Eyeglasses adapted for sports and protective use

Protective and sports eyeglasses having a pair of integrally formed, wraparound lenses. The lenses have toric inner and outer surfaces which match each other on both meridians so that the lenses have zero power. A shock-absorbing nosepiece includes a base portion which wraps around a bridge integrally formed with the lenses and a pair of resilient, relatively large nose pads projecting downwardly and rearwardly along respective inside edges of the lenses. The nose pads are spaced slightly from the lenses so that they are capable of absorbing shocks imparted to the lenses. A pair of temples are pivotally secured to respective lenses by hinges which are embedded in respective mounting pads integrally formed in the lenses. The lenses may be formed from a tough, shock-resistant plastic, such as polycarbonate, and they may be provided with a hard, non-scratch coating.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to eyewear and, more particularly, to protective 
eyeglasses which are specially adapted for sports use. 
BACKGROUND ART 
Non-corrective eyeglasses, such as sunglasses or protective eyeglasses, 
normally utilize spherical lenses which have substantially the same radius 
of curvature in both the horizontal and vertical meridians. Such 
eyeglasses usually do not have sufficient wrap depth to adequately shield 
the eye from light, wind, and objects at the sides. A large wrap depth is 
achieved by using lenses which have a sufficiently small radius of 
curvature to allow the lenses to curve around the sides of the wearer's 
face. However, spherical lenses having sufficient curvature in the 
horizontal meridian to provide an adequate wrap depth have an excessive 
radius of curvature in the vertical meridian, which causes the lenses to 
project forwardly an excessive distance, thus giving a "bug-eyed" 
appearance. U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,449, issued to Bolle et al, discloses 
eyeglasses which use a spherical lens having substantial wrap depth and 
also use relatively wide temples to shield the wearer's face. 
Attempts have been made to provide a lens having sufficient wrap depth 
without causing the lens to project forwardly an excessive distance, 
principally by varying the radius of curvature of the lens in the 
horizontal meridian. Accordingly, the lenses have relatively little 
curvature at the front, but the curvature increases substantially toward 
the outer edges of the lenses. An example of this technique is illustrated 
in U.S. Pat. No. 2,537,047, issued to Gatten. The principal disadvantage 
of such lenses is the optical distortion caused where the radius of 
curvature in a horizontal meridian quickly changes. As a result, the 
optical quality of prior art eyeglasses incorporating this technique has 
not been particularly great. 
Another problem associated with protective eyeglasses adapted for sports 
use is the inability of the eyeglasses to absorb shocks imparted to the 
lenses. Conventional eyeglasses generally utilize a nosepiece which is 
either integrally formed with the lenses or frame or rigidly secured to 
the frame. As a result, shocks imparted to the lenses by objects are 
coupled directly to the nose of the wearer, sometimes causing injury. 
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the invention to provide eyeglasses having sufficient 
wrap depth to adequately shield the eye while conforming quite closely to 
the wearer's face. 
It is another object of the invention to provide eyeglasses of the 
character described having excellent optical properties. 
It is still another object of the invention to provide eyeglasses having a 
shock-absorbing nosepiece to isolate the wearer's nose from shocks 
imparted to the lenses. 
It is a further object of the invention to secure a nosepiece to the bridge 
of eyeglasses in a manner which strengthens the bridge and isolates the 
nosepiece from shocks imparted to the lenses. 
These and other objects of the invention are provided by eyeglasses having 
a pair of lenses and a bridge integrally formed with each other. The 
lenses have a substantial wrap depth and toric inner and outer surfaces 
which match each other to provide zero power. A shock-absorbing nosepiece 
is secured to the bridge, and a pair of temples are pivotally secured to 
the outer edges of respective lenses. The nosepiece includes a base 
portion which tightly surrounds the bridge but is not rigidly secured 
thereto so that the nosepiece is capable of floating to some extent and 
thus absorbing shocks imparted to the lens. The nosepiece also includes a 
pair of nose pads which project from the base portion along respective 
inner edges of the lenses. The nose pads are resilient and spaced apart 
from the lenses so that they are capable of absorbing shock imparted to 
the lenses. The nose pads are also relatively large so that the area of 
contact between the nose pads and the nose of a wearer is substantially 
larger than in conventional eyeglasses in order to spread shock-induced 
forces over a relatively large area. The upper edges of the lenses include 
an integrally formed rim to strengthen the lenses. Also integrally formed 
with the lenses are respective mounting pads formed at the outer edges of 
the lenses in which hinges connecting the temples to the lenses are 
embedded.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
The protective eyeglasses 10, as illustrated in the figures, include a pair 
of wraparound lenses 12 interconnected by an integrally formed bridge 14. 
The lower edge of the bridge 14 is spaced well above the nose of a wearer 
when in use to provide clearance for a nosepiece (described hereinafter) 
between the bridge 14 and nose. 
The lenses 12 have toric inner and outer surfaces of uniform radius of 
curvature throughout. That is, the radius of curvature in the horizontal 
meridian or plane is substantially greater than the radius of curvature in 
the vertical meridian or plane. The relatively large curvature of the 
lenses 12 in the horizontal meridian allows the lenses 12 to have a fairly 
large wrap depth. However, the relatively slight curvature of the lenses 
12 in the vertical meridian causes the lenses 12 to conform quite closely 
to the face of the wearer, thus avoiding the aforementioned "bug-eyed" 
problem of spherical lenses having substantial wrap depth. The lenses 12, 
by utilizing a constant radius of curvature in each meridian, have 
substantially better optical properties than conventional eyeglasses which 
utilize lenses having relatively little curvature in the front and 
substantially greater curvature at the sides. 
The toric curvature of the inner surfaces of the lenses 12 match the toric 
curvature of the outer surfaces of the lenses 12 so that the lenses 12 are 
of uniform thickness throughout and thus have zero power. In one 
embodiment, for example, the outer surfaces have a vertical meridian of 
+4.75 diopters and a horizontal meridian of about +10 diopters. The inner 
surface of the lenses 14 has a vertical meridian of -4.7 diopters and a 
horizontal meridian of about -10 diopters. 
The lenses 12 are preferably formed of a tough, moldable plastic, such as 
polycarbonate, and they are preferably coated to resist scratching. 
Although clear lenses 12 will generally be preferred for indoor sports and 
for protective use (for example, around machinery), the lenses 12 may be 
tinted a variety of colors for outdoor use. 
A relatively thick rim 16 is integrally formed along the upper edges of the 
lenses 12 to strengthen the lenses 12. The slight resiliency of the lenses 
12, coupled with the presence of the reinforcing rims 16, allow the 
eyeglasses 10 to withstand a great deal of shock. 
The lenses 12 have inner surfaces which diverge away from each other and 
away from the bridge 14 to provide sufficient clearance for the nose of 
the wearer. 
A pair of temples 18 of conventional design are secured to the lenses 12 
with conventional hinges 20. One leg 22 of each hinge 20 is embedded in 
respective mounting pads 24 integrally formed along the outer edge of each 
lens 12. 
The bridge 14 is surrounded by a uniquely designed nosepiece 30 having a 
resilient base portion 32 from which a pair of nose pads 34 project 
downwardly and rearwardly along the inner surfaces of the lenses 12. The 
nose pads 34 are spaced apart slightly from the inner edges of the lenses 
12, and, like the base portion 32, they are somewhat resilient so that 
they are capable of absorbing shocks imparted to the lenses 12 by objects 
striking the lenses 12. Also, the nose pads 34 are relatively long 
(preferably at least 2 cm) and relatively wide (preferably a mean width of 
at least 0.7 cm) so that the area of contact between the nose pads 34 and 
the nose of a wearer is relatively large, thus spreading out forces 
imparted to the lenses 12 over a relatively wide area of the nose. Despite 
the relatively large size of the nose pads 34, the eyeglasses retain an 
attractive appearance because the rearward projection of the nose pads 34 
partially hides the nose pads 34 behind the lenses 12. 
As best illustrated in FIG. 5, the base portion 32 of the nosepiece 30 
tightly surrounds the bridge 14, but it is not rigidly secured thereto. 
Consequently, the resiliency of the base portion 32 allows it to deform 
and "float" to some extent, thus assisting the nose pads 34 in absorbing 
shocks imparted to the lenses 12. The base portion 32 is preferably 
secured around the bridge 14 by opening the base portion along a slot 36 
(FIG. 5) to allow the base portion 32 to surround the bridge 14. The edges 
of the slot 36 may then be bonded to each other, preferably 
ultrasonically, so that the slot 36 virtually disappears. Consequently, 
there are no glues or adhesives to break down with time. The base portion 
32 also serves to strengthen the bridge 14 to more securely fasten the 
lenses 12 to each other. Although the inventive nosepiece 30 has been 
described in combination with eyeglasses having zero power toric lenses, 
it will be understood that it may also be used with sports or protective 
eyeglasses using other lens types or, less advantageously, with eyeglasses 
designed for normal wear. 
The protective eyeglasses are thus specially adapted for sports use since 
they have an extremely advantageous wrap depth for protecting the eye from 
objects, light, and wind at the sides. Furthermore, the use of double 
toric lenses causes the lenses to retain good optical properties while 
closely conforming to the face of the wearer. The nosepiece further adapts 
the eyeglasses 10 to sports or protective use by performing a cushioning 
or shock-absorbing function, both by the use of resilient, relatively 
large nose pads separated from the lenses and by using a base portion 
which surrounds the bridge but is not rigidly secured thereto.