Abstract:
Invention provides a temperature regulating cap for heating or cooling the head of the user having a removable and replaceable heating or cooling insert with a releasable connector for fastening the insert to the cap in which the insert has two portions including a first portion in contact with the top of the user&#39;s head for heating or cooling the head and a second portion that depends downwardly from the first portion and is located generally in the forehead region of the person&#39;s head to cool the forehead and to absorb perspiration. The insert can be removed and replaced when required for washing or for immersion in water to absorb moisture which is then retained in the insert for the purpose of providing evaporative cooling.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates to clothing and more particularly to a hat or cap (both for convenience referred to herein as a cap) adapted to provide greater comfort by regulating the temperature of the head of the wearer.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Attempts have been made to provide comfort under extreme conditions of heat or cold by furnishing a cap or hat that is capable of either cooling or heating the head of a person wearing the cap. Prior hats or caps of this kind have not been entirely satisfactory. Some are ineffective in providing adequate heating or cooling. In addition, a cap can easily be soiled with perspiration during hot weather. Besides being ineffective in operation, some prior products are not durable or are expensive to produce.  
           [0003]    In view of these and other shortcomings of the prior art it is the general objective to provide an improved cap having a temperature regulating element that is removable, washable and highly effective in cooling or heating to provide comfort for the user as well as being able to absorb perspiration. It is a more specific object to provide evaporative cooling of the top of the head while at the same time providing a highly effective way of absorbing perspiration particularly in the region of the forehead.  
           [0004]    A further objective is to provide a way of accommodating a heating element for heating the top of the head during cold weather while still permitting cooling in warm weather.  
           [0005]    These and other more detailed and specific objects of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following figures and detailed description which illustrate by way of example but a few of the various forms of the invention within the scope of the appended claims. 
       
    
    
     THE FIGURES  
       [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cap embodying the invention with an insert portion removed for clarity of illustration.  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the cap with a cooling or heating insert in place.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is a top view of the cooling insert on a larger scale than is shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken on line  4 - 4  of FIG. 3.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the cap with the insert removed.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the cap insert showing the heating receptacle.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the cap insert.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 8 is a front view of a person wearing a temperature regulating cap in accordance with the invention in which the cap is shown in dotted lines for clarity of illustration.  
     
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0014]    Invention provides a temperature-regulating cap having a removable and replaceable heating or cooling insert element for heating or cooling the head of the user. A releasable connector is used to fasten the insert to the cap. The insert has two portions including a first portion in contact with the top of the user&#39;s head for heating or cooling the head and a second forwardly extending front portion that depends downwardly from the first portion and is located generally in the forehead region of the user&#39;s head to cool the forehead and to absorb perspiration. The insert can be removed and replaced when required for washing or for immersion in water to enable the insert to absorb moisture which is then retained in the insert to provide evaporative cooling.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]    The cap cooling and sweat absorbing insert element is provided within and attached to the inner surface of the crown portion of a cap. The insert preferably includes a plurality of layers. It can be for example, a five layer structure consisting of a top layer of a moisture semi-permeable flexible sheet material such as a Nylon® fabric to which a one inch by five inch connector e.g., a hook and loop Velcro® hook fabric is attached by stitching, and a bottom layer of moisture semi-permeable poplin. These outer layers preferably enclose a three-piece layer composite which includes a sheet stock of non-woven super-absorbent polymer sandwiched between an upper and lower layer of cotton fabric. The three layer composite is stitched together in a quilted pattern to prevent a water containing gel that is formed by wetting the super absorbent polymer, from migrating or moving freely within the insert.  
         [0016]    Prior to use, the cap insert that contacts the top of the wearer&#39;s head is soaked in cold water for 3 to 5 minutes. The super-absorbent portion of the inner composite three layer structure then absorbs about 150-times its weight of water. It will also absorb more than five times its weight in perspiration. As the water is absorbed a water containing gel forms which is encased and held within the composite fabric. The gel particles are larger than the fine openings in the cotton fabric and are therefor retained within the stitched pattern so as to prevent the water gel from migrating or moving freely from one side to the other.  
         [0017]    The cold water containing gel provides a cooling effect to the top of the user&#39;s head, both directly and further by evaporative cooling. The super-absorbent polymer-containing composite also extends into the portion of the cap that contacts the forehead of the user. The super-absorbent within the composite will then absorb five or more times its weight in perspiration. The sweat from the wearer&#39;s forehead is absorbed by the super-absorbent polymer and is prevented from transferring to the cap sweatband by the semi-permeable fabric barrier. The semi-permeable fabric allows the passage of water or sweat, but since the sweat saturated gel particles are larger than the fine openings in both the inner cotton fabric and the outer semi-permeable fabric, they are retained within the cap insert. Thus, the invention provides cooling for the wearer as well as a superior sweat-absorbing capability.  
         [0018]    If desired, the invention can also have an optional receptacle or pocket to accommodate an air activated heating pack. In this configuration, the cap insert provides heat to the wearer&#39;s head during cold weather. If desired, the heating pack can be replaced by a frozen or pre-chilled cold pack.  
         [0019]    Refer now to the Figures which illustrate a temperature-regulating hat or cap for convenience referred to herein as a cap. The term cap herein is used broadly to refer to various forms of hats or caps. The cap is indicated generally by the numeral  10  and includes a crown portion  12  consisting of several generally triangular segments sewn together conventionally and a brim  14 . Sewn into the inside of the cap  10  is a sweatband  16  of conventional construction at the rear end of which is provided a size adjustment strap consisting of two strap elements  18  and  20  of convention construction which can be connected to one another by means of studs  22  sized to be placed in various openings  24  so that the cap  10  fits the head of the user. Within the cap  10  is provided a releasable and replaceable insert  26  which is held in place during use by means of a releasable connector consisting of one or more strips of Velcro® or other complimentary hook and loop fasteners  28  and  30  which hold the insert  26  in place within the top of the hat  10  during use. Alternatively, the insert  26  can be held in place by snaps, buttons or other releasable connectors. However, if desired, it can be permanently secured e.g., by sewing.  
         [0020]    The insert  26  includes a crown portion  32  and a forwardly and downwardly depending forehead portion  34 . As shown best in FIG. 4, the insert  26  preferably comprises a plurality of fabric layers. The top layer  36  and the bottom layer  38  is preferably semi-permeable to moisture. The preferred top layer  36  consists of flexible sheet material such as poplin and the bottom layer  38  comprises a nylon fabric such as a fabric sold under the name Ultrex™  660-47401  which is made by the Rose City Textiles company of Portland, Oreg. or Supplex™ Polaris, supplied by Venture Textiles Company of New York, N.Y. The Velcro® strip  30  is sewn to the top layer  36 . Below the forehead portion  34  is a water permeable fabric layer  35  that can comprise poplin. Preferably enclosed between the top and bottom layers  36 ,  38  are three additional layers, including upper and lower porous layers of cloth such as cotton fabric  40  and  42  for enclosing a highly water-absorbent sheet stock  44  preferably formed from a non-woven polymeric super-absorbent fabric such as a sodium polyacrylic hydrocolloid polymer fiber sheet or laminate which is sold under the trademark Gelock 4026, by the Gelock International Corporation of Dunbridge, Ohio. The super-absorbent polymer layer  44  has the characteristic of being able to absorb and hold a large quantity of water as a hydrated gel for example about 150 or more times its own weight.  
         [0021]    During use, the insert  28  is removed from the cap  10  and immersed in water. It is then rung out slightly. As a result, a water and gel mixture is formed by wetting the super absorbent polymer. The center three layers  40 - 44  of the composite can be stitched if desired to hold the layers together in a quilted pattern to prevent the water containing gel from migrating or moving freely within the composite. Adhesively secured points can be used in place of stitching if desired. This water and gel mixture or hydrogel has the characteristic of holding the water in place for along period of time to provide a cooling affect for the user during hot weather. On the edge of the insert  26  is provided a strip of fabric  50  which is stitched in place at  52  to hem the layers  36 - 42  together at their edges.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 6 shows an optional pocket  55  which is sewn along three edges at  56  to the lower layer  38  to provide a receptacle for any of various commercially available heating packets  58  which typically contain a mixture of salt, iron filings and sawdust that react when atmospheric moisture is allowed to enter the packet  58  to produce a heating effect over a period of up to several hours. The packet, when it is used, is inserted into the receptacle  55  through the open end at  60  for heating the user&#39;s head. When the heating packet  58  is used the insert  26  should not be wetted by immersing it in water.  
         [0023]    The use of the invention will now be described for cooling the user during periods of hot weather. First, the insert  26  is removed from the cap  10  and especially the crown portion  32  of the insert  26  which contacts the top of the head is soaked in cold water for  3-5  minutes. The super-absorbent layer  44  especially but also the layers that enclose it absorb a large quantity of water. The super-absorbent layer  44  typically absorbs about 150 times its weight in water and more than 5 times its weight in perspiration. Then the water that is absorbed forms a water and gel mixture which is encased and held within the insert  26 . The gel particles are larger than the fine openings in the cotton fabric of the layers  40  and  42  and are therefore retained between the upper and lower cotton layers  40  and  42 . The quilted stitching retains the water and gel mixture within the layered structure preventing it from migrating or moving freely from one side to the other of the insert  26 . During use the cold water contained in the gel provides a cooling effect for the top of the user&#39;s head both by direct cooling and also by evaporative cooling.  
         [0024]    It should be noted that the water-absorbent polymer containing composite formed by the layers  36 - 44  also includes the depending portion  34  which contacts the user&#39;s forehead as shown in FIG. 8. Besides cooling the user&#39;s forehead through direct contact as well as evaporative cooling, the forehead contacting portion  34  also is capable of absorbing several times its own weight in perspiration. Moreover, the perspiration from the wearer&#39;s forehead is absorbed by the super-absorbent and is prevented from soiling the cap sweatband due to the presence of the semi-permeable fabric barrier  36  formed e.g. from poplin. This keeps the sweat band clean as the sweat that is absorbed forms hydrated gel particles which are too large to penetrate adjacent layers. Thus, the invention provides a removable and replaceable insert which prevents the cap from becoming soiled while at the same time providing heating or cooling for the wearer of the cap while providing a superior perspiration absorbing forehead covering.  
         [0025]    Selected layers of fabric can be replaced if desired by non-permeable flexible sheet materials but at a slightly greater cost. Other variations of the present invention within the scope of the appended claims will be apparent to those skilled in the art once the principles described herein are understood.