Abstract:
The present invention provides a combination hat and sunglasses/goggles, in which the sunglasses/goggles are pivotally moveable relative to the hat, between a raised, out of the way position to a lowered position with the eyepiece in front of the wearer&#39;s eyes, through an elongated aperture in the front brim of the hat. In addition, the sunglasses/goggles can be fully detached and removed from the hat, so that they can be used as regular sunglasses. The combination is easy to assemble and disassemble, and simple and convenient to operate, providing versatility and reduced risk of loss of components of the combination.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention belongs to the field of personal head gear, and more particularly to the field of head gear for use in sunny conditions, providing a degree of protection for the wearer against potentially harmful exposure to direct sunlight. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   There are many different types and styles of sun hats available on the market. Likewise there are many different types of available sunglasses, providing more or less protection against the potentially harmful effects of sunlight on vision and the eye. Many users prefer to have both headgear protection and eye protection, i.e. sunglasses, when exposed to conditions of bright sunshine. This suggests a combination of a hat and sunglasses might be desirable. Such a combination is illustrated in Australian Registered Design 13999/2005 (AU-S-305992). On the other hand, many users prefer not to use sunglasses when there is no incident sunlight, with the result that, in intermittently sunny weather, users tend to want to remove and replace sunglasses at frequent intervals. This creates risk of losing or mislaying sunglasses. The same is not generally true of hats. Wearers of hats tend to keep them on for long periods of time, and do not have any wish to remove a hat in response to a brief interruption of sunshine. 
   Accordingly there is a need for a combination hat and sunglasses in which the sunglasses can be used and removed from use without interfering with the wearing of the hat. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention provides a combination hat and sunglasses/goggles, in which the sunglasses/goggles are pivotally moveable relative to the hat, between a raised, out of the way position to a lowered position in front of the wearer&#39;s eyes, as they are able to slide through an elongated aperture in the front brim of the hat. In addition, the sunglasses/goggles can be fully detached and removed from the hat, so that they can be used as regular sunglasses or goggles. The combination is easy to assemble and disassemble, and simple and convenient to operate, providing versatility and reduced risk of loss of components of the combination. 
   Thus according to the present invention, in one aspect, there is provided a combination hat and sunglasses/goggles for personal use, comprising a hat having a head receiving portion and a brim protruding from at least the front of the head receiving portion; an elongated aperture extending through the brim at the front of the head receiving portion; translucent sunglasses/goggles adapted to protrude through the elongated aperture and pivotally mounted on the head receiving portion of the hat, at two substantially diametrically opposed positions thereof; the sunglasses/goggles being pivotally moveable relative to the hat between a first position in which at least a major portion of the sunglasses/goggles is raised above the brim, and a second position in which at least a major portion of the sunglasses/goggles protrudes downwardly through the aperture below the brim, the sunglasses/goggles being detachable from and re-attachable to the head receiving portion of the hat. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Preferably the hat is of the peaked type, such as a baseball cap, where the brim is just a peak protruding from the front of the cap. The invention is however applicable to other types of hat having a brim, provided that the brim extends forwardly of the head receiving portion. 
   Preferably also, the pivotal connections of the sunglasses/goggles to the hat are provided by press studs (snap fasteners), which allow easy connection and disconnection and allow for relative pivotal movement of the parts when connected. The preferred form of the invention also allows the sunglasses/goggles to be connected to extend forwardly of the hat and rearwardly of the hat, so that the sunglasses/goggles can be operative to provide eye protection even when the user is wearing the baseball cap backwards. 
   In the preferred form of the invention, the sunglasses/goggles have a single, continuous eyepiece, and the brim of the hat has a single elongated aperture through which it can protrude. The eyepiece may be made of tough transparent plastic so as to function as safety goggles for the wearer. 
   Other features and advantageous items of the preferred embodiments of the invention will be apparent from the following specific description with reference to the accompanying figures of drawings. 

   
     BRIEF REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings show, by way of illustrative example only, a specific preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the hat-sunglasses/goggles visor combination of this embodiment in a first position, with a major portion of the eyepiece thereof raised above the peak of the cap; 
       FIG. 2  is a similar perspective view, with the major portion of the eyepiece below the peak of the cap; 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are views similar to those of  FIGS. 1 and 2  respectively, showing the cap and sunglasses/goggles combination thereof in reverse mode; 
       FIG. 5  is a detail of the area marked “A” on  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a detail of the area marked “B” on  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a detail of the area marked “C” on  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the sunglasses/goggles detached from the cap; 
       FIG. 9  is a detail of a portion of the rear of the cap. 
   

   In the drawings, like reference numerals denote like parts. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MOST PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   With reference to  FIG. 1  of the accompanying drawings, this illustrates a specific preferred form of the present invention, in which the hat portion of the combination is in the form of a baseball cap having a domed head receiving portion  10  and a peak  12  protruding from the front of the head receiving portion  10 . A single, continuous elongated aperture  14  is provided in the peak  12 , adjacent the head receiving portion  10 . Sunglasses/goggles  16  are pivotally attached to the head receiving portion  10 , at two substantially diametrically opposed positions. 
   The sunglasses/goggles  16  have a single translucent eye piece  18  and a pair of opposed arms  20  and  22  pivotally attached thereto, in the manner of conventional sunglasses. The eyepiece is appropriately tinted and/or polarized to provide the user with eye protection from the sun. The sunglasses/goggles  16  are moveable from the position shown in  FIG. 1 , where the eyepiece  18  is largely above the peak  12 , to a position shown in  FIG. 2  where the eyepiece  18  protrudes through the aperture  14  into a position in front of the user&#39;s eyes. This movement is accomplished by pivoting of the arms  20 ,  22  about their end connections to the hat. For this purpose, the ends of the arms  20 ,  22  are each provided with a male press stud  24  ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ), which releasably and pivotably engage respective female press studs  26  ( FIG. 1 ) mounted on the head receiving portion  10  of the cap. Channels  28  are provided on each side of the cap, in which the female press studs are located. In fact there may be a plurality of female press studs  26  disposed in each channel, so that the sunglasses/goggles can be attached to the hat in different relative positions depending on the choice of female stud  26  to attach to male press stud  24 . The press stud engagement arrangement allows for pivotal movement of the visor  16  relative to the hat, between the two positions shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
   The arms  20  and  22  are provided, between their attachment to the eyepiece  18  and their end press stud  24 , with an articulation joint  30 . This allows the angle of the eyepiece  18  to be varied, as shown in the detail drawing  FIG. 5 , where alternative positions are indicated in ghost. In this manner, eyepiece  18  can be moved closer to and further away from the user&#39;s face, as desired. Further, each of the arms  20 ,  22  is made of an end piece  32 , carrying the male press stud  24  at its extremity and an intermediate piece  34  ( FIG. 6 ) in which the end piece  32  is slidably received, so that the arms  20 ,  22  are telescopically adjustable in length. 
   The eyepiece  18  is provided on its lower edge with an upwardly extending recess  36  shaped to accommodate a user&#39;s nose. The sides of the recess  36  are provide with a series of indentations  38  ( FIG. 7 ), and an outwardly protruding lower lip  39  so as to allow for different positioning of the eyepiece on the user&#39;s nose, and to hinder accidental complete removal of the sunglasses/goggles through the aperture. 
   On occasion, a user wishes to wear a baseball cap backwards, so that the peak of the cap shields the wearer&#39;s neck from the sun. The illustrated embodiment of the invention permits the sunglasses/goggles to be releasably and pivotally mounted on the cap in the reverse position to allow the eyepiece to be used in the manner of sunglasses when the cap is worn backwards. This is illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . For this purpose, the channels  28  on the cap, within which the female press studs  26  are disposed, are open at both ends, front and back. This allows the arms  20 ,  22  to be inserted into the forward end of the slot to protrude forwardly, as in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or into the rearward end of the slot to protrude rearwardly,  FIGS. 3 and 4 , when the cap is worn in the reverse position. Even when assembled in reverse, the sunglasses/goggles  16  is pivotable relative to the hat between a raised, out of the way position ( FIG. 3 ) and a lowered position in which the eyepiece  18  is before the eyes ( FIG. 4 ). 
   The sunglasses/goggles  16 , when fully removed from the hat, have the basic features of a pair of sunglasses, as shown in  FIG. 8 . Thus the arms  20 ,  22  are foldable towards each other, to lie substantially parallel to and alongside the eyepiece  18 , and the extremities of the arms can be folded out to rest on the ears of the user, with the recess  36  engaging the user&#39;s nose for use independently of the hat as sunglasses. Further, the sunglasses/goggles  16  are provided with an additional male press stud  40 , at its central rear portion ( FIG. 8 ) and the head receiving portion  10  of the hat is provided on its rear surface with a female press stud  42  ( FIG. 9 ), so that the sunglasses/goggles can be releasably attached to the hat for storage purposes when its use is not required. 
   The illustrated embodiment of the invention is exemplary only, variations can be made within the scope of the invention. Thus, although the illustrated embodiment has an eyepiece in the form of a single continuous lens, as a visor, a pair of eyepieces resembling lenses could be provided instead. In such a case, the peak of the cap may have a pair of aligned elongated apertures instead of a single such aperture, through which the eyepieces protrude. Also, the eyepiece may be made of translucent toughened plastic, to function as safety goggles for the user. The eyepieces may be decorated with patterns, logos, slogans etc., as with some types of known sunglasses. The invention is limited only by the scope of the appended claims, fairly construed.