CA1318562C - Hair cutting guide - Google Patents

Abstract

HAIR CUTTING GUIDE
Abstract of the Disclosure A hair cutting guide is comprised of a plurality of spaced-apart segments, each of which is formed of a pair of legs having longitudinal axes disposed along intersecting planes such that each segment is generally triangular in cross-section. The guide includes a connecting spine or the like for linking the segments along their top portion to produce a unitary structure having a predetermined height measured from the top surface between the segments along a line perpendicular to a plane defined by the distal ends of the legs in the segments.

Description

13185~2 X C~!CTIING Gll~

~ I~I0~
The pres~nt invention r~lates, in ~eneral, to devices us~d :Eor cuttiny and ~roo~ning hair, ar~d in particu~ar~ to c~ltting ~llidee, for p~oviding a gener~
uni~orm l~ngth hair cut. Su~h cut~ are o~er~ referred ~o as "preciBion cu~s~ll ~C~ O~ O~ ~N
Attempts ~t developing mechanical hai~ ~utting gulde~, as in the pre~nt in~tention, ~ar provid~ng generally unl ~orm lerl~t~ hair cut have in the pa~ b~er~
la~ely unsucce3~ful. S~lch devices hav~ h~reto~or ~een lln~le to fun~tiorl-p~operly or adequ~tely where the 15 hai~ le~th d~slred (a~te~ ~he cut) w~ longer ~han on~
h~l~ in~h. An example of ~u~ts a device i~ de~c~ibed ln U.S. Patent No. 3,277,902, i~ued ~cto~er 11, 1~66 to Xor~t .
~ore typt~ally, hAir 8ty~ 5 and b~bcr~ h~e 2~ relied upon non~e~hanical technl~ue~ ~r d~liverin~
p~e~ision ha~ r~u~. C)ne t~hs~iqu~ ~ ~o~ ly u~ed. fo:~
ex~mple, i~ referre~ to ~g th~ "eom4-~nd-finger ~sethodO~' W~th th~3 techni~u~, tho ~y'~ist li~ tion of h~ir ~ay ~om the head with ~ co~b! zn~ th~n pi2~che~ lt 25 betwoen two finger~. Th~ ou~wardly ~xt~ndlng segmeflt of h~ that which ~ end~ beyond the fln~rs) i~ then ~t w~ 'ch a ~cisgors ~r the Lik~o O~vlou~y thl~

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~3~62 te~hnlque involve~ a g~e~t d~al of judgment on the part o~ ~he ~tyli~ ~e.g., to cut th~ desi~ed l~ngth oE
hair) and therefore gEeatly l~nds itself to the po~si-bility of human err~r. Fu~thermor~, pro~iciency in ~his ~echni~ue require~ a ~reat d~al of experi~nce;
mist~kes i~ ~he ea~ly part o~ a 8tyl~3t~ training a~e inevitable.
~ r~lat~d technlque, oft~n ~e~erred to ~8 the "s~sors-over-comb m~thod," ~imilarly r~qui~es th~
iO ~tyli~t to dr~w a s~tion of ~a~r away from the sub~eot's h~d with ~ comb. ~h~ s~ylic~ then ~u~ the ~ectlon of h~ir ~xtending 4~yond the outwardly directe~ ~ct~on of the comb. As wi~h the comb-and-finger me~hod, a great deal of judgm~nt as require~ on the part of the ~tylist, lS and, a~ before, this t~hni~ue is parti~ularly qus~ep~-ible to error.
The pre~ent inv~ntion adY~ntageou~ly ov~rcomes the pro~lems as~oci~ted with earlier mechanic~l ~evic~s u~d as halr cuttin~ gu~des. Addltion~lly, a devlce according to the pr~sent invent~on removes the n~ed ~or a styli~t to m~ke ~udgm~s about th~ hai~ b~ing cut, nd, more importantly, 3ub~tan~ially reduces the ~iQk of error a~sociated with the hair cutting and styling pror~s. Indee~? u~ilizing a de~ice ~ccording to t~e 2~ inv~tion as d~acrib~d herein wo~ld permlt eqen an uflskalled u~e~ t~ ~chieve profes~ion~l looking result~0 .. .. . ... . .. . ... . .... . ... . . . ..

5 ~ 2 ~MARY ~_ H~ INVE~T ON
A hair cutting guide, according to the invention,suicably includes a plurality of parallel spaced-apar-t segments having a generally triangular cross-section,each segment including a pair of legs formed along intersecting planes. The hair cutting device further includes connecting means, such as a spine or the like, for linking the segments to form a unitary structure having a predetermined height.

BR ~ DE~CRIPTION OF TH~ ~RAWIN~
Figure 1 is a top plan view of an exemplary hair cutting guide according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a segment employed in the hair cutting guide taken along line 2-2 of Figure l;
Figure 3 is a side elevation view of a hair cutting guide according to the invention;
Figure 4 is a bottom plan view of the hair cutting guide of Figure l; and Figure 5A through 8C are alternative embodiments of hair cutting guides according to the invention.

DETAILED DE~CRIPTION OF A PkEF~RRE~ E~BODI~N~
Re~erring to Figure l, a hair cutting guide 10, according to the invention, is comprised of a plurality of parallel, spaced-apart segments 12, attached to a centrally disposed spine 14 extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to segments 12 and a handle 16 disposed at one end of spine 14.
Referring to Figure 2, each segment 12 is comprised of a pair of angled legs 18r20, the longitudinal axes of which are disposed substantially in intersecting planes, ihe combination yielding a structure having a generally triangular shape in cross-section. Legs 18,20 may be ioined along a lower section thereof, as ~hown in Figure ~, or they may be completely separate, the choice of which is dependent to some extent upon the selected manufacturing process. The angle formed by 8 ~j 6 2 the intersecting planes in which the lonyitudinal axes o~ legs 1~,20 lie is in -the range of 45~ and 60~, or more preferably approximately 54, although it will be recognized that rhe specific angle chosen will be dictated to sorne e~-tent by the S length of each leg 18,20, as will become apparent.
Spine 14 suitably includes a generally horizontal top wall 22, having an approximately 0.03 inch beveled edge 24 on each side thereof and opposed converging side walls 26,28, which provides a generally triangular shape in cross-section.
In the preferred embodiment illustrated, spine lg has a width of about 0.20 inches, measured from the lowermost portion of bevel 24 of straight top wall 22 on each side, and a height of about 0.25 inches. Legs 18,20 each include a gently sloped shoulder 30, a generally tapered hody 32 and a foot 39.
Shoulders 30 each include an angled face 36, dimensioned to mate with side walls 26,28 of spine 19 below beveled edge.s 24.
When spine 14 is inserted between legs 18,20, beveled top wall 22 extends upwardly beyond the topmost portion of legs 18,20, as shown in Figure 2.
Legs 18,20 are suitably dimensioned such that the distance between the outward ends of each foot 34 is approximately 1.8 inches and the overall height of cutting guide 10, which is defined as the height measured from the medlan of top wall 22 along a line perpendicular to a horizon-tal plane intersecting the lowermost portion of 34 ~eet, i~
approxlmately l.S inches. Each foot 3~ has a lenythwise dimension of approximately 0.12 inches, and is preferably angled with respect to the horizontal plane between each foot 34, rising from the outermost portion OL foot 34 approximately 5o.
As stated above, cutting guide 10 includes a plurality of of parallel segments 12, connected to spine 14. Each of the adjacent segments 12, defines therebetween a groove 38, preferably about 0.125 inches wide, along each opposing side wall 28 of spine 14. Grooves 38, as illustrated, follow the convergence of side wall _5_ ~3~ 2 28 ~nd ~moothly m~rg~ a ~ries oi~ p~allel ch~nnels 40 ~hrough ~rhich h~lr may be di~ gcq, as will be expl~in~d her~lnbelow. The longltudlnal axe~ of leg~ lB,ZO of each o~ ~egmen~ 12 are ~entially ~:oplaner with S correspon~ing le~6 1~, ~o o~ ~11 other segment~ 12. A8 a re~ult ~f thi~ configura~ion, legs lB,~O appear to form a pair of ~n~:er~c~ing rows o~ tee~h, a~ be~t llluot~ed in ~igure6 1 ~nd 4. Th~ number of s~gments comp~ising h~i~ cu~ting guide 10 m~y, of o~ur~e, v~ry 0 but lt is pre~Qrred th~t the ove~all length of ~he Y~gmented portion o hair Guttlng guide 10 ~e approxi~
mately 3 . 5 inches.
Handle ~6 may be inte~ral with or removably att che~, as deslred, to one end o~ spine 14, ~nd includes a seri~s o~ down~ardly extendin~ ~rip projections ~2 which p~rmit a user to firm~y gr~p h~ir cutting guide 10. ~he length of handle 16 is prefer~bly ~pproximately 4.O in~he~, although this rn~y, of ~our~e, b~ v~ried without depa~ting fro~ the ~pirit of the ln~tion.
The us~ o hair ~utting ~uide 10 is rel~tl~ely ~t~aigbt~r~ard, in fact, ea~e o~ USQ i8 one of it~
princ~ple adva~tages. Owing in l~ge p~r~ to ~ts de~ign, even a nonpro~e~sional may ~chi~ve p~ofe~sional-looking result~ with lit~le o~ no expe~ience. The u~er begin ~5 by in~erting ~uttlng guide 10 lnto th~ hair to be au~
at a lo~e~ po~tion of the ~ub~oct'~ h~ad. A& cuttin~
~uide 1~ 1~ th~n ~rawn through the hair towaxd ~h~ ~op o~ She ~ub~e~t's h~ad ~hrou~h ~hannels 40, ~h~ halr a~
it mo~es bet~Q@n ~d~cent 1~95 l8,ao ~hrou~h channel~
40 dnd ~nto ~roov~s 3~, con~ac~ing ~ld~ w~116 ~6,a8 ~f ~pine 14. ~he h~ir ~ then lifted ~ guide lo continu~.
comi~g to rs~t agaln~t be~eled ~dg~ 2~ o~ top wall 2 wi~h th~ e~Ge~ h~lr ox~ndin~ beyond ~11 2~. T~
us~r then cut~ th~ halr by ~l~ply ~unning a ~ 80~, 35 ~8~0r or ~he l~ke along top wall ~2l in eith~r dire~tion along itB lo~tudl~al axi~. A~ the ~lr i~ ~t, t~e uncut portian ~lips ~nd~r pine 14 ~here it receive~ no 1318S~;~

further con~idera~ion during the cuttlng ~p~ration.
The us~r continues to run ~uttin~ guide 10 through gener~lly par~llel path~ along the ~ubjec~'s head until all o the h~i~ ha~ been cut in the manner de~crlbed~
S Anot}~er ~d~rant~ge o~ cut~ing gulde 10 rela~a~
to t~e fact it autom~tically shapes the h~ir a~ ~t ~
being cu~. For example, persvn~ having generally flat head~ typically pr@~r the halr growlng ~ound the ~ngled portion of the ~ead ( the poin~ where the ~hape of the head change~ ~rom b~ing ~ub~tant~.~lly horiz~ntal; i.e., the top o~ t~e h~ad, 'co be~ng sub~antially v~tical) to be cut shorte~ than t~ r~,st of the hai~. Cutting the hair in this fashion deemph~sl2es the cube-like ~llape oE the head, ~n~ p~oduce~ a softer, more pleaaing slightly rounded ~hape. A~ cutting guide 10 is drawn up the sîde of the subject'~ head, it encounters ~he an~led portion of the h~ad. A~ it is drawn over the angl~d portion of the head, the length o~ th~ hair being cut is reduc2d~ This i8 due to the fac~ t~a~ the s~ap~
of the he~d ~orc~ th~ h~ir under guide lû to pierc~
the imagin2ry plar~e betwe~n leg~ l~, 20 of each ~egment l~ mu~h mo~e ~ than when the shape of the he~d under gulde lO is sub~t~ntiall$~ l~orizontal or ~ertical. Thus, the di~tan~ twe~n the point on the he~d b~in~ cut and top wall 2~ h~s b~en r~duced; the h~ir at tha~ point i~ th~refore cut 6horter.
Cutting gulde lO al~o permi~s the use~ to ~ut arou~d p~otru~ion~, su~h as Qar~, wlth f~ s di~fl-~ulty. Po~ e~a~ple, wh~re the us~r desires to ~ut 3n ar~ur~d ~h~ ~ub je~t ' ~ ear, guid~ lO snay b~ in3~r~ed o~er the ear ~o thàt -1 t extend~ into the reqion b~e~n l~g~
18,20 of s~gme~t~ 12. The ~r ~y then be ea~ily pulled ~way ~roln the ~iâe o~ ~he ~b ject ^ ~ head whlle thY ha~r arou~d the ear i~ t~ d~ thl~ ad~itionally Dlir~ Zfl~!l the acc~den~al cuttin~ of the ~ubject ' 8 ~r ~
t7arying th~ ~agl~ between th0 pleln~a in which le~ ~8, 20 lle and/or the length of eithe~both of le~
18, 20 ~an b~ u~d to ~ange the hei~ht cf ~uttiny ~ui~

~7~ ~ 3~8~
10 ~om the upp~r~o~t polnt of top w~ll 22 (i.~., the utting ~u~c~) ~long a llne perpen~icular to ~n ~m~ginary pl~ne d~fined by any two of th~ parallel s~gm~nt~ 12, or other characteri~tic~ of cut~lng guide 10 ( i . e ., the ~pan of leg~ 18,20). Thu~, a nu~ber of vari~tions on the basic de~ign are posslbl~. ~igures 5A
through sC are ill~strati~e.
Figure~ S~ and 5B ~llu~tra~e ~n alternative form of a hair ~utting gu~de Dccording to t~e ~nv0n~ion, lo gener~lly ~ndlcated 2S 81. Cuttlng guide 81 1~ comprlsed of a plurality of sp~ced-apart ~egment~ ~3 having le~
78,80 o~ differ~nt length~, a spine a2, and a bandle 85. Thi~ configuratlon i8 particul~rly adva~ag~ous ~or blending ~air being cut when it is deai~ed that certa~ por~ions o~ hair be of different lengths. ~or example, it 1~ common for ~tyli~s and bar~er~ to cut h~ir ~horter ~long the subject ' s n~ck and above the e~rs. The length of hair which would remain after cutting guide 81 i~ ially in~erted into the lower portio~ of a subject~s hair would, as before, be defined by the heig~t of guide 81, measured f~om the top o' 8pine 82 to ~n imaginary pl~ne joinin~ the lowermost portiona of lega 78,80. As leg 80 is drawn upw~rdly towardfi She top o~ the subject's head, it ~ y be gradu~lly lifted away from the ~calp so that only leg 7~ r~ins in d~rec~ ~ontact wit~ the scalp. ~ thi~
occu~, the le~gth o th~ ha~r remai~ing be~ome~
lncr~ingly lo~ge~, to a ~aximum length e~au~l to ~he he~ght of leg 78, ~a~ured from th~ lowcr~o$t portion o~ leg 78 to ~he ~pp~rmo~t port~on where it jol~s ~pine 82.
~1gU~ A ~d 6~ illu~trate ~n al~e~t~ve embodl~e~t of ~ ~uttl~g gulde ~Gcording to th~ ln~ention, g~nerally ~ndlca~ed a~ 8~. Cu~t~ng guide 84 co~prl~es a plurallty o ~p~c~apart~ en~ ~6 ~avi~g a pair o l~g~ ~0,920 ~ ~p~o 88 ~nd a ha~dle 8~, wher~n th~
~eight o~ ~e~ents ~6, ~a4~ured ~rom the top o~ 4p1ne to ~ polnt b~low a~d pe~pe~dl6ular th~to lylng on ~.~

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~ 1mag~n~ry pltlne b~tw~en le~s ~O,g2, ~ ie~. Cut~ing gu~de a~ ad~ant~geou~ly permit~ the u~er to mech~n~cally blend h~ir w}~re it is desired to h~ve halr o~ varying length~, ~uch a~, for exnmplc, ~t the neckline or ~bove th~ ear~. ~or example, to cut tll~ hsir abo~,re the ~ar~, gulde ~4 would be in~e~ted into the sub j~ct'~ hair at the Eros~t of the ~i~e po~tion of t}le ~ubje~t's head ( e . g ., abov~ an e~r ) and drawn towards ~he rear of the head ~o that the ~horte~t leqged ~egn~ent~ re~ined clo~est to the e~. In this manner, h~ir directly above the ear would be the ~hortest, gradually increa~in~ in length as the hei~ht of the ~e~ments increa~es upw~rdly ~n gulde 84.
Figure~ 7A through 7D illustrate an alternative embodimen~ of a hair cutting guide accordlng to the in-~ention, gen~rally indicated as 94. ~air outting guide 9~ comprl~es a plu~ality of spaced-apart se~ment~
having legs 100,102 aStaohed ~o a 3pine 95 having a hinge ~7, and ~ handle 103. Any su~table method for ~ausing ~pine ~6 to flex about hinge 97, ~uoh as, for ~xample, mechanism ~8 ~ay be employed to permit 'che u~er to vary the angle between the inter~ectir~g plane6 in w}~ich leq~ 100,102 li~. In ~his m~nner, the hetgh~
of gu~ de 94, mea~ured ~rom the ~op of spine 96 to a point perpendicul~r ther~to lying on an imaginary pl~ne ~etwe~n the lowermost point~ of l~g~ 100,102, can be varied. Thi~ per~1 ts the user to deli~er hair cuts of varylng ~en~'ch.
~igure~ 8A, ~ and ~C illus~r~ al~ernative erabod~m~nt of a h~ir ~utt~ng guide according tc the invention, g~ner~lly 1ndic~ted ~ 104. ~air cuttin9 gulde 10~ Go~pri~ a ~lu~alit~ o~ ~paced-~pa~t ~egment~
106, ha~ legs 112,114, connecte~ ~o a ~ping 108/ A
led~e 110 ~ forr~ed ~long t~e upper~o~t porelon of ~pirle 108, e~tendi:ng t~ough a portion o~ leg 112, along a top portlor~ t~areo~ o~ od, p~rallel, s~4c~d~part clips 116,~18, extendlng u~ar~ly fror~ the endmo~t portàon~ o~ l~p~ne 108, lnclu~e a ~nall C-~haped groo~e 3 ~ 2 120, ~onfi~ured for matinSI eng~gement with a ba~e 1~2 ot~ A mechani~al ollpper~ 124, ~17own in phantom line6 in Figur~ 8A. I~ ~p~ration, leg 11~ ~f guid~ 104 would be inserted lnSo the ~ub~ect' 8 h~ir at-a lower portion 5 th~eof (e.g., a~ the neckline) ~nd dr~wn through the subject ' s hair towardR the top of the su~ j~ct ' g head .
As th~ hair is dr~wn t~rough guide 104, in a manner r to ~ha~ de~cribed ~rein~bove with re~pect ~o ~uide 10, it would b~ ~ut by clippe~ 124. Leg 114 of lO guLde 104 ~ay extend angularly from spine 108, ~ in the embodl~ents illust~t~d above, or ~ay be ~ub~tantial~y ve~tical, ~16 ~hown in ~i~Ure ~IA~ This is ~ue to thQ
fact that c~ nce clippe~ 124 i~ only cdp~ble o~ ~uttla~g h~ir in a sin~le d~ rection, t~e primary func~ion of leg 15 ll~ i~ to provide for th~ proper height of gu.~de 104, a~ m~a~ured f~om the topmo~t portion of spine lD8 to ~
point perpendic~lla~ thereto lyin~ in zln lm~g~ n~ry pl~ne het~een the low~rmost portlon~ of l~g~ 112 ,114 .
Any suitabl~ method of m~nu~acture may be 20 employed in the construction af hair ~utting ~uide lO.
By ~ay ~f non-llmiting ex~mple, legs 1~,2D m~y be formed a~ a ~nitary str~l~ture ( i ~ e ., joined a~ th~ b~se ~hexeo a6 de~ribed he~einabove ) by in~ectis:~n mol~ing t~hni~ues ~nd then cons~ected ~o the ~ombination qpine 14/handle 25 lÇ ~y u~e o~ a t~er~ow~ld ~ the like. P~lternatively, t~e ent~re~y o~ h~ir cutting guide lO may be ~o~ed a unitary structure by u~e of inje~tion ~vldin~ t~h-niqu~. Applican~s hav~ ~ound the latte~ ale~hod to be t~e m~st economic~ her~ lnje~4n mold~n~ t~hr,i~e~
30 are u~d, halr cut~ing guide ï~ ~y be ~or~stru~ted ~rom any 3uitable mat~ u~h ;~8, for example r ~S or a~etalO ~ ting ~ethod~ m~y ~e u~ed, employin~
~at~rials ~uch as, or ex~mplQ, ~lumlrlum or ~inc.
~hile the in~erltior~ ha~ now been de~cr~b~
3S ~$th re~eren~e to certaln preferred en~od~ent~, tho~e ~k~lled in th~ art will a~precl~te the various sub~ti-tu~lon~, modifiqat~ons, ch~n~q and omi~sion~ whi~h Inay be ~ade w1~hou~ depart1n~ fr~ln tlle ~pirit ~h~reo~.

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Accord.ingly, il; 1~ lntende~ that the ~cope o ~he present inventlon not be ll~lited by khe ~bre~oing de~arlption, but be me~sured wi~h regard to the claims ~ranted herein.

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Claims (6)

1. A hair cutting guide comprising:
a plurality of parallel spaced-apart segments, each of said segments comprising a pair of legs having longi-tudinal axes formed along intersecting planes such that each of said segments has a generally triangular shape in cross-section; and connecting means being of generally triangular shape in cross-section including a top surface having a longitudinal axis, for linking said segments along a top portion thereof to produce a generally unitary structure having a predetermined height, said height measured from said top surface between said segments along a line perpendicular to a plane defined by distal ends of a pair of said legs in said segments, said top surface having means for defining a cutting plane lying generally parallel to the plane defined by distal ends of said legs; and said connecting means further having a pair of side walls associated with said top surface and each defining along the longitudinal axis a surface of a groove between pairs of legs in adjacent segments whereby hair is captured in said grooves against said side walls and is cut along the longitudinal axis of said top surface in the plane defined by said top surface.

2. The hair cutting guide of claim 1, wherein said legs of said segments further include a foot portion disposed on said legs at a point furthest from said connect-ing means.

3. The hair cutting guide of claim 1, wherein at least one of said legs of each of said pairs of legs com-prises a shoulder portion disposed proximate said connecting means and a tapered end portion, disposed proximate said shoulder portion.

4. The hair cutting guide of claim 1, in which a beveled wall connects said top surface to said side walls.

5. The hair cutting guide of claim 1, wherein said intersecting planes corresponding to said legs of each of said pairs of legs form an angle in the range of 45°
and 60° therebetween.

6. The hair cutting guide of claim 1, additionally comprising connecting means for attaching said guide to suitable cutting means associated therewith.