HAT DISPLAY SYSTEM AND RELATED METHODS

Abstract

A hat display system has a first strap assembly, a surface mount mechanism, and a hat brim support mechanism. The first strap assembly forms a loop positioned substantially in a first plane. The first strap assembly engages an interior of a crown of a hat, the first strap assembly having an adjustable perimeter. The hat brim support mechanism has a flange surface to support an underbrim of the hat. The first strap assembly and the surface mount mechanism are shaped and positioned to support the hat at a non-parallel angle relative to a mounting surface.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

FIELD

This invention is related to clothing accessories. Specifically, but not intended to limit the invention, embodiments of the invention are related to supports for headgear.

BACKGROUND

Hat enthusiasts enjoy collecting hats, often with an intent to display their collection. Presently, however, enthusiasts, in particular homeowners without retail space, are limited to displaying their collections through the use of a display case, such as a cabinet or box with clear walls. Museums have clothing and hat display equipment, but such equipment is not suited to home consumer use, due to the complex arrangements involved. There thus remains a need for a hat display system and/or other new and useful innovations.

SUMMARY

An exemplary hat display system has a first strap assembly forming a loop positioned substantially in a first plane, the first strap assembly shaped and positioned to engage an interior of a crown of a hat, the first strap assembly having an adjustable perimeter; a surface mount mechanism; and a hat brim support mechanism having a flange surface shaped and positioned to support an underbrim of the hat; wherein the first strap assembly and the surface mount mechanism are shaped and positioned to support the hat at a non-parallel angle relative to a mounting surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION ON THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an exemplary hat display system;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the system in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the system in FIG. 1, with a hat placed thereon;

FIG. 5 is a side schematic view of an optional component for use with the system in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a side perspective view of the system in FIG. 1, with an optional component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purpose of this document, the term “hat” is used to reference all headgear having a crown and, optionally, a brim, and/or sweatband, such as, for example, baseball caps, cowboy hats, garrison caps, wool hats, helmets, bonnets, caps, and specialty headgear.

Turning now to FIGS. 1-3, embodiments of the hat display system 100, or system 100, are now described.

In some embodiments, the system 100 has a first strap assembly 102 forming at least a portion of a loop positioned substantially in a first plane A-A, the first strap assembly 102 shaped and positioned to engage an interior of a crown of a hat 200 (see FIG. 4), the first strap assembly 102 having an adjustable perimeter P. Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in some embodiments, the first strap assembly 102 forms a circular shape, but that is not necessarily the case. The shape may be elliptical or irregular, for example, to accommodate attachments (not shown) or irregular shapes on the interior of the crown of the hat 200.

In some embodiments, the first strap assembly 102 may be configured to stretch at least a portion of the interior of the crown of the hat 200, such as to shape and/or expand a sweat band or to shape/expand a hat 200, such as a knitted hat.

The system 100 may have a second strap assembly 104 coupled to the first strap assembly 102 and forming a partial loop positioned substantially in a second plane B-B different from the first plane A-A. The second strap assembly 104 may be shaped and positioned to support an upper portion of the interior of the crown of the hat 300 and may have an adjustable height H relative to the first strap assembly 102. The second strap assembly 104 may be circular, elliptical, or irregular in shape, for example, to accommodate irregular crown shapes or attachments on the interior of the crown of the hat 200.

In some embodiments, the first and/or second strap assembly 102, 104 may be shaped and configured to maintain a hat 200, such as to prevent the hat 200 from losing shape.

The system 100 may have a surface mount mechanism 106. The surface mount mechanism 106 may be coupled to at least one of the first strap assembly 102 or the second strap assembly 104 to support the system 100 on a mounting surface 300 such as a wall.

The system 100 may have a hat brim support mechanism 108 having a flange surface 110 shaped and positioned to support an underbrim 202 of the hat 200. In some embodiments, the hat brim support mechanism 108 is removable. For example, and as best shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 may include an attachment mechanism having one or more pins 112 that removably couple the hat brim support mechanism 108 to the first strap assembly 102 by engaging one or more recesses 114 in the first strap assembly 102. Those of skill in the art will, however, readily envision many other arrangements for the hat bill attachment mechanism, including, but not limited to, elastic clamps, pins, screws, hooks, hook and loop fasteners, tape, bands, press-fit engagement features, etc. In some embodiments, the hat brim support mechanism 108 includes one or more wedge features so as to engage one or more recesses in the first strap assembly 102. For the purpose of this document, the term “brim” shall be understood to include both hat brims that substantially encircle the entire cro8797wn and brims that do not, such as bills or visors for, as an example only, baseball caps.

With brief reference to FIG. 6, in some embodiments, the hat brim support mechanism 108 is designed to support a hat with a brim that is both in the front and rear of the hat, such as, for example, a cowboy hat. In some embodiments, the hat brim support mechanism 108 comprises a first support portion 108a shaped and configured to support a first brim portion of the hat and a second support portion 108b shaped and configured to support a second brim portion of the hat, the second brim portion different from the first brim portion.

Those skilled in the art will also recognize that the hat brim support mechanism 108 may be adjustable, such as by including an extension mechanism, to accommodate and support the brim of a cowboy hat at one or more locations as necessary.

The hat brim support mechanism 108 may include a first flange surface 110 for supporting a first brim portion of the hat and a second flange surface 110 for supporting a second brim portion of the hat. In some embodiments, the surface mount mechanism 106 is unitary with or coupled to the second support portion 108b.

Although FIG. 6 illustrations the first and second support portions 108a, 108b as being at the front and rear of the hat 200, those skilled in the art will readily recognize the support portions 108a, 108b may be placed anywhere reasonably suited to support the brim. More supports (not shown) may be provided.

In some embodiments, the first strap assembly 102 and the surface mount mechanism 106 may be shaped and positioned to support the hat 200 at a non-parallel angle α relative to a mounting surface 300 (see e.g. FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). The non-parallel angle α may be between 1 degree and 90 degrees. The non-parallel angle α may be between 45 degrees and 70 degrees. As shown in FIG. 4, the non-parallel angle α is roughly around 70 degrees.

In some embodiments, the surface mount mechanism 106 is removable, as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For example, the system 100 may include a wall mount attachment mechanism having one or more pins 116 that removably couple the surface mount mechanism 106 to the first strap assembly 102 by engaging one or more recesses 114 in the first strap assembly 102. Those of skill in the art will, however, readily envision many other arrangements for the wall mount attachment mechanism, including, but not limited to, elastic clamps, pins, screws, hooks, hook and loop fasteners, tape, bands, press-fit engagement features, etc.

Turning now to FIG. 5, in some embodiments, the non-parallel angle α may be adjustable. For example, the surface mount mechanism 106 may include a ratchet mechanism 118 such as those known to those skilled in the art to adjust an angle between the hat 200 and the mounting surface (wall) 300. The surface mount mechanism 106 may further include a recess or receptacle 120 to receive a tab 122 in first strap assembly 102.

In some embodiments, the perimeter of the first strap assembly 102 may be adjustable. For example, and as shown, the first strap assembly 102 may have a perimeter adjustment mechanism. The perimeter adjustment mechanism may have one or more pins or clamping members 124 to engage one or more recesses 114 at preferred locations. Those skilled in the art, however, will readily envision many other arrangements for the perimeter adjustment mechanism, including, but not limited to, a ratchet mechanism, hook and loop fasteners, clamps, hooks, tape, detent engagements, press-fit engagements, etc.

In some embodiments, the height H of the second strap assembly 104 may be adjustable. For example, and as shown, the second strap assembly 104 may have a height adjustment mechanism. The height adjustment mechanism may have one or more pins or clamping members 126 to engage one or more recesses 114 at preferred locations. Those skilled in the art, however, will readily envision many other arrangements for the height adjustment mechanism, including, but not limited to, a ratchet mechanism, hook and loop fasteners, clamps, hooks, tape, detent engagements, press-fit engagements, etc.

In some embodiments, the second strap assembly 104 is removable from the first strap assembly 102, to enable, for example, storage when not in use, or adaptation to specialized head gear.

In some embodiments, the surface mount mechanism 106 is removably coupled to the first strap assembly 102, to improve ease of storage and/or ease of mounting the surface mount mechanism 106 to a mounting surface 300. That is, the surface mount mechanism 106 may be attached to a mounting surface 300 separately, such as by screwing, nailing, tape, or hook and loop fasteners; then, the rest of the system 100 may be coupled to the surface mount mechanism 106, for ease.

Although embodiments have been described herein with a primary focus on mounting a hat 200 to a mounting surface 300 such as a wall, those skilled in the art will readily recognize that the system 100 may be modified for displaying a hat 200 on a horizontal surface, such as a table. For example, the system 100 may include the first strap assembly 102 and the second strap assembly 104, so as to maintain the shape of the hat 200, and may be placed on a shelf for displaying the hat 200.

Each of the various elements disclosed herein may be achieved in a variety of manners. This disclosure should be understood to encompass each such variation, be it a variation of an embodiment of any apparatus embodiment, a method or process embodiment, or even merely a variation of any element of these. Particularly, it should be understood that the words for each element may be expressed by equivalent apparatus terms or method terms—even if only the function or result is the same. Such equivalent, broader, or even more generic terms should be considered to be encompassed in the description of each element or action. Such terms can be substituted where desired to make explicit the implicitly broad coverage to which this invention is entitled.

As but one example, it should be understood that all action may be expressed as a means for taking that action or as an element which causes that action. Similarly, each physical element disclosed should be understood to encompass a disclosure of the action which that physical element facilitates. Regarding this last aspect, the disclosure of a “fastener” should be understood to encompass disclosure of the act of “fastening”—whether explicitly discussed or not—and, conversely, were there only disclosure of the act of “fastening”, such a disclosure should be understood to encompass disclosure of a “fastening mechanism”. Such changes and alternative terms are to be understood to be explicitly included in the description.

Moreover, the claims shall be construed such that a claim that recites “at least one of A, B, or C” shall read on a device that requires “A” only. The claim shall also read on a device that requires “B” only. The claim shall also read on a device that requires “C” only.

Similarly, the claim shall also read on a device that requires “A+B”. The claim shall also read on a device that requires “A+B+C”, and so forth.

The claims shall also be construed such that any relational language (e.g. perpendicular, straight, parallel, flat, etc.) is understood to include the recitation “within a reasonable manufacturing tolerance at the time the device is manufactured or at the time of the invention, whichever manufacturing tolerance is greater”.

Those skilled in the art can readily recognize that numerous variations and substitutions may be made in the invention, its use and its configuration to achieve substantially the same results as achieved by the embodiments described herein.

Accordingly, there is no intention to limit the invention to the disclosed exemplary forms. Many variations, modifications and alternative constructions fall within the scope and spirit of the invention as expressed in the claims.

Claims

1. A hat display system, comprising:

a first strap assembly forming a loop positioned substantially in a first plane, the first strap assembly shaped and positioned to engage an interior of a crown a hat, the first strap assembly having an adjustable perimeter;

a surface mount mechanism; and

a hat brim support mechanism having a flange surface shaped and positioned to support an underbrim of the hat; wherein

the first strap assembly and the surface mount mechanism are shaped and positioned to support the hat at a non-parallel angle relative to a mounting surface.

2. The hat display system of claim 1, further comprising:

a second strap assembly coupled to the first strap assembly and forming a partial loop positioned substantially in a second plane different from the first plane, the second strap assembly shaped and positioned to support an upper portion of the interior of the crown of the hat, the second strap assembly having an adjustable height relative to the first strap assembly.

3. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the mounting surface is a wall.

4. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the hat brim support mechanism is removable.

5. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the hat brim support mechanism comprises a first support portion shaped and configured to support a first brim portion of the hat and a second support portion shaped and configured to support a second brim portion of the hat, the second brim portion different from the first brim portion.

6. The hat display system of claim 5, wherein:

the surface mount mechanism is at least one of unitary with or coupled to the second support portion.

7. The hat display system of claim 4, wherein:

the hat brim support mechanism comprises a first flange surface shaped and configured to support a first brim portion of the hat; and

a second flange surface shaped and configured to support a second brim portion of the hat.

8. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the non-parallel angle is between 1 degree and 90 degrees.

9. The hat display system of claim 8, wherein:

the non-parallel angle is between 45 degrees and 70 degrees.

10. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the surface mount mechanism is removable.

11. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the non-parallel angle is adjustable.

12. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the first strap assembly comprises at least one of a ratchet mechanism or a plurality of holes and a pin, whereby the perimeter is adjustable.

13. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the second strap assembly comprises at least one of a ratchet mechanism or a plurality of holes and a pin, whereby the height is adjustable.

14. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the second strap assembly is removable from the first strap assembly.

15. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the surface mount mechanism is coupled to at least one of the first strap assembly or the second strap assembly.

16. The hat display system of claim 1, wherein:

the surface mount mechanism is removably coupled to the first strap assembly.