Launderable Cap Assembly And Method Of Use

Abstract

A launderable cap assembly allowing laundering of a cap without damaging its bill includes a crown and a bill. The bill comprises a sleeve and a panel. An upper piece of the sleeve is attached to the crown's front so that the sleeve's open end is positioned proximate to the crown's perimeter. The panel is insertable into the sleeve so that a leading edge of the panel is positioned proximate to a closed end of the sleeve and a trailing edge of the panel is positioned proximate to the perimeter of the crown. The panel is semirigid so that the bill extends from the front of the crown, where is can shade eyes of a user upon donning of the crown. The panel can be extracted from the sleeve, thereby positioning a user to first launder the crown and the sleeve and then to reinsert the panel into the sleeve.

Claims

1. A launderable cap assembly comprising: a crown; and a bill comprising: a sleeve having an upper piece and a lower piece, the upper piece being attached to a front of the crown, such that an open end of the sleeve is positioned proximate to a perimeter of the crown, and a panel selectively insertable into the sleeve through the open end, such that a leading edge of the panel is positioned proximate to a closed end of the sleeve and a trailing edge of the panel is positioned proximate to the perimeter of the crown, the panel being semirigid, such that the bill extends from the front of the crown, wherein the bill is configured for shading eyes of a user upon donning of the crown, wherein the panel is configured for being extracted from the sleeve, positioning a user for laundering the crown and the sleeve and for reinserting the panel into the sleeve.

2. The launderable cap assembly of claim 1, wherein the crown, the sleeve, and the panel are configured as a fitted hat, a flex fit hat, a snapback hat, or an adjustable hat.

3. The launderable cap assembly of claim 2, wherein the crown, the sleeve, and the panel are configured as a fitness cap, baseball cap, or a trucker hat.

4. The launderable cap assembly of claim 1, wherein the panel comprises plastic.

5. The launderable cap assembly of claim 1, wherein the leading edge is convexly arcuate and the trailing edge is concavely arcuate.

6. The launderable cap assembly of claim 1, wherein the panel is formed such that the bill is concavely arcuate when viewed from the lower piece.

7. The launderable cap assembly of claim 1, wherein the panel is substantially planar.

8. The launderable cap assembly of claim 1, wherein the panel is selectively formable.

9. The launderable cap assembly of claim 1, further including a band comprising: a medial portion attached by a lower edge to the lower piece; and opposed side portions, each opposed side portion having an inner edge attached to a respective opposed end of the medial portion and a bottom edge attached to the crown proximate to the perimeter, such that the band is selectively positionable with an upper limit of the band on an inner face of the crown, wherein the band is configured for absorbing perspiration, wherein the medial portion is configured for grasping in digits of a hand of the user, positioning the user for exposing the open end of the sleeve for selectively extracting the panel from the sleeve and for inserting the panel into the sleeve.

10. A method of laundering a cap comprising the steps of: providing a launderable cap assembly comprising: a crown, and a bill comprising: a sleeve having an upper piece and a lower piece, the upper piece being attached to a front of the crown, such that an open end of the sleeve is positioned proximate to a perimeter of the crown, and a panel selectively insertable into the sleeve through the open end, such that a leading edge of the panel is positioned proximate to a closed end of the sleeve and a trailing edge of the panel is positioned proximate to the perimeter of the crown, the panel being semirigid, such that the bill extends from the front of the crown, wherein the bill is configured for shading eyes of a user upon donning of the crown, wherein the panel is configured for being extracted from the sleeve, positioning a user for laundering the crown and the sleeve and for reinserting the panel into the sleeve; removing the panel from the sleeve; washing the crown and the sleeve; drying the crown and the sleeve; and inserting the panel into the sleeve.

11. The method of claim 10, further including: the launderable cap assembly comprising a band, the band comprising: a medial portion attached by a lower edge to the lower piece, and opposed side portions, each opposed side portion having an inner edge attached to a respective opposed end of the medial portion and a bottom edge attached to the crown proximate to the perimeter, such that the band is selectively positionable with an upper limit of the band on an inner face of the crown, wherein the band is configured for absorbing perspiration, wherein the medial portion is configured for grasping in digits of a hand of the user, positioning the user for exposing the open end of the sleeve for selectively extracting the panel from the sleeve and for inserting the panel into the sleeve; the method comprising a first additional step prior to removing the panel from the sleeve, the first additional step being grasping the medial portion of the band in digits of the hand of the user for exposing the open end of the sleeve; and the method comprising a second additional step after inserting the panel into the sleeve, the second additional step being folding the medial portion of the band toward the inner face of the crown to cover the open end of the sleeve.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

[0013] The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

[0014] FIG. 1 is a front isometric perspective view of a launderable cap assembly according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a bottom isometric perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 6 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 7 is an in-use view of an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram for a method utilizing an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 8 thereof, a new cap assembly embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

[0023] As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 8, the launderable cap assembly 10 generally comprises a crown 12 and a bill 14, with the bill 14 comprising a sleeve 16 and a panel 18. The sleeve 16 has an upper piece 20 and a lower piece 22, with the upper piece 20 being attached to a front 24 of the crown 12 so that an open end 26 of the sleeve 16 is positioned proximate to a perimeter 28 of the crown 12.

[0024] The panel 18 is selectively insertable into the sleeve 16 through the open end 26 so that a leading edge 30 of the panel 18 is positioned proximate to a closed end 32 of the sleeve 16 and a trailing edge 34 of the panel 18 is positioned proximate to the perimeter 28 of the crown 12. The panel 18 is semirigid so that the bill 14 extends from the front 24 of the crown 12. The bill 14 is configured to shade eyes of a user upon donning of the crown 12. With use, the crown 12 and the bill 14 become soiled and it is desirable to launder them. The panel 18 is configured to be extracted from the sleeve 16, positioning a user to launder the crown 12 and the sleeve 16 and to reinsert the panel 18 into the sleeve 16. Thus, the panel 18 is not subjected to potential damage that it might incur during the laundering process.

[0025] The crown 12, the sleeve 16, and the panel 18 may be configured as a fitted hat, a flex fit hat, a snapback hat, an adjustable hat, or the like. More specifically, the crown 12, the sleeve 16, and the panel 18 are configured as a fitness cap, baseball cap, a trucker hat, or the like.

[0026] The panel 18 comprises plastic, paperboard, or the like. The leading edge 30 is convexly arcuate and the trailing edge 34 is concavely arcuate, whereby the trailing edge 34 is substantially complementary to a curvature of a forehead of a user. As is shown in FIG. 2, the panel 18 is formed such that the bill 14 is concavely arcuate when viewed from the lower piece 22. The present invention also anticipates the panel 18 being substantially planar and the panel 18 being selectively formable.

[0027] The launderable cap assembly 10 also may include a band 36, which comprises a medial portion 38 that is attached by a lower edge 40 to the lower piece 22 of the sleeve 16. Each of opposed side portions 42 of the band 36 has an inner edge 44 that is attached to a respective opposed end 46 of the medial portion 38 and a bottom edge 48 that is attached to the crown 12 proximate to the perimeter 28. The band 36 is selectively positionable with an upper limit 50 of the band 36 on an inner face 52 of the crown 12. The band 36, which typically would comprise fabric, is configured to absorb perspiration.

[0028] The medial portion 38 of the band 36 is configured to be grasped in digits of a hand of the user, positioning the user to expose the open end 26 of the sleeve 16, to selectively extract the panel 18 from the sleeve 16, and, after laundering the crown 12 and the sleeve 16, to insert the panel 18 into the sleeve 16. The medial portion 38 of the band 36 thus covers the trailing edge 34 of the panel 18, thereby preventing the trailing edge 34 from contacting and potentially irritating the forehead of the user.

[0029] In use, the launderable cap assembly 10 enables a method of laundering a cap 54 comprising a provision step 56, which entails providing a launderable cap assembly 10, according to the specification above. A first disassembly step 58 of the method 54 is grasping the medial portion 38 of the band 36 in digits of the hand of the user to expose the open end 26 of the sleeve 16. A second disassembly step 60 of the method 54 is removing the panel 18 from the sleeve 16. A first laundering step 62 and a second laundering step 64 of the method 54 are washing the crown 12 and the sleeve 16 and drying the crown 12 and the sleeve 16, respectively. A first reassembly step 66 and a second reassembly step 68 of the method 54 are inserting the panel 18 into the sleeve 16 and folding the medial portion 38 of the band 36 toward the inner face 52 of the crown 12 to cover the open end 26 of the sleeve 16, respectively.

[0030] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0031] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word comprising is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article a does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.