Patent Publication Number: US-2006007671-A1

Title: Ski goggles with lightining device

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is referred to as a ski apparel that is used to protect the eyes and illuminates the landscape which surrounds the sportsman who has the goggles described here.  
      Ski goggles were always used to protect skiers eyes, to improve their sight and to add an element of esthetism to a ski apparel. They protect the eyes from the snow, the cold, tree branches and the various projectiles that are susceptible to wound the eyes. They improve the sight with the various kinds of lenses, from their colors or their polarities, which optimizes the landscapes that surround the skiers. The forms, the colors and the attributes of this pair of goggles gives its owner the best look because the first thing people notice in strangers is their face. As mentioned before, ordinary goggles are passive because they do not modify the environment of its user. Moreover, they do not usually have any reliable bond with the skier. Which means that in case that they fall out of the user&#39;s head, without the wire, they will end up far from him.  
     PAST PATENTS  
      U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,451  
      3 MAR 1981  
      SEQUENTIAL FLASHING DEVICE FOR PERSONNAL ORNAMENTATION  
      JAMES A. COCHRAN JR.  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,640 B1  
      21 MAY 2002  
      LIGHTED MASK FOR UNDERWATER DIVERS  
      KEVIN WONG  
      U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,444 B2  
      29 APR 2003  
      GAZING POINT ILLUMINATING DEVICE  
      JUN-ICHI SRIMADA  
      THESE PATENTS HAVE A RESEMBLANCE TO THE PRESENT REQUEST, BUT THE FIELDS, THE UTILITIES AS WELL AS THE CLAIMS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS PRESENT INVENTION EXPLAINED HERE.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Ski goggles are very often used during the winter season. As it is known, the winter days are usually shorter, therefore it gets dark outside much earlier. This is why in the present invention, the ski goggles are provided with lights (L.E.D.) which optimize the vision of the skier enormously. They are not passive anymore, they become active and modify the environment of its user. They light up all the obstacles in front of the skier. Not only he sees better the other skiers who surround him, but they also noticed his presence right away and that avoid painful collisions and falls. Also, with the multitude of lights and colors available, there are numbers of ways of placing them on the goggles, that accentuates the differences between the clothes of the skiers. Even with a kilometer, it is possible for you to distinguish your friend from other skiers. Normally, that would not be possible with a regular pair of goggles. Another advantage to consider: it frequently happens that while falling on the track or by removing the goggles to clean them in the chair-lifts, that the goggles of the skier fall and end up far from him. The skier must thus turn over to seek them. This can be a very unpleasant situation. The concept of goggles explained here are made up of a wire which brings the electricity of the battery to the goggles. This wire can also be used as reliable bond between the coat of the skier and the goggles, therefore they are never out of reach of the skier. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      Accordingly to the drawings which illustrate the realization of the invention:  
       FIG. 1  is a back view of a realization  
       FIG. 2  is a back view of the aforementioned realization with an addition  
       FIG. 3  is a back view of the aforementioned realization (picture)  
       FIG. 4  is a front view of the aforementioned realization (picture)  
       FIG. 5  is a top view of the aforementioned realization (picture)  
       FIG. 6  is a closer front view of the aforementioned realization (picture)  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      The illustrated goggles ( FIG. 1  to  6 ) holds a source of electricity, in this case, a 9V battery # 8 . It is preferable that it is placed elsewhere than on the goggles to avoid wounds due to an head impact resulting from a fall. Moreover, the choice of the 9V battery was made according to the time of use. It is also possible to insert miniature battery (as for watches) in mounting # 5 , but it&#39;s complicated and ineffective compared to the time of use. This battery # 8  is connected with a connector # 7  for a 9V battery. A double multistranded wire 14ga # 9  (generally used for speakers) is welded with connector # 7 . A few inches further, a switch with caster # 10  is connected to wire # 9 . This one is used to light up and extinguish the L.E.D. The caster is easily controllable with winter gloves. Moreover, the caster does not turn alone, contrary to a switch button which could be turned on or off by inadvertency. Wire # 9  continues its path for a distance of 137 cm (4,5 feet) towards the male part of the connector # 12  made out of plastic with two iron stitches. This connector is welded to the double wire # 9  and its purpose is to make it possible for the user to separate himself from the wire and the battery if he does not wish to use it anymore. Winter coats are often equipped with an internal pocket which is located around chest area on the left or right hand side. If the user places the battery in this pocket, there shouldn&#39;t be any problems. Otherwise, if he does not have that, he must place it in his trousers pocket. The length of the wire # 9  becomes important. This is why the wire length is 4,5 feet. This length suits everyone, no matter their size. Moreover, a small additional length was added to avoid any undesirable tension (stretching) of the wire. Otherwise, the tension would cause a lack of comfort to the user and would weaken the electric system with time. After the male part, there is the female part of connector # 12 . This one is connected with the goggles because it does not have an iron stitch which can wound the user if he falls, contrary with the male part. A monobrin wire 22ga # 1  is then welded with the positive terminal of the female part of the connector # 12 . This wire passes by the elastic band # 6  and goes to the top of the interior of mounting # 5 . At this place, the wire # 1  is connected with a resistance # 3 . To know the value of the resistance which should be connected here, a little further see the table of values as well as the formula which follows it. The First L.E.D. # 4  is connected by its positive leg to resistance # 3 . Then, the negative leg is connected with the positive leg of the other L.E.D. # 4 . With the result that they are in series. If ever other L.E.D. were to be laid out on the goggles, they could be added to this series in the same way that the two following ones are connected. The wire # 1  leaves the negative leg of the second L.E.D., makes the contour of the bottom of mounting # 5 , without passing in front of lens # 2 , and turns towards the negative terminal of the connector # 12  while passing by elastic band # 6 . Wire # 1  holds easily on mounting # 5  and the head band # 6  with drops of hot glue, small plastic hooks or fitting holes. L.E.D. # 4  are placed in holes of their size in mounting # 5 . Moreover, it is preferable to give them an angle of roughly 10° towards outside vertically and 15° towards outside horizontally. The goal is not to blind somebody who looks in the eyes of the user. There is another way of placing lights # 4 , one is to place them at the end of springs or stems # 11  ( FIG. 2 ). The purpose of these springs is to imitate the antennas of a bee. So when the user&#39;s head moves, the springs and the L.E.D. move like antennas. This kind of goggles is aimed at a younger public. It is also possible to place the L.E.D. so that they light up mounting # 5  itself. By doing so it looks like the goggles were made like neons. One can even put a plastic object in front of the L.E.D, so that the object illuminates. For example a heart, a death&#39;s-head or a company&#39;s logo. This plastic object can even be retractable. It can be provided with plastic stitch which can enter holes made for this purpose in mounting # 5 . This improve the esthetism. The choice of L.E.D. increases a lot the time of use with only one 9V battery. For example, with 4 L.E.D. (total of 7,6V, 20 mA and 152 mW), it&#39;s possible to use them during more than 16 hours (see the graph of discharge for a 9V battery a little further). Imagine now that at a rate of a few hours per day of skiing, it is possible to use 2 L.E.D. during a whole season of ski, without changing the battery. That is why it is better to use L.E.D. then ordinary lights (incandescent). Those who need more power, therefore they make that the battery lasts less longer. They waste a too great part of this power in heat. It as should be noted this system adds only 80 grams (2,9 oz) to the goggles.  
                              TABLE OF CARACTERISTICS ON VARIOUS L.E.D.                                                             Vf (v)   Iv (mcd)   View   Normal   Normal   Resistance           Chip   Lens   @20 mA   @20 mA   angle   Voltage   Current   needed (Ω)                                                                     Size   Color   Part No.   Material   λP(nm)   Color   Min.   Max.   Min.   Typ.   2Θ½   (ν)   (mA)   for 2 leds                                                                                 3   mm   Red   LUE2043   AlGalnP   620   Clear   1.7   2.8   1100   1800   30   1.9   20   260               Yellow   LHY12243   AlGalnP   595   Clear   1.7   2.8   1100   2200   20   1.9   20   260               Green   LDGM2043   InGan   523   Clear   3.0   4.0   1500   2700   30   3.3   20   120               Blue   LDBK2043   GalnN/GaN   470   Clear   3.0   4.0   90   1100   30   3.3   20   120               Purple   LDUV2043   InGan   400   Clear   3.0   4.0   65   110   30   3.4   20   110               White   LWK2043   GalnN/GaN   —   Clear   3.0   4.0   160   2200   30   3.6   20   90       5   mm   Red   LUR3333/S46   GaAlAs   660   Clear   1.5   2.4   900   1800   30   1.9   20   260               Yellow   LUY3333/S46   AlGalnP   595   Clear   1.7   2.8   1100   2200   30   1.9   20   260               Green   LUG3333/S46   AlGalnP   574   Clear   1.7   2.8   350   550   30   3.3   20   120               Blue   LSBK3333   InGaN/SiC   468   Clear   3.0   4.0   550   900   15   3.3   20   120               Purple   LDUV3333   InGaN   400   Clear   3.0   4.0   160   300   20   3.4   20   110               White   LWK3333-50   InGaN/GaN   —   Clear   3.5   4.0   550   900   50   3.6   20   90               Orange   LUE3333   AlGalnP   620   Clear   1.7   2.8   1800   3400   20   2   20   250       10   mm   Red   LUR13633   GaAlAs   660   Clear   1.5   2.4   1500   3000   12   1.9   20   260               Yellow   LUY13633   AlGalnP   595   Clear   1.7   2.8   1500   3000   12   2.2   20   230               Green   LVG13633   GaP   565   Clear   1.7   2.8   400   700   12   2.2   20   230                 (Values are a reference taken in the data of the Ligitek company)             
 
 Mathematical formula to know which resistance # 3  is necessary to put in the series circuit (FIGS.  1  &amp;  2 ): 
          Source=Voltage of the source (V)     Nb led=Number of L.E.D. to install     V led=Voltage of a L.E.D. (V)     A led=Amperage of a L.E.D. (mA) 
 
(Source−( Nb led×V led ))/( A led/ 1000)=(Ω) 
 
 Ex : (9V−(2×1,9V))/(20 mA/1000)=260 Ω) 
    Note: This formula can be used to find resistance necessary in a circuit containing other kinds of light than L.E.D. You only have to insert the right values.