Patent ID: 7000262

Claim:
A ratchet mechanism for a headband that has overlapping rear end portions, comprising: a housing including an outer substantially arc-shaped housing section joined to a inner substantially arc-shaped housing section, thus defining an internal cavity for receiving the overlapping rear end portions of said headband; an adjustment mechanism substantially contained within the internal cavity defined by said housing sections and adapted to cause lateral movement of the overlapping rear end portions of said headband with respect to one another; and wherein the outer housing section is substantially segmented into multiple discrete portions such that the outer housing section is flexible along defined boundaries between such discrete portions, and wherein the inner housing section is similarly and substantially segmented into corresponding discrete portions such that the inner housing section is also flexible along defined boundaries between such discrete portions, such that, when the outer and inner housing sections are joined, the housing of the ratchet mechanism has a flexibility that allows it to conform to the head shape of a wearer.