Apparel – Guard or protector – For wearer's head
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-15
2001-05-29
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3741)
Apparel
Guard or protector
For wearer's head
C002S012000, C002S209130, C002S451000, C351S047000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237147
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to eye shielding devices, and more particularly to attachable sun shields conformed for selective engagement to the edges of a cap visor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Eye shields of various forms have been devised in the past. In typical practice the shield takes the form of sunglasses primarily designed to filter direct sunlight or its reflections in the line of viewing focus, but which expose the lateral cheek corners to unwanted sun glare. Various solutions have been proposed to resolve this problem exemplified by the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,689 to Miller, 5,379,464 to Schleger et al, and others. Sunglasses in this group are often conformed as a ‘wrap-around’ structure in which the shield extends to the sides. Alternatively, both rigid and flexible face shields have been devised, exemplified by the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,378 to Hatchman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,129 to Gill and others.
Then there is also a third group in which the sun shield is either clipped to the visor or brim of a hat or cap, or hinged from it, to selectively deploy the sun shielding surfaces as the need arises. Examples of such sun shields can be found in the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,005 to Danley, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,071 to Vu, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,124 to Day. In these examples the shield structure is generally secured to the head covering, in a hinged, clipped or pivotal engagement, to be selectively deployed. In each instance, however, the primary shield structure is in the form of sunglasses which occassionally may include a side shield, e.g., the side shield illustrated at FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,124.
In most instances the head covering itself provides many functions for creating shade in the viewing field. A baseball cap, for example, has been evolved to provide convenient shade for the eyes of the wearer and its well developed attributes for this purpose are widely appreciated. In fact, the baseball cap is often preferred as a better alternative to sunglasses with the visor or bill properly sized and convolved for maximum viewing utility. These well developed attributes of the baseball cap, however, do not address collateral concerns such as those occurring during protracted viewing along a focus alignment that at right angles to the sunlight direction.
Thus the unique advantages of a baseball cap for shielding the eyes of the wearer along the viewing axis, while well appreciated, lack the features that can protect the user from unwanted side glare or lateral sunlight exposure. While various sun shields and sunglasses configurations, deployable from the cap, have been proposed in the art, the burden and complexity of their structure is often at odds with the simplicity of the baseball cap. A simple and convenient shield structure that is easily attached to a baseball cap is therefore desired and it is one such shield structure that is disclosed herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is the general purpose and object of the present invention to provide an attachable shield panel conformed for deployment from a baseball cap along the temple and cheek surfaces of the wearer.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a sun shielding panel that is selectively attachable to the side edges of a baseball cap to overlie the temple and cheek surfaces of the wearer.
Further objects of the invention are to provide a flexible shielding panel conformed for releasable attachment to the side edges of a cap.
Yet further objects of the invention are to provide convenient attachment mechanisms for releasably attaching a shielding panel to the edges of a cap.
Briefly, these and other objects are accomplished within the present invention by providing a generally flat, flexible, semi-opaque or tinted panel of an elongate planform which includes along one edge thereof a set of clasping structures for engaging the side edges of a baseball cap. In one form the forward clasping structure depends from the panel across a set of grooves which allow flexure thereacross, thereby permitting selective attachment in both directions relative the panel surface to grasp either one of the side edges of the visor or bill of the cap. At the rear the clasping structure may extend along the surface of the panel to grasp the generally vertical cap edge overlying the temple of the wearer. This rear clasping structure is positioned adjacent a panel extension conformed for receipt between the cap and the skull above the temple, this inserted receipt providing a preferred alignment direction to the panel over the temple and cheek surfaces. In this manner a simple plastic structure is rendered useful with a baseball cap to shield that side of the wearer's face that is exposed to the glare of the sun.
In its second form the panel may include a front and rear extension strip from the upper edge thereof, the front strip being convolved in an “S” shaped set of folds to define opposing recesses aligned generally orthogonal to the plane of the panel. The rear strip, in turn, may be convolved to form a recess along the panel plane conformed to grasp the baseball cap edge adjacent the temple of the wearer, with the front convolutions receiving either the left or the right edge of the cap visor, depending on which side the shiel is worn. In this manner a single shield structure can be worn along both the left and the right side of the wearer's face, simplifying fabrication tooling and inventory concerns.
Yet a further, somewhat simpler, implementation may be devised as stamped part of an extrusion formed to include a split tubular section offset from the plane of a ribbon or strip. This extrusion may be serially stamped into shield segments each defined by a panel formed to provide lateral shading when the split tube segment is engaged to the appropriate visor edge. As a further variant the stamping die can be shaped to produce a thin extension at the rear edge of the ribbon connecting to a rear segment of the split tube, the thin ribbon extension allowing for rotation and flexure for comfortable grasping alignment.
Of course, this third alternative is fixed in the extruded offset direction and therefore both a left and a right side shield extrusion will need to be provided. While this form increases the inventory stocking concerns, the simplicity of the fabrication process results in an extremely inexpensive article. Moreover, since the exterior side of the shielding panel is now geometrically defined it can be used to display advertising symbols-or marks, rendering this third form particularly useful as an advertising ‘give-away’ or marketing inducement.
In all its forms the inventive eye shield may be produced from various translucent polymeric material structures such as one of the several variants of polyethylene, or even polystyrene. Thus the several forms of the eye shield are inherently inexpensive and particularly suited as marketing inducements and vehicles for advertising.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1228341 (1917-05-01), Maynard
patent: 1725340 (1929-09-01), Castriotis
patent: 1857284 (1932-05-01), Nelson
patent: 2434076 (1948-01-01), Kilham
patent: 3011170 (1961-12-01), Lutz
patent: 3505679 (1970-04-01), Bennett
patent: 4105304 (1978-08-01), Baker
patent: 4298991 (1981-11-01), Recenello
patent: 5394567 (1995-03-01), Vatterott
patent: 5438706 (1995-08-01), Lambur
patent: 5748278 (1998-05-01), Simmons, Sr.
patent: 585529 (1977-03-01), None
Calvert John J.
Moran Katherine
Quirk & Tratos
LandOfFree
Lateral sun shields conformed for selective attachment to a... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Lateral sun shields conformed for selective attachment to a..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Lateral sun shields conformed for selective attachment to a... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2562187