Patent Application
20090151049
The invention relates to head apparel and, in particular, to head apparel for sportspersons in outdoors to conceal the person's face.
There are a number of pursuits undertaken in which a person seeks to attain close proximity with wild animals or other people without being noticed. The most obvious of these pursuits is game hunting where the person seeks to gain close proximity in order to improve the accuracy of a gunshot or a bow shot or the like. Other pursuits may include a bird watcher, a nature observer, or a field zoologist, for instance, as well as military activities in which a soldier may be attempting to obscure their presence from others.
In any event, gaining close proximity to wild animals often involves the use of camouflage clothing to obscure the person and, hence, their presence in a location. These locations may differ from the various types of woods, snow-capped mountains, to a marsh, grassy field, hunting blind, or any other outdoors location. For each location, the various types of camouflage patterns worm are selected for blending in with the location or natural surroundings. It is generally considered best to obscure as much of the person, along with his or her gear, as possible, as wild game will usually see and recognize the presence of anything that is not natural to their environment. If aware of the presence of the person or threat, most animals will avoid or flee the location.
While solutions for maximum coverage have, for the most part, been addressed, the primary area of the body that continues to remain a challenge is facial camouflage. A common solution is facial paints. Though these are time-consuming and laborious to apply correctly to blend in with the location, they are considered messy, and are not re-usable. Facial paint also does not obscure movement by the face or items around the face, such as a calling devices, for example a duck call being blown by a person's lips.
Currently, many styles and constructions of head or face wear are available for obscuring the head, the face, or both of a person, as well as providing some degree of heat retention. A common hat includes a cap portion worn over the hair and side flaps that may be pulled down and secured around the ears and part of the face. However, the central portion of the face is still visible, and this is the portion that is necessary to provide a direct view of the quarry or prey.
Various other type of shroud styles have been created. For instance, a first shroud type is sock-shaped, with a generally horizontal opening positionable around the eyes. Two other shroud types are generally known as “ninja” style and Balaclava style shrouds which have a head covering portion along with a second layer of material that may be pulled down to expose the face and mouth. None of these types of shrouds has a bill or visor, and they fail to provide any shielding of the eyes from overhead sunlight (an issue when watching for airborne birds, for instance), or any obscuring of the eyes or eyewear of the wearer.
These shrouds have problems with moisture build up between the shroud and the wearer. After only a short period of time, the material quickly becomes saturated, leading to additional problems. For instance, breath may condense on the interior of the shroud, along with the shroud having to be lifted or pulled down in order to expectorate or clear mucous from a nose. To deal with these issues, the wearer basically must expose their face by rearranging the shroud repeatedly, or simply lifting up to allow the moisture to escape and not collect (which defeats the purpose of the shroud covering the face).
Additionally, it is difficult to use these shrouds with any type of mouth call, such as a bird or duck call. One may shift the shroud away from the mouth to place the call on the lips, or may attempt to blow through the shroud. For the latter, a thin mesh material used for some shrouds may permit use of a call directly through, though this is awkward, and the call is exposed to the view of any nearby quarry. Again, this method is not without problems, since after only a short period of time the material quickly becomes saturated with moisture.
Another solution to facial camouflage is the use of a ski mask style covering. This is generally a close-fitting construction that provides openings for the eyes, mouth, and nose. While this is effective at providing access to the mouth and nose, as well as clear eye sight, it does little to camouflage at least the eyes, nose, and mouth. An additional problem is that it prevents the use of any type of eyewear.
One attempt to address these issues would be to provide a billed or brimmed hat with a mesh attached, much in the way of a beekeeper's hat. The full face mesh obscures clear eye sight, which is a particular issue where vision is crucial while aiming a weapon. Additionally, in order to eat or wipe moisture from the face, the mesh must be lifted or pulled down which, although minor, is still considered defeating the purpose of wearing the covering in the first place.
Accordingly, there has been a need for an improved head and/or face wear for obscuring a face while spending time in an outdoors location.
In accordance with an aspect, a covering for a head is disclosed including a first member having a portion positionable over at least a part of a face of the head, the portion having an opening therein positionable over the nose and mouth of the head, and a second member positionable over the first member opening. In a form, the entire first and second member assembly, which is fabricated of thin mesh, can be tucked up under the head-covering cap and out of sight when not in use. This allows the covering to be worm as a typical baseball-style cap.
In some forms, the covering first member substantially covers the head and has a second opening positionable over eyes of the head. The first member may include a cap portion positionable on a crown of the head. The first member may include a bill positionable above eyes of a head, and first member provides an opening positionable around eyes of a face below the bill. The first member may include a wrap portion including the portion positionable over at least part of the face and a second portion substantially covering sides and back of the head. The wrap portion may have a length extending downward positionable around a neck below the head. The wrap portion may include a bottom portion having a cinch mechanism for drawing the wrap portion inward around the neck.
The covering may further include a cap portion secured to the first member, and positioned to cover at least the crown of the head. The first member may have a top portion, and the cap portion may have a bottom portion that may be secured to each other. The first member top portion and the cap portion bottom edge may be secured with a securement at the back portion of the cap, and extending to just behind the start of the brim on either edge of the cap. The second member may have a top portion securable with the front aspect of the first member top portion to drape along the front of the face. The second member may be free to move relative to the securement, and the second member may be moved (i.e., elevated) to provide access to the opening positionable over the nasal and mouth opening of the first member. The second member may be sized to allow access to the opening positionable over the nose and mouth opening of the first member, and may be sized to cover said opening during access thereto. The covering may be substantially covered with a camouflage pattern.
In another aspect, a covering for a head is disclosed including a cap portion for covering a crown of a head, a bill extending from the cap portion, a wrap shroud secured with the cap portion and generally extending about the head, the wrap shroud including at least a first opening providing access to a portion of a face of the head, and a veil extending over the wrap shroud and covering the first opening.
In some forms, the cap portion and bill are substantially in the form of a baseball cap.
The wrap shroud and veil may be formed of a camouflage mesh material.
The wrap shroud may have a top portion, and the cap portion may have a bottom portion, and the wrap shroud top portion may be secured with the cap portion bottom edge over a length of the wrap shroud top portion, the length being selected so as to be behind the start of the brim on either edge of the cap, wherein the covering provides an opening for eyes of the head.
The veil may have a top portion secured with the top portion of the wrap shroud by a securement, the securement being positioned below the opening for the eyes. The veil may be sized to allow access to the opening positionable over the nose and mouth opening of the first member, and sized to cover said opening during access thereto.
In the Figures,
Referring initially to
The entirety of the covering 10 is preferably camouflaged. A variety of coverings 10 may be provided so that each has a selected camouflage pattern designed for the environment in which it used. For instance, suitable and effective camouflage patterns are well-known for spring or fall woodland settings, marshland settings, field settings, winter woodland and winter mountaintop settings, etc., wherein the camouflage effectively obscures the presence of the person P in the environment by allowing them to blend in with the surroundings.
As shown, the covering 10 includes first and second covering portions referred to herein as a veil 20 and a wrap shroud 22. The wrap shroud 22 generally covers much of the sides and back of the head H, including the ears, as well as a neck of the person P. The wrap shroud 22 has a length so that, if desired, the person P may tuck a lower portion of the wrap shroud 22 into a coat or other torso apparel, or wrap another item around their neck area, so that no portion of the person P is visible, other than their apparel in general including the covering 10.
In a preferred form, the covering 10 includes a cap portion 24 having a bill 26 extending therefrom. Utilization of a standard baseball cap in a camouflage pattern, for instance, allows for ease of construction and is familiar to most people. The cap portion 24 also may provide additional warmth for the top or crown of the head H and additional protection from elements. The bill 26 provides a shield from sunlight for the eyes E and the face F, for instance. It also allows the person P to tilt their head H forward to reduce exposure of the eyes E or eyewear W (see
As best seen in
The bill 26 provides other benefits to using the covering 10. Game hunting is often done at dusk or dawn, feeding time for wild animals and, thus, the time they are most active. Accordingly, a person P that is on a hunting trip needs to be in place before dawn, and/or may need to return home after dusk. This means that the person P often has a need to carry a flashlight for safe traveling in low, early-morning or nighttime lighting. Various forms of headlamp apparatus have been designed for attaching to the bill 26, such as those including LED lights and battery packs, so that the person P can still see, while having their hands free when climbing a tree (such as for a tree stand) or for balancing when navigating rough terrain, where vision is crucial.
The extent of the top hem portion 30a connected to the cap portion 24 is selected to provide maximum peripheral vision for the person P. Accordingly, it is preferred that the top hem portion 30a is secured by a securement 31, such as a sewn seam, with the cap portion 24 behind the eyes E of the person P when the covering 10 is worn.
The wrap shroud 22 also includes an opening 34 formed therein. This opening 34 is configured on its own and within the wrap shroud 22 itself so as to provide access through the wrap shroud 22 to mouth M and nose N areas. It should be noted that, generally, reference to an opening (such as opening 34) for the mouth is meant to refer to the wearer's mouth and/or nose areas; alternatively, this is also meant to encompass separate openings for the mouth M and the nose N areas. During use, the opening 34 allows the person P to clear moisture from the face F, and to access the mouth M for eating or using a call C, as is shown in
The veil 20 is secured to the wrap shroud 22 to cover the front of the wrap shroud 22. More particularly, the veil 20 is large enough to cover the opening 34 in the wrap shroud 22 as well as large enough so that, when the person P uses a call C or otherwise accesses their mouth M or nose N, this activity is still obscured by the veil 20. The veil 20 is fabricated from mesh material, or the like, attached so that breath, for instance, is able to pass out of the wrap shroud opening 34 and out from the covering 10 in general, thus relieving or alleviating moisture build-up therein.
The veil 20 has a perimeter hem 40, a top portion of which is generally represented by 40a in
It should be noted that the covering 10 may also be used for preventing insects from reaching the person P, which may be an issue when hunting, fishing, or simply being outdoors as represented in
The wrap shroud 22 also has a bottom hem 44. In some forms, this bottom hem 44 may include a cinch mechanism 46 such as an elastic piece or drawing string, for instance, for drawing the wrap shroud 22 towards the neck area of the person P, assisting in heat retention.
The cap portion 24 may be of insulated material or may be of traditional baseball cap construction, as described, and having the bill 26 attached thereto. For instance, the cap portion 24 may include insulating and/or water protective layers such as wool, Gortex, or nylon.
The wrap shroud 22 and veil 20 may be of a variety of materials. For instance, camouflage cloth in both mesh and solid forms are commercially available as dry goods. Alternatively, or in addition, insulated or heat retaining cloth may be used.
Beneficially, the covering 10 including the cap portion 24 and bill 26 may be conventionally worn as a hat or baseball cap by folding or otherwise tucking the veil 20 and wrap shroud 22 inside or into the cap portion 24 before being donned by the person P.
As an alternative form,
While the invention has been described with respect to specific examples including presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention, those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
