Patent Publication Number: US-2013247275-A1

Title: Sport headscarf

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to the field of sporting equipment. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a sport headscarf. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Women have been barred from sporting events because officials had determined that it was unsafe for them to wear headscarf while participating in such events. As an example, the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA, for ‘International Federation of Association Football’) has in the past banned wearing of headscarf during soccer matches. Young female athletes have also been prevented from participating in Taekwondo events. 
     There is a need for a garment that may be safely worn by female athletes who, by personal choice, desire to cover their hair. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to the present disclosure, there is provided a sport headscarf comprising a hood and an attachment. The hood defines an opening allowing the sport headscarf to be worn on the wearer&#39;s head, the hood covering the wearer&#39;s head and neck. The attachment allows releasing the hood upon application of a predetermined force. 
     According to the present disclosure, there is also provided a sport headscarf comprising a combination, including a hood and a head band, and an attachment for allowing release of the hood upon application of a predetermined force. 
     The foregoing and other features will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of illustrative embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the disclosure will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a frontal view of an article of sport headscarf as worn by a woman, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  shows a detail of an attachment system of the sport headscarf of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  shows a detail of a hair pocket of the sport headscarf of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of an article of sport headscarf according to another embodiment, with an attachment in a closed position; 
         FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of the sport headscarf of  FIG. 4 , with the attachment in an open position; 
         FIG. 6  is a front elevation view of the sport headscarf of  FIG. 4 , the sport headscarf being in a deployed position; and 
         FIG. 7  is a detailed view of a head band. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Like numerals represent like features on the various drawings. 
     Various aspects of the present disclosure generally address one or more of the problems of safely wearing, by a female athlete during a sporting event, a veil that fully covers her hair in accordance with Muslim tradition. 
     The following terminology is used throughout the present disclosure: 
     Sport headscarf: a piece of clothing. 
     Hood: flexible covering for the head and neck of a wearer. 
     Release: act of removing a restraint. 
     Headscarf: traditional garment worn by Muslim women, for covering the hair and neck. 
     The present disclosure introduces a sport headscarf, that may be safely worn by an athlete during a sporting event. The sport headscarf comprises a hood and a quick release attachment system. The hood may fully cover a wearer&#39;s hair, ears, throat and neck while revealing the wearer&#39;s face. In an embodiment, the hood may fit about the wearer&#39;s head without any loose part that might allow easily pulling on the sport headscarf. In case a pulling force is applied on any part of the sport headscarf, the quick release attachment system will allow rapid opening of the hood, or even complete removal of the sport headscarf, safely preventing any risk of strangulation. 
     Referring now to the drawings,  FIG. 1  is a frontal view of a sport headscarf as worn by a woman, according to an embodiment.  FIG. 2  shows a detail of an attachment system of the sport headscarf of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3  shows a detail of a hair pocket of the sport headscarf of  FIG. 1 . Considering  FIGS. 1-3  at once, a sport headscarf  100  comprises a hood  110 , for example a piece of cloth, having an opening allowing the sport headscarf  100  to be worn on a wearer&#39;s head. The sport headscarf  100  also comprises an attachment system  120  for allowing release of the hood  110  upon application of a predetermined force. The sport headscarf  100  may also comprise a head band  130  for holding the wearer&#39;s hair. As shown in particular on  FIG. 3 , the head band  130  may comprise at the back a pocket  140  for holding the wearer&#39;s hair, therefore clearing the hair from the forehead and the neck. The pocket  140  may be shaped to keep the hair in place during intensive physical activity. 
     The hood  110  and the head band  130  may be sewn together. Alternatively, the hood  110  and the head band  130  may be formed of a single, integral piece of cloth. Any manner of forming a combination of the hood  110  and head band  130  are within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The attachment system  120  may comprise for example one or more magnets (shown on a later Figure) for maintaining the hood  110  in place until application of the predetermined force. The magnets may be inserted within elongated sleeves  112  and  114 , sewed at edges  116  and  118  on a frontal part of the hood  110 . Alternatively, one of the sleeves  112  or  114  may incorporate the magnets while another one of the sleeves  112  or  114  may incorporate any material capable of being attracted by the magnets. A number of the magnets as well as their size, strength and configuration, determine the amount of predetermined force required to release the attachment system  120  and open the hood. Those of ordinary skill in the art of sporting equipment and in the art of sport headscarf in general will be able to determine an amount of predetermined force that allows maintaining the sport headscarf  100  in place during intensive physical activity while safely allowing release of the hood  110  in case of excessive pull, safely preventing risk of strangulation of the wearer of the sport headscarf  100 . Those of ordinary skill in the art will also be able to select other configurations for the attachment system  120 , including for example using Velcro® sewed on the edges  116  and  118  of the hood  110  for maintaining the sport headscarf  100  in place until application of a predetermined force. 
     In the particular embodiment shown in the Figures, the attachment system  120  is at the front of the sport headscarf  100 . The attachment system  120  may for example form an angle from underneath one of the wearer&#39;s ears towards the wearer&#39;s armpit, generally between points  122  and  124  of the hood  110 , as shown on  FIG. 1 . Variations of the shape of the attachment system  120 , including modifications made for aesthetic or practical purposes are within the scope of the present disclosure. 
     As illustrated, the hood  110  is configured to fully cover a wearer&#39;s head, neck, ears and throat while revealing the wearer&#39;s face. The hood  110  may further be shaped to cover at least in part the shoulders and upper back of the wearer. Variants may include modifications to the size of the hood for covering more or less of the shoulders, chest and back of the wearer. 
     The following Figures provide additional details on example construction of the sport headscarf.  FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the sport headscarf according to another embodiment, with an attachment in a closed position.  FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of the sport headscarf of  FIG. 4 , with the attachment in an open position.  FIG. 6  is a front elevation view of the sport headscarf of  FIG. 4 , the sport headscarf being in a deployed position.  FIG. 7  is a detailed view of a head band. 
     In particular,  FIG. 5  shows example locations of magnets  126  disposed within the sleeves  112  and  114 . A given magnet  126  on the sleeve  112  is positioned to connect with a corresponding magnet  126  on the sleeve  114 . As mentioned hereinabove, one of the sleeves  112  or  114  may incorporate magnets  126  while another one of the sleeves  112  or  114  may incorporate a material capable of being attracted by the magnets  126 . 
     As shown on  FIG. 6 , the hood  110  may be made by joining various pieces of cloth such as pieces  111  along with the sleeves  112  and  114 . The pieces  111  and the sleeves  112  and  114  may be sewed together or may be attached in any other suitable manner as is well known in the art. The head band  130  may also be sewed to the hood  110 . 
       FIG. 7  shows an example construction of the head band  130 . Though the illustrated head band  130  is made of a single piece of cloth, other constructions joining a plurality of pieces of cloth are within the scope of the present disclosure. The pocket  140  may comprise an elastic band  142  to help maintaining the wearer&#39;s hair in place during intensive physical activity. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the description of the sport headscarf are illustrative only and are not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments will readily suggest themselves to such persons with ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the disclosed sport headscarf may be customized to offer valuable solutions to existing needs and problems of safely covering hair of athletes participating in sporting activities. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described hereinabove by way of non-restrictive, illustrative embodiments thereof, these embodiments may be modified at will within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and nature of the present disclosure.