The invention is directed to a hat that includes a semi-hemispherically shaped crown. Baseball hats are a trendy fashion statement that many people like to wear. However, baseball hats can interfere with and at times destroy or “mess up” a wearer's hairstyle. Therefore, there is a need for a baseball hat that can be worn in such a way that the stylishness of the baseball hat is retained but the hat does not significantly interfere with a wearer's hairstyle.
In one aspect, the invention features a modified baseball hat that includes a semi-hemispherically shaped crown that includes an exterior surface, an interior surface, a first front panel that includes a first opening, and a second front panel that includes a second opening, a first side panel that includes a first loop attached to an interior surface, and a second side panel that includes a second loop attached to an interior surface of the second side panel, a bill attached to the crown, and a band member extending through the first opening, the second opening, the first loop, and the second loop. In one embodiment, the hat further includes a first elongated opening and a second elongated opening, the first and second elongated openings extending from the exterior surface of the crown to the interior surface of crown. In some embodiments, the band member extends through the first elongated opening and through the second elongated opening.
In other embodiments, the first opening defines a circular shape and the second opening defines a circular shape.
In one embodiment, the band member is a bandana. In other embodiments, the band member is a headband. In some embodiments, the band member includes a first end, a second end, a first fastener attached to the first end, and a second fastener attached to the second end. In one embodiment, the first fastener is configured to receive the second fastener and to maintain the second fastener in a locked relationship with the first fastener.
In other aspects, the modified baseball hat includes a semi-hemispherically shaped crown that includes an exterior surface, an interior surface, a first front panel that includes a first circular opening, and a second front panel that includes a second circular opening, a first side panel that includes a first loop attached to the interior surface of the crown near the first side panel, and a second side panel that includes a second loop attached to the interior surface of the crown near the second side panel, and a bill attached to the crown.
In another aspect, the invention features a modified baseball hat that includes a semi-hemispherically shaped crown that includes an exterior surface, an interior surface, a first front panel that includes a first loop attached to the interior surface of the crown near the first front panel, a first side panel that includes a second loop attached to the interior surface of the crown near the first side panel, and a second side panel that includes a third loop attached to the interior surface of the crown near the second side panel, and a bill attached to the crown. In some embodiments, the hat further includes a second front panel and a fourth loop attached to the interior surface of the crown near the second front panel. In one embodiment, the hat further includes a band member extending through the first loop, the second loop, and the third loop.
Other features and advantages will be apparent from the drawings, the following description of the preferred embodiments, and from the claims.
Referring to the drawings, like numbers indicate like parts throughout the views. The figures show several illustrative embodiments of a modified baseball hat that includes a semi-hemispherically shaped crown and openings in the crown that can accommodate a band member. The hat is designed to be worn in conjunction with a band member such as a bandana or a head band. The band member passes through openings in the crown of the hat and can be used to secure the hat in place on the head of a wearer (e.g., by tying two ends of the band member).
Turning now to
The panels 42a, 42b, 40a, and 40b that make up the crown of the hat 100 include circular vent openings 70 and band member-receiving openings 80, 30 that extend through the panels of the crown from the interior surface 24 of the crown 20 to the exterior surface 26 of the crown. The openings 80, 30 are larger in both area and perimeter than the vent openings 70 and are dimensioned to receive and accommodate a portion of the band member 50.
In the embodiment shown in
The band member can be in any form suitable for use in conjunction with the crown to maintain the hat in position on the wearer's head. The band member optionally is removable and replaceable. A removable band member can be removed from the hat without damaging the aesthetic appeal of the band member or the construction of the hat. The band member can be continuous (e.g., a closed loop) or discontinuous, elastic or inelastic, and combinations thereof. Suitable forms of band members include, e.g., a bandana, a scarf, a headband (e.g., an elastic headband), a tie, a rope, yarn, an elastic band, a strap, a ribbon, and combinations thereof. Useful band members are made from a variety of materials including, e.g., woven fabric (e.g., cotton, wool, polymer (e.g., polyester, polyamide, polyolefin, and blends thereof)), nonwoven fabric (e.g., microfibers), polymers (e.g., synthetic elastomers, natural rubber, polyamide, polyester, polyolefin, and combinations thereof), leather, fibers, rope, yarn, ribbon, and combinations thereof. The band member can exhibit a variety of properties including, e.g., elastic, inelastic, flexible, inflexible, soft to the touch, and combinations thereof. The band member can be in a variety of shapes including, e.g., a square, a rectangle, and a triangle, and optionally is folded to enable the band member to pass through the openings or loops in the hat.
Discontinuous band members optionally include a first end, a second end, a first fastener positioned near the first end and a second fastener positioned near the second end. The first and second fasteners can be connected together to fix the first end in relation to the second end and to lock the first fastener in a fixed relationship with the second fastener. The fasteners can be used tighten the fit of the band member and the hat on the wearer's head. The fasteners can be any suitable fastener including, e.g., adhesive compositions, mechanical mechanisms (e.g., staples, stitches, snap fasteners, male and female connectors (e.g., two and three-pronged connector mechanisms), buttons and button holes, hook and eye, hook and loop, (e.g., hook and loop fasteners and other mechanical fasteners commercially available under the VELCRO series of trade designations), and pop beads and through holes), and combinations thereof.
The hat 100 can be worn with the bill 12 extending away from the forehead of a wearer and the loop 54 of the band 50 being in position on and extending around the back of the head of the wearer. Alternatively, the hat 100 can be worn with the bill 12 extending away from the back of the head of a wearer and the loop 54 of the band 50 being in position on and extending around the forehead of the wearer.
The hat 100 also includes vertically elongated openings 80 (e.g., vertical slits) in the side panels 42a and 42b and front panels 40a and 40b of the crown 20. The vertical slits 80 are dimensioned to receive the band member 50 and are positioned on the crown 20 in locations such that a wearer can pass the band member 50 through at least one of the openings 80.
The openings 80 and 30 can be in a variety of forms including, e.g., holes, slits, loops, and combinations thereof, can define any of a variety of shapes including, e.g., circular, elliptical, oval, stadium, crescent, tear drop, egg shaped, polygonal (e.g., square, rectangle, triangle, and diamond), and combinations thereof, and can be of a variety of sizes including, e.g., having at least one cross-sectional dimension (e.g., a diameter or an axis) that is at least 0.25 inch, at least 0.5 in, at least 0.75 inch, or even at least 1 inch. The openings 80, 30 optionally are reinforced with a reinforcing mechanism including, e.g., stitching (e.g., thread), a mechanical component such as a grommet, and combinations thereof. The reinforcing mechanism optionally extends around the edges that define the opening and optionally functions to further define the opening.
Although the openings 80, 30 have been described as openings extending through the panels of the crown from the interior surface 24 of the crown to the exterior surface 26 of the crown 20, in other embodiments, the openings are in a variety of forms including, e.g., loops attached to a surface (e.g., the interior or exterior surface) of the crown, loops extending from a panel of the crown, and combinations thereof. The loops can be affixed to the crown using any suitable mechanism including, e.g., adhesive compositions, mechanical connectors (e.g., staples, stitches, snap fasteners, male and female connectors (e.g., two and three-pronged connector mechanisms), buttons and button holes, hook and eye, hook and loop (e.g., Velcro), and pop beads and through holes), and combinations thereof.
The relationship between the location of the opening 80 and the nature and position of the band member 50 can function together to help maintain and secure the hat in position on the wearer's head. The band member can be positioned within the openings in a variety of configurations. The choice as to which openings to use is at the discretion and preference of the wearer. In one configuration, the ends 52a, 52b of the band member 50 extend from the exterior surface 26 of the crown 20 through the circular openings 30 in the front panels 40a, 40b to the interior surface 24 of the crown 20 and are available for tying in, an area in back of the hat, an illustrative example of which is shown in
In another configuration, the band member 50 passes through vertical slits 80 on the side panels 42a, 42b of the hat from the exterior surface 26 of the crown 20 to the interior of the hat 100, as shown in
In another configuration, the band member 50 passes through a first set of vertical slits 80 on the side panels 42a, 42b of the hat 100 from the exterior of the hat to the interior of the hat and then through a second set of vertical slits 80 located on the front panels 40a, 40b of the crown 20 of the hat 100, as shown in
In another embodiment, the band member 56 is in the form of a continuous loop (e.g., an elastic headband) that passes through a first set of vertical slits 80 on the side panels 42a, 42b of the hat 100 from the exterior surface 26 of the crown 20 of the hat 100 to the interior of the hat 100 and then through a second set of vertical slits 80 located on the front panels 40a, 40b of the crown 20 of the hat, as shown in
In another embodiment, the modified baseball hat 200 includes a crown 220, a bill 212, vertical slits 280, circular openings 230, side panels 242a, 242b, and front panels 240a, 242b joined together at seams 234 that are covered on the interior surface of the hat 200 with seam tape 236, as shown in
The loops 288a-d can be of a variety of configurations including, e.g., continuous loops, discontinuous loops, single loops, sets of at least two loops, and combinations thereof. In one embodiment, at least two of the loops 288 (e.g., loops 288a and 288b) include a second opening 290 extending through the wall 292 that defines the first loop opening 286 through which the head band 256 shown in
In other embodiments, the loops 288 are positioned on the crown such that they do not alter the openings 280 on the panel and the ends 52a, 52b of a band member can pass through the openings 280 without interference from the loops 288.
In another embodiment, at least one of the loops are repeatedly movable from a first opened position to a second closed position such that when the loop 288 is in an open position, a portion of a band member (e.g., a continuous loop head band) can be placed in the opening and then the loop 288 can be moved to a closed position so as to fix the headband within the opening of the loop 288.
The loops 288 can be affixed to the interior surface 224 of the crown 220 using any suitable attachment mechanism 270 including, e.g., adhesive compositions, mechanical mechanisms, and combinations thereof. Suitable mechanical mechanisms include, e.g., staples, stitches, snap fasteners, male and female connectors, buttons and button holes, hook and eye, hook and loop, (e.g., hook and loop fasteners and other mechanical fasteners commercially available under the VELCRO series of trade designations), popbead and through hole, and combinations thereof.
Although the hat has been shown as including circular openings and elongated slits, in other embodiments the hat is free of the circular openings, elongated slits, or a combination thereof.
Although the embodiment of the hat shown in
Although the hat has been described as including multiple panels, in other embodiments, the crown is a single panel or the crown includes a single front panel and two side panels. The panels of the crown can made from a variety of materials including, e.g., woven fabric (e.g., cotton, wool, polymer (e.g., polyester, polyamide, polyolefin, and blends thereof)), nonwoven fabric (e.g., microfibers), polymers (e.g., synthetic elastomers, natural rubber, polyamide, polyester, polyolefin, hard plastic such as the plastic of a batting helmet, and combinations thereof), leather, fibers, rope, yarn, ribbon, and combinations thereof. The seams at the union of two panels can made be made of thicker folds of fabric, may vary in width, and optionally include piping. The seams may be reinforced with any stiffening material known in the art including, e.g., plastic, metal, wire, nonwovens, paper, fabric, and combinations thereof. The stiffening material can include a single or multiple layers of a single material or a combination of stiffening materials.
The hat optionally includes an interior hat band (e.g., a sweat band, sizing or both a sweat band and sizing) attached to the interior of the hat (e.g., the bill, the crown, a seam joining the crown and the bill, or a combination thereof) such that the hat band contacts the forehead of a wearer when the hat is worn. The loops 288a-288d, where present, can be attached to the crown through the interior hat band.
Other embodiments are within the claims.
This is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/359,153 filed Nov. 22, 2016. and a continuation application of U.S. Design application Ser. No. 29/493,730, filed Jun. 12. 2014, both of which are incorporated herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 29493730 | Jun 2014 | US |
Child | 15606837 | US | |
Parent | 15359153 | Nov 2016 | US |
Child | 29493730 | US |