Protective head guard
A protective insert adapted to convert a standard baseball cap into a protective head guard, while maintaining the cap's desired attributes, such as comfort and stability. The protective insert of the present invention in combination with a baseball cap, not only protects a wearer from head injuries caused by impact force, but also has the attributes of stability, light weight and comfort so that it may be worn for extended periods during more intense activity than conventional baseball helmets.
1. A protective head guard, consisting essentially of:
a conventional fabric baseball cap ( 30 ) having a body with a base, a top, a back, a front and a bill at the front, wherein the baseball cap comprises an inner portion of the body of the cap ( 40 ) and an internal circumferentially disposed sweatband ( 35 ) having a base edge coinciding with and connected to the base of the cap and a top edge, the inner portion ( 40 ) and the sweatband ( 35 ) defining a space closed at the base of the cap and open at the top edge of the sweatband; and
a shock-absorbing form ( 10 ) conformable from an elongate flat configuration into a conical configuration for insertion into the cap ( 30 ), the form comprising:
a base portion having an arcuate profile extending the entire length of said base portion when the form is in the flat configuration and an inner radius side having a concave configuration when the form is in said flat configuration and an outer radius side with respect to the arcuate profile, said base portion comprising on its outer radius side one or more insertable sections ( 20 ) sized and configured for insertion into the space, and
a plurality of flaps ( 26 ) extending from the inner radius side of the base portion, said plurality of flaps sized and configured to conform to the inner portion of the body of the cap ( 40 ),
wherein said shock-absorbing form is inserted in the baseball cap such that the one or more insertable sections ( 20 ) are inserted into the space and the flaps ( 26 ) extend toward the top of the cap conforming to the inner portion of the body of the cap above the top edge of the sweatband, thereby forming the protective head guard.
2. The protective head guard of claim 1 , wherein the shock-absorbing form comprises, foam rubber, gel foam or rubberized gel foam.
3. The protective head guard of claim 1 , further comprising one or more protrusions.
4. The protective head guard of claim 3 , wherein each of the flaps comprises one or more protrusions.
5. The protective head guard of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of notches ( 25 ) are disposed along the base portion of the form whereby multiple insertable sections of the base portion are defined.
6. The protective head guard of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of flaps ( 26 ) comprise a centrally disposed, middle flap.
7. The protective head guard of claim 6 , wherein the middle flap extends farther from the base portion than the other flaps.
8. The protective head guard of claim 1 , wherein the internal circumferential sweatband is discontinuous at the back of the cap.