Patent Publication Number: US-2007115424-A1

Title: Prescription insert for safety eyewear and conversion kit to make a presciption insert into functional eyeglasses

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
      This application claims priority to earlier filed U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/737,924, filed Nov. 18, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates generally to prescription inserts for use with safety eyewear and more particularly to a prescription insert that can be converted into fully functional prescription eyeglasses.  
      2. Background of the Related Art  
      The creation of safety eyewear and other masks that fit over a user&#39;s face has presented a problem to those that wear corrective eyeglasses for their vision. Typical corrective eyeglasses often will not fit underneath a mask, especially if any sort of seal around the face is required. To solve this problem, a variety of prescription inserts have been developed for insertion into goggles, masks and protective eyewear of all types.  
      Prior art prescription inserts typically include a pair of lenses suspended in a frame which has a structure for mounting the insert into a pair of safety eyewear or other goggles, such as scuba or diving masks. The configurations are numerous and each is designed for a specific mask or goggle. Because each prescription insert is designed for a particular a goggle or mask, one prescription insert can rarely be substituted for another. If the user has multiple sets of protective eyewear, the user will require multiple custom prescription inserts with each being specifically configured to fit each pair of protective eyewear. As a result, the user must keep multiple prescription inserts at great expense and inconvenience. Therefore, there is a need for a prescription insert that can be universally mounted into a variety of eyewear.  
      Moreover, prior art prescription inserts are not capable of being worn separately as a pair of stand-alone eyeglasses. If the user misplaces or leaves his or her regular eyeglasses at home, they cannot readily use the prescription insert as a replacement set of eyeglasses. Therefore, there is a need for a prescription insert that can be readily converted into a fully functional set of stand-alone eyeglasses.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention solves the problems of the prior art by providing a prescription insert having a nose bridge support with a central mounting slot that cooperates with a prong of a mount. The mount is an inexpensive wire or plastic structure that is configured and arranged to be snap-received over the lens or frame of a pair of safety eyewear. The prescription insert is held securely in place in the safety eyewear by sliding the mounting slot of the nose bridge support over the central prong of the mount.  
      The prescription insert can be easily converted into a pair of eyeglasses by attaching a pair of removable temple bars and a nose pad to the prescription insert.  
      Accordingly, among the objects of the present invention is the provision for a prescription insert that can be universally mounted in a variety of safety eyewear and other masks with an inexpensive mount.  
      Another object of the present invention is the provision for a prescription insert that can be easily converted into a pair of functional eyeglasses. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the prescription insert of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a top view of the prescription insert of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the prescription insert of the present invention mounted to a unitary lens of a pair of safety eyewear;  
       FIG. 4  is a top view of the assembly depicted in  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the mount for the prescription insert of the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a rear perspective view of an alternative mounting arrangement for the prescription insert of the present invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the mount for the prescription insert of the present invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the conversion kit for the prescription insert of the present invention;  
       FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the conversion kit for the prescription insert of the present invention;  
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the conversion kit for a prescription insert of the present invention;  
       FIG. 11   a  is a close up view of the area circled in a dashed line in  FIG. 10 ;  
       FIG. 11   b  is an exploded view of the close up view of the prescription insert and conversion kit of the present invention shown in  FIG. 11   a;    
       FIG. 12   a  is a close up view of a retaining catch for the alternative embodiment of the prescription insert and conversion kit of the present invention; and  
       FIG. 12   b  is a close up view of the retaining catch decoupled from the prescription insert and conversion kit of the present invention shown in  FIG. 12   a.   
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , the prescription insert of the present invention is shown generally at  10 . The prescription insert  10  includes two wire frame openings  12  to securely hold left and right lenses  14  respectively. The frames  12  are held together by nose bridge support  16  that has a central mounting slot  18  (which is best seen in  FIG. 2 ). At either outermost edge of the wire frame openings  12  of the prescription insert  10 , are left and right temple bar mounting structures  20 .  
      As seen in  FIGS. 3-4 , the prescription insert  10  of the present invention is mounted within a goggle shield  22  of a pair of safety eyewear on a mount  24  with a central prong  26 . The mounting slot  18  on the nose bridge support  16  of the prescription insert is frictionally fit over the central prong  26  of the mounting structure  24 , which securely holds the prescription insert  10  in place within the goggle shield  22 .  
      As seen in  FIG. 5 , the mounting structure  24  has a rigid body  23  made preferably of wire or plastic. The body  23  has hooks  25  at opposing ends of the body  23  configured and arranged to snap over the goggle shield  22  to hold the mounting structure  24  securely to the goggle. Projecting rearward from the body  23  of the mounting structure  24  is the central prong  26 .  
      As shown in  FIGS. 6-7 , an alternative embodiment of the mount  28  is shown configured and arranged to fit to another type of goggle shield  30 . In particular, the alternative mount  28  has a rigid wire or plastic body  29  with a pair of hooks  32  at the bottom portion of the body  29 , which attach to the bottom edge of the goggle shield  30 . The body  29  is curved to form a prong-shaped arch  34  with a narrowed neck portion  35 , which interfits with the mounting slot  18  of the prescription insert  10 . The top of arch  34  snap-fits over a projection  36  on the goggle shield  30  to securely hold the mount  28  to the goggle and prevent the prescription insert  10  from coming loose from the mount  28 .  
      So long as the mount has a structure that snuggly fits within the mounting slot  18  of the prescription insert  10 , the remainder of the mount can be easily configured to attach to a variety of goggles. As can be appreciated, the mounts in themselves are very inexpensive to manufacture. This feature enables a user to own a variety of mounts that are configured to fit a variety of goggles or masks, yet still only need to possess one prescription insert  10 . Therefore, the user realizes significant savings by only having to purchase a single prescription insert  10  for use with a variety of protective eyewear and masks.  
      Although, the embodiments of the mounting structures shown depict the mounting structure as attaching to the goggle lens only, the mounting structure can be easily configured to mount to the goggle frame as well. As such, the included embodiments are by way of example and not of limitation.  
      The prescription insert  10  also has the advantage of being easily converted into a functional pair of eyeglasses  38  as shown in  FIG. 8 . In particular, the prescription insert  10  is transformed into a functional pair of eyeglasses  38  by attaching left and right temple bars  40  and a nose pad structure  42  to the temple bar mounting structures  20  and nose bridge support  16 , respectively. Referring back to  FIGS. 1-2 , the temple bar mounting structures  20  have a slot  44  and a pair of recesses  46  integrally formed thereon, which are critical to the attachment of the temple bars.  
      As more clearly seen in the exploded view in  FIG. 9 , the conversion kit for the prescription insert  10  includes left and right temple bars  40 . Each temple bar  40  includes a pair of wire clips  48  with outwardly turned ends  50 . The temple bars  40  extend rearward and have earpieces  52  integrally formed thereon, or may optionally be separately attached thereto.  
      To attach the temple bars  40  to the prescription insert  10 , the wire clips  48  are squeezed together and inserted into slots  44  on the temple bar mounting structures  20 , respectively. The user then releases the clips  48 , ensuring that the upturned ends  50  fall into the recesses  46 , to secure the respective temple bar  40  to the prescription insert  10 . The outwardly turned ends  50  on the clips  48  lock into the recesses  46  on the interior of the slots  44  of the temple bar mounting structure  20  to prevent the temple bars  20  from coming loose from the prescription insert  10 .  
      Each temple bar  40  includes an inwardly swinging hinge  53  to allow the temple bar  40  to be folded so that the eyeglasses  38  may be more conveniently stored while not in use. As can be appreciated, the temple bars  40  and temple bar mounting structures  20  can be easily configured in other numerous ways to be selectively releasable.  
      The nose pad structure  42  has a pair of nose pads  54  connected to an arched frame  56 . Preferably the nose pads  54  are pivotally attached to the arched frame  56  to allow for the pivotal adjustment of the nose pads  54  while the eyeglasses  38  are placed on the user&#39;s face. The top of the arched frame  56  of the nose pad structure  42  is fitted within the mounting slot  18  of the nose bridge support  16  to support the eyeglasses  38  on the user&#39;s face and thereby increase the comfort for the user.  
      Referring to  FIG. 10 , an alternative embodiment of the prescription insert and conversion kit of the present invention is shown generally at  100 . Like the preferred embodiment  10 , the alternative prescription insert  100  includes two wire frame openings  102  to securely hold left and right lenses  104  respectively. The frames  102  are held together by nose bridge support  106  that has a central mounting slot  108  for mounting the alternative prescription insert  100  in a goggle and insert the separate nose pad structure  42  as shown in the preferred embodiment  10 . At either outermost edge of the wire frame openings  102  of the alternative prescription insert  100 , are left and right temple bar mounting structures  110 . However the left and right temple bar mounting structures  110  are formed differ from those of the preferred embodiment  10  in that they have a central bore  112  formed therethrough, which is critical to the attachment of the temple bars  114  (seen most clearly in  FIG. 11   b ).  
      The conversion kit for the alternative prescription insert  100  includes left and right temple bars  114 . Each temple bar  114  includes an upper and a lower portion  116 ,  118  with inwardly turned ends  120 . The temple bars  114  extend rearward and have earpieces  122  integrally formed thereon, or may optionally be separately attached thereto.  
      Referring to  FIG. 11   b,  to attach the temple bars  114  to the alternative prescription insert  100 , the upper and lower portion  116 ,  118  of each temple bar  114  are forced apart and the inwardly turned ends  120  are inserted into the open ends of the central bore  112  on the temple bar mounting structures  110 , respectively. The user then releases the upper and lower portion  116 ,  118  of the temple bar  114  to. The inwardly turned ends  120  on the temple bar  114  lock into the open ends of the central bore  112  on the temple bar mounting structures  110  to prevent the temple bars  114  from coming loose from the alternative prescription insert  100 . Although a central bore  112  is preferred for the attachment of the temple bars  114  to the alternative embodiment  100 , a pair of shallow recesses could be formed and would work equally well.  
      Referring to  FIGS. 12   a  and  12   b,  a clasp  124  may be included on the temple bar  114  to help prevent the temple bar  114  from accidentally releasing from the alternative prescription insert  100  of the present invention. In particular, one end of the clasp  124  is pivotally mounted to the upper portion of the temple bar  114 . The other end of the clasp is configured and arranged to be snap-received over the lower portion  118  of the temple bar  114  thereby preventing the inwardly turned ends  120  from being dislodged from the central bore  112  of the temple bar mounting structure  110 . In particular, the other end of the clasp  124  has a surface that forms a pocket  126  for the lower portion  118  of the temple bar  114 , a raised shoulder  128  to prevent the lower portion  118  of the temple bar  114  from riding out of the pocket  126 , and a release portion  130  to allow the user to easily pry the clasp  124  free from the lower portion  118  of the temple bar  114 . As can be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the arrangement may be reversed in that the clasp  124  may be pivotally mounted to the lower portion  118  of the temple bar  114  and configured to be secured to the upper portion  116  of the temple bar  114 .  
      Therefore, it can be seen that the present invention provides a unique solution to the problem of providing a prescription insert that can be universally mounted within a variety of protective eyewear and masks and a prescription insert that can be easily converted into a functional pair of eyeglasses.  
      It would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made to the illustrated embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention. All such modifications and changes are intended to be within the scope of the present invention except as limited by the appended claims.