Hair-friendly swimming cap

Abstract

An article of swim gear consisting of a cap for protecting the hair during the practice of recreational swimming or other aquatic sports. The cap comprises a main body whose tripartite structure allows the accommodation of the hair without squeezing it, thus maintaining the shape of the hairdo. The cap also comprises an internal positioning-blocking unit consisting of an annular band attached to the rim of the cap by only one of its edges, which gently holds the cap to the user's head, and a seepage-prevention strip cantilevered over the outer face of the annular band, which stops and absorbs the water that could seep under the edge of the cap in the areas of neck and temples. Three embodiments of the cap are described and graphically illustrated.

Claims

1. A swimming cap comprising; A main body portion formed of waterproof material, the main body portion comprising; an uppermost portion formed in the shape of a spherical cap; a middle portion, forming spherical zone having an upper edge and a lower edge, said spherical zone consists of twelve individually formed material segments, each of the twelve segments comprising a triangle shape with a base and an apex, said upper edge of said middle portion is connected immediately adjacent to said uppermost portion; a lower most portion forming an opening of said swimming cap, comprising a concave surface of revolution, comprising a proximal end and a distal end, said proximal end attached directly to said lower edge of said middle portion; an internal positioning-blocking unit comprising; an annular band made of elastic material, having a first longitudinal edge free from attachment, said annular band is positioned on said lower most portions interior surface, and is configured to secure the device to a user's head; a seepage prevention strip comprising; an elongated strip of absorbent material formed with a plurality of pleats along the length of the elongated strip, said seepage prevention strip is attached to said annular band such that at least a portion of said elongated strip extends past said first longitudinal edge of said annular band, configured to fill in irregular spaces in the shape of the head when the device is worn to stop and absorb water seepage.

2. The swimming cap according to claim 1, further comprising; said lower most portion of said main body includes shirring encircling said opening of said cap.

3. The swimming cap according to claim 2, further comprising; said main body portion comprises rigid materials including either polyethylene-vinyl acetate or silnylon.

4. The swim cap according to claim 1, further comprising; said twelve material segments of said spherical zone are positioned in an alternating arrangement, such that said bases and said apexes align at said lower and upper edges.

5. The swim cap according to claim 4, further comprising; said lower most portion further comprising twelve individually formed triangle material segments each having a base and an apex, said lower most portions twelve triangle segments are positioned in an alternating arrangement, such that the base and the apex of each of said twelve triangle segments are aligned at said distal and proximal ends.

6. The swim cap according to claim 5, further comprising; said spherical zone and said lower most portion are joined such that, each of said bases of said triangle segments of said spherical zone are positioned along said lower edge are vertically aligned with each of said bases of said triangle segments of said lower most portion positioned along said proximal end of said lower most portion, in order to provide shape, strength and stability.

7. The swim cap according to claim 6, further comprising; the main body is formed of elastane fibers.

8. The swim cap according to claim 1, further comprising; said annular band is an extension of the lower portion folded inward at an edge of said opening.

9. The swim cap according to claim 8, further comprising; said annular band comprising a plurality of loops; said loops providing removable attachment for said seepage prevention strip to said annular band.

10. The swim cap according to claim 9, further comprising; wherein said loops and annular band are made of rubber or silicone material.

Description

DRAWINGS: BRIEF DESCRIPTION

(1) Certain embodiments of the present invention, the Hair-Friendly Swimming Cap, include, but are not limited, to the ones depicted in the Figures below. They comprise embodiment A, dealt with by FIGS. 1 to 4; embodiment B, addressed by FIG. 5; and embodiment C, illustrated by FIGS. 6 and 7.

Embodiment A

(2) FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of the cap.

(3) FIG. 2 is a frontal perspective inner view of the cap.

(4) FIG. 3 is a frontal perspective inner view of an enlarged fragment of FIG. 2 spotlighting the cap's inside components 16 and 17.

(5) FIG. 4 is a lateral perspective inner view of the cap in wearer's head.

Embodiment B

(6) FIG. 5 is a frontal perspective view of the cap.

Embodiment C

(7) FIG. 6 is a frontal perspective inner view of the cap.

(8) FIG. 7 is a frontal perspective inner view of an amplified fragment of FIG. 6 highlighting the cap's inside components 17, 21, and 22.

DRAWINGS: REFERENCE NUMERALS

(9) List of the numerals of parts referenced in the drawings: 11 upper portion of the swimming cap in the form of a spherical cap 12 middle portion of the swimming cap shaped like a spherical zone 13 one of the twelve pieces of material that make up the middle portion of the cap 14 lower portion of the swimming cap in the form of a concave surface of revolution 15 shirring that covers a fringe of lower portion 14 16 clamping annular band that secures the positioning of the cap on the user's head 17 seepage-prevention strip attached to 16 18 in embodiment B, lower portion of main body of the cap 19 in embodiment B, one of the twelve pieces that make up lower portion 18 20 in embodiment C, the main body of the cap molded in one piece 21 in embodiment C, clamping annular band consisting of an extension of 20 bending inward from the edge of the cap's opening 22 in embodiment C, belt loop that keeps the seepage-prevention strip 17 tied to 21

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiment AFIGS. 1 to 4

(10) FIG. 1 is a frontal perspective view of the constituent portions 11, 12, and 14, of the main body of the Hair-Friendly Swimming Cap according to embodiment A.

(11) The upper portion 11 is a spherical cap whose shape can be achieved, among other ways, by applying darts to a circular piece of the material chosen for the cap's manufacture, or by joining by two of their sides, and making coincide in a common vertex, several triangular pieces of the selected material.

(12) The middle portion 12 is a spherical zone composed of twelve pieces 13. Six of the pieces alternate with the other six put upside down, so as to give 12 the curvature needed to minimize its contact with the hair of the cap's wearer.

(13) The lower portion 14 is a concave surface of revolution featuring shirring 15, stitched with elastic thread or similar. Covering part of the portion, the shirring configures the profile of the portion and the cap's opening.

(14) FIG. 2 provides a frontal perspective inner view of embodiment A of the cap showing the reverse of portions 11, 12 and 14, and the components of the positioning-blocking unit. The unit includes the clamping annular band 16, which secures the cap to the user's head, and the seepage-prevention strip 17, which keeps water from entering the cap through its edge, in the nape area.

(15) The annular band 16 is made of rubber, latex, silicone, or analogous elastic materials, while the strip 17, which features pleats stitched with elastic thread, is made of very thin but highly absorbent microfiber, or similar material.

(16) FIG. 3 is a frontal perspective inner view of an enlarged fragment of the cap's lower portion 14, which spotlights the components 16 and 17 of the positioning-blocking unit. It shows the clamping annular band 16, with its lower edge stitched to the edge of the cap, and the seepage-prevention strip 17, with one of its sides sewn to the internal central portion of 16 and the other overhanging the upper edge thereof.

(17) Since annular band 16 is sewn to 14 only by its lower edge, it exerts less pressure on the head of the cap's wearer, thus making the cap more comfortable. Furthermore, the fact that 16 is detached by its upper edge, facilitates the role of 17.

(18) Indeed, the looseness of the upper edge of 16 increases the ability of 17, particularly of its protruding edge, to fill all nooks and crannies behind the ears and above and below the hairlines of the nape, thereby becoming an effective absorbent barrier against potential water seepage into an area whose shape and size varies greatly from one person to another.

(19) FIG. 4 is a lateral perspective inner view of the cap, according to embodiment A, placed on the wearer's head. It shows upper portion 11 enfolding the top of the skull, middle portion 12 encompassing the frontal, parietal, temporal y occipital bones, and lower portion 14 stretched and contouring the left hand side of the face and neck of the wearer.

(20) Said FIG. 4 shows the clamping annular band 16, which runs below the hairline in the frontal, sphenoid, and temporal bones, as well as below the earlobe and the nape, and the seepage-prevention strip 17, which extends from the hairline behind the ear to the bottom hairline of the neck.

(21) FIG. 4 also reveals the hollow space between the inner side of the cap and the head of the cap's wearer. A space whose configuration owes to the three portions of the cap's main body, and that begins above the hairline at 14, gradually grows to 12, and reaches its maximum at 11, thus minimizing the compression of the hair and, hence, the flattening of the hairstyle.

(22) The manufacture of the cap according to Embodiment A uses lightweight and waterproof materials like, among others, PEVA (polyethylene vinyl acetate), and silicone-coated woven nylon fabrics (e.g., silnylon). The assembling of the cap's parts resorts to appropriate techniques like sewing and gluing.

Embodiment BFIG. 5

(23) FIG. 5 is a frontal perspective view of embodiment B of the Hair-Friendly Swimming Cap, which differs from embodiment A in the format of its lower portion. While embodiment A resorts to shirring 15 to give its lower portion 14 its concave shape, embodiment B achieves the concave form of its lower portion 18 through the twelve pieces 19 that complement in reverse direction the twelve pieces 13 of the cap's middle portion 12.

(24) The format of the embodiment's lower portion 18 allows the use of alternative materials for the manufacture of the cap's main body. Whereas embodiment A uses waterproof but inelastic materials, embodiment B resorts to highly stretchable and waterproof fabrics (like prosoft stretch lycra waterproof, waterproof spandex, or similar ones), assembled by sewing, gluing, or other suitable means.

(25) Differences in the type of materials used in embodiments A and B further determines differences in the type of stretching that lower portions 14 and 18 respectively experience when the cap is placed on the user's head.

(26) Indeed, while in embodiment A, the stretching owing to shirring 15 affects the entire lower portion 14, in embodiment B, the bulk of the stretching of lower portion 18 falls on the six pieces 19 whose assembled bases form the edge of the cap's opening.

(27) The other six pieces 19 experience little stretching because, given their inverted position with respect to their counterparts, they affect the opening of the cap by only one of their vertexes. Those pieces however, being connected to the six pieces 13 of the middle portion 12, ensure that the space between the skull and the inner face thereof is evenly distributed, and that it increases from the lower to the middle portions of the cap.

(28) Although not shown in FIG. 5, the inside of the cap in embodiment B includes the same two components, the clamping annular band 16 and the seepage-prevention strip 17, found in embodiment A, and depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Embodiment CFIGS. 6 and 7

(29) FIG. 6 provides a frontal perspective inner view of the Hair-Friendly Swimming Cap, according to embodiment C, which consists of a seamless piece 20, made of custom molded rubber/polymers compounds like, among others, silicones (e.g., methyl vinyl silicone).

(30) Such piece 20 integrates portions 11 and 12 of embodiments A and B (FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) and portion 18 of embodiment B (FIG. 5). Optionally, and for aesthetic reasons, the outer surface of piece 20 could feature the ribbings of the joints of the cap's main body portions, as well as the ribbings of the joints of the 13 and 19 pieces constitutive of two of those portions.

(31) Inwardly the cap features the clamping annular band 21. Unlike band 16 of embodiments A and B, which consists of a separate item sewn or glued to 14, band 21 is but a prolongation of 20 bending inwards from the rim of the cap's opening. Like band 16, however, band 21 has its innermost edge loose.

(32) Also inwardly, the cap features the seepage-prevention strip 17 which, instead of being sewn or glued to 16 as in embodiments A and B, is kept in place over 21 by several belt loops 22, made of the same molded rubber/polymers of 20 and

(33) FIG. 7 is a frontal perspective inner view of an amplified portion of FIG. 6. It shows three of the belt loops 22 with their two ends respectively connected to the free upper edge and the center of the position-securing annular band 21, and holding the seepage-prevention strip 17 on top of such band.

(34) The inclusion of loops 22 in embodiment C of the cap allows the easy removal of the seepage-prevention strip 17 for washing and drying. This possibility of removal might help prevent the premature deterioration that the strip could suffer by being surrounded by materials of little breathability, like the rubber, polymers, or similar, of which the cap is made.

CONCLUSION

(35) The descriptions above dealt with three embodiments, among other possible ones, of the Hair-Friendly Swimming Cap, a cap for the practice of recreational swimming and other aquatic sports, by those valuing roominess, leaktightness, comfort, and sobriety. The cap achieves these values through some elements that differentiate it from its forerunners, namely:

(36) 1) an unobtrusive tripartite cavity for lodging the hair, whose lower concave portion being juxtaposed, at the level of the ears, to its convex middle and upper portions, creates a non-constrictive and stable internal space,

(37) 2) an internal annular securing band, attached by one of its edges to the rim of the cap and loose by the other one, which fits, without clenching, the head of the cap's wearer below the hairline, and

(38) 3) an absorbent strip that, cantilevered over the annular band in the neck and, optionally, in the temples, fills the irregularities that the protrusions and recesses of the head create in those areas, to stop and soak up the leaks that those might cause.

(39) Non limitative, these elements, common to the three embodiments described, illustrate the novelty of a swimming cap whose value will be weighed in particular by the annexed claims.