Multi-functional Headwear with Tubular Top attached to a brim or visor

Abstract

Multifunctional headwear comprised of a pliable fabric tubular top attached to a brim or visor. The headwear has a compatible attachment apparatus connected to the tubular top and the brim or visor respectively, so the parts can be quickly and easily interchanged to accommodate rapid changes in environments and style situations. This headwear allows for customizing the fit of the tubular top while attached to a brim or visor, by twisting, knotting, draping or folding it to offer optimal comfort and protection while on the head. The brim has a slit in the rear where the excess fabric of the tubular top can pass through and be held in place. Likewise, the visor has a elastic fabric tab attached to hold excess fabric from the top in place. The pliable brims, visors and tubular top make the headwear easy to pack and fit into pockets and compact bags without compromising the hat's shape and integrity.

Claims

1. A multifunctional headwear that completely or partially covers the head comprising: a tubular top and: a brim or visor and; an attachment apparatus connected on said tubular top, said brim or said visor.

2. The multifunctional headwear of claim 1, wherein the tubular top which is open on both ends and may be composed of any known textile, synthetic or natural material, is elastic and stretchable and; has a cross-sectional diameter of at least 6.5 inches and that can expand to 8.0 inches and; has a length of at least 20-30 inches and; has an attachment apparatus on one end which is compatible with the attachment apparatus on a corresponding brim or visor, which is used to attach the top to said brim or visor; or is permanently attached to the brim or visor.

3. The multifunctional headwear as of claim 1, wherein the brim can be of any style, shape or size and; may be composed of any known textile, synthetic or natural material and; has full circumferential coverage of the head above the eyes and ears and; has a slit positioned in the rear which is used to keep the excess fabric of the tubular top in place when draped or twisted back over the back of the head and; has an attachment apparatus, compatible with a corresponding top's attachment apparatus, which is used to attach the brim and top to each other; or is permanently fastened to the tubular top.

4. The multifunctional headwear as of claim 1, wherein said visor can be of any style, shape or size and; may be composed of any known textile, synthetic or natural material and; has full circumferential coverage of the head above the eyes and ears and; has a 4.0 inch by 0.5 inch elastic fabric tab attached to the rear which is used to keep the excess fabric of said tubular top in place when draped or twisted back over the back of the head and; has an attachment apparatus compatible with a corresponding top's attachment apparatus, and is used to attach the visor and top to each other; or is permanently fastened to the tubular top.

5. The multifunctional headwear as of claim 1, wherein the attachment apparatus of claim 1 is comprised of:

6. thread stitching permanently fastening the tubular top to the brim or visor or: a button system connected to said tubular top and said brim or said visor or; a snap fastener system connected to said tubular top and said brim or said visor or; a hook-and-loop fastening system connected to said tubular top and said brim or said visor or; a hook-and-eye fastening system connected to said tubular top and said brim or said visor.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] FIG. 1 is a perspective of the multifunctional headwear with a brim and permanently attached (sewn) tubular top stretched upwards in full length.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a perspective of the multifunctional headwear with the top tied in a knot.

[0022] FIG. 3 is a front view of the top rolled down and exposing the head while still attached to the brim.

[0023] FIG. 4 is a side view that shows the top twisted back over the head and tucked through the slit in the brim.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a back view of the multifunctional headwear that shows the tubular top draped back over the head and tucked through the slit in the brim.

[0025] FIG. 6 is a side view of the multifunctional headwear that shows the tubular top attached to the brim with a hook-and-loop (Velcro type) fastener attachment apparatus.

[0026] FIG. 7 is a perspective of the multifunctional headwear with a visor and permanently attached (sewn) tubular top stretched upwards in full length.

[0027] FIG. 8 is a side view of the multifunctional headwear with a visor and attached tubular top twisted and pulled back across the head and placed under the tab at the back of the visor.

[0028] FIG. 9 is a perspective of the multifunctional headwear with a button attachment apparatus.

[0029] FIG. 10 is a perspective of the multifunctional headwear with a snap button attachment apparatus.

[0030] FIG. 11 is a perspective of the multifunctional headwear with a hook-and-eye attachment apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] FIG. 1 shows the multi-functional headwear (also called the hat) with a seamless tubular fabric top 1 attached to a brim 2. The tubular top 1 is made of a thin pliable, stretchable fabric that can be synthetic, natural or a hybrid of both and may include ultraviolet protection. The tubular top 1 is cylindrical in shape with an elastic diameter of 6.5-7.5 inches and a length of 20-30 inches. The tubular top 1 has one end 3 that is open and makes it adaptable to be worn in a number of configurations: Knotted as shown in FIG. 2, rolled down as shown in FIG. 3, twisted as shown in FIG. 4, and draped back across the head and placed through the slit 4 at the base of the brim 2 as shown in FIG. 5

[0032] The brim 2 may be of any variety of common types such as the standard sun hat brim shown in FIG. 1. Other common brims could be from bowler hats, Fedora hats, cowboy hats, baseball caps, etc. All of the brims 2 lack a top part of the hat and are interchangeable with the tubular top 1 by having an attachment apparatus compatible with the top, as shown in FIG. 6 with hook-and-loop fasteners (Velcro type) consisting of hooks 5 and loops 6 attached to the tubular top 1.

[0033] The brim 2 for the hat has a slit 4 that is 3-4 inches in length and about 0.25 inches wide. It is situated at the back of the brim about of an inch from where the tubular top 1 attaches to the brim 2. The slit 4 is used to hold the excess length of the tubular top 1 in place when it is draped back or twisted over the back of the head and passed through the slit 4. This also allows the tubular top 1 to comfortably sit on the user's head by being easily adjusted to fit exactly how the user desires. FIG. 7 shows the tubular top 1 can also be attached to a visor 7. However, since the visor 7 lacks material in the back to hold a slit 4, it is replaced with an elastic tab 8 which is a piece of elastic fabric about 4 inches by 0.5 inches that has both ends attached to the back of the visor 7 so as to leave a space between the underside of the tab 8 and the visor's 7 rear rim which allows the tubular top 1 to pass through and be held in place as is shown in FIG. 8.

[0034] The attachment apparatus on the brim 2 or visor 7 and the tubular top 1 can consist of different methods such as shown in FIG. 9 with buttons 9 and corresponding button holes 10 surrounding the circumference of the brim 2 and tubular top 1 respectively. Other forms of attachment apparatus that can be implemented and function similar to the buttons 9. FIG. 10 shows a snap button apparatus with male 11 and female 12 connectors, and FIG. 11 shows a hook-and-eye apparatus with hooks 13 and eyes 14.

[0035] When the hat's brim 2 or visor 7 can be detached from the top 1, the brim 2 or visor 7 can still be worn on the head in the usual manner.