WO2014047441A1 - Multi-purpose skull cap - Google Patents

Abstract

A multi-purpose skull cap capable of selective engagement by a wearer between multiple modes of use. The cap is manufactured from a stretchable material suitably preselected for adapting to a particular environment, situation or interest. The stretchable characteristic of the cap enables functional and aesthetic features associated with the cap to be selectively engaged and/or converted by the wearer between specific purposes and modes of use.

Description

MULTI-PURPOSE SKULL CAP

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of the filing date of United States

Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/750,508, filed January 9, 2013, for "Multi-Purpose Skull Cap," and to United States Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/703,953, filed September 21 , 2012, for "Multi-Purpose Skull Cap." TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to head coverings that are capable of multi-purpose selective modes of use by the wearer.

BACKGROUND

Skull caps are a type of article of clothing worn on the head of a person. Skull caps are commonly utilized by athletes for a variety of reasons one of which is to assist in managing sweat during performance. Existing skull cap designs are relatively distinguishable from cold weather "beanies" at least by the types of materials employed to construct the hats. For example, skull caps are generally tighter-fitting compared to beanies, and are generally made of a finer and tighter-woven elastic fabric. Moreover, most existing skull cap designs are typically constructed to be worn in one mode of operation only.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming what are regarded as embodiments of the invention, advantages of the embodiments of the invention can be more readily ascertained from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a person wearing an embodiment of a multipurpose skull cap of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view a person wearing an embodiment of a multipurpose skull cap like that of FIG. 4 with the ears of the person fully exposed below the skull cap;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the person and multi-purpose skull cap shown in

FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 A is a side view of a person wearing an embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure with the ears of the person partially exposed below the skull cap;

FIG. 7B is a side view like that of FIG. 7 A showing the of a multi-purpose skull cap showing the ears of the person completely covered by the skull cap;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a person wearing another embodiment a multipurpose skull cap of the present disclosure that includes eye holes, with the skull cap extending over the face and under the chin of the person;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a person wearing another embodiment a multipurpose skull cap of the present disclosure that includes eye holes, a nose hole, and a mouth hole, with the skull cap extending over the face and under the chin of the person;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the person and the multi-purpose skull cap shown in

FIG. 9;

FIGS. 11 through 14 are perspective views of various embodiments of multi- purpose skull caps of the present disclosure that include different designs;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a person wearing yet another embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a person wearing glasses in combination with an embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a person wearing glasses in combination with yet another embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure; FIG. 18 is a top view of a crown portion showing an incision of an embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a top view of a crown portion showing a stitched opening of an embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a top view of a crown portion showing stitched eye openings of an embodiment of a multi-purpose skull cap of the present disclosure.

MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The illustrations presented herein are, in some instances, not actual views of any particular skull cap, but are merely idealized representations which are employed to describe embodiments of the present disclosure. Elements common between figures may retain the same numerical designation.

As illustrated in the various figures, embodiments of the present disclosure include a novelty head garment comprising a stretchable material predefined to enable it to be selectively converted by a wearer between a hat and a face mask wherein the material leaves the wearer's neck exposed when worn as a hat and when worn as a face mask. One embodiment of the head garment is in the form of a multi-purpose skull cap 10 which incorporates and utilizes combinations of functional and/or aesthetic features during multiple modes of use. The cap 10 is specifically designed to be selectively worn on the head of a person 12 between multiple (at least 2) modes of use. Cap 10 may be manufactured from a stretchable and conforming material 14 having suitable elastic properties thereby allowing the cap 10 to conform to various head sizes and shapes. Such material 14 may include, for example, a woven or knitted fabric comprising one or more of polyester, spandex, nylon and cotton. Optimal

combinations of materials may include 80-90% nylon or polyester coupled with 10- 20% spandex. The stretchable and conforming material 14 may be preselected for adapting to a particular purpose, environment, situation or event. Material 14 may also comprise moisture-absorbing and moisture-wicking properties; Ultra Violet (UV) protective properties, thermal protective properties as well as bio-hazard protective properties, to enhance functional assets of the skull cap 10 thus facilitating additional modes of operation, respectively. Accordingly, the stretchable characteristics of the skull cap 10 enable functional and aesthetic features in, on and/or otherwise associated with the skull cap 10 to be selectively engaged by the wearer 12 depending on the wearer's preference.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a multi-purpose skull cap 10 which may be formed in accordance with embodiments disclosed herein. Cap 10 is generally closed at one end defining a cap portion 16. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the other end is open defining a bottom opening 18 which may be circumscribed by a flap 20 of material 14 folded back onto itself and secured or hemmed accordingly. As shown in FIG. 4, bottom opening 18 may alternatively include a circumferential elastic band 24 for reinforcement at opening 18, which may or may not be enclosed by flap 20 of material 14 folded back onto itself and secured or hemmed accordingly. As illustrated in FIG. 3, cap portion 16 may also be formed of material segments 22 sewn or otherwise suitably connected to one another. Alternatively, as illustrated in FIGS. 4-6, cap portion 16 may instead be comprised of a circumferential head band portion 26 and a crown portion 28.

In all embodiments, cap 10 may be selectively utilized by the wearer 12 in at least two modes of use having different purposes. A first conventional mode of selective use by a wearer 12 is depicted in FIGS. 1 , 5 and 6 wherein cap 10 is employed as a conventional skull cap. The benefits and uses of conventional skull caps are generally known in the art. When used in this manner, cap 10 is pulled over the head of the wearer 12 though bottom opening 18 with the wearer's ears 30 being completely exposed (FIGS. 1, 5 and 6). Cap 10 may also be worn such that the wearer's ears 30 are partially covered (FIG. 7A) or completely covered (FIG. 7B). hi this first mode of operation, cap portion 16 covers the head of the wearer generally above the wearer's eyes 32 while generally remaining at a generally first high position 34 on the back of the wearer's head and above the wearer's neck 36, as clearly shown in FIGS. 5-7B. The high position 34 of cap 10 on the back of a wearer's head is noteworthy with respect to the spirit of the present invention.

On occasion, as illustrated in FIGS. 8-10, the wearer 12 may choose to selectively and quickly convert cap 10 into a face mask 38 in order to, among other things: (i) adapt to the wearer's surroundings which may be defined by a particular purpose, environment, situation or event; (ii) for facilitating a personal, group or concerted statement, personal interest, political affiliation or allegiance; and/or (iii) for accommodating a novelty, animation or artistic statement and/or parody. The wearer's active use of cap 10 as a mask 38 in order to accomplish the aforementioned adaptations may collectively or individually comprise a second mode of use of cap 10. Some of the purposes for transforming cap 10 into a mask 38 include but are not limited to the following: (i) to participate in special events such as sporting events which may include some type of active or passive association with a wearer's 12 favorite team, school, athlete, institution or club as depicted in

FIGS. 5-6, and 9-1 1 , as well as special events such as birthdays, holidays or any type of religious or secular celebration, theatrical event, all comprising a second aesthetic mode of use; (ii) to protect against environmental circumstances or concerns such as undesired exposure to U.V. radiation, heat, cold, wind, chemical, insect and bio-hazard situations or occupations or provide hygienic containment; (iii) to create a novelty or animation illusion such as depicting a wearer's 12 favorite cartoon character, living or fictional creature, avatar, design such as skull and cross- bones as depicted in FIG. 12, caricature, parody, mascot, celebrity as well as anyone or anything in the public eye; (iv) to portray a wearer's 12 allegiance and/or membership to a specific country, residence, domicile, location, military unit, flag, political affiliation, occupation as depicted in FIG. 14, public service departments such as fire, police, S.W.A.T. and E.M.S. teams, as well as a personal interest or statements such as memberships or identity in any group, club, entity, orientation, preference, sex, race, religion, origin or nationality; and (v) to conceal or disguise the identity of a wearer 12 or contribute to a wearer's 12 overall camouflage to his or her surroundings as most clearly depicted in FIG. 13. Accordingly, in order for cap 10 to accomplish any of the aforementioned purposes or combination thereof, cap 10 will necessarily include corresponding aesthetic and/or functional features 40 either on the head band portion 26 or the crown portion 28 or combinations thereof that are commensurate with and accomplish the purpose. In any mode of use, the construction of cap 10 prevents coverage of the wearer's neck 36 as this would require a significant amount of additional material 14 thereby substantially defeating the legitimate and novel dual mode use capability of cap 10 as a skull cap and as a novelty mask 38. As most clearly shown in FIG. 10, when cap 10 is selectively converted and used as a mask 38 in a second mode of use as described and contemplated in this disclosure, cap 10 is manually stretched over the wearer's face with the elastic band 24 and head band portion 26 being secured generally and temporarily under the wearer's chin 42 and circumferentially around the upper skull portion of the wearer's head wherein the back of the head and the neck 36 of the wearer 12 may be generally exposed at an even generally higher position 44 than high position 34 in the first mode of use. In essence, cap 10 may slightly pivot on the wearer's head when and as it is converted into a mask 38, or it may be just simply stretched into the second mode of use with the band 24 and band portion 26 remaining at high position 34. As in the first mode of use, neck 36 remains exposed while in the second mode of use.

Cap portion 16 may also comprise one or more openings each being selectively sized and positioned in a predefined pattern or location to expose only limited areas of the wearer's face, for example, the wearer's eyes 32, mouth 46, nose 48 or combinations thereof. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 11-14, mask 38 provides full coverage of the facial areas of the wearer 12 except the eyes 32 wherein cap portion 16 includes eye openings 50. It should be noted that when cap 10 is being utilized in the first mode of use as demonstrated in FIG. 1 , openings 50 may function as ventilation holes. As shown in FIG. 3, eye openings 50 may be defined in material segments 22 or as shown in FIGS. 4-6 and 9-10, eye openings 50 may be included in crown portion 28 depending on the design of cap 10. Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 2-6 and 9-10, cap portion 16 may include a mouth opening 52 and/or a nose opening 54 which depending on the design of the cap 10 may either be in the material segments 22, crown portion 28, head band portion 26 or combinations thereof. Likewise, openings 52 and 54 may operate as a ventilation holes in the first mode of use. It will be appreciated that openings other than illustrated in this disclosure may be used without departing from the scope of the invention.

During the second mode of use as a face mask 38, wearer 12 may also want to utilize glasses 62, thus cap 10 may also include ear openings 60 as shown in FIGS. 4, 6, 8, 10 & 16 in order to accommodate the glasses' frame 64 therethrough.

Alternatively, in order to utilize and secure the glasses 62 during the second mode of use, the glasses' frame 64 may be inserted and secured through the eye openings 50 (as shown in FIG. 17) without the need for ear openings 60 given material 14 is suitably elastic to accomplish such utilization.

As noted above, openings 50, 52 and 54 may have dual puiposes depending on which mode of use the wearer 12 has selected. In the first mode, the openings may operate as ventilation holes. In the second mode of use, the openings allow exposure of selective facial features. In an embodiment as disclosed in FIGS. 8 andlO, material 14 has sufficient elasticity to allow the material to stretch and distort the openings 50, 52 and/or 54 such that they allow the corresponding facial feature to be adequately exposed to be functional. Yet, in another embodiment, it may be desired to include suitable stitching 56 around the openings 50, 52 and/or 54 such that the stretching and distortion of the openings is controlled when material 14 is stretched, i.e., when the user 12 engages cap 10 as a mask 38 in a second mode of use. As illustrated in FIG. 15, material 14 may be selected so that the wearer 12 can see through the material 58 while cap 10 is in the second mode of use, therefore no openings are necessary to see through.

Regarding a method of manufacture, crown portion 28 may be constructed in a generally circular shape (FIG. 18) or in a non-circular shape (FIGS. 9 and 10), depending on the novelty design of the cap. To the extent a stretchable/elastic material 14 is utilized, the size of crown portion 28 may be of generally one size to accommodate most users which may be in the range of 6-8 inches (15.24 cm to 20.32 cm) in diameter. In one embodiment, in order to construct the eye openings 50, an incision 66 tlirough material 14 may be made in the crown portion 28 approximately 1- 2 inches (2.54 cm to 5.08 cm) from a tangent point 68 lying on the perimeter 70 of crown portion 28 (FIG. 18). The incision 66 may be oriented such that it is generally parallel lengthwise to a plane 72 that includes tangent point 68 and may have a length in the range of approximately 4-5.5 inches (10.16 cm to 13.97 cm) in order to accommodate or account for two eye openings 50 simultaneously. Similar incisions having suitable lengths may be made in the crown portion 28 and/or head band portion 26 corresponding to the other openings 52 and 54 respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 19, once the incision 66 is made in the crown portion 28 for the eye openings 50, it creates an opening 74 whereupon appropriate stitching 56 may be applied around the circumference of opening 74. Additionally, in order that each eye opening 50 respectively stretch or conform to an optimum and appropriate size and shape to allow function of the wearer's eyes 32while the cap 10 is worn in the second mode of use as a mask 38, upper 76 and lower 78 portions (FIG. 19) of stitching 56 may be may be stitched or secured together at a central location 80 in such a manner as to generally bisect opening 74 thereby creating respective eye openings 50 (FIG. 20). As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 , the central location 80 may include stitching in the range of approximately 0.25-1.25 inches (0.635 cm to 3.175 cm) in length.

While the present disclosure has been described herein with respect to certain embodiments, those of ordinary skill in tire art will recognize and appreciate that it is not so limited. Rather, many additions, deletions and modifications to the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed. In addition, features from one embodiment may be combined with features of another embodiment while still being encompassed within the scope of the invention as contemplated by the inventor.

Claims

CLADV1S

What is claimed is: 1. A multi-functional skull cap, comprising:

a stretchable cap portion having a bottom opening wherein the skull cap is pulled over the head of a wearer through the bottom opening; and

wherein the cap is capable of selective engagement by the wearer between at least first and second modes of use.

2. A multi-functional skull cap as defined in claim 1 , wherein the face of the wearer is at least substantially exposed while the cap is selectively engaged in the first mode of use by the wearer and wherein the face of the wearer is at least substantially concealed while the cap is selectively engaged in the second mode of use by the wearer.

3. A multi-functional skull cap as defined in claim 2, wherein the first mode of use selectable by the wearer comprises a conventional mode of use wherein the cap portion covers the head of the wearer generally above the wearer's eyes and remaining at a generally first high position on the back of the wearer's head above the wearer's neck.

4. A multi-functional skull cap as defined in claim 3, wherein the second mode of use selectable by the wearer comprises a mode of use wherein the cap portion is manually stretched over the wearer's face and temporarily secured under the wearer's chin and slightly shifting to a generally second higher position on the back of the wearer's head thus allowing the wearer's neck to remain substantially exposed.

5. A multi-functional skull cap as defined in any one of claims 1 through 4, wherein the cap is transformable into a face mask.

6. A multi-functional skull cap as defined in any one of claims 1 through 5, wherein the cap portion further comprises at least one opening.

7. A multi-functional skull cap as defined in claim 6, wherein the at least one opening functions as a ventilation hole when the cap is selectively engaged in the first conventional mode of use by the wearer and wherein the at least one opening exposes at least one of the eyes, nose, and mouth of the wearer when the cap is selectively engaged in the second novelty mode of use by the wearer.

8. A multi-functional skull cap as defined in claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the wearer is able to see through the at least one opening when the cap is selectively engaged in the second novelty mode of use.

9. A stretchable head covering for being worn over the head of a wearer, comprising:

a stretchable crown portion which generally conforms to the head of the wearer

generally above the wearer's ears and eyes;

the stretchable crown portion including at least two openings, wherein the head

covering may be selectively stretched by the wearer downwardly over the wearer's face to a position generally below the wearer's chin and

circumferentially around the upper skull portion of the wearer's head thereby:

(i) positioning the apertures so that the wearer may see through the apertures; and (ii) concealing the face of the wearer.

10. A method of utilizing a skull cap as defined in any one of claims 1 through 8, comprising: positioning the multi-functional skull cap on the head of a wearer such that the front portion of the cap is located on the forehead of the wearer, and pulling the front portion of the cap located on the forehead of the wearer downward over the face of the wearer such that the front portion is secured just beneath the chin of the wearer and the back portion remains at a relatively high position on the backside of the skull.

11. A novelty head garment, comprising:

a stretchable material predefined to enable it to be selectively converted by a wearer between a hat and a face mask wherein the material leaves the wearer's neck exposed when worn as a hat and when worn as a face mask.

12. A novelty head garment as defined in claim 1 1, wherein the hat is a skull cap.

13. A novelty head garment as defined in claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the material carries a colored design.

14. A novelty head garment as defined in any one of claims 1 1 through 13, wherein the stretchable material is secured beneath the wearer's chin while being worn as the face mask.

15. A novelty head garment as defined in any one of claims 11 through 14, wherein the material includes at least one of eye openings, a nose opening, and a mouth opening.