US2677827A - Hat - Google Patents

Description

May 11, 1954 R. c. LOCKHART 2,671,821

HAT

F'iled Dee. 20, 1948 nventor, Quast-L Loom-(Aer (Ittorneg Patented May 1l, 1954 HAT Russell C. Lockhart, Arc

Bailey Hat a corporation of California George S. Calif.

adia, Calif., assignor to Co., Inc., Los Angeles,

Application December 20, 1948, Serial No. 66,305 2 Claims. (Cl. 2-175) esigned to be light in weight and particularly comfortable to wear, and which, with my invention incorporated therein, will not lose their shape When in use or when stacked for sales display on counters or shelves, or when packed for shipping purposes.

Hats of the kind with which this invention is concerned are carefully made, being commonly constructed with a brim tted with a crown or upstanding portion of several pieces carefully cut to pattern and sewn together, the assembled hat being then blocked under heat and pressure to the required shape.

It has been found that because of the softness of the material used in the manufacture of hats of this type it is diicult to pack and handle the hats so that they retain their original smartdistorted, and thereby have a somewhat rumpled, crushed, or used look, which detracts from their smartness and gives to the customer a very unsightly appearance; and it is the particular object of my invention to provide a novel construction and method of making such hats that will result in the shape of the hat being retained in blocked condition, and which has not heretofore been possible with fabric hats.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved soft hat by utilizing a modification of the usual method of the forming of such hats, which is simple, inexpensive, and involves no substantial variation of the present practice of manufacture thereof, so that the skill of the operators accustomed to the present practice may be availed of.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel hat of the kind described which, although providing a hat having improved characteristics, is relatively inexpensive to produce, and which will retain its blocked shape during shipping, display and use.

A still further object of my invention is to produce a novel and improved hat of the kind made from relatively soft cloth or similar exible and pliable material, and which will hold its shape and may be reblocked to another shape with equally satisfactory results.

The invention includes the finished structure, as well as the method of constructing the same, and the parts and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

Other objects, advantages and features of invention may appeal` from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detail description, and the appended claims.

The accompanying drawing illustrates the invention in a form I at present deem preferable.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hat constructed in accordance with my invention, and incorporating my new andnovel features therewith.

Fig. 2 is a fragment plane indicated by line in the direction of the Fig. 3 is a 3-3, Fig. 2.

Fig.V 4 is a fragmentary view of the top section of the front of the crown of the hat, illustrating my novel combination of a plastic strip associated therewith.

In the drawing the numeral I D indicates the brim of a hat A and I2 indicates generally the crown of the hat, which is preferably formed by four sections I4 thereof being sewn together and to the brim I0 of the hat, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 3, one crown section I4 is shown sewn to an adjacent section I4' by stitching at the seam I8 which runs along a line spaced inwardly of the edges of the sections, these edges being laid back against the inside of the sections and sewn thereto by stitching 20.

I have discovered that the shape of the front ary sectional view on a 2-2, Fig. l, and looking arrows.

fragmentary sectional view on line those use l-.

The'plastic stripv of material is laid between the seam I8 and a tape member '22 that is secured to the inside of the crown by the stitching 20 and which tape member 22 extends along the seam I8 to both retain the strip 24 in position and also reinforce the seam throughout its length from the front to the rear of the crown,

the seam I3 of the hat around the base of the crown also includes a sweatband 28 sewn around its lower edge to the edge of the head opening of the brim, and usually also includes an ornamental band 30 around the outside and at the bottom of the crown, so that the junction of the crown and brim is provided with a substantial foundation.

The strip 24 of plastic material is of a length sufficient to extend upwardly from the lower edge of chamber a adjacent the brim b, a sufficient distance beyond the line of the usual forward upper edge bend of the crown l2, as indicated at 32 to securely hold the desired curvature at this point as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, while the full height of the crown is maintained by the height of the strip 24, that is positioned in chamber a and extends upwardly therein from the brim b to the front edge bend 32 of crown l2 and at which bend or point 32 the strip 24 is bent by heat and pressure during blocking of the crown, to `conform to the block of the hat crown, and extends rearwardly therefrom a short distance to maintain the forward edge 32 of the crown in the desired and blocked contour.

Blocking the hats under suitable temperatures, preferably about 150 F., and applying considerable pressure to the hat during blocking operation, will soften the strip 24 and accurately bend the plastic strip 24 to the required shape of the blocking form without causing the strip tofuse to the material of the crown, and when the plastic is cooled it will hold its shape indenitely in its deformed contour corresponding to the block of the hat crown; but when again heated to the softening point, as when reblocking the hat, the plastic will lose its formed shape and may be molded or bent under heat and pressure to any other shape, and thereafter will hold such deformed or blocked shape after the same is cool.

It will be noted that the methd of stiffening the front of the hat involves only a slight deviation from the usual procedure by the operator merely inserting a plastic strip 24 of the desired length and above described character, in the chamber a, during stitching of the tape member 22 to the crown over the seam I8, while nevertheless producing a much improved hat. Operators can therefore turn out approximately the same quantity of the improved hat as of the kind previously handled, but with my novel invention incorporated therein the front edge of the hat crown will be stiifened, and crushing or distortion thereof prevented during shipping or stacking of such soft cloth hats on counters or shelves.

The invention includes the method of inserting a plastic strip in a channel formed in the rear of the front seam I3 of the hat crown I2 before blocking the hat, and which strip extends beyond and rearwardly of the usual forward upper edge bend 32 of the hat crown, and then subjecting the hat structure and strip 24 to temperature and pressure for blocking purposes, and which temperature will soften strip 24 and the pressure applied to block the hat will deform strip 24 to conform to the type of blocking that the structure is subjected to, and such strip 24 when cooled after such blocking operation will retain its deformed or blocked shape to stiffen the forward upper edge of the hat crown.

I claim:

1. A method of forming blocked hats having a brim and a crown with a forward upper edge bend, and which method comprises sewing together pieces of material forming the crown 0f the hat to afford a front seam; then placing a relatively long and narrow strip of thermo softening material to extend upwardly over said seam inside the crown from the brim to a point over and beyond the line where the forward upper edge bend of the hat crown is to be formed after blocking; then blocking the crown ofthe hat under heat and pressure to thereby also soften the strip of thermo softening material and mold said strip into the required shape conforming to that of the blocked crown, and without destroying its striplike characteristics; and then allowing the strip to cool, whereby the blocked shape of the strip will be maintained as forme 2. A blocked hat having a brim and a crown formed of relatively pliable pieces of material stitched together and including a front seam, the crown being secured to the brim and when blocked providing an upper edge bendaround the crown; a strip of thermo softening material positioned within the crown over said front seam and extending from the brim to a point over and beyond the said upper edge bend of the crown when blocked, and which strip is shaped under heat and pressure to the conguration required of said blocked upper edge bend and adjacent area of the crown, said strip after being shaped retaining its strip-like characteristics; and means securing said strip within the hat crown adjacent said front seam.

JReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED sTATEs PATENTS

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