Adjustable caps, and particularly baseball caps, have been used by fans for years. Manufacturers and store owners alike appreciate the ability to adjust the size of one style of cap for many different sized heads to reduce the inventory that must be kept on hand. With adjustable sizing for the caps, more hats with different styles and decorations may be carried by the stores. There are a number of ways of making the hats adjustable. There are elastic bands that allow the user to stretch the hat for a larger head. There are hats with a strap across the back that can be adjusted at one end. There are hats with two straps that can be attached to one another at different points to change the size of the hat.
There are also hats with adjustable straps that have indicia attached thereto. This indicia may be the name of a team, a mascot or an institution. There may also be other decorations or logos that can be included on the strap/s. However, the user of the hat may wish to change the indicia that is on the straps, but this cannot be done when the straps are permanently affixed to the hats or the bands in the hats. However, the user may wish to change the indicia (or the strap itself) repeatedly without destroying the hat or having to buy more than one hat. Thus, an adjustable strap is disclosed that allows the user to change the straps quickly, efficiently and without taking the hat apart.
The present invention is directed to an adjustable hat that includes a main hat portion and a bill, the main hat portion having an inside surface, an outside surface, and an arcuate opening in the main hat portion, a band disposed around a bottom portion of the main hat portion and forming a space between the main hat portion and the band, the band and the main hat portion interrupted by the arcuate opening, the arcuate opening creating a first end and a second end of the band, a first attachment member extending between a first end and a second end and defining an axis therealong, the first attachment member attached at the first end thereof to the adjustable hat adjacent the first end of the band in the space between the main hat portion and the band, the second end of the first attachment member being a first connection member, and a strap removably attachable to the first attachment member, the strap having a strap connection member attached at a first end to engage the first connection member of the first attachment member, the first connection member and the strap connection member moving relative to one another and moving one inside at least a portion of the other along the axis to removably secure the strap to the first attachment member.
In some embodiments, there is also a second attachment member extending between a first end and a second end and defining an axis therealong, the second attachment member attached at the first end to the adjustable hat adjacent the second end of the band in the space between the main hat portion and the band, the second end of the second attachment member being a second connection member and wherein the strap has a second end having a second strap connection member, the second connection member and the second strap connection member moving relative to one another and one inside at least a portion of the other along the axis to removably secure the strap to the second attachment member.
In some other embodiments, there also is a second attachment member extending between a first end and a second end and defining an axis therealong, the second attachment member attached at the first end to the adjustable hat at the second end of the band in the space between the main hat portion and the band, the second end of the second attachment member being a second connection member, and a second strap removably attachable to the second attachment member, the second strap having a second strap connection member attached at a first end to engage the first connection member of the second attachment member, the second connection member and the second strap connection member moving relative to one another and one inside at least a portion of the other along the axis to removably secure the second strap to the second attachment member, wherein the strap and the second strap are removably attachable to one another.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is an adjustable hat that includes a main hat portion and a bill, the main hat portion having an inside surface, an outside surface, and an arcuate opening in the main hat portion, a band disposed around a bottom portion of the main hat portion and forming a space between the main hat portion and the band, the band and the main hat portion interrupted by the arcuate opening, the arcuate opening creating a first end and a second end of the band, a first attachment member extending between a first end and a second end and defining an axis therealong, the first attachment member attached at the first end thereof to the adjustable hat adjacent the first end of the band in the space between the main hat portion and the band, the second end of the first attachment member being a first connection member, a second attachment member extending between a first end and a second end and defining an axis therealong, the second attachment member attached at the first end to the adjustable hat adjacent the second end of the band in the space between the main hat portion and the band, the second end of the second attachment member being a second connection member and wherein the strap has a second end having a second strap connection member, and a strap removably attachable to the first attachment member, the strap having a first strap connection member attached at a first end to engage the first connection member of the first attachment member and a second strap connection member attached at a second end of the strap to engage the second connection member of the second attachment member, wherein the connection members and the strap connection members moving relative to one another and moving one inside at least a portion of the other along the axis to removably secure the strap to the attachment members.
According to another aspect, an adjustable hat includes a main hat portion and a bill, the main hat portion having an inside surface, an outside surface, and an arcuate opening in the main hat portion, a band disposed around a bottom portion of the main hat portion and forming a space between the main hat portion and the band, the band and the main hat portion interrupted by the arcuate opening, the arcuate opening creating a first end and a second end of the band, a first attachment member extending between a first end and a second end and defining an axis therealong, the first attachment member attached at the first end thereof to the adjustable hat adjacent the first end of the band in the space between the main hat portion and the band, the second end of the first attachment member being a first connection member, a second attachment member extending between a first end and a second end and defining an axis therealong, the second attachment member attached at the first end to the adjustable hat at the second end of the band in the space between the main hat portion and the band, the second end of the second attachment member being a second connection member, a first strap removably attachable to the first attachment member, the first strap having a first strap connection member attached at a first end to engage the first connection member of the first attachment member, the first connection member and the first strap connection member moving relative to one another and moving one inside at least a portion of the other along the axis to removably secure the first strap to the first attachment member, and a second strap removably attachable to the second attachment member, the second strap having a second strap connection member attached at a first end to engage the first connection member of the second attachment member, the second connection member and the second strap connection member moving relative to one another and one inside at least a portion of the other along the axis to removably secure the second strap to the second attachment member, wherein the strap and the second strap are removably attachable to one another.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present embodiments of the invention are intended to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and character of the invention as it is claimed. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and operations of the invention.
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiment(s) of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
Referring to
It is in the arcuate opening 20 that a strap is used to alter the size of the adjustable hat 10. The adjustable hat 10 of the present invention has a first attachment member 40 (
A strap 70 is removably attachable to the first and second attachment members 40,40a. The strap 70 has a strap connection member 72 attached at a first end 74 of the strap 70 to engage the first connection member 48 of the first attachment member 40. The first connection member 48 and the strap connection member 72 move relative to one another and moving one inside at least a portion of the other along the axis A to removably secure the strap 70 to the first attachment member 40. A second strap connection member 72a is also attached at a second end 76 of the strap 70 to engage the second attachment member 40a at the second end 30 of the band 22 in the same manner as the first attachment member 40a. See
As can be better seen in
As illustrated in
Rather than having one strap to adjust the size of the adjustable hat 10, there could also be two straps 250a,250b that are provided with the adjustable hat 10 to alter the size of the hat as illustrated in
While the above straps have been illustrated with the same connector pair (the strap connection member 72 and the first attachment member 40), there are other connector pairs that can be used with single or two-piece straps. For example as illustrated in
Another embodiment of a strap connection member 572 and corresponding first attachment member 548 are illustrated in
Another embodiment of a strap connection member 672 and corresponding first attachment member 648 are illustrated in
In conjunction with
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.