U.S. patent application number 14/106850 was filed with the patent office on 2015-06-18 for article and method for wire embedded headwear.
The applicant listed for this patent is Kingto TSAI. Invention is credited to Kingto TSAI.
Application Number | 20150164166 14/106850 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 53366892 |
Filed Date | 2015-06-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150164166 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TSAI; Kingto |
June 18, 2015 |
ARTICLE AND METHOD FOR WIRE EMBEDDED HEADWEAR
Abstract
A deformable article of headwear constructed from a yarn
impregnated with a malleable wire. The impregnated yarn is
comprised of a headwear material comprised of a natural or
synthetic fiber used for making headwear, including straw, cotton,
or a composite material. Optionally, lacquer may be applied to the
article to improve its ability to retain shape, however, the
article would maintain its shape even after degradation of the
lacquer dues to the impregnated yarn.
Inventors: |
TSAI; Kingto; (Houston,
TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TSAI; Kingto |
Houston |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
53366892 |
Appl. No.: |
14/106850 |
Filed: |
December 15, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
66/171 ;
2/171 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42C 1/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A42B 1/00 20060101
A42B001/00 |
Claims
1. A method of manufacturing a wire embedded headwear article,
comprising the steps of: (a) Impregnating yarn or a yarn-like
material with a malleable wire therein; and (b) Weaving an article
of headwear using said impregnated yarn or yarn-like material.
2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of applying
lacquer to the article of headwear.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said impregnated yarn or
yarn-like material is used to weave a fabric, which is then used to
form the article of headwear.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the yarn or yarn-like material is
impregnated with a malleable wire by wrapping headwear material
around the malleable wire at angle so that the entire length of the
wire is covered.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the yarn or yarn-like material is
formed by either dipping or spraying the malleable wire into a
liquefied headwear material, or passing the malleable wire under a
cascade of liquefied headwear material.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the yarn or yarn-like material is
formed by inserting the malleable wire into the yarn or yarn-like
material.
7. A wire embedded headwear article utilizing the method of claim
1, comprising yarn or yarn-like material having a continuously
malleable wire embedded therein.
8. The embedded headwear article of claim 7, wherein the yarn or
yarn-like material is made from a headwear material that is wrapped
around the entire length of the malleable wire.
9. The embedded headwear article of claim 7, wherein the yarn or
yarn-like material is made from a malleable wire that is coated
with liquefied headwear material.
10. The embedded headwear article of claim 7, wherein the malleable
wire is inserted into the yarn or yarn-like material.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] Not Applicable
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH
[0002] Not Applicable
SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM
[0003] Not Applicable
BACKGROUND
[0004] Hats and other headwear are often constructed with a
material that is woven and then pressed into a rigid shape. Because
hat bodies are initially soft and do not hold their shape, the hat
is usually pressed, or "blocked," and then stiffened with a lacquer
several times during the manufacturing process. The resulting
stiffened hats often have varying crown shapes that cannot be
easily adjusted to fit the shape of a user's head. Hats that are
capable of being reshaped often lose this ability once the lacquer
begins to deteriorate. For example, if a hat has a long oval crown
shape and a user's head has a round crown shape, the hat will not
fit comfortably onto the user's head. Because the cost of
constructing a custom hat is high, and hatters are difficult to
locate, it would be desirable to have an article of headwear
entirely constructed from a malleable material that can be shaped
by the user.
[0005] Information relevant to attempts to address these problems
can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,061,835, 5,621,921, 2,477,240, and
2,437,525. However, each of these references suffers from one or
more of the following disadvantages.
[0006] U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,835 to Lien discloses a hat having a
resilient wire stretcher inserted along the border of the brim to
stretch the brim into shape, and an endless binding cord mounted in
the brim and surrounded by the resilient wire stretcher. The
endless binding cord can be pulled by hand to deform the brim and
the resilient wire stretcher. However, the invention uses a
resilient wire to stretch the brim of the hat brim into its maximum
diameter. The maximum diameter of the hat brim is limited by the
diameter of the brim material and can only be reduced in size or
shape by pulling the binding cord to make the diameter of the brim
smaller.
[0007] U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,921 to Outland discloses a hat or collar
using a tubular sleeve of an oval annular configuration. The sleeve
is composed of a flexible fabric having sufficient body and
firmness to retain full malleable wire capable of being deformed by
hand and is placed within the sleeve. The wire is of a length and
configuration to fit within, conform to, and generally define an
outer periphery of the annular configuration of the sleeve
throughout most of the length of that periphery. It is preferably
stitched in position so that it can slip somewhat relative to the
fabric as the malleable wire is deformed by hand. However, the
invention of Outland merely comprises a wire stitched into a
tubular sleeve to form a malleable collar or hat, the entirety of
the article is not malleable in shape.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 2,477,240 to Elishewitz discloses a hat sweat
band comprising an internal reed with a protective sheet of
thermoplastic material and an internal finishing strip adapted to
directly engage the head of the wearer. However, Elishewitz
discloses a sleeve of thermoplastic and a reed within said reed to
create a sweatband that is easier to construct and uses less
stitching, it is not a malleable body article of headwear.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 2,437,525 to Harvel discloses a hat with a
crocheted crown and brim portion, each providing a core comprising
a substantially circular ring of resilient flexible material. The
invention of Harvel provides for a hat with a deformable crown,
brim, or other limited area where a core having a resilient
flexible material is incorporated into the article.
[0010] From the foregoing references, it can be understood that it
would be desirable to have an article of headwear constructed from
a material having a continuously embedded wire, making any area or
shape on the article easily and repeatedly deformable. The solution
is found in the present disclosure, which comprises an article of
headwear constructed or weaved with an impregnated yarn having a
continuously embedded malleable wire.
SUMMARY
[0011] The present disclosure is directed to a process that
satisfies this need for an article of headwear having a repeatedly
deformable shape throughout. The headwear article is woven or
constructed with an impregnated yarn material comprising a
continuously embedded malleable wire.
[0012] The embedded wire will provide strength and the ability to
reshape the finished hat with little or no lacquer applied during
the manufacturing process. A portion or the entire hat body may be
woven with the impregnated yarn to yield the desired advantages of
the present disclosure. This disclosed process may be utilized with
any method of hat construction, such as hand-weaving, automated
construction, or by sewing of impregnated yarns to make a hat
body.
[0013] An additional advantage of the present disclosure is the
ability to change the hat body or crown shape as desired. At retail
stores, the volume of inventory can be reduced since hats can be
adjusted or blocked for each customer head size. At the consumer
level, the user can repeatedly adjust the hat to accommodate their
particular head size or shape.
DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a front-top perspective view of a hat
embodying features of the present invention for a wire embedded
headwear article.
[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a top sectional view of the hat brim
illustrated in FIG. 1 for a wire embedded headwear article
embodying features of the present invention for a wire embedded
headwear article.
[0016] FIG. 3 illustrates top sectional view of the application of
a headwear material being wrapped onto a continuous malleable wire
to form an impregnated yarn embodying features of the present
invention for a wire embedded headwear article.
[0017] FIG. 4 illustrates top sectional view of the finished
impregnated yarn comprising a continuously embedded malleable wire
embodying features of the present invention for a wire embedded
headwear article.
[0018] FIG. 5 illustrates top cut-away view of the finished
impregnated yarn comprising a continuously embedded malleable wire
embodying features of the present invention for a wire embedded
headwear article.
DESCRIPTION
[0019] As shown in FIGS. 1-5, a wire embedded headwear article and
method comprises a headwear article 100 constructed from an
impregnated yarn 200 that comprises a headwear material 202 with a
continuously embedded malleable wire 204. While the present
disclosure illustrates a method for a wire embedded headwear
article, it should be understood that the method may be applied to
other articles of clothing, accessories, or the like.
[0020] As illustrated in FIG. 2, a deformable article of headwear
100 may be constructed using techniques typically used for making
hats, including weaving a yarn-like material or creating a fabric
from the impregnated yarn 200 and then forming the hat body 104 and
crown 102. By using an impregnated yarn 200 to construct the
headwear, the resulting article is capable of being repeatedly
formed by hand or with a blocking technique.
[0021] As illustrated in FIGS. 3-5, the headwear material 202 to
may be any natural or synthetic fiber used for making headwear,
including straw, cotton, or a composite material. The malleable
wire 204 may be any natural or synthetic material having a
deformable nature, is capable of retaining its deformed shape, and
can be repeatedly deformed without losing structural integrity. To
make the impregnated yarn 200 with a continuously embedded
malleable wire 204, the selected headwear material 202 can be
wrapped around the malleable wire 204 at angle so that the length
of the wire continues to be covered as the headwear material 202 is
being wrapped. In an alternative embodiment, the malleable wire 204
can be coated with the headwear material 202 by techniques such as
dipping the malleable wire 204 into a liquefied material or passing
the malleable wire 204 under a cascade of the liquefied material
202. In yet another embodiment, the malleable wire 204 may be
sprayed with a liquefied form of the headwear material 202.
[0022] Upon completing construction of the headwear article 100,
the ability of the article to retain its shape may be optionally
improved with application of lacquer using methods typically used
for hat making.
[0023] All features disclosed in this specification, including any
accompanying claim, abstract, and drawings, may be replaced by
alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar
purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly
stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a
generic series of equivalent or similar features.
[0024] Any element in a claim that does not explicitly state "means
for" performing a specified function, or "step for" performing a
specific function, is not to be interpreted as a "means" or "step"
clause as specified in 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, paragraph 6. In
particular, the use of "step of" in the claims herein is not
intended to invoke the provisions of 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, paragraph
6.
[0025] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have
been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions
may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of
the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present
invention has been described by way of illustration and not
limitation.
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