Stretchable band capable of retaining shape and headwear using the same

Abstract

A stretchable band capable of retaining its shape, and headwear using the same are disclosed. The stretchable band has a plurality of warp yarns and weft yarns. Some warp yarns are stretchable polyurethane yarns, while at least a part of the weft yarns are monofilament yarns having shape-restoring properties. A plurality of ventilated openings are formed on the band to provide passage of air and moisture. The ventilated openings are formed along the lengthwise direction such that a part of the first yarns are omitted when weaving.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] (a) Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a stretchable band capable of retaining its shape, and headwear using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a stretchable band that retains its shape through a shape-restoring property of the used yarns, and headwear in which the stretchable band is applied.

[0003] (b) Description of the Related Art

[0004] A stretchable band is generally used for a sweatband of a cap. The band can provide a wearer with wearing comfort of the cap because it has elasticity in a lengthwise direction, i.e., circumferential direction of the cap. However, a conventional stretchable band is constructed by soft warps and wefts so that it is hard to maintain the shape of the applied article. Specifically, when the band is employed as a sweatband in headwear such as a cap, it is difficult to retain the round shape of a lower circumference of a crown portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] In view of the prior art described above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a stretchable band which is capable of retaining its shape through a shape-restoring property of the yarns used.

[0006] It is another object of the present invention to provide headwear having a stretchable sweatband with properties to evaporate perspiration outwardly as well as to retain its shape, resulting in enhanced wearing comfort.

[0007] To achieve these and other objects, as embodied and broadly described herein, a stretchable band capable of retaining its shape has a plurality of first yarns and a plurality of second yarns which are weaved with the first yarns. At least a part of the first yarns are stretchable, while at least a part of the second yarns have shape-restoring properties.

[0008] Preferably, the second yarns having shape-restoring properties are monofilament yarns, and the stretchable first yarns are polyurethane yarns.

[0009] The band preferably includes a plurality of ventilated openings providing passage of air and moisture.

[0010] According to another aspect of the present invention, headwear includes a head covering portion covering a head of a wearer, and a stretchable sweatband provided at the interior circumference of the head covering portion. The stretchable sweatband has a plurality of first yarns, at least a part of the first yarns being stretchable; and a plurality of second yarns which are weaved with the first yarns, at least a part of the second yarns having shape-restoring properties.

[0011] Both the foregoing general description and the following Detailed Description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The accompanying drawings provide a further understanding of the invention, and together with the Detailed Description, explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary cap implemented by the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 2 is an elevation view of a band according to a first embodiment;

[0015] FIG. 3 is an elevation view of a band according to a second embodiment; and

[0016] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary visor cap implemented by the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, a cap has a crown portion 1 for being worn on a head of a wearer, a visor portion 3 coupled to the crown portion 1 for blocking sunlight, and a stretchable band 5 provided at the interior circumference of the crown portion 1 for serving as a sweat band. The present invention is not limited to the cap having the crown portion 1 as shown in FIG. 1 which merely shows an example as a kind of application, and it may be a hat, a visor cap as shown in FIG. 4, or other various kinds of headwear. Further, it should also be noted that a stretchable band according to the present invention is not limited to headwear but may have various applications to clothing, bags, footwear, and other various articles.

[0019] Referring now to FIG. 2, the stretchable band 5 is weaved of weft yarns 7a and warp yarns 7b crossing one another. A part or all of the weft yarns 7a are made of strands having shape-retaining characteristics. It is also possible to employ stands having shape-retaining characteristics as a part or all of the warp yarns 7b. The strands having shape-retaining characteristics are preferably made of monofilament yarns with predetermined shape-restoring properties which may be selected from nylon, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene (PE), Polypropylene (PP), and other synthetic monofilaments. The monofilament yarns preferably have diameters of 50 deniers or more in order to obtain suitable shape-restoring properties.

[0020] The stretchable band 5 is preferably stretchable along a lengthwise direction (arrow direction in FIG. 2) such that a part or all of the warp yarns are stretchable yarns such as polyurethane yarns.

[0021] The stretchable band 5 further has a plurality of ventilated openings 7 which are provided along the lengthwise direction. The ventilated openings 7 can be made such that some warp yarns 7b are omitted when weaving.

[0022] Textile portions 9 of the band 5 are referred to woven portion where the ventilated openings 7 are not provided. The textile portions 9 may adopt loop yarns such that the loop yarns couple the weft yarns 7a and warp yarns 7b with one another to make the textile portions 9 solid. The loop yarns are preferably materials absorptive for sweat and moisture to enhance the merits of goods such as headwear. The loop yarns are generally used, and therefore their specific explanation is omitted.

[0023] Since the stretchable band 5 has shape-retaining characteristics, it is applicable to various fabric articles whose shapes are required to be retained.

[0024] When a wearer wears the cap as shown in FIG. 1, to which the stretchable band is applied, the band 5 can have the cap retain its shape and it stretches in the lengthwise direction to enhance wearing comfort. When the wearer sweats, the ventilated openings 7 may facilitate passage of air and moisture to evaporate the sweat, resulting in a more pleasant feeling for the wearer.

[0025] Further, the loop yarns of the textile portion 9 may enhance the absorbent properties of the cap. The weft yarns 7a are weaved substantially orthogonal to the warp yarns 7b in the lengthwise direction (arrow direction in FIG. 2). Under some circumstances, the weft yarns are referred to as the warp yarns, and vice versa.

[0026] Referring now to FIG. 3, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. A stretchable band 5 is similar to that of the first embodiment, except for a pattern portion 10 which is formed by separate pattern yarns. The pattern portion 10 is ornamented with a company logotype, advertisement, trademark, or other patterns. The pattern yarns are coupled to the textile portion 9 of the band 5 using general patterning methods, and therefore their specific explanation is omitted. Because the pattern yarns are coupled to the textile portion 9 to make the stretchable band 5 solid, the band 5 may have enhanced shape-retaining properties. The second embodiment shows various applications of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary visor cap incorporating the band of the embodiments according to the present invention. The visor cap has a rim portion 6 encircling the head, a visor portion 3 coupled with one side of the rim portion, and a stretchable band 5 of the present invention provided at the interior circumference of the rim portion 6. The present invention may be implemented with various kind of headwear including caps and visor caps. The band 5 is provided at the interior circumference of the crown portion 1 of FIG. 1 or rim portion 6 of FIG. 4. Specifically, the band 5 is provided at the entire circumference, or at a part of the circumference.

[0028] Although the present invention is explained in reference to headwear, it should be noted that the stretchable band according to the present invention is applicable to headwear, clothing, bags, footwear, and so forth. The stretchable band according to the present invention may retain it own shape through shape-restoring properties to improve the merit of textile goods.

[0029] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A stretchable band capable of retaining its shape, comprising:

a plurality of first yarns, at least a part of the first yarns being stretchable; and

a plurality of second yarns which are weaved with the first yarns, at least a part of the second yarns having shape-restoring properties.

2. The stretchable band as recited in claim 1, wherein the second yarns having shape-restoring properties are monofilament yarns.

3. The stretchable band as recited in claim 2, wherein the monofilament yarns have diameters of 50 deniers or more.

4. The stretchable band as recited in claim 2, wherein the second yarns are selected from nylon, Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene (PE), and Polypropylene (PP).

5. The stretchable band as recited in claim 1, wherein the stretchable first yarns are polyurethane yarns, latex yarns or spandex yarns.

6. The stretchable band as recited in claim 1, wherein the first yarns are warp yarns and the second yarns are weft yarns.

7. The stretchable band as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of ventilated openings providing passage of air and moisture.

8. The stretchable band as recited in claim 7, wherein the plurality of ventilated openings are formed such that a part of the first yarns are omitted when weaving.

9. The stretchable band as recited in claim 7, wherein the plurality of ventilated openings are disposed along a lengthwise direction.

10. The stretchable band as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a pattern portion being ornamented with a predetermined pattern.

11. A fabric article comprising the stretchable band of claim 1, wherein the fabric article is capable of retaining a shape where the stretchable band is applied.

12. Headwear comprising:

a head covering portion covering a head of a wearer; and

a stretchable sweatband, provided at the interior circumference of the head covering portion, being capable of retaining a shape of the headwear and comprising:

a plurality of first yarns, at least a part of the first yarns being stretchable; and

a plurality of second yarns which are weaved with the first yarns, at least a part of the second yarns having shape-restoring properties.

13. The headwear as recited in claim 12, wherein the second yarns having shape-restoring properties are monofilament yarns.

14. The headwear as recited in claim 13, wherein the monofilament yarns have diameters of 50 deniers or more.

15. The headwear as recited in claim 12, wherein the stretchable first yarns are polyurethane yarns.

16. The headwear as recited in claim 12, wherein the sweatband further comprises:

a plurality of ventilated openings providing passage of air and moisture.

17. The headwear as recited in claim 16, wherein the plurality of ventilated openings are formed such that a part of the first yarns are omitted when weaving.

18. The headwear as recited in claim 12, wherein the sweatband further comprises:

a pattern portion being ornamented with a predetermined pattern.

19. The headwear as recited in claim 12, wherein the headwear is selected from a cap, a visor cap, and a hat.

20. A method comprising:

providing a head covering portion of headwear; and

coupling a stretchable band to the interior circumference of the head covering portion

wherein the stretchable band comprises:

a plurality of first yarns, at least a part of the first yarns being stretchable; and

a plurality of second yarns which are weaved with the first yarns, at least a part of the second yarns having shape-restoring properties.

21. The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the second yarns having shape-restoring properties are monofilament yarns.