Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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HAIR COLOURING DEVICE
HELD OF INVENTION
100011 The present invention relates generally to the colouring of hair, and
more particularly, to
a hair colouring device and method that allows accurate, non-messy and even
application of a
hair colouring- composition to the hair, in particular to one or more strands
of hair more quickly
and effectively.
BACKGROUND OF THE MENTION
J0002 1 There are several reasons for a people to. colour their hair either by
themselves at home or
through hair professionals in salons. The reasons for instance may be to cover
hair that has
turned gray, to change the shade of their hair, or to highlight hair. Also,
hair colouring may be
used to give glamorous look, to the hair, especially with temporary colour
compositions.. There
exist several methods or means for applying colour to hair. The dyes are often
thoroughly mixed
with the hair using liquid dyes by the hair professionals This process becomes
more completed
at home. Generally, the professionals at salon, and people at home are found
colouring the hair by
using a brush, comb, applicator and hair colouring composition in semi-liquid
or liquid state.
While this method for applying colour to the hair is very common, this method
does not facilitate
ease in applying colour to the selected portions of the hair, this method also
involves undesirable
contact of a person's hands and/or skin with hair colours, which may contain
irritants.
100031 Various hair colouring or touch up devices and methods for hair
colouring or highlighting
the hair has been provided in the prior art, some of which will now be
described.
100041 One such method utilizes a cap with holes therein that is placed 011 a
person's head.
Selected strands of hair that are to be highlighted, or coloured, are pulled
though the holes in the
cap. The colourant is then applied to the strands of hair extending through
the holes in the cap.
After the colourant has been applied and has been left for the required
processing time to colour
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the hair the cap is removed. This technique is time consuming and tedious and
does not allow for
targeting particular hair strands.
[00051 U.S. 'Pat. No. 6,237,608 by Kari at. al. describes about a dispensing
apparatus for metallic
foil that can be used by beauticians and hair stylists to colour or highlight
the hair. The foil
method as disclosed allows smaller, more independent, and more consistently
variegated sections
to be coloured effectively reducing risk of the colour bleeding onto
surrounding hair. However,
even with these advantages, the foil method is very time consuming and
expensive and does not
colour the hair all the way to the scalp.
100061 U.S. Pat. No. 6,675,812 by Wiley et al. describes about a hand-held
dispenser having a
comb or brush and an optional sponge to apply, and distribute liquids such as
dyes to the hair
and/or that can. be used to apply dye, and simultaneously comb and spread the
dye onto the hair.
This method colours one side of the hair and does not allow precise colouring,
100071 U.S. Pat. No. 6,5611,404 by .Mitchem at al. describes about an
applicator for depositing a
hair treatment fluid to strands of hair. As described, the applicator is in
the form. of a longitudinal
container with a hook-shaped end. The hair strands are placed in the hook-
shaped end, and the
applicator is drawn along the length of the strand to deposit: the treatment
.fluid onto the strand.
This is another exemplary prior art applicator device used for applying liquid
colourants. This
method colours one side of the hair and does not allow precise colouring.
[00081 Therefore prior art devices discussed above and others for hair
colouring have been
provided in the prior art. Though these prior art devices may be suitable for
the specific
individual or professional use to which they address, they differ from. -the
present proposed
invention.
100091 Accordingly, there is a need for a hair colouring device that can
address or at least
ameliorate the short. comings associated with conventionally employed devices,
methods or
techniques for hair colouring or highlighting.
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BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
100101 it is therefore an object of the inventionto provide a hair colouring
device that allows for
highly accurate, non-messy and even application, of hair colouring composition
to the hair, in
particular to one or more hair strands more quickly, and effectively and if
possible with less
processing time.
IOWA Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair colouring
device which is.
smaller, economical, more reliable and safe to use.
100.121 Another object of the present invention is to provide a hair colouring
device and its
method. of use which would help in applying colours to the hair without
leakage of the COIOUrant
and that would provide more uniform. distribution of the colouring composition
over the hair.
100131 Still further object of the present invention is to .provide a hair
colouring device that
allows for easy -viewing and controlled selection. of hair strands to be
coloured.
100141 Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a hair
colouring device which
facilitates instant colouring of hair strands.
100151 Yet another Object of the present invention is to provide a hair
colouring device that
allows two sided colouring of the hair strands simultaneously.
100161 Still another object of the present invention to provide a hair
colouring device which may
not require any special experience and training for use such as where to load
the hair celourant
cartridge. The consumerluser will be able to load and use the device by just
following a few
instructions provided by the manufacturer in the instruction manual.
100171 According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a
hair colouring device
for selectively colouring or highlighting of one or more strands of hair. The
device includes
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a. top housing, a bottom housing movably engaged to the top 'housing at distal
ends using an
engagement mechanism, a first cartridge carrier for receiving a first
colourant-filled cartridge,
wherein the -first cartridge, carrier being removably disposed within an
opening provided on the
top housing, a second cartridge carrier for receiving a second
colourant,filled cartridge, wherein
the second cartridge carrier being removably disposed within an. opening
provided on the bottom
housing, a pair of applicator tips, each of the applicator tips being disposed
at a proximal end of
the first cartridge carrier and the second cartridge carrier. The engagement
mechanism enables
the device to alternate between a closed position and an open position.
[00181 According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided
a hair colouring
device. The device includes a top housing configured to have a top cavity, a
bottom. housing
configured to have a bottom cavity, Wherein the bottom housing movably engaged
to the top
housing at distal ends using an engagement mechanism, a pair of applicator
tips, each of the
applicator tips being disposed at a proximal end of the top housing and the
bottom housing. The
engagement mechanism. enables the device to alternate between a closed
position and an open
position..
1001 9] According to yet another aspect of the present invention there is
provided a method of
using a hair colouring device. for selectively colouring one or more strands
of hair. The method
including providing the hair colouring device, the hair coloring device
including a top housing, a
bottom housing movably engaged to the top housing at distal ends using an
engagement
mechanism, a first cartridge carrier for receiving a first colourant-filled
cartridge, wherein the
first cartridge carrier being removably disposed within an opening provided on
the top housing, a
second cartridge carrier for receiving a second colourant,filled cartridge,
wherein the second
cartridge cattier being removably disposed within an opening provided on the
bottom housing, a
pair of applicator tips, each of the applicator tips being disposed at a
proximal end of the first
cartridge carrier and the second cartridge carrier; wherein the engagement
mechanism enables
the device to alternate between a closed position and an open position.
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[00201 According to the same aspect the method further including alternating
the hair colouring
device between an position and a closed position to dispense colourant onto
one or more strands
of hair, gripping the one or more strands of hair during the closed position
in between the pair of
applicator tips, and moving the hair colouring device along the length of the
one or more strands
of hair for application of colourant
100211 Other aspects., features, and advantages of the present invention will
readily be apparent
from, the following. detailed description, simply by illustrating embodiments
and
implementations, including the best mode contemplated. for carrying out the
present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
100221 The present: invention will become fully appreciated as the same
becomes better
understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which like
reference characters designate the same or similar parts, and wherein:
100231 FIG. I is a perspective view of a hair colouring device of the present
invention, according
to an exemplary embodiment.
100241 FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the hair colouring device of' FIG. 1.
100251 FIG, 3 is a diagram illustrates method of use of the hair colouring
device with hair strand
being fed hair colouring composition, according to an exemplary embodiment.
100261 FIG, 4 is a perspective view of a hair colouring device of the present
invention, according
to another exemplary embodiment.
100271 FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the hair colouring device of FIG. I,
according to another
exemplary embodiment.
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[00281 FIG. 6A-6C shows alignment of applicator tips based on variation of
applied pressure on
the device, according to an exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
100291 The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with
reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which one or more preferred embodiments of the
invention, are
shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and
should not be
construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these
embodiments are provided
so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey
the scope of the
invention to those skilled in the art. Befbre explaining at least one
embodiment of the present
invention in detail, it is to be understood that the phraseology and
terminology employed herein
are for the purpose of the description and Should not be regarded as limiting.
100301 in. accordance with. a preferred embodiment, a hair colouring device
generally identified
by reference numeral 10 or 40 or 50 is described with reference to FIGS.'"
through 6. As best
shown in the exploded view (in FIG. 2), the hair colouring device 1.0 includes
a top housing 11,
and a bottom housing 12. The top housing H. -includes a proximal end Ha and a
distal end 11 b.
Similarly the bottom housing. 12 includes a 'proximal end I.2a and a distal
end 12b. The top
housing 11 and. the bottom housing 1.2 include openings 13 and 14
respectively.
100311 Further referring to the FIG.2, the hair colouring device 10 includes a
first cartridge
carrier 15. with an interior cavity 17 for receiving a first colourant-filled
cartridge .19. The first
cartridge carrier 15 is removably disposed within the opening 1.3 provided in
the top housing II.
The device 10 also includes a second cartridge carrier 16 with an interior
cavity .1.8 for receiving
a second colourantaled Cartridge 20. The second cartridge carrier 16 is
removably disposed
within the opening 14 provided in the bottom housing 12. The first cartridge
carrier IS includes a
proximal end 15a and a distal. end 15b. Similarly the second cartridge carrier
16 includes a
proximal end 16a and a distal end 161). it Should. be understood that the
interior cavities 17, 18 of
the first cartridge carrier 15 and the second cartridge carrier 16 are
suitably sized such that the
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first colourant- filled cartridge 19 and the second colourant- filled.
cartridge 20 can either tightly
fit within the interior walls of the cavities 17, 18 or sized slightly larger
than the size of the first
colourant-filled cartridge 19 and the second colourant-filled cartridge 20.
100321 According to some embodiment, as shown with reference to FIG. 5, the
hair colouring
device 50 may embody the readily designed colourant- filled cartridges 19, 20
that can easily be
clipped in and out of the top housing 1.1 and. the bottom housing 12
respectively when the device
50 is in open position. The colourant- -filled cartridges 19, 20 will have
applicator tips 21, 22
either fixed or removably attached thenzon. According to an embodiment, the
cartridges 19, 20
may be filled in an unclipped position with an external colour resource or the
cartridges 1.9, 20
may be filled with the external colour resource through. the applicator tips
19, 20 when the
cartridges 19, 20 are in clipped position.
100331 According to some embodiment, the device 10 instead, of using the first
colourant- filled
cartridge 19, and the second colourant-filled cartridge 20 may employ suitably
designed hollow
cavities or reservoirs for holding the various forms of the colourants,
especially colour= in
liquid form that can flow through the applicator tips 21, 22 on to the strands
of hair like some
other texturing or hair styler devices used for colouring the hair. These
reservoirs may be filled
with an. external colour resource removably or permanently attached with the
device 10.
According to an embodiment; the top housing 11 and the bottom housing 12 can
be configured to
be hollow inside with no cartridge carriers 1.5,16 and colourant- filled
cartridges .19, 20 required.
The top hollow cavity within the top housing 11 and the bottom hollow cavity
within, the bottom
housing 12 would act as the reservoirs which can be filled with various forms
of the colourants
through the applicator tips 21, 22 or directly injecting the colourants inside
the reservoirs through
suitable external means by removingthe tips 21, 22. According to the same
embodiment, each of
the applicator tips 21, 22 may be disposed directly at proximal end of the top
housing and the
bottom housing respectively.
100341 Further according to the preferred embodiment, as Shown in FIG.. 2, the
pair of applicator
tips 21 and 22 may be removably grooved to proximal ends 15a, 16a of the first
cartridge carrier
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15 and the second cartridge carrier 16 respectively. The applicator tips 21
and 22 preferably
comprise some tiny apertures thorough which the eolourant can be fed onto the
strands of hair
while in use. As discussed above, the applicator tips 21, 22 may also be used
to fill the first
colourant- filled. cartridge 19, and the second colourant-filled cartridge 20
or the reservoirs, The
applicator tips 21, 22 are configured to contact, the strands of hair without
snagging the hair.
These applicator tips 21, 22 provided in the device 10 allows two sided
colouring of the hair
strands simultaneously. The applicator tips 21, 22 may vary in design
preferably, but not limited
-to circular or star like. The varying designs of the applicator tips 21, 22
may then be used by the
user to stamp various shapes of colour onto the strands of hair. During use,
when the device 10
or 40 or 50 is in use the applicator tips 21, 22 come together to hold the one
or more strand of
hair therebetween for colouring. The alignment of the applicator tips 21, 22
with respect to each
other depends on the pressure applied by the user using the device 10 or 40 or
50. When the user
using the device applies no pressure then the applicator tips 21, 22 are
normally Aped, as
shown in FM. 6A, -when the user applies maximum pressure on the device while
in use, the
applicator tips 21, 22 are fully aligned with respect to each other as seen in
FIG. 6C. Similarly, if
just a small amount of pressure is applied the applicator tips 21, 22 are just
partially aligned, as
seen in FIG. 6B.
100351 Referring again to FIG,1-FIG.2., the top housing 11 and the bottom
housing 12 have an
engagement mechanism 23 at the corresponding distal ends 11b and 12b. The
engagement
mechanism 23 helps the top housing] I and the bottom housing 12 to snap fit
and allow a user to
alternate the device '10 between a closed position and an open position to
dispense or block
dispensing of the colouring composition or formulation. According to the
described
embodiment, the device 10 or 40 may include a replaceable cap 24 that fits
over the pair of
applicator tips 21, 22 to securely- block dispensing of colouring composition
when the device is
not in use and to safely store the device 10 or 40 for future use. It is to be
understood that any
other engagement mechanism 23, as Shown in FIG. 5 may also be used to :meet
above mentioned
objective.
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[00361 The first colourant-filled cartridge 19 and the second coIourant-filled
cartridge 20 or the
reservoirs -may contain hair colouring formulation in solid form or liquid-
form or semi solid form
like cream or any combinations thereof. The colourantklye contained in the
cartridges 19 and 20
may be permanent or semi-permanent and temporary in nature.
100371 It should also be understood that, according to at least one embodiment
of the present
invention, the cartridges 19, 20 contained may be permanently fixed within the
device 10 or 40
or may be replaceable. Also, according to some other embodiment, the
cartridges 19, 20 may be
capable of being refilled using an external colour resource preferably using
external means, for
example a tube. Still in some other embodiment, the device 1.0 or 40 may
deploy a, canister of
colour to ked the cartridges 1.9, 20. The canister may be permanently or
removably attached to
the device 1.0 or 40.
100381 The devices 10 or 40 or 50 as stated above in the objectives is an
instant colouring device
ready for use by .the user at any time that do not require a laborious work.
of thoroughly mixing
the colourantklyes with solvent or mixing of the liquid dyes. However, it is
to be understood by
those Skilled in the art that the user may need to allow some processing time
for the device .1:0 or
40 or 50 to get it ready for instant colouring in case the device 10 or 40 or
50 is not ready for
instant colouring.
100391 It is also to be understood -that the scope of using the colourant
filled cartridges 1.9, 20 is
notlimited to containing any specific colour: One or more colours may be
contained in the
cartridges 19, 20, which may include, but are not, limited to, red, yellow,
orange, purple, brown,
black, any combinations of shades thereof, or others: According to some other
embodiment, the
colouring composition contained in the cartridges 19, 20 may be separated into
distinct sections
in the cartridge 19, 20 which may preferably be required by the user to apply
different colour
stripes to the strands of hair.
100401 Turning now to FIG. 3 illustrates method of using the hair colouring
device 40 for
colouring or highlighting the strands of hair. The method includes steps of
providing the hair
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colouring device 40 that includes the elements described above- with reference
to FIGS.1-2, the
top housing 11, the bottom housing 12 movably engaged with the top housing 11
using the
engagement mechanism 23, the first cartridge carrier 15, and the second
cartridge carrier 16 for
receiving the first colourant-filled cartridge 19 and the second colourant-
filled cartridge 20, and
the pair of applicator tips 21, 22, each of which is removably grooved, to the
proximal ends 15a,
168 of the first cartridge carrier 15 and the second cartridge carrier 16.
100411 According to the embodiment, the method adapted by the user of the hair
colouring
device 40 for colouring or highlighting the strands of hair further includes
placing the first
colnurant-filled cartridge 19 and the second colourant-filled cartridge 20 in
the interior cavities
17, 18 of the first cartridge carrier 15 and the second cartridge carrier 16,
placing the strands of
hair in between the .pair of applicator tips 21, 22 of the device 40,
alternating the device 40
between the closed position and the open position to dispense or block
dispensing of the
colourantidye onto the strands of hair and simultaneously gripping the strands
of hair by
alternating the device 40 to the closed position, and moving the device 40
along the length of the
strands of hair for application of the colourantAlye filled in the cartridges
19, 20.
100421 The hair colouring device 10 may have numerous shapes and
configurations capable of
applying hair colouring composition or formulation to the strands of hair. As
best seen in FIG. 1,
FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the top homing 11 and the bottom housing .12 or other
elements described
above may have differing, shapes and configurations. Though the hair
colouring. device 40 in.
'FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 is of different shape: the corresponding components (as
described in FIG.1-2)
and their functionality remain same as described above.
100431 It should be understood that though some of embodiments of specific
designs (as in FIG.
1, or FIG.2 or FIG. 5) are illustrated and described above, the device 10 may
have several other
Shapes or configurations with similar elements, or one or other elements
combined together.
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100441 it will also be understood that eath of the elements described above,
or two or more
together, may also End a useful application in other types of construction s
differing from the
type described above.
100451 While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodiments
of a hair colouring
or highlighting device, accordingly it is not limited to the details shown, it
will be understood
that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms
and details of the
device illustrated, and its operation can. be made by those skilled in the art
without departing from
the spirit or scope of the present invention.
