U.S. patent application number 10/979137 was filed with the patent office on 2006-05-04 for grooved visor stiffener and headwear using the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to Yupoong, Inc.. Invention is credited to Byoung-Woo Cho.
Application Number | 20060090244 10/979137 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36260094 |
Filed Date | 2006-05-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060090244 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Cho; Byoung-Woo |
May 4, 2006 |
Grooved visor stiffener and headwear using the same
Abstract
A grooved visor stiffener for headwear to be located in a visor
portion of the headwear is disclosed. The stiffener has a plurality
of grooves on at least one surface. Each groove has a sectional
shape. The visor portion with the visor stiffener is capable of
being changed to various shapes according to a wearer's
preference.
Inventors: |
Cho; Byoung-Woo;
(Yongin-city, KR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY LLP
SUITE 700
1201 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
Yupoong, Inc.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
36260094 |
Appl. No.: |
10/979137 |
Filed: |
November 3, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/195.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B 1/0183
20210101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/195.1 |
International
Class: |
A42B 1/00 20060101
A42B001/00 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for use as headwear comprising: a head covering
portion to cover a head of a wearer; and a visor portion connected
to the head covering portion comprising a stiffener being formed of
a single planar material having a top surface and a bottom surface,
wherein the stiffener has a plurality of grooves on at least one of
the top and bottom surfaces, and each of the grooves has a
predetermined depth and a V-shaped section, a U-shaped section or a
rectangular section, to thereby bend and retain the visor
portion.
2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the plurality of
grooves are formed on both the top surface and the bottom
surface.
3. (canceled)
4. An apparatus for use as headwear comprising: a head covering
portion to cover a head of a wearer; and a visor portion connected
to the head covering portion comprising a stiffener having a top
surface and a bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality
of grooves on at least one surface, and at least some of the
plurality of grooves intersect with one another.
5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the stiffener is
made of a bendable molded material.
6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the visor portion
further comprises: a cover connected to the head covering portion
to cover the stiffener.
7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the cover comprises
an upper cover and a lower cover.
8. An apparatus for use as headwear comprising: a head covering
portion to cover a head of a wearer; and a visor portion connected
to the head covering portion comprising a stiffener having a top
surface and a bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality
of grooves on at least one surface, and at least a part of the
plurality of grooves are formed in straight lines which are
substantially parallel to a front edge of the visor portion.
9. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a part of
the plurality of grooves are formed in straight lines substantially
perpendicular to a front edge of the visor portion.
10. An apparatus for use as headwear comprising: a head covering
portion to cover a head of a wearer; and a visor portion connected
to the head covering portion comprising a stiffener having a top
surface and a bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality
of grooves on at least one surface, and at least a part of the
plurality of grooves are formed in straight lines oblique to a
front edge of the visor portion.
11. A stiffener for headwear being formed of a single planar
material, comprising: a top surface and a bottom surface; and a
plurality of grooves on at least one of the top and bottom
surfaces, wherein each groove has a predetermined depth and a
V-shaped section, a U-shaped section or a rectangular section, to
thereby the bend and retain visor portion.
12. The stiffener as recited in claim 11, wherein the plurality of
grooves are formed on both the top surface and the bottom
surface.
13. (canceled)
14. The stiffener as recited in claim 11, wherein the stiffener is
made of a bendable molded material.
15. The stiffener as recited in claim 11, wherein each groove is
formed as a straight line or a curved line.
16. A stiffener for headwear, comprising: a top surface and a
bottom surface; and a plurality of grooves on at least one surface,
wherein at least a part of the plurality of grooves are straight
lines which are substantially parallel with a front edge of the
visor portion.
17. The stiffener as recited in claim 11, wherein at least a part
of the plurality of grooves are straight lines which are
substantially perpendicular to a front edge of the visor
portion.
18. A stiffener for headwear, comprising: a top surface and a
bottom surface; and a plurality of grooves on at least one surface,
wherein at least a part of the plurality of grooves are straight
lines which are oblique to a front edge of the visor portion.
19. A stiffener for headwear, comprising: a top surface and a
bottom surface; and a plurality of grooves on at least one surface,
wherein the plurality of grooves comprises a first set of grooves
and a second set of grooves, and wherein at least a portion of the
first set of grooves intersects with at least a portion of the
second set of grooves.
20. A headwear, comprising: a visor comprising a stiffener being
formed of a single planar material having a top surface and a
bottom surface, wherein the stiffener has a plurality of grooves on
at least one of the top and bottom surfaces to thereby bend and
retain the visor.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] (a) Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to headwear, and more
specifically to a grooved visor stiffener and headwear using the
same.
[0003] (b) Description of the Related Art
[0004] Caps including a visor portion extending from a crown
portion are very popular. Preferably, the visor portion is
typically made of a stiffened plastic material having a flat or
curved configuration which is embedded in a fabric cover.
[0005] The conventional visor portion may be changed in its shape,
but it cannot be retained in the changed shape, when a wearer wants
to bend or stretch the visor portion in order to more effectively
block the sun light or according to a wearer's preference.
[0006] A cap having a visor portion enabling a wearer of the cap to
change the curve of the visor is disclosed in Korea Utility Model
Registration No. 20-0282340. A thin metal sheet is attached to the
visor of the cap, so that the wearer may change the curve of the
visor by only bending the both sides of the visor up and down in a
front view, and the curve may be retained. Since the thin metal
sheet is attached between the fabric cover and the stiffened
plastic material of the visor, it forms a raised portion on the
visor, defiling the appearance of the cap.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made in an effort
to solve the above-described drawbacks of the conventional headwear
and the visor portion.
[0008] An embodiment provides headwear having a grooved visor
stiffener that allows a wearer to bend or change the shape of the
visor portion freely to various shapes according to a wearer's
preference.
[0009] In some embodiments, a grooved visor stiffener is provided
which is capable of being changed and retained in the changed
shape.
[0010] Some embodiments include a grooved visor stiffener which is
applicable to various kinds of headwear.
[0011] As embodied and broadly described herein, a visor stiffener
for headwear to be located on the interior side of a visor portion
of the headwear may have a plurality of grooves on at least either
surface of the top surface or the bottom surface thereof. Each
groove may have a sectional shape selected from a group including,
but not limited to a V-shaped section, a U-shaped section and a
rectangular section.
[0012] The plurality of grooves may be formed on both a top surface
and a bottom surface.
[0013] In some embodiments, at least a part of the plurality of
grooves may be formed in the shape of straight lines which are
substantially parallel or vertical to a front edge of the visor
portion. Alternatively, at least a part of the plurality of grooves
may be formed in the shape of straight lines which are oblique with
respect to a front edge of the visor portion. Further, at least a
part of the plurality of grooves may also be formed in the shape of
curved lines.
[0014] Preferably, at least a part of the plurality of grooves may
be crossed with one another.
[0015] In another embodiment, headwear has a head covering portion
covering a head of a wearer and a visor portion projecting from the
head covering portion. The visor portion has a visor stiffener
having a plurality of grooves on at least one surface, for example,
a top surface or a bottom surface thereof. A visor portion may be
provided with a cover which is connected to the head covering
portion and covers the stiffener.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The accompanying drawings provide a further understanding of
the invention, and together with the Detailed Description, explain
the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
[0017] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cap according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of a visor portion of FIG.
1;
[0019] FIG. 3 shows a top view of a visor stiffener;
[0020] FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of the stiffener of FIG. 3;
[0021] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the stiffener of FIG.
3;
[0022] FIG. 6 shows a section view of the stiffener of FIG. 3
bending;
[0023] FIG. 7 shows a top view of another example of a
stiffener;
[0024] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a hat according to
another embodiment of the present invention; and
[0025] FIG. 9 shows a top view of a stiffener which is used in the
hat of FIG. 8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0026] The present invention will be described in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings. Reference numerals in the
drawings indicate the same elements herein.
[0027] Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, a cap 10 according to an
embodiment of the present invention has a visor stiffener which
enables a wearer to deform, change, restore or retain the shape of
a visor portion.
[0028] The cap 10 has a crown portion 190 covering a head of a
wearer, and a visor portion 100 projecting from the crown portion
to block sunlight. The visor portion 100 has an upper cover 105 and
a lower cover 106 on its top and bottom sides, and a visor
stiffener 110 provided between the upper and lower covers 105 and
106. The upper and lower covers 105 and 106 are preferably made of
woven, knit or synthetic resin. In some cases, it is possible that
the upper and lower covers are made in one-piece.
[0029] The visor stiffener 110 functions to retain the shape of the
visor portion 100 in order to block sunlight. The visor stiffener
110 has a predetermined thickness and a plurality of grooves on
both of its top surface 120 and bottom surface 130 to easily bend
or adjust the visor portion according to a wearer's preference.
Each groove has a V-shaped section in the drawings, but it is
possible to form each groove using a U-shaped section, a
rectangular section or any other suitable shape.
[0030] An example of the visor stiffener 100 is shown in FIGS. 3 to
5. The visor stiffener 100 has a plurality of grooves 121 and 131
on its top surface 120 and its bottom surface 130, respectively.
The plurality of grooves 121 on the top surface 120 may be formed
in shape of a plurality of straight lines which are crossed to form
lattices. At least some of the straight lines are substantially
parallel with a front edge 140 of the visor stiffener 100. In
addition, some of the lines are substantially perpendicular to the
front edge 140 of the visor stiffener 100. The substantially
parallel lines and the substantially perpendicular lines may
intersect to form lattices. The plurality of grooves 131 on the
bottom surface 130 are similar to the plurality of grooves 121 on
the top surface 120.
[0031] It should be noted that the grooves may be formed on either
surface of the top surface or bottom surface. In alternate
embodiments, the plurality of grooves may be formed in straight
lines which are oblique to a front edge of the visor portion.
Further, the plurality of grooves may be formed in shape of various
kinds of straight lines, curved lines or mixtures thereof according
to the specific design of the visor stiffener. FIG. 7 shows another
example of the visor stiffener with a plurality of grooves formed
oblique to an edge of the visor which intersect to form a plurality
of diamonds.
[0032] The visor stiffener 110 is made of a bendable molded
material which can bend to conform to the curve of the visor
portion 100 and retain the shape of the visor portion. Various
suitable materials are known in the art, and may include
polyethylene.
[0033] FIG. 6 shows a view of the visor stiffener 110 bending. When
a wearer bends or deforms the visor portion 100 of the cap 10 into
a desired shape, the visor stiffener 110 is bent and then retained
in the desired shape. As shown in FIG. 6, when the visor stiffener
110 is bent downward, the grooves 121 on the top surface 120 widen
while the grooves 131 on the bottom surface 131 become narrower.
Thus, the visor portion 100 with the visor stiffener 110 having a
plurality of grooves enables the wearer to bend the visor portion
100 freely into any desired shape in any direction, as well as to
change the angle of the visor portion 100. When the grooves are
formed with the crossed lines as illustrated in FIG. 3, 4, or 7,
they may allow a wearer to easily adjust the visor portion.
Therefore, the wearer may wear the cap 10 with various visor shapes
according to her or his preference. Furthermore, the plurality of
grooves weaken the restoring force of the visor stiffener material,
so that the visor stiffener 110 can be retained in the bent
shape.
[0034] Referring next to FIG. 8, a hat 20 according to another
embodiment has a visor stiffener which enables a wearer to deform,
change, restore or retain the shape of a visor portion.
[0035] The hat 20 has a crown portion 290 covering a head of a
wearer, and a visor portion 200 which projects from the crown
portion to block sunlight. The visor portion 200 has a planar
ring-shaped visor stiffener 210 of FIG. 9 and a cover connected to
the crown portion 290 for covering the stiffener 210.
[0036] The visor stiffener 210 is provided with a plurality of
grooves 220 on at least one surface. The plurality of grooves 220
may be formed on a top surface and/or a bottom surface. The grooves
220 are preferably formed in concentric circles and radial straight
lines which intersect with one another. It is also possible to form
the plurality of grooves in various shapes having straight lines,
curved lines or mixtures thereof according to the specific design
of the visor stiffener.
[0037] Each groove has a sectional shape that is selected from a
group including, but not limited to a V-shaped section, a U-shaped
section, a rectangular section and any other suitable shape. As
described above with respect to a cap 10 of FIGS. 1 and 2, the
visor stiffener 210 is adapted to easily bend or adjust the visor
portion 200 according to a wearer's preference.
[0038] When a wearer bends or deforms the visor portion 200 of the
hat 20 into a desired shape, the visor stiffener 210 is bent and
then retains the desired shape according to her or his
preference.
[0039] The present invention provides a visor stiffener with a
plurality of grooves so that a wearer may change the visor portion
to various shapes according to the wearer's preference. Further,
any raised portion is not seen from outside, resulting in a smooth
appearance of the visor portion of the headwear.
[0040] Although the present invention is implemented as a cap or
hat in the embodiments as describe above, the present invention may
be applied to a visor cap, or any other various kinds of headwear
having a visor portion, not being limited to a cap.
[0041] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the present invention
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
* * * * *