Abstract:
The present invention relates to a more suitable method of temporarily affixing a sunshade to a cap with a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap. The sunshade generally includes a strap especially designed to provide a firm and close assembly to the cap, and a shield, which is sewed to the strap, designed to provide the necessary sun protection. The strap has a concave shape, and has three clips to secure it firmly and fixed to the cap. The shield is made of a lightweight fabric or cloth and its shape and size will varied to accommodate the sunshade design to the cap size, especially to accommodate the sunshade to caps for men, women or children.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    “Not Applicable” 
       STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    “Not Applicable” 
       REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC 
       [0003]    “Not Applicable” 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0005]    The present invention relates generally to the apparel industry, in particular, the present invention belongs to the field of sun protection head gear considered cap accessories worn to protect the nape of the neck, ears and part of the face from the sun. More specifically, the present invention relates to sunshades that can be easily attached or removed from a cap with a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap. 
         [0006]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0007]    Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, and in recent years the number of people affected by this type of cancer has increased dramatically. The major risk factor for the development of skin cancer is usually associated with long term exposure to the sun&#39;s ultraviolet rays. Commonly, the cancer appears predominantly on sun-exposed skin, such as the face, ears, neck, and back of the hands. 
         [0008]    The most important factor to reduce the risk of skin cancer is to limit exposure to the sun&#39;s ultraviolet rays all year round. The steps suggested to minimize the skin from overexposure to ultraviolet radiation are; to seek shade, apply a broad spectrum sunscreen, and wear protective clothing. 
         [0009]    To protect the face, neck and ears from the ultraviolet rays the usage of a hat is recommended. The type of hat that will achieve the most protection must have a brim all around the hat in order to provide the necessary shade to these body areas, but unfortunately, this type of hat in not very popular. On the contrary, one of the most popular hats is the baseball cap style which has only a bill in the front to provide shade to the forehead and nose, but does not provide the necessary shading to the ears, side of the face and back of the neck. To overcome this problem most people use sunscreen or a cap sunshade. 
         [0010]    Most people are aware of the benefits of using sunscreens, but for a sunscreen to be effective, it must be applied some time before going outdoors, it must be applied in all the exposed areas of the body, and it must be reapplied after a couple of hours. Unfortunately, a lot of people that use sunscreen do not apply it correctly or do not use it at all. 
         [0011]    Cap sunshades are really available in the headgear industry and can be subdivided into two main categories; 1) sunshades that are attached to a specific cap and cannot be detached and 2) sunshades that are not attached to a specific cap and are considered a cap accessory. 
         [0012]    The second category of sunshades (those considered a cap accessory) can be subdivided into two main groups: sunshades that can only be affixed to one cap (the sunshade can be detached from the cap but can only be reattached to this specific cap), and sunshades that can be affixed to more than one cap. 
         [0013]    It is common that those people that own baseball style caps have more than one cap and use the different caps interchangeably. Therefore, a need exist for a sunshade that can be worn with many different caps, that can be easy to attach and detach, and can be easily used when performing outdoor activities. 
         [0014]    Various attempts have been made to solve the above mentioned problems, and the related art in this group of sunshades (those that can be attached to different caps and are considered a cap accessory) shows various methods of temporarily affixing the sunshade to the cap. These affixing methods can be subdivided into two main categories: 1) methods that employ a band, strap, or part of the sunshade that goes around the bill of the cap as part of the affixing mechanism and 2) those methods that do not employ a band or strap. 
         [0015]    In the first category, the related art shows various sunshades such as those found in: U.S. Pat. No. 2008/0066216 A1 to Yun; U.S. Pat. No. 7,310,829 B1 to Engel-Wilson; U.S. Pat. No. 6,808,146 B2 to Swan; U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,750 B1 to Mangan; U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,334 to Collette et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,074 to Newman Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 381,191 to Monkhouse et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,448,778 to Phillips; U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,440 to Clifford; U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,259 to Shorts; U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,195 to Koritan, and patent application U.S. 2006/0253957 A1 to Orozco. A problem arises with these types of sunshades when the wearer removes the cap. The crown of the cap losses its fitting shape and the sunshade tends to fall. In addition, these sunshades are not suitable for some outdoor sporting activities given they tend to lose the correct fitting position, thus causing distraction and annoyance to the wearer that has to constantly readjust it. 
         [0016]    In the second category, the related art shows various sunshades such as those found in: U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,818, B1 to Davenport; U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,007 B2 to McIntyre; U.S. Patent Application US 2004/0244095 A1 to Sonne et al.; U.S. Pat. No. D490,969 S to Kobayashi; U.S. Pat. No. D465,318 S to Guerrero, Jr; U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,886 to Carter; U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,225 to Mathers; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 380,591 to Kessel et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,535 to Bruder; U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,717 to Shedd et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,195 to Koritan. 
         [0017]    The present invention belongs to this category of affixing methods. In order to display the basic differences of the present invention with the listed related art sunshades, a brief description of the main characteristics of each sunshade is presented next. 
         [0018]    Davenport (U.S. Pat. No. 8,024,818 B) invention pertains a neckpiece composed of a layer of flexible material and a support device. The support device is formed from a suitable flexible material such as molded plastic. The support device has rolled ends forming a G-shape that is used to affix the support device to the cap by extend upwardly, into, and down in the interior of the cap, thus it is held against the exterior surface of the cap. 
         [0019]    McIntyre (U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,007 B2) invention pertains to a double hinged/double spring loaded hat clip that enables the wearer of a hat to attach via the clips a clot or other type of protective material. McIntyre anticipates that 3 clips will be required for each style of hat, positioned one on either side of the band of the hat close to the bill and one on the band at the back of the hat as shown in the drawings. In the case of a cap, all clips are positioned at the bottom part of the cap (sweat band and the fabric or plastic closure strap). 
         [0020]    Sonne et al. (Patent Application US 2004/0244095 A1) invention relates to a device for temporarily affixing a protective attachment assembly to a headgear having an upturned headband with an inner surface. The invention calls for a substantially planar flexible stiffener of a plastic or other material to have an upwardly turned arced shaped with a tab protruding downward on either end of the arc with a frictional surface or protrusions on both sides of the tabs and having a central tab protruding downward to additionally support the attachment assembly with a relief cut above the central tab. The stiffener is directly attached to a shield of material or cloth. 
         [0021]    Kobayashi (U.S. Pat. No. D490,969 S) designed a shade cover using upturned inner band to affix the sunshade. 
         [0022]    Guerrero (U.S. Pat. No. D465,318 S) designed a headgear that includes a sunshade to be fitted on top of a cap. The sun shield consists of a cap type shape (without the bill) and a sunshade attached to it. There method does not include supporting attachment between the sun shield and the cap. 
         [0023]    Carter (U.S. Pat. No. 6,163,886) describes a removable weather guard or sunshade that hangs from an upper edge of an inner band common to most caps. The sunshade has staying tabs with downwardly depending elements. The staying tabs are affixed to an upper portion of a flexible shield at an attachment location. The attachment location rests on the upper edge of the inner band while the downwardly depending elements are interposed between the headband and the cap&#39;s crown and shield disposed between the headband and the head of a wearer. 
         [0024]    Mathers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,655,225) headgear attachment comprises substantially rectangular engagement clips having upper and lower portions, and upper and lower tabs, wherein the upper tab extends from the upper portion and the lower tab extends from the lower portion, the upper and lower tabs being opposing situated. The headgear attachment is fastened to a cap by engaging the engagement clips to the upturned inner band at opposites sides of the hat, the upper tab being disposed between the upturned inner band and the interior crown portion and the lower tab being substantially flush with the exterior crown portion. The method does not include a supporting attachment between the two clips to maintain the sunshade attached to the middle back of the cap. 
         [0025]    Kessel et al. (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 380,591) designed a protective head gear for a flexfit type cap; cap without a half moon shaped opening at the bottom. It seems the protective head gear is permanently attached to the cap; if not, the drawings suggest the shield of material or cloth is affixed to a rigid material that encircles the cap, and this material is affixed to the cap. 
         [0026]    Bruder (U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,535) invention includes a substantially rectangular body having a pair of pockets and a centrally positioned notch along the upper portion of the body. The pockets are adapted for folding engagement to the interior of the upturned inner band on opposite sides of the interior of the hat. The method does not include a supporting attachment between the two clips to maintain the sunshade attached to the middle back of the cap. 
         [0027]    Shedd et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,717) sunshade contains in the top edge a member conformable to the posterior and side portions of the wearer&#39;s head. The conformable member may be manually bent to impart a self-sustained shape and to alter the effective length of the top edge of the attachment. The preferred method of attachment to a cap is with three spring-loaded binder clips. These clips are positioned one on either side of the band of the hat close to the bill and one on the band at the back of the hat. Other means of attachment are mentioned are Velcro, snaps, flat plastic strips, flat acrylic strips, buttons, rivets, or grommets. When using clips, the wearer&#39;s ears may come in direct contact with them; when using other types of attaching members, the hat must be modified; for example, Velcro may be glued or sewn to the interior or exterior of the bottom edge of the cap. 
         [0028]    Koritan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,195) invention includes a partial head band that does not completely encircle the head of the wearer, but only extends the width of the flap. The partial head band is made of a flexible or semi-rigid plastic having a pair of hooks integrally which are adapted to hook over the head band of the cap in the vicinity of an inverted U-shaped cap. The ends of the partial head band extend into blind, tubular hem portions on the upper edge of the sunshield flap. 
         [0029]    From the previous description, some problems that arises with these sunshades are: some of them do not secure well to the cap, others are not easy to attach, some of the affixing mechanism impinge upon the ears thus producing annoyance to the wearer, and most of these methods do not allow to adjust the back adjustment strap of the cap when the sunshade is affixed producing inconvenience to the wearer. 
         [0030]    Ideally, a sunshade to be used in caps should be easy to put on and take it off, even without the need to take the cap off; do not produce annoyance to the wearer ears with the affixing mechanism; is simple and inexpensive to manufacture; requires no modification to the cap; does not become partially displaced while worn; allows the wear to adjust the adjustment strap to their convenience without any trouble; and can be used in any outdoor activity. 
         [0031]    Thus, there remains a considerable need for a sunshade to protect the nape of the neck, ears, part of the face and shoulders from the sun&#39;s ultraviolet rays and to avoid the above-mentioned problems. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0032]    The present invention provides a new type of sunshade that can be temporarily affixing to any size of cap with a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap. The sunshade generally comprise of two parts: a strap especially designed to provide a firm and close assembly to the cap, and a shield, which is sewed to the strap, designed to provide the necessary sun protection. The strap has a concave shape in order to match the curvature of the cap formed by the line that connects the upper point of the half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap (the 90 degree point of the half moon) and the opposite outer points at each end of bill of the cap. The strap is temporarily attached to the cap by three clips placed in the inner surface of the strap. One clip is located at the middle section of the strap and is clipped to the top of the half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap. The other two clips are located at each end of the strap and are clipped to bill of the cap. The position of the clips and the shape of the strap provide a close and firm attachment to the cap. The shield, which is sewed to the strap, provides the necessary sun protection to the neck, ears and sides of the face. The shield has varied shapes and dimensions to accommodate to the size of the cap, and the sex and age of the wearer. If desired, the sunshade can also be made by using only one piece of fabric. In this case the shield takes up the strap&#39;s features and attributes. 
         [0033]    This invention was designed with the objectives of functioning as an accessory with caps that have a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap to protect any wearer form the sun&#39;s ultraviolet rays, and to provide the wearer with some heat relief, offering cooling and the necessary shade to this part of the body. 
         [0034]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sunshade that is simple in design and construction, and that can be easily attached and detached to conventional caps that have a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap. 
         [0035]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sunshade that can be sized to the individual wearer, from infants to adults, to cover the area of the body to be protected from the sun. 
         [0036]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a shield that can be shaped to fit the wearer&#39;s neck, parts of shoulders and head contour that is intended to be protected. 
         [0037]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sunshade that can be customized to the individual wearer. For example the shield can be made of special designed fabrics to accommodate kids evolving fashion, hunter&#39;s camouflaged requirements, or golfer&#39;s style. 
         [0038]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sunshade that can be made of multiple fabrics to conform to the wearer&#39;s intention of application. For example, reflecting material for running at night, camouflage fabric for hunting, camouflage microfleece for hunting during winter. 
         [0039]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide an affixing mechanism that can be personalized with special designed clips to enhance the sunshade and make it more appealing to certain age groups. 
         [0040]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sunshade that can be made of an absorbent fabric to provide temporary relief for those wearers with excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis. 
         [0041]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sunshade that is durable, machine washable and can be dried in any conventional drying machine, and it is easy to fold and carried inside a pocket or any type of handbag. 
         [0042]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide an area for printing advertisement on the shade or manufacture logo clips that can be used as the affixing mechanism. 
         [0043]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sunshade that when used does not interfere with the usage of the adjustment strap when it is needed to be adjusted to have a tight fit. 
         [0044]    It is the objective of the present invention to provide a sunshade that it is easy to use for those wearers that use ponytails. 
         [0045]    The objectives described and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following, more detailed description of the sunshade as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0046]      FIG. 1  illustrates a side view of a typical cap with a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap. 
           [0047]      FIG. 2  illustrates an isometric projection of the strap. 
           [0048]      FIG. 3  shows an isometric projection of the line that connects the upper point of the half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap and the opposite outer points at each end of bill. 
           [0049]      FIG. 4  illustrates a side view of the cap showing one half of the line that connects the upper point of the half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap and the outer point at the end of bill. 
           [0050]      FIG. 5  illustrates an isometric projection of the strap showing the location where the clips are attached. 
           [0051]      FIG. 6  illustrates a partial view of the a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap displaying where the middle clip of the strap is attached to the top part of the half moon. 
           [0052]      FIG. 7  illustrates a side view of the cap with the strap attached. 
           [0053]      FIG. 8  illustrates the back of the cap with the strap attached. 
           [0054]      FIG. 9  shows an isometric view of the shield. 
           [0055]      FIG. 10  shows an isometric view of the strap attached to the shield. 
           [0056]      FIG. 11  shows a perspective view of the present invention attached to a cap on a wearer. 
           [0057]      FIG. 12  illustrates a rear perspective view of the sunshield attached to a cap. 
           [0058]      FIG. 13  illustrates a side view of the cap with the strap attached showing an example of a special designed clip, located at each end of the strap and clipped to bill of the cap, to enhance the look of the sunshade. 
           [0059]      FIG. 14  illustrates a one piece sunshade. The shade takes up the strap&#39;s features and attributes. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0060]    As discussed above, embodiments of the present invention relate to the apparel industry, in particular, the present invention belongs to the field of sun protection head gear considered cap accessories. More particularly, the present invention provides a new type of sunshade that can be temporarily affixing to any size of cap with a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap.  FIG. 1  shows a side view of a typical cap  1  with a half moon shaped opening  3  at the bottom of the back of the cap  1 . 
         [0061]    The sunshade generally comprise of two principal components: a strap  4  especially designed to provide a firm and close assembly to the cap  1 , and a shield  10 , which is sewed to the strap  4 , designed to provide the necessary sun protection. 
         [0062]    An isometric projection of the strap  4  is shown in  FIG. 2 . The strap  4  has a concave shape determined by the curvature of the cap  1  formed by the line  7  that connects the upper point of the half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap (the 90 degree point of the half moon) and the opposite outer points at each end of bill (line  7  is shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 ). The cap size will define the curvature of the strap  4  (the concave shape of the strap will change to accommodate to each particular cap size) and the length  6  of the strap  4 . Therefore, to design the strap  4 , first, the size of the cap  1  must be determined. Once the size of the cap  1  is defined, the strap  4  can be designed. It is important to note that the concave shape of the strap is an important feature of the strap  4  given it allows the strap  4  to have a very close and firm attachment to the cap  1 . 
         [0063]    The strap  4  has three clips  8  to secure it to the cap  1  and create a snug fit. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , one of the clips  8  is located at the center of the strap  4 , while the other two are located at each end of the strap  4 . The clip  8  located at the center of the strap  4  will be affixed to the cap at the top part of the half moon shaped opening  3  at the bottom of the back of the cap ( FIG. 6 ). The other two clips  8  located at each end of the strap  4  will be affixed to the bill of the cap. The three clips  8  and the concave shape of the strap  4  provide a close fit to the cap once the strap  4  is affixed to the cap  1  as illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . 
         [0064]    The width  5  of the strap  4  will be determined by the length  9  of the clips  8 . The strap  4  will have a width  5  equal or greater than the clips&#39; length  9 . All of these measurements; the curvature, the length  6  and the width  5  define the dimensions of the strap  4 . The strap  4  can be made of different types of fabrics and the following examples are intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. The strap  4  can be made of soft leather; a high denier urethane coated woven nylon; a sturdier twill fabric and a softer, thinner cotton material which is layered with the twill fabric which is then folded over the cotton and sewn together; a single or two-ply cotton twill, heavy denim or dungaree. These examples suggest many types of variations and alternatives to those skilled in this art to accommodate the fabric of the strap  4  to best fit the wearer&#39;s intention of application. 
         [0065]    The clips  8  affixing system can be subdivided into two categories. The first category involves the use of three hidden clips  8  to the eye of the wearer. The clips are affixed to the interior part of the strap  4 , for example, as shown in  FIG. 6  for the center clip. The second category involves the use of clips which have some kind of ornament  11  that is visible to the wearer. The clips  8 , for the two categories, are any type of commercially available spring type clip, well known in the art, that are fitted to affix the strap  4  to the cap  1 . Those skilled in this art will determined if the three clips are the same model or they are different (for example, the three clips are all bulldog clips or one is a bulldog clip and the other two are other type of clips) to best accommodate the strap  4  to the cap  1  and to the wearer. The clips  8  are secured to the strap  4  by button snaps and/or glued or sewn to provide a firm and fixed attachment. 
         [0066]    The second component of the sunshade is the shield  10 . The shield  10  is manufactured separately from the strap  4  and once finished is sewn to the strap  4 . The shield  10  shape and dimensions may be varied substantially to accommodate to the size of the cap, and the sex and age of the wearer, provided that the essential features and functions of the invention are met. The shape of the shield  10  can be rectangular, trapezoidal, crescent shaped or any other particular shape that those skilled on the art think it is best to met the required sunshade functions and attributes. For illustrative purposes, and not intended to be limiting, an example of a possible shape of the shield  10  is shown in  FIG. 9 . The figure illustrates an isometric projection of a trapezoidal shaped shade  10 . Once the shield  10  is finished is sewn to the strap  4  as is illustrated in  FIG. 10  which shows a perspective view of the strap  4  attached to the shield  10 .  FIG. 11  illustrates a perspective view of the sunshade attached to a cap on a wearer, and  FIG. 12  illustrates a rear perspective view of the trapezoidal shaped sunshield attached to a cap  1 . 
         [0067]    The shield  10  can be made from a variety of patterns and fabrics. Those skilled on the art will determine the appropriate shield  10  fabric that is specific to the particular application. The shield  10  material can be of any appropriate composition of cloth, for example, cotton, polyester, blends or other natural or syntactic fabrics. For example, one option of the sunshade is to provide sun protection plus sweat control for those wearers with excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis. In this case, the shield  10  material can be terry cloth. 
         [0068]    The second category of clips  8  affixing system include clips  8  that have some type of ornament  11  to enhance the look of the sunshade. For example,  FIG. 13 . illustrates a sunshade where the front two clips have a flower ornament  11  to make the sunshade more attractive to little girls. It must be noted that there is no limit to the type of ornament  11  that can be employed. The following examples are intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. For example, types of ornaments  11  that can be used are: business logos, flashing ornaments &amp; LED body lights (the invention can be used also at night as a cloth accessory), or any type of ornament that those skilled on the art think will enhanced the sunshade and make it more appealing to certain age groups. 
         [0069]    Even though there are several advantages of having the sunshade made-up of two components (strap and shield), for example some of the advantages are: the strap and the shield can be made of different fabrics, for example, the strap can be made of a stronger fabric to provide a snug fit, while the shield of a very soft and light fabric; the strap and the shield can have different designs; or the shield can be sent to the screen-printing industry for promotional printing and further assembled to the strap (the shield by itself can withhold the high temperatures of the drying ovens that are generally used to dry the printing inks), if a less expensive sunshade is desired, an alternative design of the sunshade is to make it of only one piece of fabric as shown in  FIG. 14 . In this case, the strap  4  and the shield  10  are combined to form a new shield  12  (this shield  12  takes up the strap  4  features). The top part  13  of the shield  12  has the strap&#39;s  4  concave shape feature and the three clips  8  to secure it to the cap  1  and to create a snug fit. The body of the shield  12  maintains the attributes and features of the shield  10  as previously described. 
         [0070]    Mode of Operation 
         [0071]    To use the sunshade, a cap with a half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap is required. The most common mode of operation will be that the user will affix the clip  8  located at the middle section of the strap  4  to the top part of the half moon shaped opening at the bottom of the back of the cap, as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . Next, the other two clips  8  located at each end of the strap  4  will be affixed to the bill  2  of the cap  1 . The user then can put the cap on his/her head and placed the shield  10  as best fits over the shoulders to provide the necessary sun protection to the nape of the neck, ears and sides of the face. If necessary, the wearer can adjust the adjustment strap in the cap  1 , fasten it or loosen it, to have tight fit without the need of detaching the sunshade. The invention is easily and quickly installed or removed from the cap of the wearer, and can conveniently folded, stored and carried by the wearer for future use during the day. 
         [0072]    The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof; therefore, the illustrated embodiment should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.