Abstract:
A sunshade mask is provided, which can shut out sunlight during outdoor activities, provide facility in carrying, keeping, and handling the mask, and set off user&#39;s figure to advance on a festival or at a party. The sunshade includes a mask portion including a mask body having visual openings formed on eye positions of the mask body, and windows movably formed to open/close the visual openings; and a band portion including band bodies coupled to the mask body to surround a head, and fitting means provided on the band bodies to fit in user&#39;s figure.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Utility Model Application No. 20-2010-0002396, filed on Mar. 9, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to a sunshade mask, and more particularly, to a sunshade mask, which can shut out sunlight during outdoor activities to prevent trouble or damage of a face that may be caused by ultraviolet rays, and improve an external sense of beauty on a festival or at a party. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0005]    If a skin is directly exposed to sunlight in hot summer days, it exerts a bad effect on the skin. In particular, if a face, and especially a woman&#39;s face, is exposed to the sunlight, there may occur various skin-related diseases, such as skin color changes, skin aging, skin cancer, light allergy, skin color diseases such as freckles and flecks, and skin diseases that are aggravated by light. 
         [0006]    In order to prevent skin trouble that may occur due to an exposure of skin to ultraviolet rays, a sunshade means is worn. Various kinds of sunshade means may typically include a cap, a cap with a shade which is movable in upward and downward directions to shade the sunlight onto a face, a face cover that is formed by bending a woven sunshade to shade the sunlight onto a face, and the like. 
         [0007]    The inventor of this application has obtained a Utility Model Registration (No. 440757) entitled “Sunshade Helmet”. This sunshade helmet can shade the sunlight that is directed to a face, and will be briefly described hereinafter with reference to  FIG. 7 . 
         [0008]    A sunshade helmet  1  includes a helmet body  5  which is composed of a front body  2  and a rear body  3  and is in the form of a helmet on which ventilation holes  4  are formed, a visual window  6  formed on a front surface portion of the helmet body  5  to secure the visual field of a user, and a window cover  7  provided on the visual window  6  to be opened/closed in upward/downward directions. 
         [0009]    The front body  2  and the rear body  3  are detachably fastened by a fastener  10  that is composed of a center fastening member for fastening upper and center portions of the front body  2  and the rear body  3  and side fastening members for fastening both sides of the front body  2  and the rear body  3 . 
         [0010]    On a lower end portion of the helmet body  5 , a front curtain  11  and a rear curtain  12  are provided to shade the sunlight that is directed to exposed face, head, and neck portions. 
         [0011]    Since the sunshade helmet as described above covers a user&#39;s head and face as a whole, it can effectively shade the sunlight that is directed to the user&#39;s head and face. However the helmet has a considerably large size even in a separated state in comparison to a general hat, and thus it is not easy to carry or keep the helmet. 
         [0012]    Also, in the case of putting on the helmet, it should be in a fastened state, while in the case of carrying or keeping the helmet, it is separated into parts for convenience in carrying or keeping the helmet. In consideration of the fact that most users of the helmet are women, the above-described fastening and separating work is not easy. Also, it is difficult to carry the helmet in a woman&#39;s bag, and thus a separate bag for the helmet is necessary to cause great inconvenience to the user. 
         [0013]    Although the helmet body has ventilation holes, the helmet itself completely covers the user&#39;s face and head, the ventilation in the helmet is not smooth, and especially in hot summer days, the temperature inside the helmet is greatly increased, so that a user has difficulty in walking and even in breathing. 
         [0014]    Since physical conditions of users who put on the helmets are diverse, diverse standards for making the helmets are required to satisfy the users having diverse physical conditions, and this causes the increase of the manufacturing cost to weaken the competitiveness. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art while advantages achieved by the prior art are maintained intact. 
         [0016]    One subject to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a sunshade mask, which can shut out sunlight during outdoor activities, provide facility in carrying, keeping, and handling the mask, and set off user&#39;s figure to advance on a festival or at a party. 
         [0017]    In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sunshade mask, which includes a mask portion including a mask body having visual openings formed on eye positions of the mask body, and windows movably formed to open/close the visual openings; and a band portion including band bodies coupled to the mask body to surround a head, and fitting means provided on the band bodies to fit in user&#39;s figure. 
         [0018]    With the above-described construction, the sun shade mask basically performs the sunshade function by covering only user&#39;s face portion, and provides facility in wearing, carrying, keeping, and handling the mask. Accordingly, it provides convenience in use, and the manufacturing cost is reduced. Also, it can be used to set off user&#39;s figure to advance on a festival or at a party. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0020]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a sunshade mask as a whole according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a mask portion of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a band portion of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a mask portion of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a band portion of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention, in which (a) illustrates another example; 
           [0025]      FIG. 6  is a view illustrating a use state of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0026]      FIG. 7  is a view illustrating a sunshade helmet in the related art. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]    Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The matters defined in the description, such as the detailed construction and elements, are nothing but specific details provided to assist those of ordinary skill in the art in a comprehensive understanding of the invention, and thus the present invention is not limited thereto. 
         [0028]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a sunshade mask as a whole according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a mask portion of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention,  FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a band portion of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention, and  FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a mask portion of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention.  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view illustrating a band portion of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention, in which (a) illustrates another example, and  FIG. 6  is a view illustrating a use state of a sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         [0029]    A sunshade mask  100  according to an embodiment of the invention includes a mask portion  101  formed in the same shape as a front surface portion of a face to shade sunlight that is directed to a face, and a band portion  102  that is coupled to the mask portion  101  using a coupling means such as a button, a Velcro, and the like, to stably maintain the mask portion. 
         [0030]    The mask portion  101  includes a mask body  104  which is in a face shape as a whole, and has a projecting nose portion and visual openings  103  formed on eye positions of the mask body  104 . 
         [0031]    The mask body  104  is made of a light material having a good plasticity, such as rubber, synthetic resin (plastic), or woven fabrics, to heighten the wearing sensation. It is preferable that the mask body  104  can be freely folded during carrying and keeping and can be returned to its original state. The mask body  104  may be made to be opaque, and diverse colors or designs may be applied to the surface of the mask body  104  to improve an external sense of beauty. 
         [0032]    On an upper side of the visual openings  103 , windows are provided, and on a lower side of the visual openings  103  and on an upper side of the window  105 , a window fixing member  106  for fixing the opened or closed window  105  is further provided. 
         [0033]    It is preferable that the window  105  is made of a film type material which shades ultraviolet rays and prevents diffused reflection, such as a polarization film used in sunglasses, and the window fixing member  106  may be provided between the window  105  and the mask body  104  in diverse forms, such as a hermaphrodite button, a toggle switch, Velcro, and the like. 
         [0034]    On both sides of the mask body  104 , ear-loops  107  are further provided to prevent the falling-off of the mask  100  during wearing the mask  100 , and on the inner surface of the mask body  104 , a contact prevention member  108  for preventing user&#39;s face from being in contact with the mask body  104  during wearing the mask is provided. 
         [0035]    The position of the contact prevention member  108  may be positioned in any portion of the user&#39;s face, but it is preferable to form the contact prevention member  108  around a cheekbone (the center position of a cheek) to stably support the mask. The contact prevention member  108  may be integrally formed with the mask body  104  to project or separately formed from the mask body  104  and detachably fixed to the mask body  104  using a typical fixing means or coupling means. 
         [0036]    On the inner end portion of the contact prevention member  108  which is in contact with the body, a contact base  109  in the form of a sucker, which can prevent damage of the body by widening the contact area with the body and remove an unpleasant feeling, is formed. 
         [0037]    The band portion  102  includes a band body  110  which has a predetermined width and surrounds the forehead and the back of the head. The band body  110  may be made of diverse materials, such as a woven material, a leather material, a synthetic resin material having flexibility, and the like. 
         [0038]    The band body  110  is typically formed longer than a head girth, and fitting means  111 , such as a hermaphrodite button, Velcro, or the like, is provided on both end portions of the band body  110  to fit in user&#39;s figure (head girth). 
         [0039]    On the inner surface (a region that is in contact with the body) of the band body  110 , a separation means  112  is provided to heighten the adhesion with the body and to achieve smooth air circulation to the body contact region. 
         [0040]    The separation means  112  is provided with plural air sacs  113  which are arranged at equal intervals, and tube-shaped paths  114  connecting between the air sacs  113  so that the air sacs  113  communicate with one another. An air inlet port  115  is formed on one side of the air sac  113  to achieve air injection and discharge through the air inlet port  115 . The air sacs  113  maintain contact state with the body through expansion and contraction of air in the air sacs  113 . 
         [0041]    OF course, the shape of the air sac  113  may be a tetragon, a circle, a semi-circle, and the like, and as another example of the separation means  112 , plural elastic pads  116  made of a material having self-elasticity and superior elasticity, such as sponge, urethane foam, or the like, may be arranged at equal intervals. 
         [0042]    The use state of the sunshade mask  100  as constructed above according to an embodiment of the invention will be described. 
         [0043]    After the mask portion  101  is coupled to the band portion  102  using a coupling means, a user wears the band portion  102  around the user&#39;s head. In this case, the inner side surface of the band body  110  is in contact with the forehead, and using the fitting means  111  provided on both end portions of the band body  110 , the band body  110  fits in the back of the user&#39;s head. 
         [0044]    In this case, the mask portion  101  coupled to the band portion  102  covers the user&#39;s face, and user&#39;s eyes coincide with the visual openings  103  formed on the mask body  104  to secure the front visual field. 
         [0045]    Also, on the upper side of the visual openings  103 , the windows  105  made of a film having an ultraviolet shielding function is further provided, and a user selectively lifts or pulls down the windows  105  in the direction of the visual openings  103 . 
         [0046]    In a state where the windows  105  are lifted or pulled down in the direction of the visual openings  103 , the window fixing members  106 , which are provided on the windows  105  and window opening/closing positions of the mask body  104 , maintain the open/closed state of the windows  105 , and thus the movement of the windows  105  is prevented even if the user who puts on the mask  100  moves. 
         [0047]    In this state, using the ear-loops  107  provided on both sides of the mask body  104 , the mask  100  is stably put on together with the band portion  102 . 
         [0048]    Since the mask  100  is put in a state where a specified space is maintained between the mask and the user&#39;s face, without being in complete contact with the face, by the contact prevention member  108  provided on the mask portion  101  and the separation means  112  provided on the band portion  102 , the ultraviolet rays are shielded, but a good ventilation is maintained, so that the user can put on the mask  100  without unattractiveness. 
         [0049]    A process of maintaining a specified space between the mask  100  and the face by the contact prevention member  108  and the separation means  112  will be described. 
         [0050]    By putting on the band portions  102  and the ear-loops  107 , the mask body  104  becomes close to the face. However, in this case, a contact base  109  that is integrally provided at one end of the contact prevention member  108  that projects from the inside of the mask body  104  becomes in contact with the cheek portion of the face to prevent the further contact between the mask body  104  and the face and to prevent the movement of the mask  100  during walking. 
         [0051]    The separation means  112  provided on the band portion  102  maintains a space between the forehead and the band body  110  as the plural air sacs  113  connected to the paths  114  on the inner surface of the band body  110  are expanded through an air injection through the air inlet port  115 , and thus the mask wearing state can be maintained firmly and closely. 
         [0052]    Even in the case where the elastic pads  116  are provided as the separation means  112 , the elastic pads  116  are temporarily contracted when wearing the band body  110  using the fitting means  111 , and then are returned to their original positions by their self-elasticity, and thus the specified space between the mask  100  and the face can be maintained with the mask wearing state maintained firmly and closely. 
         [0053]    As described above, the sunshade mask according to an embodiment of the invention can be used to perform the sunshade function and to set off user&#39;s figure to advance on a festival or at a party. Also, since the sunshade mask is small-sized and can be folded and freely returned to its original state, it is easy to carry, keep, and handle the sunshade mask. 
         [0054]    Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.