Abstract:
A hair holding device and spring concealment mechanism including a pair of opposed, hingedly connected body members adapted to pivot about a hinge axis between closed and open positions. A torsion biasing spring biases the device into a predetermined position. The spring is concealed in multiple casings, which are unattached to either body member of the hair holding device. The casings do not bear any torque exerted by the spring and do not encase the entireties of the spring&#39;s first and second projecting arms. Consequently, they can be made relatively thin-walled and compact to closely conform to the size and shape of the coil portion of the spring. The thin walls and small diameter of the spring casings minimize the extent to which the casings protrude from the hair holding device, thereby improving its aesthetic appeal.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/445,773, filed Feb. 7, 2003. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to hair holding and hair styling devices in which a first body and a second body are pivotally connected by hinge means and are operable to grippingly engage a quantity of gathered hair strands.  
         FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Hinged, spring-biased devices for use in holding human hair are known in the art. Devices of this kind have been used for many years, and an early example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,201,719. Such devices typically comprise a pair of opposed, hingedly connected members each including hair gripping and handle portions. The gripping portions are biased into a closed or gripping position by a biasing means, most often a torsion spring that exerts a closing force on the handle portions of the members. To deploy the device, the user squeezes the finger-pressable handle portions to overcome the biasing force of the spring and thereby separate the hair gripping portions. While maintaining the squeezing force, the user places the hair gripping portions on opposite sides of a desired quantity of hair to be held by the device. The user then releases the handle portions and the torsion spring urges the hair gripping portions into gripping contact with a lock or shock of gathered hair.  
           [0004]    In such prior art hair holding devices, the torsion spring biasing means is an elastically flexible metal wire spring disposed about the device&#39;s hinge pin. The spring&#39;s helically wound main body portion resides between two radially projecting arms at its opposite ends. The first arm bears against the inside face of a first finger pressable handle portion of the device and the second arm bears against the inside face of a second finger pressable handle portion. The spring is pre-stressed rotationally about the hinge axis, so that its two projecting arms bias the hair gripping portions toward a closed position, while biasing the handle portions toward a spread apart position.  
           [0005]    Many users of such devices find their exposed rear parts to be unsightly. That is, their rear parts, including the connecting lugs, hinge pin and virtually the entire torsion biasing spring, all can be seen when the devices are placed in the hair. The visibility of these components produces a particularly unaesthetic effect, imparting a mechanical appearance to a device that should be unobtrusive or, alternatively, ornamental and decorative, thereby reducing its utility and appeal. And, the exposed arms of the springs tend to snag and damage hair and can also can prick a user&#39;s fingers when attempting to dislodge the snagged hair. Still further, to the aesthetic and operational detriment of the hair holding device, the pointed arms of the springs can scratch or abrade the portions of the device with which they are in contact.  
           [0006]    An array of proposals have been made to conceal the biasing spring of hair holding devices. Examples include those found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,642,740; 5,787,905; 5,803,096; 5,842,482; 5,862,815; 5,873,377; 6,019,108; 6,186,151; 6,354,307; 6,357,452 and 6,408,859, as well as in Published U.S. Patent Application Nos. US 2001/0006068 and US  2003 / 0196675 . Some of these, e.g., U.S. Patent No. U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,307, propose to conceal a portion of the helical spring behind a casing attached to one of the body members. This solution, however, is problematic for several reasons. It leaves a first projecting arm of the spring in full view and necessitates provision of a gap between the casing&#39;s end and the body member&#39;s hinge lug for movement of the exposed projecting spring arm during the operation of the device. The exposed projecting spring arm detracts from the visual continuity of the hinge components. Additionally, this solution locates the second projecting arm of the pre-stressed spring within the casing, thereby requiring the casing to be not only sufficiently thick to withstand the torque exerted by the second spring arm but also relatively large to accommodate the radial length of the projecting second arm. These required casing thickness and size requirements cause the resulting casing to protrude unattractively from the device, thereby detracting from the visual continuity of the hinge components and the device itself. Moreover, the exposed spring arm is still capable of snagging a user&#39;s hair and pricking the user&#39;s fingers.  
           [0007]    Certain manufacturers of hair holding devices having encased torsion springs with exposed ends have resorted to painting (i.e., camouflaging) the exposed spring arms. However, painting of the arms does nothing to eliminate their tendency to snag hair and/or damage the user&#39;s hair, fingers or the device itself. Moreover, painting also adds a step to the manufacturing process and raises manufacturing cost.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,859 likewise proposes to conceal a portion of the helical spring within a casing, described as a block, extending from one of the device&#39;s body members. According to this design, both projecting arms of the spring are in full view and gaps exist between the block&#39;s opposite ends and the connecting lugs nearest thereto in order to accommodate movement of the exposed projecting arms during the device&#39;s operation. The exposed projecting arms and two gaps detract from the visual continuity of the hinge components and may not be aesthetically appealing to certain users. Additionally, for best manufacturing practices, the block should be molded as an integral part of one of the device&#39;s body members. This limits not only the degree to which the block&#39;s wall thickness can vary from that of the body member, but also the degree to which the block&#39;s wall opacity and color can vary from that of the body member. The resulting block would be not optimally thick (leaving room for hair to become snagged/damaged between the block, hinges and body members), and it would likely be somewhat transparent (whereby the concealed spring would be visible through the plastic). Consequently, such a device would be less than optimal, both aesthetically and functionally, when molded in tortoise shell, Tokyo and other light-colored finishes.  
           [0009]    The hair holding devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,873,377 and 6,357,452 successfully conceal all portions of a conventional torsion biasing spring from view. However, the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,452 provides a large and bulky spring casing suffering from deficiencies similar to those of the casing of U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,307. In contrast, the device proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,377 uses paddle-shaped covers for concealing the oppositely projecting spring arms, which certain users may not find aesthetically pleasing.  
           [0010]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,873,377 and 6,019,108 propose providing recesses in the body members to accommodate the projecting spring arms. This feature may reduce the likelihood of hair snagging but does not eliminate scratching and other abrasion to the body members that may be caused by the moving pointed spring arms.  
           [0011]    In summary, hair holding devices of the prior art fail to provide an adequate, comprehensive solution for concealing all portions of helical torsion biasing spring from view while at the same time reducing hair snagging and damage caused by exposed pointed spring ends. Either one or both arms of the springs remain exposed or the casings provided to conceal the springs tend to be large, obtrusive and/or transparent, thereby detracting from the visual appearance of the hinge assembly.  
           [0012]    An advantage exists, therefore, for a compact and cost and performance effective mechanism for attractively concealing from view not only the coil but also the two projecting arms of the torsion spring of a hinged hair holding device.  
           [0013]    A further advantage exists for a hinged hair holding device including a torsion spring that resists snagging of a user&#39;s hair, as well as damage to the user&#39;s hair, fingers and the device itself.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0014]    In all embodiments of the invention, there is provided a hair holding device comprising a pair of opposed body members each including hair gripping portions and hinged coupling means for allowing the opposed body members to pivot relative to each other about a hinge axis between closed and open positions. A torsion biasing spring biases the device into a predetermined closed or open position. The problem addressed by the present, invention is that of economically and aesthetically concealing from view all parts of the torsion spring.  
           [0015]    According to the invention, the spring is concealed in multiple casings which are unattached to either body member of the hair holding device. The first casing covers a portion of the spring&#39;s coil and a portion of a first of the spring&#39;s two radially projecting arms. This casing rotates in synchronization with the first of the spring&#39;s projecting arms. The second casing covers another portion of the spring&#39;s coil and a portion of the spring&#39;s second projecting arm and rotates in synchronization with that arm. Since the casings do not bear any torque exerted by the spring and do not encase the entireties of the spring&#39;s first and second projecting arms, they can be made relatively thin-walled and compact to closely conform to the size and shape of the coil portion of the spring. The thin walls and small diameter of the spring casings minimize the extent to which the casings protrude from the hair holding device, thereby improving its aesthetic appeal.  
           [0016]    The spring casings are preferably molded independent of the body members of the hair holding device such as by injection molding or the like, whereby the casings may be molded to a diameter smaller and with walls thinner than might otherwise be possible. And, by molding the spring casings independent of the body members, the casings may be molded with walls that are more opaque and better color matched to the body members than might otherwise be possible.  
           [0017]    According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a torsion spring having projecting arms that are configured to be resistant to hair snagging and to harm to a user&#39;s hair, fingers and the hair holding device itself. The distal portions of the spring arms preferably engage recesses and/or perforated protrusions provided in or on one or both of the body members, which recesses and/or protrusions are not visible when the device is worn in the hair.  
           [0018]    Other details, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description of the presently preferred embodiments and presently preferred methods of practicing the invention proceeds. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    The invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof shown, by way of example only, in the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional hinged and spring-biased hair holding device;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hair holding device according to the present invention in a fully closed position;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a torsion spring concealment mechanism according to the present invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIGS. 4, 5 and  6  are perspective, top and end views, respectively, of a torsion spring according to the present invention;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the torsion spring of FIGS.  4 - 6  and the torsion spring concealment mechanism of FIG. 3 in assembled condition;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a hair holding device body member according to the present invention;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 9 is an inside elevation view of the hair holding device body member of FIG. 8;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 10 is cross-sectional view of the hair holding device body member according to the present invention taken along line X-X of FIG. 8;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 11 is an inside elevation view of the hair holding device body member of FIG. 8 with the torsion spring of FIGS.  4 - 6  installed therein;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a hair holding device body member according to the present invention with the torsion spring of FIGS.  4 - 6  installed therein;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 13 is an inside elevation view of the hair holding device body member of FIG. 12 with the torsion spring of FIGS.  4 - 6  installed therein; and  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 14 is cross-sectional view of the hair holding device body member according to the present invention taken along line XIV-XIV of FIG. 12.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0032]    Disclosed in FIG. 1 is a typical spring biased hair-holding device  10  comprising a pair of rigid body members  12  and  14  that are pivotally connected by a hinge pin  16  that passes through cooperating connecting lugs  18  and  20  carried by the rigid members. Members  12 ,  14  comprise handle portions  30  and  32  and hair gripping portions  22  and  24  which terminate in a plurality of interdigitated hair-engaging fingers or tines  26  and  28 , respectively. A torsion spring  34  is disposed about the hinge pin  16 . Torsion spring  34  is fabricated from flexible and resilient metal wire and comprises a central coil  36  and first and second radially projecting biasing arms  38  on opposite ends of the coil. As is known in the art, the torsion spring is pre-stressed upon assembly of device  10  such that the projecting arms  38  exert force against the handle portions  30 ,  32  (or other portions of the members  12 ,  14 ) to urge the members into the illustrated closed position.  
         [0033]    When a user wishes to don device  10 , the user presses or squeezes handle portions  30 ,  32  inwardly together whereby the hair-gripping portions  22 ,  24  and tines  26 ,  28  hingedly separate toward an unillustrated open position for receiving gathered strands of the user&#39;s hair. When the user releases the handle portions  30 ,  32 , torsion spring  34  urges body members  12 ,  14  to move rotationally inwardly into a hair-gripping position, thereby causing the user&#39;s hair to be secured within the hair-gripping portions  22 ,  24  and their tines  26 ,  28 .  
         [0034]    Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a first embodiment of a hair holding device and torsion spring concealment mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention. The device, identified generally by reference numeral  110 , comprises a pair of rigid body members  112  and  114  that are pivotally connected by a hinge pin  116  that passes through cooperating connecting lugs  118  and  120  carried by the rigid members. Members  112 ,  114  respectively comprise handle portions  130  and  132  and hair gripping portions  122  and  124  which terminate in a plurality of interdigitated hair-engaging fingers or tines  126  and  128 . A torsion spring, concealed in FIG. 2 but described in detail in connection with FIGS.  4 - 6 , is disposed about the hinge pin  116 . The torsion spring is pre-stressed upon assembly of device  110  such that the projecting arms at its opposite ends exert force against the members  112 ,  114  to urge them into the illustrated closed position.  
         [0035]    Identified generally by reference numeral  140  in FIGS.  1 - 3  is a torsion spring concealment mechanism according to the present invention. As seen most clearly in FIG. 3., mechanism  140  preferably comprises a plurality of annular casings  142 . Each casing  142  includes a central passage  144  for receiving a portion of the coil of a torsion spring in the manner shown in FIG. 7. Each casing  142  further includes a peripheral passage  146  for receiving one of the radially projecting end arms of a torsion spring, also in the manner shown in FIG. 7. Peripheral passage  146  may extend for some or all of the length of its casing  142 . To minimize their outer dimensions, casings  142  are preferably right circular cylindrical members and their inner diameters should be such that the casings receive and freely rotate about the coil of a torsion spring with close tolerance. Furthermore, the connecting lugs  118 ,  120  and the peripheral walls of the casings  142  may be similarly sized and contoured to present a continuous cylindrical hinge assembly in all relative angular positions of the body members  112 ,  114 . Optionally, as illustrated in dashed line, one or both of casings  142  may also include radially projecting means  148  for covering at least a portion of the length and at least a portion of the circumference of a radially projecting spring biasing arm. According to a preferred embodiment, mechanism  140  comprises two casings  142  constructed and arranged as set forth above. However, casings  142  may span less than the length of the coil portion of the torsion spring they are intended to conceal. In that event, casings  142  may be supplemented by one or more additional intermediate annular casings that span the uncovered region of the torsion spring coil.  
         [0036]    Casings  142  may be made from any substantially rigid to rigid material that may be the same as or different from the material used for the body members  112 ,  114 . That is, it will be appreciated that the various components of the hair holding device of the present invention may not only be manufactured from plastic, but also from any single material or combination of materials possessing properties advantageous for a hair holding device. It is to be appreciated that the casings according to the invention shall be dimensioned and formed most advantageously to achieve the desired covering function. Such forms may include, without limitation, special notches, lips, cutaway sections, channels and/or liner materials to inhibit or induce, as needed, the axial positioning and/or rotational characteristics of the casings.  
         [0037]    Casings  142  may be used with any conventional torsion spring having a central coil and a pair of radially projecting biasing arms at its opposite ends such as the spring  34  shown in FIG. 1. It may also be used in connection with the torsion spring  134  of the present invention, the structural details of which are illustrated in FIGS.  4 - 6 . Turning to those figures, it will be seen that torsion spring  134  comprises a central coil  136  and first and second biasing arms  138  at opposite ends of the coil. Biasing arms  138  are bent members and comprise radially projecting first portions  138   a  and transverse second portions  138   b  that preferably extend substantially parallel to the hinge axis A-A shown in FIG. 11. Torsion spring  134  may be disposed in a hair holding device in the manner shown in FIG. 1 (i.e., with its biasing arms extending outwardly in biasing contact with the handle portions of the body members) or it may be disposed in the manner shown in FIGS.  8 - 14  described below (i.e., with its biasing arms extending inwardly in biasing contact with the hair gripping portions of the body members).  
         [0038]    The advantages of a hair holding device fitted with a torsion spring constructed pursuant to spring  134  are significant. Notably, the presence of transverse biasing arm portions  138   b  greatly reduces the likelihood of a user&#39;s fingers being pricked when using the device. In addition, transverse arm portions  138   b  prevent the radially projecting portions  138   a  of the arms from scratching, scoring or otherwise abrading the device during its useful service life, which favorably impacts both the functionality and appearance of the device. Transverse arm portions  138   b  also distribute spring force across a wider surface area so that the plastic in those regions of device  110  contacted thereby can be made thinner than they might otherwise need to be.  
         [0039]    Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown the torsion spring of FIGS.  4 - 6  and the torsion spring concealment mechanism  140  of FIG. 3 in assembled condition about hinge pin  116 . Casings  142  are in abutting and sliding contact with one another and fully encase the coil of spring  134 . In operation, the casings rotate in opposite directions relative to one another, with a first one of the casings being rotatably driven by a first biasing arm of a torsion spring and a second one of the casings being rotatably driven by the second biasing arm of the torsion spring. Desirably, the combined axial length of the casings  142  is such that the torsion spring concealment mechanism  140  fits between the connecting lugs  118  of body member  114  with minimal tolerance as shown in FIG. 2. By fully enclosing the coil of a torsion spring and exposing only as much of the biasing arms of the spring as is necessary to render the spring operational—without need for lateral gaps to accommodate the biasing arms—the torsion spring concealment mechanism  140  greatly reduces the likelihood that hair will be snagged and possibly damaged during use of the device  110  or a similarly equipped hair holding device.  
         [0040]    FIGS.  8 - 11  depict several views of a first embodiment of a first body member  112  of hair holding device according to the present invention. The structure of the corresponding second body member is preferably substantially similar to that of first body member  112 . Additionally, many of the various numbered components of body member  112  of FIGS.  8 - 11  and body member  112 ′ of FIGS.  12 - 14  are described in detail hereinabove. That discussion is incorporated herein by reference. Accordingly, for brevity, only that structure which was not earlier discussed will be addressed in specific in FIGS.  8 - 14 .  
         [0041]    Body member  112  preferably comprises means  150  provided along the inner wall surface of the body member for receiving a transverse arm portion  138   b  of one of the biasing arms  138  of spring  134 . According to this embodiment, means  150  is in the form of a recess that is adapted to receive a transverse arm portion  138   b  in the manner shown in FIG. 11. A significant benefit of recess  150  is that it substantially envelopes the transverse arm portion  138   b  which reduces the likelihood of a user&#39;s hair being snagged and/or damaged thereby. It also serves to distribute spring force across a greater surface area.  
         [0042]    FIGS.  12 - 14  depict several views of a further embodiment of a first body member  112 ′ of a hair holding device according to the present invention. Again, the structure of the corresponding second body member is preferably substantially similar to that of the first body member. Body member  112 ′ preferably comprises means  150 ′ provided along the inner wall surface of the body member for receiving a transverse arm portion  138   b  of one of the biasing arms  138  of spring  134 . According to this embodiment, means  150 ′ is in the form of a protrusion having an aperture  152 ′ into which is inserted the transverse spring arm portion  138   b . Like recess  150  of FIGS.  8 - 11 , a significant benefit of apertured protrusion means  150 ′ is that it substantially envelopes the distal transverse spring biasing arm portion  138   b  which reduces the likelihood of a user&#39;s hair being snagged and/or damaged thereby. It also serves to distribute spring force across a greater surface area.  
         [0043]    By utilizing at least two casings detached from a hair holding device&#39;s pivoting body members, the torsion spring concealment mechanism  140  of the present invention succeeds where other spring concealment schemes of the prior art have not. A hair holding device of the present invention equipped with the above-described torsion spring concealment mechanism conceals not only the coil but also both radially projecting biasing arms of the spring. Furthermore, because the casings  142  bear no torque, their diameters and wall thicknesses can be made smaller than those of the prior art and need not encapsulate the projecting arms of the spring.  
         [0044]    Casings  142  can be molded independent of the body members of the device by injection molding or other suitable molding process. In accordance with the present invention, the casings are advantageously molded from plastic material that is preferably opaque to conceal the spring that they contain and matched to the color of the associated body members and connecting lugs. In this way, the connecting lugs and the casings present a substantially uniform appearance which is much more aesthetically appealing than an exposed helical spring. However, some users may find contrasting, transparent or other colors or finishes appealing. In that event, the casings and the body members may be matched or mismatched as desired to produce any desired decorative effect.  
         [0045]    Because torsion spring concealment mechanism  140  provides small diameter casings with thin peripheral walls and an unobtrusive and continuous hinge contour, while also completely concealing not only the coil but also both projecting biasing arms of a torsion spring, the hair holding device of the present invention is aesthetically superior to those of the prior art. Also, torsion spring concealment mechanism  140  has been disclosed herein as being useful in connection with covering a torsion spring that biases the first and second body members of a hinged hair holding device into a closed position. However, it is not limited thereto. That is, the present torsion spring concealment mechanism can be used to successfully conceal any torsion spring which biases any hinged hair holding device into any predetermined position, whether closed or open.  
         [0046]    Beyond the illustrated embodiments, the present invention provides methods and means applicable to the universe of hair holding devices including but not limited to all forms of jaw clips, claw clips, butterfly clips, barrettes and banana clips.  
         [0047]    Although the invention has been described in detail for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that such detail is solely for that purpose and that variations can be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed herein.