MXPA00001510A - Ventilated browbar frame and eyewear - Google Patents

Abstract

A ventilated browbar fame (12) and eyewear utilizing the same. The browbar frame is detachably secured to a lens (14) and temples (16, 18) are detachably secured to the browbar frame. The browbar frame includes a plurality of openings (20, 22) to allow air to pass through the browbar frame thereby preventing fogging of the lens. The temples are pivotally attached to the browbar frame to allow for adjustment of the pantoscopic angle of the eyewear.

Description

FRAME OF VENTILATED EYEBROW BAR AND ARTICLE FOR THE EYES FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to an article for the eyes. More particularly, this invention relates to frames of an eye article for use in security and recreational applications (eg, sports) and the eye article (eg, lenses) made of said frames.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional protective eye article, generally shown at 100. The eye article 100 includes an eyebrow rod frame 102, which receives the lens 104. Templates 106 are hingedly attached to the distal ends of the eyebrow rod frame 102. Although the conventional eye protector article 100 is well suited for its intended purpose, there are disadvantages in the conventional design. A potential problem with the protective eye article 100 of the prior art is that fogging of the lens 104 can occur due to the narrow adjustment of the eyebrow bar frame 102 to the wearer's face thereby trapping hot, moist air. Another disadvantage is that the templates 106 can not be adjusted to vary the pantoscopic angle of the article for the eyes.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The problems and deficiencies discussed above and others of the prior art are overcome or mitigated through a ventilated eyebrow frame of the present invention. According to the present invention, the eye article is composed of an eyebrow bar frame, a lens and jigs pivotally connected to the eyebrow bar frame, all of these are separately connected together to facilitate assembly. In a preferred embodiment, a lens is selected and sized to engage the eyebrow rod frame in a snap-lock manner. The two template assemblies are pivotally coupled to eyebrow bar joining segments to allow adjustment of the pantoscopic angle of the eye article. The preferred lens has side guards which engage the eyebrow bar frame in a snap-lock manner. The eyebrow bar frame includes a plurality of ventilation holes to prevent fogging of the lens. The aspects and advantages discussed above and others more of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference is now made to the drawings, in which similar elements are similarly enumerated in the various figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional eye article; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the eye article incorporating the ventilated eyebrow frame according to the present invention; Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the article for the eyes of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a rear view of the article for the eyes; Figure 5 is a perspective view of the ventilated brow bar frame; Figure 6 is a side view of the ventilated brow bar frame; Figure 7 is a top view of the ventilated brow bar frame; Figure 8 is a front view of the ventilated brow bar frame; Figure 9 is a bottom view of the ventilated brow bar frame; and Figure 10 is a rear view of the ventilated eyebrow frame.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODE Referring first to Figure 2, an article for the eyes, including a ventilated eyebrow frame with pivotal, adjustable templates of the present invention, is generally shown at 10. Article 10 for the eyes is composed of a ventilated eyebrow bar frame 12, a lens 14 of suitable optical quality and two pivotal, adjustable template assemblies, 16 and 18. The ventilated brow bar frame 12 is preferably of a one-piece, molded construction. As shown in Figure 3, the eyebrow bar frame 12 has an inner surface 21 which is curved so as to be comfortably secured against the user's forehead. An outer surface 30 follows the curve of a lens 14. The eyebrow bar frame includes an opposing top surface 31 (Figure 7) and a bottom surface 33 (Figure 9). The eyebrow rod frame 12 includes a left ventilated section 20 and a right ventilated section 22. Each ventilated section includes a plurality of openings 46 (Figures 7 and 9) which pass through the eyebrow bar frame 12 to allow the air pass through the article to the eyes and avoid fogging. The openings 46 pass through the upper surface 31 and the bottom surface 33. This allows the hot air to naturally flow upward (raising the hot air) through the openings 46 by expelling cold air below the bottom lip of the lens 14. It is understood that the eyebrow bar frame 12 may have a variety of ventilated areas (eg, ventilated throughout its entire length) and the invention is not limited to a left and right ventilated area, as shown in Figure 3. The eyebrow bar frame 12 includes a central mounting section 24, a left mounting section 25 and a right mounting section 27. The central, left and right mounting sections secure the lens 14 to the frame 12. As will be described later, the lens 14 is separately secured to the eyebrow frame 12 to facilitate removal of the lens 14. The eyebrow frame 12 includes generally joined segments. Opened at 26. The connecting segments 26 receive the pivotal, adjustable jig assemblies, 16 and 18. A detailed description of the eyebrow bar frame 12 is provided with reference to Figures 5-10. The central mounting section 24, as seen from the front, is seen as an elongated rectangle with the ends 38 being preferably semi-circular (Figure 8). As seen in the bottom view, Figure 9, the central mounting section 24 has a channel 40, which receives a portion of the lens 14. the channel 40 has an external wall 42 curved to match the external surface of the lens 14 and an inner wall 41 configured to coincide with the inner surface of the lens 14. Further, a concavity 44 is preferably found, which is equalized and coincides with a hole 45 (Figure 3) in the lens 14 to provide extra stiffness when the Eyebrow bar frame 12 ventilated is secured to lens 14. The left mounting section 25 similarly has a channel 50 having an inner wall 51 configured to coincide with the internal surface of the lens 14 and an external wall configured to coincide with the external surface of the lens 14. The right mounting section 27 is similar to the left mounting section 27, each one includes a flange 48 for engaging latches 54 (FIG. 3) on the lens 14. The attachment segments 26 are positioned at the distal ends of the eyebrow bar frame 12 and receive the two pivotal, adjustable jig assemblies 16, 18. Although any Suitable template assembly (adjustable or non-adjustable) can be used with the eyebrow bar frame 12, in a preferred embodiment, the template assemblies are adjustable and most preferably, the adjustable template assemblies 16, 18 are equal to Adjustable template assemblies described in the US application Series No. 08 / 770,920, entitled "Flexible Temple Endpiece" (Final Piece of Flexible Template), which is assigned to the assignee of the same, all the contents of which are incorporated here by reference. Of course, as mentioned, any other template or suitable template assembly can be replaced by the preferred template modality discussed here. The adjustable template assemblies 16, 18 have an end piece 61, which has formed therein a plurality of depressions 66, which are designed to couple projections 56 formed in the joint segment 26 located on both sides of the mounting hole 58. The mounting hole 58 has a round central diameter 60 to accommodate the mounting post of the adjustable, pivotal template assemblies, 16, 18, which has a neck 62 and an oblong head 64 see Figure 3). The mounting hole 58 has an elongation 66 on each side of the round center 60 to accommodate the insertion of the oblong clamping head 64. Reference is made to the application of E.U.A. Series No. 08 / 770,920 with respect to mounting details of the adjustable template assemblies 16, 18 to the eyebrow frame 12 of the present invention. It should be noted that the use of the connecting segment 26 for connecting the adjustable template assemblies 16, 18 to the eyebrow bar frame 12 allows the user to adjust the pantoscopic angle of the eye article 10. A further aspect of the adjustable template assemblies 16, 18 is that the assemblies are hinged, allowing the adjustable template assemblies 16, 18 to bend towards the lens 14. This reduces the size of the article 10 for the eyes for storage and reduces the probability that templates 16 and 18 will be damaged. Another advantageous aspect of the template assemblies 16, 18 is that the template tips 78 are movably mounted to the template length adjustment housing 80, which allows the user to adjust the full length of the template assemblies 16, 18. The lens 14 is a conventional lens and preferably is of a one-piece molded construction. The lens 14 may be a prescription lens, but preferably it may be a planar lens. The lens 14 can conveniently be protected (e.g., sunglasses) or be transparent and when used for safety or recreational use, it will be made of a suitably strong impact resistant polymer, such as polycarbonate. The lens 14 can have any suitable geometric shape such as cylindrical, spherical, toric or an aspherical shape such as parabolic or elliptical, although preferably that portion of the 14 between the side shields 15 will be spherical. The attachment of the lens 14 to the eyebrow rod frame 12 will now be described. The lens latches 54 are positioned to engage the flanges 48 in the left and right mounting sections, 25 and 27. The lens 14 is then moved to the eyebrow rod frame 12 and the lens is placed in the channel 40 in the central mounting section 24 and on channel 50 in the left and right mounting sections, 25 and 27. The lens 14 is manipulated so that the concavity 44 engages the hole 45 and secures the lens 14 to the eyebrow bar frame 12. The eyebrow bar frame 12 provides the eye article 10 assembled with a Partially almost frameless appearance. The partially frameless assembly allows the lens 14 to wrap down on the underside of the face for additional protection, while sealing the area above the face with the eyebrow bar frame 12. It will be appreciated that one piece of nose as discussed previously in the US application Series No. 08 / 770,920 can be incorporated with the lens 14 to provide a better fit and comfort, if desired. In addition, the template assemblies 16 and 18 can be replaced by a strip and strip support template as described in the U.S. patent application. Series No. 08 / 806,595, which is assigned to the assignee of the same, all the contents of which are incorporated here by reference. Although preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.

Claims (12)

i if CLAIMS

1. A ventilated eyebrow frame for use in an article for the eyes, comprising: an internal surface to be placed adjacent to a user's head; an external surface opposite the inner surface; an upper surface joining the internal and external surfaces; a bottom surface opposite the upper surface; a ventilation opening formed through the upper surface and the bottom surface.

2. The ventilated eyebrow bar frame according to claim 1, further comprising a mounting section for receiving a lens.

3. The ventilated eyebrow bar frame according to claim 2, wherein the mounting section comprises a central mounting section having an internal wall configured to coincide with an inner surface of the lens and an external wall configured to coincide with the external surface of the lens.

4. The ventilated eyebrow bar frame according to claim 2, wherein the central mounting section includes a concavity for coupling a hole in the lens.

5. The ventilated eyebrow bar frame according to claim 2, wherein the mounting section comprises: a left mounting section having an internal wall configured to coincide with an inner surface of the lens and an external wall configured for match an external surface of the lens; and a right mounting section having an internal wall configured to coincide with an inner surface of the lens and an external wall configured to coincide with an outer surface of the lens.

6. The ventilated eyebrow frame according to claim 3, wherein the mounting section comprises: a left mounting section having an internal wall configured to coincide with an internal surface of the lens and an external wall configured to coincide with an external surface of the lens; and a right mounting section having an internal wall configured to coincide with an inner surface of the lens and an external wall configured to coincide with an outer surface of the lens.

7. The ventilated eyebrow frame according to claim 5, wherein the left mounting section includes a first flange for coupling a first latch in the lens and said right mounting section includes a second flange for engaging a second one. Safe formed in the lens.

8. The ventilated eyebrow frame according to claim 6, wherein the left mounting section includes a first flange for coupling a first latch formed on the lens and said right mounting section includes a second flange for coupling a latch. second safe formed in the lens.

9. The ventilated eyebrow bar frame according to claim 1, further comprising a junction section positioned at each distal end of the eyebrow bar frame, each junction section including an opening therein.

10. The ventilated eyebrow frame according to claim 9, further comprising a projection formed adjacent said opening.

11. The ventilated eyebrow frame according to claim 10, further comprising a template assembly separately connected to said joining section, the template assembly including a plurality of depressions for receiving said projection.

12. The ventilated eyebrow frame according to claim 1, further comprising a lens separately secured to the eyebrow frame.