Protective head gear for aquatic sports

Abstract

A protective head-gear apparatus and a method for making the same is disclosed. The protective head-gear apparatus is buoyant and includes a cap and ear-guard that covers a user's ears while wearing the cap. The ear-guards include pads of cushions that are formed from a buoyant material and which are vented to allow water to pass through the ear-guard elements and allow the user to hear wearing the protective head-gear apparatus. In further embodiments of the invention, the ear-guards include outer shells or covers that are also vented. The ear-guard elements are permanently attached to the cap or alternatively are configured to detachably couple to the cap through an attachment mechanism.

1 . A protective head-gear apparatus comprising:
 a) a support structure for securing to a user's head; and   b) flotation ear-guard elements coupled to the support structure, such that the flotation ear-guard elements are positioned over ears of the user, while the support structure is secured to the user's head.   
   
   
       2 . The protective head-gear apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the flotation ear-guard elements includes vented padding structures formed from a foam material. 
   
   
       3 . The protective head-gear apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the flotation ear-guard elements further includes matched vented outer shells or covers formed from a plastic material. 
   
   
       4 . The protective head-gear apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the flotation ear-guard elements detachably couple to the support structure. 
   
   
       5 . The protective head-gear apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the flotation ear-guard elements detachably couple to the support structure through coupling features on the matched vented covers or outer shells. 
   
   
       6 . The protective head-gear apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the support structure is a cap. 
   
   
       7 . A buoyant head-gear comprising:
 a) a cap; and   b) ear-guard elements coupled to a cap, such that the ear-guard elements are positioned over ears of the user, while the cap is positioned over user's head.   
   
   
       8 . The buoyant head-gear of  claim 7 , wherein ear-guard elements include vented foam structures. 
   
   
       9 . The buoyant head-gear of  claim 8 , wherein the flotation ear-guard elements further include matched vented outer covers or shells formed from plastic. 
   
   
       10 . The buoyant head-gear of  claim 7 , wherein the ear-guard elements are detachably coupled to the support structure. 
   
   
       11 . The buoyant head-gear of  claim 10 , wherein the ear-guard elements detachably couple to the cap through coupling features on the matched vented outer covers or shells. 
   
   
       12 . The buoyant head-gear of  claim 7 , wherein the cap is formed from an elastic synthetic rubber material. 
   
   
       13 . A protective head-gear system comprising:
 a cap structure;   a set of interchangeable flotation ear-guard elements that detachably couple to the cap structure, such that the ear-guard elements protect a user's ear from impact while wearing the cap structure over the user's head.   
   
   
       14 . The protective head-gear system of  claim 13 , wherein ear-guard elements are fenestrated to allow water to pass through the ear-guard elements. 
   
   
       15 . The protective head-gear system of  claim 13 , wherein the ear-guard elements detachably couple to the cap structure through fenestrated covers or shells that house the foam cushion elements. 
   
   
       16 . A method of making a buoyant protective head gear, the method comprising:
 a) fashioning a cap structure;   b) forming buoyant ear-guard elements; and   c) coupling the buoyant ear-guard elements to the cap structure, such that the buoyant ear-guard elements are positioned over a user's ears with the cap positioned over the user's head.   
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the ear-guard elements are fenestrated or-vented. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the ear-guard elements include padding structures formed from foam and matched covers or shells formed from plastic. 
   
   
       19  The method of  claim 18 , wherein the ear-guard elements are detachably coupled to the cap structure through attachment features on the matched covers or shells and the cap structure. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the cap structure is formed from a synthetic rubber. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein coupling the buoyant ear-guard elements to the cap structure comprising one or more of sewing or gluing the buoyant ear-guard elements to the cap structure.