US2105622A - Hat - Google Patents

Description

N. V. TIBBALS Jan. 18, 1938.

HAT

Filed March 14, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR MW/AN 1/ 7751mm 0RNEY$ N. V. TIBBALS Jan. 18, 1938.

2 Shelets-Shet 2 HAT Filed March 14, 1936 Fig. 4-

INVENTOR NAT/:MA/ 1/ 775mm an uncomfortable feeling.

Patented Jan/l8, 1938 Ares EEATEN'E" refer HAT Application March 14, 1936, Serial No. 68,801

5 Claims.

My invention relates to bats, and especially to hats made principally of stiff straw braid.

As is well known, stiff straw hats, such as the conventional sailor straw hat are not adaptable to readily fit round, oval, long oval, short oval and other variously shaped heads of individual wearers, even though these individual wearers happen to all have the same diameter or standard head size. For example, if a stiff straw hat with an oval shaped crown is placed upon the head of a person having a substantially round shaped head it will grip oniy the sides and consequently blow off easily. Also, when it has only such spot contact with a persons head it causes To overcome these undesirable characteristics of the usual stiff straw hats there have been proposed and tried many different expedients. The most common of these expedients have proved to involve the provision of a so-called flexible zone or portion between the crown and the brim of the hat.

One of these previous proposals was to provide a flexible straw lining within the interior of a braided straw hat of a height to project but partiallywithin the crown and to form the lower end of this lining with an integral extension or false brim which projects immediately beneath and in contact with the brim of the hat. In this proposal, the braided straw of the regular crown and brim portions of the hat, completely cover the lining, the flexibility of the head conforming portion being achieved by omitting the stiffening, sizing or glue from the lower portions of the braided straw crown and the brim. As a means of supporting the flexible portions of the hat, however, there are utilized a plurality of rigid wires spaced radially of the crown and bent to overlie and. be secured. to the flexible lining. Because of this, the very. object of the flexible lining is largely defeated in that although the lining is itself flexible, the effect is negatived by the presence of the wires.

Likewise, in a hat with a flexible lining it has been proposed to provide instead of wires, a plurality of segmental metal plates spaced circumferentially of the brim of a hat and to anchor these to the crown portions of the hat by means of metal rods, in order to prevent the brim from sagging relative to the crown. These rods and plates as did the wires, actually prevent any material benefits flowing from the softer lining section intermediate the crown and brim even when leaving the head conforming portions of the hat untreated with the usual stiffening agents.

In addition to the proposals just discussed,

various other expedients have been brought forward. Most of these have involved a special arrangement or handling of braided straw in the head engaging portion of the hat.

One such proposal was that the braid in the lower crown and inner brim should be left untreated and that the overlapping braids in these portions of the hat be sewed together, more securely than in the treated portions of the hat. The purpose of the extra stitches was to prevent a separation of the braids due to the constant flexing of the hat.

Another proposal was that the braid in the lower crown and inner brim should be laid at right angles to the braid in the other portions of the hat. Still another proposal was that a finer braid be used in the head conforming portion of the hat. Yet another proposal was that there should be interposed between a stiff crown and a stiff brim of a braided straw hat, a flexible collar built up of a composite braid, the braid being composed of two overlapping braids, each of which was made of a different type of straw.

A further proposal was that the braid in the portion intermediate the upper side crown and the outer brim should be sewed together with a special form of stitching.

All of these proposals, involving the use of braided straw, were somewhat helpful in overcoming the usual non-flexibility of a stiff straw In none of them, however, could it be said hat. that the result was completely satisfactory. The reason for this is that in spite of the various arrangements and construction of the braid in the so-called flexible portions of the hat, there remained the basic fact that braided straw, because of the intricate flattened and taut manner in which the strands of straw therein are interlaced, is incapable of any considerable flexibility. This is especially true when the braid is laid substantially flat, as are the encircling braids in the brim of a hat.

It has also been proposed to form the hat with an intermediate portion composed of overlapping strips of felt or the like. This expedient, while not without merit from the standpoint of resulting comfort to the wearer, made for a rather unsightly hat. Furthermore, the use of felt, to a large extent counteracted the very purpose of a straw hat, namely that of keeping the them. Also many people much prefer a stiff straw hat of large or coarse straw regardless of cost.

The present invention has as its principal object, as did the Various proposals above discussed, the provision of a hat, particularly a stiff straw hat, with a portion which is flexible whereby the hat will be adapted to properly fit the head of the wearer, whether the head be of round, oval, long oval, short oval, or round oval shape. This object is obtained, however, not by the use of felt strips or specially arranged or constructed interlaced straws or straw braids, but by the use of a flexible collar of laid together straw which is more flexible than any of the interlaced braided constructions heretofore proposed.

It is a further object of the invention to accomplish this desired end in a novel and meritorious manner, wherein, because of the particular construction used, the'hat while having a flexible portion will nevertheless retain its general contour without the necessity of using anysupplemental supporting means, such as the wires, metal plates and the like hereinbefore referred to and prevent the brim section of the hat from sagging in any way relative to the crown.

It is a-still further object of the invention to provide .a stiff straw hat that will evenly fit the head of the wearer and hence will be more secure.- ly held in place on the wearers head. This is of particular importance when the hat is worn on a windy day.- I

It is an important object'of the present invention to provide a new article of manufacture in the form of a flexible head gripping collar, which will be soft and yielding yet well fixed upon a persons head, for use in various types of hats.

A very important feature of the invention consists in providing a stiff straw hat with aflexible collar of layed together strands of straw, the collar beinginterposed between and connected to the stiff crown and stiif brim of the hat.

Another feature of the invention resides in 'the interpositioning between the. stiff crown and stiff brim of a'straw hatof a flexible collar having an upstanding circumferential portion and an outwardly extending portion connected to the stiff crownandstiff brim respectively, the collar being composed of a plurality of substantially parallel rows of strands of straw, the adjacent rows being tied together by a plurality of circumferentially spaced tightly drawn transverse threads.-

With this structureit is possible to provide a stiff braided straw hat, which is a preferred type of straw hat with many people, but which will have a soft head conforming section between the crown and brim sections thereof.

Still another feature of the invention consists in providing a flexible collar for insertion intermediate a relatively stiff crown and a relatively stiff brim of a straw or other hat, the flexible collar having an upwardly extending portion composed of a plurality of superposed annular layers of strands of straw secured together and having an outwardly extending portion composed of a plurality of substantially concentric circumferentially disposed rows of strands of straw securedctcgether to form a unitary structure of interdigitated substantially parallel rows.

And yet another feature of the'inv'entio-n resides in providing a hat with a flexible collar of laid together straw. interposed between a relatively stiff crown part and a relatively stiff brim part, the collar'having an upwardly extending portionco'nn'ected" to the relatively stiff crown and therefore more adaptable to various head shapes and also more. comfortable than those heretofore provided.

Another feature is the provision of a soft head conforming section in a hat made of laid together straw as distinguished from braided straw, adapted to located and support a stiif brim relative to a stiff crown without the use of strengthening wires or plates.

Other and more specific features residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts will hereafter appear.

In the'drawings illustrating the preferred embodiments of my invention:

Figure l is a top view of a hat constructed in accordance withmy invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same with the hat band partially broken away.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the same.

Figure 4 is a top view of the stiff crown portion of the hat.

Figure 5 is a side view of the stiff crown portion of the hat.

Figure 6 is a. vertical sectional view of the flexible collar.

Figure 7 is a bottom view of the flexiblecollar.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of the hat constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 9 is an. illustration of the conventional braid of which the stiff crown and brim portions are made.

Figure 10 is an illustration of the laid together straw as used in the upwardly extending portions of the flexible collar.

Figure 11 is an illustration of the laid together straw as used in the outwardly extending portions of the flexible collar.

Figure 12 is a fragmentary view of the brim of the hat showing the plain edge of the braid directed toward the crown.

Figure 13 is a sectional .view taken on the line I3l3 of Figure '7.

To facilitate an understanding of the present invention it may be pointed out that the term braided as used herein refers to structures in which the individual straws are crossed over and under each other, or interlaced together, and the term -laid together,refers to a structure in which the straws are laid. together in a parallel manner and are not interlaced.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings illustrating the present preferred embodiment of the invention there is shown a straw hat l5 having a relatively stiff crown portion l6 composed of a plurality of rows of overlapping braids of straw ll, such as shown in Figure 9, sewed together and treated with a stiffening agent in the conventional manner. Spaced downwardly and outwardly from the relatively stiff crown portion i6 is a relatively stiif brim portion I8 formed, like the crown portion, in the conventionalmanner of arplurality of overlapping rows of braids of straw. Interposed between, and connecting the stiff crown and the stiff brim, in a manner to be described in detail hereinafter, is a flexible collar iii.

The flexible collar, unlike the stiff crown l6 and the stiff brim i8, is constructed of a plurality of substantially parallel rows of strands of straw 2B, lying closely adjacent one another and tied together by tightly drawn transverse or radially disposed threads. The straw in this portion of the hat is therefore aptly described as laid together straw as distinguished from the braided straw of the other portions of the hat.

As best shown in Figure 8, the flexible collar 29 is composed of an upwardly extending -por tion 2! and an outwardly extending portion 22. Preferably, and as shown, the upwardly extending portion overlaps an inner face 23 of the sidewall of the crown l6 and is secured thereto by suitable stitchings. The outwardly extending portion of the flexible collar is positioned adjacent the lower edge of the upwardly extending portion and has secured to it the stiff brim portion E8 of the hat. In order that the connection between the stifi brim and the outwardly extending portion of the flexible collar may present a smooth and even appearance it is preferable, as shown in Figure 8, to form the stiff brim with spaced inwardly extending portions 24 and 25 constituting a circumferentially disposed socket 26, adapted to lap the upper and lower faces 2! and 28 respectively of the outwardly extending portion 2?. and be secured thereto by suitable stitching 29. If desired the braid in the overlapping portions of the stiff brim. may be arranged in such a way that the inner row of braid has its regular or plain edge 30 extending toward the crown portion as shown in Figure 12 as well as in such a way that the irregular cr pattern edge 3! will extend toward the crown portion as shown in Figure 3.

Preferably the collar l9 and brim l8 are associated by sewing one layer 4| of braid H to the undersideand one layer 4!! of braid i? to the upperside of the outwardly extending portion 22, and if desired, two layers of braid, not shown, may be advantageously inserted between the layers it} and M to space the latter and provide the pocket 26.

In the flexible collar IS the upwardly extending portion 2! is composed of a plurality of super imposed annular layers of strands of straw 28 tied together by a plurality of tightly drawn circumferentially spaced transverse threads 32. It is within the purview of the invention to build up the annular layers either by winding the strands of straw in a continuous helix or by winding the strands to form separate annular rings. Preferably, and as shown, the spaced transverse threads 32 are each composed of two strands 32a. and 3213 which are interlaced to form loops 32 similar to the loops formed in a lock stitch, each loop encircling one of the annular layers and tying it to the adjacent layer to effectuate a continuous band of laid together straw.

The outwardly extending portion 22 of the collar, like the upwardly extending portion 2!, is composed of laid together straw 2t and preferably is tied to the lower annular layer 33 of the upwardly extending portion by a continuation of the circumferentially spaced threads. The outwardly extending portion may be built up either of a plurality of separate annular rings lying one within the other or it may be built up by winding the strands of straw in a continuous spiral. In either event, there is formed a plurality of substantially concentric circumferential rows of strands of straw resulting as shown, in a substantially flat ring encircling the upwardly extending or band portion and projecting outwardly from adjacent the lower edge thereof.

In order that the flat ring portion 22 of the collar is, which in the completed hat constitutes the inner brim, may be rigid enough to maintain its shape and at the same time flexible enough to permit the hat to be readily adaptable to properly fit heads of varying shapes, the various rows are interdigitated or interlocked as the fingers of two joined hands. An advantageous manner of accomplishing this desired result is to provide, as was done in the upwardly extending portion 2!, circumferentially spaced threads 32 composed of double strands 32a and 32b interlaced to form strand holding loops 32, as shown in Figures '7 and 13. However, instead of having each of the threads, which extend radially from the band portion 2!, loop each circumferential row in the same manner in which each annular layer in the band portion was looped, the threads are interwoven with the rows to alternately pass over the top and the bottom of adjacent rows, looping each alternate row and tieing it together with the alternate rather than with the adjacent row. Successive radially extending threads loop and tie together alternate rows not tied together by the preceding radially extending thread. In this manner, various rows of strands of straw have circumferentially spaced portions which overlie and underlie adjacent rows and there is thus developed a construction in which the various rows support and restrain one another but at the same time permit a ready flexing of the unitary structure.

Preferably, and as illustrated in Figs. 8 and-l3 of the drawings, the outwardly extending portion is formed by providing a plurality of superposed layers of the concentric circumferentially disposed rows of strands of straw; an upper layer '34, a lower layer and an intermediate layer 36, being shown. In interdigitating the strands of straw and securing the superposed layers in a unitary structure with the radially extending transverse threads, it is desirable, as heretofore explained, to tie together alternate rows. A particularly advantageous manner of accomplishing this result and which constitutes a feature of the invention, involves interweaving the radially extending threads 32 to loop alternately the upper and intermediate and the lower and intermediate layers in adjacent circumferential rows. Successive radially extending threads 32 loop the intermediate layer in a row with the layer not looped by the preceding radially extending thread.

In this manner the upper layer of rows and the lower layer of rows are each tied to the intermediate layer of rows, and the radially extending threads are interwoven to alternately pass over the top and the bottom of adjacent rows in each of the two outer or exposed layers, looping each alternate row therein and tieing it together with the alternate rather than the adjacent row. In this manner, also, the various rows in the upper and lower layers, which are the exposed layers, are so secured together that the various rows in the upper and lower layers respectively have circumferentially spaced portions in the form of bulges 39 overlying and underlying the next adjacent row in the same layer. An interdigitated construction such as this is, as previously pointed out, especially advantageous, making possible a unitary structure which while being capable of holding its general shape, is at the same time suiflciently flexible to readily and automatically adapt itself to the particular shape of the head of a wearer. While the specific structure shown involves a three layer construction, it is to be understood, however, that the fundamental idea of interdigitating circumferential rows to achieve the combined result of a construction which is flexible and also has the ability to hold its general shapeis capable of being accomplished in a single layer structure as well as in one having a plurality of layers. The advantage of a structure built up of three layers is that it will hold its shape somewhat better than one having but a single layer.

After the hat is built up in the manner hereinbefore set forth it is preferably treated with gelatin or the like and pressed to the final shape. For example the outwardly extending section 22 and the brim I3 are flattened and reduced approximately one-third in thickness and are thus also made to substantially parallel each other on the top and bottom faces. Consequently, the hat has the same general appearance throughout and the different appearance of the collar I 9 is not apparent to the casual observer.

The flexible collar E9 of the present invention may be used equally with brims and crowns of divers braid and of materials other than straw, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. It, therefore, constitutes a novel and advantageous new article of manufacture.

Because the straws 2B of the collar l9 are not interlaced, and because they are somewhat hollow and soft they yield readily to outward pressure by sections of a persons head when a hat is put on. However, the circumference of the collar does not alter. Thus the present invention provides a flexible insert for hats which conforms readily to divers head shapes yet retains its size.

Also, it will be appreciated from the foregoing that the present invention provides a structure wherein conventional and often preferable straw hats with a crown and brim of stiff unyielding braided straw may be provided with a soft yielding head gripping section which is more yielding, soft and adapted to grip the head of a wearer better than the generally used interlaced or braided section and which also disposes with supporting wires, metal plates and the like which are often required to support a brim relative to a crown when a softer head conforming section is provided.

A hat constructed in accordance with the teachings of this invention is, therefore, seen to be adapted to readily fit the head of a wearer whether the head be round, oval, round oval, long oval or short oval, resulting in greater comfort to the wearer and at the same time presenting a neat appearance.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. A straw hat comprising a relatively stiff crown portion; a relatively stiff brim portion spaced downwardly and outwardly from said relatively stiff crown portion; and an intermediate flexible collar having upwardly and outwardly extending portions interposed between and respectively'connected to said relatively stiff crown and brim portions, said upwardly extending portion being composed of a plurality of superposed annular layers of substantially parallel strands of straw secured together, and said outwardly extending portion being composed of a plurality of circumferential rows of substantially parallel strands of straw lying one within the other and so flexibly secured together by radially extending threads having strands looping alternate circumferential rows that each row has circumferentially spaced portions overlying the next adjacent row.

2. A straw hat comprising a braided straw crown part having a side wall; a braided straw brim part spaced downwardly and outwardly from said braided straw crown part; and an intermediate flexible collar interposed between said braided crown and brim parts, said collar having an upstanding continuous band portion secured to the side wall thereof and also having a flat ring portion extending outwardly from said band portion and secured to said braided straw brim, said band portion being composed of a plurality of superposed annular layers of substantially parallel strands of straw tied together by a plurality of circumferentially spaced transverse threads looping each layer, and said flat ring portion being composed of a plurality of circumferential rows of substantially parallel strands of straw lying one within the other, said circumferential rows being secured together by a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially extending threads having strands interwoven to loop each alternate circumferential row.

3. A straw hat comprising a relatively stiff crown portion; a relatively stiff brim portion spaced downwardly and outwardly from said relatively stiff crown portion; and an intermediate flexible collar interposed between said relatively stiff crown and brim portions, said collar having an upwardly extending portion connected to said relatively stiff crown portion and an outwardly extending portion connected to said relatively stiff brim portion, said upwardly extending portion being composed of a plurality of superposed annular layers of substantially parallel strands of straw and said outwardly extending portion being composed of an upper, a lower and an intermediate inner layer of substantially concentric circumferentially disposed rows of substantially parallel strands of straw, said layers of substantially concentric circumferentially disposed rows being secured together to form a unitary structure by a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially extending threads having strands interwoven to loop alternately, the upper and intermediate and the lower and intermediate layers in adjacent circumferential rows, successive radially extending threads looping the intermediate layer in a row with the layer not looped by the preceding radially extending thread.

4. A flexible collar for a relatively stiff hat comprising an upwardly extending portion and, an.

outwardly extending portion secured to and extending outwardly from the lower edge of the upwardly extending portion, said upwardly extending portion being composed of a plurality of superposed annular layers of substantially parallel strands of straw secured together, and said outwardly extending portion being composed of an upper, a lower and an intermediate layer of substantially concentric circumferentially disposed rows of substantially parallel strands of straw, said layers of substantially concentric circumferentially disposed rows being secured together to form a unitary structure by a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially extending threads having strands interwoven to loop alternately the upper and intermediate and the lower and intermediate layers in adjacent circumferential rows, successive radially extending threads looping the intermediate layer in a row with the layer not looped by the preceding radially extending thread.

5. A straw hat comprising a braided straw crown part having aside wall; a braided straw brim part spaced downwardly and outwardly from said crown part; and an intermediate flexible collar interposed between said braided crown and brim parts, said collar having an upwardly extending band portion connected to said side wall and having an outwardly extending flat ring portion connected to said braided straw brim part, said band portion being composed of a plurality of superposed annular layers of substantially parallel strands of straw tied together by circumferentially spaced transverse threads, and said ring portion being composed of a plurality of circumferential rows of substantially parallel strands of straw tied together by circumferentially spaced radially extending threads having strands interwoven to loop radially spaced circumferential rows in said ring portion.

NATHAN V. TIBBALS.

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