Head and Neck Rain Shield

Abstract

A rain shield comprising a waterproof fabric material having means for attachment to a hat or cover for a hat and sides which hang down proximate an ear of a user with side edges that are weighted to prevent the fabric material from being blown around in a wind.

Description

FIELD

The present invention relates to a flexible flap that fits over the back of the head and neck to shield these areas from rain, sunlight, and contaminants such as wood chips.

BACKGROUND

The prior art discloses rain shields which are designed to protect the back of the neck of the wearer from sun, rain, and the like. However, most of these block the peripheral vision of a user and interfere with the user's range of activities. An important limitation of these shields was their lifting up in the wind and exposing the neck to rain and cold. Some rain shields employ rigid shields suspended from the brim of either the front or back portions of the hat. Such shields block a considerable portion of the field of view of a user as well as impair his hearing. Recently, there have been fabric shields that hang down around the back of the head of a user. The fabric material hangs straight down with no provision for stabilizing it in the wind. Under windy conditions, the shield tends to blow around in the wind and allows rain to fall on the back of the neck of a user or to block a user's vision to the side. Some rain bonnets have snap fasteners or draw strings to tie the bottom of the bonnet to a user's neck. However, it is desirable not to have the bottom of the head protective gear tied to a user's neck.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A rain shield having a waterproof fabric material with a means for attachment to a hat, and sides which hang down proximate an ear of a user with side edges that are weighted to prevent the fabric material from being blown around in a wind.

An elastic band loop passes through a sleeve formed along a top edge of said fabric material and slidable therein with a portion of the elastic band material at the front not covered by the fabric material.

Preferably, the heavy material is lead.

The elastic band slides through a sleeve formed at a top of the rain shield.

Advantageously, the fabric is nylon coated with neoprene.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description, given by way of example, of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the rain shield;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a hard hat on a worker with a rain shield mounted on the inside of the hard hat;

FIG. 3 is a view of the bottom of the hat of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of a type of hat used by police officers;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a bicycle helmet with a helmet cover immediately overhead;

FIG. 6 is a view of the bottom of the helmet cover showing the attachment of the rain shield; and

FIG. 7 Is side view showing the helmet cover over the bicycle helmet and the rain shield attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

Referring to FIG. 1, the rain shield 10 which if made of fabric has two downwardly and outwardly directed straight side edges 16. The side edges 14 and 16 both slope downwardly and inwardly to a bottom edge 17. At the top there is a loop of an elastic band 24 which is attached to the material or fabric.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the rain shield 10 is attached at its top end to the elastic loop 24, The rain shield 10 has two straight side edges 16 that hang downwardly and outwardly at an angle to the axis of the rain shield of about 25 degrees to the vertical, terminating in a second side edge which slopes downwardly and inwardly at an angle of about 30 degrees to the vertical. The latter side terminates in a bottom edge. Lead is sewn into the edges 16 and 14 to ensure that the rain shield 10 does not blow around in the wind. Referring to FIG. 2 the bottom or inside of the helmet has a central pad suspended from four brackets affixed to the wall of the helmet 12. The head band 18 is suspended by four plastic eyelets 22 which enclose leather bands 20 attached to central pad 21. The elastic band 24 loops around the headband 18 while the rain shield 10 extends out from the back of the helmet 12.

The lower edges 14 allow the fabric to slip over the shoulders when turning one's head without impeding movement of the fabric. The length of the fabric overs the back of the neck even when leaning forward. Not placing weight along the bottom 17 of the fabric allows wind to lift up the fabric in the central back area between the side edges while the side edges 14 and 16 remain in place due to the weights placed along them. The aerodynamic design in which most of the excess cloth has been removed, prevents fabric from raising up on the side to a user's face.

FIG. 4 shows a type of hat used by many police officers. It has a soft top 26 which is connected around its periphery to a rigid sidewall 28. Extending outwardly and downwardly is a rigid visor 27. The rain shield elastic band 24 is looped around the rigid sidewall 28 so that the fabric at the back extends downwardly from the rigid sidewall 28. The top of the hat extends beyond the rigid side wall so as to prevent leakage between the hat and the rain shield 10.

FIG. 5 shows a bicycle helmet 34 and a fabric cover 30 with a periphery 32 enclosing an open interior 34. Hook and loop male and female fastener elements are sewn into the back of the cover 30 and at the top of the rain shield 10 to allow the rain shield to be fastened to the cover 30.

FIG. 6 shows a standard fabric cover 30 upside down with the rain shield 10 attached to the fabric cover 30 along the inside side. FIG. 7 shows the cover 30 in place over the bicycle helmet 34. The rain shield 10 hangs down from the rear half of the bicycle helmet cover 30. As seen in FIG. 2 when on a wearer such as a construction worker, the side edge 16 hangs down at a slope and position which leaves the peripheral area exposed and yet covers the back of the head and neck.

While in most cases the rain shield 10 is attached to the hat or helmet by looping its elastic around a head band of the hat or helmet, obviously other ways of attaching it can be used such as ties at the bottom of the rain shield 10. The rain shield 10 employs a waterproof fabric such as polyethylene coated nylon when it is to be designed for shielding rain.

It is possible to place the elastic loop over the user's head and simply wear a soft baseball cap on top.

In most cases the fabric selected is waterproof but where the purpose is to shield sunlight a mesh would be selected so that it merely reflects sunlight.

Accordingly while this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the illustrative embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to this description. It is therefore contemplated that appended claims will cover any such modifications or embodiments as fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A rain shield comprising:

a fabric material having a means for attachment to a hat, and sides which hang down proximate an ear of a user with side edges that are weighted to prevent the fabric material from being blown around in a wind and expose a wearer to rain.

2. A rain shield according to claim 1, wherein weighting is accomplished by placing heavy material along side edges of said fabric material.

3. A rain shield according to claim 2, wherein the heavy material is lead.

4. A rain shield according to claim 1, wherein the means for attachment to a hat is an elastic band loop which slides through a sleeve formed at a top of the rain shield said elastic band loop looping around a hat band or exterior wall of a hat.

5. A rain shield according to claim 1, wherein said fabric is nylon coated with neoprene.

6. A rain shield according to claim 1, including an elastic band loop passing through said sleeve and slidable therethrough with a portion of the elastic band material at the front not covered by the fabric material said elastic band loop being looped around an internal head band of a hat or hat cover.

7. A rain shield according to claim 1, wherein a first set of side edges slope downwardly and outwardly and a second set slope downwardly and inwardly with the length of the rain shield such that the fabric hangs down to the shoulder blades of a user.

8. A rain shield according to claim 2, wherein no weight is placed along a bottom of the fabric so as to allow wind to lift the back of the fabric and with the side edges remaining in place.

9. A rain shield according to claim 1, wherein the material is waterproof.

10. A rain shield according to claim 1, wherein the material is a mesh.