HAIRPIECE
A hairpiece including a base having a first pair of elastic loops connected to one edge of the base at opposing corners, a second pair of elastic loops connected to an opposite edge of the base at opposing corners, and a bottom elastic loop connected to a bottom edge of the base. Hair is woven into the base. The first and second pairs of loops and the bottom loop of the hairpiece are sized and shaped for attachment to and removal from a hair accessory, such as a hair comb clip. The first and second pairs of loops wrap around the teeth of the clip, and the bottom loop wraps around the handles of the clip. The hair of the hairpiece extends away from the clip and may be styled by the user.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/309,256, filed Mar. 1, 2010, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThe invention relates to hairpieces and, more particularly, to hairpieces that attach to hair accessories, such as hair comb clips and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHairpieces are well known in the art and are typically used to add visual appeal to one's hairstyle. When a person uses a hair comb clip to lift her hair up and away from her shoulders as part of a hairstyle, it is desirable to have a portion of the hair protrude from the hair comb clip to give the hairstyle added visual appeal. However, many users do not have hair of their own long enough to provide such visual appeal when employing a hair comb clip. In such circumstances, hairpieces can be used to provide visual appeal to those with shorter hair.
Most hairpieces are woven into the user's own hair, giving the hair within the hairpiece the appearance that the hair of the hairpiece is the same hair that grows out of the user's head. However, the process of weaving a hairpiece into a user's hair is arduous, time consuming, and often requires the service of a professional. Further, because such a hairpiece is woven into the user's hair, it cannot be easily removed by the user and typically remains within the user's hair until the user wants to have the hairpiece permanently removed. As such, the choice as to whether to employ a hairpiece in one's hair is difficult, as there is a certain level of permanence in using such a hairpiece.
Thus, there exists a need for a hairpiece that can be readily incorporated in and removed from a user's hair at the user's election. Further, there exists a need for a hairpiece that can be incorporated in a user's hair through ordinary means and used with ordinary hair accessories.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to a hairpiece comprising a base having a first pair of elastic loops connected to one edge of the base at opposing corners, a second pair of elastic loops connected to an opposite edge of the base at opposing corners, and a bottom elastic loop connected to a bottom edge of the base. In an embodiment, the first pair of loops are smaller in size compared to the second pair of loops, and the bottom loop is larger than any of the loops in the first or second pairs of loops. Hair is woven into the base.
In an embodiment, the hairpiece is used with a hair comb clip having a plurality of teeth and a pair of handles. When the hairpiece is in use, the first and second pairs of loops wrap around the teeth of the hair comb clip, and the bottom loop wraps around the handles of the hair comb clip. The first and second pairs of loops and the bottom loop of the hairpiece are sized and shaped to facilitate attachment to and removal from any size hair comb clip found in the market today. The hair of the hairpiece extends away from the hair comb clip and may be styled by the user. The hairpiece in conjunction with the hair comb clip may then be clipped to a user's hair to provide visual appeal to the user's hairstyle.
The hairpiece may also be used with other accessories, such as small flat combs, hairpins or bobby-pins, or as part of a modified baseball cap, in order to give added visual appeal to one's hair style. The hairpiece may also be used by itself as a pony tail holder.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description of the invention considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
In an embodiment, the base 12 is formed by sewing wefts of the hair (e.g., fiber or otherwise) together in a honeycomb or a diamond pattern 22, and then attaching a border 24 to the edges of the pattern 22 to form the desired shape of the base 12. The pattern 22 is created from wefts of the hair 20 using sewing methods well known in the art of making hairpieces. The border 24 also provides a stable surface where the loops 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B and 18 can be connected to the base 12. In other embodiments, the base 12 is made of synthetic polyester fabric, cotton fabric, or other types of fabric, and wefts of hair can be sewn across it. In another embodiment, the hair 20 can be directly hand-tied onto the base 12.
The loops 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B, and 18 are made of elastic string material. However, it is understood that the loops 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B and 18 can be made from other elastic materials without departing from the present invention. The loops 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B, and 18 are connected to the base 12 by stitching, but they may also be connected to the base 12 through alternative means, such as glue or other types of adhesive. The loops 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B are sized and shaped to fit around the individual teeth of a hair comb clip, as discussed below. In an embodiment, each loop of the first pair loops 15A, 15B is smaller in diameter than that of each loop in the second pair of loops 16A, 16B. In another embodiment, each of the first pair of loops 15A, 15B has a diameter that is identical to each of the diameters of the second pair of loops 16A, 16B, all being sized to fit around the individual teeth of a hair comb clip. In an embodiment, the bottom loop 18 is larger than the first and second pairs of loops 15A, 15B, 16A, 16B. The bottom loop 18 is sized to fit around the handles of a hair comb clip in a stretched state, as discussed below. Further, while the hairpiece 10 shown in
The hair 20 may include human hair, but it is understood that other types of hair, including synthetic hair, may be used with the present invention. Further, while the hair 20 flows upward and away from the bottom edge 17, it is noted that alternative embodiments of the present invention may have the hair 20 flowing in other directions relative to the base 12 and the bottom edge 17 without departing from the present invention.
Reference is made to
Still referring to
Another embodiment of the present invention involves incorporating the hairpiece 10 shown in
It will be understood that the embodiments described herein are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A hairpiece, comprising:
- a flexible base having a border defining a first edge, a second edge opposite said first edge, a top edge intermediate said first edge and said second edge, and a bottom edge intermediate said first edge and said second edge and opposite said top edge, and a pattern of inter-connected wefts of hair, said border being attached to and surrounding a periphery of said pattern of inter-connected wefts of hair;
- at least one first side loop attached to said first edge of said base at said border, said at least one first side loop being made from an elastic string material and being sized and shaped to engage a first portion of a hair accessory;
- at least one second side loop attached to said second edge of said base at said border, said at least one second side loop being made from an elastic string material and being sized and shaped to engage a second portion of the hair accessory, said at least one second loop having a diameter larger than that of said at least one first loop;
- a bottom loop attached to said bottom edge of said base at said border, said bottom loop being made from an elastic string material and being sized and shaped to engage a third portion of the hair accessory, said bottom loop having a diameter larger than those of said at least one first loop and said at least one second loop; and
- a plurality of hair attached to and extending from said base.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 28, 2011
Publication Date: Sep 1, 2011
Inventor: Robert A. Anzivino (Edison, NJ)
Application Number: 13/036,524