U.S. patent application number 11/491673 was filed with the patent office on 2007-02-08 for headwear with hydration reservoir and storable hood.
Invention is credited to Aaron E. Robinson, Shawn M. Smith.
Application Number | 20070028359 11/491673 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37716250 |
Filed Date | 2007-02-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070028359 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Robinson; Aaron E. ; et
al. |
February 8, 2007 |
Headwear with hydration reservoir and storable hood
Abstract
An article of headwear (1) for covering the head and neck of a
wearer has a hood section (17) and neck section (20). The neck
section may contain a fluid reservoir (2) with an inlet (6) to
provide hydration for a wearer as well as thermal relief and sun
protection in hot or cold conditions. Handles (3) with removably
attachable fastening means (10), (11) and (13), (14) allow the
headwear (1) to be held by a wearer's hands or secured around the
wearer's head. Preferably, the headwear has an inner layer (10)
made of moisture-absorbent cloth to absorb moisture. Optionally,
the neck section may contain a storage compartment (18) for folding
down and storing the hood section as discussed.
Inventors: |
Robinson; Aaron E.; (Daytona
Beach, FL) ; Smith; Shawn M.; (Fort Lauderdale,
FL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
EDWARD M. LIVINGSTON, PA
963 TRAIL TERRACE DRIVE
NAPLES
FL
34103
US
|
Family ID: |
37716250 |
Appl. No.: |
11/491673 |
Filed: |
July 24, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60702163 |
Jul 25, 2005 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
2/171 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A42B 3/048 20130101;
A42B 1/048 20130101; A42B 1/24 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
002/171 |
International
Class: |
A42B 1/04 20060101
A42B001/04 |
Claims
1. An article of headwear comprising: a piece of cloth having inner
and outer sides, a head-covering hood section, a lower neck section
and two narrow sections extending from each side of the neck
section which form handles for holding the headwear by hands of the
wearer; and a compartment within the neck section.
2. The article of headwear of claim 1 further comprising: a liquid
reservoir within the compartment, said reservoir having an external
fill inlet extending through the back of the neck section and a
conduit extending from reservoir though a front of the next section
a sufficient length to reach the wearer's mouth for transmission of
fluid from the reservoir.
3. The article of headwear of claim 1 further comprising: a storage
section within the compartment having a closeable opening for
holding or storing the hood section within the compartment.
4. The article of headwear of claim 2 further comprising: a storage
section within the compartment having a closeable opening for
holding or storing the hood section within the compartment.
5. The article of headwear of claim 1 wherein the compartment is
closeable by fastening means.
6. The headwear of claim 1 further comprising a visor extending
from a top front perimeter of the hood section.
7. The headwear of claim 2 further comprising: a visor extending
from a top front perimeter of the hood section.
8. The headwear of claim 3 further comprising: a visor extending
from a top front perimeter of the hood section.
9. An article of headwear comprising: a piece of cloth having inner
and outer sides, a head covering hood section, a lower neck section
and two narrow sections extending from each side of the neck
section which form handles for holding the headwear by hands of the
wearer; a compartment within the neck section; a liquid reservoir
within the compartment a liquid reservoir within the compartment,
said reservoir having an external fill inlet extending through the
back of the neck section and a conduit extending from reservoir
though a front of the neck section a sufficient length to reach the
wearer's mouth for transmission of fluid from the reservoir.
10. An article of headwear comprising: a piece of cloth having
inner and outer sides, a head covering hood section, a lower neck
section and two narrow sections extending from each side of the
neck section which form handles for holding the headwear by hands
of the wearer; a compartment within the neck section. a liquid
reservoir within the compartment, said reservoir having an external
fill inlet extending through the back of the neck section and a
conduit extending from reservoir though a front of the next section
a sufficient length to reach the wearer's mouth for transmission of
fluid from the reservoir; and a storage section within the
compartment having a closeable opening for holding or storing the
hood section within the compartment.
11. The headwear of claim 5 wherein the fastening means is hook and
loop fastening material.
12. The headwear of claim 5 wherein the fastening means is a
zipper.
13. The headwear of claim 5 wherein the fastening means is
snaps.
14. The headwear of claim 1 wherein the two narrow sections on the
neck section further comprises fastening means to secure one narrow
section to the other around the neck of the wearer.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional
application Ser. No. 60/702163 filed Jul. 25, 2005.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates to articles of clothing, and more
particularly to a hoodie or sports towel that can be placed over
the head of an athlete, sports fan and others that will provide
hydration, cooling and protection from the sun during hot weather
or, alternatively, warmth during cold-weather events.
[0003] Persons who exert themselves in hot weather, particularly
athletes but even fans and workers, can become dehydrated which may
lead to exhaustion, heat stroke and can even result in death. Also,
during hot weather an athlete or fan tends to perspire excessively,
resulting in sweat getting in the eyes and interfering with
activity. On the other end of the spectrum, athletes who
participate in cold-weather events, such as skiing, ice skating and
hockey, or fans of such sports run the risk of hypothermia.
[0004] Thus, a need exists for an article of clothing that will
provide hydration, cooling during hot weather, protection from
exposure to the sun, absorption of perspiration and, alternatively,
keep a person warm in cold weather.
[0005] The prior art includes, most particularly, a sports towel by
the present inventors disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,678,896, issued
Jan. 20, 2004. The latter sports towel provided protection from the
sun and even cooling or warming by use of a neck pocket that could
hold ice or thermal packs. However, the prior device did not
provide a means of hydration, as does the present invention.
Accordingly, in addition to the features of the prior invention,
the present invention contains a liquid reservoir which is sewn or
built into the neck section of the sports towel. The reservoir has
a fluid inlet valve which is fillable from the backside of the neck
section with chilled liquid, or in the case of cold weather, warm
liquid. A flexible straw or plastic tubing leading from the
reservoir to the front of the sports towel allows the wearer to
suction fluid from the reservoir. Thus, the liquid reservoir
provides fluid to the wearer, as well as either cooling or warming
to the back of the neck and head section of the wearer.
[0006] In addition, the present invention also allows the hood
portion to be folded down and stored within a pouch to form a
sweatband around the neck when covering the head as desired or
necessary.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The primary object of the present invention is to provide an
article of clothing that provides hydration and thermal relief for
athletes, sports fans and others during all types of weather.
[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide
cooling relief to the wearer in hot weather.
[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide
warmth to a wearer in cold weather conditions.
[0010] An even further object of the present invention is to
protect the wearer from sunburn and other adverse effects of
exposure to the sun.
[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
article of clothing that can be used to wipe perspiration from
one's face and neck.
[0012] An additional object of the present invention is to provide
such an article of clothing that allows a wearer to fold down and
store a head-covering hood into a pouch when desired.
[0013] The present invention fulfills the above and other objects
by providing an article of headwear, preferably made of cloth or
other absorbent material having a wide middle section for covering
the head and neck and two narrow symmetrical end sections forming
handles for securing the headwear over the head. The inner side of
the headwear contains a liquid reservoir which can be sewn to the
inside of the neck section or between inner and outer layers of the
article of headwear. The fluid reservoir has a fluid inlet valve
extending from the back of the reservoir which allows the reservoir
to be filled with cold or hot liquid depending on the weather
conditions. A plastic tube from the reservoir extending through one
side of the headwear may be used by the wearer to suction fluid
from the reservoir as needed. Even furthermore, the other side of
the headwear may also serve as an advertising media for display of
logo types or other matter.
[0014] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the
present invention should become even more readily apparent to those
skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed
description in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown
and described illustrative embodiments of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] In the following detailed description, reference will be
made to the attached drawings in which:
[0016] FIG. 1 is a side plan view of the headwear of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective plan view of the inside of the
headwear of the present invention;
[0018] FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the headwear of the
present invention with a visor;
[0019] FIG. 4 is a side perspective view o the headwear of the
present invention with the hood portion folded down into a storage
pouch around a wearer's neck; and
[0020] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the headwear of the present
invention by itself with the head portion in a stored
configuration.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0021] For purposes of describing the preferred embodiment, the
terminology used in reference to the numbered components in the
drawings is as follows: [0022] 1. Headwear [0023] 2. Fluid
reservoir [0024] 3. Handles [0025] 4. Fluid tubing [0026] 5. Tubing
inlets [0027] 6. Reservoir fluid inlet valve [0028] 7. Valve
closure cap [0029] 8. Wearer [0030] 9. Grommet [0031] 10. Inner
fastener [0032] 11. Outer fastener [0033] 12. Visor [0034] 13.
Inner snaps [0035] 14. Outer snaps [0036] 15. Outer layer [0037]
16. Inner layer [0038] 17. Hood section [0039] 18. Storage
compartment [0040] 19. Closure opening [0041] 20. Neck section
[0042] Referring now to the drawing figures in FIG. 1, the headwear
1 of the present invention is shown worn over the head of a wearer
8. The headwear 1 has two major sections, a hood section 17 and
neck section 20. The neck section 20 may contain a storage
compartment 18 for storing the hood section 17 when it is folded
down around a wearer's neck. A fluid reservoir 2 is illustrated in
plan view on the neck section of the headwear 1. A fluid inlet
valve 6 with valve closure cap 7 is shown in an open position for
receiving fluid. In hot weather, cold fluid, preferably a "slushy"
type frozen drink, could be inserted through the inlet valve 6 into
the fluid reservoir 2. Alternatively, in cold weather, warm fluid,
such as hot chocolate or coffee, could be inserted into the fluid
reservoir 2 through the inlet valve 6. A tubing 4 inserted into the
fluid reservoir 2 may have fluid inlets 5 inside the reservoir to
enable the fluid in the reservoir to move quickly into and out of
the tube for suction into the mouth of the wearer 8. The tubing 4
could be held firmly in place on one side of the wearer 8 by a
grommet 9, which would allow it to be pulled inward or outward as
necessary to reach the mouth of the wearer 8.
[0043] In FIG. 2, the inside surface 16 of the headwear 1 is
illustrated. The fluid reservoir 2 may be sewn to the inside layer
16 or sewn between an inside layer 16 and outside layer 15 of the
headwear 1. The headwear 1 would preferably have narrow symmetrical
handles 3 extending from the neck section of the headwear 1 so that
the wearer could hold the handles with the wearer's hands to keep
the headwear 1 in place, particularly in high wind conditions.
Also, the handles 3 could be secured around the wearer's head by
fastening means on the handles 3 and sides of the headwear 1, such
as hook-and-loop material, 10, 11, or by snaps 13 and 14 as
illustrated in FIG. 3.
[0044] FIG. 3 illustrates the headwear 1 having the same components
as described in relation to the previous drawings with the addition
of a visor 12 to provide further protection from the sun. The
headwear 1 would preferably have an inner layer 16 made of an
absorbent cloth material to aid in absorption of perspiration and
an outer layer 15 of moisture impermeable material to repel
rain.
[0045] FIG. 4 shows the headwear 1 in a hood storage configuration
when a hood section has been folded down into a storage compartment
18 in the neck section 20. In the latter storage configuration, the
headwear 1 becomes similar to a sweat towel placed around the neck
of the wearer 8. In this configuration the wearer 8 would still be
able to hold the handles 3 on the headwear around the neck and use
it to wipe perspiration off his or her face as necessary. Moreover,
the headwear 1 would still provide thermal relief as it may also
have the liquid reservoir 2 even in the hood storage
configuration.
[0046] FIG. 5 shows the headwear 1 of the present invention in the
same storage configuration with a closure opening 19 into which the
hood section 17 has been folded. The closeable slit 19 would extend
in a semicircular fashion around the top of the neck section 20 and
could be closeable by a variety of fastening means including,
without limitation, hook and loop fastening material, zipper,
snaps, and so forth.
[0047] Although only a few embodiments of the present invention
have been described in detail hereinabove, all improvements and
modifications to this invention within the scope or equivalents of
the claims are included as part of this invention.
* * * * *