Hat with Hat-Band Loops

Abstract

A hat having a crown and a brim supports mounting of a variety of attachment devices for carrying personal items on the head of a wearer that would otherwise be carried in a pocket or handbag. Attachment devices include, but are not limited to, a variety of loops, belts, rings, cords and pockets. The selection of attachment devices and their placement may be determined by a manufacturer of the hat or customizable for or by a specific wearer. Where the crown is removably attached to the brim by fasteners, attachment devices mounted on the crown conveniently remain intact through a change from one brim to another. Attachment devices may be used to develop or enhance the ornamental appearance of the hat for a fashion statement, especially when incorporated with crown-brim fasteners, and particularly with a cowboy style hat.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to hats. More particularly, the described hat provides a multitude of attachment points and devices to secure small items to the crown and brim.

BACKGROUND

As head-covering apparel, hats provide protection from the elements, such as sun, wind and precipitation, as well as from hazardous work or recreational environments. Some hats are worn for fashion while others serve to support an identity of the wearer. Typically, the utility of a hat is limited to these features as a head covering.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

The described hat is constructed of a crown portion and a brim portion. The brim may be, but is not necessarily, removeably attached around the periphery of the crown. A variety of attachment points and devices are provided to secure small items to the crown and brim. These particularly include loops located at or near the intersection of the brim with the crown and spaced around the periphery of the crown.

The loops are sized, shaped, and spaced to accommodate a variety of small objects of the wearer's choice. Examples of objects that may be secured by the loops include such things as a pen or pencil, a pen light, cigarettes either individually or in a small pack, keys, or generally anything that a wearer might otherwise carry in a shirt, coat or pants pocket. When not in use for storage of small objects, the loops serve as ornamentation. Enhancement of the ornamentation may be accomplished by inserting a flower or cutting of foliage into one or more loops, or by threading a scarf through several or all of the loops.

The loops may be produced from a variety of materials, generally based upon the form of a strap. The loops may be fixed in size, stretchable or adjustable. Those loops that are adjustable may be formed from a hook-and-loop strap, a belt with buckle, a ribbon or strap with buttons or snaps, or a variety of other devices. The loops may be fixed to the hat in place, or they may be formed separately to be removably attached. In the instance of a crown with removably attached brim, loops and other attachment devices that are affixed to the crown are retained to facilitate an interchange of the brim

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The particular features and advantages of the hat and associated devices described herein will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with one or more of the accompanying FIGS. 1-15 of the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a cowboy style hat with the crown separated from the brim and a multitude of exemplary attachment devices;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hat as a wearer might wear it with basic attachment devices;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the hat;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the hat;

FIG. 5 depicts the hat with a selection of attachment devices in an open condition such as to receive a pencil for storage;

FIG. 6 shows the hat of FIG. 5 with the attachment devices in a closed position, including storage of a pencil;

FIG. 7 shows one possible mounting of an attachment device such as the one depicted in FIG. 8;

FIG. 9 indicates an alternate mounting and closure operation of the attachment device of FIG. 10;

FIG. 11 shows a mounting at the intersection of the crown with the brim of an adjustable peg-and-socket closure enlarged in FIG. 12;

FIG. 13 depicts mounting of a similar attachment device as riveted to the brim;

FIG. 14 illustrates the hat with only a few basic attachment devices to show the crown separated from the brim identifying an optional complementary fastener to facilitate the separation; and

FIG. 15 shows the hat of FIG. 14 with complementary fastener closed to a wearable condition including basic attachment devices.

The following Reference Numbers may be used in conjunction with one or more of the accompanying FIGS. 1-15 of the drawings:

• 100 hat
• 105 internal mount
• 110 external mount
• 112 magnet
• 115 grommet
• 118 rivet
• 120 loop, general
• 125 elastic or adjustable storage band
• 128 flexible band closure
• 130 hook-and-loop closure
• 140 snap ring closure
• 145 snap ring mount
• 150 ring, solid or split
• 160 adjustable peg-and-socket closure
• 162 peg, of peg-and-socket closure
• 165 socket, of peg-and-socket closure
• 170 spring-clamp cord closure
• 180 belt-and-buckle loop
• 190 temple loop
• 195 cartridge belt
• 200 crown
• 220 inner surface of crown
• 250 periphery of crown
• 280 outer surface of crown
• 300 brim
• 350 flange (raised collar) of brim
• 380 hat band
• 400 complementary fastener
• 452 snap post
• 455 snap cap
• 500 pencil

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The figures included here depict a hat in a cowboy style, though the utilitarian elements described are applicable to a wide variety of hats, especially those having a distinct crown and brim. The hat 100 shown in FIG. 1 is comprised of a crown 200 and a brim 300. An outer surface of the crown is exposed, while an inner surface 220 of the crown 200 is adjacent to an upper portion of the head of the wearer. In this depiction, the brim 300 is attached around the periphery 250 of the crown 200 by complementary fastener 400 to produce a hat with separable crown and brim as will be shown in greater detail with regard to FIG. 14. The utility of this separability in relationship to the presently described features will come to be recognized later in this description.

A basic cowboy hat is shown in FIGS. 2-4 for its ornamental appearance as loops are distributed around the periphery 250 of the crown 200. Shown in FIG. 2 is a perspective view, with a front view in FIG. 3 and a top view in FIG. 4. The image in FIG. 5 illustrates a first level of utility as a pencil 500 is placed into one of the loops 120. Any of a variety of loops may be chosen for this particular purpose. Here, the pencil 500 is to be held by an adjustable peg-and-socket closure which will be described in detail later. An alternate loop is constructed from a strap having characteristics of a hook-and-loop fastener, shown in an open position as 130. As the loops shown as open in FIG. 5 are closed in FIG. 6 the pencil 500 is held in place by the adjustable peg-and-socket closure 160.

A pencil holder is but one among many of the multi-function attachments described here. Shown in FIG. 1 are a variety of loops and other attachment devices that may be applied to the hat 100. The described hat 100 provides an alternative for a wearer to carry items in an easily accessible manner that might otherwise be carried in a pocket of a shirt, coat or pants, or in a separate handbag. The selection of a specific device and its placement on the hat will be made to meet the specific needs of the purchaser and wearer of a customizable hat. The choice of each device and its placement will be determined to optimize ease of accessibility to the item that is to be stored. In addition to pens and pencils, other examples of objects that may be secured by a simple loop on the hat include such things as a pen light, keys, and cigarettes either individually or in a small pack. A wide variety of other items may be carried in other attachment devices.

As various devices are now described, one is to recognize that what is shown here is merely a set of examples of attachment devices without regard to any particular size, placement, or selection of materials, other than in very general terms. To begin, the basic loop 120 may be formed from a variety of materials, including but not limited to fabric, leather, plastic or metal. Each of these may be mounted to the hat 100 by an adhesive, by stitching or stapling, or with rivets. Additional mounting systems include snaps, buttons and magnets.

In one situation a wearer may prefer a very simple loop 120. To provide a clean appearance as in FIGS. 2-4 and FIG. 6, both ends of the strap material used to form the loop would be captured at the inner surface 220 of the crown 200 to be folded out from the inner edge 350 of the brim 300 to rest on the brim as depicted in FIG. 7 and FIG. 9. Such a loop may be constructed from a variety of materials. A loop of stiff plastic or metal may form an adjustable band closure 125 as illustrated in FIG. 8 which may be spread to insert an item for storage. Alternately, a more pliable material, as is typical of a hook-and-loop system, may be opened out flat (120′, FIG. 9) and rolled into a closed position as a flexible band closure 128 seen in FIG. 10.

In addition to the band closures (125, 128), loops 120 may be formed from a variety of ribbons or cords, whether of fixed length or stretchable, as an elastic band. Multiple loops may be arranged around only a portion or the entirety of the periphery 250 of the crown 200 to capture items such as a scarf, feathers, or flowers for ornamentation that is easily changeable for personalization to a particular mood or event.

In another instance a wearer of the hat 100 may prefer loop 120 to be formed from a simple strap constructed as a hook-and-loop fastener 130. Such a loop is shown in an open position in two configurations in FIG. 1. As with many of the attachment devices a hook-and-loop fastener 130 may be attached at an upper end to an inner surface 220 of the crown 200 as depicted by an interior mount 105. Alternately, an exterior mount 110 applies an equivalent hook-and-loop fastener 130 to an outer surface 280 of the crown 200. In the former instance (105) the fastener 130 would naturally roll into a round loop, whereas the latter (110) would more likely hang over the brim 300 in a tear-drop shape.

Another loop 120 may be formed from a snap ring closure 140. This would mount to the crown 300 using a snap ring mount 145. The length of this particular device is adjustable by selection of one of the multiple available small snaps on a length of strap or ribbon.

A key ring 150 may be attached to the crown 200 by a length of ribbon or other strap-like material. The key ring 150 itself may be solid or split, where a split ring comprises a short segment of compression spring, allowing keys or other objects to be added and removed. In another form a split ring is constructed as two annular halves hinged to one another with a catch to hold the ring closed.

An adjustable peg-and-socket closure 160 can be seen at the rear of the crown 200 in FIG. 1 This placement is merely one of many possible as FIG. 11 shows the same attachment device (see FIG. 12 for a closer view) attached at the intersection of the crown 200 with the brim 300. Devices placed in this location may be attached either to the crown or to the brim though the former is to be preferred for reasons to be discussed later herein. As shown in FIG. 11, the peg-and-socket closure 160 is attached to the crown by a small magnet, which requires a metallic component attached to or within the crown.

FIG. 12 shows a peg-and-socket closure 160 in an open position supplied with a snap ring mount 145 providing attachment to the hat. To adjust the size of this particular closure device, the body is closed to the desired size and peg 162 is inserted into the nearest socket 165. An alternate means of attachment for the peg-and-socket closure 160, or for many of the other attachment devices described in this paper, is the rivet 118 shown in the brim 300 of FIG. 13.

Shown in two locations in FIG. 1 is a spring-clamp cord closure 170. This provides a hanger for an object when it is attached to the crown 200 by looping it through a pair of grommets 115 or using rivets (118, not shown). Another option is to attach the spring-clamp cord closure 170 to the brim 300. Positioned at the rear of the brim, this serves as a hanger for the hat. For a hat having a hole (not shown) in the rear of the crown to allow for an exposed pony tail, the spring-clamp cord closure 170 serves as an adjustable pony tail holder.

When the hole in a hat configured for a pony tail is not in use, the hole may be covered by a small pocket (not shown), more for decoration or simple coverage rather than another purpose. Such a pocket may be removably attached to the hat or mounted along a top edge to be lifted out of the way to allow insertion of a pony tail and then released to rest on it. A more general purpose for a pocket mounted in another location on the hat would be for storage of credit cards, an ID card or even a wallet.

A belt-and-buckle loop 180 provides another option for adjustable storage. This device may be attached to the crown 200 or to the brim 300. Materials may be selected from any common belt material such as leather, fabric or plastic. Functionality similar to a belt and buckle may be achieved by a chain with a hooked end that is turned back to hook into a link at an appropriate length.

It is common to carry sunglasses or eyeglasses on one's head, shifting them over the top of one's head when not in use. This option ceases to be available when a person dons a hat. Temple loops 190, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 14, provide an alternative to carrying glasses separately in another pocket or handbag. Slipping an earpiece of the glasses into a temple loop 190 and sliding the temple of the glasses to seat in the loop gives a wearer secure storage with ready availability. For greater security both temples of the glasses may be secured by using two suitably spaced temple loops 190, in which case the glasses may be stored with the temple arms in either open or closed positions.

Some wearers, perhaps cowboys in particular, may like to display ammunition cartridges, whether for utility or for show, and whether rifle or shotgun shells. This is accommodated by a segment of cartridge belt 195. This attachment device may be mounted as one or more short segments on the side of the crown near or further above the brim. Some wearers of the hat may take a liking to a continuous cartridge belt 195 extending the full perimeter of the crown, essentially a bandolier serving as a hat band.

As indicated previously, where a particular attachment device is suitable for mounting either on the crown 200 or the brim 300, it may be preferable to choose the former. The justification for this is shown in FIG. 14 where the crown 200 is separable from the brim 300. This construction allows a wearer to interchange the brim 300 in order to alter the character of the hat 100 without any need to reload personal items onto a customized crown 200. The brim 300 may be supplied in a variety of sizes, say 2-inch, 4-inch, or 5-inch, or in a variety of shapes or colors. Furthermore, a separable brim 300 may be made of a material other than that of the crown 200, for instance to apply a flexible brim to the crown of a hard hat.

Separability of the crown 200 from the brim 300 may be enabled by a variety of complementary fastener 400. FIG. 14 depicts a series of snaps for separately connecting the crown to the brim. Here, snap posts 452 are mounted to the flange (raised collar) 350 of the brim 300. To close the hat 100 to its wearable condition, snap caps 455 in corresponding locations around the periphery 250 of the crown 200 are mated with the corresponding snap posts 452. The snap caps 455 may be chosen for a particular ornamental effect.

It will be recognized that there are many complementary fasteners 400 that would be suitable for use in this construction. One alternative to the snaps shown in FIG. 14 is buttons and button holes in which case the buttons would be mounted on the flange (raised collar) 350 of the brim 300 facing outward so as to engage button holes in the crown 200 to leave the buttons exposed as ornamentation.

Other examples of complementary fastener 400 that provide separability of the crown from the brim include a series of grommets through which a cord may be threaded. A variation on this is to mount small loops, say of wire or cord, facing outward from the flange (raised collar) 350 of the brim 300 to protrude through complementary grommets in the crown 200, threading a cord through the protruding loops to secure the connection. Where it is desired that the connection of the crown to the brim be hidden, the complementary fastener 400 of choice might be a common hook-and-loop fastener such as that sold under the tradename Velcro®.

Although the hat has been described in terms of certain configurations, others will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including those configurations that provide only a single common attachment feature. By selecting among the attachment devices shown here and placing them in various combinations and locations, a hat in keeping with this design may be customized to meet the needs and desires of many purchasers and wearers of hats. The endless variety of configurations is to be defined only by the claims and equivalents thereof here appended, coupled with the needs and imagination of the wearer of the described hat.

Claims

1. A hat, comprising:

a crown;

a brim; and

an attachment device for holding a personal item,

wherein the crown substantially covers an upper portion of a head of a wearer, and

wherein the attachment device is attached to the crown, and

wherein the brim is attached to the crown at a periphery of the crown.

2. The hat of claim 1, wherein the attachment device is a strap secured at a first end to the crown.

3. The hat of claim 2, wherein the strap is terminated at a second end in a key ring.

4. The hat of claim 2, wherein the strap is formed into a loop.

5. The hat of claim 4, wherein the loop is formed by attaching a second end back on the strap with a complementary fastener.

6. The hat of claim 5, wherein the complementary fastener comprises a snap.

7. The hat of claim 5, wherein the complementary fastener comprises a button and button hole.

8. The hat of claim 5, wherein the complementary fastener comprises a hook and loop fastener.

9. The hat of claim 2, wherein the strap is a belt with buckle.

10. The hat of claim 1, wherein the attachment device is attached to the crown by stitching.

11. The hat of claim 1, wherein the attachment device is attached to the crown by an adhesive.

12. The hat of claim 1, wherein the attachment device is attached to the crown by a snap.

13. The hat of claim 1, wherein the attachment device is attached to the crown by a complementary fastener.

14. The hat of claim 13, wherein the complementary fastener comprises a snap.

15. The hat of claim 13, wherein the complementary fastener comprises a button and button hole.

16. The hat of claim 13, wherein the complementary fastener comprises a hook and loop fastener.

17. The hat of claim 1, wherein the brim is removably attached to the crown by one or more complementary fastener.

18. The hat of claim 17, wherein the complementary fastener comprises mating snaps.

19. The hat of claim 17, wherein the complementary fastener comprises a hook and loop fastener.

20. The hat of claim 17, wherein the complementary fastener comprises buttons and button holes.