Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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METHOD OF MEASURING HAIR STATE
SUCH AS HAIR FRIZZ AND HAIR VOLUME
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method to more precisely measure hair state
such as
hair frizz and hair volume.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Human hair becomes soiled due to its contact with the surrounding environment
and from
the sebum secreted by the scalp. The soiling of hair causes it to have a dirty
feel and an
unattractive appearance. The soiling of the hair necessitates shampooing with
frequent
regularity.
Shampooing cleans the hair by removing excess soil and sebum. However,
shampooing
can leave the hair in a wet, tangled, and generally unmanageable state. Once
the hair dries, it is
often left in a dry, rough, lusterless, or frizzy condition due to removal of
the hair's natural oils
and other natural conditioning and moisturizing components. The hair can
further be left with
increased levels of static upon drying, which can interfere with combing and
result in a condition
commonly referred to as "fly-away hair", or contribute to an undesirable
phenomena of "split
ends", particularly for long hair.
A variety of approaches have been developed to condition the hair. These
approaches
range from post-shampoo application of hair conditioners such as leave-on and
rinse-off
products, to hair conditioning shampoos which attempt to both clean and
condition the hair from
a single product.
A common method of providing conditioning benefit to the hair is through the
use of hair
conditioning agents such as cationic surfactants and polymers, high melting
point fatty
compounds, low melting point oils, silicone compounds, and mixtures thereof.
Most of these
conditioning agents are known to provide various conditioning benefits such as
moisturized feel,
softness, and static control to the hair.
There has been a desire for a method of measuring hair state such as hair
frizz and hair
volume for the purpose of, for example, evaluations of hair conditioning
agents/compositions,
and some methods have been developed. For example, WO 01/68051 discloses
"Image Analysis
Protocol" which is a system and procedure which is designed to digitally
measure hair areas by a
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digital camera, and analyze the components of bulk hair area and flyaway hair
area which in turn
form the total hair area. This method is based on two dimensional image
analyses. However, it
has been found that such two dimensional image analyses are not sufficient to
precisely evaluate
the hair state.
Based on the foregoing, there remains a need for a method to more precisely
measure hair
state such as hair frizz and hair volume.
None of the existing art provides all of the advantages and benefits of the
present
invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a method of measuring hair state
comprising
following steps:
(a) setting a light emission element to emit a light to a hair sample, and
setting a light receiving
element to receive the light which is reflected by the hair sample;
(b) placing the hair sample at a position which is within the focal area of
the light;
(c) irradiating the light from the light emission element to the hair sample;
(d) receiving the reflected light by the light receiving element;
(e) converting the received light to the position of the surface of the hair
sample by triangulation;
and
(f) evaluating the state of a certain portion of the hair sample and/or
overall the hair sample by
using the position of the surface of the hair sample.
The present invention can provide a method more precisely measure hair state
including,
for example, hair frizz, hair volume, flyaway, and hair style, by the above
three dimensional
measurement of the hair.
The present invention is also directed to an equipment of measuring hair state
comprising:
(a) a light emission element to emit a light to a hair sample
(b) a light receiving element to receive the light which is reflected by the
hair sample;
(c) a conversion element to convert the received light to the position of the
surface of the hair
sample by using triangulation; and
(d) an evaluation element to evaluate the state of a certain portion of the
hair sample and/or
overall the hair sample by using the position of the surface of the hair
sample.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention
will become
better understood from a reading of the following description, and appended
claims.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and
distinctly
claiming the invention, it is believed that the invention will be better
understood from the
following description of the accompanying figure in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the measurement of hair state of
the present
invention.
Fig. 2 shows an illustrated embodiment of hair samples for the evaluations
which results
are shown in Fig. 3 and 4.
Fig. 3 is another illustrated embodiment of the result of the evaluation of
hair state
measured according to the measurement method of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is another illustrated embodiment of the result of the evaluation of
hair state
measured according to the measurement method of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and
distinctly
claiming the invention, it is believed that the present invention will be
better understood from the
following description.
Herein, "comprising" means that other steps and other ingredients which do not
affect the
end result can be added. This term encompasses the terms "consisting of' and
"consisting
essentially of'.
Herein, "mixtures" is meant to include a simple combination of materials and
any
compounds that may result from their combination.
METHOD OF MEASURING HAIR STATE
The method of measuring hair state of the present invention comprises
following steps:
A method of measuring hair state comprising following steps:
(a) setting a light emission element to emit a light to a hair sample, and
setting a light receiving
element to receive the light which is reflected by the hair sample;
(b) placing the hair sample at a position which is within the focal area of
the light;
(c) irradiating the light from the light emission element to the hair sample;
(d) receiving the reflected light by the light receiving element;
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(e) converting the received light to the position of the surface of the hair
sample by triangulation;
and
(f) evaluating the state of a certain portion of the hair sample and/or
overall the hair sample by
using the position of the surface of the hair sample.
Fig. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the measurement of hair state of
the present
invention. In the illustrated embodiment as shown in Fig. 1, the hair sample
is placed in front of
a center plane (x-z plane at y=0) at a position which is within the focal area
of the light, and the
position of the surface of the hair sample is the distance y of the surface of
the hair sample from
the center plane.
The light emission element used in the method of the present invention
includes, for
example, line laser, circular laser, LED, and halogen lamp. Preferred light
emission element is
line laser and circular laser, more preferred is line laser as shown in Fig. 1
in view of accurate
measurement especially when used with CCD with higher spatial resolution. The
wavelength of
the laser can be from about 100nm to about 10micron, preferably from about
450nm to about
800nm, more preferably from about 550nm to about 700nm in view of precise
measurement
especially when using CCD camera as the light receiving element, and in view
of commercial
availability. The light receiving element used in the present invention can be
any two
dimensional sensors such as CCD, CMOS, PSD, and InGaAs. Preferred is CCD as
shown in Fig.
1 in view of precise measurement. The resolution of CCD is at least 320x240
dotts. In the
illustrated embodiment shown in Fig.l, CCD has 300micrometer spatial
resolution. Although it
is not shown in Fig. 1, the light receiving element such as CCD is preferably
connected to a
computer for the conversion of the received light to the position of the
surface of the hair sample
such as the distance y by triangulation and/or for the evaluation of the hair
state.
The conversion of the received light to the position of the surface of the
hair sample, i.e.,
the distance y of the surface of the hair sample from the center plane is made
by triangulation.
For the evaluation of the overall hair volume, the hair sample can be scanned
in whole,
i.e., from root to tip and from right side to left side. For the evaluation of
hair frizz, the hair
sample can be scanned in whole, or a certain area of the hair sample can be
scanned.
The evaluation is made with or without the reproduction of the structure of
the hair
sample in three dimensions on the screen of computer which is connected to,
for example, the
light receiving element such as CCD. For example, the evaluation of hair state
is made with the
reproduction of the structure of the hair sample in three dimensions and made
by showing the
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hair in different colors based on the distance y of the surface of the hair
sample from the center
plane.
Fig. 2 shows an illustrated embodiment of hair samples for the evaluations
which results
are shown in Fig. 3 and 4. Fig. 3 is an illustrated embodiment of the result
of the evaluation of
hair state, especially hair frizz according to the measurement method of the
present invention. In
Fig.3, the horizontal axis shows the distance y which is a distance of the
surface of the hair
sample from the center plane, and the vertical axis shows the percentage of
hair volume
compared to the hair volume at y 10. In Fig.3, Sample A shows a larger
percentage at y=30 or
more, i.e., larger amount of hair volume compared to Samples B and C at y=30
or more. Larger
amount of hair volume at a certain distance such as y=30 or more means
expanded hair and/or
hair which is not aligned well, i.e., larger amount of hair frizz. Fig. 4 is
an illustrated
embodiment of the result of the evaluation of hair volume according to the
measurement method
of the present invention. In Fig.4, Samples A, B and C show clear differences
in the amount of
hair volume. The evaluations shown in Fig. 3 and 4 can be made with or without
the
reproduction of the structure of the hair sample in three dimensions.
EOUIPMENT OF MEASURING HAIR STATE
The equipment of measuring hair state of the present invention comprising:
(a) a light emission element to emit a light to a hair sample
(b) a light receiving element to receive the light which is reflected by the
hair sample;
(c) a conversion element to convert the received light to the position of the
surface of the hair
sample by using triangulation; and
(d) an evaluation element to evaluate the state of a certain portion of the
hair sample and/or
overall the hair sample by using the position of the surface of the hair
sample.
The details of the light emission element and the light receiving element are
explained
above. The conversion element is a computer and/or computer software. The
computer and/or
computer software can be incorporated into the light emission element, or can
exist separately
from the light emission element but in connection to the light emission
element. The evaluation
element is also a computer and/or computer software. This evaluation element
can be
incorporated into the light emission element and/or the conversion element, or
can exist
separately from them but in connection to the conversion element.
The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood as being
strictly
limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead, unless otherwise
specified, each such
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dimension is intended to mean both the recited value and a functionally
equivalent range
surrounding that value. For example, a dimension disclosed as "40 mm" is
intended to mean
"about 40 mm".
All documents cited in the Detailed Description of the Invention are, in
relevant part,
incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not to be
construed as an
admission that it is prior art with respect to the present invention. To the
extent that any meaning
or definition of a term in this written document conflicts with any meaning or
definition of the
term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition
assigned to the term in
this written document shall govern.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated
and
described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that various other
changes and
modifications can be made without departing from the sprit and scope of the
invention. It is
therefore intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and
modifications that are
within the scope of this invention.
