US20120180193A1

US20120180193A1 - Interchangeable head assembly

Info

Publication number: US20120180193A1
Application number: US13/005,630
Authority: US
Inventors: Jesus Curiel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-01-13
Filing date: 2011-01-13
Publication date: 2012-07-19

Abstract

A head garment kit comprising the combination of at least one detachable headband further comprising at least one coupling attachment, at least one elastic material, at least one suction material, at least one sunray protection cloth further comprising at least one second coupling attachment adapted to the first coupling attachment. The sunray protection cloth further comprises, at least one peripheral pocket at least one tying band and at least one flexible band. Wherein the one flexible band is to be disposed within said peripheral pocket and the one detachable headband is demountably disposed on said at least one sunray protection cloth by said at least one first coupling attachment and said at least one second coupling attachment.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to head apparel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sun exposure can cause wrinkles and skin cancer and up to 90 percent of skin changes commonly thought to be a part of aging are actually caused by the sun, and the sun is responsible for 90 percent of all skin cancers. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. One of the solutions to prevent sun ray exposure is the “hat” or shade making device for the face.
The shade making device successfully blocks the harmful rays to the face and neck, but heat to the head only is merely reduced. The problem is that the heat from sun also raises the temperature of head, thus as a defense, the body cooling mechanism is triggered and sweat is created. The issues with hats, in particular with headbands that are worn around the head and next to the skin, are that it will effectively wick moisture (sweat) away from the skin thus creating the perfect environment for bacterial growth within the fabric. The bacteria that thrive in this environment can create foul odors and even develop fungus.
In order to prevent odor build up and fungus growth, there is a need to inhibit the growth of these odor causing bacteria. One solution is that the industry has proposed is a silver ion treatment that when applied to fabric. The issue with this type of treatment is that it does not actually kill the bacteria, it merely inhibits the growth of new bacteria within the fabric. Said “odor resistant” headbands are only a patch solution to the fundamental problem of wicking and storing of the sweat. Even if the sweat “evaporates”, it is only the water part that does so, sweat further contains NaCl, Vitamin C, uric acid, urea, ammonia and lactic acid, and said chemicals will never disappear. Another problem when wearing sweated headbands is that the headband would tend to cause the oil build up around the hair follicle in the forehead—thus causing acne. Pressure on the skin from baseball hats, headbands, sport masks and helmets can aggravate acne in the forehead by friction.
Another solution the industry has proposed is to wash the head gear and reuse. The problem with this method is that the hat fabric is usually not made for washing and gets destroyed after a wash or two. Most people would like to reuse their head garments for years and at the same time have several of them when going to games such as football or baseball proudly wearing the team colors and do not want them to be washed up in the washing machine.
There is a need in the head garment industry to create a non usable detachable headband for hats. Furthermore, the hat industry has in the past relied washing the whole hat in order to remove odors, but at the same time compromising the integrity of the hat cloth as a hole. There is a further need to create a head band that is compatible and interchangeable with many hats in order to switch hat-design depending on the team while attending a game. Moreover, in the head garment arts, it would be desirable to progress from the fixed headband attached to the hat to a headband that is removable in order to be washed separately or disposed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for an exchangeable garment assembly

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 depicts the elements of the interchangeable head assembly as a three dimensional drawing.

FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of the invention, namely, the detachable adjustable headband in three dimensions further comprising male-female rivets as means of attachment.

FIG. 3 depicts a crossection of the detachable adjustable headband further comprising male-female rivets as means of attachment.

FIG. 4 depicts a crossection of the detachable adjustable headband further comprising female-female rivets at the end of the headband to accommodate different size heads.

FIG. 5 depicts one embodiment of the invention namely, a closed detachable band in three dimensions using hook and loop type fastener as attachment means.

FIG. 6 depicts a crossection of a closed detachable headband further comprising hook and loop type fastener as means of attachment.

FIG. 7 depicts one embodiment of the invention namely, an adjustable detachable headband using hook and loop type fastener as attachment means in three dimensions.

FIG. 8 depicts a crossection of an adjustable detachable headband further comprising hook and loop type fastener as means of attachment.

FIG. 9 depicts a crossection of an adjustable detachable headband further comprising hook and loop type fastener as means of adjust to different head sizes.

FIG. 10 depicts a crossection of an adjustable detachable headband further comprising hook and loop type fastener as means of adjust to different head sizes.

FIG. 11 depicts the means of attachment in one embodiment of the invention, namely, a smaller flexible band that is threaded into and sandwiched into a pocket in the detachable headband.

FIG. 12 depicts one embodiment in three dimensions, namely, an adjustable detachable smaller flexible band threaded and sandwiched into a pocket in the headband as means of attachment to the sunray protection cloth.

FIG. 13 depicts a crossection of an adjustable detachable headband further comprising an adjustable detachable smaller flexible band threaded into and sandwiched into a pocket as means of attachment to the sunray protection cloth.

FIG. 14 depicts a crossection of an adjustable detachable headband and how the smaller flexible band is threaded into and sandwiched into a pocket and attached on to the sunray protection cloth.

FIG. 15 depicts a crossection of an adjustable detachable headband further comprising an adjustable detachable smaller flexible band threaded into and sandwiched into a pocket as means of attachment and hook and loop type fastener as means of adjust to different head sizes.

FIG. 16 depicts a crossection of an adjustable detachable headband further comprising an adjustable detachable smaller flexible band threaded into and sandwiched into a pocket as means of attachment and hook and loop type fastener as means of adjust to different head sizes.

FIG. 17 depicts one embodiment of the invention in three dimensions, namely, the flexible band.

FIG. 18 depicts how the flexible band folds to create a smaller profile head assembly.

FIG. 19 depicts how the elements of the interchangeable head kit assembly are mixed and matched.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the invention is depicted in FIG. 1. The invention comprises an adjustable headband 109 that further comprises a coupling attachment means. The headband 109 is attached to a circular sunray protection cloth 101 for example by means of a hook and loop type coupling fastener 107B. The circular face and neck protector or sunray protection cloth 111 further comprises a pocket 106 hat is created by folding and sawing 105 the rim of the sunray protection cloth 101. The purpose of the pocket 106 is to insert at least one flexible band 103 though openings 107. The purpose of the flexible band 103 is to give peripheral stability to the sunray protection cloth. The other purpose of the flexible band 103 is to be able to fold the band as shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19 in order to make the head assembly more compact as depicted in 1901. The sunray protection cloth further comprises a tying band 109 that is attached at the edge of said cloth. The tying band 109 further comprises at gauging ball 110 in order to accommodate the tying band to the sunray protection cloth once in the folded position 1901.
In one embodiment of the invention, as seen in FIG. 2, the coupling attachment means is accomplished by male- female rivet 201 and 202 type buttons disposed around the headband, FIG. 3 depicts a crossection of one if the male-female rivet. As shown, the rivet penetrates and is fastened though at least one elastic material 302 and at least one suction material/fabric 301. The suction material 301 and the elastic material 302 are sown together using a small stitch around the periphery of the headband. The stitches 203 transverses both layers of the suction material and the elastic material 302. As depicted in FIG. 4, a double head type female-female rivet 401 is used at the end of the head band. This is in order for the headband to be able to be adjusted by male rivet 202, and the user couples them according to the size of her head. Any other type of rivet attachment means may be used for the same purpose to accomplish the same result, some examples are snap buttons, hooks, clamps and regular through-hole buttons.
The suction material 301 used a part of the described invention is composed of a porous foam type materials. One of these materials is GORE-TEX foam manufactured by the Gore-tex Company. The pores use capillary action to wick in the sweat from the user. The porous type materials polymeric foam structures suitable for absorbing and storing body fluids. These liquid storage structures have large liquid suction thanks to small collapsible capillary, holes and tunnels. Most of these absorbent polymeric foams comprise of interconnected open-cells. The suction material 301 could also be made from the materials selected from the group consisting of, organic and non organic waxes, acrylic monomers, fluoropolymer composites (PTFE), prepolymers, halogenated compounds, polymer resins, petroleum polymers, and styrene polymers. Yet other materials that may be used for the substantially the same purpose to obtain substantially the same result are, cotton in small tubular form or fibers, nylon fibers, polyester fibers and linen fabrics
As seen in FIG. 5, in one embodiment of the invention, the closed headband depicted herein comprises a loop and hook type band 107 that is sown around the entire or part of the headband by stitching 203. As seen in FIG. 6, in a crossection of the embodiment, the headband is comprised of a sandwich of the suction fabric 301 the elastic material 302 another suction fabric 301 (for comfort) and the loop and hook type coupling attachment 107. The loop and hook type tape VELCRO is usually produced by the Velcro Company. The loop and hook tape 107 could also be made from the materials selected from the group consisting of nylon hooks, polyester loops, teflon loops, polyester hooks, and glass backing Alternatives to velcro are buttons, zippers, laces and buckles may be used for the substantially the same purpose to obtain substantially the same result. FIG. 7 depicts how the hook and loop head band is advantageously cut to allow for adjustability to the head of the user. FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 depicts how the hook and loop material is used on both sides of the headband at the cutting edge in order to facilitate adjustment. As depicted in FIG. 8 in a cross-section of FIG. 7, the elastic material 302 is sandwiched between to layer of suction material 301 which a loop and hook type coupling attachment 107A attached on the outside of the sandwich in order to be subsequently attached to 107B on to the sunray protection cloth 101.
In yet another embodiment of the invention, FIG. 12 depicts the use of a smaller flexible band 1101, depicted in FIG. 11, and threaded into and sandwiched into a pocket 1202. As seen in FIG. 13 the smaller flexible band is attached next to the elastic material, 302 and covered in parts by 301. As seen in the crossection of FIG. 14, it is covered in parts because the exposed parts 1101 are threaded into a mirror interior pocket 1401 created in the inner circle of the sunray protection cloth 101 in order to couple the two together. FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 depict how the end of the detachable headband is assembled. The cross-sections depict the use of both a small flexible band 1101 and loop and hook materials 107A and 107B in order to create to facilitate adjustment to different heads sizes.
FIG. 17 depicts how the flexible band 103 is twisted and folded into a smaller size. By reducing the size, the sunray protection cloth can be folded once it is inserted into the user's pocket 106. The flexible band 103 can be selected from the group consisting of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene dichloride (Saran) and nylon. All the aforementioned materials may be used for the substantially the same purpose to obtain substantially the same result. The advantage of having said flexible band 103 is that it allows for the sunray protection cloth to be carried separately from the stiffer headband 109. This separation of elements allows the user to later assemble the kit elements for later convenient use. As seen in FIG. 18 the tying band 109 wraps around the flexible band 103, keeping it in place. The tying band 109 further comprises a tying clamp 110 in order to secure said tying band as shown in 1801.
FIG. 19 depicts the head assembly kit and its elements. One of the advantages of the combination of parts is that it can be mixed and matched as the user pleases. The headband 109 in any aforementioned coupling configurations may be attached to any of the sunray protection cloths 111 as depicted in FIG. 19. The variety of sunray protection cloths 111 will ensure that the owner does not get uninterested with any of them and at the same time giving her the sanitary condition of a washable or disposable headband 109. There is yet another advantage and that is the user may lend another person the sunray protection 111 cloth and detach the headband 109 thus eliminating the issue of bacterial contamination.
Yet another advantages of introducing the aforementioned elements in a kit, as seen in FIG. 19, is that it allows for the interchangeability of its elements thus accommodating the user's needs. For example, having a removable headband 109 allows for it to be washed separate from the valuable sunray protection cloth 111. It also allows for the headband to be discarded in order to prevent odor build up and fungus growth. Another advantage of having detachable elements is that since usually the headband 109 gets dirty quicker than the sunray protection cloths, it allows for easy replacement. This sanitary option will also prevent acne from forming in the forehead region of the face. Another advantage of having detachable elements is that the user might have different team-sport she supports and thus having multiple sunray protection cloths 111 depicting the different teams she supports. Head gear users, for the most part own two or tree hats depending of the teams that said users follow. One of the ingenious advantages of selling a kit with multiple sunray protection cloths is that the users may mix and match the team colors using universal interchangeable headband 109 that will fit in any sunray protection cloth 111.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this technology is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present technology. Numerous characteristics and advantages have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of structure and function. The novel features are pointed out in the appended claims. The disclosure, however, is illustrative only and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts, within the principle of invention, to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims

1. A head garment kit comprising the combination of:

at least one detachable headband further comprising at least one first coupling attachment, at least one elastic material and at least one suction material;

at least one sunray protection cloth further comprising at least one second coupling attachment adapted to said at least one first coupling attachment and at least one peripheral pocket;

at least one tying band; and

at least one flexible band.

2. The head garment kit of claim 1, wherein said at least one flexible band is to be disposed within said peripheral pocket.

3. The head garment kit of claim 1, wherein said at least one detachable headband is demountably disposed on said at least one sunray protection cloth by said at least one first coupling attachment and said at least one second coupling attachment.

4. The head garment kit of claim 1, wherein said suction material and said elastic material are sown together by a small stitch around the periphery of the headband.

5. The head garment kit of claim 1, wherein said coupling attachment is selected from the group consisting of male-female rivet snap buttons, zippers, laces, buckles hooks, clamps, and through-hole buttons.

6. The head garment kit of claim 1, wherein said coupling attachment is a loop and hook tape selected from the group consisting of nylon hooks, polyester loops, teflon loops, polyester hooks, and glass backing

7. The head garment kit of claim 1, wherein said suction material is made from materials selected from the group consisting of, organic and non organic waxes, acrylic monomers, fluoropolymer composites (PTFE), prepolymers, halogenated compounds, polymer resins, petroleum polymers, styrene polymers, cotton fibers, nylon fibers, polyester fibers and linen fabrics.

8. A detachable headband comprising:

at least one first coupling attachment;

at least one elastic material;

and at least one suction material,

wherein said at least one detachable headband is demountably disposed on at least one sunray protection cloth by demountably mating said at least one first coupling attachment to at least one second coupling attachment disposed on said sunray protection cloth.

9. The detachable headband of claim 8, wherein said suction material and said elastic material are sown together by a small stitch around the periphery of the headband.

10. The detachable headband of claim 8, wherein said coupling attachment is selected from the group consisting of, male-female rivet snap buttons, zippers, laces, buckles hooks, clamps, and through-hole buttons.

11. The detachable headband of claim 8, wherein said coupling attachment is a loop and hook tape selected from the group consisting of, nylon hooks, polyester loops, teflon loops, polyester hooks, and glass backing

12. The detachable headband of claim 8, wherein said suction material is made from materials selected from the group consisting of, organic and non organic waxes, acrylic monomers, fluoropolymer composites (PTFE), prepolymers, halogenated compounds, polymer resins, petroleum polymers, styrene polymers, cotton fibers, nylon fibers, polyester fibers and linen fabrics.

13. A sunray protection cloth comprising:

at least one first coupling attachment;

at least one peripheral pocket;

at least one tying band;

and at least one flexible band,

wherein said at least one flexible band is to be disposed within said peripheral pocket.

14. The sunray protection cloth of claim 13, wherein said at least one first coupling attachment is demountably disposed on at least one detachable headband by demountably mating to at least one second coupling attachment disposed on said at least one detachable headband.