Abstract:
Embodiments of the cap display apparatuses, systems and methods allow various products and goods such as caps, hats and other fashion and sports accessories to be mounted and displayed without having the mount primarily visible relative to the product being displayed. One cap display embodiment includes a housing with a base, an upper element connected to the base, a lower element connected to the base, a tensioning element for biasing the lower element towards the upper element, and a fastener connected to the base for fastening the housing to another element. The tensioning element holds the lower element against the upper element so that a cap or other item being displayed can be held between the upper element and the lower element in a fixed position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The subject matter described in the present application is related to that described in the U.S. Patent Application No. 61/387,466 to Schmid filed Sep. 28, 2010, now pending, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable. 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISK APPENDIX 
       [0003]    Not Applicable. 
       BACKGROUND 
     Field 
       [0004]    The inventive subject matter relates, in general, to displays for caps, hats, and other fashion accessories, specifically displays which can be positioned or mounted on another element such as a wall, stand or a display rack. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    Embodiments of the cap display apparatuses, systems and methods allow various products and goods such as caps, hats and other fashion and sports accessories to be mounted and displayed without having the mount primarily visible relative to the product being displayed. In this way the item being displayed is visible and the display apparatus is not primarily visible. In several of the embodiments, a baseball type of cap may be displayed. In other types of embodiments, other caps and head wear can be displayed. Additionally, other accessories such as key chains and sports boards such as skateboards or snowboards may be displayed. 
         [0006]    One embodiment is a display for a cap that includes a housing with a base, an upper element connected to the base, a lower element connected to the base, a tensioning element for biasing the lower element towards the upper element, and a fastener connected to the base for fastening the housing to another element. The tensioning element holds the lower element against the upper element so that a cap or other item being displayed can be held between the upper element and the lower element in a fixed position. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the inventive subject matter, and, together with the description, further explain the embodiments of the inventive subject matter. In the drawings, 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of the cap display apparatus; 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates another view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  illustrates another side view of an embodiment of the cap display apparatus in the upward position; 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the cap display apparatus with a cap inserted into the cap display; 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  illustrates a top down view of an embodiment of  FIG. 5  with a cap inserted into the cap display; 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  illustrates a top down view of an embodiment without a cap inserted into the cap display; 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  illustrates a perspective view of another embodiment without a cap inserted into the cap display; 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  illustrates a rear perspective view of an embodiment without a cap inserted into the front portion of the display; 
           [0017]      FIG. 10  illustrates a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 9  without a cap inserted into the cap display; 
           [0018]      FIG. 11  illustrates a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 10  in an upward position without a cap inserted into the cap display; 
           [0019]      FIG. 12  illustrates a top down view of an embodiment of  FIG. 10  with a cap inserted into the cap display; 
           [0020]      FIG. 13  is an illustration of a top down view of the embodiment of  FIG. 12  without the cap inserted into the cap display; 
           [0021]      FIG. 14  is an expanded view of the side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 12  with a cap inserted into the front portion of the cap display; 
           [0022]      FIG. 15  is another component view of an embodiment of the cap display; 
           [0023]      FIG. 16  is rear component view of another embodiment of the cap display; 
           [0024]      FIG. 17  is a side view of an embodiment of the cap display apparatus holding a cap; 
           [0025]      FIG. 18  is component view of another embodiment of the cap display using a clip for tensioning; 
           [0026]      FIG. 19  is a rear view of the embodiment of  FIG. 18 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 20  is a top perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 18 ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 21  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 18  showing the lower element positioned with the spring so that it is tensioned into the upper element; 
           [0029]      FIG. 22  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 18  showing the lower element positioned with the spring so that it is not tensioned into the upper element; 
           [0030]      FIG. 23A  is a side perspective view of a spring element according to an embodiment of the inventive subject matter; 
           [0031]      FIGS. 23B to 23E  are additional views of the spring element of  FIG. 23A ; 
           [0032]      FIGS. 24A to 24D  show views of a cap display according to embodiments of the inventive subject matter; 
           [0033]      FIGS. 25A to 25D  show additional views of a cap display according to embodiments of the inventive subject matter; and 
           [0034]      FIGS. 26A to 26E  show views of another cap display according to embodiments of the inventive subject matter. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0035]    In describing the disclosed inventive subject matter, including those embodiments illustrated in the drawing, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. Although the embodiments will now be discussed in further detail, the descriptions are not an exhaustive explanation of all possible variations in structure and operation of the inventive subject matter. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other changes or modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive subject matter including the embodiments presented herein. It should be further apparent that any or all combinations of the individual described variations with the disclosed embodiments, for example tension elements and gripping surface configurations, are possible. 
         [0036]    Embodiments of the inventive subject matter aid in displaying various types of hats, caps and other types of accessories such as hats, keys, skateboards, skis, key chains and other accessories and sports equipment. The described embodiments themselves may be mounted to any surface with any known attachment or fastener to any suitable support structure or they may be mounted to one or more wires or strings. Embodiments may also be used for protecting against deformation of the caps or hat being displayed. Similarly, caps or hats may be positioned between the upper and lower front surfaces 
         [0037]    With reference to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of the cap display apparatus  10 . The apparatus  10  includes an upper element  12  and a lower element  22 .  FIG. 1  also shows the top surface  14  of element  12  and top surface  24  of element  22  as well as the base  18  which allows fastener  30  to be used to fasten the apparatus  10  to another element such as a wall (not shown.) Fastener  30  is shown in  FIG. 1  as a screw but it may also be one or more of any suitable fastener known to those skilled in the art such as a screw, nail, removable tape, hook and loop and/or magnets. 
         [0038]    In several of the embodiments, the element to which the apparatus is fastened with fastener  30  may be fixed or moveable, such as a platform which can move the apparatus by mechanical means so that one or more apparatuses  10  may moved separately or in unison to achieve a motion display effect of several items being displayed in conjunction with apparatus  10 . 
         [0039]    In one embodiment, several display apparatuses  10  may be holding and displaying several different caps or hats and those hats or caps can be moved together in a wave like fashion to give the impression the groups of caps is moving or floating against a wall. 
         [0040]      FIG. 2  illustrates another view of the rear of an embodiment of the cap display apparatus  10  utilizing springs  28  for the tensioning of the lower element  22  towards the upper element  12  so that an article being displayed can be securely held in place. This view shows the upper surface  24 , the lower surface  26  of the lower element  22 , and the upper surface  14  and the lower surface  16  of upper element  12 . The base  18  is also shown having a spring  28 . The spring  28  is situated in such a manner so that the lower element  22  can be moved in both an upward and downward direction with the spring  28  maintaining the bias or the default state so that the lower element  22  is tensioned in an upward direction towards upper element  12 . In this manner, a hat or any other suitable article being displayed can be securely gripped or held with a sufficient amount of pressure between the rigid upper element  12  and the moveable lower element  22 . 
         [0041]    In this embodiment, the hat being displayed would then be positioned by the user between the upper surface  24  (or lower element  22 ) and the lower surface  16  (of upper element  12 ) so that the hat would be firmly held in place by the apparatus  10  and the apparatus  10  would be fastened to a wall or other display mount. The hat being held by the apparatus  10  would then be visible to potential customers and the apparatus  10  would remain in a lower visibility profile. A user could easily remove the hat from the apparatus  10  by pulling the hat from between the upper element  12  and the lower element  22  and return it to the apparatus  10  after inspecting the hat closer. The same or different hat could be used with the apparatus  10  with a user depressing the lower element  22  and inserting the hat into the apparatus  10 . Once the lower element  22  is released by the user, the hat would be firmly held between the elements  12  and  22 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the embodiment of the cap display apparatus showing the range of movement of the lower element  22  which may be used by a user to insert or release an article and which holds the item being displayed in place.  FIG. 4  illustrates another side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 3 . that shows the cap display apparatus  10  in the upward position such as when in use with holding a hat for display or in position to be used before depressing element  22  and inserting a hat or article for display. 
         [0043]      FIG. 5  illustrates a side view of an embodiment of the cap display apparatus  10  of  FIGS. 3 and 4  which also includes a baseball cap style hat that has been inserted into the front portion of the apparatus  10  and which is being firmly held and displayed. The cap  32  is being held in place by the tensioning of the lower element  22  towards the upper element  12 .  FIG. 6  illustrates a top down view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 . The display apparatus  10  is shown from the top with a cap inserted into the front portion of the display apparatus  10 . Upper surface  14  of upper element  12  is shown in  FIG. 5  above the hat  32 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 7  illustrates a top view of an embodiment of another embodiment of the cap display apparatus  10  which does not have a cap  32  inserted into the front portion of the apparatus  10 . In this embodiment, the upper element  12  is shaded and the lower element  22  is made of a clear rather than a shaded polymer material, such as a plastic. Spring  28  and fastener  30  are also shown positioned on base  18 . In other embodiments, the upper element  12  may be used for tensioning the article in place and the lower element  22  may be rigid. Similarly, in other embodiments, both the upper element  12  and the lower element  22  may be tensioned with one or more springs  28  as desired by the needs of the manufacturer, for example with heavier articles such as sporting goods, for example helmets or snowboards, that are being displayed. 
         [0045]      FIG. 8  illustrates a perspective view of another embodiment of the cap display apparatus  10  without a cap inserted into the front portion of the apparatus  10 . In this embodiment, an alternative lower profile design is used to aid in the display of the features of the cap or other article to be displayed. 
         [0046]      FIG. 9  illustrates a rear perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 8 . This embodiment also shows an alternative design configuration using additional apertures in the polymer base  18 , upper element  12  and lower element  22 .  FIG. 10  illustrates a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 9  with the range of movement of the lower element  22  shown. 
         [0047]      FIG. 11  illustrates a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 10  in an upward position without a cap inserted into the front portion of the display apparatus  10 .  FIG. 12  illustrates a top down view of the embodiment of the cap display apparatus  10  as shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11  with a cap  32  inserted into the front portion of the display between the upper element  12  and the lower element  22  (not shown.)  FIG. 13  is an illustration of a top down view of another embodiment of the cap display apparatus  10  showing a logo or brand display on the lower element  22 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 14  is an expanded view of the side of an apparatus  10  with a cap  32  inserted into the front portion of the apparatus  10  between the upper element  12  and the lower element  22 . 
         [0049]      FIG. 15  is an side view illustration of another embodiment of the display apparatus  10 . In this embodiment, a solid plastic or molded plastic form or any other suitable polymer is used for both the upper element  12  and the lower element  22  as well as the base  18  and one or more metal springs or clips are used to maintain the elements  12  and  22  in a biased position. 
         [0050]      FIG. 16  illustrates a rear view of another embodiment of the inventive subject matter using springs  28  to bias the lower element  22  towards the upper element  12 . 
         [0051]      FIG. 17  is a diagram of the embodiment of the apparatus of  FIG. 16  also showing a cutaway view of the fastener  30  as it is positioned through an aperture in base  18 .  FIGS. 18 through 21  show various illustrations of another embodiment of the apparatus  10  (not show holding a cap for display.) In this embodiment, an alternative formed stell spring is used to tension the lower element  22  towards the upper element  12 . Any suitable spring or coil may be used in this and other embodiments. 
         [0052]      FIGS. 23A through 23E  show illustrations of a clip element which may be used in several embodiment of the apparatus  10 . This clip element  28  may be used to tension the lower element  22  towards the upper element  12  with a predetermined amount of force.  FIGS. 24A through 24E  illustrate embodiments which are constructed with the clip element  28  of  FIGS. 23A through 23E . In these embodiments, a hat (not shown) may be positioned between the upper element  12  and the lower element  22  of the apparatus  10 . The clip  28  tensions the lower element  22  towards the upper element  12  so that the hat may be firmly held in place. 
         [0053]      FIGS. 25A through 25E  show additional components views of the embodiments of  FIGS. 23A through 24E  and  FIGS. 26A through 26E  illustrate an additional embodiment of the apparatus  10  using a clip  28 . In many of the embodiments, the upper element  12  may be separate from the base  18  or it may be a part of the base  18 . Similarly, the clip  28  can be used for form the base  18  through which the fastener passes and also the upper element  12  and lower element  22 . In this way, one or more clips may be used with the remaining apparatus  10  structural elements. 
         [0054]    In addition to the various objects and advantages of the present inventive subject matter which have been described with some degree of specificity above it will be obvious to those skilled in the relevant art that additional objects and advantages will become more readily apparent and that a large variety of substitutions of elements may be made with the same results.