Display Band
A display band as described herein is a band which displays an indicium perpendicular to the sizable band that wraps around the head, arm, leg or any article that can accommodate a band. The band can be made for many sizes, from a child's head, to an arm, to large adult size leg or head, or an article such as a drill team boot. The band can be manufactured for many purposes of display, according to the desired indicia. This headband can be made of soft, flexible materials which can be easily folded for storage, and is lightweight and can display the indicia in an upright or a downward position perpendicular to the band.
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/589,607.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates to a band with a display indicia.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONHeadbands are worn for personal decoration, for absorption of perspiration and sometimes for display of a name or sponsor. Most display headbands are not worn around the head, but across the top of the head from ear-to-ear. This is not very stable, nor very comfortable. A more comfortable way to wear a display headband is as, for example, a sizable band around the head, such as an absorbent sport band, or other type of stretchable or sizable band that is not necessarily absorbent, with an upright indicia display. Known sport headbands may have a display of an indicium on the portion of the headband that lies flat above or on the forehead. The display band presented herein is more useful than other display headbands, which also do not effectively display the indicia. When used as a headband, with an indicium displayed upright, the display band does not cover the face, and is not a mask. A display band as presented herein, when used as a headband, does not cover the head, and is not a hat.
However, display bands can also be worn around the arms or legs, or can be used to decorate various articles, including, for example boots. In the case of boots, especially for members of a drill team or other team where identifying indicia may be part of the uniform or costume, having boots made with the desired indicia may be very costly. Use of a display band around the boot avoids the cost of having a special boot manufactured, and the team can simply use a display band around the boot to make the boot distinctive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONA display band as described herein is a band which displays an indicium perpendicular to the sizable band that wraps around the head, arm, leg or any article that can accommodate a band. This band is advantageous because it can be made of soft, flexible materials which can be easily folded for storage, and is lightweight but displays the indicia in an upright or downward position perpendicular to the band. Because the band is sizable, the band can adjust to many sizes, from a child's head to large adult-sized, as an armband, around the leg, or around an article. The band can be manufactured for many purposes of display, according to the desired indicia. The applicability of the band herein described is further exemplified in the accompanying drawings. It is hereby declared that depiction of some of the university letters and mascots or logos are protected by trademark and/or copyright laws, recognized herein, and are displayed as examples of possible headbands.
The display bands described herein can be worn to show support for the wearer's sport team, whether collegiate, other school, club or professional, in celebration of a birthday or other event, to support a cause, or clubs, such as sororities and fraternities, as an advertisement or to display any desired message. Display bands can also be prepared with indicia for children, such as Disney characters, comic book characters and superheroes, among others.
The band is made of an adjustable band which can be worn around the head, arm, leg or for around an article, and a display indicium attached thereto. The adjustable band is adjustable by using any material which can be made to adjust to the circumference of the part of the body or article to be decorated, such as elastic, elasticized fabric, or non-elastic material such as leather, plastic, cardboard, thin foam, elasticized fabric, rope, twine, and combinations thereof which can be made to adjust with serially placed snaps, serially placed grippers, serially placed hooks and eyes, hook-and-loop fasteners, serially placed buttons with opposing buttonhole, magnetic strips, and combinations thereof. Preferably, the band is of a stretchable material, such as elasticized nylon, or a nylon-blend.
Any number of indicia may be non-removably attached to the band. The indicia can be constructed of any material which can be made into indicia or which will support the imprint or screen of indicia such as stiffened fabric, thin wood, thin foam plastic, thin stiff plastic, moldable plastic, rubber, cardboard, and combinations thereof. Most preferably the indicium can be screen-printed onto a foam-type plastic material. Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) foam of various thicknesses, for example, 2 mm, 4 mm and/or 6 mm is a useful material for making indicia. The indicia can be monograms, depictions of mascots, school letters, flags, names, logos, insignia, images, messages, banners, pictures, and combinations thereof. Non-removable attachment may be achieved by the use of glue, grommets, rivets, sewing (stitching), staples, or combinations thereof. Preferably, a fabric glue can be used to attach the indicium to the adjustable-size band. These display bands are advantageous for wearing at events attended by many fans. In addition to being attractive, they are practical in that the display is not hand-held. The wearer can display his or her loyalty without forgoing the opportunity to clap, perform the “wave” or use the hands for other activities, such as holding food or drinks The display bands described herein are light-weight, and do not impede the view of the wearer, or other attendees at the function when worn on the head, nor do they necessitate any paint or other coloring on the body to display loyalty. Yet the display is obvious. The display bands are foldable, and can be carried easily in a pocket or bag. Should wearers hug or display other contact, the softness of the display headbands would not cause injury to any party should they be knocked about during displays of enthusiasm. When the display band is worn on the head, it does not cover the head, and is not a hat or a mask, so neither the head nor the face is covered, and vision is not blocked.
It is clear that the logos of many institutions are protected under trademark and copyright laws, and the figures included herein are as examples. Likewise, any descriptions of the display bands include such trademarked and copyrighted material strictly for purposes of exemplifying the numerous applications and uses of the display band.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OG THE FIGURESThis same concept is used for the display headband for the University of Wisconsin. In this case, the mascot is a stylized Badger and the school letter is a stylized W. The Badger mascot picture, black on white, would be screened onto a red “W” of suitable material by an attachment means, such as glue. The full logo of the silk screened red “W” and black and white Badger would then be attached to a suitable red, black or white stretchable headband to form the wearable display headband.
The letters and logos of different universities present different types of display problems. For example, the University of Texas at Austin, in
Another type of display band is, for example a flag indicium.
The display band can be made for celebratory events, as well. Using materials of choice, the display can be for a birthday, such as shown in
The display band can be made sizable by a number of methods. Adjustable closure methods are known, such as spaced buttons and a button hole on the opposite side of a band.
A piece of EVA foam, such as shown in
As can be understood from the descriptions above, any display indicia can be screened or otherwise printed onto the display material to construct the display headband. Preferably, the indicium is screened onto EVA foam and then attached to the adjustable band element by means such as fabric glue.
EXAMPLES Example 1A flag headband can be prepared from 2 mm EVA foam (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate foam) and a stretchable nylon headband. An American flag is silk screened onto white EVA foam using blue and red dye and a 4.25-inch by 5-inch die. This silk-screened flag is then glued onto a white 2-inch wide by 7-inch long (flattened size) stretchable headband.
Example 3A mascot only headband, for example the Bowling Green Falcon,
A letter-only display band, for example, for the University of Michigan,
A display headband for a professional sports team is exemplified by a headband displaying the logo of the Boston Breakers Women's Professional Soccer Team. The Breakers logo is screen printed onto 2 mm EVA foam and this indicium is then glued onto a black 2-inch wide by 7-inch long (flattened size) stretchable headband.
Example 6A display band for a high school drill team's boot is prepared by positioning the indicium, the school's mascot and/or letter, in either a downward or upward position on the adjustable band such that, when the band is positioned on the upper portion of the boot a downward indicium will be upright on the front of the boot, or, when an upwardly positioned indicium on a display band is worn close to the foot part of the boot, the display indicium will be upright
Example 7A display band for cheerleaders, for example, to be worn on the thigh, is prepared by positioning the indicium, the school's mascot and/or letter, in a downward position on the adjustable band such that when worn on the thigh, the indicium will be upright when the display band is worn by the cheerleader.
As is clear from the foregoing description, illustrative examples and the following claims, various modifications, additions and alternatives will be apparent to one of skill in the art and these would fall into the scope of the claims herein. All changes and variations are to be considered as equivalents, and would fall within the scope of these claims.
Claims
1. A display band consisting of an adjustable band consisting of elasticized fabric which fully surrounds the head, arm, leg or any article that can accommodate a band, to which is non-removably attached an indicium perpendicular thereto.
2. A display band of claim 1 wherein the display indicium consists of printed or screened thin plastic foam.
3. A display band of claim 1 wherein the screened-foam indicium is non-removably attached to said adjustable band by an adhesive means.
4. A display band as in claim 1 wherein
- a) a desired indicium is screened onto thin plastic foam
- b) the screened foam is cut to desired shape and size, and
- c) said screened foam is non-removably attached to an adjustable band of elasticized fabric.
5. A display band as in claim 1 wherein the indicia is selected from the group consisting of monograms, depictions of mascots, school letter or letters, flags, names, messages, banners, pictures, and combinations thereof
6. A display band, wherein a perpendicular indicium is displayed upward from said adjustable band and does not cover the face.
7. A display band as in claim 1 comprising an adjustable band of elasticized fabric and an indicium depicting a flag screened onto thin plastic foam.
8. A display band as in claim 1 comprising an adjustable band of elasticized fabric and a combination of school letter or letters and depiction of a school mascot non-removably attached thereto.
9. A display band as in claim 1 comprising an adjustable band of elasticized fabric and a depiction of a birthday cake as an indicium attached thereto.
10. A display band as in claim 2 comprising an adjustable band of elasticized fabric and a message indicium.
11. A display band as in claim 3, wherein the indicium perpendicular to said adjustable band can be displayed in a downward position.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 6, 2012
Publication Date: Dec 6, 2012
Inventors: Theresa Popp Braun , Gertrude Pfaffenbach , Lainey Richardson (Los Gatos, CA)
Application Number: 13/490,413
International Classification: A44C 5/00 (20060101);