Wearable headwear bill shaper with indicia and accessories

Abstract

A headwear accessory engages the visor or bill of an article of headwear such as a baseball cap or other hat or visor. A curved accessory strip attaches to the bill to bend the bill into a desirable shape. A multiplicity of accessory devices may be built into or attached to the accessory strip including electronic, printed and shaped visual and auditory indicia and devices for a wearer to communicate in various ways with surrounding environs and people.

1 . A headwear accessory device for engaging a bill of an article of headwear having the bill extending forward over a forehead of a wearer and extending substantially from side-to-side across a forehead of a wearer, which device may be instantly applied to the bill of the headwear to form a desired curve in the bill and worn with the headwear accessory device in place on the bill and which device provides means for communicating with surrounding environs and people, the device comprising: 
 a curved accessory strip removably attached to a bill of an article of headwear along a portion of the bill substantially in a side-to-side orientation, the accessory strip comprising an elongated element having an exposed upperside and a concave shaped underside contacting a top surface of the bill, and means for attaching the curved accessory strip to the bill comprising at least one binding device for removably binding at least a portion of the curved accessory strip to the bill so that the curved accessory strip is attachable thereto and removable therefrom, and so that at least a portion of the bill is drawn into contact with the underside of the curved accessory strip so that the bill conforms to the concave shaped underside thereby enabling the device to be instantly applied to the bill of the headwear to form and retain a desired curve in the bill and enabling the headwear to be worn with the headwear accessory device in place on the bill;    an accessory device attached to the curved accessory strip, the accessory device comprising means for a wearer to communicate with surrounding environs and people and means for attaching the accessory device to the accessory strip so that the accessory device may be worn and used by the wearer with the headwear on the head of the wearer.    
   
   
       2 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the accessory device comprises a means for communicating visually with the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       3 . The device of  claim 2  wherein the device comprises a means for visually recording elements of the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       4 . The device of  claim 2  wherein the device comprises a means for visually displaying to the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       5 . The device of  claim 4  wherein the means for visually displaying comprises at least one visual display means taken from the list of visual display means comprising an applied image, a shaped image, a lighted image, a moving image screen, an imprinted indicia, a powered indicia, an electrically powered indicia, a magnetically attachable indicia, a light emitting display, a light emitting indicia, a light pipe display, an electroluminescence display, a fiber optic display, a pinned indicia, a snapped on indicia.  
   
   
       6 . The device of  claim 2  wherein the device comprises a means for viewing the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       7 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the device comprises a means for communicating aurally with the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       8 . The device of  claim 7  wherein the device comprises a means for audibly recording elements of the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       9 . The device of  claim 7  wherein the device comprises a means for audibly broadcasting to the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       10 . The device of  claim 7  wherein the device comprises a means for listening to the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       11 . The device of  claim 10  wherein the device comprises an electronic acoustic receiver mounted on the upperside of the curved accessory strip for receiving and magnifying sounds emitted from the surrounding environs and people and at least one headphone mounted on a side of the curved accessory strip for a wearer to listen to the magnified sounds of the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       12 . The device of  claim 11  wherein the acoustic receiver is mounted by a pivot connection to the upperside of the curved accessory strip and the acoustic receiver is normally down in a storage position on the accessory strip and is pivoted up to a listening position.  
   
   
       13 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the device comprises a means for communicating visually and aurally with the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       14 . The device of  claim 13  wherein the device comprises a means for visually and audibly recording elements of the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       15 . The device of  claim 13  wherein the device comprises a means for visually and audibly broadcasting to the surrounding environs and people.  
   
   
       16 . The device of  claim 15  wherein the means for visually and audibly broadcasting comprises an active image producing screen and a speaker.  
   
   
       17 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the device comprises at least one device taken from the list of devices comprising an electronic device, a one-way radio, a two-way radio, an MP3 player, a video camera, a video camera recording video to a remote server, a video camera to transmit images to Liquid Crystal Diode glasses, a cellular phone, a global positioning satellite (GPS) device, a short wave radio, and at least one of the electronic accessories taken from the list of electronic accessories comprising a power source within the accessory device, a power source on the underside of the bill, electronic circuitry inside the accessory device, a remote control for the accessory device, a photovoltaic panel on top of the device for charging the power source, and an antenna, and at least one light excluding device taken from the list of light excluding devices including a rear sun shading device, a shaded eyewear device.  
   
   
       18 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the curved accessory strip extends to two opposing edges of the bill from side-to-side and the binding device comprises at least one edge binding strip having a groove therein to bind the accessory strip to edge of the bill in the groove on each of the two opposing edges.  
   
   
       19 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the binding device comprises at least one of a pair of connector elements on the upperside and the underside of the bill to bind the accessory strip to the bill.  
   
   
       20 . The device of  claim 1  wherein the means for attaching the accessory device comprising an attaching means taken from the list of attaching means comprising a sliding attachment, a built-in attachment, a snap attachment, a pin attachment, a clip attachment, a hinge attachment, an insertion attachment, a magnetic attachment, a mating hook and loop fastener, an adhesive strip, a friction fit, a swivel attachment, a mechanical fastener.  
   
   
       21 . The device of  claim 1  further comprising a chin strap attached to the headwear accessory device which may include illuminated communication elements.