HAT WITH RECEPTOR
A receptor that can be associated with the wall of the dome of a hat and receive items such as the stems of a pair of sunglasses. The receptor can be located on the interior wall of the dome and be accessible through an aperture or, the receptor can be located on the interior wall of the dome of the hat.
This is a utility patent application being filed in the United States as a non-provisional application for patent under Title 35 U.S.C. §100 et seq. and 37 C.F.R. §1.53(b) and, is being filed as a continuation-in-part of the following U.S. Design Patent Applications: Ser. No. 29/492,979 bearing the title of PENNANT SHAPED POCKET FOR GLASSES and Ser. No. 29/493,005 bearing the title of HAT WITH POCKET ACCESS FOR GLASSES, each of which were filed on Jun. 4, 2014 and each of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUNDHistory is not really solid on when the first hat was created, but it is likely it originated alongside other basic forms of clothing. Mankind sought protection from the elements and hats had practical implications, however they were also used purely for adornment; much like today. Hats have a long history as markers of status, occupation, and even political affiliation.
Given the significance bestowed upon hats in eras past, it seems all the more remarkable that for the first time since the Roman Empire we find ourselves in a period where it is normal to see men and women not wearing hats. However, each hat has it's own unique history and individual significance in past and present societies.
Hats have continued to thrive through the ages with their most prevalent time being between the 18th and early half of the 20th centuries. Up until the end of the 1700's, giant plumed hats like the tricorne and bicorne ruled the day. These ostentatious headpieces could be perched safely upon powdered wigs and were favored by King Louis XIV and Napoleon.
During the Revolution, as “class” definition was fought against, the top hat became a symbol of change. It was worn by men in every social category signaling the transition from the flamboyant aristocracy to the urbane sophistication of modernity.
Throughout the 1900's hats continued to dominate as a “modern” fashion choice with one of the most famous styles; the Fedora. It is an “every man's” hat—a true icon—which, prevailing in popularity for almost a century, shows no signs of going out of style.
Hats have even wound their way into themes of a children's book written by Dr. Suess, “Go, Dog, Go”, in which a pink poodle was consumed with gaining the approval of a hound dog for her latest hat.
Caps, such as baseball caps, are well known in the art and are often used for recreational purposes. The dome, bowl, crown, or body of the cap provides covering and protection for the head and the attached bill, brim, or visor stands generally horizontally from the crown in order to provide a shade for the eyes. The baseball cap as a whole is generally made of cloth with optional stiffening material such as cardboard or plastic used for the bill. The cap may be made in a number of sections and may have a stretchable headband in order to provide elastic engagement for the head of the wearer.
In order to further protect the eyes, many people wear sunglasses in conjunction with the baseball cap. Sunglasses generally provide protection from UV (ultraviolet) light that has a tendency to damage the eyes by radiation as absorption of such UV light by the retina, cornea, and other structures of the eye tend to damage them. Much like damage to the skin suffered from exposure to ultraviolet light, the eye can also suffer damage from the absorption of such energetic light. Some sunglasses may also be polarized in order to transmit to the wearer's eye only light of certain polarization. Glare, which arises from reflected sunlight can be reduced by polarized sunglasses. Such sunglasses may be prescription or nonprescription sunglasses as such sunglasses are generally constructed in the same manner. Eyeglasses usually have a lens holding portion and a bridge that spans the nose between the two eyes. Temples are generally hingedly attached to the lens holding structure and extend backwardly away from the face to curve about the ear by means of an end piece. The glasses are then retained upon the face generally by frictional engagement at the bridge of the nose and the back of the ears. One specific advantage to wearing glasses is that they can be removed so the user or wearer can look out with his or her eye upon what is to be seen unaltered by the lenses of the glasses.
Several techniques have been introduced into the market to provide a mechanism for sunglasses to be stored or secured onto a hat. However, the proposed techniques either require elements to be fastened to the outside of the hat, require special alterations to the glasses and/or, do not provide versatility for storage of the glasses.
BRIEF SUMMARYThe present disclosure presents various embodiments of a solution to the above-referenced short-comings in the art, as well as other needs in the art. In general, the various embodiments include a receptor that can be permanently or removably integrated and/or attached to a hat and that can securely retain a pair of sunglasses or other item.
One embodiment described here in is a hat including a receptor for holding items. The hat includes a dome having a wall and defining a dome interior. At least one aperture exists in the side-wall of the dome for creating a passage from the outside of the dome to the interior through the wall of the dome. A receptor is located on the interior of the dome and it is associated with the interior wall of the dome. The association may be an integration upon manufacture, an after market permanent addition or a removable association. Regardless of the technique to associate the receptor with the interior wall, the receptor and the interior wall define a pocket. The receptor is associated with the interior wall such that one or more openings are defined into the pocket with each opening being associated with an aperture in the dome. Thus, an elongated item, such as the stem of a pair of sunglasses, a pencil, etc., an be inserted through an aperture and into the pocket through an opening.
The present invention, as well as features and aspects thereof, is directed towards providing a receptor for receiving, holding and/or securing an item to a hat, such as a pair of glasses, a pen, and/or a stylus as a few non-limiting examples. It should be appreciated that the term hat, as used throughout this description, is not limited to any particular type, shape or style of hat but rather, should be read to include caps, beanies, newsies, helmets, beret, boater, chupalia, fedora, kepi and baseball cap as a few non-limiting examples. In general, a receptor is integrated, attached, adhered or otherwise associated with the hat. The receptor is oriented in such a manner that it can receive an end portion of an item and securely hold or support the item.
As illustrated in
In general, the various embodiments of a hat receptor that can receive and hold an item focus on an interior receptor that is accessible through an aperture in the hat or, an exterior receptor attached to or integral to the outside of the hat.
In each of these embodiments as well as other embodiments, the receptors can be attached to the interior wall of the dome 620 in any of a variety of ways including, but not limited to, stitching, gluing, hot welding, rivets, etc. It should be appreciated that a wide variety of receptors are anticipated and the present invention is not limited to any particular configuration or structure.
For the exterior embodiments, the receptor can be integrated into the side of the dome, attached to the side of the dome or removably attached to the side of the dome. Thus, the receptor can be affixed to the dome, in either the interior or exterior embodiments by sewing, gluing, tacking with thread, pins, nails, riveting, stitching, stapling, and combinations thereof as a few non-limiting examples. In addition, the receptor may be removably attached to the dome of the hat using snaps, hooks and loops, and other similar techniques or combinations thereof. It should be appreciated that the embodiment illustrated in
There are many other features and aspects of the various embodiments that are not illustrated but are presented herein. Because the figures would be quite similar, such variations can be easily described without additional figures. On such variation is utilize the receptor as a secure holder for glasses during athletic performance. Rather than the wearer having to include a string or band that extends around the back of the wearer's head, the receptor can be designed to provide a secure hold on the stem of the glasses. Thus, the opening for receiving the stem of the glasses, in either the interior or exterior embodiments, can be oriented such that glasses that are being worn as normal, over the eyes and resting on the bridge of the nose, can have the stems to penetrate the aperture into the receptor. For instance, as one non-limiting example the aperture may be located at the bottom edge of the dome between the side of the dome and the sweatband.
The aperture can be sized such as to provide a strong frictional hold on the glasses. In addition, the aperture can be constructed of an elastic type material that will operate to hold the glasses in position. Further, materials such as silicone rubber can be used at the aperture to allow the stems to be forced into the receptor but then held in place with the friction due to the elastic characteristic of the aperture and the friction available from silicone rubber.
It should be appreciated that multiple apertures can be located at various locations on the dome of the hat. In addition, multiple receptors may also be utilized for the interior and/or exterior embodiments. Further, some embodiments may use a combination of interior and exterior receptors.
In some embodiments, apertures, indentions and/or protrusions may also be integrated into the bill of the hat to facilitate hold of the lens section of the glasses.
It is common that a person may wear a hat backwards with the bill of the hat facing the rear. The various embodiments of the receptor can be formed to accommodate such users. For instance, on the interior embodiments, the glasses may be inserted into the apertures such that the glasses face backwards away from the wearer. Alternatively and/or additionally, the apertures can be configures such that the stems can be inserted into the aperture from the wearer's front side even if the hat is turned around backwards. In such embodiments the lenses would not rest on the bill but rather would be held against the dome. Such embodiments would facilitate the wearer sliding the glasses up and down from a stored to a wearing position while still leaving the stems in the securement of the receptor. The embodiment illustrated in
In the description and claims of the present application, each of the verbs, “comprise”, “include” and “have”, and conjugates thereof, are used to indicate that the object or objects of the verb are not necessarily a complete listing of members, components, elements, or parts of the subject or subjects of the verb.
The present invention has been described using detailed descriptions of embodiments thereof that are provided by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The described embodiments comprise different features, not all of which are required in all embodiments of the invention. Some embodiments of the present invention utilize only some of the features or possible combinations of the features. Variations of embodiments of the present invention that are described and embodiments of the present invention comprising different combinations of features noted in the described embodiments will occur to persons of the art.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described herein above. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the claims that follow.
Claims
1. A hat including a receptor for holding items, the hat comprising:
- a dome having a wall and defining an interior;
- at least one aperture through the side wall of the dome; and
- a receptor associated with the interior wall of the dome and defining a pocket between the interior wall of the dome and the interior wall of the receptor, and further the receptor defining at least one opening that is proximate to the at least one aperture, wherein an elongated item that is inserted through the aperture can be inserted into the pocket through the at least one opening.
2. The hat of claim 1, wherein there are at least two apertures with each aperture being on opposite sides of the dome and, at least one receptor for each aperture.
3. The hat of claim 1, wherein there are two sets of at least two apertures, with each set being on opposite sides of the dome and, a receptor associated with each set.
4. The hat of claim 3, wherein the receptor associated with each set defines an opening proximate to each aperture in the set.
5. The hat of claim 4, wherein the receptor is structured such that the elongated item can pass into the pocket through a first aperture and then exit the pocket through a second aperture.
6. The hat of claim 1, wherein there are two sets of apertures, with each set being on opposites sides of the dome and, a receptor associated with each set.
7. The hat of claim 6, wherein each set of apertures includes three or more apertures.
8. The hat of claim 7, wherein the receptor associated with each set of apertures, along with the apertures are configured to hold the elongated item at different angles.
9. The hat of claim 8, wherein the receptor is structured such that the elongated item can pass into the pocket through a first aperture and then exit the pocket through a second aperture.
10. An apparatus that can be associated with the interior wall of the dome of a hat for securely holding items, the apparatus comprising:
- a first surface that is positioned to face towards the interior wall of the dome;
- a second surface that is position to face away from the interior wall of the dome; and
- the apparatus being affixed to the interior wall of the dome such that the interior wall and the apparatus define a pocket with at least one opening into the pocket positioned proximate to an aperture in the side of the dome.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is affixed to the interior wall of the dome such that there are at least two openings into the pocket with each opening being positioned proximate to an aperture in the side of the dome.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the receptor is structured such that an elongated item can pass into the pocket through a first aperture and then exit the pocket through a second aperture.
13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is affixed to the interior wall of the dome such that there are at least three openings into the pocket with each opening being positioned proximate to an aperture in the side of the dome.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus is affixed to the interior wall of the dome such that channels are defined beginning at each aperture and extending away from the apertures.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 20, 2014
Publication Date: Dec 10, 2015
Inventor: William V Yurevich (Lawrenceville, GA)
Application Number: 14/310,866