Patent Application
20220022584
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to apparel, more particularly, headwear, such as a baseball cap, hat, beanie or trucker hat, having an adjustable opening with integrated openings for hair designed to accommodate the natural expansion or contraction of a wearer's head. Embodiments taught herein disclose headwear (e.g., caps), more particularly headwear items having a hair opening for passing a bundle of hair therethrough to accommodate individuals with various head dimensions and/or hair dimensions.
People with long or lengthy hair (e.g., females with a ponytail) may face difficulty or discomfort when wearing headwear (e.g., baseball caps, trucker hats, or other similar headwear). Baseball caps, and similar headwear, for example, can restrain hair when an individual is wearing the cap when the wearer has their hair gathered in a specific style (e.g., a bun or a ponytail, etc.). Hair is traditionally worn in a bun or a ponytail, for example, when the wearer desires to keep his or her hair away and/or out of the way of the wearer's face. One way in which wearers with long hair have adapted their hair style so that they may wear caps is by putting their hair into a ponytail or bun which is in a position that is vertically low along the back of the head. Although the bundle of hair in such a position allows for the wearer to place the cap on their head in an optimally seated position thereon, the cap may tend to shift against the accumulation of hair and ride up the head so that the wearer frequently feels the need to pull the cap down back into the optimum position.
Male or female athletes, for example, golfers or tennis players, can be found wearing their hairstyles in a bun or pony when playing sports to keep hair away from the face. In some instances, these athletes may also wear headwear, such as a baseball cap, to “hold up” their hair. In some instances, these individuals may prefer to wear their hair in a bun or a ponytail for any outdoor physical activity, such as camping, walking, jogging, or any instance when the individual wearer desires to wear their hair “up” to perform the activity.
Generally, the size of a wearer's head and hair together change over time and expand or contract as a person grows or cuts their hair. In other words, the circumference of one's head (or bottom-shaped section of the headwear) is defined by the mathematical formula C=2πr where C is the circumference of a person's head, π is the constant pi, and r is the radius from the center to the edge of one's head. If a person cuts their hair and adjusts a cap to fit thereon, then the hat will fit or be adjusted to a smaller circumference around the wearer's head. The circumference of one's head with a short haircut would be defined as Cs=2πrs. where Cs is the circumference of a short haircut and rs is the radius of one's head with a short haircut. As time passes between haircuts, the radius of a wearer's head and hair increase since hair grows. As a wearer grow their hair, the wearer's hat may fit tighter or more snug.
Traditional headwear, however, does not accommodate for the excess bundle of hair (e.g., hair tied in a bun or a ponytail) and the expansion and contraction a wearer's head. For example, a traditional fitted baseball cap cannot be worn comfortably or snugly over a person having their hair tied in a ponytail; the cap, therefore, must have an opening to provide for such accommodation or relief. These traditional headwear (e.g., baseball caps, trucker hats, etc.) often lack the physical structure or build to accommodate any openings for above-mentioned hairstyles (e.g., lengthy hair, hair worn in a ponytail, hair worn in a bun, or similar fashion). There are many examples of headwear (e.g., hats and caps) with a hole or other opening therein to accommodate a ponytail. For example, in a traditional baseball hat, a woman may often put her ponytail through the opening above the adjustment straps. However, these headwear do not accommodate any excess bundle(s) of hair when worn by the wearer.
Therefore, it remains desirable to wear adjustable headwear, such as a cap or hat, having one or more adjustable integrated openings for hair to be inserted therethrough. It is also desirable to provide adjustable headwear with integrated openings that can be both adjustable and be able to accommodate lengthy hair in a comfortable manner to overcome the above-identified problems of bundled long hair along the back of the head. It is also desirable to provide adjustable headwear with a flexible panel, with integrated openings, that is designed to accommodate the contraction and expansion of the wearer's head often associated with short and long hair.
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to wearable, adjustable headwear with integrated openings for accommodating one or more styles of hair. Aspects of the present disclosure also relate to adjustable headwear with integrated openings having one or more flexible elements (e.g., elastic bands, elastic straps, etc.) for permitting the headwear to adjust (e.g., expand or contract) based on a wearer's head size and/or hairstyle (e.g., a bun, a ponytail, or similar hairstyle).
In an exemplary embodiment, an adjustable wearable headwear having an expandable/contractable rear panel is described. In said embodiment, the rear panel may include one or more flexible elements (e.g., elastic bands, elastic straps, or similar) to permit a back or rear section of the adjustable wearable headwear to expand or contract based on a user's head size and/or hairstyle (e.g., a bun, a ponytail, or similar hairstyle).
In an exemplary embodiment, the flexible elements (e.g., elastic bands, elastic straps, or similar) may be arranged in a “ladder” pattern. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the flexible elements may be arranged in a “crisscrossed” or “X-shaped” pattern.
In an exemplary embodiment, an adjustable headwear having a flexible panel designed to accommodate the natural expansion and contraction of a wearer's head, and the flexible members are deliberately spaced apart to form openings according to the elasticity of the flexible members.
As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such as a process, method, article, or apparatus. The term “exemplary” is used in the sense of “example,” rather than “ideal.” As used herein, the term “long” will refer to a component having one dimension that is larger than the other dimensions and encompasses long, tall, wide, etc.
It may be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure, as claimed.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary aspects of the present disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
The present disclosure is drawn to, among other things, a headwear apparatus with a flexible panel containing flexible elements that form integrated openings for hair. Specifically, embodiments of the disclosure may be drawn to an adjustable headwear having an integrated opening in a rear panel of the headwear using one or more flexible elements (e.g., elastic bands, elastic straps, fabric or similar materials). According to an exemplary embodiment, the one or more flexible elements (e.g., elastic bands, elastic straps, or similar) may be arranged in a “ladder” pattern, as shown in
Embodiments of the present disclosure may refer to headwear. It can be appreciated that any headwear having an adjustment mechanism, such as a baseball cap with an adjustable band or strap to accommodate various head sizes, can be utilized by the embodiments described herein. Embodiments described throughout the present disclosure may refer to a flexible panel that may be located in a rear or back part of a headwear (e.g., baseball cap or trucker hat). This flexible panel may be referred to as a panel that may include one or more flexible elements to permit the panel, and, ultimately, the headwear, to expand or contract based upon how much hair is present when a wearer adorns or wears the headwear. It should be noted that a flexible panel may also be made from non-flexible hat material by removed strips of the hat material forming an alternating ladder design of hat material so that spaces or openings are formed by the removal of hat material. The openings formed by the absence of non-flexible material may allow for the flexible panel to flex by a sufficient amount to accommodate the natural expansion and contraction of a wearer's head. For example, a user or wearer with a ponytail may cause the flexible panel, as taught throughout this disclosure, to expand to accommodate the excess bundle of hair.
As described earlier in this disclosure, there are many examples of headwear available for commercial purchase by a user; this headwear may exist as hats and caps with a hole therein to accommodate a ponytail. In some instances, the headwear is a classic baseball hat. When wearing a classic baseball hat, women may often put their ponytail through an opening above the adjustment straps (e.g., snapback section of a baseball cap or belt-and-buckle closure, or similar) of the classic baseball hat. In classic baseball caps, there is one opening for hair which is same opening located above the adjustment straps. With the classic baseball cap, the opening formed above the adjustment strap typically is a large opening which does not provide a snug fit to the area of a wearer's head that is flush with the opening. In hats that have two openings, one for hair and a separate opening for the adjustment strap, there is a separation between the two openings. This separation creates a section that impedes or constrains the wearer's head and makes wearing the classic baseball cap uncomfortable, tight, or a combination of both. In some instances when hair grows to a longer length, this may cause the user to experience discomfort, and even headaches as the hat fits tighter. In such headwear, such as the cap with two openings described above, the headwear includes two openings (e.g., a hair opening and an adjustment opening) that are not stable since there is not enough material to provide support to the back sphere (e.g., rear part) of the hat or headwear. In such cases, material between the two openings can pinch when hat or headwear is adjusted tighter. This material between the two openings may also be uncomfortable to a wearer when the hat is too tight (i.e., when a wearer needs a haircut). Embodiments of the present disclosure provide advantages over the classic headwear described above. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure disclose and illustrate plural headwear apparatuses with an adjustable opening with integrated openings for hair. Specifically, these embodiments may include an integrated opening in a rear, “flexible” panel of the headwear using one or more flexible elements (e.g., elastic bands, elastic straps, or similar).
For purposes of this disclosure, the one or more “flexible members” may be referred to as “elastic members”. In an exemplary embodiment, a “flexible” panel incorporating these elastic members may provide a wearer a “snug” feel (e.g., a hat that may conform to contours of the back of head). The flexible elements, or elastic members, may be designed or formed from a material(s) such that the flexible elements are not abrasive to hair. For example, in classic baseball caps, a plastic adjuster means can rub against or cut hair. The flexible elements of the rear, flexible panel taught herein would not cause such abrasion or damage to hair when the headwear is worn by the user.
With reference now to
In
The panels 16 may be formed from different material, natural fabric and/or synthetic textile. Headwear 10 may, instead of a brim 12, include a rim or a visor in alternative embodiments. In further exemplary embodiments, the adjustable strap 20 may comprise a band and clasp, pins and matching holes or Velcro and may be located in a bottom portion of the headwear 10 and between the bottom portion and the top of the headwear 10. In an embodiment, to provide a higher degree of protection, the top part of the headwear 10 may be formed from or made out of a hard material.
With reference now to
In an exemplary embodiment, the flexible panel 18 meets at a point towards a top section of the panel. For purposes of this disclosure, “top” refers to the section of the headwear depicting button 17. The flexible panel 18 may be recessed from the top section of the panel and/or the button 17 by a distance or space. This space is shown as element 40 in
With continued reference to
With reference now to
While principles of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications, it should be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications, applications, embodiments, and substitution of equivalents all fall within the scope of the embodiments described herein. Accordingly, the inventions described herein are not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description.
