Abstract:
An ear sun protector that is attachable to a hat. The ear protector includes a clip having a front clip portion and a rear clip portion that are coupled at a bottom planar portion, where the front clip portion and the rear clip portion define a gap therebetween configured to accept a rim of the hat. The ear protector also includes a curved sunlight blocking portion that is affixed to a front face of the front clip portion and that is generally perpendicular relative to the clip. The sunlight blocking portion sits above an ear of a user when the ear protector is clipped to the hat.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates generally to an ear sun protector used with a hat and, more particularly, to an ear sun protector that is removably attached to a hat to protect a user&#39;s ears from exposure to sunlight. 
         [0003]    Discussion of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Many people enjoy wearing hats, such as baseball hats, that usually do not protect the wearer&#39;s ears from the sun&#39;s damaging rays, which has certain health issues, such as skin cancer. Thus, there is a need in the art to protect the ears of hat wearers from sunlight. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    The present disclosure describes an ear sun protector that is attachable to a hat. The ear protector includes a clip having a front clip portion and a rear clip portion that are coupled at a bottom planar portion, where the front clip portion and the rear clip portion define a gap therebetween configured to accept a rim or seam of the hat. The ear protector also includes a curved sunlight blocking portion that is affixed to a front face of the front clip portion and that is generally perpendicular relative to the clip. The sunlight blocking portion sits above an ear of a user when the ear protector is clipped to the hat. 
         [0006]    Additional features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is an isomeric view of an ear sun protector affixed to a baseball hat on a person&#39;s head according to one embodiment; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the ear protector; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is front side view of the ear protector; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a top down view of the ear protector; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the ear protector; 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a back side view of the ear protector; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a bottom up view of the ear protector. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0014]    The following discussion of the embodiments of the invention directed to an ear sun protector that protects a user&#39;s ears from sunlight exposure is merely exemplary in nature, and is in no way intended to limit the invention or its applications or uses. For example, the ear sun protector disclosed herein has particular application for being removably attached to a baseball hat. However, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the ear protector described herein may be used with other headgear that does not provide ear protection. 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of an ear sun protector  10  that is removably attached to a side of a baseball hat  12  at a location on the hat  12  that sits directly above an ear  16  of a user&#39;s head  14 . The ear protector  10  includes a clip  18  that holds the protector  10  to the hat  12  and a sunlight blocking portion  40  that blocks sunlight, as will be described in detail below. A pair of sunglasses  54  are shown sitting on a visor  52  of the hat  12 , where an ear piece  56  of the sunglasses  54  is tucked between the clip  18  and the hat  12  so that a pair of the protectors  10  clipped to both sides of the hat  12  will hold sunglasses  54  in place. 
         [0016]    Although the ear protector  10  is described as being used with the baseball hat  12 , the ear protector  10  may be used with any hat, sun visor, etc. that does not provide suitable protection from the sun&#39;s rays for the user&#39;s ears. The ear protector  10  can be made of a wide variety of suitable materials such as, for example, plastic, cardboard, etc. The ear protector  10  can be rigid or flexible and may be a single integral member or an assembly of pieces attached together by glue or the like. The ear protector  10  can also include an exterior layer that is made from plastic, vinyl, fabric, etc., and may include a pattern or design, such as a college logo. The ear protector  10  can also come in a variety of colors, and may be a variety of sizes such that the ear protector  10  may be used for a wide range of persons and ear sizes. 
         [0017]      FIGS. 2-7  are various views of the ear sun protector  10  separated from the hat  12 . The clip  18  includes a front clip portion  20  and a rear clip portion  22  that are generally parallel and are attached by a bottom portion  24  to be spaced apart to define a gap  26  therebetween, where the bottom portion  24  may be rectangular or may be curved. Further, although the bottom portion  24  is shown in a center region of the sunlight blocking portion  40 , the bottom portion  24  may be centered, near a left region, or near a right region of the sunlight blocking portion  40 . The front clip portion  20  includes an angled section  28  so that a lower region of the gap  26  is wider than an upper region of the gap  26  to define a channel  30  that easily accepts a rim, seam or sweat band of the hat  12  and locks the protector  10  thereto. In this embodiment, the rear clip portion  22  is shorter than the front clip portion  20 , which allows for easy attaching and detaching of the ear protector  10  to the hat  12 . However, in other embodiments, the rear clip portion  22  may be taller than or the same height as the front clip portion  20 . The front clip portion  20  may have rounded corners  34  at a top edge and/or square corners  36  at a bottom edge as shown. It will be understood however that the corners  34  and  36  may be round, square, or any other suitable shape. 
         [0018]    As described, the front clip portion  20  slides over an outer surface of the side of the hat  12  and the rear clip portion  22  slides behind an inner surface of the side inside of the hat  12  so that the rim, seam or sweat band of the hat  12  is positioned within the channel  30  of the gap  26 , where the front clip portion  20  and the rear clip portion  22  work together to press against and clip to the side of the hat  12 . In this manner the ear protector  10  is removably attached to the side of the hat  12  and the channel  30  operates to hold rim of the hat  12 . This ensures a secure fit between the ear protector  10  and the hat  12 , and also ensures that the sunlight blocking portion  40  sits in an area that is just above the region of the ear  16  when worn by the user. This allows the user to comfortably wear the ear protector  10  without the ear protector  10  touching the ear  16 , and allows the ear protector  10  to still be close enough to the ear  16  to provide protection from sunlight exposure as discussed herein. 
         [0019]    Although the front clip portion  20  and the rear clip portion  22  work together to clip the ear protector  10  in place using pressure, i.e., clamping or clipping force, in this embodiment it is to be understood that the front clip portion  20  and/or the rear clip portion  22  may include any suitable means for removably attaching the ear protector  10  to the hat  12 . For example, Velcro, snaps, etc. may be used in combination with or in place of clamping force to hold the ear protector  10  in place as desired. 
         [0020]    The sunlight blocking portion  40  is affixed or configured to the section  28  of the front clip portion  20 . In one non-limiting embodiment, the blocking portion  40  is about one-quarter of an inch above the bottom portion  24  to provide a proper position for the height of the blocking portion  40  above the ear  16 . The blocking portion  40  has a curved shape such that a center region  42  of the blocking portion  40  is the high point of the portion  40  and ends  44  of the blocking portion  40  curve downward. This shape provides good sunlight blocking protection and ensures that any liquid that falls onto the top surface of the sunlight blocking portion  40 , such as rain or beer, flows towards the ends  44  and off of the ear protector  10 . An inside edge  46  of the blocking portion  40  is curved in a convex manner to better conform to the shape of the user&#39;s head  14  and an outside edge  48  of the blocking portion  40  has rounded corners  50 . The convex shape of the edge  46  ensures a snug fit between the ear protector  10  and the hat  12 , thereby ensuring that sunlight will not filter between the hat  12  and the edge  46  such that the user&#39;s ear  16  may be burned from sunlight exposure. 
         [0021]    The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.