U.S. patent application number 12/358189 was filed with the patent office on 2011-03-10 for hair extension and method for hair extension.
Invention is credited to Ryan Tokko.
Application Number | 20110056507 12/358189 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43646720 |
Filed Date | 2011-03-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110056507 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Tokko; Ryan |
March 10, 2011 |
Hair Extension and Method for Hair Extension
Abstract
A hair extension strip includes a hollow hair extension strip
end piece and a number of extension hair strands that are embedded
in the hair extension strip end piece. The hair extension strip end
piece comprises a hair extension hollow tube having predetermined
inner diameter and predetermined length. The hair extension strip
is made by a process comprising steps of aligning ends of a
predetermined number of hair strands; applying melted thermoplastic
resin around the aligned ends of the hair strands, removing excess
thermoplastic resin, forming a hollow hair extension strip end
piece by wrapping the hair strands around a centering rod, and
cooling the hair extension strip end piece with the hair strands
embedded.
Inventors: |
Tokko; Ryan; (Los Angeles,
CA) |
Family ID: |
43646720 |
Appl. No.: |
12/358189 |
Filed: |
January 22, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61062248 |
Jan 24, 2008 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
132/201 ;
132/54 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41G 5/008 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
132/201 ;
132/54 |
International
Class: |
A41G 5/00 20060101
A41G005/00 |
Claims
1. A hair extension strip comprising: a) a hollow hair extension
strip end piece; and b) a predetermined number of extension hair
strands that are embedded in the hair extension strip end
piece.
2. The hair extension of claim 1, wherein the hair extension strip
end piece is made of thermoplastic resin of predetermined
amount.
3. The hair extension of claim 2, wherein the hair extension strip
end piece comprises a hair extension hollow tube having
predetermined inner diameter and predetermined length.
4. The hair extension of claim 3, wherein the predetermined inner
diameter is from about 1/16 inch to about 3/8 inch.
5. The hair extension of claim 4, wherein the predetermined length
is from about 1/16 to about 1/2 inch.
6. The hair extension of claim 5, wherein the predetermined number
of extension hair strands is from about 200 to about 450.
7. The hair extension of claim 6, wherein the predetermined amount
of thermoplastic resin is from about 0.01 gram to about 0.04
gram.
8. The hair extension of claim 3, wherein the predetermined number
of extension hair strands is from about 200 to 450.
9. The hair extension of claim 8, wherein the predetermined amount
of thermoplastic resin is from about 0.01 gram to about 0.04
gram.
10. A hair extension strip that is made by a process comprising
steps of: a) aligning ends of a predetermined number of hair
strands; b) applying melted the thermoplastic resin around the
aligned ends of the hair strands, c) forming a hollow hair
extension strip end piece by wrapping the hair strands around a
centering rod; and d) cooling the hair extension strip end piece
with the hair strands embedded.
11. The hair extension of claim 10, wherein the predetermined
number of extension hair strands is from about 200 to 450.
12. The hair extension of claim 11, wherein the centering rod is
circular and has a predetermined diameter.
13. The hair extension of claim 12, wherein the predetermined
diameter is from about 1/16 inch to about 3/8 inch.
14. The hair extension of claim 13, further comprising step of
removing excess thermoplastic resin so that the amount of
thermoplastic resin applied on the ends of the hair strands is from
about 0.01 gram to about 0.04 gram.
15. The hair extension of claim 14, further comprising step of
cutting the end of the hair extension strip end piece whereby the
cut end has a flat cross section.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority on Provisional Application
No. 61/062,248 filed on Jan. 24, 2008 by the applicant, the
disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Hair extension is used for providing decorating effect to a
human being's hair, such as long, curled, straight or
different-colored hair. Hair extension requires attaching a number
of decorative hair strands to a customer's natural hair. Decorative
hair strands are provided in a form of hair strips and the hair
strips are attached to the customer's hair by gluing. Prior art
hair extension strips and methods for attaching the hair strips
have disadvantages that long time is required to attach the hair
strips since placing and holding the customer's hair and extension
hair together is difficult and; handling the glue is difficult and
dangerous; and the bonding between the natural hair and the
decorative hair is not uniform.
[0003] There has long been a need for hair extension strips and
method that can provide more natural decorative effect and requires
less time consuming and safe attaching process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An object of the invention is to provide a decorative hair
strip that provides a natural and firm hair extension.
[0005] Another object of the invention is to provide a method for
attaching the decorative hair strip to a customer's hair.
[0006] In order to achieve the objects, the present invention
provides a hair extension strip comprising a hollow hair extension
strip end piece and a predetermined number of extension hair
strands that are embedded in the hair extension strip end
piece.
[0007] The hair extension strip end piece is made of thermoplastic
resin.
[0008] The hair extension strip end piece comprises a hair
extension hollow tube having predetermined inner diameter and
predetermined length.
[0009] The predetermined inner diameter is from about 1/16 inch to
about 3/8 inch.
[0010] The predetermined length is from about 1/16 to about 1/2
inch. The predetermined number of extension hair strands is from
about 200 to 450.
[0011] The hair extension strip that is made by a process
comprising steps of aligning ends of a predetermined number of hair
strands, applying melted thermoplastic resin around the aligned
ends of the hair strands, forming a hollow hair extension strip end
piece by wrapping the hair strands around a centering rod and
cooling the hair extension strip end piece with the hair strands
embedded.
[0012] The centering rod is circular and has a predetermined
diameter, which is from about 1/16 inch to about 3/8 inch.
[0013] The method further comprises step of removing excess
thermoplastic resin so that the amount of thermoplastic resin
applied on the ends of the hair strands is from about 0.01 gram to
about 0.04 gram.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a hair extension strip
according to the present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view showing an end piece of
the hair extension strip and hair strands embedded in the end
piece.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the step of aligning hair
strands.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the step of heating for
forming a hair strip end piece.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the extension hair strip
end piece thus formed.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the extension hair strip
end piece showing hair strands embedded therein.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a partial elevation view of a centering rod.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a hair extension tool that
is used to attach the hair extension strip to a customer's
hair.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a method of attaching the
decorative hair extension strip to a customer's hair.
[0023] FIG. 10a is a schematic elevation view showing step of
applying thermoplastic resin.
[0024] FIG. 10b is a perspective view showing step of removing
excess resin.
[0025] FIG. 10c is a schematic elevation view showing step of
forming a hair strip end piece.
[0026] FIG. 10d is a schematic perspective view showing the hair
strip end piece.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027] FIG. 1 shows a hair extension strip 10 comprising a hollow
hair extension strip end piece 12 and a predetermined number of
extension hair strands 14 that are embedded in the hair extension
strip end piece 12.
[0028] The hair extension strip end piece 12 is made of
thermoplastic resin or adhesive.
[0029] FIG. 2 shows that the hair extension strip end piece 12
comprises a hair extension hollow tube 16 having predetermined
inner diameter and predetermined length.
[0030] The predetermined inner diameter is from about 1/16 inch to
about: 3/8 inch. The ends of a customer's hair strands must pass
through the hair extension hollow tube 16, when the hair extension
strip 10 is attached to the original, hair of a customer. The
predetermined inner diameter is the optimized size for serving this
purpose.
[0031] The predetermined length is from about 1/16 to about 1/2
inch. The predetermined number of extension hair strands is from
about 200 to 450 human hair strands. The lower limit has been
determined to increase the efficiency of producing the hair
extension strip 10 and labor of attaching the strips 10 to the
original hair. The upper limit has been determined considering the
adequate number of hair strands that can be embedded in one hair
extension strip end piece 12, and natural look of the extended
hair. If the number of the hair strands is more than 450, the hair
extension strip becomes too bulky and the thermoplastic resin
cannot cover the entire hair strands.
[0032] The hair extension strip 10 is made by a process comprising
steps of aligning ends of a predetermined number of hair strands 14
(refer to FIG. 3); placing a centering rod 18 and a piece of
thermoplastic resin 20 having a predetermined weight around the
aligned ends of the hair strands (refer to FIG. 4); forming the
hollow hair extension strip end piece 12 by heating the resin piece
20 until the hair strands are embedded in the melted resin (refer
to FIG. 5); and cooling the hair extension strip end piece 12 with
the hair strands 14 embedded.
[0033] The centering rod 18 is removed after the hair extension
strip end piece 12 is formed. Heating of the resin piece 20 may be
performed by directly heating the centering rod 18, or indirectly
heating the resin piece 20 and the centering rod 18 by a separate
heat source.
[0034] FIG. 6 shows that the hair strands 14 are embedded uniformly
throughout the cross section of the hair extension hollow tube 16.
Molten thermoplastic resin permeates between the hair strands by
capillary action during the step of forming the hollow hair
extension strip end piece 12. When the resin solidifies again the
uniform distribution of hair strands results. This process is
repeated when the hair extension strip 10 is attached to the
original hair of a customer. The thermoplastic resin constituting
the hair extension strip end piece 12 is melted when heat is
applied and permeates between the original hair of the customer and
the decorative hair of the hair extension strip 10. When the resin
is solidified again, the original hair and the decorative hair are
uniformly fixed in solidified resin, which provides a firm
attachment and natural look of the extend hair.
[0035] FIG. 7 shows that the centering rod 20 is circular and has a
predetermined diameter D at its tip 21. The predetermined diameter
D is from about 1/16 inch to about 3/8 inch. The predetermined
diameter D becomes the inner diameter of the hair extension strip
end piece 12 thus made.
[0036] The centering rod 20 further includes a stop flange 22 that
has a larger diameter than the tip 21. The stop flange 22
facilitates forming the free end of the hair extension hollow tube
16 (refer to FIG. 5).
[0037] The predetermined weight of the resin piece is from about
0.01 gram to 0.04 gram. The predetermined amount of the resin has
been determined to form adequate size of the hair extension strip
end piece 12 for the predetermined number of decorative hair
strands 14.
[0038] The combination of material, size, and shape of the
invention as explained above provides the advantageous effects that
production cost of hair extension strips is substantially reduced;
time required for completing hair extension is substantially
reduced; the hair extension work becomes dramatically easier and
precise; and the resulting hair extension is a lot more durable and
provides a natural look.
[0039] FIG. 8 shows a hair extension tool 24 that is used to attach
the hair extension strip 10 to the original hair of a customer. The
hair extension tool 24 comprises a handle 26 and a hair guide 28
that is supported by the handle 26 and made of an elastic wire.
[0040] FIG. 9 shows a series of steps that are performed to align
the hair extension strip 10 and the original hair with the hair
extension tool 24 and to fix them by melting the hair extension
strip end piece and re-solidifying the molten thermoplastic resin.
Since the ends of the original hair are guided through the hair
extension hollow tube with the aid of the hair extension tool, the
extension work is greatly simplified and accurate compared to prior
art, in which there is no closed curve guide as the hair extension
hollow tube of the present invention. The cross-sectional shape of
the hair extension hollow tube 16 can be any closed curve including
an oval or a rectangle. Multiple number of the hair extension
strips 10 can be stacked on the handle of the hair extension tool
24, which increases the efficiency of hair extension work.
[0041] FIGS. 10a-10d show an alternative method for forming the
hair extension strip. As shown in FIG. 10a, ends of a predetermined
number of hair strands 14 are aligned, and melted thermoplastic
resin 20 is applied around the aligned ends of the hair strands 14
by dipping the hair strands into a glue pot 40 that contains molten
thermoplastic resin 20. FIG. 10b shows that excess thermoplastic
resin 20 is removed by squeezing so that the amount of
thermoplastic resin applied on the ends of the hair strands 14 is
from about 0.01 gram to about 0.04 gram. FIGS. 10c and 10d show
that a hollow hair extension strip end piece 12 is formed by
wrapping the hair strands 14 around a centering rod 18 and cooling
the hair extension strip end piece 12 with the hair strands
embedded. FIG. 10c shows the centering rod 18 is inserted into the
ends of aligned hair strands 14 so that the ends of the hair
strands 14 are wrapped around the centering rod 18. FIG. 10d shows
that the end of the hair extension strip end piece 12 so that the
cut end has a flat cross section.
* * * * *