DEVICE OF STICKING HAIRPIECE AND METHOD OF STICKING HAIRPIECE
Technical Field The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for simply adhering a hairpiece to human hair such that a user can conveniently change his/her hairstyle using the hairpiece.
Background Art Recently, young people express individual characters by freely changing their hairstyles through hair dyeing or bleaching. The entire hair can be dyed in colors or only some locks of hair can selectively be highlighted through bleaching. Both hair dyeing and bleaching change the hair color by applying a coloring agent to hair and chemically processing the same. Accordingly, often dyeing or bleaching makes the hair brittle. Due to this problem, instead of the hair bleaching, a hairpiece is now used. The hairpiece is made by making up a bundle of human or synthetic hair and dyeing the bundle of hair in various colors. If the hairpiece is adhered to human hair, the human hair appears to be bleached. An adhesive is applied to a top end of a conventional hairpiece. A conventional apparatus for sticking the conventional hairpiece to human hair and a conventional method using the apparatus are shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1 , human hair h and a hairpiece p are received in an accommodating part 2 of a conventional hairpiece sticking apparatus 1 , and a protrusion 3 of the hairpiece sticking apparatus 1 presses down the human hair h and the hairpiece p. During the pressing operation, heat generated by a heating member (not shown) installed inside the accommodating part 2 melts the adhesive, thereby adhering the hairpiece p to the human hair h. If the hairpiece p and the human hair are blended in this way using the conventional hairpiece sticking apparatus 1 , the adhesive may be adhered to the human hair h, thereby resulting in damage to the human hair h. Also, the hairpiece p and the human hair h should be held in the hairpiece sticking apparatus 1 until the adhesive applied to the hairpiece p is completely melted and adhered to the human hair h, resulting in a long working time. Furthermore, since the conventional hairpiece sticking apparatus 1
requires a power source for generating heat and consumes electric power, it is not economical.
Disclosure of the Invention The present invention provides an apparatus that can simply stick a hairpiece to human hair using a clamping member and reduce a working time without consuming electric power. The present invention also provides a method by which a hairpiece can be simply stuck to human hair using the hairpiece sticking apparatus and a working time can be reduced. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for sticking a hairpiece to human hair using a clamping member that includes a pair of facing side surfaces and a connecting part connecting the side surfaces such that both the human hair and the hairpiece can be received in an accommodating part surrounded by the pair of side surfaces and the connecting part, the hairpiece sticking apparatus comprising: a support member; a pressing member having one end pivotably coupled to the support member and a free end on which a pressing part is formed so that when the free end pivots toward the support part, the pressing part can contact and press the clamping member toward the support member; an accommodating member disposed between the support member and the pressing member and pivotably coupled to the support member at one end thereof, the accommodating member including a mount part in which a clamping member set comprised of a plurality of adjoined and aligned clamping members is received and a through-hole corresponding in position to the pressing part so that a first clamping member located at an endmost position of the clamping member set can be separated and discharged toward the support member due to a pressure of the pressing member; bias means elastically biasing the clamping member set toward a free end of the accommodating member; a first elastic member disposed between the pressing member and the accommodating member and biasing the pressing member away from the accommodating member; a second elastic member disposed between the support member and the accommodating member and biasing the accommodating member away from the support member; and a forming plate coupled to the support member to correspond in
position to the through-hole and having a forming groove formed thereon so that when the pressing member presses the clamping member, ends of the pair of side surfaces of the clamping member can be bent and rolled inward. The forming groove of the forming plate may have a projection part projecting upward from a central portion of a bottom surface thereof, and a curved surface with a predetermined curvature may be formed between a top of the projection part and each of side walls of the forming groove. The predetermined curvature between the top of the projection part and each of the side walls of the forming groove may range from 0.5 to 0.7mm. The through-hole of the accommodating member may be large enough to receive two clamping members, and the forming plate may have a protrusion protruding toward the through-hole such that when the pressing member pivots toward the support member and presses the first clamping member, the protrusion passes through the through-hole of the accommodating member and is then inserted into an accommodating part of a second clamping member contacting the first clamping member to support the second clamping member. The apparatus may further comprise a cover member formed in a longitudinal direction of the accommodating member, disposed between the support member and the accommodating member, and pivotably coupled to the support member at one end thereof, such that when pivoting toward the support member, the cover member is inserted into the mount part of the accommodating member to face a top portion of the clamping member set received in the mount part, and when pivoting away from the support member, the cover member opens the mount part. The bias means may comprise: a guide rod coupled to the accommodating member and disposed in a longitudinal direction of the accommodating member; a push member disposed inside the mount part such that the push member can slide in the longitudinal direction of the accommodating member; and a spring fitted around the guide rod and elastically biasing the push member toward the free end of the accommodating member. The clamping member may have a U-shaped section, and each of the pair of side surfaces of the clamping member may have a plurality of juts protruding from an end thereof.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of sticking a hairpiece, comprising: arranging human hair and a hairpiece in parallel; receiving both the human hair and the hairpiece in an accommodating part surrounded by a pair of facing side surfaces and a connecting part, which connects the side surfaces, constituting a clamping member; and bending the pair of side surfaces of the clamping member toward each other to make ends of the pair of side surfaces rolled inward and clamping the hairpiece and the human hair by means of the clamping member. Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional apparatus for sticking a hairpiece and an example where the conventional hairpiece sticking apparatus is used. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an apparatus for sticking a hairpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a state where the hairpiece sticking apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is coupled. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of essential parts of the hairpiece sticking apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an example where the hairpiece sticking apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is used. FIG. 6 is a schematic enlarged view of essential parts of the hairpiece sticking apparatus shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a state after the hairpiece sticking apparatus shown in FIG. 6 operates.
Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an apparatus for sticking a hairpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a state where the hairpiece sticking apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is coupled. FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating essential parts of the hairpiece sticking apparatus shown in
FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an example where the hairpiece sticking apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is used. Referring to FIGS. 2 through 5, a hairpiece sticking apparatus 100 for sticking a hairpiece p to human hair h using a clamping member 90 includes a support member 10, a pressing member 20, an accommodating member 30, bias means, a first elastic member 50, a second elastic member 60, and a forming plate 70. The clamping member 90 has a "U"-shaped section. That is, the clamping member 90 includes a pair of facing side surfaces 91 and a connecting part 93 connecting the pair of side surfaces 91 and 92. A dented space surrounded by inner surfaces of the pair of side surfaces 91 and 92 and the connecting part 90 is formed inside the clamping member 90. The dented space acts as an accommodating part 94 in which both the hairpiece p and the human hair h are received. In the meantime, a plurality of juts 95 project from an end of each of the side surfaces 91 and 92 of the clamping member 90. Each of the plurality of juts 95 substantially has a triangular shape, and an inverted triangular groove is formed between adjacent juts 95. A plurality of clamping members 90 are aligned and bonded to one another using an adhesive such as a bond glue to form a clamping member set 99. However, if a force greater than a predetermined amount is applied to a clamping member 90 located at an endmost position of the clamping member set 99, the clamping member 90 can be separated from the clamping member set 99. The support member 10 includes a base part 11 and a medium part 12. The medium part 12 is coupled to one end of the base part 1 1 , and includes two facing side walls 121 and a bottom surface (not shown) connecting lower ends of the two side walls 121. Long holes 124 passing through the side walls 121 are longitudinally formed in a direction perpendicular to the two facing side walls 121. Catching projections 126 projecting from the side walls 121 of the medium part 12 are formed over the long holes 124. The catching projections 126 project to be closer to each other. In the meantime, a pivot pin 13 is inserted into the side walls 121 of the medium part 12 such that both ends of the pivot pin 13 are supported on the side walls 121 . One end 21 of the pressing member 20 is coupled to the medium part 12 of the support member 10 to pivot around the pivot pin 13 of the support member 10. The pressing member 20 rotates in a range of 180° counterclockwise based on the base
part 11 of the support member 10. A pressing part 23 is formed on a free end 22 of the pressing member 20 in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the pressing member 20. When the free end 22 of the pressing member 20 pivots toward the support member 10, the pressing part 23 contacts the clamping member 90 and presses the clamping member 90 toward the support member 10. To exactly transfer the force of the pressing part 23, an end of the pressing part 23 contacting the clamping member 90 substantially has a dented section conforming to the section of the clamping member 90. The accommodating member 30 is disposed between the support member 10 and the pressing member 20. One end 31 of the accommodating member 30 is coupled to the medium part 12 of the support member 10 to pivot around the pivot pin 13 of the support member 10, and rotates in a range of 180° clockwise based on the base part 11 of the support member 10. A space is formed in a longitudinal direction of the accommodating member 30 and acts as a mount part 33 in which the clamping member set 99 is received and mounted. Further, a through-hole 34 is formed in a free end 32 of the accommodating member 30. The through-hole 34 passes through the free end 32 and is opened toward the support member 10. The through-hole 34 is large enough to receive two clamping members 90. The position of the through-hole 34 corresponds to the pressing part 23 so that when the pressing member 10 pivots toward the support member 10, the pressing part 23 of the pressing member 20 can pass through the through-hole 34. If the clamping member set 99 is received in the mount part 33, a first clamping member 90a located at an endmost position of the clamping set 99 at the free end 32 side and a second clamping member 90b located at a second position from the endmost position are placed in the through-hole 34. If the pressing part 23 pivots toward the support member 10 and presses the first clamping member 90a, the first clamping member 90a is separated from the clamping member set 99 and discharged toward the support member 10 through the through-hole 34. A pair of projections 35 are formed at the one end 31 of the accommodating member 30. The projections 35 limit the pivoting of the accommodating member 30 when the second elastic member 60 (explained later) biases and pivots the accommodating member 30 away from the support member 10. When the accommodating member 30 pivots, the projections 35 can vertically pivot in the through-hole 124 formed in the
medium part 12 of the support member 10. However, if the projections 35 go past the through-hole 124, the projections 35 are caught by the catching projections 126 formed over the through-hole 124. However, if a force greater than a predetermined amount is applied to pivot the accommodating member 30, the projections 35 can pass over the catching projections 126 and pivot again. A cover member 80 is disposed between the accommodating member 30 and the pressing member 20. The cover member 80 is formed in the longitudinal direction of the accommodating member 30. One end of the cover member 80 is coupled to the support member 10 to pivot around the pivot pin 13 of the support member 10. If the cover member 80 pivots toward the support member 10, the cover member 80 is inserted into the accommodating member 30 and presses a top portion of the clamping member set 99 received in the mount part 33. Since the top portion of the clamping member set 99 is pressed by the cover member 80, the clamping member set 99 is prevented from being bent upward. In the meanwhile, if the cover member 80 pivots away from the support member 10, the cover member 80 is separated from the accommodating member 10 and opens the mount part 33. The bias means elastically biases the clamping member set 99 received in the mount part 33 of the accommodating member 30 toward the free end 32 of the accommodating member 30. The bias means includes a guide rod 41 , a push member 442, and a spring 43. The guide rod 41 is coupled to the accommodating member 30 and disposed in the longitudinal direction of the accommodating member 30. The push member 42 is positioned inside the mount part 33 such that the push member 42 can slide in the longitudinal direction of the accommodating member 30. The spring 43 is fitted around the guide rod 41. The spring 43 elastically biases the push member 42. One end of the spring 43 is supported on the one end 31 of the accommodating member 30, and the other end of the spring 43 is supported on the push member 42. If the clamping member set 99 is installed in the mount part 33, the push member 42 contacts a clamping member 90c located at an endmost position of the clamping member set 99 at the one end 31 side of the accommodating member 30 and biases the clamping member set 99 toward the free end 32 of the accommodating member 30. The first elastic member 50 is disposed between the accommodating member 30
and the pressing member 20 and biases the pressing member 20 away from the accommodating member 30. The first elastic member 50 is a leaf spring formed by vertically bending a metal bar. A fixed end 51 of the first elastic member 50 is fixedly supported on the pressing member 20, and a free end 52 of the first elastic member 50 is supported on a top surface of the cover member 80 when the pressing member 20 pivots toward the support member 10. While the fixed end 51 is supported on the pressing member 20 and the free end 52 is supported on the cover member 80, if the pressing member 20 is pressed toward the support member 10, the fixed end 51 and the free end 52 of the first elastic member 50 are compressed to be closer to each other. However, if the pressure is removed, the compressed fixed end 51 and free end 52 are moved away from each other and bias the pressing member 20 away from the support member 10. The second elastic member 60 is disposed between the accommodating member 30 and the support member 10 and biases the accommodating member 30 away from the support member 10. The second elastic member 60 is a leaf spring formed by vertically bending a metal bar, similarly to the first elastic member 60. A fixed end 61 of the second elastic member 60 is fixedly supported on the support
-member 10 and a free end 62 of the second elastic member 60 is supported on a bottom surface of the accommodating member 30 when the accommodating member 30 pivots toward the support member 10. While the fixed end 61 is supported on the support member 10 and the free end 62 is supported on the bottom surface of the accommodating member 30, if the accommodating member 30 is pressed toward the support member 10, the fixed end 61 and the free end 62 of the second elastic member 60 are compressed to be closer to each other. However, if the pressure is removed, the compressed fixed end 61 and free end 62 are moved away from each other and bias the accommodating member 30 away from the support member 10. The forming plate 70, on which the ends of the pair of side surfaces 91 and 92 of the first clamping member 90a that is separated from the clamping member set 99 and discharged through the through-hole 34 due to the pressure of the pressing member 20 are pressed, is coupled to the support member 10 to correspond in position to the through-hole 34. That is, when the accommodating member 30 completely pivots toward the support member 10, the forming plate 70 is disposed under the through-hole
34. The forming plate 70 includes a forming groove 71. The forming groove 71 is a dented groove including a first side wall 712, a second side wall 713 facing the first side wall 712, and a bottom surface 711 connecting the first and second sidewalls 712 and 713. A projection part 714 projecting toward the through-hole 34 of the accommodating member 30 is formed at a central portion of the bottom surface 711. The projection part 714 longitudinally extends in a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the accommodating member 30. Further, a curved surface with a predetermined curvature is formed between a top of the projection part 714 and each of the first and second side walls 712 and 713 of the forming groove 71. It is preferable that a radius of the curvature range from 0.5 to 0.7mm. If the curvature is less than 0.5mm, the total amount of the hairpiece p and the human hair h received in the apparatus 100 is too small. In contrast, if the curvature is greater than 0.6mm, the total amount of the hairpiece p and the human hair h received in the apparatus 100 is too large, thereby failing to obtain a satisfactory bleaching effect. In the present embodiment, the predetermined curvature is 0.6mm. A protrusion 72 protruding toward the through-hole 34 is formed on the second side wall 713 of the forming groove 71. If the pressing member 20 pivots toward the support member 10 and presses the first clamping member 90a, the protrusion 72 is inserted into the accommodating part 94 of the second clamping member 90b and supports the second clamping member 90b. A connecting member 88 is coupled between the support member 10 and the accommodating member 30. That is, one end of the connecting member 88 is pivotably coupled to the medium part 12 of the support member 10, and the other end of the connecting member 88 is slidably coupled to the accommodating member 30. If the accommodating member 30 pivots away from the support member 10, the one end of the connecting part 88 pivots together with the accommodating member 30, and the other end of the connecting member 88 also pivots and slides toward the one end 31 of the accommodating member 30. A catching part 88a is formed at the other end of the connecting member 88 so that the other end of the connecting member 88 sliding toward the one end 31 of the accommodating member 30 can be caught by the push member 42 and thus the push member 42 can also slide toward the one end 31 of the accommodating member 30.
An example where the hairpiece sticking apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is used and a method of sticking a hairpiece using the hairpiece sticking apparatus 100 will now be explained in detail. First, the pressing member 10 and the cover member 80 of the hairpiece sticking apparatus 100 are pivoted away from the support member 10 to open the mount part 33 of the accommodating member 30. Thereafter, if the accommodating member 30 is pivoted away from the support member 10, the one end of the connecting member 88 is pivoted and the other end of the connecting member 88 is slid toward the one end 31 of the accommodating member 30. While the other end of the connecting member 88 is slid, the catching part 88a of the connecting member 88 is caught by the push member 42, and thus the push member 42 is slid together with the other end of the connecting member 88 toward the one end 31 of the accommodating member 30. Next, the clamping member set 99 is received in the opened mount part 33. The accommodating member 30 is not always pivoted away from the support member 10 to mount the clamping member set 99 in the mount part 33. It is possible that a user holds the push member 42, moves the push member 42 toward the one end 31 of the accommodating member 30, and then puts the clamping member set 99 in the mount part 33. If the clamping member set 99 is received in the mount part 33, the first clamping member 90 and the second clamping member 90b located at the terminal ends of the clamping members 90 of the clamping member set 99 at the free end 32 side of the accommodating member 30 are placed over the through-hole 34. On the other hand, the spring 43 is compressed and the push member 42 is biased toward the free end 32 of the accommodating member 30. Further, the push member 42 contacts the third clamping member 90c located at the endmost position of the clamping member set 99 at the one end 31 side of the accommodating member 30 and biases the clamping member set 99 toward the free end 32 of the accommodating member 30. Thereafter, the cover member 88 is pivoted toward the support member 10 to be inserted into the mount part 33, such that the cover member 88 presses the top portion of the clamping member set 99. Accordingly, although the push member 42 biases the clamping member set 99, the clamping member set 99 is prevented from being bent upward. Then, the pressing member 20 is pivoted toward the support member 10, such that the free end 52 of the first elastic member 50 contacts and is supported on
the top surface of the cover member 88. Through this process, the clamping member set 99 is completely installed in the hairpiece sticking apparatus 100. In this state, since the second elastic member 60 elastically biases the accommodating member 30 away from the support member 10, the support member 10 and the accommodating member 30 are spaced from each other by a predetermined angle. When the clamping member set 99 is completely installed in the hairpiece sticking apparatus 100, as shown in FIG. 6, the human hair h and the hairpiece p are arranged in parallel and then loaded inside the forming groove 71 of the forming plate 70. At this time, it is preferable that the number of locks of the human hair h be equal to the number of locks of the hairpiece p. Then, if the user presses the pressing member 20 and pivots the pressing member 20 toward the support member 10, the pressing part 23 of the pressing member 20 surrounds and contacts the connecting part 93 of the first clamping member 90a, and the protrusion 72 of the forming plate 70 passes through the through-hole 34 and is inserted into the accommodating part 94 of the second clamping member 90b. The protrusion 72 inserted into the accommodating part 94 of the second clamping member 90b supports the second clamping member 90b, such that when the pressing part 23 of the pressing member 20 presses the first claming member 90a bonded to the second clamping member 90b, only the first clamping member 90a can be separated from the clamping member set 99. If the protrusion 72 does not exist, the first clamping member 90a fails to be separated from the clamping member set 99 and the entire clamping member set 99 may be discharged through the through-hole 34. If the user continuously presses the pressing member 20, the first clamping member 90a is separated from the clamping member set 99, passes through the through-hole 34, and is inserted into the forming groove 71 of the forming plate 70. At this time, the human hair h and the hairpiece p placed in the forming groove 71 are received in the accommodating part 94 of the first clamping member 90a. If the pressure continues to be applied, as shown in FIG. 7, the ends of the side surfaces 91 and 92 of the first clamping member 90a are pressed against the bottom surface 711 of the forming groove 71 to be bent and rolled inward. Accordingly, the human hair h and the hairpiece p received in the accommodating part 94 of the first clamping member 90a are clamped by the first clamping member 90a. Since the process from the
pressing of the pressing member 20 to the clamping of the hairpiece p occurs in an instant, the hairpiece p can be stuck to the human hair h in a very short time. On the other side, the juts 95 formed on the ends of the side surfaces 91 and 92 of the first clamping member 90a increase a frictional force between the human hair h and the hairpiece p, thereby preventing a clamping force of the first clamping member 90a with respect to the human hair h and hairpiece p from being reduced. If the hairpiece p is completely stuck to the human hair h, the user removes the pressure applied to the pressure member 20. If the pressure is removed, the compressed second elastic member 60 is released and elastically restored to pivot the accommodating member 30 away from the support member 10 such that the accommodating member 30 returns to its original position. On the other hand, since the push member 42 biases the clamping member set 99 toward the free end 32 of the accommodating member 30 and the first clamping member 90a is discharged through the through-hole 34, the second clamping member 90b is moved to the very position of the first clamping member 90a to act as a first clamping member. A next clamping member 90 becomes a second clamping member. Through this process, the hairpiece p can be simply stuck to the human hair h in a very short time. Although the process of sticking the hairpiece p to the human hair h has been explained, the hairpiece sticking apparatus 100 can be used for hair extension as well. The hair extension is made by connecting a plurality of hairpieces p in parallel. If the hair extension is attached to human hair, the human hair appears to be long hair, not partially but entirely. The hairpiece sticking apparatus 100 according to the present invention can be used in attaching each hairpiece p of the hair extension to the human hair h. Although the radius of the curvature of the forming groove 71 is 0.6mm in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited thereto, but various modifications can be made according to the locks of the hairpiece p and the human hair h. Moreover, while the first elastic member 50 and the second elastic member 60 are bent metal bar-shaped leaf springs, various elastic members including a coil spring may also be used. While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary
skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.
Industrial Applicability As described above, the hairpiece sticking apparatus and method can simply and fast stick a hairpiece to human hair, thereby reducing a working time. Also, since the hairpiece sticking apparatus and method does not use an adhesive, differently from the conventional art, the human hair can be kept trimmed.