A method of imparting a curl or wave to hair is disclosed in WO 95/22920 and WO 97/46132. In this disclosed method, a tress of hair is inserted into an extendible elastic tube and one end of the tube is secured to the tress of hair. The extendible elastic tube is then extended lengthwise so that the opposite free end of the tube is moved relative to the length of the tress of hair to a desired location along the tress of hair. The opposite free end of the tube is then maintained at the desired location relative to the tress of hair and extendible elastic tube is released. Upon release of the tube, the tube contracts lengthwise and the tress of hair contained therein is thereby caused to assume a sinuous form. The tress of hair is treated with a chemical substance, either prior to insertion of the tress of hair into the elastic tube or when the tress of hair is contained within the tube, whereby the tress of hair is caused to retain its sinuous form and is of waved form.

WO 07/46132 discloses a construction of device for applying the aforesaid method to a tress of hair. The device comprises a base member to which one end of the tube is secured and an upper member to which the opposite end of the tube is secured. A body member extends between the base member and the upper member and locates the upper member relative to the base member. The upper member is free to be moved away from the body member in order to extend the tube. In use a tress of hair is inserted through the base member and through the tube with the free end of the tress of hair, remote from the root end, extending out of the tube beyond the upper member. The base member is located adjacent the scalp of person and

then the upper member is moved away from the body member to extend the tube. The upper member is formed such that, when the upper member is released and drawn back to the body member by the elasticity of the tube, the hair is prevented from exiting through the upper member. It will be appreciated that it may be desired to impart waving to tresses of hair of different length or to impart waving of different tightness to tresses of hair.

According to the invention a device for use in imparting a wave to a tress of hair comprises a tubular element extendible lengthwise ; a first structure secured to a first end of said tube ; a second structure secured to a second end of said tube, said second end being opposite to and spaced from said first end ; said first and second structures having apertures extending therethrough in communication with the interior of the tube ; and a body member located between said first and second structures ; said body member being of generally tubular form surrounding said tubular element and being effective to locate one of said structures relative to the other of said structures and permitting manual displacement of one structure away from the other structure to allow lengthwise extension of the tubular element and said body member being constructed to permit adjustment of at least one dimension of said body member.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the drawings in which : - Figure 1 is a side elevation of a device in accordance with the invention in a lengthened state, Figure 2 is an axial section of the device of Figure 1, Figure 3 is a transverse section of the device on the line 3 - 3 of Figure 1, Figure 4 is a side elevation of the device illustrated in a shortened state, and Figure 5 is an axial section of the device of Figure 4.

Referring first to Figures 1,2 and 3 a hair treatment device comprises a base element 50, an upper element 51 and a body 52 of generally cylindrical form interposed between the base element and upper element. The body 52 comprises first and second elements 72,73 in telescopic relationship. The body element 72 is a freely sliding fit in the body element 73 whereby the body elements 72,73 are displaceable in an axial direction relative to one another. The base element has a lower flange portion 53 extending downwardly and outwardly for seating on the scalp of a person whose hair is to be treated. The base element has a cylindrical portion 54 extending into a lower end of the body element 72 and an inwardly extending flange 55 at the lower end of the body element 72 makes an interference engagement with the cylindrical portion 54 of the base element effective to retain the body element 72 on the base element. The upper element 51 has an upwardly and outwardly extending flange 56 to provide a funnel like structure and a cylindrical portion 57 extending into the upper end of the body element. The cylindrical portion 57 of the upper element is a fit in the upper end of the body element 73 such that the upper element is retained on the body element 73 but may be easily removed therefrom. The upper element has a wall 58 extending transversely of the upper element and a central aperture 59 in the wall 58 provides restricted communication with the interior of the body element. A tube 60 of elastic material is secured at its respective ends to the cylindrical portions 54,57.

As shown in the drawings, the ends of the tube 60 are secured to the cylindrical portions by means of resilient 'O'rings 61 pressing the wall of the tube 60 into annular grooves 62 in the cylindrical portions. If desired the ends of the tube 60 may be formed with beads 63 to enhance and facilitate the securing of the tube to the cylindrical portions of the base and upper elements respectively. As shown in Figure 2, the diameter of the tube is slightly

smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical portions to which the tube is secured and hence the ends of the tube are stretched to a larger diameter to extend onto the cylindrical portions.

The base member 50 includes a generally'U'shaped wall 64 extending upwardly away from the flange 53. A hair securing member 65 is hinged at 66 to permit the hair securing member to be moved away from the wall 64 to an open position to permit a tress of hair to be passed through the base element and to be moved to a closed hair securing position, as shown in Figure 3, in which the hair securing member 65 is located adjacent the wall 64 to secure the base element to the tress of hair adjacent the root of the tress of hair. The hair securing member is provided with a handle 67 to facilitate moving the member from and to the closed position. The hair securing member is provided with locking means 68 to secure the member in the closed position. Conveniently, as shown in Figure 3, the hair securing member is formed integrally with a hinge member 69 secured to the base element and with hinged toggle snap lock means 70 also secured to the base element. The hair securing member 65 may be provided with teeth 71 to engage the tress of hair. The body element 52 may be formed of two half elements with integral clip means to secure the half elements to one another or the body element may be two half elements formed integrally with a hinge inter-connecting the half elements and clip means integral with the half elements to secure free edges of the half elements to one another.

As described hereinbefore the body elements are displaceable in an axial direction relative to one another and hence the overall length, i. e. the lengthwise dimension, of the body may be adjusted by sliding one body element axially relative to the other body element whereby the device may have a lengthened state as shown in figures

1 and 2 or a shortened state as shown in Figures 4 and 5.

The length of the tube may be such that the tube is taut and extended from its natural length when the upper element is seated in engagement with the body both when the body is in the extended state and when the body is in the unextended shortened state. Alternatively the length may be such that the tube is slack and not extended when the upper element is seated in engagement with the body both when the body is in the extended state and when the body is in the unextended state. In a further variation the tube may be of such a length that the tube is taut when the upper element is seated in engagement with the body and the body is in the extended state but is unextended and slack when the body is in the unextended state.

The tube may be of greater diameter than as illustrated in Figures 2 and 5.

When a hair dresser is to treat a person's hair utilising the device, the hair dresser first separates a tress of hair from the remainder of the hair and draws the hair through the extendible elastic tube 60. Thus the tress of hair extends through the device and out through the aperture in the upper element. The device then is seated with the flange 53 of the base element adjacent the scalp of the person. The hair securing member is then moved into the closed position to grip the root of the tress of hair adjacent the scalp and this serves to retain the device located against the scalp. The upper element 51 is then lifted away from the body element 52 thereby stretching and extending the elastic tube lengthwise. The extension of the elastic tube may be of such an extent that the extended elastic tube encloses the entire length of the tress of hair or the extension may be of lesser extent such that only a part of the length of the tress of

hair is enclosed within the extended elastic tube. Upon release of the upper structure, the elastic tube contracts and draws the tress of hair into the device, the upper element being drawn back into engagement with the body element. The wall 58 of the upper member tends to retain the tress of hair within the tube and restrain the hair from moving out of the device whereby the length of the tress of hair enclosed by the stretched elastic tube remains enclosed by the elastic tube when the tube returns to its contracted state with the upper element seated in engagement with the body element. The contraction of the elastic tube, and hence of the tress of hair enclosed therein, causes the tress of hair to assume a sinuous waved form. This waved form may be set into the tress of hair by the application of a chemical hair treatment substance to the hair. This substance may be applied to the hair of the person prior to separation into tresses and insertion of the tresses of hair into devices as hereinbefore described or the substance may be applied after the tresses of hair have been enclosed in the hair treatment devices, one for each tress respectively, and resultant waving of the hair. In the latter method of applying the hair treatment substance, the substance in liquid, fluid or gaseous state is entered via the aperture of the upper element, the upper element being used as funnel, into the interior of the elastic tube whereby the substance is brought into treatment contact with the hair.

The treatment substance applied may be at ambient temperature or may be heated prior to or during application thereof to the tress of hair. If desired the base element may include means to seal against the root end of the tress of hair to prevent egress of the hair treatment substance. Also if desired the lower surface of the flange 53 of the base element, which surface lies adjacent the scalp of the person having the hair treatment, may be provided with a plurality of hook-like elements, known as Velcro, to cause the base structure to

cling to the hair adjacent the scalp and assist in retaining the device located relative to the scalp.

When a wave is to be imparted to a tress of hair the amount of contraction of the tube determines the tightness of the waving. The body determines the lengthwise extent of the tube when the tube in the contracted state.

Accordingly the lengthwise dimension of the tube in the contracted state may be varied by adjusting the lengthwise dimension of the body. When a wave is to be imparted to a relatively long tress of hair or when a relatively loose waving is required, the body is extended lengthwise. When a wave is to be imparted to a relatively short tress of hair or when a relatively tight waving is required the body is contracted to an unextended state. It will be appreciated that the amount of extension of the tube can be determined by the manual force applied to the upper element 51, subject to a maximum extension determined by the construction and material of the tube, and the length of the tube in its free unextended state is determined by the lengthwise dimension of the body. Thus if the body is in the contracted state with the least lengthwise dimension, the range of contraction of the tube is at a maximum whereas if the body is in the extended state with the maximum dimension the range of contraction of the tube is decreased. The provision of a body of telescopic construction enables the device to be used for different lengths of tresses of hair and for imparting waves of different desired tightness.

Retention means, for example detents or other means on one body element engaging means on the other body element, are provided, effective to secure one body member in a lengthwise or axial direction relative to the other body element whereby the lengthwise or axial dimension of the body may be set and maintained during use of the device.

For example a projection 74 may be provided on the inside

of the body element 73 which engages with a series of apertures 75, or a series of recesses in the body element 72. Figures 1 and 2 show the body in a fully extended state and Figures 4 and 5 show the body in a wholly unextended state. However it is to be understood that the body elements may be adjusted relative to one another to any intermediate relative position whereby the body may have a plurality of states in each of which the body has a different length dimension. The means comprising the projection 74 and series of apertures 75 for retaining the body elements in a desired location relative to one another enable the body elements to be maintained selectively in a plurality of positions relative to one another.

Hereinbefore, the device has been described as having a body of which a lengthwise dimension thereof may be adjusted as desired. Alternatively, or in addition, the body may be constructed such that a transverse dimension of the body may be adjusted. The body comprises two elements disposed side-by-side and extending for the full length of the body. The two elements inter-engage with one another such that the two elements form a generally cylindrical structure of which a transverse dimension may be varied by relative displacement of the two elements.

For example the two elements may be of generally'U' shaped transverse cross section and the walls of the elements overlap by a variable amount. By providing a body having an adjustable cross section, manual pressure on the body elements may be utilised to apply transverse pressure to the tube and hence to a tress of hair contained within the tube. If desired means may be provided to maintain the body elements in a desired relative disposition whereby the body element may be utilised to provide a variable limitation to which the tube is able to extend transversely so that transverse confinement of the tress of hair within the tube may be

adjustably controlled.

Hereinbefore the treatment of a tress of hair has been described in relation to use of a hair treatment device in which the tress of hair is enclosed in an extendible tube. The extendible tube may be formed of elastic material such as latex but may be formed of other materials or may have a different form of construction. For example the tube may be of woven construction so formed as to permit the tube to be extended lengthwise and to be contracted again either automatically as a result of its construction or the material of which it is formed or manually. In a further form of the hair treatment device a combination of a cylindrical coil spring and an extendible cylindrical impervious wall or membrane may be used. The coils of the coil spring normally lie closely adjacent one another to form a substantially continuous cylindrical wall and the coil spring may be extended lengthwise manually. One end of the coil spring is secured to a base element and the other end of the coil spring is secured to an upper element, said elements being constructed as described with reference to the drawings. An extendible cylindrical impervious wall or membrane is secured to the coils of the coil spring to retain the tress of hair within the spring and to prevent egress of the hair from within the coil spring through spaces between adjacent coils of the spring.

The terms wave and waving used in the specification and claims are not to be taken as limiting the invention. These terms are to be understood as relating to any form imparted to the hair and include for example forms commonly referred to as waved or curled.

It will be appreciated that the base structure, upper structure and the body elements may be constructed in various ways. Conveniently these components may be

manufactured of synthetic plastics material by moulding.

However these components may be manufactured in any other convenient and suitable manner. The terms"upper"and "lower"used hereinbefore refer to the device as illustrated in the drawings and are not to be taken as indicating a particular orientation of the device when in use or otherwise limiting the invention.