UNDERWATER FRAMELESS GOGGLE

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001]The present invention relates to an underwater frameless goggle formed of a single lens to which is sealingly secured a peripheral flexible skirt capable of adapting to different face contours and irregularities of a wearer person to prevent water infiltration to the eye region of a wearer person.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002]Typical underwater goggle designs are constructed with either two lenses, one for each eye of the wearer person, or a single lens. The lens is secured a frame to provide structural support, and a rubber contour pad is formed about the frame to provide a waterproof seal against the wearer person's face. Some single lense goggles are designed to integrate the nose of the wearer person behind the lens and others to extend over the nose of the wearer person. Many of these water goggle designs are prone to develop leaks due to their construction of having to secure three or more different parts together resulting in many connecting joint areas exposed to pulling forces and wear. They also utilize more parts of different materials and require more manufacturing steps and equipment costs. They are also heavier and require larger packaging or storage containers. Another disadvantage of prior art underwater goggles is that many require fabrication of different categories of user persons, i.e., children, adolescence and adults. Also, the contour pads often do not provide an adequate waterproof seal with the facial irregularities of some wearer persons or are constructed of materials which easily tears, such as foam pads.

[0003]Known underwater goggles are also not aesthetically pleasing to the eye and are not fashionable, particularly the type where there are two lenses interconnected together by a rubber band and a head band. Because their constructions contain many parts, they are also vulnerable to breakage and are not easily repairable and in most case rendered non-usable if there is damage to only one of its many parts. Most single lens underwater goggles also require a rigid frame and like the two lens designs are expensive to manufacture and prone to leakage as most skirt seals do not conform easily to peoples face irregularities.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004]It is therefore a feature of the present invention to provide and underwater frameless goggle which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of know underwater goggles.

[0005]Another feature of the present invention is to provide an underwater frameless goggle formed of only two parts, namely a rigid lens to which is directly secured a flexible sealing skirt which engages against the face of a user person, much like a suction cup, by a tension force applying a pulling force to the lens to provide a water-tight vacuum between the lens and the face of the wearer person.

[0006]Another feature of the present invention is to provide an underwater frameless goggle which is light weight and inexpensive to fabricate using only two parts, namely a rigid plastic lens and a sealing skirt of polymeric material, preferably but not exclusively, silicon rubber.

[0007]A further feature of the present invention is to provide an underwater frameless goggle which utilizes a single arcuate curved lens having a radius of curvature adapted to pressure bias a flexible sealing skirt secured thereto against the facial irregularities of a wearer person when the lens is subjected to a pulling force by an adjustable elastic band secured at opposed ends of the lens.

[0008]Another feature of the present invention is to provide an underwater frameless goggle having a single rigid curved lens to which is secured a flexible sealing skirt which when pressure biases against the face of a wearer person creates a water-tight vacuum in the area between the lens and the contact area of the face of the wearer person.

[0009]A still further feature of the present invention is to provide a single lens underwater frameless goggle and wherein the lens is formed of plastics material having one or more colored pigmentation to provide a visual simulation of different water environments to the wearer person.

[0010]Another feature of the present invention is to provide a single lens underwater frameless goggle of a fashionable design and wherein the lens has an outer reflective colored coating resembling expensive and fashionable eyewear while being of low cost construction

[0011]According to the above-mentioned features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides an underwater frameless goggle comprised of a single lens providing a wide field of vision to a wearer person. The lens has a concavely shaped nose region in a central lower edge thereof. Attachments are provided at opposed side ends regions of the lens for the securement of an adjustable tensioning strap. A peripheral flexible sealing skirt, of polymeric material impervious to water, is secured to a contour sealing formation about an inner surface of the lens to form a water-tight seal therewith. The flexible sealing skirt is shaped and dimensioned for sealing engagement against the face of the wearer person when urged thereagainst by a tension force applied to the lens by tensioning the adjustable strap against the head of the wearer person forcing air out from the facial area behind the lens to create a water-tight vacuum in the area between the lens and the contact area between the skirt and the wearer person's face to prevent water infiltration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying schematic concept drawings in which:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a schematic side perspective view of the underwater frameless goggle of the present invention;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a front view of the underwear frameless goggle of FIG. 1;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a rear view of the lens of the underwater frameless goggle showing the construction of the contour sealing formation molded integral with the lens and projecting outwards from a rear surface of the lens;

[0016]FIG. 4 is a front view of the flexible sealing skirt;

[0017]FIG. 5 is a rear view of the flexible sealing skirt;

[0018]FIG. 6A is a fragmented side end view of the flexible sealing skirt showing the location and shape of the reinforcing rib formed integral with the skirt section on opposed lateral sides of the skirt for contact with the temple regions of a wearer's face;

[0019]FIG. 68 is a cross-section view of the flexible sealing skirt illustrating the construction of the contour connecting channel formation;

[0020]FIG. 6C is a cross-section view of the contour connecting and sealing formation formed integral with the lens and projecting from the rear peripheral edge and rear surface for connection and permanent retention to the contour connecting channel formation of the flexible sealing skirt;

[0021]FIG. 6D is an exploded and partly fragmented view illustrating how the flexible sealing skirt is permanently secured to the lens:

[0022]FIG. 7 is a fragmented front view of the lens nose pad connecting area showing the connecting formations adapted for retaining the nose pad secured therein;

[0023]FIG. 8 is a is a fragmented perspective view showing the nose pad section of the skirt secured to the lens nose pad connecting area formed in the lower central region of the lens;

[0024]FIG. 9A is a fragmented side view of the nose pad section secured to the nose connecting area of the lens and showing the nose sealing section of the skirt projecting behind the connection of the nose pad formation to the lens, for sealing engagement on the top surface of the nose of a wearer person;

[0025]FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional top view of the nose pad formation secured to the lens showing the projecting connecting post engaged inside the retention slot formed in the nose pad connecting area of the skirt, and

[0026]FIG. 10 is a fragmented side view showing the position of the frameless goggle when secured to the face of a wearer person with the flexible sealing skirt deployed on the face by the pulling tension applied to the lens by the adjustable strap formed of elastomeric material connected to opposed side end regions of the lens.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0027]Before any embodiments of the application are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the application is not limited to the details of construction and the arrangement of component part set forth in the following description or illustrated by the following drawings. Further, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting but should encompass equivalents thereof.

[0028]Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown generally at 10 the underwater frameless goggle of the present invention. It is comprised of a single lens 11, which in this embodiment is formed as a rigid arcuately curved lens constructed of clear plastics material, such as polycarbonate plastics, but not limited to this specific material and shape. An advantage of the curvature is that it provides a wide field of vison to the wearer person. The underwater goggle 10 of the present invention is constructed of only two parts, namely the lens 11 and a flexible sealing skirt 12 which is permanently secured to the lens. An adjustable tensioning strap 13 is secured to opposed side ends regions 14 and 14′ of the lens 11 by attachment means, herein in the form of a vertical slots, see FIG. 3, through which it extends. The strap 13 is provided with one, herein two, adjustable buckles 15 positioned adjacent the opposed side end regions 14 and 14′ of the lens, where it is not of nuisance to the face of the wearer person, to apply tension to the strap to pull the lens 11 in the direction of the face 17 of a wearer person 16, whereby the sealing skirt 12 is urged to deeply against the wearer person's face to create a waterproof seal with the face of the wearer person as illustrated in FIG. 10. It is also pointed out that the lens 11 of plastics material may also have different colored pigmentation to provide the wearer person with a visual simulation of a different water environment, such as, green clear water, blue water, coral reef multi-colored environment and other water colorations. The outer surface of the lens may have a reflective color coating to be fashionable when worn with friends outside a pool area, for example resembling modern eyewear.

[0029]Referring to FIGS. 1 and 10, the adjustable flexible strap 13 is formed of stretchable elastomeric material and a rear section of the strap is divided longitudinally to form two narrow separable strap sections 13′ for engagement with spaced-apart back regions of the head of the wearer person 16 to resist slipping of the strap against the head of the wearer person and to maintain a constant pulling force on the lens 11. By doing so, the flexible sealing skirt 12 will be urged against the face 17 of the wearer person 16 by the tension pulling force applied to lens by the tension in the adjustable strap about the head of the wearer person causing the flexible sealing skirt 12 to deploy uniformly thereabout and against the surface of the face 17 of the wearer person 16, as shown in FIG. 10. When the sealing skirt is forced against the wearer person's face, it forces air in the facial area under the flexible sealing skirt to evacuate to create a water-tight vacuum space in the contact area behind the flexible sealing skirt 12 of the lens 11 and the wearer person's face 17 to prevent water infiltration, as mentioned above. As shown in FIG. 5, the sealing contact area is delineated all about the sealing skirt 31 to cover the forehead, side temples, upper cheeks and upper nose areas of the wearer person 16.

[0030]Referring additionally to FIGS. 3, 6C, 6D and 7, it can be seen that the rear surface 18 of the lens 11 is provided with an integrally molded contour connecting channel formation 19 spaced about an outer contour edge 22 of the lens 11. The channel formation 19 is formed with a flat outer bonding surface 20 of an outer wall 27 of a retention slot 21 formed there behind for the waterproof connection of the flexible sealing skirt 12 to the lens 11. The retention slot 21 extends about the lens 11 and merges at a nose connecting area 23, see FIG. 7, of the lens where the outer bonding surface 20 of the outer wall 27 is cut-out on opposed sides 24 and 24′ of the nose connecting area 23 to define a cut-out section 26. The nose connecting area 23 is therefore defined by a continuation of an inner wall 25 of the retention slot 21 of the contour sealing formation 19, and the cut-out section 26 of the outer wall 27 of the retention slot 21 in the nose connecting area 23. At least one projecting connecting formation, in the form of a projecting retention post 28, is formed integral with continuation of the inner wall 25 and projects from a rear surface 25′ thereof for securement retention with a nose pad formation 29, see FIG. 8, of the flexible sealing skirt 12 as will be described later.

[0031]Referring now to FIGS. 5, 6A, and 6B, the flexible sealing skirt 12 is a single piece surrounding sealing skirt 12 formed with an integral contour connecting channel formation 30 integrally formed with a surrounding outwardly projecting flexible flat wall forming a face sealing skirt 31. The face sealing skirt 31 is formed of polymeric material, herein a silicon rubber material of substantially constant thickness of about 1 mm all about the facial sealing area 32 thereof. The sealing skirt 12 projects outwardly a predetermined distance to extend beyond the eye cavities of the wear person. As shown in FIG. 6A, it is also formed with an integral reinforcing rib 33 in opposed temple sections B of the skirt to provide support to the skirt where it projects outwardly at a greater length to cover the temple areas of the wearer person's face 17, as shown in FIG. 10. The rib 33 also prevents lateral deformation of the flexible sealing skirt 12, which could cause air leakage and protects against wear in the regions under the strap pulling areas at opposed ends of the rigid curved lens 11 where there is frequent friction by a person's fingers adjusting the buckles 15 to fit to the user person's head, particularly when different people use the same goggle.

[0032]As shown in FIGS. 68 to 6D, the channel formation 30 of the flexible sealing skirt 12 defines an outer channel connecting flat wall 34 for retention engagement in the retention channel 21 of the contour connecting channel formation 19 of the lens. An inner rear wall 35 defining an inner flat bonding outer surface 36 to receive a waterproof glue 36′, which is applied over and about the flat wall 34 of the channel formation 30, for permanent boding securement with the flat outer bonding surface 20 of the channel formation 19 of the lens 11 on which the waterproof glue is disposed to form a permanent water-tight securement bond thereto with the connecting flat wall anchored into the retention channel 21 in close fit therein.

[0033]Referring to FIGS. 7 to 10, the contour connecting channel formation 30 of the sealing skirt 12 defines a nose pad formation 29, as mentioned above, for seating comfort support over an upper region 40′ of the nose 40 of the wearer person 16, as shown in FIG. 10. The nose pad formation 29 defines an upper curved nose seating outer wall seating section 29′ shaped for close fit sealing engagement over the cut-out section 26 of the nose connecting area 23 of the lens. The nose pad formation 29 defines an inner connecting cavity 37 in the inner surface 38 of the outer wall seating section 29′ at a precise location for receiving in close fit therein the projecting connecting post 28 formed integral with the inner wall 25 of the lens retention channel 21 to firmly hold the nose pad formation 29 in position to resist to lateral pulling forces applied thereto. The waterproof glue is applied over the exposed surface of the inner wall 25 in the cut-out section 26 to bond with the rear surface 36 of the channel formation of the flexible sealing skirt 12 extending in the concavely shaped nose region of the lens.

[0034]As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9B, the inner wall 25 of the contour connecting formation 19 of the lens 11 in the nose connecting area 25 may also be provided with friction retention tabs 40 or further retention posts 44′″, as herein illustrated, formed integral with the inner wall 25 and projecting on opposed sides of the retention post 28 for added retention with cavities, such as 37, formed in the inner surface 38 of the outer wall seating section 29′ of the nose pad section 29, as shown in FIG. 9B. Instead of tables 40, additional retention posts may be provided.

[0035]To further prevent detachment of the flexible sealing skirt 12 in the nose connecting area 23, where the skirt has more abrupt curvatures due to the upper concave shape of the outer wall seating section 29′ positioned on the nose of the wearer person, additional retention means is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, the upper concavely shaped seating section 41 is shaped to define opposed depending outwardly extending and tapering side wall sections 42 and 42′ extending on both sides of the nose connecting area 23 of the lens 11 and terminating with a transvers abutment end wall 43 for arresting contact with an abutting transverse edge 44 in the lens outer contour edge 22 formed by a cut-out section 45 in the edge of the lens where the retention slot 21 terminates. This transverse abutment wall 43 provides further arresting support of the nose pad formation 29 in the nose connecting area 23 to further resist to downward pulling forces applied to the nose pad formation.

[0036]Many modifications and other embodiments of the present invention as described above will come to mind to a person skilled in the art to which the invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings described herein above and the drawings. Hence, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the present invention are not to be limited to the specific examples thereof as described herein and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention and the appended claims. Although the foregoing descriptions and associated drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain examples of the elements and members and/or functions, it should be understood that different combinations of elements or substitutes and/or functions may be provided by different embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and other equivalent terms are contemplated herein with respect to the items that they relate to. It is therefore within the ambit of the resent invention to encompass all obvious modifications of the examples of the preferred embodiment described herein provide such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.