PROTECTIVE INSERT FOR A HEAD COVERING WHICH HAS A COVERING PORTION IN THE FORM OF A HALF SHELL

Abstract

A protective insert for a head covering which has a covering portion in the form of a half shell, having a plurality of coherent portions of a flexible, collapsible plastics material, which portions can be brought from a planar basic form into a use position that enables insertion into the covering portion, in which use position the protective insert has a half-shell form corresponding to the covering portion.

Claims

1. A protective insert for a head covering which has a covering portion in the form of a half shell, comprising a plurality of coherent portions of a flexible, collapsible plastics material, which portions can be brought from a planar basic form into a use position that enables insertion into the covering portion, in which use position the protective insert has a half-shell form corresponding to the covering portion.

2. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the portions adjoin one another at the edge at least in certain portions in the use form.

3. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein a central Y-shaped portion is provided, which has three portion regions which, in the basic form, extend preferably symmetrically from the center in a Y shape to the side, and in that three further portions are provided, a respective one of which is positioned between two portion regions and in each case attached to a portion region, wherein the further portions are formed such that, in the half-shell form, they largely or completely fill the region between two portion regions.

4. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein two portions via a connecting web which is thinner in comparison with the thickness of the portions and shorter than the edges of both portions that lie adjacent to one another in the use position.

5. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein a portion which is positioned on the rear side of the covering portion in the inserted position has a curved cutout at the edge.

6. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the portions have a thickness of 2-6 mm, in particular of 3-5 mm and preferably of 4 mm.

7. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of at least some of the portions, preferably of all the portions, decreases toward the edge bounding the half-shell form.

8. The protective insert according to claim 7, wherein the thickness decreases by at least 25%, in particular by at least 35% and preferably by at least 50%.

9. The protective insert according to claim 7, wherein the thickness decreases over a length toward the edge of at least 1 cm, in particular of at least 1.5 cm and preferably of at least 2 cm.

10. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the portions which bound the edge of the protective insert laid so as to form the half-shell form have a thinner edge portion at this edge than in the adjacent surface region.

11. The protective insert according to claim 10, wherein the edge portion extends over at least 25%, preferably at least 50%, of the edge length and in particular over the entire edge length.

12. The protective insert according to claim 10, wherein the edge portion has a width of 2-10 mm, in particular of 3-8 mm and preferably of 4-6 mm.

13. The protective insert according to claim 10, wherein the edge portion has a thickness of 0.5-2 mm, in particular of 1 mm.

14. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the portions, preferably every portion, has an open-pore structure.

15. The protective insert according to claim 14, wherein the structure consists of round or polygonal structural elements which are coherent among one another, wherein the structural elements and/or regions between the structural elements have through-holes.

16. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the plastic has a Shore A hardness of 40-100, preferably 60-95, or a Shore D hardness of 15-70, preferably 20-64.

17. The protective insert according to claim 1, wherein the plastic is a thermoplastic elastomer.

18. The protective insert according to claim 17, wherein the plastic is a thermoplastic urethane.

19. A combination of a head covering with a covering portion in the form of a half shell and a protective insert according to claim 1.

20. The combination according to claim 19, wherein the head covering is a baseball, cricket, golf or skateboarding cap.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

[0028] In the drawing:

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a view of a basic illustration of a protective insert according to the invention in the planar basic form,

[0030] FIG. 2 shows a perspective basic illustration of the protective insert from FIG. 1, which is laid in the use position that is in the form of a half shell,

[0031] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view along the line III-III in FIG. 2,

[0032] FIG. 4 shows a sectional view along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2,

[0033] FIG. 5 shows an illustration of a combination according to the invention of head covering and protective insert in the non-inserted position, and

[0034] FIG. 6 shows the combination from FIG. 5 with a protective insert inserted into the head covering.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] FIG. 1 shows a protective insert 1 according to the invention, which is designed for the purpose of integration into a covering portion, in the form of a half shell, of a head covering, such as a baseball cap. The protective insert 1 consists of a plurality of coherent portions 2, 3, 4, 5, wherein the portion 2 is the largest portion, which represents the central portion and is designed in a Y shape. In the basic form, said portion has three portion regions 2a, 2b and 2c, which extend from the center 6 as it were symmetrically or at an angle of 120° to the side. The portion regions 2a, 2b widen toward the edge, but are bounded at the edge via an as it were straight edge line, while the portion 2c indeed likewise widens toward the edge, but has a curved or circular arc-shaped cutout 7 at the edge, wherein the portion region 2c furthermore is slit to some extent via a slit 8. This portion region 2c sits on the rear side of the head, i.e. adjacent to the neck, in the wearing position.

[0036] By virtue of the Y shape, necessarily corresponding large-area cutouts 9, 10, 11 are obtained between two adjacent portion regions 2a, 2b and 2c. In the use position, when the protective insert 1 is laid so as to form the half-shell form, said cutouts are substantially filled via the portions 3, 4, 5, for which purpose the portions 3, 4, 5 have a form adapted to the form of the cutouts 9, 10, 11, wherein in the present case as it were church window-like geometries of the portions 3, 4, 5 are obtained.

[0037] Each portion 3, 4, 5 is connected to the adjacent portion region 2a, 2b, 2c at the edge via a connecting web 12, 13, 14, wherein it is apparent that these connecting webs 12, 13, 14 extend only a relatively short distance along the two adjacent edges of two adjacent portions and portion regions. The connecting webs 12, 13, 14 are considerably thinner than the edges of the adjacent portions 3, 4, 5 and/or portion regions 2a, 2b, 2c, with the result that they make it possible to very simply and flexibly adjust the portions 3, 4, 5 or portion regions 2a, 2b, 2c in relation to one another.

[0038] Formed at each portion 2, 3, 4, 5 or also in the portion regions 2a, 2b, 2c in each case is an edge portion 15a, 15b in relation to the portion regions 2a, 2b or 16, 17, 18 in relation to the portions 3, 4, 5. This respective edge portion 15a, 15b, 16, 17, 18 extends almost over the entire length of the respective portion edge or portion region edge, but has a considerably thinner design, which will be addressed below further in relation to FIG. 3.

[0039] The protective insert 1 itself is composed of a plastics material, preferably of a thermoplastic elastomer, and among these in particular a thermoplastic urethane. The plastics material has a Shore A hardness of 40-100, preferably 60-96, or a Shore D hardness of 15-70, preferably 20-64. The higher the hardness value, the harder is the material. The expedient hardness range is 60-95 in the case of Shore A.

[0040] Since the protective insert is a plastics component which is in one piece, it is preferably produced in a simple plastics injection-molding process using a corresponding injection mold. It is apparent that the protective insert 1 has a perforated form, that is to say that it has a multiplicity of through-holes, so that therefore it exhibits holes over its entire surface area that allow passage of air or moisture in the wearing position. For this purpose, in the exemplary embodiment shown, all of the portions 2, 3, 4, 5 are formed from dimensionally identical structural elements 19 which are arranged adjacent to one another, the height of which ultimately defines the thickness of the protective insert 1, and which are connected to one another via corresponding, considerably thinner connecting webs 20. This will also be further addressed below.

[0041] As described, the protective insert 1 serves for insertion into a covering portion, in the form of a half shell, of a head covering such as a baseball cap. For this purpose, the protective insert 1 can be brought into precisely such a half-shell form in the use position; see FIG. 2. This is made possible since, on the one hand, the protective insert 1 is very flexible or elastic by virtue of being produced from a thermoplastic elastomer, such as in particular the thermoplastic urethane, and accordingly can be laid readily into the corresponding form. On the other hand, the basic geometry of the individual portions 2, 3, 4, 5 that is shown in FIG. 1 ensures that a half-shell form which is almost losed is obtained in the use position. As FIG. 2 shows, in the use position or the half-shell form, the portions 3, 4, 5 are inserted in the cutouts 9, 10, 11 between the portion regions 2a, 2b, 2c; they are spaced apart from one another merely via a narrow gap.

[0042] That is to say that a half-shell form which is almost closed is provided, which is adapted exactly to the half-shell form of the inner side of the covering portion of the head covering. There is advantageously no overlapping of the adjacent portions or portion regions, which is conducive to the wearing comfort.

[0043] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through the protective insert 1 located in the basic position along the line III-III in FIG. 1. What is shown is firstly two structural elements 19, which are connected to one another via a connecting web 20. In the region of the sectional illustration that is shown on the left and shows the section of the part, directed toward the center 6, here of the portion region 2b, the thickness d1 or height of such a structural element 19 and thus of the protective insert 1 itself amounts to 4 mm; the thickness d1 is illustrated in FIG. 3. By contrast, the thickness d3 of a connecting web 20 in the example amounts to 1 mm; this thickness d3 is also illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0044] As can also be seen from FIG. 1, the sectional view runs through the edge of the portion region 2b. As shown clearly in FIG. 3, the thickness or height decreases over the length 11, which amounts to approx. 25 mm, in the direction of the edge. The structural element 19 illustrated fully in this region is shown clearly in a manner decreasing in its thickness. Proceeding from the base thickness d1=4 mm, at the edge a minimum thickness of d2=2 mm is obtained; this thickness is also depicted.

[0045] Finally, the corresponding edge portion 15b adjoins the edge directly, the thickness d4 of said edge portion likewise amounting to 1 mm, and the length 12 of said edge portion amounting to for example 5mm.

[0046] This geometry is provided at the edge on all portions 2, 3, 4, 5, that is to say that the bottom edge of the half shell narrows in the manner described in the half-shell form shown in FIG. 2.

[0047] FIG. 4 shows a further sectional view along the line IV-IV according to FIG. 1. Here, the connecting region between the portion region 2b and the portion 4 is shown. At the respectively adjacent edges, in turn in each case a structural element 19 is shown, wherein the two edges here are connected to one another via the connecting web 13. Said connecting web has a thickness d5 likewise of d5=1 mm, along with a width b of b≈3 mm, wherein this width can vary somewhat over the length.

[0048] As FIG. 1 but also FIGS. 3 and 4 show, the protective insert 1 is perforated over the entire surface area. On the one hand, the individual structural elements 19 have through-holes 21, as in particular FIGS. 3 and 4 show. On the other hand, however, also provided between two adjacent structural elements 19 are through-holes 22, in the region of which the connecting web 20 are provided. That is to say that accordingly obtained is both a perforation within the individual structural elements 19 and also in the regions between said structural elements, such that an extremely high degree of perforation which ensures a very good ventilation is provided.

[0049] In the exemplary embodiment shown, the structural elements have an annular form. Nevertheless, the geometry of the structural elements is not restricted to this. Also conceivable for example are polygonal forms, e.g. triangular or honeycomb-shaped hexagonal forms, i.e. in particular forms which can be interleaved well, with the result that a correspondingly high packing density is possible, in conjunction nevertheless with a high perforation rate.

[0050] FIGS. 5 and 6 show a combination 23 according to the invention of a protective insert 1 according to the invention and a head covering 24, here in the form of a baseball cap, which in a manner known per se has a covering portion 25 in the form of a half shell.

[0051] FIG. 5 shows the two parts next to one another, that is to say that the protective insert 1 is present in the planar form known from FIG. 1. Said protective insert is then inserted into the covering portion 25 from the inner side; FIG. 6 shows a sectional view.

[0052] The covering portion 25 has a turned-over inner edge 26 which is formed for example by sewing on a band or the like. This turned-over edge 26 runs at the edge accordingly parallel to the outer casing 27, which ultimately forms the actual covering portion 25. On account of this double-layer configuration, accordingly an encircling push-in portion 28 is obtained, into which the protective insert 1 laid so as to form the half-shell form is pushed with its edge 29 and in which it is fixed. The edge 29 is formed by the edge region that reduces in thickness over the length 11 and also the edge portion 15a, 15b or 16, 17, 18 that adjoins said edge region; see FIGS. 1 and 3. Since the material of the protective insert 1 is accordingly considerably thinner there than by comparison with the actual base area, accordingly, despite pushing the edge 28 into the push-in portion 28, no uncomfortable thickening of material is obtained there, that is to say that the wearing comfort is not uncomfortably changed despite pushing-in or integration.

[0053] If the head covering 24 equipped in this way with the protective insert 1 is worn, a very good head protection is thus offered against the impacting of a ball or another object compared with the mere, only single-layer head covering. That is to say that the impact impetus is cushioned or at least partially compensated via the elastic protective insert, and therefore in such a case the risk of injury can be reduced.

[0054] While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.