HAIR ACCESSORY AND METHOD OF USE

A hair accessory for integration with a person's head of hair is described in this disclosure. The hair accessory illustratively includes a plurality of supplemental hairs, an attachment band that provides means for removably coupling the plurality of supplemental hairs to natural hairs included in the person's head of hair, and an outer strip coupled to the attachment band to cover at least a portion of the coupling means. The attachment band is illustratively flexible and couples to natural hairs included in the person's head of hair mechanically.

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Description
PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/614,735, filed Jan. 8, 2018 and to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/693,158, filed Jul. 2, 2018, both of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

Hair accessories are used to add ornamentation to a person's natural head of hair for cosmetic and style reasons. These accessories include an outer strip formed from a variety of materials to adorn the person's head of natural hair. The outer strip is integrated into the person's natural head of hair using one of a number of methods. However, many of these accessories and methods can be costly and/or damaging to a person's natural head of hair. Furthermore, many of the accessories and methods leave the wearer with an unnatural look to his/her/their hairstyle.

SUMMARY

A hair accessory for integration with a person's head of hair is described in this disclosure. The hair accessory includes an attachment means for to a person's head of natural hairs and an outer strip for covering at least a portion of the attachment means. The outer strip is generally ornamental and can block the attachment means from direct view.

In illustrative embodiments, the hair accessory includes a plurality of supplemental hairs that are coupled to the person's head of hair by the attachment means. The combination of the attachment means and the supplemental hairs provide a hair extension in certain embodiments.

In illustrative embodiments, the attachment means includes an attachment band which provides a means for removably coupling the supplemental hairs to natural hairs included in the person's head of hair. The attachment band is flexible and couples to natural hairs included in the person's head of hair in response to pressing and sliding a finger along the attachment band when a person's natural hair is received in the attachment band.

In illustrative embodiments, the outer strip includes a piece of jewelry that extends over at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band. The piece of jewelry thus hides the mechanical attachment and can provide a textured background from which the supplemental hairs emanate.

In illustrative embodiments, the piece of jewelry includes a plurality of authentic gemstones, a plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof. In such embodiments, some of the plurality of authentic gemstones, the plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof are suspended from the attachment band by a plurality of hangers such that at least some of the plurality of authentic gemstones, the plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof are spaced apart from the attachment band.

In illustrative embodiments, the outer strip further includes a piece of jewelry coupled to an outwardly facing surface of the mesh sheet and configured to cover at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface of the mesh sheet and the attachment ends of the plurality of supplemental hairs.

Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear elevation view of a person's head of natural hair and a hair accessory with a mechanical attachment in a partially open position showing that the hair accessory includes supplemental hairs, an attachment band for coupling the supplemental hairs to a person's head of natural hair, and an outer strip coupled an outer surface of the attachment band to block at least a portion of the attachment band and showing that outer cover includes a piece of jewelry;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the person's head of natural hair and the hair accessory of FIG. 1 showing the attachment band in a closed position after the hair accessory has been attached to a person's head of natural hair and showing that the outer strip further includes a mesh sheet coupled to the outer surface of the attachment band and the piece of jewelry;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hair accessory of FIGS. 1-2 showing that the hair accessory includes supplemental hairs and a flexible attachment band for coupling the attachment band to natural hairs in a person's head of hair, the attachment band including fasteners configured to clamp the hairs in the person's head of hair and to retain the attachment band in a closed position;

FIG. 4 an exploded assembly view of the hair accessory of FIGS. 1-3 showing that the hair accessory includes, from top to bottom, the attachment band, the mesh sheet, the plurality of supplemental hairs, and the piece of jewelry and showing that the attachment band includes a connector strip adapted to receive natural hairs from a person, an engagement strip adapted to engage natural hairs received in the connector strip and to lock in a closed position relative to the connector strip, and a tether or elbow that extends from the connector strip to the clamp strip and showing that the fasteners of the attachment band are made of lock teeth and catches;

FIG. 5 is a detail perspective view of a lock tooth included in the connector strip showing that each lock tooth is formed to include hair-receiving channels sized to receive natural hairs from the person's head of hair when then attachment band is coupled to the person's head of hair;

FIG. 6 is a detail perspective view of catches included in the engagement strip showing that the catches each include a plurality of catch posts arranged around the plurality of apertures in the attachment band and arranged to receive and retain a lock tooth therebetween;

FIG. 7 is a partially-diagrammatic rear perspective view of the hair accessory of FIGS. 1-6 showing apertures formed in the connector strip to receive teeth formed by the connector strip as further shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a rear elevation view of a second hair accessory design similar to the hair accessory of FIGS. 1-7 showing that the attachment band of the second design includes a flexible connector strip that is separate from the flexible engagement strip and showing that the connector strip and the flexible engagement strip are arcuate shaped and longer than the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8 to conform to the back of a person's head;

FIG. 9 is a rear elevation view of the person's head of natural hair and a third embodiment of the hair accessory of FIG. 1 showing the attachment band in a closed position after the hair accessory has been attached to a person's head of natural hair and showing that the outer strip further includes a material coupled to the outer surface of the attachment band, the material formed to include a snake skin design;

FIG. 10 is a rear elevation view of the person's head of natural hair and a fifth embodiment of the hair accessory of FIG. 1 showing the attachment band in a closed position after the hair accessory has been attached to a person's head of natural hair and showing that the outer strip further includes a material coupled to the outer surface of the attachment band, the material formed to include a tiger stripe design;

FIG. 11 is a rear elevation view of the person's head of natural hair and a fourth embodiment of the hair accessory of FIG. 1 showing the attachment band in a closed position after the hair accessory has been attached to a person's head of natural hair and showing that the outer strip further includes a material coupled to the outer surface of the attachment band, the material formed to include a plurality of feathers.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A hair accessory 10 according to the present disclosure is adapted to be integrated into a person's natural hair 16 included in in a person's head of hair 18 to add ornamentation, length, and/or fullness to the person's natural hair 16 as suggested in FIGS. 1 and 2. Hair accessory 10 includes supplemental hairs 12, attachment band 14, and an outer strip 15. Supplemental hairs 12 may be natural human hairs, synthetic hairs, or other suitable materials to be integrated into natural hairs for cosmetic reasons. Attachment band 14 is configured to couple plurality of supplemental hairs 12 to plurality of natural hairs 16 included in a person's head of hair 18 mechanically without the use of adhesives. Outer strip 15 is coupled to the outer surface 19 of the attachment band 14 and includes a mesh sheet 20 and a piece of jewelry 17. Supplemental hairs 12 are coupled to the outer surface 19 of attachment band 14 by a mesh sheet 20. Piece of jewelry 17 is coupled to the mesh sheet 20 and the outer surface 19 of the attachment band 14 such that the piece of jewelry 17 covers at least a portion of the mesh sheet 20.

Illustratively, plurality of hairs 12 coupled to mesh sheet 20 include an attachment end 21 at which hairs 12 are coupled to the mesh sheet 20 and a free end 23 spaced apart from and extending away from mesh sheet 20. The hairs 12 further include a plurality of relatively long supplemental hairs 24 extending downwardly away from the attachment band 14 and a plurality of relatively short supplemental hairs 26 extending upwardly away from the attachment band 14, as shown in FIGS. 1-4. In some embodiments, the plurality of hairs 12 coupled to mesh sheet 20 may include only the plurality of long supplemental hairs 24.

Attachment band 14 is illustratively flexible so to conform to the underlying shape of the person's head of hair 18 when coupled to the person's natural hairs 16 as suggested in FIGS. 1 and 2. Attachment band 14 is illustratively positioned in the person's head of hair 18 such that connector strip 38 of the hair accessory 10 is placed behind the section natural hair 12 and below a part 100 formed in the person's hair 16. An upper edge 50 of the connector strip 38 is positioned adjacent to and below part 100. Further, attachment band 14 is a monolithic, one-piece component and is formed to include a flexible connector strip 38, a flexible engagement strip 40, and a flexible tether or elbow 54 interconnecting the strips 38, 40 as shown best in FIG. 4. Attachment band 14 is moved from an opened position (FIG. 1) to a closed position (FIG. 2) by a user sliding a finger along the attachment band 14 while a section of natural hairs 16 is positioned between connector strip 38 and engagement strip 40 thereby causing the section of natural hairs 16 to be clamped in place and attachment band 14 to be locked in the closed position.

The flexibility of the attachment band 14 allows for individual elements (clamps/locks) of the clamp mechanism 30 and the band lock mechanism 34 to close in sequence in response to a user sliding a finger along attachment band 14, as discussed above. Illustratively, the attachment band 14 is closed by the user while the section of natural hairs 16 are positioned between connector strip 38 and engagement strip 40, as suggested in FIG. 1. Accordingly, attachment band 14 provides an attachment means for coupling hair accessory 10 to a section of natural hairs 16 of a person's head 18 so that the plurality of supplemental hairs 12 included in hair accessory 10 are removably coupled to natural hairs 16.

The outer strip 15 extends over the outer surface 19 of the attachment band 14 so that at least a portion of the outer surface 19 is blocked by the outer strip 15. Illustratively, the outer strip 15 includes a mesh sheet 20 coupled to plurality of supplemental hairs 12 and a piece of jewelry 17 coupled to the mesh sheet 20. Mesh sheet 20 extends over the outer surface 19 of attachment band 14 such that free ends 23 of supplemental hairs 12 extend away from mesh sheet 20 thereby creating a natural look as suggested in FIGS. 1 and 2. Piece of jewelry 17 is sized to extend a length of the outer surface 19 such that mesh sheet 20 and attachment end 21 of supplemental hairs 12 are hidden from view.

Mesh sheet 20 may be made from French lace, Swiss lace, Korean Swiss lace, or plastic grid, or other suitable materials. Mesh sheet 20 is formed to include apertures 28 configured to receive attachment ends 21 of the supplemental hairs 12. In some embodiments, the supplemental hairs 12 are fixed to the mesh sheet 20. Illustratively, supplemental hairs 12 are thread through apertures 28 and secured to the mesh sheet 20 by a closing mechanism. The closing mechanism may include knotting, gluing, sealing the supplemental hair 12 with a sealant, or some combination thereof so to secure supplemental hairs 12 to mesh sheet 20. In other embodiments, the supplemental hairs 12 may be secured directly to the attachment band 14 via an adhesive.

Jewelry 17 may include a plurality of authentic gemstones, a plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof as shown in FIG. 2. Illustratively, jewelry 17 includes a body 25. Jewelry 17 illustratively also includes at least one extension 27 extending away from body 25. Further, body 25 and extension 27 may be formed from the same materials or different materials. The different materials may include a plurality of feathers, leather, or other materials known in the art. Illustratively, body 25 is sized to extend the length of mesh sheet 20 and is configured to block attachment band 14, attachment end of 21 of supplemental hairs 12, and mesh sheet 20. Extension 27 includes at least one of hanger 29 coupled to the body 25 and a suspended plurality of authentic gemstones, a suspended plurality of costume gemstones, or a suspended combination 31 thereof coupled to the attachment band 14. Extension 27 includes a first end 33 coupled to hanger 29 and a second end 35 spaced apart from first end 33 and extending away from hanger 29. As such, at least some of the suspended plurality of authentic gemstones, suspended plurality of costume gemstones, or suspended combination thereof 31 are spaced apart from attachment band 14.

Jewelry 17 is configured to integrate into the person's natural hair 16 such that jewelry 17 is visible and mesh sheet 20 and attachment end 21 of the supplemental hairs 12 are blocked from view. This allows the user to wear the hair accessory 10 without fear of exposure of the mesh sheet 20 or supplemental hairs 12 as well as provides a natural look for the user. The natural look is achieved by the interaction of outer surface 19 of the attachment band 14, mesh sheet 20, attachment ends 21 of supplemental hairs 12, and jewelry 17. As described above, the jewelry 17 blocks from view the attachment of supplemental hairs 12 to mesh sheet 20 and the attachment of mesh sheet 20 to outer surface 19 of the attachment band 14. As such, jewelry 17 may include only body 25. In providing a natural hair style, the hair accessory 10 permits the user to utilize both the hair extension function and the hair ornamentation function of the hair accessory 10. The hair extension function includes the ability of the hair accessory 10 to provide length and fullness to the person's natural hair 16 by integrating supplemental hairs 12 in the person's natural hair 16 using attachment band 14, mesh sheet 20, and plurality of supplemental hairs 12. The hair ornamentation function of the hair accessory 10 includes the ability of hair accessory 10 to obscure from view the coupling of supplemental hairs 12 to mesh sheet 20 and the coupling of mesh sheet 20 to attachment band 14 by blocking from view the aforementioned couplings using jewelry 17.

Turning again to the attachment band 14, the connector strip 38 of the attachment band 14 is designed to be inserted behind a person's natural hair 16 when attachment band 14 is in the opened position as suggested in FIG. 1. Connector strip 38 includes a connector panel 42, lock teeth 32, and an opener tab 68 as shown in FIGS. 4-5. Connector panel 42 is a thin, flexible sheet configured to conform to a person's natural hair 16 and the person's head 18. The lock teeth 32 are spaced apart from one another along the connector panel 42 from the tether 54 at one end to the opener tab 68 at the other end. The opener tab 68 extends from the end of the connector panel 42 over only a portion of the height of the connector panel 42 to provide a grip for a user pulling the engagement strip 40 away from connector strip 38 during opening of the attachment band 14.

The engagement strip 40 of the attachment band 14 is designed to be laid over and pressed into engagement with connector strip 38 after a person's natural hair 16 is arranged in hair-receiving channels 48 of connector strip 38 while attachment band 14 is in the opened position. The engagement strip 40 includes an engagement panel 58, catches 46, and an opener tab 70 as shown in FIG. 4. The engagement panel 58 is a thin, flexible sheet configured to conform to a person's head/hair. The catches 46 are spaced apart from one another along the engagement panel 58 from the tether 54 at one end to the opener tab 70 at the other end. The opener tab 70 extends from the end of the engagement panel 58 over only a portion of the height of the engagement panel 58 to provide a grip for a user pulling the engagement strip 40 away from connector strip 38 during opening of the attachment band 14. Engagement strip 40 includes apertures 56 which extend through the engagement strip 40 and are configured to receive look teeth 32 of connector strip 38.

A band lock mechanism 34 configured to clamp a person's natural hair 16 and retain the attachment band 14 in the closed position is provided by the lock teeth 32 and the catches 46 as suggested in FIGS. 1-3 and 7. When attachment band 14 is in the closed position, catches 46 are configured to engage the person's natural hair 16 and lock teeth 32 to hold attachment band 14 and hair accessory 10 in place relative to the person's natural hair 16 included in the person's head 18.

Lock tooth 32 is illustratively rectangular-shaped with a stem 60 that extends from connector panel 22 and a cap 64 that extends from stem 60 to form a substantially flat surface 84, as shown in FIG. 5. Illustratively, stem 60 is sized such that lock tooth 32 is in closer vertical relation to connector panel 22 than lock tooth 32. Further, there are no motion-relief openings 61 formed adjacent to stem 60 to allow for movement of lock teeth 32 relative to connector panel 22 as in lock tooth 32. Cap 64 of each lock tooth 32 includes a plate 66 that defines a lock surface 65 extending parallel to an underlying portion of connector panel 22 and a crown 82 configured to drive movement of catches 34 during movement of attachment band 14 to the closed position.

Crown 82 of each cap 64 is shaped to have a flat surface 84 and a plurality of angled opener surfaces 86, as shown in FIG. 5. Flat surface 84 forms the upper, outwardly extending surface of the rectangular shape provided by each lock tooth 32. Angled opener surfaces 86 are planar surfaces that provide cam features. Flat surfaces 84 and angled opener surfaces 86 cooperate to push catches 46 open during movement of attachment band 14 to the closed position. Crown 82 of each cap 64 is further formed to include a plurality of hair receiving channels 48 that open facing away from underlying connector panel 42. Hair receiving channels 48 are sized to receive wearer's natural hairs 16 and to position natural hairs 16 for clamping by catches 46.

Catch 46 is configured to engage lock tooth 32 to secure attachment band 14 in the closed position. Illustratively, each catch 46 is made up of a plurality of interconnected posts 62 arranged around the perimeter of an aperture 56 to form a rectangular-shaped protrusion extending away from engagement panel 58, as shown in FIG. 6. Aperture 56, located between posts 62, is configured to receive crown 82 of each cap 64 included in each lock tooth 32 when attachment band 14 is in the closed position. Additionally, each post 62 includes a neck 92 that extends from engagement panel 58 and a head 90 that extends from the corresponding neck 92 towards the respective opposing post 62. In other embodiments, some or all of neck 92 included in each catch 46 may be interconnected with other necks 92 included in catch 46 while heads 90 included in each catch 46 remain spaced apart from one another.

Head 90 of each post 62 is formed to include an angled cam surface 88. During closure of attachment band 14 in designs incorporating catch 46 and lock teeth 32, angled cam surface 88 is configured to be engaged by angled opener surfaces 86 included in lock teeth 32. Head 90 of each post 62 is further formed to include a blocker surface 94 extending parallel to an underlying portion of engagement panel 58. Blocker surface 94 is arranged in confronting relation with a lock surface 80 of corresponding lock tooth 32 when attachment band 14 is in the closed position, thereby blocking the opening of attachment band 14.

Opener tabs 68, 70 included in hair accessory 10 are configured to allow for opening of attachment band 14 as suggested in FIGS. 1-4. More specifically, connector strip 38 includes opener tab 68 that extends from connector panel 42 and engagement strip 40 includes opener tab 70 that extends from engagement panel 58.

A second hair accessory 210 is shown in FIG. 8 of the present disclosure. The second hair accessory 210 is substantially similar to the hair accessory 10 shown in FIGS. 1-6 and described above. Accordingly, the description of the hair accessory 10 is hereby incorporated by reference to apply to the hair accessory 210 except as it departs from the further description and drawings of the hair accessory 210.

Hair accessory 210 differs from hair accessory 10 in that attachment band 214 is arcuate shaped to conform to a person's head 18, as shown in FIG. 8. This shape, and other shapes, of the attachment band 214 can allow for the hair accessory 210 to be more comfortable for a user.

The hair accessory 210 further differs from hair accessory 10 in that the connector strip 238 and the engagement strip 240 of the attachment band 214 are not a monolithic, one-piece component, and the attachment band 214 has no elbow or tether 54. Illustratively, this embodiment allows for longer attachment bands 214 to be attached to the person's natural hair 16.

A third hair accessory 310 is shown in FIG. 9 of the present disclosure. The third hair accessory 310 is substantially similar to the hair accessory 10 shown in FIGS. 1-7 and described above. Accordingly, the description of the hair accessory 10 is hereby incorporated by reference to apply to the hair accessory 310 except as it departs from the further description and drawings of the hair accessory 310.

Hair accessory 310 differs from hair accessory 10 in that outer strip 315 is formed from a material including a snake skin design, as shown in FIG. 9. The design provides the user with an increased selection of varying styles of hair accessory 310.

A fourth hair accessory 410 is shown in FIG. 10 of the present disclosure. The fourth hair accessory 410 is substantially similar to the hair accessory 10, 310 shown in FIGS. 1-7, 9 and described above. Accordingly, the description of the hair accessory 10, 310 is hereby incorporated by reference to apply to the hair accessory 410 except as it departs from the further description and drawings of the hair accessory 410.

Hair accessory 410 differs from hair accessory 10, 310 in that outer strip 415 is formed from a material including a tiger stripe design extending away from attachment band 14, as shown in FIG. 11. The design provides the user with an increased selection of varying styles of hair accessory 410.

A fifth hair accessory 510 is shown in FIG. 11 of the present disclosure. The fifth hair accessory 510 is substantially similar to the hair accessory 10, 310, 410 shown in FIGS. 1-7, 9, and 10 and described above. Accordingly, the description of the hair accessory 10, 310, 410 is hereby incorporated by reference to apply to the hair accessory 510 except as it departs from the further description and drawings of the hair accessory 510.

Hair accessory 510 differs from hair accessory 10, 310, and 410 in that outer strip 415 is formed from a material including a plurality of feathers 427 extending away from attachment band 14, as shown in FIG. 11. The design provides the user with an increased selection of varying styles of hair accessory 510.

The following numbered clauses include embodiments that are contemplated and non-limiting:

Clause 1. A hair accessory for integration with a person's head of hair, the hair accessory comprising

a plurality of supplemental hairs,

a flexible attachment band configured to couple the plurality of supplemental hairs to the person's head of hair, the attachment band including a connector panel, an engagement panel that moves relative to the connector panel from an opened position spaced from the connector panel to a closed position overlaying the connector panel, and a plurality of spaced apart fasteners configured to each clamp a plurality of natural hairs in the person's head of hair and retain the engagement panel in the closed position, and

an outer strip coupled to the attachment band and configured to cover at least a portion of an outwardly facing surface of the attachment band to obscure at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band so that the attachment band is hidden from view.

Clause 2. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip is provided by a piece of jewelry including a plurality of authentic gemstones, a plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof.

Clause 3. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the piece of jewelry further includes the plurality of authentic gemstones, the plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof suspended from the attachment band by a plurality of hangers such that at least some of the plurality of authentic gemstones, the plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof are spaced apart from the attachment band.

Clause 4. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip is provided by a piece of material formed to display an animal print design.

Clause 5. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip is provided by a plurality of feathers extending away from the attachment band.

Clause 6. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip is provided by a mesh sheet.

Clause 7. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein each of the plurality of fasteners include a lock tooth coupled to the connector panel and a catch coupled to the engagement panel, each catch of the fastener is arranged to engage a corresponding lock tooth upon movement of the engagement panel to the closed position, and the engagement panel is flexible such that each catch is configured to engage the corresponding lock tooth one at a time in response to pressing and sliding of a user's finger along the engagement panel when the engagement panel is arranged over the connector panel.

Clause 8. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the mesh sheet is configured to couple to the plurality of supplemental hairs at an attachment end of the supplemental hairs such that a free end of the supplemental hairs extends away from the attachment band.

Clause 9. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the engagement panel is formed to include a plurality of apertures that extend through the engagement panel, each of the plurality of apertures is located between at least four catch posts included in the catch, the at least four catch posts are forming a rectangle around the plurality of apertures and configured to cooperate with the plurality of apertures to guide and receive a portion of the lock tooth when the engagement panel is in the closed position.

Clause 10. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip further includes a piece of jewelry coupled to an outwardly facing surface of the mesh sheet and configured to cover at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface of the mesh sheet and the attachment ends of the plurality of supplemental hairs.

Clause 11. A hair accessory for integration with a person's head of hair, the hair accessory comprising

a flexible attachment band configured to couple to the person's head of hair, the attachment band including a flexible connector panel, a flexible engagement panel that moves relative to the connector panel from an opened position spaced from the connector panel to a closed position overlaying the connector panel, and a plurality of spaced apart fasteners configured to each clamp hairs in the person's head of hair and to retain the engagement panel in the closed position, and

an outer strip coupled to the attachment band and configured to cover at least a portion of an outwardly facing surface of the attachment band to obscure at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band so that the attachment band is at least partially hidden from view.

Clause 12. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip is sized to extend a length of an outwardly facing surface of the engagement panel, the engagement panel extends between an outer end of the engagement panel and a flexible tether, the flexible tether extends from the flexible connector panel to the flexible engagement strip, the attachment band is a single monolithic flexible component.

Clause 13. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip is provided by a mesh sheet.

Clause 14. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip is formed from a substantially different material than the attachment band.

Clause 15. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the mesh sheet is sized to extend a length of the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band and is coupled to the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band and a plurality of supplemental hairs, the plurality of supplemental hairs include an attachment end coupled to the mesh sheet, a free end spaced apart from and extending away from the attachment end, and a middle section therebetween.

Clause 16. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the plurality of supplemental hairs includes a plurality of short supplemental hairs extending upwardly away from the attachment band and a plurality of long supplemental hairs extending downwardly away from the attachment band.

Clause 17. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the plurality of supplemental hairs are configured to appear to extend from a scalp of the person's head upon coupling the hair accessory to the persons' head of hair.

Clause 18. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the outer strip is further provided by a piece of jewelry including a plurality of authentic gemstones, a plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof coupled to the plurality of supplemental hairs at the attachment ends of the plurality of supplemental hairs coupled to the mesh sheet.

Clause 19. The assembly of any other suitable clause or combination of clauses, wherein the piece of jewelry is sized to extend at least a majority of the length of the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band.

Clause 20. A method for integrating a hair accessory with a person's head of hair, the method comprising the steps of,

separating a section of a person's natural hair from the person's head of hair such that a part is created between the section of hair and the person's remaining head of hair,

placing the hair accessory in an opened position such that an engagement strip and a connector strip included in the hair accessory are uncoupled and a plurality of lock teeth formed in the connector strip and a plurality of catches formed in the engagement strip are exposed,

positioning the hair accessory in the person's head of hair such that the connector strip of the hair accessory is placed behind the section of the person's natural hair and below the part such that an upper edge of the connector strip is positioned adjacent to and below the part,

arranging the section of the person's natural hair on top of the connector strip and the plurality of lock teeth, the section of the person's natural hair extending away from the person's head of hair and covering at least a portion of the lock teeth,

moving the engagement strip into engagement with the connector strip so that the plurality of lock teeth and the plurality of catches align and engage at least a portion the section of the person's natural hair therebetween,

applying pressure at a first end of the engagement strip and a first end of the connector strip to move one of the plurality of lock teeth positioned nearest the first end of the connector strip into engagement with the of the plurality of catches positioned nearest the first end of the engagement strip, and

repeating the step of applying pressure at a first end of the engagement strip and a first end of the connector strip until the plurality of lock teeth are engaged with the plurality of catches, thereby removeably coupling the section of the person's natural hair and the hair accessory and moving the hair accessory into a closed position.

Claims

1. A hair accessory for integration with a person's head of hair, the hair accessory comprising

a plurality of supplemental hairs,
a flexible attachment band coupled to the plurality of supplemental hairs and configured to couple the plurality of supplemental hairs to the person's head of hair, the flexible attachment band including a connector panel, an engagement panel coupled to the connector panel and configured to move relative to the connector panel between an opened position spaced apart from the connector panel to a closed position overlaying the connector panel, and a plurality of spaced apart fasteners coupled to an inner surface of the flexible attachment strip, each of the plurality of spaced apart fasteners configured to clamp a plurality of natural hairs in the person's head of hair and retain the engagement panel in the closed position, and
an outer strip coupled to the attachment band and configured to cover at least a portion of an outwardly facing surface of the flexible attachment band to obscure at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface of the flexible attachment band so that the flexible attachment band is hidden from view and an exterior surface of the outer strip is exposed,
wherein the plurality of supplemental hairs are sandwiched between the flexible attachment band and the outer strip such that a portion of the outer strip overlies the plurality of supplemental hairs in order to be visible and display an ornamental adornment associated with the exterior surface of the outer strip when the hair accessory is integrated with the plurality of natural hairs in the person's head of hair.

2. The hair accessory of claim 1, wherein the outer strip ornamental adornment is provided by a piece of jewelry including a plurality of authentic gemstones, a plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof.

3. The hair accessory of claim 2, wherein the piece of jewelry further includes the plurality of authentic gemstones, the plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof suspended from the attachment band by a plurality of hangers such that at least some of the plurality of authentic gemstones, the plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof are spaced apart from the attachment band.

4. The hair accessory of claim 1, wherein the ornamental adornment is provided by a piece of material formed to display an animal print design.

5. The hair accessory of claim 1, wherein the ornamental adornment is provided by a plurality of feathers extending away from the attachment band.

6. The hair accessory of claim 1, wherein the outer strip includes a mesh sheet coupled to the attachment band and positioned such that at least a portion of the ornamental adornment overlies the mesh sheet.

7. The hair accessory of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of fasteners include a lock tooth coupled to the connector panel and a catch coupled to the engagement panel, each catch of the fastener is arranged to engage a corresponding lock tooth upon movement of the engagement panel to the closed position, and the engagement panel is flexible such that each catch is configured to engage the corresponding lock tooth one at a time in response to pressing and sliding of a user's finger along the engagement panel when the engagement panel is arranged over the connector panel.

8. The hair accessory of claim 6, wherein the mesh sheet is configured to couple to the plurality of supplemental hairs at an attachment end of the supplemental hairs such that a free end of the supplemental hairs extends away from the attachment band.

9. The hair accessory of claim 7, wherein the engagement panel is formed to include a plurality of apertures that extend through the engagement panel, each of the plurality of apertures is located between at least four catch posts included in the catch, the at least four catch posts are forming a rectangle around the plurality of apertures and configured to cooperate with the plurality of apertures to guide and receive a portion of the lock tooth when the engagement panel is in the closed position.

10. The hair accessory of claim 8, wherein the ornamental adornment is provided by a piece of jewelry configured to cover at least a portion of the exterior surface of the outer strip and the attachment ends of the plurality of supplemental hairs.

11. A hair accessory for integration with a person's head of hair, the hair accessory comprising

a flexible attachment band configured to couple to the person's head of hair, the flexible attachment band including a flexible connector panel, a flexible engagement panel that moves relative to the flexible connector panel from an opened position spaced from the flexible connector panel to a closed position overlaying the flexible connector panel, and a plurality of spaced apart fasteners coupled to an inner surface of the flexible attachment strip, each of the plurality of spaced apart fasteners configured to clamp hairs in the person's head of hair and to retain the flexible engagement panel in the closed position, and
an outer strip coupled to the flexible attachment band and configured to cover at least a portion of an outwardly facing surface of the flexible attachment band to obscure at least a portion of the outwardly facing surface of the flexible attachment band so that the flexible attachment band is at least partially hidden from view, wherein the outer strip is visible and displays an ornamental adornment associated with an exterior surface of the outer strip when the hair accessory is integrated with the plurality of natural hairs in the person's head of hair.

12. The hair accessory of claim 11, wherein the outer strip is sized to extend a length of an outwardly facing surface of the engagement panel, the engagement panel extends between an outer end of the engagement panel and a flexible tether, the flexible tether extends from the flexible connector panel to the flexible engagement strip, the attachment band is a single monolithic flexible component.

13. The hair accessory of claim 11, wherein the outer strip includes a mesh sheet coupled to the attachment band and positioned such that at least a portion of the ornamental adornment overlies the mesh sheet.

14. The hair accessory of claim 12, wherein the outer strip is formed from a substantially different material than the attachment band.

15. The hair accessory of claim 13, wherein the mesh sheet is sized to extend a length of the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band and is coupled to the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band and a plurality of supplemental hairs, the plurality of supplemental hairs include an attachment end coupled to the mesh sheet, a free end spaced apart from and extending away from the attachment end, and a middle section therebetween.

16. The hair accessory of claim 15, wherein the plurality of supplemental hairs includes a plurality of short supplemental hairs extending upwardly away from the attachment band and a plurality of long supplemental hairs extending downwardly away from the attachment band.

17. The hair accessory of claim 15, wherein the plurality of supplemental hairs are configured to appear to extend from a scalp of the person's head upon coupling the hair accessory to the the plurality of natural hairs in the person's head of hair.

18. The hair accessory of claim 17, wherein the ornamental adornment is provided by a piece of jewelry including a plurality of authentic gemstones, a plurality of costume gemstones, or a combination thereof coupled to the plurality of supplemental hairs at the attachment ends of the plurality of supplemental hairs coupled to the mesh sheet.

19. The hair accessory of claim 18, wherein the piece of jewelry is sized to extend at least a majority of the length of the outwardly facing surface of the attachment band

20. (canceled)

21. The hair accessory of claim 11, wherein the out the outer strip is sized to extend a length of an outwardly facing surface of the engagement panel, the engagement panel extends between an outer end of the engagement panel and an inner end of the engagement panel and is spaced apart from and independent of the connector panel when in the open position.

Patent History
Publication number: 20190208849
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 1, 2018
Publication Date: Jul 11, 2019
Inventor: Priel Maman (Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
Application Number: 16/052,077
Classifications
International Classification: A41G 5/00 (20060101); A45D 8/36 (20060101); A44C 15/00 (20060101);