Absorbent heat-directing apparatus

Description

FIELD OF USE

The invention relates to a device for use for drying and setting hair, and more particularly, to an apparatus that directs heat from a hair dryer onto the hair of the patron in an energy efficient manner while keeping the forehead, face, and neck of the patron dry from solutions and treatment lotions used to treat the hair and to keep the forehead dry from perspiration from the hair being dried and treated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Head coverings are designed to satisfy various functions including protection from heat, and perspiration and liquid absorption. The prior art consists of many varieties of head coverings protection but often do not provide satisfactory protection that is needed.

When women and men go to a salon for various types of hair treatments, they often go underneath a hair dryer. The scalp and hair of the patron has been treated with various rinses, dyes, coloring agents, shampoos, conditioners, treatments, chemicals, lotions, and the like.

The conventional hood hair dryer is being used primarily as a means to direct heat energy to the hair—in other words, to warm the hair and not necessarily to dry it.

• • U.S. Patent Disclosure Document No. 20080257371 (Silva) discloses an absorbent fabric covered hair clip for quickly drying and styling hair into a waved formation comprising an absorbent fabric covered hair clip that is secured about a plurality of scrunched sections of wet or damp hair. The absorbent material dries the hair more quickly by absorbing some of the moisture from the hair, the jaws help squeeze the moisture from the hair into the absorbent material covering, the softness of the absorbent material covering keeps the more rigid jaws from crimping the hair while drying, resulting in smooth continuous waves or curl.
  • U.S. Patent Disclosure Document No. 20080222775 (DaCruz) discloses a hair drying head-piece that absorbs moisture from the hair of a wearer, the headpiece having a cap portion having a top part and a bottom part, the cap bottom part having an opening sized to fit about the top of the wearer's head and the cap top part having a hole therein to allow at least a portion of the wearers' hair to exit the cap therethrough.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,179 (Warner, et al.) discloses headwear with an integrated elasticized sweatband comprising a substantially circular body securably attached and integral with an annular elasticized absorbent sweatband. The body is sized such that, when the sweatband is fitted over the wearer's forehead, the body forms a cap snugly fitting over the wearer's head. The article of headwear may include a tail piece securably attached to and integral with the rear of the sweatband. Alternatively, the tail piece may be continuous with the body. When the tail piece is included and the headwear is worn, the tail piece drapes down the back of the wearer's head to the shoulders, and extends substantially from the rear of one earlobe to the rear of the other earlobe.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 6,738,985 (Hahn, et al.) discloses a disposable sweatband liner made of a thin, flat and moisture absorbing material is shaped curved to fit around the forehead of a person. A disposable sweatband liner is affixable to a cap, hat or sun visor by adhesive material. A disposable moisture absorbing sweatband strip is shaped to fit the forehead side headband of a cap, hat, or sun visor. The disposable sweatband liner is folded in half where a slit is notched for easy peel off of a peel off backing paper. The disposable sweatband liner can be affixed and detached easily by a user as needed.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,308 (Burkhart) discloses a cosmetic and therapeutic face mask comprising a unitary frontal element having two eye patch regions made from a washable material. The two eye patch regions coupled to straps have a fastening means for securing the eye patch regions over the eyes of a person. The eye patch regions have a pocket means for allowing placement of facial contact elements. The facemask is made from a washable material.
  • U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,255 (Douglas) discloses a three-cornered head covering with a pony tail opening. The head covering is made of a flexible material member wherein the flexible material member includes an inside surface, an outside surface and at least three corners. The head covering has sweat absorption properties.

What is needed is a device that will keep the forehead, face, and neck of the patron dry from the rinses, dyes, coloring agents, shampoos, conditioners, treatments, chemicals, lotions, as well as perspiration, allowing the patron to sit comfortably under a conventional hair dryer, without the need for other devices to keep dry, regardless of the treatment. What is needed is a device that will minimize the amount of time needed to heat the hair of the patron while not wasting heat energy, that will be comfortable to the patron and will reduce the noise level during use, and that is inexpensive to make, that is made from conventional materials, that is disposable after use by each patron for sanitation purposes, and that is adjustable for various head sizes and fully adaptable for women or men of varying heights and weights.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses these needs.

The current invention is a modification to this inventor's previous patents, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,049,994 and 6,029,364, which disclose a combination source cover and head shield for use with a hood-type hair dryer. The apparatus comprises a hood cover and a head shield which are stitched together around a common seam. The apparatus protects uncovered portions of the head from heat energy from the hair dryer. The shield cover and the hood cover are each made of a clear plastic material.

The first preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention is for use with a heat source, most commonly a conventional hair dryer. The heat-directing apparatus supplies heat energy by convection to an object to be heated, the head of the patron. The absorbent heat-directing apparatus protects the face, forehead, and neck of the patron from perspiration and various rinses, dyes, coloring agents, shampoos, conditioners, treatments, chemicals, lotions, and the like.

The absorbent heat-directing apparatus comprises a source cover, a head shield, and an absorbent material surrounding at least a portion of the head shield. The source cover has a source cover end portion that is affixed to the heat source. The head shield is adjustably retained onto a portion of the object to be heated by a head shield end portion. The combination of the source cover and the head shield protect portions of the object to be heated and conserving energy projected from the heat source. The absorbent material surrounds at least a portion of the head shield. The absorbent material is disposed about a common perimeter between the source cover and the head shield. The absorbent material prevents liquid in the head shield from dripping down an outer surface of the object to be heated.

For a more complete understanding of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention, reference is made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings in which the presently preferred embodiments of the invention are shown by way of example. As the invention may be embodied in many forms without departing from spirit of essential characteristics thereof, it is expressly understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. Throughout the description, like reference numbers refer to the same component throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a first preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention as mounted relative to a hood-type hair dryer, the head of a patron being disposed within the hood-type hair dryer.

FIG. 2A is an exploded view of a first preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of FIG. 1, the absorbent heat-directing apparatus comprising a source cover affixed to a head shield, a sweatband being disposed at the common perimeter of the source cover and the head shield.

FIG. 2B is an exploded view of a second preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention, the absorbent heat-directing apparatus comprising a source cover affixed to a head shield, an absorbent material being disposed around the inner surface of the head shield.

FIG. 2C is an exploded view of a third preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention, the absorbent heat-directing apparatus comprising a source cover affixed to a sweatband.

FIG. 2D is an exploded view of a fourth preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention, the absorbent heat-directing apparatus comprising an absorbent material disposed around the inner surface of a source cover.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the elastic band for the source cover end portion for the first preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the elastic band for the head shield end portion for the first preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of FIG. 2B.

FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view of the elastic band for the source cover end portion for the second preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 4A is a side elevational view of a fifth preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention, the absorbent heat-directing apparatus comprising a head shield affixed to a sweatband.

FIG. 4B is a side elevational view of a sixth preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention, the absorbent heat-directing apparatus comprising a band of absorbent material affixed to the inner surface of a head shield.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 discloses a side elevational view of a first preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus [10] of the present invention [10] as mounted relative to a hood-type hair dryer [12]. The head of a patron [14] is disposed within the hood-type hair dryer [12]. A source cover strap [26] secures the apparatus [10] to the hair dryer [12] and a head strap [38] secures the apparatus to the head of the patron [14].

As more clearly see in FIG. 2A, the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention [10] comprises a source cover [20] affixed to a head shield [30], a sweatband [44] being disposed at the common perimeter [43] of the source cover [20] and the head shield [30]. The source cover [20] has a source cover end portion [22] that is affixed to the heat source [12] (see FIG. 3A). The head shield [30] is adjustably retained onto a portion of the head of the patron [14] by a sweatband [44]. The sweatband [44] is affixed to the extreme of the source cover [20] opposite the source cover end portion [22] (as depicted in FIG. 3C). The sweatband [44] is disposed about a common perimeter [43] between the source cover [20] and the head shield [30]. The sweatband [44] is made of an absorbent material and prevents liquid from within the head shield [30] from dripping down an outer surface of the forehead, face, and neck of the patron.

FIG. 2B discloses a second preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus [110] of the present invention. This embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus [110] comprises a source cover [20] affixed to a head shield [30]. An absorbent material [40] is disposed around the inner surface of the head shield [30].

The source cover end portion [22] and the head shield end portion [32] can be any conventional fasteners, such as tape, hook-and-loop type fasteners, but are each preferably an elastic band positioned within the perimeter of the end of the source cover [20] and the head shield [30], respectively. The elastic band may be a conventional rubber band or a rubber band that requires the ends to be tied together.

FIG. 2C discloses a third preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus [210] of the present invention. The absorbent heat-directing apparatus [210] comprises a source cover [20] affixed to a sweatband [44].

FIG. 2D discloses a fourth preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus [310] of the present invention. The absorbent heat-directing apparatus [210] comprises an absorbent material [40] disposed around the inner surface of a source cover [20].

FIG. 4A discloses a fifth preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus [410] of the present invention. The absorbent heat-directing apparatus [410] comprises a head shield [30] affixed to a sweatband [44].

FIG. 4B discloses a sixth preferred embodiment of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus [510] of the present invention. The absorbent heat-directing apparatus [510] comprises a band of absorbent material [40] affixed to the inner surface of a head shield [30].

“Sweatbands” as used herein includes headbands, are worn around the forehead during physical activity to absorb sweat and keep perspiration from reaching the eyes. Sweatbands are often made of a continuous loop of terrycloth, which is a particularly absorbent fabric. The term “sweatbands” also includes bandanas. Such elastic sports sweatbands are commercially available from “Sweaty Bands” of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The absorbent material is preferably the absorbent material disclosed in U.S. Patent Disclosure Document No. 20110016612 (Radcliffe).

The absorbent material may also be biodegradable, and antimicrobial polymer compositions are known, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,466 (Ford et. al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,428 (Denesuk). The addition of antimicrobial agents to hydrophilic polypropylene fibers having antimicrobial activity has been described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0241216 (Klun et. al.). These fibrous materials include nonwovens, wovens, knit webs, and knit batts.

Throughout this application, various patents and publications are referenced by number. The disclosures of these documents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this specification in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.

It is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations of the absorbent heat-directing apparatus of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the disclosure herein. It is intended that the metes and bounds of the present invention be determined by the appended claims rather than by the language of the above specification, and that all such alternatives, modifications, and variations which form a conjointly cooperative equivalent are intended to be included within the spirit and scope of these claims.

PARTS LIST

• 10 absorbent heat-directing apparatus—1^st embodiment
• 12 heat source
• 14 object to be heated
• 20 source cover
• 22 source cover elastic band
• 26 source cover strap
• 28 vent
• 29 source cover tear-away slits
• 30 head shield
• 32 head shield elastic band
• 38 head strap
• 40 absorbent material
• 43 common perimeter
• 44 sweatband
• 110 absorbent heat-directing apparatus—2^nd embodiment
• 210 absorbent heat-directing apparatus—3^rd embodiment
• 310 absorbent heat-directing apparatus—4^th embodiment
• 410 absorbent heat-directing apparatus—5^th embodiment
• 510 absorbent heat-directing apparatus—6^th embodiment