DEVICE TO HOLD THE HAIR
A hair-holding device has a comb-like element having a base supporting a plurality of teeth lying in a plane. The base has first and second mutually-exclusive orientations in the plane and can be transformed between the first orientation in which the distal ends of adjacent teeth are spaced apart from each other and the second orientation in the plane in which the distal ends of adjacent teeth are brought towards each other. The combination of an operating handle exterior to the base and a curved rod the base allow the to be is able to be retained in a chosen one of the orientations and to be transformed by the user between the alternative first and second orientations.
The present invention is directed to a new and improved device to hold the hair in the form of a comb or toothed barrette. The present application claims the benefit of provisional application 61/321,227 filed Apr. 6, 2010.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONConventional combs to hold the hair or to maintain an ornament in the hair often suffer from deficiencies in that they must, on the one hand, be easily insertable into the hair and, on the other hand, must be capable of firmly gripping the hair when in place. The invention set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,050,272 and 6,318,379 to the present inventor addresses those issues by providing a comb-like device having a curved base from which an array of comb teeth extend. The base is transformable between curved orientations, either concave or convex, with respect to the teeth. In the convex orientation, the teeth ends are separated, allowing the comb to be easily inserted into the hair, while in the concave orientation with respect to the teeth, the teeth ends are drawn together causing the teeth to strongly grip the hair.
A deficiency with the foregoing invention, however, is that the comb base must be transformed between the concave and convex positions manually by the user, who grips the base and performs a twisting-type maneuver. It has been found that such action can be difficult to perform, particularly when the comb is in place on the hair.
It is accordingly the purpose of the present invention to provide a hair-holding device of the type set forth in the '272 and '379 patents that facilitates the operation of the device. A further purpose of the present invention is to provide a hair-holding device of the aforementioned type that has enhanced provision for the affixation of decorative matter to the comb. Yet a further purpose of the present invention is to provide an improvement to such devices, which is of economical and efficient manufacture and construction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with the foregoing, the present invention comprises a comb having a base transformable between alternative positions, which may be convex and concave, with respect to a series of projecting teeth, thus defining alternative open and closed orientations for the teeth. A substantially rigid curved member extends within the base, the base conforming to the shape and orientation of the rigid member, which is rotatable. The rigid member has a portion extending exteriorly of the base serving as a handle for the member whereby the user may grip the handle and rotate the member to open and close the teeth, as required. The handle may take any of a variety of shapes, and may further serve as a means of adornment as well as a member to which additional adornments, such as beads, ribbons, medallions or the like can be fastened.
A fuller understanding of the present invention will be achieved upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred but nonetheless illustrative embodiments of the invention, when reviewed in connection with the annexed drawings wherein:
With initial references to
Rod 16 lies within channel 18 in the base and is curved along its length, with sufficient rigidity to cause the base 14 to conform to its curvature. The rod is further mounted within the comb in a manner that permits it to rotate about its ends such that its opposed concave and convex sides can alternatively face the teeth of the comb. The material for the rod is preferably spring steel, which can maintain its curvature while providing sufficient flex and resiliency to permit it to rotate upon the application of an exterior force by the user. As the barrette assumes a curved orientation as dictated by the curve of the rod, when an appropriate distorting force is applied to the barrette, such as by pushing or flexing the ends of the barrette sideways with respect to the central section of the barrette, the rod rotates or flips about its ends such that its curvature is in the opposite sense. Thus, the orientation of the barrette or comb can be changed from that of
As may be appreciated, as rod 16 is typically substantially buried within the barrette base, the distorting force to change the orientation of the rod must be applied to the barrette base. This is often difficult to do successfully, particularly when the barrette is placed in the hair and is desired to remain in the chosen position when it is being “locked” in place.
With references to
With the rod in position in the comb and the barrette body 20 held in position, the rod 26 may be grasped at the exposed portion 32 as a handle and rotated with respect to the barrette body to change the relative orientation of the inserted part of the rod with respect to the teeth from a first orientation where the distal ends of the teeth are apart, such as the convex to the teeth position depicted in
While it is contemplated that the rod will often define a substantially closed loop, the exterior portion 32 of the rod 26 need not have any particular shape, so long as the rod includes a portion exterior to the comb body at an angle or orientation sufficient to allow it to be gripped, held or contacted as a handle to apply a torque substantially about the longitudinal axis or length of the comb to rotate the interior portion of the rod with respect to the comb body, while the portion or portions of the rod within the comb or barrette body is/are curved to effect the desired transformation of the comb. As depicted, for example, in
In addition, it is not necessary that the ends of the rod, if present and exposed, be in close proximity to each other, so long as an exposed portion 32 of the rod is sufficiently long to be engaged by the user and serve as the handle.
Still further, it is not necessary that the rod be formed of a single unitary element.
Further, by “curved” it is meant that the rod portion or portions within the barrette body do not lie along a straight line. The rod portions may be smoothly arcuate, as depicted in
Claims
1. A device for holding the hair, comprising a comb-like element having a base supporting a plurality of teeth lying in a plane, the base having first and second mutually-exclusive orientations in the plane and being transformable between the first orientation in which the distal ends of adjacent teeth are spaced apart from each other and the second orientation in the plane in which the distal ends of adjacent teeth are brought towards each other; and
- means for retaining the base in a chosen one of, and transforming the base between, alternative ones of said first and second orientations, said means having a operating handle portion exterior to the base and curved rod means coupled to the handle portion extending longitudinally along said base.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the curved rod means comprise first and second rod portions, the first rod portion being coupled to a first end of the handle portion and the second rod portion being coupled to a second end of the handle portion.
3. The device of claim 1, wherein the rod means is curved, the curve lying substantially along the plane when the base is at least one of the first and second orientations.
4. The device of claim 2, wherein the first and second rod portions are at an obtuse angle to each other in the plane.
5. The device of claim 4 wherein the first and second rod portions are of substantially equal length and together extend substantially along a full length of the base.
6. The device of claim 2, wherein said base includes a longitudinal bore, said rod means being located within said bore.
7. The device of claim 1, wherein said second orientation of said base is an orientation wherein a side of said base supporting said teeth assumes a concave orientation with respect to the teeth.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein the handle and the rod means are formed of a continuous element.
9. The device of claim 1 wherein the handle and rod means lie in a same plane.
10. A device for holding the hair, comprising a handle engaging at least one end of the rod to rotate the rod means about the bearing means between the opposed final orientations.
- a comb-like element having a flexible base supporting a plurality of hair-engaging teeth lying in a flat plane having free ends along a side thereof;
- curved rod means having first and second ends;
- bearing means associated with the base for supporting the rod and for allowing the rod means to rotate between opposed final orientations to alternatively place the teeth side of the base into alternative orientations within the flat plane; and
11. The device of claim 10 wherein said bearing means comprise a longitudinally extending bore in said base.
12. The device of claim 10 wherein said rod and handle is of a continuous length of spring steel.
13. The device of claim 10 wherein said teeth are mounted to said base whereby the teeth side of the base is in a convex curved orientation when the teeth are parallel to each other.
15. The device of claim 10 wherein said teeth are mounted to said base whereby the teeth side of the base is in the concave curved orientation when the free ends of the teeth are directed towards each other.
16. The device of claim 10 wherein said teeth are mounted to said base whereby the teeth side of the base is in a convex curved orientation when the teeth are in an orientation to facilitate the passage of hair therebetween.
17. The device of claim 10 wherein said teeth are mounted to said base whereby the teeth side of the base is in a concave curved orientation when the free ends of the teeth are in an orientation to grip hair located therebetween.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 16, 2011
Publication Date: Oct 6, 2011
Inventor: Michel DROIN (Romaneche-Thorins)
Application Number: 13/049,217