EP1338216A2

EP1338216A2 - Cap for treating locks of hair, provided with means for adjusting the tension thereof

Info

Publication number: EP1338216A2
Application number: EP03075474A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Giuseppe Di Luca
Original assignee: Dielle SRL
Current assignee: Dielle SRL
Priority date: 2002-02-22
Filing date: 2003-02-18
Publication date: 2003-08-27
Also published as: CA2419234A1; EP1338216A3; US20030159707A1; ITMI20020362A1; ITMI20020362A0

Abstract

Cap for treating locks of hair with active substances, formed by a hemispherical covering element (10) provided with openings (11) for extracting the said locks, said cap comprising means (20, 30) for adjusting the tension of the cap on the user's head.

Description

The present invention relates to a protective cap for treating locks of hair using active substances, provided with means for adjusting the tension thereof.
It is known in the art of dyeing and/or bleaching hair in order to produce so-called "highlights" for aesthetic purposes that there is a need to isolate locks of hair of different thickness in order to bring them into contact with the active dyeing/bleaching substance.
It is also known that the prechosen lock must be isolated from the remainder of the hair and from the other locks being treated in order to avoid the undesirable effects of the treatment substance coming into contact with parts of the hair and/or the scalp which must not be treated.
For this purpose protective caps made of silicone material and able to be fitted to the user's head, adhering thereto by means of elastic deformation, are usually used.
Although fulfilling the function, these caps however have drawbacks which make them complicated to use: in particular, while adherence to the top part of the user's head is always substantially ensured by the elastic tension of the cap, adherence of the cap is still very problematic in the region of the user's neck where said elastic tension does not exist and/or exists only partially depending on the morphological characteristics of the user.
In addition to this, caps of the known type necessarily result in covering of the user's ears, this condition being a source of discomfort and irritation for the user.
The technical problem which is posed, therefore, is that of providing a protective cap for the head of users whose hair must be treated with active substances, said cap being able to be easily adapted to the user's neck, independently of his/her morphological characteristics.
Within the scope of this problem, a further requirement is that the cap should allow the user's ears to be left exposed.
These technical problems are solved according to the present invention by a cap for treating locks of hair with active substances, which is formed by a hemispherical covering element provided with openings for extracting said locks and comprising means for adjusting the tension of the cap when it is fitted onto the user's head.
Further details may be obtained from the following description of a non-limiting example of embodiment of the invention, provided with reference to the accompanying plates of drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a cap according to the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a side view of the cap during fitting;
Figure 3 shows a detailed view of the means for adjusting the tension of the cap;
Figure 4 shows a view of the cap after fitting has been completed.

As shown, the cap according to the present invention is formed by a hemispherical covering element 10, for example made of silicone material and provided with cross-shaped openings 11 through which it is possible to extract the locks of hair which are to undergo treatment.
According to the invention it is envisaged that the cap 10 has at least one opening 20 in the side surface corresponding to the position of the user's ear 1.
In greater detail, said opening is substantially shaped in the manner of a triangle having its larger base which is open along the free edge 10a of the cap 10 and a rounded vertex 21 arranged at a suitable distance from the said edge.
The whole of the free edge 10a of the cap 10, including the internal edge of the opening 20, is reinforced by a profiled part 12 projecting in the form of an upwardly directed flange.
In the front part of the cap corresponding to the user's forehead (Fig. 4), the free edge 10a of the cap has a plurality of incisions 14 arranged in a zone where there is no hair.
The two opposite vertices 20a,20b of the said larger base of the opening 20 have respective through-holes 30a,30b through which it is possible to pass pulling means able to perform adjustment of the opening in the said base.
In a preferred embodiment said pulling means consist of a chain 31 formed by small balls 32 having a diameter which is greater than that of the two holes 20a,20b so that they are able to pass through the latter by means of elastic deformation thereof.
Advantageously the two opposite ends of the chain 31 have respectively a wedge-shaped element 33 for facilitating introduction of the chain into the holes 20a,20b and an opposing element 34 having dimensions such that it cannot pass through the said holes 20a,20b; said opposing element has the task of drawing the respective opening flap following the pulling action exerted on the chain in a direction which is substantially longitudinal (tangential with respect to the cap).
In this way the said pulling action causes gradual closing of the opening 20 and therefore gradual elastic tensioning of the cap in the part thereof corresponding to the user's neck: this allows the cap to be adapted in a perfectly adhering manner also in this zone, independently of the dimensions of the head and the neck of the user.
This adapting action may be rendered even more precise by means of the presence of the said incisions 14 which allow a greater degree of freedom of the tensioning action.
According to further equivalent embodiments, it is envisaged that the pulling means may be realized in the form of an elastic lace or strap + buckle (not shown) or the like; in this case two mounting points instead of two holes 20a,20b will be defined.
It is envisaged, moreover, that said pulling means may operate also if said opening 20 is not present.
It can therefore be seen how the cap according to the invention can be easily and rapidly adapted to numerous shapes and sizes of the head and the neck of users, allowing a reduction in the number of shapes and sizes of the cap required to meet all the applicational requirements and improving at the same time the isolation characteristics of the cap in the neck zone.
In addition to this the provision of the opening in the region of the user's ear allows the user to avoid the discomfort resulting from compression of the outer ear part, also allowing, for example, the use of a mobile phone during treatment.

Claims

Cap for treating locks of hair with active substances, formed by a hemispherical covering element (10) provided with openings (11) for extracting the said locks, characterized in that it comprises means (20a,20b) for adjusting the tension of the cap on the user's head.
Cap according to Claim 1, characterized in that it is made of elastic material.
Cap according to Claim 1, characterized in said adjusting means consist of at least one element (30) for pulling at least two points (20a,20b) of the free edge (10a) of the cap (10).
Cap according to Claim 3, characterized in that it has at least one opening (20) in its free edge (10a).
Cap according to Claim 4, characterized in that the said opening is substantially in the form of a triangle with its larger base open along the free edge (10a) of the cap (10) and vertex (21) arranged at a suitable distance from the said edge.
Cap according to Claim 5, characterized in that said vertex (21) of the opening (20) is rounded.
Cap according to Claim 4, characterized in that said at least one opening is arranged in the region of the user's ear (1).
Cap according to Claim 4, characterized in that said at least two points (20a,20b) of the cap (10) subjected to pulling are the opposite ends of the said larger base of the opening (20).
Cap according to Claim 8, characterized in that said at least two points (20a,20b) of the cap (10) are formed by two holes formed on the opposite ends of the greater base of the opening (20).
Cap according to Claim 9, characterized in that said pulling means consist of a chain (31) which is formed by small balls (32) having a diameter greater than that of the two holes (20a,20b) and is provided with an opposing element (34) arranged at one of its ends and having dimensions such as not to be able to pass through the said holes (20a,20b).
Cap according to Claim 1, characterized in that the chain (31) has, at the opposite end to the opposing element, a wedge-shaped element (33) able to facilitate the introduction of the chain into the holes (20a,20b).
Cap according to Claim 1, characterized in that said pulling means consist of an elastic strap.
Cap according to Claim 1, characterized in that said pulling means consist of a strap associated with a buckle.
Cap according to Claim 1, characterized in that the free edge (10a) of the cap (10) has a reinforced profiled part (12) projecting in the form of an upwardly directed flange.
Cap according to Claim 1, characterized in that the free edge (10a) of the cap (10) has a plurality of incisions (14) in its front part corresponding to the user's forehead.