| FR560041A | 1923-09-26 | |||
| US0938040A | 1909-10-26 | |||
| US0533466A | 1895-02-05 | |||
| US2510943A | 1950-06-13 | |||
| US2562421A | 1951-07-31 | |||
| US2662603A | 1953-12-15 |
| 1. | A comb for use in haircutting, comprising: a comb back, a plurality of comb teeth extending from said comb back, said comb having a reference end; an angle stop pivotally mounted on said comb at its reference end, said angle stop including a stop member pivotally mounted on said reference end of said comb and means for releasably latching said angle stop member at a predetermined angle with respect to said back of said comb so that the elevation of hair with respect to the head can be accurately placed during a haircutting procedure. |
| 2. | The comb of Claim 1 wherein said angle stop includes a . ferrule fixed to. said comb back adjacent its reference end and a moving ferrule movably mounted with respect to said fixed ferrule, said angle stop member being fixed to said moving ferrule. |
| 3. | The comb of Claim 2 wherein a pivot pin extends through both said fixed and said moving ferrule. |
| 4. | The comb of Claim 3 wherein said fixed ferrule has detent notches therein and said angle stop member carries a detent thereon for selective engagement in one of said detent notches. |
| 5. | The comb of Claim 4 wherein said detent is springmounted with respect to said angle stop member so that said detent can be resiliently moved out of a detent recess for repositioning the angle of said angle stop member. |
| 6. | The comb of Claims 1 to 5 further including a finger stop on said comb back, said finger stop being positionable at a preselected distance with respect to said reference end. |
| 7. | A comb for precision haircutting comprising: a back, a plurality of spaced comb teeth extending from said comb back, said back having a reference end; a finger stop mounted on said back at a known distance from said reference end so that said reference end can be placed against the head and a finger can be placed against the finger stop to locate the finger at a known distance from the reference end and the head. |
| 8. | The comb of Claim 7 wherein said finger stop is adjustably mounted with respect to said reference end. |
| 9. | The comb of Claim 8 wherein said finger stop is movably mounted along said back to a selected position. |
| 10. | The comb of Claim 9 wherein said finger stop is slidably mounted on said back. |
| 11. | The comb of Claim 7 wherein said finger stop and said back of said comb are arranged so that said back has a plurality of spaced features therealong and said finger stop has means thereon for engaging a selected one of said spaced features so that said finger stop can be placed a selected distance from said reference end with said means engaging a selected one of said spaced features. |
| 12. | The comb of Claim 11 wherein said spaced features are notches and wherein said means for engaging said notches comprises a tooth. |
| 13. | The comb of Claims 7 to 12 wherein said back has a slot therethrough and said slot has a channel therein extending generally longitudinally of said back of said comb, said finger stop engaging in said channel to be guided along the length of said back of said comb. |
| 14. | The comb of Claim 13 wherein said slot has a plurality of notches therein and said finger stop carries a detent thereon for engaging in a selected one of said notches so that said finger stop can be slid along said channel when said detent is disengaged to adjust the position of said finger stop with respect to said reference end. |
| 15. | The comb of Claim 14 further including indicia on said back to indicate the distance of said finger stop from said reference end. |
| 16. | The comb of Claim 15 further including an angle stop on said reference end of said comb back. |
| 17. | A comb, said comb comprising: a comb back, a plurality of spaced teeth extending from said comb back so that said comb is configured for the combing of hair; an angle stop member on said reference end of said comb, said angle stop member being positioned at an angle with respect to said comb back corresponding to the desired elevation angle of the hair during cutting so that when said angle stop member is placed against the head said comb back is positioned at the desired elevation angle; and a finger stop on said comb back, said finger stop being positioned at a desired distance from said reference end so that when a finger is placed against said finger stop, the finger is at the desired distance from the head for cutting hair adjacent the finger. |
| 18. | The comb of Claim 17 wherein said angle stop is adjustable with respect to said comb back so that the desired elevation angle can be selected. |
| 19. | The comb of Claim 17 wherein said finger stop is adjustable along said back with respect to said reference end of said comb back so that the length of hair from said reference end to said finger stop can be preselected. |
| 20. | The comb of Claim 19 wherein said angle stop is adjustable with respect to said comb back so that the desired elevation angle can be selected. |
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is directed to a compass and ruler comb for precision haircutting. Features included on the comb are an adjustable angle stop to gauge the angle of a section of hair with respect to the head and an adjustable finger stop so that the section of hair clamped between the fingers can be held at the proper length for proper cutting of that section of the hair.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the cutting of. men's and women's hair to a particular style, two important factors are involved. The first is elevation. Elevation is the angle at which a section of hair is held with respect to the point of the head to which the hair is attached, preparatory to cutting. The second is length. A section of hair is combed out and held at the proper elevation angle between the index and middle fingers of the left hand. These fingers clamp the hair, and the cut is made outside of the fingers (away from the head) . These factors are principal among the various factors which influence and form the ultimate shape of the finished haircut. In present practice, elevation is not measured, but is estimated. The positioning of the clamped fingers on the section of hair is not measured, but is estimated. Thus, present-day haircutting is less than precise.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a comb for use in haircutting, comprising: a comb back, a plurality of comb teeth extending from the comb back, the comb having a reference end; an angle stop pivotally mounted on the comb at its reference end, the angle stop including a stop member pivotally mounted on the reference end
of the comb and means for releasably latching the angle sto member at a predetermined angle with respect to the back of the comb so that the elevation of hair with respect to the head can be accurately placed during a haircutting procedure. The invention is directed to a compass and ruler comb which has built-in structure both for measuring the elevation angle and measuring the finger clamp position before cutting for precision haircutting. The angular elevation measurement may be provided by an angle stop mounted on the end of the comb and adjustable to the selected elevation angle. The haircutting length is preferably measured by an adjustable finger stop against which one or more of the hair- clamped fingers is engaged so that the clamped fingers hold the section of hair at a precise preselected distance from the head prior to cutting.
An advantage of this invention is to provide a comb which has a compass thereon for measuring elevation so that a section of hair can be drawn out at the correct elevation. The comb preferably has a finger stop thereon so that the index and middle fingers which are clamped on a section of hair can be held at a predetermined distance from the head so that cutting can be accurately accomplished. The comb also preferably has both an adjustable compass and an adjustable finger stop thereon so that the same comb can be employed to accurately show the correction elevation of a section of hair and accurately locate the clamping finger so that precision haircutting can be readily accomplished.
The hairdresser's comb may have multiple functions beyond that of combing, and may be structured in such a way that it can be economically manufactured and, thus, provided to a broad segment of the market.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the compass and ruler comb of this invention, shown in use, defining both elevation and length of a section of hair, employing the angle stop and finger stop of the hairdresser's comb.
FIGURE 2 is an isometric view of the compass and
ruler comb of this invention on a larger scale.
FIGURE 3 is an enlarged section taken generally along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.
FIGURE 4 is an enlarged side elevational view, with parts broken away and parts taken in section, showing the details of the finger stop on the comb.
FIGURE 5 is an isometric view of the finger stop separated from the comb.
FIGURE 6 is a view of the comb held against the head, showing the application of the angle stop.
FIGURE 7 is an enlarged detail of the angle stop end of the comb, with parts broken away.
FIGURE 8 is a plan view of the angle stop portion of the comb, as seen generally along line 8-8 of FIGURE 7.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The compass and ruler comb of this invention is generally indicated at 10 in FIGURES 1, 2 and 6. The comb 10 is conventional in the sense that it has a back 12 and has teeth 14 extending from the back and supported by the back. The teeth generally lie in a plane and preferably are of one coarseness at one end of the comb and a different coarseness at the other end of the comb, as indicated in FIGURE 2. The comb has two ends, with the reference end 16 being the end which is toward the head of the person 18 whose hair 20 is being cut. The reference end is held against the person's head during the establishment of a cutting location of a particular section of hair. The angle of the comb with respect to the person's head is indicated by the angle stop which is generally indicated at 22 in FIGURES 2, 6, 7 and 8.
In the presently preferred embodiment, the angle stop 22 is generally in the form of a hinge. Fixed flange 24,
see FIGURE 8, is secured to the comb back. It carries thereon fixed ferrules 26 and 28. Moving ferrule 30 lies therebetween. Pin 32 engages through all three ferrules so that moving ferrule 30 can rotate on the axis of the pin.
Angle stp 34 is mounted on moving ferrule 30 and, thus, can swing around the pin axis. As seen in FIGURE 8, fixed ferrule
26 has a series of detent notches therein, with detent notch
36 being particularly identified. Angle stop 34 has a spring finger 38 integrally formed therewith, see FIGURE 7. The spring finger has a detent 40 thereon, see FIGURE 8, which can engage in the selected detent notch to hold the angle stop at the desired angle. The detent notches 36 are preferably positioned to releasably hold the angle stop 34 in the fixed line position in FIGURE 8 where it lies against the comb back
12 to a position 30, 45 and 90 degrees with respect thereto.
The angle stop 34 is placed at the selected angle, 90 degrees in FIGURE 6, and is held against the head 18 so that the back of the comb indicates the direction in which a section of hair is to be combed to be measured and cut. The angle at which the comb back extends with respect to the surface of the head at which the angle stop is engaged is the elevation, as previously described. The angle stop is adjustable in angle and, thus, the elevation angle at which the section of hair is combed with respect to the head surface can be selected.
The distance from the head at which the section of hair is to be cut must also be carefully established for a precision haircut. To aid in establishing the proper length, a finger stop is mounted on the back of the comb. The finger stop is generally indicated at 42 in FIGURES 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The back 12 of the comb 10 has means thereon for positioning the finger stop with respect to the reference end 16 and releasably securing it in that position. In the preferred embodiment disclosed in the application, the comb back 12 has a slot 44 therethrough. Preferably, the slot terminates intermediate the ends of the comb. As is seen in FIGURE 3, the slot includes a U-shaped channel 46 in the back of the comb running along the length of the slot. The top edge of the slot is defined by a series of steep teeth 48, see FIGURE 4. The back may carry indicia 50 indicating the
distance from the reference end of the comb. As seen in FIGURE 5, the finger stop includes an upright stop 52 which has an opening 54 therein to receive the upper portion of the comb back above the slot 44. Thus, the upright stop extends above the comb back, as shown in FIGURES 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The finger stop 42 includes a lower panel 56, which is fixed to upright stop 52 and which has a slide 58 which is engaged in groove 46 so as to guide the finger stop 42 in its movement along the length of the comb back. Upper panel 60 may be formed as a unitary U-shaped structure with lower panel 56, with the base of their U adhesively fastened to the upright stop 52. The outer end of the upper panel 60, and the material is sufficiently resilient so that the upper panel 60 can be flexed toward the lower panel 56. Tooth 62 is formed on the top of upper panel 60 and is positioned to engage in the teeth 48. The angle of the teeth is such that, when tooth 62 is engaged between a pair of the teeth 48, the finger stop cannot be moved by axial force. Instead, finger pads 64 and 66 are formed on the upper and lower panels. When the pads are squeezed together, the tooth 62 is released and the finger stop 42 can be moved to the selected length from the reference end 16.
In operation, the comb 10 is used combs out a section of hair, such as a section of hair 68. The angle stop and finger stop have been previously set. The angle stop is held against the person's head at that section of hair to assure that the angle of elevation is correct for the selected precision haircut. Thereupon, the forefinger finger and middle finger clamp that section of the hair close to the head and slide out on the section of the hair, holding it at moderate tension until the forefinger 70 of the haircutter touches the finger stop 42. At this point, clamping force is increased, the comb is removed, and the scissors make a cut on the side of the forefinger and middle finger clamping the hair away from the head. In this way, that section of the hair is held at the proper elevation angle and cut at the proper length. The haircutter combs out an adjacent section of the hair and repeats the procedure.
Many precision haircuts use the same elevation
and/or the same hair length so that the entire haircut can b completed with little change to the angle and finger sto positions on the compass and ruler comb. On the other hand, for some haircuts the length from the reference end to the finger stop can be quickly changed, as required. Similarly, the angle stop can be quickly changed to a new selected angle so that precision haircutting is quickly and easily accomplished. In addition to the compass and ruler functions of the comb, of course the comb can be used in the actual hair combing process. The comb also carries a parting point 72, see FIGURE 2, so that the comb 10 can accomplish many of the functions required in precision haircutting.
This invention has been described in its presently contemplated best modes, and it is clear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications, modes and embodiments within the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exercise of the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scope of this invention is defined by the scope of the following claims.