NZ566584A - Eyewear with eye shield formed by chemical etching - Google Patents

Abstract

Eyewear 1 includes an eye shield 2 of a mesh 3 of hexagonal apertures chemically etched through a thin sheet of stainless steel or plastics material. A safety visor including an eye/face shield of a mesh with hexagonal apertures etched in a thin sheet of stainless steel material is described in NZ 515436 for example, but the etching is not disclosed in the earlier published document to be "chemical" as claimed in this application.

Description

1 *10055463710* Patents Form No. 5 6 6 5 8 A THE PATENTS ACT 1953 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION EYEWEAR We, the KIWI IDEAS COMPANY LIMITED, a New Zealand company, of 78 Chamberlain Road, Rd 8, Masterton, New Zealand, hereby declare this invention for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: intellectual property office of n.z 11 MAR 2008 RECEIVED 2 Title Eyewear.

Field of Invention This invention relates to eyewear having a mesh eye shield.

Background It is known to form eyewear having an eye shield which is made from mesh. It is 10 an object of a preferred form of the invention to provide novel and inventive mesh eyewear which provides a useful alternative to at least some of such known products.

The term "comprising" or derivatives thereof, if and when used in this document 15 should be interpreted non-exclusively, eg to mean "consisting of or including".

Summary of the Invention According to one aspect of the invention there is provided eyewear having an eye shield of mesh where the mesh has been formed by chemical etching.

Preferably the mesh contains openings that are generally hexagonal in shape. Preferably there are two separate eye shields, one for each eye.

Preferably the eyewear is in the form of goggles.

Optionally the eyewear is in the form of eye glasses.

Preferably the mesh is formed of a suitable metallic and/or plastic substance.

Preferably the mesh is formed of stainless steel.

Preferably the chemical etching involves the steps of applying a protective coating to a suitable sheet material, creating openings in the protective coating, 3 and subjecting the sheet material to a suitable liquid such that mesh spaces are formed at the openings.

Description of the Drawings / Images Some preferred forms of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pair of safety goggles, and Figure 2 is a front magnified view showing an eye shield forming part of the safety goggles.

Detailed Description Referring to figure 1 the eyewear 1 has an eye shield 2 which consists of two separate pieces. In other embodiments of the invention the eye shield 2 may consist of one piece. The eye shield 2 is made of mesh 3. The mesh 3 is made of a suitable metallic and/or plastic substance such as stainless steel. The mesh 3 is formed by chemical etching. The chemical etching involves the steps of 20 applying a protective coating to a suitable sheet material, creating openings in the protective coating, and subjecting the sheet material to a suitable liquid such that mesh spaces are formed at the openings. In other embodiments of the invention the sheet may be exposed to a gaseous acid or an alkali rather than the liquid mentioned above.

The eyewear 1 has a pair of strap connectors 4 on the right and on the left of the rear facing side of the goggles. Figure 1 does not show a strap for attaching the eyewear 1 to a user's head but according to one preferred embodiment of the invention the eyewear 1 is secured to a user's head by a flexible head strap that 30 is attached at each end to the strap connectors 4 respectively. In other embodiments of the invention the eyewear 1 can be secured to a user's head with two arms curved at each end to form ear hooks as is normal with eye glasses. When the eyewear 1 is worn the eye shield 2 protects the eyes. 4 Referring to figure 2, a magnified view of the mesh 3 shows that the mesh 3 consists of openings 5 which are generally hexagonal in shape 6. The hexagonal shape of the openings 5 in the mesh 3 give the mesh more strength than would 5 be the case with quadrilateral-shaped mesh spaces.

While some preferred forms of the invention have been described by way of example it should be appreciated that modifications and improvements can occur without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims (9)

5 What I Claim Is

1. Eyewear having an eye shield of mesh where the mesh has been formed by chemical etching. 5

2. Eyewear according to claim 1, wherein the mesh contains openings that are generally hexagonal in shape.

3. Eyewear according to claim 1 or 2, wherein there are two separate eye shields, one for each eye.

4. Eyewear according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the eyewear is in the 10 form of goggles.

5. Eyewear according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the eyewear is in the form of eye glasses.

6. Eyewear according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mesh is formed of a suitable metallic and/or plastic substance. 15

7. Eyewear according to claim 6, wherein the mesh is formed of stainless steel.

8. Eyewear according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the chemical etching involves the steps of applying a protective coating to a suitable sheet material, creating openings in the protective coating, 20 and subjecting the sheet material to a suitable liquid such that mesh spaces are formed at the openings.

9. Eyewear according to any one of the preceding claims, substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 25 KIWI IDEAS COMPANY LIMITED By Its Attorney A.J. Pietras &