Shape-adjustable headgear visor and headgears thereof

Abstract

Shape-adjustable brims or visors for headgears made from a shape-memory plastic composite material and headgears, such as hats and caps, comprising such shape-adjustable brims or visors are disclosed. The present disclosure also provides methods for manufacturing the shape-adjustable brim or visor and headgears thereof.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear, comprising an elastic flat plate that can be manually adjusted into a curved shape and readjusted back to the original flat shape, wherein the elastic flat plate is made from a shape-memory plastic composite material. 
     
     
         2 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 1 , wherein the shape-memory plastic composite material comprises a low-density high-pressure polyethylene and a high-density low-pressure polyethylene. 
     
     
         3 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 2 , wherein the shape-memory plastic composite material further comprises at least three or more components independently selected from Nano powder, active calcium, plastic lubricant, polyethylene (PE) compound modifier, pigment, titanium dioxide, antioxidant, AC foaming powder, zinc stearate, stearic acid, and diffusion powder. 
     
     
         4 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 1 , wherein the headgear is a hat or a cap. 
     
     
         5 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 3 , wherein the headgear is a hat or a cap. 
     
     
         6 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 4 , wherein the hat or cap comprises a crown with a size and shape substantially matches a person's head for comfortable wearing, wherein the brim or visor is deposited along bottom edge of the crown extending outward from the crown. 
     
     
         7 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 1 , wherein the brim or visor plate is covered by an outer cover. 
     
     
         8 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 5 , wherein the brim or visor plate is covered by an outer cover. 
     
     
         9 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 7 , wherein the outer cover comprises an upper cover on the upper side of the brim or visor and a lower cover on the lower side of the brim or visor. 
     
     
         10 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 9 , wherein the upper cover and the lower cover are sewed together with the brim or visor plate to become one integral brim or visor. 
     
     
         11 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 9 , wherein there is a liner inserted between the upper cover and brim or visor plate and/or between the lower cover and the brim or visor plate. 
     
     
         12 . The shape-adjustable brim or visor of a headgear according to  claim 11 , wherein the upper cover, the lower cover, and the liner, if any, are of the same or substantially same size as that of the brim or visor plate. 
     
     
         13 . A headgear comprising a brim or visor according to  claim 1  and a crown portion for covering head of a wearer, wherein the brim or visor is sewed onto the crown alongside bottom edge of the crown and projects outward from the crown portion. 
     
     
         14 . The headgear of  claim 13 , which is a cap comprising the visor and the crown, wherein the visor comprises a substantially flat shape-memory plate so that the visor can be manually bent by a wearer to form a curved shape as desired and subsequently changed back to the original flat shape as desired. 
     
     
         15 . The headgear of  claim 14 , wherein the shape-memory plastic composite material comprises a low-density high-pressure polyethylene and a high-density low-pressure polyethylene. 
     
     
         16 . A method of preparing a shape-memory plastic composite brim or visor plate, comprising:
 (a) high-speed mixing HDPE, LLDPE and nano-modified material;   (b) adding proportional excipients, heating the mixture to about 80° C. while stirring;   (c) drying the resultant material and allowing it to stand at about 50° C. to obtain a mixture for release;   (d) transferring the mixture to an extruder hopper, screw heating to about 185° C., following by low speed extrusion;   (e) shaping the extruded material of step (d) into a plate;   (f) cooling the plate in a U-tank with natural air for about 25 minutes to obtain a U-plate;   (g) after the U-plate is cooled, ejecting and framing the material, and allowing it to stand for more than 48 hours; and   (h) punching the cooled U-plate to obtain a flat shape-memory brim or visor plate.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the step shaping (e) further comprises:
 (i) die head initial shaping, accurate to about 0.1 mm thickness;   (ii) natural air cooling and shaping for about five 5 minutes;   (iii) heating to about 195° C., then plasticizing the material for the second time;   (iv) punching and cutting to standard width, accurate to about 0.5 cm; and   (v) shaping into a U-channel bending plate at about 100° C.   
     
     
         18 . A method of preparing a headgear comprising a shape-memory visor, the method comprising:
 (a) providing a shape-memory brim or visor plate manufactured according to the method of  claim 16  and covering the brim or visor plate with a desired cover cloth to prepare a brim or visor, optionally inserting a liner between the cover cloth layer and the shape-memory brim or visor plate;   (b) providing a crown with a size matching that of the brim or visor plate, and sewing the brim or visor onto the crown alongside bottom edge of the crown to obtain the brim the headgear.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the headgear is a hat comprising a shape-memory brim. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the headgear is a cap comprising a shape-memory visor.