Hair curler using a fabric cover over a foam support

Abstract

A support made of a flexible, resilient foam material is enclosed by a fabric cover to prevent hair strands from becoming ensnared by the foam material. In a preferred embodiment, the support is configured as a foam roller which is mounted on a relatively rigid core with the core having a bail attached thereto that fits over the roller to secure hair to the roller. The cover is attached by draw strings positioned at the end of the cover. Preferably, the cover is porous and is made of a material such as satin, silk, rayon or polyester but is not limited to such materials.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application has priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/349,720, filed Jan. 22, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a hair curler using a fabric cover over a foam support.

[0003] An important objective in hair care is to provide a simple efficient and inexpensive hair curler that can be used to sleep on at night or for daily curling of hair. The curler should be light in weight, flexible, durable and comfortable to sleep on. In addition, the curler should minimize the loss of hair due to entanglement in the porous fibers of the foam type curler. A major complaint of existing foam or sponge curlers is the frequent loss of strands of hair or hair breakage with regular use. Hence, hair curlers for sleeping consisted of a supporting member such as a tubular core to maintain hair wrapped around a foam member. A problem with this roller occurs when hair is unwound and ends of the hair occasionally become caught in porous fibers of the roller and break from the hair shaft. Broken ends of hair could be seen attached to the roller when it is removed from the head.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,649 issued May 24, 1960 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,880 issued Dec. 21, 1964, incorporated herein in their entirety by reference, disclose foam rollers of the prior art.

[0005] As disclosed in the above patents, the hair curlers have a supporting member or rod and a bail, each of which is made of light, flexible and durable plastic material. The bail is formed with longitudinally spaced, yieldable sides and transverse ends. The supporting member is pivotally connected at one end to the bail and has its opposite or free end arranged to be moved from an open position outside of the bail to a closed position within the bail. A tubular foam or cylindrical sponge rubber roller is inserted on the supporting member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] This invention provides a hair curler comprising a tubular core, a foam type roller covered with a fabric that is mounted on the core, and a bail pivotally attached to the tubular core.

[0007] In its broader aspects, the invention is directed to a hair curler having a hair support made of flexible, resilient foam material having interstices which are capable of ensnaring hair therein, wherein the hair curler comprises a selected size and shape for the hair support and a flexible cover over the hair support. The cover encloses the hair support and prevents contact between hair strands and the foam material to prevent hair from becoming ensnared by the support.

[0008] In a preferred aspect of the invention, the curler is a cylindrical roller mounted on a relatively rigid core which core is attached at a first end to a bail that is pivoted over the roller. The bail releasably latches to a second end of the core to clamp strands of hair around the roller while the hair is in contact with the cover. This shields hair strands from direct contact with the material of the roller.

[0009] In still a further aspect of the invention, the cover is made from a fabric material selected from, but not limited to, the group consisting of satin, silk, rayon and polyester.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Various other features and attendant advantages of the present invention will be more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a view showing the basic design of the hair curler of this invention in its assembled state;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a side supporting member attached to a bail;

[0013] FIG. 3 is a view of a foam roller mounted over the supporting member;

[0014] FIG. 4 is a view of a fabric sleeve mounted over the foam roller;

[0015] FIG. 5 is a view of a fabric sleeve secured at one end of the foam roller;

[0016] FIG. 6 is a view of the fabric sleeve secured at the other end of the foam roller, and

[0017] FIG. 7 is a view of the hair curler with the bail in the closed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The present concept is an improvement of U.S. Pat. No. 2,937,649 issued May 24, 1960 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,880 issued Sep. 12, 1967, incorporated herein in their entirety by reference, where a foam roller is covered with a fabric thereby minimizing hair breakage. The curlers may be made in various sizes for different lengths of hair.

[0019] In another aspect of this disclosure, the foam material of the support may have shapes other than a cylinder. According to this disclosure, the support is made of resilient foam material having interstices which are incapable of ensnaring hair wherein the hair support has a selected size and, shape, and wherein the cover is a flexible cover positioned over the hair support. The cover encloses the hair support and prevents contact between hair strands and the foam material to prevent hair breakage.

[0020] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a hair curler 9 configured in accordance with the principles of the present invention wherein a roller 10 is made of foam material 12 which may be, for example, foam rubber or any other, sponge-like foam material. The foam material 12 is shown in a cut-away portion through a fabric cover 14, configured in accordance with the principles of the present invention, which encloses the roller 10. As seen in FIG. 1, the cover 14 has a first end 16 which is closed and a second end 18 which is also closed so as to substantially completely surround the foam roller 10. Preferably, the foam roller 10 is flexible and resilient and is capable of absorbing and releasing liquid. Preferably, the cover 14 is a fabric which is porous so that fluid, such as liquid, can pass therethrough.

[0021] Referring now to FIG. 2 there is shown a relatively rigid core support 20 which is received within the roller 10 and a bail 22 that is pivoted at a first end 24 of the core. Bail 22 has a latching portion 26 at one end thereof which latches with second end 28 of the core 20, as is illustrated in FIG. 7. In FIG. 3, the roller 10 is shown mounted on the core 20 without the cover 14. A gap 30 exists between a first end face 32 of the roller and the end strut 36 of the bail 22 to accommodate the cover 14 when the cover is installed.

[0022] Referring now to FIG. 4, the cover 14 is shown configured as a cylindrical member and being slid over the roller 10. In FIG. 4, a first end 40 of the cover 14 has a sleeve 41 therein that receives a strand 42 which functions as a draw string to close the end of the cover over the end face 33 of the roller 10 as is seen in FIG. 5.

[0023] Referring now to FIG. 6, after the draw string 42 has been pulled to gather the cover 14 about the end face 32 of the roller 10 to enclose the end face 32 and surround the core 20, a second strand 46 in a sleeve 46 is pulled as a draw string to close a second end 48 of the cover 14 about second end face 33 of the foam roller 10. After the second draw string 42 is pulled to close the second end 48 of the cover 14 about the roller 10, the hair curler 9 is ready to receive hair strands over the covered roller.

[0024] After rolling hair strands around the cover 14 on the roller 10, the bail 22 is pivoted from its FIG. 6 position over to its FIG. 7 position where the element 26 latches with the element 28 on the core 20 to keep the hair in contact with the cover while supported by the roller.

[0025] Cover 14 may be made of a material such as, but not limited to, satin, silk, rayon and polyester. The fabric of the cover 14 may be of strands and may be a woven material so that it is porous allowing moisture to pass therethrough. While draw strings 42 and 46 are used to close the ends of the illustrated cover 14, the cover may also be attached by using elastic strands in lue of strings. In another embodiment, the cover may be secured by adhesive at the end portions 40 and 48 thereof, or may be thermally bonded to close the end portions thereof. In still another embodiment, the cover 14 may be wrapped around the foam roller 10 and adhered along a longitudinal seam and at the ends thereof by adhesive, heat sealing, or both adhesive and heat sealing.

[0026] By covering the foam roller 10, the hair does not get ensnared in the interstices of the material comprising the roller, thus avoiding hair breakage due to the hair becoming ensnared.

[0027] From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easily ascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and without departing form the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages and conditions.

Claims

1. A hair curler having a hair support made of a flexible, resilient foam material having a construction which is capable of ensnaring hair therein, the hair curler comprising:

a selected size and shape for the hair support, and

a flexible cover on the hair support, which cover encloses the hair support and prevents contact between hair strands and the foam material to prevent hair from becoming ensnared by the hair support.

2. The hair curler of claim 1 wherein the flexible cover is made of a material selected from the group consisting of satin, silk, rayon or polyester.

3. The hair curler of claim 2 wherein the hair support is configured as a cylindrical roller.

4. The hair curler of claim 3 wherein the cylindrical roller is mounted on a core which is attached at a first end to a bail that is pivotal over the roller and releasably latches to a second end of the core to claim stands of hair around the roller while in contact with the cover, which cover shields hair strands from direct contact with the foam material of the roller.

5. The hair curler of claim 4 wherein the foam material is liquid absorbent and wherein the flexible cover is porous to allow fluid to pass therethrough.

6. The hair curler of claim 4 wherein the cover is cylindrical having at least one open end for receiving the roller therethrough and a closure for closing the open end around the core.

7. The hair curler of claim 6 wherein the closure is a drawstring disposed in the cover adjacent the at least one open end.

8. The hair curler of claim 7 wherein the cover has two open ends, each with a closure.

9. The hair curler of claim 8 wherein each closure is a drawstring.

10. The hair curler of claim 8 wherein each closure is an elastic band.

11. The hair curler of claim 4 wherein the cover is cylindrical and is secured on the roller by adhesive which closes the ends of the cover.

12. The hair curler of claim 11 wherein adhesive is used to close a longitudinal seam in the cover.

13. The hair curler of claim 4 wherein the cover is made of a thermoplastic material which is heat sealed to close ends thereof.

14. The hair curler of claim 13 wherein the cover has a longitudinal seam which is heat sealed to close the cover along the roller.