PROTECTIVE DEVICE

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a protective device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for protecting the ears of a person during dyeing of that person's hair. The present invention also relates to a method for dyeing the hair of a person using the protective devices.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

A very large number of people dye their hair, either to attain a more desirable hair colour than their natural hair colour or to hide the effects of greying. For example, many darker haired people often dye their hair to change the colour of their hair. For example, people with light brown hair may dye their hair to obtain reddish coloured hair. Alternatively, people with brown hair or dark hair may bleach their hair using a peroxide based material to make their hair blonde.

During dyeing of hair with a tinted or coloured dye, the dye can come into contact with the skin. This can cause undesirable discolouration of the skin. Other hair dyes, such as bleaches or tinted dyes, may also cause irritation to the skin if they come into contact with the skin.

US patent 5,673,438 in the name of Lambert describes an ear shield assembly for use during dyeing of the hair. The ear shield assembly described in this patent comprises a head band fabricated of a semi rigid material and formed in a generally semi-circular configuration. Two ear covers, each formed in a hollow generally semi-spherical configuration are mounted to respective ends of the head band. Each ear covering has a concave inner surface and a convex outer surface. The ear coverings are lined with a foamed material for comfort of the user. To use this apparatus, the head band is placed across the forehead of the user and each ear cover is placed over the auricle of an ear. The apparatus protects a users forehead and ears from hair dye during hair colouring.

The applicant does not concede that the prior art discussed in this specification forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia or in any other country.

Throughout this specification, the term "comprising" and its grammatical equivalents are to be taken to have an inclusive meaning unless the context indicates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide covers for the ears to cover the ears during hair dyeing.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a cover for placing over an ear, the cover comprising a sheet of substantially fluid impervious material defining an ear enclosing space, the ear enclosing space having an opening surrounded by an elastic material, said opening being smaller than a periphery of an auricle of the ear when the elastic material is in a non-stretched state, said opening being expandable by stretching the elastic material to enable the cover to be placed over an ear, wherein when the cover is positioned on an ear an edge of the opening lies adjacent a juncture between the head and the ear and the sheet of material substantially encloses external surfaces of the auricle of the ear.

Preferably, the sheet of material is a flexible sheet of material.

Preferably, the sheet of material is an elastic material, such as a natural rubber or a synthetic rubber. Non-irritating elastomeric materials are especially suitable. Latex may be a suitable material for use of this embodiment of the invention. It is believed that using an elastic material in the sheet of material allows the ear covers to sit more snugly on and around the ears, thereby improving the comfort of the ear covers and minimising inadvertent contact or accidental removal of the covers from the ears. In other embodiments, a silicone material may be used. Such materials are elastic. A silicone material similar to that used in swimming caps may be suitable for use in the present invention.

The elastic material surrounding the opening in the cover may comprise the elastic sheet material itself. In this embodiment, the cover may be formed with a thicker edge of

material surrounding the opening to improve resistance to tearing or failure around the opening.

In another embodiment, the elastic material is a separate piece of elastic material attached to the sheet of substantially fluid impervious material. The piece of elastic material may be a ribbon of elastic material sewn around the edge of the opening.

In another embodiment, the sheet of substantially fluid impervious material may comprise a flexible plastic material. The sheet of material may be non-elastic or only very slightly stretchy.

The ear covers of the first aspect of the present invention are very inexpensive to make and accordingly are particularly suitable for use as single-use items that are disposed of after use. This is desirable from a hygiene and public health point of view. Further, the ear covers are easy to fit, comfortable and provide good protection against hair dye coming into contact with the auricle of the ears. In embodiments where the sheet of substantially fluid impervious material is made from an elastic material, the cover fits snuggly to the ears, which allows for comfort in use whilst ensuring that the cover does not hinder the person conducting the dyeing of the hair. Snug fitment also reduces the possibility of inadvertent removal of the ear covers whilst the hair dyeing process is still taking place. Further, it has been found that, in embodiments where the covers are made form an elastic material, hearing remains relatively unaffected whilst wearing the covers.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for dyeing the hair of a person comprising the steps of providing separate ear covers for each ear, each ear cover comprising a sheet of substantially fluid impervious material defining an ear enclosing space, the ear enclosing space having an opening surrounded by an elastic material, said opening being smaller than a periphery of the auricle of the ear when the elastic material is in a non-stretched state, said opening being expandable by stretching the elastic material to enable the cover to be placed over an ear, placing each cover over a respective ear such that an edge of the opening of each cover lies adjacent a juncture between the head and the ear and the sheet of material of each cover substantially encloses the external surfaces of the auricle of the respective ear, and dyeing the hair of the person.

Suitably, the method further comprises the step of removing the ear covers from the ears of the person following dyeing of the hair.

The ear covers in accordance with the present invention may also be used in applications other than hair dyeing. For example, the ear covers could be used by doctors for hygiene reasons or could be used by miners or construction workers to keep dust out of the ears. The covers may also be used to protect the ears during washing of the hair.

Other uses of the covers may also be envisaged.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an ear cover as described herein comprising the steps of providing a solid template, positioning the solid template in a liquid elastomeric material, removing the solid template form the liquid elastomeric material wherein adherent liquid elastomeric material coats at least part of the template and is removed with the template, allowing the liquid elastomeric material to set and removing the ear cover from the template.

Suitably, the solid template comprises a projection having an enlargement at one end. Suitably, a plurality of such templates are provided. The plurality of solid templates may be affixed to a common frame or mounting to enable the plurality of templates to be easily positioned in and removed from the liquid elastomeric material.

The liquid elastomeric material suitably comprises a body of uncured liquid elastomeric material which subsequently sets or cures to form the elastomeric material. The liquid elastomeric material may, for example, be liquid latex or an uncured liquid silicone.

The solid template may be dipped into a body of the liquid elastomeric material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of an ear cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an ear cover in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 shows a rear view of a human ear;

Figure 4 shows a rear view of a human ear with an ear cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention being placed over the ear;

Figure 5 is a side view of the ear shown in figure 4;

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a mould or template used in the manufacture of an ear cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 7 shows a side view of the mould or template shown in Figure 6;

Figure 8 shows a plan view of the mould or template shown in Figure 6; and

Figure 9 shows a schematic view of using a plurality of templates or moulds as shown in Figures 6 to 8 in the manufacture of an ear cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

It will be appreciated that the attached drawings have been provided for the purpose of illustrating the present invention. Thus, it will be understood that the present invention should not be considered to be limited solely to those features as shown in the drawings.

The ear cover 10 shown in figure 1 comprises a single sheet of material 12. The sheet of material 12 defines an ear enclosing space 14. The cover 10 is provided with an opening 16. An elastic material 18 is attached around the edge of opening 16. For example, the elastic material 18 may be sewn to the sheet of material 12 or it may be plastically welded to the sheeted material 12.

In one embodiment, the sheet of material 12 is made from an elastomeric material. Such material may have elastic properties that allow the sheet of material 12 to stretch and to return to its original shape when the stretching force is removed. For example, the sheet of material 12 may be made from a latex material or from a natural or synthetic rubber material. Elastomeric materials similar to those used in the manufacture of condoms may be suitable materials for use in the present invention. The elastic material 18 that is attached around the edge of opening 16 is suitably a ribbon of elastic material. The ribbon of elastic material may be similar to ribbons of elastic material used in the

manufacture of shower caps. The ribbon of elastic material may be attached to the sheet of material 12 by sewing or by a plastics welding technique.

As an alternative, the sheet of material 12 may be from a generally non-elastic material, such as low-density polyethylene. Although such materials may have a small degree of stretchiness, they are not elastic in that applying a stretching force will tend to cause the materials to permanently deform.

Figure 2 shows an ear cover in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. The ear cover 20 shown in figure 2 comprises a sheet 22 of substantially fluid impervious material that is elastic in nature. The sheet 22 may be made from a latex material similar to that used in the manufacture of condoms.

The sheet 22 defines an ear enclosing space 24. Ear enclosing space 24 is essentially the internal volume surrounded by sheet 22.

The cover 20 also includes an opening 26 through which an ear can be inserted such that the ear becomes surrounded by the sheeted material. Opening 26 has an edge 28, which edge is formed from a region of relatively thicker material. It will be appreciated that edge 28, in the embodiment shown in figure 2, is made from the same material as sheet 22. However, edge 28 is relatively thicker than the sheet 22 to provide increased strength and resistance to damage of the edge 28 of opening 26. hi this regard, the edge 28 may comprise a ring of material defining the edge of the opening 26. The ring of material may be formed integrally with the sheet 22 or separately attached to the sheet 22.

Figure 3 shows a rear view of a human ear. Li figure 3, the auricle 30 of the ear (the auricle being the external part of the ear) is joined to the head 32 at a juncture 34. As can be seen from figure 3, the periphery of the juncture 34 where the auricle 30 joins the head 32 is smaller than the periphery of the auricle 30. In this regard, the vertical extent of the auricle 30 may be considered to be defined at its upper limit by 36 and defined at its lower limit by 38.

It is a feature of the present invention that the opening in the ear cover has a dimension that is smaller than the dimensions of the auricle. The use of an elastic

material around the opening of the ear cover allows the opening to be expanded or enlarged to enable the opening to be placed over the ear. Once the opening has been placed over the ear, the force that expands or enlarges the opening is released and the elastic material then fits closely around the juncture between the ear and the head of the user. This is shown in figure 4, in which the auricle 30 of the ear can clearly be seen to be positioned within the ear enclosing space 14, 24. Similarly, the edge 18, 20 of the opening of the cover fits closely to the juncture 34 between the ear and the head of the person.

Figure 5 shows a side view of figure 4. In figure 5, the extent of the opening 18, 28 can be clearly seen, hi particular, when the ear cover is mounted to the ear, the opening 18, 28 assumes a smaller dimension than the largest dimensions of the auricle of the ear. This acts to retain the ear cover in position. Further, it can be seen that the sheet of material from which the cover is manufactured clearly encloses the auricle of the ear to thereby protect the auricle of the ear from coming into contact with hair dye.

The ear covers in accordance with the present invention are easy to fit, comfortable to wear, do not get in the way of the person doing the hair dyeing, do not adversely impact on the hearing of the person wearing the ear covers (thereby allowing conversation between the hairdresser and the customer during hair dyeing), are inexpensive and are suitable for single-use applications followed by disposal. The ear covers protect the ear from the discolouration effects of hair dyes and may also protect the ear from any irritant effects of hair dyes. In embodiments where the sheet of material is made from an elastic material, the sheet will fit snugly to the ear and not tend to "bag" away from the ear. This further reduces the risk of the hairdresser inadvertently removing the cover from the ear during dyeing of the hair.

In embodiments where the sheet of material is a non-stretchy or non-elastic material, it will be appreciated that the opening in the sheet of material should be large enough to allow the ear to pass there through. The elastic material that is attached to the edge of the opening can then be used to reduce the size of the opening such that the cover sits on the ear as shown on figures 4 and 5.

The cover is suitably made by moulding a sheet of plastic material into an appropriate shape, similar to that shown in figures 1 and 2. The elastic material surrounding the opening may be formed integrally with the cover at this stage or it may subsequently be joined to the cover. Alternatively, a generally flat sheet of material may have the edges gathered together to generally define the opening and the elastic material joined around the opening to fully form the cover. Any excess material from the sheet that extends beyond the elastic material may be trimmed, if desired, in this embodiment.

Figures 6 to 9 show moulds or templates for use in manufacturing an ear cover in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The mould or template 50 shown in Figures 6 to 8 comprise a projection having a stem 52 and an enlarged end portion 54. Enlarged end portion 54 may be in the form of an outwardly extending flange

56 that smoothly joins into stem 52 via transition zone 58.

To manufacture the ear covers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of moulds or templates 50 are mounted to a frame or arm 60 (see Figure 9). The moulds or templates 50 suitably extend downwardly from laterally extending arms 62 that are mounted to arm 60. The arm 60 is itself mounted for vertical movement in an upwards and downwards direction to a frame having side arms 64, 66. A vat 68 holding a liquid elastomeric material or a liquid precursor to an elastomeric material is positioned below the plurality of moulds or templates 50.

The plurality of moulds or templates 50 are dipped into the liquid elastomeric material or the liquid precursor to an elastomeric material. The moulds or templates are then withdrawn from the liquid elastomeric material or the liquid precursor to an elastomeric material. Due to the viscosity of the liquid in the vat 68, some of the liquid adheres to the moulds or templates 50 and this adherent liquid then sets or cures to form the elastomeric material. The cured or set elastomeric material may then be removed form the moulds o templates to recover the ear covers.

The ear covers may be sold as stand alone items or they may be packaged with hair dyeing kits. The ear covers are suitably essentially transparent or translucent, although they may, of course, be made in any colour.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It will be understood that the present invention encompasses all such variations and modifications that fall within its spirit and scope.