Abstract:
A shade that is removably attachable to a bill of a hat has a pocket member that has a pocket formed therein. The bill of the hat is received within the pocket and is friction held therein, with or without the assistance of optional clips. A glare shielding extension downwardly depends from the outer periphery of the body member so that the extension is positioned in the line of sight of a user when wearing the hat in normal fashion. The extension may be opaque or may have at least a portion thereof that is an optical portion.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a shade system that removably attaches to the brim or bill of a hat, such as a baseball cap, wherein the shade system has a downwardly depending shade extension that helps shield a user&#39;s eyes from glare that is otherwise not blocked by the bill proper 
     2. Background of the Prior Art 
     People wear hats, such as baseball style caps, for a variety of reasons, including to show team support, protect their head from wind and the sun, especially if the person is partially or totally bald, and to protect the user&#39;s eyes from glare caused by sun and other sources. 
     Although the bill of the hat often provides sufficient anti-glare protection to the wearer, especially if the sun is high in the sky and the person is predominantly looking straight forward, such as when driving, the bill of the hat has its limitations in shield one&#39;s eyes from glare. Often, the wearer must look upwards toward the sky, for example, when trying to catch a baseball. During the upward look, the bill of the hat ceases to provide some, if not all of its anti-glare protections. During the winter months, or in the mornings or evenings, the sun can often be in the direct sight path of a person who is otherwise looking essentially straight forward. Sometimes, the sun bounces off a ground surface, such as when a person is boating and the sun reflects off of the water, so that the bill of the hat does not offer full anti-glare protection. In many glare causing situations, the sun is not the problem, rather artificial light offers the annoying glare, such as during a night baseball game with the powerful stadium lights being in the line of sight of a person. 
     These and other glare problem situations have prompted people to take defensive action to cut down on the glare, which glare can be annoying, such as not being able to see the spectacular line drive snag by the shortstop, to being potentially dangerous, such as when the water&#39;s glare causes a person navigating a water vessel to lose sight of other vessels operating nearby. 
     The simplest way to cut glare is to use a hand to shield one&#39;s eyes. While effective for ad hoc glare, this method of reducing glare is not very feasible for extended or long-term glare reduction, especially if the person has need for both hands to perform other functions. 
     Another relatively simple solution people employ to block out glare is to wear sunglasses, specifically polarized glasses, which, depending on the specific model, can dramatically reduce the encountered glare. While using eyewear to cut glare can be effective, this glare cutting method also has its limitations. Some people wear regular glasses and cannot simply don sunglasses to cut glare, for fear of losing a substantial portion of their visual acuity. While such persons can obtain prescription sunglasses, such sunglasses can be expensive, and many people do not want to carry two sets of glasses. Additionally some people simply do not like to wear sunglasses at any time. Furthermore, the use of sunglasses may not be appropriate when artificial light is the cause of the glare. 
     Others have proposed anti-glare systems that work in conjunction with the hat that is being worn. These systems have an additional layer of shielding against incoming light above the standard bill of the hat. These anti-glare systems, which vary widely in their design and architecture, and which work with varying degrees of efficiency, suffer from one or more drawbacks. Many such systems are essentially permanently attached to the hat, often requiring an alteration to the hat, which alteration may be substantial. Many people are unwilling to deploy such a system as such people are unwilling to make the necessary alterations to the hat and/or do not want the system to remain permanently resident on the hat, as the system may be unattractive or may block the emblem on the hat, which emblem the hat wearer is trying to promote. As such systems may be permanently or semi-permanently attached to a given hat, they require the purchase of multiple systems if a person wants protection on multiple hats. 
     Some systems are unusually complex in design and construction so as to make such systems relatively expensive to produce and obtain. Additionally, the complexity of the system may require a relatively long time to deploy the protective features of the system, which time length can prove unworkable to person who needs anti-glare protection when his favorite team is first and goal and is on the one position of the field where the stadium&#39;s lights are problematic. By the time the hat&#39;s anti-glare system is deployed, his or her team may already be kicking the extra point. 
     What is needed is a system that helps cut down on glare experienced by a hat wearer to help augment the hat&#39;s permanent bill that does not fully cut down the glare. Such a system must not necessarily rely on the use of sunglasses or other visual optic type of technology. Such a system must not be permanently or semi-permanently attached to the hat and must not require that alterations be made to the hat. Such a system must be relatively simple in design and construction and must be quickly and easily deployed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The shade system attachable to a bill of a hat of the present invention addresses the aforementioned needs in the art by providing a device that is attached to a bill of a hat and helps shield a person&#39;s eyes from light coming into the person&#39;s field of view, over and above the light shielding provided by the hat&#39;s bill. The shade system attachable to a bill of a hat is quickly and easily attached to and removed from the hat without the need to make any alterations to the hat. The shade system attachable to a bill of a hat is of simple design and construction, being produced using standard manufacturing techniques, so that the device is relatively inexpensive to produce and obtain thereby making the device economically attractive to potential consumers for this type of product. 
     The shade system attachable to a bill of a hat is comprised of a pocket member that has an open proximal end, at least a partially closed distal end, and an outer periphery. The pocket member is formed from an upper body member and a lower body member attached to the upper body member at the outer periphery of the pocket member. A pocket is formed within the pocket member between the upper body member and the lower body member and is accessible through the open proximal end of the pocket member. An extension extends downwardly from the outer periphery of the pocket member. The pocket removably receives the bill of the hat through the open proximal end of the pocket member, such that the pocket is shaped and dimensioned to correspond to a shape and a dimension of the bill in order to frictionally secure the bill within the pocket. An optional clip is disposed within the pocket and removably receives the bill whenever the bill is substantially fully inserted into the pocket. The entire extension may be opaque or at least a portion of the extension may be an optical portion (similar to sunglasses or anti-glare glasses) so that the optical portion is either transparent or translucent and may be tinted, polarized, or otherwise have an anti-glare coating thereon. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat of the present invention about to be attached to a bill of a baseball type cap. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view, partially cut away, of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat employing an optional retention clip within its pocket. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, it is seen that the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat of the present invention, generally denoted by reference numeral  10 , is comprised of a pocket member  12  that has an open proximal end  14  and a fully or partially closed distal end  16  and an outer periphery  18  and is formed by an upper body member  20  and a lower body member  22  that are attached to one another at their respective outer peripheries forming a pocket  24  between the upper body member  20  and lower body member  22 , the pocket  24  being accessible through the open proximal end  14  of the pocket member  12 . Although not strictly required, the pocket member  12  may have outer ears  26  that extend rearwardly (in opposite direction of the distal end  16  of the pocket member  12 ) from the proximal end  14  of the pocket member  12 . A downwardly depending extension  28  extends downwardly from the pocket member  12  at its outer periphery  18 . 
     In order to use the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10  of the present invention, a hat  30  with a bill  32  is provided and the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10  is attached to the hat  30  by sliding the bill  32  of the hat  30  into the pocket  24  of the pocket member  12 , through the pocket member&#39;s open proximal end  14 . The bill  32  is inserted until it is as far into the pocket  24  as the bill  32  will travel. When the wearer of the hat  30  dons the hat  30  (the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10  can be attached to the hat  30  during wearing of the hat  30 , there is no need to remove the hat  30  from one&#39;s head in order to deploy the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10 ), the extension  28  extends downwardly some distance below the lower surface of the hat&#39;s bill  32  providing some incoming light shielding above that provided by the bill  32  alone and without the need to slump the forward portion of the hat  30  far down the wearer&#39;s face in order shield the wearer&#39;s eyes from the incoming light. 
     The pocket  24  is shaped to correspond to the shape of the bill  32  of the hat  30 , both in peripheral curvature and latitudinal curvature (across the bill  32  of the hat  30 ) and longitudinal curvature (from the point of the bill&#39;s attachment to the hat  30 , forward to the distal end of the bill  32 )—of course the bill may have a shape other than being rounded and may not be curved—and is dimensioned to be very slightly larger than the bill  32  so that the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10  friction holds the bill  32  within the pocket  24 . The curvature of the pocket  24 , especially the latitudinal curvature, may be either slightly more curved or slightly less curved than the latitudinal curvature of the bill  32  so that when the bill  32  is inserted into the pocket  24  of the pocket member  12 , the pocket member  12  flexes in order for the pocket  24  to match the curvature of the bill  32  and thus be able to receive the bill  32 , and once the bill  32  is received within the pocket  24 , the pocket member  12 , being resilient, attempts to spring back to its original shape and thereby help friction hold the bill  32  within the pocket  24 . One or more optional C-clips  34  can be located within the pocket  24 , proximate its bottom, which clips  34  help provide for additional securement of the bill  32  within the pocket  24 , which may be necessary if an off-sized hat bill is being used or the user is engaged in a particularly physical activity. 
     The lower body member  20  and the upper body member  22  may be formed in similar manner to the formation of the bill a of a typical baseball cap, such as by each member  20  and  22  having a pair of cloth pockets that hold a piece of structural material therebetween such as cardboard or plastic. In such a design, the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10  maintains the original appearance of the hat  30 , especially if the aesthetic ears  26  are used and if the user color coordinates the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10  with the hat  30 . Alternately, the lower body member  20  and the upper body member  22  may each be made from a single solid piece of material such as plastic or even cardboard for a relatively inexpensive and disposable version of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10 . Attachment of the lower body member  20  with the upper body member  22  is dependent on the materials used to form them (for example, sewing the lower body member  20  to the upper body member  22  if the body members  20  and  22  are cloth based, with or without an internal structural member, ultra-sonic welding if the lower body member  20  and the upper body member  22  are made from plastic, gluing if the lower body member  20  and the upper body member  22  are made from cardboard, etc.). The extension  28  can be attached predominantly to the lower body member  20  or to the upper body member  22  or may be attached to the two body member&#39;s joinder line. The extension  28  is attached to the pocket member  12  in appropriate fashion depending on the materials used to form the pocket member  12  and the extension  28 . The extension  28  may be monolithic with one of the body members  20  or  22  if such member is made from a solid material. The extension  28  may, but need not extend about the entire outer periphery  18 , including the ears  26 , of the pocket member  12 . 
     As seen in  FIG. 4 , in an alternate embodiment of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110  of the present invention, The shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110  is substantially similar to the first embodiment of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10  and is comprised of a pocket member  112  that has an open proximal end  114  and a fully or partially closed distal end  116  and an outer periphery  118  that is formed by an upper body member  120  and a lower body member  122  that are attached to one another at their respective outer peripheries forming a pocket  124  between the upper body member  120  and lower body member  122 , the pocket  124  being accessible through the open proximal end  114  of the pocket member  112 . Although not strictly required, the pocket member  112  may have outer ears  126  that extend rearwardly (in opposite direction of the distal end  116  of the pocket member  112 ) from the proximal end  114  of the pocket member  112 . A downwardly depending extension  128  extends downwardly from the pocket member  112  at its outer periphery  118 , the extension  128  has an optical portion that is either transparent or translucent and may be tinted or otherwise provided with anti-glare properties. The optical portion of the extension  128  may cover substantially the entire extension  128  or only a portion, namely the central portion, thereof. 
     The use of this embodiment of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110  of the present invention, is essentially identical to the previous version of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  10 , in that the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110  is attached to the hat  30  by sliding the bill  32  of the hat  30  into the pocket  124  of the pocket member  112 , through the pocket member&#39;s open proximal end  114 . The bill  32  is inserted until it is as far into the pocket  124  as the bill  32  will travel. When the wearer of the hat  30  dons the hat  30  (the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110  can be attached to the hat  30  during wearing of the hat  30 , there is no need to remove the hat  30  from one&#39;s head in order to deploy the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110 ), the extension  128  extends downwardly some distance below the lower surface of the hat&#39;s bill  32  providing some incoming glare shielding similar to that afforded by the use of sunglasses or anti-glare glasses, depending on the optical composition of the extension  128 . 
     The pocket  124  is shaped to correspond to the shape of the bill  32  of the hat  30 , both in peripheral curvature and latitudinal curvature (across the bill  32  of the hat  30 ) and longitudinal curvature (from the point of the bill&#39;s attachment to the hat  30 , forward to the distal end of the bill  32 )—of course the bill may have a shape other than being rounded and may not be curved—and is dimensioned to be very slightly larger than the bill  32  so that the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110  friction holds the bill  32  within the pocket  124 . The curvature of the pocket  124 , especially the latitudinal curvature, may be either slightly more curved or slightly less curved than the latitudinal curvature of the bill  32  so that when the bill  32  is inserted into the pocket  124  of the pocket member  112 , the pocket member  112  flexes in order for the pocket  124  to match the curvature of the bill  32  and thus be able to receive the bill  32 , and once the bill  32  is received within the pocket  124 , the pocket member  112 , being resilient, attempts to spring back to its original shape and thereby help friction hold the bill  32  within the pocket  124 . One or more optional C-clips (not illustrated) can be located within the pocket  124 , proximate its bottom, which clips help provide for additional securement of the bill  32  within the pocket  124 , which may be necessary if an off-sized hat bill is being used or the user is engaged in a particularly physical activity. 
     The lower body member  120  and the upper body member  122  may be formed in similar manner to the formation of the bill of a typical baseball cap, such as by each having a pair of cloth pockets that hold a piece of structural material therebetween such as cardboard or plastic. In such a design, the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110  maintains the original appearance of the hat  30 , especially if the aesthetic ears  126  are used and if the user color coordinates the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110  with the hat  30 . Alternately, the lower body member  120  and the upper body member  122  may each be made from a single solid piece of material such as plastic or even cardboard for a relatively inexpensive and disposable version of the shade system attachable to a bill of a hat  110 . Attachment of the lower body member  120  with the upper body member  122  is dependent on the materials used to form each member  120  and  122  (for example, sewing the lower body member  120  to the upper body member  122  if the body members  120  and  122  are cloth based, with or without an internal structural member, ultra-sonic welding if the lower body member  120  and the upper body member  122  are made from plastic, gluing if the lower body member  120  and the upper body member  122  are made from cardboard, etc.). The extension  128  can be attached predominantly to the lower body member  120  or to the upper body member  122  or may be attached to the two body member&#39;s joinder line. The extension  128  is attached to the pocket member  112  in appropriate fashion depending on the materials used to form the pocket member  112 . The extension  128  may, but need not extend about the entire outer periphery, including the ears  126 , of the pocket member  112 . 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.