Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to devices for keeping hair in place.

Background to the Invention

People who have long hair often suffer with the problem of the hair falling in front of their face when their head moves or they turn their body. It is common to see people flicking their hair away from their face or to a position behind their ears so that their vision is unobstructed. For people with very long hair this can be a regular activity.

Conventional solutions to this problem comprise hair grips, hair bands, or styling of the hair such that it is inclined not to fall in front of the face. However, only a few styles are able to achieve this solution. Furthermore using hair grips or head bands often leaves at least one of the ears of the wearer showing, which is generally not fashionably attractive.

There has now been developed a device which overcomes or substantially mitigates the above mentioned and/or disadvantages with the prior art.

Summary of the Invention

In a first aspect of the invention there is provided a device for keeping hair in place, comprising a retainer attached to and extending outwardly of a support member engageable with the ear of a wearer so as to be capable of restraining forward movement of strands of the wearer's hair.

The support member may be an arm of a pair of spectacles or an ear piece.

The device according to the invention is advantageous because it retains a portion of the wearer's hair away from the face of the wearer. This enables the wearer to avoid having to manually pull back the hair when required. The device also allows said portion of hair to cover the ears of the wearer.

The wearer is somebody who is wearing the pair of spectacles or an ear piece according to the invention. A pair of spectacles is a general term used in the art and may include a pair of glass or plastic lenses worn in a frame in front of the eyes. An ear piece is a general term used in the art and may include a device which is held in, on or around the ear.

The retainer can be any device which protrudes away from the head of the wearer and is capable of keeping hair in a place. The retainer is adapted to prevent hair from falling forward and in front of the wearer's face.

The retainer typically comprises a longitudinal protrusion which extends outward from the arms of the spectacles or from the ear piece, from a position forward of the ear. The longitudinal protrusion can be formed from the same material as the spectacles or ear piece or be formed from a separate material. The protrusion is preferably in a fixed orientation with respect to the set of spectacles or the ear piece. The protrusion preferably forms an angle between the arms of the spectacles or the ear piece and the protrusion of up to and including substantially 90 degrees. The protrusion may be resiliently deformable. When the protrusion is resiliently deformable it does not deflect to an angle which is greater than substantially 90 degrees between the arms of the spectacles or the ear piece and the protrusion. Preferably the protrusion is an arcuate portion extending away from the side of the head in use.

The retainer may further comprise a support. The support is adapted to position the protrusion in a fixed orientation with respect to the set of spectacles or the ear piece. The support may be a mechanical attachment between the arms of the spectacles or the ear piece and the protrusion. For example the support may be an adhesive which bonds the protrusion to the spectacles or the ear piece, or the support may be a welded bond between the protrusion and the arms of the spectacles or the ear piece. The support may be adjustable with the arms of the spectacles or the ear piece. This enables the orientation of the retainer with respect to the spectacles or the ear piece to be altered by the user. Preferably the support is mutually engageable with the arms of the spectacles or the ear piece. For example the support may be a clip which is attachable to the arms of the spectacles or to the ear piece. This enables the user to add or remove the retainers as required.

The ear piece may also comprise a head strap. The head strap may extend from two ear pieces each arranged either side of the head over the top of the head in use. The head strap may also extend from two ear pieces arranged either side of the head around the back of the head in use. When extending around the back of the head there is preferably provided a clip to prevent the strap from falling down. In use the head strap is preferably positioned under the hair and enables the ear pieces to rest on the ears.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail by way of illustration with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 shows a three dimensional view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention forming part of a set of spectacles or an ear piece.

Figure 2 shows an overhead schematic plan view of and embodiment of the device according to the invention.

Figure 3 shows a three dimensional view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention forming part of an ear piece.

Figure 4 shows a three dimensional view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention forming part of an ear piece with a head strap.

Detailed Description of the Illustrated Embodiment

Referring to Figure 1 A in the embodiment shown there are two retainers generally designated 10, one on each arm 22 of a set of spectacles generally designated 20. The retainers 10 are formed from plastic and comprise an arcuate portion 12 which extends away from the arm 22 of the spectacles 20. Figure 1 B shows a close up of the retainer 10 on the side B of the spectacles 20 in Figure 1 A. The arcuate portion 12 is bent backwards away from the front of the spectacles 20 so as to form a sort of hook. The arcuate portion 12 is resilient and is thus prevented from deflecting when hair is positioned behind it in the region "h". The retainers 10 also comprise an attachment portion 14 which in the example shown is in the form of a clip. The clip is fashioned to be able to extend around at least part of the circumference of the arm 22 of the spectacles 20 thus enabling the retainers 10 to be clipped on to the spectacles 20. At least part of the material of the clip is therefore resiliently deformable for this purpose and has gripping portions (not shown) to help fix the retainer 10 in place and prevent the retainer 10 from moving along or around the arm 22 of the spectacles 20. Figure 2 shows how the arcuate portions 12 are oriented to extend away from the spectacles 20 so that they are able to capture the hair which will generally fall forwards towards the front of the spectacles 20.

In use, the wearer (not shown) wears the spectacles 20 in the usual position with the frames in front of the eyes and the arms around the side of the head. The wearer then takes the two retainers 10 and clips them on to the arms of the spectacles 20 at a position between the ears and the hinge of the spectacles. The action of clipping on is achieved by pushing the attachment portion 14 of the retainer 10 against the arms 22 of the spectacles 20. This causes the clip to deform around the arm 22. The gripping portions then prevent the rotation and further movement of the retainers 10 about the arms. The wearer forcibly orientates the retainers so that the arcuate portions are sticking outwards away from his or her head. The wearer then takes his or her hair and wraps it behind the arcuate portions. The hair is thus prevented from falling forward and covers the ears. The wearer may alternatively clip on the retainers 10 before wearing the spectacles 20 and orientate them accordingly.

In figure 3 there is a retainer generally designated 10 forming part of an ear piece 30. The retainer 10 is formed from plastic and comprises an arcuate portion 12 which extends away from the ear piece 30. The arcuate portion 12 is resilient and is thus prevented from deflecting when hair is positioned behind it in the region "h". The retainer 10 also comprises an attachment portion 14 which is an extension of the ear piece 30. The arcuate portion 12, the attachment portion 12 and the ear piece 30 are integrally formed. The arcuate portion 12 are oriented to extend away from the head (out of the page) so that they are able to capture the hair which will generally fall forwards in the direction of arrow from the back B of the head to the front F of the face. In the example shown in Figure 3, the ear piece is an ear hook device.

Figure 4, shows a three dimensional view of an embodiment of the de- vice according to the invention forming part of an ear piece with a head strap. In this example the earpieces 30 are designed to simply rest on the top of the ears. The strap 40 extends over the top of the head and connects the two ear pieces 30. The retainer 10 extends forward of the ear piece 30 and outwards of the head as described above.

The device according to the invention is further advantageous because by being part of a set of spectacles or an ear piece the users hair can be kept in place even when the head is positioned at extreme angles, and during extreme exertion.