HAIR BRAIDING DEVICE

DISPOSITIF SERVANT A TRESSER LES CHEVEUX

English Abstract

A hair-braiding device to braid a mass of hair into true three-stranded braids comprising a casing, motor, coordination wheel, two braiding wheels which turn in opposite directions never simultaneously, locking gears, and a push-button driven system to allow for the automatic partitioning of a mass of hair into three strands for automated braiding.

French Abstract

Dispositif servant à tresser les cheveux en véritables tresses à trois mèches. Le dispositif comprend un boîter, un moteur, une roue de coordination, deux roues à tresser qui tournent en sens opposé, mais jamais simultanément, des éléments de fermeture et un système à bouton pressoir pour permettre la segmentation automatique des cheveux en trois mèches pour le tressage automatique.

Claims

CLAIMS
The achievements of the invention, on the subject of which an exclusive right
of property
or privilege is asserted, are defined as follows:
1. A device having for purpose the braiding of hair into true three-stranded
braids
comprising
two plates forming a handle and containing an opening for the purpose of
receiving a mass of hair;
a motor which powers a series of gears;
a coordination wheel transforming the continuous rotational movement of the
motor into a series of discontinuous movements;
two braiding wheels that accept hair strands through notches and are rotated
to
perform the hair-braiding sequence;
two locking gears that manage the braiding wheels, preventing the motion of
the
braiding wheels at key times;
one transfer locking gear that manages one transfer member, which serves to
transfer the hair strands from one braiding wheel to the other braiding wheel;
one push-button;
one fork and hair clasp;
three springs;
wherein the motor through the action of the series of gears powers the
coordination wheel which by its movements powers the oppositely rotational
movements of the braiding wheels through additional gears and also the
horizontal back-and-forth motion of the transfer member through the action of
the
transfer locking gear;
wherein when the push-button is pressed, and through the actions of the
associated springs, the fork and the hair clasp move to positions that allow
for the
insertion of the mass of hair into the device.
2. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the coordination wheel
contains a

geared section which comes into contact with each locking gear at each
complete rotation
of the coordination wheel, which itself has a locking section that prevents
the rotation of
the locking gears when these are not in contact with the geared section.
3. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the coordination wheel
contains a
plurality of geared sections which come into contact with the transfer locking
gear at each
half-rotation of the coordination wheel, which itself has a plurality of
locking sections
that prevent the rotation of the transfer locking gear when it is not in
contact with the
geared sections.
4. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the locking gears are
composed
of two layers of gears separated by a locking section which interacts with the
associated
locking section of the coordination wheel, each of the layers of the locking
gears being
rigidly connected.
5. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer locking
gear is
composed of a gear and a locking section which interacts with the associated
locking
sections of the coordination wheel, each of the layers of the transfer locking
gear being
rigidly connected.
6. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein each braiding wheel
are
characterized by two notches traversing the body of the braiding wheels depth-
wise and
which extend through the gear teeth a distance into the body of the braiding
wheels.
7. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the braiding wheels
spin in
directions opposite to each other, one hundred and eighty degrees at a time
and where
only a single braiding wheel is in motion at any one time.

8. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the braiding wheels
each possess
two radially protruding arms, on one of the outside walls of each being the
extension of
one of the walls of the notches, which push the hair strands upon rotation of
the braiding
wheels.
9. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the braiding wheels
are in motion
in an alternating fashion, with the movement of the transfer member.
10. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer member
has for
extremity a flexible tip which can flex to the left and to the right and which
displaces the
hair strands from the notch of one braiding wheel to the notch of another
braiding wheel.
11. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein anti-reverse members
prevent
any reverse rotation of the locking gears and of the transfer locking gear.
12. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein a pin linking the
transfer
locking gear and the transfer wheel slides in a slot to constrain the motion
of the transfer
member to a back-and-forth horizontal motion.
13. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the fork section that
separates
the hair is composed of two elongated members in a general shape suggesting a
narrow
U .
14. A hair-braiding device according to claim 1, wherein the push-button, when
pressed,
and through the action of a system of springs, in two separate and successive
steps, firstly
raises the fork and secondly raises the hair clasp, permitting the
introduction of hair into
the hair space section of the device, and when the push-button is released, in
two separate
and successive steps again, the same system of springs firstly lowers the hair
clasp,
pushing the hair mass between the elongated members of the fork and separating
this
mass into three similarly-sized strands, and secondly lowering the fork.

Description

CA 02598576 2007-08-16
DESCRIPTION
1. TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to hair braiding apparatus and more specifically to
hand-held hair-
braiding apparatus suitable for use in the braiding of any human and human-
like hair,
such as hair found on dolls, display mannequins.
2. BACKGROUND ART
- US 2005/0039769 Bousfield, February 24, 2005, describes a hair braiding
device.
- US 1983/4369690 Sapkus, January 25, 1983, describes a hair braiding device.
In the above-mentioned devices, there is the need to manually insert and
separate the hair
into the device before beginning the braiding operation.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a new and improved hand-
held hair
braiding device and method which overcomes the above need to separate and
insert hair
strands manually into the device before the start of the braiding operation.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved
hair-braiding
mechanism.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has as general objective to provide a device that braids
hair, while
remaining simple to use and that can be manufactured easily.
More precisely, the present invention consists of a device that braids hair in
true three-
stranded braids. The invention is comprised of two plates forming a handle and
containing an opening for the insertion of hair to be braided by the actions
of two

CA 02598576 2007-08-16
braiding wheels associated with a transfer member.
In addition, the plates support a motor whose purpose is to power a gear
system which in
turn powers a coordination wheel which is comprised of a gearing portion
permitting the
alternating rotation of two locking gears as well as a locking section that
immobilizes the
locking gears when these are not in use. The locking gears equipped with
locking
sections convey the motion of the coordination wheel to the two braiding
wheels. The
coordination wheel contains in its superior portion geared sections which
allow the
rotation of a transfer locking gear, as well as a transfer locking section
which serves to
immobilize the transfer locking gear when it is not in use. Additionally a pin
linking the
transfer locking gear to the transfer member and the transfer wheel slides in
a slot to
constrain the back-and-forth motion of the transfer member, serving to
transmit the hair
strands from one braiding wheel to the other. The two braiding wheels spin
each in
opposite directions one at a time, alterna.ting with the movement of the
transfer member,
one hundred and eighty degrees per motion.
The device comprises also a push-button, which when pressed, causes, through
the
actions of associated springs, the movements of the fork and of the hair clasp
to positions
that allow for the insertion of the mass of hair into the device. Releasing
the push-button
causes the splitting of this mass of hair by means of the hair clasp's return
to its closed
position, thus forcing the hair strands into the fork, which is then returned
to its starting
position by the action of the associated springs.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
Serving to illustrate the assembly and operation of the present invention:

CA 02598576 2007-08-16
= Figure 1 displays an isometric view of the present invention
= Figure 2 displays an exploded view of the present invention
= Figure 3 displays a global view of the internal components of the present
invention
= Figure 4A displays an isometric view of the topside of the coordination
wheel
= Figure 4B displays an isometric view of the underside of the coordination
wheel
= Figure 5 displays a braiding wheel
= Figure 6 displays an isometric view of the transfer member
= Figure 7 displays an isometric view of the fork
= Figure 8 displays an isometric view of a locking gear
= Figures 9A, 9B, 9C display the interactions between the pushbutton, the hair
clasp, and the fork
= Figures l0A to l OL display the complete braiding mechanism of the invention
at
various stages of the displacement of the hair strands from initial insertion
positions to the braiding wheels and of the first braiding cycle
= Figures lOM to l OR display the complete braiding mechanism of the invention
at
various stages of the second and subsequent braiding cycles
LIST OF NUMBERED ELEMENTS IN DESCRIPTIVE FIGURES
1. Coordination wheel
2. Braiding wheel
3. Braiding wheei
4. Transfer member
5. Hair clasp
6. Fork
7. Pushbutton
8. Spiral bevel gear
9. Motor
10. Bevel gear
11. Top plate
12. Bottom plate
13. Gear
14. Locking section
15. Transfer locking section

CA 02598576 2007-08-16
16.
a. Geared section
b. Geared sections
17.
a. Locking gear
b. Locking gear
18. Transfer locking gear
19. Transfer wheel
20. Pin
21. Slot
22. Extension spring
23. Extension spring
24. Compression spring
25. Transfer member center of rotation
26. Shaft
27. Transfer gear
28. Transfer gear
29. Notches
30. Arms
31. Empty space
32. Gear
33. Braiding wheel body
34. Braiding wheel receiving member
35. Intermediate piece
36. Center of rotation
37. Anti-reverse member
38. Anti-reverse member
39. Gearing support
40. Spring fitting
41. Spring fitting
42. Spring fitting
43. Spring fixation shaft
44. Gear
45. Gear
46. Transfer member tip
47. Locking section
48. Hair space section
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIEMENT
In the following description, like numbers refer to identical parts in the
various figures.

CA 02598576 2007-08-16
As illustrated in figures 1 to 10, there is described a device serving to
braid hair into true
three-stranded braids, device comprising two plates (11) (12) which form an
ergonomic
handle and which has an opening (48) to accept hair to be braided by two
braiding wheels
(2) (3) working in conjunction with the transfer member (4). Additionally the
plates (11)
(12) house a motor (9) which powers a series of gears (8) (10) (13) which
cause the
coordination wheel (1) to rotate with the shaft (26) as the center of
rotation. The
coordination wheel (1) is composed of a geared section (16A) which controls
the
rotations of locking gears (17A) (17B) in an alternating fashion; the
coordination wheel
(1) is also composed of a locking section (14) whose purpose is to immobilize
the locking
gears (17A) (17B) when these are not in contact with the geared section (16A).
The
locking gears (17A) (17B) are equipped with a locking section (47) that
interacts with the
locking section (14) of the coordination wheel (1) and are equipped with two
gears (44)
(45). The first of these (44) interacts with the geared section (16A) and the
second (45)
conveys the locking gears' (17A) (17B) rotations to the gears (32) of the
braiding wheels
(2) (3) through the intermediate gears (27) (28). Also supported by the plates
(11)
(12) are anti-reverse members (38) (37) which prevent the un-synchronization
of the
gearing alignments through reversed rotation of the locking gears (17A) (17B)
or the
transfer locking gear (18). The coordination wheel (1) also contains geared
sections
(16B) that allow the rotation of a transfer locking gear (18), and furthermore
contains
transfer locking sections (15) to immobilize the transfer locking gear (18) at
times when
this piece is not interacting with any of the geared sections (16B). The
transfer locking
gear (18) rests on the gearing support (39). Additionally a pin (20) linking
the transfer
locking gear (18) and the transfer wheel (19) slides in a slot (21) in the
transfer member
(4) to constrain the motion of the transfer member (4) to a back-and-forth
horizontal
motion, serving to hand off the hair strands from one braiding wheel (2) (3)
to the other.
The tip (46) of the transfer member (4) is flexible to allow the correct
transfer of the hair
strands from the notches (29) of one braiding wheel (2) or (3) to the other
(see figures
l0A to lOD in particular). Both braiding wheels (2) (3) are each marked by two
notches
(29) which extend through the gear teeth a distance into the body of the
braiding wheels
(33). These notches hold the hair strands tightly. The braiding wheels (2) (3)
are in

CA 02598576 2007-08-16
motion, only one at a time and in directions opposite to each other, the
rotation of each
alternating with the movement of the transfer member (4), each rotation
lasting one
hundred and eighty degrees. The shape of the braiding wheels (2) (3) create
two areas of
empty space (31) around each braiding wheels (2) (3) which serve to
accommodate a hair
strand upon initial insertion of the hair strands into the device. The
braiding wheels (2)
(3) each possess two arms (30) which push the hair strands upon rotation of
the braiding
wheels (2) (3) towards the transfer member (4). The device comprises also a
push-button
(7). Pressing the push-button (7) upwards exerts a force on the extension
spring (23) as
well as on the compression spring (24), which rests on the push-button (7),
also pushing
the fork (6) up from its resting position to its hair-splitting position, this
being the
maximal displacement position for this piece due to mechanical constraints. At
this point
the extension spring (23) is fully extended and continuing to press the push-
button (7)
extends the extension spring (22) and causes the opening (rising) motion of
the hair clasp
(5); also, the compression spring (24) begins to compress due to the
constrained position
of the fork (6). When the push-button (7) is fully pressed, the insertion of
the mass of
hair into the device via the opening (48) can be done, and the subsequent
splitting of this
mass of hair into three strands occurs when the push-button (7) is released,
causing, by
the associated actions of the extension springs (22) (23), first the hair
clasp (5) to retract,
thereby forcing the hair around and between the two spikes of the fork (6),
and secondly
the fork (6) to retreat as well, leaving two of the three hair strands in the
waiting spaces
(31) around the braiding wheels (2) (3) and the other strand of hair in the
hair space
section (48) between the two braiding wheels (2) (3).
While there has been shown and described what is considered to be the
preferred
embodiment of the present invention, it will be obvious to those of ordinary
skill in the
art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without
departing from
the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Representative Drawing