US1501654A - Adjustable cap - Google Patents

Description

July 15, 1924. 1,501,654

P. A. FISCHER.

ADJUSTABLE CAP v Filed June 9, 1922 M Z W.

Patented July 15, 1924.

UNITED STATES PHILIP A. FISCHER,

OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ADJ STABLE oar.

Application filed June 9,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP A. FIsoHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, N. Y., in the county of New York, State of Newv York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Caps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to adjustable caps and hats of improved construction, made of cloth, or similar material.

As ordinarily made, adjustable caps comprise a body portion having one or more openings or notches along the lower edge thereof, and one or more constricting straps adapted to be adjusted to vary the size of the cap. The notch or opening may be in the form of an open seam, incision or any other form of opening, either open or closed by a suitable flexible gusset.

In making adjustable caps it is common practice to make the notches so that the two sides of each notch are of the same length. The constricting strap, which may be fastened to the outside of the rear portion of the cap, or fastened to the inside of the rear portion of the cap is usually made of such size that it comes down approximately even with the lower edge of the notch. If a constricting strap is used which is fastened to the inside of the cap, it is common to provide a covering strap on the outside of the notch to conceal the opening. The covering strap is also made of such size that it comes approximately even with the lower edge of the notch or opening.

In making adjustable caps, itis common practice to provide loops on the cap through which the strap or straps may be trained. These loops are commonly made by sewing or otherwise securing the two ends of a strip of material to the body of the cap, one end being secured to the lower edge of the cap and the other end to the body of the cap just above the strap.

I have found that in adjustable caps, provided with a visor, that if the notches are made so that the two sides of each notch are of the same length, that the edge of the notch adjacent to the visor has a tendency to project below the lower edge of the strap or 1922. Serial No. 567,051.

straps as the case may be. This projecting of one edge of the notch disfigures the cap and makes it look cheap.

I have found that this difficulty may be avoided by constructing the cap so that the notch edge adjacent to the visor is shorter than the other edge of the notch and in addition thereto, making the strap subtend the notch and cover the adjacent corner of the visor.

By making the notches of adjustable caps so that the sides or edges adjacent to the visor are shorter than the other edges, I have found that a smaller notch may be provided for producing a given range of adjustment than has been heretofore possible.

Loops made in the ordinarymanner described above have been found to be unsatisfactory for use with any type of cap and more particularly with adjustable caps. The loop, being fastened at two points adjacent to the sides of the strap or straps, has a tendency to bind these straps and prevent them from assuming aneasy position on the body of the cap and to wrinkle the cap material when the cap is adjusted to small sizes. Not only do the ordinary loops prevent the straps from assuming their proper positions, but they also make it difficult to adjust the cap, due to the fact that it is not easy to pull the straps through loops of this construction.

Accordingly, one object of my invention is to provide an improved loop which encircles the strap or straps loosely, and which permits the straps to assume an easy position along the lower edge of the cap and permits the body of the cap to adjust itself without wrinkling. I have found that this object may be attained by fastening one end of the strap, which forms the loop, at the lower edge of the cap, and fastening the other end of the strap at a point behind the strap. By this construction, the strap is not constrained at the upper edge thereof, and is free to adjust itself to its proper position automatically. This permits both loop and strap to droop a little to conform to the configuration of the lower edge of the cap.

By providing an adjustable cap with a notch near the visor thereof, the notch having the side adjacent to the visor shorter than the other side, and with a loop which permits unrestricted movement of the constricting or covering straps, the size of the cap may be adjusted more easily than has been heretofore possible. The strap on the outside of the notch conceals at all times the lower edges of the notch and the corner of the visor by subtending the notch and overlapping the adjacent corner of the visor, and. only a very small notch is necessary to pro: vide a comparatively large range of adjustment.

The invention will be further described in connection with the embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it is to be .understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thus illustrated and described, and that variations and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing,

'Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a cap embodying the invention, the cap being provided with a constricting strap secured to the outside of the rear portion of the cap;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view showing the notch construction of a cap similar to that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a cap similar to that shown in Fig. 1, except that a constricting strap is provided which is fastened to the inside of the back portion of the cap, a covering strap being provided on the outside of the lower edge of the cap;

Figs. 4 to 8 inclusive, show various ways in which the loop may be attached to the Figs. 9 and 10 show two forms of loop which may be used; and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view showing a modified construction.

Referring to the drawings, more particularly to Figs. 1 and 3, it will be noted that my improved cap comprises a body portion 1, made in any ordinary manner, and having a visor 2 secured to the lower edge of the front portion of the cap. A ball and socket fastener 3 may be provided for the purpose of detachably securing the front portion of the body of the cap to the top of the visor. The notch 4 which may be provided for the purpose of adjusting the size of the cap may be made in any ordinary manner, as by cutting the body of the cap, or providing an open seam. The side 5 of the notch 4 should be made substantially shorter than the side 6. There may be a lining on the inside of the notch as shown in Fig. 2 at 18.

As shown in Fig. 1, the constricting strap 7 is fastened to the lower edge of the rear portion of the cap' and extends along the edge of the cap to a point above the visor, where it may be engaged by the end. of the strap which extends along the other side of the cap. The constricting strap 7 is adapted to be adjusted by any suitable means, such as the buckle 10, and it will be noted that the width of the strap 7, in the immediate Vicinity of the notch 4 is such that the strap extends well below the bottom of the shorter side 5 of the notch, thus insuring complete concealment of this corner at all. times.

As shown in Fig. 3 a constricting strap 7 is secured to the inside of the cap and extends out through the side of the cap through an opening or slit 8. A covering strap 9 is provided on the outside of the cap, the covering strap and constricting strap being interconnected and adapted to be adjusted at the front of the cap by any suitable means such as the buckle 10.

In Fig. 6 the constricting strap 14 is shown fastened to the edge 6 of the notch instead of being continuous around the back portion of the cap as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

As shown in Fig. 4 the loop 11 is fastened to the cap by sewing or otherwise attaching the end 12 to the lower edge of the body of the cap adjacent to the visor, and by fastening the other end 13 at the same line, that is, at the line of contact between the lower edge of the body of the cap and the visor. The ends 12 and 13 of the loop 11. are displaced from each other, the object of this displacement being to avoid the formation of a bunch or lump of material at the points where the ends are fastened. A further advantage of this construction lies in. the fact that the loop maintains its proper vertical position better than it does when the two sides of the loop are side by side as shown in Fig. 6.

In the modification shown in Fi 5, the end 12 of the loop 11. is fastened to the lower edge of the body of the cap adjacent to the visor and the end 13 is fastened to the body of the cap at a point back of the, strap 14, the point being between the upper and lower edges of the strap. This construction avoids the formation of a lump where the ends of the strap are attached.

The loop 11 shown in Fig. 6, is attached to he cap by fastening both ends 12 and 13 at the lower edge of the body portion of the cap, the two ends being side by side.

The loop 11 shown in Fig. 7 comprises a continuous band of material, the band being formed by sewing the two ends of the strip of material. together. The band may be at tached to the cap by stitching or otherwise fastening it at or near the lower edge of the body portion of the cap, back of the strap.

In Fig. 8', the end 12 of the loop 11 is fastened to the lower edge of the body of the 1 cap, and the other end 13 of the. loop is doubled back and fastened on the inside of the end 12.

From the modifications shown in Figs. 4 to 8, inclusive. it should be apparent that the form of loop may be varied in many respects without departing from the principle of the invention.

The loop may be made of any suitable ma terial, for example, it may be made of the same material of which the body of the cap is made, or it may be made of different material. Fabric, leather. or other flexible materials may be used for making the loop. Furthermore, a single loop may be made of two or more different kinds of material.

The loop 11 shown in Fig. 9 consists of a narrow piece of tape which may be fastened as shown in Fig. 9, or may be fastened in any of the ways shown in Figs. 4 to 8, in elusive, or their equivalent.

In Fig. 10 a loop is shown comprising two kinds of material. The portion may be made of heavy material, such as that composing the body of the cap, and the portion 16 may be made of thin material. The two pieces of material may be fastened together in any suitable manner as shown at 17. The end 12 may be fastened to the lower edge of the cap on the outside, and the end 13 may be fastened on the inside so that the portion 16 is concealed by the strap or straps of the cap.

The modification shown in Fig. 11 comprises a notch having the front edge 5 longer than the rear edge 6. The strap 7 is fastened to the lower edge of the back portion of the cap and preferably extends down lower than the edge 5. It will be noted that in this construction a portion of the notch is not covered by the strap 7 but the upper end of the short side of the notch is secured to the upper end of the other side of the notch so as to be supported at this point. By this construct-ion, a slightly more flexible adjustment may be made than with the construction shown in the other figures.

From the above description it will be apparent that when the constricting straps and the covering straps are trained through the loops, the strap on the outside of the notch conceals the lower edges of the notch in such a manner that it is impossible for the front edge of the notch to slip down below the straps. Furthermore, the straps are free to adjust themselves to cover the corner of the visor, this freedom being due to the int proved loop construction. The improved cap may be easily adjusted to any desired size. a wider range of adjustment being provided for a given size notch than has been heretofore possible. Furthermore, wrinkling of the cap is entirely avoided since the constricting strap of the loop encircling this strap are entirely free to assume an easy position.

The improved cap may be manufactured at very low cost. The improved notch construction does not require any extra operations, it being merely necessary to cut the front of the cap a little higher than the rear portion. The improved 100 may he attached to the cap more easily than can the loops of ordinary construction. The improved loop is preferably secured so that both e of the strap which formsthe loop are i tened along the same line. If this -onstrtiction is employed the loop'may be sewed or otherwise fastened to the cap. by a sin operation, whereas, the ordinary loops require at least two operations in order to sew the loop atthe bottom of the strap and also at the top.

Furthermore, in sewing the ordinary loop to the cap it has been found neces take extra precautions to avoid sewn strap to the bod of the cap along with. the loop when the upper end of the loop is sewed to the cap.

It is to understood that the and proportions of the various parts may be varied without departing from the principle of the invention which is not confined to the particular embodiments shown and described, but is intended to include such modifications thereof as fall within the scope of the appended clams. For example, the improved construction may be employed with a cap which does not have a visor. In this event. the notch is preferably made so that the edge to which the constricting strap is attached is substantially longer than the free edge.

I claim:

1. In a cap, the combination of a strap along the edge thereof, a loop adapted to encircle said strap loosely, said loop being fastened to the cap near the lower edge of said cap only, said loop being free to as sume an easy position around said strap.

2. In an adjustable cap, the combination of an adjustable strap along the edge thereof, and a loop adapted to encircle said strap loosely, said loop being fastened to the edge of said cap near the lower edge of said strap only, said loop being free to assume an easy position around said strap.

3. In a cap, the combination of a strap along the edge thereof, a loop encircling the strap loosely, and arranged so that the upper part thereof may swing away from the body portion of the cap to permit the strap to assume an easy position along the lower edge of the cap.

4. In a cap, the combination of a strap along the edge thereof, a loop adapted to encircle said strap loosely, said loop comprising a strip of material having the two ends thereof secured to the lower edge of the cap, and displaced from each other along the lower edge of the cap.

5. An adjustable cap comprising front and back portions, a visor secured to the front portion, and an adjustable strap as sociated with said back portion, the said cap having a V-shaped notch in the lower edge thereof between the said front and back portions, the side of the notch adjacent to the visor extending up from the visor and being substantially shorter than the other side of the notch, the upper end of the short side of the notch being secured to the upper end of the other side of the notch at substantially the upper edge of the strap so as to be supported at this point, and the width of said strap in the immediate vicinity of the shorter edge of the notch being substantially greater than the length of this edge of the notch, whereby this edge of the notch U is normally completely covered at all times.

6. An adjustable cap provided with a visor at the front portion thereof, and having a notch in the lower edge of the cap adjacent to one end of the visor, the side of the notch adjacent to the visor being substantially shorter than the other side of said notch, a strap along the lower edge of said cap, and a loop adapted to encircle said strap loosely, said loop being fastened to the cap near the lower edge of said cap only,

7. An adjustable cap provided with a visor at the front portion thereof, and having a notch in the lower edge of the cap adjacent to one end of the visor, the side of the notch adjacent to the visor being substantially shorter than the other side of said notch, an adjustable strap along the lower edge of said cap and covering a corner of the visor, and a loop adapted to engage said strap loosely, said loop comprising a strip of material having the two ends thereof secured to the lower edge of the cap near the edge of the visor, the two ends of said loop being displaced from each other along the edge of the cap.

8. A cap, comprising front and rear portions and having a notch along the lower edge of said cap between said portions, a visor secured to the front portion, the edge of the notch adjacent the visor being substantially shorter than the other edge, a loop secured to the front portion of the cap at the lower edge thereof only, and a strap running through said loop, and covering the lower end of the shorter edge of the notch and a portion of the adjacent upper surface of the visor.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. Y

PHILIP A. FISCHER.

Images