Coating implements with material supply – Including tool – Confronting tool faces
Reexamination Certificate
2002-06-10
2004-06-08
Walczak, David (Department: 3751)
Coating implements with material supply
Including tool
Confronting tool faces
C401S009000, C401S196000, C401S183000, C401S207000, C015S244100, C132S221000, C132S270000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06746165
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a device for applying a product, for example a liquid-to-viscous product, to a section of hair, and to a method of hair treatment using this device. The invention may be suitable for applying a hair dyeing product section-by-section. The device of the invention may be used for any other hair treatment, such as hair perming, or any other treatments. The invention may be used to apply a relatively liquid product, for example, under substantially clean conditions. Alternatively, the product to be applied may be in the form of a cream, a gel, or a liquid of relatively high viscosity, for example.
In at least some common hair dyeing procedures, a hair dye product may be transferred from a bowl in which the dye is contained. Such dyes may be intended either for overall use, often referred to as “whole head” use, where the hair may be completely impregnated with product so as to modify the color of substantially all of the hair, or for partial use, often referred to as use “in sections”, where only certain parts of the hair may be treated with product so as to obtain, once the treatment has been completed, a substantially non-homogeneous color effect, which may emphasize hair sections with lighter or darker shades of color than the natural or overall shade of the hair. Alternatively (or in addition), the use of the product “in sections” may emphasize movement of the hair sections.
FR-A-2,589,337 describes a device for applying a hair dye, wherein the device includes a reservoir for the product to be applied and an application head fitted to the reservoir. The application head has an orifice for supplying the product, as well as a two-tined fork at its free end that the user can guide from one end of a section of hair to the other, when the section is placed between the two tines of the fork, for the purpose of applying the product to the section. A space separating the two tines extends to a base portion of the tines where the space opens into an open cavity in which the product accumulates. The supply orifice provides flow of product to the cavity. This cavity is bounded on its open face by a moveable flap capable of exposing the cavity for the purpose of cleaning the application head easily.
Another type of device for applying a hair product is described in FR-A-2,764,488. That device includes means for isolating a given section of hair and application means capable of being loaded with hair product. The hair product is applied to the isolated section by bringing the section into application contact with the application means at a given point on the section and by moving the application means relative to the section from the point towards a free end of the section. Retention means are provided for keeping the section in application contact with the application means throughout the movement.
Other types of devices for applying a hair product may be in the form of a comb having interior supply channels communicating with a product reservoir. These supply channels open out to the tips of the comb's tines or to the spaces separating the tines.
At least some conventional devices generally suffer from the same drawbacks due to their open structure. Because of this structure, the product retained on the applicator means may have a tendency to run, especially when the product is relatively liquid. Furthermore, because the hair to be treated does not form a planar surface, the user often needs to change the orientation of the application device depending on the area to be treated. Such an operation also increases the risk of the product running in undesirable areas. In addition, certain applicators of this kind have the drawback of a relatively short autonomy.
Another type of applicator is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,893. With this type of applicator, a part of the hair to be dyed is introduced into a sealed capsule containing the dyeing product. The section or sections are held in the capsule throughout the time needed for the dyeing product to act. This type of applicator is well suited for applying products requiring a certain leave-in time but it is not at all suitable for the aforementioned dyeing in sections.
The present invention relates to applying a hair product in sections, wherein one or more drawbacks associated with conventional devices may optionally be obviated.
One aspect of the invention may be to provide a device allowing a hair product to be applied in a clean and non-sullying manner, for example, regardless of the viscosity of the product to be applied. Such a device may have a relatively desirable manufacturing cost.
In another aspect, the invention may provide a hair product application device which is simple to use and which allows the product to be applied over substantially an entire length of the section, from the root to the free end, or along any other length sufficient to obtain the desired dyeing. The application device may be suitable for use at home, either by the consumer himself or by a third person not having any specific experience in hair dyeing.
Further aspects of the invention will appear in more detail in the description that follows. In addition, the following description includes a discussion of a few possible embodiments of the invention. It should be understood that the aspects and embodiments described herein are merely exemplary and that the invention could be practiced without having all of the features of these aspects and embodiments.
In one aspect, there is a device for applying a hair product, for example a dyeing product, to sections of hair. The device may comprise a component made of at least one elastically deformable material and at least partly defining a reservoir of the product. The component also may at least partly define a slot that communicates with the product reservoir and opens toward the outside of the device. The slot may be bounded by at least two edges that, at rest, are substantially contiguous over at least one portion of the slot so as to create a seal. A section of hair may be able to pass through the slot so as to allow the section to be coated by the product in response to a relative movement between the device and the section in a direction longitudinal to the section. The slot may include a first portion formed in a first plane and at least one second portion formed in a second plane different from the first plane.
It should be understood that the seal created by the edges bounding the slot relates to a seal or quasi-seal relative to a given composition. For example, such a seal may at least substantially prevent flow of hair product from the slot when the device slot is in a closed position. The conditions for obtaining such a seal (for example, the density of the elastic material, the relative bearing of the edges defining the slot) may vary according to the viscosity of the product. Likewise, such a seal may correspond to a seal under normal conditions of use, for example with regard to the lifetime of the device.
One embodiment of the device may be configured to allow the support to be brought into contact with the product, continuously, over all or part of its length, and without appreciable flow of product out of the reservoir. To use the device, a user may take hold of a precise section, which may be as thin as possible, and position it in the slot. The movement may be simple and precise and may make it possible for the desired dyeing of hair in sections to be carried out rapidly over all or part of its length. During application, the seal may be provided regardless of the position of the application device. Any accidental outflow of product may be considerably reduced when the elasticity of the elastically deformable component that defines the slot is chosen appropriately. In addition, the risk of the product coming into contact with the user's hands may be markedly reduced, as compared to at least some conventional techniques.
In some embodiments, while allowing relative movement of the component defining the slot along the section, the component may preven
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
L'Oreal
Walczak David
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