Exothermic chemically heated ear warmer

An article of headgear has a headband portion and ear covering portions which cover the ears of the wearer and pair of open ended pockets in the ear covering portions which removably receive and carry a packet of exothermic heat dispensing material to warm the ears of the wearer. In a first embodiment, the headband is formed of a pair of curved bands of resilient flexible material curved to fit over the top of the person's head and slidably connected in overlapped relation such that the length of the headband portion may be adjusted to fit various head sizes, and the ear covering portions are ear pads secured on the outer ends of the headband. In a second embodiment, the headband is a continuous circular configuration formed of flexible elastic material which encircle the person's head and the laterally opposed ear covering portions and pockets are integrally formed on the circular headband. In a third embodiment the article is in the form of a cap having a crown portion which covers the top of the head of the wearer above the ears and is hemmed at its bottom end to form a circular headband portion which covers the ears of the wearer. The packets of exothermic heat dispensing material are activated by exposing them to air, kneading them, or puncturing an inner bag to initiate the heat generating chemical reaction prior to placing them into the pockets.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates generally to devices for warming the ears, and more 
particularly to such a device which is worn on the head and covers the 
ears of the wearer and removably receives and carries a pair of chemical 
exothermic heat dispersing packets. 
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art 
Ear warming devices are known in the art. There are several patents which 
disclose various ear warming devices. 
Brown et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,855 discloses an ear heating pad assembly 
comprising a pair of cup-shaped housings supported at the ends of a head 
band, each of which contains a heating coil and switch which are connected 
by electric cable to either a household electrical outlet or a dry cell 
battery. 
Ellis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,034,787 discloses a hot water bottle having conical 
projections which is used to warm the outer ear cavity and ease the pain 
of earaches. 
Clark, U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,228 discloses a rigid oval cup-shaped device for 
relieving ear pain comprised of a thermally conductive polymeric material 
having an interior which fits over a user's ear, and a hollow chamber 
which receives a heat source. In a preferred embodiment, the hollow 
chamber is filled with a liquid heat source such as water or a filler 
material saturated with water, and may be placed in a microwave oven or 
boiling water. Another embodiment has a heat dispersing medium permanently 
contained in the chamber and an integral electrical battery power source 
and metal heating coil for activating the heat dispersing medium. 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,850,055 issued to Hwang and 4,935,965 issued to Wassell 
disclose ear muffs which do not contain a heat generating element. 
Various types of exothermic heat dispensing packets known as hand warmers 
or hot packs are known in the art. The activation of these packets is 
accomplished by various means such as exposure to air, mixing with water, 
kneading, or puncturing of an inner bag to mix the chemicals and start the 
heat generating reaction. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,049, incorporated herein by reference, discloses an air 
activated exothermic hand warmer packet marketed by "Grabber" (tm) of 
concord, CA under the tradename "Grabber Mycoal". This patent is directed 
toward the unified structure of a warmer and air tight envelope. The 
warmer utilizes a mixture of iron powder, water, cellulose, vermiculite 
activated carbon, and salt, enclosed in a laminated bag having an air 
permeable cloth layer and an impermeable film layer containing aeration 
holes. 
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and 
these patents in particular by an article of headgear having a headband 
portion and ear covering portions which cover the ears of the wearer and 
pair of open ended pockets in the ear covering portions which removably 
receive and carry a packet of exothermic heat dispensing material to warm 
the ears of the wearer. In a first embodiment, the headband is formed of a 
pair of curved bands of resilient flexible material curved to fit over the 
top of the person's head and slidably connected in overlapped relation 
such that the length of the headband portion may be adjusted to fit 
various head sizes, and the ear covering portions are ear pads secured on 
the outer ends of the headband. In a second embodiment, the headband is a 
continuous circular configuration formed of flexible elastic material 
which encircle the person's head and the laterally opposed ear covering 
portions and pockets are integrally formed on the circular headband. In a 
third embodiment the article is in the form of a cap having a crown 
portion which covers the top of the head of the wearer above the ears and 
is hemmed at its bottom end to form a circular headband portion which 
covers the ears of the wearer. The packets of exothermic heat dispensing 
material are activated by exposing them to air, kneading them, or 
puncturing an inner bag to initiate the heat generating chemical reaction 
prior to placing them into the pockets. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an ear 
warming device which will warm the ears of the wearer to protect against 
cold weather or to soothe an earache. 
It is another object of this invention to provide an ear warming headgear 
article which is comfortably supported on a person's head by a headband 
and has ear covering portions which substantially cover the ears of the 
wearer. 
Another object of this invention to provide a headgear article which covers 
the head of a person and has pockets in an ear covering portion which 
receives an exothermic heat dispersing device to warm the ears of the 
wearer. 
Another object of this invention is to provide an ear warming device which 
utilizes an exothermic heat dispersing medium to warm the ears of the 
wearer without overheating. 
Another object of this invention is to provide an ear warming headgear 
article which will receive and carry various commercially available 
exothermic heat dispersing packets. 
Another object of this invention is to provide an ear warming device which 
does not contain any electrical circuitry and does not require batteries, 
or connection to electrical outlets. 
A further object of this invention is to provide an ear warming headgear 
article which is attractive in appearance. 
A still further object of this invention is to provide an exothermic ear 
warming device which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, 
and is safe and reliable in operation. 
Other objects of the invention will become apparent from time to time 
throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related. 
The above noted objects and other objects of the invention are accomplished 
by an article of headgear having a headband portion and ear covering 
portions which cover the ears of the wearer and pair of open ended pockets 
in the ear covering portions which removably receive and carry a packet of 
exothermic heat dispensing material to warm the ears of the wearer. In a 
first embodiment, the headband is formed of a pair of curved bands of 
resilient flexible material curved to fit over the top of the person's 
head and slidably connected in overlapped relation such that the length of 
the headband portion may be adjusted to fit various head sizes, and the 
ear covering portions are ear pads secured on the outer ends of the 
headband. In a second embodiment, the headband is a continuous circular 
configuration formed of flexible elastic material which encircle the 
person's head and the laterally opposed ear covering portions and pockets 
are integrally formed on the circular headband. In a third embodiment the 
article is in the form of a cap having a crown portion which covers the 
top of the head of the wearer above the ears and is hemmed at its bottom 
end to form a circular headband portion which covers the ears of the 
wearer. The packets of exothermic heat dispensing material are activated 
by exposing them to air, kneading them, or puncturing an inner bag to 
initiate the heat generating chemical reaction prior to placing them into 
the pockets.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the drawings by numerals of reference, there is shown in FIGS. 
1, 2, and 3, a first embodiment of preferred ear warming device 10 which 
includes an adjustable headband 11 having a pair of ear pads 12 secured at 
each end. The headband 11 is formed of a suitable resilient flexible 
material, such as plastic or metal, which is which curved to fit over the 
top of a person's head and biasly engage the ear pads 12 on the outer ears 
of the wearer. In a preferred embodiment, the headband 11 is formed of a 
pair of narrow rectangular strips or bands 11A and 11B which are slidably 
connected in overlapped relation by clamping elements 11C, such that the 
length of the headband 11 may be adjusted to fit various head sizes. 
The ear pads 12 are of generally circular or oval configuration sized and 
shaped to substantially cover the outer ear of the wearer. Each ear pad 12 
has a pocket 13 formed by two layers of material 14 and 15 secured 
together along peripheral sides, designated as 16, and leaving a portion 
unsecured to define an opening 17. The pocket 13 is sized to removably 
receive and enclose a packet of exothermic heat dispensing material 18. 
The layers of material 14 and 15 within the peripherally secured sides 16 
are separable to accommodate the packet 18. 
The outer surface 14A of one layer of material 14 is received on the outer 
ear of the wearer and has a thickness sufficient to prevent burning of the 
ear when the packet 18 of exothermic heat dispensing material is activated 
and enclosed in the pocket 13. Preferably, the layer 14 is formed of a 
suitable porous material, such as a woven fabric or open cell foam rubber 
or plastic to facilitate thermal permeation therethrough between the ear 
and the packet of exothermic heat dispensing material 18. The other layer 
of material 15 may be made of the same material as the layer 14 or made of 
a different material. 
In the illustrated example, the ear pads 12 are connected to the ends of 
the head band 11 by a releasable connection. The ends of the bands 11A and 
11B are provided with a pair of bulbous protrusions 11D. A disk-like 
connector 19 is secured to the outer surface of the layer 15. The 
connector 19 has a pair of concave recesses 19A which receive and engage 
the bulbous protrusions 11D in a snap-fit relation. It should be 
understood that the ear pads 12 may be connected to the ends of the head 
band 11 by other means conventional in the art. 
The ear pads 12 may also be provided with an outer pouch or covering 20 
formed of a soft material shaped to substantially cover the outer layer of 
material 15. The outer covering 20 may be provided with an elastic band 21 
sewn into its periphery so that it can be easily installed and removed 
from the ear pads 12. The outer covering 20 is also provided with an 
opening or slot 22 in registry with the opening 17 of the pocket 13, and 
an opening 23 to accommodate the connection between the pads 12 and the 
headband 11. Depending upon the type of material used for the outer 
covering 20, the periphery of the slot 22 may be stitched or hemmed to 
prevent fraying. 
Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, another embodiment of the ear warming 
device 25 is shown. In this embodiment, the headband 26 is a continuous 
circular configuration which encircles the head of the wearer and has 
laterally opposed ear covering portions 27 of sufficient width to 
substantially cover the ears of the wearer. The headband 26 is formed of a 
suitable flexible elastic material which, preferably, is porous, such as a 
woven fabric or open cell foam rubber or plastic material to facilitate 
thermal permeation. 
Each ear covering portion 27 has a pocket 28 formed by two layers of 
material 29 and 30 secured together along three sides, such as by 
stitching 31, and leaving one side unsecured to define an opening 32. The 
pocket 28 has a length and width sufficient to receive and enclose a 
packet of exothermic heat dispensing material 18. The layers of material 
29 and 30 within the peripherally secured sides are separable to 
accommodate the packet 18. The outer surface 29A of one layer of material 
29 is received on the outer ear of the wearer and has a thickness 
sufficient to prevent burning of the ear when the packet 18 of exothermic 
heat dispensing material is activated and enclosed in the pocket 28. 
The headband 26 may be constructed by sewing a pair of elongate rectangular 
strips of material together along their longitudinal edges, such as by 
stitching 33, leaving a portion unsecured at two places to define the 
pocket openings 32, sewing the two strips of material together by vertical 
stitching 31 at parallel spaced locations to define the pockets 28, and 
then sewing the ends of the elongate rectangular strips of material 
together to form the continuous circular configuration 26. In this method, 
the entire headband 26 would have the two layers 29 and 30. 
The headband 26 may also be constructed by sewing a pair of single layer 
short rectangular strips of material along three sides onto an elongate 
single layer rectangular strip of material to form the pockets 28 and the 
securing the ends of the single layer elongate rectangular strip together 
to form the continuous circular configuration 26. In this method, only the 
ear covering portions 27 would have the two layers 29 and 30. 
Depending upon the material used for the headband 26 the periphery of the 
pocket openings 32 may be stitched or hemmed to prevent fraying. 
FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the ear warming device in the form of a 
cap 40 having a crown portion 41 which is shaped to cover the top of the 
head of the wearer above the ears and is hemmed at its bottom end to form 
an integral continuous circular headband portion 42 which encircles the 
head of the wearer and is of sufficient width to substantially cover the 
ears of the wearer. The cap 40 is formed of a suitable flexible elastic 
fabric which, preferably, is porous, such as a woven fabric to facilitate 
thermal permeation. 
The headband portion 42 has laterally opposed pockets 43 formed by securing 
the overlapped layers of the material together along three sides, such as 
by stitching 44, and leaving the top side unsecured to define an opening 
45. Each pocket 43 has a length and width sufficient to receive and 
enclose a packet of exothermic heat dispensing material 18. The layers of 
material within the peripherally secured sides are separable to 
accommodate the packet 18. 
Various commercially available exothermic heat dispensing packets 18 may be 
used in the embodiments of the present invention, such as those which 
require exposure to air, kneading, or puncturing of an inner bag to mix 
the chemical and start the heat generating reaction. The preferred 
exothermic heat dispensing packet 18 is activated by exposure to air. 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,049, incorporated herein by reference, discloses an air 
activated exothermic hand warmer packet marketed by "Grabber" (tm) of 
concord, CA under the tradename "Grabber Mycoal" would be suitable for use 
in the present invention. This particular warmer and air tight envelope 
utilizes a mixture of iron powder, water, cellulose, vermiculite activated 
carbon, and salt, enclosed in a laminated bag having an air permeable 
cloth layer and an impermeable film layer containing aeration holes. After 
exposure to the air, the warmer produces heat in the temperature range of 
from about 104.degree. F. to about 156.degree. F. which is generated by 
the oxidation of the iron powder and may last for about 7 hours or more. 
It should be understood that various other types of exothermic heat 
dispensing packets may also be used. 
To install the exothermic heat dispensing packets 18, the wearer simply 
removes the exothermic heat dispensing packets from their sealed package 
and depending upon the type used, exposes them to the air, kneads them, or 
punctures the inner bag to initiate the heat generating chemical reaction, 
and then places them into the pockets 13, 28, or 43. 
While this invention has been described fully and completely with special 
emphasis upon preferred embodiments, it should be understood that within 
the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise 
than as specifically described herein.