EP3620073B1

EP3620073B1 - Swimming cap that is gentle on the hair

Info

Publication number: EP3620073B1
Application number: EP18745150.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Vicenta Isabel BORRÁS ESTEVE
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2017-01-26
Filing date: 2018-01-25
Publication date: 2024-03-27
Anticipated expiration: 2038-01-25
Also published as: EP3620073A1; WO2018138393A4; ES1180160Y; EP3620073A4; FR3062034A3; WO2018138393A1; ES1180160U; FR3062034B3

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

Nowadays, many swimwear manufacturers seem interested in making swimming caps that owing to their materials and design, manage to reduce the friction in the water of the frontal surface of the head and, consequently, to improve the speed of competition swimmers, its supposedly main users.
By concentrating chiefly on such features and end users, the manufacturers of the sector seem to ignore the existence of this other large group of potential users composed of recreational bathers of all ages, who would like to be able to use swimming caps that were: roomy (with adequate and well distributed interior space, able to properly accommodate hair of different lengths or to preserve hairdos of different shapes and volumes); watertight (of materials and structures that made them waterproof and resistant to liquid filtration); comfortable (of materials and structures that made its placement and removal easy and its grip on the head comfortable); and sober (of making, size, and materials that made them inconspicuous).
Unfortunately, the swimming caps available in the market do not necessarily meet these qualities. Therefore, and given that in many public aquatic facilities the use of the cap is mandatory, numerous potential users, not having the swimming cap that meets their needs, renounce to the practice of aquatic exercise and, therefore, to its beneficial effects on their physical and mental health.

BACKGROUND ART

Despite the sparse presence in the market of swimming caps with the qualities mentioned above (roominess, watertightness, comfort, and sobriety), many inventors have been trying to achieve them since long ago.
Representative examples of inventions particularly interested in the roominess of the swimming cap include those of the following patents: "Bathing cap" US Pat. No. 2465998 A, by Frederick W. Bowditch (1949 ); "Bathing cap" US Pat. No. 3206761 A, by Beatrice Melnikolf (1965 ); "Water Aerobic Cover for the Hair" US Pat. No. 20150000002 A1, by Linda Gale Brown (2015 ); "Bathing cap" US Pat. No. 3996621 "A, by Liselotte Martienssen (1974 ); and "Swimming cap" US Pat. No. 20140109281 by Waller, Johnson and Neal (2014 ) which discloses the preamble of claim 1.
To achieve capacity, the cap in the Bowditch patent (1949) uses a cavity for receiving the hair, composed of several wide segments of rigid material that fold on both sides of a zipper that, when closed, constricts them adjusting the back of the cap. The cap also includes a strap that fastens below the chin to ensure the grip and tightness of the cap's front.
The cap in the Melnikolf patent (1965) consists of a hemispherical flexible piece with laces crimped with eyelets that adjust its volume to that of the user's hair. The hemispherical piece has a lateral expansion gusset to facilitate the accommodation of the hair, and is bordered by a strip that secures the cap to the head with a snap closure or similar.
The Brown patent (2015) relates to a swimming cap that resembles a wide shower cap bordered by a silicone adjusting band. Given its ampleness, the cap easily adapts to different head sizes and receives hairstyles of varying lengths and volumes.
The Martienssen patent (1974) presents a cap composed of a flexible receptacle that covers the hair loosely, an annular band made up of three segments that follow the outline of the hairline in the forehead, temples and neck areas, and an elastic oval ring placed between the receptacle and the band and glued to both of them.
The cap patented by Waller, Johnson, and Neal (2014) consists of a cavity bordered internally by a band of silicone that widens at the nape of the neck. The widening allows the placement of long hair collected in a low bun, in the area below the upper nuchal line and the external occipital protuberance of the occipital bone. This minimizes the neck depression in said area and, supposedly, improves swimming hydrodynamics.
Illustrative examples of inventions concerned primarily with the watertightness of the swimming cap include those disclosed in patents such as: "Watertight cap" US Pat. No. 2010192273, by Karetha Dodd (2010 ); "Leak-proof cap with improved seal construction" US Pat. No. 5,349,702, by John L. Runckel (1994 ); "Bathing cap" US Pat. No.2,285,659, by Howland Thomas (1942 ); and "Waterproof bathing cap" ES Pat. No. 1,074,697 U, by Fe Cerezo Miró (2012 ).
The swimming cap patented by Dodd (2010) consists of a cavity with an annular edge and an elastic fringe joined to the cavity by said edge. To optimize its hermetism, the cap may additionally include two straps that attached to the elastic fringe at the ears, fasten at the back of the neck with a closing mechanism like velcro.
The cap of the Runckel patent (1994) comprises a hemispherical cavity for sheltering the top of the head and a band for covering the forehead, temples, and back of the neck. The cap also comprises an internal sealing structure consisting of an inflatable air chamber and a ribbon of foam material superimposed to it. When inflated, the camera, together with the ribbon, seals the large and small protuberances in the shape of the head, thus preventing possible leaks.
The Thomas patent (1942) refers to a cap with a main cavity and two ribs mounted on a flexible piece adhered to the cap's inside. This mounting supports the protruding ribs in such a way that when the user's head presses against them, they move away from each other and oscillate towards the inside of the cavity. By doing so, the ribs force out the air from the space between them, thus preventing possible leaks.
The cap patented by Cerezo Miró (2012) concerns a waterproof cap consisting of a plastic bag bordered by a tube wrapped in an elastic band of silicone that allows the adjustment of the cap to the scalp without tightening it. Both the plastic bag and the tube are inflatable and have decompression valves. An additional standard cap, made of fabric or the like, allows the hiding of the waterproof cap after its decompression with a portable vacuum pump.
Undoubtedly valuable, the previous models are not without limitations like the following:

1) the receptacles for receiving the hair in some of the caps addressing roominess (e.g., the caps patented by Brown or by Martienssen) lack the structure required to adequately keep the shape of the hairdo. In addition, the bulkiness of those receptacles makes the caps too showy, thus limiting their popularization among many water sports practitioners;
2) the structuring of the hair lodging cavity in the other models addressing roominess, poses problems of another sort. For example, in the cap patented by Waller, Johnson, and Neal, the protrusion of the long hair housing cavity in the nuchal area may compromise the watertightness of the cap since, due to its weight, the hair may cause leaks when pressing down the cap adjustment band; and
3) Certain devices utilized by some of the caps considered here are somewhat problematic. For instance, the zippers, snap fasteners, laces, or eyelets used by the caps that bet on roominess (e.g., those of Bowditch or Melnikolf) may deteriorate rapidly in contact with the chemicals used for water sanitation in aquatic facilities.

Therefore, in light of the background art illustrated by, among others, the aforesaid models, it seems that there is still room for creating a swimming cap that, like the one described below, keeps the shape of the hairdo, prevents the hair from getting wet, is comfortable to wear, and attracts the target user for its discretion.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention disclosed here refers to a swimming cap that due to its roominess, watertightness, comfort, and sobriety, may interest that large female, and male, clientele, that practices or would like to practice, recreational swimming or other non-competitive water sports.
The invention materializes in the Swimming Cap Respectful with the Hair, which, among others, offers three possible embodiments, "A," "B," and "C." In its "A" embodiment, the cap consists of a main body for receiving the hair, and a positioning-blocking unit responsible for the grip and watertightness of the cap.
The main body includes: a) an upper portion in the form of a spherical cap for receiving long hair compactly collected (e.g., bun or horsetail) or the top of voluminous hairdos, such as to prevent its flattening, or; b) a middle portion in the form of a spherical zone composed of twelve assembled pieces that ensure the stability of the portion's shape, for receiving the bulk of the hair; and c) a lower portion in the form of a concave surface of revolution whose lower part, when the cap is put on, contacts the user's head below the hairline and separates from it above that line.
This three-part structure of the main body, which as a whole replicates to some extent the shape of a standard hairdo, gives the cap enough roominess to prevent it from ruining the hairdo and to ensure the comfort of its use.
As far as the positioning-blocking unit of the cap is concerned, it includes the annular band that secures the cap to the user's head. Made of elastic material, the band is joined to the rim of the lower portion of the cap by only one of its edges; as a result, the pressure of the band on the user's head decreases, thus increasing the comfort of the cap, and the band gains in ductility thanks to its loose edge.
The positioning-blocking unit also includes the leak-preventing strip. Joined by one of its ends to the inner surface of the annular band and overhanging by its other end the band loose edge, the strip is characterized by the absorption power it derives from its construction in folds and its manufacturing material, and by the protection area it reaches overhanging the annular band. Filling in the voids that may form between the inner face of the cap and the irregular spaces in the shape of the head in the nape of the neck, the leak-preventing strip stops and absorbs any possible leaks in that region.
In its three embodiments, the cap may include two additional leak-preventing strips. In such case, the strips are placed over the annular band at the temples to impede the latter, given their often concave contour, from becoming supplementary sources of leaks.
The cap can be manufactured in different sizes based on the size of one or several of its components, including the height and width of the three parts of the cap's main body, the diameter of the annular band, and the width of the leak-preventing strip. Validation of these standard sizes would draw on data collected from a broad population sample, on skulls and necks dimensions and on hairdos volumes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The Swimming Cap that is Gentle on the Hair offers, among other possible ones, three embodiments illustrated by the seven Figures included in this Report: embodiment "A," exemplified by Figures 1 to 4; embodiment "B," visualized by Figure 5; and embodiment "C," represented by Figures 6 and 7.

Embodiment "A"

Figure 1.-

Shows a front view of the cap.

Figure 2.-

Shows a front view of the interior of the cap.

Figure 3.-

Shows a front view of an enlarged fragment of Figure 2 that highlights components (16) and (17) of the interior of the cap.

Figure 4.-

Shows a side view of the interior of the cap positioned on the user's head.
Embodiment "B"

Figure 5.-

Shows a front view of the cap.
Embodiment "C"

Figure 6.-

Shows a front view of the interior of the cap.

Figure 7.-

Shows a front view of an enlarged fragment of Figure 6 that highlights components (17), (21), and (22) of the interior of the cap.

DRAWINGS: REFERENCE NUMBERS

11: upper portion of the cap in the shape of a spherical cap
12: middle portion of the cap in the form of a spherical zone
13: one of the twelve pieces of material that make up the middle portion of the cap
14: lower portion of the cap consisting of a concave surface of revolution
15: shirring covering part of lower portion 14
16: annular band that holds the hat to the user's head
17: leak-preventing strip attached to annular band 16
18: in embodiment "B," the lower portion of the main body of the cap
19: in embodiment "B," one of the twelve pieces that make up lower portion 18
20: in embodiment "C," main body of the cap molded in one piece
21: in embodiment "C," annular band consisting of an extension of 20 folded inwards from the edge of the cap opening
22: in embodiment "C," loop that holds leak-preventing strip 17 attached to annular band 21

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Next, with the support of the aforementioned Figures 1-7, the three embodiments of the cap mentioned above are described in detail.

Embodiment "A"

Figure 1 offers a front view of portions (11), (12) and (14) of the main body of the Swimming Cap that is Gentle on the Hair in its "A" embodiment.
The upper portion (11) is a spherical cap whose shape can be obtained, among other ways, by applying sewing darts to a circular piece of the material chosen for the manufacture of the cap, or by joining by two of their sides several triangular pieces of the manufacturing material, so as to make them converge on a vertex.
The middle portion (12) consists of a spherical zone composed of twelve pieces (13). Six of the pieces alternate with the other six placed in reverse direction, which optimizes the control of possible curvature variations of the portion.
The lower portion (14) is a concave surface of revolution made possible by the shirring (15) that covers part of the portion and frames the opening of the cap.
Figure 2 provides a front view of the inside of the cap showing the reverse of portions (11), (12) and (14), and the components of the positioning-blocking unit. Those components include the annular band (16) that secures the cap to the user's head, and the leak-preventing strip (17) that stops leaks through the edge of the cap
Figure 3 offers a front view of an enlarged fragment of the lower portion (14) that allows a detailed view of components (16) and (17) of the positioning-blocking unit. The Figure shows the annular band (16) with its lower edge stitched to the rim of the cap, and the leak-preventing strip (17) stitched to the inner face of (16) and overhanging freely over its upper edge.
Being sewn to the lower portion (14) of the cap only by its lower edge, the annular band (16) exerts less pressure on the head, and thus makes the cap more comfortable.
In addition, the fact that the annular band (16) is loose on its upper edge facilitates the function of the leak-preventing strip (17) joined to it. Thanks to its "flexible union" with the annular band, the leak-preventing strip and particularly its overhanging portion, fills in the spaces that may form between the cap inner face and the irregularities in the shape of the head in the nape of the neck, shape which varies greatly from one person to another, so as to stop and absorb any possible leaks in that region.
Figure 4 shows an internal side view of the cap positioned on the user's head, which displays: the upper portion (11) covering the top of the skull, the middle portion (12) covering the area of the frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital bones, and the lower portion (14) contouring the left side of the face and neck.
Figure 4 also shows the annular band (16) surrounding the head by the area of the frontal, sphenoid, and temporal bones, below the ear lobe, and by the nape of the neck. The Figure equally reveals the position of the leak-preventing strip (17) over the section of the band (16) that goes behind the head between both ears, in the neck region.
The inside view of the left side of the cap provided by Figure 4 reveals the space between the cap and the user's head. Such space begins at the hairline in (14), increases gradually in (12) and reaches its maximum in (11), thereby minimizing the flattening of the hair and the ruining of the hairdo.

Embodiment "B"

Figure 5 provides a front view of the Swimming Cap that is Gentle on the Hair in its "B" embodiment, which differs from that of embodiment "A" in the structure of its lower portion (18).
In this embodiment, the concave surface of revolution of the lower portion (18) results not from the shirring (15) of the lower portion (14) as in embodiment "A," but from the twelve pieces (19) joined to each other in a straight and reverse sense.
The structure of portion (18) allows the diversification of the cap's manufacturing materials. While embodiment "A" uses waterproof materials (e.g., polyethylene-vinyl acetates), embodiment "B" uses materials that are waterproof and elastic (e.g., waterproof and elastic lycra and waterproof spandex).
These differences de structure and materials of embodiments "A" and "B" impacts the stretching experienced by lower portions (14) and (18) when the cap is positioned on the head, as well as the interior space generated by such stretching.
While in embodiment "A" the stretching of shirring (15) affects the entire lower portion (14), in embodiment "B," the stretching of the lower portion (18) impacts mainly the six pieces (19) whose assembled bases form the rim of the cap opening.
The other six pieces (19) stretch little since, given their inverted position with respect to their homonymous, they affect the opening of the cap only by their vertices. However, these pieces (19) being connected to the six pieces (13) of the middle portion (12), they ensure that the space between their internal face and the skull distributes and increases uniformly from the lower to the middle portion of the cap.
The result is a cap with an interior space that is structurally more defined and stable than the one of embodiment "A," something that may particularly attract those users who do not want water exercise to ruin their hair.
Although not shown in Figure 5, embodiment "B" of the cap also includes the annular band (16) and the leak-preventing strip (17) of embodiment "A" of the cap, illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

Embodiment "C"

Figure 6 provides a front view of the interior of the Swimming Cap that is Gentle on the Hair in its "C" embodiment. Made of rubber compounds or custom molded polymers such as silicones (e.g., methyl vinyl silicone), the main body of the cap according to this embodiment integrates in one piece (20) portions (11) and (12) of embodiment "A" and portion (18) of embodiment "B." The piece retains the ribbings of the joints of the three portions of the cap as well as the ribbings of the joints of the various parts (13) and (19) constitutive of those portions.
Inside, the cap features the annular band (21). Unlike band (16) that is a separate element sewn or glued to portion (14) in embodiments "A" or to portion (18) in embodiment "B," band (21) is an extension of the one piece (20) constitutive of the main body, bent inward from the rim of the cap opening. However, like band (16), band (21) has its innermost edge loose.
Also inside, embodiment "C" of the cap features the leak-preventing strip (17). This strip is not sewn or glued to (16), as it is in embodiments "A" and "B," but held on to (21) by several loops (22) made of the same materials of (20) and (21) (e.g., rubber or custom molded polymers).
Figure 7 provides an inside view of an enlarged part of Figure 6 showing three of the loops (22) joined to the annular band (21) by their two ends, one to the loose upper edge of the band and the other to the band internal face.
The use of the loops (22) in embodiment "C" of the cap allows the extraction of the leak-preventing strip (17) for its washing and drying. This prevents the untimely deterioration that the strip could suffer if it were stationary and hence in constant contact with the cap non-breathable manufacturing materials (e.g., rubber or polymers).

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The three modalities "A", "B," and "C" of the swimming cap described here allow the use of manufacturing materials like those which, noted above, are summarized below.
The manufacture of the main body of the cap in its "A" embodiment uses rigid, very lightweight, and waterproof materials such as, among others, polyethylene vinyl acetate and nylon woven fabrics coated with silicone (e.g., silnylon).
The manufacture of the main body of the cap in its "B" embodiment resorts to waterproof, lightweight, and highly stretchable fabrics (e.g., waterproof and elastic lycra, waterproof spandex).
The annular band of the "A" and "B" embodiments of the cap is made of elastic materials such as rubber, latex, silicone, or the like. As for the leak-preventing strip of the three embodiments of the cap, it is made of microfiber fabric, or similar, very thin and highly absorbent.
In embodiment "C of the cap, the main body, the annular band, and the loops that hold the leak-preventing strip, are made of custom-molded rubber or polymer compounds such as silicones (e.g., methyl vinyl silicone).
Elastic yarn, or other suitable equivalents, is used to make the shirring of the lower portion of the cap in embodiment "A," and the folds of the leak-preventing strip in the three embodiments of the cap.

Claims

A Swimming cap that for its manufacture allows the use of diverse techniques and waterproof materials comprising:
a. a main body comprising:
- an upper portion (11) consisting of a spherical cap for receiving long hair compactly collected or the top of voluminous hairdos;
characterized in that,
the main body comprises:
- a middle portion (12) consisting of a spherical zone composed of twelve pieces (13) for receiving the bulk of the hair; and

- a lower portion (14) consisting of a concave surface of revolution whose lower part, when the cap is put on, contacts the user's head below the hairline and separates from it above that line, and where lodges the hair adjacent to the face, temples, and back of the neck; and

the swimming cap comprises:
b. an internal positioning-blocking unit comprising:
- an annular band (16), made of elastic material, attached to a rim of the lower portion (14) of the main body by only one of its edges; and

- a leak-preventing strip (17), pleated and made of an absorbent material, that attaches by one of its ends to an inner surface of the annular band (16) while by the other end protrudes above a loose edge of said band (16), and that by filling the spaces that may form between the inner face of the cap and the head because of the irregularities in the shape of the latter in the nape of the neck, it stops and absorbs any possible leaks in that region.
The Swimming cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
- the lower portion (14) is partially covered by a shirring (15) that gives the portion its concave shape and frames the opening of the cap; and
the lower (14), middle (12) and upper (11) portions are made using materials that are waterproof such as polyethylene-vinyl acetate or silnylon.
The Swimming cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
- the lower portion (14) is composed of twelve pieces (19) alternately joined to each other in a straight and reverse sense, such as the bases of six of them form
the edge of the cap opening; and

the lower (14), middle (12) and upper (11) portions are made using materials such that are waterproof and

elastic such as waterproof and elastic lycra or waterproof spandex.
The Swimming cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
- the main body is molded in one piece (20) that keeps the ribbings of the joints of the three portions (11, 12 and 14) as well as the ribbings of the joints of the various parts (13, 19) constitutive of these portions;

- the annular band (21) is an extension of the single piece of the main body, bent inwardly from the rim of the cap opening and loose at its innermost side;

- the leak-preventing strip (17) is removable and holds over the inner face of the annular band (21) by means of loops (22) whose ends respectively join the internal face and the free edge of said band (21); and
the waterproof materials used for making the cap include rubber compounds or custom molded polymers such as silicones.