Abstract:
One embodiment provides a guide comb having a holdable extension including: a central portion including; a plurality of teeth extending at one end thereof; and the holdable extension extending from an opposite end with respect to the plurality of teeth; wherein a lower face of the central portion includes an attachment mechanism to reversibly secure a hair clipper. Other aspects are described and claimed.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Electronic clippers are regularly used by many to cut hair. Some electronic clippers have the ability to be equipped with guide combs, or clipper guards, which are attachments that help ensure even hair length during hair cutting. These guide combs come in a variety of sizes and are secured to the clipper by an attachment mechanism. However, after frequent use, the attachment mechanism becomes weak and may no longer adequately secure the guide comb to the electronic clipper. This can lead to guide comb displacement during clipper use, which may produce an unwanted haircut. Therefore, it would be desirable for users if instances of guide comb displacement during electronic clipper use were limited. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0002]    In summary, one aspect provides a guide comb having a holdable extension, comprising: a central portion comprising; a plurality of teeth extending at one end thereof; and the holdable extension extending from an opposite end with respect to the plurality of teeth; wherein a lower face of the central portion includes an attachment mechanism to reversibly secure a hair clipper. 
         [0003]    Another aspect provides a kit, comprising: a hair clipper; a variety of guide combs having a plurality of teeth extending at one end thereof, wherein each of the variety of guide combs has different sized teeth; the variety of guide combs, further comprising: a central portion comprising; the plurality of teeth extending at one end thereof; and a holdable extension extending from an opposite end with respect to the plurality of teeth; wherein a lower face of the central portion includes an attachment mechanism to reversibly secure the hair clipper. 
         [0004]    A further aspect provides a method of manufacturing a guide comb having a holdable extension, comprising: producing a guide comb comprising an attachment part and a holdable extension, wherein the attachment part secures a hair clipper. 
         [0005]    The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. 
         [0006]    For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIGS. 1 (A-C) illustrate multiple views of an open-styled holdable extension in relation to a guide comb. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates an example holding orientation while using an open-styled holdable extension. 
           [0009]      FIGS. 3 (A-C) illustrate multiple views of a closed-styled holdable extension in relation to a guide comb. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations in addition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following more detailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, as claimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments. 
         [0011]    Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. 
         [0012]    Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, et cetera. In other instances, well known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obfuscation. 
         [0013]    The emergence of electronic clippers (“clippers”) has provided users the ability to cut hair more quickly. Clippers are used in a wide variety of locations such as barbershops, salons, animal grooming facilities, and by users at home. However, by themselves, most clippers are unable to precisely cut hair to specific hair lengths. 
         [0014]    One current method to assist in precision involves the use of guide combs (“combs”), which are removable attachments that can be secured to the clipper. The combs may come in varying sizes (e.g., ranging from 1/16″ to 1 ½″), where each size directly corresponds to a predetermined hair length. For example, a size 2 comb may cut hair to a final length of ¼″ (6 mm). The comb is secured onto the clipper through an attachment mechanism, sometimes referred to as a tab, located on the comb that snaps onto the cutting blade of the clipper. After frequent instances of attachment and removal, the attachment mechanism weakens and may no longer properly secure the comb to the clipper. In some situations, this may result in the comb falling off during the hair cutting process. Such cases may lead to an undesirable haircut because too much hair was inadvertently removed from a certain portion. Depending on the situation, these accidents may be difficult to correct. Furthermore, in the case of professional barbers and hair stylists, the production of a bad haircut may lead to a loss in clients and revenue. 
         [0015]    These technical issues present problems for users in that limiting the frequency of comb displacement during haircuts may be difficult. A conventional solution is to manually secure the comb to the cutting blade of the clipper by holding the attachment mechanism down with a finger, against the clipper, to prevent the comb from falling off. However, this holding orientation is inconvenient and may result in the user focusing more on preventing the comb from falling off than on producing a good quality haircut. In addition, because the user is being more cautious, they may lose speed while cutting hair. This issue is especially relevant to professional barbers and hair stylists, who deal with a high volume of daily clients. 
         [0016]    Accordingly, an embodiment provides a method for securing a comb to a clipper while cutting hair. Using this method, the comb is prevented from falling off of the clipper due to a holdable extension that protrudes from one end of the comb that a user may grip while operating the clipper. In an embodiment, the holdable extension may be an open-style holdable extension containing a curved portion that allows a user to conveniently and effectively secure the comb to the clipper, by gripping, even if the attachment mechanism is worn down. In another embodiment, the holdable extension may be a closed-style holdable extension containing a finger loop into which a user&#39;s finger may be inserted, which also provides comb securement and comfort of use. In an additional embodiment, the holdable extension may be fastened to a receiving portion, located on the bottom side of the clipper body, to provide, in conjunction with the attachment mechanism, a second level of secured attachment. 
         [0017]    The illustrated example embodiments will be best understood by reference to the figures. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIGS. 1 (A-C), in an embodiment, the holdable extension may be an open-style holdable extension.  FIGS. 1 (A-C) illustrate multiple views of an open-style holdable extension  101  in relation to a guide comb  102 . In an embodiment, the guide comb  102  may be comprised of a central portion  103  having a plurality of teeth  104  at one end and an attachment mechanism  105  at the other. In an embodiment, the attachment mechanism  105  may be located at the rear end of the bottom face of the central portion  103 , opposite the plurality of teeth  104 . 
         [0019]    In an embodiment, the open-style holdable extension  101  may extend away from the central portion  103  in a direction opposite the plurality of teeth  104 . In an embodiment, the open-style holdable extension  101  may be positioned adjacent to the rear end of the central portion  103  at any location along the vertical length of the attachment mechanism  105 . In another embodiment, the open-style holdable extension  101  may be positioned adjacent to the rear end of the central portion  103  at any horizontal location of the rear end of the central portion  103  not considered to be part of the attachment mechanism  105 . In a further embodiment, the open-style holdable extension  101  may be attached to the lower face of the central portion  103  of the guide comb  102 . 
         [0020]    In an embodiment, the open-style holdable extension  101  may include a curved portion  106 . The curved portion  106  allows for ergonomic finger grip and support. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a user may comfortably position their finger  204  in the curved portion  203  of the open-style holdable extension  201  to secure the guide comb  202  against the body of the clipper  205 . In an embodiment, the open-style holdable extension  201  may be comprised of a flexible material, such as plastic, to allow it to be easily gripped against the body of the clipper  205 . In an embodiment, a user may grip the open-style holdable extension  201  with at least one finger  204  against the body of the clipper  205 . In another embodiment, a user may grip the open-style holdable extension  201  with more than one finger  204  to provide increased security. 
         [0021]    In an embodiment, the length and width of the open-style holdable extension  101  may vary based on the type of guide comb  102  used. For example, the dimensions of an open-style holdable extension  101  for a beard trimming comb may be different than the dimensions of an open-style holdable extension  101  for a traditional hair trimming comb because the two combs have different proportions. In an embodiment, the length of the open-style holdable extension  101 , measuring from the point being adjacent to the central portion  103  to the terminal end of the curved portion  106 , may be at least, but may also be longer than, one inch. 
         [0022]    In an embodiment, a point along the terminal end of the open-styled holdable extension  101 , opposite from the central portion  103  of the guide comb  102 , may be fastened to a receiving portion located on the bottom of the clipper body  205 . This would secure the open-style holdable extension  101  in place and provide another level of secured attachment, further diminishing the chance that the guide comb  102  would fall off the clipper blade. 
         [0023]    Referring now to  FIGS. 3 (A-C), in an embodiment, the holdable extension may be a closed-style holdable extension.  FIGS. 3 (A-C) illustrate multiple views of the closed-style holdable extension  301  in relation to a guide comb  302 . In an embodiment, the guide comb  302  may be comprised of a central portion  303  having a plurality of teeth  304  at one end and an attachment mechanism  305  at the other. In an embodiment, the attachment mechanism  305  may be located at the rear end of the bottom face of the central portion  303 , opposite the plurality of teeth  304 . 
         [0024]    In an embodiment, the closed-styled holdable extension  301  may extend away from the central portion  303  in a direction opposite the plurality of teeth  304 . In an embodiment, the closed-style holdable extension  301  may be positioned adjacent to the rear end of the central portion  303  at any location along the vertical length of the attachment mechanism  305 . In another embodiment, the closed-style holdable extension  301  may be positioned adjacent to the rear end of the central portion  303  at any horizontal location of the rear end of the central portion  303  not considered to be part of the attachment mechanism  305 . In a further embodiment, the closed-style holdable extension  301  may be attached to the lower face of the central portion  303  of the guide comb  302 . 
         [0025]    In an embodiment, the closed-style holdable extension  301  may contain a finger loop  306 . In an embodiment, the finger loop  306  may be located at the terminal end of the closed-style holdable extension  301 , opposite from the central portion  303  of the guide comb  302 . The finger loop  306  allows a user to place at least one finger inside of the enclosed space  307  and may provide a user with a greater sense of stability and control while they cut hair. 
         [0026]    In an embodiment, the finger loop  306  may contain padding surrounding some, or all, of the inside of the enclosure  308  in order to make the closed-style holdable extension  301  more comfortable to hold. In an embodiment, the finger loop  306  may be circular. In another embodiment, the finger loop  306  may be any shape and size that allows a user to comfortably insert at least one finger through the enclosed space  307  of the finger loop  306 . For example, in an embodiment, the finger loop  306  may be circular and the diameter of the enclosed space  307  may be one inch. In an embodiment, the closed-style holdable extension  301  may be comprised of a flexible material, such as plastic, to allow it to be easily gripped against the body of the clipper  205 . 
         [0027]    In an embodiment, the length and width of the closed-style holdable extension  301  may vary based on the type of guide comb  302  used. In an embodiment, the length of the closed-style holdable extension  301 , measuring from the point being adjacent to the central portion  303  to the terminal end of the finger loop  306 , may be at least, but may also be longer than, one inch. 
         [0028]    The various embodiments described herein thus represent a technical improvement to conventional clipper-based haircutting techniques. Using the techniques and products described herein, a user can cut hair using an electronic clipper having a guide comb without worrying that the guide comb will fall off during the haircut. Rather than holding onto the attachment portion of the guide comb, the user is able to comfortably hold on to a holdable extension protruding from the guide comb. 
         [0029]    As used herein, the singular “a” and “an” may be construed as including the plural “one or more” unless clearly indicated otherwise. 
         [0030]    This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The example embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. 
         [0031]    Thus, although illustrative example embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying figures, it is to be understood that this description is not limiting and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure.