US2965903A - Protective collars - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 27, 1960 l. A. NoDURFT PROTECTIVE COLLARS Filed June 28, 1957 H5? Arron/var My invention pertains in general to a protective device for the neck and shoulders, and more particularly to an improved heat insulating collar for use by beauticians to protect the neck and shoulders of the customer from excessive heat owing from the conventional hair dryers.

In beauty parlor practice, it is customary to use a shield or towel around the neck and shoulders of the customer in an attempt to prevent the hot air fromthe hair dryer from bearing directly on the neck andshoulders. Such heat has been a source of great discomfort and sometimes actual injury to the subject. Such makeshift arrangements as a fabric shield or towel do not, adequately insulate the neck and shoulders from the hot air blast and also such arrangements often lare not of a desirable sanitary quality and are somewhat uncomfortable to the user. be heated to such a degree that it is extremely uncomfortable when coming in direct contact with the skin, particularly so when the customer must remain in a fixed position beneath the dryer for long periodsof time, and furthermoreV has a drying and injurious effect onk the skin. It is, therefore, myaim.v to provide an improved protective deviceV or collar which will fully insulate, the neck and shoulders of the. wearer from the heated air of the dryer and, thus. contribute to `the comforty of` the user as welll as to, the convenienceand' efficiency ofv the beautyv shop'` operator..

Accordingly, it isranrobject of my invention to provide a heat insulating collar which is light in weight and may be easily and quicklyv placed around the neck and over the shoulders, and justas easily removed therefrom.

It isa further object' of my inventiony to. provide. a@ light weight collar which is so designed and proportioned that it rests securely -around the neck and on the shoulders of the user, and being filled with a heat insulating material completely prevents any hot air blast yfrom striking the neck and shoulders of the wearer.

It is still a further object of my invention to provide a protective collar which may be easily and economically manufactured, has a long period of utility, and which may be kept clean and sanitary with a minimum of care and expense.

Other and further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from a description thereof, and it will be better understood from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the scope of this invention will be pointed out in the :appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of my protective collar as the same would appear in use and on the shoulders of the wearer.

Figure 2 is a side view of my protective collar when being worn by a customer seated under the usual beauty parlor hair dryer.

Figure 3 is a plan view of my protective collar, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 4--4 of Figure 3.

The air, from the hair dryer as generally used must' States arent Figure 5 is a perspective view of a stitiening or form retaining member which may be inserted. in the collar shown at Figures 1 and 3.

Figure 6 is an elevation view of one end of the protective collar of Figure 1 showing a modification incorporating a sachet retaining pocket.

Reference should now be had to Figures 1 and 3 in which the protective device, indicated generally by. the numeral 10, consists of a pair of forwardly extending wing portions 11 and 12 which are joined in a generally Ushaped manner by means of the narrow body portion 13, the entire assembly thus forming a collar shaped device having a neck encircling aperture 14, and anopen throat 15 for easy placement around the neck of the wearer.

Figure 2 shows the collar in use under a hair dryer D, the dashed arrows indicating ilow of' hot air down on to the neck and shoulders of the wearer. The overthe-shoulder wing portions 11 and 12 are considerably thicker at their forward ends than the back-of-the-neck.

portion 13, therefore being somewhat heavier, it results in the collar being self-seating on the shoulders of the wearer so that the neck portion 13 lits snugly against the back of the neck of the user and the entire oollar tilts slightly forward covering the shoulders and remaining in place without necessity of tie strings, clips or other means.

This protective collar is made by forming a hollow body of cloth or fabric similar to a formed pillow, preferably using a` rather hard finished material that may be easily wiped' and cleaned, land it is also within the scope of my invention that plastic materials could be used for forming the hollow body 10. or trim 16` is providedaroundthe periphery of the upper surface and also serves to bind the upper surface of the body material to the side panelsV in the manner shown.

By reference to Figure 4, it will be noted that the protective collar isV iilled or stuffed with any suitable light' weight material 1 7, having` t-he essential qualities of heat insulation and also being damp-proof, mold proof and vermin proof. I haveV found that a material such asV kapok is very satisfactory for this purpose, however it is also contemplated that other materials, including some of the synthetic fibers and filling materials can be equally well used for this purpose. Figure 4.also shows the genenally rectangular cross-section of the device at the back ofthe neck part 13, and ithas been foundv that whenA the body member 10 is thoroughly and tightly filled and' stulfed with the filling material 17 the collar will assume the shape as shown in Figure l and will retain this shape and figuration after long periods of use. Figure 4 also shows the shoulder conforming shape of each wing portion, and shows the relative thickness or depth of the body member at the neck part 13 and the front of the wing 12.

In the event it is desirable to incorporate further shape retaining means, I have provided an alternative construction incorporating a U-shaped flat spring member 18 as shown in Figure 5. This consists of a circular neck portion 19 and the `forwardly extending arms 20 and 21 which fit within the wings 11 and 12 respectively. The positioning of this forming spring 18 wit-hin the body 10 can be seen in the cross-section view at Figure 4, and this has the additional advantage of retaining the forwardly extending wings 11 and 12 in the position in Figure 3 and permits them to be separated slightly in placing the collar around the neck of the wearer, whereupon they will close to the position as shown in Figure 3, thus providing a snug but not uncomfortable tit. The forming spring 18 should be pre-formed and made of any light spring metal or resilient plastic, and should not be so heavy or stili as to be uncomfortable to the user, being merely to retain the shape of the collar as shown` Patented Dec. 27, 1960 Adecorative beadV 3 in Figure 3. When the body is filled with heat insulation 17, the spring 18 will be held in place by the filler 17 without needof other sewing means.

Figure 6 shows the forward end of one of the wing portions, in this case the left hand portion 12, in which I have provided a pocket 22 having a top opening 23, said pocket being formed merely by stitching a flap of material to the inner surface before the assembly is complete. It is, therefore, a simple operation to place a small quantity of sachet powder or other perfume material within this pocket and which will contribute to the cornfort and pleasure of the user. It is, of course, obvious that the sachet pocket as shown could be located at almost any other portion of the front part of this device.

It is important to note that this protective collar, being light in weight and being self positioned on the shoulders of the wearer, creates no discomfort when in place and positively serves to prevent the blast of hot air which ows downwardly over the wearers head and hair, as shown in Figure 1, from striking the neck and shoulders of the wearer.

As mentioned previously, the article is easily cleaned being necessary only to wipe it off with a damp cloth or a cloth dampened in disinfectant, and in ordinary beauty parlor practice a neck band of tissue would be used around the neck of the wearer to prevent direct Contact of the collar with the wearer. An important feature of this protective collar is the proportioning of the front wing portions 11 and 12 and the thinner back of the neck portion 13 whereby the greater weight of the front portion results in the collar being self positioning by gravity and remaining in the position on the shoulders as shown, without the use of any external clamps or ties of any nature.

In the foregoing description, the term cloth or fabric has been used and it should be understood that this term contemplates use of any suitable flexible sanitary material, such as fabric or plastic, and it is also contemplated that a variety of lling or stung materials can be employed as long as they are light in weight and possess qualities of heat insulation as previously mentioned.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment and form of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that certain changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from my invention in its broader aspects and I, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover any and all such modications as may be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A heat deector for the neck and shoulders comprising a collar shaped body open at the front for positioning over the neck and shoulders, said body including a back-of-the-neck portion and two forwardly extending over-the-shoulder portions integrally connected thereto, the cross-sectional area of said collar being a minimum at the back-of-the-neek portion and increasing substantially to a maximum at a point near the end of each of said over-the-shoulder portions resulting in the greatest portion o-f the mass and weight of said body member being disposed in the forward one-half of each of said over-the-shoulder portions, heat insulating material dis posed within said body member, and resilient spring means positioned Within said body and extending into said menthe-shoulder portions.

2. A heat detiector for the neck and shoulders comprising a collar shaped body open at the front for positioning over the neck and shoulders, said body including a back-of-the-neck portion and two forwardly extending over-the-shoulder portions integrally connected thereto, the cross-sectional area of said collar being a minimum at the back-of-the-neck portion and increasing substantially to a maximum at a point near the end of each of said over-the-shoulder portions, heat insulating matcrial disposed within said body member resulting in the greatest portion of the mass and weight of said body member being disposed in the forward one-half of each of said over-the-shoulder portions, a receptacle formed in the wall of said body for containing fragrant materials, and resilient spring means positioned within said body and extending into said over-the-shoulder portions.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 673,872 Von Hillern-Flinsch May 14, 1901 1,081,016 Bush Dec. 9, 1913 1,342,106,. Grabiec June 1, 1920 1,358,589 Sharp Nov. 9, 1920 1,787,832 Mueller Ian. 6, 1931 2,295,906 Lacour Sept. 15, 1942 2,522,120 Kaskey et al. Sept. 12, 1950 2,629,870 Hudson Mar. 3, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 248,635 Great Britain Mar. 11, 1926 429,447 Germany May 28, 1926

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