U.S. patent application number 15/405959 was filed with the patent office on 2017-05-11 for systems, methods, and devices for securing a hair retention device hidden from view using a bracelet.
The applicant listed for this patent is Haley Waud. Invention is credited to Haley Waud.
Application Number | 20170127772 15/405959 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56100924 |
Filed Date | 2017-05-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170127772 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Waud; Haley |
May 11, 2017 |
SYSTEMS, METHODS, AND DEVICES FOR SECURING A HAIR RETENTION DEVICE
HIDDEN FROM VIEW USING A BRACELET
Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems, methods,
and devices for securing a hair retention device hidden (at least
partially) from view using a bracelet. Such embodiments include a
bracelet having an annular shape. Further, the bracelet includes an
annular cavity along a side of the bracelet to retain a hair
retention device and an open cavity that allows a user to access
the hair retention device.
Inventors: |
Waud; Haley; (San Antonio,
TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Waud; Haley |
San Antonio |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
56100924 |
Appl. No.: |
15/405959 |
Filed: |
January 13, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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14604068 |
Jan 23, 2015 |
9578934 |
|
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15405959 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45D 2008/002 20130101;
A45D 8/34 20130101; A44C 5/003 20130101; A44C 5/0007 20130101; A44C
5/0084 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A44C 5/00 20060101
A44C005/00 |
Claims
1. A device, comprising: a bracelet having an annular shape, the
bracelet comprising a front surface, a rear surface having a
circumference, a top surface, and a bottom surface configured to be
positioned closest to a wrist of a user, wherein the bracelet
comprises a first portion and a second portion; an annular cavity
contiguously defined along the circumference of the rear surface,
the rear surface having a portion adjacent to the bottom surface,
the annular cavity configured to receive, partially hide, and
secure a hair retention device; and a fastener comprising a first
part of the fastener and a second part of the fastener, wherein the
first part of the fastener is coupled to the first portion of the
bracelet and the second part of the fastener is coupled to the
second portion of the bracelet.
2. The device of claim 1, comprising a hinge coupled to the first
portion of the bracelet and the second portion of the bracelet.
3. The device of claim 2, wherein the hinge allows the bracelet to
be in an open position and in a closed position.
4. The device of claim 3, wherein the first part of the fastener
couples to the second part of the fastener in the closed
position.
5. The device of claim 1, comprising an open cavity that exposes
the annular cavity through the bottom surface and the portion of
the rear surface adjacent to the bottom surface of the bracelet,
the open cavity is configured to access the hair retention
device.
6. The device of claim 1, wherein the front surface, the rear
surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface are each a flat
surface.
7. The device of claim 1, wherein the fastener comprises one of a
tab or button.
8. A method, comprising: providing a bracelet having an annular
shape, the bracelet comprising a front surface, a rear surface
having a circumference, a top surface, and a bottom surface
configured to be positioned closest to a wrist of a user, wherein
the bracelet comprises an annular cavity contiguously defined along
the circumference of the rear surface, the rear surface having a
portion adjacent to the bottom surface, the annular cavity
configured to receive, partially hide, and secure a hair retention
device, and wherein the bracelet comprises inserting a hair
retention device into the annular cavity of the bracelet. fastening
a first part of a fastener coupled to a first portion of the
bracelet to a second part of the fastener coupled to a second
portion of the bracelet.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the fastening the first part of
the fastener to the second part of the fastener comprises closing
the bracelet from an open position to a closed position.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein a hinge is coupled to the first
portion of the bracelet and to the second portion of the
bracelet.
11. The method of claim 9, wherein the closing the bracelet from
the open position to the closed position comprises coupled the
first part of the fastener to the second part of the fastener.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the bracelet comprises an open
cavity that exposes the annular cavity through the bottom surface
and the portion of the rear surface adjacent to the bottom surface
of the bracelet, the open cavity is configured to access the hair
retention device.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising removing the hair
retention device using the open cavity.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising removing the hair
retention device using the open cavity.
15. The method of claim 8, wherein the front surface, the rear
surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface are each a flat
surface.
16. The method of claim 8, wherein the fastener comprises one of a
tab or button.
17. A device, comprising: a bracelet having an annular shape, the
bracelet comprising a front surface, a rear surface having a
circumference, a top surface, and a bottom surface configured to be
positioned closest to a wrist of a user, wherein the bracelet
comprises a first portion and a second portion; an annular cavity
contiguously defined along the circumference of the rear surface,
the rear surface having a portion adjacent to the bottom surface,
the annular cavity configured to receive, partially hide, and
secure a hair retention device; and a fastener comprising a first
part of the fastener and a second part of the fastener, wherein the
first part of the fastener is coupled to the first portion of the
bracelet and the second part of the fastener is coupled to the
second portion of the bracelet, wherein the first part of the
fastener couples to the second part of the fastener in a closed
position.
18. The device of claim 17, comprising a hinge coupled to the first
portion of the bracelet and the second portion of the bracelet.
19. The device of claim 18, wherein the hinge allows the bracelet
to be in an open position and in the closed position.
20. The device of claim 17, wherein the front surface, the rear
surface, the top surface, and the bottom surface are each a flat
surface.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation patent application
of the following U.S. application Ser. No. 14/604,068, filed Jan.
23, 2015, the entire contents of which is being incorporated herein
by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Many professionals in their work environments must either
put up or take down their hair depending on certain situations.
Such situations may include putting their hair up for meetings,
quality control in manufacturing, food service, and patient
assistance as well as others. Other situations may call for
professionals to put their hair down such as when they are alone in
their own office or attending a formal professional event.
[0003] Professionals may wear a number of different hair retention
devices to put up their hair that include but are not limited to,
hair bands, hair clips, hair elastic bands, or any other hair
retention devices. In further situations, professionals may need to
put up or take down their hair in a spur of a moment. In foreseeing
such situations, professionals may sometimes have their hair down
and wear hair retention devices including hair elastic bands around
their wrists such that the hair band is handy or easily within
reach to quickly put up their hair in case such a situation arises.
However, wearing a hair band in plain view on a person's wrist may
be unprofessional in certain work environments. Further, some
bracelets or other devices may be able to secure a hair band and
hide it from view but when the need to access the hair band
quickly, in the spur of the moment, accessing the hair band may
take an inconveniently long time from such bracelets.
[0004] Accordingly, there is a need for systems, methods, and
devices for securing a hair retention device hidden from view using
a bracelet but is still easily and quickly accessible to a
professional when moving from one work environment to another.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals
refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the
separate views, together with the detailed description below, are
incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to
further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed
invention, and explain various principles and advantages of those
embodiments.
[0006] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a device for securing a hair
retention device hidden from view using a bracelet, in accordance
with some embodiments.
[0007] FIGS. 2A-2C are diagrams of another device for securing a
hair retention device hidden from view using a bracelet, in
accordance with some embodiments.
[0008] FIG. 3 is a diagram of another device for securing a hair
retention device hidden from view using a bracelet, in accordance
with some embodiments.
[0009] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of securing a hair
retention device hidden from view using a bracelet, in accordance
with some embodiments.
[0010] Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the
figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not
necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of
some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to
other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of
the present invention.
[0011] The apparatus and method components have been represented
where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing
only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the
embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the
disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description
herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed
description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting.
Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made,
without departing from the scope of the subject matter presented
herein. It will be readily understood that the aspects of the
present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated
in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated,
and designed in a wide variety of difference configurations, all of
which are explicitly contemplated herein. Further, in the foregoing
description, numerous details are set forth to further describe and
explain one or more embodiments. These details include system
configurations, block module diagrams, flowcharts (including
transaction diagrams), and accompanying written description. While
these details are helpful to explain one or more embodiments of the
disclosure, those skilled in the art will understand that these
specific details are not required in order to practice the
embodiments.
[0013] Embodiments of the present disclosure include systems,
methods, and devices for securing a hair retention device hidden
(at least partially) from view using a bracelet. Such embodiments
include a bracelet having an annular shape. Further, the bracelet
includes an annular cavity along a side of the bracelet to retain a
hair retention device and an open cavity that allows a user to
access the hair retention device.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a device 100 for securing a hair
retention device hidden from view using a bracelet 105, in
accordance with some embodiments. The device 100 includes a
bracelet 105. Further, the bracelet 105 may be of an annular (e.g.
ring) shape. In addition, the bracelet 105 may include an annular
cavity 110 along the side of the bracelet 105 that can retain the
hair retention device and hide the hair retention device (at least
partially) from view. Also, the bracelet 105 may include an open
cavity 120 on the side of the bracelet that allows a user to access
a hair retention device placed in the annular cavity 110.
[0015] Thus, when the user (which can be any professional in any
work environment as well as a recreational environment (e.g.
bar/club/party, etc.) or in any environment) of the device 100
would like put his/her hair down in the work environment, the user
may easily take the hair retention device out of his/her hair and
placed it into the annular cavity 110. Further, if the work
environment changes in a spur of the moment, the user may access
the hair retention device retained by the annular cavity 110 by
placing a two fingers near the open cavity 120 and pulling or
accessing the hair retention device from the annular cavity 110 to
put his/her hair up. In some embodiments, the bracelet 105 may be
worn such that the annular cavity 110 is facing toward the hand of
the user.
[0016] In other embodiments, the annular cavity 110 may be on the
bottom of the bracelet 105 such that the annular cavity 110 can
retain the hair retention device and (at least partially) hide the
hair retention device from view. Further, in such embodiments, the
open cavity 120 may be on the bottom of the bracelet 105 or on the
side of the bracelet 105 thereby allowing the user to access the
hair retention device placed in the annular cavity 110.
[0017] Note, on other embodiments, the bracelet may be of any shape
and the cavity that retains the hair retention device may also be
any shape (including a shape different than the shape of the hair
retention device). Further, the open cavity can also be any shape
that allows a user of the device to access the hair retention
device.
[0018] FIGS. 2A-2C are diagrams of another device 200 for securing
a hair retention device hidden from view using a bracelet 205, in
accordance with some embodiments. The device 200 includes a
bracelet 205, a clasp 210 and a hinge 220. The bracelet 205 may
open up in a clamshell like fashion, pivoting on hinge 220.
Further, the clasp 210 is used to keep the bracelet 205 in a closed
position. In some embodiments, the clasp 210 may be of two parts,
one on the top part of the bracelet 205 and the other on the bottom
part of the bracelet 205 such that the two parts of the clasp are
coupled in the closed position. Further, there may be a tab,
button, or some other mechanism for a user to uncouple one part of
the clasp 210 from the other part to open the bracelet 205.
[0019] Referring to FIG. 2B, the bracelet 205 is in the closed
position with one part of the clasp 210 on the top of the bracelet
205 coupled to the other part of the clasp 210 on the bottom of the
bracelet 205. Further, an annular cavity 230 is shown with bracelet
205. The annular cavity may be used to store a hair band or some
other hair retention device.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 2C, the bracelet 205 is in the open
position such that one part of the clasp 210a on the top of the
bracelet 205a is uncoupled to the other part of the clasp 210b on
the bottom of the bracelet 205b. Further, the opening of the
bracelet pivots on hinge 220. In addition, the annular cavity 230
can be used to store a hair band or some other hair retention
device. Once the hair retention device is placed in the annular
cavity 230, the user may close the bracelet by coupling one part of
the clasp 210 to the other part of the clasp 210b thereby (at least
partially) hiding the hair retention device from view.
[0021] FIG. 3 is a diagram of another device 300 for securing a
hair retention device hidden from view using a bracelet 305, in
accordance with some embodiments. The bracelet shown in FIG. 3 has
a rectangular outer surface 320 and a circular inner surface 330.
Other embodiments may have a bracelet's inner and outer surfaces
both be circular or the bracelet's inner and outer surfaces both be
rectangular. Further, persons of ordinary skill in the art would
understand that the inner and outer surfaces of a bracelet
described herein may have any combination of shapes for each of the
inner surface and outer surface of the bracelet.
[0022] In addition, the bracelet 305 may have hooks, clasps, or
other couplers to secure or retain hair retention devices to the
inner surface 330 of the bracelet 305. The hooks 310 secure the
hair band (or other hair retention device) in place along the inner
surface 330 of the bracelet 305. Securing the hair retention device
in place along the inner surface of the bracelet 305 (at least
partially) hides the hair retention device from view.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 of securing a hair
retention device hidden from view using a bracelet, in accordance
with some embodiments. The method 400 includes receiving a hair
retention device (e.g. hair band) using a bracelet, as shown in
block 402. Further, the method 400 includes securing the hair
retention device using the bracelet, as shown in block 404. In
addition, the method 400 includes at least partially hiding the
hair retention device from view using the bracelet, as shown in
block 406. Also, the method 400 includes accessing the hair
retention device using the bracelet, as shown in block 408.
[0024] In some embodiments, the bracelet has an annular shape.
Further, the bracelet includes an annular cavity along a
circumference of the bracelet to receive and secure the hair
retention device and at least partially hides the hair retention
device. In addition, the bracelet further includes an open cavity
that allows a user to access the hair retention device. In other
embodiments, the bracelet further includes a clasp having a first
part of the clasp coupled to the top side of the bracelet and a
second part of the clasp coupled to the bottom side of the
bracelet. The first part of the clasp and the second part of the
clasp couple together to place the bracelet in a closed position
thereby at least partially hiding the hair retention device. In
additional embodiments, the bracelet further includes a hinge such
that the hinge is used to pivot the bracelet from the closed
position to an open position.
[0025] In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments have
been described. However, one of ordinary skill in the art
appreciates that various modifications and changes can be made
without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in
the claims below. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to
be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and
all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope
of present teachings.
[0026] The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any
element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to
occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a
critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all
the claims. The invention is defined solely by the appended claims
including any amendments made during the pendency of this
application and all equivalents of those claims as issued.
[0027] Moreover in this document, relational terms such as first
and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to
distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action
without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such
relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms
"comprises," "comprising," "has", "having," "includes",
"including," "contains", "containing" or any other variation
thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that
a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has,
includes, contains a list of elements does not include only those
elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or
inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element
proceeded by "comprises . . . a", "has . . . a", "includes . . .
a", "contains . . . a" does not, without more constraints, preclude
the existence of additional identical elements in the process,
method, article, or apparatus that comprises, has, includes,
contains the element. The terms "a" and "an" are defined as one or
more unless explicitly stated otherwise herein. The terms
"substantially", "essentially", "approximately", "about" or any
other version thereof, are defined as being close to as understood
by one of ordinary skill in the art, and in one non-limiting
embodiment the term is defined to be within 10%, in another
embodiment within 5%, in another embodiment within 1% and in
another embodiment within 0.5%. The term "coupled" as used herein
is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly and not
necessarily mechanically. A device or structure that is
"configured" in a certain way is configured in at least that way,
but may also be configured in ways that are not listed.
[0028] The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the
reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure.
It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to
interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition,
in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various
features are grouped together in various embodiments for the
purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure
is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the
claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly
recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect,
inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single
disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are hereby
incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim
standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
* * * * *