Visored cap

Abstract

A cap having a crown and an arch-shaped visor which has a front edge, a rear edge attached to the crown, and a pair of oppositely disposed side edges wherein each side edge has an inwardly extending notch positioned therein so as to allow the top of the lens holder part of an eye glass frame to be seated therein.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a visored cap for use with eyeglasses.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Visored caps are well known in the prior art as they have been in existence for hundreds of years. Such caps remain widely used today and are generally worn either for the functional purpose of providing shade for the wearer's eyes while covering the wearer's head, or for fashion purposes or for both. Typical visored caps in this regard are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,845 by White and U.S. Pat. No. 6,311,331 by Park. Visored caps for use in conjunction with sunglasses are also well known and widely used. Many such caps have sunglasses attached as a shield to the underside of a visor as shown in U.S. Pat. No. D533,888 by Murphy.

Few, if any of the prior art caps can be conveniently worn with conventional unattached prescription or non-prescription glasses. When visored caps are worn by an eye-glass wearer, the eyeglass frame often interferes with the visor being placed in a position to fully shade the user's eyes. Obtaining full shade frequently requires that the visor be tipped at a substantial angle toward the wearer's nose. Such tipping is undesirable because it can partially block the user's vision and/or line of sight. It also may result in the crown of the cap not being firmly positioned on the wearer's head. Such precarious positioning could cause the cap to easily become dislodged by wind or while running. The situation is exacerbated by users who desire to bend an otherwise flat visor to provide additional shading for the eyes. This results in the perimeter of the bent portion coming into contact with the eye glass frames which obstructs tipping, thereby further reducing the effectiveness of frontal shading.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a visored cap that is conveniently used with eyeglass frames.

It is another object of this invention to provide a visored cap that remains firmly positioned on the head of a user who is wearing eyeglasses.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a visored cap that has a visor that does not interfere with the user's vision or line of sight while the user is wearing eye-glasses.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a visored cap that can be tipped forward to provide shading for the entire eyeglass lenses of a user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other objects are accomplished by a cap having a crown and a visor that is particularly suitable for users who wear eyeglasses. Each side of the visor has an inwardly extending notch that is shaped to fit over the top portion of the lens holders of an eyeglass frame. The recesses created by the pair of notches allow the top of the frame to be seated in the notches. Such positioning permits the crown of the cap to be snugly positioned on the user's head and also allows the visor to be sufficiently low to provide full shading to eyeglass lenses worn by the user. This is particularly suitable for users who bend their visors into an arch shape to enhance side shading as well as front shading. Additional shading is obtainable by tipping or cocking the visor at a forward angle toward the user's nose. Notwithstanding such tipping, the crown remains fully in place on the user's head so that it is not dislodged by wind, running or other movement. Also, the user's vision and/or line of sight are not impaired by the position (tipped or untipped) or shape of the visor. These and other features of the invention are set forth in detail in the descriptions that follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the visored cap of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial isometric view of the visored cap shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front planar view of the visored cap shown in FIG. 1 positioned on the head of a wearer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIG. 1, the cap of this invention includes crown 2 and arch-shaped visor 4 which has front edge 6, rear edge 8, first side edge 10 and second side edge 12. Side edges 10 and 12 are oppositely disposed to each other. First side edge 10 includes first notch 14 which extends inwardly from the side perimeter of visor 4. Similarly, second side edge 12 includes second notch 16 which also extends inwardly from the side perimeter of the visor 4. Rear edge 8 is secured to crown 2 by stitching or other suitable means so that visor 4 and crown 2 are firmly attached together.

As shown in FIG. 3, notches 14 and 16 are positioned in side edges 10 and 12 to accommodate eyeglass frames 24 worn by the user. Frames 24 typically include lens 22 and a pair of lens holders 18 and 26 which are connected by bridge 28. Stem 20 extends from the side of each lens holder and terminates behind the ear. In a preferred embodiment, the top portion of lens holders 18 and 26 are seated in notches 14 and 16 in a manner that allows arch shape visor 4 to be positioned to shade the lens holders. The positioning of visor 4 over the lens holders is determined by the depth of notches 14 and 16. Depending on the style and shape of the eyeglass frame 24 and lens holders 18 and 26 as well as the desires of the user, notches 14 and 16 may be a variety of shapes. However, vee shaped notches as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and arc shaped notches as shown in FIG. 2 are preferred. Square shaped notches are also suitable.

The novel cap of this invention is particularly advantageous for the wearer in that the arch shaped visor 4 completely shades the eyes of the user while allowing the cap to be firmly positioned on the user's head. Corresponding prior art or conventional caps which do not have visor notches, ordinarily must be tilted at a substantial angle toward the front of the user's head or nose to fully shade the wearer's eyes. Such positioning is not only awkward, but is also undesirable because wind, running or other movement can cause the cap to easily become dislodged from the user's head.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A cap comprising:

a. a crown and

b. a visor having (i) a front edge, (ii) a rear edge which is attached to the crown, and (iii) a pair of oppositely disposed side edges, each having a notch positioned therein so as to allow the top of the lens holder part of an eye glass frame to be seated in each notch.

2. The cap of claim 1 wherein each notch is vee shaped.

3. The cap of claim 1 wherein each notch is arc shaped.

4. The cap of claim 1 wherein each notch is square shaped.

5. The cap of claim 1 wherein the visor is arch shaped.