AU2003235031B2

AU2003235031B2 - Bobby pin case

Info

Publication number: AU2003235031B2
Application number: AU2003235031A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Katsuyoshi Kamada
Original assignee: Goriki Kogyo Co Ltd
Current assignee: Goriki Kogyo Co Ltd
Priority date: 2003-08-15
Filing date: 2003-08-15
Publication date: 2010-03-11
Anticipated expiration: 2023-08-15
Also published as: AU2003235031A1

Description

BOBBY PIN CASE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a bobby pin case for housing bobby pins used for setting a hairstyle. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART Conventionally, bobby pins have been used as a measure to fix the hair of the head of a person at a predetermined position and thus set a desired hairstyle. In beauty salons and hairdressing technical schools, where many such bobby pins are used, a hairdresser classifies bobby bins by type and then houses these pins in a conventional case in order to make them easy to use, and when setting hair, takes out a necessary number of bobby pins from the case. When attaching a bobby pin to hair, the hairdresser opens longitudinal parts of the bobby pin and inserts hair to be fixed between the longitudinal parts. In this case, the hairdresser opens the longitudinal parts by applying a force of his/her fingers or nails or by holding one of the longitudinal parts in his/her mouth or between his/her teeth and opening the other part with his/her fingers. However, the handling of opening the bobby pin by using the force of the fingers or nails is inefficient, and holding the bobby pin in the mouth is very unsanitary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a bobby pin case including a case body having a plurality of housing sections formed therein by dividing an inner space of the case body 5 with a partition extending in at least one of a right/left direction and a front/rear direction, a temporary holding section for temporarily holding a bobby pin set thereon and opening the temporarily held bobby pin. With this arrangement, bobby pins that are classified in 10 advance can be separately housed in the plurality of housing sections in the case body. Moreover, since bobby pins are held by inserting the temporary holding section between the longitudinal parts thereof, the bobby pins can be easily opened, and a plurality of bobby pins can be temporarily held 15 on the temporary holding section in the easily openable state. Preferably, the temporary holding section is formed on an upper portion of the partition and has a thickness which gradually increase from an upper edge toward a lower portion thereof. 20 With this arrangement, since bobby pins are set on the temporary holding section formed on the upper portion of the partition, the bobby pins can be easily opened, and a plurality of bobby pins can be temporarily held on the temporary holding section in the easily openable state. 2 S:50439 Preferably, the temporary holding section is flange-shaped and provided on an outer side of a sidewall of the case body in an outwardly protruding manner. With this arrangement, since bobby pins are set on 5 the flange-shaped temporary holding section, the bobby pins can be easily opened, and a plurality of bobby pins can be temporarily held on the temporary holding section in the easily openable state. Preferably, the flange-shaped temporary holding 10 section is formed with an opening into which one longitudinal part of a bobby pin can be inserted when the bobby pin is upwardly turned from a temporarily held position to be opened. With this arrangement, when a bobby pin held on the 15 flange-shaped temporary holding section is turned upward, its one longitudinal part is inserted in the opening and the bobby pin can be widely opened. Preferably, the lower thicker portion of the temporary holding section formed on the partition has a 20 double-sidewall structure, and a clearance formed between the double sidewalls is opened downward. With this arrangement, since the thicker portion of the temporary holding section is formed to be hollow, a material for forming this portion can be saved. 3 S:50439 Preferably, the partition is removably attached to the case body. With this arrangement, when the partition is removed from the case body, one large housing section can be 5 provided. When the partition is attached, the one large housing section can be divided into a plurality of housing sections. Preferably, the housing sections each have a corner having a substantially arcuate cross section between an 10 inner surface of a bottom wall thereof and one of a sidewall thereof in a front/rear direction and a sidewall thereof in a right/left direction has. With this arrangement, since the corner of the inner surface of the bottom wall of the housing section is 15 roundish, even when a small number of bobby pins are left inside, the bobby pins can be smoothly taken out without being stuck in the corner. Moreover, since the corner is roundish, the bobby pins are pushed back at the corner and constantly situated at a central part of the housing 20 section. Therefore, the bobby pins can be taken out more easily. Preferably, a magnetic attracting member for magnetically attracting bobby pins is provided on the inner surface of the housing section. 4 S:50439 With this arrangement, bobby pins are magnetically attracted, separately one by one, to upper portions of the sidewalls of the housing section. Therefore, the bobby pins can be easily taken out and a user does not need to search 5 for a bobby pin with his/her fingers. Preferably, an antislipping member is provided on a lower surface of the bottom wall of the case body. With this arrangement, when a bobby pin is taken out or opened at the temporary holding section, the case body 10 is prevented from slipping on a case setting stand. Particularly, if the case body is put on a small case setting stand such as a cart, the antislipping member prevents the case body from slipping off the stand. Preferably, a case cover is removably provided on the 15 case body for opening and closing the case body, and a restricting member formed on an inner surface of the case cover for restricting movement of bobby pins between the housing sections. With this arrangement, when the case cover covers the 20 case body, the openings of the housing sections are closed and little spacing is left between the upper edges of the partition and the inner surface of the case cover. Therefore, even when the case body is carried or moved otherwise, bobby pins can be prevented from sticking out 5 S:50439 and being scattered from the case body and also can be prevented from moving between the housing sections. Moreover, since this case cover is removable from the case body, the case body can be used with the case cover removed 5 from it properly. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. Fig, 2 is a plan view showing the embodiment of the 10 present invention. Fig. 3 is a sectional view along a line A-A. in Fig. 2 in a state where a case cover is separated. Fig. 4 is a sectional view along a line B-B in Fig. 2 in the state where the case cover is separated. 15 Fig. 5 is a bottom view showing the embodiment of the present invention in a state where the case cover is opened. Fig. 6 is a perspective explanatory view showing a method for opening a bobby pin. 20 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 6 S:50439 Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A bobby pin is a pin that is conventionally used as a measure to fix the hair of the head of a person at a predetermined position and thus set a desired hairstyle. There are bobby pin cases of various shapes for housing such pins. In Figs. 1 to 6, a bobby pin- case 1 has a case body 2 having a plurality of housing sections 9 formed therein by dividing an inside space of the case body with a partition 4 which extends in a front/rear direction (up/down direction in Fig. 2) and a partition 4 which extends in a right/left direction (right/left direction in Fig. 2). Each of the housing sections. 9 houses bobby pins 8 having a length substantially corresponding to the width (length in the right/left direction) of the housing section 9 or bobby pins 8 of respective types in a manner that the bobby pins 8 are laid with their longitudinal parts oriented along the width of the housing sections 9. The case body 2 is provided with a case cover 7 removably mounted thereon, and a temporary holding section on which the bobby pins 8 are set and temporarily held in a manner that the temporary holding section is inserted between longitudinal parts of the bobby pins 8 so as to facilitate opening of the temporarily held bobby pins. The temporary holding section includes a first temporary 7 holding sections 6A formed on an upper portion of the partition 4, and a second temporary holding section 6B which is flange-shaped and provided on the outer surface of a right sidewall 39A so as to protrude outward. More specifically, the case body 2 has a rectangular parallelopiped shape elongated in the right/left direction; and an opening 42 defined on its upper side, as shown in Figs. 2 to 5. The inside space of the case body 2 is divided into two sections in the front/rear direction by a partition 4 extending in the right/left direction, and each of the two sections is further divided into three housing sections 9 by two partitions 4 extending in the front/rear direction. Therefore, the inside space of this case body 2 is divided into six housing sections 9. The housing sections 9 have different lengths in the right/left direction so that they can house various types of bobby pins. Each partition 4 is formed on an upper portion thereof with the first temporary holding section 6A which has a thickness gradually increasing from an upper edge 5 toward a lower portion thereof. The partition 4 including the lower thicker portion of the first temporary holding section 6A has a double-sidewall structure, and a clearance 32 is formed between the double sidewalls which is opened downward, namely, toward a case setting stand 48. Accordingly, the thicker portion is formed to be hollow, that is, sidewalls llA, 11B 8 forming the respective housing sections 9 are independently 'formed and disposed with a clearance therebetween, resulting in a saving of materials for forming the partition 4. The case body 2 is formed on sidewalls 39 thereof with a flange 13 outwardly protruding on an entire circumference of the case body 2 slightly below the upper opening 42 for receiving the case cover 7 when the case cover 7 is closed. A'part of the flange 13 on the outer surface of the right sidewall 39A of the case body 2 is formed to further outwardly protrude as the flange-shaped second temporary holding section 6B. The second temporary holding section 6B has two openings 10 arranged in the front/rear direction, each of which have a size that allows insertion of one of longitudinal parts of the bobby pin 8. A bridge part 44 formed between these two openings serves to enhance rigidity of the second temporary holding section 6B. The second temporary holding section 6B is provided with triangular reinforcement pieces 45 disposed under front and rear ends thereof and under the bridge part 44. Since one side of each triangular reinforcement piece 45 is fixed to the outer surface of the right sidewall 39A, rigidity of the second temporary holding section 6B is further enhanced, thereby facilitating opening of the bobby pin 8. Even if a large force is applied to the second temporary holding section 6B for opening the bobby pin 8, these triangular reinforcement pieces 9 45 prevent inconvenience such as breakage of the second temporary holding section 6B at its root. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, a corner 17A formed between the inner surface of a bottom wall 12 and the right/left sidewall llA of the housing section 9 has a substantially arcuate cross section. Further, a corner 17B formed between the inner surface of the bottom wall 12 and the front/rear sidewall 11B has a substantially arcuate cross section. That is, the corners 17A, 17B on the bottom wall 12 of each housing section 9 are roundish outward. Since the corner 17A on the inner surface of the bottom wall 12 of the housing section 9 is roundish, the bobby pins 8 can be smoothly taken out without being stuck in the corner 17A even when a small number of bobby pins 8 are left. Moreover, since the corner part 17B is roundish, the bobby pins 8 are pushed back at the corner part 17B and constantly situated at a central part of the housing section 9. Therefore, the bobby pins 8 can be taken out more easily. The more roundish the corner part 17A in the front/rear direction is, the more easily the bobby pins 8 can be taken out. Therefore, it is preferred that the corner part 17A is more roundish than the corner part 17B in the right/left direction. Moreover, a sheet-form magnet is affixed in a band-shape in the front/rear direction on the inner surface of each housing 10 section 9 as a bobby pin magnetic attracting member 20 for magnetically attracting the bobby pins 8. The bobby pins 8 are magnetically attracted, separately one by one, to the bobby pin magnetic attracting member 20 on the upper portions of the sidewalls 11 of the housing section 9. Therefore, the bobby pins 8 can be easily taken out without a trouble of groping for the bobby pins 8 with fingers. If the sheet-form magnet is simply affixed to the inner surface of the housing section 9, a step is formed at the boundary between the bottom wall 12 and the sheet-form magnet, whereby the bobby pins 8 might be caught in this step. To prevent this, preferably, a recession 25 having a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the sheet-form magnet and having substantially the same width as the sheet-form magnet is defined in the front/rear direction on the inner surface of the housing section 9 so that the sheet-form magnet can be fit in this recession 25 affixed in a band-shape. Since this renders the sheet-form magnet flush with the inner surface of the housing section 9, the bobby pins 8 will not be caught at the boundary, thereby eliminating the difficulty in taking out the bobby pins 8. The direction of affixing the bobby pin magnetic attracting member 20 is not limited to the front/rear direction and may be the right/left direction. It may also be affixed to the entire inner surface of the housing section 11 9. Moreover, a antislipping member 21 is provided on the lower surface of the bottom wall 12 of the case body 2, as shown in Fig. 5. Specifically, frame portions 22 are formed at four corners in the front/rear and right/left directions on the lower surface of the bottom wall 12 of the case body 2. The antislipping members 21 formed of a rubber material is affixed within the frame portions 22 so as to protrude downward from the lower ends of the frame parts 22. Therefore, when the case body 2 is placed on the case setting stand 48, the rubber members 21 contact the case setting stand 48. When a user takes out the bobby pins 8 or opens the bobby pins 8 on the first and second temporary holding sections 6A, 6B, the case body 2 is prevented from slipping on the case setting stand 48 allowing the user a smooth operation. Moreover, when the case body 2 is placed on a small case setting stand 48, the case body 2 can be prevented from slipping off the stand. The antislipping member 21 is not limited to a member formed of rubber and may be a suction cup. Further, the antislipping member 21 may be provided as one member affixed at one central position on the bottom wall 12. The case cover 7 for opening and closing the upper opening 42 of the case body 2 is pivotally connected to the case body 2 through two hinges 27. Since each of the hinges 27 consists 12 of male and female elements which are removably connected to each other, the case cover 7 is attachable to/removable from the case body 2 and the case cover 7 can be removed when it needs to be removed. The case body 2 is further provided with hooks 26 at two right and left positions on the front side thereof for connecting and fixing the case body 2 and the case cover 7 when the cover is closed. The *case cover 7 is provided with protrusions 30 to catch the hooks 26 at two positions corresponding to the hooks 26 on the front surface thereof. on the inner surface of the case cover 7, a restricting member 15 is formed for restricting movement of the bobby pins 8 between the housing sections 9. More specifically, a protruded groove consisting of two protrusions is formed to fit with the upper edge 5 and acts as the restricting member 15 so as to eliminate a clearance formed between the upper edge 5 of each of the partitions 4 and the inner surface of the case cover 7. Thus, when the case cover 7 is put over the case body 2, the upper opening 42 of the housing section 9 can be closed and the clearance between the upper edge 5 and the inner surface of the case cover 7 can be eliminated. Therefore, even when the case body 2 is carried or moved otherwise, the bobby pins 8 can be prevented from sticking out and being scattered from the case body 2 and also can be prevented from moving between 13 the housing sections 9. That is, mixture of different types of pins can be prevented. Moreover, the restricting member 15 serves as a rib provided on the inner surface of the case cover 7 and enhances rigidity of the case cover 7. Preferably, an antislipping rubber member 29 is affixed on both sides of the upper edge S to fit with the protruded groove 15, at substantially the same height as the upper opening 42, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This prevents the fitting state between the protruded groove 15 and the upper edge 5 from being easily -canceled, thereby preventing the cover case 7 from falling off abruptly. According to the above-described embodiment, the bobby pin case 1 is made of plastics, and the case body 2 and the case cover 7 are separately injection-molded. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. If an increased strength is required, the case 1 may be formed by bending and welding a steel plate or the like. Hereinafter, a method of using the bobby pin case 1 of this embodiment will be described. The bobby pin case 1 in which bobby pins 8 are classified in advance and housed by type in the individual housing section 9 is placed on the case setting stand 48 such as a cart. Since the case cover 7 is removably attached to the case body 2, it is possible, for example, to remove the case cover 14 7 and separately place the bobby pins 8 in each section divided by the restricting members 15 on-the inner surface of the case cover 7. In this embodiment, the bobby pin case 1 has such a dimensional shape that the entire bottom wall 12 of the case body 2 substantially fits in the inner surface of the case cover 7. Therefore, as the removed case cover 7 may be placed on the case setting stand 48 with its inner surface facing upward, so that the case body 2 can be fit therein from above. With this arrangement, the case cover 7 is prevented from occupying a part of the case setting stand 48, and the bobby pins 8 can be taken out more easily because of the elevated position of the case body 2. In this case, however, since the case cover. 7 may slip on the case setting stand 48, it is preferred that the antislipping member 21 is provided also on the upper surface of the case cover 7, as indicated by a double-dotted line in Figs. 3 and 4. A user can take out the bobby pins 8 from the case body 2 by moving his/her fingers like sweeping the inner surface of each housing section 9 in the front/rear direction and scooping a desired one of the bobby pins 8. As described above, since corners 17A, 17B on the bottom wall 12 of each housing section 9 are roundish, the bobby pins 8 can be taken out smoothly without being stuck in the corner part 17A even when a small number of bobby pins 8 are left. 15 The roundish corner 17B pushes back the bobby pins 8 so that the bobby pins 8 are constantly situated at a central part of the housing section 9. Therefore, the bobby pins 8 can be taken out more easily. Moreover, since the sheet-form magnet is affixed in a band-shape in the front/rear direction on the inner surface of each housing section 9, the bobby pins 8 are magnetically attracted, separately one by one, to the upper part of the sidewalls 11 of the housing section 9, whereby the bobby pins 8 can be easily taken out without a trouble of groping for the bobby pins 8 with fingers. Furthermore, when the bobby pins 8 as shown in Fig. 6 is used, the use can easily open the bobby pin 8 by setting and vertically downwardly pressing it onto the first temporary holding section 6A from above. It is also possible to hold a plurality of bobby pins 8 on the first temporary holding section 6A in this state. Similarly, it is possible to hold a plurality of bobby pins 8 on the second temporary holding section 6B with their shorter longitudinal parts facing upward. When the bobby pins 8 are turned upward, their shorter longitudinal parts are inserted into the openings 10 and the bobby pins 8 can be widely opened. That is, the user can easily open the bobby pins 8 by performing these operations at the second temporary holding section 6B. 16 The bobby pins 8 may be purchased as a bundle of multiple pins 35 in which a predetermined number of bobby pins are connected by sandwiching a tape of a predetermined length. The bundle of multiple pins 35 is wound and housed in the housing section 9 in the connected state. For using the bobby pins 8, the user takes out the bundle of multiple pins 35, pulls out a desired number of bobby pins 8 collectively, and sets them on the first and second temporary holding sections 6A, 6B. This saves the user's labor of taking out the bobby pins 8 from the housing section 9 each time. In the above-described process of opening the pins at the first and second temporary holding sections 6A, 6B or scooping the bobby pins 8, though a lateral force may be applied to the case body 2, causing the case body 2 to slip on the case setting stand 48, since the case 1 of this embodiment is provided with a rubber element affixed to the lower surface of the bottom wall 12 of the case body 2, the case body 2 is prevented from slipping on the case setting stand 48. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The second temporary holding section 6B, for example, may be provided not only on the outer side of the right sidewall 39A of the case body 2 but also on the entire circumference of the sidewall 39 of the case body 2. Alternatively, the second temporary holding section 6B may be provided on two or 17 - 18 Three sides of the sidewalls 39 of the case body 2. If the user is left-handed, it is preferred that the second temporary holding section 6B is provided on the outer side of a left sidewall 39B. 5 The first temporary holding section 6A does not need to be provided on all the partitions 4. It may be provided either on the partitions 4 in the front/rear direction or the partitions in the right/left direction. The first temporary 10 holding section 6A may be provided on only one partition of the case body 2. It is also possible to form the case cover 7 with a single plate and use its lateral ends as temporary holding sections. 15 The housing sections 9 have different width so that various types of bobby pins can be housed therein. However, al the housing sections 9 may have a uniform width. The housing sections 9 may have different lengths in the front/rear direction. The things to be housed therein are 20 not limited to the bobby pins 8 and may include hairclips, hairbrushes and the like. 21754051 (GHMatters) 28/01/10 The partitions 4 forming the housing sections 9 do not need to have the double-sidewall structure. Alternatively, each of the partitions 4 nay be formed by a single plate with the slip preventing rubber 29 affixed to both sides of the 5 upper edge 5 of the partition 4. The partition 4 may also be a single plate with protrusions provided on both sides of the upper edge 5. The partitions 4 may be removably attached to the case body 2, as indicated by a double-dotted line in Fig. 1. it 10 the partitions 4 are removed from the case body 2, a large space can be provided as the housing section 9. If the partitions 4 are attached, the one large housing section 9 can be divided into a plurality of housing sections 9. The restricting member 15 formed on the ,inner surface 15 of the case cover 7 does snot need to be the protruded groove. It may be a single protrusion to be abutted against the upper edge 5. That is, even a restricting member 15 consisting of a single protrusion can restrict movement of the bobby pins 8 between the housing sections 9. 20 In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, 25 i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence. or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. 19 S:50439

Claims

1. A bobby pin case comprising a case body having a plurality of housing sections formed therein by dividing an inside space thereof with a partition extending at least one of a right/left direction and a front/rear direction, and a temporary holding section provided in the case body, the temporary holding section being adapted for temporarily holding a bobby pin set thereon and opening the temporarily held bobby pin, the temporary holding section comprises: a first temporary holding section formed on an upper portion of the partition so that a thickness of the first temporary holding section gradually increases from an upper edge toward a lower portion thereof; and a second temporary holding section provided on an outer side of a sidewall of the case body in an outwardly protruding manner, the second temporary holding section having an opening into which one longitudinal part of the bobby pin is inserted when the bobby pin is upwardly rotated from a holding position to an opening position.

2. A bobby pin case as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first temporary holding section has a double-sidewall structure, and a clearance formed between the double sidewalls is opened downward.

3. A bobby pin case as set forth in claim 1, wherein the partition is removably attached to the case body.

4. A bobby pin case as set forth in claim 1, wherein the housing sections each have a corner having a substantially arcuate cross section between an inner surface of a bottom wall thereof and one of a sidewall thereof in the front/rear direction and a sidewall thereof in the right/left direction. 20 2174601_1 (GHMattefs)

5. A bobby pin case as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a magnetic attracting member for magnetically attracting bobby pins provided on the inner surface of the housing section.

6. A bobby pin case as set forth in claim 1, further comprising an antislipping member provided on a lower surface of a bottom wall of the case body.

7. The bobby pin case as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a case cover removably provided on the case body for opening and closing the case body, and a restricting member formed on an inner surface of the case cover for restricting movement of bobby pins between the housing sections.

8. A bobby pin case substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 21 2174601_1 (GHMatters)