Patent Publication Number: US-2018042353-A1

Title: Hair colouring device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application is related to Australian provisional patent application number 2015900772 filed on Mar. 5, 2015, Australian standard patent application 2016201447 filed on Mar. 4, 2016, and PCT application PCT/AU2016/000066 filed on Mar. 4, 2016. The entire disclosure of the above patent applications is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the colouring of hair, and more particularly, to a hair colouring device and method that allows accurate, non-messy and even application of a hair colouring composition to the hair, in particular to one or more strands of hair more quickly and effectively. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     There are several reasons for a people to colour their hair either by themselves at home or through hair professionals in salons. The reasons for instance may be to cover hair that has turned gray, to change the shade of their hair, or to highlight hair. Also, hair colouring may be used to give glamorous look to the hair, especially with temporary colour compositions. There exist several methods or means for applying colour to hair. The dyes are often thoroughly mixed with the hair using liquid dyes by the hair professionals. This process becomes more completed at home. Generally, the professionals at salon and people at home are found colouring the hair by using a brush, comb, applicator and hair colouring composition in semi-liquid or liquid state. While this method for applying colour to the hair is very common, this method does not facilitate ease in applying colour to the selected portions of the hair, this method also involves undesirable contact of a person&#39;s hands and/or skin with hair colours, which may contain irritants. 
     Various hair colouring or touch up devices and methods for hair colouring or highlighting the hair has been provided in the prior art, some of which will now be described. 
     One such method utilizes a cap with holes therein that is placed on a person&#39;s head. Selected strands of hair that are to be highlighted, or coloured, are pulled though the holes in the cap. The colourant is then applied to the strands of hair extending through the holes in the cap. After the colourant has been applied and has been left for the required processing time to colour the hair the cap is removed. This technique is time consuming and tedious and does not allow for targeting particular hair strands. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,608 by Kari at al. describes about a dispensing apparatus for metallic foil that can be used by beauticians and hair stylists to colour or highlight the hair. The foil method as disclosed allows smaller, more independent, and more consistently variegated sections to be coloured effectively reducing risk of the colour bleeding onto surrounding hair. However, even with these advantages, the foil method is very time consuming and expensive and does not colour the hair all the way to the scalp. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,812 by Wiley et al. describes about a hand-held dispenser having a comb or brush and an optional sponge to apply, and distribute liquids such as dyes to the hair and/or that can be used to apply dye, and simultaneously comb and spread the dye onto the hair. This method colours one side of the hair and does not allow precise colouring. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,404 by Mitchem at al. describes about an applicator for depositing a hair treatment fluid to strands of hair. As described, the applicator is in the form of a longitudinal container with a hook-shaped end. The hair strands are placed in the hook-shaped end, and the applicator is drawn along the length of the strand to deposit the treatment fluid onto the strand. This is another exemplary prior art applicator device used for applying liquid colourants. This method colours one side of the hair and does not allow precise colouring. 
     Therefore prior art devices discussed above and others for hair colouring have been provided in the prior art. Though these prior art devices may be suitable for the specific individual or professional use to which they address, they differ from the present proposed invention. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a hair colouring device that can address or at least ameliorate the short comings associated with conventionally employed devices, methods or techniques for hair colouring or highlighting. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a hair colouring device that allows for highly accurate, non-messy and even application of hair colouring composition to the hair, in particular to one or more hair strands more quickly, and effectively and if possible with less processing time. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair colouring device which is smaller, economical, more reliable and safe to use. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair colouring device and its method of use which would help in applying colours to the hair without leakage of the colourant and that would provide more uniform distribution of the colouring composition over the hair. 
     Still further object of the present invention is to provide a hair colouring device that allows for easy viewing and controlled selection of hair strands to be coloured. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hair colouring device which facilitates instant colouring of hair strands. 
     Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hair colouring device that allows two sided colouring of the hair strands simultaneously. 
     Still another object of the present invention to provide a hair colouring device which may not require any special experience and training for use such as where to load the hair colourant cartridge. The consumer/user will be able to load and use the device by just following a few instructions provided by the manufacturer in the instruction manual. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a hair colouring device for selectively colouring or highlighting of one or more strands of hair. The device includes a top housing, a bottom housing movably engaged to the top housing at distal ends using an engagement mechanism, a first cartridge carrier for receiving a first colourant-filled cartridge, wherein the first cartridge carrier being removably disposed within an opening provided on the top housing, a second cartridge carrier for receiving a second colourant-filled cartridge, wherein the second cartridge carrier being removably disposed within an opening provided on the bottom housing, a pair of applicator tips, each of the applicator tips being disposed at a proximal end of the first cartridge carrier and the second cartridge carrier. The engagement mechanism enables the device to alternate between a closed position and an open position. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a hair colouring device. The device includes a top housing configured to have a top cavity, a bottom housing configured to have a bottom cavity, wherein the bottom housing movably engaged to the top housing at distal ends using an engagement mechanism, a pair of applicator tips, each of the applicator tips being disposed at a proximal end of the top housing and the bottom housing. The engagement mechanism enables the device to alternate between a closed position and an open position. 
     According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of using a hair colouring device for selectively colouring one or more strands of hair. The method including providing the hair colouring device, the hair coloring device including a top housing, a bottom housing movably engaged to the top housing at distal ends using an engagement mechanism, a first cartridge carrier for receiving a first colourant-filled cartridge, wherein the first cartridge carrier being removably disposed within an opening provided on the top housing, a second cartridge carrier for receiving a second colourant-filled cartridge, wherein the second cartridge carrier being removably disposed within an opening provided on the bottom housing, a pair of applicator tips, each of the applicator tips being disposed at a proximal end of the first cartridge carrier and the second cartridge carrier; wherein the engagement mechanism enables the device to alternate between a closed position and an open position. 
     According to the same aspect the method further including alternating the hair colouring device between an position and a closed position to dispense colourant onto one or more strands of hair, gripping the one or more strands of hair during the closed position in between the pair of applicator tips, and moving the hair colouring device along the length of the one or more strands of hair for application of colourant. 
     Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will readily be apparent from the following detailed description, simply by illustrating embodiments and implementations, including the best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a hair colouring device of the present invention, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the hair colouring device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a diagram illustrates method of use of the hair colouring device with hair strand being fed hair colouring composition, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a hair colouring device of the present invention, according to another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the hair colouring device of  FIG. 1 , according to another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 6A-6C  shows alignment of applicator tips based on variation of applied pressure on the device, according to an exemplary embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which one or more preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Before explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a hair colouring device generally identified by reference numeral  10  or  40  or  50  is described with reference to  FIGS. 1 through 6 . As best shown in the exploded view (in  FIG. 2 ), the hair colouring device  10  includes a top housing  11 , and a bottom housing  12 . The top housing  11  includes a proximal end  11   a  and a distal end  11   b.  Similarly the bottom housing  12  includes a proximal end  12   a  and a distal end  12   b.  The top housing  11  and the bottom housing  12  include openings  13  and  14  respectively. 
     Further referring to the  FIG. 2 , the hair colouring device  10  includes a first cartridge carrier  15  with an interior cavity  17  for receiving a first colourant-filled cartridge  19 . The first cartridge carrier  15  is removably disposed within the opening  13  provided in the top housing  11 . The device  10  also includes a second cartridge carrier  16  with an interior cavity  18  for receiving a second colourant-filled cartridge  20 . The second cartridge carrier  16  is removably disposed within the opening  14  provided in the bottom housing  12 . The first cartridge carrier  15  includes a proximal end  15   a  and a distal end  15   b.  Similarly the second cartridge carrier  16  includes a proximal end  16   a  and a distal end  16   b.  It should be understood that the interior cavities  17 ,  18  of the first cartridge carrier  15  and the second cartridge carrier  16  are suitably sized such that the first colourant-filled cartridge  19  and the second colourant-filled cartridge  20  can either tightly fit within the interior walls of the cavities  17 ,  18  or sized slightly larger than the size of the first colourant-filled cartridge  19  and the second colourant-filled cartridge  20 . 
     According to some embodiment, as shown with reference to  FIG. 5 , the hair colouring device  50  may embody the readily designed colourant-filled cartridges  19 ,  20  that can easily be clipped in and out of the top housing  11  and the bottom housing  12  respectively when the device  50  is in open position. The colourant-filled cartridges  19 ,  20  will have applicator tips  21 ,  22  either fixed or removably attached thereon. According to an embodiment, the cartridges  19 ,  20  may be filled in an unclipped position with an external colour resource or the cartridges  19 ,  20  may be filled with the external colour resource through the applicator tips  19 ,  20  when the cartridges  19 ,  20  are in clipped position. 
     According to some embodiment, the device  10  instead of using the first colourant-filled cartridge  19 , and the second colourant-filled cartridge  20  may employ suitably designed hollow cavities or reservoirs for holding the various forms of the colourants, especially colourant in liquid form that can flow through the applicator tips  21 ,  22  on to the strands of hair like some other texturing or hair styler devices used for colouring the hair. These reservoirs may be filled with an external colour resource removably or permanently attached with the device  10 . According to an embodiment, the top housing  11  and the bottom housing  12  can be configured to be hollow inside with no cartridge carriers  15 ,  16  and colourant-filled cartridges  19 ,  20  required. The top hollow cavity within the top housing  11  and the bottom hollow cavity within the bottom housing  12  would act as the reservoirs which can be filled with various forms of the colourants through the applicator tips  21 ,  22  or directly injecting the colourants inside the reservoirs through suitable external means by removing the tips  21 ,  22 . According to the same embodiment, each of the applicator tips  21 ,  22  may be disposed directly at proximal end of the top housing and the bottom housing respectively. 
     Further according to the preferred embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the pair of applicator tips  21  and  22  may be removably grooved to proximal ends  15   a,    16   a  of the first cartridge carrier  15  and the second cartridge carrier  16  respectively. The applicator tips  21  and  22  preferably comprise some tiny apertures thorough which the colourant can be fed onto the strands of hair while in use. As discussed above, the applicator tips  21 ,  22  may also be used to fill the first colourant-filled cartridge  19 , and the second colourant-filled cartridge  20  or the reservoirs. The applicator tips  21 ,  22  are configured to contact the strands of hair without snagging the hair. These applicator tips  21 ,  22  provided in the device  10  allows two sided colouring of the hair strands simultaneously. The applicator tips  21 ,  22  may vary in design preferably, but not limited to circular or star like. The varying designs of the applicator tips  21 ,  22  may then be used by the user to stamp various shapes of colour onto the strands of hair. During use, when the device  10  or  40  or  50  is in use the applicator tips  21 ,  22  come together to hold the one or more strand of hair therebetween for colouring. The alignment of the applicator tips  21 ,  22  with respect to each other depends on the pressure applied by the user using the device  10  or  40  or  50 . When the user using the device applies no pressure then the applicator tips  21 ,  22  are normally aligned, as shown in  FIG. 6A , when the user applies maximum pressure on the device while in use, the applicator tips  21 ,  22  are fully aligned with respect to each other as seen in  FIG. 6C . Similarly, if just a small amount of pressure is applied the applicator tips  21 ,  22  are just partially aligned, as seen in  FIG. 6B . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 1 - FIG. 2 , the top housing  11  and the bottom housing  12  have an engagement mechanism  23  at the corresponding distal ends  11   b  and  12   b.  The engagement mechanism  23  helps the top housing  11  and the bottom housing  12  to snap fit and allow a user to alternate the device  10  between a closed position and an open position to dispense or block dispensing of the colouring composition or formulation. According to the described embodiment, the device  10  or  40  may include a replaceable cap  24  that fits over the pair of applicator tips  21 ,  22  to securely block dispensing of colouring composition when the device is not in use and to safely store the device  10  or  40  for future use. It is to be understood that any other engagement mechanism  23 , as shown in  FIG. 5  may also be used to meet above mentioned objective. 
     The first colourant-filled cartridge  19  and the second colourant-filled cartridge  20  or the reservoirs may contain hair colouring formulation in solid form or liquid form or semi solid form like cream or any combinations thereof. The colourant/dye contained in the cartridges  19  and  20  may be permanent or semi-permanent and temporary in nature. 
     It should also be understood that, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, the cartridges  19 ,  20  contained may be permanently fixed within the device  10  or  40  or may be replaceable. Also, according to some other embodiment, the cartridges  19 ,  20  may be capable of being refilled using an external colour resource preferably using external means, for example a tube. Still in some other embodiment, the device  10  or  40  may deploy a canister of colour to feed the cartridges  19 ,  20 . The canister may be permanently or removably attached to the device  10  or  40 . 
     The devices  10  or  40  or  50  as stated above in the objectives is an instant colouring device ready for use by the user at any time that do not require a laborious work of thoroughly mixing the colourant/dyes with solvent or mixing of the liquid dyes. However, it is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the user may need to allow some processing time for the device  10  or  40  or  50  to get it ready for instant colouring in case the device  10  or  40  or  50  is not ready for instant colouring. 
     It is also to be understood that the scope of using the colourant filled cartridges  19 ,  20  is not limited to containing any specific colour. One or more colours may be contained in the cartridges  19 ,  20 , which may include, but are not limited to, red, yellow, orange, purple, brown, black, any combinations or shades thereof, or others. According to some other embodiment, the colouring composition contained in the cartridges  19 ,  20  may be separated into distinct sections in the cartridge  19 ,  20  which may preferably be required by the user to apply different colour stripes to the strands of hair. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 3  illustrates method of using the hair colouring device  40  for colouring or highlighting the strands of hair. The method includes steps of providing the hair colouring device  40  that includes the elements described above with reference to  FIGS. 1-2 , the top housing  11 , the bottom housing  12  movably engaged with the top housing  11  using the engagement mechanism  23 , the first cartridge carrier  15 , and the second cartridge carrier  16  for receiving the first colourant-filled cartridge  19  and the second colourant-filled cartridge  20 , and the pair of applicator tips  21 ,  22 , each of which is removably grooved to the proximal ends  15   a,    16   a  of the first cartridge carrier  15  and the second cartridge carrier  16 . 
     According to the embodiment, the method adapted by the user of the hair colouring device  40  for colouring or highlighting the strands of hair further includes placing the first colourant-filled cartridge  19  and the second colourant-filled cartridge  20  in the interior cavities  17 ,  18  of the first cartridge carrier  15  and the second cartridge carrier  16 , placing the strands of hair in between the pair of applicator tips  21 ,  22  of the device  40 , alternating the device  40  between the closed position and the open position to dispense or block dispensing of the colourant/dye onto the strands of hair and simultaneously gripping the strands of hair by alternating the device  40  to the closed position, and moving the device  40  along the length of the strands of hair for application of the colourant/dye filled in the cartridges  19 ,  20 . 
     The hair colouring device  10  may have numerous shapes and configurations capable of applying hair colouring composition or formulation to the strands of hair. As best seen in  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the top housing  11  and the bottom housing  12  or other elements described above may have differing shapes and configurations. Though the hair colouring device  40  in  FIG. 4  or  FIG. 5  is of different shape, the corresponding components (as described in  FIG. 1-2 ) and their functionality remain same as described above. 
     It should be understood that though some of embodiments of specific designs (as in  FIG. 1 , or  FIG. 2  or  FIG. 5 ) are illustrated and described above, the device  10  may have several other shapes or configurations with similar elements, or one or other elements combined together. 
     It will also be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the type described above. 
     While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodiments of a hair colouring or highlighting device, accordingly it is not limited to the details shown, it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention.