Abstract:
A cap phone ( 10 ) includes a wireless telephone ( 29 ) incorporated in a soft cap ( 12 ). Within the cap ( 12 ), a housing ( 30 ) that holds telephone electronics and a battery ( 32 ) is supported under a crown ( 14 ) by arcuate ribs ( 44, 48 ). Movably supported by a rib ( 44 ) and wired to the electronics is a retractable earphone ( 52 ) and a retractable microphone arm ( 61 ) attached to a microphone ( 60 ). Also wired to the electronics is a telephone keyboard ( 34 ) and an LCD display screen ( 36 ) mounted to a cap visor ( 24 ). In another preferred embodiment, a microphone ( 78 ) is mounted under a cap visor ( 79 ) and an earpiece ( 75 ) is detachably mounted to the visor ( 79 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to wireless telephones, and more particularly to wireless telephones incorporated in head garments.  
           [0003]    2. General  
           [0004]    Talking on a hand-held wireless telephone prevents the user from simultaneously doing other activities. Hence, valuable time is lost. By comparison, talking on a hands-free wireless telephone gives the user the freedom to prepare dinner, do household chores, work in the garden, work out at the gym, go jogging, and so on. Though hands-free wireless phones are available, they comprise individual components, including a headset, that need to be connected by a cord. Those that are available, therefore, are inconvenient to use. More importantly, they are displeasing in appearance. Users feel self-conscious and unattractive wearing them; especially in public. Very few people will allow themselves to be seen wearing a hands-free phone when walking, shopping, or at the fitness club. As result, existing models on the market are not popular, despite the practical advantages.  
           [0005]    The present invention provides a solution. A wireless telephone is discretely hidden and operable in a baseball-style cap and the combination is wearable. Modern baseball-style caps are aesthetically pleasing in appearance and are being worn by both sexes of all ages. Therefore, a phone that appears to be a baseball cap can overcome the consumer resistance toward hands-free telephones currently on the market.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0006]    The present invention comprises a baseball-style cap having a soft crown and a stiff visor attached to the crown wherein the visor includes a concave underside. First and second stiff arcuate ribs form upstanding arches under the crown. The second rib includes an end portion fixedly and rigidly connected to the visor wherein the ribs are transverse to each other. A wireless telephone is supported by the cap such that a user can communicate, hands-free, while wearing the cap. The cap crown includes a circumferential edge wherein an earphone, pivotally supported on a rib, is movable between a retracted position above the circumferential edge and a deployed position below the circumferential edge. The earphone is also slidably supported to be vertically-adjustable. A telephone battery holder, positioned under the crown, is supported by the ribs. The holder has a convex shape that conforms to the ribs and to an inner upper portion of the crown. A microphone arm, pivotally supported on a rib, is movable to a deployed position and to a retracted position. Most of the arm is within boundaries defined by the concave underside of the visor when in the retracted position. The arm includes an approximately L-shaped proximal portion positioned adjacent the crown wherein the proximal portion enables the arm to get into said retracted position. When in the retracted position, a microphone is operatively positioned at the underside of the cap visor. A curved, arch-shaped antenna, supported by the visor, is positioned to conform to an arch-shaped and rounded frontal edge of the visor. A keyboard and liquid crystal display screen, positioned on the visor underside, are supported on a convex housing that is shaped to conform to the concave visor underside. In another preferred embodiment, a microphone is mounted near a leading edge of the visor underside and a telephonic earpiece is stored in an aperture in the visor. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The accompanying drawings in combination with the description herewith, illustrate features and advantages of the invention. Like reference numerals in different views refer to the same parts. The drawings are intended to illustrate principles of the invention and are not necessarily to scale.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a bottom view of a preferred wireless cap phone.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a fragmental side view, of the cap phone if FIG. 1, showing a housing with an attached telephone battery and arched ribs riveted to a convex back wall of the housing.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a fragmental side view, of the cap phone of FIG. 1, showing an earphone in retracted and deployed positions.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a fragmental side view, of the cap phone of FIG. 1, showing a microphone arm in retracted and deployed positions.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a fragmental side view of another preferred embodiment of a cap phone.  
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]    FIGS.  1 - 5  show preferred embodiments of the invention and illustrate principles thereof. Beginning with FIGS.  1 - 4 , a preferred wireless cap phone  10  is shown. Included is a baseball-style soft cap  12  (FIG. 1) of mostly conventional construction and having a crown  14  comprising soft supple fabric. Cap  12  includes an adjustable strap  16  for adjusting the cap size and a sweatband  18 . As is common practice in cap construction, a bottom edge portion  20  of sweatband  18  is attached to a circumferential edge portion  22  of crown  14  by stitching (stitches are not shown).  
         [0014]    A stiff visor  24  is attached to a frontal edge of crown  14  by conventional means (such as stitching) wherein visor  24  projects from crown  14  in customary fashion for a baseball-style cap. Visor  24  has a conventional stiff plastic core (not shown) sandwiched between layers of fabric  26 . Typical for a baseball-style cap, visor  24  is arch-shaped so that the visor underside  28  is concave.  
         [0015]    Within crown  14 , crossing the middle thereof, is a stiff arcuate first rib  44  made of plastic that forms an upstanding arch under crown  14 . Lower end portions  46 L,  46 R, of rib  44  are positioned at diametrically opposite sides of crown  14  and are inserted between sweatband  18  and the fabric of crown  14 .  
         [0016]    A second stiff plastic arcuate rib  48  forms another upstanding arch under and within crown  14 . Rib  48  crosses rib  44  at right angles at the center of crown  14 . A lower end portion  49 F of rib  48  is positioned under sweatband  18  and under fabric  26 . Rib end portion  49 F is L-shaped (best seen in FIG. 3) wherein the open leg of the L is attached to a medial portion of visor  24  by a rivet  50 . Thus, rib end portion  49 F is rigidly fixed medially to visor  24 . A diametrically opposite lower end portion  49 B (FIG. 1) of rib  48  is positioned within a fabric pocket  43  sewn to the inside of a back or rear portion of crown  14 .  
         [0017]    Ribs  44 ,  48  line the inside of crown  14 , thereby giving a nicely rounded appearance to the outside of crown  14 .  
         [0018]    A wireless telephone  29  is supported by cap  12  such that a user can communicate, with his or her hands free, by wearing and using cap phone  10 . Telephone  29  comprises components positioned and supported in various locations of cap  12 . Included is a plastic housing  30  containing conventional wireless telephone electronics (not shown) and a rechargeable telephone battery  32  operatively connected to the electronics for energizing telephone  29 . Battery  32  is removable for recharging and can be reattached through an opening  33  so that housing  30  is also a battery holder. Attachment of battery  32  in housing  30  and electrical connection of the battery terminals (not shown) to the electronics is provided by conventional means commonly used in wireless telephones. The electronics are of the type having features commonly found in wireless telephones.  
         [0019]    Ribs  44 ,  48  support housing  30  by way of a rivet  31  (FIG. 2) that passes through both ribs and though a back wall  45  of housing  30 . A back portion  21  of housing  30  is curved in a convex shape that conforms to ribs  44  and  48  and to an upper inside portion of crown  14 .  
         [0020]    Another portion of telephone  29  includes a conventional keypad  34  (FIG. 1) having keys  35  for keying information to operate telephone  29 . Also included is a conventional LCD display screen  36  provided for showing the user&#39;s entries and other information typically displayed by wireless telephones. Display screen  36  and keypad  34  are supported by a housing  40  having a back wall riveted to visor  24  with rivets  41 . Electrical and other components (not shown) of display screen  36  and keypad  34  are conventional and are housed in housing  40 . A back portion  42  of housing  40  is curved in a convex shape that conforms to the concave underside  28  of visor  24 . Display screen  36 , supported on housing  40 , is pitched at an angle relative to keypad  34  for easy viewing of the display. Electrical communication between the electrical components contained in housings  30  and  40  is through conventional electrical cords  37  and  39  which pass out of apertures in housings  30  and  40 , and under sweatband  18 , and through openings in edge portion  22 . All electrical circuits (not shown), in housings  30  and  40  and connected by cords  37  and  39 , are conventional.  
         [0021]    Supported on rib  44  is a conventional earpiece or earphone  52  (FIG. 3) which has a back side cemented to an outer leaf  54  of a plastic hinge  56 . An inner leaf  58  (FIG. 1) of hinge  56  passes through an open slit  57  in edge portion  22 . Leaf  58  is positioned between rib  44  and crown  14 . A hinge pin  55  pivotally connects leaves  54  and  58 . Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, earphone  52  can pivot between a retracted position adjacent crown  14  and above a circumferential edge  23 , and a deployed position (shown in phantom image) below circumferential edge  23 .  
         [0022]    Leaf  58  is integrally connected to a narrow sleeve  59  (FIG. 1) that surrounds rib  44  and is slidable up and down thereon. Hence, hinge  56  and earphone  52  are slidably supported on rib  44  for vertical (up and down) adjustments of earphone  52 . A user or wearer of cap phone  10 , therefore, can make adjustments of earphone  52  to selective positions when in the deployed position. Rubber washers  7 , surrounding pin  55  and compressed between leaves  54  and  58 , create sufficient friction to maintain earphone  52  in the retracted or deployed positions as placed by the user.  
         [0023]    Electrical communication between earphone  52  and the telephone electronics is by an earphone cord  38  operatively connected to the electronics in conventional manner. Cord  38  passes out of an aperture (not shown) in housing  30 , then under sweatband  18  and through an opening in edge portion  22 , and is operatively connected to earphone  52 .  
         [0024]    Supported on end portion  46 R of rib  44  is a microphone boom or microphone arm  61  (FIGS. 1 and 4) having a conventional microphone  60  attached to a distal end portion thereof Arm  61  comprises a curved hollow plastic tube  62  with a microphone cord  64  (FIG. 1) passing through tube  62 . An L-shaped proximal end portion  69  (FIG. 4) of arm  61  is press-fitted or cemented in a first end portion  63  of a hollow plastic elbow  65  having a right-angled bend. A second end portion  66  (FIG. 1) of elbow  65  is pivotally received in an aperture passing through crown  14  and through rib  44 . The open end of elbow portion  66  is press-fitted or cemented in a plastic washer-shaped flange  67 . Hence, microphone arm  61  with its microphone  60 , elbow  65 , and flange  67  are pivotally supported on rib  44 .  
         [0025]    As described and shown in the figures, arm  61  is positioned and shaped so that most of arm  61  fits substantially hidden within boundaries defined by concave underside  28  of visor  24  when moved to a retracted position (phantom image of FIG. 4). The L-shaped proximal portion  69 , adjacent crown  14 , enables arm  61  to get into the retracted position. Arm  61  is also movable to optional deployed positions, including those indicated by the solid line images of FIGS. 1 and 4, depending on where the wearer or user prefers to position arm  61 . Microphone  60  has advantages in the deployed and retracted positions because it is within voice range of the wearer, even when positioned at visor  24 . In the retracted position, concave visor  24  acts like a large ear by focusing the sound of the wearer&#39;s voice into microphone  60 .  
         [0026]    Microphone cord  64  is operatively connected to microphone  60  and extends along the inside of tube  62  and through hollow elbow  65 . Cord  64  then passes through an aperture in housing  30  and is operatively connected to the telephone electronics in conventional manner (not shown).  
         [0027]    Shown in FIG. 1 is an antenna  70  sandwiched under visor fabric  26 . Antenna  70  is curved and positioned at a frontal edge of visor  24  to conform to the arch-shaped concave visor underside  28  and to the rounded frontal edge of visor  24 . Antenna  70  communicates with the telephone electronics by a wire  72  that runs from antenna  70 , under fabric  26 , then under sweatband  18  and through an aperture in housing  30 . Antenna wire  72  is operatively connected to the electronics in conventional manner.  
         [0028]    Another preferred embodiment of the invention is cap phone  11  shown in FIG. 5. All components of cap phone  11  are the same as those of cap phone  10 , except that earphone  52 , hinge  56 , sleeve  59 , arm  61 , microphone  60 , and elbow  65  are not present in cap phone  11 . Replacing earphone  52  is a conventional telephonic earpiece  75  of the type that can be inserted in the user&#39;s ear. When not in use, earpiece  75  can be stored in cap visor  79  (as shown) by being received in an aperture passing through cap visor  79 . An earphone cord  77  operatively connects earpiece  75  with the telephone electronics.  
         [0029]    Replacing arm  61  and microphone  60  in cap phone  11  is a conventional surface mountable microphone  78  cemented to a concave underside of visor  79  near the leading edge thereof. Microphone  78  is hidden within boundaries defined by the concave underside of visor  79  and is sheltered thereunder. Concave visor  79  acts like a large ear by focusing the sound of the wearer&#39;s voice into microphone  78 . A microphone cord  80  connects microphone  78  to the telephone electronics.  
         [0030]    Ramifications and Scope  
         [0031]    Although the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplifications of preferred embodiments. Many other variations are possible. For example, earphone  52  and hinge  56  could be replaced by an “over-the-ear” earpiece or by an “in-the-ear” earpiece. Arm  61  could be replaced by an adjustable gooseneck microphone boom. Keypad  34  and display screen  36  could be oriented 90 degrees to the present position under the visor. Or, a keypad and/or display screen could be supported under a cap crown by one or more arcuate ribs. A battery holder could be supported by one arcuate rib rather than two. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the given examples, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.