Patent Application
20250057275
This invention relates generally to wearing apparel, and more specifically to hats and related headwear having interlocking logos.
Hats and other headwear have become increasingly popular in recent years. Casual “baseball-cap” style sporting hats are versatile, easily adjustable, and useful for protecting the wearer's eyes from sunlight or rain. Many such hats are decorated with screen-printed or embroidered names, logos, or other “message”, and are similar in popularity to screen-printed t-shirts. Another significant reason for the popularity of these hats is that the hats themselves are worn by professional, and non-professional athletes, in many team sports. Additionally, fans and supporters of these teams regularly wear caps adorned with their favorite team's name and/or logo. In fact, sales of screen printed and embroidered hats and caps is a big business, both at retail stores and as concession sales at sporting events.
The purpose and advantages of the below described illustrated embodiments will be set forth in and apparent from the description that follows. Additional advantages of the illustrated embodiments will be realized and attained by the devices, systems and methods particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well as from the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the illustrated embodiments, in one aspect, provided is an improved cap/hat compatible with interchangeable inter-locking logos/patches that can be selectively attached to the hat. In the preferred embodiment, a plurality of separate inter-locking logos, each preferably printed with a different indicia (e.g., logos of different sport teams, player uniform numbers, team sponsors, etc.). Each logo is configured to interlock with another logo and preferably has a back surface that is attachable to the fastening material on the hat. Thus, the user can select which logos/patches are to be interlocked with one another on an apparel surface, such as a hat. For instance, in this way a single hat can be used to carry a variety of different, and changing, phrases, messages and logos.
In another aspect, provided is a hat and patch combination including a baseball style hat having a substantially fabric hat having at least a crown, a visor connected to the crown, a first discrete area of hook material located on the crown and proximal to said visor. At least two interlocking patches/logos are provided wherein each of the patches have a first surface bearing visual indicia and a second surface covered with adhesive material (e.g., loop material). Each of the patches/logos are connectable to the first discrete area of hook material of the hat wherein the at least two patches are configured to interlock with one another when connected to the first discrete area of hook material of said hat.
In yet another aspect, the apparel (e.g., a hat) is provided with a storage assembly to store patches/logos not applied to the apparel. In accordance with certain embodiments, the storage assembly is integrated with the apparel the logos may be removably affixed to. It is to be appreciated and understood, this storage assembly may be configured as a pouch that is affixed to either an inner surface of the apparel (e.g., the inner crown portion of cap or underneath the bill/visor portion a cap), or to an exterior surface of the cap (e.g., a backside or side portion of the cap).
A useful application of such an interchangeable logo system occurs when it is desirable to juxtapose only two elements of a given set of elements at a time, as, for example, with two sports teams in a league.
So that those skilled in the art to which the subject disclosure appertains will readily understand how to make and use the devices and methods of the subject disclosure without undue experimentation, preferred illustrated embodiments thereof will be described in detail herein below with reference to certain figures, wherein:
Aspects of the disclosed embodiments are shown in the following description and related drawings directed to specific illustrated embodiments. Alternate preferred embodiments may be devised without departing from the scope of the illustrated embodiments. Additionally, well-known elements of the illustrated embodiments will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the illustrated embodiments.
The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Likewise, the term “illustrated embodiments” does not require that all illustrated embodiments include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the illustrated embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising,”, “includes” and/or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
It is to be appreciated and understood that while the illustrated embodiments of
It is to be appreciated the inter-locking patches (e.g., 20a, 20b, and 33a, 33b) are not to be understood to be limited to two patches as they may encompass any number of plurality of interlocking patches. Also, the inter-locking configuration (e.g., 27a and 27b, as best shown in
The cap 10 may also include bill or visor 16 and a size-adjusting mechanism 17. A first area of hook material 50 may have a contour matching a contour of the inter-locking patch 20a, 20b, and may be permanently attached to the front of the cap 10, as shown in
As shown in
In other words, the non-hook area provided by the border ensures that the loop material along the edges of the patch that overlay the border do not contact hook material and act as a lip that may be easily grasped to remove a patch from the hat. Further, the difference in material, i.e., hook material, the border material, and the fabric of the cap, readily provides tactile feedback, so the user may properly align a patch without viewing the cap.
With reference now to
All embodiments of the cap 10 preferably include a first area of hook material (but they are not to be restricted thereto). It is to be appreciated and understood that the use of hook material on the cap 10 provides the advantage of a neater appearance, as the hook material provides less contrast with the remainder of the cap 10 than loop material.
It is to be further understood and appreciated that the use of hook material should be tailored to the function provided by the hat 10. For example, the two-panel construction shown in
According to the preferred embodiment, hook material should only be placed in locations on the cap where a user is likely to apply a patch or patches. The hook material is likely to gather lint or thread, which results in an unsightly appearance. By minimizing the location of hook material on the hat or cap ensures that large areas of the cap are not susceptible to gathering lint or thread. Further, the minimized area of hook material requires less cleaning effort than a larger area, i.e., the entire cap covered with loop material.
It is to be understood and appreciated that the inter-locking patches (e.g., 20a, 20b, 30a, 30b, and 33a, 33b) may be configured according to any predetermined shape. For instance, it may be preferred that circular or rectangular patches are used to replicate a conventional “pack” of trading cards. In the illustrated embodiment a user may wish to cheer for a particular baseball team. For instance, inter-locking patches (e.g., 20a, 20b, 30a, 30b, and 33a, 33b) may be provided with a team name and colors. For instance, each of a plurality of thin, planar patches may bear a likeness of a player for a team. Inter-locking patches (e.g., 20a, 20b, 30a, 30b, and 33a, 33b) may include a first surface bearing a likeness of a player. A second surface (not shown) opposite the first surface may be covered with loop material.
With reference now to
In yet another illustrated embodiment, the above-described apparel having interlocking patches/logos is packaged as a kit that preferably includes an apparel component (e.g., a hat) and a plurality of interlocking patches/logos. Thus, the kit may be sold to supporters of a particular sports team, such that an apparel (e.g., a hat) can be customized with particular logos focused upon a particular game (e.g., home or away game) and a particular players jersey/player number. For instance, a left-hand logo (e.g., 20a, 30a, 33a) may represent home or away team indica, while a right-hand logo (e.g., 20b, 30b, 33b) may represent a particular team jersey/player number.
It is to be understood that the illustrated embodiments are not limited to the preferred embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
With certain illustrated embodiments described above, it is to be appreciated that various non-limiting embodiments described herein may be used separately, combined or selectively combined for specific applications. Further, some of the various features of the above non-limiting embodiments may be used without the corresponding use of other described features. The foregoing description should therefore be considered as merely illustrative of the principles, teachings and exemplary embodiments of this invention, and not in limitation thereof.
It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the illustrated embodiments. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the illustrated embodiments, and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements.
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 63/532,608 filed Aug. 14, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63532608 | Aug 2023 | US |
