US3809100A

US3809100A - Wig

Info

Publication number: US3809100A
Application number: US00189908A
Authority: US
Inventors: S Megna
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-10-18
Filing date: 1971-10-18
Publication date: 1974-05-07
Anticipated expiration: 1991-05-07

Abstract

A wig construction in which a cap to which the hair is attached is mounted on a foraminous form whose edges rest on the head of the wearer, but which is otherwise spaced from the head. The wig cap with its attached hair may be a single section that covers the entire form or may optionally be composed of a number of independently replaceable sections.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Megna 111 3,809,100 1451 May 7,1974

[ WIG [76] Inventor: Salvatore J. Megna, 3721 Fair Oaks Blvd., Sacramento, Calif. 95825 22 Filed: o61.1s,197 1 21 Appl.No.: 189,908

52 US. (:1. 132/53 [51] Int. Cl. A41g 3/00 [58] Field of Search 132/53, 54, 56, 49

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,342,189 9/1967 Houston 132/53 3,046,999 7/1962 1.1m 132/5 3,434,481 3/1969 Mazzocco 132/53 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 342,365 9/1904 France 132/53 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-J. O. Lever Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Fulwider, Patton, Rieber, Lee & Utecht [57 ABSTRACT A wig construction in which a cap to which the hair is attached is mounted on a foraminous form whose edges rest on the head'of the wearer, but which is otherwise spaced from the head. The wig cap with its at tached hair may be a single section that covers the entire form or may optionally be composed of a number of independently replaceable sections.

6 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures WIG While wigs have been known for thousands of years, they have remained basically unchanged, and have consisted essentially of a cap of fabric or similar material shaped to fit closely over the head of the wearer, with the hair attached to the cap for arrangement in the customary manner. While there have been changes in the fiber or hair attached to the cap, the methods of attachment of the fiber to the cap and the construction of the cap itself have varied over the years, basically the broad idea of a wig has remained virtually unchanged. The recent popularity of synthetic fibers and the attachment of such fibers to a cap in an inexpensive manner have greatly increased the popularity of wigs and reduced the cost to thecustomer, but this increased popularity has emphasized some of the deficiencies of conventional wig construction.

Unless a wig is custom made to fit a particular person, and such wigs areused only to a very limited extent because of the expense of custom fitting, a wig must be able to fit a number of different sizes and shapes of heads and this has resulted in making the cap of anexpandable material, resulting in what are presently known as stretch" wigs. The disadvantages of such wigs are that many of them are initially too tight for many people, and thus are uncomfortable as well as tending to impair the circulation of blood in the scalp. As such a wig is worn, the resilient material, because of the heat and oils of the scalp, tends to lose its elasticity and the cap becomes very loose fitting. Another disadvantage of such a cap is that since it is close fitting, it does not permit any circulation of air over the head of the wearer and thus becomes very hot and uncomfortable. I

An additional disadvantage of such wigs is found in the particular styles that have recently been popular. The recent styles have acted to changethe apparent shape of the head of a woman by making use of a socalled bouffant treatment in which the hair is brushed or combed backwardly from the tip end to the scalp to. increase the apparent bulk of the hair. The resuit is a hair style in which the apparent shape of the womans head is changed. When this back-combing is i done to a womans growing hair, the natural resiliency of the hair permits it to endure many of such hairsettings. However, when the same back-combing is applied to synthetic fibers that may previously have been heat-set to a particular shape, the fibers tend to lose their pre-set shape, and also become dull and lifeless looking. As a result, after a short period of use, the con- 'ventional wigs are no longer used because their appearance has changed so materially from the fresh new look that they once had.

As previously suggested, the conventional wig fits immediately adjacent the scalp of the wearer, and prevents any escape of heat from the scalp so that the wearers head becomes very warm, adding to the discomfort. In addition, the conventional wig absorbs the oils and secretions from the scalp and hair so that in a relatively short time it becomes dirty. While it is possible to wash some of the modern wigs, when this is done, much of the setting and styling that had been incorporated in'them is removed.

It is possible to overcome these difiiculties with the a spaced form that fits over the head of the wearer, the general shape of the hair style may be changed from the natural shape of the head without any back-combing and the air space between the scalp and the wig prevents the unpleasant heating of the head. Additionally, by making the wig in sections, it is possible to change the style of the wig very simply and quickly, and thereafter to return to the original style when so desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An adjustable form of a lightweight foraminous material is provided to fit on the head of the wearer, with the edges of the form roughly following the natural hairline of the person. The distance around the form at its lower edge is adjustable to fit the size of the head of the wearer and a strap extends from side to side of the form across the top of the head and restsagainst the natural hair to support the form. A wig comprising a cap with attached hair is removably attached to the form and in one version, the cap may be made of a plurality of sections so that the wig may selectively take the form, for example, with short or shingled hair in the back, or longer hair. The sections of the cap may be independently attached to or removed from the form, and the attached cap, whether of single or multiple sections, may easily be attached to and removed from the form. The form is of a foraminous material that is lightweight and does not feel heavy upon the head of the wearer, and, inaddition, is spaced from the head of the wearer so that airmay circulate through the form and across the scalp. The form itself can be adjusted to practically any size head and is firmly held in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wig broken away to show the hair, the cap to which the hair is attached, and the form supporting the cap;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view partially broken away to show the hair and the capto whichthe hair is attached, the cap in this particular view being of a mu]- tiple-section type, with the edge of the supporting form showing and indicating its location on the head;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the sections of a multiplesection styleof cap and the construction of the supporting form;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing the method of interconnection of the various sections of a multiple-section cap;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the method of attaching the cap to the form;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view taken on the direction of the arrow 6 in FIG. 5, and showing the knurling or roughening of the inner surface of the lower edge of the form;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 3 showing the means for adjusting the size of the form;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view of the rear of the form in its most expanded shape;

FIG. 9 isa view similar to FIG. 8 showing the method of adjusting the form to fit the head of the individual wearer; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view partially broken away to show the construction of a single section cap.

DESCRIPTION OF BASIC WIG CONSTRUCTION Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, numeral indicates generally the head of a woman, wearing a wig l1, composed of a form 12, covered by a cap 13, to which is attached fiber, or hair 14. It is to be understood that in this description and claims, the word hair is not to be restricted to natural hair, but is also to include natural or synthetic fibers that are attachedv to the cap to simulate the natural hair of the wearer of the wig ll.

The form 12 is made of a lightweight, relatively stiff material, such as a lightweight metal, or plastic, and is further lightened by the provision of a large number of holes such as would be formed by perforations 15 or as would be provided by a weaving of a form of wire-like members. The precise construction of a form is less important than the fact that it is a stiff lightweight form,

having a number of holes or perforations, through which air may circulate.

The precise shape of the form'l2 is largely determined by the overall effect that the wig is to produce. The basic reason for the back-combing and the resulting bouffant hairstyles is to change the apparent shape of the wearers head, and the form 12 is shaped to this approximate form. This generally resultsv in the form 12 being somewhat higher and wider than the wearers head and somewhat longer, as measured in a front-toback direction.

The form 12 is constructed to the approximate shape desired, and at the rear is provided with a reentrant curve 16, as shown in FIG. 8, whose

edges

17 and 18 may be overlapped as shown in FIG. 9 to provide for adjustment of the size of the form 12. This way, the form may be precisely fitted to the individual wearing it.

To retain the

sides

17 and 18 in their properly adjusted position, a retaining means such as the hook and loop fabric fastening means, is provided. As indicated in FIG. 7, a hook portion 21 is attached to the edge 17 and a loop-portion 22 is attached to the edge 18. The hook portion 21 extends inwardly from the edge 17, a distance equal to the minimum adjustment that is anticipated. The loop portion 22 extends inwardly from the edge 18, a distance substantially equal to the maximum adjustment that is anticipated, and the hook and loop portions thus overlap throughout the entire range of adjustment. In addition, the hook portion is at all times covered by a surface of the form 12 so that it will not become entangled with the wearers own hair and cause discomfort. Additionally, the loop portions of the fastening means, which will come in contact with the wearers hair, are not likely to snag or catch thehair.

The edge of the form 12 follows generally along the natural hairline of the wearer, but may, in some cases, extend beyond the hairline toward the face, and in other cases, end short of the hairline. To aid in retaining this form in the correct position on the head 10, the edge of the form is preferably provided with some gripping means, such as the knurling shown in FIG. 6. While other forms of gripping means can be used, the knurling 23 is easily formed in the plastic comprising the form 12, and provides a surface that more effectively holds the form in place than a smooth plastic surface would. If the form 12 is made of metal, the roughened surface may be provided by knurling or by suitable other means, such as a strip of tape having a suitable roughened outer surface.

To hold the form 12 in its proper spaced relation with respect to the top of the wearers head, a band or strap 25 extends from one side of the form to the other, starting from a point at the edge of the form substantially over an ear, and extending to a corresponding point on the other side, over the other ear. The strap 25 is made adjustable in length as by a slide-fitting 26, so that the form 12 may be adjusted to a proper height above the head of the wearer, depending upon the particular shape of the form 12, and the shape of the wearers head.

To aid in holding the form 12 against tipping or rising off the head of the wearer, a small hair-engaging member 27 is provided at the front edge of the form 12 generally in the center of the forehead. The hair-engaging member 27 usually takes the form of a short length of comb, such as a section approximately 1% inches long, attached at its back in such a manner that the teeth may pivot about the back to conform to the head of the wearer. The hair-engaging member 27 thus holds the form 12 against pivoting about the rear of the form adjacent the recess 16. The form 12 is thus firmly anchored to the head so that short of intentional removal, there is very little danger or likelihood that the wig 11 will accidentally come off or be knocked askew.

As would be expected, the cap 13 and hair 14 cover the form 12, and in the basic style, the cap is a single element shaped to cover the complete form. As is the case in conventional wigs, the hair 14 may be of any desired length, color, or styling, and of course, the cap 13 with its attached hair 14 may be replaced on the form 12 by a different cap and hair. 7

To removably anchor the cap 13 to the form 12, some suitable type of separable fasteners are provided. For example, as best illustrated in FIG. 5, the cap 13 is provided at its edge with 'a protuberance 30 adapted to be received within a cooperating recess 31 formed in the edge of the form 20. It will be recognized that this is essentially the conventional snap fastener, and a plurality of the fasteners are provided around the edge of the form 12, as indicated in FIG. 1. A corresponding number of fasteners 30 are located around the edge of the cap 13, and it will be seen that it is a simple matter to attach and detach the cap 13 and form 12.

With the wig construction just described, it will be realized that the apparent shape of the head of the wearer can be changed as is done with the more bouffant hair styles. However, this change in shape is accomplished without the back-combing of the hair and consequently the hair 14 will not be stretched or wrinkled by the combing process and will retain its shape and appearance for a much longer time. The elimination of the back-combing thus greatly simplifies the work of the wearer and makes it much easier to care for a wig. Furthermore, since the shape is provided by the form 12 and not by the back-combing, less hair or fiber 14 need be provided from the cap 13, and hence the weight of the hair on the wearer is reduced. The porous form 12 insures that air may pass through the form and permit cooling of the natural hair and scalp while keeping the cap 13 and hair 14 spaced from the scalp so that the oil from the scalp is kept from the cap 13. The form 12 is made of a porous lightweight plastic construction that has a minimum of weight upon the head, while the custom-fitting of the edge of the form and the support of it by the strap 25 provides a very comfortable construction while the hairengaging means 27 insures that the form will stay in position.

DESCRIPTION OF OPTIONAL FORM member, is composed of a plurality of sections. Thus,

as illustrated in FIG. 3, it will be seen that what corresponds to the cap 13 is composed of a face section 34, a crown section 35, and a nape section 36. Each of these sections is provided with hair 14 of suitable length, color, and styling, and it will be appreciated that variations may be introduced so that the color of one section will be different from the color of another section.

As indicated, the face and crown sections abut each other and are joined together by a suitable connector, such as a hookless fastener. The crown and

nape sections

35 and 36 similarly abut each other and are similarly connected. I

It is necessary that two abutting sections be completely separable from each otherand consequently the hookless fastener must be of the type in which the two sides of the fastener are completely separable. It is important, of course, that the fasteners be small and inconspicuous, must be installed in such a manner that they do not become caught or tangled in the hair, and if a slide is used, it should be protected in a suitable manner so that itmay be conveniently kept in place when two sections are connected together. In FIG. 4 there is illustrated one construction, making use of a fastener having multiple inter-engaging teeth commonly known as a zipper which is indicated by the numeral 40. The two ,sets of teeth are attached to corresponding strips of tape 41 that are fastenedto the

sections

35 and 36, anda protective strip 42 is mounted on one of the sections, such as the section 35, to extend across the teeth 40 and separate them from the hair 14. A slide 43 is movable along the teeth 40, and a protective cover 44 is provided at the edge of the form 12 to receive the slide 43. I

A similar connecting means is used between the face section 34 and the crown section 35, and the edges of the face section 34 and the nape section 36 are provided with suitable fastening means such as the protrusions 30 that fit into the recesses 31 in the edge of the form 12.

It will thus be clear that the hairstyle of the wig 11 may easily be changed, including making changes in the color, shaping, and length of hair. For example, by replacing the nape section 36 shown, which is a rather short hairstyle, with a different nape section having much longer hair, it is possible to change from a shingled style to a long style. Likewise, the face section 34 and the crown section 35 may be independently changed to provide a wide variety of hair fashions.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a novel and improved wig construction capable of'overcoming the disadvantages of previous wigs and providing a comfort and versatility of style that has not heretofore been available. While a basic and an alternate form have been disclosed, the patent is not to be limited to the particular form or arrangement of parts hereindescribed and shown, except as limited by the claims.

I claim: g

l. A cap construction for attachment to a support structure to form a wig, which includes:

a flexible but substantially non-elastic cap; hair attached to said cap; and

releasable securing means around the edges of said cap, operable to maintain said cap in position on its support; said securing means are protected from said hair to prevent snagging of said hair in said means.

2. A form for a wig which includes:

a generally curved member of stiff foraminous material adapted to fit on a wearers head and spaced therefrom, whereby the apparent outline of the outline of the wearers head is modified; means to secure a wig to said member, and

means around the edgeof said member to frictionally engage the head of said wearer to support 'said member, said member having means for adjusting the circumference of said member whereby it may be fitted to the size of the wearers head.

3. Afonn as defined in claim 2 in which said member is provided with an adjustable strap extending from side to side of said member, across the 'topof the head of the wearer, to support said member on said head.

4. A form for a wig which includes:

a generally curved member of stiff foraminous material adapted to fit on a wearers head and to be spaced therefrom, whereby the apparent outline of the wearers head is modified;

means around the edge of said member to frictionally engage the head of said wearer to support said member; j

an adjustable strap extending from side to side of said member across the top of the head of said wearer to support said member on said head; and

meansfor securing a wig to said member.

5. A form for a wig which includes:

a generally curved member of stiff foraminous material adapted to fit on a wearers head and. to be spaced therefrom, whereby the apparent outline of the wearers head is modified; means around the edge of said member to frictionally engage the head of said wearer to support said member, said member having a re-entrant edge,

the opposing edges thereof being capable of beingoverlapped to adjust the size of said member to the size of the wearers head; releasable retaining means on said member operable to retain said overlapped opposing edges in adjusted position; i

an adjustable strap attached to and extending from side to side of said member across the top of the head of the wearer to support said member on said head; and

means for securing awig to said member.

6. A form as defined in-claim 5 in which said member is provided with a hair engaging means at the front edge wearer.

Claims

1. A cap construction for attachment to a support structure to form a wig, which includes: a flexible but substantially non-elastic cap; hair attached to said cap; and releasable securing means around the edges of said cap, operable to maintain said cap in position on its support; said securing means are protected from said hair to prevent snagging of said hair in said means.

2. A form for a wig which includes: a generally curved member of stiff foraminous material adapted to fit on a wearer''s head and spaced therefrom, whereby the apparent outline of the outline of the wearer''s head is modified; means to secure a wig to said member, and means around the edge of said member to frictionally engage the head of said wearer to support said member, said member having means for adjusting the circumference of said member whereby it may be fitted to the size of the wearer''s head.

3. A form as defined in claim 2 in which said member is provided with an adjustable strap extending from side to side of said member, across the top of the head of the wearer, to support said member on said head.

4. A form for a wig which includes: a generally curved member of stiff foraminous material adapted to fit on a wearer''s head and to be spaced therefrom, whereby the apparent outline of the wearer''s head is modified; means around the edge of said member to frictionally engage the head of said wearer to support said member; an adjustable strap extending from side to side of said member across the top of the head of said wearer to support said member on said head; and means for securing a wig to said member.

5. A form for a wig which includes: a generally curved member of stiff foraminous material adapted to fit on a wearer''s head and to be spaced therefrom, whereby the apparent outline of the wearer''s head is modified; means around the edge of said member to frictionally engage the head of said wearer to support said member, said member having a re-entrant edge, the opposing edges thereof being capable of being overlapped to adjust the size of said member to the size of the wearer''s head; releasable retaining means on said member operable to retain said overlapped opposing edges in adjusted position; an adjustable strap attached to and extending from side tO side of said member across the top of the head of the wearer to support said member on said head; and means for securing a wig to said member.

6. A form as defined in claim 5 in which said member is provided with a hair engaging means at the front edge of said member for engaging the natural hair of the wearer.