EP0183806A1

EP0183806A1 - Eyeshield

Info

Publication number: EP0183806A1
Application number: EP85902933A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Murray David Kirby Hunter
Original assignee: Design & Industry Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Design & Industry Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1984-06-07
Filing date: 1985-06-07
Publication date: 1986-06-11
Also published as: EP0183806A4; JPS61502307A; WO1986000012A1

Abstract

Les lunettes de protection comportent une bande de film transparent semi-rigide de couleur (10) formé de manière à donner une partie de protection centrale (11), un pont (12) et une paire d'ailes (14) s'étendant des deux côtés de la partie de protection des yeux. Chacune des ailes (14) est mobile de manière résiliente par rapport à la partie de protection des yeux (11) grâce à une pluralité de gauffrages essentiellement parallèles (13) permettant le réglage de la longueur effective des ailes (14) si bien que les lunettes de protection peuvent être portées par des personnes avec des têtes de différentes tailles. A l'extrémité de chaque aile (14) se trouve une boucle d'engagement d'oreille (15) conçue pour entourer l'oreille d'une personne portant les lunettes de protection, cette boucle se composant d'une pièce de matériau mousse résilient (17). Le long d'un bord arrière supérieur de la partie de protection des yeux (11) une bande de mousse résiliente (18) est prévue afin d'écarter la partie de protection des yeux (11) du front de l'utilisateur pour prévenir la gêne due au frottement du bord de la bande contre le front et espacer de manière appropriée la bande des yeux et des cils.The protective glasses have a strip of semi-rigid transparent colored film (10) formed so as to give a central protective part (11), a bridge (12) and a pair of wings (14) extending from the two sides of the eye protection part. Each of the wings (14) is resiliently movable relative to the eye protection part (11) thanks to a plurality of essentially parallel embossments (13) allowing adjustment of the effective length of the wings (14) so that the protective glasses can be worn by people with heads of different sizes. At the end of each wing (14) is an ear engagement loop (15) designed to surround the ear of a person wearing the protective glasses, this loop consisting of a piece of foam material resilient (17). Along a top rear edge of the eye protection part (11) a band of resilient foam (18) is provided in order to separate the eye protection part (11) from the forehead of the user to prevent discomfort from rubbing the edge of the strip against the forehead and spacing the strip appropriately from the eyes and eyelashes.

Description

EYE SHIELD

The present invention relates generally to sunshades for the eyes and in particular relates to a novel eyeshield which may be worn instead of sunglasses and which is relatively light and inexpensive.

Known eyeshades of the peak type, such as are provided on peaked caps, protect the eyes from the direct glare of the sun when it is high in the sky but do not provide protection against reflected glare, such as is experienced on water or snow, nor do these types of eyeshades give adequate protection when the sun is low in the sky. Accordingly, it is often necessary to wear sun glasses to protect against glare under these adverse conditions. However, sunglasses typically have a moderate mass even when of the type having thin lightweight metal frames and plastic lenses and even the least expensive of these lightweight sunglasses are still moderately expensive. In view of the mass of sunglasses and their loose method of retention they are not particularly well suited to even slightly vigorous activities such as might be undertaken in the snow and are prone to being lost overboard when worn on boats.

The present invention consists in an eyeshield comprising a strip of coloured, semi-rigid transparent material, said strip having a centrally located eyeshielding portion, a nose piece located substantially centrally of the eyeshielding portion and formed in a lower longitudinal edge thereof, a pair of wing portions extending from each end of the eyeshielding portion, and the separation of each wing portion and the eyeshielding portion being defined by one or more crimps extending substantially transversely of the strip and each wing including ear attachment means provided at its distal end. Preferably, embodiments of the eyeshield will include means for spacing an upper edge of the strip away from the forehead, while other embodiments will also include means for spreading the weight of the shield on the nose of the wearer such that the thin edge of the strip will not cause discomfort. Typically the nose piece will include a recess cut into the strip and adapted to fit over the nose of the wearer.

Preferably the means for attaching the eyeshield to the ears of the wearer will include a loop formed in the distal end of each wing and adapted to fit over the ear of the wearer. Typically the forward portion of each loop will be formed as part of the strip of transparent material, while the rearward portion of the loop will be formed of a resilient material adapted to conform to the contours of the ear and to provide sufficient surface area to avoid discomfort.

Typically the strip is a strip of acetate film or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film and in the preferred embodiment is a strip of hot pressed and polished transparent PVC film, with a thickness in the order of 200 micron.

Preferably, the means for spacing the strip from the forehead of the wearer is a strip of cross linked polyethylene foam in the order of 4 mm thick and 14 mm wide attached along the top edge of the eyeshielding portion of the strip, and the rearward portion of the ear attachment loops is preferably also of cross-linked polyethylene foam.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the eyeshield of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 (a) , (b) , (c) and (d) are rear elevation. front elevation, plan and end elevation views respectively of the eyeshield of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a developed view of the blank sheet from which the embodiment of Figs. 1 - 3 is formed, showing the relative position of foam forehead and ear pieces in dashed line.

Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an inexpensive, lightweight disposable eyeshield, which can be worn in place of sunglasses, the eyeshield being substantially formed as a strip of coloured acetate or PVC film 10 cut or stamped from a sheet of such material. Preferably the material is 200 micron hot pressed and polished PVC film. The eyeshielding portion 11 of the strip 10 is substantially rectangular and has a recess 12 substantially centrally located in the lower edge thereof to form a nose piece.

A plurality of substantially parallel crimps 13 are provided beyond each end of the eyeshielding portion 11 in respective downwardly sloping wing portions 14 of the strip and at the distal end of each of the wing portions are formed ear engaging loops 15, these loops being defined by the distal edges 16 of the strip and loops 17 of resilient foam material attached thereto. Preferably the foam material is a cross linked polyethylene foam. These ear engaging loops are designed to be placed over the ear of the wearer with the foam portion of each loop behind the respective ear to retain the eyeshield in position. As a result of the relatively light weight of eyeshield and its positive method of retention over the ears the preferred embodiment of the present invention is well suited to use in circumstances where normal sunglasses would be inconvenient, such as where the wearer is engaged in relatively vigorous activities. A strip of cross linked polyethylene foam 18 is also provided across the rear top edge of the eyeshielding portion 11 to space the eyeshield from the forehead of the wearer to thereby avoid possible discomfort caused by the top edge of the eyeshield rubbing against the forehead. The spacer also helps to ensure that the eyeshield is held clear of the eyes and eyelashes to further avoid discomfort.

Due to the nature of the acetate or PVC film material, the crimps 13 retain a certain degree of resiliency and if physically compressed or extended, the distance between the eyeshielding portion 11 and the ear engaging loop 15 can be adjusted to suite the size of head of the particular person wearing the eyeshield. Further, by stretching the upper region of the crimps relative to the lower region of the crimps the wings can be lowered relative to the eyeshielding portion while stretching of the lower region of the crimps relative to the upper region of the crimps results in the wings being raised relative to the eyeshielding portion.

In another embodiment (not shown) the nose recess 12 may be provided with foam such that the area over which the nose recess engages the nose of the wearer is increased. Referring now to Fig. 4 the developed shape of the strip 10 is illustrated prior to crimping along the dashed lines 13 and from this drawing it will be seen that the wing portions 14 of the strip 10 slope downwardly relative to the eyeshielding portion 11 and that the crimp lines 13 are substantially parallel to the centre line of the strip. The relative position of the foam ear loops 17 and the foam forehead spacer 18 are also shown in dashed line.

Claims

Claims : -

1. An eyeshield comprising a strip of coloured, semi-rigid transparent material, said strip having a centrally located eyeshielding portion, a nose piece located substantially centrally of the eyeshielding portion and formed in a lower longitudinal edge thereof, a pair of wing portions extending from each end of the eyeshielding portion and the separation between each wing portion and the eyeshielding portion being defined by one or more crimps extending substantially transversely of the strip and each wing including ear attachment means provided at its distal end.

2. The eyeshield as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nose piece is formed as a recess provided in a lower edge of the eyeshielding portion.

3. The eyeshield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a plurality of substantially parallel crimps are provided at either side of the eyeshielding portion, the crimps being substantially parallel to a vertical centre line of the eyeshield.

4. The eyeshield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein means are provided to space the eyeshield from the forehead of a person wearing the sunshield.

5. The eyshield as claimed in claim 4 wherein the spacing means comprises a strip of cross-linked polyethylene foam located along an upper rear edge of the eyeshielding portion.

6. The eyeshield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the strip of transparent material is a strip of hot pressed and polished polyvinyl chloride film.

7. The eyeshield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the ear attachment means comprises a loop formed at the end of each wing, the loops being adapted to be placed over the ears of a wearer.

8. The eyeshield as claimed in claim 7 wherein each loop is defined by a distal edge of the respective wing and a piece of resilient material attached to said distal end to close the loop.

9. The eyeshield of claim 8 wherein the piece of resilient material is a loop of material attached to the distal end of the wing.

10. The eyeshield as claimed in claim '8 or 9 wherein the resilient material is a cross-linked polyethylene material,

11. An eyeshield substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.