GB2482131A

GB2482131A - Magnetic Hair Accessory Device

Info

Publication number: GB2482131A
Application number: GB1012130.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lisa Jill Stapleton
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-07-20
Filing date: 2010-07-20
Publication date: 2012-01-25
Anticipated expiration: 2030-07-20
Also published as: GB201012130D0; GB2482131B; WO2012010814A1

Abstract

A hair charm or bead comprises a tubular structure divided into two halves 1 that are connected by magnetic means 4, either with one edge hinged 15 or both edges magnetically attached. The charm has a series of hooks 2 of differing lengths provided on an inner surface to prevent movement of the bead in relation to the user's hair. The charms may vary in size by both diameter and length, thus accommodating all hair types and capturing varying amounts of hair. Larger charms may form an elliptical cross section to increase grip on the hair. A charm may also be adapted to provide a means of temporarily attaching hair extensions and decorations which may be attached to the charms themselves. Varying materials dictate the external shape of the charms enabling a range of appearance, value, weight and ornamentation.

Description

HAIR CHARMS

This idea relates to beads and charms that can be worn in the hair both as ornamental additions or as functional aids for hair management or hair extensions.

BACKGROUND

When wishing to wear ornamental beads in the hair, these beads invariably have to be threaded onto strands and fixed in place in some way. Threading beads onto strands of hair is very delicate and time consuming, often involving either wrapping' the hair, braiding the hair, using some kind of adhesive or using some equipment to facilitate threading beads onto the hair. When wishing to attach hair extensions, there are a variety of methods available but these either require specialist expertise to attach (including braiding, weaving, gluing), specialist products (adhesives) or clips to be fixed into the hair. By using beads (or charms) which are constructed in two parts, held together by strong magnets (a variation to include a charm hinged on one side) arid including an internal means of grabbing the hair, they are then very easy to attach and remove without damaging the hair, yet remain securely attached whilst worn. The ease of attachment and variation, together with no damage to the hair, allows a myriad of opportunities for temporarily adorning the hair; adding length, colour, thickness, decoration and the ability to customise the look.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The idea will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which are for illustrative purposes and are not drawn to scale: Figure 1 shows the fundamental internal basis of a charm -a cylindrical (tube) bead.

Figure 2 shows a cross section (top view) of a tube bead, indicating the diameter for the division of the bead.

Figure 3 shows the division of a tube bead into the two halves which form the charm.

Figure 4 shows a cross section (top view) of one side of the charm illustrating the internal structure of the charm.

Figures 5 shows two views of the charm, Sa showing the front half of the charm (Labelled 3), indicating placement of magnets for the double edged magnets and Figure Sb showing the variant of the single edged magnets coupled with a hinged edge.

Figure 6 shows a view of the back half of the charm (Labelled 6), indicating placement of magnets and the difference to the front half of the charm (3).

Figure 7 shows a side view of both halves of the charm fixed together, as it would be when Figure 8a shows an example of the variation of charm widthlheight ratios and 8b shows the cross section of a large charm, illustrating the variation in shape necessary for functionality.

Figure 9 shows an example of the variety of external shapes applicable to the charms.

Figure 10 shows different embodiments of the idea, with Figure 1 Oa showing how the charms can be used for hair extensions, while Figure 1 Ob shows two examples of how the charms can be adapted for decoration.

Figure 11 shows different views illustrating the overall effect of wearing hair charms, to enable a better understanding of the idea in general.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

Figure 1 shows that the primary structure of the charm is a tube bead' in that it is basically cylindrical, of variable length andlor circumference. The charm is comprised of a cylindrical tube, halved perpendicular to the diameter (Labelled 1) as shown in Figure 2. This splitting of the cylinder produces two individual halves as illustrated in Figure 3.

Each half of the charm contains flexible hooks (Labelled 2) of varying lengths on the inner surface as shown in the top view cross section of Figure 4. Both halves of the charm will contain this hooked surface to enable grabbing' of the hair between the two halves to avoid slippage, when they are fixed together.

There are two variants to connecting the front and back halves of the charms; these being both connecting edges of front and back using magnets (Labelled 4) or one edge connecting using magnets (4) and the other edge being hinged (Labelled 15). Figure 5a illustrates the front half of the charm (Labelled 3) indicating the location of the strong mini magnets (4) along both of the straight edges of the cylindrical bead (Labelled 5). This illustration is for the charm which is connected together by magnets (4) on two edges. The alternative form of fixing the two halves of the charms together is shown in Figure Sb where magnets (4) are attached along one edge (5) of the front half (3) and one edge (Labelled 7) of the back half (Labelled 6) with the other edges being fixed together by means of a hinge (15).

Figure 6 shows the back half of the charm (6), indicating the location of strong mini magnets (4) along the edge of the cylindrical bead (Labelled 7). These magnets (4) are the partners to the magnets (4) along the front half (3) of the charm's edges (5). The edges (7) on the back half of the charm (6) have angled notches (Labelled 8) which act to shorten the edge of the cylindrical bead (7) that is in contact with the matching edges (5) on the front half of the charm (3), enabling a gap (8) with which to prise apart the two halves for removal of the charm from the hair. The notches (8) will be formed by cutting the corners (Labelled 16) off the edges, at a slight angle to the straight edge.

Figure 7 illustrates the notch (8) which will become apparent when both front (3) and back (6) halves are connected.

The internal cylindrical structure (Labelled 11) will come in varying diameters/widths (1) and also varying lengths/heights (Labelled 9) producing different combinations of charms as illustrated in Figure 8a. By varying both the widths (1) and heights (9) of the charms, different hair types will be accommodated and the charms will remain effective. Charms can then be used across hair types -fine, thick, straight, curly -and also on a variety of amounts of hair captured -from large sections using charms for hair management to small sections using charms purely for decoration. The charms which have larger diameters (widths) (1) will need to adjust their cross section to a more elliptical shape as shown in Figure 8b, rather than circular, to allow the hooks (2) to grip the hair more effectively.

Figure 9 illustrates how the internal cylindrical structure (11) of each charm will remain consistent with the details outlined above, although the external shapes of each charm will vary according to materials used and design chosen. A whole variety of materials will be used, including ranges of silver, gold, metals, plastic, foam, wood, modelling materials and glass. The variety of materials used to manufacture the charms and the decorative additions to the charms will allow variations including texture, colour, value and weight.

Figure 1 Oa shows how external details can be added to alter the purpose of the channs from decoration to functional. Charms are then a means of allowing temporary hair extensions; offering both bold and natural colours. The internal structure (11) remains the same, but hair extensions (Labelled 10) are fixed to the outside of the inner tubes and provide a means of attaching hair extensions via magnetic charms. Multiple charms will allow attachment of multiple hair extensions for different effects. These charms will allow the temporary addition of length, thickness or colour to the wearer's hair. Use of magnetic means of attachment will negate any damaging materials or treatment to the hair. These charms can be decorative but more appropriately will blend with the hair and remain unobtrusive, as a means of attachment rather than decoration in the case of hair extensions.

Figures 1 Ob illustrates that other decorative features can be added to the charms and hang from them -like spirals encasing the hair (Labelled 12), wires, cords, chains (Labelled 13), gemstones (Labelled 14), fibre optics and LED lights.

Figure 11 shows examples of the effects of wearing hair charms to help illustrate the overall impression of this idea. The charms will have a wide ranging design to enable them to be appropriate across the genders and ages -from children's versions to adult; from male designs to female.

Claims

CLAIMSI. A hair charm or bead consisting of two parts of a tubular component held together by magnetic means and having a series of hooks of differing lengths provided on an inner surface to prevent movement of the bead in relation to the user's hair.
2. A charm according to Claim 1, in which the two parts of the tubular component are hinged at one side and held together by magnetic means on the other side.
3. A charm according to any of the preceding Claims, which has a notch between the two parts enabling the parts to be prised apart and separated for removal.
4. A charm according to any of the preceding Claims, which is varied in size, both by diameter and by length.
5. A charm according to any of the preceding Claims, which varies the cross sectional shape from circular to elliptical.
6. A charm according to any of the preceding Claims, which is varied in design by using a variety of materials to construct it which consequently alter the external appearance and shape of the charm.
7. A charm according to any of the preceding Claims, which comprises hair extensions of either natural or synthetic hair strands permanently attached to the charm.
8. A charm according to any of the preceding Claims, which comprises all manner of decoration directly attached to the charm and extending beyond the charm as embellishments which protrude in any direction from hanging down to standing out or up.
9. A charm according to any of the preceding Claims, which is appropriate for any type of hair and so is functional across gender and age.
10. A charm according to any of the preceding Claims, as described with reference to and as illustrated in any of the Figures of the accompanying Drawings.