HEAD COOLING APPARATUS

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

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INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

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STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR JOINT INVENTOR

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The disclosure relates to heat transfer devices and more particularly pertains to a new heat transfer device for cooling a user's head.

(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98

The prior art discloses various apparatuses for cooling a user's head. A myriad of structures are provided for containing a cooling element in a hat or similar element such that the user can cool their head by wearing the hat. However, the prior art fails to disclose such a device in which a base member comprises a fluid impermeable material and defines a plurality of holes for airing out the user's head. The prior art also fails to disclose multiple coverings that may be interchangeably mounted over the base member.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a cap which defines a cavity configured for receiving a head of a user therein. The cap comprises a base member which defines a rim of the cap and extends toward a top end of the cap. The cap also comprises a containment member which is coupled to the base member and a heat transfer substance which is housed in an interior space in the containment member. A covering is removably mountable over the cap.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective kit view of a head cooling apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a cap of an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an in-use view of a cap of an embodiment of the disclosure placed in a freezer.

FIG. 4 is an in-use view of a cap and a beanie of an embodiment of the disclosure on a user's head.

FIG. 5 is an in-use view of a cap and a scarf of an embodiment of the disclosure on a user's head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 5 thereof, a new heat transfer device embodying the principles and concepts of an embodiment of the disclosure and generally designated by the reference numeral 10 will be described.

As best illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 5, the head cooling apparatus 10 generally comprises a cap 12 which defines a cavity 14 configured for receiving a head 68 of a user 66 therein. The cap 12 comprises a base member 20 which defines a rim 16 of the cap 12 and extends toward a top end 18 of the cap 12. The base member 20 also defines a plurality of holes 22 which extend through an exterior side 24 and an interior side 26 of the base member 20. The base member 20 comprises a fluid impermeable material such as silicone, rubber, or other suitable materials. The fluid impermeable material is also resiliently flexible such that the rim 16 may be widened. The base member 20 defines a slit 28 which extends from the rim 16 toward the top end 18 of the cap 12. The slit 28 is open at the rim 16, which facilitates widening of the rim 16 of the cap 12.

The cap 12 further includes a containment member 30 coupled to the base member 20 which houses a heat transfer substance 38 in an interior space 32 therein. The containment member 30 comprises a hub portion 34 and a plurality of spoke portions 36. The spoke portions 36 are coupled to and radially arranged around the hub portion 34. The interior space 32 is positioned within the hub portion 34 and each spoke portion 36 of the plurality of spoke portions 36. The hub portion 34 and the plurality of spoke portions 36 are exposed on the interior side 26 and exterior side 24 of the base member 20. The spoke portions 36 extend away from the hub portion 34 and are separated from each other by portions of the base member 20.

In some embodiments, the containment member 30 may be the same material as the base member 20. Any suitable material for containing the heat transfer substance 38 may be used, however. The heat transfer substance 38 may be a material with a high heat capacity, such as hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium polyacrylate, superabsorbent polymer, or silica gel. The heat transfer substance 38 also may be water, propylene glycol, or the like.

A pair of coverings is provided, each of which is interchangeably mountable over the cap 12. More than two coverings may be provided. In some embodiments, one covering may be provided which is interchangeably mountable among multiple caps 12. The pair of coverings includes a beanie 42 and a scarf 54. The beanie 42 has a dome shape and defines a recess 44 complementary in size and shape to the cap 12. The beanie 42 has a uniform thickness between an inner side 46 and an outer side 48 of the beanie 42, and the beanie 42 has a lower edge 50 which aligns with the rim 16 of the cap 12 when the beanie 42 is mounted over the cap 12. The scarf 54 comprises a flexible fabric material and may be positioned in a planar configuration 62. The scarf 54 has a front edge 56 which aligns with the rim 16 of the cap 12 when the scarf 54 is mounted over the cap 12. The scarf 54 has a triangular shape when positioned in the planar configuration 62. The scarf 54 has a pair of lateral vertices 58 positioned opposite each other across the front edge 56 and a rear vertex 60 positioned opposite the front edge 56. In other embodiments, the scarf 54 may have other shapes when lying in the planar configuration 62 such as a rectangular shape, an oblong shape, or the like. Other coverings also may be used.

The material of each covering may be air permeable and breathable and may include polyester, spandex, silk, or the like. Each covering may have an ornamental design such as graphics or other indicia which faces outwardly from the cap 12 when the covering is mounted over the cap 12.

The cap 12 has a plurality of base mating members 40 which couple to other mating members found on the coverings. The plurality of base mating members 40 is positioned on the exterior side 24 of the base member 20 adjacent to the rim 16 of the cap 12, and the base mating members 40 are radially spaced from each other around the cap 12.

A plurality of beanie mating members 52 is coupled to the beanie 42. Each beanie mating member 52 of the plurality of beanie mating members 52 is couplable to an associated base mating member 40 of the plurality of base mating members 40. The plurality of beanie mating members 52 is positioned on the inner side 46 of the beanie 42 adjacent to the rim 16 of the beanie 42. The beanie mating members 52 are spaced from each other along the inner side 46 of the beanie 42. A plurality of scarf mating members 64 is coupled to the scarf 54. Each scarf mating member 64 of the plurality of scarf mating members 64 is couplable to an associated base mating member 40 of the plurality of base mating members 40. The plurality of scarf mating members 64 is positioned adjacent to the front edge 56 of the scarf 54, and the beanie mating members 52 are spaced from each other along the front edge 56.

The base mating members 40, the beanie mating members 52, and the scarf mating members 64 define snap button members of corresponding types. In other embodiments, hook-and-loop fasteners, magnets, hole-and-button fasteners, or any other suitable fastener may mount the coverings to the cap 12.

In use, the cap 12 may be placed in a cold environment such as a freezer to bring the cap 12, especially the heat transfer substance 38, to a temperature which will cool the user's 66 head 68. The cap 12 may then be taken from the cold environment and worn on the user's 66 head 68. One of the coverings may be worn over the cap 12 by mounting it to the cap 12. The lateral vertices 58 and the rear vertex 60 of the scarf 54 may be tied at a back of the user's 66 head 68 or any other suitable position. The rim 16 of the cap 12 may be spread wider to fit larger head 68s. In some cases, the coverings may also have slit 28s, comprise flexible materials, or may otherwise adapt to the size of the rim 16 when the rim 16 is widened. The holes 22 in the base member 20 of the cap 12 facilitate airflow which promotes evaporation of sweat and water. The material of the covering may also facilitate transfer of moisture therethrough via breathability properties. Washing of the cap 12 is made easier by incorporating the fluid impermeable base member 20, which may be simply wiped down.

The cap 12 may also be used to warm the user's 66 head 68 by placing the cap 12 in a warm environment which brings the cap 12 to a temperature which will warm the user's 66 head 68. Given any thermally insulating properties of the cap 12 and covering used and the heat generated by the user 66, the temperature the cap 12 is brought to need not be greater than the temperature of the user's 66 head 68 in some cases.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.