Optics: eye examining – vision testing and correcting – Spectacles and eyeglasses – With moisture prevention or absorption
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-13
2001-07-10
Mai, Huy (Department: 2873)
Optics: eye examining, vision testing and correcting
Spectacles and eyeglasses
With moisture prevention or absorption
C351S158000, C002S437000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257719
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to eyewear. More specifically, the invention relates to eyewear for the sports enthusiast.
BACKGROUND
Protective eyewear has been used for years in various sports, including high speed sports such as motorcycle racing, skiing and skydiving, and contact sports such as basketball, hockey and football. More recently, similar eyewear has been used in other sports such as bicycling and running, as well as various leisure activities such as sailing and hiking. In all of these and many other activities, the participant will naturally perspire in an effort by the body to cool itself through evaporation as a result of heat internally generated from accelerated calorie burning. Most parts of the body perspire, including the facial and forehead region. When the forehead perspires, sweat will drip into the eyes, causing a burning sensation when the perspiration reaches the eyes. When wearing eyewear, perspiration can become trapped between the eye-facing surface of the lenses and the face, causing the participant to experience vision obscurities when the lenses fog up.
Several attempts at solving this problem have been proposed. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,718, a bar is attached to the eyewear frame to maintain a distance between the eyewear and the face. While such an arrangement allows an increased amount of evaporation to take place than would traditional eyewear, perspiration still reaches the eyes, causing the above described problems. Another attempted solution involves placement of an absorbent pad between the forehead and the eyewear. Such a system is commercially available as the ROTOSHIELD™ from Ektelon, Inc. The ROTOSHIELD™ absorbent pad, however, is designed only to absorb perspiration, not to facilitate evaporation, thus having limited effectiveness.
What is clearly needed, therefore, is a system affording eye protection while simultaneously preventing perspiration from interfering with a sports participant's vision.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
I have invented protective eyewear that protects the wearer's eyes as well as simultaneously prevents the migration of perspiration into the wearer's facial region during rigorous athletic activity.
The eyewear is based upon a standard pair of conventional prescription glasses, protective eyewear, or sunglasses. The invention comprises a frame, at least a single lens, a pair of rearwardly extending bows attached to the frame, and a brow bar. The brow bar is designed to substantially match the contours of the forehead of the wearer. An absorbent insert is mounted in the brow bar to directly contact the wearer's forehead and soak up perspiration transpired by the wearer. The brow bar further comprises a plurality of openings to expose portion of the absorbent insert to the air to allow perspiration to evaporate following being absorbed by the insert.
In a preferred embodiment, the absorbent insert is open cell foam that is replaceable in the brow bar.
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“Visual Reality,”Runner's Worldp. 72, May 1997.
Zeal Optics ad, no date.
Mai Huy
Sherrill Michael S.
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