A COMB This invention relates to a comb.

A comb is a tool consisting of a handle that connects to a row of teeth for drawing through an individual’s hair to clean, untangle, and/or style the user’s hair. The use of a comb is widespread, particularly by hairdressers when cutting and styling women’s hair. Many different types of combs are available, with different handle and teeth combinations, with different arrangements being designed for different functions depending upon the type and length of the user’s hair. The styling of men and women’s hair is carried out both by professional hairdressers and by men and women themselves. Although there are very many different combs available, there is not a comb currently available that is ideally suited for the purpose of styling waves in men and women’s hair.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve upon the known art. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a comb comprising a handle and a plurality of teeth extending away from the handle, each tooth separated from an adjacent tooth by a spacing, wherein the spacing between each tooth is in the range of 10mm to 20mm and the width of each tooth is in the range of 5mm to 16mm. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of styling hair of an individual, comprising introducing curls into the individual’s hair and then drawing through the individual’s hair the comb according to the first aspect of the invention.

Owing to the invention, it is possible to provide a comb that is particularly useful in the distributing and styling of waves in people’s hair. The comb according to the invention is provided with teeth that are relatively wide and relatively spaced apart when compared to a conventional comb, which normally has a large number of small teeth closely packed together. The size and spacing of the teeth of the comb provide an excellent tool for using to style waves in hair, no matter what the length of the person’s hair, either by a hairdresser or by the individual themselves. The comb is particularly useful in distributing waves in a person’s hair.

Providing waves in hair is a popular hairstyle, particularly for women with long hair. The usual method by which this is created is to use a hairdressing tool such as a hair dryer or hot curling tongs or irons to create curls in the person’s hair or by using a hot blow dry with curlers, which are then styled and combed out by a hairdresser or by the person themselves to create the waves in the person’s hair. The comb according to the invention is designed to be used in the last stage of this process and provides an excellent way of creating the waves in the person’s hair after it has been curled. The wide spacing of the teeth and the relatively wide teeth themselves provide an excellent tool for performing the styling of the person’s hair and distributing of waves in their hair.

Ideally, the handle comprises a wavy edge located on the opposite side of the handle to the teeth. The comb can be provided with a wavy edge on one side of the comb, opposite the teeth of the comb. When the comb is held so that the teeth are pointing downwards, the wavy edge is on the top edge of the comb. The wavy edge can be symmetrical and is provided to look good and also to make the comb easier for a stylist or user to hold and user, as the contours of the wave will match the user’s hand and palm, as they user is drawing the comb through their hair or through the hair of the person on whom the comb is being used.

Preferably, the comb is hollow and is formed from two opposite parts. The comb can be formed from a variety of different materials, for example, plastic, metal or a natural material such as wood or bamboo. Preferably a lightweight thermoplastics material such as ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) can be used to form two opposite halves of the comb which can then be glued or snapped together to form the finished article. Manufacturing the comb in this way provides an efficient commercial process while also providing a comb that is lightweight and easy to use. Making the comb hollow is preferable, in order to keep down the weight of the finished comb.

Advantageously, the spacing between each tooth is 16mm and the width of each tooth is 10mm, at their narrowest point. The preferred width and spacing of teeth of the comb is such that the spacing between each tooth is 16mm and the width of each tooth is 10mm, at their narrowest point. This arrangement of the teeth and the spacing between the teeth gives the optimum operation of the comb when used in the styling and distribution of waves in a person’s hair. Preferably, the teeth are each the same length as each other and are arranged so that they are parallel to each other, travelling in a straight line away from the handle of the comb. This arrangement of the teeth provides the most ease of use for the person who is styling their own hair or another person’s hair.

Ideally, each tooth tapers in width along its length, such that each tooth is wider at its connection to the handle than at its opposite end. When a comb is viewed in front elevation, with the handle at the top and the teeth travelling down and away from the handle, the width of the teeth and spacing between the teeth can be seen. In a preferred embodiment of the comb, the width of each tooth in the comb tapers from its widest point at the connection of the tooth to the handle to its narrowest point at the extremity from the handle. The tapering increases the usability of the comb, making the comb easier to insert into a person’s hair while not in any way losing the effectiveness of the comb in its primary function of being used to create waves in a person’s hair. The effect of the tapering of the width of the teeth is to change the width of each tooth along its length while also increasing the spacing between adjacent teeth by the same amount. However the widths of the teeth and the spacing between the teeth still fall within the ranges spaced for the size of the teeth and spacing.

Preferably, the number of teeth is in the range of five to eight, with the ideal number of teeth being six. The comb achieves the best balance between ease of use and effectiveness in its primary function when the number of teeth in the comb is small. A comb with five to eight teeth works well, with the ideal number of teeth in the comb being six. This results in a comb that can be used easily in one hand while also being large enough to work well in the function of providing waves in the hair of a person who is being styled with the comb. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a front view of a comb,

Figure 2 is a further front view of the comb with dimensions specified,

Figure 3 is a side view of the comb with dimensions specified, and Figure 4 is a perspective view of the comb.

Figure 1 shows a comb 10 that comprises a handle 12 and a plurality of teeth 14 extending away from the handle 12. Each tooth 14 is separated from an adjacent tooth 14 by a spacing 16. The comb 10 is designed to have a relatively small number of large teeth 14 that are widely spaced apart, when compared to a conventional comb. The handle 12 has a wavy edge 18 located on the opposite side of the handle 12 to the teeth 14. The comb 10 is designed to be used by hairdressers and people who are styling waves in their hair. Curls are first styled into the hair using curling tongs or a hair dryer and then comb 10 can be used to style and distribute the waves.

To provide the necessary functionality of being able to be used to create waves in hair, the spacing 16 between each tooth 14 is in the range of 10mm to 20mm and the width of each tooth 14 is in the range of 5mm to 16mm. To provide an improved function, the spacing 16 between each tooth 14 is in the range of 12mm to 16mm and the optimum function is provided when the spacing 16 between each tooth 14 is 16mm at its narrowest point. Similarly, an improved function is provided if the width of each tooth 14 is in the range of 8mm to 12mm, with the optimum function being provided with the width of each tooth 14 is 10mm at its narrowest point. To provide a comb 10 that is easy to hold and to use, the number of teeth 14 is in the range of five to eight. The best arrangement for the comb 10 is shown in Figure 1, in which the number of teeth 14 is six. The comb 10 is preferably formed so that the comb 10 is hollow and is formed from two opposite parts. The comb 10 is ideally made from a lightweight thermoplastic material such as ABS and is hollow to keep the weight of the comb 10 as low as possible, given the size of the comb 10 relative to a conventional comb. The comb 10 can fit easily and comfortably into the hand of a stylist or user and can then be effectively used to style and distribute waves in hair, either by the stylist or by the person themselves.

Figure 2 shows another front view of the comb 10 but this time with dimensions added to the comb 10, shown in millimetres. The set of measurements shown in the Figure define the preferred embodiment of the comb 10, but as discussed above, these dimensions can be varied within specific stated ranges, which still results in a comb 10 that is efficient and effective in its primary function as a comb 10 for use in the production of waves in the hair of an individual with long, short or medium length hair. The comb 10 according to these dimensions has relatively large teeth 14 and spacing 16 between the teeth 14, when compared to a conventional comb.

In this preferred embodiment, the total width of the comb is 158mm with six teeth 14 evenly spaced across the width of the comb 10. The comb is symmetrical and the each of teeth 14 is identical in length and width. The length of the comb from the top edge of the handle 12 to the end of the teeth 14 is 110mm, with the handle 12 being 40mm of that length and the teeth 14 being 70mm in length. At the point where the teeth 14 start at the handle 12, the width of each tooth 14 is 13mm and the width of the spacing between each tooth 14 is 16mm. Each tooth 14 tapers in width along its length, such that each tooth 14 is wider at its connection to the handle 12 than at its opposite end. In the comb 10 shown in Figure 2, each tooth 14 has a starting width of 13mm and this tapers to a final width of 10mm at its end point. The result of the tapering of each tooth 14 is that the width of each spacing 16 tapers in the opposite direction, such that the spacing 16 between teeth 14 is 16mm at the handle 12 and 19mm at the end point of the teeth 14. The tapering assists in the use of the comb 10 when the comb 10 is first brought into contact with a user’s hair. Figure 3 shows a side view of the comb 10, which shows that the comb 10 has a thickness of 10mm at its top, where the handle 12 is located and this tapers down to a thickness of 8mm at it bottom, where the teeth 14 end. The effect of the thickness taper shown in Figure 3 is that the teeth 14 of the comb taper in two dimensions, in their width as shown in Figure 2 and in their thickness, as shown in Figure 3. As mentioned above, the tapering is to make it easier for the teeth 14 of the comb 10 to enter the user’s hair, without any loss of function in respect of the actual performance of the comb 10 in styling waves in a user’s hair. Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the comb 10. As discussed above, the comb 10 is particularly useful in the styling and distribution of waves in people’s hair. The comb 10 is provided with teeth 14 that are relatively wide and relatively spaced apart when compared to a conventional comb, which normally has a large number of small teeth closely packed together. The size and spacing 16 of the teeth 14 of the comb 10 provide a comb 10 that can be used as a tool for styling waves in hair, either by a stylist or by the individual themselves. The comb 10 can be easily drawn through hair that has been curled, in order to provide waves in the person’s hair.