Suiter Swantz IP takes a look back at past inventions and inventors with our Patent of the Day.
On this day in 1954, John P. Kwake was granted U.S. Patent No. 2,684,483 for a UMBRELLA HAT.
An excerpt from the patent states:
This invention relates to protective coverings and particularly to a hat structure adaptable for use as a covering to protect the wearer from rain, sleet, snow, and the like.
From time immemorial those exposed to rain and the like have relied for protection from the elements on various types of clothing, such as hats and head coverings of various types. While such devices serve a certain purpose, they are usually inadequate for complete protection insomuch as they are not constructed to provide a surface covering the entire body and, moreover, permit the said rain to impinge upon the face, the neck and other portions of the body. In order to obviate this condition, it has likewise been customary to use umbrellas, parasols, and the like, which provide such a broad protective surface but have the disadvantage of being bulky, of being separate articles requiring separate handling, and of being subject to being lost, misplaced, or otherwise unavailable when use is desired.
To provide at the same time an article of wearing apparel not ordinarily subject to being lost, but having a broad protective surface for protection from the elements, it has been suggested in the past that features of hats or head coverings be combined with the features of the umbrella. However, such attempts have had little practical success, inasmuch as such contrivances are either too bulky to be worn as a hat, or, if not, too inadequate in serving as a protection from the elements.
Consequently, it is the object of this invention to provide a combined hat and umbrella having a large protective surface but still light and comfortable for use as an article of wearing apparel.
Again it is the object of the invention to provide such a combined hat and umbrella which, when not in use, can be reduced to a rolled up compact article, easily carried in the purse or the pocket as a small compact article of goods offering a minimum inconvenience to the carrier.
Further it is the object of this invention to provide the aforesaid article with means adapting it to simple affixation to the head, in order that it may adhere thereto and not become inadvertently removed by wind, bumping, or further accidental manner.
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