WO2009128595A1

WO2009128595A1 - Hair extension instrument and method for manufacturing the same

Info

Publication number: WO2009128595A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/005666
Authority: WO
Inventors: Min Kuk Kim; Kyoung Log Kim
Original assignee: Asap Corporation
Priority date: 2008-04-18
Filing date: 2008-09-24
Publication date: 2009-10-22
Also published as: KR20090110449A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a hair extension instrument adapted to connect a hair extension to the end portion of natural hair so as to make the natural hair look extended longer, the hair extension instrument including: a tube adapted to be compressedly coupled to the end portion of the hair extension in such a manner as to surround the outside of the hair extension; and coupling means mounted on one side of the tube so as to connect the tube with the natural hair.

Description

HAIR EXTENSION INSTRUMENT AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a hair extension instrument and a method for manufacturing the hair extension instrument, and more particularly, to a hair extension instrument and a method for manufacturing the hair extension instrument that has a tube coupled to the outside of the end portion of a hair extension by means of thermal compression and a ring mounted on one side of the tube so as to be connected with a wearer's natural hair, thereby allowing the manufacturing process to be simple, preventing the loss of the hair extension after the wearing, removing the unpleasant wearing feeling by the use of the tube, providing no skin trouble, and preventing the hair extension from being tangled. Background Art

[2] Recently, as a large number of peoples wear wigs or hair extensions so as to make them look more beautiful, wigs or hair extensions having various colors or shapes have been proposed and developed.

[3] Especially, there is proposed a new hair fashion wherein a hair extension having a predetermined length is bonded to natural hair having a short length so as to make the natural hair look long. The technology is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0437079 (entitled 'hair extension instrument') which has been filed by the same applicant as in this invention. As shown in FIG.l, there is provided a hair extension instrument that is adapted to connect a plurality of hair extension strands 1 to the end portion of natural hair in the same direction as the natural hair so as to make the natural hair look extended longer, the hair extension instrument including: a plurality of fixing and tying parts 2 adapted to fixedly connect the end portions of the plurality of hair extension strands 1 to each other; a plurality of metal rings 3 disposed spaced apart by a predetermined distance from each other on one side surfaces of the hair extension strands 1 fixed by the plurality of fixing and tying parts 2 and having a through-hole 3a formed in the same direction as the natural hair, through which the end portion of the natural hair is passed; and an adhesive 5 adapted to fixedly connect the fixing and tying parts 2 and the hair extension strands 1 so as to prevent the hair extension strands 1 fixed by the fixing and tying parts 2 from escaping from the fixing and tying parts 2.

[4] After attaching the hair extension strands 1 to a wearer's natural hair, the hair extension strands 1 do not escape from the wearer's natural hair, while ensuring the free motions thereof, and moreover, since the hair extension strands 1 is attached to a portion of the wearer's natural hair, hair styles are obtained freely according to the characteristics of the individual like head shape and hair style, and so on.

[5] According to the conventional practice, however, the plurality of hair extension strands 1 are connected one by one by means of the fixing and tying parts 2, which renders the manufacturing process to be very complicated, and further, the adhesive 5 is applied on the outside of the hair extension strands 1, which gives an unpleasant feeling to a wearer, causes skin trouble and hair tangling on the portion where the adhesive 5 is applied.

[6] Moreover, if the adhesive 5 is exposed for a long period of time to a high temperature by hot sunlight or hair drier, the adhesive 5 is sticky to cause the above- mentioned problems to be more severe, thereby undesirably permitting the hair extension strands 1 to be lost. Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[7] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a hair extension instrument and a method for manufacturing the hair extension instrument that has a tube coupled to the outside of the end portion of a hair extension by means of thermal compression and a ring mounted on one side of the tube so as to be connected with a wearer's natural hair, thereby allowing the manufacturing process to be simple, preventing the loss of the hair extension after the wearing, removing the unpleasant wearing feeling by the use of the tube, providing no skin trouble, and preventing the hair extension from being tangled. Technical Solution

[8] To achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hair extension instrument adapted to connect a hair extension to the end portion of natural hair so as to make the natural hair look extended longer, the hair extension instrument including: a tube adapted to be compressedly coupled to the end portion of the hair extension in such a manner as to surround the outside of the hair extension; and coupling means mounted on one side of the tube so as to connect the tube with the natural hair.

[9] To achieve the above object, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a hair extension instrument adapted to connect a hair extension to the end portion of natural hair so as to make the natural hair look extended longer, the method including the steps of: applying adhesive means on the end portion of the hair extension; insertedly coupling a tube to the outside of the end portion of the hair extension on which the adhesive means is applied; compressing the tube against the hair extension; and coupling a ring to one side of the tube, the ring having a through-hole adapted to pass the natural hair therethrough.

Advantageous Effects

[10] According to the present invention, the tube is coupled to the outside of the end portion of the hair extension by means of the thermal compression and the ring is mounted on one side of the tube so as to connect the hair extension to the natural hair, which advantageously makes the manufacturing process substantially simple.

[11] Further, the tube is mounted on the outside of the adhesive means applied to the end portion of the hair extension, which protects the adhesive means from a hot temperature, thereby preventing the adhesive means from being melt or sticky and further keeping the hair extension from being lost.

[12] Moreover, the tube is adapted to surround the outside of the adhesive means, which gives the wearer no unpleasant feeling, no skin trouble, and no hair tangling.

[13] In addition, the hair extension instrument of this invention is designed to have a relatively small width, such that the hair extension can be attached on a portion of the wearer's natural hair, can be attached freely according to the characteristics of the individual like head shape and hair style, and can be freely moved together with the natural hair after the wearing. Brief Description of the Drawings

[14] FIG.1 is a perspective view showing a conventional hair extension instrument.

[15] FIG.2 is a perspective view showing a hair extension instrument according to the present invention.

[16] FIG.3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG.2.

[17] FIG.4 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG.2.

[18] FIGS.5 and 9 are views showing the processes for attaching the hair extension instrument to a wearer's natural hair.

[19] FIG.10 is a view showing the process for removing the hair extension instrument from the wearer's natural hair. Mode for the Invention

[20] Hereinafter, an explanation on a hair extension instrument and a method for manufacturing the hair extension instrument will be given with reference to the attached drawings.

[21] FIG.2 is a perspective view showing a hair extension instrument according to the present invention, FIG.3 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG.2, FIG.4 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B in FIG.2, FIGS.5 and 9 are views showing the processes for attaching the hair extension instrument to a wearer's natural hair, and FIG.10 is a view showing the process for removing the hair extension instrument from the wearer's natural hair.

[22] According to the present invention, there is provided a hair extension instrument 10 adapted to connect a hair extension 11 to the end portion of natural hair 6 in the same direction as the natural hair 6 so as to make the natural hair 6 look extended longer, which is an improvement of the technology disclosed in Korean Utility Model Registration No. 0437079 as filed by the same applicant as in this invention.

[23] The hair extension 11 is made to have a predetermined length and color according to a wearer's preferences.

[24] The hair extension instrument 10 according to the present invention largely includes a tube 20, coupling means 30, and adhesive means 40.

[25] The tube 20 is disposed on the end portion of the hair extension 11 in such a manner as to surround the outside of the hair extension 11.

[26] At this time, the tube 20 is compressed against the outside of the end portion of the hair extension 11, and in this case, the tube 20 is desirably formed of a heat shrinkable tube. Instead of the heat shrinkable tube, of course, a variety of tubes may be employed.

[27] After the heat shrinkable tube 20 inserts the end portion of the hair extension 11 thereinto, when the heat shrinkable tube 20 is at the application of a predetermined temperature thereto, it is thermally compressed to allow the hair extension 11 to be tightly compressed against each other, thereby holding the hair extension 11 therein. After compressed, the tube 20 becomes flat and the whole volume thereof is reduced.

[28] In this case, if the tube 20 is thermally compressed, it becomes flat, as shown in

FIG.2, but it is made to have a thickness lower than that as shown in FIG.2.

[29] On the other hand, if the tube 20 is applied or coated on the surface thereof with a charcoal component, it serves to prevent smells or electromagnetic waves, and of course, the tube 20 may be coated with a variety of components good for a human body, instead of the charcoal component.

[30] Further, the coupling means 30 is mounted on one side of the tube 20 so as to couple the tube 20 with the natural hair 6.

[31] The coupling means 30 is formed of a ring 31 having a predetermined length that is mounted on one side of the tube 20, the ring 31 having a through-hole 31a adapted to pass the natural hair therethrough.

[32] In this case, the ring 31 desirably has a hollow cylindrical shape and is formed of a metal material, for example, an aluminum material.

[33] The ring 31 is fixedly coupled to one side surface of the tube 20 by means of a thread

32, but it may be coupled by using an adhesive material or well-known various fixing means. [34] Furthermore, the ring 31 is disposed in the same direction as the direction of the length of the hair extension 11, and thus, when the natural hair 6 is inserted into the through-hole 31a of the ring 31, the natural hair 6 has the same direction as the hair extension 11.

[35] On the other hand, just one ring 31 is mounted on one side surface of the tube 20 in the drawings, but the ring 31 may be increased in number according to the width of the tube 20.

[36] The coupling means 30 serves to couple the tube 20 with the natural hair 6 by compressing the ring 31 at the state where the natural hair 6 is passed through the through- hole 31 a of the ring 31.

[37] On the other hand, in order not to easily expose the ring 31 to the outside, desirably, the ring 31 is coated on the surface thereof with the same color as or similar color to the hair extension 11 or the natural hair 6. At this time, UV coating is desirably applied to the ring 31 so as to prevent the surface of the ring 31 from peeling off by an alkaline shampoo or friction.

[38] Further, the adhesive means 40 is disposed in the interior of the tube 20 so as to bond the hair extension 11 and simultaneously so as to bond the hair extension 11 along the inner surface of the tube 20.

[39] In this case, the adhesive means 40 is desirably formed of at least one of protein, latex resin, silicon resin, and epoxy resin.

[40] At this time, the application of the adhesive means 40 to the interior of the tube 20 is first conducted before the tube 20 inserts the hair extension 11 thereinto.

[41] That is, the hair extension 11 is bonded by means of the adhesive means 40 and simultaneously is rigidly bonded along the inner surface of the tube 20, such that even though an external force is applied to the tube 20, the hair extension 11 does not escape from the tube 20.

[42] Also, since the tube 20 is formed to surround the outside of the hair extension 11 to which the adhesive means 40 is applied after the adhesive means 40 has been applied to the end portion of the hair extension 11, the tube 20 serves to protect the adhesive means 40 from a high temperature, such that even if a wearer shampoos with hot water or blow-dries his or her hair with hot sunlight or a hair drier, the adhesive means 40 is not melt or sticky, thereby preventing the hair loss of the hair extension 11.

[43] Moreover, since the tube 20 is formed to surround the outside of the hair extension

11 to which the adhesive means 40 is applied, no uncomfortable feeling after the wearing, no skin trouble, and no tangling are happened.

[44] Also, since the hair extension instrument 11 of this invention is made to a relatively small width, the hair extension 11 can be attached on a portion of the wearer's natural hair 6, can be attached freely according to the characteristics of the individual like head shape and hair style, and can be freely moved together with the natural hair 6 after the wearing.

[45] On the other hand, as shown in FIG.4, the width Wl of one side end portion of the tube 20 through which the hair extension 11 is inserted is smaller than the width W2 of the other side end portion thereof. That is, at the state where the adhesive means 40 is applied to the end portion of the hair extension 11 to a little smaller width than the length of the tube 20, if the tube (heat shrinkable tube) 20 is thermally compressed, the portion of the tube 20 where no adhesive means 40 exists or the adhesive means 40 is applied with a small quantity is shrunken to a relatively high degree, as shown in FIG.4.

[46] As the width Wl of one end portion of the tube 20 becomes narrow, the hair extension 11 does not escape from the tube 20.

[47] Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing the hair extension instrument according to the present invention will be discussed.

[48] First, the adhesive means 40 is applied to the end portion of the hair extension 11.

[49] The adhesive means 40 is desirably formed of at least one of protein, latex resin, silicon resin, and epoxy resin, and the adhesive means 40 is applied on the end portion of the hair extension 11 to a length shorter than the length of the tube 20.

[50] At this time, the hair extension 11 is bonded by means of the adhesive means 40.

[51] After the application of the adhesive means 40 to the hair extension 11, the outside of the end portion of the hair extension 11 is inserted into the tube 20.

[52] In this case, when the tube 20 inserts the outside of the end portion of the hair extension 11 thereinto, the tube 20 surrounds the outside of the adhesive means 40, thereby protecting the adhesive means 40 from the outside.

[53] The tube 20 is desirably formed of a heat shrinkable tube.

[54] Next, the tube 20 is compressed against the hair extension 11.

[55] That is, if heat is applied to the tube 20 into which the end portion of the hair extension 11 is inserted, the tube 20 is shrunken by means of the heat to a generally flat shape such that it comes into close contact with the adhesive means 40 and the hair extension 11. During this process, the tube 20 is bonded to the hair extension 11 by means of the adhesive means 40.

[56] At this time, as shown in FIG.4, the portion of the tube 20 where no adhesive means

40 exists or the adhesive means 40 is applied with a small quantity is shrunken to a relatively high degree, the hair extension 11 becomes more tight, thereby preventing the tube 20 from escaping from the hair extension 11.

[57] After that, the ring 31 having the through-hole 31a adapted to pass the natural hair 6 therethrough is coupledly mounted at one side of the tube 20.

[58] That is, the ring 31 is fixedly coupled to the tube 20 by using the thread 32 in a simple manner.

[59] The hair extension instrument 10 manufactured by the above-mentioned processes is attached to the wearer's natural hair in the following operation.

[60] Referring to FIGS.5 to 9, the operation for attaching the hair extension instrument 10 of this invention to the wearer's natural hair is explained.

[61] Operation tools for attaching the hair extension instrument 10 include a pair of clamps 7a used to fix the hair extension 11 , a pair of pliers 7c used when the ring 31 is compressed, a pair of nippers 7d used when the ring 31 is cut to remove the hair extension instrument 10 from the natural hair 6, and a crochet needle 7b used to pass the natural hair through the ring 31.

[62] First, the hair extension 11 comes into close contact with the wearer's natural hair 6, and then, it is fixed at a position to be attached to the natural hair 6 by means of the pair of clamps 7a.

[63] After that, the natural hair 6 is passed through the ring 31 mounted on the tube 20 into which the hair extension 11 is inserted by using the crochet needle 7b, and next, the ring 31 is compressed against the tube 20 by using the pair of pliers 7c so as to rigidly fix the natural hair 6 thereto.

[64] At this time, if a small quantity of natural hair is passed through the ring 31, the natural hair 6 becomes loose, and thus, it is desirable that a relatively large quantity of natural hair should be passed through the ring 31. Also, when the ring 31 is compressed by the pair of pliers 7c, it is desirable that the ring 31 should be compressed several times.

[65] Like this, if the operation for attaching the corresponding hair extension 11 to a predetermined section of the wearer's natural hair is completed, the operation for attaching another hair extension to another desired section thereof is repeatedly conducted in the same manner as mentioned above, thereby completing the entire attaching operation.

[66] On the other hand, it is not necessary to perform the operation for fixing the natural hair 6 to the ring 31 mounted on the tube 20 in the above-mentioned order, and therefore, the operation may be performed in an operator's convenient manner.

[67] Next, as shown in FIG.10, an operation for removing the hair extension 11 from the natural hair 6 is performed such that a portion of the ring 31 fixed and compressed to the natural hair 6 is cut off by the pair of nippers 7d, thereby easily and simply separating the hair extension 11 from the natural hair 6, without any damage of the natural hair 6.

Claims

[1] A hair extension instrument adapted to connect a hair extension (11) to the end portion of natural hair (6) so as to make the natural hair (6) look extended longer, the hair extension instrument comprising: a tube (20) adapted to be compressedly coupled to the end portion of the hair extension (11) in such a manner as to surround the outside of the hair extension (11); and coupling means (30) mounted on one side of the tube (20) so as to connect the tube (20) with the natural hair (6).

[2] The hair extension instrument as defined in claim 1, wherein the tube (20) is formed of a heat shrinkable tube and is thermally compressed against the outside of the hair extension (11).

[3] The hair extension instrument as defined in claim 1, wherein the tube (20) has adhesive means (40) applied to the interior thereof so as to bond the hair extension (11) and simultaneously so as to bond the hair extension (11) to the inner surface thereof.

[4] The hair extension instrument as defined in claim 3, wherein the adhesive means

(40) is formed of at least one of protein, latex resin, silicon resin, and epoxy resin.

[5] The hair extension instrument as defined in claim 3, wherein the width (Wl) of one side end portion of the tube (20) through which the hair extension (11) is inserted is smaller than the width (W2) of the other side end portion thereof.

[6] The hair extension instrument as defined in claim 1, wherein the coupling means

(30) is formed of a ring (31) having a predetermined length that is mounted on one side of the tube (20), the ring (31) having a through-hole (31a) adapted to pass the natural hair therethrough, and the coupling means (30) couples the tube (20) with the natural hair (6) by compressing the ring (31) at the state where the natural hair (6) is passed through the through-hole (31a) of the ring (31).

[7] A method for manufacturing a hair extension instrument adapted to connect a hair extension (11) to the end portion of natural hair (6) so as to make the natural hair (6) look extended longer, the method comprising the steps of: applying adhesive means (40) on the end portion of the hair extension (11); insertedly coupling a tube (20) to the outside of the end portion of the hair extension (11) on which the adhesive means (40) is applied; compressing the tube (20) against the hair extension (11); and coupling a ring (31) to one side of the tube (20), the ring (31) having a through- hole (31a) adapted to pass the natural hair (6) therethrough. [8] The method for manufacturing a hair extension instrument as defined in claim 7, wherein the tube (20) is formed of a heat shrinkable tube and upon the compression of the tube (20) against the hair extension (11), the tube (20) is thermally compressed against the hair extension (11).

[9] The method for manufacturing a hair extension instrument as defined in claim 7, wherein the adhesive means (40) is formed of at least one of protein, latex resin, silicon resin, and epoxy resin.