US20060180171A1

US20060180171A1 - Hairpiece with attachment rings and heating kit for attaching hairpiece

Info

Publication number: US20060180171A1
Application number: US11/056,790
Authority: US
Inventors: Kevin Kim
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2005-02-11
Filing date: 2005-02-11
Publication date: 2006-08-17

Abstract

A hairpiece assembly for adding body and/or length to the user's real hair. The hairpiece assembly includes a plurality of natural or synthetic strands of hair arranged in parallel and forming a first edge; and an elongated strip attached to the first edge to hold the plurality of strands together. The hairpiece assembly further includes a plurality of spaced-apart rubber rings attached to the elongated strip to form a hairpiece assembly; and each of the rubber rings having an opening for receiving therethrough the user's real hair for attaching the hairpiece assembly to the user's real hair, using a crimping and heating tool to flatten the rubber rings and the user's real hair to join them so that the flat rubber rings grip and hold the user's real hair.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a hair weave or wiglet having attachment means in order to add further body and/or length to the user's real hair. More particularly, the attachment means is in the form of eyelet ring rubber fasteners being connected to the user's real hair for extending the length of the user's hair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hair weaves, hairpieces or wiglets having various structures are well known in the prior art. Hair weaves and wiglets are used to add further bulk and/or body to the user's real hair due to the user's hair being very fine or thin or having loss of hair because of disease, chemotherapy or age longevity. Prior art methods for attaching supplemental hair to human hair have used thermoplastic glue in order to fuse the supplemental hair bundles with strands of human hair. Once the thermoplastic glue hardens, the glue becomes an irritant to the human scalp, and is difficult, if not impossible to remove the hardened glue from the human hair.
There remains a need for a hairpiece assembly, a hair weave or wiglet that is particularly suited for the easy insertion and incorporation of the hair weave or wiglet within the user's real hair in order to increase the length, bulk, and/or body of the user's real hair. Additionally, the hairpiece assembly, hair weave or wiglet must have simple attachment means such as eyelet ring fasteners made of rubber, not glue, to easily attach and fasten to the user's real hair in one or more multiple layers, after the rubber eyelet ring fasteners are heated and melted to a flat configuration by a crimping and heating tool.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Wigs, wiglets, hairpieces, hair bands and hair weaves having various designs, configurations, structures and materials of construction have been disclosed in the prior art.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,647,384 and 5,337,763 to HABAR, et al disclose a headband for mounting hair pieces. The hairpiece includes a flexible base and hair strands attached to an extending outwardly from the top side of the base. The hairpiece is attached to the user's head by an elongated strip of fastening material, such as “VELCRO™”. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the structure of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,820,625 to PARK discloses a method of attaching supplemental hair to natural human hair which begins with selecting a plurality of strands of human hair growing from a scalp. A supplemental hair bundle includes a plurality of supplemental hair strands which have been glued to one another at a glued section by thermoplastic glue. A joint is formed between the glued section of the supplemental hair bundle and the selected plurality of strands of human hair. The glued section is heated and is fused using a heating element of an applicator. The heating element may be a heated jaw having a heating channel shaped to receive the glued section of the hair bundle. A kneading jaw in opposing relationship to the heating jaw may be used to clamp the human hair and the supplemental hair bundle to mix the heated glue into the strands of human hair. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the structure or method of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. RE34,186 and 4,804,003 to MOEN disclose a combined head covering and wiglet. The head covering is combined with a hank of hair. The hank of hair is secured to a strip of cloth, and a “VELCRO™”, strip is attached to the cloth strip. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the structure of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,841 to WON discloses an assembled wig or wig kit having a front wig portion having a plurality of hook-type fasteners (VELCRO™) and side links, and a back wig portion having a plurality of links and side hook-type fasteners (VELCRO™) secured to the fasteners and links wherein the front and back wig portions have different hair styles and colors. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the structure of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,470 to WILSON discloses an attachments means for securing wigs, wiglets, hair pieces to the head of the user. The attachment means are in the form of hook and loop fasteners (VELCRO™) which are designed with the wig, wiglet, or hair piece to secure the hair piece more firmly to the user's head while at the same time affording increased comfort to the user. This prior art patent does not disclose or teach the structure of the present invention.
None of the aforementioned prior art patents teach or disclose a hairpiece assembly, hair weave or wiglet having attachment means in the form of rubber eyelet ring fasteners only for incorporating one or more of the hairpiece assemblies within the user's real hair.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a hairpiece assembly that is particularly suited for the easy insertion and incorporation of the hairpiece within the user's real hair in order to increase the length, bulk, and/or body of the user's real hair.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hairpiece assembly having a simple attachment means in the form of rubber eyelet ring fasteners within an elongated strip in which to easily attach and fasten to the user's real hair in one or more multiple hairpiece layers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hairpiece assembly having different hair colors selected from the group consisting of black, brown, blonde, red, auburn, grey and white.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a hairpiece assembly having a particular length of hair for a given elongated fastener strip, such as a 3 inch length, a 6 inch length, a 9 inch length or a 12 inch length.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a particular length of a given elongated fastener strip, such as a 4 inch length, a 6 inch length, an 8 inch length or a 10 inch length.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a hairpiece assembly, hair weave or wiglet that can be mass produced in an automated and economical manner and is readily affordable by the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a hairpiece assembly for adding body and/or length to the user's real hair. The hairpiece assembly includes a plurality of natural or synthetic strands of hair arranged in parallel and forming a first edge; and an elongated strip attached to the first edge to hold the plurality of strands together. The hairpiece assembly further includes a plurality of spaced-apart rubber rings attached to the elongated strip to form a hairpiece assembly; and each of the rubber rings having an opening for receiving therethrough the user's real hair for attaching the hairpiece assembly to the user's real hair using a crimping and heating tool to flatten the rubber ring and the user's real hair to join them so that the flat rubber ring grips and holds the user's real hair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon the consideration of the following detailed description of the presently-preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of the hairpiece assembly of the preferred embodiment of the present invention showing the major component parts of the hairpiece assembly being assembled and ready for operational use;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing a single lock of real hair being connected to a rubber eyelet ring fastener using a hair fastener instrument;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the single lock of real hair being inserted and pulled through the rubber eyelet ring fastener by the hair fastener instrument;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the single lock of real hair inserted and pulled through the rubber eyelet ring fastener by the hair fastener instrument;
FIG. 5 is a side perspective view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the major component parts of the hairpiece assembly being attached to the user's hair and in an assembled state ready for operational use;
FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the major component parts of the hairpiece assembly being gripped, attached, heated, crimped and joined to the to user's real hair and in assembled state ready for operational use;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the heated and crimped rubber eyelet ring fastener attached to the user's real hair using a crimping and heating tool;
FIG. 7A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the crimping and heating tool in an operational mode for processing an open rubber eyelet ring fastener having a plurality of hair strands therein;
FIG. 7B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the crimping and heating tool in an operational mode for flattening and, crimping a closed rubber eyelet ring fastener having a plurality of hair strands therein;
FIG. 8 is a side perspective view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the hairpiece assembly fully attached to the user's real hair; and
FIG. 9 is a side perspective view of the hairpiece assembly of the present invention showing the crimped rubber eyelet ring fastener being melted and removed from the user's real hair using the crimping and heating tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The hairpiece assembly 10 and its component parts of the preferred embodiment of the present invention are represented in detail by FIGS. 1 through 9 of the drawings. The hairpiece assembly 10 is used for the insertion and incorporation within the user's real hair 12 in order to increase the length, bulk and/or body of the user's real hair 12, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6 of the drawings. Hairpiece assembly 10 includes an elongated fastener strip member 30 along a first edge 34 for holding a plurality of synthetic hair fibers 20 in place, as depicted in FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings. A plurality of eyelet ring fasteners 32 are incorporated within the elongated attachment strip member 30. The eyelet ring fasteners 32 are connected to the elongated fastener strip 30 by fastening means, such as stitching 38, sewing, stapling, epoxy gluing, laser bonding or combinations thereof. The eyelet ring fasteners 32 are for attaching the elongated fastener strip 30 to the user's real hair 12. The elongated fastener strip 30 is a single layer of material 36 made from a flexible synthetic or natural material selected from the group consisting of cotton, rayon, polyester, nylon, human hair or combinations thereof.
Ring fasteners 32 are spaced apart a length of ½ inch to 1½ inches along the longitudinal axis of elongated fastener strip 30, and are preferably spaced apart a length of 1 inch along the longitudinal axis of elongated fastener strip 30. Ring fasteners 32 are made from rubber material that easily flattens into a flat crimped configuration F when heated using a crimping and heating tool 42 (See FIG. 7B) to join them so that the flat rubber ring grips and holds the user's real hair 12.
The hairpiece assembly 10 can be made into different hair colors selected from the group consisting of black, brown, blonde, red, auburn, grey and white. Additionally, the hairpiece assembly 10 can be made into a particular length of hair 20 for a given elongated fastener strip 30, such as a 3 inch length, a 6 inch length, a 9 inch length or a 12 inch length. Also, a hairpiece assembly 10 can be cut into various size lengths of the elongated fastener strip 30 such as a 4 inch length, a 6 inch length, an 8 inch length or a 10 inch length. The user can incorporate into their real hair 12 one or more of the cut elongated fastener strips 30 to increase the length, bulk, and/or body of the user's hair 12, as shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings.
It should be understood that hairpiece assembly 10 may be cut into short lengths, such as 1″ to 2″ inches wide and attached to the user's real hair for adding highlights, with different colors, to the user's real hair 12.
Further, it is understood that the crimping and heating tool 42 includes a conventional heating coil 44 connected to an electrical cord 46 and plug 48, as shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings.

METHOD OF OPERATION

In operation, the hairpiece assembly 10 of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is readily put into operational use by cutting elongated fastener strips 30 into desired lengths (3″ or 6″ or 9″) and simply placing and attaching one or more of the cut elongated fastener strips 30 into the real hair 12 of the user's head 14, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 of the drawings.
The user initially takes a lock or a portion 18 of his or her hair 12, and lifts it up in a vertical position by a brush, a comb 16, or the user's hand, such that a partial parting of hair 12 occurs along a portion of the user's scalp 13. The user then places the hairpiece assembly 10 and elongated fastener strip 30 facing inward towards the user's scalp 13, so that the eyelet ring rubber fasteners 32 of the elongated fastener strip 30 may be attached to the user's real hair 12 by a hair threading instrument or tool 40. The user then grips strands of real hair 12 with tool 40 and uses tool 40 to pull the strands of gripped hair through rings 32. The user continues this process until each ring 32 has hair 12 threaded through it, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5.
The user then crimps and heats each rubber eyelet ring fastener 32 into a flattened configuration F (see FIGS. 6, 7A and 7B) using a crimping and heating instrument or tool 42 in order to fixedly attach the user's real hair 12 and the flat rubber fastener 32 to the elongated fastener strip 30 so as to attach the hairpiece assembly 10 within and to the user's real hair 12. The user then allows the lifted hair portion 18 of the user's real hair 12 to fall back into place and layer itself to cover and hide fastener strip 30, as shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings. In this manner, more body and/or length is added to the user's real hair 12.
The aforementioned step is repeated as many times as the user wants to cut and insert additional hairpiece assemblies 10 into the user's real hair 12 at various locations for adding further length, bulk, and/or body to the user's real hair 12, as depicted in FIG. 6 of the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 6, 8 to 9, the user can insert a plurality of the cut hairpiece assemblies 10, 10′, 10″ and 10′″, one above the other at any desired location in order to increase the length and fullness of the user's hair, or to create a new hair style. The incorporation of one or more cut hairpiece assemblies 10 into the user's real hair 12 affords the user many different hair styles, as shown in FIG. 8.
At any point in time the user can remove the hairpiece assembly 10 by using the crimping and heating tool 42 to simply melt away and remove each of the crimped rubber eyelet ring fasteners 32 along the elongated fastener strip 30, and thereby remove the hairpiece assembly 10 from the user's real hair 12.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Accordingly, an advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a hairpiece assembly that is particularly suited for the easy insertion and incorporation of the hairpiece within the user's real hair in order to increase the length, bulk, and/or body of the user's real hair.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a hairpiece assembly having a simple attachment means in the form of a rubber loop/eyelet ring fastener in which to easily attach and fasten to the user's real hair in one or more multiple hairpiece layers.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a hairpiece assembly having different hair colors selected from the group consisting of black, brown, blonde, red, auburn, grey and white.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a hairpiece assembly having a particular length of hair for a given elongated fastener stip, such as a 3 inch length, a 6 inch length, a 9 inch length or a 12 inch length.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a particular length a given elongated fastener strip, such as a 4 inch length, an 8 inch length or a 10 inch length.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides for a hairpiece assembly, hair weave or wiglet that can be mass produced in an automated and economical manner and is readily affordable by the user.
A latitude of modification, change, and substitution is intended in the foregoing disclosure, and in some instances, some features of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scope of the invention herein.

Claims

1. A hairpiece assembly for adding body and/or length to the user's real hair, comprising:

a) a plurality of natural or synthetic strands of hair arranged in parallel and forming a first edge;

b) an elongated strip attached to said first edge to hold said plurality of strands together;

c) a plurality of spaced-apart rubber rings attached to said elongated strip to form a hairpiece assembly; and

d) each of said rubber rings having an opening for receiving there through the user's real hair for attaching said hairpiece assembly to the user's real hair using a crimping and heating tool to flatten said rubber rings and the user's real hair to join them so that said flat rubber rings grip and hold the user's real hair.

2. A hairpiece assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said elongated strip is a single layer of material made from a flexible material selected from the group consisting of cotton, rayon, polyester, nylon, natural hair or combinations thereof.

3. A hairpiece assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said rubber rings are attached to said elongated strip by stitching, sewing, epoxy gluing, laser bonding, stapling or combinations thereof.

4. A hairpiece assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said synthetic hair fibers have a fiber color selected from the group consisting of black, brown, blonde, blue, red, auburn, grey and white.

5. A hairpiece assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said plurality of strands have a length in the range of 3 inches to 18 inches.

6. A hairpiece assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said elongated strip has a length in the range of 1 inch to 20 inches.

7. A hairpiece assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said plurality of spaced-apart rubber rings are equally spaced a longitudinal distance in the range of ½ inch to 1½ inches.

8. A hairpiece assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein said plurality of spaced-apart rubber rings are each equally spaced a longitudinal distance of one inch.

9. A method of securing a hairpiece assembly to the head of the user for styling the user's hair, comprising the steps of:

a) providing a plurality of natural or synthetic strands of hair arranged in parallel and forming a first edge;

b) providing an elongated strip attached to said first edge for holding the plurality of strands together;

c) attaching a plurality of spaced-apart rubber rings to said elongated strip for forming a hairpiece assembly each of said rubber rings having an opening;

d) weaving the user's real hair through said openings of said plurality of rubber rings on the elongated strip using a pulling instrument; and

e) crimping and heating said ring openings on the elongated strip using a crimping and heating instrument to join said rubber rings and the user's real hair to grip and hold the user's real hair for preventing removal of the user's real hair from said rubber rings on the elongated strip.

10. A method of securing a hairpiece assembly to the head of the user in accordance with claim 9, wherein the step of:

a) cutting the elongated strip into one or more cut lengths for incorporating into different locations on the user's existing real hair; and

b) connecting each of said cut lengths having the plurality of strands, to different locations on the user's existing real hair to create a hair style having more body, fullness and length compared to the real hair on the user's head.

11. A method of securing a hairpiece assembly to the head of the user in accordance with claim 10, wherein the step of connecting includes lifting the user's real hair to expose a portion of the user's scalp and real hair, and then attaching one of said cut lengths to the user's real hair.

12. A method of securing a hairpiece assembly to the head of the user in accordance with claim 9, further including the step of removing the elongated strip having rubber rings thereon using a crimping and heating instrument to melt away and remove said rubber rings to release the user's real hair.