HEADGEAR WITH NOTCH

Abstract

Headgear, such as a hat, cap or visor, with notches, cut-outs or spaces provided in the lower edge or band area above the ears. The notches or spaces may be mirror images on either side of the headgear, although the number, placement, and configurations of the notches or spaces may vary. The notches or spaces are configured to allow eyewear to be worn normally without interference with the eyewear earpieces, or any eyewear keeper devices that may be attached to the earpieces, but also without substantially impacting the integrity and functionality of the headgear.

Description

This application claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/193,115, filed Jul. 16, 2015, by Nathan Sprague, and is entitled to that filing date for priority. The specification, figures and complete disclosure of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/193,115 are incorporated herein in their entireties by specific reference for all purposes.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates general to headgear. More specifically, the present invention relates to sports caps, hats and visors with notches or cut-outs above the ears to accommodate the use of glasses, sunglasses, and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Headgear of various types are well known in the prior art, including caps or hats with visors that protect the user's eyes from the sun or the elements. Such caps are commonly used in sports, such as baseball, and possess a skull portion or crown that covers the head, with a bill or visor outwardly extending from the front. An alternative form is a simple visor outwardly extending from a band encircling the head without a skull portion (and in this form the entire headgear is often referred to as a “visor”).

Many people who wear headgear such as sports caps and visors also wear eyewear, such as, but not limited to, glasses and sunglasses at the same time. This often causes problems as the hat or cap band above the ear interferes with the earpieces of the eyewear. In particular, when a cap or visor is worn low to shield the user's eyes from the sun, the band or bottom portion of the crown often comes into contact with the area where the top part of the ear attaches to the head, and thus into contact with the earpieces of any eyewear. The user must either tuck the tips of the earpieces under the band or bottom portion of the crown, or wear the tips of the earpieces on the outside of the band or bottom portion of the crown. Either option creates extreme pressure on the wearer's skull or ears, resulting in discomfort and headaches. The problem is exacerbated when the wearer uses a keeper device or strap which typically is attached to the tips of the earpieces or near the tips. In addition, the eyewear often becomes misaligned, or is not held securely in place over the ears. Further, if the user's cranium is not of the proper size for the cap or visor (e.g., the cranium is smaller than average), the wearer cannot pull the cap or visor down fully due to the interference of the fabric in the lower portion of the crown and ear area.

Accordingly, what is needed is headgear with which eyewear can be comfortably and securely worn.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In various embodiments, the present invention comprises headgear, such as a hat, cap or visor, and including, but not limited to, a baseball-style hat or cap or visor, with a forwardly extending bill (or visor), with notches, cut-outs or spaces provided in the lower edge or band area above the ears. The notches or spaces may be mirror images on either side of the headgear, although the number, placement, and configurations of the notches or spaces may vary. The notches or spaces are configured to allow eyewear to be worn normally without interference with the eyewear earpieces, or any eyewear keeper devices that may be attached to the earpieces, but also without substantially impacting the integrity and functionality of the headgear.

In several embodiments, the notches or spaces are distinct design elements cut within the band or lower part of the hat, cap or visor. The notches or spaces also are configured to allow the user to pull the front of the hat, cap or visor down fully to take advantage of the sun-blocking properties of the headgear without interfering with the eyewear.

The notches or spaces may be in various configurations. In one embodiment, the notch is elongated, with the deepest portion of the notch near the back, or beyond the midpoint of the notch as measured from the front. The front edge of the notch may start near the corner where the bill of the headgear is attached, and it extends backward in an upward direction sufficiently as needed to avoid interfering with the earpieces of the eyewear. In the embodiment, the front edge is straight or substantially straight for some or all of its length, and meets the back edge at a vertex, which may be sharp or rounded. The back edge also may be straight or substantially straight for some or all of its length.

The angle at which the front edge meets the back edge at the vertex may vary. In several embodiments, the angle is from approximately 70 degrees to approximately 165 degrees, and more preferably from approximately 90 degrees to approximately 135 degrees.

In several alternative embodiments, the notches or spaces may be arcuate or curved, in whole or in part. The notches or spaces may be symmetric or asymmetric (i.e., with an apex not centered between the front point of the notch or space and the back point of the notch or space). The notch or space can be any desired depth (i.e., deep, moderate, shallow or low). A low profile arcuate or curved version of the notches or spaces may be provided.

In several further embodiments, where the headgear rides higher on the head, or the earpieces have a lower profile, the notches or spaces may be relatively shallow or lower profile. The front edge of the notch or space begins at approximately the same point as the embodiments discussed above, and rises in a smooth curve to a vertex where it meets the back edge. In this embodiment, the back edge is substantially shorter and more sharply angled that the front edge, and the vertex is close to the back of the notch or space.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a right side view of a visor with an angled notch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a left side view of the visor of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows the visor of FIG. 1 being used with eyewear.

FIG. 4 shows a right side view of a cap with an angled notch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a left side view of the cap of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows the cap of FIG. 4 being used with eyewear.

FIG. 7 shows a right side view of a visor with an arcuate notch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a left side view of the visor of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows the visor of FIG. 7 being used with eyewear.

FIG. 10 shows a right side view of a cap with an arcuate notch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a left side view of the cap of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 shows the cap of FIG. 10 being used with eyewear.

FIG. 13 shows a right side view of a visor with a low profile angled notch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows a left side view of the visor of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 shows the visor of FIG. 13 being used with eyewear.

FIG. 16 shows a right side view of a cap with a low profile angled notch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 shows a left side view of the cap of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 shows the cap of FIG. 16 being used with eyewear.

FIG. 19 shows a right side view of a visor with a low profile arcuate notch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 shows a left side view of the visor of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 shows the visor of FIG. 19 being used with eyewear.

FIG. 22 shows a right side view of a cap with a low profile arcuate notch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 shows a left side view of the cap of FIG. 22.

FIG. 24 shows the cap of FIG. 22 being used with eyewear.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In various embodiments, the present invention comprises headgear, such as a hat, cap or visor, and including, but not limited to, a baseball-style hat or cap or visor 2, with a forwardly extending bill (or visor) 6, with notches, cut-outs or spaces 10 provided in the lower edge or band area 8 above the ears. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the notches or spaces 10 may be mirror images on either side of the headgear, although the number, placement, and configurations of the notches or spaces may vary. As seen in FIGS. 3 and 6, the notches or spaces 10 are configured to allow eyewear to be worn normally without interference with the eyewear earpieces 20, or any eyewear keeper devices that may be attached to the earpieces, but also without substantially impacting the integrity and functionality of the headgear.

In several embodiments, the notches or spaces are distinct design elements cut within the band or lower part of the hat, cap or visor. The notches or spaces also are configured to allow the user to pull the front of the hat, cap or visor down fully to take advantage of the sun-blocking properties of the headgear without interfering with the eyewear.

The notches or spaces may be in various configurations. In one embodiment, as seen in FIGS. 1-6, the notch is elongated, with the deepest portion 12 of the notch near the back, or beyond the midpoint of the notch as measured from the front. The front edge 14 of the notch may start near the corner where the bill 6 of the headgear is attached, and it extends backward in an upward direction sufficiently as needed to avoid interfering with the earpieces of the eyewear. In the embodiment, the front edge 14 is straight or substantially straight for some or all of its length, and meets the back edge 16 at a vertex 18, which may be sharp or rounded. The back edge also may be straight or substantially straight for some or all of its length. As seen in FIGS. 1-5, the front edge may be parallel, or substantially parallel, to the bottom edge of the bill near the corner where the bill of the headgear is attached.

The angle at which the front edge meets the back edge at the vertex 18 may vary. In several embodiments, the angle is from approximately 70 degrees to approximately 165 degrees, and more preferably from approximately 90 degrees to approximately 135 degrees.

In several alternative embodiments, the notches or spaces 10 may be arcuate or curved, in whole or in part, as seen in FIGS. 7-12. The notches or spaces may be symmetric or asymmetric (i.e., with an apex 30 not centered between the front point 32 of the notch or space and the back point 34 of the notch or space). The notch or space can be any desired depth (i.e., deep, moderate, shallow or low). A low profile arcuate or curved version of the notches or spaces is seen in FIG. 19-24.

In several further embodiments, where the headgear rides higher on the head, or the earpieces have a lower profile, the notches or spaces may be relatively shallow or lower profile, as seen in FIGS. 13-18. The front edge of the notch or space begins at approximately the same point as the embodiments discussed above, and rises in a smooth curve to a vertex where it meets the back edge. In this embodiment, the back edge is substantially shorter and more sharply angled that the front edge, and the vertex is close to the back of the notch or space.

Thus, it should be understood that the embodiments and examples described herein have been chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited for particular uses contemplated. Even though specific embodiments of this invention have been described, they are not to be taken as exhaustive. There are several variations that will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An item of apparel, comprising:

a headgear with a right side, a left side, and a crown or band with a lower edge;

a pair of notches in the lower edge, a first notch on the right side and a second notch on the left side.

2. The item of apparel of claim 1, wherein said headgear comprises a bill extending from a front of the headgear.

3. The item of apparel of claim 1, wherein said first notch and second notch are positioned midway down the respective right and left sides.

4. The item of apparel of claim 1, wherein said headgear comprise one of a hat, cap or visor.

5. The item of apparel of claim 1, wherein each of said pair of notches comprises a front edge and a back edge, wherein the front edge and back edge met at an angle at a vertex.

6. The item of apparel of claim 5, wherein the vertex angle is from approximately 70 degrees to approximately 165 degrees.

7. The item of apparel of claim 5, wherein the vertex angle is from approximately 90 degrees to approximately 135 degrees.

8. The item of apparel of claim 5, wherein the vertex is located medially in the notch.

9. The item of apparel of claim 5, wherein the vertex is proximate a back of the notch.

10. The item of apparel of claim 1, wherein said pair of notches are configured to accommodate a set of eyewear earpieces when the headgear and eyewear are worn by a user.

11. The item of apparel of claim 1, wherein each of said pair of notches comprises an arc with an apex.

12. The item of apparel of claim 11, wherein the apex is located medially in the notch.

13. The item of apparel of claim 11, wherein the apex is proximate a back of the notch.

14. A cap, comprising:

a crown with a front side, back side, right side, and left side;

a bill extending from the front side of the crown;

a band extending circumferentially around the lower edges of the front, back, right and left sides of the crown; and

a pair of notches in the band, a first notch in the right side, and a second notch in the left side.

15. The cap of claim 14, wherein said pair of notches are configured to accommodate a set of eyewear earpieces when the cap and eyewear are worn by a user.

16. A visor, comprising:

a band with a front side, back side, right side, and left side;

a bill extending from the front side of the band; and

a pair of notches in the band, a first notch in the right side, and a second notch in the left side.

17. The visor of claim 16, wherein said pair of notches are configured to accommodate a set of eyewear earpieces when the visor and eyewear are worn by a user.