Hair ornament device
A hair ornament device has an ornamental object such as a plate with an ornamental front face and a hook or other securing member attached to the rear face of the plate for hooking over an elasticated pony tail loop. An elongate member is secured to the ornamental object so as to depend from the object when hooked onto a pony tail holder or loop. The elongate member in one example is a helical hair coil for wrapping over a bunch of hair.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/763,010 filed Jan. 26, 2006.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to hair ornament devices and devices for decorating, restraining, and shaping hair, and particularly to a pony tail accessory for use with a conventional pony tail holder or scrunchy.
Elastic bands, scrunchies, ribbons and the like have long been known for holding bunches of hair in the form of ponytails, pigtails, braids, and the like. Ornamental devices have been proposed in the past for attachment to a simple pony tail holder. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0056298 of McRoberts describes a hook-on ornament for attachment to a pony tail holder. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0237992 of Klug describes an interchangeable hair band system in which an S-shaped double hook fits through a loop of a decorative element on one side and through an elasticized band or pony tail holder on the other side.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the present invention, a hair ornament device is provided, which comprises an ornamental object having a decorative front face and a rear face, at least one securing member attached to the rear face of the object for securing to an elasticated pony tail loop, and an elongate member secured to the ornamental object so as to depend therefrom when the object is secured to a pony tail holder loop.
The securing member is a hook in the exemplary embodiment, but may be a clip or clasp member in alternative embodiments, such as a claw-type alligator or butterfly clip. The elongate member may be permanently secured to the rear face of the ornamental object, which may be a plate or shield-like device, or may be releasably secured to the ornamental object. In the latter case, a loop or ring may be secured to a lower portion of the object for allowing an elongate member to be releasably secured to the object. Two or more hook members may be secured to the rear face of the ornamental object, if desired, to provide a more stable attachment to a pony tail holder or loop.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the elongate member comprises an elongated helical member for wrapping around and enclosing a bunch of hair. The member is secured to the ornamental object at one end, for example by welding or the like. This device can be used in various ways. One option is to enclose the wearer's hair completely with an elasticated band or scrunchy, hook the ornamental object onto the band at a location where it is visible to an observer, and wrap the helical member around all of the hair. Another option is to wrap only a portion of the hair in the pony tail into the helical member.
The elongated helical member may have an ornamental element dangling from its free end, such as a jewel, string of jewels, ornamentally shaped piece of metal, or a chain or multiple chains from which ornaments are suspended.
The helical member may be of uniform pitch and diameter along its length, or may be of variable pitch and/or variable diameter. The member comprises a single piece of rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible material, and may be made of ornamental metal, plastic, or the like. A post or holding pin may be provided to extend through the helical member, the post having an ornamental head.
In another embodiment of the invention, the elongate member may be a dangling chain, ribbon, line, or beaded element secured directly to the ornamental object and having one or more ornaments along its length and/or at its free end.
In one embodiment of the invention, a first ornamental object comprising a plate or shield has a first hook secured to its rear face and is secured to the end of an elongated helical member, and a second ornamental object comprising a similar or identical plate or shield with a second hook on its rear face is secured to the opposite end of the helical member. The second ornamental plate may be secured to the helical member by welding or by engaging its hook through a ring or loop at the end of the helical member. The first hook can be hooked over a first pony tail holder or band while the second hook can be hooked over a second pony tail holder or band, the helical member being wound around the hair constrained between the two pony tail holders. A second elongate helical member may be secured to depend from the second ornamental plate. In another alternative arrangement, the first ornamental object may be hooked onto a ring or loop of a third ornamental object which has a rear hook, providing a different ornamental effect.
In another embodiment of the invention, a first ornamental object with a rear hook is secured to a line of two or more additional ornamental objects of a similar nature via intervening chains or the like, to produce an armor-like ornamental appearance. The ornamental objects in this case may be plates or shields of gradually reducing dimensions. One or more of the plates may have hooks on their rear faces for hooking onto pony tail holders placed at spaced intervals along a bunch of hair. A dangling ornament may be suspended from the lowermost ornamental object in this arrangement.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a hair ornament device comprises a securing member for attaching to an elastic band and an elongate member having a proximal and distal end. The securing member is fixedly attached to the proximal end of the elongated member. The hair ornament device may further comprises a elastic loop, where the securing member is attached.
The hair ornament device of this invention allows the appearance of a conventional pony tail or pig tail and pony tail holder to be modified in a different and decorative manner. The first ornamental object or plate conceals the underlying pony tail holder and provides a more decorative appearance while the elongate member suspended from the first plate provides an enhanced ornamental appearance and may have additional hair holding features. For example, the device with an attached helical member can be used to hold and surround all or part of the bunch of hair held by the pony tail holder, producing a completely different appearance from a conventional pony tail. Where the device includes one or more additional plates with hooks, a series of plates can be hooked over spaced pony tail holders to produce a unique hair styling effect. The hair ornament device can also be used in conjunction with braids, and one or more of the devices may be used, for example where the wearer styles their hair with multiple braids or pigtails.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of some exemplary embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
The ornamental object 12 may be a smooth or engraved button or plate of metallic or other material, or may be a jewel or beaded element with a metallic or other backing, and may be of any desired ornamental shape. The coil element 18 may be of ornamental metal or other rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible material, such as plastic. In the embodiment of
An ornamental extension 42 may also be attached directly to the ornamental object in any of the embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 3, and an additional ornamental or dangling extension may be attached to the free end of the coil element of
The ornament or plate 60 has a loop or eyelet 65 secured to its lower edge (i.e. the edge towards which the hook member 64 extends), and various ornamental items can be secured to the eyelet 65. For example, as illustrated in
The device 72 can be attached around a bunch of hair 90 as illustrated in
FIGS. 16 to 18 illustrate a chain type hair ornament device 95 according to another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, a series of three ornamental plates or shields 96, 97, 98 of gradually reducing diameter are secured together by two pairs of chain link members 99,100. The lowermost plate 98 has a ring or eyelet 102 at its lower edge, similar to plate 60, to allow a selected dangling ornament 66 to be suspended from the plates via a jewelry clasp 68 engaging eyelet 102.
The hair ornament device 95 is designed to have a chain-mail or armor-like appearance when worn in the hair, as illustrated in
In each of the above embodiments, the ornamental objects or plates carrying the hook members may be made of any suitable rigid and ornamental material, such as ornamental metal or the like, and may be smooth, engraved, or have other types of ornamental finish. Instead of metallic plates, the ornamental objects may be jewels, gemstones, beaded elements or the like with a plate backing on which the hook member is mounted. Although the ornamental objects or plates in the illustrated embodiments all have one or more hooks on their rear faces, the hooks may be replaced by alternative securing devices such as alligator clips or the like.
The hair ornament devices of the above embodiments are extremely versatile for use in styling hair in conjunction with an elasticated or non-elasticated hair band or scrunchy, and can be used with an entire pony tail, part of a pony tail, a pig tail, or with braids. They may be made in various different sizes depending on the amount of hair to be retained, from big enough to retain an entire pony tail to small enough to hold only a small amount of hair. In the latter case, several such devices may be used simultaneously to produce unusual and striking hair styles.
The examples set forth above, in both the specification and the figures, are provided to give those of ordinary skill in the art with a complete disclosure and description of how to make and use the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of what the inventors regard as their invention. Modifications of the above-described modes for carrying out the invention that are obvious to persons of skill in the art are intended to be within the scope of the following claims. All publications, patents, and patent applications cited in this specification are incorporated herein by reference as if each such publication, patent or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
1. A hair ornament device, comprising
- a first ornamental object having a decorative front face, rear face, and at least one securing member attached to the rear face of the object for securing to an elastic loop; and
- an elongate member having a proximal end and distal end, wherein the proximal end is secured to the ornamental object.
2. The hair ornament device of claim 1, wherein the elongate member comprises an elongated helical member for wrapping around and enclosing a bunch of hair.
3. The hair ornament device of claim 2, wherein the elongate helical member has a constant diameter.
4. The hair ornament device of claim 2, wherein the elongate helical member has a constant pitch.
5. The hair ornament device of claim 2, wherein the elongate helical member has a gradually reducing pitch from the proximal end to the distal end of the elongate helical member.
6. The hair ornament device of claim 2, wherein the elongate helical member has a gradually reducing diameter from the proximal end to the distal end of the elongate helical member.
7. The hair ornament device of claim 1, wherein the elongate member is fixedly attached to the rear face of the first ornamental object.
8. The hair ornament device of claim 1, wherein the first ornamental object further comprises a loop at a lower end of the first ornamental object, through which the elongate member is secured to the first ornamental object.
9. The hair ornament device of claim 1, wherein the securing member is a hook, clip, or clasp, fixedly secured to the rear face of the first ornamental object.
10. The hair ornament device of claim 1 further comprising a second ornamental member attached to distal end of the elongated member.
11. The hair ornament device of claim 1, wherein the elongate member has a split distal end with two figures.
12. A hair ornament device, comprising
- a securing member for securing to an elastic loop; and
- an elongate member having a proximal end and distal end, wherein the proximal end is fixedly secured to the securing member.
13. The hair ornament device of claim 12, wherein the elongate member comprises an elongated helical member for wrapping around and enclosing a bunch of hair.
14. The hair ornament device of claim 13, wherein the elongate helical member has a constant diameter.
15. The hair ornament device of claim 13, wherein the elongate helical member has a constant pitch.
16. The hair ornament device of claim 13, wherein the elongate helical member has a gradually reducing pitch from the proximal end to the distal end of the elongate helical member.
17. The hair ornament device of claim 12, wherein the securing member is a hook, clip, or clasp.
18. The hair ornament device of claim 12 further comprising a second ornamental member attached to distal end of the elongated member.
19. The hair ornament device of claim 12, wherein the elongate member has a split distal end with two figures.
20. A hair ornament device, comprising
- an elastic loop adapted for wrapping around and enclosing a bunch of hair;
- a securing member for securing to the elastic loop; and
- an elongate member having a proximal end and distal end, wherein the proximal end is fixedly secured to the securing member.
21. A hair ornament device, comprising
- an elastic loop adapted for wrapping around and enclosing a bunch of hair;
- a first ornamental object having a decorative front face, rear face, and at least one securing member attached to the rear face of the object for securing to the elastic loop; and
- an elongate member having a proximal end and distal end, wherein the proximal end is secured to the ornamental object.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 24, 2007
Publication Date: Aug 2, 2007
Inventors: Gustav Tandberg (San Diego, CA), Erika Potter (Cardiff, CA), Sean Potter (Cardiff, CA)
Application Number: 11/657,910
International Classification: A45D 8/12 (20060101);