Abstract:
A fly shield for covering a horse&#39;s head to protect the horse from flies or other detrimental which is characterized by a pair of substantial rooms that accommodate the horse&#39;s eyes, and a pair of ear-hoods for accommodating the horse&#39;s ears in a flexible manner and an adjustable fastening device. Thereby, the disclosed fly shield is able to offer the horse with protection as well as comfort.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to fly shields for protecting heads of horses, and more particularly, to a fly shield with improved structure that provides protection to a head of a horse. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    As flies or other insects may bring disturbance or even infections to horses when contacting their eyes or ears, a fly shield is generally utilized to protect the horses&#39; heads from the detrimental. 
         [0005]    Conventional fly shields are typically made of meshed materials for providing protectiveness while avoiding interfering vision or hearing of horses, and under consideration for durability, such commonly-used meshed materials are usually tough and wearproof. The same characters, however, may reversely cause discomfort to horses&#39; eyes, ears or skin. Thus, some efforts have been made to develop to reach a compromise. One prior solution is addressed by the same inventor of the present invention, as referring to U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,642, which involves a pair of convex portions and a pair of conical ear-protection caps. In the vermin-proof covering of U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,642, a pair of folded longitudinal lines is implemented to form two convex portions for keeping the covering from directly contacting horses&#39; eyes. However, the folded part of the longitudinal lines may somewhat obstruct the view of the horse, and the convex portions formed by the taught manner are not outstanding enough to perfectly match up the profile of the horse&#39;s face. Also, for the turning ears of a horse, the two conical caps of U.S. Pat. No. 6,216,642 are relatively stiff and not capable of changing shape. Further, the fastening means thereof are not adjustable. 
         [0006]    Thus, A need exists for a fly shield that is more accommodating and comfortable. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. 
         [0008]    It is one objective of the present invention to provide a fly shield, which perfectly matches up the profile of a horse&#39;s face and gives sufficient space between the shield and the horse&#39;s eyes. 
         [0009]    It is another objective of the present invention to provide a fly shield, which eliminates the folds of the mentioned prior art and causes no barrier in the way of a horse&#39;s sight. 
         [0010]    It is another objective of the present invention to provide a fly shield, which has a pair of ear-hoods capable of changing shape corresponding to the movement of the horse&#39;s ears. 
         [0011]    It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a fly shield, which has a fastening device that is adjustable so that a horse wearing the shield is free from feeling throttled. 
         [0012]    To achieve these and other objectives of the present invention, the fly shield comprises a shield body, two ear-hoods, and a fastening device, and is characterized by the shield body that includes two substantial rooms, the ear-hoods each having a soft back portion, and the fastening device, which includes an elastic belt. 
         [0013]    Thereby, the disclosed fly shield is able to provide a horse with not only protection but also comfort. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is an oblique front elevation of one embodiment of the fly shield according to the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  is a rear elevation of the disclosed fly shield; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is an applied view showing the fly shield worn on a horse&#39;s head; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  another applied view showing the fly shield worn on the horse&#39;s head taken in a different angle. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0018]    As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a fly shield made of net fabrics with predetermined-sized meshes for covering on a horse&#39;s head is claimed. The fly shield primarily comprises a shield body  10 , two-ear hoods  20 ,  20 ′, and a fastening device  30 . Further, the shield body  10  is composed of a top portion  11 , a face portion  12 , and two side portions  13 ,  13 ′. As can be seen in the drawings, the face portion  12  is basically shaped according to a horse&#39;s face, and has the opposite vertical sides  121 ,  121 ′ formed prominently arched wherein each said arched side  121  ( 121 ′) comprises a peak point  1211  ( 1211 ′) located corresponding to a horse&#39;s eye. Further, two side portions  13 ,  13 ′ are respectively attached to a respective said arched side  121  ( 121 ′), wherein each side portion  13  ( 13 ′) also has an arched side  131  ( 131 ′) with a peak point  1311  ( 1311 ′). 
         [0019]    Thereby, when the two side portions  13 ,  13 ′ are attached to the face portion  12  in the manner that each said peak point  1211  ( 1211 ′) is in intimate contact with either of the peak points  1311 ,  1311 ′ of the corresponding side portions  13 ,  13 ′, two substantial rooms  14 ,  14 ′ (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) are created and appeared as two prominent areas at the surface of the shield body  10 . As the radian of the arched sides  121 ,  121 ′,  131 ,  131 ′ can be determined according to average or particular contours of horses&#39; heads, the optimum prominence of the substantial rooms  14 ,  14 ′ can be achieved. As a result, by wearing the disclosed shield, the eyes can be free from contacting with the fabrics, and the conformability of the horse during wearing the fly shield is therefore ensured. 
         [0020]    Further, the two substantially horse-ear shaped ear-hoods  20 ,  20 ′ are attached to the top portion  11  of the shield body  10 . Each ear-hood  20  ( 20 ′) is composed of a front portion  21  ( 21 ′) and back portion  22  ( 22 ′) wherein, the front portion  21  ( 21 ′) is also made of meshed fabrics that may be the same used to make the shield body  10  and the back portion  22  ( 22 ′) is made of a relatively flexible and soft material. By the flexibility of the back portions  22 ,  22 ′, the shape of the ear-hoods  20 ,  20 ′ can be changed following the movement of the ears. 
         [0021]    Moreover, a fastening device  30  is arranged between the two side portions  13 ,  13 ′ by being fastened to the bottom edges thereof. According to the present embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the fastening device  30  can be a hook &amp; loop tape that comprises a male member  31  and a female member  32  wherein at least one end of each said male and female members  31 ,  32  is fixedly fasten to either said side portion  13 ,  13 ′. According to the present invention, the male member  31  is formed in a folded shape, which includes a fixed segment entirely sewed onto the side portion  13  and a free segment extended from the end distant form the female member  32 . Thereby, the female member  32  can be firmly held between the fixed segment  311  and the free segment  312 . Since the relative distance between the male member  31  and female member  32  can be adjusted according to the neck circumference of the horse, the disclosed fly shield can be easily adapted to any horse. 
         [0022]    On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the female member  32  can be connected to the relevant side portion  13 ′ with an elastic belt  33  provided therebetween. Thus, in addition to the adjustability between the male and female members  31 ,  32 , the disclosed subject matter further provides elasticity even after the male and female members  31 ,  32  are mutually engaged. Thereby, the disclosed fly shield can perfectly fit a horse and keep the horse from feeling throttled during its movement. 
         [0023]    Furthermore, the disclosed fly shield may comprise a protective edging  40  made of extremely soft material, such as flannelette, and placed around the edge of the shield body  10  to reduce discomfort caused by friction on the nozzle and neck of the horse during wearing the fly shield thereon. 
         [0024]    Thus, according to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , it can be seen that when a horse&#39;s head is covered by the disclosed fly shield, the two substantial rooms  14 ,  14 ‘can accommodate the horse’s eyes and the horse&#39;s eyes can be ensured from contacting the fabrics of the shield body  10 . Further, the horse&#39;s ears are not restricted by the ear-hoods  20 ,  20 ′ accommodating them. 
         [0025]    The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous variations will be possible to the disclosed embodiments without going outside the scope of the invention as disclosed in the claims.