Blunt force protection ball cap technology

Abstract

Headgear having a cap portion configured to fit the head of a user and cover a top portion of the user's head, the cap portion including a layer of a fabric material, and at least one piece or layer of impact absorbing material attached to the layer of fabric material, wherein the impact absorbing material provides enhanced protection from impact to the user's head.

1 . Headgear wearable by a user, the headgear comprising:
 a cap portion configured to fit the head of a user and cover a top portion of the user's head, the cap portion including a layer of a fabric material; and   at least one piece of impact absorbing material attached to the layer of fabric material, wherein the impact absorbing material provides enhanced protection from impact to the user's head.   
     
     
         2 . The headgear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one piece of impact absorbing material includes a plurality of triangular shaped pieces secured to the layer of fabric material. 
     
     
         3 . The headgear of  claim 2 , wherein the plurality of triangular shaped pieces are secured to the fabric material layer in one or more pockets formed by or coupled with the fabric material. 
     
     
         4 . The headgear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one piece of impact absorbing material is removably attached to the layer of fabric material. 
     
     
         5 . The headgear of  claim 4 , wherein the impact absorbing material is removably attached using Velcro attachments. 
     
     
         6 . The headgear of  claim 4 , wherein the impact absorbing material is removably attached by insertion into pockets in the fabric material. 
     
     
         7 . The headgear of  claim 1 , further including a visor portion attached to the cap portion. 
     
     
         8 . The headgear of  claim 1 , wherein the impact absorbing material includes a material selected from the group consisting of Y-20 foam and SHOCKtec™ foam. 
     
     
         9 . The headgear of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one piece of impact absorbing material is formed by a thermoforming process to match an inner part of the cap portion. 
     
     
         10 . The headgear of  claim 1 , wherein the headgear includes one of a baseball cap or a military cloth cap.