Apparel – Head coverings – Having crown and horizontally extending visor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-25
2002-10-22
Hale, Gloria M. (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Head coverings
Having crown and horizontally extending visor
C002S175100, C002S171000, C002S183000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06467096
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to headwear, and more particularly to an improved baseball-type cap including a size adjustment mechanism in the form of a looped drawstring, which is secured to the cap above its rim.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Headwear pieces have been used for many years and are found in many shapes and sizes. The headwear pieces are used as sunshades, to repel the weather, and often simply for aesthetic purposes. The most popular headwear is the baseball-style cap. The baseball cap typically comprises a substantially hemispherical shell and a visor attached to an edge of the shell at the front of the cap to shade the eyes of the user. The shell is typically made of a flexible material, such as fabric. The visor is commonly made of a somewhat rigid material typically covered with the material used to form the shell, and extends substantially perpendicularly away from the shell to provide shade for the user's face. Typically, such baseball-style caps have an adjustment system along the edge of the shell to change a circumferential size of the shell periphery to match that of the wearer's head. Attempts have been made to vary the cap opening size of caps in general over the years.
Predominantly in recent years, the size adjustment of headwear, and particularly baseball-style caps, have utilized overlying plastic strips fixed at one end to respective opposite sides of the hemispheric shell with respective strips carrying spaced projecting pegs and holes. However, the pegs, the holes and the plastic strips themselves are subject to breakage, while limiting the adjustability feature to the spacing between pegs and holes.
Another type of the size adjustment mechanism utilizes a pair of drawstrings and a clamping lock. Each of the drawstrings has a first end attached to a front section of the cap shell or to the visor, and a second end extending through a channel along a peripheral edge or brim of the shell and free falling from a rear section of the shell. The clamping lock grips the free falling second ends of the drawstrings in different adjusted positions. However, the free falling ends of the drawstrings are aesthetically not very pleasing, may pose a risk for safety of the wearer, and there is always a possibility that the clamping lock slides off the drawstrings.
Therefore, there is a need for a size adjustment mechanism for headwear that is simple, durable, esthetically pleasing and safe for the wearer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention contemplates a novel and improved means for adjusting the head sizes of headwear. The present invention is applicable to various types of headwear, which may be of any style or embodiment.
One embodiment of the headwear is a baseball-style cap comprising a hemispherical shell defining an opening for reception of the head of a wearer, and a size adjustment mechanism mounted to the shell for infinitely adjusting the size of the cap. The size adjustment mechanism includes a flexible, elastic drawstring slidably disposed within a channel or sleeve formed along a-peripheral edge of the shell, and a shiftable clamping slide adjustably mounted to the drawstring. A portion of the drawstring extends from the channel through a pair of holes therein and passes beneath a retaining loop formed on an outer peripheral surface of the cap shell, forming an adjusting loop. The clamping slide is operably attached to the adjusting loop for controlling the size of the adjusting loop, thus operatively adjusting an effective perimeter of the peripheral edge of the cap shell that defines the size of the headwear.
Therefore, the size adjustment mechanism for headwear in accordance with the present invention provides a simple, durable, inexpensive, aesthetically pleasing and easily manipulated mechanism readily allowing infinite adjustment of the size of the headwear.
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Hale Gloria M.
International News, Inc.
Liniak, Berenato, Longacre & White LLC
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