Abstract:
A convertible headwear including a nose brim with the nose brim containing a wind-block material to prevent moisture laden air from being expelled therethrough with an unimpeded opening around the user&#39;s mouth and nostrils to permit a person to exhale a moisture laden breath away from the user&#39;s face to thereby avoid a feeling of clamminess and to inhibit the fogging of a user&#39;s eyeglasses should the user be wearing eyeglasses with the nose brim foldable to condition for blocking access through the headwear when the headwear is used in the neck gator mode.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     None 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     None 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to clothing and, more specifically, to a convertible headwear article that in one mode permits a person to breath comfortably without a clammy feeling around the user&#39;s mouth as well as to inhibit fogging eyeglasses if the user is wearing eyeglasses and in another mode protects a user&#39;s neck from the environment 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The concept of head warmers or headwear and particularly neck gators that extend upward along at least a portion of a user&#39;s face are old in the art 
     U.S. Design Pat. No. 369,442 shows a design for a combination mask and scarf where a series of holes are located in the mouth region. 
     My U.S. Design Pat. No. 398,136 shows a neck warmer where the nose shield extends downward over the mouth area. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,804 shows a protective mask with scarf having a nose opening and a series of small holes for the mouth area. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,474 shows a cold weather mask with a nose opening and a set of small holes for the mouth with the mask shaped to fit about the face. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,800 shows a hat that can be worn as a neck warmer. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,690 shows a head covering a with a nose opening and a set of small holes for the mouth with the mask shaped to fit about the face. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,068 shows a cowl to protect the head face and neck of a user with the cowl includes a channel that directs the exhaled air downward to reduce the likelihood of a user&#39;s glasses becoming fogged. 
     While there are a number of different types of headwear available, there are difficulties or drawbacks that limit the comfortable and effective use of the headwear in different modes. For example, most headwear is suitable for those people who do not wear eyeglasses; however, for those people who do wear eyeglasses they are subject to the annoying problem of having the eyeglasses fog up as the user exhales. This is a particularly annoying problem and can be hazardous if the person is operating equipment out-of-doors. The present invention provides headwear that can be comfortably worn by a person who does not wear eyeglasses or by a person who does wear eyeglasses. If the headwear is worn by a person wearing eyeglass the headwear inhibits the fogging of the user&#39;s eyeglasses as the user exhales. For those user&#39;s who do not wear eyeglasses and do not have the problem of eyeglasses fogging they usually report that the neck gator has a cold and clammy feeling as the moisture condenses in the portion of the neck gator that extends around the user&#39;s mouth and nose area. The present invention when in the face mask mode not only inhibits the fogging of a user&#39;s eyeglasses but also inhibits the clammy feeling associated with face masks or headwear that trap and retain moisture in the fabric, which is next to the user&#39;s face. 
     Other headwear that might be usable in the neck warmer mode suffers from the fact that the openings in the headwear to allow the headwear to function as a facemask make it uncomfortable to use as a neck warmer. In addition, if moisture is retained from the face mask mode wearing the mask in the neck warmer mode is uncomfortable. The present invention overcomes the problems by not only providing headgear that is effective in the facemask mode but headgear that can be quickly pulled down off the user&#39;s face to function in the neck gator mode as an effective neck warmer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A convertible headwear or convertible headgear article having a face mask mode including a nose brim with the nose brim extending away from the users face with the nose brim containing a wind-block material to prevent moisture laden air from being expelled through the fabric of the nose brim with the neck gator having an unimpeded opening around the user&#39;s mouth and nostrils to permit a person to exhale a moisture laden breath though the neck gator and away from the user&#39;s face to thereby inhibit the fogging of a user&#39;s eyeglasses as well as inhibit the clammy feeling that occurs when a face mask becomes moisture laden when used in the face mask mode. When the headgear is used in the neck gator mode the convertible headwear protrusions collapse to provides effective protection to the user&#39;s neck by blocking wind access to the user&#39;s neck through air breathing openings in the headgear. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of my headwear in a storage condition or shipping condition; 
     FIG. 2 is a side view of my headwear of FIG. 1 in the face mask mode with the nose brim in an extended condition; 
     FIG. 3 is a partial cutaway view of the headwear of FIG. 1 revealing the nasal and oral passageway for exhaling air therethrough; 
     FIG. 3 a  is a sectional view taken along lines  3   a — 3   a  of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing how the nose brim lies flat in the neck gator mode or during storage; 
     FIG. 4A is a bottom view showing the nose brim in an extended condition; 
     FIG. 5 is a rear view of the headwear of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view with the headwear on a user including the passageway for exhaling air from the user through the mask. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 3 show headwear  10  in the face mask mode for inhibiting fogging of a wearer&#39;s eyeglasses as well as inhibiting the clammy feeling of conventional face masks. The headwear  10  includes a stretchable cloth band  11  having a top folded over edge  14  and a bottom folded over edge  12 . Top edge  14  comprises a folded edge of band  11  which is fastened to band  11  by stitching  11  a to form a circumferential channel  25  for a face securement member  20  such as a drawstring or the like for securing the top of gator  10  around a uses&#39;face and above or on a user&#39;s nose. Headwear  10  includes a triangular shaped frontal opening  27  that is sufficiently large to extend around a user&#39;s nose and form a non-contacting relationship to either a user lips or a user&#39;s nostrils or both. The frontal opening  27  permits a user to unimpededly inhale and exhale through the mask without having to direct the inhaled and exhaled air through the pores of the fabric comprising the band  11  and thus avoiding an opportunity for moisture to condense in the material of band  11 . With the frontal opening configured to extend laterally outward of both a users nasal passages and a user&#39;s lips one forms a vent or unimpeded passageway through the band  11  to enable an exhaled breadth, from either a user&#39;snares or a user&#39;s mouth, to flow from the inside of band  11  to the outside of band  11  without moisture condensing therein thus avoiding the clammy feeling associated with masks that allow moisture to condense in the fabric of the face mask proximate the users mouth and nose. 
     FIG. 2 shows nose brim  15  in an extended condition. The extended condition corresponds to the condition when a user places the headwear  10  on the users face. The protrusion of the user&#39;s nose holds the nose brim  15  in the extended or angled condition as shown in FIG.  2 . The nose brim  15  is secured to stretchable band  10  at a position above the frontal opening by stitching  11   a . A first triangular shaped tapered pleat  18  extends along a first side of nose brim  18  with one side of the tapered pleat securing a first side  15   c  of nose brim  15  to the stretchable band  10  lateral of a first side of frontal opening  27  through stitching. Similarly, a second triangular shaped tapered pleat  19  extends along a second side  15   d  of nose brim  15  with one side of the second tapered pleat  19  securing the second side  15   d  of nose brim  15  to stretchable band  10  lateral of a second side of frontal opening  27  also through stitching. The lower edge  16  of nose brim  15  is free of any attachment to band  10 . 
     The first tapered pleat  18  and the second tapered pleat  19  comprise a wind-block material that inhibits or prevents air from flowing therethrough while the material of nose brim  15  inhibits or prevents air from flowing therethrough. As illustrated in FIG. 2, nose brim  15  extends outward at an angle from the band  11  to form a funnel shaped atmospheric vent passage  30  or air pocket around an upper portion of the frontal opening  27  to permit the venting of exhaled air, first through the frontal opening  27  and then through the atmospheric vent passage  30 , which enables one to direct exhaled air away from the user&#39;s face and thereby inhibit the fogging of a user&#39;s eyeglasses. Similarly, since the exhaled air does not contact the band proximate the users lips and nose, the clammy feeling occurring when moisture is trapped in the fabric of the headwear is minimized or eliminated. 
     FIG.  2  and FIG. 3 show the headwear  10  can be secured around a users&#39;face by a drawstring  20  which extends in a channel  25  formed by a folded over top edge  14  that contains drawstring  20  and a clamp or stop  21  that can be secured to the drawstring to maintain the drawstring in a taut condition. 
     FIG. 3A shows a separate second layer of material  11   b  that is located around the area of my headwear that is in contact with the bridge of a user&#39;s nose. In order to have the headgear conform to the user&#39;s nose I include a relief opening  11   c  in the portion of material which extends across the bride of the user&#39;s nose. This allows the material to fold tightly against the user nose to prevent air from escaping thereunder and fogging a user&#39;s glasses. 
     A reference to FIG. 4 illustrates how the nose brim  15  folds flat for blocking wind when the headwear is used in the neck gator or neck warmer mode. In the neck gator mode, the nose brim  15  is in a flat folding condition with the nose brim edges  19   b  and  18   b , which are stitched to the adjacent pleats along an edge of the respective pleats, are located laterally outward of pleat  19   c  and  16   c . The edge  18   a  of pleat  18 , is stitched to band  11  and the edge  19   a  is also stitched to band  11 . By allowing the pleats to lay in a parallel condition to the nose brim  15 , when in a folded condition, it provides a dual benefit. First, it blocks the wind when my headwear is pulled down to use as a neck warmer. Second, it permits the nose brim  15  to lie flat for storage and shipping. On the other hand, when the user the head wear  10  in the face mask mode the nose brim  15  extends outward by the nose with the nose brim in the extended condition as shown in FIG.  4 A. In this condition, the nose brim  15  forms the vent passageway  30  for discharging air away from the user&#39;s face. 
     Thus, in the present invention each of the tapered pleats  18  and  19  have an outer edge secured to an outer lateral edge of the nose brim  10  and an inner edge secured to the band  11  at a position inwardly of the outer lateral edges of the nose brim  10  to allow the nose brim  10  to lay flat when not in use and to expand outward to from a pocket or passageway  30  that directs moisture laden air away from the band  11  or nose brim  15  when the gator  10  is on a user&#39;s face. Generally, the pleats have a thickness It which is less than the thickness t 2  of the nose brim  15  to allow for more compact folding of the nose brim  15  against band  11 . In the embodiment shown the pleats  18   a  and  18   b  are prepressed so as to return to the folded condition as shown in FIG. 4 when a user&#39;s nose is not in supporting engagement with the nose brim  15 . This ensures that when headgear  10  is used in the neck warmer mode there will be no exposed passageway for air to enter. As can be seen in FIG. 1 the nose brim  15  extends sufficiently far as to cover the opening  27 . 
     FIG. 5 shows a rear view of the headwear  10  illustrating that the bottom edge  12  has a nape relief  22  that extends upward and is circumferentially positioned on a rear portion of the stretchable band  11  to fit comfortably around the nape of a users neck. Headwear can also be provided with a frontal lip  12   a  for covering a frontal portion of a user&#39;s neck. In the embodiment shown the band  11  is made from a cloth material and is sewn together along a longitudinal seam by use of stitching  24  or the like. 
     FIG. 6 shows in section, headwear  10  located around a user&#39;nares and mouth. In operation, the drawstring  20  secures the headwear  10  about the user&#39;s face and head. In the operable condition the top of nose brim contains layer  11   a  and layer  11   b  which are held in position by the drawstring  20 . The relief opening  11   c  is proximate the bridge of the user&#39;s nose to allow the material to fold at the junction so as to follow the sides of the user&#39;s nose. In the face mask mode, as shown in FIG. 6, the nose brim  15  extends or angles outward and is held outward by the users nose. The angled nose brim  15  creates the vent passageway  30  or pocket in front of the frontal opening  27 . The frontal opening  27  is sufficiently large so as not to cover or contact the user&#39;s nostrils or the users mouth thereby avoiding the clammy feeling that occurs when cloth material contacts the user mouth or nose. The arrows show that a person can exhale from either the users nose or mouth through an atmospheric vent passage  30  formed proximate the frontal opening  27  to permit the venting of exhaled air away from the user&#39;s face to thereby inhibit the fogging of a user&#39;s eyeglasses as well as to inhibit the feeling of clamminess occurring when moisture form the exhaled air is retained in the material. 
     FIG. 6 shows that the band  11  in conjunction with the frontal opening  27  is sufficiently large so as to leave a users lips and nostrils free of the band  11  and thus avoid the maintenance of the band proximate the users mouth and nostrils which can provide a clammy feeling to the face mask. 
     In order to ensure that the warm moisture laden exhaled air does not flow upward toward the users eyes the pleats  18  and  19  can be formed with wind-block material such as ripstop nylon to prevent passage of moisture laden air therethrough. As a consequence, if the nose brim  15  is made of material that prevents moisture from passing therethrough moisture laden air does not flow through either the nose brim  15  or the pleats  18  and  19  but discharges out the end of the nose brim  15 , which is spaced way from the user face and the user&#39;s eyeglasses, thereby inhibiting the opportunity for the warm moisture laden air to contact a user&#39;s eyeglasses and fog the eyeglasses. 
     While the invention is usable in a neck gator or face protector mode a hood could be attached to the gator to provide full head cover. In addition, to conform the top edge to the user&#39;s face a material, such as foam or bendable material can be inserted in channel  25  to allow the face mask to better follow the contour of a user&#39;s nose.