Patent Publication Number: US-2023157397-A1

Title: Headwear with Storage for Small Items and Method of Manufacturing the Same

Description:
CONTINUITY AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This is an original U.S. patent application. 
     FIELD 
     The invention relates to garments and construction methods. More specifically, the invention relates to items of headwear having features suitable for storing for small items therein, and methods of manufacturing such headwear. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Many people have developed the habit of keeping small items close at hand by tucking them behind an ear or into bound locks of hair. For example, cigarettes, pencils and combs often reside there. Garments and accessories also provide places to carry small items, with varying degrees of ease of access. Pockets, pouches, loops and the like are common and well-known. 
     Golfers have a particular need to carry an assortment of small objects (e.g. tees, ball markers and so forth), but the pockets and bags used to date tend to collect debris from the objects during use. Furthermore, when an assortment of items are stored in a single location, it can be difficult to locate a particular desired one. A new garment offering convenient, easily-cleaned storage for these items, that is also efficient and economical to manufacture, may be of significant value in this field. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the invention are garments suitable for wearing on the head, in the nature of hats, caps, headbands, visors and the like. These garments (generally “hats”) comprise utility slots formed in the outer crown material, opening onto an area between the inner surface of the crown and the outer surface of a headband lying inside the crown. These utility slots admit and retain small, generally cylindrical objects. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    shows a view of an embodiment of the invention in a typical use condition. 
         FIG.  2    shows the embodiment without the stored item. 
         FIG.  3    is a partial cutaway view of an embodiment illustrating some internal structure. 
         FIG.  4    is a partial cutaway view from a different perspective, illustrating some internal structure. 
         FIG.  5    is a partial cutaway view from a lower perspective, illustrating additional portions of an embodiment. 
         FIG.  6    is an upper perspective view, illustrating symmetrical characteristics of some embodiments. 
         FIGS.  7 - 9    show how a portion of an embodiment may be manipulated during manufacturing. 
         FIG.  10    is another cutaway view of an embodiment identifying other features. 
         FIG.  11    shows a number of opening shapes that may be employed in an embodiment. 
         FIG.  12    outlines a manufacturing process to produce an embodiment efficiently. 
         FIG.  13    shows sample pattern pieces that may be assembled into an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hats comprising utility slots according to an embodiment of the invention allow appropriately-sized objects to “nestle or rest” securely, inconspicuously and discreetly, within the confines of a void between the material that makes up the crown of the hat, and a hat band that circles the inner portion of the hat. The hat band is the part of the hat that most firmly contacts the wearer&#39;s hair and head. The openings provide easy access to the objects, which can be inserted and removed at will. Unexpectedly, the structure of an embodiment is useful for limiting debris in pants pockets (which is where the objects are customarily carried). 
       FIG.  1    shows an exemplary cap  100  according to an embodiment of the invention. A typical cap comprises a roughly hemispherical crown  110  attached to a bill or brim  120 . The crown is often made from a plurality of roughly triangular gores or panels, such as front panel  130 , side panel  140  and back panel  150 . A button or stud  160  is often affixed at the apex of the crown. 
     An embodiment provides features allowing the storage of small items; an example shown here is a golf tee  170 . More generally, the features facilitate the storage of items that are generally cylindrical, smaller than about 20 mm diameter, and shorter than about 100 mm. The items are held near the forehead or temple of a person wearing the headwear. 
       FIG.  2    shows the same cap where the golf tee has been removed to show opening  270 , which is the principal feature of an embodiment that is visible from the exterior of the headwear. Openings may be provided on both the left and right sides of the hat, and the location may be further forward (closer to the forehead) or further aft (closer to the ear). Multiple openings ( 272 ,  274 ) may be provided at intervals around the lower edge of the crown  280 . As known in the prior art, a cap such as this may include vent openings through the crown (e.g.  290 ). These vent openings may be similar in appearance and construction to the openings around the lower edge of the crown, but they are functionally different and not interchangeable. 
       FIG.  3    shows an embodiment with a side panel removed, exposing some interior structure of the cap. The upper and outer surface (the “crown”)  310  may be a single ply of fabric or similar textile, or a laminate of multiple plies. The crown may be made up of several roughly triangular gussets, as shown in these embodiments; or panels of different shapes may be sewn together to produce the roughly hemispherical crown shape. In some embodiments, the crown may be woven or formed as a single piece. 
     Inside the cap, a headband  320  extends around the lower circumference of the hemispherical crown. The headband is often comprised of multiple plies of fabric or other material to provide padding and sweat absorption. The size of the headgear can often be adjusted by a belt  330  or similar structure at the rear. Alternatively, some or all of the headband may be made of an elastic material that is stretched to fit on the wearer&#39;s head. The headband is joined to the crown by a seam which proceeds around some or all of the lower edge of the crown material. The headband is folded back to cover the seam, as shown at  340 . The headband is often folded out for sewing, then folded into the hat to achieve the configuration shown here. A narrower slot  370  is shown in the front panel of this embodiment, and an item inserted therethrough will come to rest in a void between the inner surface of the crown and the outer surface of the headband. 
       FIG.  4    shows another view of an embodiment of the inventive cap. From this perspective, one can see that an item, such as a golf tee  470 , that is passed through the slot in the front part of the crown, rests between the inner surface of the crown  403  and the outer surface of the headband  423 . Thus, the item does not come in contact with the wearer&#39;s hair or head. In addition, debris that may be present on the item when it is inserted through the slot tends to be wiped off during insertion, and any remaining debris will be kept away from the wearer&#39;s hair and contained in the void between the inner surface of the crown  403  and the outer surface of the headband  423 . Debris that collects in this location can be removed and discarded by flipping the hat band out and brushing or washing. 
       FIG.  5    shows a lower view of the same cap as previous figures. The seam between the lower edge of the crown structure and the headband encircles most of the crown&#39;s opening,  510 . 
       FIG.  6    shows a cap from above. This view shows the openings through the crown at both temples  671 ,  672 . The front panel of the crown subtends an angle  630  of slightly more than 90°, so its lower edge (adjacent the wearer&#39;s forehead) is wider than the brim of the cap. However, a wider brim, or a narrower front panel angle, may place the front-to-side panel seams either ahead of, at, or behind the openings. In some embodiments, the front panel may be divided in two, with a seam separating the right and left halves of the crown. 
     It is preferred that the openings  671 ,  672  pass through the crown surface at a location other than a seam between two crown panels—this makes the hat easier to manufacture. In any event, the openings are preferably at about the location of the wearer&#39;s temples (at an angular position around the circumference of the crown rim indicated as  640 ), and above the lower edge of the crown and band by about half the height of the band. Thus, items inserted through the opening rest in the void between the band and the crown inner surface, separated from the wearer&#39;s head by the band thickness. 
       FIG.  7    shows a cross-section of a portion of the crown material,  700 , which has an inner surface  703  and an outer surface  705 . A band portion  710  may be formed as a U-shaped fold of material. An absorbent or padded core  720  may be placed inside the fold. The band  710  is adjacent the outer face  705  of the crown. The band and crown are joined together by sewing at  730 . 
     Next, the band  710  is flipped around the sewn seam as shown by  FIG.  8   , arrow  800 , so that the band  710  comes to rest adjacent the inner surface  703  of the crown, as shown in  FIG.  9   . The seam at  930  extends around the lower portion or rim of the crown hemisphere, as shown in  FIG.  5 ,  510   . Area  940 , shown in dashed lines, is a void where objects inserted through an opening in the crown material rest, between the inner surface of the crown and the outer surface of band. Note that area  940  is not fully enclosed, and the area can even be exposed by flipping the band out again. This is helpful to remove debris that may be transferred from an item inserted into the void—for example, sand or dirt adhering to a golf tee. Because the opening through the crown  970  is located above the lower edge of the crown by about half the height of the band, an object inserted through the opening rests in the void or crease between the crown and the hat band, without touching the wearer&#39;s head. 
       FIG.  10    shows another cross-section of a portion of an embodiment of the invention. The illustration includes two crown panels  1010  and  1020 ; the thickness of the sectioned crown panel  1010  is indicated at  1030 . A conventional hat or cap that is similar to an embodiment is often provided with ventilation holes  1015  and  1025 , placed in the crown panels well above the interior band  1040 , nearer to the top central button  1050 . Short broken lines  1060  indicate where stitching may be placed along the lower edge of the crown. Long broken lines  1070  show the upper edge of interior band  1040 , behind the crown panels  1010  and  1020 . Bold indicating line  1080  shows the location of the void between the band and the inside of the crown panels, where objects inserted through one of the inventive openings in the crown panel rest. 
       FIG.  11    shows a variety of shapes that may be used for the openings in the crown panels. Each of the shapes is shown with short perpendicular lines around the opening. These lines represent stitching or embroidery which is used to prevent the crown material from fraying around the opening. Typically, such openings are formed by sewing the reinforcing stitching onto the panel material and then cutting out the material inside the opening. Cutting may be accomplished with a punch or laser. In some embodiments, the openings are formed through a process that seals the panel material against fraying, so an embroidered edge is unnecessary. For example, a laser process may melt fibers of a synthetic material together during cutting, so the edges of the opening are secured. 
     A plain slit  1100  may be formed similarly to a buttonhole in a shirt—no material need be removed from the crown panel (despite the appearance of  1100  that a thin lenticular piece of material has been cut out). Openings may be simple circles,  1110 . Headwear according to an embodiment often comprises vent holes placed elsewhere in the crown panels, and these are commonly circular. 
     To better accommodate the items stored in an embodiment, the openings may be shaped like ovals,  1120 , or like round-ended slots,  1130 . Other shapes, such as a rectangle with rounded corners,  1140 , or regular polygons (rectangle  1150 , triangle  1160 , hexagon  1170 ) may be used. In other embodiments, irregular polygons such as  1180  &amp;  1190  may be selected for performance or stylistic reasons. It is appreciated that the user will generally be unable to see the opening while inserting an object, so the shape and orientation of the opening is important to assure that the headwear storage can be accessed without excessive fumbling. In a preferred embodiment, a kidney shape  1199  has been found to perform well. 
       FIG.  12    outlines a manufacturing method to produce articles of headwear according to an embodiment of the invention. First, a material, such as a textile or a laminate of textile layers, is cut to form the pieces or panels that will be assembled into the crown of the hat ( 1200 ). An example set of such panels is shown in  FIG.  13   : left and right front panels  1310  &amp;  1315 ; left and right side panels  1320  &amp;  1325 ; and left and right rear panels  1330  &amp;  1335 . The rear panels depicted here have arcs cut away from one corner,  1340 . This will form a semicircular cutout at the rear of the hat to accommodate a range of size adjustment. Dashed lines inset from a panel boundary (e.g.  1350 ) show where seams will be formed to join the pieces together. 
     Next, openings are cut in the panel(s) that will end up near the wearer&#39;s forehead or temples in the finished article ( 1210 ). The openings may be formed by embroidering around the opening shape, often with a temporary backing applied to help the crown material support the dense embroidery thread ( 1213 ), thus forming an anti-fray border around the opening. Then, the crown material inside the anti-fray border is cut away ( 1215 ). Alternatively, a thermal cutting process such as a laser cutter may be used to form the openings and seal the severed edges of the crown fabric against fraying. Cutting the inventive openings (at locations near the lower edge of the crown in the finished article) is preferably done while the textile material is still flat, i.e., prior to assembly into the roughly hemispherical crown. In an embodiment provided with vent openings in the crown (as shown in  FIG.  10   , and the pattern pieces of  FIG.  13   ), it is preferred that the vent openings and the inventive openings are formed contemporaneously (i.e., at the same stage of the manufacturing process, rather than interrupted by an operation unrelated to the forming of the openings). Further, vent and inventive openings are preferably formed in the same way. The openings formed in this operation are shown in  FIG.  13   : one vent opening is identified at  1360  (each crown panel has a similar vent). The inventive openings are identified at  1370  and  1375 . Note that they lie near the portion of the left and right side panels  1320  &amp;  1325  that will be at the lower edge or rim of the crown hemisphere—the centers of these openings  1380  are displaced from the lower edge by about half the width of the band  1385 . 
     Now, the crown panels are assembled ( 1220 ), for example by sewing, to produce the semi-hemispherical crown of the headwear. Other methods of joining the panels may be used as well. For example, ultrasonic or heat welding may be suitable for certain textiles. 
     One or more layers are assembled to form the hat band ( 1230 ;  FIG.  13 ,  1390   ), and the band is sewn to the crown ( 1240 ). If the headwear is to have a visor ( FIG.  13 ,  1395   ), bill, or other features (e.g. ear flaps), these may be assembled at the same time. An apex button or stud  1399  may be added to complete the hat. 
     The applications of the present invention have been described largely by reference to specific examples and in terms of particular arrangements of structures and assemblies. However, those of skill in the art will recognize that headwear having the storage characteristics of an embodiment can also be made from materials other than those disclosed here, or by different methods. Such variations in materials and methods are understood to be captured according to the following claims.