Exchangeable lens goggle

Abstract: A lens exchangeable goggle having adjustable distance and/or fixing angle of lens units which includes as components a lens unit (10) having a tubular portion, (12) a opening (21) formed with a wider width than the lens unit in a mask frame 20 and a holding mechanism (31),(32),(33) for fixing detachably the lens unit.

Description: This invention relates to a goggle with detachable and/or replaceable lenses according to the preamble of claim 1, as disclosed in DE-B-1 200 570, which has a four lens system with two movable front lenses. There are two types of goggles, that is, monocular and binocular goggles. To insert the lens into positions of the left and right eyes, the binocular type of goggle is selected for use. This binocular type goggle is designed so that the optical axis of lens can be aligned to the center of eye, even when the compensation of vision is not intended. For this purpose, it is known a goggle constructed so that the distance between the left-hand and right-hand lens is adjustable to the interpupillary distance of both eyes (Japanese Utility Model KOKAI No. 182322/1984). The conventional type goggles are composed separately of both left-hand and right-hand lens, and these lenses are connected by an intermediate joint which adjusts the distance between them. That joint is made from a soft synthetic resin which allows elastic deformation in connecting and detaching of the lens. This results in a defect which makes it difficult to fix or detach the lens and to adjust the interpupillary distance. Since the joint and its connecting edge is very small and they lack enough strength, there is a problem of chipping at the connecting edge and the joint is lost frequently during the manufacture or use. Further, there are problems of increased manufacturing steps and poor yield because various consideration is needed for design of a mold for the goggle so as to allow its transfer of the position of lenses. Although the binocular type of goggle is constructed to allow for compensation of vision, a combination of the lens portion, joint and belt with one another will cause difficulties in handling. This invention is aimed at solving the above mentioned problems and defects. It is an object of this invention to provide an lens exchangeable goggle of the binocular type, in which the fixing distance between a pair of lens units can be adjusted without using a joint and the adjustment of distance is easily done without causing any damage, and lens units are easy to fix and detach. The above mentioned object of this invention has been attained with a lens exchangeable goggle which comprises a mask frame having a pair of openings in right and left positions of the mask frame and a pair of lens units inserted in said openings, in which each of said lens units is composed of a spectacle lens, a tubular portion formed around the spectacle lens and a collar portion projecting outwardly from backside of the tubular portion; each of said openings in said mask frame is formed with a wider width in right and left than the width of backside of the tubular portion of the lens unit so as the distance between the lens units and/or fixing angle of lens unit are adjustable; and upper and lower external edges of the tubular portion of each of the lens units are interlocked with internal edge of each of the openings by means of a holding mechanism so as to hold detachably and moveably the lens unit in the opening of the mask frame. By virtue of the invention, such variations of the basic design have been developed as goggles for swimming, skiing, motorcycling and other sports, sunglasses, general purpose goggles and safety goggles. FIG.1A is an oblique view of a goggle with a lens unit shown in FIG.1B; FIG.2 is a front view and FIG.3 is a top view of the goggle with lens units; FIG.4 and FIG.5 are cross-sectional views of lens units; FIG.6A is an oblique view of another goggle with a lens unit shown in FIG.6B; FIG.7 is a front view and FIG.8 is a top view of the goggle with lens units; FIG.9 and FIG.10 are cross-sectional views of lens units; FIG.11 is an oblique view of still another goggle with a lens unit; and FIG.12 and FIG.13 are cross-sectional views of lens units. In the following paragraphs, this invention will be described in detail by reference to the drawings. FIG.1 is an embodiment of the goggle. This type of goggle has a lens opening 21 for inserting respectively the lens units 10 in the right and left positions of the mask frame 20. The distance between the center of both the right and left lens openings 21 can be adjusted to fit the center of the average distance between the eyes. The lens unit 10 is composed of three parts: spectacle lens 11; tubular portion 12 formed around the spectacle lens; and collar portion 13 which projects outwardly from backside of the tubular portion. The external side of tubular portion 12 is formed to be longer in the front and back directions than the internal side so that the wearer's line of view can intersect with the spectacle lens 11 at any desired angle (See FIG.3). The mask frame 20 is used to insert the lens unit 10 into the lens opening 21 from the backside (or the inside) of the mask frame to hold the lens unit at the tubular portion 12 and collar portion 13 tightly. With a holding mechanism locked in place, it is possible to shift the lens unit 10 left and right. The width of the lens opening 21 is formed to be wider in right and left than the width of backside of tubular portion 12. On the central upper and lower edges of the lens opening 21, the moving portions 22 and 23 are provided so that the lens unit can be moved either right or left. The moving portions are composed of parallel straight lines or substantially parallel curves. The holding mechanism 30 locks the lens unit 10 in the frame 20 while allowing the lens unit 10 to be easily movable and detachable. The embodiment shown in FIG.1 is composed of the following parts: concave channels 31 and 32 which are located on the upper and lower edges of the tubular portion 12, and the projections 33 and 34 which are located at the upper and lower edges of opening 21 in the mask frame 20. The projections 33 and 34 are designed to come into contact with the concave channels 31 and 32 so that the lens units are able to rotate slightly round a hypothetical fixing axis. On the backside of the lens unit 10, an ocular mechanism is attached. Its suitable components are the ring-shaped ocular pad 41 made of a spongy synthetic resin such as urethane or neoprene rubber or the ocular seal 42 made of transparent silicone rubber. The ocular pad 41 is bonded on the backside surface 15 of the collar portion 13. The ocular seal 42 is attached to cover circumference of the tubular portion 13. Although both of the ocular mechanisms can be watertight, the ocular seal 42 is best suited for swimming goggles. For the ocular seal 42, it is possible to furnish the lip 43, which is fixed on tubular portion 12 by means of the edge 24 of the lens opening 21. To illustrate the method of wearing the goggles, the elastic strap 50 is shown in the figures. This elastic strap 50 has a pair of T-shaped hooks 51 on the left and right edges of the mask frame 20. Other embodiments of the means of wearing adoptable for the goggles are eye-seat materials which are identical with what is called arms on the eyeglass frame. An embodiment of the goggle shown in FIG.6 will be illustrated hereunder: the lens unit 10, which is made up of the spectacle lens 11, the tubular portion 12, and the collar portion 13 in the same way as the embodiment shown in FIG.1, is furnished with an engaging portion 35 as a means of the holding mechanism 30, and no special structure is provided on the mask frame 20. It is constructed so as the moving portions 22 and 23 on the lens opening 21 can contact with the engaging portion 35. The engaging portion 35 is composed of a pair of projections 36 and (37) on each of the upper and lower external surfaces of the tubular portion, which are extruded from the tubular portion 12 at approximately the same position as the concave channels 31 and 32. The back projection 37 stretches against the collar portion 13 and prevents the collar portion (13) from coming into contact with the back surface of the mask frame. It is in the shape of a trapezoid. The front projection 36 is a smaller trapezoid than the back projection 37. Since other structures are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIGs.1A and 1B, the description of the other affixed structures is omitted. When the ocular seal 42 is selected for the ocular mechanism of the lens unit 10, the cut-out 44 can be furnished so that the back projection 37 is not covered by the seal. In this case, the lip 43 of the ocular seal 42 will not be fixed on the mask frame 20, but comes into contact with the collar portion 13 (See FIG.10). In the embodiment in FIG.6A, the spectacle lens 10 can move right and left in the way as shown in the embodiment in FIG.1A. The lens unit 10 and the mask frame 20 are fixed and positioned to keep the distance between them by the amount of length equivalent to the thickness of the back projection 37 so that they can rotate more easily around a hypothetical axis. The embodiment shown in FIG.11 illustrates that the concave engaging portion is used as the holding mechanism 30 and is defined by the front surface 16 of the collar portion 13 for the lens unit and the projection 38 located on the external surface of the tubular portion. The front surface 16 of the collar portion can come into contact with the back surface of the mask frame 20. In order for the lens unit 10 to rotate around a hypothetical axis, the structure is designed so that the width of the engaging portion 39 is slightly wider than the thickness of the engagement on the lens openings 21 of the mask frame and allowance is given to the engagement. The description of the other structures is the same as that of the example shown in FIGs. 1A and 1B. When the ocular seal 42 is used as the ocular mechanism for the lens unit 10, the projection 38 can be covered by the front extension of the surface by the opening edge 24 of the lens openings 21, and opening edge 24 is locked by the bead portion 45 which is provided at the front part of the lip 43. Both the lens unit 10 and the mask frame 20 can be manufactured by method for forming synthetic resin. The lens unit 10 can be formed by hard resin materials. When the lens unit 11 is combined with the tubular portion 12, suitable materials are cellulose acetate (CA), cellulose propionate (CP), cellulose acetate butylate (CAB) and others including PS, PMMA, PET, polyamide resin, acrylic acid resin. A choice of selection is left to determine whether the color of those materials is chromatized or colored transparent. The spectacle lens 11 can be formed by a combination of concave and convex lenses to facilitate focusing. Furthermore, the mask frame 20 can be constructed in various colors and shapes. The suitable materials for the mask frame are a strong resin, synthetic or natural rubber including fiber reinforced rubber and metals. The goggle comes with the following components: a pair of lens units 10 which are located side by side, right and left in the mask frame 20; lens opening 21 for inserting the lens unit 10 into the mask frame 20; hooks 51 which are located on the left and right of the left and right edges of the mask frame 20; and a head band which is inserted into the hooks 51. When assembling a pair of goggles, each pair of the lens units 10 is inserted from the backside (or inside) of the mask frame 20 into the lens opening 21 including the tubular portion 12 and the obstacle lens 11, and is fixed by the engaging mechanism 30 in the position of the mask frame 20. After that, the lens unit 10 can move left and right within the range of the moving portion 22 and 23. The distance between both lens unit 10 is fixed in the mask frame 20 and can be adjusted to fit the wearer's eyes. The ocular surface of the lens unit 10 can also be adjusted to fit the face of the wearer because the lens unit can rotate around a hypothetical axis. Because of this, attaching and detaching the lens unit 10, as well as adjusting the distance, can be done while the lens unit 10 and the mask frame 20 come into contact with each other. The meritorious effects of this goggle are that the distance between the attached lens units can be adjusted without using a joint, and each lens unit can be adjusted to fit the face of the wearer. Additionally, these adjustments are easily done, and attaching and detaching the lens unit are also easily done.

Claims: A lens exchangeable goggle which comprises a mask frame (20) having a pair of openings (21) in right and left positions of the mask frame (20) and a pair of lens units (10) inserted in said openings (21), characterized in that each of said lens units (10) is composed of a spectacle lens (11), a tubular portion (12) formed around the spectacle lens (11) and a collar portion (13) projecting outwardly from backside of the tubular portion (12); each of said openings (21) in said mask frame (20) is formed with a wider width in right and left than the width of backside of the tubular portion (12) of the lens unit (10); and upper and lower external edges of the tubular portion of each of the lens units (10) are interlocked with internal edge of each of the openings (21) by means of a holding mechanism (30) so as to hold detachably and moveably the lens unit (10) in the opening (21) of the mask frame (20). A lens exchangeable goggle according to claim 1, in which the openings (21) in right and left positions of the mask frame (20) are formed with parallel lines or substantially parallel curves stretching in right and left directions at the upper and lower edges of the openings (21). A lens exchangeable goggle according to claim 1 or 2, in which the holding mechanism (30) comprises concave channels (31, 32) provided on upper and lower external edges of the tubular portion (12) of the lens unit (10), and projections (33, 34) provided at the upper and lower edges of the opening (21) of the mask frame (20) to be interlocked with the concave channels (31, 32). A lens exchangeable goggle according to claim 2, in which the holding mechanism (30) comprises a pair of projections (36, 37) forming a gap between the pair of projections (36, 37) on each of the upper and lower external surfaces of the tubular portion (12), so as the gaps are interlocked with the edges of parallel lines or substantially parallel curves formed on the upper and lower edges of the opening (21). A lens exchangeable goggle according to claim 2, in which the holding mechanism (30) comprises a projection (38) provided on each of upper and lower external surfaces of the tubular portion (12) of the lens unit (10) forming a gap between the projection (38) and the front surface (16) of the collar portion (13) of the lens unit (10), so as the gaps are interlocked with edges of the parallel lines or substantially parallel curves formed on the upper and lower edges of the opening (21). A lens exchangeable goggle according to claim 1, in which is provided in the backside of each of the lens units (10) with an ocular seal (42) comprising a lip (43) to be caught and held between the tubular portion (12) of the lens unit (10) and an internal edge of the opening (21).

Inventors: NISHIYAMA TAKASHI, NISHIYAMA, TAKASHI
Applicants: NISHIYAMA TAKASHI, NISHIYAMA, TAKASHI
Application year: 1991
Main classification: A63B33
IPC codes: A61F9, A63B33, G02C11, G02C1, G02C5