Hair Ties

Abstract

The present invention is a hair accessory having a special coil design. The hair accessory comprising a substantially circular shaped member having a plurality of coiled coil structures, each of the plurality of coiled coil structures is arranged in a way to form a closed helical loop. When the coiled coil structure is twisted and folded for holding the hair, its special structure permits it to lock with itself so that the hair accessory remains in hair even if strenuous movement is performed by the wearer. The hardness of the material results in less friction with the hair thereby allowing easy gliding during pull out of hair. The twists around the hair act as anchors thereby not allowing the hair accessory to dislodge. The constant use of the hair accessory may tend to loose its shape and it can regain its shape by placing the hair accessory in boiling water.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to hair accessories, and more particularly, to a hair accessory with a coiled structure which twist the hair around itself and securely hold the hair within in place.

DISCUSSION OF RELATED ART

A wide variety of hair accessories with various designs have been developed to fasten hair in different styles. Hair ties are useful in securing one's hair back to keep it away from the face. Hair ties are available in different forms such as slim wire-type design, a metal or plastic designs, or ties made from fabric. Hair ties for teenagers and adults are normally trendier than traditional hair ties. Hair ties are available in all possible colors with special designs that are suitable for wearing at work and some are studded with crystals to be worn for special occasions.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,947,129 issued to Bradshaw on Sep. 7, 1999 discloses a decorative hair piece made in the form of a hollow cylindrical member that allows the wearer to place the hair in the central void defined by the inner surface of the cylindrical member. A plurality of fibers attached to the outer surface of the member cascade down the gathered hair not contained in the cylinder. This hair is then smoothly disposed on the scalp of the wearer. The hair to be restrained is placed through the void cascades on top of the plurality of fibers. However the hollow cylindrical member made of knit provides more friction so that it may be difficult to glide hair out the decorative hair piece.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,003 issued to Frame on Dec. 5, 1995 discloses a hair retainer used for holding the ponytail of a user while selectively covering any desired portion of the ponytail. It includes a sleeve having a top loop, which may include a tie at one end near the head of a user to gather the hair and secure the ponytail. A bottom loop secured to gather the opposite end of the sleeve, restrains the hair of the ponytail. The bottom loop also grips the hair to position the bottom loop and set the effective length of the sleeve relative to the ponytail. The tie may be comprised of an elastic material. A plurality of gathers may be distributed around the circumference of the sleeve positioning and blousing the sleeve between gathers and between the top and bottom loops. The sleeve may assist in isolating the hair from contamination and damage in medical and industrial environments, and from interference with work by hair falling into a user's face. However the sleeve is made of elastic material which may loosen easily and lose shape when used regularly.

U.S. Pat. Application. No. 20020056467 issued to Srivastava on May 16, 2002 discloses a knot helper utilizing a sleeve open at the top end as well as the bottom end. A partially or fully exposed elastic circle is used at the top end to tighten the knot helper around the top of a wearer's ponytail. In use, the wearer encloses her ponytail into the cylindrical sleeve of the knot helper. She then secures the top end over her ponytail with the aid of an exposed elastic or other grabbing means in order to prevent the knot helper from slipping off her ponytail. Finally, she twists and wraps the knot helper along with the enclosed sleeve forming a knot or other related hair styles. The finished knot may be anchored securely by tucking the bottom end of the sleeve under the knot or by looping a circle of elastic provided at the bottom end of the sleeve around the knot. However the knot helper is limited to use by those wearers with a ponytail hair style and cannot be used for those who only want to knot a small portion of their hair.

Therefore, there is a need for a hair accessory that can be used to securely hold the hair in position while providing ease of use. The coil shaped structure of the hair accessory will provide less friction to the hair out of and into the tie. In addition, the present embodiment provides a means to retain or recapture its form when the hair accessory loosens from use by placing it in boiling water. The present invention accomplishes these objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A hair accessory having a special coil design comprising a substantially circular shaped member formed of a plurality of coiled coil structures, each of the plurality of coiled coil structures is arranged in a way to form a closed helical loop. The hair accessory is made of Thermo Poly Urethane material (TPU). The Thermo Poly Urethane (TPU) material is elastic and hard.

When the coiled coil structure is twisted and folded for holding the hair, the special structure permits it to lock with itself so that the hair accessory remains in hair even if strenuous movement is performed by the wearer. The hardness of the Thermo Poly Urethane material results in less friction with the hair thereby allowing easy gliding during pull out of hair. When tied on hair the coiled coil structure twists around the hair and securely holds the hair within place. The twists around the hair act as anchors thereby not allowing the hair accessory to dislodge. The structure of the hair accessory can hold the hair in high position without pulling down on hair. The plurality of coiled coil structures helps to tie the hair securely without losing grip therefore there is no need for the user to continually readjust the hair accessory to keep it to stay in place. The constant use of the hair accessory may tend to loose its shape and it can regain its shape by placing it in boiling water.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a hair accessory of a present embodiment, having a plurality of coiled coil structures;

FIG. 2 shows the hair accessory tied to a wearer's hair; and

FIG. 3A to 3C shows the hair accessory in use, illustrating series of way in which the hair accessory is tied to a wearer's hair.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following describes example embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. This invention, however, may be embodied in many different ways, and the description provided herein should not be construed as limiting in any way. Among other things, the following invention may be embodied as methods or devices

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patent documents, to include one or more than one. In this document, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive “or,” such that “A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unless otherwise indicated. Furthermore, all publications, patents, and patent documents referred to in this document are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, as though individually incorporated by reference. In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and those documents so incorporated by reference, the usage in the incorporated reference(s) should be considered supplementary to that of this document; for irreconcilable inconsistencies, the usage in this document controls.

FIG. 1 is a top view of a hair accessory of a present embodiment, having a plurality of coiled coil structures 10. The hair accessory 10 having a special coil design comprises a substantially circular shaped member 12 having a plurality of coiled coil structures 14, each of the plurality of coiled coil structures 14 is arranged in a way to form a closed helical loop 16. The construction of the hair accessory 10 is made by a Thermo Poly Urethane material (TPU). The Thermo Poly Urethane material (TPU) is elastic and hard. The hair accessory 10 can be manufactured utilizing an extrusion process.

FIG. 2 shows the hair accessory tied to a wearer's hair labeled as 20, When the coiled coil structure 14 is twisted and folded for holding the hair, a special structure permits it to lock with itself so that the hair accessory 10 remains in hair even if strenuous movement is performed by the wearer. The hardness of the Thermo Poly Urethane material (TPU) results in less friction with the hair thereby allowing easy gliding of hair during pull out. When tied on hair the coiled coil structure 14 twists around the hair and securely holds the hair within place. The twists around the hair act as anchors thereby not allowing the hair accessory 10 to dislodge.

FIG. 3A to 3C shows the hair accessory in use, illustrating a way in which the hair accessory is tied to a wearer's hair. FIG. 3A shows the hair accessory 10 in a stretched position 30. The plurality of coiled coil structures 14 of the hair accessory 10 is retracted in its un-stretched position as can be seen in FIG. 1. Due to the elastic nature of the TPU material or other material of the like, the user can stretch the hair accessory 10 to a considerable degree. The stretching and pulling of the hair accessory 10 can be done in such a fashion to cause the distance between each circular shaped member 12 to expand. Additionally, the stretching and pulling of the hair accessory 10 can allow the plurality of coiled coil structures 14 to twist around itself and ultimately to twist to accommodate strands of hair between each circular shaped member 12. After releasing the hair accessory 10 from its stretched position, the hair accessory will return to the original shape as shown in FIG. 1.

The stretching of the hair accessory 10 exposes an expanse 18 on the inner side of the circular shaped member as can be seen in FIG. 3B. The strands of hair typically will lay against the expanse 18. The hair accessory 10 creates an anchoring mechanism by locking the hair between each coiled coil structure 14. First, the circular shaped members 12 are stretched such that plurality of coiled coil structures 14 is separated by a greater distance. The hair is placed flat against the expanse 18 and between each coiled coil structure 14. The circular shaped members 12 are then twisted in such a fashion to cause an anchoring mechanism which locks the hair in place. Specifically, the circular shaped members 12 can be placed between the plurality of coiled coil structures 14 creating an anchoring mechanism.

FIG. 3C shows the hair accessory securely tied to a wearer's hair 50. The structure of the hair accessory 10 can hold the hair in high position without pulling down on hair. The plurality of coiled coil structures 14 helps to tie the hair securely without losing grip therefore there is no need for the user to continually readjust the hair accessory 10 to keep it to stay in place. The constant use of the hair accessory 10 may tend to loose its shape and it can regain its shape by placing in boiling water.

While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A mattress cover having an expandable means comprising:

a sidewall having the expandable means surrounding throughout the mattress cover joining a top sheet and a bottom sheet;

wherein the expandable means comprises a first fastening means disposed about a periphery of the mattress cover;

wherein a first pull tab is directly connected to the first fastening means of the expandable means, thereby providing a means to open and close the first fastening means;

wherein a first hook is directly connected to an end of the first pull tab, said hook comprising a plurality of arcuate projections that directly engage a sidewall of the mattress cover, such that the hook and first pull tab are retained in a fixed position;

an opening provided on the sidewall adjacent to the expandable means for inserting a mattress into the compartment; and

a second fastening means provided with a second hook-attached to the sidewall to close the opening for securing the mattress inserted into a compartment formed inside the mattress cover through the opening;

wherein the second hook is directly connected to an end of a second pull tab, wherein the second pull tab is directly connected to the second fastening means, and wherein said second hook comprises a plurality of arcuate projections that directly engage a sidewall of the mattress cover, such that the second hook and second pull tab are retained in a fixed position;

whereby the expandable means is continuously adjusted to form a tight fit with the thickness of the mattress inserted into the compartment and the expandable means is secured to the sidewall utilizing the first hook;

wherein the first fastening means and second fastening means are disposed in a substantially parallel relationship to one another.

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

4. The mattress cover of claim 1 wherein the compartment may be enlarged by adjusting the expandable means continuously to expand a folded portion of the sidewall for accommodating mattresses of different thicknesses.

5. (canceled)

6. (canceled)

7. The mattress cover of claim 1 wherein the first fastening means of the expandable means comprises a zipper running throughout the length of the sidewall

8. The mattress cover of claim 1 wherein the first and second hooks each comprise a pair of inwardly arcuate arms.

9-16. (canceled)

17. A method for inserting a mattress into an expandable mattress cover, the method comprising the steps of:

a) releasing a first hook, said first hook disposed at an end of a first pull tab, provided with an expandable means from a directly interlocked position with a sidewall of the expandable mattress cover, wherein said directly interlocked position further comprises the first hook directly contacting the sidewall, thereby retaining the first hook and first pull tab in a fixed position;

b) adjusting an expandable means, via a first fastening means, attached to the sidewall of the expandable mattress cover continuously throughout the length of the sidewall to expand the expandable mattress cover;

c) releasing a second hook, said second hook disposed at an end of a second pull tab, provided with a second fastening means from a directly interlocked position with the sidewall, wherein said directly interlocked position further comprises the second hook directly contacting the sidewall, thereby retaining the second hook and second pull tab in a fixed position;

d) adjusting the second fastening means to create an opening for inserting the mattress into the expandable mattress cover easily through a sliding motion;

e) sliding the mattress easily into a compartment formed inside the expandable mattress cover through the opening;

f) securing the mattress inside the expandable mattress cover by continuously adjusting the fastening means to a closed position to close the opening;

g) fixing the position of the second fastening means utilizing the second hook to engage with the sidewall;

18. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the expandable means may comprise a zipper running throughout the length of the sidewall and hiding beneath a folded portion of the sidewall.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the first fastening means and the expandable means is concealed from a user's skin to avoid the risk of scratch and other discomfort.

22. The method of claim 17 wherein the expandable means forms an interlock with the sidewall utilizing the first hook.

23. The method of claim 17 wherein the expandable means is kept at a fixed position when not in use by forming the interlock with the sidewall utilizing the first hook.

24. The method of claim 17 wherein the expandable means is pulled in a particular direction to release the interlock formed by the first hook and the sidewall.