US2930385A - Hair divider and measurer for braiding - Google Patents

Description

March 29, 1960 'r. s. FEES HAIR DIVIDER AND MEASURER FOR BRAIDING Filed May 5, 1958 INVENT OR.

THELMA S. FEES ATTORNEY United rates Patent l ce.

The present invention relates to a toilet accessory and more particularly to a hair-divider for dividing a hank of hair into three even group-divisions so that these divisions may be braided into an even and firm plat.

The art of platting hair is an ancient custom and is still I practiced by girls and women who have long cranial hair. To provide such plats, a selected hank of the hair is grasped by the hand and, by manipulation of the fingers, is divided, as nearly as is possible, into three divisions; then commencing near the head, these divisions are braided in a manner well known. The difficulty has been, for the person wishing to plat her own hair, to divide it evenly into the necessary three divisions, resulting in the hair divisions having different thicknesses (i.e. having more or less hair strands than the others) and the resultant plat being uneven or irregular, thus unattractive and unpleasing to the eye.

..The object of the present invention is to provide a hair-divider for braiding by which a hank of hair may be easily and more evenly measured by merely inserting the divider through the hank, and, after some adjustment of the hairs relative to the divider where desirable, drawing the divider along the length of the hank to effect the division.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and very simple hair-divider, useful in braiding hair into plats, and which may be manufactured cheaply and is durable for its purposes.

The above and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdetailed description; and the invention resides in the sundry details of construction, combination and arrangement of its several parts more fully appearing herein and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, which form part of this specification by reference, the braid hair-divider of this invention is illustrated in the form in which it is at present devised and in which I Figure 1 is a pictorial illustration of the hair-divider in use and showing the manner of using it; I

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the hair-divider in accordance with this invention;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substan tially on line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a top plan view of Figure 2.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in which like characters of reference refer to like parts throughout the several views, D denoted the hair divider of this invention, which comprises a handle of any convenient shape or type, after the manner of the handle of a head hair-brush, from one end of which a narrow bar-like member 11 projects forwardly as an extension of the handle. This bar 11 is preferably about four inches long.

From one side (or from that which may be denominated the underside of the bar 11), four equally spaced and substantially co-extensive tine- like projections 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d extend laterally therefrom in the same general direction for a distance of about inch. It is to be observed thatone of the projections 12a is posi-' tioned at the free end extremity of the bar 11 and another projection 12d at or near the juncture of the bar 11 with the handle 10, while the other two projections 12b and 120 are positioned, respectively, equal distances from the end projections 12a and 12d and from each other; thus dividing the area between the end projections 12a and 12d into three equal measuring space-areas into which a hank of hairmay be received and equally divided, when a bank of the hair is pulled somewhat taut and the projections of the divider are the tautened hank.

Should any hair of the hank be. not embraced within' the spaces between the end projections 12a and 12d, the user will place them within the confines of these spaces and, if more hair strands be within the space between any two adjacent projections, the user should distribute them into the next space so that the spaces will contain an even, or nearly even, division of the hair and, thus, the divider acts as a guide or measuring device;

In order to retain the hair better within the measuring spaces between'the adjacent projections of the hairdivider and to conform to the natural formation which the hair assumes'in divided group-divisions, the surface.

' of the bar 11, from which the projections project,

stantially outwardly converging walls which tend to compactlywedge or confine a group of hair strands there-.

between. In addition, the end projections 12a and 12d may be curved slightly inwardly, as shown, to better embrace and retain the hank of hair (to be divided) withinthe confines of the divider.

The end extremities of the projections 12 are rounded so as not to present a sharp edge or point, and it is preferred that the cross-section area of the projections be elliptical. The bar 11 may be of such dimensions as gives the device the necessary rigidity and strength to resist breaking.

The hair-divider and measuring device of this invention may be made of any suitable material, but it is suggested that it may be made of hard vulcanized rubber, or of, so-called, plastic materials, such as phenol formaldehyde resin, a vinyl resin, polystyrene, acrylic resin, cellulose acetate, cellulose nitrate and the like, or may be made of stamped or molded metal.

The dimensions listed above are merely suggestive of the preferred dimensions of the divider and as a guide for the relative proportions of the device in order to meet the needs of its use.

In the use of the device, a hank of hair, as shown in Figure 1, has first been combed to relieve it of entanglements and then held near its free end in a somewhat taut position. The divider is then applied upon this hank of hair near the head of the user so as to insert the projections transversely therethrough. The width of the hank, selected for braiding, usually approximates the length of the bar 11 of the device. However, should some hair lie outside and laterally of the end projections 12a and 12d, they are placed by the user within the confines between them; and, when occasion requires it, the user also distributes the hair of the hank into the spaces between the adjacent projections 12a, 12b, 12c and 12d in order for each space to contain a compact thickness of hair substantially equal to that in the other spaces. The divider is then moved along the divided hank toward its outer end for a distance, generally indicated in Fig ure 1, where the user inserts her fingers between and Patented Mar. 29, 1960 inserted transversely of around the divisions 'ofthe hair, as shown, and thereby grasps the divided portions so that they may be .further separated in the accustomedmmanner for the purpose of braiding the same into a plat;

The projections 1-2b and lze-may'be-wider thanathe projections 12a andlzd, as shown; in Figure -2, so that aqgreaterseparation may be obtainedbetween the central or middle division; of the-hair: andthe adjacent side divisions, for the ready insertion of the fingersof the user into such separations. has an abundance ofthicklhair, the projections "17 may be provided of slightly greater length than shown in the drawings and mentioned above; However,5the proportions shown will meet mostrequirements.

The user of this hair-divider and measuring device becomes treadily. accustomed to itsluse and can divide her hair for braiding in a period of a few seconds'oftirne; and, the device assures substantially evenly divided and measured divisions orgroup-strands resulting in .an-attrae-r tive-and firm symmetrically braided'plat of hair.

Having thus described the invention and'the manner in which it is to be performed, it is manifest that the objects of the invention have been attained thereby. However, it is understood that the hair-divider and groupstrand measuring device of this invention is not to be limited to the exact form shown and described herein, as it is susceptible of variations and modifications without departing from the spirit of the invention and which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

That which is claimed, as new and to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A toilet device for dividing a hank of hair into three substantially equal groups of braiding-strands for hair plaiting purposes, said device comprising a bar, one end portion of said bar forming a handle adapted to be grasped by the hand of the user, four substantially coextensive tine-like members projecting laterally from the Also, .in cases where a user other end portion of said bar in the same direction and lying .in substantially the same plane and spaced apart appreciably along the length of said end portion of said bar, as distinguished from a hair comb, to divide a selected bank of hair in three divisional groups of braiding-strands, when said device is applied to said hank of hair with the end tine-like members embracing the sides of said hank, said bar and said time members being rigid so that said device may be drawn along said hank, while in its inserted and dividing position, to divide said hank along its length, the spaces between said tine-like members being of substantially equal area to receive measured amounts of the hair strands therein in suificient volume for providing substantially equal divisions of said hank, whereby a symmetrical plait may be obtained when said group-divisions are braided.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 further characterized by the portion of the bar from which the tine-like members project being arcuate, and by thetine-like members projecting from said arcuate-surface of lesser radius and substantiallyradially ofsaid surface to provide outwardly converging walls for said hair-receiving spaces.

3. The subject matter of claim 1 further characterized by at least the two intermediate tine-like members being of a width to cause a wide separation of the divided hairdivisions adjacent thereto into which the fingers of the user'may be readily insertedas the device is moved along the length-ofsaid hank-of hair.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 235,344 Dawn Dec. 14, 1880 1,671,094 Widdows May 22, 1928 2,517,232 Patulski Aug. 1, 1950 2,755,808 Golden July 24, 1956

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