AU731047B3 - An item of headwear - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A PETTY PATENT Name of Applicants: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: Invention Title: Susan Annette LANGHAM Dennis Gregory LANGHAM Susan Annette LANGHAM CULLEN

CO.,

Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, 239 George Street, Brisbane, QId. 4000, Australia.

AN ITEM OF HEADWEAR The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us: AN ITEM OF HEADWEAR FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention is directed to an item of headwear which is provided with a specially designed opening to accommodate a ponytail.

BACKGROUND ART Headwear such as hats and caps have a crown portion which extends over the top of the person's head and protects the person from the sun. This type of headwear is widely used with active outdoor sports such as tennis, golf, sailing, and a large number of other types of sports.

This type of headwear is not particularly suitable for use with long hair, and especially where the long hair is bundled into a ponytail, plait and the like. Typically, the ponytail is bunched up under the crown of the hat and this means that the headwear is not properly fitted to the person's head, and looks unsightly. Heat from the wearer's head does not escape from a bunched up ponytail. For this reason, many women are forced to- use headwear which consists of a headband and a peak. This type of headwear does not provide protection against the Sun.

Caps commonly have-an adjustment band in rear .portion -of the cap. The adjustment band typically consists of two plastic straps, one strap having a number of projecting pins, and the other strap being-provided with a number of holes. Around the adjustment band is a small gap, and sometimes, a ponytail is pushed through this gap. However, a. ponytail usually sits higher up on a person's head and if the, ponytail i§ pushed through this gap, the cap can adopt an unnatural angle, and can distort the cap.

Another disadvantage with headwear used in active sports is in ensuring that the headwear does not inadvertently fall off the person's head, or tip forwardly to cover the person's eyes and the like. It is known to provide chin straps to overcome this. However, chin straps can be quite uncomfortable especially in active sports situations. The adjustment band commonly found on caps provides some hold of the cap on the person's.

head. However, in windy conditions, the cap can still blow off the:person's head, unless the adjustment band is made very tight in, which case the cap becomes uncomfortable to wear.

Various other types of adjustable headband arrangements are known to clamp a cap on a person's head, but each of these are quite uncomfortable, especially if the person is perspiring.

Attempts have been made to provide slits or slots in a cap to allow hair to be pushed through the slit or slots. A disadvantage with slits or slots is that the opening is not very large and is the wrong shape for a normally round length of ponytail. This results in damage to the hair. Other attempts seem to have required large protruding hair gripping members attached to the cap which are unsightly and makes the cap unappealing to wear when it is not required to push a ponytail or other length of hair through the opening. Some of these caps also have a separate cover or patch which needs to be attached to conceal the opening when not required. The cover or patch can be easily lost as it is a separate item.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an item of headwear which is provided with an opening having special features to allow a ponytail or other length of hair to pass through the' opening with little or no damage to the hair. The opening can be designed-to be: unobtrusive-when not required.

Separate covers to cover the opening when not in useare not required.

In one form, the-inventionhresides in-an item of headwear which has a crown portion and an opening assembly in the crown portion through which a ponytail can pass, characterised. in that the-: opening assembly comprises a large opening formed in the crown material, the opening being sufficiently large to allow a ponytail to easily pass through the opening, and an elasticised insert in the opening, -the insert -comprising a collar of flexible material, the collar having an inner open end- which is-attached- to- the crown and about the opening an outer open end, and an elastic member attached to the collar adjacent the outer open end and which causes the outer open end to be biased to a naturally smaller opening which is able to grip the ponytail.

Preferably the collar has. a -wall height which is approximately half the length of the opening size such that-the -insert- does not appreciably protrude from the crown.

The specially designed opening containing-the. insert allows a fairly large opening to be formed in the cap which in turn allows a ponytail to be pulled or pushed through the opening with little effort. The insert is preferably made of a soft flexible material and has one end elasticized to grip against the ponytail in a gentle but firm manner. When not in use, the insert can substantially cover the fairly large opening to form a discreet and unobtrusive closure.

The headwear may comprise a large number of different types of headwear items. These can include caps, hats, of various shapes and sizes. It is possible for a commercially available item of headwear to be converted to the item of headwear which forms part of the present invention.

Alternatively, headwear can be manufactured with the opening as described above. It is preferred that the item of headwear has a crown portion which substantially covers the top part of a person's head to provide protection from the sun, wind, pollution and the like.

The headwear may be manufactured from a variety of materials, and it is envisaged that there is no particular limitation to the type of material which forms the headwear. Typical..materials include cloth, plastics, canvas, elastic materials and the like. The headwear may include features such as peaks or visors, length adjustment bands and the like. If required, chin straps and like members may also be provided. The headwear may include ventilation openings, reinforcements, internal sweat bands, cushioning material and the like.

An opening assembly is provided in the crown portion and through which a ponytail or like member can pass. The opening assembly comprises a large opening which is formed in the crown material. The large opening can be cut out of an existing item of headwear Alternatively, specially designed headwear containing the opening may be manufactured.

The size and shape of the opening can vary, but it is envisaged that if the opening is much too large, it can create problems with the integrity of the headwear, and may look unsightly. The opening should have a size which is sufficient to allow a bundle of hair (eg a ponytail) topaqs through the opening without undue effort, and-without undue forcing, _TypicaHy;.the opening size can be between 30 mm-80 mm. This can of course vary depending on the amount of hair and thickness of hair. As the insert can function to fully or substantially close the opening, it is envisaged that the opening can be made fairly large. If the crown material is formed from elastic material, the opening may be somewhat smaller as it can be stretched to a larger size due to be elastic nature of the crown material. The shape of the opening can vary, but it is considered that a round or substantially round shape would be useful as this would approximate the round shape of the ponytail. Of course, the opening could be oval, polygonal or other irregular shapes.

An elasticised insert is provided in the opening. The insert is in the form of a collar of flexible material. In the collar may be tubular or substantially tubular in configuration. It is preferred that cross-section of the collar is similar to the cross-section of the opening. For instance, if the opening is round, it is preferred that the collar is circular. The collar is formed of flexible material, and this may be cloth, woven or non-woven materials, plastics, composites and the like. Preferably, the collar is formed from two ormore layers of flexible material to provide softness to the collar.

The collar has an inner open end and an outer open end. For instance, in an embodiment, the collar is in the form of a flexible tube of fabric. The inner open end is attached to the crown and typically about the opening. The shape of the inner open end is preferably the same as the shape of the opening. For instance, if the opening is circular, the inner open end is also preferably circular. The inner open end may be somewhat larger than the opening in the crown portion of the headwear which allows it to be attached about the opening. Various forms of attachments are envisaged.

These can include stitching, adhesives, fasteners such as press-studs, heat welding and the like. It is preferred that the collar is fixed to the headwear in a non-removable manner.

The length or height of the collar may vary. To make the insert discreet and fairly unobtrusive, it is preferred that the collar has a height or length such that it does not appreciably project from the headwear.when not in use. If the collar has a height or length which is. approximinstly half the diameter of the opening, the insert remains generally in-line with the opening when not in use, and does not project appreciably therefrom. In an embodiment, the collar may have a height of between 10 mm-50 mm, and preferably between 15 mm-30 mm.

The outer open end of the collar has an elastic member attached thereto or relative thereto or adjacent thereto. The elastic member functions to reduce the outer open end size. The elastic member may comprise an elastic line or band which can be sewn or otherwise attached to or adjacent to the outer open end. If the collar comprises two layers of fabric, this can be formed by folding the fabric back onto itself and providing an elastic band in the fold-back area. Suitably, the elastic member can narrow the outer open end to a closed or almost closed position, or at least to a position where the outer open end is much smaller than the large opening formed in the crown portion of the headwear.

The collar can function as a "tube"-through which the ponytail passes, and the internal wall of the tube can assist in holding the ponytail in place. This can provide a much larger surface area of contact-which in.turn.

means that the ponytail can be gripped along a substantial length as opposed to a narrow band area which can damage the ponytail hair.

It also appears that the collar can .function as--a damping mechanism between the ponytail and the cap. For instance, under active sports conditions, the ponytail may swing from side to .side and by- being gripped by the collar, this motion .can be dampened and not transmitted as much to the cap. In turn, this may reduce undesired movement-of the cap on the person's head.

It is preferred that the opening is positioned along a central axis of the crown portion and in a position which approximates the position of a person's ponytail.

It is envisaged that more than one opening assembly could be provided in the headwear. For instance, a pair of opening assemblies may be provided to accommodate pigtails.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS An embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the following drawings in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a cap containing the opening assembly in a non-use position.

Figure 2 is the view of the cap of Figure 1 showing a ponytail passing through the opening assembly.

Figure 3 is a close up view of the opening assembly in the nonuse position.

Figure 4 is a close up view of the opening of Figure 3 in a use position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated an item of headwear in the form of a cap 10. Cap 10 has a crown portion 11, and a front peak 12. This is of course illustrative only of the invention. Cap 10 has a headband 13 formed with a length adjustment means 14 which is of known design and consists of a pair-of straps, one strap having a number of buttons or pins and the other strap having a number of projections, the two straps able to snap together. The length adjUstment means does not in itself form part of the invention.

Cap 10 is formed from cloth material but other materials are also envisaged such as elastic material-and the-like; I In a rear part of crown portion 11 is an opening assembly Opening assembly 15 comprises a large opening 16 which is cut out of crown portion 11. In the embodiment, Qperling 16 is circular and has a diameter of about 50 mm. Opening 16 is sufficiently large to allow a ponytail to pass through the opening without undue-force being required.

An insert is provided in opening 16.- Ilnthe embodiment the insert is a cylindrical collar of flexible cloth 17. Collar 17 is formed from a single piece of cloth material which is folded back on itself to form a two ply arrangement. Collar 17 has a maximum diameter of approximately 50 mm which is similar to the diameter -of opening 16. -Collar 1-7 has a length or height of 30 mm. The free end of collar 17 extends through opening 16 and about the inside edge of opening 16 and is stitched to the inside edge through stitch line 18.

Collar 17 has an inner open end 19 which is attached about the walls of opening 16, and an outer open end 20. Outer open end 20 is circular and an elastic band 21 is positioned within the two layers of collar 17. Elastic band 21 functions to bias outer open end 20 into a closed or almost closed position illustrated in Figure 3. However, elastic band 21 can be stretched manually such that outer open end 20 is opened up to approximate the size of opening 16, this being illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 2 illustrates the cap in use where a ponytail 22 has been pulled through collar 17. Collar 17 grips or is against a length of ponytail 22 which corresponds to the length of collar 17. Elastic band 21 sits about ponytail 22 in a firmer but gentle manner. The collar can function to anchor the cap against the person's head via the ponytail 22. If the ponytail 22 swings about, collar 17 may function as a damping mechanism to prevent or ridges this motion from being transmitted to the rest of cap 10, which may displace the cap.

The collar can also function to make the ponytail stand away from the nape of the neck for cooling purposes.

Figure 1 illustrates the insert when not used, and-it can be seen that the insert is predominantly in line with the cap shape and does not form an unsightly projection thereto. This is facilitated by having the length of the collar being approximately half the diameter of opening 16.

Collar 17 can be expanded by the person's fingers and a ponytail can then be pulled there through.

The headwear is suitable for use with all types of long hair and not just ponytails. The opening can function as a singular hair grip which does away with the need for additional elasticised bands or grips. Removal of the cap will not mess the hair as it runs smoothly downwards.

It should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Claims (3)

1. An item of headwear which has a crown portion and an opening assembly in the crown portion through which a ponytail can pass, characterised in that the opening assembly comprises a large opening formed in the crown material, the opening being sufficiently large to allow a ponytail to easily pass through the opening, and an elasticised insert in the opening, the insert comprising a collar of flexible material,- the collar having an inner open end which is attached to the crown and about the opening an outer open end, and an elastic member attached to the collar adjacent the outer open end and which causes the outer open end to be biased to a naturally smaller opening which is able to grip the ponytail in a discreet and unobtrusive manner, so not to appreciably project from the headwear while in use, similarly, the elasticised collar maintaining a discreet and unobtrusive manner whilst the headwear is not in use.

2. The item of claim 1, wherein the collar has a wall height which is approximately half the length of the opening size such that the insert does not appreciably protrude from the crown.

3. The item of claim 1 or claim 2 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 2nd day of January 20001 SUSAN ANNETTE LANGHAM and DENNIS GREGORY LANGHAM