Folding hat

Abstract

A folding hat that eliminates the risk of damaging the cloth by an elastic ring for a long life. The folding hat has the elastic ring sewn in an outer circumferential edge of a brim, and the elastic ring is formed by coupling both ends of a flat wire rod shaped by rolling spring steel round wire. Regarding the elastic ring, both ends of the flat wire rod are preferably coupled by: inserting both ends of the flat wire rod in both sides of a tubular metal stop, respectively; and crushing the metal stop. The metal stop has a pair of facing convex parts on which the tips of both ends of the flat wire rod can respectively abut at an inner center part that may be used.

Claims

1. A folding hat comprising: a crown; a brim; an elastic spring steel ring having a vertically long rectangle with rounded corners shape in cross-section, wherein the spring steel ring is sewn in an outer circumferential edge of the brim, the ring having first and second opposing ends, the opposing ends each defining a respective tip, the ring not having any angular corners along an entire length of the ring between the tips; a tubular metal stop having a pair of sides, a pair of facing convex parts, an inner peripheral side facing the crown, and an inner center part, wherein the first opposing end of the flat wire rod is received by one of the sides of the pair of sides and the second opposing end of the flat wire rod is received by a remaining side of the pair of sides, and a portion of the tubular metal stop at the inner peripheral side is flat to couple both of the first and second opposing ends of the flat wire rod to form the spring steel ring; and wherein the tips of both of the first and second opposing ends of the flat wire rod are spaced apart from each other within the tubular metal stop, and the tips each abut the facing convex parts at the inner center part of the tubular metal stop.

2. The folding hat according to claim 1, wherein the spring steel is stainless steel.

3. A folding hat comprising: a crown; a brim comprising cloth; an elastic ring sewn in an outer circumferential edge of the brim, wherein the elastic ring comprises a flat wire rod with a cross section that is vertically long relative to a width thereof; a tubular metal stop having a pair of sides and an inner peripheral side facing the crown, wherein the flat wire rod has first and second opposing ends that each define a respective tip, wherein the first opposing end of the flat wire rod is received in one of the pair of sides of the tubular metal stop and the second opposing end of the flat wire rod is received in a remaining one of the pair of sides, and wherein the tubular metal stop is flat only at the inner peripheral side to retain and couple both the first and second ends of the flat wire rod in a spaced-apart relation from each other within the tubular metal stop to define the elastic ring, such that the flat inner peripheral side of the tubular metal stop does not contact a sewn-in part of the cloth of the brim; and wherein the cross section of the flat wire rod lacks angular corners along an entire length of the flat wire rod between the tips.

4. The folding hat of claim 3, wherein the tubular metal stop has a pair of facing convex parts wherein the tips of both of the first and second ends of the flat wire rod respectively abut the facing convex parts at an inner center part of the metal stop.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a complete perspective view of the folding hat according to one embodiment of the present invention, where a part of the brim is cut out;

(2) FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a part in which the elastic ring is sewn;

(3) FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a coupling part of the elastic ring;

(4) FIG. 3A is a cross-section of the elastic ring shown in FIG. 3; and

(5) FIG. 4 is an explanatory drawing of a folding method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) The following detailed description will illustrate the general principles of the invention, examples of which are additionally illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.

(7) The preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below in accordance with the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the folding hat according to one embodiment of the present invention. The folding hat includes a crown 1, a brim 2 and an elastic ring 3 sewn in an outer circumferential edge of the brim 2. A tightening strap 4, such as a rubber strap, is provided on the crown 1 to adjust the circumference of head.

(8) Elastic ring 3 is formed by rolling round wire comprised of spring steel, such as stainless steel (SUS304), with a roller to obtain a flat wire rod and by then coupling both ends of the flat wire rod. For example, in the embodiment as shown in FIG. 3A, a round wire with a diameter of 1.4 mm is made to be a vertically long elliptical cross-section shape (also referred to a shape of oval coin in Japan) formed by rolling, with a thickness of 0.6 mm and a vertical width of 2.1 mm. Elastic ring 3 with such a cross-sectional shape, as shown in FIG. 2, is sewn in the outer circumferential edge of the brim 2, for example by housing the ring in a hollow-shaped sewn-in part formed by the upper cloth and lower cloth. Since the ring has entirely no angular corner, the sewn-in part cloth of the brim 2 is not damaged. Also, fingers are not injured.

(9) The elastic ring is previously formed in a ring shape by coupling both ends of the flat wire rod before being sewn in the brim 2 and therefore, in this embodiment, a metal stop 5 is used as a coupling means as shown in FIG. 3. The metal stop 5 is a metal tube comprised of copper or the like and, after respectively inserting the both ends of the flat wire rod in both sides of the metal tube, both ends of the wire rod can be coupled by flatly crushing the tube with a caulking machine or the like. The metal stop 5 is preferably coated with tin or the like to prevent corrosion, but is not limited to that.

(10) As a more preferable configuration, the metal stop 5 in this embodiment has a pair of facing convex parts 5a on which the tips of both ends of the flat wire rod abut at an inner center part of the metal stop 5. Therefore, the flat wire rod is inserted in the metal stop 5 until it abuts on the convex parts 5a, so that the insertion length of the both ends can be made to be the same. Although a pair of facing convex parts 5a is confronted on the inside and outside of the ring in FIG. 3, the convex part may be prepared on either of the sides or it may be formed in a blind wall to separate the inside of the metal stop 5 into right and left.

(11) After the insertion, the metal stop 5 is flatly crushed to keep both ends of the flat wire rod in a retention state as described above. Since the part crushed flatly inevitability has some angular corners, the cloth might be damaged. Thus, in this embodiment, only one side corresponding to an inner peripheral side of the elastic ring is flatly crushed. For example, when the metal stop 5 is sandwiched and flatly crushed, only one side on an inner peripheral side of the metal stop 5 can be crushed as described above by treating a member with the same inner shape as an outer shape of the stop 5 as a base to use an apparatus which moves a beaten piece towards this base within a predetermined range. According to the coupling method, since the flatly crushed part of the metal stop 5 is located on the inner peripheral side of the elastic ring, it does not contact with the cloth when the ring is sewn in the brim 2, so that there is no risk of damaging the cloth.

(12) In this embodiment, furthermore, since both of the pair of facing convex parts 5a are flatly crushed with the same force at one moment in flatly crushing the metal stop 5, a coupling operation of the flat wire rod is completed by single press. Constant-Rate-of-Extension Type Tensile Test was performed on the elastic ring coupled with the metal stop 5 to measure drawing strength from the metal stop 5. As a result, the maximum load just after the press working was 75.0 N. Further, the same test was performed on a product in which the elastic ring had been sewn after having folded it 1,000 times over at a rate of approximately ten times/m. As a result, very high drawing strength of the maximum load 52.0 N was shown.

(13) In the present invention, the hat can be also folded in a circle shape having one-third of a size as in the conventional techniques. Although the folding method cannot be defined unambiguously, for example, in the method shown in FIG. 4, first, the hat is folded about to the half (FIG. 4 (a)), next, three small circles R1-R3 are formed right, left and below by drawing bilateral curved parts inward (FIG. 4 (b)), then, one of the bilateral circles R2 is folded overlapped on the below circle R3 (FIG. 4 (c)) and finally, the last circle R1 is overlapped, so that the hat can be folded in a circle shape having one-third of a size from FIG. 1 (FIG. 4 (d)). Further, when slight outward force is applied to either of the small circles in the folded state by elasticity of elastic ring 3, the hat is instantly restored to the use state (unfolded state) shown in FIG. 1. In order to prevent careless extension, it is preferable to accommodate the hat in a pouch or the like, but, in the present embodiment, the extension can be temporarily prevented until the hat is contained in the pouch or the like by winding a tightening strap 4 for adjustment provided on the crown 1 about the center of the folded one-third circular ring.

(14) The cloth of the crown 1 and the brim 2 requires flexibility without hindering folding, but it is not particularly limited. Regarding the brim 2, shape retainability is obtained by the elastic ring when the hat is used, so that there is no problem even if thin cloth is used. Moreover, depending on the application, waterproofing, UV protection processing and the like are freely applied to the cloth.

(15) The shape of the brim 2 is not limited to the shape which forms a perfect circle in the use state as shown in FIG. 1, and it may be an ellipse. Moreover, right and left of the brim 2 may be curved upward to shape in a ten-gallon hat-style and a cowboy hat-style by making width of the upper cloth slightly smaller than the lower cloth, etc.

(16) The embodiments of this invention shown in the drawings and described above are exemplary of numerous embodiments that may be made within the scope of the appended claims. It is contemplated that numerous other configurations of the containment system may be created taking advantage of the disclosed approach. In short, it is the applicant's intention that the scope of the patent issuing herefrom be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.