Patent Publication Number: US-2007113319-A1

Title: Hat wig

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates generally to headwear, and more specifically to a hat wig that includes a hat, cap, or like headwear having a band of hair permanently affixed to the interior of the hat that creates the appearance of a hat on top of a full head of hair when the hat wig is worn.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      The loss of hair due to illness, medical treatments, genetics, and the like can be very traumatizing, particularly for women. Hair loss often subjects affected persons to public curiosity or scorn, which may lead to low self-esteem, depression, etc. Wigs are useful in concealing hair loss or baldness and afford the user a measure of comfort in public or private settings. Moreover, wigs are useful to wearers with no hair issues who simply want to alter their appearance. There is often the occasion where a person wearing a wig wishes to wear a hat as well. Hence, a hat with hair incorporated therein would be ideal in those situations.  
      Although various hats with incorporated hair on the market are designed to conceal hair loss or baldness or simply allow a wearer to alter his or her appearance, such hats with incorporated hair are often limited in the level of customization, difficult to retrofit to existing hats, and prone to releasably-attached hair pieces inadvertently dislodging. Thus, a hat wig solving the aforementioned problems is desired.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The hat wig is an article of headwear, such as a hat, cap or the like, with hair emanating from the interior of the headwear so that the appearance of a hat placed on top of a full head of hair is created when the hat wig is worn by the wearer. The top ends of the strands of hair are secured to a soft fabric band that is disposed about a portion of the periphery of the base on the interior of the hat and permanently fastened thereto in a manner that conceals the band from outside viewing and allows the hair to freely depend downward from the band.  
      In contrast to wearing a hat with a conventional wig, the hat wig provides greater comfort in warm ambient conditions, since the top of the head is not covered by hair. This facilitates cooling the head and reduces the possibility of scalp irritation, because the coverage area is limited basically to the sides of the head. The hat wig of the present invention offers an added sense of security, as the band of hair is permanently attached therein, thereby preventing the hair from being accidentally dislodged from the hat.  
      The hat wig is highly customizable and can be adapted to several types of headwear, including a hat of the wearer&#39;s choosing. Moreover, real or synthetic hair of various styles, lengths, and types can be used to suit the taste of the wearer. Customization affords a personal touch that exponentially increases the wearer&#39;s enjoyment of the hat wig.  
      These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an environmental perspective view of a hat wig according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the band that supports hair in the hat wig according to the present invention, a portion of the band being broken away to show the manner of attaching hair to the band.  
       FIG. 3  is a bottom perspective view of a hat wig according to the present invention showing the interior of the hat with the hair-supporting band permanently attached thereto.  
       FIG. 4  is an environmental perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a hat wig according to the present invention. 
    
    
      Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      The present invention is a hat wig, designated generally as  10  in the drawings, that a user wears to conceal hair loss or baldness, or simply as a means to alter his or her appearance. In contrast to wearing a hat on top of a conventional wig, the hat wig  10  provides greater comfort in warm ambient conditions without the discomfort of adhering a wig to the scalp and without covering the entire crown of the head.  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , the hat wig  10  includes a hat  20  having hair  15  that extends from within the hat  20  down the sides and back of the wearer&#39;s head without obscuring the face of the wearer. The hat wig  10  simulates a hat placed on top of a full head of hair.  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , the top ends of the strands of hair  15  are bonded with glue  29  or like adhesive to the inside of a folded strip of soft fabric that subsequently forms a band  25 . The band  25  is further secured to the top of the hair  15  with conventional stitching  27  around the perimeter of the band  25 , thereby greatly reducing the possibility of the hair  15  dislodging from the band  25  by accident or when pulled. In the preferred embodiment, the band  25  and thread for the stitching  27  are made from cotton material. Real or synthetic hair  15  of various styles, lengths, colors, and types can be used to suit the taste of the wearer.  
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , the band  25  is disposed peripherally about at least a portion of the base or bottom edge on the interior  22  of the hat  20  and permanently affixed to the hat  20  with conventional stitching  23 . Peripheral disposition of the band  25  about the bottom edge of the interior  22  of the hat  20  permits greater air flow in the crown of the hat  20 , which keeps the head of the wearer cooler, thereby enhancing the comfort of the wearer when the hat wig  10  is worn. The stitching  23  assures that the band  25  and attached hair  15  will not readily dislodge from the hat  20 , thereby affording the wearer an added measure of security and comfort.  
      The band  25  may be disposed in a manner that assures the opposing ends of the band  25  will not come in contact with each other. The stitches  23  may be located at the front and the rear of the peripheral bottom edge of the hat  20 . At the front, the opposing ends of band  25  may be secured to the sweatband  26  of the hat  20 . At the rear, the band  25  may be secured to the rear internal seam cover  28  of the hat  20 . In applicable embodiments, the rear securing stitch  23  may be made along the internal seam cover  28  in a manner that obscures the band  25  from outside viewing and will not interfere with the cooperating elements  31  that allow a wearer to adjust the size of the hat  20 . The band  25  can also be secured to the interior  22  by other suitable fastening means, such as rivets. Instead of being tacked at discrete locations to the front and rear of the hat  20 , the band  25  may be continuously secured to the bottom edge of the hat  20  by stitching.  
      The hat wig  10  is highly adaptable to numerous types and styles of headwear. It will be recognized that the hat  20  shown in  FIGS. 1-3  is a cap.  FIG. 4  shows an alternative embodiment of the hat wig  10  that features a different type of headwear  21  having hair  15  permanently attached to the interior of the hat  21  to give the appearance of a hat atop a full head of hair when the hat wig  10  is worn. The hat wig  10  is highly customizable to suit the taste of a wearer. A hat wig  10  can be made from the favorite hat, cap, etc. of the wearer to add a personal touch. Moreover, the hat wig  10  can be customized with real or synthetic hair  15  that is blended to match the hairstyle and hair type of the wearer. The hair  15  used can be layered, of uniform length, highlighted, wavy, curly, straight, etc., or customized to any length and style combination that suits the taste of the wearer.  
      It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.