US 6,973,931 B1 · Automated hair isolation and processing system

Abstract

A device comprised of hair-flow-channel guides continuously moved over the surface of the scalp. A track cap of parallel tracks is placed on the head to guide device's movement over the scalp along non-overlapping rows. At the front of the device is a hair-tensioning straightener that pulls hairs perpendicular to the scalp before and during processing. A bend-under assembly, formed by two pinching conveyer belts, facilitates hair exit from the channels by bending scalp-attached hairs beneath the walls of each hair channel. Intermittent intersection of each channel by an obstructing member isolates one or a few leading hairs for processing and forces trailing hairs to wait their turn for cosmetic processing behind it. Isolated scalp hairs may be cosmetically processed in ways including coloration; cross-section reshaping, hair-extension attachment and removal, and cutting to length according to position along track. Hair extensions removed at one position along a track cap are conveyed to corresponding holding clips and loaded in an order so as to permit their reattachment to the same scalp area. Hair extensions so held can be channeled and isolated for attachment, as are scalp hairs. A bend-under assembly can be used to draw one or a group of isolated hairs longitudinally through the chamber in which they are isolated facilitating cross-sectional reshaping of hairs or cutting to a preprogrammed length. Intersecting member and cosmetic processing actuation synchronized by computer.

Claims49

Dependent claims

An apparatus for the relative movement of hairs through and facilitation of their controlled isolation, comprising:

A hair isolation area means for substantially isolating at least one surface-attached hair-like fiber from any said surface-attached hair-like fibers trailing it;
a cued hair supply means for supplying cued surface-attached hair-like fibers in which the hair-like fibers are cued substantially in the order that they will be supplied and between two supply cycles said cued surface-attached hair-like fibers remain substantially cued so that a substantially defined set of the trailing cued hairs can be supplied immediately after those leading hairs that were supplied in the immediately prior supply cycle and yet to be successfully supplied hairs wait their turn substantially in cue to be supplied in the following supply cycle;
a repeating dispensing means for repeatedly dispensing substantially intact a substantially controlled amount of hair into said hair isolation area means by repeatedly receiving hair from said cued hair supply means and dispensing it into said hair isolation area means.

An apparatus for attaching hair extensions to surface-attached hair-like fibers, comprising:

a hair attachment area in which said hair extensions are attached to said surface-attached hair-like fibers;
a hair-extension supply means for supplying hair extensions into said hair attachment area;
a surface-attached hair-like fiber supply means for supplying said surface-attached hair-like fibers into said attachment area;
a hair attachment substance means for attaching said hair extensions to said surface-attached hair-like fibers;
a hair attachment substance supply means for supplying said hair attachment substance means into said hair attachment area in which it comes in contact with both said hair extensions and said surface-attached hair-like fibers so as to attach the two types of hairs together.

2 more elements

An apparatus for the processing of hairs which are attached to a surface configured so that processing of any hair only occurs a substantially controlled number of times, comprising:

a hair processing means for processing surface-attached hair-like fibers so as to change their appearance as a group;
a hair surface row segregation means for segregating said surface-attached hair-like fibers substantially originating from two adjacent surface areas so that the segments of the hair shafts that will be processed are segregated in a specific row prior to and during processing by said hair processing means and said hair surface row segregation means rests on the surface to which said surface-attached hair-like fibers are attached and is substantially stationary relative to said surface during processing,;
a track guide means for guiding said hair processing means by substantially continuous contact between said track guide means and said hair processing means so as to provide alignment with one of the segregated rows of surface-attached hair-like fibers to allow the hair segments from substantially only this single segregated row to be guided into said hair processing means as it moves along a substantially defined path that substantially coincides with said single segregated row and this alignment during hair processing means movement is possible individually for both adjacent rows of segregated surface-attached hair segments.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Automated hair isolation and processing system

Life of this patent

Automated hair isolation and processing system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims49