HEADBAND FACILITATING FREE AIRFLOW

Abstract

A headband facilitating free airflow to the scalp is disclosed, comprising a support structure and a plurality of spacers. The spacers extend between the support structure and the wearer's scalp, creating a hair space for ventilation and defining scalp touch zones for comfortable support. The support structure can be a belt, a ring, or integrated directly into the hat body. Spacers may be helical (spiral), posts, or other shapes. In a preferred embodiment, spacers in the forehead region are modified for enhanced sweat absorption, such as by wrapping a portion of a helical spacer with an absorbent material. A jig is also disclosed for facilitating assembly of the headband. The headband provides improved ventilation and comfort compared to traditional headbands.

Claims

1. A headband for reducing sweat accumulation and increasing airflow to a wearer's scalp when worn on the wearer's head, the headband comprising: a support structure configured to be positioned adjacent to the wearer's head; and a plurality of spacers attached to the support structure, wherein each spacer is configured to extend between the support structure and the wearer's scalp and to penetrate the wearer's hair, if any, when the headband is worn, wherein each spacer has a contact portion defining a scalp touch zone configured to contact the wearer's scalp, and wherein the spacers are arranged to define an air space between adjacent spacers, the air space extending from the support structure to a plane representing the wearer's scalp, excluding the scalp touch zones, and wherein the air space has at least 70% open area.

2. The headband of claim 1, wherein the plurality of spacers are discrete spacers.

3. The headband of claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of discrete spacers comprises a post.

4. The headband of claim 1, wherein the plurality of spacers are formed by a helical structure.

5. The headband of claim 1, wherein a portion of the spacing structure located in a forehead region of the support structure is wrapped with an absorbent material.

6. The headband of claim 5, wherein the absorbent material is soft.

7. The headband of claim 1, further comprising an absorbent pad attached to the support structure in a forehead region.

8. The headband of claim 1, wherein each scalp touch zone has a surface area between 0.1 mm.sup.2 and 25 mm.sup.2.

9. The headband of claim 1, wherein each scalp touch zone has a surface area between 0.5 mm.sup.2 and 10 mm.sup.2.

10. The headband of claim 1, wherein the air space has at least 50% open area.

11. The headband of claim 1, wherein the support structure is a substantially circular band.

12. The headband of claim 1, wherein the support structure is a substantially flat ring.

13. The headband of claim 1, wherein the support structure comprises a portion of a hat body, and wherein the plurality of spacers are attached directly to the hat body.

14. The headband according to claim 1, wherein the spacers are made of a material selected from the group consisting of: plastic, rubber, silicone, foam, and a combination thereof.

15. The headband according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of spacers has a cross-sectional shape selected from the group consisting of: circular, oval, rectangular, and semi-circular.

16. A jig for assembling a headband, the jig comprising a base with a channel sized to receive a portion of a helical spacer, and a surrounding skirt configured to support a ring-shaped support structure.

17. A method of making a headband comprising: providing a support structure; and attaching a plurality of spacers to the support structure according to claim 1.

18. A method of wearing a headband comprising placing the headband of claim 1 on a wearer's head, wherein the spacers penetrate the wearer's hair, if any, and contact the wearer's scalp.

19. A hat, comprising: a crown; and a headband according to claim 1, wherein the headband is secured to the crown.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0005] The features of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, where like elements are labeled similarly, and in which:

[0006] FIG. 1A schematic slice side view of a head showing the position of a spiral and two possible support structures.

[0007] FIG. 1B schematic top view of head showing position of spiral and support structure like a belt.

[0008] FIG. 2A schematic side view slice of the headband support structure formed as a ring and a spiral attached near the edge.

[0009] FIG. 2B schematic side view slice of headband support structure formed as ring and the spiral placed on the inside edge of the ring.

[0010] FIG. 2C bottom view of a hat with a ring type support structure and edge attached spiral.

[0011] FIG. 3 top view perspective drawing of spiral headband connected to a vertical support belt.

[0012] FIG. 4 a post with a rounded tip.

[0013] FIG. 5 a jig for assembling a headband.

[0014] All drawings are schematic and not necessarily to scale. Parts given a reference numerical designation in one figure may be considered to be the same parts where they appear in other figures without a numerical designation for brevity unless specifically labeled with a different part number and described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

General Considerations

[0015] The features and benefits of the invention are illustrated and described herein by reference to exemplary embodiments. This description of exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. Accordingly, the disclosure expressly should not be limited to such exemplary embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features.

[0016] In the description of embodiments disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as lower, upper, horizontal, vertical,, above, below, up, down, top and bottom as well as derivative thereof (e.g., horizontally, downwardly, upwardly, etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms such as attached, affixed, connected, coupled, interconnected, and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.

Overall Structure and Components

Spacers

[0017] The invention works by providing a plurality of discrete locations near the bottom circumference of a hat, the headband area, that are furnished with structures we will call spacers that penetrate the hair and contact the scalp. If there is no hair the spacers provide air space. As used herein, the term spacer refers to a structural element designed to create and maintain a separation between the hat body and the wearer's scalp. The ideal spacer will have a thin central portion that minimizes restriction of airflow and a contact area that touches the scalp which is designed for comfort, which may in some cases be accomplished by adding surface area at the contact area. The touch zones are designed to minimize getting hair between the touch zone and the scalp to minimize hat hair. The spacers are dimensioned and arranged to create two distinct regions of openness: a hair space and scalp touch zones. The hair space is defined as the area between adjacent spacers, extending from the support structure to a plane representing the wearer's scalp, excluding the scalp touch zones. The spacers are configured to maximize the open area of the hair space, with at least 70%, and preferably at least 85%, of this area remaining unobstructed to facilitate airflow and minimize hair compression. This is achieved by the spacing between adjacent spacers and the narrow cross-sectional profile of each spacer in at least one dimension relative to its length. The scalp touch zones are defined as the areas where the contact portions of the spacers contact the wearer's scalp. Each scalp touch zone has a surface area between 0.5 mm.sup.2 and 10 mm.sup.2, and more preferably between 1 mm.sup.2 and 5 mm.sup.2. While these zones necessarily occupy some space, their combined area is minimized to maintain overall airflow. The scalp touch zones are preferably smooth, rounded, or otherwise contoured to distribute pressure and maximize comfort. The contact surface may optionally be textured with micro-features, such as dimples or ridges with a height/depth less than 0.5 mm, to further enhance comfort and/or grip.

Support Structure

[0018] The spacers must be attached to something to hold them in the proper location and orientation. In the general case we will call this the Support Structure. I talk about three such structures in this document. The first is a belt which is similar to a normal headband. It is a circular band, oriented vertically to surround the head and may be used to adjust tension. A belt of this type may be furnished with spacers, and the entire structure may be mounted in a hat. An alternative to a belt is a flat oval ring with spacers mounted on or neat the inside edge to contact the scalp. This ring with spacers may be mounted into a hat. Ring support structures may provide a degree of adaptability in fit.

[0019] Another way to provide appropriately positioned spacers is to affix them directly to the interior of the hat body. This may be accomplished by molding the spacers into the body of the hat. In this embodiment it may be advantageous to vary the distribution and pattern of spacer locations.

Combining the Parts

[0020] When the parts are assembled the result is a new type of headband. As used herein, the term headband refers to a band or structure configured to be worn on a wearer's head, and encompasses both standalone headbands and headbands that are integrated into or attached to other headwear, such as hats, helmets, or other head coverings.

[0021] Figure FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a headband according to the present disclosure. Unlike traditional belt headbands which hold a hat in place at the expense of compressing the hair and blocking airflow my headband allows for significant ventilation without compromising the ability to bind the hat to the head.

[0022] My invention may form a headband where the part that contacts the scalp is made of spaced apart structures that slide through the hair and touch the scalp with less or no compression of hair and permitting airflow into and out of the hat, to the scalp, and horizontally through the headband. These shapes may serve as spacers to maintain an air gap between the hat and the scalp.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 1 we consider an embodiment where a spiral spacer is used attached to a belt. The spiral slides into the hair until it contacts the scalp so it does not compress the hair. Fig FIG. 1A is a cutaway side view. Item 3 is an end slice view of the spiral. It looks like a circle from this perspective. The drawing shows how the spiral ovals (3) slip through/past the hair (2) and touch the scalp (1). Since the spiral spaces the belt (9) away from the scalp the hair (2) is not compressed or not compressed as much as a normal belt type headband would do.

[0024] FIG. 1B shows a top view of the complete circumference of the spiral spacer (3) attached to a belt (9) encircling the head. Item 9 depicts the belt. It may be a belt of any suitable material and may be sizable or not. It may be elastic or flexible or more rigid.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a perspective drawing of a belt with a spiral affixed to the inside and a person's head (1) inside the spiral.

[0026] FIG. 1A item 10 depicts using a ring for the support structure. It may be oriented nominally at 0 degrees (horizontal) as in 10 to allow dynamic tension when the hat is put on and lifted off. These examples are provided to give a sense of the possibilities but are not an exhaustive list. A more complete depiction of a ring is depicted in FIG. 2. FIG. 2C depicts a bottom view of a hat with a ring (9) supporting a spiral (3) spacer.

[0027] The spiral allows airflow in all directions, thus allowing unrestricted airflow within the hair. Air can flow up and down into and out of the headwear body, horizontally within the spiral, diagonally through the spiral and permits airflow across the scalp in the region of the headband. Since the spiral does not continuously bind the scalp but has gaps between the points that touch the scalp it may have less of a tourniquet effect and allow improved blood flow across the scalp. While the word spiral is used to convey the general principle of operation of this type of spacer the spirals may have other shapes. For example FIG. 1 depicts a half circle 4, a long oval 5, and a rectangle with rounded corners 6 could be formed in a spiral like structure. All of these are encompassed by the word spiral in this document.

[0028] A spiral is not the only type of spacer that may be used. Another embodiment may be a series of discrete rings, fingers or posts that are held in position by the support structure. FIG. 1 items 7 and 8 show two such structures as does FIG. 4 which depicts close up view of a post with a rounded tip. Any structure that penetrates the hair and holds the support structure away from the scalp is satisfactory. These examples are provided to give a sense of the possibilities. Many other shapes can be used to accomplish the same purpose.

[0029] Another example embodiment may mount the spacer objects throughout the sidewalls of the hat instead of in a headband region. This ensures that all parts of the crown so treated have good ventilation.

Forehead Region Modification

[0030] In a preferred embodiment, the forehead region of the headband incorporates features to enhance sweat absorption and comfort. This forehead region typically spans an arc of approximately 60 to 120 degrees along the circumference of the support structure (FIG. 1 item's 9 and 10), corresponding to the wearer's forehead. In embodiments employing spiral spacers (3), the portion of the spiral spacer (3) located within the forehead region is wrapped with an absorbent material. In other embodiments the spacers in the forehead region may be different than the spacers in other areas.

Enablement

[0031] I have built these headbands using ring structures. I used 3D modeling software, Blender, to produce the cut files which are sent to a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, such as a Cricut. I have found felt to be a good choice because it does not fray after being cut, so it needs no post-processing. Felt is also available in many weights and stiffnesses. Additionally, other materials such as leather, foam, and various fabrics can be used depending on the desired properties of the headband. I use a jig (FIG. 5) which has a channel (51) to hold the spiral and a rigid surrounding skirt (52) to hold the ring. With the parts securely held in place, it is efficient to apply adhesive to join the two objects.

[0032] It is also possible to make a complete CAD drawing of the headband which can be 3D printed or used as the basis for injection molding. The CAD drawing allows for precise customization and optimization of the headband's design, ensuring that it meets specific requirements for fit, comfort, and functionality.

[0033] For 3D printing, various materials can be used, such as PLA, ABS, or flexible filaments like TPU. Each material offers different properties, such as rigidity, flexibility, and durability, allowing for the creation of headbands that cater to different needs and preferences. The 3D printing process enables rapid prototyping and iterative design improvements, making it an ideal method for developing and refining the headband.

[0034] Injection molding, on the other hand, is suitable for mass production. This process involves creating a mold based on the CAD drawing and injecting molten material, such as plastic or silicone, into the mold. Once the material cools and solidifies, the headband is ejected from the mold. Injection molding offers high precision and consistency, making it an excellent choice for producing large quantities of headbands with uniform quality.

[0035] Additionally, the headband can be manufactured using traditional methods, such as cutting and assembling components from various materials. For example, felt, leather, foam, and fabrics can be cut into the desired shapes and sizes using a CNC machine or laser cutter. These components can then be assembled using adhesives, stitching, or other fastening methods. This approach allows for a wide range of material combinations and design variations, providing flexibility in the headband's appearance and performance.

CONCLUSION

[0036] While the foregoing description and drawings represent exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, it will be understood that various additions, modifications and substitutions may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope and range of equivalents of the accompanying claims. In particular, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other forms, structures, arrangements, proportions, sizes, and with other elements, materials, and components, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. In addition, numerous variations in the methods/processes described herein may be made within the scope of the present disclosure. One skilled in the art will further appreciate that the embodiments may be used with many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, sizes, materials, and components and otherwise, used in the practice of the disclosure, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from the principles described herein. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The appended claims should be construed broadly, to include other variants and embodiments of the disclosure, which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents.