Hair control accessory

Abstract

A hair control accessory is disclosed, comprising an elongated band of material having a slit approximately parallel to the longest dimension of the elongated band, said slit being able to accommodate at least part of a person's hair to be passed through; and a reinforcing profile affixed within the band enabling the band to achieve and maintain a variety of shapes adjacent a person's hair as manipulated by the user.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of Provisional U.S. Patent Application 60/563,092, filed Apr. 16, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a simplified and improved accessory to help a person achieve and retain an attractive “up-do” hair style by applying the accessory to normally free falling hair without requiting use of heat or special implements.

A person's hair is often a source of visual pleasure to others and a source of heat and discomfort and esthetic concern to the person him/herself. Various devices have been provided to retain one's hair away from the neck and shoulders in different shapes collectively known as up-do shapes, but such devices frequently turn out to be cumbersome, expensive, or unsightly.

P, Harvie U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,110 disclosed a hair wrap device having a flat ductile member capable of retaining its coiled shape arranged on a backing of approximately equal thickness with the side edges of the backing folded over on the side on which the metallic member is placed. The flat ductile member and folded portions of backing form a flat surface to receive a decorative cover. The device may be coiled along its length or along its width about a bundle of hair

D. Schach U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,723 disclosed a styling device comprising a generally peanut shaped outer covering of material capable of clinging to hair, an intermediate layer of resilient film attached to the outer cover along the periphery, and a deformable structure in the interior of the device capable of being bent into a variety of shapes.

J. Ripley U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,638 disclosed 3 hair accessory including first and second compressible flexible holder arms received about a bendable wire. A central joint member is located between the first and second holder arms and has a dimension at least as great as the dimension of the holder arms.

D Schach U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,631 disclosed a styling device comprising an elongated shaped outer covering, an elongated deformable structure within the interior of the device capable of being bent to form a variety of shapes, and a centrally located elongated opening within the material to expose a central region of the deformable elongated structure, the opening being adapted for partial withdrawal of the central portion of the deformable structure to permit hair to be passed through a region lying between the withdrawn portion of the deformable structure and the elongated opening.

B Hansbury U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,672 disclosed a length of sheet material for use as a hair decorative having a pocket in which a ductile wire with fiber covering is secured. A gripping member is attached medially for gripping a hair bundle. The device is wrapped about the hair bundle and secured thereto with a twist of the device ends.

The shopping website http://www.asseenontv.com/ features an item called Hairagami illustrated by two snap-action strips joined at one end and by a picture of the item used to hold hair in a ponytail.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a hair control accessory comprising an elongated band of material having a slit approximately parallel to the longest dimension of the elongated band, said slit being able to accommodate at least part of a person's hair to be passed through; and a reinforcing profile affixed within the band enabling the band to achieve and maintain a variety of shapes adjacent a person's hair as manipulated by the user.

The material of the band can be woven fabric, a non-woven fabric, or a plastic film, preferably a woven fabric of natural and/or synthetic fiber such as cotton, nylon, polyester, spandex, wool, and blends thereof. Without the reinforcement, the material is flexible enough to take any desired shape but is not able to hold that shape.

The reinforcement is sufficiently flexible to be bent by hand into any desired shape and firm enough to hold that shape. The reinforcement can be a wire or strip having round, elliptical square or rectangular cross-section, wires used in ladies' undergarments and strips as found in men's shirt collars being illustrative of the requisite characteristics.

The reinforcement is affixed to the elongated band so as to avoid contact with the user's hair or skin, preferably by being entirely surrounded by the material of the elongated band. Thus, a reinforcement can be placed between two pieces of band material and affixed in place by glue or stitching; the two pieces can be initially separate, or can be the edge and main body of a single sheet folded over the reinforcement and fixed in place.

The reinforcement is preferably placed near the edge of the material and preferably follows the contour of the material in an approximately parallel path.

The slit can be placed anywhere within the elongated band, preferably near the midline thereof. The slit can be a simple scissor cut or somewhat broader. To adapt to persons with sparser than average or fuller than average heads of hair, the length of the slit can range from as little as 20% to as much as 80% of the longest dimension of the elongated band. To keep the fibers exposed at the slit from fraying, the slit can be finished by stitching or with a length of piping around the edge. Such piping can have a rough texture to provide additional grip for holding the hair in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In each of the drawings described, elements common to more than one figure bear the same reference number at each occurrence.

FIG. 1a is a top view from the interior of an accessory according to the invention showing the reinforcement affixed between two pieces of fabric by a row of stitches on either side of the reinforcement.

FIG. 1b is a top view from the interior of an accessory similar to that of FIG. 1a but also including an applied finish surrounding the slit.

FIG. 1c is a diagrammatic view of an applied finish as shown in FIG. 1b

FIG. 1d shows a vertical cross-section through the device shown in FIG. 1b along the lines 1f-1f.

FIG. 1e is a top interior view of the device of FIG. 1b

FIG. 1f is a vertical cross-section view of an accessory according to the invention showing the folding of the fabric of the elongated band around the reinforcement.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As seen in FIG. 1a, a hair accessory 10 according to the invention comprises an elongated band 11 of approximately rectangular shape with the outer edge 12 and the inner edge 13 rounded to avoid sharp corners. The band includes two pieces of fabric of substantially identical size and shape positioned above and below a wire 16 serving as reinforcement. A reinforcement chamber 15 surrounding the wire is defined by two substantially parallel rows of stitching, one inward of the wire 16 and one between the wire 16 and the outer edge 12. The inner edge 13 of the elongated band surrounds a slit 14 whose dimensions are chosen so as to accommodate greater or lesser amounts of the wearer's hair as desired.

As shown in FIG. 1b, the hair accessory 10 according to the invention of FIG. 1a can be modified by the added optional applied finish 17 surrounding slit 14. The applied finish can be a piece of rubbery material, a line of soft plastic welting following the outline of slit 14, or a combination of these. The texture of the applied finish is such as to provide excellent grip to the hair passed through the slit. This can be accomplished, for example, by a somewhat irregular or nubby shape of the applied finish, as well as by having the composition of the rubber or plastic enhance its gripping quality. Suitable compositions are known in the art and commercially available.

One form of applied finish 17 is shown in FIG. 1c as viewed from the interior of the hair accessory. As shown in FIG. 1e, in a hair accessory according to the invention such as that of FIG. 1b some of the features seen in the interior view of FIG. 1b are not visible when the same item is viewed from the outside. Hence the reinforcement wire 16, the reinforcement chamber 15 and slit 14 are not shown in this view.

It should be noted that the vertical line labeled 1f at the top and bottom is an imaginary line drawn to identify the location of the vertical cross section through a hair accessory according to the invention such as those shown in FIGS. 1a, 1b, and 1e that are shown in FIGS. 1d and 1f respectively.

In FIG. 1d representing a vertical cross-section through the hair accessory of FIG. 1b along the imaginary line 1f-1f, there are seen from left to right the outer edge 12 of the elongated band 11, the reinforcement chamber 15 surrounding reinforcement wire 16, the continuing expanse of the elongated band 11 reaching the slit 14 covered by applied finish 17 and continuing to the right the same elements again in the reverse order.

In FIG. 1f there is shown a vertical cross section of a further preferred embodiment of the hair accessory according to the invention, in which the reinforcement wire 16 is disposed between two folds of the elongated band instead of a reinforcement chamber defined by stitching.

It should be reiterated that the applied finish 17 is an optional element. Thus a vertical cross section through a hair accessory without an applied finish, such as that shown in FIG. 1a, would show slit 14 as a gap in the middle of a drawing otherwise similar to FIGS. 1d and 1f respectively.

The hair accessory according to the invention can be used, for example to put up the wearer's hair in a so-called twisted bun, by parting a very small top section of hair, pulling it through the slit 14 in the elongated bald, and then twisting it upwards twice; then the hair is pulled straight up and rolled up, not under. Throwing the head forward, the wearer then gathers the remaining hair and wraps the two ends of the elongated band around, crossing and twisting them securely.

To put the hair up in a so-called French Twist, the wearer makes a high ponytail and puts the hair through the slit 14. Then the accessory is positioned about half way up the length of the hair, and the hair is wound all the way under until it cannot be wound any more. The accessory is then turned sideways, and the ends are turned in the opposite direction of the twist to hold it in place.

Claims

1. A hair control accessory comprising

an elongated band of material having a slit approximately parallel to the longest dimension of the elongated band, said slit being able to accommodate at least part of a person's hair to be passed through; and a reinforcing profile affixed within the band enabling the band to achieve and maintain a variety of shapes adjacent said person's hair.

2. The hair control accessory of claim 1, wherein the material of said band is selected from the group consisting of woven fabric, non-woven fabric, and plastic.

3. The hair control accessory of claim 1, wherein said reinforcing g profile is a wire.

4. The hair control accessory of claim 1, wherein said reinforcing profile is disposed within said band material.

5. The hair control accessory of claim 1, wherein said reinforcing profile is disposed so as to follow the contour of said band.

6. The hair control accessory of claim 1, wherein the length of said slit is in the range of 20% to 80% inclusive, of the longest dimension of said band.

7. The hair control accessory of claim 1, wherein said slit is finished by stitching.

8. The hair control accessory of claim 1, wherein said slit is finished with piping.

9. A method of shaping a person's hair, wherein a portion of the person's hair is pulled through a slit in the elongated band of a hair control accessory of claim 1.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the hair is shaped as a twisted bun.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the hair is shaped as a French Twist.