Abstract:
A removable and disposable cap or hat liner. The removable and disposable liner having a front, central, and back portion allowing for curvature relief indentation for easy and convenient fitting inside a hat or cap, and more particularly baseball caps. The present invention also allows for easy packaging and assembly of the liner and further provides an easy method for shaping and inserting the liner into a hat or cap. The invention also provides better cushion for improved head and seal protection, enhanced thermal comfort, and improved ventilation.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No. 61/754,924, A Liner For a Cap or Hat with a Unique Design Pattern, filed on Jan. 21, 2013. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is generally related to the field of headwear, and more specifically to hats and caps, and even more specifically to a liner that includes a unique design pattern for ease of fitting inside a cap or hat to provide better head and scalp protection, enhanced thermal comfort and improved ventilation. 
       BACKGROUND OP THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The prior art is replete with hat or cap liners that attempt to address the problem of providing a degree of cushion for protecting a person&#39;s head or scalp but these liners do not include a unique design pattern allowing for relatively easy and practical packaging and ease of assembly for a user. The prior art is also replete with hat or cap liners that attempt to address the problem of providing a degree of thermal insulation for a person&#39;s head but these liners also fail to include a unique design pattern that allows for relatively easy and practical packaging and assembly in the field by a wearer. 
         [0004]    Individuals can be susceptible to bumping their head or scraping their scalp while wearing a cap because the visor or bill attached to the cap can unfortunately impede their vision; particularly at head-level obstacles. This problem can lead to injury for a user while they are carrying out everyday activities such as getting groceries out of the trunk of a car or by just simply getting in and out of an automobile. 
         [0005]    The prior art also includes some unique hat or cap liner designs for providing a person with enhanced thermal comfort, improved head protection, and enhanced ventilation. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2004/0181854 A1 incorporates a protective shell to be used within a cap for providing a degree of head protection. Another prior art design provides a degree of head protection by utilizing a shell made of impact resistant material that includes ventilation openings. (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,8875,289). A further prior art design features a removable liner configured for placement within headgear for enhanced thermal comfort. (See U.S. Pat. No, 7,043,761 B2) 
         [0006]    However, problems exist in these prior art designs. Notably, the designs cannot offer all the same features of the present invention in one embodiment while still including a unique design pattern that is relatively easy to package and also easy for a user to assemble. 
         [0007]    In light of the shortcomings in the prior art, a hat or cap liner is highly desired that provides cushion for protecting a person&#39;s head, enhanced thermal comfort, and enhanced ventilation while still including a unique design pattern that is relatively easy to package and also easy to assemble in the field not requiring pre-assembly by hat manufacturers. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The present invention is directed to an improved hat or cap liner having an elongated flat sheet-like body that includes two matching opposite sides allowing for convenient shipping by hat manufacturers. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the body of the liner includes a front portion, a central portion also referred to as the center line of indentation and a back portion. The front portion includes a dart (i.e., a v-shaped opening) located in the middle of the liner. The front portion of the liner also includes curved edges located on opposite sides of each other. The front portion further includes ventilation, slits positioned directly behind the curved edges, but said slits can consist of other types of ventilation openings. The middle portion of the liner includes two darts located on opposite sides of each other, and these two dart openings do not extend beyond the center line of indentation. The back portion of the liner has a curved rear rim which also includes ventilation slits positioned directly behind the rim, but said slits can consist of other types of ventilation openings. 
         [0009]    The design pattern comprising the front, center and back portion of the liner allows for curvature relief indentation. The curvature relief indentation allows for assembly of the invention into a hemispherical shaped dome providing for ease of insertion and removal to the cap. Although other design patterns are possible, a preferred embodiment of the invention generally comprises the outer perimeter shape as illustrated in  FIG. 1  that also allows for ease of shipment by hat manufacturers because of the flat sheet-like body of the liner. 
         [0010]    It is therefore a feature of the invention to provide better cushion for improved head and scalp protection of users of hats or caps. 
         [0011]    It is also another feature of the invention to provide enhanced thermal comfort for a user; particularly users that do not have hair. 
         [0012]    It is yet another feature of the invention to provide enhanced ventilation that reduces odor and increases the life of a hat or cap. 
         [0013]    It is an additional feature of the invention to provide a hat or cap liner that is reusable and disposable. 
         [0014]    It is yet an additional feature of the invention to provide a removable hat or cap liner that may be worn by users of different head sizes. 
         [0015]    The present invention also provides a new hat or cap liner which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
         [0016]    An even further feature of the present invention is to provide a new hat or cap liner a allows for low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor which helps to lower the price of the liner to the consuming public, thereby making the invention, more economically available to the buying public. 
         [0017]    Accordingly, for a better understanding of the invention, its functional advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention prior to it being assembled and inserted into a hat or cap. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of  FIG. 1  showing how to initially shape the hat or cap liner with respect to the curvature relief indentation feature of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention after it has been shaped into a hemispheric shape-dike dome for inserting into a hat or cap. 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention inserted into a cap. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]      FIG. 1  shows the preferred embodiment of the hat or cap liner  100  prior to being assembled. The liner  100  consists of two substantially identical opposed sides having a flat sheet-like body that includes a unique design pattern for fitting into a hat or cap. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the liner  100  consists of formable lightweight, low water absorption and vapor transmission material. In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the material used for the hat or cap liner  100  consists of fine-celled, irradiated crosslinked foam known by the commercial name Volara®. Volara® is a material which is available from Sekisui Voltek, LLC. However, the hat or cap liner can be made from other types of materials and will not deviate from the intent of the invention so long as the same unique design pattern is used. 
         [0023]    The hat or cap liner  100  as shown in  FIG. 1  includes a front portion  110 , a central portion  120  also referred to as the center line of indentation, and a back portion  130 . The front portion  110  of the liner  100  has a dart  10  which is not as deep as either dart opening  40  or dart opening  50  and does not extend down beyond the center line of indentation. The front portion  110  of the liner  100  also includes curved-top edge  20  and curved-bottom edge  30  which are both located on opposite sides of each other. Curved-top edge  20  extends from the front edge of dart opening  10  to the top edge of dart opening  40  which is located on the top portion of the liner  100 . Curved-bottom edge  30  of the liner  100  extends from the bottom edge of dart opening  10  to the bottom edge of dart opening  50  which is located on the bottom portion of the liner  100 . Also, curved-top edge  20  and curved-bottom edge  30  both include ventilation slits  90  positioned directly behind said curved edges. However, said slits  90  can consist of other types of ventilation openings without deviating from the intent of the invention. 
         [0024]    The central section  120  of the liner  100  includes dart opening  40  and dart opening  50  that are both located on opposite sides of each other. Dart opening  40  is located on the top central portion of the liner  100  and does not extend below the center line of indentation  120 . Dart opening  50  is located on the bottom central portion of the liner  100  and does not extend above the center line of indentation  120 . 
         [0025]    The back portion of the liner  100  includes a curved rear rim  60  that has ventilation slits  90  positioned directly behind it but said slits  90  can consist of other types of ventilation openings without deviating from the intent of the invention. The back portion  130  of the liner  100  also includes two rear angled edges located on opposite sides of each other. Rear angled edge  70  is located directly on the top rear portion  130  of the liner  100 . Rear angled edge  80  is located directly on the bottom rear portion  130  of the liner  100 . 
         [0026]      FIGS. 2 through 4  illustrate how the present invention can be shaped and inserted into a cap based on the unique design pattern of the invention.  FIGS. 2 through 3  illustrate the curvature relief indentation feature of the invention that permits the flat sheet-like body to reform into a hemispherical shape dome for easy insertion and removal from a cap. 
         [0027]    The preferred embodiment of the invention is achieved by placing a cap upside down in a user&#39;s lap as illustrated in  FIG. 4  and then loosening the adjustment belt of the cap. After the adjustment belt has been loosened the sweatband in the cap should be flipped out and then the liner  100  can be shaped into a hemispherical shape dome as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 through 4 . Once the invention has been shaped into a hemispherical shape dome it can be easily inserted into a cap by aligning the dart opening  10  to the front portion of the cap and then the sweatbands can be refolded over the edges of the liner  100 . Next, a user can put the cap on and then readjust the belt to the desired fit. 
         [0028]    As stated earlier, the preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes a fine-celled, irradiated crosslinked foam known as Volara® that provides improved cushion for a user once it is inserted into a cap. The improved cushion helps to protect a user&#39;s head from scrapes and bumps while that person performs everyday activities. A person wearing a cap can be susceptible to bumping their head or scraping their scalp since the visor or bill of a cap can unfortunately impede their vision. Similarly, the enhanced cushion provided by the foam can also benefit children who like to wear caps while playing. Moreover, users of caps who are frail such as elderly individuals or patients convalescing can also benefit from the enhanced cushion provided by the foam since they can be susceptible to bumping or scraping their head when carrying out basic everyday activities while wearing a cap. 
         [0029]    In another embodiment of the invention, the Volara® foam can also provide enhanced thermal comfort when used as the preferred material for the hat or cap liner. On cold days, a user of the invention can benefit from the enhanced thermal comfort added by the liner because it can help to prevent a user from losing body heat through their head. For instance, individuals who have lost their hair due to hereditary reasons or because of chemo therapy tend to lose a lot of body heat through their head since they no longer have hair to insulate their head. The present invention can provide enhanced thermal comfort for these individuals by helping to keep their head warm on cold days. 
         [0030]    The various embodiments of the invention are exemplary of the fact that other arrangements may be employed in practicing the invention which has been set forth herein for purposes of exemplification. It is understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments or illustrated drawings set forth herein for descriptive purposes, but is to be limited only by the scope of the attached claim or claims, including a fill range of equivalency to which each element thereof is entitled. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.