US3076465A

US3076465A - Hair holding device

Info

Publication number: US3076465A
Application number: US803757A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nathan L Solomon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1959-04-02
Filing date: 1959-04-02
Publication date: 1963-02-05
Anticipated expiration: 1980-02-05

Description

Feb. 5, 1963 N. SOLOMON 3,075,465.

HAIR HOLDING DEVICE Filed April 2, 1959 W nn-r 11'- mun-Ill"mill-1|mnn-mmun$"""" INVENTOR. A/flfHA/V L S L 3,076,465 Patented Feb. 5, 1953 ice 3,076,465 HAIR HOLDING DEVICE Nathan L. Solomon 343 Highview Road, Englewood, NJ.

Filed Apr. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 803,757 r 3 Claims. (Cl. 132-66) The present invention relates to improvements in hair retaining devices and more particularly relates to a hair holding device for confining loose hair and retaining curls in their set position.

In forming curls and in setting the hair in the form of Waves, it is customary to set a portion of the hair in the shape of the curl desired Which is then set by holding the curl in position and shape overnight or by application of permanent waving solutions and holding the hair in position until set. Conventional devices for holding the hair or curl in position are subject to a number of well known difliculties and disadvantages which have prompted many proposals to remedy them. Probably the most widely used holding device is the ordinary bobby pin. Since the formation of the curl or positioning the hair to be held requires the use of one hand, the bobby pin requires extreme manual dexterity in separating the prongs of the bobby pin with one hand for self-application. Care must be exercised in inserting the bobbyfpin into the hair of the user because the flat, narrow prongs may dig into a scrape the scalp. In addition, its snap-spring tension largely concentrates the pressure at a localized point, and also the narrow, overlapping form of its holding prongs tends to mar the appearance of the resulting wave when the curl is brushed out. Further, the construction of a hobby pin makes it difficult to remove from the hair without catching strands of haid and thereby damaging the. individual strands of hair, or even pulling out and breaking the individual strands.

There have been attempts to provide a more satisfactory haid holding device but these have not conveniently remedied the disadvantages discussed above. Many of the proposed hair retaining devices have allowed easy introduction into the hair mass but they could not maintain themselves where placed for anylength of time and were often displacedaccidentally. Other types of hair retaining devices use hinged construction or pivoting members for clamping the hair between the pivoting members. While the type of hair retaining device is easy to apply and is securely retained in the hair mass, it is relatively expensive to produce and often catches the hair in the pivoting mechanism, causing discomfort to the user upon removal of the hair retaining device. Also, the overlapping alignment of the members interferred with the proper drying of the moistened hair.

With the wide .use today of home permanents and the self-application of wave setting solutions, it is desirable that a hair retaining device be resistant to the chemicals in the solutions. Due to the resiliency required inoperation of a hair retaining device, as well as the durability in long use, a spring metal construction is preferred. To use such a steel with the corrosive tendencies of these wave solutions requires coating the metal with a protective layer, hence making any construction which has sliding or rotating hinge elements not preferred for use with these hair waving solutions.

Accordingly, a need exists for a light weight, durable, inexpensive hair holding device which is easy to apply to the hair mass and will maintain itself from accidental disengagement therefrom and can be used with hair wave setting solutions, and yet cause no discomfort to the wearer.

Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provided a hair holding device that is easy to apply and holds the hair securely in position, yet will not be accidentally displaced.

' member .the head of the user.

' It is another object of the present invention to provide a hair holding device having hair holding members which distribute the retaining pressure over a relatively wide area, avoiding any concentrated pressure points for damaging or breaking individual hair strands.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a hair holding device that is easily applied with one hand of the user and Will not be displaced accidentally from the hair.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a hair holding device that has no sharp tips or edges for possible scratching or damaging the scalp of the user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair retaining device that acomplishes all of the above and yet is light Weight, durable, inexpensive to fabricate, allows moisture in the hair to evaporate, is easy to package and is reliable in use.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the annexed drawings in which- FIG. 1 is a plan'view showing a hair holding device in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view showing the concave, curved bottom member and the downwardly extending tip thereof.

FIG. 3 is a bottom View of the present invention, and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

For hair holding devices of this general type it is desirable that they be light and made from an inexpensive, resilient material such as spring steel. While spring steel offers the most favorable combination of characteristics for a hair holding device of this type, other materials may be used such as plastic, copper, aluminum, etc.

Referring now to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the present invention shows a hair holding device 10 having a base or lower member 11 and an upper holding member 13 integrally united at one end 14 in spring tensioned relationship. Base member 11 is formed of two

arms

16 and 17, joined at the free end of base member 11 to form a closed tip 19, preferably rounded as shown.

Arms

16 and 17 of base member 11 are preferably spaced apart intermediate of tip 19 and closed end 14, and are undulated or corrugated in shape for aiding in the prevention of accidental dislodgement.

integrally, united with base 11 at end 14 and in superposed relation therewith is an upper member 13. Upper 13 has a pair of

arms

21 and 22 enclosinga generally flattened ellipsoidal area and having a smoothly rounded free end 23.

Arms

21 and 22 are spaced outwardly from

arms

16 and 17 respectively, so that

arms

16 and 17 are aligned with the ellipsoidal area. The free end 23 of upper arm 13 is advantageously bent slightly upward to aid in receiving the strands of hair to be held by the hair holding device disclosed and described herein.

Base member 11 is curved to follow the contour of Preferably, this curve of base member 11 should be such that the upper portion 20 of the curvature of

arms

16 and 17 of base member 11 passes through and extends slightly above the plane in which arms 21 and '22 of upper member 13 lie, as shown best in FIG. 2. Tip 19 of base member 11 extends downwardly in a direction opposite to free end 23 of upper member 13 for providing a hair receiving opening between upper member 13 and lower member 11 of the hair holding device. Advantageously, the curvature and construction of base member 11 is such that

arms

16 and 17 do not come in contact With upper member 13, as seen in FIG. 4, eliminating any points of stress concentration. In operation, the strands of hair to be collected and retained are held in one hand and

arms

21 and 22 of upper member 13 are firmly grasped between the thumb and forefinger of the other hand, with

tips

19 and 23 facing the hair to be held. By pressing down on the upper portion 20 of

arms

16 and 17 with the index finger, base member 11 is forced downwardly to the position indicated by the dashed lines in FIG. 2, thus separating

members

11 and 13. Hair holding device is then slid into place with the hair to be held being easily received between upwardly curved tip 23 and downwardly curved tip 19, and the hair is then slipped into position between base member 11 and upper member 13-. Upon releasing the pressure exerted on portion 20 of base member 11, member 11 springs back to its original position due to the resiliency inherent in its construction. Due to the offset relationship between

arms

16 and 17 of base member 11 and

arms

21 and 22, respectively, of upper member 13, an even pressure is exerted on the hair to be held thereby avoiding any concentrated pressure points and thus eliminating any damage to the individual strands of hair. If desired, the hair holding device can be guided into position by sliding rounded tip 19 along the scalp of the user without danger of harm to the scalp.

A hair holding device is thus disclosed which achieves important practical advantages. The long downwardly curved tip of the central base member 11 in conjunction with the slightly upturned tip of upper member 13 provide an opening to aid in receiving the hair. The spacedapart construction of the

arms

16 and 17 of base member 11 and

arms

21 and 22 of upper member 13 allow uninterrupted evaporation of any moisture in the hair. The hair holding device allows easy and proper placement in the hair by using only one hand. There are no sharp prongs or ends to pierce and scrape the scalp and it is safe for use in all age groups, including the very young. There are no concentrated pressure points which damage the individual strands of hair and the interaction of the members provides a gentle, uniform pressure for holding the hair in place. The undulated shape of base member 11 aids in fixedly positioning hair holding device 10 in the hair so that it will not be accidentally displaced.

While the present invention has been described with the preferred embodiment as using a continuous piece for forming the upper and base members, individual members may be used and joined in any convenient manner at end 14, such as by brazing, welding, using a separate clamping means, etc. Similarly,

arms

16 and 17 of base member 11 and

arms

21 and 22 of upper member 13 may be separate elements and joined at both ends 14 and their free ends, respectively. Also, base member 11 may be a single strip instead of spaced-part arms.

While the members of the hair holding device are shown as being made from flat stock, other cross-sectional members may be used, such as circular or hexagonal wire.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that many variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit thereof. Therefore it is intended that the foregoing description may be illustrative only and not construed in a limiting sense, the present invention being defined solely by the claims granted to me.

What is claimed is:

-1. A hair retaining device comprising a continuous elongated strip of resilient material bent substantially over itself for providing an upper member and a base member in generally superposed relationship, said upper member having a pair of arms enclosing an elongated generally flattened ellipsoidal area with the free end of said upper member curved slightly upward, said ellipsoidal area having a width adopted to accommodate an index finger, said base member having a pair of spaced-apart arms joined at their free ends to form a downwardly extending tip for co-acting with the upwardly curved free end of said upper member to receive the hair to be held, said arms of said base member being aligned with said ellipsoidal area of said upper member and extending beyond the free end of said upper member, said base member being curved to follow the contour of the head of the user and in its normal position having a portion of said base member extending into said ellipsoidal area and beyond the upper surface of the arms of said upper member, whereby the base member and upper member are separated upon a downward force being exerted on the portion of said base member extending above said upper member by an index finger.

2. A hair retaining device of light, resilient material comprising an upper member, a lower member, and means for integrally connecting said members in spring-tensioned relationship, said upper member enclosing an elongated, generally flattened ellipsoidal area, one end of said upper member secured to said connecting means and the other end of said upper member curved slightly upward, said lower member having a pair of spaced-apart, undulated arms with one end secured to said connecting means and the other end having said arms smoothly joined to form a downwardly extending tip for cooperation with the upwardly curved free end of said upper arm to receive the hair to be held, said arms of said lower member aligned with said ellipsoidal area of said upper member and extending beyond the free end of said upper member, said lower member being curved to follow the contour of the head of the user and in the normal unflexed position having the uppermost portion of said curved lower member extending beyond the upper surface of said upper member, whereby upon a downward force being exerted on the portion of said lower member extending above said upper member the upper and lower members are separated so that said hair retaining device may be actuated with one hand.

3. A hair retaining device of light resilient material comprising an upper member, a lower member, and means for resiliently connecting an adjacent end of each of said members for positioning said members in spring tensioned relationship, said upper member having a pair of arms spaced apart sufficiently to accommodate an index finger, said lower member being curved to follow the contour of the head of the user and having its free and smoothly rounded, said lower member in its normal unflexed position having a portion thereof extending beyond the upper surface of said upper member, said lower member adapted to be urged away from said upper member by a separating force exerted on the portion of said lower member which extends beyond said upper arms for receiving hair between said members, said hair being clamped between said members upon removal of said separating force, whereby said hair retaining device may be used to clamp hair with one hand.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 956,991 Nathanson May 3, 1910 1,316,981 Singer Sept. 23, 1919 1,422,464 Meserole July 11, 1922 2,476,350 Bergen July 19, 1949

Claims

1. A HAIR RETAINING DEVICE COMPRISING A CONTINUOUS ELONGATED STRIP OF RESILIENT MATERIAL BENT SUBSTANTIALLY OVER ITSELF FOR PROVIDING AN UPPER MEMBER AND A BASE MEMBER IN GENERALLY SUPERPOSED RELATIONSHIP, SAID UPPER MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF ARMS ENCLOSING AN ELONGATED GENERALLY FLATTENED ELLIPSOIDAL AREA WITH THE FREE END OF SAID UPPER MEMBER CURVED SLIGHTLY UPWARD, SAID ELLIPSOIDAL AREA HAVING A WIDTH ADOPTED TO ACCOMMODATE AN INDEX FINGER, SAID BASE MEMBER HAVING A PAIR OF SPACED-APART ARMS JOINED AT THEIR FREE ENDS TO FORM A DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING TIP FOR CO-ACTING WITH THE UPWARDLY CURVED FREE END OF SAID UPPER MEMBER TO RECEIVE THE HAIR TO BE HELD, SAID ARMS OF SAID BASE MEMBER BEING ALIGNED WITH SAID ELLIPSOIDAL AREA OF SAID UPPER MEMBER AND EXTENDING BEYOND THE FREE END OF SAID UPPER MEMBER, SAID BASE MEMBER BEING CURVED TO FOLLOW THE CONTOUR OF THE HEAD OF THE USER AND IN ITS NORMAL POSITION HAVING A PORTION OF SAID BASE MEMBER EXTENDING INTO SAID ELLIPOSOIDAL AREA AND BEYOND THE UPPER SURFACE OF THE ARMS OF SAID UPPER MEMBER, WHEREBY THE BASE MEMBER AND UPPER MEMBER ARE SEPARATED UPON A DOWNWARD FORCE BEING EXERTED ON THE PORTION OF SAID BASE MEMBER EXTENDING ABOVE SAID UPPER MEMBER BY AN INDEX FINGER.