Headwear with hydration reservoir and storable hood

Abstract

An article of headwear (1) for covering the head and neck of a wearer has a hood section (17) and neck section (20). The neck section may contain a fluid reservoir (2) with an inlet (6) to provide hydration for a wearer as well as thermal relief and sun protection in hot or cold conditions. Handles (3) with removably attachable fastening means (10), (11) and (13), (14) allow the headwear (1) to be held by a wearer's hands or secured around the wearer's head. Preferably, the headwear has an inner layer (10) made of moisture-absorbent cloth to absorb moisture. Optionally, the neck section may contain a storage compartment (18) for folding down and storing the hood section as discussed.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/702163 filed Jul. 25, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to articles of clothing, and more particularly to a hoodie or sports towel that can be placed over the head of an athlete, sports fan and others that will provide hydration, cooling and protection from the sun during hot weather or, alternatively, warmth during cold-weather events.

Persons who exert themselves in hot weather, particularly athletes but even fans and workers, can become dehydrated which may lead to exhaustion, heat stroke and can even result in death. Also, during hot weather an athlete or fan tends to perspire excessively, resulting in sweat getting in the eyes and interfering with activity. On the other end of the spectrum, athletes who participate in cold-weather events, such as skiing, ice skating and hockey, or fans of such sports run the risk of hypothermia.

Thus, a need exists for an article of clothing that will provide hydration, cooling during hot weather, protection from exposure to the sun, absorption of perspiration and, alternatively, keep a person warm in cold weather.

The prior art includes, most particularly, a sports towel by the present inventors disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,678,896, issued Jan. 20, 2004. The latter sports towel provided protection from the sun and even cooling or warming by use of a neck pocket that could hold ice or thermal packs. However, the prior device did not provide a means of hydration, as does the present invention. Accordingly, in addition to the features of the prior invention, the present invention contains a liquid reservoir which is sewn or built into the neck section of the sports towel. The reservoir has a fluid inlet valve which is fillable from the backside of the neck section with chilled liquid, or in the case of cold weather, warm liquid. A flexible straw or plastic tubing leading from the reservoir to the front of the sports towel allows the wearer to suction fluid from the reservoir. Thus, the liquid reservoir provides fluid to the wearer, as well as either cooling or warming to the back of the neck and head section of the wearer.

In addition, the present invention also allows the hood portion to be folded down and stored within a pouch to form a sweatband around the neck when covering the head as desired or necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an article of clothing that provides hydration and thermal relief for athletes, sports fans and others during all types of weather.

Another object of the present invention is to provide cooling relief to the wearer in hot weather.

A further object of the present invention is to provide warmth to a wearer in cold weather conditions.

An even further object of the present invention is to protect the wearer from sunburn and other adverse effects of exposure to the sun.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an article of clothing that can be used to wipe perspiration from one's face and neck.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide such an article of clothing that allows a wearer to fold down and store a head-covering hood into a pouch when desired.

The present invention fulfills the above and other objects by providing an article of headwear, preferably made of cloth or other absorbent material having a wide middle section for covering the head and neck and two narrow symmetrical end sections forming handles for securing the headwear over the head. The inner side of the headwear contains a liquid reservoir which can be sewn to the inside of the neck section or between inner and outer layers of the article of headwear. The fluid reservoir has a fluid inlet valve extending from the back of the reservoir which allows the reservoir to be filled with cold or hot liquid depending on the weather conditions. A plastic tube from the reservoir extending through one side of the headwear may be used by the wearer to suction fluid from the reservoir as needed. Even furthermore, the other side of the headwear may also serve as an advertising media for display of logo types or other matter.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention should become even more readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following detailed description, reference will be made to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side plan view of the headwear of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective plan view of the inside of the headwear of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the headwear of the present invention with a visor;

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view o the headwear of the present invention with the hood portion folded down into a storage pouch around a wearer's neck; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the headwear of the present invention by itself with the head portion in a stored configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the terminology used in reference to the numbered components in the drawings is as follows:

• • 1. Headwear
  • 2. Fluid reservoir
  • 3. Handles
  • 4. Fluid tubing
  • 5. Tubing inlets
  • 6. Reservoir fluid inlet valve
  • 7. Valve closure cap
  • 8. Wearer
  • 9. Grommet
  • 10. Inner fastener
  • 11. Outer fastener
  • 12. Visor
  • 13. Inner snaps
  • 14. Outer snaps
  • 15. Outer layer
  • 16. Inner layer
  • 17. Hood section
  • 18. Storage compartment
  • 19. Closure opening
  • 20. Neck section

Referring now to the drawing figures in FIG. 1, the headwear 1 of the present invention is shown worn over the head of a wearer 8. The headwear 1 has two major sections, a hood section 17 and neck section 20. The neck section 20 may contain a storage compartment 18 for storing the hood section 17 when it is folded down around a wearer's neck. A fluid reservoir 2 is illustrated in plan view on the neck section of the headwear 1. A fluid inlet valve 6 with valve closure cap 7 is shown in an open position for receiving fluid. In hot weather, cold fluid, preferably a “slushy” type frozen drink, could be inserted through the inlet valve 6 into the fluid reservoir 2. Alternatively, in cold weather, warm fluid, such as hot chocolate or coffee, could be inserted into the fluid reservoir 2 through the inlet valve 6. A tubing 4 inserted into the fluid reservoir 2 may have fluid inlets 5 inside the reservoir to enable the fluid in the reservoir to move quickly into and out of the tube for suction into the mouth of the wearer 8. The tubing 4 could be held firmly in place on one side of the wearer 8 by a grommet 9, which would allow it to be pulled inward or outward as necessary to reach the mouth of the wearer 8.

In FIG. 2, the inside surface 16 of the headwear 1 is illustrated. The fluid reservoir 2 may be sewn to the inside layer 16 or sewn between an inside layer 16 and outside layer 15 of the headwear 1. The headwear 1 would preferably have narrow symmetrical handles 3 extending from the neck section of the headwear 1 so that the wearer could hold the handles with the wearer's hands to keep the headwear 1 in place, particularly in high wind conditions. Also, the handles 3 could be secured around the wearer's head by fastening means on the handles 3 and sides of the headwear 1, such as hook-and-loop material, 10, 11, or by snaps 13 and 14 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 illustrates the headwear 1 having the same components as described in relation to the previous drawings with the addition of a visor 12 to provide further protection from the sun. The headwear 1 would preferably have an inner layer 16 made of an absorbent cloth material to aid in absorption of perspiration and an outer layer 15 of moisture impermeable material to repel rain.

FIG. 4 shows the headwear 1 in a hood storage configuration when a hood section has been folded down into a storage compartment 18 in the neck section 20. In the latter storage configuration, the headwear 1 becomes similar to a sweat towel placed around the neck of the wearer 8. In this configuration the wearer 8 would still be able to hold the handles 3 on the headwear around the neck and use it to wipe perspiration off his or her face as necessary. Moreover, the headwear 1 would still provide thermal relief as it may also have the liquid reservoir 2 even in the hood storage configuration.

FIG. 5 shows the headwear 1 of the present invention in the same storage configuration with a closure opening 19 into which the hood section 17 has been folded. The closeable slit 19 would extend in a semicircular fashion around the top of the neck section 20 and could be closeable by a variety of fastening means including, without limitation, hook and loop fastening material, zipper, snaps, and so forth.

Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove, all improvements and modifications to this invention within the scope or equivalents of the claims are included as part of this invention.

Claims

1. An article of headwear comprising:

a piece of cloth having inner and outer sides, a head-covering hood section, a lower neck section and two narrow sections extending from each side of the neck section which form handles for holding the headwear by hands of the wearer; and

a compartment within the neck section.

2. The article of headwear of claim 1 further comprising:

a liquid reservoir within the compartment, said reservoir having an external fill inlet extending through the back of the neck section and a conduit extending from reservoir though a front of the next section a sufficient length to reach the wearer's mouth for transmission of fluid from the reservoir.

3. The article of headwear of claim 1 further comprising:

a storage section within the compartment having a closeable opening for holding or storing the hood section within the compartment.

4. The article of headwear of claim 2 further comprising:

a storage section within the compartment having a closeable opening for holding or storing the hood section within the compartment.

5. The article of headwear of claim 1 wherein the compartment is closeable by fastening means.

6. The headwear of claim 1 further comprising a visor extending from a top front perimeter of the hood section.

7. The headwear of claim 2 further comprising:

a visor extending from a top front perimeter of the hood section.

8. The headwear of claim 3 further comprising:

a visor extending from a top front perimeter of the hood section.

9. An article of headwear comprising:

a piece of cloth having inner and outer sides, a head covering hood section, a lower neck section and two narrow sections extending from each side of the neck section which form handles for holding the headwear by hands of the wearer;

a compartment within the neck section;

a liquid reservoir within the compartment a liquid reservoir within the compartment, said reservoir having an external fill inlet extending through the back of the neck section and a conduit extending from reservoir though a front of the neck section a sufficient length to reach the wearer's mouth for transmission of fluid from the reservoir.

10. An article of headwear comprising:

a piece of cloth having inner and outer sides, a head covering hood section, a lower neck section and two narrow sections extending from each side of the neck section which form handles for holding the headwear by hands of the wearer;

a compartment within the neck section.

a liquid reservoir within the compartment, said reservoir having an external fill inlet extending through the back of the neck section and a conduit extending from reservoir though a front of the next section a sufficient length to reach the wearer's mouth for transmission of fluid from the reservoir; and

a storage section within the compartment having a closeable opening for holding or storing the hood section within the compartment.

11. The headwear of claim 5 wherein the fastening means is hook and loop fastening material.

12. The headwear of claim 5 wherein the fastening means is a zipper.

13. The headwear of claim 5 wherein the fastening means is snaps.

14. The headwear of claim 1 wherein the two narrow sections on the neck section further comprises fastening means to secure one narrow section to the other around the neck of the wearer.