WO2001006883A1

WO2001006883A1 - Headgear

Info

Publication number: WO2001006883A1
Application number: PCT/KR2000/000483
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chan-Soo Bae
Original assignee: Marusol Headwear Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 1999-07-23
Filing date: 2000-05-24
Publication date: 2001-02-01
Also published as: AU4620500A; KR200168823Y1

Abstract

Headgear, such as a hat or a cap having an effective hair outlet structure, is disclosed. In the headgear, the hair outlet structure is composed of a cutout (33) formed at the rear portion of the crown (10) and allowing a ponytail of a user to pass through prior to being exposed outside the crown. Two fastening bands (22, 24) extend from opposite lower ends of the cutout toward each other to desired lengths and are detachably fastened together through a one-touch motion, with the cutout (33) being completely defined by fastening the two bands (22, 24) together. Two fastening pieces (52, 54) are attached to the two bands (22, 24) and detachably fasten the two bands (22, 24) together so as to completely define the cutout (33) while allowing an adjustment of a size of the headgear in accordance with the head size of a user. In the above headgear, it is preferable to use the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener as the two fastening pieces (52, 54). A strip-shaped edge liner (40) is integrated along the edge of the cutout (33), thus covering and reinforcing the edge of the cutout (33), with one of the fastening pieces (52 and 54) being sewn to an associated band along with overlapped ends of the liner (40) while covering the overlapped ends. In an embodiment, the headgear is a hat-type headgear, with the two bands (22, 24) being formed by cutting the brim (20) to the cutout (33) and by providing two bands at opposite cut ends of the brim (20). In the case of such a hat-type headgear, it is preferable to continuously integrate the edge liner (40) along all of the edges of the cutout (33) and the brim (20) including the two bands (22, 24).

Description

HEADGEAR

Technical Field

The present invention relates, in general, to headgear, such as hats or caps, and, more particularly, to a structural improvement in such headgear to give an effective outlet structure for allowing hair to pass through the headgear, the outlet structure allowing long hair, such as ponytails or buns of wearers, to smoothly pass through so as to be exposed outside the headgear while wearing the headgear on the head.

Background Art

As well known to those skilled in the art, headgear is typically classified into a plurality of types, such as hats and caps, in accordance with use and shape of them. For example, a sun hat, or a so-called "lightweight hat", comprises a crown with a brim and is typically worn on the head of a user during traveling, mountain climbing or fishing. On the other hand, a cap, or a so-called "sport cap", comprises a crown with a sun visor and is typically worn on the head of a user while playing a game, such as baseball or golf.

However, conventional hats are problematic in that they do not have any structure allowing long hair, such as ponytails or buns of wearers, to smoothly pass through so as to be exposed outside the hats while wearing the hats on the heads. Another problem, experienced in such conventional hats, resides in that they have no size adjusting means allowing a user to adjust the size of a hat in accordance with the size of the user's head as desired. The conventional hats are thus inconvenient to the users. On the other hand, conventional caps may have a size adjusting means for allowing a user to adjust the size of a cap in accordance with the size of the user's head as desired. In a conventional cap, such a size adjusting means is typically provided at the rear end portion of the circular lower edge of the crown, with a semicircular cutout formed at the rear end and provided with two size adjusting bands. However, the conventional caps do not have any structure allowing long hair, such as ponytails or buns of wearers, to smoothly pass through so as to be exposed outside the caps while wearing the caps on the heads. Therefore, users of such conventional caps, who want to expose their long hair outside the caps, force their long hair to pass through the cutouts formed at the size adjusting means. However, this action undesirably compresses the hair and scalp and sometimes prevents a cap from being placed at a desired position on the head, and prevents an accomplishment of a desired style using the cap.

Disclosure of the Invention

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide headgear, such as a hat or a cap, which has an effective structure for allowing hair to pass through at the rear end portion of the circular lower edge of a crown, thus allowing long hair of a user to easily pass through the hair outlet structure to be exposed outside the headgear, and which is provided with a size adjusting means, composed of the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener, at the hair outlet structure, thus allowing the user to easily adjust the size of the headgear in accordance with his head size through a one-touch motion when necessary.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention provides headgear, comprising: a hair outlet structure composed of; a cutout formed at the rear portion of the crown at a position around the lower edge of the crown and adapted for allowing long hair, such as a ponytail, of a user to pass through prior to being exposed outside the crown; two fastening bands extending from opposite lower ends of the cutout toward each other to desired lengths and being detachably fastened together through a one-touch motion, with the cutout being completely defined by fastening the two bands together; and two fastening pieces attached to the two bands and adapted for detachably fastening the two bands together so as to completely define the cutout while allowing an adjustment of a size of the headgear in accordance with a head size of the user. In the above headgear, it is preferable to use the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener having a predetermined length as the two fastening pieces.

The headgear preferably has a strip-shaped edge liner, which is integrated along the edge of the cutout, thus covering and reinforcing the edge of the cutout, with one of the fastening pieces being sewn to an associated band along with overlapped ends of the liner while covering the overlapped ends.

In an embodiment, the headgear is a hat-type headgear, with the two bands being formed by cutting the brim to the cutout and by providing two bands at opposite cut ends of the brim. In the case of such a hat-type headgear, it is preferable to continuously integrate an edge liner along all of the edges of the cutout and the brim including the two bands.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hat-type headgear designed in accordance with the primary embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the headgear of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a partially sectioned side view of the headgear of Fig. 1 ; Figs. 4a and 4b are views, showing how to wear the headgear of Fig. 1 on the head of a user, with long hair of the user passing through a cutout formed at a hair outlet structure of the headgear; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a cap-type headgear designed in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hat-type headgear designed in accordance with the primary embodiment of this invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the headgear of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partially sectioned side view of the headgear of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, the hat-type headgear of the primary embodiment comprises a crown 10, with a brim 20 integrated along the circular lower edge of the crown 10. A hair outlet structure 30 is formed at the rear end portion of the circular lower edge of the crown 10 so as to allow long hair of a user, such as a ponytail or a bun of a wearer, to smoothly pass through prior to being exposed outside the headgear while wearing the headgear on the head. The above structure 30 is composed of a cutout having a desired shape, such as a circular, triangular, rectangular or rhombic shape. Such a structure 30 allows the headgear to be freely designed while accomplishing the recent trend of designing flexibility. Two fastening bands 22 and 24 are oppositely formed on the brim 20 at a position under the cutout of the structure 30, with the cutout of the structure 30 being completely defined by fastening the two bands 22 and 24 to each other through a one-touch motion. The two fastening bands 22 and 24 are formed by primarily cutting the brim 22 upwardly at the position under the cutout of the structure 30 and secondarily forming two bands at opposite cut ends of the brim 20 in a way such that the two bands extend toward each other to desired lengths. A strip-shaped edge liner 40 wraps along the edge of the cutout of the structure 30 and is integrated with said edge through, for example, a sewing process, thus effectively covering and reinforcing the edge of the cutout. Such an edge liner 40 neatly finishes the edge of the cutout, thus improving the appearance of the headgear. When such an edge liner 40 is completely and continuously attached along the edge of the brim 20 in addition to the edge of the cutout of the structure 30, all of the edges of the headgear are neatly finished. This accomplishes a desired fashionable appearance of the headgear.

The two fastening bands 22 and 24 are provided with two fastening pieces 52 and 54. The two fastening pieces 52 and 54 are fastened together at an appropriate relative position agreeing with the head size of a user after wearing the headgear, passing the hair through the cutout of the structure 30 and neatly arranging the hair within the cutout. That is, the two fastening bands 22 and 24 having the two fastening pieces 52 and 54 have a collateral function of adjusting the size of the headgear in accordance with the head size of a user. In the present invention, it is preferable to form the two fastening pieces 52 and 54 by attaching the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener along the two bands 22 and 24 at appropriate positions.

On the other hand, opposite ends of the edge liner 40 are overlapped at a desired position on the brim 20. The overlapped ends of the liner 40 may be sewn to the brim 20 through a sewing process separate from another sewing process of attaching the Velcro fastener to the brim 20. However, in the preferred embodiments of this invention, the overlapped ends of the liner 40 are sewn to the brim 20 along with the Velcro fastener after laying the Velcro fastener on the brim 20 to cover the overlapped ends of the liner 40. In such a case, the process of manufacturing such headgear is preferably simplified in addition to accomplishing a conservation of labor and a reduction of production cost. Figs. 4a and 4b are views, showing how to wear the hat-type headgear of the primary embodiment on the head of a user, with a ponytail of the user passing through the cutout of the hair outlet structure 30.

When wearing the hat-type headgear of this invention on the head, the two fastening bands 22 and 24 are separated from each other and pulled in opposite directions to form an open mouth of the cutout after primarily wearing the headgear on the head. Thereafter, the ponytail of the user is received into the cutout through the open mouth, with the two bands 22 and 24 being positioned under the ponytail as shown in Fig. 4a. In such a case, the ponytail is smoothly exposed outside the headgear. Thereafter, the two fastening pieces 52 and 54, or the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener, are fastened together at an appropriate relative position as shown in Fig. 4b, thus completely wearing the headgear on the head. In such a case, the hook and pile pieces of the Velcro fastener attached on the fastening bands 22 and 24 have desired lengths allowing a user to adjust the size of the headgear in accordance with his head size without failure. Therefore, it is possible for the user to easily fasten the two bands 22 and 24 by fastening the hook and pile pieces 52 and 54 of the Velcro fastener at a desired relative position agreeing with his head size at a final stage of wearing the headgear on the head.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a cap-type headgear designed in accordance with the second embodiment of this invention. As shown in the drawing, the cap-type headgear 60 of the second embodiment comprises a dome-shaped crown 62, with a sun visor 64 having a predetermined curved shape and being integrated along the front portion of the circular lower edge of the crown 62. A hair outlet structure 66 is formed at the rear end portion of the circular lower edge of the crown 62 so as to allow long hair of a user, such as a ponytail or a bun of a wearer, to smoothly pass through prior to being exposed outside the headgear 60 while wearing the headgear 60 on the head. The above structure 66 is composed of an oval-shaped cutout, with two fastening bands 68 and 70 being oppositely formed on the lower ends of said cutout while extending toward each other to desired lengths. The two fastening bands 68 and 70 are also provided with two fastening pieces 72 and 74. A strip-shaped edge liner 76 wraps along the edge of the cutout of the structure 66 and is integrated with said edge through, for example, a sewing process, thus covering and reinforcing the edge of the cutout.

The process of wearing the above cap-type headgear 60 with a ponytail of a user passing through the cutout of the hair outlet structure 66 remains the same as that described for the hat-type headgear of the primary embodiment and further explanation is thus not deemed necessary.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, the present invention provides headgear, such as a hat or a cap, provided with an effective hair outlet structure composed of a large-sized cutout formed at the rear portion of the circular lower edge of the crown.

The cutout of the structure is completely defined when two bands are fastened together at an appropriate relative position, with two fastening pieces being attached to the two bands and allowing the two bands to be detachably fastened together. In the preferred embodiments of this invention, the fastening pieces are formed by the hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener. In the case of a hat-type headgear, the brim is cut at a position around the cutout and the two bands are formed at opposite cut ends of the brim while extending toward each other to desired lengths. In the case of a cap-type headgear, the two bands are formed at opposite lower ends of the cutout formed on the lower edge of the crown and extend toward each other to desired lengths. The headgear of this invention thus allows long hair of a user to easily pass through the cutout prior to being exposed outside the headgear. Such a process of passing the hair through the cutout is easily and quickly accomplished by fastening the bands together through a one-touch motion. This headgear is thus very convenient to users.

Particularly, the invention gives an effective hair outlet structure with a size adjusting means to a hat-type headgear, which has been radically limited in its appearance to only a complete crown with an annular brim. Therefore, it is possible for a user of such a hat-type headgear to accomplish a desired fashionable style with a ponytail exposed outside the headgear and to freely adjust the size of the headgear in accordance with his head size as desired.

In addition, the cutout of the hair outlet structure of this invention may be designed to have a variety of profiles and is preferably finished by a strip-shaped edge liner attached along the edge of the cutout. The headgear of this invention is thus improved in its appearance while accomplishing a designing flexibility.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

Claims:

1. Headgear, comprising: a hair outlet structure composed of; a cutout formed at a rear portion of a crown of said headgear at a position around a lower edge of said crown and adapted for allowing long hair, such as a ponytail, of a user to pass through prior to being exposed outside the crown; two band members extending from opposite lower ends of said cutout toward each other to desired lengths and being detachably fastened together through a one-touch motion, with said cutout being completely defined by fastening the two band members together; and two fastening pieces attached to the two band members and adapted for detachably fastening the two band members together so as to completely define the cutout while allowing an adjustment of a size of the headgear in accordance with a head size of the user.

2. The headgear according to claim 1, wherein said two fastening pieces are hook and pile pieces of a Velcro fastener having a predetermined length.

3. The headgear according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an edge liner is integrated along the edge of the cutout, thus covering the edge of the cutout, with one of said fastening pieces being sewn to an associated band member along with overlapped ends of the liner while covering said overlapped ends.

4. The headgear according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said headgear is a hat- type headgear, with the two band members being formed by cutting a brim of the headgear to the cutout and by providing two bands at opposite cut ends of the brim, and an edge liner being continuously integrated along all of the edges of the cutout and the brim including the two band members.