair in a beauty shop. The apparatus includes a mount device that lies on the top of a chair back and is pressed against the front and rear faces of the chair back, and which holds a pedestal on which a manikin head is mounted. The mount device includes front and rear mounts (20, 22), each including a plate having a vertical plate part (22) for lying against one face of the chair back and a top plate part (26) for lying over the top of the chair back. The mounts are positioned with the top plate part of a second mount lying on the top of the chair back, and the other top plate part of the rear mount lying on the first one. The pedestal screws onto the front top plate part and has a narrow bottom to fit into a slot (60) in the front top plate part. A strap (40) extends around the chair back to hold the two mounts securely in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,177,820 Hairdressing Head Support
A hairdressing head support includes a base or sink mount for mounting the support directly to a hairdresser's sink. A support member is detachably secured to the sink mount with a bender column pivotally connected to the support member for disposing the bender column at various angular orientations. A head rest is connected to the bender column for partially enveloping the head of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,918,192 Support Device for a Mannequin Component and a Mannequin Assembly
A support device includes an outer shaft having a first end and a second end. The support device also includes an inner shaft adjustably coupled to the outer shaft. The support device further includes a mounting rod pivotally attached to the inner shaft and removably coupled to a mannequin component. The mounting rod includes a plurality of attachment nubs spaced apart from each other along a length of the mounting rod. The plurality of attachment numbs are further angularly spaced apart from each other with respect to a central axis of the mounting rod. The support device also includes a release button, which, upon actuation, is configured to move each of the plurality of attachment nubs from an extended position to a retracted position to allow the mannequin component to be movable relative to the mounting rod.
The present invention provides an mannequin attachment system that couples a mannequin head and a salon chair used in training beauty and salon technicians. The invention comprises a chair engaging and mannequin engaging portion. The chair engaging portion may engage a chair so that it secures the mannequin head with the mannequin engaging portion. The mannequin engaging portion may be adjustable to angle the mannequin head in various positions conducive to instructing students of technical arts such as salon, beauty, dental and other service or care of the head of a person
A coupling secures a mannequin head to a mannequin head holder. The mannequin head holder has a stem. The hair mannequin head has a neck with a base. An opening is formed in the base. The opening extends longitudinally into the neck for receiving the stem. The coupling has a neck engaging member, a retention mechanism, a stem engaging member, and a bridge. The neck engaging member has a pair of arms extends substantially parallel to one another. The retention mechanism is affixed to each arm and, together with the arms, grasps the neck of the hair mannequin head. A notch is formed in the stem engaging member. The notch defines a plane and has a longitudinal axis perpendicular to the plane. The longitudinal axis passes between the arms of the neck engaging member. The bridge fixes the relative positions of the neck engaging member and the stem engaging member.
A manikin holder for holding the manikin noiselessly and stably is provided. The manikin holder has a body which has a lower portion having a ball joint rotatably connected to a clamp and an upper portion integrated with a stationary bolt rod of half cylinder shape and with horizontal grooves; a movable bolt rod of half cylinder shape a, which is in close contact with the stationary bolt rod and formed therein horizontal grooves; a fastening bolt penetrating through the stationary bolt rod and the movable bolt rod; a locking nut for the fastening bolt; grooves in the stationary bolt rod and the movable bolt rod for being clamped by an elastic seal ring; two pairs of mounting grooves along flanges of the stationary bolt rod and the movable bolt rod; and elastic rings elastically mounted on the mounting grooves.
A practice hair cutting apparatus. The apparatus in its expanded configuration allows a human mannequin head to be attached and simulates a size and shape of a shoulder portion and/or should and back portion of an actual human subject. The apparatus in its contracted position is easily transportable in a student backpack. The apparatus is attachable to and removable from a variety of chairs, tables, walls and other free-standing objects such as tripods. The apparatus is used for hair cutting students who desire to practice hair cutting skills inside and outside a classroom.
The present invention, in one embodiment, is a mannequin head holder that includes a mannequin head and a base that may be mounted to a barber chair, salon chair, or the like. The base includes attachment means on a bottom portion thereof, for mounting the base to a hairdresser chair, as well as a flexible support member and a generally conical-shaped mannequin head mount. The attachment means may take many forms, but in one particularly useful embodiment, the attachment means includes a shaft member that may be inserted into a slot on the chair that otherwise is used to attach a headrest, similarly to removable headrests found in most automobiles on the market today. The shaft member may have an adjustable mechanism for adjusting the height of the mannequin head above the chair. In one embodiment, the adjustable mechanism may include a series of holes that are engaged by spring-loaded pins, buttons, or the like. Of course, other types of height adjustment mechanisms may be used, such as telescoping members with a clamp (similar to height-adjustable bicycle seats, for instance), and such adjustment mechanisms may be intermittently adjustable to a series of pre-set heights, or may be infinitely adjustable.
The base may further include a flexible support, such as a gooseneck type of support or a bendable arm having rigid sections connected by ball and socket joints, which is attached to the upper portion of the shaft member. The mannequin head is preferably attached to a mannequin head mount, which in turn is connected to an upper portion of the flexible support. The flexible support allows a user to position the mannequin head in any desired position, so that it is tilted forward or backward, or side to side. In this configuration, the mannequin head may also pivot or rotate from side to side, in order to imitate the head of a person who has her head turned to the right- or left-hand side. Other types of flexible supports may be used as well, including supports that have multiple ball and socket types of joints, to create the same flexible effect that is described above.
In a preferred embodiment, the base further includes a generally conical-shaped mannequin head mount that is attached to the upper portion of the flexible support member. In this embodiment, the mannequin head mount preferably includes a threaded hole for receiving a threaded extension protruding from the top portion of the flexible support member. Mannequin heads typically include a hole in the bottom portion thereof, and mounting the Mannequin head to the mannequin head mount is achieved by placing the mannequin head mount into the hole on the bottom portion of the mannequin head, so that the mannequin head is secured to the mount through frictional engagement. It should be understood, however, that the mannequin head may be mounted directly to the upper portion of the flexible support member, in some embodiments.
In use, the mannequin head holder is simply attached to the chair using the attachment means, and then the user positions the mannequin head in a desired position before beginning their training on the mannequin's wig. As the training progresses, the mannequin head may be adjusted, as desired.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description and accompanying drawings where:
As shown in
The attachment means for attaching the base to a chair may take many forms, as indicated by the above-cited references that are incorporated herein. In one novel embodiment, the attachment means includes a shaft member 22 that may be inserted into a slot in a hairstylist chair 24 that is otherwise used for receiving a headrest. The shaft member 22 may include a series of holes for receiving a spring-loaded pin, button, or the like, that may be inserted into any of the holes, so that the mannequin head 16 may be positioned at a desired height. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment, the shaft member 22 includes a threaded hole at a top portion thereof for receiving a threaded post 26 or extension that protrudes from the bottom portion of the flexible support member 14, as shown in
Alternatively, the shaft member 22 may include a series of indentations or grooves that are engaged by spring-loaded teeth or protrusions that are positioned within the headrest mount slot or mechanism of the hairstylist chair 24. In other words, the attachment means of the mannequin head holder 10 may simply work in the same manner as a headrest that fits into the headrest slot of the hairstylist chair 24, and those attachment means are varied, and are known with respect to automobile headrest assemblies, and the like. Thus, it should be noted that the shaft member 22 may simply be designed to mimic the shaft of a headrest shaft that fits into the receiving slot (or mechanism) on the hairstylist chair 24.
In another embodiment, the base member 12 may include a telescoping support section that allows for height adjustment, similarly to a height-adjustable a bicycle seat. In this embodiment, a twist-clamp mechanism may be used to fix the height of the telescoping member at any desired height, although other securing mechanisms may be used to fix the height of the telescoping section at a desired height, such as a spring loaded button that protrudes through one of a series of corresponding holes, or any other suitable height adjustment mechanism. The telescoping support section may be disposed above or below the flexible support member, as desired.
The base member preferably includes a flexible support member 14, which is attached at one end to the attachment means (such as the shaft member 22) for attachment to a chair 24, and on the other end, the flexible support may be attached either to the bottom portion of the mannequin head 16 directly, or to a mannequin head mount 18. The flexible support member 14 may also take one of many forms, but in a particularly useful embodiment, the flexible support member is formed of a gooseneck type of assembly (of similar construction to a ‘gooseneck lamp’) as shown in
In another embodiment, the flexible support member 14 may be formed of a ball joint bendable arm that has multiple ball and socket joints 28, as shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the base member further includes a generally conical-shaped mannequin head mount 18 that may be directly and removably attached to the upper portion of the flexible support member 14. In this embodiment, the mannequin head mount 18 preferably includes a threaded hole for receiving a threaded post 26 protruding from the top portion of the flexible support member 14. Mannequin heads 16 typically include a hole in the bottom portion thereof, and mounting the mannequin head 16 to the mannequin head mount 18 is achieved by placing the mannequin head mount 18 into the hole on the bottom portion of the mannequin head 16, so that the mannequin head 16 is secured to the mount 18 through frictional engagement. Optionally, an adapter 20 may be placed between the mannequin head 16 and the mannequin head mount 18, if desired or necessary, to accommodate variations in sizes of the hole located on the underside of the mannequin head 16, as shown in
It should be understood that any other type of suitable attachment means may be used to attach the mannequin head holder 10 to a chair 24 or other stationary object, including clamps, brackets, straps, fittings, quick-connect mechanisms, snap-fit mechanisms, clips, suction cups, grips, hook and loop fastening materials, magnets or the like. Additionally, other types of flexible support members 14 may be used. The mannequin head holder 10 may be designed as a single integral unit, or, more preferably, may be capable of being broken down into its component parts for transport and/or storage, including the attachment means, the flexible support 14, the mannequin head mount 18, and the mannequin head 16, as well as the optional telescoping section. The components may be removably attached to one another in any suitable manner.
Additionally, in one embodiment, the mannequin head mount 18 may be removed from the flexible support member 14, and a camera 32 may be screwed onto the threaded post 26 protruding from the top of the flexible support member 14, so that the base member 12 serves as a platform for mounting a camera 32, as shown in
Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions are possible. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein. All features disclosed in this specification may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
