ADJUSTABLE HEADWEAR PROVIDING A DRAPING MATERIAL

Abstract

A protective headwear with a draping material for protecting the wearer's neck and ears from the environmental elements is provided. The protective headwear is adapted to worn even if the wearer is wearing another form of headwear. The protective headwear provides an elongated member that can be selectively attached around the head of a wearer by way of an adjustable attachment point. The elongated member also has a draping material for extending therefrom for protecting the wearer's neck and ears from the environmental elements, such as the sunlight.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to headwear and, more particularly, an adjustable, removable headband having a drape material for ear and neck sun protection.

Sun protection for the neck and ears that are attached to hats and baseball caps and are not easily detachable and adjustable. In short, current devices are not truly adjustable headband extensions and are not easily removable, but are rather awkward and inefficient.

As can be seen, there is a need for an adjustable, removable headband having a drape material for ear and neck sun protection. The headwear embodied in the present invention provides an adjustable attachment point, making the drape material of the headwear removable and selectively adjustable for a method of covering the wearer's neck and ears from the elements. The adjustable attachment point also enables different wearers to adjust the size of the headwear so that it can file various sized heads.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, a protective headwear with a draping material for covering a neck and ears of a wearer includes the following: an elongated member having a length-to-thickness ratio of at least three-to-one, the elongated member extending between a first connector and a second connector; said connectors removably attach to each other at one of a plurality of portions of the other connector, thereby defining an adjustable attachment point; and a draping material depending from a longitudinal portion of the elongated member, wherein a distal end of the draping material is six or more inches from said longitudinal portion.

In another aspect of the present invention, a protective headwear for covering a neck and ears of a wearer includes the following: an elongated member having a length-to-thickness ratio of at least three-to-one, wherein the elongated member extends between a first connector and a second connector, and wherein the elongated member has a neoprene core wrapped within an outer material; said connectors removably attach to each other at one of a plurality of portions of the other connector, thereby defining an adjustable attachment point, wherein the first connector and the second connector are hook and loop connectors, respectively; and a draping material having a rounded triangular shape depending from a longitudinal portion of the elongated member, wherein a distal end of the draping material is six or more inches from said longitudinal portion.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method covering the ears and the neck of a wearer of headwear includes providing the above-mentioned protective headwear and wrapping the elongated member around the head of the wearer and defining the adjustable attachment point in such a way that the draping material covers the ears and the neck of the wearer.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, shown in use;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a protective headwear with a draping material for protecting the wearer's neck and ears from the environmental elements even if the wearer is wearing another form of headwear. The protective headwear provides an elongated member that can selectively attached around the head of a wearer by way of an adjustable attachment point. The elongated member also has a draping material for extending therefrom for protecting the wearer's neck and ears from the environmental elements, such as the sunlight.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 3, the present invention may include a protective headwear 10 having an elongated member 12 extending between a first end 12a and an opposing second end 12b. The elongated member 12 has a length-to-thickness ratio of at least three-to-one. Note, by thickness it is understood this may be deemed the “width” or the distance of the elongated member 12 along line 3-3 in FIG. 2. The elongated member 12 may be made of an elastic, durable material. The first end 12a may provide a first connector 16a while the second end 12b may provide a second connector 16b that removably attaches to the first connector 16a, thereby enabling the elongated member 12 to move between a detached condition and an attached condition at an attachment point 16. The attachment point 16 may be adjustable as the first and second connectors 16a and 16b are adapted to removably attach to any of a plurality of portions of the other connector 16a or 16b. In certain embodiments, the first and second connectors 16a and 16b may be hook and loop connectors.

The protective headwear 10 may have a draping material 14 depending from a longitudinal edge (or non-edge portion) so as to drape therefrom. The draping material 14 may extend for six or more inches from the protective headwear 10. The draping material 14 may have a rounded triangular shape so as to cover both the neck and ears of the wearer.

In certain embodiments, the elongated member 12 may be a headband with a core 20 wrapped by and stitched to an outer material 18 that is durable and/or elastic. The core 20 may be neoprene or the like. This headband configuration may wrap and attach around a wearer's head even if the wearer is wearing other headwear being worn by the wearer, such as a hat, baseball cap, etc.

A method of using the present invention may include the following. The protective headwear 10 disclosed above may be provided. A user may don the protective headwear 10 by wrapping the protective headwear 10 around their head, typically their temple area and forehead area, and then selectively define the adjustable attachment point 16 by moving the first and second connectors 16a and 16b to the attached condition, whereby securing the protective headwear 10 about their head in such a manner that the draping material 14 selectively covers their neck, ears and/or other portions of their upper body when the draping material 14 drapes from the longitudinal edge. As mentioned above, the user may already be wearing another form of headwear, as illustrated in FIG. 1. In other embodiments, the draping material 14 may extend far below the wearer's neck to cover and/or protect other parts of the wearer's body, such as their entire upper body.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

Claims

1. A protective headwear with a draping material for covering a neck and ears of a wearer, comprising: an elongated member having a length-to-thickness ratio of at least three-to-one, the elongated member extending between a first connector and a second connector;said connectors removably attach to each other at one of a plurality of portions of the other connector, thereby defining an adjustable attachment point; anda draping material depending from a longitudinal portion of the elongated member, wherein a distal end of the draping material is six or more inches from said longitudinal portion.

2. The protective headwear of claim 1, wherein the draping material has a rounded triangular shape.

3. The protective headwear of claim 1, wherein the elongated member has a neoprene core wrapped within an outer material.

4. The protective headwear of claim 1, wherein the first connector and the second connector are hook and loop connectors, respectively.

5. A protective headwear for covering a neck and ears of a wearer, comprising: an elongated member having a length-to-thickness ratio of at least three-to-one, wherein the elongated member extends between a first connector and a second connector, and wherein the elongated member has a neoprene core wrapped within an outer material;said connectors removably attach to each other at one of a plurality of portions of the other connector, thereby defining an adjustable attachment point, wherein the first connector and the second connector are hook and loop connectors, respectively; anda draping material having a rounded triangular shape depending from a longitudinal portion of the elongated member, wherein a distal end of the draping material is six or more inches from said longitudinal portion.

6. A method covering the ears and the neck of a wearer of headwear, comprising: providing the protective headwear of claim 2; andwrapping the elongated member around the head of the wearer and defining the adjustable attachment point in such a way that the draping material covers the ears and the neck of the wearer.