METHOD FOR ELASTIC SWEATBAND AND HEADGEAR USING THE SAME
The present invention is an elastic sweatband including a fabric surface, a peak portion and a trough portion, wherein the peak portion and the trough portion are formed in a longitudinal direction of the fabric surface. The peak portion and the trough portion are paralleled and connected to each other. The peak portion and the trough portion are across two ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric surface respectively. When a force is exerted on the elastic sweatband, a partial of vertical height of the peak portion will be converted into the extension length in the longitudinal direction, so as to provide the extension length in the longitudinal direction of the elastic sweatband.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an elastic sweatband and, more particularly, to an elastic sweatband having a peak portion and a trough portion, such that an extension longitudinal length of the elastic sweatband is provided.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Caps are becoming part of human being's life. In occasions such as exercises or going-out, people often utilize a cap/headgear to shade the from sunlight, to absorb sweat or to prevent their hairs from interfering with eyesight. Generally, a cap usually has a cap visor to shade from the sunlight and a crown portion to enclose the head. The cap is generally made of fabrics with good absorption and provided with a stretchable elastic band, so that the cap may fit the wearer's head properly and comfortably. Such a cap allows the wearer to easily put on and to avoid the tense feeling of having something tied to his/her head.
Caps serve the purposes of shading from rain or sunlight, but also can be used to match clothing of various styles, thus becoming an essential part of the clothing among consumers.
Accordingly, there is a desire to improve the extensibility of the elastic bands which allows the wearer to wear the elastic band products, such as headbands or headgears comfortably, without feeling restrained or stressed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an objective of the present invention to provide an elastic sweatband that includes at least one peak portion and trough portion to expand in a longitudinal direction.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an elastic sweatband with increased ventilation, sweat absorption and sweat drain.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a headgear/cap of adjustable size for different wearers.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a method for forming an elastic sweatband with one or more peak portions and trough portions at any desired location of the longitudinal direction.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an elastic sweatband with peak portions and trough portions in a variety of shapes.
The present invention provides an elastic sweatband including a fabric surface, a peak portion and a trough portion, wherein the peak portion and the trough portion are formed in a longitudinal direction of the fabric surface. The peak portion and the trough portion are parallel and connected to each other and are across two ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric surface respectively. When a force is exerted on the elastic sweatband, a partial of vertical height of the peak portion will be converted into the extension length in the longitudinal direction, so as to provide the extension length in the longitudinal direction of the elastic sweatband.
In a preferred embodiment, the cross sectional shape of the peak portion includes, but not limited to, a dome shape, a rectangular shape, a trapezoid shape, a triangular shape and an irregular form, while the cross sectional shape of the trough portion includes, but not limited to, a line segment parallel to the horizontal plane. In an exemplary embodiment, the cross sectional shapes of the trough portion and the peak portion both include a dome shape and each of the dome shapes has an arc and two edges. One of the edges of the peak portion is connected to one of the edges of the trough portion, and the arc of the peak portion is oppositing to the arc of the trough portion. In addition, the fabric surface may be formed of one or more layers of stretchable and/or non-stretchable fabrics enclosing at least one soft material by means of knitting or weaving. The soft material mentioned above may include sponge, stretchable/non-stretchable fabric, cotton, or the like. Further, if the material of the fabric surface is made from stretchable fabrics or the like, the extension length of the elastic sweatband is longer than that made from the non-stretchable fabrics.
The present invention further provides a method for an elastic sweatband including the steps of: providing a fabric surface having a longitudinal direction; hot-pressing the fabric surface to from at least one trough portion, such that the trough portion is across two ends in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric surface; forming at least one peak portion on the fabric surface, wherein the peak portion is parallel and connects to the trough portion and the peak portion is across two ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric surface.
The foregoing objects and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts.
Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings, where a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example.
The present invention provides a method for an elastic sweatband and a headgear using the same, in which a peak portion is provided with a vertical height to achieve the extension length in the longitudinal direction of the elastic sweatband. In a preferable embodiment, the present invention is applied to various caps/headgears or headbands to accodomate a variety of head sizes. In other embodiments, however, the present invention may be also applied to clothing, dresses, adornments, accessories, or the likes. Moreover, the fabric surface may be formed of stretchable or non-stretchable fabrics or a mix of the both, wherein the material of the fabric surface includes cotton, linen, wool, silk, polyester, nylon, eye-lun, spandex, rayon and other elastic fibers, or a combination thereof. In order to illustrate the present invention, various embodiments and structures thereof are described below and accompanied with drawings.
When the peak portions 120 and the trough portions 140 are disposed on the fabric surface 110, the peak portions 120 and the trough portions 140 are randomly or unrandomly distributed over the entire longitudinal direction D between the two ends 110a and 110b of the fabric surface 110. As
In other embodiments, such as shown in
Further, as shown in
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As shown in
When the mold 200 generates heat after electrified, the protrusion 220 of the upper die 210 presses one side of the sweatband 100 into the spaces between the contacting pillars 280, in the meantime, the groove 250 and the top surface of the contacting pillar 280 fit in to each other for a period of time, such that the peak portions 120 and the trough portions 140 are formed. In this embodiment, the shape of the protrusion 220 is preferably designed to form a peak portion 120 with a dome shape (the dome shape includes a half-circle with two vertical edges.). The contacting pillars 280 and the grooves 250 together form the line segment of the trough portions 140. In other embodiments, however, the shapes of the peak portion 120 and the trough portion 140 of the elastic sweatband 100 may be formed utilizing different molds 200 under different demand or other considerations.
Moreover, if the wave-like portion including one set of two or more than two peak portions 120, the shape of corresponding protrusion 220 of the upper die 210 may include three or more shapes (not illustrated) to form the set of peak portions 120. Likewise, the wave-like portion including one set of two or more trough portions 140, the combination shape of the contacting pillars 280 and the grooves 250 may include three or more shapes (not illustrated) to form the set of the trough portions 140. In the present embodiment, the peak portions 120 and the trough potions 140 are formed by the press-protruding method of the mold 200. However, in other embodiments, the peak portion 120 and the trough portion 140 may be formed by press-concaving method or other methods.
As
The shape of the protrusion 220 of the upper die 210 and the contacting pillar 280 of the lower die 260 may be formed and arranged in shape to form a plurality of similar or dissimilar wave-like portion include the peak portion 120 and the trough portion 140. The design of the shape of the mold 200 is not limited to the present invention.
While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.
Claims
1. An elastic sweatband, comprising:
- a fabric surface having a peak portion and a trough portion in a longitudinal direction, the peak portion and the trough portion paralleling and connecting to each other, wherein the peak portion and the trough portion are respectively across two ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric surface.
2. The elastic sweatband of claim 1, wherein the cross sectional shape of the peak portion includes a dome shape while the cross sectional shape of the trough portion includes a line segment parallel to the horizontal plane.
3. The elastic sweatband of claim 1, wherein the cross sectional shape of the peak portion and the trough portion include a half circle formed with an arc and two ends, one end of the peak portion are connected to one end of the trough portion, such that the arc of the peak portion and the arc of the trough portion face opposite directions.
4. The elastic sweatband of claim 1, wherein the cross sectional shape of the peak portion includes a rectangular shape while the cross sectional shape of the trough portion includes a line segment parallel to the horizontal plane.
5. The elastic sweatband of claim 1, wherein the cross sectional shape of the peak portion includes a trapezoid shape while the cross sectional shape of the trough portion includes a line segment parallel to the horizontal plane.
6. The elastic sweatband of claim 1, wherein the cross sectional shape of the peak portion includes a triangular shape while the cross sectional shape of the trough portion includes a line segment parallel to the horizontal plane.
7. The elastic sweatband of claim 1, wherein the cross sectional shape of the peak portion includes an irregular form while the cross sectional shape of the trough portion includes a line segment parallel to the horizontal plane.
8. The elastic sweatband of claim 1, wherein the fabric surface encloses a soft material in the longitudinal direction and is made by means of kitting or weaving.
9. An elastic headgear comprising an elastic sweatband comprising a fabric surface with a peak portion and a trough portion in a longitudinal direction, the peak portion and the trough portion paralleling and connecting to each other, wherein the peak portion and the trough portion are respectively across two ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric surface.
10. A method for an elastic sweatband, comprising the steps of:
- providing a fabric surface having a longitudinal direction;
- hot-pressing the fabric surface forming at least one trough portion, such that the trough portion is across two ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric surface; and
- forming at least one peak portion on the fabric surface, wherein the peak portion parallels and connects to the trough portion and the peak portion is across two ends perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the fabric surface.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising pre-pressing one side surface of the peak portion so as to form a vertical height of the peak portion.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising forming a plurality of peak portions and a plurality of trough portions, each of the peak portions and each of the trough portions parallelly connect to each other and perpendicularly across two ends of the longitudinal direction.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein hot-pressing the trough portion includes hot-pressing the trough portions into different cross sectional shapes simultaneously.
14. The method of the claim 10, wherein the fabric surface further encloses a soft material in the longitudinal direction and is made by means of kitting or weaving.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein the fabric surface further includes multiple layers of fabrics and is formed by means of kitting or weaving.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 23, 2008
Publication Date: Jun 24, 2010
Inventor: Tai-Kuang WANG (Taipei)
Application Number: 12/342,955
International Classification: A42C 5/00 (20060101); A42C 5/02 (20060101);