(19)
(11) EP 3 505 005 B1

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT SPECIFICATION

(45) Mention of the grant of the patent:
11.08.2021 Bulletin 2021/32

(21) Application number: 18248107.7

(22) Date of filing: 27.12.2018
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC): 
A45D 8/34(2006.01)

(54)

COIL HAIR TIE

SPIRALHAARBAND

ELASTIQUE EN SPIRAL D'ATTACHE DE CHEVEUX


(84) Designated Contracting States:
AL AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MK MT NL NO PL PT RO RS SE SI SK SM TR

(30) Priority: 27.12.2017 CN 201721863471 U
11.09.2018 US 201816127672

(43) Date of publication of application:
03.07.2019 Bulletin 2019/27

(73) Proprietor: Chu, Peng-Fei
114 Taipei (TW)

(72) Inventor:
  • Chu, Peng-Fei
    114 Taipei (TW)

(74) Representative: Lang, Christian 
LangPatent Anwaltskanzlei IP Law Firm Ingolstädter Straße 5
80807 München
80807 München (DE)


(56) References cited: : 
WO-A1-2006/055464
DE-B3-102015 115 002
   
       
    Note: Within nine months from the publication of the mention of the grant of the European patent, any person may give notice to the European Patent Office of opposition to the European patent granted. Notice of opposition shall be filed in a written reasoned statement. It shall not be deemed to have been filed until the opposition fee has been paid. (Art. 99(1) European Patent Convention).


    Description

    BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION


    1. Field of the Invention



    [0001] The present invention relates to a coil hair tie, and more particularly to a coil hair tie having an elastic restoring force.

    2. Description of Related Art



    [0002] A hair ring is a commonly used device for tying hair, such as a ponytail. After the hair is tied with a conventional linear circle of hair ring, the hair often leaves a dent as being pressed by the hair ring. Even if the linear circle of hair ring is covered by a fabric to form a scrunchie, similar problems still exist. The coil hair tie as shown in FIG. 1 is popular because it causes little or no trace after the hair is tied and then released. Such coil hair ties are usually made of a thermoplastic plastic material such as TPU (Thermoplastic polyurethanes) or TPR (Thermoplastic rubber), which achieves stretching and recovery objects through a spiral-shaped structure 1. Although such materials have a certain degree of elasticity, they do not have sufficient elastic restoring force like the general elastic hair ring under the consideration of the hardness required for molding. Therefore, after the conventional coil type hair ring is used repeatedly, the coil will become looser and looser and the density of the coil will become lower and lower, and there will be no effect of tightening the hair any longer.

    [0003] To solve this problem, German Patent No. DE 102015115002 B3 discloses a two-component hair ring consisting of a spiral TPU-ring and a corrugated rubber ring inside the TPU-ring. This type of hair ring includes a wavy or spiral hair ring made of a material that is less elastically fatigued inside the conventional coil type hair ring, thereby extending the strength and durability of the coil type hair ring. Although this kind of improvement helps to improve the strength and durability of the conventional coil type hair ring, the complicated inner ring manufacturing is disadvantageous in cost and process, and the inner and outer spiral coils may have entanglement problems. The effect of maintaining the density of the outer ring coil is also limited, as it is also necessary to sacrifice the elastic restoring force of the inner ring material, like the outer ring, in order to maintain its configuration.

    [0004] WO2006055464 discloses an elastic band including an elongate elastic core, a sheath, and a friction member tightly connected to each other. The elongate elastic core is covered by the sheath surrounding the elongate elastic core and having an outer surface. The elongate friction member is disposed in the sheath, such that at least a portion of the elongate friction member protrudes out of the outer surface of the sheath.

    [0005] Therefore, there is a need to develop a hair ring having a relatively simple structure, which can have non-marking and non-tangling effects of a coil type hair ring, and meanwhile, can have sufficient elastic restoring force to improve strength and durability.

    SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION



    [0006] The invention relates to a coil hair tie according to claim 1.

    [0007] The linear elastic restoring member may consist of two or more one-dimensional elastic bodies of different materials, sizes and configurations.

    [0008] The above contents of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

    BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS



    [0009] 

    FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional coil type hair ring;

    FIG. 2A is schematic diagram illustrating a coil hair tie according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

    FIG. 2B is schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of the coil hair tie of FIG. 2A, which is taken along the A-A line;

    FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use of a coil hair tie according to the present invention;

    FIG. 4A is schematic diagram illustrating a coil hair tie according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

    FIG. 4B is schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of the coil hair tie of FIG. 4A, which is taken along the B-B line;

    FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an elastic restoring member of a coil hair tie according to a third embodiment of the present invention; and

    FIG. 6 is a schematic partial perspective view of an elastic restoring member of a coil hair tie according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.


    DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION



    [0010] Referring to FIG. 2A, a coil hair tie according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a spiral coil body 10, which is integrally formed or joined to form a head-to-tail-connected ring-shaped member so that the entire coil body 10 forms a hair ring with a hollow portion 11 for allowing hair to pass through. Furthermore, the coil body 10 itself is configured to have a hollow chamber 101.

    [0011] The coil hair tie according to the present invention additionally includes at least one linear elastic restoring member 20, which is formed of a one-dimensional elastic body extending substantially in a linear direction (parallel to the spiral coil body 10) and forming a head-to-tail phase in an integrally formed or joined manner, and extensively disposed in the hollow chamber 101 of the coil body 10. In the present embodiment, only one one-dimensional linear elastic restoring member 20 is disposed in the hollow chamber 101 of the coil body 10, and a gap W is formed between the spiral coil body 10 and the elastic restoring member 20 disposed inside the hollow chamber 101, as shown in FIG. 2B, which is taken along the line A-A of FIG. 2A.

    [0012] When the user stretches the spiral coil body 10, as shown in step A and step B of FIG. 3, the linear elastic restoring member 20 is also stretched, and when the user loosens the coil body shown in step C of FIG. 3, the coil body 10 can restore to its initial coil density by way of the restoring force of the linear elastic restoring member 20 for subsequent uses. The one-dimensional linear elastic restoring member 20 used in this embodiment may be any suitable material having stretch characteristics, such as natural or synthetic rubber, plastic, latex or a mixture thereof generally used for producing hair rings. The size design should be compatible with the size and material of the coil body. The size of the coil body 10 is matched with the material, which should not be too thin to cause breakage or elastic fatigue when stretching together with the coil body 10, nor should it be too thick to make the coil body 10 difficult to stretch.

    [0013] Next, please refer to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B to see a coil hair tie according to a second embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG. 4B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of the coil hair tie shown in FIG. 4A. In the present embodiment, the linear elastic restoring member provided in the hollow chamber 101 of the coil body 10 includes two one-dimensional elastic bodies 201 and 202, and a gap (W) is formed between the spiral coil body 10 and the elastic bodies 201 and 202 disposed inside the hollow chamber 101, and of course, more elastic bodies may be used. The two one-dimensional elastic bodies 201 and 202 may be made of the same or different material and have the same or different size, while still having to be able to cooperate with the coil body 10 to stretch and elastically recover. The advantage of providing two or more one-dimensional elastic bodies is that when one of them is broken or elastically fatigued, there is another one that can support the elastic restoring force. Further, the color and style of the hair ring can be more varied.

    [0014] The one-dimensional elastic body 20 illustrated in the first embodiment, the one-dimensional elastic body 201 or 202 illustrated in the second embodiment, or the one-dimensional elastic body 203 or 204 illustrated in the third embodiment may be further wrapped with a protective material 200, which has a lower stretchability than the one-dimensional elastic body, e.g. an elastic cloth, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5. In addition to beautification, the purpose of the protective material 200 is to confine the stretch range of the one-dimensional elastic body 20 to avoid breakage due to excessive stretching and, in addition, to protect the hair from being adhered by the one-dimensional elastic body 20.

    [0015] FIG. 6 shows a linear elastic restoring member included in a coil hair tie according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The linear elastic restoring member in this embodiment is formed by interweaving two one-dimensional elastic bodies 203 and 204. The interweaving one-dimensional elastic bodies 203 and 204 extend substantially in the direction of the spiral coil body 10, and a gap (W) is formed between the spiral coil body 10 and the elastic bodies 203 and 204 disposed inside the hollow chamber 101. When one of the elastic bodies 203, 204 is broken or elastically fatigued, another one that can support the elastic restoring force and the color and style of the hair ring may be variable.

    [0016] In summary, the coil hair tie structure according to the present invention has the advantages of not leaving traces on hair after being tied to and released from the hair, and having better durability. In addition, it has been comprehensively considered in aesthetic design and cost control.


    Claims

    1. A coil hair tie, comprising a spiral coil body (10) configured as a head-to-tail connected ring, which encloses a hollow portion (11) for allowing hair to pass through, and
    a linear elastic restoring member (20) comprising at least one one-dimensional elastic body (201, 202, 203, 204) extending along the head-to-tail connected ring of the spiral coil body (10),
    wherein the spiral coil body (10) has a hollow chamber (101) inside the spiral coil body (10), and the linear elastic restoring member (20) is disposed in the hollow chamber (101) of the spiral coil body (10), and being head-to-tail connected to form a ring configuration, and
    when a tensile force is applied to stretch the spiral coil body (10) into a tensile configuration with a lower coil density, the elastic restoring member (20) is also stretched, and when the tensile force applied to the spiral coil body (10) is removed, the spiral coil body (10) restores to a retracted configuration having a higher coil density through the tensile restoring force of the elastic restoring member (20)
    characterized in that
    a gap (W) is formed between the spiral coil body (10) and the elastic restoring member (20) disposed inside the hollow chamber (101).
     
    2. The coil hair tie according to claim 1, wherein the linear elastic restoring member (20) comprises two one-dimensional elastic bodies (201, 202) extending substantially in parallel and respectively head-to-tail connected to form the ring configuration.
     
    3. The coil hair tie according to claim 2, wherein the materials and/or sizes of the two one-dimensional elastic bodies (201, 202) are different.
     
    4. The coil hair tie according to claim 1, wherein the linear elastic restoring member (20) comprises two one-dimensional elastic bodies (203, 204) interweaved with each other and head-to-tail connected to form the ring configuration.
     
    5. The coil hair tie according to claim 1, wherein the at least one one-dimensional elastic body (201, 202, 203, 204) is wrapped with a protective material (200), which is different from the material of the one- dimensional elastic body (20).
     
    6. The coil hair tie according to claim 5, wherein the protective material (200) has a lower stretchability than the one-dimensional elastic body (201, 202, 203, 204) for confining a stretch range of the one-dimensional elastic body (201, 202, 203, 204).
     


    Ansprüche

    1. Spiral-Haargummi, umfassend einen Spiralspulenkörper (10), welcher als ein von Anfang zum Ende verbundener Ring ausgebildet ist und einen hohlen Abschnitt (11) zum Durchführen von Haar umschließt, und
    ein lineares elastisches Rückstellglied (20), welches mindestens einen eindimensionalen elastischen Körper (201, 202, 203, 204) umfasst, der sich entlang des von Anfang zum Ende verbundenen Rings des Spiralspulenkörpers (10) erstreckt,
    wobei der Spiralspulenkörper (10) einen Hohlraum (101) innerhalb des Spiralspulenkörpers (10) aufweist und das lineare elastische Rückstellelement (20) im Hohlraum (101) des Spiralspulenkörpers (10) angeordnet ist und von Anfang zum Ende verbunden ist, um eine Ringkonfiguration zu bilden, und wobei, wenn eine Zugkraft aufgebracht wird, um den Spiralspulenkörper (10) in eine Zugkonfiguration mit einer geringeren Spulendichte zu dehnen, wird das elastische Rückstellelement (20) ebenfalls gedehnt, wobei wenn die auf den Spiralspulenkörper (10) aufgebrachte Zugkraft entfernt wird, der Spiralspulenkörper (10) durch die Zugrückstellkraft des elastischen Rückstellelements (20) in eine zurückgezogene Konfiguration mit einer höheren Spulendichte zurückkehren wird,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass
    ein Spalt (W) zwischen dem Spiralspulenkörper (10) und dem elastischen Rückstellelement (20), welcher innerhalb des Hohlraums (101) angeordnet ist, gebildet ist.
     
    2. Spiral-Haargummi nach Anspruch 1, bei welchem das lineare elastische Rückstellelement (20) zwei eindimensionale elastische Körper (201, 202) aufweist, welche sich im wesentlichen parallel erstrecken und jeweils von Anfang zum Ende miteinander verbunden sind, um die Ringkonfiguration zu bilden.
     
    3. Spiral-Haargummi nach Anspruch 2, bei welchem die Materialien und/oder Größen der beiden eindimensionalen elastischen Körper (201, 202) unterschiedlich sind.
     
    4. Spiral-Haargummi nach Anspruch 1, bei welchem das lineare elastische Rückstellglied (20) zwei eindimensionale elastische Körper (203, 204) umfasst, welche miteinander verwoben und von Anfang zum Ende verbunden sind, um die Ringkonfiguration zu bilden.
     
    5. Spiral-Haargummi nach Anspruch 1, bei welchem der mindestens eine eindimensionale elastische Körper (201, 202, 203, 204) mit einem Schutzmaterial (200) umwickelt ist, welches von dem Material des eindimensionalen elastischen Körpers (20) verschieden ist.
     
    6. Spiral-Haargummi nach Anspruch 5, bei welchem das Schutzmaterial (200) eine geringere Dehnbarkeit als der eindimensionale elastische Körper (201, 202, 203, 204) aufweist, um einen Dehnungsbereich des eindimensionalen elastischen Körpers (201, 202, 203, 204) einzugrenzen.
     


    Revendications

    1. Attache-cheveux hélicoïdal, comprenant un corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10) configuré en un anneau en liaison tête-à-queue, qui entoure une partie libre (11) destinée à permettre le passage de cheveux dans celle-ci, et
    un élément de rappel élastique linéaire (20) comprenant au moins un corps élastique unidimensionnel (201, 202, 203, 204) s'étendant le long de l'anneau en liaison tête-à-queue du corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10),
    dans lequel le corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10) présente une chambre vide (101) à l'intérieur du corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10), et l'élément de rappel élastique linéaire (20) est disposé dans la chambre vide (101) du corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10) et étant en liaison tête-à-queue pour former une configuration annulaire, et
    lorsqu'une force de traction est appliquée pour étirer le corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10) en une configuration de traction avec une plus faible densité de spires, l'élément de rappel élastique (20) est également étiré, et lorsque la force de traction appliquée sur le corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10) est supprimée, le corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10) reprend une configuration rétractée présentant une plus forte densité de spires, par la force de rappel de traction de l'élément de rappel élastique (20),
    caractérisé en ce qu'
    un espace (W) est formé entre le corps à enroulement hélicoïdal (10) et l'élément de rappel élastique (20) disposé à l'intérieur de la chambre vide (101).
     
    2. Attache-cheveux hélicoïdal selon la revendication 1, dans lequel l'élément de rappel élastique linéaire (20) comprend deux corps élastiques unidimensionnels (201, 202) s'étendant sensiblement en parallèle et respectivement en liaison tête-à-queue pour former la configuration annulaire.
     
    3. Attache-cheveux hélicoïdal selon la revendication 2, dans lequel les matériaux et/ou les dimensions des deux corps élastiques unidimensionnels (201, 202) sont différent(e)s.
     
    4. Attache-cheveux hélicoïdal selon la revendication 1, dans lequel l'élément de rappel élastique linéaire (20) comprend deux corps élastiques unidimensionnels (203, 204) entrelacés l'un avec l'autre et en liaison tête-à-queue pour former la configuration annulaire.
     
    5. Attache-cheveux hélicoïdal selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le au moins un corps élastique unidimensionnel (201, 202, 203, 204) est enveloppé avec un matériau protecteur (200) qui est différent du matériau du corps élastique unidimensionnel (20).
     
    6. Attache-cheveux hélicoïdal selon la revendication 5, dans lequel le matériau protecteur (200) présente une plus faible aptitude à l'étirage que le corps élastique unidimensionnel (201, 202, 203, 204) afin de limiter une plage d'étirage du corps élastique unidimensionnel (201, 202, 203, 204).
     




    Drawing




















    Cited references

    REFERENCES CITED IN THE DESCRIPTION



    This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.

    Patent documents cited in the description