Thermal ear and face covering

Abstract

A cold weather accessory that protects a wearer's ears and face from cold weather includes a pair of ear covers connected to a band at opposite distal ends of the band. Each of the pair of ear covers further includes a deployable cheek cover. The deployable cheek cover is moveable from a retracted position, over a respective ear cover, to a deployed position, offset from the respective ear cover, to provide facial protection from cold weather.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cold weather clothing accessory comprising:
 an ear cover; and   a cheek cover connected to the ear cover and adjustable from a retracted position overlapping the ear cover to a deployed position offset from the ear cover.   
     
     
         2 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a band connecting a pair of ear covers, each ear cover positioned at an opposite distal end of the band. 
 
     
     
         3 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 2 , wherein the band comprises a spine made of a plastic material. 
     
     
         4 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 3  further comprising:
 a shell cover that covers the band and the pair of ear covers. 
 
     
     
         5 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 3 , wherein the spine comprises a coiled shape and a memory, the spine can be uncoiled to a curved shape to fit around a head of a user and the memory allows the spine to recoil to a storage position. 
     
     
         6 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a pivot connection joining the cheek cover to the ear cover. 
 
     
     
         7 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 6 , wherein the pivot connection comprises a fastener. 
     
     
         8 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a pin and groove connection joining the cheek cover to the ear cover, wherein the cheek cover slides along the pin and groove from the retracted position to the deployed position. 
 
     
     
         9 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 1  wherein the ear cover is at least partially curved and the cheek cover is curved to follow a contour of the cheek. 
     
     
         10 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 1  wherein the ear cover comprises at least one of a fleece material, a wool material, a cotton material, a synthetic material, a real fur and a faux fur. 
     
     
         11 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 1  wherein the cheek cover comprises at least one of a fleece material, a wool material, a cotton material, a synthetic material, a real fur and a faux fur. 
     
     
         12 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 1 , wherein the cheek cover comprises a cusp, wherein in the deployed position the cusp provides access to a mouth of the user. 
     
     
         13 . A cold weather accessory comprising:
 a band having a pair of ear covers, each ear cover of the pair positioned at an opposite distal end of the band and biased toward each other when positioned over ears of a user;   a pair of integrated cheek covers, each cheek cover of the cheek covers connected in a pivotable relationship with a respective ear cover, each cheek cover rotatable from a retracted position overlapping the respective ear cover to a deployed position over at least a portion of the face.   
     
     
         14 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 13 , wherein the band comprises a spine. 
     
     
         15 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 14 , wherein the spine comprises a coiled shape and a memory, the spine can be uncoiled to a curved shape to fit around the head of the user and the memory allows the spine to recoil to a storage position. 
     
     
         16 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 15  further comprising:
 a shell cover that covers the band and the pair of ear covers. 
 
     
     
         17 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 13  wherein the pair of ear covers are at least partially curved and the pair of integrated cheek covers are curved to follow a contour of the face. 
     
     
         18 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 13  wherein the pair of ear covers comprise at least one of a fleece material, a wool material, a cotton material, a synthetic material, a real fur and a faux fur. 
     
     
         19 . The cold weather accessory of  claim 13 , wherein each of the integrated cheek covers comprise a cusp, wherein in the deployed position the cusp allows access to a mouth of the user. 
     
     
         20 . A cold weather clothing accessory comprising:
 an ear cover; and   a cheek cover connected to the ear cover and rotatable about a single axis from a retracted position overlapping the ear cover to a deployed position offset from the ear cover.