Patent ID: 7497097

Claim:
The combination of (a) an article of headwear having head facing and outward facing surfaces and (b) a sweat blocking and ventilating sweatband formed of a spacer fabric sweatband which comprises an inner, skin contacting layer, an outer headwear facing layer, said inner and outer layers being connected by and spaced apart from one another by a plurality of compressible monofilament spacing elements which maintain the inner and outer layers in spaced parallel and compressible relationship, said sweatband being affixed to the head facing surface of the headwear by means for securing the sweatband to the head facing surface of the headwear without compressing the spacer fabric to an extent such that the distance between the inner and outer layers is reduced sufficiently to prevent the flow of air and evaporated sweat between the inner and outer layers and concomitantly permit sweat to pass by capillary action from the inner layer to and through the outer layer resulting in sweat coming in contact with the headwear article itself.