Swimming goggles

Swimming goggles includes lens assemblies and pad assemblies attached to peripheral frames of the respective lens assemblies. Each of the pad assemblies is formed by a first elastic member made of first elastic material which is relatively stiff and a second elastic member made of second elastic material which is relatively flexible wherein the second elastic member is in close contact with and bonded to the first elastic member in a radial direction of the lens assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to swimming goggles.

In swimming goggles, it is well known to provide a pad made of a flexible elastic material around the peripheral frame of the lens assembly.

For example, in the case of the goggles disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 1986-46498 (Citation 1), a tubular main body molded from hard plastic material is provided at one end with a lens assembly and at the other end with a flexible contact cushion made of sponge or the like. The flexible contact cushion comes in close contact with the wearer's face as such goggles are worn.

The swimming goggles' pad disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3048517 (Citation 2) comprises two different members of which the one is a face contacting layer and the other is a flexible layer. The face contacting layer comprises a shock absorbing segment attached to a lens frame and an extensional segment to which the flexible layer is attached. The face contacting layer presents a J-shaped cross-section and the flexible layer made of flexible material such as sponge is placed upon a distal end portion of this J-shaped cross-section in a thickness direction (i.e., back-and-forth direction) of the lenses.

The pad described in Citation 2 is advantageous in that two members being different in flexibility are combined to enhance a bonding effect between the pad and the lens frame, on one hand, and to ensure flexible and close contact with the wearer's face, on the other hand. Compared to the flexible contact cushion forming the pad described in Citation 1, the pad described in Citation 2 is certainly more advantageous. However, in the case of the pad described in Citation 2 comprising a combination of these two members, the flexible layer is placed on and bonded to the extensional segment of the face contacting layer in the back-and-forth direction of the goggles. To enhance the bonding effect between these extensional segments and the flexible layer, it is required not only to use adhesive having a high adhesive strength but also to enlarge the surface area over which these segment and layer are bonded to each other. However, enlargement of the bonded surface leads to enlargement of the outer diameter of the extensional segment and to the corresponding increase in a frictional resistance of water.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the problem as has been described above, it is an object of the present invention to improve the swimming goggles in which each of the pad assemblies attached to the peripheral frames of the respective lens assemblies comprises two types of elastic members being different from each other in stiffness as well as color tone so that these two different types of elastic members can be non-detachably bonded to each other without increasing a frictional resistance of water.

The object set forth above is achieved, according to the present invention, by swimming goggles having a vertical direction, a transverse direction orthogonal to said vertical direction and a back-and-forth direction orthogonal to both the vertical direction and the transverse direction, the swimming goggles comprising a pair of cup-shaped lens assemblies arranged side by side in the transverse direction, annular pad assemblies attached peripheral frames of respective the lens assemblies and extending in the back-and-forth direction, a bridge extending between inner ends of the respective lens assemblies opposed to each other and a head strap assembly between outer ends of the respective lens assemblies, wherein the lens assemblies are formed by hard plastic material and each of the pad assemblies is formed from two types of elastic material of which the one defines a first elastic member non-detachably attached to each of the peripheral frames and the other defines a seconded elastic member non-detachably bonded to the first elastic member and destined to come in close contact with face of a swimmer wearing the swimming goggles.

The swimming goggles further comprises the following.

The first elastic members is formed from first elastic material and in close contact with and non-detachably bonded to the lens assembly in a radial direction of the lens assembly inclusive of the vertical direction and the transverse direction and in the back-and-forth direction, at least in the radial direction while the second elastic member is formed from second elastic material differing from the first elastic material in stiffness and any one of color tone and chemical composition and in close contact with and non-detachably bonded to the first elastic member in the radial direction and the back-and-forth direction, at least in the radial direction.

According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first elastic material and the second elastic material constituting together to form the pad assembly extend between the inner ends of the respective lens assemblies to form the bridge.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the second elastic material is more flexible than the first elastic material.

The swimming goggles according to the present invention allow the area over which the first and second elastic members are bonded to each other to be enlarged without correspondingly enlarging the outer diameters of the lens assemblies as well as of the pad assemblies and therefore without increasing a frictional resistance of water. This is for the reason that the second elastic member is in close contact with and bonded to the first elastic member in the radial direction of the lens assemblies. In addition, the bridge is molded integrally with the pad assemblies according to the present invention and this measure is effective to alleviate a troublesome process for assembling the goggles as has been the case in which the bridge is prepared separately of the lens assemblies and the pad assemblies. Furthermore, the present invention adopts relatively flexible material as the second elastic material forming the second elastic member and places this second elastic material so as to face the wearer's nose and thereby to eliminate the anxiety that the bridge might uncomfortably compress the nose as the bridge comes in contact with the wearer's nose.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Details of swimming goggles according to the present invention will be more fully understood from the description given hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Swimming goggles illustrated byFIG. 1in a perspective view include a pair of lens assemblies2each having a transverse direction indicated by a double-headed arrow A, a back-and-forth direction indicated by a double-headed arrow B and a vertical direction indicated by a double-headed arrow C, inner ends4facing each other in the transverse direction A and outer ends7opposite to the respective inner ends4. The goggles1further include pad assemblies3attached to the respective lens assemblies2, a bridge6formed integrally with the respective pad assemblies3and extending between the inner ends4of the respective lens assemblies2and a head strap assembly8extending between the outer ends7of the respective lens assemblies2.

Each of the lens assemblies2is made of hard and transparent plastic material and comprises, in the illustrated embodiment, an oval lens11and a peripheral frame12surrounding the lens11. The peripheral frame12includes a rear extension15extending toward the head strap assembly8and this rear extension15defines the outer end7of this lens assembly2.

Each of the pad assemblies3is formed by a first elastic member21made of a first elastic material21aand a second elastic member22made of a second elastic material22a. Referring toFIG. 1, the first elastic member21is indicated by a plurality of large dots and the second elastic member22is indicated by a plurality of small dots. The first elastic material21ais stiffer, more elastic and correspondingly less deformable than the second elastic material22a. The second elastic material22a, on the other hand, has a sufficiently high flexibility and a sufficiently low elasticity to be easily deformed in conformity with a contour of the wearer's face.

Bridge6is formed by the first and second elastic members21a,22aso that the first and second elastic members21,22of the respective pad assemblies3may become contiguous to each other. These first and second elastic materials21a,22amay be controllably combined to adjust a stiffness of the bridge6to an appropriate value.

The head strap assembly8has its longitudinally opposite end portions23passed through slits24formed in the rear extensions15of the respective lens assemblies2from behind the goggles1and then folded back. The head strap assembly8is formed by elastomer and elastically stretchable. While it is elastically stretchable, it is also possible to use respective buckles26to achieve a desired length-adjustment.

FIG. 2is a sectional view taken along the line II—II inFIG. 1. Each of the lens assemblies2has a cup-like shape defined by the lens11and the peripheral frame12extending rearward from the lens11toward the wearer's face. The peripheral frame12is formed on its outer surface with a groove27making a substantially full circle of the peripheral frame12. The first elastic member21has an annular shape (SeeFIGS. 1 and 3) and is press fitted into the groove27. The first elastic member21is in close contact with and non-detachably bonded to the peripheral frame12in a radial direction of the lens assembly2including the transverse direction A and the vertical direction C. The first elastic member21is in close contact with and non-detachably bonded also to a part of a rear end surface28of the peripheral frame12. The second elastic member22also is annular (SeeFIGS. 1 and 3) and has a front portion31and a rear portion32as viewed in the back-and-forth direction B. The rear portion32presents J- or inverted J-shaped curvature. The front portion31is in close contact with and non-detachably bonded to the first elastic member21in the vertical direction C as well as in the back-and-forth direction B. The front portion31is non-detachably bonded also to the rear end surface28of the lens assembly2. The rear portion32presenting the J- or inverted J-shaped curvature is smoothly deformed without uncomfortably compressing the wearer's face as the rear portion32comes in contact with the wearer's face.

FIG. 3is a sectional view taken along the line III—III inFIG. 1andFIG. 4is sectional view exclusively illustrating the lens assembly2appearing inFIG. 3. Referring toFIG. 4, the peripheral frame12of the lens assembly2is formed on its inner end4with a front extension36extending toward the bridge6and this front extension36is formed with a through-hole37. The groove27extending along the peripheral frame12is continuous with the through-hole37. While the reference numeral27appears in the vicinity of the through-hole37inFIG. 4as if the groove27is formed in the through-hole37also, it should be understood that the groove27is not formed in the through-hole37. The rear extension15of the peripheral frame12is formed with the slit24for passing-through of the head strap8and the groove27for press-fitting of the first elastic member21thereinto. In the vicinity of the inner end4of the lens assembly2, the first elastic material21aforming the first elastic member21is in close contact with and non-detachably bonded to the peripheral frame12in the transverse direction A of the lens assembly2so as to fill up the through-hole37and extends to the bridge6so as to cover the front extension36, as will be apparent fromFIG. 3. The first elastic member21is press-fitted into the groove27along the peripheral frame12so as to extend from the inner end4to the outer end7and non-detachably bonded to a part of the rear end surface28of the peripheral frame12.

The second elastic member22has its front portion31being in close contact with and non-detachably bonded to the first elastic member21in the transverse direction A as well as in the back-and-forth direction B and non-detachably bonded also to a part of the rear end surface28of the peripheral frame12, as will be apparent fromFIG. 3. The second elastic member22bonded to the rear end surface28in this manner presents an annular shape extending around the peripheral frame12. The rear portion32of the second elastic member22presents the J-shaped curvature facilitating the rear portion32to come in close contact with the wearer's face.

FIG. 5is a sectional view taken along the line V—V vertically extending through the bridge6inFIG. 1. The bridge6is formed by non-detachably bonding the first and second elastic materials21a,22ato each other. The first elastic material21ais relatively stiff and defines the first elastic member21and the second elastic material22ais relatively flexible and defines the second elastic member22respectively in each of the pad assemblies3. As viewed inFIG. 5, the second elastic material22adefines an upper portion of the bridge6and placed aside rightward, i.e., toward the wearer's face with respect to the first elastic material21a. Stiffness of such bridge6can be adjusted by appropriately selecting an area ratio of these two elastic materials21a,22ain the cross section of the bridge6and thereby it is possible to eliminate a possibility that the bridge6might compress the wearer's nose during use of the goggles.

Now a process for making the goggles1of the above-described construction will be described. After the lens assemblies2have been obtained by injection molding of thermoplastic material, thermoplastic elastomer as the first elastic material21ais injection-molded to form the first elastic members21in desired regions of the respective lens assemblies2. Then thermoplastic elastomer as the second elastic material22ais injection-molded to form the second elastic members22in desired regions of the respective lenses as well as in desired regions of the respective first elastic members21. The second elastic material22ais non-detachably welded to the lens assemblies2and the first elastic members21which come in contact with the second elastic material22a. In the pad assemblies3, the first elastic members21made of the relatively stiff first elastic material21aare non-detachably bonded to the respective lens assemblies2in an effective manner. More specifically, even if the second elastic members22made of the relatively flexible second elastic material22aare significantly deformed as the goggles1are worn, such deformation leads neither to corresponding deformation of the first elastic members21nor to separation of the first elastic members21and the respective lens assemblies2one from another. On the other hand, the relatively deformable second elastic members22are in close contact with and non-detachably welded to the respective first elastic members21in the back-and-forth direction B as well as in the radial direction of the respective lens assemblies2. As one of measures allowing the second elastic members22to be reliably bonded to the respective first elastic members21, it may be conceived to enlarge a contact area, i.e., a welded area between these first and second elastic members21,22. However, enlargement of the area over which these two elastic members21,22are in close contact and welded to each other in the back-and-forth direction B of the respective lens assemblies2would lead to enlargement of outer diameters of the lens assemblies2and the pad assemblies3. Enlargement of the outer diameters of the lens assemblies2and the pad assemblies3would cause a frictional resistance of water to increase. In the goggles1according to the illustrated embodiment, on the contrary, the second elastic members22are in close contact with and welded to the respective first elastic members21also in the radial direction of the respective lens assemblies2, i.e., not only in the back-and-forth direction B of the respective lens assemblies2but also in a thickness direction of the respective pad assemblies3. In this way, the contact area between the first and second elastic members21,22can be enlarged without enlarging the outer diameters of the lens assemblies2and the pad assemblies3. In such goggles1, any significant deformation of the second elastic members22leads neither to separation between the second elastic members22and the respective first elastic members2nor to separation between the first elastic members21and the respective lens assemblies2. In addition, it is possible for the goggles1to reduce the outer diameters of the respective pad assemblies3and thereby to alleviate a frictional resistance of water experienced by the wearer as he or she swims.

The present invention may be implemented also by preparing the bridge6separately of the pad assemblies3as well as of the lens assemblies2, instead of forming the bridge6integrally with the pad assemblies3, and attaching this bridge6to the pad assemblies3and the lens assemblies2. Alternatively, instead of molding the pad assemblies integrally with the lens assemblies2, the lens assemblies2may molded independently of the lens assemblies2and then the pad assemblies3may be elastically deformed to attach them to the lens assemblies2, preferably using suitable adhesive or welding technique. It should be noted here that, in such separately prepared pad assemblies3, the first and second elastic members21,22may be integrally injection-molded. Preferably, natural rubber or thermoplastic elastomer having a stiffness in a range of 40 to 90 as measured by “Spring-Operated Stiffness Test A” prescribed by Clause 5.2 of JIS K 6301 is used as the first elastic material21aand natural rubber or thermoplastic elastomer having a stiffness in a range of 10 to 40, more specifically having a stiffness lower than that of the first elastic material21aby at least 20 is used as the second elastic material22a.

The present invention may be implemented by incorporating, in addition to the feature that the first and second elastic members21,22are different in stiffness, a feature that these first and second elastic members21,22are different also in color tone and/or chemical composition. With the first and second elastic members21,22being different in color tone, the goggles1will be aesthetically colorful. Phrase used herein “different in chemical composition” means that the first and second elastic members21,22are made of different types of elastomer, for example, made of silicon rubber and urethane rubber, respectively.

The present invention allows for production of the swimming goggles characterized in that the elastic materials are non-detachably bonded to each other to form the pad without increasing the frictional resistance of water.