Abstract:
A pencil-like stick has hair color therein and is used in the manner of a magic marker to apply to a color to a user&#39;s hair. The stick includes a tip having two arms that are closed by a lever on the stick to trap strands of hair therebetween. When hair is trapped between the two arms, hair color from the stick is wicked from a reservoir in the stick to the hair.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to the general art of hair accessories, and to the particular field of accessories used to color hair. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    It has been estimated that during any given year, about 43.million visits are made by clients to beauty shops in the United States. A substantial number of these visits involve changing the color of the client&#39;s hair. Thus, the coloring of hair is an important volume business, and it is estimated that the hair dye industry grosses 280 million dollars a year. 
         [0003]    While it is relatively easy to change the color of the hair as a whole, by dyeing to make it darker, or by bleaching to lighten it the result of only dyeing or only bleaching may be disappointing. The hair so treated tends to have an uninteresting uniform color. It is customary to follow dyeing or bleaching operation with another step, in which selected strands of hair are further treated so that their color will change and so that these selected strands will stand out against the background provided by the remainder of the hair. Similarly, selected strands of hair of a person&#39;s natural hair can be treated. 
         [0004]    Treatment of selected strands of hair to change the color is called streaking if the selected strands are lightened, or reverse streaking if they are darkened. Other terms such as frosting and tipping are related and will be discussed below. Streaking can produce an appearance similar to that of highlights glistening on the hair, and is much desired. Reverse streaking can give an of texture to dull hair. It can also be used when the client wishes to return to her or his own natural shade. In this case, as the roots grow out, the previously beached hair can be reverse streaked to make less apparent the difference between the different portions of hair. 
         [0005]    The task of coloring selected strands of hair is difficult for the hair stylist, since many strands of hair all over the head must be individually treated with appropriate treating material, while guarding the general mass of hair from contact with the treating material, and it is arduous for the client because of the length of time involved. 
         [0006]    Indeed, in the frosting cap method, the procedure is actually painful to the client. In this method the hair is first combed, then covered with a thin film of plastic and finally covered with a heavy rubber cap, which is provided with a large number of small holes. The hair stylist uses a smooth crochet hook to punch through the plastic film at each-hole in the rubber cap, snares the hair which lies underneath the hole and fishes it out with the hook. Considerable force must be used to fish out the selected strands of hair because of the adjacency of other strands, and the confinement of the plastic film and rubber cap. After the selected strands are pulled out and exposed, outside of the rubber cap, they are treated with treating material, which is kept from reaching the scalp and the remaining hair by the tight fit of the rubber cap and plastic film. 
         [0007]    The frosting cap method is popular and has certain advantages. There is no contact of the scalp with the chemicals used, and the treated hair is well segregated from the hair which is not to be treated. However, besides the painful aspects mentioned above, there is much breakage of hair, the hair stylist has limited control of which particular strands of hair are pulled out, and the rubber cap must stay in place for the wearisome time of up to an hour. 
         [0008]    Another method, the “Dixie Cup” method, utilizes cups. Selected strands of hair are pulled through a small hole in the bottom of the cup into the interior thereof, the selected strands are then treated and packed into the cup. The method permits greater control by the hair stylist of the choice of which particular strands of hair are to be treated than does the frosting cap method. However the size of the cups dictates that the different treated strands must be widely spaced, which is a disadvantage. This method is time consuming since each cup must be individually handled. It is difficult to manipulate short hair into the cup. The Dixie Cup method has not gained great popularity. 
         [0009]    In the foil method of coloring hair, the hair stylist isolates a strand of hair from the remaining hair, and lays it over a piece of foil which is butted up against the scalp, adjacent the roots of the isolated strand. The isolated strand is then treated with treating material, and the foil is folded around it to act as a barrier against migration of the treating material. It is difficult for the hair stylist using this method to follow the progress of the treatment since the hair being treated is hidden. When streaking, some of the hair is sometimes over bleached. 
         [0010]    Another method is a weaving comb method. Briefly, the method uses a weaving comb, which has gullets of two depths between its teeth. When the comb is used, it acts like the headles of a loom to separate the hair being combed into an upper and a lower flight, with a shed between, and with the upper flight flowing through the comb adjacent the spine of the comb and the lower flight flowing through the comb closer to the tips of the teeth. Treating material is placed on the spine of the comb, adjacent the teeth. When the hair is then combed with the weaving comb, some of the treating material transfers to the hair shafts of the upper flight while the hair shafts of the lower flight are not touched by the treating material because of the separation provided by the shed. This method has the advantage of applying the treating material to the hair being combed during a single stroke of the weaving comb. However, considerable time is taken to prepare a parting of hair for the weaving comb, and the comb must be reloaded with treating material for each stroke. 
         [0011]    None of these known methods are suitable for a person who wishes to simply touch up their hair in the manner of touching up make-up or the like. That is, if the person sees a strand of hair or a small portion of hair that does not appeal to them at that moment, the person may wish to touch up that portion of the hair in a quick, easy and efficient manner. None of the above-described methods will permit this action. 
         [0012]    While the inventor is aware of applicator devices for applying a hair treating liquid to the hair having flexible supply containers which are manually squeezed in order to force the hair treating liquid from the container into a distributing apparatus. These typical prior art devices utilize a distributing device attached to the flexible container to distribute the hair treating fluid evenly throughout a section of the hair and scalp. The most usage of such devices is to apply a hair coloring fluid in order to alter the color of the operator&#39;s hair. 
         [0013]    As is often the case, the hair coloring fluids contain ingredients which cause damage to the scalp of the user if applied directly thereto, instead of the hair itself. The prior art devices have no means with which to prevent the hair treating fluid from coming into contact with the scalp of the user. Also, the distributing apparatus utilized by the prior art devices has a plurality of comb-like teeth, which are integrally molded with a common supply tube attached to the flexible reservoir, this integral molding requires a complex mold apparatus and, thereby, serves to increase the cost of such devices. 
         [0014]    Also, if one of the comb teeth should be broken off, the effectiveness of the distributing apparatus is totally destroyed of a loom to separate the hair being combed into an upper and a lower flight, with a shed between, and with the upper flight flowing through the comb adjacent the spine of the comb and the lower flight flowing through the comb closer to the tips of the teeth. Treating material is placed on the spine of the comb, adjacent the teeth. When the hair is then combed with the weaving comb, some of the treating material transfers to the hair shafts of the upper flight while the hair shafts of the lower flight are not touched by the treating material because of the separation provided by the shed. This method has the advantage of applying the treating material to the hair being combed during a single stroke of the weaving comb. However, considerable time is taken to prepare a parting of hair for the weaving comb, and the comb must be reloaded with treating material for each stroke. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    The above-discussed disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by a pencil-like stick that has hair color therein and is used in the manner of a magic marker to apply color to a user&#39;s hair. The stick includes a tip having two arms that are closed by a lever on the stick to trap strands of hair therebetween. When hair is trapped between the two arms, hair color from the stick is wicked from a reservoir in the stick to the hair. 
         [0016]    Using the stick embodying the present invention will permit selected strands of hair to be colored in an efficient manner. This will be especially useful in touching up gray hair. 
         [0017]    Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 
         [0018]    The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like referenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views. 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is an elevational view of a hair color applying stick embodying the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]    Referring to the figure, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a hair color applying stick  10  which is used to apply hair color to selected strands of a user&#39;s hair. Stick  10  comprises a body  12  which can be plastic or the like and which has a first end  14  which is a forward end when the body is in use, a second end  16  which is a rear end when the body is in use and a longitudinal axis  18  which extends between first end  14  and second end  16 . 
         [0021]    A hollow chamber  20  is defined in the body and a reservoir  22  is located in chamber  20 . Liquid hair color  24  is stored in the reservoir. Hair color  24  can be any suitable color, but is especially useful in touching up gray hair. A wick element  30  has a first end  32  located in the reservoir to be in fluid contact with the hair color in the reservoir and a second end  34  which is a tip when the wick element is in use and which is located outside of chamber  20  and is spaced apart from first end  14  of the body. Hair color in the reservoir moves through wick element  30  to second end  34  of the wick element for use by stick  10 . 
         [0022]    A hair strand clamp unit  40  is mounted on first end  14  of the body adjacent to tip  34  of the wick element. Hair strand clamp unit  40  includes a first arm  42  which has a base end  44  mounted on the body adjacent to tip  34  of the wick element and spaced apart from longitudinal axis  18  of the body, and a second end  46  spaced apart from base end  44  in the direction of longitudinal axis  18  of the body. 
         [0023]    A second arm  50  has a base end  52  mounted on the body adjacent to tip  34  of the wick element and spaced apart from the longitudinal axis of the body and a second end  54  spaced apart from base end  52  of the second arm in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the body. Second arm  50  is spaced apart from first arm  42 . Tip  34  of the wick element is located between the first and second arms. 
         [0024]    First arm  42  is flexible and is mounted to be biased into a position that has the tip of the first arm spaced apart from the tip of the second arm. First arm  42  is movable against its natural bias toward the second arm to move between a release position shown in solid lines in  FIG. 1  in which the tip of first arm is spaced apart from the tip of the second arm with a gap  58  defined between the tips of the arms, and a hair clamping position in which the tip of the first arm is located closely adjacent to the tip of the second arm whereby a strand of hair will be contacted by and held in place against the tip of the wick element by the tips of the first and second arms. 
         [0025]    An arm moving mechanism  60  is located on the body. Arm moving mechanism  60  includes a lever arm  62  having one end  64  connected to first arm  42  and a second end  66  is spaced apart from the body. Lever arm  62  is movable in direction  68  toward the body to move first arm  42  from the release position toward the hair clamping position. Once the lever arm  62  is released, the natural resiliency of first arm  42  will cause arm  42  to move back into the position shown in  FIG. 1  in which the tip of the first arm is spaced apart from the tip of the second arm. 
         [0026]    A cap element  70  is sized and adapted to cover the first and second arms of the hair strand clamp when the cap element is in position as indicated in dotted lines in  FIG. 1 . Clamp element  70  can be stored on the second end of the body when not in use as indicated in solid lines in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0027]    Use of stick  10  can be understood from the teaching of this disclosure and will thus be only briefly discussed. A user selects a strand of hair to be colored, removes the cap and places that strand of hair between first and second arms  42  and  50  and forces lever arm  62  in direction  68  to clamp the selected strand of hair between the arms and against tip  34  of the wick element. Hair color will move through the wick element from the reservoir to tip  34  and from there will be transferred to the trapped strand of hair to color that hair. Stick  10  is drawn along the trapped hair until the desired amount of hair color has been transferred to the hair. The arms can be released once the stick has reached the distal tip of the trapped strand of hair, and re-opened to replace the stick on the trapped strand if the hair coloring process is to be repeated. These steps are repeated until the strand of hair reaches the desired color. Once the hair coloring process is completed, lever arm  62  is released and the arms will flex to move away from each other to release the strand of hair and the stick will be moved away from the strand of hair. The cap is replaced after the stick has been used to keep the wick from drying out between uses. 
         [0028]    While various embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be restricted except in light of the attached claims and their equivalents.