US20070056079A1

US20070056079A1 - Easy-donning cap which is used to protect and dry the hair

Info

Publication number: US20070056079A1
Application number: US10/569,324
Authority: US
Inventors: Christian Prion Didier
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2003-08-18
Filing date: 2004-08-18
Publication date: 2007-03-15
Also published as: ATE362334T1; PL1657990T3; ES2287776T3; DE602004006518T2; FR2858923B1; EP1657990A1; DE602004006518D1; CN1838894A; WO2005018360A1; FR2858923A1; EP1657990B1; JP2007502919A; CA2536077A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a long cap (1) which is designed to protect the hair. The inventive cap comprises two essentially-parallelepiped side walls which are fixed to one another along one of the long sides (2) and shorts sides (3) thereof, such as to define: a first pouch (4) which is disposed at the proximal end of the cap, said first pouch forming a cap; and a second pouch (5) which is disposed at the distal end of the cap, said second pouch forming a receptacle for the floating mass of hair (6). The invention is characterised in that the two ends thereof are provided with complementary fixing means (9) which can be brought into contact with one another in order to close the cap around the head after the hair has been placed therein. For said purpose, the distal end is rotated by 180° around the longitudinal axis of the cap and subsequently folded back over the proximal end such as to cover same.

Description

The present invention relates to an easy-fit long cap for protecting and drying the hair.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditionally, long-haired women have to protect and dry their hair when they get out of a shower or bath and for this purpose use a large towel in which they enclose the mass of hair by rolling the towel over on itself along a longitudinal axis. Next, the free end of the towel is folded rearward and around the head, possibly held in place with the aid of a safety pin or the like. This enables the hair to be at least partially held in place and dried prior to styling.
A very similar, even identical, method is applied in hair salons and beauty parlors. In the latter, in particular, products frequently have to be applied to the face and must not come into contact with the hair, in which case the towel thus wound around the hair also serves as protection.
A method such as this is awkward, gives an uncertain result, and requires a degree of practice before one can be practically certain of enclosing all the hair in the towel without the towel subsequently becoming detached.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

With a view to solving this problem, a towel folded along one of its diagonals and partially sewn over two of the sides of the shape thus obtained, including the smallest side, has been proposed. This towel, described in patent application GB 2 248 391 A, has a number of major disadvantages, including the impossibility of correctly holding the hair within the central fold owing to the latter's pointed shape. Furthermore, in order to be able to hope to attach the free end of the towel to the end that forms the cap for the head, it is necessary to fold the towel over on itself a number of times, as illustrated in FIG. 3 of said patent application, which is particularly awkward.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple device that is economical to manufacture and allows a person's long hair to be held in place by being grouped together as simply as possible inside the device, the latter including integral means for closure on itself.
The hair to be held in place may be damp, if the person concerned has just washed it, for example, or may be dry, in the case of the hair being grouped together for the purposes of protection.
The object of the invention is achieved with a long cap for protecting hair, of elongate form, formed from two lateral walls of parallelepipedal shape fixed to one another along one of their long sides and one of their two small sides so as to delimit a first pocket arranged at the proximal end of the long cap, forming a cap, and a second pocket arranged at the distal end of the long cap and forming a receptacle for the floating mass of hair, and characterized in that its two ends are provided with complementary fastening means that can be placed in contact in order to close the long cap around the head after the hair has been placed in the cap, turning the distal end through 180° about the longitudinal axis of the long cap and then folding this distal end down in order to cover the proximal end.
The parallelepipedal shape of the walls of the long cap makes it possible to define the two pockets, the proximal pocket and the distal pocket. These are connected together by means of a median part arranged in their extension. The median part also serves to hold the hair in place. Nevertheless, particularly if the hair is longer than the total length of the long cap, the floating mass of hair will principally be held by the distal pocket.
The fastening means may consist of a press-stud system or of a loop-and-button system, or, alternatively, of a system of attachments using loop-and-hook fabrics such as those known under the Velcro® trademark.
The long cap preferably has a general trapezoidal shape, i.e. it includes two large sides of general orientation converging toward one another, thus defining a variable depth for the long cap, the first pocket being located on the side of greatest depth.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the two lateral walls are fastened to one another by means of sewing. Nevertheless, the possibility of other fastening means could be envisaged, particularly as a function of the material used for manufacturing the lateral walls. Thus, in the case of lateral walls made from a material that can be at least partially melted (e.g. non-woven textile containing thermoplastic fibers), it will be possible to assemble the two walls together by means of hot welding.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the walls consist of non-woven textile, such that the long cap is then intended for a single use. Nevertheless, it is perfectly possible for the long cap to consist of absorbent fabric of the terry-toweling type, in order more effectively to contribute to the long cap's drying function.
Advantageously, at least one portion of the non-sewn edges of the lateral walls, located close to at least one of the ends of the long cap, is gathered. The gathers are preferably elasticated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to be properly understood, the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the appended diagrammatic drawing that represents, by way of non-limiting example, a particular embodiment of a long cap for protecting the hair in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the invention, in perspective and in profile.
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic front-profile view of the invention before the long cap is placed on the head, in an open configuration.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic profile view of the invention after it has been placed on the head, in an open configuration.
FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic profile view of the invention after it has been placed on the head, in a partially closed configuration.
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic profile view of the invention after it has been placed on the head, in a completely closed configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the long cap 1 according to the invention has an elongate form. It is formed from two lateral walls of parallelepipedal general shape fixed to one another along one of their long sides 2 and one of their two short sides 3 so as to delimit a first pocket 4 arranged at the proximal end of the long cap, forming a cap, and a second pocket 5 arranged at the distal end of the long cap that makes it possible to draw together the floating mass of hair 6 and to hold it in place.
The distal pocket 5 has a volume that is smaller than that of the proximal pocket 6 that forms the cap. Furthermore, if the long-cap profile is regarded as being that of a parallelepiped, it is nevertheless possible to make provision for certain angles 7 that are reasonably rounded, particularly in the proximal part that forms the cap, in order to increase the comfort level thereof.
The two pockets—proximal pocket 4 and distal pocket 5—are connected together by means of a median part 8 arranged in their extension. The median part also serves to keep the hair in place. Nevertheless, particularly if the hair is longer than the total length of the long cap, the floating mass of hair 6, and the ends of the hair, will be held principally by the distal pocket 5.
The two ends of the long cap are provided with complementary fastening means 9 that can be placed in contact in order to close the long cap around the head after the hair has been placed in the long cap by turning the distal end through 180° about the longitudinal axis of the long cap and then folding this distal end down in order to cover the proximal end.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the fastening means consist of a system of press studs 9 a, 9 b. The male press stud 9 a is located on the outer surface of the proximal end 4 (at the rear of the cap), and the female part 9 b is located on the inner surface of the distal end 5.
The two lateral walls are fastened together by sewing and consist of non-woven textile, such that the long cap is intended for a single use.
One portion of the non-sewn edges of the lateral walls, located close to the proximal end of the long cap, is provided with elasticated gathers 10.
The positioning of the long cap according to the invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, is extremely simple.
First, the head has to be lent forward and the hair drawn forward, as shown in FIG. 2.
Next, the long cap has to be slipped over the head, the proximal end of the long cap being placed over the head like a cap. The floating mass of hair 6 then has to be positioned inside the long cap and, particularly if the length of hair exceeds that of the long cap, the distal pocket 5 offers sufficient volume to take up the excess hair length, as shown in FIG. 3.
Next, the distal end of the long cap has to be pivoted through 180° about the long cap's longitudinal axis, as shown in FIG. 4, and this distal end then has to be folded down rearward, thus covering the proximal part, as shown in FIG. 5.
It is then easy to bring the two press studs opposite one another and to close the long cap completely around the head.
Obviously, the invention is not restricted to the embodiment described above by way of example, but also, on the contrary, encompasses all variants. Thus, the form and dimensions of the long cap may be modified in order, possibly, to adapt to different hair lengths.

Claims

1. A long cap for protecting the hair, of elongate form, formed from two lateral walls of parallelepipedal shape fixed to one another along one of their long sides and one of their two small sides so as to delimit a first pocket arranged at the proximal end of the long cap, forming a cap, and a second pocket arranged at the distal end of the long cap and forming a receptacle for the floating mass of hair, and whose two ends are provided with complementary fastening means that can be placed in contact in order to close the long cap around the head after the hair has been placed in the cap, turning the distal end through 180° about the longitudinal axis of the long cap and then folding this distal end down in order to cover the proximal end.

2. The long cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening means comprise a system of press-studs.

3. The long cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening means comprise a loop-and-button system.

4. The long cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fastening means comprise a system of attachments by means of loop-and-hook fabrics such as those known under the Velcro® trademark.

5. The long cap as claimed in claim 1, comprising a general trapezoidal shape including two large sides of general orientation converging one toward the other, thus defining a variable depth for the long cap, the proximal pocket being located on the side of greatest depth.

6. The long cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the two lateral walls are fixed to one another by means of sewing.

7. The long cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the walls comprise non-woven textile, for a single use.

8. The long cap as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least one portion of the non-sewn edges of the lateral sides, located close to at least one of the ends of the long cap, is gathered.

9. The long cap as claimed in claim 8, wherein the gathers are elasticated.