Abstract:
First and second holders for styling a person&#39;s hair in a selected form with respect to at least a portion thereof which holders can be used individually or in combination. In combination, protuberances in one holder can be forced into openings in the other to thereby be held together as a unit. There are provisions to aid fastening these holders in a person&#39;s hair and to hold decorative items therein.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
   This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/777,453 filed on Feb. 27, 2006 for “WOMAN&#39;S HAIR BUN HOLDER”. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Women have many alternative hair styles they use to present themselves in public. Among these is the use of a hair bun formed at the back of a woman&#39;s head. There is a desire to have such buns enhanced with decorative holders that can be used in forming and maintaining such hair buns. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides first and second holders for styling a person&#39;s hair in a selected form with respect to at least a portion thereof which holders can be used individually or in combination. The first holder comprises a portion of a first substantially circular disk formed of a flexible material arrayed about a first circular arc center opening with said first circular disk portion having a circumference at radii larger than that of said first circular arc center opening exceeding half a circle thereabout to extend radially outward from said first circular arc center opening with two major surfaces on either side thereofending in an undulating outer edge. There is a plurality of openings in this first holder each of a selected shape extending between said major surfaces of said first circular disk portion each along a corresponding radial direction in said first circular disk. The second holder comprises a portion of a second substantially circular disk formed of a flexible material arrayed about a second circular arc center opening with said second circular disk portion having a circumference at radii larger than that of the second circular arc center opening exceeding half a circle thereabout to extend radially outward from said second circular arc center opening with two major surfaces on either side thereof ending in an undulating outer edge. There is a plurality of protuberances extending outward from one of said major surfaces of said second circular disk portion each having a peripheral closed surface thereabout extending outward from that said major surface at least one of which protuberances has said peripheral closed surface thereof matching said selected shape of a corresponding one of said plurality of openings such that they are positionable therein. There are provisions to aid fastening these holders in a person&#39;s hair and to hold decorative items therein. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  show a top view and a side view of one of two structures embodying the present invention, 
       FIGS. 1C and 1D  show a top view and a side view of one of two structures embodying the present invention alternative to the structure of  FIGS. 1A and 1B , 
       FIGS. 1E and 1F  show a top view and a side view of the remaining one of two structures embodying the present invention, 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  shows one combination using together the structures of  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B,  1 E and  1 F, and 
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  shows another combination using together the structures of  FIGS. 1A ,  1 B,  1 E and  1 F. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1A  shows a top view and  FIG. 1B  shows a side view of a decorative holder,  10 , for hair buns that can be used by itself as a holder, or as a structural portion of a combination of forming a further decorative hair bun forming and holding device using the holder shown in  FIGS. 1E and 1F  as will be described below. Holder  10  of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  is formed, generally, as a portion of a circular disk generally extending along a circular arc of approximately 210° extent, and having a wavy or scalloped form undulating outer edge also, on the average, following an outer circular arc. This disk has a circular arc as the interior edge thereof, and this interior edge and the outer edge of the disk are joined by two angled straight lines at the opposite ends thereof to form the disk side edges. 
   The interior of this disk portion structure has therein rhombic shaped openings,  11 , also distributed along the circular arc in the disk as seen in  FIG. 1A  with the edges of these openings shown in dashed line form in  FIG. 1B  to the extent they do not have another thereof between them and the edge seen in that figure. These openings have the more widely separated opposite vertices thereof at a disk surface each being along a corresponding radial direction in that circular disk. Openings  111  are separated from one another by stiffening raised line ridges, or ribs,  12 , therebetween each lying on a radius of the disk and positioned approximately 30° from the others of these ribs nearest thereto as seen in  FIG. 1A . Foreshortened versions of ribs  12  are seen as lines in  FIG. 1B . 
   Small circular openings,  13 , are provided in the disk portion just outside the circular arc inner edge of holder  10  again distributed along a circular ark in the disk as is seen in  FIG. 1A , and through which other decorative additions to holder  10  can be affixed. Openings  13  are not shown in  FIG. 1B  to avoid obscuring those features which are shown there. Holder  10 , itself, is affixed to the wearer&#39;s hair by hairpins passed through a pair of radially aligned slot openings,  14 , each pair member just outside of openings  13  near a corresponding side edge of the disk. 
   The material of decorative holder  10  can be of the material Santoprene®, a thermoplastic elastomer manufactured by Monsanto Corporation of St. Louis, Mo. This material can be provided in a range of colors by providing dyes or pigments therein and can be further supplemented by distributing speckles therein, or both. The resiliency of this material allows rhombic openings  11  to be spread apart to increase the area thereof so as to permit accommodating therein rhomboids which are provided in the holder of  FIG. 1B  as a basis for holding the structural portions of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  together. 
   An alternative holder,  10 ′, is shown in a top view in  FIG. 1C  and the corresponding side view of  FIG. 1D . Here, three spatially separated truncated semicircular cylindrical shells,  12 ′, each about an interior open passageway space are positioned aligned with one another along each of the positions of ribs  12  in holder  10  but with such ribs not present in holder  10 ′. These shells serve as decoration holders such as for holding stems of flowers. 
   Turning to  FIG. 1E , there is shown a top view, and a side view in corresponding  FIG. 1F , of a further decorative hair bun holder,  15 , that can again be used by itself as a holder, or as a structural portion of a combination with holders  10  or  10 ′ as indicated above. Holder  15  may be formed of the same material as holder  10 , or not, but not necessarily of the same color or with the same kind of speckles being distributed therein, i.e. variations between the two can be chosen to enhance the decorative effect of the combination thereof. Holder  15  is again formed as part of a circular disk portion with a scalloped or wavy form undulating outer edge and a circular arc inner edge which are joined by angled straight line edges. Again, the disk portion generally extends for approximately 210° of a circular arc. Here, too, are provided stiffening raised line ridges, or ribs,  12 ″, each along a corresponding disk radius similar to ribs  12  in holder  10 , additional decorative device fastening holes  13 ′ just outside the central opening circular arc interior edge of the disk, and two pairs of radially aligned hairpin slots  14 ′ just outside of openings  13 ′ with each member of one pair near a corresponding side edge of the disk with an adjacent member of the other pair a relatively small distance further inward in the disk at the same radius for corresponding portions of each. The second pair of slots  14 ′ has been added here because of the larger size of holder  15  with respect to holder  10  which may require additional hairpins to keep the holder in the wearer&#39;s hair during use. 
   Adjacent ones of stiffening ribs  12 ″ in holder  15  have between them a corresponding one of a plurality of protuberant rhombohedrons,  16 , each extending out from the main disk surface of holder  15  viewed in  FIG. 1E  sufficiently so that they can be forced into similarly shaped rhombic openings  11  of holder  10 . As such, rhombohedrons  16  are distributed along the circular arc in the disk of holder  15  at radius allowing them to be matched to rhombic openings  11  of holder  10  in having the more widely separated opposite vertices thereof at the disk surface being along a corresponding radial direction in that circular disk. The forcing of rhombohedrons  16  into rhombic openings  11  of holder  10  thereby maintains these two holders together as a separable unit. That is, rhombic openings  11  are such that they form a slight interference fit with rhombohedrons  16  when projected therethrough to be positioned therein. Thus, holders  10  and  15  can be snapped together as a structural hair bun holding unit through the insertion of rhombohedrons  16 , raised from the main front surface of holder  15 , into rhombic openings  11  of holder  10 . 
   Two such combinations are shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . A first combination,  17 , shown in a front view of the combination in  FIG. 2  has holder  10  covering approximately all of the surface of the combination  17  in that figure so that all the rhombohedrons  16  of holder  15  project through a corresponding different one of all of the rhombic openings  11  in holder  10 . Together as shown in  FIG. 2A , holders  10  and  15  give something of a stacked hand fans appearance as can be further seen in the pictorial view in  FIG. 2B  with a representational showing of holders combination  17  being used by a woman to form and hold one style of a hair bun. Holder  10 ′ can be substituted for holder  10  in combination  17 . 
   Alternatively, a further combination,  18 , is shown in  FIG. 3A  where only those rhombohedrons  16  at the opposite ends of the holder disk  15  are inserted into two corresponding rhombic openings  11  at the opposite ends of holder disk  10 . Holders  10  and  15 , so assembled, together form a complete more or less circular disk together although not quite following a common circular arc. Such an arrangement provides a flower petal appearance as can be seen for this combination in the front view thereof in  FIG. 3A  and in the pictorial view in  FIG. 3B  with a representational showing of holders combination  18  being used by a woman to form and hold another style of a hair bun. Here, too, holder  10 ′ can be substituted for holder  10  in combination  18 . 
   Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.