COMBINATION HAIR TIE AND FACE MASK ASSEMBLY
A combination hair tie and face mask assembly includes a mask panel and hair tie members for transforming the assembly between a face mask and hair tie. The mask panel includes longitudinal and lateral edges and a mask covering that spans between the edges. The hair tie members are attached to the mask panel and include a tie covering having a first end and second end separated by a gap, a cannula extending between the first end and second end, and a tie elastic that is formed into a closed loop through the cannula and exposed at the gap. The assembly is transformable into a face mask by drawing the tie elastics from the hair tie members to create an ear loop that can be donned around a user's ears and to exert tension on the face covering such that it can be donned over the user's mouth and nose.
The present disclosure relates generally to hair ties and face coverings. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a combination hair tie and face mask assembly, which is capable of transforming from a hair tie to a face mask and from the face mask back to the hair tie.
BACKGROUNDConventional face masks including ear loops and a mask panel for the nose, mouth, and chin typically function solely as a face mask. That is, they include no other function than to be donned around a user's ears and over the user's mouth, nose, and chin to filter air and reduce exposure to bodily fluids including contagions. Indeed, conventional face masks include no other components that enable the transformation of the face mask to an accessory that provides a separate function for use in a different manner.
Moreover, carrying around a conventional face mask is awkward. Users typically need to have the face mask conveniently available to wear, but in between uses, there is no comfortable place to put it. As a result, people end up leaving the face mask around their neck, over their chin, on their forehead, or just end up holding it in their hand. None of which are good solutions.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a combination assembly that may be converted and/or transformed from a face mask to another accessory having a separate functional use and that provides a means for comfortably placing the face mask in between uses.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present disclosure as disclosed hereafter.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
BRIEF SUMMARYAn aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide an assembly including a face mask that can be transformed into a distinct accessory that enables placement of the face mask comfortably around the body for carrying in between uses. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides a combination hair tie and face mask assembly, in which the face mask is transformable into a hair tie that enables placement of the assembly on either of a user's wrist or hair, thereby enabling comfortable placement of the face mask on the user's body in between uses.
An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a combination assembly capable of transforming into a face mask and from the face mask back into the hair tie. Accordingly, the hair tie and face mask assembly includes a pair of hair tie members interconnected by a flexible mask panel. The hair tie members each include a tie elastic that may be drawn to form the face mask configuration. When drawn, the tie elastics form ear loops and the mask panel defines the mask portion of the face mask. Further, when the tie elastics are drawn, the mask panel extends into a taught configuration, enabling placement of the mask panel over a user's mouth and nose and placement of the ear loops around a user's ears to don the assembly onto a user's face for use as a face mask. The bunched hair tie members may be extended outwardly from their bunched position to pull the tie elastic back into the hair tie members and convert the face mask back to the hair tie configuration for use as a hair tie.
An aspect of an example embodiment in the present disclosure is to provide a combination hair tie and face mask assembly, in which the components of the one does not interfere with the function and use of the other. Accordingly, when the tie elastics are drawn, the hair ties bunch up such that the hair tie members do not obstruct the formed ear loops when donning them on the user's ear nor obstruct the face mask when donned on the user's face. Further, when the bunched hair tie members are extended to pull the tie elastics back into the hair tie members, the mask panel is released from its taught configuration, enabling movement of the hair tie members for use as a hair tie and bunching of the mask panel so as to prevent obstruction by the mask panel when using the assembly as a hair tie.
The present disclosure addresses at least one of the foregoing disadvantages. However, it is contemplated that the present disclosure may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claims should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed hereinabove. To the accomplishment of the above, this disclosure may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being part of the disclosure.
In the drawings, like elements are depicted by like reference numerals. The drawings are briefly described as follows.
The present disclosure now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show various example embodiments. However, the present disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure is thorough, complete and fully conveys the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTSReferring to
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It is understood that when an element is referred hereinabove as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present.
Moreover, any components or materials can be formed from a same, structurally continuous piece or separately fabricated and connected.
It is further understood that, although ordinal terms, such as, “first,” “second,” “third,” are used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, “a first element,” “component,” “region,” “layer” or “section” discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings herein.
Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper” and the like, are used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It is understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device can be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
Example embodiments are described herein with reference to cross section illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, example embodiments described herein should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions as illustrated herein, but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, a region illustrated or described as flat may, typically, have rough and/or nonlinear features. Moreover, sharp angles that are illustrated may be rounded. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the precise shape of a region and are not intended to limit the scope of the present claims.
In conclusion, herein is presented a combination hair tie and face mask assembly. The disclosure is illustrated by example in the drawing figures, and throughout the written description. It should be understood that numerous variations are possible, while adhering to the inventive concept. Such variations are contemplated as being a part of the present disclosure.
Claims
1. A combined hair tie and face mask assembly, for use by a user having a face including a mouth, nose, and ears, comprising:
- a mask panel having a front, a rear, a pair of longitudinal edges including a top and a bottom, and a pair of lateral edges, the mask panel having a flexible fabric mask covering that spans substantially between the longitudinal edges and the lateral edges;
- a pair of hair tie members, each hair tie member including a tie covering that is substantially tubular, the tie covering having a first end, a second end, and a cannula extending between the first end and the second end, the first end and the second end of each of the hair tie coverings attached to the mask panel at one of the lateral edges of the mask panel, the first end and the second end facing each other and separated by a gap, each hair tie member also including a tie elastic that is formed into a closed loop that extends through the cannula and is exposed at the gap between the first end and the second end, such that the hair tie and face mask assembly is adapted to be used as a face mask by grasping the tie elastics at the gaps, pulling each tie elastic to create an ear loop from said tie elastic that is external to the tie covering while simultaneously minimizing said tie elastic in length within the tie covering and thereby bunching up the tie covering, and stretching the ear loops over the ears of the user while pressing and maintaining the rear of the mask panel against the mouth and nose.
2. The combined hair tie and face mask assembly as recited in claim 1, wherein the mask panel has a side tube at each of the lateral edges, each side tube has a top and bottom opening at the longitudinal edges, the first end of each hair tie covering extends into the top opening of one of the side tubes, the second end of said hair tie covering extends into the bottom opening of said side tube, and said side tube has a rear tube opening at the rear of the mask panel that corresponds with the gap between the first and second ends of said hair tie covering.
3. The combined hair tie and face mask assembly as recited in claim 2, wherein the mask panel has at least one mask elastic member that is attached to the flexible fabric mask covering substantially between the lateral edges, the at least one mask elastic member causes the flexible fabric mask covering to shorten a distance between the lateral edges of the mask panel when the mask panel is not tensioned outwardly at the lateral edges.
4. The combined hair tie and face mask assembly as recited in claim 3, wherein the at least one mask elastic member further comprises an upper mask elastic member that extends substantially between the lateral edges near the top of the mask panel, and a lower mask elastic member that extends substantially between the lateral edges near the bottom of the mask panel.
5. A combined hair tie and face mask assembly, for use by a user having a face including a mouth, nose, and ears, comprising:
- a mask panel having a front, a rear, a pair of longitudinal edges including a top and a bottom, and a pair of lateral edges, the mask panel having a flexible fabric mask covering that spans substantially between the longitudinal edges and lateral edges;
- a pair of hair tie members, each of the hair tie members attached to the rear of the mask panel at one of the lateral edges, each hair tie member has a tie covering that is substantially tubular and configured as a ring with a cannula extending therein, each hair tie member also has a tie elastic that is formed into a closed loop that extends through the cannula, the tie elastic is substantially covered by the tie covering except at the rear of the mask panel where it is exposed to allow the tie elastic to be grasped by a user to form ear loops that are adapted to extend over the ears of the user while the rear of the mask panel extends over the mouth and nose of the user.
6. The combined hair tie and face mask assembly as recited in claim 5, wherein the tie elastic is substantially covered by the tie covering and is exposed at the gap between the first end and second end, such that the hair tie and face mask assembly is adapted to be used as a face mask by grasping the tie elastics at the gaps, pulling each tie elastic to create an ear loop from said tie elastic that is external to the tie covering while simultaneously minimizing said tie elastic in length within the tie covering and thereby bunching up the tie covering, and stretching the ear loops over the ears of the user while pressing and maintaining the rear of the mask panel against the mouth and nose.
7. The combined hair tie and face mask assembly as recited in claim 6, wherein the first end and the second end of each of the hair tie coverings are attached to the mask panel at one of the lateral edges of the mask panel, facing each other and separated by a gap, the tie covering having a first end, a second end, and a cannula extending between the first end and the second end, the first end and the second end of each of the hair tie coverings attached to the mask panel at one of the lateral edges of the mask panel, the first end and the second end facing each other and separated by a gap.
8. The combined hair tie and face mask assembly as recited in claim 7, wherein the mask panel has a side tube at each of the lateral edges, each side tube has a top and bottom opening at the longitudinal edges, the first end of each hair tie covering extends into the top opening of one of the side tubes, the second end of said hair tie covering extends into the bottom opening of said side tube, and said side tube has a rear tube opening at the rear of the mask panel that corresponds with the gap between the first and second ends of said hair tie covering.
9. The combined hair tie and face mask assembly as recited in claim 8, wherein the mask panel has at least one mask elastic member that is attached to the flexible fabric mask covering substantially between the lateral edges, the at least one mask elastic member causes the flexible fabric mask covering to shorten a distance between the lateral edges of the mask panel when the mask panel is not tensioned outwardly at the lateral edges.
10. The combined hair tie and face mask assembly as recited in claim 9, wherein the at least one mask elastic member further comprises an upper mask elastic member that extends substantially between the lateral edges near the top of the mask panel, and a lower mask elastic member that extends substantially between the lateral edges near the bottom of the mask panel.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 16, 2020
Publication Date: Mar 17, 2022
Inventor: Andrew Pires (Cranford, NJ)
Application Number: 17/022,828