Headwear piece with deformable cushion layer

A headwear piece having a crown with a surface defining an opening for receiving the head of a wearer, a bladder having first and second layers defining a space therebetween for containing a displaceable fluid, structure for connecting the first and second layers to each other to divide the bladder space into first and second chambers with their being a communication path through the bladder space between the first and second chambers, and structure for connecting the bladder to the crown so that the bladder defines a deformable cushion layer to conform to the head of a wearer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to headwear and, more particularly, to a headwear 
piece with a cushion layer around a crown opening to facilitate 
conformance of the crown opening to the head of a wearer. 
2. Background Art 
The inventor herein recently made a significant improvement to conventional 
headwear. That improvement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,246 ("the 
'246 patent"). 
The invention in the '246 patent is directed to a headwear piece with a 
bladder on the crown that provides a deformable cushion layer between the 
crown and the wearer's head. The bladder and at least a portion of the 
crown are deformable to conform to the wearer's head. In one aspect of the 
invention in the '246 patent, the bladder can be selectively inflated and 
deflated to alter the effective diameter of the head-receiving opening on 
the headwear piece. 
In commercially producing headwear according to the '246 patent, the 
inventor has encountered certain problems which the present invention 
overcomes. One such problem involves the bladder formation. The use of a 
plurality of small bladders in fluid communication with each other through 
small tubes, as described in the '246 patent, results in good conformity 
of the headwear piece to the head of a wearer. However, it is a relatively 
costly and complicated process to provide individual bladders and 
interconnect the bladders so as to allow communication of the fluid 
therebetween. 
One alternative to providing separate bladder sections is to define the 
bladder using a continuous, flexible tube. The problem with a continuous 
tube is one that can be identified by attempting to reconfigure an 
inflated bicycle tube. The tube tends to resist a change from a circular 
shape, such as a change to oval which approximates the shape of a wearer's 
head. By forcing the tube into an oval shape, it will normally kink in 
different locations. With such a bladder incorporated into a headwear 
piece, uneven pressure may be applied around the circumference of the 
wearer's head as the bladder reconfigures. There also may be a tendency of 
the headwear piece to squeeze off of the wearer's head. 
Another problem encountered by the inventor is that of securely connecting 
the bladder to the crown in a cost effective manner. While the sweatband 
is readily sewn onto the crown, the bladder portion confining the 
displaceable fluid cannot be punctured by a connecting thread to allow 
stitching. While the bladder connecting arrangement in the '246 patent 
does function effectively, there is room for improvement, particularly to 
facilitate production of headwear pieces on a high volume basis. 
Further, the one way valve disclosed in the '246 patent, while fully 
functional as disclosed in that patent, does not lend itself to economical 
production on a commercial basis. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed principally to improving the basic 
structure shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,246 to provide a high integrity 
headwear piece that can be economically and effectively produced on a high 
volume basis. 
More specifically, the invention contemplates a headwear piece having a 
crown with a surface defining an opening for receiving the head of a 
wearer, a bladder having first and second layers defining a space 
therebetween for containing a displaceable fluid, structure for connecting 
the first and second layers to each other to divide the bladder space into 
first and second chambers with their being a communication path through 
the bladder space between the first and second chambers, and structure for 
connecting the bladder to the crown so that the bladder defines a 
deformable cushion layer to conform to the head of a wearer. 
The above arrangement facilitates reconfiguring of the bladder to conform 
to the crown opening. 
The connection of the first and second layers can be effected by bonding 
with an adhesive. Alternatively, with the bladder made of rubber or 
plastic, the connection can be effected by heat fusing. Alternatively, a 
separate piece can be used to effect this connection. 
In one form, the bladder is made from a single piece that extends through 
at least 270.degree. around the crown opening. 
To facilitate connection of the bladder to the crown, the first and second 
layers can be bonded to define a mounting portion which can be stitched to 
the crown. 
To shield the bladder from the head of a wearer, in one form, a sweatband 
is provided. The sweatband is connected to at least one of the crown and 
bladder so that the bladder resides between the crown and sweatband on the 
completed headwear piece. 
In one form, the bladder has top and bottom edges and the sweatband is 
connected to the bladder along at least one, and preferably along both, of 
the top and bottom edges of the bladder. To facilitate this, the first and 
second layers can be bonded/heat fused along one of the edges to allow 
that portion of the bladder to be stitched. 
In one form, the sweatband wraps around both the top and bottom edges of 
the bladder. Stitching extends through the bladder and at least two layers 
of the sweatband at one edge of the bladder. At the other edge of the 
bladder, the stitching extends through the bladder, two layers of the 
sweatband, and into the crown. 
In one form, the stitching on the other bladder edge extends fully around 
the bladder, and at least through 270.degree.. The stitching on the one 
edge extends into the crown at one location through no more than 
90.degree. around the crown. 
To facilitate stitching, at least that portion to which the bladder 
attaches is made from a deformable material, such as fabric. One exemplary 
hat construction is a baseball-type cap. 
The invention further contemplates the provision of a mechanism for 
directing a displaceable fluid into, and allowing exhausting of the fluid 
from, the bladder space. In one form, a depressible actuator is provided 
with their being a receptacle integrally formed on the crown to 
accommodate the actuator. The receptacle preferably is a membrane that is 
deformable to allow operation of the actuator from externally of the 
crown. 
A relief valve can be provided to allow exhausting of the fluid from the 
bladder. In one form, there is provision to exhaust the fluid to 
externally of the cap so as not to discharge the fluid against a wearer's 
head. 
The invention also contemplates a headwear piece having a crown with a 
surface defining an opening for receiving the head of a wearer, a tubular 
bladder defining a space for containing a displaceable fluid, with their 
being a restriction in the space at a first location so that the bladder 
tends to bend at the first location to conform to the contour of the crown 
opening, and structure for connecting the bladder to the crown so that the 
bladder defines a deformable cushion layer to conform to the head of a 
wear. 
The invention still further contemplates a headwear piece having a crown 
with a surface defining an opening for receiving the head of the wearer, a 
bladder defining a space for containing a displaceable fluid and having 
top and bottom edges, and structure for connecting the sweatband and 
bladder to the crown so that the bladder defines a deformable cushion 
layer to conform to the head of a wearer. The sweatband wraps around at 
least one of the top and bottom edges of the bladder. 
In one form, there is structure other than the crown and sweatband for 
facilitating bending of the bladder to conform to the crown opening.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
An exemplary headwear piece is shown at 10 that is suitable for 
incorporation of the present invention. The headwear piece 10 is a 
baseball-type cap, however, it should be recognized that the invention is 
useable in virtually all different types of headwear having a crown to 
embrace a wearer's head. For example, the headwear piece could be a visor, 
a hat, etc. 
The cap 10 has an inverted, cup-shaped crown 12 to which a bill/visor 14 is 
affixed to project forwardly therefrom. The crown 12 is defined by six 
fabric gores 16 sewn together along adjacent, abutting edges. The lower 
edge 17 of the crown 12 bounds an opening 18 to accommodate a wearer's 
head. 
A bladder 20 is attached to the crown 12 and defines a deformable cushion 
layer between the crown edge 17 and the head of a wearer. The advantages 
afforded by the bladder 20 are described more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 
5,031,246, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
The bladder 20 extends through at least 270.degree. around the crown 
opening 18 and, in a preferred form, extends through substantially 
360.degree. to define a continuous structure to embrace the head of a 
wearer. The assembled bladder 20 has first and second layers 22, 24 which 
cooperatively bound an airtight space 26 for a displaceable fluid which, 
in a preferred form, is air. The bladder 20 is shown to be one piece in 
solid lines in all of the figures. Alternatively, the first and second 
layers could be defined by separate sheets facially engaged and joined 
where indicated with dotted lines 28 in FIG. 4. While the bladder 20 can 
be continuously formed as an endless loop, in a preferred form, the 
bladder is formed as a tubular strip and is heat sealed at its ends along 
two lines 30, 32 to define a sealed compartment to confine, or other 
fluid, within the space 26. 
Before connecting the bladder 20 to the crown 12, a cloth sweatband 34, 
made of a moisture absorbent cloth, is partially assembled to the bladder 
20. To facilitate connection of the sweatband 34 to the bladder 20 and the 
preassembled bladder 20 and sweatband 34 to the crown 12, the bladder 
layers 22, 24 are heat sealed together to define fused beads 36, 38, 
respectively at the top edge 40 and bottom edge 42 of the bladder 20. The 
beads 36, 38 provide a mounting portion to allow the bladder 20 to be 
stitched therethrough without compromising the seal around the air 
confining space 26. 
The sweatband 34 is wrapped around the top edge 40 of the bladder 20 prior 
to assembly of the bladder 20 to the crown 12. Stitching 44 extends 
continuously around the bladder 20 and passes through the bead 36 at the 
top edge 40 and first and second surrounding sweatband layers 46, 48. This 
produces a first subassembly which can be attached as a unit to the crown 
12. 
The bladder 20, with the sweatband 34 partially assembled thereto, is then 
connected to the crown 12. The sweatband 34 is wrapped around the bottom 
edge 42 of the bladder 20 prior to assembly. The bottom edge 42 of the 
bladder is connected to the crown 12 by stitching 50 extending entirely 
around the circumference of the crown. This stitching 50 extends through 
the fused bead 38, two sweatband layers 52, 54 and an underturned flap 56 
on the crown 12. A reinforcing strip 58 is connected to the flap 56 by 
stitching 60. 
The free ends 62, 64 of the sweatband 34 are overlapped at the rear of the 
cap 10. A rectangular, cloth, splice element 66 is wrapped around both the 
top edge 40 and bottom edge 42 of the bladder 20, with the sweatband 34 
thereon, to define flaps 68, 70. The bottom flap 70 is sandwiched between 
the sweatband layer 54 and the crown flap 56 and held in place by the 
stitching 50 in the same operation that connects the bead 38 to the crown 
12. 
Once the stitching 50 is completed, the flap 68 is folded around the 
overlapping sweatband ends 62, 64. A line of stitching 71 is then formed 
through the sweatband ends 62, 64, two layers of the splicing element 66, 
and the crown 12. Resultingly, the top edge 40 of the bladder 20 is fixed 
against the crown 12 at the rear of the cap 10, preferably through only a 
small circumferential range that is less than 90.degree.. The remainder of 
the top bladder edge 40 is not attached to the crown 12 so that the 
bladder 20 and sweatband 34 can be folded downwardly out of the crown 
opening 18. 
One important feature of the present invention is the provision of 
structure to facilitate forming of the bladder 20 to match the curvature 
of the crown edge 17. To accomplish this, the first and second bladder 
layers 22, 24 are connected to each other at regularly spaced intervals 
around the circumference of the bladder 20. More specifically, the first 
and second layers 22, 24 are bonded by an adhesive, and more preferably, 
are fused by heat. Other structure that provides a localized restriction 
in the bladder 20 is contemplated by the invention. 
The heat fusing, in one form, is effected by fusing the first and second 
layers 22, 24 along two vertically spaced, horizontally extending lines 
72, 74. The fuse lines 72, 74 divide the bladder 20 into a plurality of 
adjoining chambers 76, 78 with their being a restricted passageway 80 
between chambers 76, 78. The fuse lines 72, 74 prevent the bladder 20 from 
expanding fully outwardly thereat. Accordingly, the bladder 20, at the 
chambers 76, 78, expands more fully than that portion of the bladder 20 in 
vertical alignment with the fuse lines 72, 74. The result of this is that 
the bladder 20 tends to hinge at the fuse lines 72, 74. This allows the 
bladder to bend readily to follow the contour of the crown 12 rather than 
bridging a large portion of the crown 12, as would occur in the absence of 
the inventive structure. In a preferred form, the fuse lines 72, 74 are 
provided at approximately 11/2 inch intervals around the circumference of 
the bladder 20. 
While the bladder 20 may be fully enclosed so as to contain only a 
predetermined amount of displaceable fluid, it is also a desirable feature 
to change the amount of fluid in the bladder 20 to alter the effective 
size of the crown opening 18. For this purpose, means are provided at 82 
for directing a displaceable fluid into, and allowing exhausting of the 
fluid from, the bladder 20. 
The fluid is directed into the bladder 20 by an enlarged bulb 84. The bulb 
has a conduit 86 which is in communication with the bladder space 26. By 
repeatedly depressing the bulb 84, consecutive charges of air are directed 
into the bladder space 26. The construction of a suitable bulb 84 with a 
one-way pumping mechanism is known to those skilled in the art. 
To exhaust the fluid from the bladder 20, a relief valve is provided at 88. 
The relief valve 88 has a cylindrical mounting base 90 attached to the 
bladder 20. The mounting base 90 has a stepped through bore 92 for an 
actuating button 94. The actuating button 94 has a stem 96 connecting 
between a blocking head 98 and enlarged actuating head 100. A coil spring 
102 surrounds the stem 96 and acts between a shoulder 104 defined by an 
annular bead 106 on the mounting base 90 and the head 94. The spring 102 
normally urges a sealing face 108 on the blocking head 98 facially against 
a shoulder 110 on the bead 106 to thereby prevent passage of fluid from 
the space 26 to externally of the bladder 20. 
By depressing the button 94, as shown in FIG. 7, the sealing face 108 is 
moved away from the shoulder 110 to thereby create an annular passageway 
112 to allow air from the space 26 to communicate in the direction of 
arrows 115 out of the space 26. 
To interconnect the crown and means 82, a dome-shaped membrane 114 is 
attached to the crown 12. The membrane defines two cup-shaped receptacles 
116, 118 for the bulb 84 and the relief valve 88. The membrane 114 is 
sufficiently rigid to maintain its shape, but is deformable to allow 
compression of the bulb 84 and actuating button 94 from externally of the 
crown 12. The membrane 114 has ports 120, 122 therethrough to allow 
exhausting of the fluid from the bladder 20 to externally of the membrane 
114. 
The membrane 114 is preferably preformed of a rubber material and has a 
circumferential slot 124 for reception of the crown 12. Stitching 126 
secures the membrane 114 to the crown 12. 
It can be seen that the size of the cap 10 can be readily altered with the 
cap 10 in place on the head of a wearer. Once the cap 10 is put in place, 
the user need only actuate the bulb 84 at the back of the head. By simply 
pressing on the valve 88, the pressure in the bladder 20 can be reduced. 
The above construction affords a highly durable cap 10 and one which can be 
economically manufactured. 
The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is intended to be 
illustrative of the broad concepts comprehended by the invention.