Baseball cap with elastic hinge

Claim 1

In a multi-size cap structure adapted to accommodate wearers of various sizes of heads and including a multi-gore shell forming the crown portion, a visor portion secured to the forward edge of said shell and extending outwardly therefrom, an elongated band forming an ear flap portion hingedly secured to the base of said shell about the lateral and rear portions thereof, and adapted to be folded inwardly and upwardly in an upwardly folded first disposition, and downwardly about the ears of the wearer in an ear-enveloping disposition, and hinge means securing said elongated band to said crown portion along the length thereof, the improvement comprising: (a) said multi-gore shell forming the crown portion being fabricated from a biaxially stretchable fabric and capable of being stretched along the longitudinal and lateral axes thereof; (b) said elongated band forming said ear flap portion being stretchable along at least the longitudinal axis thereof and adapted to elongate upon stretching of the crown portion to accommodate the head of the wearer; (c) said hinge means comprising a panel of fabric having a generally central longitudianl axis and first and second laterally disposed side portions on opposite sides thereof, said hinge panel fabric being stretchable at least along the longitudinal axis thereof and having said first and second lateral side portions secured to said crown portion and ear flap portion respectively at first and second stitch lines spaced at predetermined distances from the lateral edges of said crown portion and ear flap portion respectively; (d) said crown portion and said ear flap portion being in substantial abutment along their lateral edges said lateral edges having a thickness less than the nominal thickness of the crown portion and flap portion, respectively, and defining a juncture line generally coincident with the axis of said hinge means; and (e) the distance between said longitudinal axis of the hinge means and the uppermost plane of nominal thickness in said flap portion being greater than the width of said first laterally disposed side portion so that the ear flap portion, at all of its points of nominal flap portion thickness, overlaps no more than one layer of hinge means when said ear flap portion is in said inwardly folded disposition.