This application is preceded by Provisional Patent Application No. 61/004,032.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION Few changes have been made to the traditional plastic hair roller since it was first developed decades ago. The difference that the “Layer It Dry Roller” offers from the traditional roller is that it contains several rollers intertwined within one (see FIG. 9). This multi-tiered roller allows the curl to be divided into layers which enables the air to penetrate the hair more efficiently. The air is allowed to travel through the inside and the outside of the curl at the same time rather than solely blowing on the outside of the hair working its way to the inside. The product found to be the most similar to the “Layer It Dry Roller” was the Self Winding Curler (U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,829) patented in 1971. The Objective of this roller was to achieve superior body in the client's hair and to produce different curl effects in the hair. However, prior attempts at achieving a successful layered roller in the past have failed for the following reasons:
- 1) The design of the legs or projections between each roller revolution (FIG. 1) would cause impressions in the hair. Since flexibility in the material was important, several legs or projections were needed to try to prevent the material from dimpling and buckling.
- 2) The roundness in the curl was achieved by starting with a rigid core roller and wrapping extended material around this core. This requires all of the layers to lie on top of each other rather than creating open space between each layer.
- 3) The multiple projections acted as a slight obstacle to air penetration.
- 4) Once the flexible material was rolled, it tended to retain its curled shape making its re-use impractical.
- 5) Roller does not roll tightly against the scalp allowing for greater tension at the roots. This will create problems for individuals with kinky or wavy hair.
The “Layer It Dry Roller” solves these problems in several ways. First the roller is not made of flexible material. It is made of the same rigid plastic used to make the traditional roller. The roller is able to create multiple intertwined layers by connecting various plastic arches together (see FIG. 1) of varying sizes. The edges of the arches must line up evenly so that the connections create one smooth revolution (see FIG. 9). Once the end clip (see FIG. 6) is removed from the roller, all of the arches easily unravel which makes re-use very simple and practical (see FIG. 10). There is only one small leg on each side of the arch to hold the spaces between the rollers. These legs are located at the far edges of the roller and will not imprint the hair or obstruct the air flow. Finally, this roller has been designed with characteristics very similar to the traditional roller and works practically the same way. The standard metal clip pin can be used with this roller which will hold it tightly against the scalp and increase the tension on the curl. Projections or legs do not get in the way of using the metal clip pin.
LIST OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1—single roller arch
FIG. 2—reinforced corners of the arch
FIG. 3—hooks
FIG. 4—hook and loop attached
FIG. 5—smallest arch (has snap cover)
FIG. 6—end clip
FIG. 7—end clip locked in place
FIG. 8—connected roller
FIG. 9—rolled up hair roller
FIG. 10—unrolled hair roller
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ROLLER The “Layer It Dry Roller” is comprised of several rigid arches connected together via hooks and loops to create one multi-tiered hair roller (FIG. 1). These arches come in multiple sizes, one increasingly bigger than the next. Underneath each of the four corners of the arches are hanging triangular extensions (FIG. 2). The purpose of these reinforced corners is to ensure that each roller is forced to stop at 180° when folded against the other rollers. The hanging extension of one roller meets up against the hanging extension of the other roller preventing the rollers from folding any further (FIG. 8). This, in essence, creates a smooth and perfectly round curl in the hair. Without this mechanism, the arches will bend into undesirable shapes. The hanging extensions can be placed anywhere along the ends of the roller, not just on the outer edges. Also, several holes have been placed on the roller arches to create additional air flow to the hair (FIG. 1). These holes allow air to flow through the top and the bottom of the hair strands. Hooks and loops have been created to enable the arches to connect together (FIGS. 3 and 4). These hooks and loops have been placed on the outer edges of each arch. This part of the roller can be created in numerous ways, however, these hooks and loops have been created to perform a dual function. Not only have they been designed to connect the rollers together, but they also help keep space between each layer of the roller. As bigger arches are wrapped over the smaller arches, the hooks and loops holds these arches open at a specific distance. One additional mechanism created to help keep space between each layer is a projection placed at the outer edges of both sides of the arch. This projection is referred to as a “leg” and it is placed directly at the center point of each arch (FIG. 1). The first two arches in the roller set fit together very snugly to create a base roller on which to build. The very first arch has a cover that snaps in place and holds the initial ends of the hair in place (FIG. 5). This prevents the hair from sliding off the roller as the hair is rolled. Finally, an end clip has been created to hold the roller in place once it has been rolled (FIGS. 6 and 7). This will prevent the roller from unraveling.
All of the parts must be measured precisely to ensure that the edges of arches meet together perfectly to create one smooth round revolution (FIG. 8). This, in turn, will create a smooth round curl.
