WO1994010867A1

WO1994010867A1 - Visored cap with forward facing front panel

Info

Publication number: WO1994010867A1
Application number: PCT/US1993/010894
Authority: WO
Inventors: Brad Beckerman; David A. Beckerman
Original assignee: Starter Corporation
Priority date: 1992-11-12
Filing date: 1993-11-12
Publication date: 1994-05-26
Also published as: JPH08506147A; AU5600494A; CA2149306A1; EP0674486A1; EP0674486A4; KR950703875A; CN1091265A

Abstract

A visored cap (40) having a crown portion (42) formed of panels (46, 48, 50, 52, 54 and 56) attached to each other with seams (47, 49 and 51) in a substantially hemispherical shape and attached to the visor (44) with a panel (48) being centered with respect to the visor (44) so that a logo (53) can be attached thereto without engaging a seam.

Description

VISORED CAP WITH FORWARD FACING FRONT PANEL

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to visored caps. In particular it relates to a visored cap having a crown portion formed of segments or panels and being attached to a visor such that one of the panels is centered with respect to the visor thereby enabling a logo to be placed on the centered panel facing forward without engaging a seam.

Background Art

Visored caps are of many types and are well known in the art. They include a visor portion and a generally hemispherical crown portion attached to the visor portion for covering the head of a user. The crown portion is usually formed of a plurality of substantially triangular panels, generally six in number, that are joined together with seams to form a substantially hemispherical crown portion. The crown portion is then attached to the visor portion such that one of the seams connecting adjacent panels runs from the center of the visor in the front of the cap to the center of the cap in the rear. If a logo is to be placed on the front of the crown portion facing forward, it must be placed across the seam that joins the two adjacent panels in the front of the crown portion. It is difficult to attach the logo across the seam. Because of the seam, the embroidery is not as precise as possible and is not therefore as attractive as it could be. Thus, two distinct disadvantages occur with this type of cap construction. The first disadvantage is the difficulty of attaching the logo to the cap across the seam. Because of the thickness of the seam, the embroidery seams are not as precise as they are on a smooth surface. Secondly, because the embroidery stitches are not as precise, the logo is not as attractive as it normally is when it is placed on a smooth surface.

There is another type of cap that is sometimes known as a "golfer's cap" or "fisherman's cap" that has a single panel extending from the center of the crown forward to form the front half of the cap. However, to enable the cap to assume a shape that can fit the head of the user, a tuck or pleat is placed in the cap that extends from the top center of the crown forward toward the front of the cap. The tuck or pleat does not extend all the way to the visor. However, the cap loses its tendency to be substantially hemispherical and the front portion assumes a rather flat shape. Thus the front of the cap crown almost resembles a U shape with a flat base having slightly rounded corners at the flat base of the U.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by providing a cap so constructed that the logo can be placed thereon without having to cross a seam. This means that the embroidery stitches are placed on a smooth surface and therefore are precise and present an attractive appearance. Again, panels are attached to each other with seams to form a substantially hemispherical crown portion for covering the head of a user. The crown portion is attached to the visor such that a panel is centered with respect to the visor so that a logo can be attached to the center panel facing forward without engaging a seam. If, for instance, the crown portion were formed of six substantially triangular panels attached to each other, three seams would be formed that extend across the crown hemisphere from the base of one side to the base of the other side, the seams being spaced 60° apart. One seam runs from the center of one side of the hemispherical shaped crown portion to the center of the other side of the crown portion. Each of the other two seams, then, is positioned 30° to either side of the center of the front panel. This preferred embodiment may be called a side-to-side embodiment because one of the seams runs from side-to-side instead of from front-to-back as in the prior art.

In another embodiment, two seams are used to join four panels together. One of the panels faces forward and is centered with respect to the visor. This means that the two seams are located 45° to either side of the center of the front panel. Again, a logo can be placed thereon without engaging a seam.

Thus, it is an important feature of the present invention to provide a visored cap that has a crown panel facing forward and centered with respect to the visor so that a logo can be placed thereon without engaging a seam.

It is another feature of the present invention to provide a crown portion of a visored cap that is formed of six equal sized substantially triangular shaped panels attached to each other and attached to the visor portion such that one of the triangular panels faces forward and is centered with respect to the visor thereby enabling a logo to be attached to the centered triangular panel without engaging a seam.

Thus, the present invention relates to a visored cap comprising a visor, panels attached to each other with seams to form a substantially hemispherical crown portion for covering the head of the user and means for attaching the crown portion to the visor with a panel being centered with respect to the visor such that a logo may be attached to the central panel without engaging a seam.

The invention also relates to a method of forming a visored cap comprising the steps of forming a visor portion, attaching a plurality of substantially triangular shaped panels to each other with seams to form a substantially hemispherical crown portion for covering the head, and attaching the crown portion to the visor with one of the triangular shaped panels facing forward in a centered relationship with the visor thereby enabling a logo to be attached to the centered panel without engaging a seam.

Brief Description of the Drawings

These and other features of the present invention will be more fully disclosed when taken in conjunction with the attached DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS in which: FIG. 1 is a front view of a prior art visored cap;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the prior art visored cap of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the visored cap of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the visored cap of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of a second embodiment of the visored cap of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

FIG. 1 is a front view of a prior art visored cap 10. It has a substantially hemispherical crown portion 12 and a visor 14 attached thereto along line 18 such as by sewing. It has a plurality of substantially triangular shaped panels 19, 21, 23, 25, 27 and 29 that are attached to each other with seams 20, 22 and 24. A logo 26 is formed across seam 22 joining panels 21 and 23. The logo extends onto both panels 21 and 23 across seam 22. Seam 22 runs from substantially the bottom of the crown portion 12 at the center of the visor 14 to the center of the back of the crown portion 12. Thus, as can be seen in the top view of the cap 10 in FIG. 2, the six panels 19, 21, 23, 25, 27 and 29 each have a 60° included angle. Thus, seam 20 is 60° to the left of seam 22 and the center of the visor 14 in FIG. 2, while seam 24 is 60° to the right of seam 22 and the center of visor 14. Seam 22 is centered with respect to visor 14 and runs from the bottom front of the crown portion 10 to the back thereof where it intersects an opening 28. An adjustable band 30 is generally used to connect the two panels 27 and 29 in order to make the cap adjustable in size. Because seam 22 is formed with portions of both panels 21 and 23, plus usually an overlapping cloth strip sewn on the inside, it is very difficult to sew a logo 26 across seam 22. The embroidery threads are not precisely located with respect to each other and the logo loses some of its attractiveness.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a visored cap of the present invention that includes a substantially triangular shaped panel 48 that faces forward and is centered with respect to the visor 44 so that a logo 53 can be placed on panel 48 facing forward and centered with respect to the visor 44. Because the panel 48 is a single-thickness panel of flexible material, it is easy to sew the logo 53 thereon. It will be noticed in FIG. 3 that the seam 47 is 30° to the left of the center of the visor 44 while seam 49 is 30° to the right of the center of the visor 44. The seam 51 runs from the bottom center of one side of the crown portion 42 to the bottom center of the other side of the crown portion 42. Again, the cap 40 may have an opening 55 in the rear thereof with overlapping straps 57 to adjust the size thereof in a well-known manner.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the preferred embodiment 40 illustrated in FIG. 3 and shows the logo 53 on panel 48 and centered with respect to the visor 44. Seam 51 can be seen to go from the base of the left side of the crown portion 42 to the base of the right side of the crown portion 42. Thus, this embodiment is known as the "side-to-side" embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the visored cap 60 again includes a crown portion 62 and a visor portion 64. In this case, the crown portion 62 is made of four panels 66, 68, 70 and 72 attached to each other with two seams 67 and 69. In this case, seam 67 extends from the base of the crown portion 62 near visor 64 at an angle of 45° from the center of visor 64 on the left thereof and extends across the top of the crown portion to the bottom of the other side. Seam 69 extends from the bottom of the crown portion on the right side near the visor 64, 45° from the center of visor 64, and extends over the top of the crown portion 62 to the base of the other side. Again, the cap may have an opening 74 with the adjustable straps 76. As can be seen in this case, the logo 61 is on the front center of front panel 68 centered with respect to the visor 64. Again, the logo 61 is easily attached to front panel 68 because it does not engage either of the seams 67 or 69.

Thus, there has been disclosed a novel visored cap including a crown portion and a visor attached thereto with the crown portion being formed of panels attached to each other with seams and attached to the visor such that the center of one of the panels is centered with respect to the visor thereby enabling a logo to be placed on the centered panel without engaging a seam.

In the preferred embodiment, six substantially triangular shaped panels are attached to each other with seams to form the substantially hemispherical crown portion for covering the head. The crown portion is attached to the visor with one of the triangular shaped panels facing forward in a centered relationship with the visor thereby enabling a logo to be attached on the centered panel without engaging a seam.

In another embodiment, four panels are joined together to form the substantially hemispherical crown portion with one of the panels facing forward and being centered with respect to the visor that is attached thereto such that a logo can be placed in the center of the panel and still face forwardly.

It is to be understood that any arrangement of panels could be used to form the crown portion so long as a portion faces forward with respect to the visor to enable a logo to be placed thereon and to be centered with respect to the visor without engaging any seams. The preferred embodiment, of course, is to have a balanced number of six panels forming the crown portion. While the invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth, but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A visored cap comprising: a visor portion; a substantially hemispherical crown portion attached to the visor portion for covering the head of a user; and a plurality of substantially equal size triangular panels attached to each other with seams to form the crown portion, the crown portion being attached to the visor portion such that one of the equal size triangular panels faces forward and is centered with respect to the visor thereby enabling a logo to be attached to the centered triangular panel without engaging a seam.

2. A visored cap as in claim l comprising six equal sized triangular panels attached to each other to form the crown portion.

3. A visored cap as in claim 2 wherein the attached triangular panels include a seam running from the bottom center of one side of the crown portion to the bottom center of the other side of the crown portion in a plane perpendicular to a line bisecting the one substantially triangular panel facing forward.

4. A visored cap as in claim 3 further including head-size adjusting means formed in the back of the crown portion opposite the visor portion for adjusting the size of the crown to the head of a user.

5. A method of forming a visored cap comprising the steps of: forming a visor portion; attaching a plurality of substantially equal size triangular shaped panels to each other with seams to form a substantially hemispherical crown portion for covering the head; and attaching the crown portion to the visor with one of the substantially equal size triangular shaped panels facing forward in a centered relationship with the visor so as to enable a logo to be centrally attached to the centered panel without engaging a seam.

6. A method as in claim 5 further including the step of attaching six generally triangular shaped panels to each other with seams to form the crown portion.

7. A method as in claim 6 further comprising the step of attaching the crown portion to the visor portion such that a seam extends from the bottom center of one side of the crown portion to the bottom center of the other side of the crown portion in a plane perpendicular to a line bisecting the one forward facing sustantially triangular panel.

8. A method as in claim 7 further including the step of forming head-size adjusting means in the back of the crown portion opposite the visor portion for adjusting the size of the crown to fit the head of a user. 9. A visored cap comprising: a visor; multiple substantially equal size panels attached to each other with seams to form a substantially hemispherical crown portion for covering the head of a user; and means for attaching the crown portion to the visor with one of the multiple panels being centered with respect to the visor.

10. A cap as in claim 9 further including a logo attached to the central panel without engaging a seam.

AMENDED CLAIMS

[received by the International Bureau on 8 April 1994 (08.04.94); original claims 1-10 replaced by amended claims 1-17 (4 pages)]'

1. A method for improving the manufacturability and attractiveness of a logo on a visored cap having (1) a visor portion and (2) a substantially hemispherical crown portion attached to the visor portion for covering the head of a user, the crown portion having a plurality of substantially equal-sized triangular panels attached to each other with seams to form the crown portion, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) attaching the crown portion to the visor portion such that a first of the equal-sized triangular panels faces forward and is centered with respect to the visor, wherein a smooth surface associated with the first panel, and not a seam, is centered with respect to the visor; and

(b) attaching the logo to said smooth surface of said first equal-sized triangular panel, wherein said logo is centered substantially on said smooth surface of said first panel, whereby the manufacturability and attractiveness of the logo on the visored cap is improved because the logo is attached to a smooth surface of the first panel.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the logo, when attached to the first panel, does not substantially engage a seam.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the logo is embroidered to said smooth surface with embroidery seams that do not substantially engage a seam.

AK' ENDED SHEET (ARTICLE 19) 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the attached triangular panels include a seam running from the bottom center of one side to the crown portion to the bottom center of the other side of the crown portion.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the visored cap includes six equal-sized triangular panels attached to each other to form the crown portion.

6. In a visored cap having (1) a visor portion, (2) a substantially hemispherical crown portion attached, to the visor portion for covering the head of a user, the crown portion having a plurality of substantially equal-sized triangular panels attached to each other with seams to form the crown portion and (3) a logo attached to the crown portion, wherein the improvement comprises:

7. The visored cap of claim 6 wherein the logo does not substantially engage a seam. 8. The visored cap of claim 6 wherein the logo is embroidered to said smooth surface with embroidery seams that do not substantially engage a seam.

9. The visored cap of claim 6 wherein the attached triangular panels include a seam running from the bottom center of one side of the crown portion to the bottom center of the other side of the crown portion.

10. The visored cap of claim 6 wherein the visored cap includes six equal-sized triangular panels attached to each other to form the crown portion.

11. The visored cap of claim 6 wherein each equal-sized triangular panels comprises a sixty-degree triangular panel having a pair of opposing seam space sixty degree apart and wherein the opposing seams of the first panel are each positioned about 30 degrees from the center of the visor.

12. A visored cap comprising:

(1) A visor;

(2) a substantially hemispherical crown portion attached to the visor portion for covering the head of a user, the crown portion having a plurality of substantially equal-sized triangular panels attached to each other with seams to form the crown portion;

(3) means for facing forward and centering a first of the equal-sized triangular panels with respect to the visor; and

(4) means for attaching a logo to a smooth surface of said first panel so that said logo is also centered with respect to the visor, whereby the manufacturability and attractiveness of the logo on the visored cap is improved because the logo is attached to a smooth surface of the first panel.

13. The visored cap of claim 12 wherein the logo does not substantially engage a seam.

14. The visored cap of claim 12 wherein the logo is embroidered to said smooth surface with embroidery seams that do not substantially engaged a seam.

15. The visored cap of claim 12 wherein the attached triangular panels include a seam running from the bottom center of one side of the crown portion to the bottom center of the other side of the crown portion.

16. The visored cap of claim 12 wherein the visored cap includes six equal-sized triangular panels attached to each other to form the crown portion.

17. The visored cap of claim 12 wherein each equal-sized triangular panels comprises a sixty-degree triangular panels having a pair of opposing seams spaced sixty degrees apart and^'wherein the opposing seams of the first panel are each positioned about 30 degrees from the center of the visor.

AMENDED SHEET(ARTICLE