Patent Publication Number: US-2020281339-A1

Title: Hair-style retaining auxiliary

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a nonprovisional application claiming benefit from a prior-filed provisional application bearing a Ser. No. 62/814,478 and filed Mar. 6, 2019, the entity of which is incorporated herein for reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a structure provided on a hair-style retainer as an auxiliary for retaining a hair style. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A variety of hair-style retainers, e.g. snap clips, gator clips, comb clips, hoops, bands, claws, donut rings, bun makers, etc., have been developed and used in our daily lives for retaining hair styles. Conventional hair-style retainers, although being generally feasible to shape hair styles, have problems in maintaining the hair styles because they are likely to slip off from hair after being used for a period of time or due to some movement. For solving such problems, relatively tense means may be helpful in retaining hair styles. However, tense pulling might hurt scalp and hair, and discomfort the user. 
     Moreover, a hair-style retainer, once being produced, has a fixed configuration such as color, shape and style. A user may need to buy several similar items to create some changes for hair styles. It is cost inefficient, and the hair-styling effects are, sometimes, still unsatisfactory. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a structure to be selectively and cooperatively used with a hair-style retainer as an auxiliary for retaining and/or modifying a hair style. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair-style retainer having a hair-style retaining auxiliary for well maintaining the hair style. 
     An aspect of the present invention relates to a hair-style retaining auxiliary for use with a hair-style retainer. The hair-style retainer at work has at least a first portion in contact with hair. The hair-style retaining auxiliary includes a base attached onto the first portion of the hair-style retainer; and a plurality of soft hook members integrally formed with and protruding from the base, and configured as a non-linear structure for locally changing linear distribution of hair in contact therewith. 
     Another aspect of the present invention relates to a hair-style retainer, comprising: a retainer body for confining hair to shape a hair style, having at least a first portion in contact with the confined hair when in use; a base secured onto the first portion of the retainer body; and a plurality of soft hook members integrally formed with and protruding from the sleeve base, and configured as a non-linear structure for locally changing linear distribution of hair in contact therewith. 
     A further aspect of the present invention relates to a hair-style retainer, comprising: a retainer body for confining hair to shape a hair style, having at least a first portion in contact with the confined hair when in use; and a plurality of soft hook members integrally formed with and protruding from the first portion of the retainer body, and configured as a non-linear structure for locally changing linear distribution of hair in contact therewith. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above contents of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1A-1D  are schematic diagrams illustrating structures of a variety of hair-style retainers comprising a hair-style retaining auxiliary according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 2A-2D  are schematic diagrams illustrating structures of a variety of hair-style retainers comprising a hair-style retaining auxiliary according to another embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a hair-style retainer comprising a hair-style retaining auxiliary according to a further embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1A , in which a barrette clip comprising a hair-style retaining auxiliary according to an embodiment of the present invention is schematically illustrated. As shown, a barrette clip commonly includes an upper elastic member  11  and a lower elastic member  12 , which are connected at one end  101 , and operable to be connected/disconnected at the other end  102 . When in use, hair is received from an open mouth  100  at the disconnected end  102  of the upper and lower elastic members  11  and  12 , and clamped between the upper elastic member  11  and the lower elastic member  12  by connecting the upper and lower elastic members  11  and  12  to close the mouth at the end  102 . Meanwhile, the upper elastic member  11  and the lower elastic member  12  urge against each other in order to secure hair therebetween. For thin hair or as shaking, however, the clip would still likely slip off from hair. Therefore, it is desirable to improve the hair-retaining effect of the clip. A hair-style retaining auxiliary  13  according to the present invention is thus provided on either or both of the upper and lower elastic members  11  and  12  for such a purpose. 
     Further referring to  FIG. 1B , the hair-style retaining auxiliary  13  comprises a sleeve base  131  and a plurality of soft hook members  132  protruding from the sleeve base  131 . The sleeve base  131  is configured as a soft tube, which is, for example, made of a soft material such as fabric or an elastic material such as rubber or plastic. In the embodiment as shown in  FIG. 1A , the sleeve base  131  is sleeved on the lower elastic member  11  or the upper elastic member  12 . Of course, there may be two sleeve bases  131  provided for wrapping both the lower and upper elastic members  11  and  12 . The hook members  132  are locally formed on a surficial area of the sleeve base  131 , where the hook members  132  would contact hair in the clip. For example, when the sleeve base  131  is wrapped around the lower elastic member  11 , the hook members  132  should face the upper elastic member  12 . Likewise, when the sleeve base  131  is wrapped around the upper elastic member  11 , the hook members  132  should face the lower elastic member  11 . The hook members  132  are configured as a non-linear structure which can locally change the linear distribution of hair in contact therewith, thereby “grasping” hair to some extent, and the term “hook”, although being proper to indicate a structure of a post with an open loop atop, is not intended to indicate such a specific shape and aspect. The hook members  132  should be soft enough to avoid hurting hair and scalp, and may be oriented in any direction in spite they might uprightly protrude from the sleeve base  131  if produced by way of injection molding. The size of the hook members  132  is not specifically defined, but should conform to the size of the upper and lower elastic members  11  and  12  and the gap therebetween. In addition, the material and softness of the hook members  132  may also be relevant to their optimal size. Preferably, the hook members  132  are integrally formed with the sleeve base  131 , for example, by injection molding. 
     The hair-style retaining auxiliary described above may also be used with any other suitable type of hair-style retainer. For example,  FIG. 1C  schematically illustrates a snap clip, in which a hair-style retaining auxiliary  13  comprising the sleeve base  131  and the hook members  132  as described above are used. The sleeve base  131  may be selectively sleeved on a central part  141  of the snap clip, with hook members  132  facing upwards, and/or a surrounding part  142  of the snap clip, with hook members  132  facing downwards, and hair is to be clamped between the central part  141  and the surrounding part  142 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1C , the hair-style retaining auxiliary  13  is disposed on the surrounding part  142  while the central part  141  is kept smooth for being readily inserted into hair. 
       FIG. 1D  schematically illustrates a hair claw, in which a hair-style retaining auxiliary  13  comprising the sleeve base  131  and the hook members  132  as described above are used. One or more sleeve bases  131  may be sleeved on either or both palm portions  151  and/or one or more finger portions  152  of the hair claw. Likewise, with the hook members  132  protruding from the sleeve base  131  and inserted into hair, the frictional feature and the non-linear configuration of the hook members can enhance hair-retaining capability of the claw. 
     Since a portion of the sleeve base  131  will be exposed from hair after the hair-style retainer is put on hair, a variety of visual effects may be made to the hair-style retainer through the design of the sleeve base  131 . For example, the overall color expression of the hair-style retainer may vary with the sleeve base  131 . In addition, literal or graphic characters may be added to the hair-style retainer by using a sleeve base with a specific pattern, or shaping the sleeve base itself into the specific pattern. 
       FIG. 2A  schematically illustrates a hair-style retaining auxiliary  23  according to another embodiment of the present invention, which comprises a securing base  231  and a plurality of soft hook members  232  protruding from a first face  2311  of the securing base  231 . In this embodiment, the securing base  231  may be configured as a soft pad or a relatively hard pad, which is, for example, made of a soft material such as fabric, an elastic material such as rubber or thermoplastic, or a stiff material such as a thermoset, and the hook members  232  are desirably soft. A second face  2312  of the securing base  231 , like the sleeve base  131 , may be attached onto any suitable hair-style retainer  20 , e.g. the barrette clip, snap clip or hair claw as described above, and any other snap clips, gator clips, comb clips, hoops, bands, claws, donut rings, bun makers, etc. Likewise, the hook members  232  are locally formed on a surficial area of the securing base  231 , where the hook members  232  would contact hair in the hair-style retainer  20 . 
       FIG. 2B  schematically illustrates the use of the hair-style retaining auxiliary  23  as illustrated in  FIG. 2A  in a hair claw as an example. One or more securing bases  231  may be attached onto either or both palm portions  151  and/or one or more finger portions  152  of the hair claw, for example, by gluing, pressing, coating or any other suitable laminating technique. 
     Likewise, by attaching the hair-style retaining auxiliary  23  to any other proper hair-style retainer  20 , with the hook members  232  protruding from the securing base  231  and inserted into hair, the frictional feature and the non-linear configuration of the hook members can enhance hair-retaining capability of the hair-style retainer.  FIG. 2C  schematically illustrates the use of the hair-style retaining auxiliary  23  as illustrated in  FIG. 2A  in a hair hoop  25  as another example; and  FIG. 2D  schematically illustrates the use of the hair-style retaining auxiliary  23  as illustrated in  FIG. 2A  in a hair band  26  as a further example. For different materials of hair-style retainers, different means for combining a hair-style retaining auxiliary with a hair-style retainer are selectively applied. 
     In the above embodiments, the hair-style retaining auxiliary  13  or  23  is a separate member from the hair-style retainer where it is attached. Alternatively, the hair-style retaining auxiliary may be integrally formed with at least of a part of the hair-style retainer. For example, the base, the hook members and the hair-style retainer are all made of plastic or silicone rubber, and integrally formed by injection molding.  FIG. 3  schematically exemplifies the use of a hair-style retaining auxiliary  33  in a bun maker  30 . The bun maker  30  can be made by injection molding, and with specifically designed mold, material and manufacturing parameters, the hook members  332  of the hair-style retaining auxiliary  33  can be integrally formed with the main body of the bun maker  30  without the securing base. 
     In view of the foregoing, by using a hair-style retaining auxiliary according to the present invention with a hair-style retainer, and more particularly by partially or entirely integrally forming a hair-style retaining auxiliary according to the present invention with a hair-style retainer, hair can be well retained with the hair-style retainer. Furthermore, by properly designing the pattern, color, material, allocation and/or some other features of the additional hair-style retaining auxiliary, an aesthetic effect may be exhibited as well as the functional effect. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.