Patent ID: 7992579

Claim:
A hair retaining clip comprising: a first clip member including a handle portion and a claw portion; a second clip member including a handle portion and a claw portion; a hinge pivotally connecting the first and second clip members and including a laterally extending hub portion including a hub notch formed in a surface thereof; a spring element surrounded by the hub portion and biasing the first and second claw portions toward a generally closed configuration; and a latch mechanism associated with the first and second clip members, the latch mechanism including a pawl lever that is pivotally mounted to the second clip member and adjacent the hub portion, wherein the first and second claw portions can pivot to a generally open configuration, wherein the pawl lever engages the hub notch to retain the first and second claw portions in the generally open configuration, and is spring-biased into engagement with the hub notch to retain the first and second claw portions in the generally open configuration, wherein at least a portion of the pawl lever is substantially coplanar with the second handle portion of the second clip member when the first and second claw portions are in the generally open configuration, wherein, with the first and second claw portions retained in the generally open configuration, depressing the pawl lever pivots it from engagement with the hub notch so that the first and second claw portions are then pivoted under the influence of the spring element to the generally closed configuration, and wherein, when the first and second claw portions are moved from the generally closed configuration toward the generally open configuration, the pawl lever is pivotally spring-biased into engagement with the hub notch to retain the first and second claw portions in the generally open configuration.