Patent Application
20250017302
Headwear such as baseball caps, hard hats, and head wraps are commonly worn in the public. Such headwear is made of various materials, in different styles, and for different purposes; but distinct classes of headwear are defined by basic shapes. For example, baseball caps include a domed fabric assembly formed into a set size having a curved bill extending out from a lower surface, with variations including adjustable sizes. It is also known that the fabric may include mesh materials and button holes for ventilation.
A disadvantage of such headwear is that they can increase the air temperature around the head of a user. In summer months, temperatures can get extremely hot. When wearing headwear, the heat from a user's head may find it difficult to escape. Although in some cases, shade is provided via the bill of a baseball cap, the skull of a user may realize elevated temperatures.
Furthermore, when an individual is suffering dangerously elevated body heat (e.g., heat stroke), there may be limited options to lower the individuals body temperature outside of a therapeutic environment.
In one aspect, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein are directed to headwear adapted to retain a cooling device at the crown of a user's head. The headwear includes a pouch, either permanently integrated or temporarily attachable. The pouch receives a flexible cooling pack; the flexible cooling pack may be periodically removed, refrozen, and reused.
In a further aspect, a kit may include a temporarily attachable pouch and a plurality of flexible cooling packs. The temporarily attachable pouch may include a plurality of attachment elements that may be affixed to headwear to allow the temporarily attachable pouch to be installed and removed.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and should not restrict the scope of the claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles.
The numerous advantages of the embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which:
Before explaining various embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein in detail, it is to be understood that the inventive concepts are not limited in their application to the arrangement of the components or steps or methodologies set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. In the following detailed description of embodiments of the instant inventive concepts, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the inventive concepts. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the instant disclosure that the inventive concepts disclosed herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features may not be described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the instant disclosure. The inventive concepts disclosed herein are capable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As used herein a letter following a reference numeral is intended to reference an embodiment of a feature or element that may be similar, but not necessarily identical, to a previously described element or feature bearing the same reference numeral (e.g., 1, 1a, 1b). Such shorthand notations are used for purposes of convenience only, and should not be construed to limit the inventive concepts disclosed herein in any way unless expressly stated to the contrary.
Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” refers to an inclusive or and not to an exclusive or. For example, a condition A or B is satisfied by anyone of the following: A is true (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or not present) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (or present).
In addition, use of “a” or “an” are employed to describe elements and components of embodiments of the instant inventive concepts. This is done merely for convenience and to give a general sense of the inventive concepts, and “a” and “an” are intended to include one or at least one and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious that it is meant otherwise.
Also, while various components may be depicted as being connected directly, direct connection is not a requirement. Components may be in data communication with intervening components that are not illustrated or described.
Finally, as used herein any reference to “one embodiment,” or “some embodiments” means that a particular element, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. The appearances of the phrase “in at least one embodiment” in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed may include one or more of the features expressly described or inherently present herein, or any combination or sub-combination of two or more such features.
Broadly, embodiments of the inventive concepts disclosed herein are directed to a head cooling device configured to couple internally within a headwear element, and designed to locate a cooling pack in relative proximity to a user's head when the headwear is worn. The head cooling device is configured to be directly affixed within the headwear or is removable in nature. The head cooling device is configured to permit the interchanging of cooling packs. The head cooling device is a compact reusable device designed as a health and safety feature to be used to help regulate the body temperature of a user when in the heat.
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It is understood that the exact location of the head cooling device 101 may be modified. An advantage of locating the head cooling device 101 more centrally is that button holes 93 in the baseball cap 99 are still available to provide convective release of heat from the user's head. The pouch 105 may be made from one or more materials and configured to be in any shape desired. One or more portions of the pouch 105 may be elastic or expandable in nature. Additionally, it is understood that the materials of the pouch 105 may include one or more mesh materials and may be configured to either retain moisture and/or be permeable so as to pass moisture. The thickness and type of material used in the pouch 105 may be selected with certain characteristics so as to buffer or dampen the cold effects from cooling pack 103 on the user's head. Furthermore, a portion of the pouch 105 that is configured to be proximal to the crown portion 97 (i.e., furthest from the user's head) may comprise a thermally insulating layer (e.g., a reflective layer). The thermally insulating layer may partially protect the user's head from direct sunlight/thermal radiation, while also protecting the cooling pack 103 from direct sunlight/thermal radiation, and extending the service period of the cooling pack 103.
Cooling packs 103 may be any device configured to absorb heat from the ambient environment. Often this is seen through conventional cooling packs stored within a freezer. Cooling packs 103 may be reusable through refreezing. The head cooling device 101 may be distributed with one or more cooling packs 103. It is understood that the head cooling device 101 may be sold or marketed without cooling packs 103. This would allow a user to select a more preferential cooling pack design.
It is understood that the scope of the present application is not limited to the particular design illustrated in the FIGS. The head cooling device 101 may be of any shape or size suitable for insertion within a headwear element. For example, the head cooling device 101 may extend around the interior brim of a crown portion 97. This shape may be similar to that of a doughnut with a central hole. Any shape and size is permitted assuming cooling packs 103 are able to be secured in position, adjacent a user's head.
It is also understood that a cap 99 is not the only type of headwear suitable for use with a head cooling device 101 according to the present application. Any number of exemplary headwear elements may be used, such as flat caps, cowboy hats, full brimmed hats, head wraps, hard hats, and the like. There are many known instances where workers are subjected to extreme heat in their environment. Therefore, a head cooling device 101 may also be used with hard hat safety equipment or other types of headwear. The head cooling device 101 is configured to be attached in various different ways and as such is suitable for attachment to any known type of headwear. Therefore it should be appreciated that, although specific embodiments described herein may be directed to a cap 99, the head cooling device 101 may be equally applicable to other headwear.
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Alternatively, a hard hat 202 may include a pouch disposed internally to retain a cooling pack in contact with the user's head. It may be appreciated that the construction of hard hats 202 necessarily means that simple disposition of a pouch on an internal surface of the hard hat 202 may not be effective. In such embodiments, the pouch may be affixed to certain internal structures in the hard hat 202.
Embodiments of the present disclosure are suitable for reducing incidence of heat stroke by cooling the user's head, where excessive heat is common. Headwear according to the present disclosure may be used in hot environments such as during outdoor sporting events or work sites. Furthermore, embodiments may be useful for first aid treatment of mild heat stroke.
The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as the application may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein. It is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified, and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the application. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth in the description. It is apparent that an application with significant advantages has been described and illustrated. Although the present application is shown in a limited number of forms, it is not limited to just these forms, but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.
It is believed that the inventive concepts disclosed herein and many of their attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description of embodiments of the inventive concepts, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the components thereof without departing from the broad scope of the inventive concepts disclosed herein or without sacrificing all of their material advantages; and individual features from various embodiments may be combined to arrive at other embodiments. The forms herein before described being merely explanatory embodiments thereof, it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes. Furthermore, any of the features disclosed in relation to any of the individual embodiments may be incorporated into any other embodiment.
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional App. No. 63/513,448 (filed Jul. 13, 2023), which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63513448 | Jul 2023 | US |
