US3279479A

US3279479A - One piece hair clip biased closed by a flexible spring finger

Info

Publication number: US3279479A
Application number: US289835A
Authority: US
Inventors: Nathan L Solomon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1963-06-24
Filing date: 1963-06-24
Publication date: 1966-10-18
Anticipated expiration: 1983-10-18

Description

Oct. 18, 1966 L, SOLOMON 3,279,479

ONE PIECE HAIR CLlP BIASED CLOSED BY A FLEXIBLE SPRING FINGER Filed June 24, 1963 IN\ ENTOR. NATHAN L.SOLOMON ORNEYS United States Patent 3,279,479 ONE PIECE HAIR CLIP BIASED CLOSED BY A FLEXIBLE SPRING FIN GER Nathan L. Solomon, R0. Box 550, Englewood, NJ. Filed June 24, 1963, Ser. No. 289,835 3 Claims. ((1 132-46) This invention relates to a hair holding device and more particularly relates to a device employed for clamping curled hair to maintain the hair in a formed curl.

In forming curls and setting the hair in the form of waves, it is customary to form a portion of the hair in a relatively tight, circular curl, or flat thin curl, which then is set by holding the curl in position or shape over night or by the application of permanent waving solutions. The formed curl is commonly referred to a a flat, pin or sculptured curl.

Conventional devices for holding this type of curl in position are subject to a number of well-known difficulties and disadvantages which have prompted many proposals to remedy them. Probably the most widely used holding device is the ordinary bobby pin. Also, modified variations of the hair pin have been proposed but these have been unsatisfactory because they are difiicult to apply, unsatisfactory in retaining all portions of the curl in position or inclined towards kinking the hair when tensioned for firm holding. More successful have been the various hinged and spring locked clasps and clips. These devices are relatively easy to apply, but are uncomfortable and conspicuous. These clips have at least two separate pieces and the clamping jaws are hingedly mounted. The hinge construction increases materially the cost of manufacturing and assembling the clips. Often, in use the hinge construction catches loose strands of hair, which hinders removing the clip from the hair and disturbs the shape of the formed curl.

A further disadvantage of the hinged and spring locked clasps and clips is that they depend for their holding action on spring engaged, touching elements. Accordingly, the elements cannot be coated, as a practical matter, with protective paint or varnish, which is necessary for use with the corrosive hair waving solution commonly used today. With the wide use today of home permanents and the self-application of wave set-ting solutions, it is desirable, if not essential, that a hair retaining device be resistant to the chemicals in these solutions. Thus, the spring-urged clasps must be made from materials which are themselves resistant to the corrosive solutions, which is expensive and often makes the elements hard to produce.

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

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a one-piece curl holding device that is spring biased to a normally closed position, and which can be easily applied with one hand.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a one-piece hair holding device of simple construction formed of two superposed arms with resilient means integrally carried on one of the arms engaging the other arm remote from the hair holding surfaces and in such a way as to urge the hair holding device to its closed position.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a pair of clamping arms integrally joined at the pivot area to prevent separation, and having a spring tongue integral on one of the arms and cooperating with 3,279,479 Patented Get. 18, 1966 the other arm for spring biasing the clamping portions of the arms toward closed position.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece curl holding device having two arms with means on the arms for holding them in spring clamping engagement, one with respect to the other to support a flat curl between the arms, which device can be molded with little assembly required to place it in operative position.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a simple economical device for supporting a flat curl during the process of setting, the device having sufficient width and length to engage the major portion of the curl to maintain the same in its flat condition during the setting period.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a clamping device that accomplishes all of the above and yet is light in weight, durable, inexpensive to fabricate, allows moisture in the hair to freely 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 drawing, wherein like parts are indicated by like reference numerals throughout, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a curler device made in accordance with the present invention prior to assembling;

FIGURE 2 is a right side elevational view of FIGURE FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view showing the embodiment of FIGURE 1 assembled in its closed or clamping position;

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the present invention as molded and ready to be assembled;

FIGURE 5 shows the embodiment of FIGURE 4 assembled and in its open position;

FIGURE 6 is a front elevational view of a further embodiment of the present invention as molded;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the device shown in FIGURE 6 as assembled and ready to use; and

FIGURE 8 is a front elevational view of another embodiment of the present invention as assembled showing the shape of the spring arm as molded, in shadow.

Referring now to the drawings FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 show one embodiment of the present invention. A hair holding device 10 is shown having a pair of clamping arms or

members

12 and 14 in superposed relation, which are integrally united or joined intermediate of their end, such as by a bridge or connection at 16. As illustrated

arms

12 and 14 are of substantially equal length so that their free ends terminate substantially even, but if desired, one arm may be slightly longer than the other.

Arms

12 and 14 are generally elongated and are preferably formed to provide a handle portion and a clamping portion.

Arms

12 and 14 have at corresponding ends, clamping

portions

17 and 19, respectively, for holding the hair or curl therebetween. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES l3, clamping

portions

17 and 19 are generally parallel. Clamping portion 17 has a pair of

parallel fingers

17a and 17b spaced apart to provide an opening 18 therebetween. Fingers 17a and 1712 are joined by a bar adjacent their outer ends for providing added rigidity. Similarly, clamping portion 19 has a pair of spaced apart parallel fingers 19a and 19b with an opening 20 therebetween and joined together with a strengthening bar 190.

The handle portion of arm 14 extends beyond connection 16 and is designated 22. A portion of the inner surface of handle 22 is tapered downwardly and outwardly as shown at 24. Arm 12 has a finger grasping portion or handle portion 26, which is offset at an angle from the axis of arm 12 to provide a clearance angle 30 between

handle portions

22 and 26 so as to enable them to be pressed toward each other between the thumb and a finger of the operator of the device. While handle portion 26 is illustrated as offset from its cor-responding clam-ping portion 17, other constructions of the arms can be used, since it is merely necessary that the handle portions of the arms be angularly disposed toward each other, so that moving them toward each other separates the clamping portions.

A resilient means is provided for normally urging clamping

portions

17 and 19 into engagement with each other in their closed or normal position.

Hingedly connected to the transverse edge of handle 26 is an extension 32. Extending outwardly and angularly to extension 32, and directed toward arm 14 is an elongated flexible finger or tongue 34. As molded, extension 32 is spaced from the inner surface of handle portion 26 and finger 34 is spaced from handle 22. As seen best in FIGURE 3, in assembled position, extension 32 is juxtaposed against the inner surface of handle 26 and finger 34 is flexed inwardly towards connecting portion 16 and rests on the inner surface of handle 22, adjacent the tapered portion 24.

In its flexed position as viewed in FIGURE 3, finger 34 urges handle portion 22 clockwise and handle portion 26 counter clockwise about hinged portion 16, thereby biasing and maintaining clamping

portions

17 and 19 in their normally closed position.

For operation of the assembled device as viewed in FIGURE 3, inwardly directed pressure is applied to handle

portions

22 and 26, tending to bring them closer together, which causes clam-

ping portions

17 and 19 to be opened. Arms .12 and 14 pivot about connecting portion 16. During such opening movement, the free end of finger 34 slides along the inner surface of handle portion 24 toward hinged portion 16, and is further flexed. To reduce friction, the free end of finger 34 may be provided with a rounded end portion, as at 36. Release of the pressure on

handle portions

22 and 26 allows the pressure of the flexed finger 34 to force clamping

portions

17 and 19 to their closed position, FIGURE 3, and to maintain them in this position under pressure.

Advantageously, as shown, the inner surfaces of clamping

portions

17 and 19 adjacent their respective free ends are roughened or have a series of projections extending therefrom to aid in gripping the curl and avoid accidental slippage or displacement therefrom. Similarly, the outer surfaces of

handles

22 and 26 may have a series of grooves or projections, or be roughened to prevent slippage or accidental displacement. Further, the free end of clamping portion or jaw 17 could be curved upwardly or have kick-up to aid in receiving the hair.

A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. Clamp 40 has a pair of arms or

members

42 and 44 with clamping

portions

43 and 45 and finger pieces or handle

portions

46 and 48, respectively.

Members

42 and 44 are integrally joined by a pivoting connection 50. Integrally extending downwardly from the inner surface of handle portion 46 is a flexible elongated finger 52 having a rounded knob or projection 54 at its free end. As shown, finger 52 is spaced from the transverse edge of handle portion 26. Extending upwardly from the inner surface of handle portion 48 is a projection or boss 56 for cooperating with the knob 54 in a manner as will 'be shown.

In its disassembled position, finger 52 is curved around the outer transverse edge of handle portion 48. Assembly is effected by flexing and urging finger 52 inwardly into the space between

handles

46 and 48, positioning knob .54 or finger 52 behind projection 56, as seen best in FIG- URE 5. Finger .5} in its flQXed condition urges handle 48 away from handle 46 and thereby

pivots clamping portions

45 and 43 respectively about connection 58 and forces them together. In its assembled position finger 52 continually provides a separating force on the inner surfaces of

handles

46 and 48 and hence clamping

portions

43 and 45 are normally biased in their closed position. Kno'b S4 cooperates with projection 56 to prevent displacement of finger 52 from between

handles

46 and 48.

Operation of the device as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 is similar to that described above with respect to the device shown in FIGURES 1-3. A compressive force applied to

handles

46 and 48 further flexes finger 52 and allows

arms

42 and 44 to pivot about connection 50 for separating clamping

pontions

43 and 45 respectively, and permitting a curl or the like between clamping

portions

43 and 45. If

handles

46 and 48 are compressed even further, knob 54 slides towards hinged portion 50 and upon release of the compressing force applied to

handles

46 and 48, finger 52 returns to its initial position with knob 54 cooperating with projection 56.

In FIGURES 6 and 7 is illustrated another form of this invention. A device 61 has a bottom handle portion 62 having a cutout 64 on its inner surface adjacent its free end. The edge of cutout 64 may be tapered, as shown at 66 in FIGURES 6 and 7. Integrally extending from upper handle portion 68 is an elongated flexible finger 70. While finger 70 is shown extending from the free edge of upper handle 68, it may extend from various places on inner surface 69 of handle portion 68. In its unstressed position the free end of finger 70 extends within cutout 64, such as shown in FIGURE 6. While a cutout 64 was shown, a ledge or platform can be used on the portion of handle portion 62 indicated at 67 to stress finger 70.

In assembling device 61, finger 70 is flexed inwardly towards hinged portion 72 and rests on the inner surface of handle portion 62, as seen best in FIGURE 7. As viewed in FIGURE 7, finger 70 exerts a separating force on

handles

62 and 68, which urges the clamping

members

74 and 76 together. In operation, a closing force is exerted on

handles

62 and 68 thereby further stressing finger 70 and urging finger 70 to slide along the inner surface of handle 62 toward pivot portion 72. Clamping

members

74 and 76 pivot about portion 72 and separate. Upon removal of the compressing force on

handles

62 and 68, clamping

members

74 and 76 are forced together by action of flexed finger 70, thereby clamping the curl or hair therebetween.

A further embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGURE 8, in which the lower handle portion 82 has an off-set or raised edge 84. Extending downwardly and away from upper handle 86 is an elongated flexible finger 88 with a protuberance or flange adjacent its free end for cooperating with edge 84 and preventing separation. In its unstressed position, finger 88 extends outwardly away from the space between

handle portion

82 and 86 as shown by the dotted lines and designated as 88a. Finger 88 is flexed and rotated clockwise to be disposed between

handle portions

82 and 86, and flange 90 coacts with edge 84 to prevent displacement from between the handle portions. Finger 88 exerts a separating force on handle 82 for maintaining clamping arms 92 and 94 in closed position. By pressing

handles

82 and 86 toward one another, finger 88 is further flexed and clamping arms 92 and 94 are separated. Flange 90 may be urged away from edge 84 towards pivoting connection 96. Upon release of the compressing force on

handles

82 and 86, clamping arms 92 and 94 return to their closed position and retain the curl or hair therebetween.

The clamping arms of all the embodiments shown may be of any convenient shape, such as individual prongs, or a series of multifinger prongs, all of which may be perforated or varied in shape and offset from each other.

It will also be understood that the holding device disclosed is a one-piece integral clamp and can be constructed of any suitable material, but advantageously from the standpoint of economy, ease of fabrication, and weight, it is desirable to form this device from a plastic material having flexibility, high strength, lightness, chemical resistance and fatigue resistance, so that the resulting molded clip or clasp produces a fir-rn clamping action, but yet can be readily separated upon compressing the finger grasping the ends. Such a resilient plastic is preferably polypropylene or polyethylene.

While the spring forming member was illustratively shown extending from the upper handle portion, it could as easily be formed integral with the lower handle portion.

A holding device is thus disclosed which achieves important practical advantages. The device can be constructed to suit different sizes of curls on which it is to be used, such as by varying the proportions of the various elements as to length and width. Greater tension can be obtained by increasing the thickness and pretensioning of the stressed finger extending from the handle portions. The clamping members, as shown, may be easily perforated to provide free and uninterrupted evaporation of the moisture of the hair. T he hair holding device provides gentle uniform pressure on the hair strands for holding the hair in place and is positively retained in the hair. A simple, economical device is provided, which avoids almost any assembling other than further placement of the tensioning arm and hence the device can be supplied to the user at a nominal cost.

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

What I claim is:

1. A one-piece plastic hair holding device comprising a pair of superposed elongated arms extending longitudinally with each other, pivot means comprising a bridge integrally connecting said arms between their corresponding ends, said arms being pivotable about said integral bridge and having clamping jaws on one side of said bridge and handle portions on the other side, a flexible finger integrally extending from one of said handle portions, said finger having a free end and being of a length greater than any part of its cross-sectional area, so as to be highly flexible and bendable, a step surface extending outwardly from the inner surface of said other handle portion adjacent said bridge, said finger being flexed between said handle portions and engaging said step sur face with said free end at a point spaced from said bridge, whereby said free end is movable along said step in response to pressure on said handle portions for urging said handle portions apart and said clamping jaws together, said step surface maintaining said finger in flexed condition.

2. A one-piece plastic hair holding device comprising a pair of superposed elongated arms extending longitudinally with each other, pivot means comprising a bridge integrally connecting said arms between their corresponding ends, said arms being pivotable about said integral bridge and having clamping jaws on one side of said bridge and handle portions on the other side, a flexible finger integrally extending from one of said handle portions in a direction away from said bridge, said finger being of a length greater than any part of its crosssectional area, so as to be highly flexible and bendable, said finger having a protuberance on its free end and being flexed and engaging the other handle portion at a point spaced from said bridge, whereby said free end is movable along the other handle portion in response to pressure on said handle portions for urging said handle portions apart and said clamping jaws together, means on said other handle portion cooperating with said protuberance on said finger for maintaining said finger in operative engagement with said other handle portion.

3. A hair holding device in accordance with claim 2, wherein said means comprises a projection extending from said other handle portion to prevent displacement of said free end of said finger.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,166,460 7/1939 Burns 132-50 2,464,739 3/1949 Solomon et al. 132-46 2,531,854 11/1950 Linden 132-50 2,637,329 5/1953 Reiter 132-46 2,764,987 10/1956 Braga 132-50 2,931,086 4/1960 Rose 24-137 2,979,060 4/ 1961 Reiner 132-48 FOREIGN PATENTS 81,221 9/ 1920 Austria. 442,065 6/ 1912 France.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

R. L. FRINKS, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. ONE-PIECE PLASTIC HAIR HOLDING DEVICE COMPRISING A PAIR OF SUPERPOSED ELONGATED ARMS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY WITH EACH OTHER, PIVOT MEANS COMPRISING A BRIDGE INTEGRALLY CONNECTING SAID ARMS BETWEEN THEIR CORRESPONDING ENDS, SAID ARMS BEING PIVOTABLE ABOUT SAID INTEGRAL BRIDGE AND HAVING CLAMPING JAWS ON ONE SIDE OF SAID BRIDGE AND HANDLE PORTIONS ON THE OTHER SIDE, A FLEXIBLE FINGER INTEGRALLY EXTENDING FROM ONE OF SAID HANDLE PORTIONS, SAID FINGER HAVING A FREE END AND BEING OF A LENGTH GREATER THAN ANY PART OF ITS CROSS-SECTIONAL AREA, SO AS TO BE HIGHLY FLEXIBLE AND BENDABLE, A STEP SURFACE EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID OTHER HANDLE PORTION ADJACENT SAID BRIDGE, SAID FINGER BEING FLEXED BETWEEN SAID HANDLE PORTIONS AND ENGAGING SAID STEP SURFACE WITH SAID FREE END AT A POINT SPACED FROM SAID BRIDGE, WHEREBY SAID FREE END IS MOVABLE ALONG SAID STEP IN RESPONSE TO PRESSURE ON SAID HANDLE PORTIONS FOR URGING SAID HANDLE PORTIONS APART AND SAID CLAMPING JAWS TOGETHER, SAID STEP SURFACE MAINTAINING SAID FINGER IN FLEXED CONDITION.