CN111150200A - Hair holding device and method of manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The application discloses a hair holding device. The hair holding device is ring-shaped for holding a bundle of hair within the ring. The hair holding device has an elastic inner core part made of a band having a width of 2 to 6mm and a thickness of 1 to 3mm and made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), and an outer fabric cover part covering the elastic inner core part. The hair holding device has a first initial state in which the opening defined by and surrounded by the loop has a first area and a second fully expanded state in which the opening defined by and surrounded by the loop has a second area. Due to the physical state and material properties of the band, the band may be stretched 8.5 to 10 times its original length, thereby expanding the first area of the loop to the second area by a factor of 72.3 to 100.

Description

Hair holding device and method of manufacturing the same

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application claims priority from U.S. application No. 16/184544 filed on 8.11.2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an improved hair holding device and method of making the same.

Background

A variety of hair holding devices are available on the market to meet the different needs of holding and grooming hair. Such devices include hair clips, barrettes, and the like. One type of hair holding device, commonly referred to as a hair ring, is commonly used to hold a user's ponytail. However, such hair loops often have various disadvantages. For example, the internal structure of such hair loops made of fabric material often retains moisture, which is detrimental to the tying performance of the hair loop, increases the weight of the hair loop and/or causes hygiene problems. Furthermore, hair loops on the market are often not sufficient to adapt to the needs of different sizes of hair-holding or hair-tying for different users. The present invention seeks to at least address the issues of lashing performance, lashing comfort, and increasing lashing adaptability to suit different users, or at least to provide the public with an alternative.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair holding device in the form of a ring for holding a bundle of hair in the ring, comprising an elastic inner core portion and an outer fabric covering portion covering the elastic inner core portion, wherein the inner core is made of a tape having a width of 2 to 6mm and a thickness of 1 to 3mm and is made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), wherein said hair holding device has a first initial condition in which the opening defined by and surrounded by said loop has a first circular area "a", the opening defined by and surrounded by the loop in the second state has a second circular area and, due to the physical configuration and material properties of the band, the band is extendible to 8.5 to 10 times its original length, thereby expanding the first area of the loop to the second area by a multiple of 72.3 to 100. It is to be noted that this combination of the above parameters is not arbitrary, but has been made after a lot of research and development work. With this configuration, in the exercise of tying hair, the user can stretch the initial length of the hair holding device to the maximum length and wind (at least four times) the hair bundle with the hair holding device in a more relaxed manner, and after completion, the hair holding device can be tightly fixed to the hair bundle, thereby reliably tying hair.

Preferably, the tensile strength value of the tape may be 3.02 to 4.08 Mpa. The tensile modulus value of the tape may be 0.37 to 0.49 Mpa. The tape may have a tensile stress value at 100% of 0.38 to 0.52 Mpa. The shore a hardness of the belt may be 23.8 to 32.2. The maximum tension of the strap may be substantially 57.31N (newtons). The specific gravity of the tape may be substantially 0.9. These characteristics further enhance the physical characteristics, thereby providing sufficient elasticity, resiliency and adaptability of the hair holding device to accommodate the need for ponytail lashing.

Suitably, the outer fabric may be sufficiently loose to provide space for maximum expansion of the band.

Advantageously, a similar or near circular strap may have a tab that connects opposite free ends of the strap with an adhesive and is wrapped in the outer fabric. Alternatively, a similar or near circular strap may have a unitary structure made from one injection molding step that has no joints and is encased within an outer fabric.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a hair holding device as described above, comprising the steps of: the elastic core is formed from a thermoplastic elastomer using injection molding at a melt flow rate of 7.57 to 10.23. This range of melt flow rate can enhance the elasticity and resiliency of the elastic core.

Drawings

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a conventional hair ring holding device;

FIG. 2a shows the elastic core of the conventional hair ring holding device shown in FIG. 1;

figure 2b shows an embodiment of the elastic core of the hair band holding device according to the invention;

fig. 3a corresponds to fig. 1 and 2b and schematically shows the conventional hair ring holding device shown in fig. 1;

FIG. 3b shows an embodiment of a hair ring holding device according to the present invention incorporating the elastic core shown in FIG. 2 b;

FIG. 4 is a series of schematic views showing the expansion of the conventional hair ring holding device shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 a;

FIG. 5 is a series of schematic views showing the expansion of the hair ring holding device shown in FIG. 3 b; and

fig. 6 shows the hair band fixation device of fig. 3b and 5 during use by a user.

Detailed Description

By way of background, a conventional hair holding device will first be described. Fig. 1 shows such a conventional hair holding device 2. Fig. 2a shows a resilient core 4 provided in the hair holding device 2 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 3a shows a hair holding device 2 having a resilient core 4 therein. The elastic core 4 is made of a woven structure comprising a textile material substantially made of or comprising a non-polymeric material. Fig. 4 shows that the length of such a hair holding device can be extended up to four times its original length.

The present invention relates to a hair holding device, and more particularly to a hair holding device in the form of a loop, which is commonly used to bind and retain a ponytail of a user. The hair holding device has improved performance.

Referring first to fig. 3b, a hair holding device, generally indicated at 12, has an outer fabric cover 16, which fabric cover 16 loosely covers or otherwise surrounds the resilient inner core 14. Referring to fig. 2b, the elastic core 14 is in the form of a band having a width of 2 to 6mm and a thickness of 1 to 3 mm. The elastic core 14 is substantially made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). In the embodiment of fig. 3b, the elastic core 14 is made of a tape, the opposite open ends 18, 20 of which are joined together by an adhesive. Alternatively, the elastic core 14 may be formed into a ring-like structure in one injection molding step. Please refer to the top view of fig. 2 b. By these physical features, the elastic core 14 can be stretched from its initial state to an expanded state 8.5 to 10 times its initial length. The hair holding device 12, which is in the form of a ring, defines an area for holding a bundle of hair. Thus, the circular area defined by the ring can be significantly expanded from its initial state to its maximum expanded state of 72.3 to 100 times. It is conceivable that the hair strand can be wound several times, at least four times more, by the loop of hair with such a large extension. Furthermore, during hair tying exercises, the hair holding device 12 may be fully extended to make it easier for a user to manipulate the loop of hair to wind a bundle of hair. In addition, using TPE as the elastic inner core portion 14 can reduce moisture in the fabric covering as much as possible.

Although the circumferential length of the band of the elastic core 14 may assume any length in different embodiments, research and development of the present invention has shown that this length will affect banding performance in the context of the present invention. In this regard, related research has determined that the elastic core 14 preferably has a circumferential length of 8 to 18cm in order to produce the desired ligating performance.

Studies have shown that hair holding devices 12 as described above may enhance the ease and reliability of hair tying. The following table shows other preferred properties of the elastic inner core in one experiment.

Table 1: experimental data of elastic inner core part of hair band fixing device

Further experiments have shown that the test results remain within a range of ± 15%.

In a first embodiment of the manufacturing method, the elastic core 14 may first be formed as an elongated strip. The fabric cover 16 is then produced to form a substantially closed covering structure but with a small opening resembling a pocket, allowing an elongate strap to pass through the fabric cover 16 through the opening. The opposite ends of the strap 14 are then joined together by adhesive to form a loop. Then, the opening of the fabric covering portion 16 is closed by sewing to completely close the loop. In an alternative embodiment, the elastic core 14 may be formed into a ring by one injection molding step and then the ring placed within the fabric cover. The inner circumference of hair holding device 12 is then closed by sewing fabric cover 16 together, completely concealing the loops.

In one embodiment of the method of manufacturing the hair holding device, a step is provided of forming the elastomeric core 14 from a thermoplastic elastomer by injection molding using a melt flow rate of 7.57 to 10.23. The use of such a flow rate allows the manufacture of an elastic core 14 having banding properties as described above.

It is to be understood that certain features of the invention, which are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination. It is noted that certain features of the embodiments are shown by way of non-limiting example. Also, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the prior art, which has not been explained above for the sake of brevity.

Claims (11)

1. A hair holding device in the form of a ring for holding a bundle of hair in the ring, the hair holding device comprising an elastic inner core and an outer fabric covering over the elastic inner core, wherein the elastic inner core is made of a tape having a width of 2 to 6mm and a thickness of 1 to 3mm and is made of a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), wherein the hair holding device has a first initial state in which an opening defined and surrounded by the ring has a first area and a second fully expanded state in which the opening defined and surrounded by the ring has a second area, and wherein the tape is capable of being extended 8.5 to 10 times its initial length such that the first area of the ring is extended to the second area by a factor of 72.3 to 100.

2. The hair holding device of claim 1, wherein the tape has a tensile strength value of 3.02 to 4.08 Mpa.

3. The hair holding device of claim 2, wherein the tape has a tensile modulus value of 0.37 to 0.49 Mpa.

4. The hair holding device of claim 3 wherein said tape has a tensile stress value of 0.38 to 0.52MPa at 100%.

5. The hair holding device of claim 4 wherein said band has a Shore A hardness of 23.8 to 32.2.

6. The hair holding device of claim 5 wherein said strap has a maximum tension of 57.31N.

7. A hair holding device according to claim 6 wherein said strap has a specific gravity value of substantially 0.9.

8. The hair holding device of claim 1 wherein said outer fabric is sufficiently loose to provide space for maximum expansion of said strap.

9. The hair holding device of claim 1 wherein said circular-like band has tabs connecting opposite free ends of the band by adhesive and encased in an outer fabric.

10. The hair holding device of claim 1 wherein said circular-like band has a unitary structure made by one or only one injection molding step, said structure being free of joints and being encased within said outer fabric.

11. A method of manufacturing a hair holding device as claimed in claim 1, said method comprising the step of forming said elastomeric core from a thermoplastic elastomer by injection moulding using a melt flow rate of from 7.57 to 10.23.

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