Background of the Invention When using binoculars, such as at a sporting event or bird watching, it is usual to carry the binoculars around the viewer's neck via a strap such that the binoculars lay on the viewer's chest whilst not in use. When the viewer seeks to magnify his view, it is necessary to lift the binoculars from his chest and hold them in front of his eyes with at least one hand, with both hands often being required to hold the binoculars steady in front of the viewer's eyes.

Needing to hold the binoculars manually during viewing can become tiring, holding the arms in an elevated position, and also interferes with other activities typically associated with sports viewing such as hand clapping and eating and drinking.

Object of the Invention It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages.

Summary of the Invention In a broad form the present invention provides a hat having a crown and a brim projecting therefrom, wherein at least a free end portion of said brim is hingedly mounted with respect to said crown, the hinged brim portion being provided with means for mounting a pair of binoculars therebeneath.

Preferably, said mounting means is adapted to adjust the distance between the binoculars and said crown.

Preferably, said mounting means is adapted to adjust the distance between the binoculars and said brim.

Preferably said mounting means is adapted to adjust the angular orientation of said binoculars with respect to said brim.

Said mounting means may comprise at least one mounting bracket depending from said hinged brim portion and a carriage member detachably mounted on said at least one mounting bracket and adapted to receive a pair of binoculars.

Said mounting means may include fore and aft said mounting brackets, said carriage member being detachably mounted on said fore and aft mounting brackets by ratchet means enabling adjustment of the distance between the binoculars and said brim at each of said fore and aft mounting brackets.

Said mounting means may be configured to slidingly receive a pair of binoculars.

Said mounting means may include a wheel adapted to frictionally engage the binoculars for displacing the binoculars upon rotation of said wheel.

The free end portion of said brim may be hingedly mounted with respect to said crown by means of a curved foldline provided in the upper surface of said brim.

The hat may be in the form of a cap, said brim being in the form of a peak projecting from the front of said crown.

Preferably, said cap is in the form of a baseball cap.

Alternatively, said brim may extend around the entire periphery of said crown.

Preferably, a stiffening strap extends about the rim of said crown.

In one form, said crown consists of said stiffening strap.

In another broad form there is provided, in combination, a hat as defined above with a pair of binoculars mounted to said mounting means.

Brief Description of the Drawings Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a hat with binoculars mounted on the hat brim in a viewing position.

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the hat and binoculars of Figure 1 with the brim in a non-viewing position.

Figure 3 is a front elevation view of the hat of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the hat of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a side elevation view of a mounting means of the hat of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a plan view of an alternative hat.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the hat of Figure 6 taken at Section 7-7.

Figure 8 is a side elevation view of the carriage member of an alternative mounting means.

Figure 9 is a side elevation view of the mounting means incorporating the carriage member of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a further side elevation view of the mounting means of Figure 9 depicting angular adjustment of the binocular location.

Figure 11 is a further side elevation view of the mounting means of Figure 9 depicting fore and aft adjustment of the binocular location.

Figure 12 is a front elevation view of the mounting means of Figure 9.

Figure 13 is a plan view of the mounting means of Figure 9.

Figure 14 is a side elevation view of a further hat with binoculars mounted on the hat brim in a viewing position.

Figure 15 is a side elevation view of the hat and binoculars of Figure 14 with the binoculars in a non-viewing position.

Figure 16 is a front elevation view of the hat of Figure 14.

Figure 17 is a plan view of the hat of Figure 14 with the binoculars in a non-viewing position.

Figure 18 is a perspective view from below of the hat of Figure 14.

Figure 19 is a perspective view from above of the frame of the hat of Figure 14.

Figure 20 is a perspective view from below of the mounting means of the hat of Figure 14.

Figure 21 is a further perspective view of the mounting means of Figure 20.

Figure 22 is a cross sectional side elevation view of the mounting means of Figure 20.

Figure 23 is a perspective view from below of the mounting means of Figure 20 with binoculars mounted thereto.

Figure 24 is a perspective view of another alternative hat.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments With reference to Figures 1 to 4, a hat 1, here in the form of a baseball cap, has a crown 2 from the front of which projects a brim, in the form of a peak 3. The peak 3 has a forward free end 3a which is hingedly mounted with respect to a root end 3b of the peak and the crown 2. The hinged portion 3a of the peak 3 is hinged about hinge 4. Whilst the entire peak 3 could be arranged to hinge along a hinge line at the intersection between the root of the peak 3 and the crown 2, it is preferred that the hinge 4 be positioned on the peak 3 slightly forward of the crown 2 such that the hinge 4 will be mounted on the more solid surface of the peak 3 rather than the crown 2 which is typically formed of a softer more pliable material. To provide significant rigidity to the hinged and root portions 3a,

3b of the peak, it is preferred that the entire peak 3 be formed of a plastics material which may be covered with fabric to match the crown 2 as desired.

The hinge 4 is configured to pivot the peak hinged portion 3a between a "viewing position", where the hinged and root peak portions 3a, 3b are aligned with the peak 3 projecting forward of the crown so as to provide the appearance of a regular baseball cap (as depicted in Figure 1), and an upright or"non-viewing"position with the peak hinged portion 3a generally folded up and back toward the crown 2 (as depicted in Figure 2).

A mounting means 10 is provided on the underside of the peak hinged portion 3 a for mounting a pair of binoculars 20. With reference to Figure 5, one form of envisaged mounting means is in the form of a two-part mounting member 10 comprising a base portion 11 fixed to the underside of the peak hinged portion 3a by appropriate fasteners or any other suitable means, and a clip portion 12. The clip portion 12 is in the general form of a C-clip, with the gap between the arms 12a of the clip portion 12 being sized to firmly secure the central crosspiece 21 of a pair of binoculars 20. The binoculars 20 can be pushed rearwardly into the clip portion 12 to secure the same, and then pulled out of the clip portion 12 when desired. A detent may be provided on the clip portion 12 if required to ensure that the binoculars 20 are captively retained. The clip portion 12 is mounted to the base member 11 via a ratchet mechanism which enables the position of the clip portion 12 with respect to the base member 11 (and peak 3) to be moved fore and aft, to thereby adjust the distance between the binoculars and the crown. This consequently adjusts the distance between the eye-piece 22 of the binoculars and the eye of a viewer wearing the cap 2.

Given the size and bulk of larger binoculars, the mounting means 10 will typically be configured to mount smaller compact binoculars, such as 8 x 20 binoculars.

With the mass of the binoculars being suspended forward of the crown, it may be appropriate to extend a stiffening strip 5 of plastics or other relatively rigid material around the rim 2a of the crown so as to stiffen the same and help support the mass of the binoculars 20.

The cap 2 may be used in the same manner as any other standard baseball cap, and will have the general appearance of the same when no binoculars are mounted thereto. When viewing a sporting event or other viewing target which it is desired to magnify, a pair of binoculars 20 may be slotted into the clip portion 12 of the mounting means 10, and the position of the cap 2 on the head of the user adjusted up or down to position the binoculars 20 in the light of sight of the viewer. The binoculars may then be

moved fore and aft as required to provide the appropriate eye relief (that is, distance between the user's eye and binocular eye-piece) for comfortable viewing. The user's hands will then be free for other activities such as hand clapping, eat and drinking. When the viewer then desires to capture a broader view of the subject, he or she can simply tilt the peak hinged portion 3a upward so that the binoculars move out of his or her line of sight.

Any of various hinges 4 may be employed. The hinge 4 will typically be provided as two hinge portions 4a spaced along the hinge line between the hinged and root portions 3a, 3b of the cap peak. It is preferred that the hinge 4 be relatively stiff to prevent the peak hinged portion 3a from freely falling from the raised"non-viewing position". A detent may be provided to retain the hinged portion 3a in the raised position until actively hinged if desired.

Figures 6 and 7 depict a further hat 101 where the hinge 104 is in the form of a foldline recessed into the upper surface of the peak 103, separating the hinged and root portions 103a, 103b of the peak 103. The hinge foldline 104 is curved in plan view, generally following the periphery of the cap crown 102. The peak itself is also curved in front elevation view in the usual manner, providing a double curvature of the hinged foldline 104. This double curvature enables the peak hinged portion 103 to be folded upward about the hinged foldline 104 and"snapped"into an upright or"non-viewing" position, at which the peak hinged portion is held until forcibly pulled back to the horizontal"viewing"position. In this embodiment, the peak 103 is integrally moulded with a stiffening strip 105 extending about the rim 102a of the crown 102, providing further support to the peak holding the mass of the binoculars.

A further form of mounting means 110 is depicted in Figures 8 to 13. The mounting means 110 is in the form of fore and aft mounting brackets 111, integrally moulded on the underside of the peak hinged portion 103a and a carriage member 113 detachably mounted on the mounting brackets 111, and adapted to carry the binoculars 20. The carriage member 113 has a base 114 and a hingedly mounted retaining latch 115.

As depicted in Figure 8, with the carriage member 113 separated from the mounting brackets 111, and peak 103, the retaining latch 115 is pivotally hinged away from the carriage member base 114, enabling the central cross-piece 21 of the binoculars to be located between the retaining latch 115 and base 114. The retaining latch is then clipped into position, as depicted in Figure 9, captively holding the binocular cross-piece 21.

The carriage member 113 is also provided with vertically extending support arms 116 at fore and aft ends thereof. The support arms 116 are configured to be received

within the mounting brackets 111, with the support arms 116 and mounting brackets 111, being provided with complementary ratchet teeth 119,112. As depicted in Figure 9, the carriage member 113, with the binoculars 20 in place, can be mounted to the mounting bracket 111 by inserting the support arms 116 into the cavity defined by each mounting bracket, with the angled ratchet teeth enabling the support arms 116 to be progressively pushed upwardly through the mounting brackets to the desired position. The ratchet teeth are arranged such that the support arm teeth 119 are locked in place engaged with the mounting bracket teeth 112. Release members 117 are provided at the fore and aft ends of the carriage member and depend therefrom. Grasping the two release members and pulling the same inwardly buckles the carriage member base 114, pulling the support arms 116 inwardly and disengaging them from the ratchet teeth 112 of the mounting brackets 111, thereby enabling the carriage member to be moved downwardly with respect to the mounting brackets 111. Accordingly, vertical adjustment of the position of the binoculars 20 is provided for. Further, whilst grasping the release members 117, one end of the carriage member 113 can be pushed upwardly whilst the other is retracted from the corresponding mounting bracket 111, as depicted in Figure 10, so as to provide for adjustment of the angular position of the binoculars 20.

With reference to Figure 11, fore and aft adjustment of the location of the binoculars 20 is provided for by a pair of wheels 118 located on the latch member 115.

The wheels 118 protrude below the lower surface of the latch member 115, and engage with the upper surface of the binocular cross-piece 21. Rotation of the wheels 118 by the forefinger or thumb of a person wearing the cap will push the crosspiece fore and aft along the carriage member 113 through friction. The wheels 118 might alternatively be mounted on the carriage member base 114 so as to engage the lower surface of the binocular cross-piece 21.

The wheels 118 will typically be formed of a rubber or soft plastics material to enhance the coefficient of friction between the wheel and the binocular crosspiece 21.

The carriage member 113 is preferably integrally moulded from plastics material.

A further particularly preferred cap 201 is depicted in Figures 14 through 18.

The cap 201 is similar to that of Figures 6 and 7 in that the hinge 204 is integrally formed with the peak 203 in the form of a foldline of reduced thickness in the peak. The peak 203, incorporating the hinge 204, and a stiffening strip 205 are integrally formed as a frame, depicted in Figure 19, by injection moulding. The peak hinge and root portions 203a, 203b and the stiffening strip 205 have a thickness of 1.0 mm, with the hinge 204 having a reduced thickness of 0.30 mm formed by recesses on the upper and lower

surfaces of the peak 203. The frame defined by the peak 203 and stiffening strap 205 is covered by fabric is stitched thereto so as to have the external appearance of a regular baseball cap. As can be seen in Figure 19, here the stiffening strip has a gap at the rear thereof such that it does not extend around the entire periphery of the rim of the crown 202. It is envisaged that that cap may be formed of the frame depicted in Figure 19 only, having the general form of a sun-visor where the crown consists of the stiffening strip 205 only. The frame is formed of a suitable injection mouldable plastic such as polypropene.

The mounting means 210 of the hat 201 is depicted in detail in Figures 20 through 23. The mounting means 210 is in the form of a clip portion 212 which receives the central cross-piece 21 of a pair of binoculars 20 and a base portion 211 securable to the underside of the peak 203.

The clip portion 212 is in the general form of a C-clip, with a gap between the arms 212a of the clip portion 212 being sized to receive the binocular cross-piece 21.

Fore and aft adjustment of the location of the binoculars 20 is provided for by a pair of wheels 218 located on the lower side of the clip portion 212. The wheels 218 protrude through an aperture provided in the lower clip portion arm 212a to engage the lower surface of the binocular cross-piece 21 by way of a rubber O-ring 218a mounted on the rim of each of the wheels 218. The 0-rings 218a serve to increase the frictional engagement between the wheels 218 and the cross-piece 21. Rotation of the wheels 218 by the forefinger or thumb pushes the cross-piece fore and aft along the clip portion 212 through friction.

The base portion 211 is integrally moulded with the clip portion 212, and is inclined at an angle of approximately 20° thereto. A strip of hook and loop-type fastener tape 220 is secured to the upper surface of the base portion 211, with an associated fastener tape being secured to the lower side of the peak 203 to enable the base portion 211 to be secured to the underside of the peak 203. The hook and loop tape 220 has a tail extending over the rear of the base portion 211 where it engages another associated tape 220a mounted on the rear of the clip portion 212. The engagement of these two sections of tape at the rear of the mounting means 210 serves to adjust the angle of inclination between the base portion 211 and clip portion 212, typically between 15 and 25°, to enable adjustment of the angle of the binoculars 20 relative to the cap peak 203 as desired for optimum viewing by the wearer.

The present invention may be applied to any form of hat with a brim, including hats with brims extending around the entire periphery of the crown. Such a hat 301 with circumferential brim 303 is depicted in Figure 24. Only a forward end portion 303a of the brim is hinged. A mounting means 10 as per that of Figures 1 to 5 is mounted under the hinged portion 303a of the brim 303.

The person skilled in the art will appreciate other possible modifications.