Patent Grant
12035797
The present disclosure relates generally to managing hair braids and, more specifically, to automating the unraveling or unwinding of hair braids.
Hair braids are popular and stylish, and many people will spend the time and money styling their hair with them. But taking the braids down, unraveling, or untwisting them often is an arduous task. Substantial time may need to be blocked off to do so manually and repetitively by hand, often causing discomfort because hands need to be raised up for a significant time period. Black women, for example, may spend anywhere between 3-8 hours manually unraveling ˜100-120 braids, causing much dread. As a result, some women keep their braids intact for long time periods, perhaps ˜6 weeks, just because of the time commitment involved. Also, the lack of mobility, requiring one to sit in place to take each braid down, can be tedious. These inconveniences may mean that braids have to be unraveled while one is on a video or other call, or require skipping dinner, or even taking time off work. Although some manual tools have been used to aid in unraveling, such as a rattail comb, the process can still be time consuming and repetitive. One alternative is to pay for a hairstylist to unravel the braids, but this can be expensive, costing perhaps up to $180 and still taking up to three hours. Another alternative is to have a friend unravel the braids, which may require giving the friend an incentive, such as paying for lunch. The process remains manual and monotonous even with these alternatives.
Considering the issues identified above, there is a need for other devices and methods to help unravel braids, such as braids 10-12 inches in length that have three or more interlaced or woven strands of real/natural hair and/or synthetic braided extensions. An individual user at home or elsewhere or a hair care professional at a salon may use such devices and methods to unravel braids, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. These devices and methods may work from the bottom of the braid up to the top or to another stopping point along the way by using tines, in a sense, as fingers, that are automated to repetitively penetrate the braid and pull through or down it to unravel it. The disclosed devices and methods may be able to unravel any hair braid or entanglement at a faster rate than could otherwise be done manually and may cost less than the price of going to a salon.
The exemplary types of braids that devices and methods disclosed herein may be able to unravel include: box braids; jumbo braids; micro-braids; French braids; Dutch braids; crocheted braids; lemonade braids; fishtail braids; feed-in braids; goddess braids; braided buns; tribal braids; cornrow braids; Fulani braids; waterfall braids; yarn braids; crown braids; butterfly braids; snake braids; triangle box braids; Senegalese twists; Senegalese twists braids; Halo braids; Ghana braids; tree braids; flat twists; plaits; cornrows; locs; Havana twists; Bantu knots; Nubian twists; etc. These devices and methods also may be able to undo other braided or twisted items, such as some knots in shoelaces.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be or become apparent to one of skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages are included within this description, are within the scope of the present disclosure, and are protected by the accompanying claims.
Aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood with reference to the following drawings, emphasis being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/166,901, filed Mar. 26, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if set forth herein in its entirety.
In the description that follows, like parts are marked throughout the description and drawings with the same reference numerals. The drawings and components in the drawings might not be to scale and certain components may be shown in generalized or schematic form and may be identified by commercial designations in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should be further understood that the terms “comprise” and/or “comprising,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y,” “between about X and Y,” and “between approximately X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. Moreover, as used herein, “between about X and Y” means “between about X and about Y” and “between approximately X and Y” means “between approximately X and approximately Y,” “from about X to Y” means “from about X to about Y,” and “from approximately X to Y” means “from approximately X to approximately Y.”
In the present disclosure, “hardware” can include a combination of discrete components, an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system-on-chip (SoC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other suitable hardware. In the present disclosure, “software” can include one or more objects, agents, threads, lines of code, modules, subroutines, firmware separate software applications, or other suitable software structures operating in one or more software applications, in or on: one or more processors or CPUs (where processor includes a microcomputer or other suitable controller); memory devices; input/output (I/O) devices; displays; data input devices, such as a keyboard or a mouse; peripherals, such as printers or speakers; associated drivers; control cards or boards; power sources, network devices, including wireless options, such as WiFi or Bluetooth; docking station devices; or other suitable devices operating under control of software systems in conjunction with the one or more processors or other devices; or other suitable software handling structures. In one exemplary embodiment, software can include one or more lines of code or other suitable software structures operating in a general-purpose software application, such as an operating system, and one or more lines of code or other suitable software structures operating in a specific or special purpose software application. As used herein, the term “couple” and its cognate terms, such as “couples,” “coupled,” and “coupling,” can include a physical connection (such as through a copper conductor), a virtual connection (such as through randomly assigned memory locations of a data memory device), a logical connection (such as through logical gates of a semiconducting device), other suitable connections, or a suitable combination of such connections, and may be direct or indirect.
Embodiments of the present disclosure may automate the unraveling process of taking down braids/entanglements of hair that are clean (i.e., no beads, accessories, clips, etc.). These embodiments may integrate robotics, mechanics, or other automation, possibly operating faster than if done by hand or other methods, and may reduce the strain on fingers and hands that normally occurs with manual unraveling.
As illustrated in
As indicated in
In certain embodiments, the tines 120a and 120b may be polished to help avoid tangling of or with the braid. For differently sized or types of natural hair braids or synthetic braids, or a combination of both, differently sized tines 120a and 120b may be included as part of a package with the device 100 or otherwise made available for purchase by the user. In certain embodiments, the anti 118a and 118b may have their respective tines 120a and 120b formed as part of or integrated with them. And in certain embodiments, the arms 118a and 118b may be removably attachable with a locking or clipping attachment mechanism to their respective actuators 116a and 116b. Such a locking mechanism may be the same as or similar to the type of locking mechanisms used to lock the beaters of a hand-held mixer to the mixer body, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. The arms 118a and 118b, for example, may simply be pushed into the locking mechanism in the actuators 116a and 116b or be pushed in and then turned to lock them in place with their removal being accomplished through the opposite motion. Alternatively, or instead, differently sized tines 120a and 120b may be removably attachable and swappable to their respective arms 118a and 118b, the latter of which may form part of or be integrated with their respective actuators 116a and 116b. In that case, the tines 116a and 116b may be removably attachable with a locking mechanism or clipping attachment to their respective arms 118 and 118b. Such a locking mechanism, in some embodiments, may include corresponding sleaves for the tines 120a and 120b to be inserted into, each with a lock bearing like a socket set wrench. In other embodiments, the mechanism instead may include corresponding retractable sleeves like the quick releases on an impact wrench to hold the tines 120a and 120b.
Transverse motion of the tines 120a and 120b (i.e., motion anywhere in the XY plane, as defined by X axis 126 and Y axis 128 (both perpendicular to the Z axis 124) is provided through independent motion of their corresponding arms 118a and 118b, as driven by activation of their corresponding actuators 116a and 116b. For example, the actuators 116a and 116b may include screws or screw-like mechanisms used to move the arms 118a and 118b, as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, the tines 120a and 120b, although they can move independently of each other in the XY plane, move together in the Z direction as the actuators 116a and 116b and their respective arms 118a and 118b move in the Z direction 124. All such motion is under the control of the controller board 110 via software or app code as described below and occurs using the components of the device 100 as described herein. In certain embodiments, a design point for the force imparted by the actuators 116a and 116b via the arms 118a and 118b to move the tines 120a and 120b may be 2 lbs. per tine minimum. For motion of the actuators in the Z direction 124, the torque of the motor 112 may be converted into a higher torque for rotating the threaded rod to move the actuators linearly in the Z direction 124 with a slower rotation speed of the threaded rod compared to the motor 112. For example, a 5:1 gear box will convert 17 ounce-inch (oz-in) to 95 oz-in of torque (less efficiency loss) at ⅕ the rotation speed.
Referring again to
The pipe 102c formed by the braid channel 102b and the lid 102a, when closed, may generally be of hollow elliptical or hollow cylindrical shape in cross-section (i.e., in the XY plane). Alternatively, the pipe 102c may be a hollow cone or generally be of a hollow conical shape in cross-section with its major axis or axis of symmetry aligned in the longitudinal Z direction 124 with its wider portion toward the bottom or lower end of the pipe 102c and its narrower portion toward the top or upper end of the pipe 102c. The cone or conical shape may be advantageous for accommodating the expansion of the hair of the braid that may occur toward the lower portion of the pipe 102c as the braid becomes more and more unraveled, as is depicted by comparing
As seen in
Once the braid is fully inserted into the braid channel 102b underneath the retainers 130a and 130b with the lid 102a closed, the process of unraveling may begin. To unravel a braid, as explained above and further below, the arms 118a and 118b and the tines 120a and 120b move in the XY plane through activation of the linear actuators 116a and 116b, and they move in the Z-axis direction via motion of the actuators 116a and 116b as they are driven along the threaded rod 122. As unraveling proceeds, the unraveled lower portion of the braid will extend in length toward lower end of the pipe 102c and outside from below the lower end or bottom of the pipe 102c (see
Sometimes it may be difficult to determine exactly where only the user's natural hair begins near where it is untied or cut to become the lowest portion of the braid to be unraveled. The portion of the braid right where and somewhat above where the cut is made (i.e., toward the scalp) may consist of only the user's natural hair still braided, only other natural hair (i.e., not made of the user's natural hair) still braided, only synthetic hair still braided, or a combination thereof.
Although the device 100 is contemplated to unravel up to a particular length of braid, such as approximately 10-12 inches, as described above, it is contemplated that braids of lengths other than approximately 10-12 inches, both shorter or longer, may instead be unraveled. For braids longer than the pipe 102c, once a first particular length of braid is unraveled, it may be possible to remove the device 100 (e.g., by opening the lid 102a) and then position it further up the braid (or reinsert the braid with its already unraveled section further into and through the braid channel 102b) and then reattach the device 100 (e.g., by closing the lid 102a to form the pipe 102c) at a position above the already unraveled section to start the unraveling process again on the next higher still-braided section. Whether just a particular length is unraveled or successive section lengths are unraveled, the user may have to or want to use or run their fingers, comb, brush, etc., or a combination thereof, through the lower part of the unraveled hair or braid to help make sure it is or remains untangled at the bottom of the pipe 102c where it hangs or extends out of the device 100, as described above. In this manner, the device 100 may be moved to sequentially higher and higher sections still braided toward the user's scalp, unraveling each section in turn.
Referring to
After the braid is inserted fully into the device 100, the portion of the braid above or just above what will be unraveled may be clamped 206 by a clamp or clip 108 located at the top of the pipe or clamped upon closing the lid 102a. The clamp or clip 108 (see
The user holds 208 the device by the handle 103 and closes 210 the lid 102a with the braid secured in place underneath both retainers 130a and 130b. The tines 120a and 120b typically would be initially located at or near the bottom of the device 100 and positioned outside of where the braid is or would be (in the XY plane), and preferably not making contact with it if the braid is inserted. This is the “home” position of the actuators 116a and 116b (and of the tines 120a and 120b), which may be a default position, for example, when the lid 102a is open.
If the tines 120a and 120b are not initially in the home position, a “home” button, switch, or selector (not shown), which may be on a built-in display screen (or as part of a haptic) on the handle 103, whether implemented in hardware or software, or a combination of both, may be pressed, selected, or touched to move them there. If the motor 112 is a closed loop stepper motor, an encoder (not shown) may be included with it or elsewhere in the device 100 that would allow the position of the tines 120a and 120b, including the home position, to be determined at all times based on a count or counter. For example, a count of electrical or electronic pulses from the encoder corresponding to a rotational position of the motor 112 or the threaded rod 122 may be transmitted to the controller board 110 to provide an evaluation of the location of the actuators 116a and 116b and of the “successful” operation of the tines 120a and 120b (i.e., the success of the tines 120a and 120b in being able to pull down or “break” the braid for unraveling). Such successful operation may depend on the particular unraveling control algorithm executed by the processor in the controller board 110. For example, a comparison may be made between the encoder values derived from the angular position or movement of the shaft (not shown) of the motor (e.g., a stepper motor) 112 (mechanically coupled to drive the threaded rod 122) and the motor pulses transmitted by the processor that are used to adjust the angular position of the shaft to judge whether a successful unraveling of the braid has occurred. This comparison or any difference that is determined may provide information about the tines 120a and 120b having difficulty breaking the braid, so to correct this situation, the speed of the motor 112 and/or of the actuators 116a and 116b may be slowed down to increase the torque and the force for movement of the tines 120a and/or 120b as needed. For example, the frequency of motor pulses may need to be decreased (to increase the torque) or increased up (to decrease the torque) or other algorithm changes made, including to produce additional “jiggling” of the tines 120a and 120b to loosen the braid, and/or to reverse the motor (112), and/or to make adjustments of the linear actuators 116a and 116b. Such implementations may successfully break the knot of the braid for the device 100 to enter the pulling down or combing out stage for moving down (in the Z direction 124) along or through the lower loose section of the braid within the pipe 102c to unravel it and to prevent or reduce the likelihood of tangles. On the other hand, the success of the tines 120a and/or 120b in penetrating the braid may be measured by detecting resistance (i.e., mechanical resistance). If there is no resistance, it may mean a miss to hitting or penetrating the braid or a combing out. If there is resistance, the adjustment to rotation (torque) described above may need to be made to break the braid and go into the combing out state.
A limit switch may provide a way to calibrate the Z position 124 of the actuators 116a and 116b (and the tines 120a and 120b) at any time, for example, after a power loss or a reset, or upon turn-on, etc. of the device 100. If the actuators 116a and 116b are open loop actuators, limit switches and timers may be used to set calibration, such that if the home position is not reached in a set time when called for, the tines 120a and 120b may withdraw from the braid and be sent to home position. Providing a limit switch in the home position of the actuator indicates that the tines 120a and 120b are safely out of the braid channel 102b.
Then the unraveling may begin at the bottom of the braid in the pipe 102c. By activation of the motor 112 to move the actuators 116a and 116b up the threaded rod 122, the tines 120a and 120b may move 212 in the Z direction 124 along or up the braid in successive ⅛-inch increments. If the braid becomes or is sensed to be entangled improperly, as detected by the processor of the controller board 110 or if the user lets go of the failsafe switch 106, a safety feature is activated 214 and the device stops or turns off 216 automatically. If the safety feature is not activated, one or both of the times 120a and 120b puncture the braid 218 at a position close to the middle or somewhere else within the width of the braid. Because the braid may be off to one side of the braid channel 102b, the tines 120a and/or 120b may miss the middle along the width of the braid when puncturing it. The tines 120a and/or 120b also may be offset from each other as shown in
The intent is to have the tines 120a and 120b puncture all the way through the thickness of the braid. But depending on the size or type of braid, the device may operate the tines 120a and 120b to only puncture part way through the width of the braid at a particular Z direction position before unraveling only that punctured portion, as described below, and then return repeatedly, as necessary, to puncture and further unravel the remaining braid width at that same Z direction position before incrementing to a new Z direction position. Again, if the safety feature is activated 214, the device stops or turns off 216 automatically. If the safety feature is not activated, continuing with
While inserting into or puncturing and/or pulling down and unraveling the braid, both tines 120a and 120b may be articulated (in some instances, “jiggled” or “wiggled,” in short oscillating or other algorithmic motions) in any or all of the three dimensions (X, Y, and Z), as described above, to puncture or work their way into the braid and/or to help unravel it when pulling it down. Either or both of the tines 120a and 120b may be so articulated in the transverse (XY plane) directions by operation of the actuators 116a and 116b and movement of the arms 118a and 118b, and both may be articulated in the Z direction by activation of the motor 112 before being moved longitudinally or while being moved longitudinally in the Z direction down by further operation of the motor 112 to unravel the braid. The tines 120a and 120b are used essentially as “fingers” to work their way into the braid, open it up or pull it apart, and pull it down the pipe 102c to unravel it. The oscillatory, jiggling, or wiggling motion may also help keep the hair from tangling as the braid is pulled and unraveled. The safety feature or tension detection, as described herein, may stop the tines 120a and/or 120b from pulling too strongly in any direction on the braid if the force exceeds a certain threshold or limit, as would be determined by too much current being drawn on the motor 112, or the encoder detecting limited or no movement of the shaft of the motor 112, or by too much current being drawn on the actuators 116a and/or 116b, or a combination of the aforementioned. Once the tines 120a and/or 120b are determined to be stuck, the processor may initiate a recovery procedure of motion to free the tines 120a and/or 120b like that described above for breaking or penetrating the braid. If the stuck tines 120a and/or 120b are freed, the unravel process continues. If the tines 120a and/or 120b are determined to still be stuck, the safety feature described herein may be activated, or the tines 120a and 120b will be moved to the home position of the actuators 116a and 116b by turning the shaft of the motor 112 to drive the threaded rod 122, and then the safety feature may be activated so the user may assist in breaking the braid. One possible solution may be to monitor the pulses sent out from the processor on the controller board 110 that drive the motor 112 versus the encoder measurement values returned to the processor, in similarity to the discussion above. For example, if there are pulses sent from the processor, but no encoder values measured, the tines 120a and/or 120b may be stuck. Once the tines 120a and/or 120b are determined to be stuck, they may be withdrawn from the braid and repositioned further down the braid to get below the knot or stuck location to continue operation. If, after a limited number of attempts to free the tines 120a and/or 120b or timeout value is reached, the device 100 may stop and help from the user would be needed. This safety feature, or tension or force detection, would operate under control of the processor on the controller board 110.
Referring again to
Although the method 200 described above is shown as a flowchart, the order of steps is exemplary and may be modified, supplemented or reduced as needed. In addition, the method 200 steps that do not involve human activity may be implemented as a state diagram, using object-oriented programming or in other suitable manners.
In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, as illustrated in
In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the device 100 may further include an application (“App” or “app”) or software whose code is stored in memory (not shown, but which may be located in the handle 103 and/or on the controller board 110), such as firmware, DRAM, SRAM, other types of random access memory, flash memory, solid-state memory, EEPROM, or the like, and executed by a processor of the controller board 110. Alternatively, the device may be controlled by the app being executed on a computer, tablet, smartphone, or the like communicating with the device through the connection 104 or through a wireless-type connection, such as by Bluetooth or WiFi, in which case, supporting semiconductor chips, SoCs, or other modules and associated code would be included in the device 100, for example, as part of the controller board 110. The app code would control the operation of the device 100 as described herein. For example, the code or software may provide control of various functions: (1) on or off function; (2) pressure, force, or tension choices associated with the movement of the tines 120a and 120b or the suppressor 150 in XYZ dimensions to account for differences between the physical characteristics or properties of natural hair and synthetic hair or for different sizes or types of braids; and (3) a fail-safe mechanism, as described herein, such that if the motor 112, the actuators, 116a and 116b, or other component gets jammed or the hair gets too or more entangled, the tines 120a and 120b will release the braid immediately so as not to pull the hair/braid further, or the device 100 will automatically stop or turn off. The failsafe mechanism may automatically pull the tines 120a and 120b out and away from the braid or to the home position and may also open the lid 102a. Or a switch or latch release (not shown) may be included on or with the lid 102a such that the lid 102a will not fully open until the tines 120a and 120b are out of the braid channel 102b or at the home position. The failsafe mechanism also may operate upon loss of power to the device 100 or any time when the lid 102a opens such that everything stops. The intent would be to have no moving parts when there could be fingers within the device 100.
The app also may be responsive to user input, such as to allow the user to change the settings of the device to best unravel a particular type of braid or other settings. For example, the app may allow the user to input their braid specifications (size, weave tightness, length, style, hair type (e.g., synthetic or real hair), hair texture, brand (e.g., X-Pression®, Rebundle®, Dosso Beauty™, etc.), wet or dry, etc.). A display with hardware buttons or switches, software buttons or switches, or a haptic, or their combination may be included on the handle or elsewhere on the device 100 for these purposes. In some embodiments, the device 100 may keep track of the time it takes to unravel a braid for informing the user or for collecting usage information for support and/or for product updates.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely examples of possible implementations. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the principles of the present disclosure. For example, it is contemplated that instead of two tines, such as the tines 120a and 120b, just one of these tines may be included in the device and operate similarly to what has been described herein for unraveling a braid while the other tine remains outside the braid or the second tine and its actuator are not included in the embodiment at all. Moreover, with a corresponding increase in the number of actuators, it is contemplated that three or more tines may operate similarly to what has been described herein to unravel a braid. Thus, in certain embodiments, one or more tines and a corresponding number of actuators may be used to unravel a braid. Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the handle 103 may include haptics or buttons for mode, speed, control, battery charge level, and other functions. In addition, in certain embodiments, a button, pressure sensor, haptic, or the like may be included on the handle that the user must press or touch with their hand while holding the device 100 to be able to use the device 100 or it will not operate. This is another possible failsafe mechanism. Release of it also may automatically turns the device off. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/166,901, filed Mar. 26, 2021.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 63166901 | Mar 2021 | US |
