Hair Clip

The present invention relates to a hair clip and more particularly to an ornamental hair clip for clasping hairs by and between two metal sheets by a spring force.

There are many kinds of hair clips known in the art, which, in common with them, include a base plate fixed to an ornamental cover, a downwardly curved spring board whose both ends are fixed to the base plate, and a retainer whose one end is pivotally connected to the base plate with the other end being releasably fixed to the base plate. For example Japanese Utility Model Publication (unexamined) Nos. 45-3321, 50-47698, 50-154195 and 57-55403 disclose hair clips of this kind.

The known clips hold hairs by and between the spring board and the retainer, and when the hairs are to be released from the clip, the end of the retainer is made free from the base plate by hand.

Because of the fact that the hairs are retained between the downwardly curved spring board and the retainer, a gap is unavoidably present between the base plate and the spring board. Owing to the presence of the gap, the clip as a whole appears as if it floats on the hair, and the gap spoils the appearance of the hair. To hide the gap from sight, it is necessary to use a relatively large ornamental cover. Nevertheless, the gap often appears into sight.

The present invention is directed toward a hair clip which solves the problem pointed out with respect to the known hair clips. Thus an object of the present invention is to provide a hair clip capable of clasping hairs against the base plate, thereby producing no gap between the base plate and the spring board.

The objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a hair clip comprising a base plate, a spring board and a retainer, the base plate pivotally supporting the retainer at one end with the spring board interposed therebetween such that the spring board is stopped from extending lengthwise at both ends, whereby, when the retainer is latched to the other free end of the base plate, the spring board is compressed lengthwise thereby to bend toward the base plate with retaining hairs against it.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which show, for the purpose of illustration only, one embodiment in accordance with the present invention .

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an assembly of an ornamental cover and a hair clip according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the assembly of FIG. 1 where the hair is released from the clip;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along the line III--III in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view, viewed from below, showing the base plate shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the retainer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the spring board shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a side view showing an assembly of the retainer and the spring board; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a part of a modified version.

Referring to FIG. 1 to 7, the hair clip of the present invention comprises a base plate 1, a retainer 3 and a spring board 4. The base plate 1, made of a spring steel or the like, is curved upward, and includes a sheet portion 10, a pair of ledges 11 at one end and brackets 12 at the other end. The ledges 11 project in the same direction, and are provided with L-shaped arms 11a having round ends 11b, which partly overlap as shown in FIG. 3. The brackets 12 are provided with apertures 12a at their terminating ends, which have shoulders 12b as shown in FIG. 4. The sheet portion 10 is provided with ridges 10b having a slot 10a in the center therebetween. The base plate 1 is detachably fixed to an ornamental cover 2 of plastics.

The retainer 3 is also made of spring steel and provided with three slots 3d spaced from each other. In addition, the retainer 3 is provided with an engaging part 30 at one end and a journal part 3b at the other end. The engaging part 30 includes two arched bridges 3a with a dented part interposed therebetween, and the journal part 3b includes pivot portions 3c, a crosswise slot 3f and shoulders 3e. The retainer 3 is made of an anti-frictional rugged surface on either side between the engaging part 30 and the journal part 3b.

The slightly arched spring board 4, made of spring steel, is provided with saddle-shaped abutments 4d having a pawl 4c at one end and a rectangular opening 4b and a tongue 4a at the other end. The spring board 4 is also provided with a rugged surface on either side of the portion between the abutments 4d and the pawl 4c.

Referring to FIG. 7, the manner of assembling the base plate 1, the retainer 3 and the spring board 4 will be described:

The tongue 4a of the spring board 4 is forced in between the arched bridges 3a of the retainer 3 and secured thereto. The tongue 4c is inserted through the slot 3d nearest the crosswise slot 3d from above, and then inserted through the crosswise slot 3f from below, thereby ensuring that the spring board 4 is slidably fixed to the retainer 3. In this way the retainer 3 and the spring board 4 are assembled into a unity as shown in FIG. 7. Then the unity is pivotally fixed to the base plate 1 by engaging the pivot portions 3c of the retainer 3 with the apertures 12a of the brackets 12 of the base plate 1. Finally the assembly is fixed to the ornamental cover 2 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the retainer 3 and the spring board 4 are rotative as a unit with respect to the base plate 1. The abutments 4d of the spring board 4 abut against the rims of the brackets 12, whereas the other end thereof is fixed to the retainer 3. As a result, when the retainer 3 is rotated about the pivot portions 3c in the direction of arrow in FIG. 2, the spring board 4 is gradually compressed by the brackets 12 and the undersurface of the base plate 1 through the abutments 4d thereof. In this way the spring board 4 first slides on the retainer 3, and is gradually bent toward the base plate 1 so that the top surface of the spring board 4 comes into contact with the base plate 1, with holding the user's hairs (not shown), therebetween. In the state shown in FIG. 1 both of the shoulders 12b and 3e of the brackets 12 and the journal part 3b are engaged with each other, thereby stopping the retainer 3 from coming too close to the base plate 1.

When the retainer 3 is rotated in the direction of arrow in FIG. 2, the L-shaped arms 11a are moved toward each other and allowed to pass through the rectangular opening 4b of the spring board 4, thereby enabling the round ends 11b to anchor in between the arched bridges 3a of the retainer 3. In this way the retainer 3 is latched to the base plate 1, with hairs retained between the spring board 4 and the base plate 1. When the hairs are to be released from the clip, the ledges 11 are pressed toward each other by fingers, so that the L-shaped arms 11a overlap excessively to come through the arched bridges 3a of the retainer 3 and the rectangular opening 4b of the spring board 4. Then the retainer 3 automatically opens under the repulsion of the spring board 4.

In the embodiment described above the spring board 4 is fabricated in one piece, but as shown in FIG. 8, abutments 4d' can be separately made and attached to the spring board 4' by screws or welding.