Abstract:
Hats with one to a multiplicity of openings through a molded crown are provided with a flounce that can be drawn upwardly to cover the inside surface of the crown and display shapes through the openings.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention is directed to a headwear apparatus. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The most effective headwear provides both style and protection. The headwear needs to provide protection for the hair and the top of the head by the crown, the face by the brim or visor, and the back of the neck by a flounce or veil hanging downwardly from the rear of the headband. The problem with headwear that provide all the protections is that weather conditions can quickly change and the wearer may move back and forth from sun to shade making the protection an uncomfortable burden. The varying needs are illustrated on one hand by the visor/headband combination that provides face protection and unencumbered airflow across the top of the head, but no protection from the sun for the top of the head. On the other hand, headwear with a full crown, a full brim and a flounce hanging downwardly over the back of the neck provide the ultimate sun protection, but may be uncomfortable due to the lack of airflow to the wearer&#39;s skin. Headwear is needed that provides a balance of protection and comfort and the ability to adjust that balance to meet changing conditions. 
         [0003]    U.S. patent to Bianchetti &#39;846 teaches an internal frame of substantial different construction. Bartel &#39;591 discloses a wire frame ( FIGS. 6-9 ). Tramana &#39;828 discloses a frame and crown strips ( 15 - 17 ). Miller &#39;969 discloses a wire frame ( FIG. 1 &amp; 2 ). Gallin &#39;958 discloses a grommet (ring) frame (# 28  in  FIG. 2 ). Soule&#39; &#39;699 discloses a wire ring frame ( FIG. 2 ). U.S. patent to Oehlschlaeger &#39;763 is a design patent with no text detail. It clearly shows a flounce attached to the front of the band of a visor wherein the flounce may be tucked in as shown in  FIGS. 1-5  and as a head cover as shown in  FIGS. 6-7 . Chu &#39;201 discloses a cap with a detachable sunshade flounce ( FIGS. 3-4 ). Kronenberger &#39;689 discloses cap with detachable visors. Potochnik &#39;287 discloses outer cover  30  and detachable veil  21  ( FIG. 7 .). No support frame was located per the text although some of the drawings are confusing. Linday &#39;370 discloses a visor with attachable crown and ornament. Hall &#39;986 discloses a cap with a flounce attached on the front top of the cap and arranged in variety of ways. Kraft &#39;017 discloses a headband with attachable crown, neck veil etc. Allen &#39;869 discloses a “widow&#39;s” veil attached over the bill of the cap. Proctor &#39;523 discloses modular headwear with a headband with visors, crown, flounce etc. attachable. Girbardt &#39;120 discloses a detachable crown. Carlson &#39;251 discloses a detachable crown. Johnson &#39;079 discloses a separate head band detachably attached to the head band of a hat. Garza &#39;740 discloses a reversible hat with a double walled crown. 
         [0004]    None of the above devices satisfy the needs described above and/or attain the objects provided herein below. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is an object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a headwear device that has a self-supporting crown that allows nearly unobstructed airflow to and from the hair and scalp. 
         [0006]    It is a further object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a headwear device that allows the wearer to alternatively change the crown from essentially a full head covering to nearly fully open to the elements. 
         [0007]    It is an additional object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a headwear device with a cloth lining that can be either pulled up as lining under a foraminous crown or be pulled downwardly to hang as flounce or veil. 
         [0008]    It is a further object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a headwear device that allows patterns on a cloth panel to be visible through openings in the crown when the panel is pulled upwardly as a liner under the crown. 
         [0009]    It is a further object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a headwear device that allows many styles of figures such as sports ball patterns, flowers, fish, insects and other figures without limit on a cloth flounce to be aligned with and be visible through openings in the crown when the flounce is pulled upwardly as a liner under the crown. 
         [0010]    It is a further object of an embodiment of the present invention to provide a headwear device that allows a foraminous cloth panel to allow access to openings in the crown when the panel is pulled over to cover the crown. 
         [0011]    It is an additional object an embodiment of the present invention to provide a headwear device that provides a flexible crown that includes a multiplicity of frames that can be stiffened by wire woven through sides of the frames. 
         [0012]    An embodiment of the invention is a headwear apparatus that includes a headband that includes a front and a rear section, a foraminous crown attached to the headband, the crown including a multiplicity of frames, each frame including at least one side member around an opening and connecting means to connect the frames together to form the crown, the apparatus further including a sheet panel, preferably a fabric panel, comprising a rear edge, a front edge, an upwardly facing surface, and a length extendable from proximate the rear section of the head band over and conforming to a surface of the crown to reach proximate the front section of the headband, first means to detachably attach the rear edge to the rear section of the headband, second means to detachably attach the front edge to the front section of the headband. 
         [0013]    It is preferred that the upwardly facing surface of the panel be adapted to be drawn upwardly to abut an inside surface of the crown. It is further preferred that the panel be shaped to fit over an outside surface of the crown and adapted to abut the outside surface of the crown. It is also preferred that the number of frames be at least ten and less than two hundred. It is further preferred that the number of frames be at least twenty. It is also preferred that the crown be semi-rigid. It is further preferred that the crown be flexible and self supporting. It is also preferred that the connecting means include an integral molding of the frames with a plurality of connecting points on each frame to adjacent frames. It is further preferred that the number of side members be chosen from the group consisting of one side member and four side members. It is also preferred that a pattern be printed on the upwardly facing surface of the panel and is adapted to be visible through the openings of the frames when the panel is drawn upwardly to abut the inside surface of the crown. It is further preferred that the pattern printed on the upwardly facing surface of the panel include a multiplicity of shapes that are adapted to be visible through the openings of the frames when the panel is drawn upwardly to abut the inside surface of the crown. It is also preferred that the first means to detachably attach the rear edge to the rear section of the headband be a permanent attachment. All of these preferred embodiments are intended to be combined with any and all of the balance of the preferred embodiments and the embodiments described below where appropriate. 
         [0014]    A second embodiment of the invention is a headwear apparatus that includes headwear apparatus comprising a flexible and self supporting foraminous crown comprising at least ten and less than two hundred frames, each frame comprising side members, wherein the number of side members is chosen from the group consisting of one side member and at least three side members, and connecting means to connect the frames together to form the crown comprising an integral molding of the frames with a plurality of connecting points on each frame to adjacent frames. 
         [0015]    A third embodiment of the invention is a headwear apparatus including a headband comprising a front and a rear section, and a flexible, self supporting crown attached to the headband, the crown including at least one opening, and a fabric flounce including an upper edge attached to the rear section of the headband with a length hanging downwardly from the rear of the apparatus, wherein a frontwardly facing surface of the flounce is adapted to be drawn upwardly to abut an inner surface of the crown and be visible through at least one opening. It is preferred that the frontwardly facing surface of the flounce include at least one shape that is adapted to be visible through at least one opening in the crown when the flounce is drawn upwardly to abut the inner surface of the crown. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a rear bottom left side perspective view of a headwear apparatus of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 1   a  is a top plan view of a section of the crown construction of said apparatus. 
           [0018]      FIG. 1   b  is a cut-away perspective view of a section of the crown construction of said apparatus with a pattern of the fabric panel displayed through an opening in a frame of the crown. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a front top right perspective view of said apparatus with the crown cut-away. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a front top right perspective view of a third embodiment apparatus of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3   a  is a top plan view of a section of the crown construction of said apparatus. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a top front right side perspective view of a fourth embodiment apparatus of the present invention with a panel in its abutted position against the inside surface of the crown. 
           [0023]      FIG. 4   a  is a top plan view of a section of the crown construction of said apparatus with the pattern of the flounce showing through the opening. 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  is a top front right side perspective view of a fifth embodiment apparatus of the present invention with a panel in its up position against the inside surface of the crown that includes a large central opening in a patterned frame crown construction. 
           [0025]      FIG. 5   a  is a top plan view of a section of the crown construction of said apparatus framing the large central opening. 
           [0026]      FIG. 6  is a top front right side perspective view of a sixth embodiment apparatus of the present invention with a brim on front of headband and a crown construction displayed without a cloth panel shown. 
           [0027]      FIG. 6   a  is a top plan view of a section of the crown construction of said apparatus of the present invention. 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  is a right side perspective view of a sixth embodiment apparatus of the present invention with a brim, headband and crown construction similar to that of  FIG. 1 and 1   a  cut away with a foraminous cloth panel shaped to fit over and cover the crown. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0029]    Headwear apparatus  10 , shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  1   a ,  1   b  and  2 , is constructed of headband  12 , bill  16 , sheet panel  18 , here shown as a fabric flounce, and crown  24 . Headband  12  is adjustably held around the head by end joining VELCRO® clasp  14 . Upper edge  19  of flounce  18  is attached to rear section  13  of headband  12  by stitching  21  allowing lower edge  23  to drape downwardly. Alternate detachable attachment of edge  19  to section  13  is shown as VELCRO® patch  25 . Front surface  20  of flounce  18  faces frontwardly toward bill  16  and is imprinted with a design in this example a multiplicity of golf ball shapes, which mate with and are visible through openings  34  through crown  24  as flounce is pulled upwardly and surface  20  abuts the inside surface of crown  24 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , rear surface  22  is also imprinted with matching shapes on the cloth. The panel may be plastic film or cloth, and may be a permanently attached flounce or detachably attached on both the rear and front ends. The panel may be imprinted for decoration on either, both or no surfaces. It is preferred that front surface  20  be imprinted as shown imprinted on a transparent film in  FIG. 2 . The shape pattern may be any design including by not limited to sports balls, such as golf ball shapes  17  shown in  FIG. 1 , basketballs shown in  FIG. 3 , baseballs shown in  FIG. 4 , and the like, flowers, insects, such as the butterfly in  FIG. 5 , and other distinctive recognizable shapes. To hold flounce  18  in its upward position against the inside surface of crown  24 , VELCRO® hook patches  26  and  30  on front surface  20  attach respectively to VELCRO® loop patches  28  and  32  on the left inside surface of crown  24 . Likewise, VELCRO® hook patches  26 ′ and  30 ′ on front surface  20  attach respectively to VELCRO loop patches  28 ′ and  32 ′ on the right inside surface of crown  24  to hold flounce  18  in place. For clarity, flounce  18  is shown in  FIG. 1  as transparent to allow viewing the VELCRO® patches on the front surface of flounce  18  and on crown  24 . Further, openings  34  and the construction of crown  24  are shown only as a general diagram in  FIG. 1 . The detail of this crown construction is shown in  FIG. 1   a  where openings  34  are shown bounded by circular frames  36  attached at plurality of positions to adjacent frames by connecting links  38 . Crown  24  is and integral molding of a semi-rigid or flexible polymeric plastic, such as low or high density polyethylene, polybutylene, silicone, nylon polymers and the like. The crown construction may include nylon or spring steel reinforcement stitching  15  shown in  FIGS. 1   a ,  6   a  and other embodiments. Golf ball pattern shape  17  is shown displayed through opening  34  through crown  24  in  FIG. 1   b . In  FIG. 2 , crown  24  has been cut-away to show front surface  20  of flounce  18  and the actual positions of patches  26  and  30 . Headwear apparatus  40  is shown in  FIGS. 3 and 3   a  with bill  16 ′ and headband  12 ′ printed to match the appearance of crown  42 , which is an integral molding with openings  48  being parallelograms with inside angles of about 60 and 120 degrees. Openings  48  are bounded by frames  44  of the same shape attached at the apexes to adjacent frames by connecting sections  46 . This structure simulates a basketball net and calls for a plain pattern on the upper surface of a panel that is not shown here. Cap  50  is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 4   a  with headband  12 ″ and bill  16 ″. The appearance of crown  52  is of baseball shapes  56  on plain background  58 . The appearance is achieved by the crown construction shown on  FIG. 4   a  with circular frames  60  attached to each other by connecting members  62 . The baseball “stitching” pattern  64  is imprinted on the front surface of the panel, which abuts with the patterns aligned with openings  66 . Crown  52  is attached through stitches  51  to headband  12 ″. Cap  68  is shown in  FIGS. 5 and 5   a  with headband  12 ′″ and bill  16 ′″. In this embodiment the crown is cut away exposing front surface  20 ′ of panel  70  showing butterfly pattern shape opening  72  through large hole semi-rigid frame  74  with the construction of the crown including connecting links  76  to the balance of the crown with smaller butterfly shaped frames around smaller openings  78 . Large openings, such as opening  72  allow hair to be pulled out through the crown. Attachment of the crown to the head band may be accomplished in a number of ways including dircect stitching, wrap around connection with stitching, hot melt glue, and the like. Headwear device  80  is shown in  FIG. 6  with no cloth panel shown. The crown is constructed of four upstanding semi-rigid plastic arms  84  attached at lower ends to headband  12 ″″ and at upper ends to center circular frame  82  with the construction shown in  FIG. 6   a  of frames  36 ′ around openings  34 ′ joined together with connecting arms  38 ′ all reinforced with spring metal stitching  15 . Headwear device  86  is illustrated in  FIG. 7  with the cap construction of headband  12 , crown  24 , and bill  16  being essentially identical to that of the device of  FIGS. 1 and 1   a . In this embodiment, sheet panel  88  is formed plastic with multiple openings  90 , which match and align with openings  34  when panel  88  is overlaid on crown  24 . Panel  88  is attached with VELCRO® fastener  92  to rear section  96  of band  12  and with VELCRO® fastener  94  to front section  98  of band  12 . 
         [0030]    While this invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments disclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set forth and the patent is intended to include modifications and changes which may come within and extend from the following claims.