Apparel – Guard or protector – For wearer's head
Reexamination Certificate
2002-08-26
2003-11-04
Welch, Gary L. (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Guard or protector
For wearer's head
C002S452000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06640347
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to goggles for swimming.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1995-49969A discloses a buckle assembly used in goggles for swimming or the like. This buckle assembly of the prior art comprises a coupling region which is elastically deformable so as to be detachably engaged with a desired region of the goggles' frame and a head band receiving region formed integrally with the coupling region. The head band is length-adjustable in the head band receiving region.
With the buckle assembly disclosed in the above-cited Publication, the length-adjustment of the head band may be easily carried out without obstruction due to the presence of the frame as well as lenses since the buckle assembly can be disassembled from the frame. However, such a buckle assembly should be made of hard plastics, so a certain force is required for a wearer to elastically deform the assembly with his or her fingertips. This requirement has made some of the wearers feel inconvenience to use such a buckle assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to improve goggles for swimming with a head band adapted to be detachably attached to a frame so that no conscious force is required for operation of attaching and detaching the head band to the frame and thereby to facilitate this operation.
According to this invention, there is provided a pair of goggles for swimming comprising a pair of lenses each having front and rear surfaces, a pair of frames encircling the respective lenses and a head band coupled to respective rear ends of the frames.
Each of the frames has upper and lower arms extending rearward from the associated end of the rear ends in parallel to each other, the upper and lower arms having projections opposed to each other on respective rear ends wherein a distance between the projections is smaller than a distance between the upper and lower arms as measured in front of the projections, and the head band is coupled to the frames by means of rubbery elastic coupling members and adapted to be detachably held between the upper and lower ends, each of the coupling members comprising a locking section extending between the upper and lower arms and adapted to come in close contact with the projections from the front, and in contact with a part of the frame near the lenses rather than the projections from the front, a flexible belt-like section extending rearward from the rear end of the locking section and passing between the upper and lower arms, and a slot formed in the rear end of the belt-like section for insertion of the head band wherein at least one of width and thickness of the belt-like section is smaller than a distance between the projections.
This invention can be implemented also in such manners as follow:
(1) The head band is provided behind the coupling members with buckles for length-adjustment of the head band.
(2) Between the upper and lower arms, there is provided a region adapted to come in close contact with the rear surface of the locking section.
(3) The locking section has a side surface opposed to the upper arm and a side surface opposed to the lower arm, at least one of these side surfaces is formed, in the vicinity of the rear surface, with a stopper projection adapted to come in close contact with the upper arm or the lower arm in the direction from the rear surface toward the front surface of the locking section and thereby to prevent the locking section from falling off forward from between the upper and lower arms.
(4) The belt-like section of the coupling member has its thickness dimensioned to be smaller in a longitudinally middle region thereof.
(5) The head band is coupled to the rear end of the belt-like section so as to extend rearward therefrom at an angle of 90° ±15° with respect to the front surface of the lens.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5459882 (1995-10-01), Yamamoto
patent: 5596771 (1997-01-01), Hsu et al.
patent: 5857221 (1999-01-01), Geneve et al.
patent: 5867841 (1999-02-01), Chiang
patent: 5956778 (1999-09-01), Godoy
patent: 6247187 (2001-06-01), Chiang
patent: 6317897 (2001-11-01), Chiang
patent: 6446272 (2002-09-01), Lee
patent: 6460196 (2002-10-01), Tsubooka et al.
patent: 7-49969 (1995-11-01), None
Clark & Brody
Tabata Co. Ltd.
Welch Gary L.
LandOfFree
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