During the performance of many activities, such as skiing and riding a motorcycle, an individual wears an item of headgear, such as a ski hat or helmet, while also using an accessory, such as a pair of ski goggles or a bandanna to protect his face while he is engaged in the activity. For example, it is common for a skier to place the goggle over his eyes and face during a ski run to protect them from wind and the glare of the sun, particularly as it is reflected from the white snow.
It is a common practice for the skier to initially position the goggle over the forehead so that it rests on the front of the ski hat. The goggle is held in place by an elastic strap wrapped around the head. When he wishes to protect his face from snow and wind, the skier grasps the goggle, usually with both hands, and pulls it over his eyes.
In my recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,052, I describe how a goggle band may be securely retained to the upper or forehead portion of a ski hat in order to prevent the goggle from being separated from the hat. The goggle can be pivoted downward to cover the wearer's eyes and face, when desired, and be raised back to its original position at the conclusion of the activity (e.g. skiing). Other prior hat constructions that include a face-covering accessory are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,260,850 to Ambuske et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,832 to Skolik; US Pub. 2011/0185482 to Godfrey; Pub. No. 2006/0117450 to Matsumoto; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,475 to Lynd et al.
It has been found, in my patented and other known headwear-protective-accessory designs, that it is sometimes difficult and unwieldy for the wearer of the headwear to manipulate the accessory (e.g. goggle) to its lower, covering, protective position, and to achieve a tight, snug fit of the goggle over the wearer's eyes when the goggle is in its face-covering position. The same problems arise when a bandanna or the like, rather than a goggle, is used as an accessory.
Another problem that often arises when a conventional ski hat and goggle are employed is that when the goggle is not in use and is raised away from the eyes and rests on the front portion of the wearer's hat, heat and moisture from the wearer's forehead may pass through the porous material of the hat and reach the goggle's inner surface and thereby fog up the goggle. When the goggle is later lowered over the wearer's eyes the mist or fog previously formed on the goggle's inner surface will reduce significantly the wearer's ability to see and thus create a potentially dangerous condition.