Hat with Absorbent Attachment

Abstract

A preferred embodiment of the present invention contemplates a baseball cap-type hat having a head covering portion as well as a forward facing bill. A sweat or liquid absorbing element preferably a terry cloth towel is removably attached to the bill or permanently affixed using hook and pile fastening means. In a preferred embodiment, the hook and pile fastening means half attached to the bill includes an opening to provide a storage compartment in which a key, coin, or other small object may be stored. If desired, the towel may be permanently stitched to the underside of the bill of the cap. In a further alternative, the towel may be made of a hyper-evaporative material.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hat with absorbent attachment. Hats, particularly those described as “baseball caps,” are well known to have a portion covering the head and a bill or brim that extends just in the forward direction to shield the eyes and face from the sun. Such hats are quite common and are manufactured in a variety of materials and colors. A number of sports are played with the players wearing such hats such as, for example, in the game of baseball as well as in tennis and other outdoor sports where a protective helmet is not worn.

It is often the case when playing outdoor sports on warm days that the wearer of a hat or cap sweats to a degree requiring the sweat to be wiped off the face, forehead, and other areas of the body. When this occurs, the typical action by the wearer is to grab a towel and use the towel to wipe their face, appendages, or other areas of the body.

It would be helpful to an athlete whether professional or recreational to have a wiping implement more conveniently located so that the sweat could be wiped without needing to leave the playing area. It is with this thought in mind that the present invention was developed.

Applicant is aware of the following prior art:

U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,244 to Johnson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,910 to Calvo

U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,607 to Kaiser U.S. Pat. No. 7,681,253 to Kobayashi

U.S. Published Application No. 2008/0000014 to NO

U.S. Published Application No. 2012/0291182 to Kovanda

U.S. Published Application No. 2014/0189933 to Toronto

U.S. Published Application No. 2014/0189942 to Coombs

U.S. Published Application No. 2015/0113708 to Hill.

Johnson et al. teach a cap with an absorbent liner. The absorbent liner does not extend into the bill of the cap.

Kaiser teaches an overlay for a cap bill which is made of an impermeable flexible material that is not designed to absorb liquid.

Calvo teaches a sweatband for a sports cap which is designed to be installed on the periphery of the head receiving portion of the cap rather than on the bill thereof.

Kobayashi teaches a cooling member designed to be incorporated into the visor or bill of a cap and which includes a cooling member to serve its purpose. Kobayashi fails to teach absorbing sweat with a member attached to the bill of a cap.

NO teaches a head covering towel incorporated in a hat to cover the head during unpleasant weather conditions. NO fails to teach or suggest incorporating a sweat absorbing member into the bill of a cap.

Kovanda teaches a floatation device for attachment to a cap to prevent it from sinking when it falls into a body of water. The floatation element is disclosed as water-resistant, the opposite of the present invention which provides water or sweat absorption.

Toronto teaches a visor with an interchangeable cloth headpiece. Toronto fails to teach or suggest a sweat or liquid absorbent member incorporated into the bill of a cap.

Coombs teaches headgear including an aspect that drapes down to protect the wearer against facial injury. Coombs fails to teach or suggest incorporating a water or sweat absorbing element into the brim of a cap.

Hill teaches a brim cover which may be made of a cloth material and slides over the brim of a cap. The present invention structurally distinguishes from the teachings of Hill.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a hat with absorbent attachment. The present invention includes the following interrelated objects, aspects and features:

(1) In a first aspect, the preferred embodiment of the present invention contemplates a baseball cap-type hat having a head covering portion as well as a forward facing bill. These aspects are conventional. Of course, the present invention is applicable to any kind of hat or visor having a brim, including baseball caps, cowboy hats, visors without head coverings, etc.

(2) The present invention contemplates, in preferred embodiments, attaching to the bill of the cap a sweat or liquid absorbing element preferably a terry cloth towel removably attached to the bill or permanently affixed thereto in separate embodiments.

(3) In a preferred embodiment, hook and pile fastening means known by the trademark VELCRO® is employed to releasably attach a terry cloth towel to the underside of the bill of a cap. One half of the hook and pile fastening means is attached to the towel while the other half is attached to the underside of the bill.

(4) In a preferred embodiment, the hook and pile fastening means half attached to the bill includes an opening which can be rectangular and is devoid of hook or pile fastening means to provide a storage compartment in which a key, coin, or other small object may be stored when the towel is affixed thereto. In one alternative, additionally, a recessed chamber may be formed in the underside of the bill of the cap aligned with the opening in the hook and pile fastening half to create a somewhat deeper chamber.

(5) In another alternative, a towel may be permanently stitched to the underside of the bill of the cap so that the cap may be removed and the underside of the bill thereof may be used to wipe the forehead, arms or other areas of the wearer's body to effectuate the same purposes. A towel permanently stitched to the underside of the bill in this manner may, if desired, encompass a portion of or the entirety of the underside of the bill.

(6) In a further alternative, a logo or other design of a sponsor or advertiser may be affixed over the towel to be displayed when the cap is worn or, alternatively, the towel may be fabricated in the shape of the logo or design. In the latter case, the logo or design may either be permanently affixed to the underside of the cap or may be removable therefrom through the use of a fastening means such as hook and pile fastening means.

As such, it is a first object of the present invention to provide a hat with absorbent attachment.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a device in which an absorbent towel is removably affixed to the underside of the bill of a cap.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide, in one embodiment, a storage chamber beneath the towel to allow storage of small items such as a key or a coin.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide such a device in which in one alternative embodiment thereof a sweat absorbing towel is permanently affixed to the underside of the bill of a cap.

It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide such a device in which a logo or design of a prominent manufacturer of articles of apparel or other products may either overlie a towel or a towel may be provided in the shape of the logo or design.

These and other objects, aspects and features of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments when read in conjunction with the appended drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a bottom view of a cap with a first embodiment of the present invention affixed on the underside of the bill thereof.

FIG. 2 shows a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but with the inventive towel removed to show other structures of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of an alternative design along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but showing a second embodiment and an alternative thereof.

FIG. 6 shows a view similar to that of FIG. 1 but showing a still further embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a yet further view similar to that of FIG. 1 with a still further embodiment of the present invention.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference first to FIGS. 1.4, a cap is generally designated by the reference numeral 1 and includes a head covering portion 2 made up of multiple panels stitched together at seams. Vent holes 3 are provided to ventilate the interior of the head covering portion when it is worn. At the forward end 4 of the cap 1, a forward facing and extending bill 5 is provided.

The present invention is generally designated by the reference numeral 10 and includes a towel 11 preferably made of a liquid absorbent material such as, for example, terry cloth. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the towel 11 has an undersurface to which is affixed one half 13 of a hook and pile fastening means. The other half is designated by the reference numeral 15 and is particularly shown in FIG. 2 which has the towel 11 removed to show details. It matters not whether the hook half or the pile half of the hook and pile fastening means is affixed to the towel 11 so long as one of these halves is affixed to the towel 11 and the other half 15 is affixed to the underside of the bill 5 by any suitable means including adhesive, snaps, stitching, or any other desired manner of attachment.

With reference to FIG. 2, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fastening half 15 has a generally rectangular central opening 17 that defines a chamber 19 (see FIG. 3). The chamber 19 provides a suitable storage area for a small object such as the key 21 or a coin (not shown) or other small object. When the towel 11 is removed from the fastening half 15, the chamber 19 is exposed permitting insertion or removal of the object 21.

In an alternative, with reference to FIG. 4, a recess 23 may be formed in the underside of the bill 5 of the cap 1 to increase the depth of the chamber 19′.

With reference to FIG. 5, two alternatives of the present invention are shown. In a first aspect, a towel 27 is affixed to the underside of the bill 5 by peripheral stitching 29. In a further alternative, as shown by dashed lines in FIG. 5, the towel 27 may have a periphery 31 that is closely spaced from the edge 6 of the bill. Stitching about the peripheral edge 31 or other fastening means such as snaps or adhesive may affix the towel to the underside of the bill 5. In these embodiments, the towel 27 is not removable from the bill 5. Rather, when it is desired to wipe the wearer, the cap 1 is removed and the towel 27 is employed by gripping the cap 1 and wiping with the towel 27. If desired, the bill or visor 5, as manufactured, may have its underside made of a towel rather than having a separate towel affixed to the underside of an already manufactured visor or bill.

In a further alternative, if desired, the towel 11 or 27 in any of the embodiments described above or below may be made from a high tech hyper-evaporative material that keeps water within while feeling dry to the touch. Concerning such material, one adds water and the material becomes significantly cooler than the ambient temperature providing cooling effect for the wearer. This effect may persist for up to one to four hours. The temperature difference provided by such a hyper-evaporative material saturated with water can be up to 20° F. The cooling effect occurs when water is released through evaporation. The close proximity of the towel to the face of the wearer allows the wearer to experience the temperature differential caused by the evaporative effect.

With reference to FIG. 6, the towel 11 or 27 is seen to display a logo 29 thereon. In the example shown, the logo is that of the NIKE “SWOOSH.” Any logo including that of the manufacturer of the present invention may suitably be displayed. In a further alternative, with reference to FIG. 7, the towel itself, designated by the reference numeral 31, may be made in the shape of a logo such as the NIKE “SWOOSH” depicted in FIG. 7.

If desired, use of hook and pile fastening means to releasably affix a towel to the underside of the bill of a cap may be replaced with double-sided adhesive tape or any other suitable attachment means including snaps, buttons, or others. The present invention may be employed with any headgear having a visor or brim such as a baseball cap, a visor, a cowboy hat, or any other such headgear.

As such, an invention has been disclosed in terms of preferred embodiments thereof which fulfill each and every one of the objects of the invention as set forth hereinabove, and provide embodiments of a new and useful hat with absorbent attachment of great novelty and utility.

Of course, various changes, modifications and alternations in the teachings of the present invention may be contemplated by those skilled in the art without departing from the intended spirit and scope thereof.

As such, it is intended that the present invention only be limited by the terms of the appended claims.

Claims

1. In an article of apparel for wearing on a user's head, said article of apparel having a visor that may be oriented to extend forward of said user's face, said visor having a top surface and a bottom surface, the improvement comprising a liquid absorbent towel attached to said bottom surface.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said towel is removably attached to said bottom surface.

3. The improvement of claim 2, wherein a first half of a hook and pile fastening means is attached to a surface of said towel and a second half of said hook and pile fastening means is attached to said bottom surface, said halves being engaged to removably attach said towel to said bottom surface.

4. The improvement of claim 3, wherein said second half has an opening therethrough.

5. The improvement of claim 4, wherein a small item is removably stored in a chamber formed by said bottom surface and said opening.

6. The improvement of claim 4, wherein said bottom surface includes a recess aligned with said opening, said recess and opening combining to form a chamber.

7. The improvement of claim 6, further comprising a small item removably stored in said chamber.

8. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said towel is attached to said bottom surface by stitching about a periphery of said towel.

9. The improvement of claim 8, wherein said towel covers substantially an entirety of said bottom surface.

10. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said towel is made of terry cloth.

11. The improvement of claim 5, wherein said small item comprises a key.

12. The improvement of claim 4, wherein said opening is rectangular.

13. The improvement of claim 1, wherein a logo or design is located on a downward facing surface of said towel.

14. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said towel is made from a hyper-evaporative material.

15. In an article of apparel for wearing on a user's head, said article of apparel having a head covering portion and a visor that may be oriented to extend forward of said user's face, said visor having a top surface and a bottom surface, the improvement comprising a liquid absorbent towel removably attached to said bottom surface with hook and pile fastening means.

16. The improvement of claim 15, wherein a first half of said hook and pile fastening means is attached to a surface of said towel and a second half of said hook and pile fastening means is attached to said bottom surface, said halves being engaged to removably attach said towel to said bottom surface.

17. The improvement of claim 16, wherein said second half has a rectangular opening therethrough and a small item is removably stored in a chamber formed by said bottom surface and said opening.

18. The improvement of claim 17, wherein said bottom surface includes a recess aligned with said opening, said recess and opening combining to form a chamber.

19. The improvement of claim 15, wherein said towel is made of a material chosen from the group consisting of terry cloth and a hyper-evaporative material.

20. In an article of apparel for wearing on a user's head, said article of apparel having a visor that may be oriented to extend forward of said user's face, said visor having a top surface and a bottom surface, the improvement comprising said bottom surface comprising a liquid absorbent towel.