The present invention relates to a hat and to a hat band for use in a hat and relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a hat band for use in a baseball cap .

Hats have two primary functions of keeping the head of a wearer warm and protecting their head and eyes from excess sunlight . In hot weather these functions can be conflicting since this is the time when protection from sunlight is required but the wearer is unlikely to need to be warm . As a result , there is a need to provide a hat which is designed to of fer protection from the sun with additional ventilation .

Examples of such headwear are known in the art but suf fer from a number of disadvantages . The additional mechanisms to provide ventilation are often cumbersome signi ficantly increasing the weight of the hat and risking making it uncomfortable . Other examples provide openings which reduce the protection from the sun . Most examples of prior art do not prevent the hat from being removed by a gust of wind and in some cases increase that risk . Furthermore , in most cases the designs would make the hats signi ficantly more expensive to manufacture . As a result , there is a need for a hat which protects the user from the sun whilst allowing ventilation into the space between the hat and the head of the wearer while at the same time reducing the risk of the hat being removed by a gust of wind .

Examples of the prior art are disclosed in patents and patent applications published under the following numbers , US4109322 , KR2003616216 , US5495622 , US2015000008 , US 6647553 , WO03/ 063626 , US2017 / 360137 , US 11409344 and US 1684670 .

Preferred embodiments of the present invention seek to overcome or alleviate the above-described disadvantages of the prior art . According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a hat band comprising : a first annular band for attachment to a head covering portion of a hat ; and a second part annular band connected to the first annular band at a pair of connection positions and inside the first annular band .

By having a hat band with an annular band and a part annular band located within the annular band, the advantage is provided that a ventilation gap is created, ideally, at the front of the hat allowing air to circulate around the head of the wearer . This assists in cooling on a hot day and is particularly useful for baseball style caps which are commonly worn in hot weather . Furthermore , the part band inside the annular band assists in keeping the hat on the head of the wearer . In particular, in the event o f a gust o f wind attempting to li ft the hat of f the wearer, the part band and the gap allows for some movement of the brim and crown of the hat while maintaining the engagement of the hat via the part annular band . As the front of the hat , adj acent the part annular band, is li fted up, the rear of the annular hat band is forced downward into further engagement with the head further securing the hat in place . The outer annular band and the inner part annular band form an outer and inner circle . When the inner part annular band pivots up or down it reduces the circumference of the inner circle . When the pivoting movement is restricted, as in when the headband assembly is worn around the head, the weight o f the outer headband and attached hat creates a downward force thereby forcing the inner part annular band to pivot upwards relative to the outer hatband .

In a preferred embodiment a distance between the connection positions measured around the first band is greater than a distance between the connection positions measured around the second band . In another preferred embodiment a portion of the first annular band engages a rear portion of a head of a wearer .

In a further preferred embodiment , the second part annular band engages a front portion of the head of the wearer .

The first annular band comprises an elasticated portion and alternatively comprises a connector portion .

By including an elasticated portion or a connector portion allows adj ustment of the hat to closely fit the wearer . An elasticated portion is particularly useful in the present invention as this allows the rear portion of the annular band to adj ust to maintain close but comfortable engagement of the hat with the head of the wearer when the above described movement of the hat is occurring as a result of a gust of wind . Because the inner part annular bands movement is restricted by the wearers head, the circumference cannot be reduced therefore the tensi le load energy stretches the elastic portion of the outer band so storing the tensile load energy . This has the ef fect of maintaining the hat position on the wearers head, in that it wi ll not ride down . Conversely in the event o f a gust o f wind forcing the peak of the cap in an upwards direction the inner annular band pivots downwards relative to the outer annular band . As a result , because its movement is restricted as before the tensile load energy causes the elasticated portion of the outer band to stretch so storing the energy . The more the peak is li fted, the more tensile load energy is imparted to the elasticated portion of the hat band and the tighter the hat bands grip on the wearers head there fore the hat will not be blown of f the wearers head . Alternatively, i f the headband does not have an elasticated portion, and instead a nonelastic adj ustment strap, the tensi le energy wil l be stored around the circumference of the headband and the wearers head and the headband assembly will have the same functionality as above but will be slightly uncomfortable for the wearer . In a preferred embodiment the pair of connections between the first annular band and the second part annular band at the connection positions is a pair of pivotal connections .

Pivotal connections ensure the best engagement of the hat band at all times allowing movement of the brim and crown of the hat in a gust of wind while maintaining the hat band in engagement with the head of the wearer .

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a hat comprising a hat band as set out above and a head covering portion attached thereto .

In a preferred embodiment the head covering portion comprises a plurality of apertures .

In another preferred embodiment the plurality of apertures form part of a mesh material .

Apertures or a mesh material encourage a flow of air through the space between the head covering portion and the head of the wearer to enhance the cooling action of the hat .

The hat may further comprise a peak .

The use of a peak, particularly where the peak is adj acent to the gap, means that the peak acts as an air ram directing the air towards the gap and into the space between the head covering portion and the head of the wearer to enhance the cool ing action of the hat .

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a hat comprising : a head covering portion; a first band having a f irst portion in use for engaging a rear portion of a head of a wearer and having a front portion in use not engaging the head of the wearer . a second band in use engaging a first portion of the head o f a wearer wherein the first and second bands are connected to each other and wherein the length of the first band measured between the connections on the first band is less than on the second band thereby creating a gap between the first and second bands .

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, and not in any limitative sense with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a schematic representation o f a hat of the present invention showing both internal and external features ;

Figure 2 is an isometric view of bands that form part of the hat of figure 1 ;

Figure 3 is an isometric view showing a band in a normal working condition ( on the left ) and where the band has moved due to front of the hat being li fted ( on the right ) ; and

Figure 4 is a view from above of the bands of figure 3 in the same conditions .

With initial reference to figures 1 and 2 , a hat 10 , in the form of a baseball cap, has a head covering portion or crown 12 , a peak 14 and a hat band 16 . The crown 12 and peak 14 are of a standard construction and include a series of panels 18 , in this example six panels , each having an eyelet 20 formed therein .

The hat band 16 is formed from two band portions . These are an annular band 22 and a part annular band 24 . The annular band 22 is attached to the crown 12 and the part annular band 24 is attached to the annular band 22 at connection locations 26 . In the example shown in the figures , a pair of pivots 28 are located at the connection locations 26 to form the connection between the part annular band 24 and the annular band 22 . As a result , the part annular band 24 is able to pivot relative to the annular band 22 .

The part annular band 24 is located inside the annular band 22 and as a result , a gap 30 is formed between the part annular band and the annular band . The distance between the connection locations 26 ( that is the pair of pivots 28 in the embodiment shown in figures 1 and 2 ) as measured around the part annular band 24 is less than the equivalent distance as measured around the annular band 22 . That is , i f the hat band 16 was disassembled and the di stance between the holes for the pivots 28 in the annular band 22 and part annular band 24 where measured, that distance would be greater in the annular band thereby generating the gap 30 .

The annular band 22 is formed in two parts . There is a main band portion 32 and an elasticated portion 34 which together encircle the head o f the wearer when the hat 10 is in use . In figure 2 the hat band 16 , and in particular the annular band 22 , are shown as components formed separately from the hat and which are then attached to the hat . However, the main band portion 22 is preferably formed as the internal band of the hat to which the part annular band 24 is attached . In an alternative vers ion of the present invention, the elasticated portion 34 can be replaced with an adj ustable connection portion which allows the diameter of the hat band 16 to be changed to fit the wearer . Persons skilled in the art will be familiar with such connection portions which include , but are not limited to , using : a pair of cooperating Velcro fasteners ; a pair of strips of plastic one bearing a series of studs and the other bearing a series of holes into which the studs can extend; and a ratchet closing mechanism .

In the embodiments shown in the f igures , the part annular band 24 has a series of ventilation perforations formed therein . These perforations assist in keeping the forehead of the wearer cool . Alternatively, the part annular band 24 could be formed from, or be covered with, a fabric material .

Use of the hat 10 will now be described with additional reference to figures 3 and 4 . With the hat of the present invention, it is preferable to place the hat on the head of the wearer from front to back . That is , by engaging the part headband 24 with the forehead of the wearer first and then pulling the crown 12 of the hat 10 over the back of the head . Once in place , the part annular band 24 is engaged with the forehead of the wearer . A rear portion of the annular band 22 , that is the part located towards the back of the annular band 22 that is past the connection locations 26 , also engages the head of the wearer . This rear portion, identi fied as 36 in the figures , includes the elasticated portion 34 . The weight of the hat imparts a downwards force onto the pivot points of the part annular band thereby forcing the band to pivot in an upwards direction relative to the outer band . Because its movement is restricted by the wearers head the circumference of the headband cannot be reduced therefore the tensi le load energy causes the elasticated portion to stretch thereby storing the energy . This has the ef fect of not allowing the hat to ride down over the wearers head .

The hat 10 is now in place and can be worn in the way that is familiar to hat wearers . However, the gap 30 between the annular band 22 and the part annular band 24 allows a flow of air to pass into the space between the crown 12 of the hat 10 and the head of the wearer . This air is able to pass through this space and out through the eyelets 20 or through a gap at the back of the hat between the crown and the elasticated portion 34 . In an alternative embodiment , some of the panels , typically the four panels that are towards the rear of the hat , can be replaced with a mesh material which further enhances the ventilation through the gap and out from the crown 12 . Thi s operation of directing air through the gap 30 is enhanced by the peak 14 which acts as an air ram directing air towards the gap and increasing the flow of air over the head .

In the event of a gust of wind catching the peak 14 and attempting to li ft the hat 10 of f the head of the wearer, the peak 14 and crown 12 are able to move independently from parts of the hatband 16 . In particular, the part annular portion 24 , which is at the front of the hat , is able to remain engaged with the forehead of the wearer while the peak li fts and parts of the crown f lex . As the peak moves up this moves the front portion ( labelled 38 ) of the annular band 22 upwards which allows the annular band 22 to pivot relative to the part annular band 24 thereby forcing the rear portion 36 of the annular band 22 down into further engagement with the head of the wearer . Because the part annular bands movement is restricted the tensi le load energy is imparted into the elasticated portion of the headband assisting in retaining the hat on the head of the wearer . Thi s is illustrated in figures 3 and 4 in which the left hand images show the hatband 16 in a normal working condition . However, the righthand images show the hat in a condition in which the wind has caught the peak of the hat tipping it backwards . This results in the annular band 22 also tipping backwards thereby reducing the circumference of the circle formed of the part annular band 24 and rear portion of the annular band . This reduction can be clearly seen looking at the inside circle in the images of figure 4 . As a result , the hat of the present invention is signi ficantly less likely to be blown of f the head of the wearer in the event of a gust of wind catching the peak of the hat .

It wi ll be appreciated by persons ski lled in the art that the above embodiments have been described by way of example only and not in any limitative sense , and that various alterations and modi fications are possible without departure from the scope of the protection which is defined by the appended claims . For example , the above embodiment has depicted a hat in the form of a baseball cap . However, the present invention is equally applicable to other types of hats including, but not limited to , a flat cap , a western or cowboy hat , a fedora , a Panama hat , a bowler hat , a boater, a bucket hat and a straw hat , these being primarily, but not exclusively, hats for protecting the wearer from the sun . Furthermore , although the above embodiment has been described as having a pivot , this feature is not essential to the functioning of the present invention . An attachment which does not allow complete free rotation of the part annular band 24 relative to the annular band 22 can still provide both advantages of the present invention of generating ventilation between the crown of the hat and the head of the wearer and assisting in keeping the hat on the head . For example , a simple stitch between the annular band and part annular band would al low some pivoting action between those two components in the event of a gust of wind catching the brim of the hat . Although the above embodiment has been described with the gap 30 at the front , it is in principle possible to have the gap in other places should cooling to speci fic areas be required . In the example shown in the embodiments disclosed above , the pivot points are shown on either side of the hat . The position shown is having the pivot points at approximately 180 ° around the circumference from each other . However, these connection points can be at other locations around the circumference of the annular band, for example , the connection points could be closer to the peak .