Patent Publication Number: US-2005115842-A1

Title: Headwear and clothing packaging system and method

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
      The present invention is generally related to the display and packaging of items that can be worn and, more particularly, is related to a system and method for packaging headwear and clothing.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Hats are a popular clothing item used for various purposes and made in various shapes and sizes. One type of hat is the sock-type hat. The sock-hat is commonly worn when skiing, hunting, or engaging in any outdoors activity in cold weather. Although sock-hats are warm they are also a popular fashion item.  
      The sock-hat is typically made of a material that stretches and fits on the wearer&#39;s head at an open bottom portion. The top portion is typically closed and is configured in a dome shape on the wearer&#39;s head. The sock-hat is flimsy and difficult to fold or maintain in an orderly manner when not being worn. Therefore, these hats are difficult to display in an attractive manner when marketing and selling them. They can also take up more room in a store than necessary due to the difficulty in displaying them in an orderly manner. In fact, these hats are often thrown in a basket or bin in a retail store and the consumer is left with the arduous task of digging through a stack of hats to find the color, design, size, etc. that the consumer is looking for. Such sock-hats are also sometimes displayed on racks designed to hold the hat in an expanded, flattened configuration. These racks take up considerable room in a store.  
      Because the sock-hat is a popular fashion item, consumers often want to match the hat with another article of clothing, such as a shirt, or shorts. In order to match the hat with another article of clothing, in addition to the consumer spending time digging through a pile of hats the consumer must also search for an article of clothing that matches or compliments the hat.  
      Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a headwear and clothing packaging system and method. Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the system can be implemented as follows. A headwear and clothing packaging system comprises headwear having a bottom portion and a top portion, the headwear having an expanded state, a collapsed state, and a storage state. The expanded state of the headwear is defined by the bottom portion being open such that the headwear forms an open dome. The collapsed state of the headwear is defined by the bottom portion being closed by flattening the bottom portion onto itself such that the headwear forms a flat dome. The storage state is defined by the headwear being disposed in the collapsed state and deformed around an axis transverse to a width measurement taken along the bottom portion of the hat. The storage state can also be defined by the headwear being disposed in the collapsed state and deformed around an axis parallel to the width measurement taken along the bottom portion of the hat. Clothing is rolled in a cylinder shape and a holding element is positioned around the hat deformed in the storage state, which is positioned around the rolled clothing.  
      Preferred embodiments of the present invention can also be viewed as providing a method of storing headwear and clothing. In this regard, one embodiment of such a method, among others, can be broadly summarized by the following steps: providing headwear having a bottom portion and a top portion, the headwear having an expanded state, a collapsed state, and a storage state; providing clothing; providing a holding element; deforming the headwear into the storage state; rolling the clothing into a cylinder shape; disposing the headwear around the clothing; and fixing the headwear around the clothing with the holding element.  
      Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.  
       FIG. 1  is a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of an article of headwear of the headwear and clothing packaging system of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a front view of another embodiment of the article of headwear illustrated in  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the piece of headwear illustrated in  FIG. 1  configured in the headwear and clothing packaging system of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the headwear and clothing packaging system of the present invention illustrated in  FIG. 3 .  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the headwear and clothing packaging system of the present invention illustrated in  FIG. 3 .  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the headwear and clothing packaging system of the present invention illustrated in  FIG. 3 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       FIG. 1  illustrates one preferred embodiment of an article of headwear, a hat  10 , of the storage system of the present invention. The hat  10  is formed of a bottom portion  12  and a top portion  14 .  FIG. 1  illustrates the hat  10  in an expanded state  100  such that the bottom portion  12  defines an opening  16 . When the hat  10  is worn, the opening  16  receives the wearer&#39;s head (not shown) and encircles the wearer&#39;s head in order to keep the hat  10  in the appropriate position. The top portion  14  covers the top of the wearer&#39;s head (not shown).  
       FIG. 2  illustrates one preferred embodiment of the hat  10  disposed in a collapsed state  200 . In the collapsed state  200  the bottom portion  12 , as well as the whole hat  10 , is disposed in contact with itself and the opening  16  is closed. An axis, “A”, is perpendicular to a width measurement, “W”, of the bottom portion  12  of the hat  10 . Another axis, “B”, is parallel to the width measurement, “W”, of the bottom portion  12  of the hat  10 .  
       FIG. 3  illustrates one embodiment of the headwear and clothing storage system  300  of the present invention. The hat  10  is disposed in the collapsed state  200  ( FIG. 2 ) and deformed around the axis “A” ( FIG. 2 ). This configuration is one embodiment of a storage state of the hat  10 . In this configuration the hat  10  is deformed around the axis “A” in the shape of an arc. An article of clothing  18  is rolled into a cylinder shape, or deformed in any suitable manner. The article of clothing  18  can comprise a shirt, such as a T-shirt, a pair of shorts, or any desired article of clothing. The hat  10  is wrapped around the clothing  18 . A holding element  20  is disposed around the hat  10  in order to fix the hat  10  in the arc shape. The holding element  20  also maintains the clothing  18  in the rolled cylinder configuration and holds the hat  10  and the clothing  18  in contact with each other. The holding element  20  can comprise a non-elastic band, an elastic band, a string, a strap, or any suitable member.  
       FIG. 4  illustrates another embodiment of the headwear and clothing storage system  400  of the present invention. The hat  10  is disposed in the collapsed state  200  ( FIG. 2 ) and deformed around the axis “A” ( FIG. 2 ). This configuration is one embodiment of a storage state of the hat  10 . In this configuration the hat  10  is deformed around the axis “A” in the shape of a cylinder. An article of clothing  18  is rolled into a cylinder shape, or deformed in any suitable manner. The article of clothing  18  can comprise a shirt, such as a T-shirt, a pair of shorts, or any desired article of clothing. The hat  10  is wrapped around the clothing  18  such that the hat  10  wraps all the way around the clothing  18  until ends of the hat  10  are in contact with each other or overlapping each other. A holding element  20  is disposed around the hat  10  in order to fix the hat  10  in a cylindrical shape. The holding element  20  also maintains the clothing  18  in the rolled cylinder configuration and holds the hat  10  and the clothing  18  in contact with each other. The holding element  20  can comprise a non-elastic band, an elastic band, a string, a strap, or any suitable member.  
       FIG. 5  illustrates another embodiment of the headwear and clothing storage system  500  of the present invention. The hat  10  is disposed in the collapsed state  200  ( FIG. 2 ) and deformed around the axis “B” ( FIG. 2 ). This configuration is one embodiment of a storage state. In this configuration the hat  10  is deformed around the axis “B” in the shape of an arc. An article of clothing  18  is rolled into a cylinder shape, or deformed in any suitable manner. The article of clothing  18  can comprise a shirt, such as a T-shirt, a pair of shorts, or any desired article of clothing. The hat  10  is wrapped around the clothing  18 . A holding element  20  is disposed around the hat  10  in order to fix the hat  10  in the arc shape. The holding element  20  also maintains the clothing  18  in the cylinder configuration and holds the hat  10  and the clothing  18  in contact with each other. The holding element  20  can comprise a non-elastic band, an elastic band, a string, a strap, or any suitable member.  
       FIG. 6  illustrates another embodiment of the headwear storage system  600  of the present invention. The hat  10  is disposed in the collapsed state  200  ( FIG. 2 ) and deformed around the axis “B” ( FIG. 2 ). This configuration is one embodiment of a storage state. In this configuration the hat  10  is deformed around the axis “B” in the shape of a cylinder. An article of clothing  18  is rolled into a cylinder shape, or deformed in any suitable manner. The article of clothing  18  can comprise a shirt, such as a T-shirt, a pair of shorts, or any desired article of clothing. The hat  10  is wrapped around the clothing  18  such that the hat  10  wraps all the way around the clothing  18  until ends of the hat  10  are in contact with each other or overlapping each other. A holding element  20  is disposed around the hat  10  in order to fix the hat  10  in the cylinder shape. The holding element  20  also maintains the clothing  18  in the cylinder configuration and holds the hat  10  and the clothing  18  in contact with each other. The holding element  20  can comprise a non-elastic band, an elastic band, a string, a strap, or any suitable member.  
      It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present invention and protected by the following claims.