Abstract:
Visors and methods of using a soft type foam visor formed from a pliable and flexible material, such as but not limited to EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) having patterns of through-holes and partial cutouts for allowing accessories such as labels, charms, badges, puncture tool and sunglass/eyeglass supports and the like, to be plugged into the holes and cut-outs and easily removable and interchangeable with other accessories. A removable rear head strap be attached to the visor, having a plurality of holes with fasteners to adjust the strap to different head sizes.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/279,994 filed May 16, 2014, now allowed, which is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/690,881 filed Nov. 30, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,763,163, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/565,627 filed Dec. 1, 2011. The entire disclosure of each of the applications listed in this paragraph are incorporated herein by specific reference thereto. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates to hats and caps, in particular to head visor assemblies, apparatus, and methods of using a soft type foam visor having patterns of different shaped hole openings, such as but not limited to geometrical shapes, letters, characters, and the like, that allow for accessories such as labels, charms, badges, sunglasses, and the like, to be plugged into the openings and easily removable and interchangeable with other accessories. 
       BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART 
       [0003]    Sun visors have become a popular type of headgear for keeping the sun off the face of the wearer. Often the visors are formed from a cloth or fabric type material with a fixed band. Other types of well known visors are formed from a hard plastic with rearwardly extending curved bands which wrap about part of the head of the wearer. 
         [0004]    A problem with these prior art visors is that indicia (such as but not limited to advertisements, etc.) must be permanently fixed thereon. For example, sewing a label on a cloth or fabric visor is well known, but the label is not easily removable. 
         [0005]    Painting indicia with markers and the like, can also be done on prior art visors, but the paint is also generally permanent. Peel and stick decals can also be used, but they are also intended to be permanent and are not intended to be easily removed or changed. 
         [0006]    Using a hook and loop fastener, such as Velcro®, can also be used, but at least one side of the hook and loop fastener, must also be permanently attached to a surface of the visor. 
         [0007]    Caps and visors have been made over the years with holes. See for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,782,206 to Kornsweet; D460,604 to Sullivan; D601,329 to Johns, the latter being the inventor of the subject invention. However, the holes were used for ventilation and/or decoration, and were not useful for mounting and supporting indicia thereon. 
         [0008]    Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the prior art. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    A primary objective of the present invention is to provide head visor devices, apparatus, and methods of using a soft type foam visor having patterns of partial and/or full cutout hole openings that allow for accessories such as labels, charms, badges, and the like, to be plugged into the openings and easily removable and interchangeable with other accessories. 
         [0010]    A secondary objective of the present invention is to provide head visor devices, apparatus, and methods of using a soft type foam visor having patterns of partial and/or full cutout hole openings that allow for accessories such as labels, charms, badges, and the like, to be easily removable and interchangeable with other accessories. 
         [0011]    A third objective of the present invention is to provide head visor devices, apparatus, and methods of using a soft type foam visor having patterns of partial and/or complete throughhole openings that allow for accessories, having an adjustable head strap that is also removable. 
         [0012]    A fourth objective of the present invention is to provide head visor devices, apparatus, and methods of using a soft type foam visor having patterns of partial and/or complete throughhole openings with a puncture tool that can turn partial cutouts into throughhole cutouts to mount accessories thereon. 
         [0013]    A fifth objective of the present invention is to provide head visor devices, apparatus, and methods of using a soft type foam visor having patterns of partial and/or complete throughhole openings having different shapes, such as but not limited to different geometrical shapes, letter shapes, character shapes, and the like, in order to mount accessories thereon. 
         [0014]    A sixth objective of the present invention is to provide head visor devices, apparatus, and methods of using a soft type foam visor having patterns of partial and/or complete throughhole openings that allow for accessories such as adapters to be able to mount sunglasses/eyeglasses to the visor. 
         [0015]    A visor assembly, can include a visor with headband formed from a flexible and pliable material, a plurality of slot shapes on a front surface portion of the visor with headband, at least one accessory having a male member that mateably attaches into at least one of the slots, wherein the accessory is both attachable and detachable from the visor with headband. 
         [0016]    The visor assembly of claim  1 , can include a removable strap having ends that are attachable to left and right portions of the headband, the removable strap being formed from the flexible and pliable material. The removable strap can include rivet members having inwardly protruding portions for being insertable into a plurality of adjustment holes in the removable strap. The visor material can be EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). 
         [0017]    The accessory can include a logo plate, having indicia across a front surface of the logo plate, and/or a decorative charm. 
         [0018]    The slot shapes can include circular shapes, noncircular geometrical shapes, outline shapes of different characters and objects. 
         [0019]    The slot shapes can include through-hole cutouts through the visor, and/or partial cutouts through only a surface portion of the visor. 
         [0020]    A puncture tool can be included for puncturing a partial-cutout into a through-hole cutout. An adapter can be used for attaching sunglasses/eyeglasses to the visor assembly. 
         [0021]    A visor assembly kit, can include the combination of a visor with headband formed from a flexible and pliable material, a plurality of both through-hole slots and partial cut-out slots along a front surface portion of the visor with headband, a removable strap having ends that are attachable to left and right portions of the headband, the removable strap being formed from the flexible and pliable material, and a plurality of accessories, each accessory having a male member that mateably attaches into at least one of the through-hole slots and partial cut-out slots, wherein the accessories are both attachable and detachable from the visor with headband, and wherein the accessories are selected from the group consisting of logo plates and decorative charms and a puncture tool to punch out a partial cutout, and an adapter for mounting sunglasses/eyeglasses to the visor assembly. The plurality of both through-hole slots and partial cut-out slots, can include different shapes, such as different geometrical shapes, letters, character outlines. 
         [0022]    Further objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments which are illustrated schematically in the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of the novel visor assembly. 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective of the visor assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is a top exploded perspective view of the visor assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  is a bottom exploded perspective view of the visor assembly of  FIG. 3   
           [0027]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the visor assembly of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0028]      FIG. 5A  is a cross-sectional view of the band rivet connection of  FIG. 5  along arrow  5 A. 
           [0029]      FIG. 5B  is a cross-sectional view of the charm connection of  FIG. 5  along arrow  5 B. 
           [0030]      FIG. 6  is a bottom view of visor assembly of  FIG. 5 . 
           [0031]      FIG. 7  is a right side view of the visor assembly of  FIGS. 5-6 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 8  is a left side view of the visor assembly of  FIGS. 5-6 . 
           [0033]      FIG. 9  is a front side view of the visor assembly of  FIGS. 5-8 . 
           [0034]      FIG. 10  is a rear side view of the visor assembly of  FIGS. 5-8 . 
           [0035]      FIG. 11  is a top front perspective view of the visor assembly of the preceding figures showing logo plate and charm ready to be installed. 
           [0036]      FIG. 12  is another top front perspective view of the visor assembly of  FIG. 11  showing logo plate and charms installed. 
           [0037]      FIG. 13  is a bottom front inside perspective view of the visor assembly of  FIG. 11  showing logo plate and charm ready to be installed. 
           [0038]      FIG. 14  is a bottom front inside perspective view of the visor assembly of  FIG. 13  showing logo plate and charm installed. 
           [0039]      FIG. 15  is a top view of a logo plate for the visor assembly of the preceding figures. 
           [0040]      FIG. 16  is a front view of the logo plate of  FIG. 15 . 
           [0041]      FIG. 17  is a front right perspective view of the logo plate of  FIG. 15 . 
           [0042]      FIG. 18  is a rear right perspective view of the logo plate of  FIG. 15 . 
           [0043]      FIG. 19  is top view of a charm accessory for the visor assembly of the preceding figures. 
           [0044]      FIG. 20  is a front view of the charm of  FIG. 19 . 
           [0045]      FIG. 21  is a front right perspective view of the charm of  FIG. 19 . 
           [0046]      FIG. 22  is a rear right perspective view of the charm of  FIG. 19 . 
           [0047]      FIG. 23  is a front view of a puncture tool for use with visor assembly. 
           [0048]      FIG. 24  is a side view of the puncture tool of  FIG. 23 . 
           [0049]      FIG. 25  is a top view of another visor assembly. 
           [0050]      FIG. 26  is a top view of still another visor assembly. 
           [0051]      FIG. 27  is a perspective view of an adapter for mounting sunglasses/eyeglasses to the visor assembly. 
           [0052]      FIG. 28  is a side view of the adapter of  FIG. 27 . 
           [0053]      FIG. 29  is a front view of the adapter of  FIG. 27 . 
           [0054]      FIG. 30  is a front perspective view of a visor assembly with adapter of  FIG. 27  and mounted sunglasses/eyeglasses. 
           [0055]      FIG. 31  is a side view of the visor assembly, adapter and mounted sunglasses of  FIG. 30 . 
           [0056]      FIG. 32  is a front view of the visor assembly, adapter and mounted sunglasses of  FIG. 30 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0057]    Before explaining the disclosed embodiments of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its applications to the details of the particular arrangements shown since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. 
         [0058]    A listing of components will now be described.
     10  visor assembly.     20  Visor/brim.     30  Headband.     40  Back band.     50  Snap-in charm.     60  Snap-in logo plate.     70  Sweat band.     80  Through-hole cutouts and/or partial cut-outs for charms and logo plate.     90  Back band rivet.     100  Back band adjustment holes in headband.     110  Rivet hole in back band.     120  Back band alignment stud.     130  Studs to secure logo plate and charms into cutouts.     140 . Puncture tool     142 . front of tool     144 . raised gripping surface     145 . puncture tip     147 . stem     148 . stud/rear wall     150 . visor assembly with different shaped cutouts     152 . letter shaped cutout     154 . star shaped cutout     158 . half moon shaped cutout     160 . visor assembly with more different shaped cutouts     162 . triangle shaped cutout     164 . rectangular/square shaped cutout     166 . cartoon character shaped cutout     170 . adapter for eyeglasses/sunglasses     172 . front wall of adapter     174 . curved hook     175 . stem     178 . stud/rear wall     180 . eyeglasses/sunglasses     182 . arm(s)     190 . visor assembly for eyeglasses/sunglasses   
 
         [0094]    The inventor of the subject invention is also the inventor on U.S. Design Patent D601,329 to Johns, which is incorporated by reference. 
         [0095]      FIG. 1  is a top perspective view of the novel visor assembly  10 .  FIG. 2  is a bottom perspective of the visor assembly  10  of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3  is a top exploded perspective view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 4  is a bottom exploded perspective view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIG. 3   FIG. 5  is a top view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0096]      FIG. 5A  is a cross-sectional view of the band rivet connection of  FIG. 5  along arrow  5 A. 
         [0097]      FIG. 5B  is a cross-sectional view of the charm connection of  FIG. 5  along arrow  5 B. 
         [0098]      FIG. 6  is a bottom view of visor assembly  10  of  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 7  is a right side view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIGS. 5-6 .  FIG. 8  is a left side view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIGS. 5-6 .  FIG. 9  is a front side view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIGS. 5-8 .  FIG. 10  is a rear side view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIGS. 5-8 . 
         [0099]      FIG. 11  is a top front perspective view of the visor assembly  10  of the preceding figures showing logo plate and charm ready to be installed. 
         [0100]      FIG. 12  is another top front perspective view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIG. 11  showing logo plate and charms installed. 
         [0101]      FIG. 13  is a bottom front inside perspective view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIG. 11  showing logo plate and charm ready to be installed. 
         [0102]      FIG. 14  is a bottom front inside perspective view of the visor assembly  10  of  FIG. 13  showing logo plate and charm installed. 
         [0103]      FIG. 15  is a top view of a logo plate for the visor assembly  10  of the preceding figures.  FIG. 16  is a front view of the logo plate of  FIG. 15 .  FIG. 17  is a front right perspective view of the logo plate of  FIG. 15 .  FIG. 18  is a rear right perspective view of the logo plate of  FIG. 15 . The logo plates can have indicia on a front surface portion, such as but not limited to advertisements, sports teams, names, pictures, and the like. 
         [0104]      FIG. 19  is top view of a charm accessory for the visor assembly  10  of the preceding figures.  FIG. 20  is a front view of the charm of  FIG. 19 .  FIG. 21  is a front right perspective view of the charm of  FIG. 19 .  FIG. 22  is a rear right perspective view of the charm of  FIG. 19 . The charm accessory can be a decorative part, such as but not limited to a Jibitz™. The decorative pieces, can include various types of shapes, such as but not limited to animals, fish, birds, cartoon characters, flowers, trees, and the like. 
         [0105]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-22 , the visor assembly can be comprised of two or three components. The main two components are the front part of the visor assembly which includes a visor portion  20  with front head band portion  30 , that is separated from and attachable to a back band  40  type strap. A third component can be a sweatband  70  that can be attached into the inside wall of the head band portion  30 . 
         [0106]    The visor portion  20  with front band portion  30 , and the back band (strap)  40  can be formed from or molded from a soft plastic, such as but not limited to EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). The novel visor  10  can also be water proof, float in water, be antibacterial, have good clarity and gloss, barrier properties, low-temperature toughness, stress-crack resistance, hot-melt adhesive, and resistance to UV (ultra violet) radiation. EVA has little or no odor and is competitive with rubber and vinyl products in cost. The invention can be formed from other materials, similar to EVA, that also have similar properties. 
         [0107]    The visor assembly  10  of the previous figures can have partial cutouts instead of completely through-hole cutouts  80 . The partial cut-outs can have indentations through the visor/brim  20  and/or through the headband  30  that are not complete through-holes. These partial cut-outs can be molded to have narrow thicknesses than the rest of the visor/brim  20  and headband  30  material. As such, the user can use a puncture tool  140  as described in  FIGS. 23-24  to complete the cut-out through the visor/brim  20  and/or headband  30  as desired. For example, a visor assembly  10  can have a mix of through-hole cutouts and partial cut-outs. Alternatively, the visor assembly can have all through-hole cutouts or all partial cut-outs. 
         [0108]      FIG. 23  is a front view of a puncture tool  140  for use with visor assembly.  FIG. 24  is a side view of the puncture tool  140  of  FIG. 23 . On the front  142  of the tool  140  can be a gripping surface that can have raised ribs or grooves thereon, and extending downward can be a narrow tip  145 . The stud/rear wall  148  can be joined to the front wall by a stem portion  147 . In operation, the user can grip the tool  140  by pinching the front wall  142  and rear wall  148  between two fingers, and push the narrow tip  145  into a partial cut-out opening  80  as desired to mount charm(s)  50 , logo plate(s)  60  thereon. The tool  140  can also be stored on the visor assembly  1  by pushing the stud/rear wall  148  into a throughhole cut-out  80  on the visor assembly. 
         [0109]    The invention can be distributed and/or sold in a package or kit form, having visor assembly  1 , along with a plurality of logo plates  60  and decorative (charm) parts  50  and puncture tool  140 , and sunglass/eyeglass adapter  170 . 
         [0110]    Although, the cut-out slots (sockets)  80 ,  100  for the labels  60  and charms  50  are shown to be circular, the sockets can have other geometrical shapes, such as but not limited to triangular, rectangular, hexagon, and the like. Still furthermore, the sockets can be customized into other desirable shapes such as but not limited to character outline shapes, such as MICKEY MOUSE®, animals, mammals, birds, fish, and any other desirable outline shape, and the like. 
         [0111]      FIG. 25  is a top view of another visor assembly  150 .  FIG. 26  is a top view of still another visor assembly  160 . Here, different shapes, such as letter shaped cutout  152 , star shaped cutout  154 , half moon shaped cutout  158 , triangle shaped cutout  162 , rectangular/square shaped cutout  164 , and other shapes  166 , such as cartoon character shaped cutout  166  can be formed into the visor assembly  150 ,  160 . 
         [0112]      FIG. 27  is a perspective view of an adapter  170  for mounting sunglasses/eyeglasses to the visor assembly  190  (shown in  FIGS. 30-32 .  FIG. 28  is a side view of the adapter  170  of  FIG. 27 .  FIG. 29  is a front view of the adapter  170  of  FIG. 27 . The adapter  170  can include a front wall  172  having a curved hook  174  fixed thereon, with a stem  175  to attach to a stud/rear wall  178 . 
         [0113]      FIG. 30  is a front perspective view of a visor assembly  190  with adapter of  FIG. 27  and mounted sunglasses/eyeglasses  180 .  FIG. 31  is a side view of the visor assembly  190 , adapter  170  and mounted sunglasses  180  of  FIG. 30 .  FIG. 32  is a front view of the visor assembly  190 , adapter  170  and mounted sunglasses  180  of  FIG. 30 . The user can push the stud/rear wall  178  of the adapter  170  through headband adjustment holes  100  on both sides of the visor assembly  190  with the free end of the hook  174  angled upward. Next, the arms  182  of the eyeglasses/sunglasses  180  can be positioned into the hook portions  174 , with the glass portions of the eyeglasses/sunglasses  180  positioned on the visor/brim  20 . The curved hooks  174  can be angled so that the arms  182  of the eyeglasses/sunglasses  180  are tightly held in place. The user can safely store their eyeglasses/sunglasses  180  on the visor assembly  190 . And when the eyeglasses/sunglasses  180  are needed, the user, can easily remove the eyeglasses/sunglasses  180  from the adapter  170  to wear them when needed. 
         [0114]    While the invention shows plug on labels and charms, the invention can be used with other accessories. For example, a scalp cover can attach to the top of the visor assembly and have plug in base members that allow for the cover to protect the scalp of the wearer. Furthermore, a neck shade attachment formed from similar material or formed from cloth or fabric, can attach by pluggable members to the rear of the band strap. Still furthermore, other accessories, such as but not limited to sunglass shades, and the like, can also be pluggable onto the visor assembly. 
         [0115]    While the invention has been described, disclosed, illustrated and shown in various terms of certain embodiments or modifications which it has presumed in practice, the scope of the invention is not intended to be, nor should it be deemed to be, limited thereby and such other modifications or embodiments as may be suggested by the teachings herein are particularly reserved especially as they fall within the breadth and scope of the claims here appended.