Abstract:
This invention relates to an innovative manufacturing process that produces colored hair wraps capable of use in conjunction with a color-coded indexing system. The color-coded indexing system allows the professional hair colorist to design specific hair coloring treatments and techniques to selected groups of segmented hair strands with consistent results. The process enables a more efficient, faster, reliable, and systematic method for designing and applying coloring agents or materials to natural and artificial hair.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]    This application is related to application Ser. No. 10/055,851 filed Nov. 10, 2001.  
       REFERENCES CITED  
       [0002]    [0002]                                                     U.S. Patent Documents                                    6,053,178   Apr. 25, 2000   Todd   132#206           5,931,168   Aug. 3, 1999   Abercrombie   132#208           5,806,431   Jan. 19, 1999   Abercrombie   132#208           5,845,653   Dec. 8, 1998   Abercrombie   132#208                        
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0004]    The invention relates to a manufacturing process for making colored or designed strips of paper that can be used in a color-coded hair index system expressly for the purpose of a precise application of hair coloring and other chemicals used in the process of coloring or otherwise treating human or artificial hair. The system so devised is described in a related U.S. patent application by the present inventors, application Ser. No. 10/055,851.  
           [0005]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0006]    Against the background of known technology, the applicants have developed a new manufacturing process for the creation of colored or designed strips of paper for use in the coloring or other treatment of human or artificial hair. The result of the inventors manufacturing process on strips of paper, when used in the process of coloring or otherwise treating hair allow the colorist to produce an effect that is both uniform and precise.  
           [0007]    In the hair coloring field, there already exist several examples of manufactured devices, which are used to hold coloring and other treatment agents. The most commonly manufactured being plain white paper and foil. However, neither of these devices have any of the significantly different attributes resulting from the inventors innovative manufacturing process necessary in order to fully satisfy the needs of the modern professional hair colorist.  
           [0008]    While the basic foil method is excellent for isolating desired strands of hair, it does have many serious drawbacks. One drawback is that it creates a substantially airtight envelope. Most known permanent coloring agents and other chemical treatments require ambient oxygen from the air in order for a chemical reaction (oxidation) to occur. Without exposure to the air, the agents do not operate as designed and recommended by their manufacturers.  
           [0009]    Yet another drawback to the foil method is that the foil strip tends to slip away from the scalp due to the stress of its own weight when subjected to manipulation during the application of the coloring or treatment agents, and subsequent folding and crimping. Such slippage can cause the coloring or treatment agents to blend into adjacent strands of hair that are not intended for color or treatment. It is also necessary for the colorist, after applying the coloring or treatment agents and foil to the hair, to reopen and inspect the changes to the hair, thereby increasing the risk of color bleeding onto the scalp and surrounding hair, resulting in blotchy or patchy and uneven coloration caused by unwanted seepage of coloring or treatment agents.  
           [0010]    Colorists also use plain, white, rectangular paper strips. However, with this product, the professional colorist cannot keep track of differing coloring agents used during the process of coloring a single head of hair. Because the inventors innovative manufacturing process utilizes a method of printing the paper with a water-based or chemical-based ink, linked to a unique color indexing system or other visual indicia, the colorist has a significantly faster, more efficient, and more reliable way of keeping track of the many different coloring agents applied to a single head of hair.  
           [0011]    Another drawback of plain white paper is a lack of moisture retention. This causes the coloring chemicals to seep into the paper, thereby depleting the coloring agents, causing the hair to process unevenly.  
           [0012]    A search of current and prior art does not disclose any patents that read directly to any of the claims of this invention.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0013]    The present manufacturing innovation consists of a unique process used to create colorfast colored or designed strips of paper using water-based or chemical-based inks, coated on one or both sides with lamination for use in a color-coded index system used by colorists in the process of coloring or otherwise treating human or artificial hair. The resulting product allows the colorist to use a precise and systematic method of applying hair chemicals to human or artificial hair, with more accuracy, and greater efficiency. The innovation consists of certain manufacturing processes and steps combined together to create the desired product.  
           [0014]    In the ideal embodiment of the inventors&#39; unique manufacturing process, a printed, laminated and cut paper product is produced that makes the colored hair strips stronger, holds the coloring or other treatment agents better, eliminates the tendency of the application strip to curl, conducts the heat evenly and efficiently. Additionally, this unique manufacturing process produces a product with enough moisture retention to keep the coloring or treatment agents moist, without having to use a heat source.  
           [0015]    This invention is a new manufacturing method and process for creating colorfast colored or designed, cut strips of paper that may subsequently be used, for example, in the hair styling industry. The method is not limited to paper, or to this particular use. The method may be applied to any paper-composite product, including paper-celluloid or micro-fiber materials having the same or similar characteristics as paper, although paper is employed in the preferred embodiment.  
           [0016]    The innovative hair strips are manufactured in a multitude of colors, in unlimited visual indicia, and in unique sizes. The unique array of colors and sizes available with this innovation allow the colorist to select the most efficient hair strip to successfully accomplish the process of precise coloring of human or artificial hair without overlapping of the hair strips.  
           [0017]    The process leads to strips that are uniquely manufactured with the following selection of attributes:  
           [0018]    1. Strips of solid color or displaying a combination of colors from ink applied to the paper during the manufacturing process.  
           [0019]    2. Strips with useful and interesting designs, including patterns, color shading, graphics, logos, or word designs.  
           [0020]    3. Strips cut into unique sizes, including practical, appealing, and remarkable sizes.  
           [0021]    4. Strips with a laminate applied to one or both sides during the manufacturing process for the purpose of holding coloring and other treating agents in contact with natural or artificial hair. (The preferred method will incorporate lamination on both sides). Lamination gives the paper strength when it is wet and ensure the ink from bleeding or rubbing off. Additionally, the lamination conducts enough moisture retention to keep the coloring or treatment agents moist, without having to use a heat source.  
           [0022]    A water-based or chemical-based (such as oil-based) ink is used to color and/or print the paper. Strict U.S. EPA laws exist governing the quota of how much chemical-based inks a manufacturer is allowed to use per their geographic location. To that end, the inventors have developed a unique and innovative printing and design manufacturing process. The innovative printing process consists of applying the visual indicia in a random pattern until there is as much color(s) as is allowable by law applied to the paper product or until a visually pleasing result is obtained within legal limits.  
           [0023]    No EPA guidelines exist for water-based printing. Thus, water-based ink is used in the preferred embodiment process for reliably achieving the desired result.  
           [0024]    After printing, the paper is laminated with polyethylene (although any commercially available coating or film of liquid-impermeable material may be used to substantially cover the surfaces of the paper) for the purpose of holding coloring and other treating agents in contact with natural or artificial hair and in order to secure the printed ink.  
           [0025]    For example, the liquid-impermeable-materials may contain any commercial plastic material which can be coated, mechanically connected, or otherwise applied in a thin layer and bonded substantially to the entire surface of the paper to provide a water and chemical resistant surface that is inert when contacted by coloring agents. The use of lamination also enables the end product to conduct moisture retention thereby eliminating the need to use a heat source to keep the coloring chemicals moist. Two-sided lamination is the preferred method, covering both sides of the paper with a protective and impermeable material. The inventors&#39; innovation significantly improves the way the hair coloring agents process in the hair. It also improves the way paper strips or aluminum foil stay in the hair, which, because of their design and weight, fall out of the hair easily. When this occurs, coloring or other treatment agents can spread inadvertently throughout other strands of hair that have not been intended to be colored or treated.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0026]    The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with references to the accompanying drawings, as follows:  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 1 is a flow chart describing and showing an overview of the sequence of steps of a first process for the innovative manufacturing of colored, designed, laminated and cut hair strips.  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 2 is an example of the inventors&#39; printing and design manufacturing process using water-based inks to create a colored hair strip with visual indicia.  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 3 is an example of the inventors&#39; printing and design manufacturing process using chemical-based inks.  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 4 is an example of the hair strips created by the inventors&#39; manufacturing process for colored hair strips of various sizes.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0031]    The present invention is a manufacturing process for the fabrication of colored hair strips from paper or any other paper-composition products (including paper-celluloid or micro-fiber types having the same or similar characteristics as paper) in accordance with the inventors&#39; specifications.  
         [0032]    The flow chart shown in FIG. 1 depicts the sequence of steps that must be followed to carry out one process for fabricating colored hair strips.  
         [0033]    At STEP  1 , the cylinder represents a roll of blank paper that has been milled to the inventors&#39; specification using current technology in known paper manufacturing techniques. This paper is blank, without color, and uncoated, and it can be manufactured in varying weights. In the preferred embodiment of the manufacturing process, the paper is milled to a basis weight of 8 to 25 pounds (this is the standard process for weighing paper). In the ideal embodiment of the invention, the paper is milled to a weight of 16.76 pounds. This paper is obtained from a paper supplier to begin the inventors&#39; manufacturing process.  
         [0034]    STEP  2  where the hexagon represents the printing of the paper, during which colored inks are applied to one side of the paper using conventional printing procedures. Conventional printing methods are flexographic printing, gravure, silkscreen, offset printing, web offset, and the like. The desired method for this innovative manufacturing process is by a web offset process using flexographic apparatus. In this method, the continuous roll of a selected paper is carried on a web press, which includes an in-line finishing roll. Printing can take place on both sides of the web, although printing on one side only is contemplated in the preferred method. The colors of the ink are selected in accordance with the indexing system that the inventor has created, and the colors are changed as needed to produce strips that match the colors required for packaging the strips into the indexing system.  
         [0035]    The application of the colored inks is made by spraying, brushing, and/or stamping the inks onto one surface of the paper in a selected pattern which changes from time to time as specified by the inventor. The resulting application produces paper printed entirely in a single color, in shaded color, or in patterns of colors, and may include graphic and/or word designs and/or logos.  
         [0036]    The inks used during STEP  2  may be either water-based or chemical-based. When using chemical-based inks, the application of ink is controlled by a means that measures the amount of ink applied to the paper so that only as much color as is allowable by EPA guidelines is applied to the paper. When using water-based inks there are no EPA guidelines regarding the ink coverage, and for this reason printing with water-based inks is the preferred embodiment because there is more flexibility during the ink application.  
         [0037]    As the paper moves toward STEP  3 , the inks on it are either ambient air dried or heat dried. The hexagon at STEP  4  represents the application of polyethylene laminate, which application is made using current state of the art lamination technology. The preferred thickness of the lamination layer is approximately 5 millimeters, although various alternative thicknesses are also contemplated in this invention. The lamination may be applied on one or two sides of the paper. The preferred method is to laminate two sides. During the lamination procedure, adhesive is used to adhere the laminate to the colored paper. The effect of this lamination is to create a protective layer on one or both sides of the paper.  
         [0038]    At STEP  5 , the colored paper is cut and trimmed to the sizes and shapes specified by the inventor by feeding the paper into a sheeter. The sizes and shapes are variable. Examples of preferred sizes are strips of paper that are 3.5 inches by 6.5 inches, 3.5 inches by 8.5 inches, and 3.5 inches by 12 inches.  
         [0039]    The final STEP  6  is the stacking and packaging of the cut colored paper strips for distribution and sale. During this step, the colored strips are assembled into packages in accordance to the color indexing system developed by the inventor.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 2 depicts an example of the paper described above in STEP  1  of FIG. 1 after it has been printed with water-based colored inks in the manufacturing process illustrated in STEP  2  of FIG. 1.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 3 depicts an example of the paper described above in STEP  1  of FIG. 1 after it has been printed with a controlled EPA guided and measured amount of chemical-based colored inks in the manufacturing process illustrated in STEP  2  of FIG. 1.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 4 depicts an example of the paper described above in STEP  1  of FIG. 1 after it has been printed and laminated in STEPS  2 ,  3  and  4  of FIG. 1 and at STEP  5  is being cut and trimmed in variable shapes and sizes as specified by the inventor. These unique sizes allow the colorist to apply the paper strips to a head of hair without overlapping.