EYESHIELD

Abstract: The eyeshield comprises a strip of coloured, semi-rigid transparent film (10) formed to provide a central eyeshielding portion (11), a nose piece (12) and a pair of wings (14) extending on either side of the eyeshielding portion. Each of the wings (14) is resiliently movable relative to the eyeshielding portion (11) by virtue of a plurality of substantially parallel crimps (13) which enable the effective length of the wings (14) to be adjusted such that the eyeshielding may be worn by persons having differing head sizes. At the of each wing (14) is provided an ear engaging loop (15) adapted to loop over an ear of the person wearing the eyeshield, the loop being formed with a piece of resilient foam material (17). Along an upper rear edge of the eyeshielding portion (11), a strip of resilient foam (18) is provided to space the eyeshielding portion (11) from the forehead of a wearer to prevent discomfort due to rubbing of the edge of the strip against the forehead and to adequately space the strip from the eyes and eyelashes.

Description: EYE SHIELD The present invention relates generally to sunshades for the eyes and in particular relates to a novel eyeshield which may be worn instead of sunglasses and which is relatively light and inexpensive. Known eyeshades of the peak type, such as are provided on peaked caps, protect the eyes from the direct glare of the sun when it is high in the sky but do not provide protection against reflected glare, such as is experienced on water or snow, nor do these types of eyeshades give adequate protection when the sun is low in the sky. Accordingly, it is often necessary to wear sun glasses to protect against glare under these adverse conditions. However, sunglasses typically have a moderate mass even when of the type having thin lightweight metal frames and plastic lenses and even the least expensive of these lightweight sunglasses are still moderately expensive. In view of the mass of sunglasses and their loose method of retention they are not particularly well suited to even slightly vigorous activities such as might be undertaken in the snow and are prone to being lost overboard when worn on boats. The present invention consists in an eyeshield comprising a strip of coloured, semi-rigid transparent material, said strip having a centrally located eyeshielding portion, a nose piece located substantially centrally of the eyeshielding portion and formed in a lower longitudinal edge thereof, a pair of wing portions extending from each end of the eyeshielding portion, and the separation of each wing portion and the eyeshielding portion being defined by one or more crimps extending substantially transversely of the strip and each wing including ear attachment means provided at its distal end. Preferably, embodiments of the eyeshield will include means for spacing an upper edge of the strip away from the forehead, while other embodiments will also include means for spreading the weight of the shield on the nose of the wearer such that the thin edge of the strip will not cause discomfort. Typically the nose piece will include a recess cut into the strip and adapted to fit over the nose of the wearer. Preferably the means for attaching the eyeshield to the ears of the wearer will include a loop formed in the distal end of each wing and adapted to fit over the ear of the wearer. Typically the forward portion of each loop will be formed as part of the strip of transparent material, while the rearward portion of the loop will be formed of a resilient material adapted to conform to the contours of the ear and to provide sufficient surface area to avoid discomfort. Typically the strip is a strip of acetate film or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film and in the preferred embodiment is a strip of hot pressed and polished transparent PVC film, with a thickness in the order of 200 micron. Preferably, the means for spacing the strip from the forehead of the wearer is a strip of cross linked polyethylene foam in the order of 4 mm thick and 14 mm wide attached along the top edge of the eyeshielding portion of the strip, and the rearward portion of the ear attachment loops is preferably also of cross-linked polyethylene foam. The preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a rear perspective view of the eyeshield of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 (a) , (b) , (c) and (d) are rear elevation. front elevation, plan and end elevation views respectively of the eyeshield of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a developed view of the blank sheet from which the embodiment of Figs. 1 - 3 is formed, showing the relative position of foam forehead and ear pieces in dashed line. Referring now to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the preferred embodiment of the invention comprises an inexpensive, lightweight disposable eyeshield, which can be worn in place of sunglasses, the eyeshield being substantially formed as a strip of coloured acetate or PVC film 10 cut or stamped from a sheet of such material. Preferably the material is 200 micron hot pressed and polished PVC film. The eyeshielding portion 11 of the strip 10 is substantially rectangular and has a recess 12 substantially centrally located in the lower edge thereof to form a nose piece. A plurality of substantially parallel crimps 13 are provided beyond each end of the eyeshielding portion 11 in respective downwardly sloping wing portions 14 of the strip and at the distal end of each of the wing portions are formed ear engaging loops 15, these loops being defined by the distal edges 16 of the strip and loops 17 of resilient foam material attached thereto. Preferably the foam material is a cross linked polyethylene foam. These ear engaging loops are designed to be placed over the ear of the wearer with the foam portion of each loop behind the respective ear to retain the eyeshield in position. As a result of the relatively light weight of eyeshield and its positive method of retention over the ears the preferred embodiment of the present invention is well suited to use in circumstances where normal sunglasses would be inconvenient, such as where the wearer is engaged in relatively vigorous activities. A strip of cross linked polyethylene foam 18 is also provided across the rear top edge of the eyeshielding portion 11 to space the eyeshield from the forehead of the wearer to thereby avoid possible discomfort caused by the top edge of the eyeshield rubbing against the forehead. The spacer also helps to ensure that the eyeshield is held clear of the eyes and eyelashes to further avoid discomfort. Due to the nature of the acetate or PVC film material, the crimps 13 retain a certain degree of resiliency and if physically compressed or extended, the distance between the eyeshielding portion 11 and the ear engaging loop 15 can be adjusted to suite the size of head of the particular person wearing the eyeshield. Further, by stretching the upper region of the crimps relative to the lower region of the crimps the wings can be lowered relative to the eyeshielding portion while stretching of the lower region of the crimps relative to the upper region of the crimps results in the wings being raised relative to the eyeshielding portion. In another embodiment (not shown) the nose recess 12 may be provided with foam such that the area over which the nose recess engages the nose of the wearer is increased. Referring now to Fig. 4 the developed shape of the strip 10 is illustrated prior to crimping along the dashed lines 13 and from this drawing it will be seen that the wing portions 14 of the strip 10 slope downwardly relative to the eyeshielding portion 11 and that the crimp lines 13 are substantially parallel to the centre line of the strip. The relative position of the foam ear loops 17 and the foam forehead spacer 18 are also shown in dashed line.

Claims: Claims : - 1. An eyeshield comprising a strip of coloured, semi-rigid transparent material, said strip having a centrally located eyeshielding portion, a nose piece located substantially centrally of the eyeshielding portion and formed in a lower longitudinal edge thereof, a pair of wing portions extending from each end of the eyeshielding portion and the separation between each wing portion and the eyeshielding portion being defined by one or more crimps extending substantially transversely of the strip and each wing including ear attachment means provided at its distal end. 2. The eyeshield as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nose piece is formed as a recess provided in a lower edge of the eyeshielding portion. 3. The eyeshield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a plurality of substantially parallel crimps are provided at either side of the eyeshielding portion, the crimps being substantially parallel to a vertical centre line of the eyeshield. 4. The eyeshield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein means are provided to space the eyeshield from the forehead of a person wearing the sunshield. 5. The eyshield as claimed in claim 4 wherein the spacing means comprises a strip of cross-linked polyethylene foam located along an upper rear edge of the eyeshielding portion. 6. The eyeshield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the strip of transparent material is a strip of hot pressed and polished polyvinyl chloride film. 7. The eyeshield as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the ear attachment means comprises a loop formed at the end of each wing, the loops being adapted to be placed over the ears of a wearer. 8. The eyeshield as claimed in claim 7 wherein each loop is defined by a distal edge of the respective wing and a piece of resilient material attached to said distal end to close the loop. 9. The eyeshield of claim 8 wherein the piece of resilient material is a loop of material attached to the distal end of the wing. 10. The eyeshield as claimed in claim '8 or 9 wherein the resilient material is a cross-linked polyethylene material, 11. An eyeshield substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Inventors: HUNTER MURRAY DAVID KIRBY, HUNTER, MURRAY, DAVID, KIRBY
Applicants: DESIGN & IND PTY LTD, DESIGN & INDUSTRY PTY. LIMITED
Application year: 1985
Main classification: A61F9
IPC codes: A61F9