Hat assembly

Abstract

A hat configured and patterned to be associated with a helmet of selected sports team is provided with a facemask configured to regain its initial shape upon removing an external force sufficient to deform the portion.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A hat comprising at least one portion configured to have a reinforcing rib made from a shape memory material and a sleeve made of a soft material and surrounding the reinforcing rib, whereas the at least one portion assumes the desired initial position upon removing an external force applied to and sufficient to deform the reinforcing rib.  
     
     
         2 . The hat of  claim 1 , wherein the soft material is selected from the group consisting of fleece, wool, cotton, and a combination thereof  
     
     
         3 . The hat of  claim 1 , wherein the reinforcing rib is selected from mesh material or plastic.  
     
     
         4 . The hat of  claim 1 , wherein the hat has a main portion configured to extend complementary to the head of a user and shaped to have opposite sides configured to cover the ears of the user, the at least one portion being a facemask extending between the sides of the central portion and spaced frontward from the face of the user.  
     
     
         5 . A hat, comprising: 
 a body made from a soft material and having a shape of sports helmet when the hat is in use; and    a face mask including at least one part having opposite ends attached to spaced-apart locations of the body of the hat and a central portion extending frontwards from a face of user, the at least one part including:    an inner reinforcing rib made from a shape memory material and capable of deforming in response to an external force applied to the at least one part and of assuming an initial shape thereof upon removing the external force, and    an outer sleeve surrounding the reinforcing rib and made from the soft material extend complementary to the reinforcing rib.    
     
     
         6 . The hat of  claim 5 , wherein the soft material is selected from the group consisting of fleece, wool, cotton and a combination thereof.  
     
     
         7 . The hat of  claim 5 , wherein the reinforcing rib is selected from mesh material or plastic.  
     
     
         8 . The hat of  claim 5 , wherein the reinforcing rib is curved in the initial position thereof.  
     
     
         9 . The hat of  claim 5 , further comprising at least one second reinforcing rib having opposite ends thereof coupled to opposite ends of the at least one reinforcing rib and attached to the body of the hat, central portions of the at least one and second reinforcing ribs being spaced apart and bridged by at least one cross rib.  
     
     
         10 . The hat of  claim 9 , wherein the body of the hat is sawn from a plurality of segments having at least one central segment, the segments being code-colored to indicate colors of a selected sports team.  
     
     
         11 . The hat of  claim 10 , wherein the body of the hat has two spaced regions generally juxtaposed with ears of the user and each configured to have a respective patch made from the soft material an attached to an inner or outer side of a respective region.  
     
     
         12 . The hat of  claim 11 , wherein the patches each attached to the outer side of the body and provided with a logo of the selected sports team.  
     
     
         13 . A method of manufacturing a hat, comprising: 
 selecting a sports team from a group consisting of hockey, football and baseball;    shaping a body made from a soft material so that the shape of the hat substantially imitates a helmet of the selected sports team;    forming at least one hat component imitating a facemask of the helmet by providing an inner reinforcing rib made from a shape memory material and capable of deforming in response to an external force applied to the rib and of assuming an initial shape thereof upon removing the external force, and    surrounding the inner reinforcing rib by an outer sleeve made from the soft material, so as the outer sleeve extends complementary to the inner reinforcing element.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the soft material is selected from the group consisting of fleece, nylon, wool, cotton and a combination thereof.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the inner reinforcing rib is selected from metal wire or polymeric material.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein forming the body includes a step of coupling together as many segments made from the soft material and coupling the selected segments to form a decorative color-coded pattern associated with the selected sports team.