U.S. patent application number 13/186674 was filed with the patent office on 2012-02-02 for garment for retaining long hair including braids or dreadlocks.
Invention is credited to Denise D. Holland.
Application Number | 20120023642 13/186674 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45525175 |
Filed Date | 2012-02-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120023642 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Holland; Denise D. |
February 2, 2012 |
Garment for Retaining Long Hair Including Braids or Dreadlocks
Abstract
A garment for retaining long hair is disclosed and claimed. The
garment includes a tubular sleeve formed of a lightweight flexible
material. The tubular sleeve includes an open front, an open rear,
a body therebetween, and an inside surface. The open front is
configured to extend across a wearer's forehead. The body extends
from the open front over substantially the entire region of the
wearer's head. A pocket is attached to the inside surface of the
tubular sleeve and includes an opening The pocket is arranged for
retaining long hair such as braids or dreadlocks.
Inventors: |
Holland; Denise D.; (Cherry
Hill, NJ) |
Family ID: |
45525175 |
Appl. No.: |
13/186674 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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61369210 |
Jul 30, 2010 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/207 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 23/00 20130101;
A42B 1/041 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/207 |
International
Class: |
A41D 23/00 20060101
A41D023/00 |
Claims
1. A garment for retaining long hair comprising: a. a tubular
sleeve formed of a lightweight flexible material, said tubular
sleeve having a open front, an open rear, a body therebetween, and
an inside surface, said open front configured to extend across a
wearer's forehead, said body extending from said open front over
substantially the entire region of the wearer's head; and, b. a
pocket attached to the inside surface of said tubular sleeve and
including an opening, said pocket arranged for retaining long hair
such as braids or dreadlocks.
2. The garment of claim 1, wherein said pocket includes an elastic
opening end.
3. The garment of claim 1, wherein the open front is
elasticized.
4. The garment of claim 1, wherein said tubular sleeve and said
pocket are formed of a material selected from the group consisting
of cotton, terry cloth, nylon, Spandex, an absorbent material,
leather, satin, rubber, polyester, silk, wool and velvet.
5. The garment of claim 1, wherein said tubular sleeve and said
pocket are formed of a wrinkle-resistant, breatheable material.
6. The garment of claim 1, wherein said garment may be rolled or
bunched into a compact package for storage in a wearer's
pocket.
7. The garment of claim 1, wherein said tubular sleeve is
manufactured in a tubular shape from a molding process.
8. The garment of claim 1, wherein said tubular sleeve is formed of
a fabric attached to itself at opposite ends by stitching to form a
tubular shape.
9. The garment of claim 1, wherein said pocket is attached to the
tubular sleeve inside surface by stitching.
10. The garment of claim 1, wherein said pocket is arranged for
retaining dreadlocks or braids.
11. The garment of claim 1, additionally comprising a brim located
at the front opening, said brim containing an elastic band disposed
therein.
12. The garment of claim 11, wherein said front opening is folded
upon itself to create said brim.
13. A method for retaining long and hanging hair such as braids and
dreadlocks within a garment, the method comprising: a. providing a
garment including a tubular sleeve having front opening on which a
brim is located, a rear opening, and a pocket having an elastic
opening attached to the inside surface of the sleeve; b. holding
the garment in a wearer's hands with the front opening facing away
from the user; c. placing the sleeve over the wearer's head with
the brim positioned over the wearer's forehead; d. pulling the rear
opening of tubular sleeve back to cover the remaining portion of
the wearer's head; e. gathering hanging portions of the hair into a
bun at the rear portion of the head; f. pulling the elastic opening
of the pocket 42 out from within the tubular sleeve to create a
cavity; g. depositing the bun into the pocket to encapsulate the
hair; and, h. pulling the pocket up over the hair so that the
garment completely covers the hair.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/369,210 filed Jul. 30, 2010.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] "Not Applicable"
INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT
DISK
[0003] "Not Applicable"
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The invention relates generally to garments that are
arranged to be worn on the head, and more particularly to a garment
for retaining long hair that may include portions configured as
braids or dreadlocks.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Long hair that has been braided or arranged into dreadlocks
or braids can become very unmanageable and can get in the way of
daily activities. It can be very difficult for a person with such
long or braided hair or dreadlocks to cook, clean, eat, and
participate in sports or dancing. Such long hanging hair is very
dangerous around stoves and grills. Many people with such long
braids or dreadlocks have problems at the dinner table, where hair
can get into food. Long hair can get in people's eyes during windy
days. Long hair can become trapped when sitting in an upright
position, or can easily become dirty upon contact with surfaces,
such as walls or seat backs.
[0006] Scarves can come loose and slip off the hair. Rubber bands,
barrettes, and scrunchies have a potential to break when holding
large amounts of hair, such as dreadlocks and braids. This is even
more of a problem when the hair is extremely thick.
[0007] Garments to fasten locks of hair in a pony tail, braids or
dreadlocks are generally well known, but suffer from a number of
drawbacks. Many hair ties have as their predominant tying feature
some sort of elastic band that requires the wearer to loop and
twist about a lock of hair. These hair ties are sometimes difficult
to apply. In addition, some of the elastic band hair ties on the
market have numerous small metal pieces on the elastic loop, which
can pull out or damage the hair. Other hair ties require knots that
must be tied by the wearer in order to properly secure the hair in
a pony tail. Some are difficult to tie to the hair, and sometimes
the wearer may need assistance from a second person to help attach
the hair tie. In addition, certain hair ties are unreliable in that
they fail to remain in place on the braids or dreadlocks. This
drawback requires the wearer to adjust the hair tie intermittently.
Some hair ties also provide limited flexibility to adjust and allow
the wearer to choose different amounts of hair that may be fastened
by a single hair tie at any one time. It is accordingly a primary
objective of the present invention to provide a hair retaining
garment which will avoid the drawbacks stated above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] A garment for retaining long hair is disclosed and claimed.
The garment includes a tubular sleeve formed of a lightweight
flexible material. The tubular sleeve includes an open front, an
open rear, a body therebetween, and an inside surface. The open
front is configured to extend across a wearer's forehead. The body
extends from the open front over substantially the entire region of
the wearer's head. A pocket is attached to the inside surface of
the tubular sleeve and includes an opening. The pocket is arranged
for retaining long hair such as braids or dreadlocks.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the garment of the present
invention shown in a final position over the head of a wearer
having long hair, long braids or dreadlocks, the garment shown
retaining the wearer's braids;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the garment of the present
invention being held in the hands of a wearer prior to the
inventive garment being placed in position on the wearer's
head;
[0011] FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the wearer
beginning the process of placing the garment of the present
invention onto the wearer's head;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the wearer
continuing to place the garment of the present invention onto the
wearer's head;
[0013] FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the wearer
extending a pocket of the garment of the present invention and
tucking his or her braids into the pocket;
[0014] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of
FIG. 1; and,
[0015] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of
FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0016] Referring now to FIG. 1, wherein like numbers indicate like
parts throughout the drawings, there is shown at 10, a garment for
retaining long hair 34 having hanging portions configured as braids
or dreadlocks. FIG. 1 shows the hair retaining garment 10 placed on
the head 14 of the wearer. As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the
garment includes a sleeve 18 that is generally tubular in shape and
hollow and includes a front opening 22 and a rear opening 26, the
openings being substantially circular. The tubular shape of the
sleeve 18 may be formed by folding a single generally
rectangular-shaped piece of a relatively thin, pliant, stretchable,
and resilient material such as fabric onto itself and then
attaching the fabric to itself at its opposite edges by any
suitable means. For example, the fabric may be attached to itself
at opposite edges by stitching at 16a and 16b to form a central
fold 17 that runs the length of the tubular sleeve 18 from the
front opening 22 to the rear opening 26.
[0017] The garment 10 including the tubular sleeve 18 and pocket 42
are preferably made of a lightweight, flexible material which is
fairly wrinkle resistant. A preferable material is nylon, such as
Spandex.RTM.. The material should be breathable to allow air
transfer between a wearer's head and the surrounding air. By
utilizing this type of material, the garment 10 can be folded,
rolled up or bunched into a compact package and carried in one's
pocket or purse. Since the material of the garment 10 is wrinkle
resistant, the garment 10 can simply be shaken out and worn when
needed. The material of the garment 10 is comfortable to wear upon
a head and soft when contacting the wearer's skin. Other suitable
fabrics include, but are not limited to, cotton and terrycloth. The
material of the garment 10 may be absorbent to soak up water or
other liquids to prevent them from wetting or contacting the
wearer's hair 34, for instance, if wearer is washing her face 38.
Alternatively, the garment 10 may be made of other fabrics such as
leather, rubber such as latex or silicone, polyester, cotton
blends, satin, silk, velvet, wool, etc. Alternatively, the sleeve
18 can be manufactured in a tubular shape using a thermal molding
process.
[0018] As best shown in FIG. 6, when the garment 10 is positioned
over the wearer's head 14, the front opening 22 is arranged to fit
snugly over the wearer's forehead and extend downwardly and around
the back of the wearer's neck just below the hairline. As best
shown in FIG. 6, at the front opening 22, the fabric of the garment
10 is folded onto itself and stitched to create a brim 28. The brim
28 serves as a casing for an elastic band 30 disposed therein. The
elastic band 30 also enables the garment 10 to be adjustable to
heads of various sizes.
[0019] Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, to place the garment 10
onto the head, the garment is first held in the wearer's hands in a
gathered condition as shown in FIG. 2 with the front opening 22
facing away from the wearer and the rear opening 26 positioned
closer to the wearer. The garment is raised over the head and to
the back of the head where long hair 34 or braids may have been
collected. The hair 34 is passed through the tubular sleeve 18 so
that the hair extends out the rear opening 26. The brim 28 of the
front opening 22 of the garment 10 is pulled over and positioned on
the wearer's forehead. Referring again to FIG. 6, at the rear
opening 26, the fabric is stitched to create a finished end.
Alternatively, the rear opening 26 could be folded in a manner
similar to the brim 28 of the front opening 22.
[0020] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, with the front opening 22
positioned snugly around the wearer's face 38, the wearer may pull
back on the rear opening 26 to extend the tubular sleeve 18 to its
full length over the wearer's head. Referring now to FIG. 5, a
pocket 42 is shown as being integral with or attached, e.g., sewn,
to the inside surface of the tubular sleeve 18. Referring now to
FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the pocket 42 is shown as including a folded open
end 46 that is elasticized. A portion of the open end of the pocket
is attached, e.g., sewn, to the inside surface of the tubular
sleeve 18. FIGS. 1 and 5 best illustrate the stitch line 50
attaching the pocket 42 to the inside surface of the sleeve 18.
Another portion of the open end of the pocket 42 remains unattached
to the inside surface of the sleeve 18.
[0021] As best shown in FIG. 5, once the tubular sleeve 18 has been
placed over the wearer's head with the wearer's long hair extending
through the rear opening 26, the wearer's long hair 34 may be
gathered into a ball or bun at the rear of the head and held in one
hand. Again, as shown in FIG. 5, at the same time, the wearer may
stretch the unattached portion of the elasticized open end 46 of
the pocket 42 to create a large cavity into which the hair may be
placed for retention therein. Upon release of the pocket 42 after
the hair has been deposited, the elasticized open end 46 contracts
around the wearer's long hair 34 including braids or dreadlocks, so
as to encapsulate the hair 34 but not disturb or crush the hair 34
or disturb the braids or dreadlocks. The pocket may then be pulled
up to meet or extend within the rear opening 26 so as to completely
cover the wearer's hair 34.
[0022] Because the open end 46 of the pocket is elasticized,
varying lengths of hair arranged in braided hair, dreadlocks, or
not arranged may be retained within the pocket 42. FIG. 1 shows the
wearer's long hair including braids or dreadlocks contained within
the pocket after the wearer has released the elasticized open end
46. A breakaway section in FIG. 1 illustrates the elasticized open
end 46 of the pocket 42 retaining the wearer's long hair 34 and
tucked within the open end 26 of the tubular sleeve 18. Once in
place on the head with the long hair gathered in the pocket 42, the
garment 10 serves to keep long hair 34 off the wearer's face 38 so
that make-up may be applied, the face 38 may be washed, or for
other purposes when one would need to keep long hair 34 away from
the face 38. The garment also serves to protect long hair 34
including long hair that has been arranged into braids or
dreadlocks from becoming soiled or dirty during normal everyday
activities.
[0023] A method of wearing or using the garment of the present
invention is described. First, the garment of the present invention
is provided. The garment 10 includes the tubular sleeve 18 for
fitting over the wearer's head 14 and an attached or integral
pocket 42 to accommodate the hanging portions of the wearer's hair
34, which may be in the form of a pony tail, braids, extension
braids, hair extensions, or dreadlocks. The garment 10 is held in
the user's hands in a condition as best shown in FIG. 2 with the
front opening 22 facing away from the user. At the next step, the
tubular sleeve 18 is placed over the wearer's head 14 with the brim
28 positioned over the wearer's forehead. At the next step, the
wearer pulls the rear opening 26 of tubular sleeve 18 back to cover
the remaining portion of the wearer's head 14. Next, the wearer
gathers the hanging portions of the hair 34 and forms the hanging
portions into a bun at the rear portion of the head 14. At the next
step, the wearer pulls the elastic opening 46 of the pocket 42 out
from within the tubular sleeve 18 to create a cavity and then
deposits the bun or rolled up hair 34 into the pocket 42. Once the
hair 34 has been deposited, the elasticized open end 46 of the
pocket 42 contracts around the wearer's hair 34 to encapsulate the
hair 34. The pocket 42 may then be pulled up over the hair 34 to
enable the garment 10 to completely cover the hair 34.
[0024] In the foregoing specification, specific embodiments of the
present invention have been described. However, one of ordinary
skill in the art appreciates that various modifications and changes
can be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention. Thus, while preferred embodiments of the invention have
been illustrated and described, it is clear that the invention is
not so limited. Numerous modifications, changes, variations,
substitutions, and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the
art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present
invention. Accordingly, the specification and figures are to be
regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense, and
all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope
of present invention.
* * * * *