Rotating Headwear Ornament

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Appl. No. 63/647,181 filed May 14, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present invention generally relates to a rotating headwear ornament, and more particularly to a decorative element configured for attachment to headwear and configured to revolve around the headwear, such as a hat.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, a rotating headwear ornament is provided that may include a housing having a motor disposed therein, wherein the motor comprises a drive shaft configured for rotation and extending from the housing, a clip configured to secure the housing to a headwear, wherein the clip comprises an opening configured to allow passage of the drive shaft through the clip, a platform configured for operative engagement with the drive shaft, and a stalk eccentrically operatively connected to the platform at one end of the stalk, and configured for connection to an ornament at the other end of the stalk.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the housing comprises a cover and a body, wherein the cover comprises a hole configured to allow passage of the drive shaft through the cover, and at least one aperture configured for releasable engagement with the clip, wherein the body is configured for retention of the motor within the housing.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the clip comprises at least one post configured for releasable engagement with the housing.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the stalk is comprised of a flexible resilient material.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the ornament may have an appearance of one or more of an insect, a flower, a message, a slogan, a salutation, an image, a star, a rainbow or a combination thereof.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the rotating headwear ornament may also include one or more pads positioned on a surface of the housing opposite the surface from which the drive shaft extends.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the rotating headwear ornament may also include at least one channel configured to retain a power supply within the housing, and at least one electrical contact configured to electrically couple the power supply to the motor.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the stalk is electrically coupled to the power supply, and the stalk may be comprised of an electrically conductive material.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the housing may include at least one aperture configured for releasable engagement with the at least one post of the clip.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the clip may include at least one post configured for releasable engagement with the at least one aperture of the cover of the housing.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the rotating headwear ornament may also include a counter-weight operatively coupled to the platform.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the clip may be eye-shaped.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the clip may be round.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the stalk may be comprised of a filament.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the ornament may be electrically coupled to the power supply.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the ornament may be configured for 360 degree rotation about the headwear.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the headwear may be a hat.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the drive shaft may be configured to cause rotation of the platform within a first plane, and the ornament may be configured for movement within the first plane or a second plane at least substantially parallel to the first plane and a third plane at least substantially perpendicular to the first plane.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, rotation of the drive shaft may be transferred to rotation of the platform.

According to this and other exemplary aspects of the present invention, the housing may be positioned within an interior region of the headwear, and the clip, the platform and the stalk may be positioned on an exterior portion of the headwear.

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Referring now to, therein illustrated is an exemplary embodiment of a rotating headwear ornament, generally indicated by reference number, according to an aspect of the present invention. The rotating headwear ornamentmay include a housinghaving a motordisposed within the housing. The motormay include a drive shaft, and the motoris configured to cause rotation of the drive shaftabout the longitudinal axis of the drive shaft. The housingmay include a coverand a body, and the covermay be removably affixed to the bodyby one or more fasteners, for example screws, and/or the coverand the bodymay be snap-fit together. The bodyis configured to retain the motorwithin the housingand inhibit movement of the motorwithin the housing. The covermay include a holeformed therein, through which holethe drive shaftof the motormay pass through so that the drive shaftextends from the housing. The rotating headwear ornamentmay also include a platformconfigured for operative engagement with the drive shaftso that rotation of the drive shaftcauses rotation of the platform. The rotating headwear ornamentmay further include a stalkeccentrically operatively connected to the platformso that rotational movement of the platformis transferred to the stalk. The stalkmay be formed of a flexible but resilient filament, and one end of the stalkmay be connected to the platform, and the other end of the stalkmay be connected to an ornament, for example a butterfly, or other insect, such as a dragonfly, bee, ladybug, firefly, or the like. The ornamentmay also take the form of a phrase, salutation, word, greeting, slogan, message or the like. The ornamentmay also be a design, such as a flower, star, rainbow, or the like, or a logo or other image. The stalkmay be formed from an electrically conductive material such that power from the housingmay be transferred to the ornament, for example if the ornamentincludes one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) (not shown), for example, the ornamentmay be a firefly with a light-up body portion (not shown). The eccentric positioning of the stalkon the platformallows the ornamentto revolve around the housingwhen the platformis rotated by the drive shaftof the motor. In this manner, the ornamentmay travel a substantially circular path 360 degrees around the housing, but due to the eccentric positioning of the stalkand flexible, resilient nature of the stalk, the ornamentmay also have movement in other directions along an axis that may be substantially perpendicular to the substantially circular path, for example, by providing a fluttering effect to the ornament. The rotating headwear ornamentmay also include a counter-weightattached to the platformso that rotation of the platformis smooth. The rotating headwear ornamentmay further include a clipconfigured to removably secure the rotating headwear ornamentto a headwear, for example, a hat. The clipmay be eye-shaped, see, e.g.,, or round, see, e.g.,. The clipmay include an openingconfigured to allow passage of the drive shaftthrough the clip, so that the drive shaftmay operatively engage with the platform. The clipmay also include at least one post, where each postis configured for releasable engagement with a corresponding apertureformed in the coverof the housing. In this manner, the clipmay be positioned on the outside of the hat, and the postsare inserted through the hatto engage with the apertureson the coverof the housingpositioned in the interior of the hat. As a result of the sandwich arrangement of the clipand the housingon either sides of the hat, the rotating headwear ornamentmay be secured to the hat. The rotating headwear ornamentmay also include one or more padspositioned on a side of the housingopposite the side of the housingfrom which the draft shaftextends. The padsmay be made from a cushioning material, for example, foam, so as to provide padding between the housingand the head of a wearer of the hathaving the rotating headwear ornamentdisposed thereon. The rotating headwear ornamentmay also include one or more channelsformed in the housingfor receipt of one or more power supplies, for example batteries (not shown), to supply power to the rotating headwear ornamentfor operation of the motor. One or more electrical contactsmay be disposed in the one or more channelsto provide electrical connection between the motorand/or a printed circuit board. A switch, which may be operatable by a buttonmay be positioned in electrical contact between the power supply and motorin order to allow control of operation of the motor. The housingmay further include a removable access doorto allow access to the one or more channelsfor replacement of the power supplies, i.e., batteries (not shown). It is understood that the rotating headwear ornamentand components thereof may be made of any suitable material.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained and, since certain changes may be made in the above article without departing from the scope of this invention, it is intended that all matter contained in this disclosure or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted, as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is to be understood that all of the present figures, and the accompanying narrative discussions of corresponding embodiments, do not purport to be completely rigorous treatments of the invention under consideration. It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.