LICE PREVENTIVE HEADBAND

Abstract

A non-toxic unitary lice deterring and preventive headband is worn upon the scalp of a wearer. The headband does not use coatings or removable strips, or other reservoirs attached to the headband. The aromatic essential oils are preferably a 1.65% mixture by weight of citronella oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil and geranium oil, where the mixture is infused by further admixing in a resin of the styrene butadiene copolymer in an amount of 98.55% by weight. The raw plastic resin material, such as styrene butadiene copolymer, is first premixed and preheated into a malleable, pourable state, which is then admixed with the mixture of aromatic essential oils. The admixture of the plastic resin and aromatic essential oils is then injected into a headband-shaped mold The molded, admixed material is already prepared with lice deterring aromatic essential oils, when the molded, admixed plastic material is molded into a headband shape.

Claims

1. A method of making and using a non-toxic, pleasantly aromatic, unitary, flexible lice preventive and deterring headband made of essential oils infused resin, comprising the steps of: providing a raw plastic resin material; premixing and preheating said raw plastic resin material into a malleable, pourable stat; admixing said preheated and premixed plastic resin material with a mixture of aromatic essential oils; injecting said admixture of plastic resin and aromatic essential oils into a headband-shaped mold; wherein said molded, admixed plastic material is molded into a headband shape of a unitary, flexible headband capable of emitting aromas of said aromatic essential oils for a pre-determined period of time when worn upon the scalp and hair of a user; said headband having lice deterring properties, whereby a user of said headband has some protection from lice.

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein said raw plastic resin material is a styrene butadiene copolymer,

3. The method as in claim 2 wherein said mixture of aromatic essential oils is provided at about 1.65% by weight of the total composition of said admixture and said butadiene styrene copolymer is provided at about 98.55% by weight of the total composition of said admixture.

4. The method of claim 36 in which said aromatic essential oil is selected from the group consisting of citronella oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil, and geranium oil, which emit odors deterring lice infestation.

5. The device of claim 4 in which said aromatic essential oil is an admixture of citronella oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil, and geranium oil.

6. The device of claim 5 in which said admixture consists of about 30% by weight of citronella oil, 30% by weight of rosemary oil, 20% by weight of lemongrass oil, and 20% by weight of geranium oil.

7. The method of making a lice preventive and deterring headband as in claim 1 further comprising the steps of: providing said headband with a crown portion and a pair of descending curved side portions separated by a gap between distal ends of said side portions, an outer surface of said crown portion and descending side portions being rounded, an inner surface of said crown portion and descending side portions being uncurved from one side edge to an opposite side edge; forming on the inside surface of the crown and upper parts of said side portions an array of spaced nibs for comfort and to stabilize the headband on a scalp of a user; said flexible headband having a bendable modulus of elasticity such that said gap may be opened for insertion over the scalp of the user, and then bent back to grasp said scalp

8. The method of claim 7 in which each of said nibs is conically shaped with a curved distal end.

9. A lice preventive and deterring device comprising: a unitary one-piece elongate member molded into a shape of a flexible headband; said headband being formed with a mixture of aromatic essential oils infused with a resin material having lice deterring properties. said headband having a crown portion and a pair of descending curved side portions separated by a gap between distal ends of said side portions; an outer surface of said crown portion and descending side portions being rounded; an inner surface of said crown portion and descending side portions being uncurved from one side edge to an opposite side edge; the inside surface of the crown and upper parts of said side portions having an array of spaced nibs for comfort and to stabilize the headband on a scalp of a user; and, said flexible headband having a bendable modulus of elasticity such that said gap may be opened for insertion over the scalp of the user, and then bent back to grasp said scalp

10. The device of claim 9 in which each of said nibs is conically shaped with a curved distal end.

11. The device of claim 9 in which said aromatic essential oil is selected from the group consisting of citronella oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil, and geranium oil, which emit odors deterring lice infestation.

12. The device of claim 9 in which said aromatic essential oil is an admixture of citronella oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil, and geranium oil.

13. The device of claim 12 in which said admixture consists of about 30% by weight of citronella oil, 30% by weight of rosemary oil, 20% by weight of lemongrass oil, and 20% by weight of geranium oil.

14. The device of claim 9 in which said resin is a styrene butadiene copolymer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] The present invention can best be understood in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is noted that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments shown in drawings, in which:

[0032] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the method of making and using the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband of the present invention;

[0033] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband of the present invention;

[0034] FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband of the present invention;

[0035] FIG. 4A is an inside view in partial crossection of the left side portion and crown of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband of the present invention, taken along view lines “4A-4A” of FIG. 3, and showing in cross hatching in the cutaway area “E”, the aromatic essential oil infused resin material;

[0036] FIG. 4B is an exterior left side view of the left side portion and crown of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband of the present invention;

[0037] FIG. 4C is a close-up detail view of a portion of the right side portion and crown of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband, taken along view circle line “4C” of FIG. 3;

[0038] FIG. 4D is a close-up detail view in crossection cutaway view of one of the nibs attached to the inside surface of the right side portion of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband; taken along view line “4D-4D” of FIG. 4C, wherein further in FIG. 4D, the small circles or bubbles, which are shown within the cross sectional view of the plastic resin material depicted therein, diagrammatically indicate the essential oils ingredient contained within the plastic resin structure of the headband.

[0039] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband of the present invention, shown being worn upon the head of a child.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0040] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the method of making and using the non-toxic pleasantly aromatic, unitary, flexible lice preventive and deterring headband 1 of the present invention. For example, the following steps are used to make the essential oil infused resin, which in turn, is used to make the flexible aromatic lice preventive headband 1. The raw plastic resin material, such as styrene butadiene copolymer, is premixed and preheated into a malleable, pourable state. The preheated and premixed plastic resin material is then admixed with the mixture of aromatic essential oils. The admixture of the plastic resin and aromatic essential oils is then injected into a headband-shaped mold. The molded, admixed material is already prepared with lice deterring aromatic essential oils, when the molded, admixed plastic material is molded into a headband shape of unitary, flexible headband 1.

[0041] FIG. 2 shows unitary flexible headband 1 with top rounded crown portion 2 and two descending curved side portions 3 and 4, separated by a gap “G”. An inside of the crown and upper portions of the left side portion 3 and right side portion 4 of the headband 1 each include sets of arrays of nibs 5, for comfort and to stabilize the headband 1 upon the scalp of the user. The flexible headband 1 has a bendable modulus of elasticity known to those skilled in the art of making headbands, so that the gap “G” of the headband 1 can be opened for insertion over the scalp of the wearer, and then bend back to grasp the scalp of the user.

[0042] The shape of the headband when viewed from the front, as in FIG. 3, is that of truncated teardrop shape, where the open bottom gap G provides a recess that is expandable in size, while the sides 3 and 4 are bendable outward, and then retractable inward, when the user dons the headband 1 upon the scalp of the user.

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a front elevational view of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband 1 with crown 2 and flexible descending curved side portions 3 and 4, each having nibs 5 extending in respective arrays thereon. The nibs are small rounded top conical shaped protrusions, extending inward from the inside surfaces of the crown 2, left side portion 3 and right side portion 4 of the headband 1. Although size may vary depending upon the size of the head of the user, as shown in FIG. 3, the truncated, open recessed teardrop shaped headband 1 is preferably about 5.045 inches in height and 4.455 inches in width. As shown in FIG. 4B, the headband 1 is about 0.265 inches in depth. As shown in FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D, each nib is about 0.101 inch in height and 0.133 inches in width, and wherein the central axis of each nib 5 is separated from the central axis of adjacent nibs 5 by a distance of about 0.168 inches apart from each other. The conical shaped nibs 5 have a rounded top with a radius of about 0.031 inches radius. Additionally, the outer edges of headband 1 are convex, with a radius of about 0.133 inches radius. FIG. 3 also shows cutout area “E” on the left side of headband 1, and as shown in the lower region “E” of FIG. 4A.

[0044] FIG. 4A shows an inside view in partial crossection of the left side portion 4 with nibs 5, of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband 1 of the present invention, taken along view lines “4A-4A” of FIG. 3, and showing in cross hatching in the cutaway area “E”, of the aromatic essential oil infused resin material;

[0045] FIG. 4B shows an exterior left side portion 3 and left side of upper crown 2 of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband 1.

[0046] FIG. 4C is a close-up detail view showing nibs 5 extending up from a small portion of the right side portion 4 of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband 1, taken along view circle line “4C” of FIG. 3;

[0047] FIG. 4D is a close-up detail view in crossection cutaway view of one of the nibs 5 attached to the inside surface of the right side portion 4 of the unitary lice preventive and deterring headband 1, taken along view line “4D-4D” of FIG. 4C. In FIG. 4D, the small circles or bubbles, which arc shown within the cross sectional view of the plastic resin material depicted therein, diagrammatically indicate the essential oils ingredient contained within the plastic resin structure of the headband 1.

[0048] FIG. 5 shows the unitary, flexible lice preventive and deterring headband 1 being worn upon the head of a child.

[0049] When worn, the non-toxic unitary, flexible headband 1 emits the aromatic odors of the admixed essential oils, such as, for example, citronella oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil and geranium oil, which emit the odors deterring lice infestation, daily, for a period of weeks, up to six months' time of use duration, when the unitary flexible headband is replaced, if necessary to prevent further lice infestation. The headband is worn for certain portions of the day, such as, for example, during school or day care hours, when the wearer may come in contact with other persons or children having lice in their hair, or during eight hours of sleep, if there is a possibility of lice infestation at home. When not worn, the headband then is stored in a closable, lockable bag until used the next day, to prevent the escape of odors when not worn upon the head of the wearer.

[0050] For illustrative purposes only, a preferred mode for carrying out the invention is described herein, wherein a headband is made of a resin, such as, for example, among related copolymers, is butadiene styrene copolymer KR03 of Chevron Philips Company, Inc., such as shown in the following Table I.

[0051] The KR03 butadiene styrene copolymer is infused by admixing the copolymer resin with a mixture of aromatic essential oils, such as citronella oil, rosemary oil, lemongrass oil and geranium oil, when the resin is heated and made malleable for pouring into a headband shaped mold.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 KR03 The KR03 copolymer is a copolymer of K-Resin ® Styrene- Butadiene Copolymers (SBC) of Chevron Philips Company, Inc. Nominal Con- Physical Properties dition English SI Method Specific Gravity — 1.01 g/cc 1.01 g/cc ASTM D792 Melt Flow Rate 200° C./ 7.5 g/ 7.5 g/ ASTM 5 Kg 10 min 10 min 1238 Tensile Yield 2.0 in/ 3800 psi 26 MPa ASTM Strength .sup.(2) min D638 Tensile Elongation @, 2.0 in/ 230% 230% ASTM Break .sup.(2) min D638 Flexural Modulus .sup.(3) 0.5 in/ 260,350 1795 ASTM min psi Mpa D790 Flexural Yield 0.5 in/ 5400 psi 37 Mpa ASTM Strength .sup.(3) min D790 Deflection Temperature 264 psi 144° F. 62° C. ASTM Under Load (DTUL) (1.8 MPa) D648 Instrumental Impact 73° F. 354 40 J ASTM Total Energy .sup.(4) in-lbs D3763 Hardness, Shore D — 63 63 ASTM D2240 Vicat Softening Point — 185° F. 85° C. ASTM D1525 Gardner 60° 162% 162% ASTM Gloss .sub.(Mold Temperature 100° F.) D2457 Light Transmission —  92%  92% ASTM D1003 Moisture Absorption 24 h 0.09%  0.09%  ASTM D570 1. The nominal properties herein are typical of the product but do not reflect normal testing variance and therefore should not be used for specification purposes. Values are rounded. .sup.2 Type 1 @ 2 in/min (50 mm/min) .sup.3 0.125 in (3.2 mm) specimen @ 0.5 in/sec (1.27 cm/min) .sup.4 0.125 in (3.2 mm) specimen @ 150 in/sec (381 cm/sec) impact rate
Meets these Important Requirements: [0052] K-Resin® SBC grade KR03, as shipped by Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP, meets the specifications of the United States FDA Food Packaging Regulation 21 CFR 177.1640 (polystyrene and rubber modified polystyrene). By virtue of this compliance, K-Resin® KR03 may be used as a component of articles for use in contact with food. There are no regulatory food type or temperature restrictions on this resin as defined under 21 CFR 176.170(c). [0053] Commission Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 and all its amendments. [0054] USP Class VI [0055] UL 94HB [0056] K-Resin® SBC grade KR03 is produced in an ISO 9001-2008 certified plant.
The aforementioned Table I is contained in MSDS 100000000061 of Chevron Philips Company Inc, as revised in February 2012.

[0057] In the foregoing description, certain terms and visual depictions are used to illustrate the preferred embodiment. However, no unnecessary limitations are to be construed by the terms used or illustrations depicted, beyond what is shown in the prior art, since the terms and illustrations are exemplary only, and are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0058] It is further known that other modifications may be made to the present invention, without departing the scope of the invention, as noted in the appended Claims.