US1771177A - Bathing cap - Google Patents

Description

July 22,1930. T. J. HowLAND BA'IHING CAP 'Filed Dec. 2, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 22, 1930. T. J. HowLAND Patented July 22, 1930 THOMAS J. ieIwvLArrD ,f` or LONG BRANCH, NEW :rnnsrnr BATHING oer` n Application le'd December-2, 1929; Serial No. 4113103.

This invention relatesto bathing caps and.

providesfor aI cap whichforms a watertight seal along'its edge and prevents moisturel` from penetrating within the interior` of the posed for rendering bathing caps watertight,

but none ofrthem have proved very satisfactory asis witnessed by thefact that bathing` caps at.present on the market usually/con-k sist of a simplefrubber capi A simple rubber y The presentinvention provides. a bathing..

cap which` is, adapted to form. a watertight seal along the edge oftheeap.. This is ac,-j complished without excessive.tightening at the edge portion which wouldl bindthe head-` andcause discomfort tothe wearer.V

ly keepoutwater isv to, seal the hol-low vor indentation betweenf the jawv and; thefneck;vr The tightening `ot the edgeof the cap` does notisolve theprobfV just beneath the ears.

lem as `the more theA edgeo thecap is tightened, the greater is theltendency to draw away from the skin atthis point.V Y

In my prior Patent No. 1,746,47Ll granted Feb- 11th, 1930, I lhavefshoiizn one method of filling inthese hollows andV in myapplication Serial No.` 411,104, iiled DegQ,V 1929 a` secondime-thod is shown. I-lowe'ver,y ithas, been found that it occasionally happens that wearer where the j aw joins theneck, regard-. 45. less, of thelparticularrelative position where this hollow occurs in the head of thev4 wearer, thebathing cap 0f the present .invention is provided with a knot or button-like` member i onl the outsideoi the cap whichr may be ad- 540 justed to dife-rent positions. the region of A i great variety ofmethods have been pro.

the ears to depress the edge,oftlfieV eapinto the hollow at those pointsland thereby form; a watertight seal. The knotis prefelablyf made adjustable byhaving-it movable along a strap secured -to theoutside of themap-Y 5. adjacent the edge thereof.l`

The provision of means for depressingthe edge. 0f a bathing Cap ntO thehnllows inthe region of Vthe ears is particularly important with what is known as the straight-line bathe UQ.. ing Cap,;which is contrasted with Manhay-.- lngacurved.contour and; whichyitsndown.. around the ears, necessitating thefuse .oi a.i4 chin strap- Whenv a. ChinStrap-is, used itis no t ,so essential Athat the, edge ogffithefeapbg 6a depressed into thev hollows in. .the reg-ions .oi the ears, as the chin strap lwill tend; .toicause i the cap to. closely fit theA head at mesa-points, but with a. .straight-line .bathingleap ,there is;

so littletohold the cap incontact withfthef@ Y head Vat the proper places, that Sonie.means` One of the` great `difficulties; .encountered in getting a bathing cap which will eiiective-.

for causing it to closely fit the head atthese pointsfbecomes particularly important. a Foran example of a bathinggcap. embody? ing my invention reference is` madeto the accompanying drawing in which@ Figure l isa side elevation o i:thebathingV` Capa..

Fs- 2-SA e CPQSS SeCtQn taken throuelll the rim of the cap; l j" V lo i Fig- 3;- ls an nlarge'dmss Section. taken throughline-S'ff of Fig. l; v Y

Fia, 4 is aninlarged cross. Section taken throughlil@ of Fig. 1; I` i Figs. 5 and 6 are views similar to, Figi, l @a Showinamdatonsi Fie- 7. iS. `will@ View 0f: aroltbinm ofthe. cap showingra further InQdifiI-bation;

Fig. Sis a crosszseetion taken. through. .1 -ine 8-.8oi-Fig. 7; i' c; gig. 9, is a View of Ya further .mQdifCatQn, an1 y Fig. 10. Shows the,l Yinvention applied`- Lto. an bathingI shoe. A y Y rQ lhe, present invention is. shown as. applied to a bathing cap such as is claimed hin' my Patent No- 1,7 46,4717 Vbut it is te be under stood that the,vv invention may beapplied ,t0 bathing; capsfwllhare not. zprQvfed withl Cups Or air. poketscalers theiside Qtits. 1Q?

edge portion, or to bathing caps in which cups or air pockets are formed as shown and claimed in my application Serial No. 411,104.

The bathing cap 10 shown in the drawings is of elastic material and is what is known as a straight-line bathing cap, as the lower edge 11 isstraight and is not shaped to fit the contour of the head.

Along the inside edge of the cap 10 is attached a band comprising a series of crossed ribs 12 forming cups or air pockets 13 therebetween, as is more specifically shown and described in my said Patent No. 1,7 46,47 7.

The elasticity of the material .composing the cap 10 will tend to press the lower edge 11 thereof into close engagement with the head of the wearer, and the cups or air pockets by their suction effect will tend to maintain this engagement and form a watertight seal. However, due to the irregularity of the contour of the head in the region of the ears where the jaw joins the neck and forms a hollow or indentation of substantial depth, the lower edge of the cap will not bear against the head at this point. To ensure the lower edge of the cap contacting with the head at these places, I provide a pressure-exerting member in the form of a knob or button-like member 14 adjustable along a strap 157 which presses against the outer edge of the cap and depresses it into the hollows or indentations in the region of the ears.

The strap 15 is preferably made of rubber and vulcanized to the body of the cap, but if desired it may be made of other suitable material and secured to the cap in any desired manner.

The st-rap 15 normally lies tight against the edge of the cap so that when. the button 14 is placed between it and the cap, it causes the inner side ofthe edge to project inwardly at that point, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3. Thus when the cap is placed upon the head of the wearer and the button 14 adjusted to a position opposite the hollow or depression where the jaw joins the neck, it will cause the edge of the cap at that point to be depressed into the hollow until it bears tightly against the head and thereby forms a water tight seal.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the button is secured to the band 15 by having its outer side, that is, the side remote from the cap, made substantiallyY C-shaped with the arms 16 of the C closing around the band 15. The button 14 may be slid along the band 15 to the desired position and when released will be frictionally retained in that position.

In Fig. 5 the button 17 has an opening therethrough near the outer edge through which the strap 15 passes.

In Fig; 6 the button 18 is grooved in its inner and outer sides as'shown at 19 and 20 sorthat beads 21 and 22 will be formed. These beads are found Lsuiiticient toretain the button in place between the cap and the strap 15.

In Figs. 7 and 8 the strap 23 is provided with a slot extending longitudinally thereof. rIhe button 24 in this case is provided with a headed stud 25, which passes through a slot 23' in the band 15 and is thereby retained in adjusted position.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a button 24 which is adapted to be used in place of the button f.

24, shown in Figs. 7 and 8 when it is desired to provide means for varying the amount of pressure exerted at any one place. rEhe button 24 is similar in allrespects to button 24 except that the head portion which normally projects outside of the band 15 is made of the same width as the band. This provides a reversible button having heads of different thickness so that a relatively small or a relatively large pressure may be exerted at any one place, depending entirely on which head of the button is placed beneath the strap.

l/Vhile the invention is particularly adapted for caps to be used upon the head of the wearer, it is intended that it may be applied f( to caps for covering other body members. In Fig. 10 the invention is shown as applied to a bathing shoe 26. In this case thc straps 27 are positioned on each side of the edge of the upper and near the rear so that the button 28 will cause the edge of the upper to be depressed into the hollow of the foot just back of and beneath the ankle,

It will be apparent from the aforegoing that I have provided a very effective means for causing a bathing cap to form a watertight seal with the body of the wearer, and while only one adjustable button has been shown for causing Athe edge of the cap to be depressed into one hollow or depression on each side of the head or foot, it will be obvious that additional straps and buttons could be used if it is found desirable to cause greater pressure to be exerted against the edge of the cap at any other places.

I claim:

1. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material and means adjustable peripherally along the cap for causing different portions of the edge of the cap to bear tighter against the body of the wearer at certain places than it normally would.

`2. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material and means adjustable peripherally along the cap for causing different portions of the edge of the cap to bear tighter against the body of the wearer at certain places than it normally would, said adjustable means comprising a pressure-ei;- erting member movable with respect to the main portion of the cap. i V

3. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material 'and ladjustable means forcausing the edge' of thecap tobear tighter against thebodyofthev wearer 'at certain places than it normally would, said adjustable means comprising a pressure-exerting member movable along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge.

4. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material and adjustable means for causing the edge of the cap to bear tighter against the body of the wearer at certain places than it normally would, said adjustable means comprising a pressure-eX- erting member` movable circumferentially along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge.

5. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material and adjustable means for causing the edge of the cap to bear tighter against the body of the wearer at certain places than it normally would, said adjustable means comprising a strap and a pressure-exerting member movable thereon along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge.

6. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material and adjustable means for causing the edge of the cap to bear tighter against the body of the wearer at certain places than it normally would, said adjustable means comprising a strap and a removable pressure-exerting member mov# able thereon along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge.

7. A bathing cap comprising a main portion of elastic material and adjustable means for causing the edge of the cap to bear tighter against the body of the wearer at :2; certain places than it normally would, said adjustable means comprising a strap and a pressure-exerting member movable thereon along the outside of the cap adjacent its edge, said pressure-exerting member having arms projecting from the side adjacent the strap and engaging the strap to hold said member in adjusted position.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature.

THOMAS J. HOWLAND.

Images