Apparel – Head coverings – Having upturned and close fitting rim – brim – or visor
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-23
2004-03-30
Moran, Katherine (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Head coverings
Having upturned and close fitting rim, brim, or visor
Reexamination Certificate
active
06711749
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a knitted article of headwear with an integrated hairband for maintaining and holding a portion of the wearer's hair outside of the knitted article of headwear while securing the article of headwear to the wearer's head. More particularly, the invention pertains to a knitted hat or the like having the fabric covered hairband integrated into the knit at the distal end or intermediate the distal and proximal end of the knitted headwear. Knitted articles constructed in accordance with the invention are of a generally conical shaped knitted configuration of a ribbed, ribless, seam or seamless configuration.
The invention includes methods for producing novel knitted articles of headwear with integrated hairbands by utilizing flat knitting machines which knit a flat garment in which the ends are subsequently joined in the knitting process to form an article of headwear and methods for integrating the hairband in a knitted seam or use of Bulkie Knitting Machines or other such circular knitting machines for knitting circular garments without a seam in which the hairband is integrated into the knitted article of headwear.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
The prior art includes a great variety and number of hats and headwear having apertures for accommodating a pony tail or hair of the wearer. Most of the prior art having apertures for accommodating hair or ponytails are made of woven fabric as opposed to knitted articles. Examples of hats or headgear having apertures for accommodating hair or ponytails include Garnier, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,494, Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509 and 5,239,705, Armenta, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,799 and Higgins U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,249.
These articles of woven, as opposed to knitted headwear, utilize panels in which one or more of the panels or seams connecting the panels have openings in which a ponytail or hair may be threaded. For example, Garnier, Jr., et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,494 includes overlapping panels that may be opened and closed to accommodate hair or ponytails while Armenta, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,799 includes headgear accessories that are installed by stitching or embroidering into an existing cap, hat or hood or other such article of headwear.
These prior art fabric hats, including Higgins U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,249, which includes an aperture at the terminal end of the hat do not include an elasticized hairband or an elastic fabric covered hairband that is knitted or integrated into the woven hat. Woven fabric hats have warp and weft threads that criss cross as opposed to a knitted or crocheted articles which have a plurality of inter connected loops. The invention utilizes the plurality of inter connected loops to integrate a hairband into the knitted article of headwear.
Further the prior art does not have a hairband or an elastic or elasticized fabric covered hairband covered with loops from the knitted article to integrate the hairband into the knitted article of headwear. The prior art also does not integrate the hairband into the distal end of the article of headwear so as to cooperate with the headband of the article of headwear to provide a restrictive closure to function as an integrated hairband which is part of the headwear to cooperate with the headband to maintain the article of headwear anchored firmly in place in accordance to the invention.
The prior art also includes other woven hats of the baseball type that include constricted apertures for gathering and holding the ponytail or wearer's hair through the headwear. Representative of such prior art includes Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509 and Leopold 5,239,705. Such prior art pertaining to constricting apertures utilizing an elasticized opening are not integrated into the woven article with a plurality of loops around the hairband. The prior art hairbands are not the same type of fabric covered hairband and are attached by sewing the hairband into an aperture of the hat. In contrast the invention pertains to a knitted article of headwear constructed of a plurality of loops in which a fabric covered hairband is integrated into the knitted article utilizing the plurality of loops to become part of the knitted article.
Other prior art include woven hairbands such as shown in Nahoum U.S. Pat. Des. No. 353,226 in which a woven constrictive type hairband is illustrated. The woven hairband of Nahoum U.S. Pat. Des. No. 353,226 is not integrated into a knit of a knitted ski hat or article of headwear.
Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,211 illustrates an elastic loop hairband of the type utilized for ponytails of the type utilized in the novel article of headwear of the invention. The elastic loop covered with fabric of Brown U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,211 is used to attach a hair extension and is not integrated into a knitted article of headwear and does not provide the advantages of the invention.
Other prior art such as Gregg U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,885 and Schuessler, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,365 pertain to a headgear article having a drawstring disposed at the distal end of the headgear. Gregg U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,885 does not utilize a hairband integrated into the plurality of loops of a knitted article but instead includes a drawstring that is threaded through a fold in a knit or weave to provide a closure for the head covering. Schuessler, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,365, like the present invention, pertains to a knitted article but does not utilize a hairband or integrate the hairband as part of the knitted article. Schuessler, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,365 instead pertains to a firmly attached tassel which is attached by a drawstring which is woven through the knitted strands of yarn to form a tassel. The drawstring does not form a constrictive aperture for the hair or ponytail of the wearer and as such is merely indicative of the general state of the art.
Milani U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,488 similarly pertains to an article of headgear having an elasticized aperture for receiving and providing a constrictive closure for a ponytail or the wearer's hair. Milani U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,488, like Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509 and 5,239,705 is not integrated into a knitted article and like Leopold is disposed in the headband portion of the hat. Milani U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,488, like Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509 and 5,239,705 do not mechanically anchor the hat to the head since the constrictive opening is co-located in the headband portion of the hat rather than displaced from the headband in a coplanar or angular location to cooperate with the headband to anchor the article of headwear to the head. Further Leopold U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,509, 5,239,705 and Milani U.S. Pat. No. 5,875,488 pertain to woven fabric hats as opposed to knitted headgear and as such do not integrate the elasticized hairband into a plurality of loops to integrate the hairband into a portion of the knit of the knitted article.
The invention unlike the prior art pertains to a knitted article having a hairband integrated into the knit of the knitted article of headwear. The novel headwear of the invention is of a substantially conical shape having a headband portion which forms the widest portion of the headwear and tapers to a distal end of the headwear in which the hairband is integrated into the knitted article itself. The distal portion of the knitted article remote from the proximal headband area of the headwear serves to not only accommodate the hair of the wearer but also to maintain and firmly anchor the position of the article of headwear on the head and around the ears of the wearer.
As will be recognized by those wearing ski hats and having long hair the greater the volume of hair under the ski hat the more likely the hair will cause the ski hat to ride up away from and over the ears of the wearer causing the wearer to pull the headband down and ski hat over the hair to crush the volume of hair under the ski hat. The pulling of the headband and ski
Sheehan John Joseph
White Peggy Lee
Breneman & Georges
Moran Katherine
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