Reversible rallytime baseball cap

Abstract

A reversible sports or baseball cap that can be worn right side out or inside out with full color and design and any desired indicia, logos or information both on the outside of the cap and on the inside of the cap so that during a crucial time of the game, fans may turn their caps inside out to show a message come rallytime in any sport. An alternate embodiment provides a crown insert with full color and design and any desired indicia, logos or information thereon which may be sold alone and would serve as a cap liner for existing sports caps so that when it is turned inside out the liner is then on the outside displaying appropriate information for rallytime.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This utility patent application claims the benefit of provisional application No. 60/745,265, filed Apr. 20, 2006.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to reversible hats and particularly to a reversible sports cap or baseball cap which comprises a two-sided sports cap with a crown insert bearing indicia inside of a sports cap crown to form a reversible sports cap which can be worn right side out or inside out with full color and design and any desired information both on the outside of the cap and on the inside of the cap so that during a crucial time of the game, fans may turn their caps inside out to show a message come rallytime in any sport, the crown insert can be sold which would serve as a cap liner for existing sports caps or the insert and sports cap sold together.

2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

In sporting events there is a time when the score is close or it is close to the end of the game. The fans call this rallytime. During rallytime all fans turn their hats inside out, and upside down, doing so shows the ugly inside tag, stitching, etc. of the hat.

While there are prior art hats which are two sided, none specifically feature rallytime insignia and none provide the same opportunity for a double sided cap for rallytime with the same attaching system inserting the insert crown inside the sweat band of a new or existing sports cap.

Reversible hats are known in the art. Those made for changing a user's style or fashions include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,569,942; 1,571,107; 1,602,889; 2,948,900; 3,187,345; 1,538,847; 1,504,350; 260,332; 129,194; 225,120; 1,111,659; 6,018,821.

Baseball caps that may readily be altered or modified have also been provided such as those found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,519,779; 5,070,545; 4,873,726 and 4,776,043 which show baseball caps having removable and interchangeable logos or indicia to be selectively arranged and modified thereon; for example, to identify with two different athletic teams.

Other hats provide changeable crowns, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,070,270; 1,105,400 and 1,504,350, this change is accomplished by employing a separate crown or reversible covering which must be removed, reversed, and then reattached to the crown of the cap.

Baseball caps with a face mask have also been provided for fans to use for rallying for their favorite sports team, such as those found in U.S. Patent Application No. 20060070160 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,817,036 and 6,671,886.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,277, issued Jan. 26, 1993 to Sherman, illustrates a reversible hat which comprises two hemispherical crown members each having a head-encircling outer edge, the crown members joined substantially only about the outer edges of the crown members to allow independent action and shaping of the crown members; and stiffening means are provided for at least one of the crown members to permit said reversible hat to maintain an outer formed hat shape in either position of reversal of the hat. A re-attachable sweatband is further provided for use in either position of the reversal of the hat.

Two prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,993,794 issued Feb. 7, 2006 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,557,180 issued May 6, 2003 to Hall, disclose a headwear assembly that includes a reversible crown, shaped to fit the head of a wearer with fabric with hook and loop fasteners, fabric ties, plastic, one-size-fits-all or other size adjustment mechanisms, having first and second opposing major surfaces and a detachable and reversible dual visor with first and second opposing major surfaces. The reversible crown includes cooperating attachment members located on the inside non-focal surfaces of the first and second major opposing surfaces, providing the base for attaching, detaching and reattaching the removable and reversible dual visor. The removable and reversible dual visor has first and second major opposing surfaces along with cooperating attachment members used to attach, detach and reattach itself to the reversible crown. The visor and crown are easily removable and reversible to include one major surface each being displayed upwardly during wear and accounts for different headwear assembly looks plus the reversible crown worn alone.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,488,740, issued Feb. 6, 1996 to Garza, shows a reversible and size adjustable hat including a first crown portion and a second crown portion stitched to the first crown portion. A first brim section is stitched to a second brim section with a brim stiffener stitched therebetween. The first brim section stitches to the first crown portion, while the second brim section stitches to the second crown portion. An elastic band permits the expansion of the first and second crown portions to allow the reversible hat to fit the head of any wearer.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,046,478, issued Dec. 10, 1912 to McDevitt, is for a reversible baseball cap having a protective cork layer between two crown layers, either of which may be worn outside to present a different color.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,629, issued Dec. 26, 1995 to Gleason, Jr., claims a multi-adjustable display cap includes a head covering with a display region of fabric conducive to releasable engagement with a hook element of a hook-and-loop type fastener set, the display region defining a display surface on an outside surface of the head covering, and a set of display elements each having a front surface and a rear attachment surface formed of a hook element of a hook-and-loop type fastener set for releasable attachment upon the display surface. The head covering is reversible to allow a wearer to display the inside surface and the outside surface of the head covering. Preferably, the inside surface exhibits a first pattern or color and the outside surface exhibits a second pattern or color different from the first pattern or color.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,993, issued Apr. 7, 1998 to D'Oca, discloses woman's sports hat. A pin configured to represent the sport the woman intends to play while wearing the hat is inserted through two openings at the front of the hat so as to secure the hat to the woman's head. The hat will then resist being blown off in the wind, or falling off during physical, sports related activity. To further relate the hat and sport together a logo representing the same sport as the sports pin is imprinted or otherwise affixed to one or both sides of the hat. Reversible hats and caps can have different logos on the inside and outside of the hat so that the hat can simply be turned inside out, and the appropriate sports pin inserted in order to make the hat suitable for different sports, as, for example, golf and tennis.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,071, issued Nov. 22, 2005 to Cascone, puts forth a reversible baseball style cap providing a crown having first and second layers of material that together form a dome shape that enables a user to wear and conform the crown to the user's head, and wherein either layer can be shaped into a concavity that abuts the user's head during use and wherein the outer layer defines an outer exposed surface. A bill of a floating foam material has a first curved edge that is stitched to the crown in between the first and second layers. The bill has a second curved edge defining a front of the cap. An adjustment cord extends through an opening in at least one of the layers at a position opposite the bill. The cord has end portions that are attached to the crown at two positions generally on opposite sides of the cord opening. A sleeve adjustably, slidably attaches to the cord to form an adjustable loop with the cord. A user can adjust the fit of the hat to his or her head by moving the cord relative to the sleeve so that when the loop is enlarged or reduced in size, the cap can be fitted to the wearer when either the first or second layer is the outer exposed surface. In the preferred embodiment, the brim is of a different material than the crown, preferably a floating material that has sufficient floatation to float the entire cap, even when the crown portion is saturated with water.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,816,346, issued Jul. 28, 1931 to Silverstein, claims a reversible peaked hunter's cap having an inner and outer fabric, one of which is bright red to provide visual indication for use in hunting when the same is worn on the outside.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,050,310, issued Jan. 14, 1913 to Steinberg, describes a reversible cap which is reversed to expose a waterproof liner as well as a depending neck protector.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. D501,291, issued Feb. 1, 2005 to Hall, concerns the ornamental design for a reversible crown showing symbols for a sports team on one side thereof.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 1,105,400, issued Jul. 28, 1914 to Burke, provides a cap with a removable and reversible cover, whereby a cap of a different color or form may be readily produced.

Prior art U.S. Patent Application #20060143776, published Jul. 6, 2006 by Hosogai, claims a reversible baseball cap with pockets. The crown and front portions of the hat have a single layer of fabric, so that the hat is relatively lightweight and the crown portion can loosely drape into a relaxed shape. The closure for each pocket can be a zipper, Velcro, snaps or other suitable closure. The side portions of the hat have two layers of fabric forming the walls of the pocket. The visor has two layers of fabric with a middle layer of stiffening material. In some embodiments, the side portions and visor fabrics are of different colors and/or materials on the pocketed and unpocketed side of the hat. In some embodiments, the visor is detachably coupled to the front portion.

Prior art U.S. Patent Application #20020095715, published Jul. 25, 2002 by Hong, describes a reversible cap having a concave crown section of appropriate size to fit the head of a wearer. A flap is attached to the concave crown section allowing a wearer to alter the appearance of the cap.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 2,275,694, issued Mar. 10, 1942 to Soboroff, shows a hunter's cap which has substantially half of its outer crown covering reversible so as to be folded over the other half when it is desired to provide the cap with a different color, such as red. The cap does not need to be removed to make the change.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,225, issued Jun. 28, 2005 to Kovalenko, indicates a billed hat constructed from a sheet of material having a base portion with a left and right headband portion and a central cap portion extending therefrom. The distal ends of the left and right headband portions include an adjustable fastener to detachably secure these portions together to form an adjustable headband. The central cap portion includes at least one fastener to detachably and adjustably secure the cap portion to the headband, thereby defining an adjustable cap of the hat. In preferred embodiments, the base portion has a bill and the hat forms a baseball hat, and the hat is reversible such that a wearer may select one of two different surface indicia to display thereon.

Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,443, issued Jun. 25, 2002 to Park, describes a reversible visor structure for hats and sun visors in which a visor material of a soft or rigid material is partially cut from the upper and lower ends at predetermined intervals to allow the cut visor to maintain its curved shape when bent along the cut lines so that when a cap or sun visor with a visor of this structure is turned inside out, the visor maintains its curved shape. By attaching a different letter or figure of a mark, emblem or logo on the inner and outer portions respectively of the main body, and by using different colored or textured fabric, a single hat or sun visor structure can display effectively two different hats or sun visors in one to satisfy the diversified preferences of the wearer. In another aspect, the invention includes a reversible hat. The hat includes a main body comprised of a crown consisting of an outer fabric material and an inner fabric material. Each of the outer fabric material and the inner fabric material respectively consists of a plurality of fabric panels. The main body has a lower periphery. A cut visor is attached to the lower periphery of the main body. The cut visor includes a visor material having a fixed size and thickness for defining the cut visor. The visor material has inner and outer portions and is partially cut at predetermined intervals to leave an uncut portion to retain said visor material in one piece. The inner and outer portions of the visor material are covered with fabric pieces of same size and are stitched with a thin and narrow fabric along an outer periphery of the visor material. A size adjustable portion adjusts the size of the reversible hat and is attached to a predetermined portion of the main body.

What is needed is a crown insert, having a first side with indicia indicating “it's rallytime,” which is inserted into a crown of a sports cap and attached inside the sweat band of the sports cap to secure the insert crown therein with the second side of the crown insert facing the inside of the sports cap so that when the sports cap is reversed, the indicia of the first side of the crown insert is visible indicating rallytime and the sweat band of the sports cap is also visible and may also bear indicia about rallytime.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a crown insert, having a first side with indicia indicating “it's rallytime,” which is inserted into a crown of a sports cap and attached inside the sweat band of the sports cap to secure the insert crown therein with the second side of the crown insert facing the inside of the sports cap so that when the sports cap is reversed, the indicia of the first side of the crown insert is visible indicating rallytime and the sweat band of the sports cap is also visible and may also bear indicia about rallytime.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an alternate embodiment which may be an insert that can be sold which would serve as a cap liner for existing sports caps so that when it is turned inside out the liner is then on the outside displaying appropriate information for rallytime.

In brief, the reversible Rallytime™ Sports Cap of the present invention provides a 2-in-1 sports cap reversible between an outside regular sports cap or baseball cap and an inside rallytime cap during crucial periods of a sporting event. The reversible sports cap is inverted to show a message during rallytime in any sport. Basically it is a two-sided sports cap which can be worn right side out or inside out with full color and design and any desired information both on the outside of the cap and on the inside of the cap so that during a crucial time of the game, when fans turn their caps inside out because it is time to rally for their team. With the present invention, the cap will be a regular sports cap on the outside and a special rally sports cap on the inside with any appropriate sayings, logos and/or insignia on the inside which becomes the outside when the cap is turned inside out at rallytime.

The reversible or double sided sports cap can be fabricated with two sides (inside and outside) designed into the cap. Alternately, an insert can be sold with any appropriate sayings, logos and/or insignia thereon which would function like a cap liner for existing sports caps so that when it is turned inside out the liner is then on the outside with appropriate information for rallytime.

Each reversible sports cap may be for a specific sport (baseball, football, basketball, etc), and somewhere on the cap there will be a baseball, football, basketball etc. One person may buy two or three caps for different sports.

A “Rallytime™” logo can be exposed on both sides of the brim in various locations.

The “Rallytime™” crown insert can be used with an existing sports cap with the team colors and with or without the team logo. It will show and say “it's Rallytime” with that team colors, and with or with out the team logo. The insert will come with an adhesive built into the fabric. The insert is adhesively affixed by ironing it onto the sweat band already in the existing cap.

An advantage of the present invention is that it may comprise a crown insert only inserted into a crown of a user's existing sports cap or it can be inserted into a new sports cap with the reversible sports cap sold to a user.

Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a more attractive appearance with appropriate indicia when the reversible sports cap is turned inside out.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other details of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present invention with the insert crown aligned for insertion inside the crown of the sports cap;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a bottom of the reversible sports cap of the present invention of FIG. 1, showing the crown insert attached inside the sports cap;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the reversible sports cap of the present invention with the cap turned inside out to reveal the indicia on the crown insert for rallytime.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1-3, a reversible sports cap 10 that can be inverted during rallytime at sports events to reveal indicia 30B, 30C and 30D on an inside 24A, 22B and 18 of the reversible sports cap 10 indicating that “it's rallytime”. The reversible sports cap 10 comprises indicia 30D on the outside of the sweat band 18, indicia 30C on a bottom side 22B of the bill 21, and indicia 30B on the first side 24A of the crown insert 20B which all may be displayed, as shown in FIG. 3, to indicate rallytime in a sports game attended by a user. The reversible sports cap 10 further comprises indicia 30A on the outer surface of the crown 23A and indicia 30C on the upper surface 22A of the bill 21 which are displayed when it is not rallytime and the reversible sports cap 10 is worn with the outer surface of the crown 23A of the sports cap exposed, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The reversible sports cap 10 comprises a crown insert 20B for inserting within a sports cap 20A having a crown 23A, a bill 21 and sweat band 18 around an interior edge of the crown 23A. The crown insert 20B bears indicia 30B on a first side 24A and is attached to an interior of the crown 23A of the sports cap 20A with a second side 24B of the crown insert 20B facing the inside of the crown 23A of the sports cap 20A, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment 10, the crown insert 20B is attached to a new sports cap 20A and the outer side of the sweat band 18 bears indicia 30D around the sweat band 18 so that the indicia 30D around the sweat band 18 is visible when the reversible sports cap 10 is turned inside out, as shown in FIG. 3. The crown insert 20B is attached to the crown 23A by a means for attaching fabric 19 with a bottom edge of the crown insert 20B attached between the sweat band 18 and the crown 23A of the sports cap 20A, so that when the reversible sports cap 10 is turned inside out, the first side 24A of the crown insert 20B is exposed revealing the indicia 30B on the first side 24A of the crown insert 20B, as shown in FIG. 3.

The means for attaching fabric 19 to attach the crown insert 20B to the sports cap 20A may be regular or iron-on adhesive attached to the crown insert 20B around the bottom edge, adhesive attached to the sweat band 18, adhesive attached to the interior bottom of the crown 23A of the sports cap 20A, stitching between the sweat band 18 and the crown insert 20B, stitching between the crown insert 20B and the crown 23A of the sports cap 20A, a mating hook and loop fastener between the crown insert 20B and the sweat band 18, or a mating hook and loop fastener between the crown insert 20B and the crown 23A of the sports cap 20A.

An alternate embodiment of the reversible sports cap 10 is also provided wherein the crown insert 20B may be attached to an existing sports cap 20A owned by a user and the means for attaching the fabric comprises a strip of adhesive 19 around a bottom edge of the crown insert 20B. The strip of adhesive 19 is located around a bottom edge of the first side 24A of the crown insert 20B and the bottom edge of the first side 24A of the crown insert 20B is attached to an inner side of the sweat band 18 of the existing sports cap 20A.

In sporting events there is a time when the score is close or it is close to the end of the game. The fans call this Rallytime. During Rallytime all fans turn their hats inside out, and upside down; in doing so they show the ugly inside tag, stitching, or etching of the hat.

In normal use, the reversible sports or baseball cap 10 is worn with a normal side of the crown 23A out, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. During rallytime, the user reverses the Rallytime™ sports cap 10, as shown in FIG. 3, to reveal the indicia “It's Rallytime Dawg” 30B on the reverse side 24A. The reverse side 24A of the crown insert 20B, when exposed, also displays the team logo 30B. The colors of the reverse side 24A and the underside 22B of the bill 21 can be bold and differ from colors on the exterior surface of the crown 23A and the top side 22A of the bill 21. The reversible hat 10 can be used by high school, college and pro sports fans of all ages/genders.

The reversible cap 10 has full color, design and any desired information 30A and 30C on the outside of the cap 10, as shown in FIG. 1. The reversible cap 10 has bold colors and information or indicia 30B and 30D on the inside surface 24A of the crown insert 20B and sweatband 18 of the cap 20A. During a crucial rallytime of the game, fans may turn their caps 10 inside out to show a message 30B and 30D and display bold colors come rallytime in any sport, as shown in FIG. 3. The “Rallytime” indicia 30C will be on both sides 22A and 22B of the brim 21 in various locations.

Each reversible cap 10 will be made for a specific sport (baseball, football, basketball, etc.). Somewhere on the cap there will be a baseball, football, basketball, or etc. An example of baseball indicia 30B is shown in FIG. 3 and football indicia 30B is shown in FIG. 2. One person may buy two or three caps for different sports.

The crown insert 20B may alternately be sold alone for use as a cap liner 20B for existing sports caps 20A so that when it is turned inside out the liner 20B is then on the outside with appropriate information 30B for rallytime. When sold alone, the crown insert 20B may be attached to an existing sports cap 20A owned by a user. The bottom edge of the first side 24A of the crown insert 20B is attached to an inner side of the sweat band 18 of the existing sports cap 20A using a strip of adhesive 19 located around a bottom edge of the first side 24A of the crown insert 20B. The user attaches the insert 20B to the existing sports cap 20A by placing the insert 20B inside the crown 23A of the existing cap 20A, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1. When the crown insert 20B is properly placed with a bottom edge of the first side 24A of the crown insert 20B aligned with an inner side of the sweat band 18, as shown in FIG.2, the insert 20B is ironed thereby heat activating the adhesive 19 and affixing the insert 20B to the sweat band 18 in the existing cap 20A. The Rallytime™ insert 20B can be used with an existing cap 20A with the team colors and with or without the team logo 30B. The insert 20B will show “It's Rallytime Dawg” 30B with the team colors, and with or with out the team logo 30B.

It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

Claims

1. A reversible sports cap that can be inverted during rallytime at sports events, the reversible sports cap comprising:

a crown insert for inserted within a sports cap comprising a crown and bill and sweat band around an interior edge of the crown, the crown insert bearing indicia on a first side, wherein the crown insert is attached to an interior of the crown of the sports cap with a second side of the crown insert facing the inside of the crown of the sports cap and the crown insert attached to the crown by a means for attaching fabric with a bottom edge of the crown insert attached between the sweat band and the crown of the sports cap, so that when the sports cap is turned inside out, the first side of the crown insert is exposed revealing the indicia on the first side of the crown insert.

2. The reversible sports cap of claim 1 wherein the crown insert is attached to an existing sports cap owned by a user and the mean for attaching fabric comprises a strip of adhesive around a bottom edge of the crown insert.

3. The reversible sports cap of claim 2 wherein the strip of adhesive is located around a bottom edge of the first side of the crown insert and the bottom edge of the first side of the crown insert is attached to an inner side of the sweat band of the sports cap.

4. The reversible sports cap of claim 1 wherein the crown insert is attached to a new sports cap and the outer side of the sweat band bears indicia around the sweat band so that the indicia around the sweat band is visible when the reversible sports cap is turned inside out.

5. The reversible sports cap of claim 4 wherein the indicia on the outside of the sweat band indicates rallytime in a sports game attended by a user.

6. The reversible sports cap of claim 4 further comprising indicia on at least one side of the bill indicating rallytime.

7. The reversible sports cap of claim 4 wherein the means for attaching fabric comprises at least one means of attaching fabric taken from a list of means for attaching fabric comprising adhesive attached to the crown insert, adhesive attached to the sweat band, adhesive attached to the interior bottom of the sports cap, stitching between the sweat band and the crown insert, stitching between the crown insert and the crown of the sports cap, a mating hook and loop fastener between the crown insert and the sweat band, and a mating hook and loop fastener between the crown insert and the crown of the sports cap.

8. The reversible sports cap of claim 1 wherein the indicia on the first side of the crown insert indicates rallytime in a sports game attended by a user.