EP2555644B1

EP2555644B1 - Washable baseball cap with ventilation means

Info

Publication number: EP2555644B1
Application number: EP10719958.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: A. Touray
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-02-08
Filing date: 2010-02-08
Publication date: 2015-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 2030-02-08
Also published as: WO2011095833A1; US20130007944A1; EP2555644A1

Description

The human body emits significant amounts of heat through the scalp and this baseball cap invention is designed to better regulate this heat during cooler or warmer conditions (for example in cold winters or hot summers). This design creates an air chamber between the scalp and the inner roof of the cap with shutters aligned on the sides of the air chamber that can be opened or closed to provide a heat release or better ventilation for the scalp of the user in hotter conditions or alternatively preserve the heat during cooler conditions. This baseball cap invention will be useful to the public in general and to certain users engaged in specific sports in particular. A slightly modified version which covers the user's whole hair could be of special importance to users in the Catering and Health industries. This design has the added advantage of being machine and hand washable not withstanding it also secures the cap to the head better.
United Kingdom Patent Application GB 2,295,307 A discloses a hat having a washable head-covering portion and a resilient peak element, or brim element. The peak element or brim element is formed as an insert, is removably located in a peak-shaped pocket of the hat. Once the insert has been removed the hat can be washed.
United Kingdom Patent Application GB 139374 A discloses a cap suitable for use for motorists and similar others that has a closely fitting lining which may be made elastic, such as by inserting a gusset. The body of the, cap is larger than the lining and secured at the peak by a multiplicity of fastenings such as press-buttons, the elastic gusseted lining holding the cap to the user's head.
Current conventional baseball caps in use are less efficient at providing such a twin facility; they are not designed to be machine and/or hand washable and are less user friendly in the catering and health industry. The main flaw in the current designs is that, in order to secure the cap on the user's head, they have to be worn hard pressed on the scalp. This reduces air flow and ventilation around the scalp during hot conditions and in so doing not allowing the scalp to ventilate properly. To overcome these flaws, this invention provides an air chamber between the scalp and the roof of the baseball cap. This air chamber has "Windows" or shutters which, can be opened or closed either to keep the scalp/head warmer or allow better ventilation for air circulation. This functionality is achieved by constructing an inner "hat" made of tension flexed porous material which, is flexible/stretchable as a "Scalp Wrapper" sewn inside the outer cap which secures the user's hair to the scalp. To create an air chamber the outer cap is constructed at a slightly higher elevation to the inner cap which is achieved through memory plastic material inserted/sewn through the "Umbrella" spines of the outer cap. The functionality of the stretchable inner "hat" which secures the user's hair to the scalp is also of special importance for users in the catering and health industries in particular. There is also a built in mechanism in this design were the sunshade consists of a removable "Hard Flap" which is encased in the front end chamber/bag to allow for the hand or machine washing capability of this design.
This invention will now be described by way of examples with references to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1: Shows a Rear Isometric View of the design as it would be used in practice by sportsmen/women and the public in general with the "Windows/Shutters" aligned with the air chamber. It also shows the "Umbrella" spines and a glimpse of the "Scalp Wrapper" or stretchable inner porous "Hat" which wraps around the scalp of the user.
Figure 2: Shows a Rear View with the "Scalp Wrapper" or the inner porous "Hat" which is stretchable to cover the full hair for users in the catering & health industries.
Figure 3: Shows a Side View with the "Hard Flap" sunshade removed revealing the collapsed front of the cap to facilitate the machine and hand washable functionality.
Figure 4: Shows a Side View revealing the elevated outer cap showing the "windows" or shutters which can be opened or closed to regulate ventilation around the scalp. It also reveals the front of the cap with the "Hard Flap" sunshade inserted.
Figure 5: Shows the removable "Hard Flap" sunshade
Figure 6: Rear Isometric View showing the chamber which encases the removable "Hard Flap" or "Sunshade" also revealing the aperture through which this can happen alongside the Velcro™ open/shut "Door".
Figure 7: Top View showing a view of the outer cap with the shutters/windows.

In figure 1, the "Scalp Wrapper" or the inner porous "Hat" 1 secures the hair on to the scalp of the user's head due to the tension flexed stretchable nature of the material. The outer cap 2 is constructed at an elevation higher above the scalp and hair to create an air chamber 4 between the scalp and roof of the outer cap. "Windows/Shutters" 5 are provided which have an open/close mechanism to regulate the level of ventilation around the scalp depending on how the user wants to control air flow around the scalp. The cap's frontend 6 encases the removable "Hard Flap" 7b (figure 5) which facilitates the machine washable feature of this design.
Figure 2 is a slight variation of figure1 with the "Scalp Wrapper" or the inner porous "Hat" 1 modified to secure and hold the user's complete hair on the scalp due to the tension flexed stretchable nature of the material used. This could be of special benefit for users in the catering and health industries.
The machine and hand washable feature of this design is made possible by creating an encasing chamber 7 (Figure 3) which houses the hard flap 7b (figure 5) when the cap is in use. If the user decides to machine or hand wash the cap, this hard flap 7b can be removed through an aperture 7a (figure 6) created for this purpose in the encasing chamber. This aperture has a Velcro™ open and close door mechanism 7c, 7d (Figure 6). Once the hard flap 7b (figure 5) is removed, the baseball cap can be hand or machine washed. The hard flap, after hand or machine wash, is then inserted back in the encasing chamber through the aperture 7a (figure 6).

Claims

A washable baseball cap comprising: a stretchable scalp wrapper (1) to secure the user's hair to the user's scalp;
an outer cap (2), which provides an air chamber between the user's scalp and the roof of the outer cap (2);
characterized in that
the outer cap (2) comprises shutters (5), each shutter (5) comprising:
an open close mechanism to regulate the level of ventilation around the user's scalp.
The washable baseball cap, according to Claim 1, characterized in that,the stretchable scalp wrapper (1) holds and secures the user's complete hair on the user's scalp.
The washable baseball cap, according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it further comprises a hard flap (7b) useable as a sunshade for the baseball cap and an encasing chamber (7) which houses the hard flap (7b), where the hard flap (7b) is removeable and insertable through an aperture (7a) in the encasing chamber (7) and the aperture (7a) comprises a Velcro™ open and close door mechanism.