Baseball caps are generally designed for providing protection to a wearer's head. Particularly, a top part of a baseball cap protects the top of the wearer's head from potentially harmful solar rays, while the brim of the cap is intended to protect the wearer's eyes and face from direct sunlight. In general, baseball caps have seen relatively few changes over the past several decades.
Some accessories have been added to baseball caps, such as those that are intended to provide a cooling effect for the wearer. For example, one such accessory is a fan that is designed to direct airflow to the wearer's head. Another example is a water-cooling apparatus. However, these devices are marginal in their cooling effectiveness, especially in environments of high humidity.
In some environments, a wearer may face the issue regarding the effectiveness of blocking the sun's rays from reaching the wearer's face or neck. Thus, the wearer may turn the cap backward (i.e., catcher's position) or turn the cap to the side to strategically position the brim of the cap to block the sun's rays from a certain direction. One problem with turning the cap in different directions on the top of the wearer's head is that the cap may not fit properly, especially when turned to the side. Also, plastic size-adjustment straps may be pressed against the forehead or side of the head in these alternate positions, causing discomfort for the wearer. In addition, when turned to the side or back, the logo may not be visible to others as it is no longer be oriented facing forward.
Another issue with traditional baseball caps is that the wearer must manually adjust the size of the caps, which may take a bit of time and effort. Also, when the cap is snug and is then taken off of the head, the cap typically messes up the wearer's hair, leaving the wearer with “hat hair.”
Therefore, since conventional baseball caps include a number of inherent issues that may be undesirable for many wearers, there is a need to provide improved baseball caps having features that overcome these undesirable issues.
According to one embodiment, a baseball cap as describe in the present disclosure may include a dome configured to be placed on a wearer's head, wherein the dome comprises one or more panels and one or more cooling channels. The baseball cap may also include a hub positioned at a top of the dome. The hub comprises a central cavity and one or more conduits in gaseous communication with the one or more cooling channels of the dome. In addition, the baseball cap further includes a coolant output port in gaseous communication with the central cavity. The coolant output port is configured to supply a coolant gas to the one or more cooling channels of the dome via the central cavity of the hub.
In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a baseball cap comprises a dome configured to be placed on a wearer's head, the dome including one or more panels and a downward-extending fold. The baseball cap also comprises a brim including an upward-extending fold configured to interlock with the downward-extending fold of the dome. The position of the brim is adjustable with respect to the dome by sliding the upward-extending fold of the brim with respect to the downward-extending fold of the dome.
According to yet another embodiment, a baseball cap includes a dome configured to be placed on a wearer's head and a strap assembly configured to adjust a tightness of the dome on the wearer's head. The strap assembly includes an outer strap attached to a first edge portion of the dome and an inner strap attached to a second edge portion of the dome. The inner strap is configured to be movable within the outer strap. The baseball cap further includes a motor attached to first and second cables. The first cable is configured to draw the inner strap closer to the first edge portion of the dome and the second cable is configured to draw the outer strap closer to the second edge portion of the dome.
In yet another embodiment, a baseball cap comprises a dome and a plurality of brainwave sensors positioned on an inside surface of the dome such that the brainwave sensors are configured to contact a wearer's head when the baseball cap is placed on the wearer's head. The brainwave sensors are configured to be receptive to brainwave activity of the wearer. The baseball cap further comprises a control box in electrical communication with the plurality of brainwave sensors.
A number of embodiments of baseball caps are provided in the present disclosure to improve upon traditional baseball caps. Some embodiments disclosed herein include baseball caps that are capable of providing a coolant gas to the head of the wearer, which can be a benefit in environments where the cap is being worn in hot and/or humid climates. Some embodiments of baseball caps may include the capability of moving the brim of the cap around the perimeter of the cap to position the brim so as to block the sun's rays in a desirable manner without the necessity of adjusting the entire cap. Still other embodiments include a self-tightening feature of a baseball cap, whereby the cap can sense when the user has placed the cap on his or her head and then automatically tighten the cap to achieve a desired degree of tightness. Yet other embodiments may include a baseball cap having the ability to sense brainwaves of the wearer, which may be helpful in situations where a wearer's mental state may have negative consequences if additional actions are not taken.
It should be understood that these embodiments of baseball caps may be combined together in any combination to include any one or more of the features mentioned herein. For example, according to the teachings of the present disclosure, one baseball cap may include a first feature (e.g., the coolant gas providing feature) along with a second feature (e.g., the self-tightening feature), whereby another baseball cap may include a first feature (e.g., the coolant gas providing feature) with a second feature (e.g., the brim adjusting feature) and a third feature (e.g., the EEG system).
Therefore, the embodiments of baseball caps described in the present disclosure are able to overcome many of the undesirable qualities of regular baseball caps. The baseball caps as taught in the present disclosure include improvements to traditional baseball caps to provide greater comfort and protection from the sun's rays, and in some implementations may further provide a way to detect the brain activity of the wearer.
The cooling channel 18, according to one embodiment, may include an interior 24 that is defined by an enclosed area configured as a pathway for allowing the flow of a gas, such as coolant gas for cooling the head of the wearer. Walls 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d of the cooling channel 18 surround the space of the interior 24.
Side walls 18a, 18b of the cooling channel 18 may have a height that corresponds substantially with the height of the side walls of the panels 16. Also, an inside wall 18c of the cooling channel 18 may provide a continuous curve with respect to the inside walls of the two surrounding panels, thereby providing essentially a seamless surface against the wearer's head.
However, as shown in
Each of the cooling channels 18 may also include one or more bleeder holes 26. The bleeder holes 26 are openings in the inside wall 18c to allow coolant flowing through the cooling channels 18 to escape from the cooling channels 18 for cooling the wearer's head.
Also shown in
The baseball cap 10 also includes a strap assembly 30 located on the back of the baseball cap 10. The strap assembly 30, defined in more detail below, is used for adjusting the size of a band extending around the bottom edge of the dome 12, whereby the adjustment can be made automatically in accordance with some embodiments.
The hub 20 includes a reduced diameter portion 34 configured to engage the coolant container 32 when inserted down into a top opening of the hub 20. The reduced diameter portion 34 is configured to apply a pressure on the side walls of the coolant container 32 to hold the coolant container 32 in place.
The hub 20 further includes conduits 46 that branch out from a central cavity 44 of the hub 20. The conduits 46 lead from the central cavity 44 to the channel cavity 24 of each of the cooling channels 18. In the embodiment where the baseball cap 10 includes six cooling channels 18, the hub 20 is configured with six conduits 46 branching from the central cavity 44 to the six channel cavities 24 of the cooling channels 18.
The coolant container 32 includes a coolant reservoir 36, a valve 38, a stem 40, and a coolant output port 42. Coolant is contained within the coolant reservoir 36 until the user wishes to discharge a portion of the coolant from the coolant reservoir 36 to cool the user's head. For example, coolant from the coolant container 32 is allowed to escape from the coolant reservoir 36, through the coolant output port 42 of the coolant container 32, into the central cavity 44 of the hub, through the conduits 46 of the hub 20, through the channel cavities 24 of the cooling channels 18, and finally through the bleeder holes 26 in the cooling channels 18. The coolant fed through the bleeder holes 26 will be directed toward the wearer's head.
According to some embodiments, the baseball cap 10 comprises the dome 12 configured to be placed on a wearer's head. The dome 12 includes one or more panels 16 and one or more cooling channels 18. The hub 20 is positioned at a top of the dome 12 and comprises the central cavity 44 and one or more conduits 46 in gaseous communication with the one or more cooling channels 18 of the dome 12. The coolant output port 42 is also in gaseous communication with the central cavity 44. The coolant output port 42 is configured to supply a coolant gas to the one or more cooling channels 18 of the dome 12 via the central cavity 44 of the hub 20.
Furthermore, the baseball cap 10 also comprises the coolant container 32, which includes the coolant reservoir 36 that is configured to store the coolant gas. The coolant container 32 also includes the valve 38 and the coolant output port 42. The valve 38 is configured to separate an interior space of the coolant reservoir 36 from the coolant output port 42 during a non-cooling state and configured to allow coolant to escape from the coolant reservoir 36 through the coolant output port 42 during a cooling state. The valve 38 of the coolant container 32 extends downward from the stem 40 attached to an inside top surface of the coolant reservoir 36 and covers the coolant output port 42 during the non-cooling state. As shown in
The hub 20 is configured to hold the coolant container 32 such that the coolant output port 42 of the coolant container 32 is adjacent to the central cavity 44 of the hub 20. As shown in
According to some embodiments, the baseball cap 10 may include other supplemental features in addition to the cooling features discussed above. For instance, the baseball cap 10 may further comprise an adjustable brim. The adjustable brim may include an upward-extending fold, wherein the upward-extending fold interlocks with a downward-extending fold of the dome 12.
Another supplemental feature of the baseball cap 10 is a strap assembly configured to adjust a tightness of the dome 12 on the wearer's head. The strap assembly may include an outer strap attached to a first edge portion of the dome and an inner strap attached to a second edge portion of the dome. The inner strap may be configured to be movable within the outer strap. Also, a motor may be attached to first and second cables, such that the first cable may be configured to draw the inner strap closer to the first edge portion of the dome and the second cable may be configured to draw the outer strap closer to the second edge portion of the dome.
In yet another supplemental feature, the baseball cap 10 may further be equipped with a plurality of brainwave sensors positioned on an inside surface of the dome 12. The brainwave sensors may be configured to contact the wearer's head when the baseball cap 10 is placed on the wearer's head. The brainwave sensors may be configured to be receptive to brainwave activity of the wearer. This embodiment may be used during a baseball game to evaluate the mental state of a pitcher, whereby this information may be used by a manager to determine whether or not the pitcher has enough mental focus to continue pitching in the game.
According to some embodiments, the baseball cap 10 may be configured to include the dome 12, which may be placed on a wearer's head. The dome 12 may include one or more panels 16 and the downward-extending fold 62. The baseball cap 10 may further include the brim 14 including the upward-extending fold 60 configured to interlock with the downward-extending fold 62 of the dome 12. The position of the brim 14 may be adjustable with respect to the dome 12 by sliding the upward-extending fold 60 of the brim 14 with respect to the downward-extending fold 62 of the dome 12. Furthermore, the baseball cap 10 may be configured such that an outside surface of the upward-extending fold 60 of the brim 14 may include a plurality of ridges 60 configured to correspond with ridges 62 on an outside surface of the downward-extending fold 62 of the dome 12.
In addition to the brim-adjusting features of the baseball cap 10, the baseball cap 10 may further comprise the hub 20 positioned at a top of the dome 12, wherein the hub may include the central cavity 44 and one or more conduits 46 in gaseous communication with one or more cooling channels 18 of the dome 12. The coolant output port 42, 54 may be configured in gaseous communication with the central cavity 44. The coolant output port 42, 54 may be configured to supply a coolant gas to the one or more cooling channels 18 of the dome 12 via the central cavity 44 of the hub 20.
Accordingly, various embodiments of the tightening assembly 74 of the baseball cap 10 may be provided. In one embodiment, the baseball cap 10 may comprise the dome 12 configured to be placed on a wearer's head and the strap assembly 74 configured to adjust a tightness of the dome 12 on the wearer's head. The strap assembly 74 may include the outer strap 76 attached to the first edge portion 94 of the dome 12 and the inner strap 78 attached to the second edge portion 96 of the dome 12. The inner strap 78 may be configured to be movable within the outer strap 76. The motor 80 is attached to the first and second cables 86, 88. The first cable 86 is configured to draw the inner strap 78 closer to the first edge portion 94 of the dome 12 and the second cable 88 is configured to draw the outer strap 76 closer to the second edge portion 96 of the dome 12.
In addition, the tightening assembly 74 may be further defined in that a hub is positioned at a top portion of the dome 12 and the motor 80 is positioned within the hub. The motor 80 may further comprise the first cable pulley 82 attached to the first cable 86 and the second cable pulley 84 attached to the second cable 88.
Furthermore, the baseball cap 10 may further include a proximity sensor 28 (shown in
The control box 116 may be configured to determine specific conditions of the wearer. For example, if the brainwave activity of the wearer is detected as an indication that the wearer may be losing consciousness, the control box 116 may sound an alarm. This may be beneficial if the wearer is driving a vehicle and may be falling asleep at the wheel or if the wearer is working in the heat and may be exposed to too much heat. Another example may be the detection of brainwave activity of a wearer who may be losing focus on a task. This may be an indication that the wearer needs to take a break from their current activities.
Thus, according to another embodiment, the baseball cap 10 may comprise the dome 12 and the plurality of brainwave sensors 112 positioned on an inside surface of the dome 12 such that the brainwave sensors 112 are configured to contact a wearer's head when the baseball cap 10 is placed on the wearer's head. The brainwave sensors 112 may be configured to be receptive to brainwave activity of the wearer. The control box 116 is configured in electrical communication with the plurality of brainwave sensors 112.
Also, the baseball cap 10 shown in
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional App. No. 62/663,685, filed Apr. 27, 2018.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2019/029114 | 4/25/2019 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2020/036647 | 2/20/2020 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20210112901 A1 | Apr 2021 | US |
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62663685 | Apr 2018 | US |