US20090044318A1 - Lens inserts for cage masks - Google Patents
Lens inserts for cage masks Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20090044318A1 US20090044318A1 US11/891,766 US89176607A US2009044318A1 US 20090044318 A1 US20090044318 A1 US 20090044318A1 US 89176607 A US89176607 A US 89176607A US 2009044318 A1 US2009044318 A1 US 2009044318A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- lens
- cage
- helmet
- compression
- facepiece
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
- A63B71/00—Games or sports accessories not covered in groups A63B1/00 - A63B69/00
- A63B71/08—Body-protectors for players or sportsmen, i.e. body-protecting accessories affording protection of body parts against blows or collisions
- A63B71/10—Body-protectors for players or sportsmen, i.e. body-protecting accessories affording protection of body parts against blows or collisions for the head
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A42—HEADWEAR
- A42B—HATS; HEAD COVERINGS
- A42B3/00—Helmets; Helmet covers ; Other protective head coverings
- A42B3/04—Parts, details or accessories of helmets
- A42B3/18—Face protection devices
- A42B3/185—Securing goggles or spectacles on helmet shells
Definitions
- FIG. 2 a is a front plan view of the facepiece of the mask of FIG. 1 .
- cage mask or helmet is meant that type of protective headgear that utilizes a cage to protect the face, built of a plurality of (usually) metal bars, generally of steel, aluminum, or titanium, that protects the player's face, such as used in lacrosse and football helmets, lacrosse masks, and baseball catcher's masks.
Landscapes
- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
- Helmets And Other Head Coverings (AREA)
Abstract
Disclosed are lens assemblies for insertion into cage masks and cage helmets. The lens assembly has a lens mounted into at least one compression member, said compression member substantially conforming to the inner contour of the facepiece or helmet edges and sized and dimensioned to provide sufficient circumferential and arcuate compression with the facepiece or helmet so as to effectively hold the lens assembly in place behind the cage.
Description
- 1. Field of the Disclosure
- This disclosure relates to replaceable lens inserts for protective cage masks and helmets.
- 2. Discussion of the Related Art
- It is known in the protective sports mask art to provide removable lenses, such as Cyr, US 2006/0090234, published May 4, 2006, but such lenses are not known in the cage mask art and further require that the helmet or mask be specially manufactured to mount with the lens.
- Disclosed are lens assemblies for insertion into cage masks and cage helmets. The lens assembly has a lens mounted into at least one compression member, said compression member substantially conforming to the inner contour of the facepiece or helmet edges and sized and dimensioned to provide sufficient circumferential and arcuate compression with the facepiece or helmet so as to effectively hold the lens assembly in place behind the cage.
- The lens may be of any combination of plain clear, UV-blocking, full or partially tinted, colored, polarized, photochromic, or other desired type of lens.
- The invention allows for rapid lens replacement without need to modify commercially available masks and helmets.
-
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical lacrosse mask. -
FIG. 2 a is a front plan view of the facepiece of the mask ofFIG. 1 . -
FIG. 2 b is a front plan view of a lens assembly of the disclosure. -
FIG. 3 is a front plan view of the lens assembly ofFIG. 2 b mounted into the facepiece ofFIG. 2 a. -
FIG. 4 is a top plan cross-sectional view of a lens assembly mounted into a facepiece. -
FIG. 5 a is a side perspective view of a typical lacrosse helmet. -
FIG. 5 b is a side perspective view of a helmet embodiment of a lens assembly of the disclosure. -
FIG. 6 is a side view of the lens assembly ofFIG. 5 b mounted into the helmet ofFIG. 5 a, with shaded portions of the lens assembly corresponding to the shaded portions ofFIG. 5 b. - The present disclosure is that of a lens assembly that can be removably inserted into pre-existing commercially available cage masks or cage helmets. By “cage” mask or helmet is meant that type of protective headgear that utilizes a cage to protect the face, built of a plurality of (usually) metal bars, generally of steel, aluminum, or titanium, that protects the player's face, such as used in lacrosse and football helmets, lacrosse masks, and baseball catcher's masks.
- The lens of the disclosure is provided in the form of a lens assembly that permits for easy and rapid removal and replacement. The protective helmet depicted in this disclosure is that for lacrosse, but this is for illustration only as the invention may be adapted to most or all protective sports helmets.
- The advantages of providing a lens to a cage mask or cage helmet include a number of benefits. One problem players face is being blinded by the sun when looking up at a ball. Providing tinted, partially tinted, polarized, prescription or photochromic lenses will reduce this problem significantly. Another problem with cage-type facemasks is that, in cold conditions, cold winds blowing into the player's eyes will cause the eyes to tear almost immediately and blind the player instantly. Another is that a player may require corrective eyeglass lenses and may find standard eyeglasses uncomfortable and distracting because of the pressure of the helmet exerted upon the eyeglass temples.
- Yet another advantage of providing lenses to cage masks and helmets is to increase visual acuity. For example, amber lenses allow players to see a white ball more clearly by filtering out blue light.
- Yet another advantage of providing lenses to cage masks and helmets is to provide a means of providing protection from short wave ultraviolet solar radiation by providing UV blocking agents in the lens material. Players of outdoor sports that involve the throwing or casting of balls in the air are at risk of UV cornea damage because of the many hours spent exposed to sunlight and the frequent need to look upward to see the ball.
- The lenses of this disclosure will preferable be impact resistant, usually plastic polymer, such as a polycarbonate.
- Another advantage of the apparatus disclosed herein permits sports teams with high overturn, such as educational institutions whose players change year-by-year, to provide their players with generic protective helmets or masks, any of which a player in need of a specific type of lens may immediately customize to meet his or her lens needs.
- Referring now to
FIG. 1 there is shown a typical women's lacrosse cage mask as is commonly available on the market. Upon afacepiece 10 is mounted acage 12, usually of metal. Ahead strap 14 holds the cage mask on the player's face. Thefacepiece 10 is made of a resilient material, such as rubber, silicon rubber, or resilient polymer and is curved to match the shape of the player's face. - The
facepiece 10 defines aninner contour 16, into which the lens assembly of this disclosure will be mounted. - Referring now to
FIG. 2 a, there is shown thefacepiece 10 ofFIG. 1 with the cage removed for purposes of clarity in the drawings. - Referring to
FIG. 2 b, there is shown an embodiment of thelens assembly 20 of the disclosure having alens 22 mounted within acompression member 24. Thecompression member 24 will have a groove for receiving the lens 22 (seeFIG. 4 ) and will define anouter contour 26 that substantially conforms to theinner contour 16 of the facepiece, but will be slightly larger so as to permit a snug fit between thecompression member 24 and theinner contour 16 of the facepiece. - The
compression member 24 will also define twoarc base portions 24 b, the function of which will be explained with regard toFIG. 4 below. - Referring now to
FIG. 3 , it can be seen how thelens assembly facepiece 10 for a snug tight fit. Thecompression member 24 substantially conforms to the shape of the inner contour and thereby provides circumferential compression between thelens 22 and thefacepiece 10 so as to effectively hold thelens 22 in place behind the cage (again, not shown for clarity) by friction. The compression member may also comprise a resilient material comparable to that of thefacepiece 10 or, alternatively, may be of a hard material (e.g., stiff plastic) effective in compressing the resilient material of thefacepiece 10. - Referring to
FIG. 4 , it can be seen that thelens 22 is also held into place utilizing arc compression. Because the lens is curved, thearc bases 24 b of the compression member form the bases of an arc where they come into compressive contact with theinner contour 16 of the facepiece. This also serves to prevent the lens from popping out of position. - It can be seen that, by a combination of circumferential and arcuate compression, a lens assembly may be provided that may be effectively mounted within a pre-existing cage mask without any need to modify the structure of the cage mask itself. It is simply a matter of providing lens assemblies of varying outer contours as needed to substantially conform to the inner contours of varying makes and models of cage masks already on the market.
- Referring to
FIGS. 5 a and 5 b, there is shown a cage-helmet embodiment of the invention.FIG. 5 a shows atypical lacrosse helmet 50 with acage 12 as is commonly found on the market. The shape and design of thehelmet 50 defineshelmet edges 52 at the face opening of the helmet. - Referring to
FIG. 5 b, there is shown an embodiment of thelens assembly 20 of the disclosure that is adapted for use with a cage helmet. Again, acurved lens 22 is provided with acompression member 24 havingarc bases 24 and shaped to substantially conform to thehelmet edges 52. Note that in the drawing, however, we do not go around the entire circumference of the helmet, but only the top and a portion of the side edges. This is desirable because, unlike a mask, the player's mouth is within the helmet. To avoid fogging up thelens 22, it is desirable to keep the lens short enough 22 so it will not be exhaled upon. - Because the
compression member 24 does not extend across the bottom of the lens, other means are needed to maintain circumferential compression. Here we mount one or morecage compression members 54 along the bottom edge of thelens 22, which will engage with a metal bar of thecage 12 and keep the upper surface of thecompression member 24 pressed firmly againstupper helmet edges 52. Thesecage compression members 54 may be of any shape or form effective in engaging with the cage, such as, for example tabs, hooks, and the like. Here we show tabs for illustration. - Referring to
FIG. 6 , there is shown thelens assembly 20 ofFIG. 5 b mounted within the cage helmet ofFIG. 5 a. It can be seen how thearc base portions 24 b of thecompression member 24 provide arcuate compression while thecage compression members 54 aid in providing circumferential compression, thereby firmly holding thelens 22 in place. For purposes of clarity, shaded elements in this drawing correspond to those shaded inFIG. 5 b. - While various values, scalar and otherwise, may be disclosed herein, it is to be understood that these are not exact values, but rather to be interpreted as “about” such values, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Further, the use of a modifier such as “about” or “approximately” in this specification with respect to any value is not to imply that the absence of such a modifier with respect to another value indicates that other value to be exact.
- Changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art to the embodiments as disclosed herein and such examples, illustrations, and theories are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, the Abstract is intended as an aid to search and identify the general field of the invention and is in no way intended to limit the scope of the claims.
Claims (15)
1. A lens assembly for insertion into a cage mask having a facepiece defining an inner contour and a cage, said lens assembly comprising:
a lens mounted into a compression member, said compression member substantially conforming to the inner contour of the facepiece and sized and dimensioned to provide sufficient circumferential and arcuate compression with the facepiece so as to effectively hold the lens assembly in place within the inner contour of the facepiece, behind the cage.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is effective in substantially blocking ultraviolet light.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is at least partially tinted.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the lens is tinted amber.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is polarized.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is photochromic.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is a prescription lens.
8. A lens assembly for insertion into a cage helmet having a helmet defining an inner contour and a cage, said lens assembly comprising:
a lens mounted into a compression member;
said compression member substantially conforming to the inner contour of the helmet edges and sized and dimensioned to provide sufficient circumferential compression in conjunction with one or more compression member mounted along the bottom of the lens and adapted to engage with the cage; and
said compression member having arc base portions effective in providing arcuate compression with the helmet and cage; and
wherein said arcuate and circumferential compression is effective to hold the lens assembly in place behind the cage.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is effective in substantially blocking ultraviolet light.
10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is at least partially tinted.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the lens is tinted amber.
12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is polarized.
13. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is photochromic.
14. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is a prescription lens.
15. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens assembly is short enough to avoid being breathed upon by the wearer of the helmet.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/891,766 US20090044318A1 (en) | 2007-08-13 | 2007-08-13 | Lens inserts for cage masks |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US11/891,766 US20090044318A1 (en) | 2007-08-13 | 2007-08-13 | Lens inserts for cage masks |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20090044318A1 true US20090044318A1 (en) | 2009-02-19 |
Family
ID=40361785
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/891,766 Abandoned US20090044318A1 (en) | 2007-08-13 | 2007-08-13 | Lens inserts for cage masks |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20090044318A1 (en) |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080016600A1 (en) * | 2004-12-02 | 2008-01-24 | Stx, Llc | Protective Eyewear |
US20090083900A1 (en) * | 2007-08-30 | 2009-04-02 | Samuel Wallace | Open view facemask visor shield |
USD669226S1 (en) * | 2011-11-22 | 2012-10-16 | Warrior Sports, Inc. | Helmet |
US20180338550A1 (en) * | 2017-05-25 | 2018-11-29 | Michael John Boulware | Face shield |
WO2021229506A1 (en) * | 2020-05-13 | 2021-11-18 | Garcia Barbosa Juan Pablo | Modular device for lenses |
Citations (15)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3897597A (en) * | 1972-05-31 | 1975-08-05 | Dale R Kasper | Face and head protector |
US5245709A (en) * | 1992-09-14 | 1993-09-21 | Shipcott Kurtis R | Protective eyeware |
US5483699A (en) * | 1994-02-01 | 1996-01-16 | Leader Industries, Inc. | Face shield with chin contacting element |
US5603117A (en) * | 1995-09-13 | 1997-02-18 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army | Protective helmet assembly |
US5652964A (en) * | 1996-04-26 | 1997-08-05 | Reinheardt; Chadwick L. | Photochromatic visor for use with a crash helmet |
US5699556A (en) * | 1996-09-24 | 1997-12-23 | Hun-yuan Chen | Catcher's face mask with a sun-shade |
US5737770A (en) * | 1992-07-01 | 1998-04-14 | Chen; Mike Chien-Fang | Sport face mask |
US6038705A (en) * | 1995-07-14 | 2000-03-21 | Oakley, Inc. | Impact resistant face shield |
US6460995B1 (en) * | 2000-02-29 | 2002-10-08 | Qds Injection Molding Inc. | Multi-piece lens having bonded lens portions |
US20040025232A1 (en) * | 2002-08-09 | 2004-02-12 | Hartley Scott M. | Eyewear for ballistic and light protection |
US6804829B2 (en) * | 2001-09-14 | 2004-10-19 | Lineweight Llc | Advanced combat helmet system |
US6886183B2 (en) * | 2002-09-13 | 2005-05-03 | Dye Precision, Inc. | Goggle and mask system |
US20060236438A1 (en) * | 2005-02-07 | 2006-10-26 | Artisent, Inc. | Drop-down eye protection for safety helmets |
US7168095B2 (en) * | 2004-03-18 | 2007-01-30 | Wright Jerry D | Face protector and method of use |
US7222370B2 (en) * | 2004-12-22 | 2007-05-29 | Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. | Protective eyewear with metal lenses |
-
2007
- 2007-08-13 US US11/891,766 patent/US20090044318A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (15)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US3897597A (en) * | 1972-05-31 | 1975-08-05 | Dale R Kasper | Face and head protector |
US5737770A (en) * | 1992-07-01 | 1998-04-14 | Chen; Mike Chien-Fang | Sport face mask |
US5245709A (en) * | 1992-09-14 | 1993-09-21 | Shipcott Kurtis R | Protective eyeware |
US5483699A (en) * | 1994-02-01 | 1996-01-16 | Leader Industries, Inc. | Face shield with chin contacting element |
US6038705A (en) * | 1995-07-14 | 2000-03-21 | Oakley, Inc. | Impact resistant face shield |
US5603117A (en) * | 1995-09-13 | 1997-02-18 | The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army | Protective helmet assembly |
US5652964A (en) * | 1996-04-26 | 1997-08-05 | Reinheardt; Chadwick L. | Photochromatic visor for use with a crash helmet |
US5699556A (en) * | 1996-09-24 | 1997-12-23 | Hun-yuan Chen | Catcher's face mask with a sun-shade |
US6460995B1 (en) * | 2000-02-29 | 2002-10-08 | Qds Injection Molding Inc. | Multi-piece lens having bonded lens portions |
US6804829B2 (en) * | 2001-09-14 | 2004-10-19 | Lineweight Llc | Advanced combat helmet system |
US20040025232A1 (en) * | 2002-08-09 | 2004-02-12 | Hartley Scott M. | Eyewear for ballistic and light protection |
US6886183B2 (en) * | 2002-09-13 | 2005-05-03 | Dye Precision, Inc. | Goggle and mask system |
US7168095B2 (en) * | 2004-03-18 | 2007-01-30 | Wright Jerry D | Face protector and method of use |
US7222370B2 (en) * | 2004-12-22 | 2007-05-29 | Rawlings Sporting Goods Company, Inc. | Protective eyewear with metal lenses |
US20060236438A1 (en) * | 2005-02-07 | 2006-10-26 | Artisent, Inc. | Drop-down eye protection for safety helmets |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20080016600A1 (en) * | 2004-12-02 | 2008-01-24 | Stx, Llc | Protective Eyewear |
US7617544B2 (en) * | 2004-12-02 | 2009-11-17 | Wm. T. Burnett Ip, Llc | Protective eyewear |
US20090083900A1 (en) * | 2007-08-30 | 2009-04-02 | Samuel Wallace | Open view facemask visor shield |
USD669226S1 (en) * | 2011-11-22 | 2012-10-16 | Warrior Sports, Inc. | Helmet |
US20180338550A1 (en) * | 2017-05-25 | 2018-11-29 | Michael John Boulware | Face shield |
WO2021229506A1 (en) * | 2020-05-13 | 2021-11-18 | Garcia Barbosa Juan Pablo | Modular device for lenses |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |