US20060041993A1

US20060041993A1 - Disposable bandana

Info

Publication number: US20060041993A1
Application number: US10/924,929
Authority: US
Inventors: Chris Elea
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-08-25
Filing date: 2004-08-25
Publication date: 2006-03-02

Abstract

The disposable bandana is an absorbent bandana adapted to fit on a user's head and absorb perspiration and dirt. The bandana is made from a flexible sheet of disposable material, so a user may wear and use the bandana, and then dispose of the bandana following use. The disposable bandana is coated or impregnated with at least one substance, such as a topical sunscreen composition, an insect repellent, menthol, a fragrance agent, aloe vera or a tocopherol (vitamin E). The bandana is rubbed across the user's body in order to transfer the substance to the user's body. Additionally, the sheet may be coated with a chemiluminescent agent to allow the bandana to glow in the dark. Indicia may be conspicuously imprinted on the bandana for aesthetic appeal.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bandanas, and particularly to disposable bandanas coated or impregnated with various substances.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bandanas have been used by individuals for a number of years to hold hair away from a user's face, prevent perspiration from dripping down an individual's face, and protection for the scalp against the sun. While numerous cloth bandanas exist that effectively do what they are intended to do, they become dirty and moist with sweat after a period of use, thereby depriving the user from the benefit of the article.
Further, on many occasions that call for use of the bandana, the individual additionally has need for the use of specific substances, such as sunscreen or insect repellent, which are to be rubbed on a user's body. While the individual may bring a bandana and sunscreen or insect repellent to an area that requires use of these materials, a combination of the bandana with the needed substance would certainly simplify the number of articles of which the individual is required to keep track.
Therefore, what is needed is a bandana that may be disposed of after a single use, which additionally is impregnated with a substance that may be rubbed across a user's body.
Patents showing headwear or substances that may be used with headwear include U.S. Pat. No. Des. 338,099, issued Aug. 10, 1993 to R. Gentile (combined bandana and sunglasses); U.S. Pat. No. Des. 359,384, issued Jun. 20, 1995 to B. Dlugokeski (headwear with tails); U.S. Pat. No. US D456,595 S, issued May 7, 2002 to J. Cowgill et al. (hat which can serve as a megaphone); U.S. Pat. No. D472,367 S, issued Apr. 1, 2003 to T. Maya (turban towel); U.S. Pat. No. US D474,577 S, issued May 20, 2003 to D. Rohde (cool cap); U.S. Pat. No. US D481,198 S, issued Oct. 28, 2003 to W. McKnight (head band with neck shade); U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2002/0152533 A1, published Oct. 24, 2002 and applied for by G. Lesley (enhanced visibility safety garment); U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2003/0074717 A1, published Apr. 24, 2003 and applied for by A. Robinson et al. (sports towel); U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2003/0213045 A1, published Nov. 20, 2003 and applied for by R. Fuentes (high visibility safety garment); U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2003/0221243 A1, published Dec. 4, 2003 and applied for by T. Phillips (head covering with pouch); U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2003/0224029 A1, published Dec. 4, 2003 and applied for by J. White (insect repellant); and U.S. Patent Publication No. US 2003/0225386 A1, published Dec. 4, 2003 and applied for by J. Rodriguez (glow in the dark absorbent article);
Additional patents showing headwear or substances that may be used with headwear include U.S. Pat. No. 1,633,586, issued Jun. 28, 1927 to W. Hunter (sudatory receptor pad); U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,922, issued Jun. 11, 1985 to A. Mitchell et al. (evaporative non-dripping sweat band); U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,960, issued Jun. 9, 1987 to P. Thielen et al. (herbal repellent composition); U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,287, issued May 21, 1991 to J. Harris (evaporative cooled cloth hood); U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,157, issued Nov. 5, 1991 to T. Muta (headband towel); U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,260, issued Nov. 10, 1992 to J. Reynolds (athletic headwear); U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,559, issued Jan. 17, 1995 to F. Wakefield, III (bandana with flexible bill); U.S. Pat. No. 5,594,956, issued Jan. 21, 1997 to H. Barrientos (head bandanna having a headband with closure tabs); U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,401, issued Apr. 11, 2000 to M. Traumer (bandana with goggles attachment); U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,181 B1, issued Jun. 19, 2001 to K. Hirsch et al. (bandana head-protector using fabric and closed-cell foam); and Japanese Patent No. 2001-159,022, published Jun. 12, 2001 (bandana for helmet).
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a disposable bandanna solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The disposable bandana is a bandana adapted to fit on a user's head and absorb perspiration and dirt. The bandana is made from a flexible sheet of disposable material, so a user may wear and use the bandana, and then dispose of the bandana following use. The disposable bandana is coated or impregnated with various substances. The bandana is rubbed across the user's body in order to transfer the substance to the user's body.
The bandana is absorbent and made from any suitable paper or non-woven fabric material designed to be disposed of after use. The substance may be any one of a variety of agents that coats or impregnates the flexible sheet, such as a topical sunscreen composition, an insect repellent, menthol, a fragrance agent, aloe vera or a tocopherol (vitamin E). Additionally, the sheet may be coated with a chemiluminescent agent to allow the bandana to glow in the dark. Indicia may be conspicuously imprinted on the bandana for aesthetic appeal.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environmental, perspective view of a disposable bandana according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the disposable bandana according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an environmental, perspective view of the disposable bandana according to the present invention being used as an applicator.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is a disposable bandana, designated generally as 10 in the drawings. The bandana 10 is adapted to fit on a user's head, absorb perspiration and protect the head and scalp from the sun, dirt, etc. The bandana 10 is made from a disposable material, so a user may wear and use the bandana once, then dispose of it following use. Additionally, the disposable bandana 10 is impregnated with various substances, such as sunscreen or insect repellent, which may be transferred to a user's body to protect the user against the sun or insects, respectively.
Referring first to FIG. 1, the disposable bandana 10 is shown on a user's head. The disposable bandana 10 is generally of a rectangular or square configuration, and is tied about a user's head. It is to be understood that the shape of the bandana is not critical to the present invention. For general use, the bandana 10 is folded along a diagonal of the square or rectangle to form a triangle. The diagonal side of the bandana 10 is then placed along the user's forehead, and the two side ends are pulled around the back of the head and tied together to hold the bandana in place.
Turning now to FIG. 2, the disposable bandana 10 is a flexible sheet 12 made from a disposable material. The sheet 12 is coated or impregnated with a substance 20 transferable to the body of a user. The bandana 10 may be worn and then disposed of after a single use.
The flexible sheet 12 is a material that is absorbent and designed to be discarded following use. For example, the flexible sheet 12 may be any suitable paper or non-woven fabric material that may be disposed of after the user is finished with the bandana 10. The paper material may be non-woven paper having a fibrous web. A non-woven fabric is a sheet, batt or web of fibers that are bonded together. Such material should be absorbent and sturdy enough to withstand wear on the head and transfer of the substance 20 to the user's body. The sheet 12 should be relatively soft, but durable.
The substance 20 may be any one of a variety of agents that coats or impregnates the flexible sheet 12. Following removal from the head, the substance 20 on the bandana may be rubbed upon the skin of the user, allowing for the transfer of the beneficial properties of the agent to the user's skin. The substance 20 may include any of the following: a topical sunscreen composition, an insect repellent, menthol, a fragrance agent, aloe vera or a tocopherol (vitamin E). Additionally, the sheet 12 may be coated with a chemiluminescent agent to allow the bandana 10 to glow in the dark.
The topical sunscreen composition contains one or more sunscreen agents that protect against UV-A type or UV-B type ultraviolet radiation, or both. The sunscreen composition includes at least one UV-A sunscreen agent selected from the group of avobenzone, menthyl anthranilate or zinc oxide, at least one UV-B sunscreen agent selected from the group of aminobenzoic acid, titanium dioxide, padimate O, octyl methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, octyl salicylate, homosalate, trolamine salicylate, cinoxate, phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid, lisadimate, or roxadimate, or at least one UV-A and UV-B sunscreen agent selected from the group of dioxybenzone, oxybenzone, or sulisobenzone.
The insect repellent may include any of a variety of chemicals, including but not limited to, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET). The fragance agent may be any composition that leaves a fragrance when applied to the flexible sheet 12, such as jasmine oil, orange blossom oil, or magnolia oil.
The flexible sheet 12 is a material that is absorbent and designed to be discarded following use. For example, the flexible sheet 12 may be any suitable paper or non-woven fabric material that may be disposed of after the user is finished with the bandana 10. The paper material may be non-woven paper having a fibrous web. A non-woven fabric is a sheet, batt or web of fibers that are bonded together. Such material should be absorbent and sturdy enough to withstand wear on the head and transfer of the substance to the user's body.
Indicia (not shown) may be conspicuously imprinted on the flexible sheet 12 for aesthetic appeal.
FIG. 3 shows a user rubbing the bandana 10 across the user's body to transfer the substance 20 to the user's body, depending on the use to which it is most appropriate. For example, the user would rub the bandana 10 impregnated with menthol across the user's chest. The bandana 10 using the substance of insect repellent or sunscreen would be rubbed across the user's whole body. The vitamin E and aloe vera bandana 10 would be rubbed on the user's face.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A disposable bandana, comprising:

a flexible sheet made from a disposable material and dimensioned and configured for being worn about a head of a user, thereby defining a bandana, the sheet being coated or impregnated with a substance transferable to the user's body;

whereby the bandana may be worn and disposed of after a single use; and

whereby the bandana may be rubbed across the user's body to transfer the substance to the user's body.

2. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the flexible sheet is rectangular.

3. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the flexible sheet is square.

4. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the substance is a topical sunscreen composition.

5. The disposable bandana according to claim 4, wherein the topical sunscreen composition comprises one or more agents selected from the group consisting of avobenzone, menthyl anthranilate, zinc oxide, aminobenzoic acid, titanium dioxide, padimate O, octyl methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, octyl salicylate, homosalate, trolamine salicylate, cinoxate, phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid, lisadimate, roxadimate, dioxybenzone, oxybenzone, and sulisobenzone.

6. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the substance is an insect repellent.

7. The disposable bandana according to claim 6, wherein the insect repellent is N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide.

8. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the substance is menthol.

9. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the substance is a fragrance.

10. The disposable bandana according to claim 9, wherein the fragrance comprises jasmine oil.

11. The disposable bandana according to claim 9, wherein the fragrance comprises an orange blossom oil.

12. The disposable bandana according to claim 9, wherein the fragrance comprises magnolia oil.

13. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the substance is aloe vera.

14. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the substance comprises tocopherol.

15. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the disposable material comprises a fibrous material.

16. The disposable bandana according to claim 15, wherein the fibrous material comprises non-woven paper.

17. The disposable bandana according to claim 16, wherein the non-woven paper is a cloth-like paper web.

18. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the disposable material comprises a non-woven fabric.

19. The disposable bandana according to claim 1, wherein the flexible sheet is coated with a chemiluminescent agent.