WO2007109309A2 - Flexible safety sideshield for use with eyewear - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a flexible sideshield for removable attachment to an eyeglass frame without interfering with movement of the temples attached by hinges to the eyeglass frame. The sideshield is typically formed from a polyvinylchloride (PVC) which is flexible, but resilient and maintains its shape. The sideshield shape is generally arcuate, having a periphery for generally conforming to the shape of the eyeglass frame and has a top portion, a bottom portion, and a side portion integrally formed as a single unit. A flange portion extends inwardly from at least one of the top, bottom or side portions of the sideshield in front of and substantially parallel to the eyeglass frame. An expansion member is disposed within the flange portion which enables the flexible sideshield to conform to a wide variety of eyeglass frames sizes and shapes, while providing an inward bias that maintains the position of the sideshield on the eyeglass frame. The inward biasing force of the biasing member also draws the contour edges of the curvilinear perimeter of the flexible sideshield toward the facial contour of a wearer.

Description

FLEXIBLE SAFETY SIDESHIELD FOR USE WITH

EYEWEAR

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to and claims priority from the following co-pending U.S. Utility provisional Patent Application No. 60/784,193, filed March 20, 2006 and entitled Flexible Safety Sideshield For Use With Eyewear, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates generally to safety sidewear. More particularly, the present invention relates to a universal flexible safety sideshield for use with eyewear.

2. Description of Related Art

[0002] Safety glasses are well known in the prior art and are used to protect the eyes of an individual from airborne particles, high-velocity projectiles, wind, and the like. As used herein, and by those skilled in the art, the terms "safety glasses" or "eyeshields" typically mean a protective barrier in front of the eye. A "sideshield," on the other hand, typically means a protective barrier to the side, above or below the eye and normally supplements safety glasses.

[0003] There are many different types of sideshields that are used with eyeglass frames. For example, some are permanently attached to the eyeglass frames and provide reasonable protection for the top, side, and bottom of the eye. Sideshields providing such protection and which also fit a broad range of eyeglass frame shapes and sizes are known as universal sideshields. Further, an eyeglass frame, as used herein, is intended to include the front portion and temples or bows.

[0004] One such type of universal sideshield is of plastic construction having a side flap, partial top and bottom flaps, front flaps extending from each of the side and top portions, and bottom flaps extending from each of the side and top portions that fold around the front edge of the eyeglass frame. The temple of the eyeglass frame on each side is inserted through appropriate slots formed in the side portion of the sideshield so that the sideshield can slide on the temple toward the eyeglass front and be held in place by the temple. In such case, when the temples are folded, the sideshields move with the temples and thus are subject to repositioning themselves on the temples and requiring a readjustment each time the temples are folded and then unfolded.

[0005] Another type of sideshield includes substantially a clear side portion with a perpendicularly-extending top portion and a small perpendicularly- extending front portion that engages the front portion of the eyeglass frame. There is a resilient continuous elastic band that passes through four orifices in the side to enable the temples to slide under two spaced portions of the continuous elastic band to hold the sideshield to the temple of the glasses. Again, each time the temples are folded, the sideshield moves with the temples thus causing readjustment to be necessary each time the temples are folded and unfolded. Also, this sideshield provides very little protection for the top of the eye and none from the bottom.

[0006] A third type of universal sideshield is fabricated from a flexible material that enables the wearer to contort the sideshield about and around. the eyewear frame during installation. Typically, the prior art sideshield are somewhat smaller that their rigid counterparts, but are still sometimes considered to universally fit most eyewear frames. These prior flexible sideshields, although pliable, are often used for eyewear frames that are unsuitably large for the sideshield. Often, the prior art sideshields are stretched and over extended to a large frame, this causes the sideshield to loose its natural contour and flatten out over the frame, resulting in gaps in the coverage between the peripheries of the sideshield and the wearers face. Another shortcoming with prior art sideshields is at the attachment mechanism with the frames. Rigid, hard plastic sideshield have well defined attachment mechanisms for securing the sideshield to particular parts of an eyewear frame. Prior art flexible sideshields, on the other hand, do not have the rigidity for these types of attachment mechanism, so usually the eyewear temple is merely fed through silts on the lateral portion of the sideshield.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The present invention is directed to a flexible sideshield for removable attachment to an eyeglass frame without interfering with movement of the temples attached by hinges to the eyeglass frame. The sideshield is typically formed from a polyvinylchloride (PVC) which is flexible, but resilient and maintains its shape. The sideshield shape is generally arcuate, having a periphery for generally conforming to the shape of the eyeglass frame and has a top portion, a bottom portion, and a side portion integrally formed as a single unit. A flange portion extends inwardly from at least one of the top, bottom or side portions of the sideshield in front of and substantially parallel to the eyeglass frame. An expansion member is disposed within the flange portion which enables the flexible sideshield to conform to a wide variety of eyeglass frames sizes and shapes, while providing an inward bias that maintains the position of the sideshield on the eyeglass frame. The inward biasing force of the biasing member also draws the contour edges of the curvilinear perimeter of the flexible sideshield toward the facial contour of a wearer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The novel features believed characteristic of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0009] FIGs. 1A and 1B are diagrams of a flexible sideshield as known in the prior art;

[0010] FIGs. 2A through 2E are diagrams depicting a flexible sideshield with a expansion member for accommodating various frames sizes is depicted in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0011] FIG. 3A - 3C illustrate the flexible sideshield with a expansion member installed on a wide frame with the expansion member extended in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 4A - 4C illustrate the flexible sideshield with a expansion member installed on a narrow frame with the expansion member relaxed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] FIG. 5A and 5B are enlarged views of the expansion member as shown in FIGs. 3 and 4 respectively, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0014] FIG. 6A and 6B are enlarged views of the accordion style expansion member in the relaxed and open positions in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; [0015] FIG. 7A and 7B are cross-sectional views of the accordion style expansion member in the relaxed and open positions in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0016] FIG. 8A and 8B are illustrate embodiment of the front and rear flanges for holding the frames securely in place in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0017] FIG. 9A and 9B are cross-sectional views of the V- style expansion member in the relaxed and open positions in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] FIG. 10A and 10B are cross-sectional views of a conical shaped expansion member in the relaxed and open positions in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] FIG. 11 is a diagram depicting a flexible sideshield including air passages in the lower comfort wing for increase air circulation and reducing clouding in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] FIG. 12 is a diagram depicting a dual channel sideshield for accommodated both thick and thin frames in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

[0021]

[0022] is a flowchart depicting a process for ;

[0023] [0024] Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the following detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Element Reference Number Designations

10: pπor art sideshield

12: upper portion 183: upper lens frame channel

14: front flange 185: lower lens frame channel

16: lower portion 184: inclined channel sides upper rear, or third flange

18: temple slits 186: portion lower rear, or forth flange

110: frame front portion 188: portion

112: temple L 360:

114: temple R 362:

364:

116: flexible sideshield L 366:

118: flexible sideshield R 372:

120: eyeglass lens L 374:

122: eyeglass lens R 375:

124: eyeglass lens holder L 376:

126: eyeglass lens holder R 378:

403:

130: side portion 404:

128: top portion 406:

134: bottom portion 408:

444:

445:

156: Upper comfort and safety wing 446:

166: Lower comfort and safety wing 447:

448:

170: recessed side channel 449:

171 : inclined side channel 450:

172: temple retainer 451 :

173: temple opening 452:

174: hinge cover tab 454: upper frontal, or first flange 456:

176: portion lower frontal, or second flange 458:

178: portion

180: expansion member 900: Element Reference Number Designations

902: 903: 904: 906:

908:

910:

911 :

912:

914:

922:

924:

337: 925:

338: 934:

339: 935:

340: 936:

341 : 937:

342: 938:

343: 940:

344: 942:

345: 950:

350: 952:

348: 954:

350: 956:

351 :

[0025] FIGs. 1 A and 1B are diagrams of a flexible sideshield as known in the prior art. Prior art sideshield 10 has a generally arcuate-shaped shield member comprising upper portion 12 sweeps across the side lateral extend of the sideshield and into lower portion 16. Both upper portion 12 and lower portion 16 meet front flange 14 at a right angle their forward-most extents. Along the lateral extent of sideshield 10 is two pairs of temple slits 18 for inserting eyewear temples. Typically, flexible sideshield 10 is somewhat smaller, length and width, than its rigid counterpart sideshield. During installation, the wearer feeds the eyewear temples through the two temple bands formed between either pair of temple slits 18 and forces front flange 14 over the frame front portion of the eyewear frame. Typically, flexible sideshield 10 known in the prior art do not provide any type of installation support for the eyewear frame on the interior side of the sideshield. Essentially, sideshield 10 is held in position on the eyewear frames by the two pairs of temple slits 18 and front flange 14.

[0026] One advantage of flexible sideshield 10 over rigid prior art sideshields is flexible sideshield 10 can be contorted into a myriad of different shapes to seemingly accommodate almost every type of frame. Prior art sideshield 10 fabricated from a pliable material that usually retains its shape after being deformed, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). While, at first blush, sideshield 10 may seem to be exceptionally pliable, and easily deformable for any type eyewear frame, as a practical matter the structural design of these sideshield does not give the body of the sideshield the free range of motion that is necessary to cooperate with very many frame designs. While sideshield 10 is easily installed on many frame designs, the semi-rigid intersection between upper and lower portions 12/16 with front flange 14 causes the body of sideshield 10 to flatten out slightly when installed on frames that are much bigger than the relaxed dimensions of sideshield 10. This flattening results in the peripheries of sideshield 10 not fitting snug to the user's face and leaving a gap.

[0027] Furthermore, because sideshield 10 has a generally arcuate-shaped shield member, it has a natural outward bias. Thus, sideshield 10 resists pressure in an outward direction somewhat better than inward pressure. When sideshield 10 is stretched outward, the semi-rigid intersection between upper and lower portions 12/16 with front flange 14 resists the force and attempts to retain its relaxed shape. However, whenever the outward force is applied beyond the sideshields reflex point, the structural resiliency created by the sideshield structure is partially defeated and the sideshield flattens. Conversely, due to this outward bias, the sideshield is far more likely to deform with a weak inward force than a weak outward force and turn inward on itself.

[0028] This tendency to collapse inward can be partially compensated by properly installing sideshield 10 on an appropriately sized eyewear frame. In so doing, the peripheral edges of upper and lower portions 12/16 are juxtaposed to the wearer's face, which further resists an inward pressure to the sideshield body. It should be mentioned that because of sideshields sweeping curved body, the peripheral edges of upper and lower portions 12/16 have only a minimal amount of structural support. If a missile strikes near the peripheral edges of upper and lower portions 12/16, their natural tendency is to bow inward to absorb the force of the impact. Consequently, the edges may turn under and allow the missile to enter the protected portion of the eye orbit.

[0029] This deficiency is exacerbated when sideshield 10 is improperly installed onto an inappropriate eyewear frame. In that case, sideshield 10 may be partially flattened, with much of the support from the arcuate-shaped shield member lost. Here again the edge of the upper and lower portion are the most susceptible to an inward force because of the deformity and further because the edges may be separated from the wearer's face. The gap enables the side edges more latitude to bow inward upon impact.

[0030] Still further, because sideshield 10 is held in place by the two temple bands formed between either pair of temple slits 18 and front flange 14, the body of sideshield 10 may rotate about the axis formed by the eyewear temple when impacted. Under certain conditions, this rotation may actually help protect the wearer's eye if the sideshield can rotate in concert with the missile and force the peripheral edge of the sideshield onto the wearer's face. More probably, the loose fit will open a larger gap between the sideshield and the wearer on one side of the temple as sideshield 10 rotates into position on the temple. This, one of the upper or lower edge will be in close contact with the wearer's face and the other with be much further away than the sideshield is held at a constantly centered orientation.

[0031] The pairs of temple slits 18 also open a gaping crevasse along sideshield 10 when installed on a temple that exposes the wearer's eye to liquids and provides an opening for a missile to penetrate at the most rigid portion of the sideshield. What is need is a flexible sideshield what will accommodate a wide range so eyewear frames.

[0032] With regard FIGs. 2A through 2E, diagrams depicting a flexible sideshield with an expansion member for accommodating various frames sizes is depicted in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The sideshield depicted in the figures is the left sideshield, with the right sideshield being its mirror image (see FIGs. 3A - 3B and 4A - 4C for views of both sideshields). FIG. 2A shows the outer view of sideshield 116, FIG. 2B shows the top view of sideshield 116, FIG. 2C shows the front view of sideshield 116, FIG. 2E shows the inner view of sideshield 116 and FIG. 2D shows the a lower isometric view of sideshield 116. Certain aspects of the flexible sideshield depicted herein are similar to that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 6,832,389 to Simmons entitled "Protective Sideshield with Comfort Safety Wing," and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. [0033] Flexible sideshieid 116 is shown as a generally arcuate-shaped shield member comprising top body portion 128 and bottom body portion 134 with side portion 130 forming a generally planer member defining the lateral extent of the sideshieid. The intersection between the top and bottom body portions and side portion 130 is reinforced with side channel 170 recessed below the intersecting joint between the body portions forming a temple channel for comfortably receiving a wide variety of temple styles. One feature of the present flexible sideshieid 116 is that side channel 170 is formed between two inclined channel sides 184 that are deeper toward the front of sideshieid 116 than the rear. As such, side channel 170 is formed therebetween approximates the taper in eyewear temples that are thicker at the front and slimmer at the rear near the curve.

[0034] Temples are held securely within recessed side channel 170 by temple retainer 172 near the rear of flexible sideshieid 116 and through temple opening 173. Within temple opening 172 is flexible hinge cover tab 174. Tab 174 provides two major functions, it asserts a forward and outward bias force on the eyewear temple the hold flexible sideshieid 116 firmly against the temple while simultaneously pushing the sideshieid back along the temple, thereby forcing front flange 176/178 against the front portion of the frame and the lens holders. Hinge cover tab 174 also covers the back side of the frame hinge and the portion of temple opening 173 not covered by the hinge or temple. Hinge cover tab 174 is resilient to accommodate large or small hinges, whether the hinge is located between the temple and front frame or along the front portion of the temple.

[0035] As in many sideshields, the present sideshieid includes a front flange that covers the upper, side and lower portions of the front frame portion of the eyewear frames. However, unlike the prior art, the present front flange includes a flexible member which enables flexible sideshieid 116 to expand to fit lager frames without flattening out as in the prior art. More specifically, the front flange comprises upper front flange 176, lower front flange 178 and expansion member 180 which flexibly couples upper front flange 176 to lower front flange 178. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, expansion member 180 is configured in an accordion shape with expansion bellows that stretch open without contorting the body of the flexible sideshield. In so doing, one or both of top portion 128 and bottom portion 134 may be opened for accepting larger frames without flattening and still retaining the generally arcuate- shape.

[0036] Expansion member 180 subdivides upper frontal flange portion 176 and lower frontal flange portion 178 in accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Although expansion member 180 is depicted as extending from the inner contour edge of the frontal flange to side portion 130, in practice expansion member 180 may occupy only a portion of that area, optimally position at or near the inner contour edge of the frontal flange for maximizing the flexibility of expansion member 180. Optionally, expansion member 180 may occupy the entire area between inner contour edge of the front flange and temple opening 173. Furthermore, in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, expansion member 180 entirely positioned over a particularly sturdy portion of the eyewear frame, over point where the temple joins the front frame. Thus, expansion member 180 may be thinner than the remainder of the sideshield without sacrificing the safety of the wearer. For instance, the expansion member may have a nominal thickness of 1.0 mm (0.040 in.) whereas the top and bottom portion of the sideshield are much thicker, for instance nominal thickness of 2.0 mm (0.080 in.))

[0037] As mentioned above, one shortcoming of prior art sideshields is the extent of their coverage area. Typically, the dimensions of prior art sideshields are kept small in order to increase rigidity and because of the detrimental affects of flattening. In so doing the coverage area of the wearer's face suffers. In the first instance, because the present sideshield employs novel expansion member 180 which enables sideshield to keep its structural integrity even when opened to accommodate for larger frames, the present sideshield is much larger than a. flexible sideshield that is typical of the prior art without sacrificing rigidity. Flattening is not a significant problem. The expansion member enables the peripheral edges of the sideshield to contact the wearer's face without a gap.

[0038] Additionally, a comfort and safety wing may be formed as a surface appendage from the flexible sideshield and extends in a generally perpendicular direction from the surface of the flexible sideshield along the contoured edge of the flexible sideshield positioned closest to the wearer's face. The comfort and safety wing is integral to the sideshield forming an integral structure. The comfort and safety wing is oriented generally parallel with the facial surfaces and generally follows proximate to the facial contours. A separate wing portion may be fabricated on both the upper and lower parts of each sideshield, the upper wing portion extending from the upper contoured edge of the sideshield which provides additional coverage over the upper portion of the eye orbits, temple and lower forehead area. The lower face about the lower eye orbit and upper cheek area has a generally parallel orientation with those facial surfaces. The comfort and safety wing disposed on the presently described flexible sideshield provides an added benefit of reducing the incidences of and severity of deformation in cases where the sideshield is struck by a missile near the contoured edge of the sideshield. Rather than buckling under, the comfort and safety wing on the flexible sideshield tends to catch the missile and thereby dampening its effect to the wearer. [0039] Therefore, in accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, flexible sideshield 116 further comprises a pair of comfort and safety wings affixed to the respective upper and lower body portions of the sideshield. Top portion 126 ends in a contour approximates a contour of the wearer's face above and beside the eye orbit. Upper comfort wing 156 continues from the contour and extends outwardly in a direction that is approximately parallel with the surface of the wearer's face. Summarily, bottom portion 134 ends in a contour approximates a contour of the wearer's face below and beside the eye orbit top portion. Lower comfort wing 166 continues from that contour and extends outwardly in a direction that is approximately parallel with the surface of the wearer's face, but below the eye orbit. Thus, the present flexible sideshield significantly increases the coverage over the prior art.

[0040] According to the latest revision of ANSI Z87 (Revised American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection Devices), all sideshields must be tested for high velocity compliance. More specifically, Sideshields must be impacted at three specified points with a missile at 150 fps. The use of expansion member 180, in combination with upper and lower comfort wings 156/166 increases the protective coverage are over the prior art without forfeiting structural integrity for high velocity compliance. Still further, the design of flexible sideshield 116 allows the sideshield to rotate about the temple to further conform the sideshield to the face of the wearer. As mentioned above, the temple is secured along a recessed side channel that is slight inclined to with the taper of a typical temple. The temple is secured by hinge cover tab 174, through temple opening 173 at the forward end and by temple retainer 172 at the rear. By so doing, flexible sideshield 116 is held in place on the temple along a common axis for the temple and recessed channel 170. Thus, it is expected that sideshield 116 will rotated about the temple to keep the comfort wings is close contact with the wearer's face even while the moves, or the eyewear slides up and down or is repositioned on the wearer's face.

[0041] Finally, and with particular attention to FIG. 2E₁ the present flexible sideshield provides a front frame channel for cradling the front frame portion of eyewear. Notice that upper lens frame channel 183 is formed between upper frontal frame flange 176 and upper rear flange 184. In stake contrast with prior art flexible sideshields, the present flexible sideshield not only provides a mechanism on its inner surface to secure the frame, but actually utilizes two different mechanisms, a lens frame channel and a rear flange that cooperates with the frontal flange. In a similar configuration, lower lens frame channel 185 is formed between lower frontal frame flange 178 and lower rear flange 186.

[0042] Turning now to FIGs. 3A, 3B and 3C by comparison with FIGs. 4A, 4B and 3C, one aspect of the present invention is illustrated diagram matically. There, left flexible sideshield 116 and right flexible sideshield 118 are depicted on eyewear frames. FIGs. 3A, 3B and 3C show flexible sideshields 116/118 installed on a larger frame and FIGs. 4A, 4B and 3C show the sideshields on small frame eyewear. In each of the figures, the eyewear frames includes lefts temple 112 and right temple 114, with front frame potion 110, therebetween with left and right lenses holders 124/126 for securing left and right lenses 120/126. hat and right flexible sideshield 118. Notice that flexible sideshields 116/118 fit substantially identical, even though the sideshields of FIGs. 3A, 3B and 3C are opened much wider to accommodate the wider frames.

[0043] The function of expansion member 180 can be seen in FIGs. 5A and 5B, which is an enlargement of the area surrounding the expansion member as in FIGs. 3 and 4, respectively. FIG. 5A shows the expansion member fully extended for the wide frames of FIG. 3 and FIG. 5B illustrates the expansion member in a more relaxed sate, on a narrower frame, as shown in FIG. 4. FIGs. 6A and 6B, along with FIGs. 7A and 7B depict the workings of the accordion- style expansion member.

[0044] Another mechanism employed by the present sideshield is to grip the eyewear frame between the front and rear flanges as described above. However, in situations where additional hold is needed As depicted in FIGs. 8A and 8B, rear flanges 186/188 may be oriented toward front flanges 176/178. m

[0045] FIG. 9A is a diagram depicting a frontal view of a flexible sideshield including V-notched expansion member 190 in the relaxed position with the upper and lower portions of frontal flange 176/178 drawn together by the biasing force of the expansion member and the resiliency of the flexible sideshield material in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0046] FIG. 9B is a diagram depicting a frontal view of a flexible sideshield including V-notched expansion member 190 in the extended, or stretched, position with upper and lower portions of frontal flange 176/178 pulled apart to accommodate a wider/larger eyeglass lens holder frame in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] FIG. 10A is a diagram depicting a frontal view of a flexible sideshield including conical expansion member 194 with a plurality cone-shaped expansion joints 196 in the relaxed position with the upper and lower portions of frontal flange 176/178 drawn together by the biasing force of the expansion member and the resiliency of the flexible sideshield material in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0048] FIG. 1OB is a diagram depicting a frontal view of a flexible sideshield including conical expansion member 194 with a plurality cone-shaped expansion joints 196 in the extended, or stretched, position with upper and lower portions of frontal flange 176/178 pulled apart to accommodate a wider/larger eyeglass lens holder frame in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0049] The present flexible sideshield and safety wing is typically formed from a strong, flexible material that may be transparent, absorptive or opaque (transparent is usually perferred). One suitable material, which used extensively in manufacturing, is polyvinylchloride (PVC). PVC is flexible, but resilient and maintains its shape. Advantageously, PVC also provides a natural biasing force to return to the original shape of the sideshield. Other suitable materials include thermoplastic olefins (TPOs) and the like. In either case, the sideshield is generally arcuate-shaped having a periphery for generally conforming to the shape of the eyeglass frame and has a top portion, upper wing portion, a bottom portion, lower wing portion and may also have a separate side portion, integrally formed as a single unit. Other thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) may be substituted but should be fully tested for high velocity compliance to the ANSI Z87 standard.

[0050] One problem that has yet to be sufficiently addressed in the prior art is that of a sideshield clouding. FIG. 11 is a diagram depicting a flexible sideshield including air passages in the lower comfort wing for increase air circulation and reducing clouding. Here, sideshield 1100 has lower comfort wing 1166 with a series of air passages 1112 that traverse the wing to provide a ventilation opening to the interior of the sideshield. Air can then pass under the wing and into the sideshield. The flow will egress the sideshield through an existing passages, such as temple opening 1173. [0051] As mentioned above, the present invention utilizes front and rear flanges to for holding the eyewear frame. It is well known that frame thicknesses vary from frame to frame. Heretofore, sideshields with flanges spaced the flanges to accommodate the thickest frame. This results in less than an optimal loose fit for thinner frames. FIG. 12 is a diagram depicting a dual channel sideshield for accommodated both thick and thin frames in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Here, sideshield 1200 includes front upper and lower flanges 1276/1278 and rear upper and lower flanges 1286/1288. A pair of frame channels formed therebetween. Narrow channel 1202 is the deeper of the two channels and centered within wide channel 1204. In use, a narrow frame settles deeper into narrow channel 1202, while a frame that is wider than narrow channel 1202 rests in wide channel 1204. As such, both wide and narrow frames can be secured in the same sideshield. Wide channel 1204 has a gauge of approximately 0.24 in. while the deeper and narrower channel, channel 1202 has a nominal diameter of 0.180 in. Dual channel sideshield may be fabricated from rigid or flexible plastic.

[0052] The exemplary embodiments described below were selected and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. The particular embodiments described below are in no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention as it may be practiced in a variety of variations and environments without departing from the scope and intent of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein. [0053] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS:What is claimed is:

1. A flexible sideshield comprising: at least an upper side portion; at least a lower side portion; a front flange portion attached to the at least the upper and lower side portions, said front flange portion being oriented generally perpendicular to the at least the upper and lower side portions at an attachment; and a flexible member formed in and subtending the front flange portion.