Patent Application
20110302695
This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2010-0055625 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jun. 11, 2010, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stretchable cap and a manufacturing method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a stretchable cap that people with a head size in a predetermined range can comfortably wear without adjusting the size while providing a deformation-free look like that of a fixed-size cap, and a manufacturing method thereof.
(b) Description of the Related Art
In general, a cap includes a head receiving portion formed to surround the head and a visor portion coupled to a lower end of the head receiving portion to block sunlight and the like.
In addition, a sweat absorbing member is further provided in a lower end of the head receiving portion to absorb sweat from the forehead of a wearer by contacting the forehead.
One of a free-sized cap and a one-size-fits-all type cap includes an elastic band provided along a lower circumferential direction of the head receiving portion to function as a sweat absorbing member while providing stretchability along the head circumferential direction.
However, while the free-sized cap has a merit of size adjustment with ease and revealing the head shape through the head receiving portion, it has a problem in that the shape of the cap is insufficiently stable due to stretchability of the head receiving portion and the sweat absorbing member.
Particularly, when a front stiffener is attached to a front portion of the head receiving portion, the front portion of the head receiving portion and the visor portion are not stretchable while the sweat absorbing member formed of an elastic band has stretchability, and accordingly the front portion of the head receiving portion, for example, a sewn area of the front portion of the head receiving portion and the visor portion may be crumpled, or a side portion of the head receiving portion may be deformed inwardly when the head receiving portion with the front stiffener, the visor and the sweat absorbing member are attached together by sewing.
In addition, because of the difference in the stretchability degree of the head receiving portion and that of the elastic band used as the sweat absorbing member, and tension of a sewing yarn, a side and a rear portion of the head receiving portion may be crumpled along the lower edge of the head receiving portion.
Such a problem cannot be easily solved by ironing, and even if the problem is temporally solved, the problem becomes worse if the cap is stored in a box or displayed in a store for a long period of time.
Then, a wearer may be visually unsatisfied with the deformed look of the cap, and the size written in the label and the substantial size of the cap may be different from each other, causing a reliability problem.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a stretchable cap that can be comfortably worn without adjusting the size by people in a predetermined size range while providing a deformation-free look like a cap having a fixed size, and a manufacturing method thereof.
A cap according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a head receiving portion stretchable along at least one direction and worn on the head, a sweat absorbing member disposed along a lower edge of the head receiving portion and absorbing sweat from the forehead, and is partly stretchable along the head circumferential direction of the head receiving portion. The sweat absorbing member comprises a non-stretchability added portion at a location that corresponds to the forehead of a wearer and a material for adding non-stretchability to the sweat absorbing member to form the non-stretchability added portion does not directly contact the forehead.
A manufacturing method of a cap having a head receiving portion stretchable in at least one direction and worn on the head, and a sweat absorbing member disposed along a lower edge of the head receiving portion, absorbing sweat from the forehead, and having stretchablity along the head circumferential direction of the head receiving portion, includes forming a non-stretchability added portion at a part of the sweat absorbing member.
In the cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the sweat absorbing member is wholly formed of a stretchable material and a portion corresponding to the forehead of a wearer is attached or coated with a non-stretchable material so that the portion can be closely sewn to the head receiving portion, and accordingly, the portion does not put pressure on the forehead of the wearer when the wearer wears the cap, and when the non-stretchable material is waterproof, sweat from the head or the forehead is not externally emitted to the head receiving portion so that the cap can be prevented from being stained.
In addition, in the cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, since a portion that does not directly contact the forehead among the portion of the sweat absorbing member, corresponding to the forehead, includes a non-stretchable material, the head receiving portion and the visor need not to be stretched when sewing the sweat absorbing member, the head receiving portion, and the visor together so that puckering of a lower portion of a front panel and deformation of double-stitched portions at both sides can be prevented, thereby providing consistency in sewing like a customized cap.
Further, the cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention can prevent an excessive stretch of the lower end of the head receiving portion even though the head receiving portion is made of a stretchable material because the lower end of the head receiving portion is sewn using a non-stretchable yarn and a stretchable yarn, and can maintain a size range of the cap because a constant length of the lower end circumferential portion of the head receiving portion can be maintained.
According to the manufacturing method of a cap of the other exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a guide stitch formed at the lower end of the head receiving portion functions as a sewing guide when the sweat absorbing member or the visor is attached to the head receiving portion so that an additional inch tape is not required, and accordingly, product quality and productivity can be improved.
In addition, the cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention does not use an inch tape because a guide stitch is formed at the lower end of the head receiving portion so that the sweat absorbing member can be prevented from being thickened or deformation of the lower end of the head receiving portion can be prevented.
In addition, an existing cap puts pressure on the forehead because a lower part of a front portion of an existing sweat absorbing member having stretchability is stretched to be integrally sewn with a head receiving portion so that the upper part of the front portion is inclined toward the forehead, thereby putting pressure on. However, the cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention can minimize pressure on the forehead by forming a non-stretchability added portion at a location corresponding to the forehead, attaching the non-stretchability added portion to the head receiving member in a closely attached manner, and providing a space between the forehead of a wearer and the sweat absorbing member.
In addition, the cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention can prevent loosening and curling of the lower end of the head receiving portion because the lower edge circumference is sewn using a non-stretchable yarn and a stretchable yarn before integrally sewing the lower end of the head receiving portion with the sweat absorbing member, and accordingly, a height change of the cap can be prevented.
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The head receiving portion 101 of a cap according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is formed of a plurality of pieces of cloth, including a piece of cloth at the front, a piece of cloth at the side, and a piece of cloth at the rear, and at least one of the plurality of pieces of cloth has stretchability along a head circumferential direction.
For this purpose, at least one of the pieces of cloth of the head receiving portion 101 is formed of a woven or knitted fabric, and the fabric may include an elastic yarn or a textured yarn.
In addition, the sweat absorbing member 105 may have stretchability along the head circumferential direction, and may use a woven or knitted fabric including an elastic yarn for the stretchability.
As shown in
The sweat absorbing member 105 made of a stretchable material includes a non-stretchability added portion 105a at a location that corresponds to the forehead of a wearer in a manner that a non-stretchable material does not directly contact the forehead.
The non-stretchability added portion 105a may be formed by sewing a non-stretchable fabric such as a waterproofed woven fabric, knitted fabric, or non-woven fabric on one side of the sweat absorbing member 105, by sewing or adhering using an adhesive a non-stretchable film at room temperature or a high temperature, or by attaching using an ultrasonic or high-frequency wave. Alternatively, the non-stretchability added portion 105a may be formed by coating a material such as an adhesive or a binder.
The non-stretchability added portion 105a has a waterproof function, the sweat absorbing member 105 is formed of a fabric having excellent absorptiveness for sweat absorption with ease, and the non-stretchability added portion 105a is disposed at a location corresponding to the forehead in a manner that the non-stretchable material does not directly contact the forehead of the wearer so that a stain at the front portion of the head receiving portion due to sweat from the head or forehead can be prevented.
In addition, the sweat absorbing member 105 is formed with a stretchable material, but there is no need to stretch the sweat absorbing member 105 when sewing it because the non-stretchability added portion 105a is formed at the front portion of the sweat absorbing member 105, so that less pressure is applied to the forehead of the wearer, and accordingly wearing comfort can be improved.
Table 1 shows comparison of crumpling at the front lower end and deformation at a double-stitched portion of lateral sides between 1000 caps according to the exemplary embodiment and 1000 existing caps according to a comparative example.
According to Table 1, the crumpling and the deformation of the cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention are much less than those of the existing cap.
This is because the front portion of the sweat absorbing member 105 including the non-stretchability added portion 105a corresponds to a portion where the head receiving portion 101 and the visor portion 103 are sewn, and the sweat absorbing member 105 does not need to be stretched when being sewn in the stretchable cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
On the contrary, in a conventional stretchable cap, the sweat absorbing member 105 needs to be stretched for being sewn on the head receiving portion 101, and front portion and both sides of the head receiving portion 101 may be crumpled or deformed due to restoring force.
That is, the cap according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention does not need to have the sweat absorber or the front portion of the sweat absorbing member 105 stretched when sewing, and accordingly, productivity is increased and the cap can be constantly sewn like a tailored cap.
Meanwhile, in the conventional stretchable cap, the plurality of cloth pieces 101a were connected and then sewn with the sweat absorbing member 105 such that the height of the cap was decreased due to loosening and curling of the lower edge portion of the head receiving portion 101.
Referring to
As shown in
Particularly, when a front stiffener is attached to a front portion of the head receiving portion, the first stitch 107 may be formed only along the lower edge of a side portion and a rear portion of the head receiving portion 101. It is because that the loosening and curling of the lower end of the head receiving portion 101 is not occurred due to it.
At this time, the front portion may be provided with a guide stitch for guiding a location to which the visor portion is attached.
As shown in
In further detail, the upper line 107a is formed with stitches distanced from each other by predetermined intervals at a predetermined height from the lower end of the head receiving portion 101. One lower line 107b is sewn by weaving the upper line 107a in a loop shape, and the other lower line 107c is woven with the lower line 107b in a loop shape at the lower end of the head receiving portion 101 to thereby prevent loosening of the lower end of the head receiving portion 101.
The upper line 107a may be formed of a non-stretchable yarn and the lower lines 107b and 107c may be formed as a stretchable yarn.
The upper line 107a formed of the non-stretchable yarn maintains a predetermined constant tension, and thus, even though the lower lines 107b and 107c are formed of stretchable yarns, an increase of sewing time due to deformation of the lines can be prevented and crumple or deformation due to stretching of both sides along the head circumferential portion of the cap can be prevented.
That is, since the upper line 107a is formed of the non-stretchable yarn, the sewing speed can be increased while maintaining the head circumferential portion size of the head receiving portion 101 and the head receiving portion 101 can be prevented from being stretched too much or loosened by maintaining elasticity of the fabric along the head circumferential portion direction, and loosening of the lower end of the head receiving portion 101 can be easily prevented.
Here, the stretchable yarn may include a polyurethane yarn, a textured yarn, a false deformation yarn, and a stretch yarn.
Referring to
As shown in
The second stitch 109 is distanced from the first stitch 107 by a predetermined interval, and an upper line 109a is formed of stitches arranged in one line with predetermined intervals therebetween along the lower edge of the head receiving portion 101, as shown in
In further detail, the second stitch 109 is formed by weaving the upper line 109a with a lower line 109b in a loop shape, as shown in
The head receiving portion 101 formed along the lower edge of the second stitch 109 functions as a guide line to keep a referential margin to sew when attaching a visor portion 103 or a sweat absorbing member 105, and due to the second stitch 109, an inch tape (i.e., a measuring tape) that used to be disposed in the lower edge of the head receiving portion for keeping a margin for sewing before attaching the visor portion 103 or the sweat absorbing member 105 is not required.
That is, since the inch tape is not required, even if a non-stretchable material is added to one side of the sweat absorbing member 105 to form a non-stretchability added portion, the sweat absorbing member 105 is not thickened or deformed or does not impart pressure or stiffness to a wearer, and moreover, cap production efficiency can be improved.
In the cap 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment, as shown in
In the cap 100 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the upper line 109a of the second stitch 109 may be formed of a non-stretchable yarn and the lower line 109b may be formed of a stretchable yarn.
Thus, the upper line 109a is formed of a non-stretchable yarn so that it may function as a guide line that can keep a margin for sewing when the visor portion 103 or the sweat absorbing member 105 is attached to the head receiving portion 101 by maintaining a predetermined constant tension.
In addition, although the head receiving portion 101 is formed with a stretchable material, the upper line 109a formed of the non-stretchable yarn enables the head receiving portion 101 to maintain a constant circumference length by preventing an excessive stretch of the fabric. Furthermore, since an inch tape can be omitted, the production process can be simplified.
After the cap 100 is completed, the upper lines 107a and 109a maintain a predetermined tension along the lower edge of the head receiving portion 101 so that puckering can be prevented, and the sweat absorbing member 105 can be constantly sewn without loosening of the lower edge.
Hereinafter, a manufacturing method of a cap according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to
A manufacturing method of a cap and efficiency thereof according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described in order to avoid redundancy in description.
In the manufacturing method of the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a sweat absorbing member 105 is formed of a stretchable material, and a non-stretchability added portion 105a is formed at a location of the sweat absorbing member 105, corresponding to the forehead.
The non-stretchability added portion 105a may be attached by sewing one of a non-stretchable woven material, a non-stretchable knitted material, and a non-woven material, or by coating an adhesive or by heat-bonding a non-stretchable film with an ultrasonic or high-frequency wave.
The head receiving portion 101 forms by sewing a plurality of pieces of cloth 101a with stretchability along at least one direction. In this case, a non stretchable yarn is used as an upper line 107a along the lower edge of the head receiving portion 101 at predetermined intervals, and a first stitch 107 may be formed to prevent loosening of the lower edge.
A non-stretchable yarn at an upper portion at a predetermined distance from the first stitch 107 may be used as an upper line 109a, and a second stitch 109 may be formed to form a series of guide lines. The second stitch 109 may be formed concurrently or successively with the first stitch 107.
As described, after forming the first and second stitches 107 and 109 at the lower edge of the head receiving portion 101, the sweat absorbing member 105 including the non-stretchability added portion 105a can be integrally sewn without using an inch tape after coupling of the head receiving portion 101 and the visor portion 103.
The upper line 107a forms with a series of stitches distanced from each other by predetermined intervals, and a first lower line 107b and a second lower line 107c are connected with the upper line 107a in a loop shape such that the first stitch 107 is formed.
The upper line 109a forms with a series of stitches distanced from each other by predetermined intervals, and a lower line 109b connects between the upper lines 109a such that the second stitch 109 is formed.
While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2010-0055625 | Jun 2010 | KR | national |
