HAIR CLIP

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 29/796,640 filed Jun, 25, 2021, the entire contents are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

1. Field of the Disclosure

[0002]The present disclosure is directed to a hair clip. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a double paddle hair clip.

2. Description of the Related Art

[0003]Generally, clips are used during hair styling to hold certain tufts of hair out of the way, or to hold a styled section of hair in place for a predetermined time during styling or post-styling of hair. Such conventional clips have metal frames on one or both sides of an alligator type clip so that a user squeezes distal or lever ends to open jaws of the clip and releases the ends to allow a spring force to close the jaws together. On some types of hair, the metal frame of the clip undesirably results in indentations in the hair from the metal pressing directly against the hair. Moreover, these conventional clips fail to provide any additional desirable styling capability.

[0004]Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a clip that overcomes, alleviates, and/or mitigates one or more of the aforementioned and other deleterious effects of prior clips.

SUMMARY

[0005]The present disclosure provides a single hair clip that has a substantially greater surface area that results in lower localized stress concentrations (and thus less likelihood of leaving indentation/damage to hair) and simultaneously can hold a larger tuft of hair (i.e., more individual hairs).

[0006]In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a hair clip is provided having a pair of curved, relatively wide paddles.

[0007]An embodiment of the hair clip of the present disclosure includes a first paddle extending from a first tab. The first paddle has at least a portion with a width that is greater than a width of the first tab. The first paddle has a first curved shape. A second paddle extends from a second tab. The second paddle has at least a portion with a width that is greater than a width of the second tab. The second tab is connected to the first tab. The second paddle has a second curved shape. The second paddle overlaps the first paddle. A biasing element is disposed between the first tab and the second tab. The biasing element applies a biasing force to the first and second paddles so that in a rest position, the first and second paddles are in a closed position, and, in a use position, a first force is applied to the first tab and a second force is applied to the second tab so that the first tab and second tab are moved closer to one another and the first and second paddles are moved further apart from one another than in the rest position.

[0008]The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, drawings, and accompanying claims. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009]FIG. 1 is a front, bottom perspective view of a hair clip according to the present disclosure in a rest position.

[0010]FIG. 2 is a rear, bottom perspective view of the hair clip of FIG. 1.

[0011]FIG. 3 is a front, top perspective view of the hair clip of FIG. 1.

[0012]FIG. 4 is a front view of the hair clip of FIG. 1.

[0013]FIG. 5 is a rear view of the hair clip of FIG. 1.

[0014]FIG. 6 is a left side view of FIG. 1.

[0015]FIG. 7 is a right side view of FIG. 1.

[0016]FIG. 8 is a top view of FIG. 1.

[0017]FIG. 9 is a bottom view of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0018]Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a hair clip 100 according to the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 1. Hair clip 100 is used during hair styling to hold tufts of hair out of the way, or to hold a styled section of hair in place for a predetermined time during styling or post-styling while a style sets. Hair clip 100 has paddles 120, 220 that are curved when viewed in the side view as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Hair clip 100 is relatively large so that in use, the curve of paddles 120, 220 facilitates a user's ability to either align the inner concave side to follow the curve of the head so that the clip engages hair approximately equidistant from the scalp at all points of engagement, and the user can reverse the orientation so that the convex side faces the user and imparts a curl-like wave in the hair (due to its curvature).

[0019]Referring to FIG. 3, hair clip 100 has a first member 102 and a second member 202. First member 102 has a first tab 130 and a first body portion 140 that extends from first tab 130. First body portion 140 is connected to first paddle 120. First paddle 120 has first exterior surface 160 opposite a first interior surface 162. First paddle 120 forms a first proximal edge 164 (FIG. 5) opposite a first distal edge 166 and two first side edges 168, 170 (FIGS. 1 and 3) opposite one another between first exterior surface 160 and the first interior surface 162. Two first side edges 168, 170 each extend between first proximal edge 164 and first distal edge 166. First body portion 140 has a curvature that is the same as first paddle 120. First paddle 120 is connected to first body portion 140, for example, by molding. This molding can be achieved by portions of material 122 of first paddle 120 passing through apertures 142 through first body portion 140 thereby preventing disconnection of first paddle 120 from first body portion 140. Thus, first body portion 140 has a connection feature of apertures 142 that are a line of circular holes along the center of first body portion 140 that receive portions of first paddle 120 to hold first paddle 120 to first body portion 140 together providing added support for the curved shape of first paddle 120 to connect to first body portion 140. A first exterior surface 160 of first paddle 120 has portions 121 and 123 that extend on opposite sides of first body portion 140 so that first paddle 120 has a substantially greater surface area than first body portion 140. First body portion 140 is in a depression in first exterior surface 160 of first paddle 120. Alternatively, first paddle 120 can connect directly to first tab 130 so hair clip 100 has no first body portion 140. Another alternative is first paddle 120 and first tab 130 being a single one-piece structure so that hair clip 100 has no first body portion 140.

[0020]First paddle 120 is made of a material that is more flexible than a material of first member 102. First paddle 120 is a medium to medium-soft hardness plastic material with some ability to deform (thereby decreasing stress concentrations/indentations). However, first paddle 120 can be made of any one of a variety of materials. First member 102 is made of metal or other supportive material.

[0021]Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, analogous to first member 102, second member 202 has a first tab 230 and a second body portion 240 that extends from second tab 230. Second body portion 240 is connected to second paddle 220. Second paddle 220 has second exterior surface 260 opposite a second interior surface 262. Second paddle 220 forms a second proximal edge 264 (FIG. 2) opposite a second distal edge 266 and two second side edges 268, 270 (FIGS. 1 and 3) opposite one another between second exterior surface 260 and second interior surface 262. Two second side edges 268, 270 each extend between second proximal edge 264 and second distal edge 266. Second body portion 240 has a curvature that is the same as second paddle 220. Second paddle 220 is connected to second body portion 240, for example, by molding. This molding can be achieved by portions of material 222 of second paddle 220 passing through apertures 242 through second body portion 240 thereby preventing disconnection of second paddle 220 from second body portion 240. Thus, second body portion 240 has a connection feature of apertures 242 that are a line of circular holes along the center of second body portion 240 that receive portions of second paddle 220 to hold second paddle 220 to second body portion 240 together providing added support for the curved shape of second paddle 220 to connect to second body portion 240. Second exterior surface 260 of second paddle 220 has portions 221 and 223 that extend extends on opposite sides of second body portion 240 so that second paddle 220 has a substantially greater surface area than second body portion 240. Second body portion 240 is in a depression in second exterior surface 260 of second paddle 220. Alternatively, second paddle 220 can connect directly to second tab 230 so hair clip 100 has no second body portion 240. Another alternative is second paddle 220 and second tab 230 being a single one-piece structure so that hair clip 100 has no second body portion 240.

[0022]Analogous to first paddle 120, second paddle 220 is made of a material that is more flexible than the material of second member 202. Second paddle 220 is a medium to medium-soft hardness plastic material with some ability to deform (thereby decreasing stress concentrations/indentations), but can be any one of a variety of materials. Second member 202 is metal or other supportive material.

[0023]Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, first tab 130 has a first pair of spaced walls 132, 134 that extend toward second tab 230. Referring to FIG. 5, second tab 230 has a second pair of spaced walls 232, 234 that extend toward first tab 130. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a pin 135 passes through each of first pair of spaced walls 132, 134 and second pair of spaced walls 232, 234 so that first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 can pivot toward and away from one another.

[0024]Referring to FIG. 8, first paddle 120 has at least a portion 125 with a width 127 that is greater than a width 137 of first tab 130. Portion 125 is a majority of first paddle 120 and can be a length 129. Width 127 can taper away from first tab 130 to a distal tip 124. Tip 124 is angular/pointed forming a V-shaped. First paddle 120 can be a flattened teardrop shape forming tip 124 at a first end and a C-shape end portion 126 at a second end that is opposite the first end so that first paddle 120 is symmetrical about axis C and with first paddle 120 being curved along axis C so first paddle 120 curves from C-shape end portion 126 to tip 124 to form a concave shape when facing a first direction and a convex shape when facing a second direction that is opposite the first direction.

[0025]Likewise, referring to FIG. 9, second paddle 220 has at least a portion 225 with a width 227 that is greater than a width 237 of second tab 230. Portion 225 is a majority of second paddle 220 and can be a length 229. Width 227 can taper away from second tab 230 to a distal tip 224. Tip 224 is angular/pointed forming a V-shape. Second paddle 220 can be a flattened teardrop shape forming tip 224 at a first end and C-shape end portion 226 at a second end that is opposite the first end so that second paddle 220 is symmetrical about axis D and with second paddle 220 being curved along axis D so second paddle 220 curves from C-shape end portion 226 to tip 224 to form a concave shape when facing a first direction and a convex shape when facing a second direction that is opposite the first direction.

[0026]First paddle 120 and second paddle 220 can be the same shape. Further, first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 can each have a portion that are the same shape as one another, or each have a different shape. First paddle 120 and second paddle 220 shown in FIG. 1 are the same shape as one another so they overlap. First paddle 120 and second paddle 220 are curved when viewed in the side view as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, so that first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 curve in a first direction away from first tab 130 and second tab 230, for example, first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 curve in a downward direction in FIGS. 6 and 7, to an apex and then curve in an opposite direction towards tips 124, 224, for example, first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 curve in an upward direction in FIGS. 6 and 7. As shown in FIG. 7, first tab 130 forms an angle 133 with second tab 230 in the rest position shown in FIGS. 1-9, for example, angle 133 is less than 90 degrees.

[0027]Referring to FIG. 5, a biasing element 190 is disposed between first tab 130 and second tab 230. Biasing element 190 is a spring that is held between first tab 130 and second tab 230 by pin 135 that is threaded through a center of a coil 195 of the spring of biasing element 190. Biasing member 190 has opposite ends so a first end 191 abuts first tab 130 and a second end 192 abuts second tab 230. Alternatively, biasing element 190 is another member that biases first tab 130 away from second tab 230. Biasing element 190 applies a biasing force that biases first tab 130 away from second tab 230 so that first tab 130 applies a biasing force to first paddle 120 and second tab 230 applies a biasing force to second paddle 220 urging first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 together so that in a rest position, first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 are in a closed position, as shown in FIGS. 1-9.

[0028]Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a first force is applied in a direction 600 to first tab 130 and a second force is applied in a direction 602 to second tab 230 so that first tab 130 and second tab 230 overcome the bias of biasing member 190 and move closer to one another, while first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 move apart from one another more than in the rest position shown in FIG. 1. In particular, the first force applied in direction 600 to first tab 130 and the second force is applied in a direction 602 to second tab 230 moves first tab 130 and second tab 230 so that each pivot about pin 135 closer to one another and first tab 130 moves first paddle 120 away from second paddle 220 and second tab 230 moves second paddle 220 away from first paddle 120 to a use position. While hair clip 100 is in the use position, a user can place hair in between first paddle 120 and second paddle 220. The user can then release the first force applied in direction 600 to first tab 130 and the second force is applied in direction 602 to second tab 230 so that the bias of biasing member 190 moves first tab 130 and second tab 230 to each pivot about pin 135 away from one another and first tab 130 moves first paddle 120 closer to second paddle 220 and second tab 230 moves second paddle 220 closer to first paddle 120 clamping hair between first paddle 120 and second paddle 220. The metal frame of biasing member 190, pin 135, first member 102 and second member 202 forms a spring-loaded, alligator type clip. When a user squeezes the lever or distal ends, namely, first tab 130 and second tab 230, first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 open. The lever ends, namely, first tab 130 and second tab 230, are released to let the spring of biasing member 190 force the jaws, including first paddle 120 and second paddle 220, shut.

[0029]Hair clip 100 is relatively large so that in use, the curve of paddles 120, 220 facilitates a user's ability to either align the inner concave side to follow the curve of the head so that the clip engages hair approximately equidistant from the scalp at all points of engagement, and the user can reverse the orientation so that the convex side faces the user and imparts a curl-like wave in the hair (due to its curvature).

[0030]First paddle 120 and second paddle 220 minimize or prevent indentations in hair from metal frames found in conventional hair clips that press directly against the hair. In particular, first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 of the present clip 100 minimize or prevent metal-to-hair contact that would normally be applied if a hair clip, like conventional hair clips, does not have a pair of analogous mating paddles. For example, if hair clip 100 only had one paddle, on some types of hair, the side of hair clip without a paddle (the paddle-less side) would result in indentations in the hair from the metal of the body, while the side of hair clip with the paddle (the paddled side) would have no indentations.

[0031]Clip 100 with first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 prevent metal-to-hair contact. Further, the flat, wide shape of first paddle 120 and second paddle 220 have a substantially greater surface area (than the paddle-less side of conventional clips) resulting in lower localized stress concentrations (and thus less likelihood of leaving indentation/damage to hair) and yet holds a larger tuft of hair (i.e., more individual hairs) in a single clip.

[0032]As stated previously, the material of first paddle 120 and second paddle 220, respectively, is preferably a medium to medium-soft hardness plastic material with some ability to deform (thereby decreasing stress concentrations/indentations), but can be any one of a variety of materials.

[0033]While the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, that various changes can be made, and equivalents can be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications can be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure will not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed herein, but that the disclosure will include all aspects falling within the scope of a fair reading of appended claims.