FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention is related to headwear, and more particularly to a foldable rain hat for keeping hair dry.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various types of hats have been used by people for thousands of years that offer protection from the sun, wind and rain. In one common design, the hat has a wide brim for protecting the wearer from the sun and rain. Such a hat is useful for protecting the wearer from the sun, but the ability of the hat in keeping the user's hair dry depends on the hairstyle of the user. For example, the hat may keep the user's hair almost completely dry where the user has their hair cut to a short length. The hat, however, offers little protection against the rain where the user has long hair. A user with long hair may choose to fold their hair up in a bundle on top of their head and place the hair under the hat to keep the hair dry, but creating the bundle is both inconvenient and may permanently ruin the hairstyle of the user.
Another commonly known type of headgear is a bonnet. Certain types of bonnets are useful for keeping long hair dry, but bonnets do not offer other advantages found in other hats such as a semi-rigid structure or the rain and sun protection offered by a brim. Furthermore, bonnets are often considered to be an unfashionable type of headgear from another era, and are not particular appealing to the fashion-conscious user.
There is therefore a need for a rain hat that mitigates one or more of the defects of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In its broad aspect, the invention provides a foldable rain hat for keeping hair dry. The rain hat includes a body that has a rim defining the opening to a bowl, the bowl being adapted to fit on a person's head. The bowl is closed at its top by a crown. The rain hat also includes a snood extending downwards from the body. The snood has a pouch for receiving a portion of the person's hair, the snood being adapted to keep the person's hair dry as well as retaining the person's hairstyle.
In another aspect, the invention provides that the body and the snood are made out of a flexible material so that the rain hat can be easily folded and stored.
In one other aspect, the rain hat comprises a waterproof breathable fabric that is laminated. The body may be made from a thicker fabric than the snood. The seams of the hat are sealed with thermal tape for total impermeability.
In one aspect, the rain hat comprises polyvinyl chloride.
In another aspect, one of the body and the snood includes a pocket configured to receive the snood and the body in a folded configuration.
In another of its aspects, the snood is detachable from the rain hat.
In one aspect, the pocket is adapted to be closed using a securing device such as a zipper, fabric hook and loop fasteners, or by fastening one or more buttons.
In another aspect, the invention provides a foldable rain hat for keeping the hair of a person dry. The rain hat includes a body that has a rim for defining the opening to a bowl, the bowl being adapted to fit on the person's head. The bowl is closed at its top by a crown. The body has an inner surface which is designed to be supported on the person's head and an outer surface that is exposed to the elements. The rain hat also includes a snood extending downwards from the inner surface of the body. The snood has a pouch for receiving a portion of the person's hair, the snood being adapted to keep the person's hair dry.
In yet another aspect, the body is made of a rigid material and the snood is made out of a flexible material.
In one other aspect, the outer surface of the body is circumscribed by a band that is adapted to provide additional structural support to the rain hat.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 shows an exemplary rain hat of the invention being worn by a person;
FIG. 2 is a front view of one embodiment of the rain hat of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a rear view of the rain hat of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a side view of the rain hat of FIG. 2
FIG. 5 is a top view of the rain hat of FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is a front view of another embodiment of the rain hat of the invention;
FIG. 7 is a rear view of the rain hat of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is side view of the rain hat of FIG. 6;
FIG. 9 is a top view of the rain hat of FIG. 6;
FIG. 10 shows a snood of the rain hat being pulled out of a pocket according to one embodiment;
FIG. 11 shows the snood of FIG. 10 fully pulled out of the pocket according to one embodiment;
FIG. 12 shows the snood being folded in preparation of inserting the snood and body into the pocket of the rain hat according to one embodiment;
FIG. 13 shows the snood being rolled up into the pocket according to one embodiment;
FIG. 14 shows the snood of an exemplary rain hat fully inserted into the pocket according to one embodiment;
FIG. 15 shows one side of the pocket containing the rain hat according to one embodiment;
FIG. 16 shows the other side of the pocket containing the rain hat according to one embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Reference is first made to FIGS. 1-5 to describe an embodiment of a rain hat for keeping a person's hair dry in accordance with the invention indicated generally by the numeral 100. Preferably, the rain hat 100 includes a body 114 which provides the overall structure of the rain hat 100. The body has a rim 104 that defines the opening of bowl-shaped cavity (not shown) that is adapted to fit on the person's head. The bowl is closed at its top by a crown 102, the crown 102 being adapted to protect the top of the head from the sun and rain. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the shape of the bowl and/or the crown 102 can vary in many ways to accommodate different head sizes and to appeal to different tastes in fashion. In one embodiment, the rim 104 and/or the bowl are made out of an elastic material that will fit snugly on a person's head. The rain hat 100 further includes a snood 106 extending downwards from the body 114. The snood 106 has an opening 108 for receiving a portion of the wearer's hair and a pouch 109 for keeping the portion of hair dry. For example, a woman with longer hair may wish to keep her hair in the pouch 109 after she goes to a hairdresser. The pouch 109 operates to both keep the hair dry and also to keep the integrity of hairstyle while the woman goes about her day. In one embodiment, the pouch 109 is made out of an elastic material and is therefore able to house and protect different volumes of hair. It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the body 114 and the snood 106 can be made out of a variety of materials commonly found in headwear, including waterproof materials. The body 114 and the snood 106 may be made out of the same material or may be fashioned from different materials.
In some embodiments, the rain hat (body 114 and/or snood 106) is made from a waterproof breathable fabric. The fabric may be laminated. The body 114 may be made from a thicker fabric than the snood 106. The seams of the hat 100 are sealed with thermal tape to ensure complete impermeability. The rain hat 100 may be made from any suitable fabric for hats including polyvinyl chloride.
In one embodiment of the invention, the body 114 and the snood 106 are constructed out of a flexible material that can be folded. The rain hat 100 is designed such that the body 114 and the snood 106 can be neatly folded and stored in a pocket as shown in FIGS. 10-16. The pocket 220 (shown in FIG. 7 on rain hat 200) is a sleeve located in either the snood 106 or the body 114 and includes an opening 222 into which the snood 106 and body 114 may be folded. In a folded state, the rain hat 100 can be stored neatly in a small space such as a pocket, a purse, a briefcase, or in another storage device. In one design of the rain hat 100, the snood 106 is detachable from the body 114 so that the user can choose to wear the rain hat 100 either with or without the snood 106 in place depending on their preference for the day or occasion. The snood 106 can be connected to the body 114 using one of several fastening devices such as buttons, fabric hook and loop fasteners, zippers, etc. as are commonly known in the art. Any one of multiple snoods 106 can be used with the same body 114, which gives the user the choice of which snood 106 to use with the rain hat 100 depending on the hairstyle, the volume hair, color and design preferences, etc.
In another embodiment of the rain hat 100, the snood 106 is made out of a flexible material while the body 114 is formed from a rigid material. In this design, the snood 106 may be detached from the body 114 and stored in a pocket, purse, or another suitable place. The rigidity of the body 114 allows the rain hat 100 to employ design elements found in other rigid hats such as uniquely designed rigid crowns and brims.
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-5, the snood 106 extends downward from the body 114. The snood 106 is attached either permanently or temporarily to the body 114 on the inside of the bowl (i.e.—the interior surface that is in contact with the user's head). It will be appreciated that where the snood 106 is attached to body 114 permanently, the snood 106 may be affixed to the body 114 by threading, glue, or may be integrally formed with the body 114.
It will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the rain hat of the present invention can incorporate many design elements commonly found in headgear. For example, the rain hat 100 shown in FIGS. 1-4 includes a brim 110 around the entire circumference of the rim 104. The brim 110 is useful for providing protection from the sun and rain in addition to the protection offered by the bowl 116. The rain hat of the present invention may share similar design features with or be substantially similar to a cowboy hat, a baseball cap, a beret, a boater, a fedora, a Cloche hat, or any other hat design.
In yet another embodiment, the rain hat 100 includes a band 112 that circumscribes the body 114. The band 112 may be included for purely aesthetic reasons and/or may provide additional structural support to the body 114. In one embodiment, the band 112 is adapted to keep the shape of the body 114 even after the body 114 has been folded and unfolded several times into the pouch 109.
FIGS. 6-9 show another embodiment of the rain hat of the present invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 200. In this design, the rain hat 200 includes a body 214 and a snood 203. The snood 203 is affixed to the outer surface of the body 214 and over the brim 210. The snood 203 may be detachable from the body 214 or may be permanently affixed to the body 214. The rain hat 200 also includes stitching 204 on the body 214. The stitching 204 may simply offer fashion appeal to the user or it may offer additional structural support to the body 214. The rain hat 200 shown in FIGS. 6-9 operates similarly to the rain hat 100 described above, and is operable to be folded into the pocket 220 so that the rain hat 200 can take the form shown in FIGS. 14-16.
In use, the user of the rain hat 100 can choose to either wear the rain hat 100,200 or keep it stored in the pocket 220. If the rain hat 100 is currently in a folded state (as shown in FIGS. 14-16) and the user desires to wear the rain hat 100, the user first unlocks the securing device (if a securing device is included with the hat 100) and pulls out the body 114 and the snood 106. After unfolding from the pocket 220, the rain hat 100 is in a form substantially similar to the rain hat 100 as shown in FIGS. 1-4. The user then places the bowl-shaped part of the body 114 onto their head until it fits comfortably. If the user so desires, the user can take a portion of their hair and place it into the pouch 109 while they go about their day. The pouch 109 is adapted to keep the user's hair dry and also to protect the integrity of the user's hairstyle. The rain hat 100 of the present invention is therefore ideal for using immediately after the user leaves the hairdresser. When the user is finished wearing the rain hat 100, the user simply retrieves the portion of their hair that is contained in the pouch 109 and removes the rain hat 100 from their head. If the user wants, he or she can then fold the body 114 and the snood 106 into the pocket 220 and close the pouch 220 using the securing device (not shown). When the rain hat 100 is in pocket form, the user is able to store the rain hat 100 conveniently in a small place such as a clothes pocket or a purse.
Referring next to FIGS. 10-16, the folding and unfolding process of the rain hat of the invention according to one embodiment is described in more detail. FIG. 10 shows the snood 203 being removed from the pocket 300 (220) via opening 308 (222). Reference numeral 500 indicates that the pocket 300 is in a slightly unfolded state. As shown the pocket 300 may be folded (or slightly squeezed) into halves 304, 306 to facilitate removal of the snood 203.
FIG. 11 illustrates the process of folding and rolling the rain hat 100 into pocket form 300. The body of the rain hat 401 is placed within snood 203 which has been turned inside out. The top half of the pocket 300 in inside out form is indicated by 402 and the bottom half of the pocket 300 in inside out form is indicated by 403 (the terms “top” and “bottom” do not refer to a preferred orientation but only to opposing portions of the pocket 300).
FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate the snood 203 and body 401 (in inside out form) being rolled into pocket 300. Reference numeral 400 indicates that the rain hat 100 is in the process of being folded.
FIGS. 14 to 16 show the rain hat completely folded into the pocket 300. In pocket form, a user can conveniently carry the rain hat in a storage device such as purse, bag, clothes pocket and the like. In some embodiments, the pouch half 306 includes a label 302 for branding and/or washing purposes.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention can take many forms, and that such forms are within the scope of the invention as claimed. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the descriptions of the preferred versions contained herein.
Patent Application
20120317699
