(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to eyeglasses and headwear and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to temple holders for eyeglasses. The temple holders are attached to opposite sides of a hat, a baseball cap and other types of headwear. Also, the temple holders are releasably attached to ends of a pair of temples attached to a pair of eyeglasses, thus eliminating the need of placing the ends of the temples on top of a wearer""s ears.
(b) Discussion of Prior Art
Heretofore, there have been a variety of different types of hat fasteners for holding eyeglasses, safety glasses, sunglasses and the like on headwear. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,059 to Morris, a pair of wedge-shaped clips is disclosed for holding the frames of safety glasses next to the sides of a hat. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,495 to Totani, a pair of insertion holes is disposed on opposite sides of a hat. The insertion holes are used for receiving ends of temples, when a pair of glasses is received on top of a hat bill. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,282,721 to Travalgia, open slots or button holes are shown in opposite sides of headwear. The slots or holes are used for receiving ends of ear-pieces therethrough prior to the ear-pieces received on the wearer""s ears. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,753 to Aronberg et al., a hat with eyeglasses support is described. The support is used for engaging the temples and nose-piece of the eyeglasses and holding the eyeglasses next to the sides and front of the hat.
None of the above mentioned prior art patents specifically disclose the unique features, structure and function of the subject eyeglass temple holders.
In view of the foregoing, it is a primary object of the invention to eliminate the need of holding on top of a wearer""s ears the ends of a pair of eyeglass temples. The subject eyeglass temple holders are particularly important for use by a wearer with a missing ear, an injured ear or is affected by pressure placed on the side of the head by eyeglass temples.
Another objective of the invention is to hold a pair of eyeglasses securely next to the sides and front of selected headwear. The eyeglass temple holders are easily attached to various types and shapes of headwear.
Yet another object of the invention is using the eyeglass temple holders, eyeglasses can be quickly moved from next to the front of the headwear to in front of the wearer""s eyes with a nose-piece of the eyeglasses resting on the wearer""s nose.
Still another object of the eyeglass temple holders is the invention is readily adaptable to various types of headwear such as hats, baseball caps, stocking caps, hard hats and other types of head apparel.
Each of a pair of eyeglass temple holders includes an elastic strap with a rear end of the strap attached to a rear of one side of the headwear. A front end of the elastic strap is attached to a temple fastener. The temple fastener is used for releasably engaging an end of a temple, which is part of a pair of eyeglasses. The temple fastener, in one embodiment, can be hollow plastic tube with one end inserted in a press fit into the end of the temple. The temple end fastener, in additional embodiments, can be hook and loop fasteners or a metal snap with a post received in a hole in the end of the temple. The elastic straps of the temple holders allows the eyeglasses to be moved from a resting position next to the sides and front of the headwear to a position in front of the wearer""s eyes.