Water Storage Hat for Cooling the Head

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the technical field of water storage and cooling hats. More specifically, the present invention relates to a hat comprising a set of sealed hollow tubes for storing water and absorbing heat from a wearer's head.

BACKGROUND

Many water storage hats exist which affix reservoirs of potable water to the exterior and allow a user to consume the water while they wear the hat, but these are usually bulky and uncomfortable to wear due to the large amounts of water that need to be stored. There are no existing solutions on the market which instead utilize stored water to provide a natural cooling effect on the head, despite it being well known that the top of the head is a major heat outlet for the body when overheated.

It is within this context that the present invention is provided.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure a hat that comprises a layered structure of sealed hollow tubes for storing water about the wearer's head. The tubes are arranged in a lattice of rings/bands and longitudinal channels so that the water is evenly distributed on the head of the wearer, and can absorb heat both from sunlight and from the wearer's head itself evenly about the circumference of the head. Inner layers provide structure to the tubes and ensure adequate contact with the head surface area.

Thus, according to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a water storage hat for cooling a user's head, the hat comprising: an outer layer configured to store water, the outer layer being formed of a set of sealed hollow tubes that are arranged in a plurality of connected bands and longitudinal channels and having a resealable inlet for adding water disposed on an upper portion of the outer layer; an inner layer forming a concave inner surface of the hat for conforming about a wearer's head; and a middle layer having a top surface connected to the outer layer by a plurality of attachment points, the middle layer being configured to support the outer layer and to soften and conform about the inner layer as the outer layer is filled with water.

In some embodiments, the tubes of the outer layer are formed of silicone, and/or the inner layer is formed of silicone and/or the middle layer is formed of silicone.

In some embodiments, when the outer layer is completely filled with water, a bottom surface of the middle layer completely conforms about an upper surface of the inner layer.

In some embodiments, the resealable inlet is covered by a removeable silicone flap.

In some embodiments, the resealable inlet comprises a plug mechanism.

In some embodiments, the hat further comprises a mechanism to protect a wearer's eyes from water.

In some embodiments, the hat is integrated with a standard fabric hat structure chosen from one of: a baseball cap with a bill, a wide brimmed hat, and a bucket hat.

In some embodiments, the outer layer of the hat is wrapped in a protective material.

The outer layer may be double wrapped in the protective material.

The protective material may comprise a breathable cotton or dri-fit material, and may further comprise a lambskin leather component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 illustrates a cutaway perspective view of an example configuration of a water storage and cooling hat according to the present disclosure.

Common reference numerals are used throughout the figures and the detailed description to indicate like elements. One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the above FIGURES are examples and that other architectures, modes of operation, orders of operation, and elements/functions can be provided and implemented without departing from the characteristics and features of the invention, as set forth in the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The following is a detailed description of exemplary embodiments to illustrate the principles of the invention. The embodiments are provided to illustrate aspects of the invention, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalent; it is limited only by the claims.

Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well as the singular forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

The term “sealed” as used herein to describe the hollow tubes is to be interpreted as meaning a tube which is capable of holding fluid within it without leaking, and without the fluid being capable of escaping from the tube at any point other than the opening (if the opening is not sealed itself). It should be noted that the hollow tubes described and claimed (both the horizontal bands and the vertical channels) are sufficiently hollow to allow water to flow and pass through them and to store the water comfortably at any point along their length. Furthermore, the structural shape of both the tubes themselves and their attachment points to the middle layer of the hat applies a pressure that keeps the distribution of water even across the entire structure of the tube lattice and the hat.

The present disclosure provides a water storage and cooling hat that is configured to absorb heat from sunlight in particular by having cool water stored in rings and longitudinal channels about a wearer's head, allowing them to keep cool on hot days.

Referring to FIG. 1, an example configuration of the disclosed water storage and cooling hat 100 is shown. The FIGURE shows a cutaway perspective view of the hat 100, with the interior of the outer layer water storage tubes 102 and 104 exposed. The shape of the middle layer 110 and inner layer 112 inside the hat are shown by dashed lines.

As can be seen, the hat 100 comprises three descending rings/bands of tubes 102 which are woven in and interconnected with a plurality of longitudinal channels 104. This lattice of sealed hollow tubes, usually constructed of a soft and waterproof material such as silicone, is configured to store cool water about the wearer's head and thus absorb excess heat from the body and sunlight.

The tubes are sealed except for a resealable opening 106 at the top of the hat 100 where water can be poured in. The resealable opening 106 may comprise a plug mechanism for example, and is, in the present example, covered by a silicone flap 108 that can be lifted up.

As the opening 106 is in the top of the hat, and due to the arrangement of the tube lattice about the circumference of hat, when water is poured in, gravity will cause it to fill the tube arrangement from the bottom up, and the fluid pressure will cause it to be distributed evenly about the wearer's head. Once full to a user's satisfaction, the resealable opening 106 is closed, trapping the water inside.

An inner layer 112 forms the interior of the hat and is configured to conform about a wearer's head, with a middle layer 110 attaching at various points to the inner surfaces of the tubes 102, 104 of the outer layer and providing structure and a connection to the inner layer. The inner layer 1123 and middle layer 110 are both also usually formed of silicone.

The gap between the middle layer 110 and the inner layer 112 will vary based on how full the outer layer is with water—the more water fills the tubes, the more weight will be put on the middle layer 110, softening it and causing it to droop down into contact with the top surface of the inner layer 112. When the tubes are completely full, the middle layer 110 will conform completely to the upper surface of the inner layer 112.

The layered structure is usually integrated with a standard fabric hat structure. In the present example, this is a baseball cap 114, with a bill 116. The hat is not limited in this sense however, and may be integrated with any sort of hat structure, including but not limited to wide brimmed hats and bucket hats.

In a similar fashion, the outer layer of tubes may be wrapped ro double wrapped in a protective material such as a breathable cotton or dri-fit material, and in more luxurious builds luxury materials such as lambskin leather.

In some examples, the hat may also incorporate a mechanism to protect a wearer's eyes from water.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

The disclosed embodiments are illustrative, not restrictive. While specific configurations of the water storage and cooling hat have been described in a specific manner referring to the illustrated embodiments, it is understood that the present invention can be applied to a wide variety of solutions which fit within the scope and spirit of the claims. There are many alternative ways of implementing the invention.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.