Hair curler for winding up human hair

Details Hair curler for winding up human hair Hair curler for winding up human hair

2001-03-14

2002-09-03

Wilson, John J. (Department: 3732)

Toilet

Hair device

Having hair shaping surface or form

C132S252000, C132S250000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06443163

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to a hair curler for winding up human hair to create curls. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hair curler including a body the diameter of which diminishes from its first end over its axial length towards its second end. Such hair curlers are used to wind up or to wave tresses of hair to form curls. The novel hair curler may be used for fast hairstyles as well as for the production of permanent waves.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A hair curler is known from German patent document No. 30 05 837. The known hair curler includes a conical supporting body being made of plastic or metal. The supporting body at its end having a smaller diameter includes an enlarged rim portion. At this place, a needle is used as a fixing device. With the known hair curler, is desired to form the hair to have a natural waveform after the hair curler has been unwound. The change of the cross section over the axial length is discontinuous. The tress of hair to be wound up is hard to be fixed on the circumference of the supporting body. The fixing device in the form of the needle also fixes the curl on the supporting body.
Another hair curler is known from German utility model No. 1 851 303. The known hair curler includes a supporting body being made of injection-molded plastic or of metal. The supporting body determines the shape of the hair curler and it only has limited flexibility. A knitted or woven wide-meshed pad-like coating is located on the surface of the supporting body. The coating may have a plush-like surface. Due to the wide-meshed design, it is possible to insert an insertion needle through the coating and through the supporting body in a transverse direction after the winding process of the tress of hair has been finished. The insertion takes place without damaging the coating or the supporting body. The insertion needle also fulfills the function of a fixing device for the hair curler with respect to the head. Due to the wide-meshed plush-like coating, the tress of hair to be wound up is gently supported on the circumference of the hair curler without bending effects. However, there is the danger of the friction between the hair and the coating not being sufficient during the winding process. Consequently, the winding up process requires substantial skills, especially in case a fixed, tight connection is to be achieved between the curl and the hair curler. The insertion needle to be inserted in a transverse direction also serves to fix the curl on the circumference of the hair curler.
A friction winding device for winding up human hair is known from German patent No. 40 18 202 C2. The friction winding device includes a friction body having outwardly protruding friction protrusions being arranged in a way similar to the hook band of a Velcro fastener. The friction protrusions frictionally engage the hair directly. Such friction winding devices have the advantage of no fixing device of any kind being necessary. The tress of hair to be wound up on the circumference directly engages and contacts the hooks of the hook band. The curl is fixed on the circumference of the coating already during the winding process. After the winding process has been finished, the friction winding device automatically achieves a fixed connection with respect to the head. Consequently, no fixing device, for example a clasp, a transverse locking device or the like, has to be operated. The supporting body may be a cylindrical portion being made of foamed plastic having such a narrow pore design that it is capable of absorbing fluids. The unit consisting of the supporting body and the friction body has a soft and elastic design.
The known hair curlers and the known friction winding devices have the disadvantage of the wound up tress of hair—starting at the tips of the hair and ending at the base of the hair at the scalp—building up on the hair curler during the winding process. This means that a first portion of the tress of hair is wound up on the hair curler during a first rotation of the hair curler and a second portion of the tress of hair following the first portion is wound up on the first portion during a second rotation of the hair curler. Consequently, the tress of hair is wound up on the hair curler and on the already wound up portion of the tress of hair, respectively, to build up on the hair curler with an increasing bending radius. Additionally, the use of a separate fixing device for fixing the hair curler and the wound up tress of hair at the head is necessary. The fixing device may be a needle or a pin. Depending on the skills of the user, the end of the tress of hair adjacent the scalp remains in a more or less unwound state. However, it extends straight from the scalp to the tangential winding point being located at the circumference of the cylindrical supporting body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hair curler for winding up human hair. The hair curler includes a hollow supporting body having a first end, a second end, an axial length, a circumference and a cross section. The cross section diminishes from the first end over the axial length towards the second end. An enlarged element has a cross section being more than the cross section of the second end, it is located in the region of the second end and it is designed and arranged to prevent hair from slipping off the hair curler in a mounted position of the hair curler. A fixing device is designed and arranged to fix the supporting body in the region of the base of the hair in the mounted position of said the curler. A hook band is located on the circumference of the supporting body. The hook band at least covers a portion of the circumference of the supporting body. The portion approximately extends from the region of the first end in the direction of the axial length of the supporting body. The supporting body at least in the portion being covered by the hook band has an approximately oval cross section. It is to be understood that the fixing device may be a separate element or the hook band may fulfil its function.
The present invention is based on the concept of designing the hair curler to have a cross-section diminishing from its one end towards its other end and in a way that it has an elliptical or oval cross section at least at its starting end. Special effects may be achieved by the supporting body at least in the region being covered by the portion of the hook band at the starting end of the supporting body having an oval cross section. The oval cross section realizes the deformation of the tress of hair and the design of the curl, respectively, in the region adjacent to the tips of the hair. In this way, greater radiuses and smaller radiuses are alternately realized over the length of the tress of hair. Corresponding to the generally diminishing cross section, the radiuses have different extensions in the direction towards the scalp. In case the supporting body in its second portion facing its cone-like tip has a circular cross section, the above-mentioned difference is not present in this second portion. However, this fact does not have a negative effect since it is important to create a tight, curly volume of hair in this portion close to the scalp to provide great stability and durability of the hairstyle. In this way, it is possible to wind up the tress of hair starting with the tips of the hair at the first or starting end of the hair curler, meaning the end having a greater cross section. The separate threads of the tress of hair are not curled up one above the other, as it is known in the art, but rather in a displaced manner in an axial direction of the hair curler towards the tip and the second end having a smaller cross section. Thus, a curl in the region of the tips having a greater bending radius and having a smaller bending radius adjacent to the scalp is produced. The smaller bending radius being located in the region of the base of the hair and of the scalp, respectively, is very important for the looks of th

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