CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application derives priority from 60/550,941 for “DISPOSABLE SWEAT STRIPS”; Filed Mar, 4, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to sanitary accessories for the forehead area of hats, and more particularly, to a disposable sweat strip for keeping hats sanitary despite multiple wearings.

2. Description of the Background

It is not uncommon for hats to be worn by multiple people, or multiple times by the same person. This is especially true in commercial environments such as construction facilities, where teams of workers may share a limited number of hard hats, or individuals may use a personal hard hat day after day. Depending on the difficulty of the work and the ambient heat, a worker might sweat profusely at the forehead and saturate his brow. Nevertheless, at the end of the day the hard hat is returned to the rack. The next day, whoever winds up with the hat finds in disgust that the inner brim is soiled with grime. This obviously can be offensive and creates severe sanitary and potential liability issues. One solution is regular cleaning, but this entails abrasives or caustic chemicals that can ruin the hat or harm the worker. It would be greatly advantageous to provide a better solution to maintain the cleanliness and sanitation of shared or personal hats.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, the primary object of the present invention to provide a disposable sweat strip for hard hats or any other hat, which can be inserted over the brow to absorb sweat and grime on a daily basis, and yet disposed of at the end of the day leaving the hat fresh for the next day's wear either by the same or a different user.

This and other objects are accomplished by a sweat absorbent fabric strip with temporary adhesive on one side that can be applied (adhered) to the brow of a hat to absorb sweat and grime. A plurality of such strips may be dispensed in pre-packaged form from a box dispenser. After using the hat with sweat absorbent fabric strip according to the present invention, the user simply discards the strip and the hat is ready for use the next day by the same or another user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and certain modifications thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sweat absorbent fabric strip 6 according to the present invention as applied to a ball cap 2.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sweat absorbent fabric strip 6 according to the present invention as applied to a construction hard hat 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is a sweat absorbent fabric strip 6 with temporary adhesive 8 on one side. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sweat absorbent fabric strip 6 according to the present invention as applied to a ball cap.

FIG. 2 is perspective view of the sweat absorbent fabric strip 6 according to the present invention as applied to a construction hard hat 4.

In either the case of a ball cap 2 (FIG. 1) or a construction hard hat 4 (FIG. 2), fabric strip 6 is formed as a rectangular strip approximately 7″ long such that it can be adhered across the brow, accommodating all forehead sizes. The fabric strip 6 is layered with self-adhesive 8 on one side and by removing a backing can be adhered inside the hat lengthwise across the brow. A removable paper backing is suitable for protecting the self-adhesive 8 until use.

Preferably, the sweat absorbent fabric strip 6 is pre-packaged in cellophane or the like much like a band-aid for one-time disposable use. A plurality of such strips may be dispensed in pre-packaged form from a box dispenser.

The fabric strip 6 preferably comprises two porous paper cloth or fabric layers 10 a & 10 b and an absorbent foam layer 12 sandwiched between the two paper/cloth layers. The two paper/cloth layers 10 a & 10 b may be any suitbale thin woven or otherwise porous paper. For example, the inner paper/cloth layer 10 b may be cellulosic filter paper that is hydrophilic (water absorbent), while the outer paper/cloth layer 10 a is also cellulosic filter paper treated to be hydrophobic (water repellent). A perfluoromethylcyclohexane (PFMCH) treatment may be used for thius purpose. The foam layer 12 sandwiched there between may beany conventional reticulated absorbent foam such as felted foam traditonally used for wicking. The two porous paper cloth or fabric layers 10 a & 10 b may be heat or compression bound together along their sides. This particular hydrophilic/absorbent/hydrophobic sandwich configuration provides great water retentivity when moistened by sweat and yet wicks the sweat away from the user's forehead to maintain a comfortable dry feeling. Hydrophobic layer 10 b prevents wetting and staining of the cap 2. The temporary adhesive 8 is a conventional tacky adhesive such as is readily available from 3M Company.

In use, the fabric strip 6 is removed from its packaging, protective paper-backing is removed from the adhesive 8, and the strip 6 is applied (adhered) inside the hat across the brow to absorb sweat and grime. After using the hat with sweat absorbent fabric strip according to the present invention, the user simply discards the strip and the hat is ready for use the next day by the same or another person.

Having now fully set forth the preferred embodiment and certain modifications of the concept underlying the present invention, various other embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of the embodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with said underlying concept. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth in the appended claims.