Apparel – Guard or protector – For wearer's head
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-10
2002-02-05
Calvert, John J. (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Guard or protector
For wearer's head
C002S440000, C002S441000, C002S445000, C002S427000, C002S426000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06343386
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a padding member for a pair of swimming goggles that provides improved wearing comfort by means of providing uniform load distribution to the wearer's eye socket.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 7 and 8
of the drawings illustrate a pair of conventional swimming goggles comprising two lenses
1
′, a bridge
3
′, two padding members
2
′, and a head strap
4
′. Each lens
1
′ is made from rigid transparent material and includes a first connecting portion
11
′ on an inner end thereof for engaging with the bridge
3
′ and a second connecting portion
12
′ on an outer end thereof for engaging with the head strap
4
′. Each lens
1
′ further includes an annular flange
13
′ on an inner side thereof for engaging with an associated padding member
2
′.
Each padding member
2
′ is a ring-like member made from soft material and includes a resilient main ring portion
22
′, a connecting portion
21
′ extending from a side of the main ring portion
22
′ for engaging with the annular flange
13
′ of the associated lens
1
′, and an annular contact portion
23
′ extending from the other side of the main ring portion
22
′ to provide intimate contact with a wearer's eye socket. Thus, the resilient main ring portion
22
′ keeps the annular contact portion
23
′ in intimate contact with the wearer's eye socket.
However, as illustrated in
FIG. 9
, although the annular contact portion
23
′ is still in intimate contact with the wearer's eye socket when the head strap
4
′ is pulled, the main ring portion
22
′ is not deformed uniformly due to the contour of the eye socket. As a result, the wearing comfort is lost, since a portion “b” of the annular contact portion
23
′ will press against the connecting portion
21
′ and a rigid corner “c” of the associated lens
3
′.
FIG. 10
illustrates a further conventional padding member
5
′, wherein the padding member
5
′ is in the form of a hollow endless ring with a certain air pressure to provide a cushioning effect to the wearer's eye socket. However, as illustrated in
FIG. 11
, when the head strap
7
′ is pulled rearward, the force is not uniformly distributed to the padding member
5
′. In addition, the padding member
5
′ has a uniform cross section that does not correspond to the contour of the wearer's eye socket, the outer side “e” of the padding member
5
′ will be subjected to a larger pulling force and thus become more flat when it is squeezed by the wearer's eye socket. The outer edge of the rigid lens
6
′ presses against the wearer's eye socket and thus causes discomfort. In addition, the relatively outwardly protruding portion of the wearer's eye socket will press against the padding member
5
′ and thus be in contact with the rigid lens
6
′. A solution to these drawbacks is to fill high-pressure gas into the padding member
5
′ to thereby prevent the outer side “e” from becoming flat when it is pressed against by the wearer's eye socket, yet the padding member
5
′ per se becomes too hard for the wearer's eye socket. Furthermore, as illustrated in
FIG. 11
, water accumulates in an area “f” which adversely affects the intimate contact between the padding member
5
′ and the wearer's eye socket.
FIG. 12
illustrates another conventional padding member
8
′ comprising a main ring portion
83
′, a connecting portion
81
′ extending from a side of the main ring portion
83
′ for engaging with an annular flange (not labeled) of a lens
9
′, and an annular contact portion
82
′ extending from the other side of the main ring portion
83
′ to provide intimate contact with a wearer's eye socket. The main ring portion
83
′ includes a sealed annular space
831
′ into which gas or fluid is filled. Thus, in use, the annular contact portion
82
′ is kept in intimate contact with the wearer's eye socket under the action of the sealed annular space
831
′ that provides increased resilience to the padding member
8
′. It was, however, found that the wearer feels uncomfortable, as the main ring portion
83
′ with such a sealed annular space
831
′ is too hard for the wearer's eye socket.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide an improved padding member for a pair of swimming goggles to provide wearing comfort by means of providing uniform load distribution to the wearer's eye socket.
The present invention provides a padding member made from soft material and comprises a main ring portion, a connecting portion extending from an outer side of the main ring portion for engaging with a main frame of a pair of swimming goggles, and an annular contact flange extending from an inner side of the main ring portion for intimate contact with a wearer's eye socket. The connecting portion includes an engaging piece extending radially inward from an inner periphery thereof, the engaging piece including an engaging edge. An engaging portion extends radially inward from the annular contact flange, thereby defining a cushioning space between the engaging piece and the engaging portion. The engaging edge of the engaging piece and the engaging portion are bonded together to seal the cushioning space.
A reinforcing piece is mounted in the cushioning space in an area that is subjected to a relatively larger force from the wearer's eye socket.
The annular contact flange and the sealed cushioning space of the padding member are designed according to the contour of the wearer's eye socket to provide a uniform load distribution to the wearer's eye socket, thereby providing intimate contact and improved wearing comfort. The reinforcing piece avoids deformation in the area of the cushioning space that is generally subjected to a relatively larger force from the wearer's eye socket. The wearing comfort is further improved.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3725953 (1973-04-01), Johnson et al.
patent: 5890237 (1999-04-01), Chiang
patent: 5894606 (1999-04-01), Chiang
patent: 5896588 (1999-04-01), Chiang
patent: 5950248 (1999-09-01), Kawashima et al.
patent: 6052834 (2000-04-01), Chou
Calvert John J.
Smith James G
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