Protective eyewear kit

Details Protective eyewear kit Protective eyewear kit

2001-12-27

2003-12-23

Mai, Huy (Department: 2873)

Optics: eye examining, vision testing and correcting

Spectacles and eyeglasses

Brace arm or semi-rimless mounting

C351S041000, C351S044000, C351S062000, C351S138000, C351S106000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06666554

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of eyewear with regard to the safety and protection of the eyes of an individual in an environment where the eyes may become vulnerable to unforeseen damage, as in excessive light rays, random particles, random fluids, or damaging gasses. This invention also relates to an economical, versatile, and disposable kit that can easily be adapted to different sizes and levels of eye protection.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention describes a new and unique comfortable Protective Eyewear Kit that is versatile, and may be adapted to different individual sizes and levels of eye protection. The inventor, with her experience of working in an operating room, has found that the disposable eye protection provided is not comfortable and does not provide adequate sealing for the eyes of those involved in the procedures. With the increasing danger of working in areas of contaminating fluids the eyes are extremely vulnerable. More laser surgery is being performed in the operating rooms, where side shielding of the eyes is another problem of those participating in the surgery.
Additionally those providers of protective or disposable eyewear go on the presumption that one size fits all, with all people having the same size head and their eyes are the same distance apart, which is not the case. Traditionally, protective eyewear is generally the same size and does not form an adequate seal around the periphery of the lenses against the face. When different sizes are available, there must be a large quantity of all the sizes available and they do not conform to the head of the wearer, generally resting on the nose and ears of the individual, leaving the eyes exposed from all directions except from the front. Often noxious gasses and odors, though they do not cause sever damage to the eyes can make the eyes tear, interfering with the vision at critical times.
An added benefit of the Protective Eyewear Kit is that it may be used in a procedure where an individual is required to wear a cover over a single eye that will limit the light entering the eye or not let any light in at all. With this unique invention, each lens is easily replaceable and may be interchanged with an opaque or black lens if required. Translucent, opaque or black side shields can also be added to protect against stray side light during laser treatments or used to keep other intrusive light from reaching the sides of the eyes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,386,254 of Alan Kahaney describes a multi-combination sunglass assembly having a one-piece sunglass lens, an elongated lens support frame, left and right temple members, and hinge member for detachably securing the temple members to the respective left and right ends of the lens support frame. One version has flexible temple members that have hook loop fastening material secured to their ends so that they may be wrapped entirely around the wearers' head. A second version has adjustable temple members having a bendable ear-engaging portion. The nose-pad assembly has a structure that allows the sunglasses to be adjusted vertically to suit different shaped faces. Although these sunglasses are form fitting, taking the shape of the curvature of the face, they have a single lens that in no way will effectively form a seal surrounding the eyes. They are not set up for the varying number of multi-purpose safety features disclosed herein.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,344 of Max F. Wichers describes a spectacle structure having a plurality of flexible portions formed in head engaging components wherein the flexible portions permit unidirectional bending of the head engaging components of the specific structure thereby conforming to and exerting inward direct pressure on the head of the person to support the spectacle structure thereon with the absence of support by the nose and ears. This patent deals with the structure of the spectacle frame endeavoring to make the wearing of eyeglasses more comfortable and does not refer to the multi-purpose safety features of the disclosed by the Protective Eyewear Kit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,745,210 of Stanley J. Biernat, Jr. et al. teaches of a an integral frame piece with front portion and two temple portions positioned on opposite ends of the front portion wherein the integral frame piece is a continuous metallic wire having super-elastic properties, and having no hinge mechanism. This patent describes the use of unique materials in combination to create a hinge-less frame for eyeglasses, but is not involved with eyeglasses that conform to the head or with any safety features.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,013 of Walter H. Bononi describes protective spectacles having a protective shield, fitted in the temple region, to protect the eyes from dust, etc., coming from the side. The protective shields are firmly connected by the upper edge region to the associated spectacle earpiece. It is thus pivoted away together with the earpiece. Although this patent describes a pair of safety glasses, they are the conventional flat shape across the lenses, not conforming to the head. The safety shields are not removable and the glasses are not capable of forming any form of seal around the eyes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,189 of Oscar F. Contreras describes an adjustable pair of eyeglasses that retain the precise adjustment during long periods of wear. Described is an apparatus and method providing adjustment of the rim separation at the bridge of the frame of the eyeglasses and for adjusting the effective length of the temple between the shoulders and bow of the frame. It is interesting that this inventor has realized that all people do not have the same space between their eyes and that spacing has an effect on the comfort and fit of the eyeglasses. This inventor has addressed the problem mechanically by creating a mechanism that performs the task well, but he is using it on a conventional flat pair of eyeglasses, not those conforming to the shape of the head of the wearer. With this shape there is no means of sealing the area around the glasses and no way to add side shields.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,448 of George Tackles teaches of sunglasses having transparent planes extend in frusto-conical planes. The sunglass frame construction permits ease of plane removal and replacement. This patent deals primarily with the frusto-conical shape of a light pair of sunglasses that are shaped to the contour of the wearers' head, but not dealing with the safety features required, and do not indicate that there was any intent that they were to be used as safety glasses.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,106 of Jack B. Hirschmann describes a reinforced spectacle temple including a reinforced wire enclosed within front and rear sections of plastic of relatively different properties. The front section is hard and resistant to deformation, while the rear section is soft and readily formable manually with the wire to fit the ear and head of the wearer. This patent deals with one segment of a standard pair of eyeglasses and does not deal with any form of a complete pair of safety eyeglasses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,786 of Steven R. Marcum tells of lightweight portable eye protectors with strategically located pads to prevent the edges of the lens of the eye protector from pinching the wearers' face, while still allowing the eye protector assembly to be easily collapsed to fit within a small portable container. This is truly a unique form of eye protection, but it goes on the premise that one size fits all with no means of adjustment, and no way to adapt them for different degrees of eye protection.
Consequently there exist a need for a kit form of eye protection that can be tailored to the needs of the individual for different levels of eye protection and also be adjustable to fit a wide range of head sizes along with varying spaces between the eyes. Additionally this Protective Eyewear Kit has been designed so it can be disposable when used in extreme environments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The disclosed device creates a functional kit form of eye protection that can be

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