Abstract:
In general terms, the lens overlays of the present invention comprise thin, formed plastic overlays that can easily be attached to the inside or outside of the primary protective lenses by the user. In one embodiment, the lens overlay comprises a first overlay to be disposed on the left side lens and a second overlay to be disposed on the right side lens. In another embodiment, the lens overlay comprises a one piece conforming overlay lens that is attached to the front face of the primary lens by removing the frame bridge, slipping the frame temples through a left and right hole in the endpieces of the overlay and snapping the bridge back onto the frame to secure the overlay to the front face of the primary lens. In yet another embodiment directed to lens overlays for eyewear having a frame browbar with the primary lens, the formed overlay of this embodiment is secured primarily to the browbar itself.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to eyewear. More particularly, this invention relates to lens overlays for use with eyewear in safety and recreational (e.g., sports) applications. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The use of protective eyewear is common in many safety and recreational (e.g., sports) applications. Such eyewear protects the eyes from unwanted foreign objects. Unfortunately, in some applications, the lens of the eyewear is subjected to potentially adverse conditions which reduce the life and functionality of the eyewear. For example, in painting applications, eyewear is commonly used to protect the wearer&#39;s eyes from paint droplets and the like. As is known, during the painting of a surface which extends above the head of the painter, it is necessary to continuously look upward towards the surface above in order to paint this surface. Even if the painter is careful, it is likely that some paint may drip from the ceiling or run off the tip of a brush during the upward movement of the brush toward the surface resulting in the paint falling toward the painter&#39;s head and eyes. 
     Because of the position of the painter&#39;s head and more particularly the eyes during the this motion, the eyes are exposed to falling paint droplets. While eyewear greatly increases the chance that the eyes of the painter will be protected from the falling paint droplets, the paint droplets will instead make contact with and soil the lens of the eyewear. 
     By being exposed to foreign matter, such as paint droplets, the life and functionality of the lens is reduced and in some instances may be permanently damaged. In another example, if the eyewear is used in an environment where small abrasive material is continuously being released into the air surrounding the wearer, the lens will be exposed to this same abrasive material which likely will tarnish the lens as it continuously makes contact therewith and accumulates on the lens surface. 
     In another aspect, the lenses of conventional eyewear commonly come in a single predetermined color. Typically, the lens will be a clear color. This creates some difficulties when the wearer wishes to move from one setting to another which varies in some way. For example, the common clear lens eyewear does not offer sunblock protection or complete comfort in high light environments. In other words, the wearing of a clear lens in a bright setting results in eye discomfort because the wearer often needs to squint to avoid the direct, bright light, e.g., sunlight. 
     Thus, it would be advantageous to provide conventional eyewear with added versatility and added lens protection from unwanted foreign material which may cause damage to the lens by making impact thereto. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The above-discussed and other problems and deficiencies of the prior art are overcome or alleviated by the lens overlays of the present invention. In general terms, the lens overlays comprise thin, formed plastic overlays that can easily be attached to the inside, or outside of the primary protective lenses by the user. In one embodiment, the lens overlay comprises a first overlay to be disposed on the left side lens and a second overlay to be disposed on the right side lens. In another embodiment, the lens overlay comprises a one piece conforming overlay lens that is attached to the front face of the primary lens by removing the frame bridge, slipping the frame temples through a left and right hole in the endpieces of the overlay and snapping the bridge back onto the frame to secure the overlays to the front face of the primary lens. In yet another embodiment directed to lens overlays for eyewear having a frame browbar with the primary lens, the formed overlay of this embodiment is secured primarily to the browbar itself. 
     The lens overlay of the present invention permits conventional protective eyewear to be multifunctional and have additional uses beyond the normal protective features of the protective eyewear. Furthermore, the lens overlays of the present invention are especially well suited for use with eyewear frames that have a severe lens curvature or lenses with integral sideshields that wrap in a different plane than the main lens. Some of the multifunctional uses in accordance with the present invention are various shades of sunglass lenses, polarized vision, yellow shooters glasses and clear, protective disposable lenses for spray painting operations. 
    
    
     The above-discussed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be appreciated and understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description and drawings. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Referring now to the FIGURES, wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several FIGURES: 
     FIG. 1 is a top plan view of conventional eyewear of a first embodiment; 
     FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the eyewear of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the eyewear of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a front elevation view of a lens overlay of a first embodiment for use with the eyewear of FIGS. 1-3 in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of a lens overlay of a second embodiment for use with the eyewear of FIGS. 1-3 in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of conventional eyewear of a second embodiment; 
     FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of a lens overlay of a third embodiment for use with the eyewear of FIG. 6 in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view of conventional eyewear of a third embodiment; 
     FIG. 9 is a rear view of the eyewear of FIG. 8; and 
     FIG. 10 is a bottom view of the ventilated browbar frame of the eyewear of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to FIGS. 1-3. Conventional eyewear of a first embodiment is generally shown at  10 . Eyewear  10  comprises a suitable optical quality lens  12  and two adjustable temple assemblies  14  and  16 . Lens  12  is a conventional lens and is preferably a molded one-piece construction. Lens  12  may be a prescription lens but will preferably be a plano lens. Lens  12  is typically clear and when used for safety or recreational use, will be made from a suitably strong, impact resistant polymer such as polycarbonate. Lens  12  may have any suitable geometric shape such as cylindrical, spherical, toric or an aspheric shape such as parabolic or elliptical, although preferably, lens  12  is spherical. At distal ends of lens  12  a mounting hole (not shown) is formed in lens  12  to permit adjustable temple assemblies  14 ,  16  to be secured to lens  12  in a manner which will be described hereinafter in greater detail. 
     While any suitable temple assembly (adjustable or non-adjustable) may be used in eyewear  10 , in a preferred embodiment, the temple assemblies  14 ,  16  are adjustable and more preferably, adjustable temple assemblies  14 ,  16  are similar to the adjustable assemblies disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/770,920 filed Dec. 20, 1996 entitled “Flexible Temple Endpiece” which is assigned to the assignee hereof, all of the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Of course, as mentioned, any other suitable temple or temple assembly may be substituted for the preferred temple embodiment discussed herein. 
     As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, adjustable temple assemblies  14 ,  16  have an end piece  20  which has a circular neck (not shown) and an oblong fastening head  22  extending from the circular neck. Temple assemblies  14 ,  16  further include a temple length adjustment housing  24  which is attached to end piece  20  in a hinged manner. Temple tips  26  are movably mounted to temple length adjustment housing  24  which allows the user to adjust the overall length of temple assemblies  14 ,  16 . 
     Eyewear  10  has a bridge piece  30  which is mounted to a bridge section  32  centrally located in lens  12 . Bridge piece  30  is preferably a unitary piece formed of a resilient material and is removably attached to lens  12  in a snap fit manner. Bridge piece  30  has a shoulder formed therein which receives a complementarity shaped arcuate curved portion of bridge section  32  of lens  12  to secure bridge piece  30  to lens  12 . A pair of nose pads  34  are formed at a bottommost portion of bridge piece  30  and a resilient bridge locking tab  36  engages and is secured to a generally planar surface of bridge section  32 . Bridge piece  30  may be easily removed from lens  12  by applying pressure on nose pads  34  so that they converge toward one another. At the same time, bridge locking tab  36  is pulled away from lens  12  to disengage bridge locking tab  36  from lens  12  and thereby free bridge piece  30  from lens  12 . 
     Attachment between lens  12  and adjustable temple assemblies  14 ,  16  will now be described. End piece  20  is positioned in relation to lens  12  so that oblong fastening head  22  is received within the similarly shaped mounting hole formed at distal ends of lens  12 . End piece  20  is then rotated so that oblong fastening head  22  likewise rotates and end portions of end piece  20  extend over an inside surface of lens  12  to secure end piece  20  to lens  12 . After temple assemblies  14 ,  16  are securely inserted and locked within the mounting holes of lens  12 , the temple assemblies  14 ,  16  are located in the position illustrated in FIG.  4 . 
     FIG. 4 illustrates a lens overlay of a first embodiment of the present invention and is generally indicated at  40 . Lens overlay  40  actually comprises a pair of overlays, namely a first lens overlay  42  and a second lens overlay  44 , which are mirror images of one another. Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 4, first lens overlay  42  is intended to be inserted on an inside or outside surface of a portion of lens  12  which is to the left of bridge piece  30  (“left lens portion”). Second lens overlay  44  is intended to be inserted on an inside or outside surface of a portion of lens  12  which is to the right of bridge piece  30  (“right lens portion”). First and second lens overlays  42 ,  44  are formed so that the shape thereof conforms to the shape of primary lens  12  of eyewear  10  to which lens overlays  42 ,  44  are to be applied. First and second lens overlays  42 ,  44  comprise thin, formed plastic overlays that can easily be attached to the inside or outside surface of primary lens  12 . In one exemplary embodiment, lens overlays  42 ,  44  have a thickness in the range from about 0.006 inches to about 0.03 inches; however, it is within the scope of the present invention that first and second lens overlays  42 ,  44  may have thicknesses outside of this range. First and second lens overlays  42 ,  44  are formed of suitable plastic materials and in an exemplary embodiment are formed of thermoplastic materials, and more preferably are formed of materials selected from the group consisting of polycarbonate, cellulosics, polyesters, and the like. 
     Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, each of first and second lens overlays  42 ,  44  has a first end  50  (nasal end) which generally corresponds to the bridge section  32  of lens  12  and an opposing second end  52  (temple end) which extends away from bridge section  32  and engages end piece  20  of temple assemblies  14 ,  16 . More specifically, first end  50  includes an integral bridge tab  53  which extends outwardly from the remaining body of lens overlay  42 ,  44 . Second end  52  comprises a split portion having an opening  60  with first and second tabs  54  and  56  extending therefrom to form a neck  61  extending between first and second tabs  54  and  56 . The neck  61  has a width less than a width of opening  60 . Opening  60  receives one end of end piece  20  when first and second lens overlays  42 ,  44  are disposed on the outer surface of lens  12 . 
     To attach lens overlays  42 ,  44  to lens  12  and temple assemblies  14 ,  16 , bridge tab  53  of each of lens overlays  14 ,  16  is inserted into an opening formed between bridge piece  30  and lens  12 . In other words, bridge tab  53  of each of lens overlays  14 ,  16  is disposed underneath bridge piece  30  when lens overlays  42 ,  44  are properly disposed on and attached to the outer surface of lens  12 . Second end  52  of each of lens overlays  42 ,  44  is attached to lens  12  by disposing end piece  20  generally within opening  60  and then disposing first and second tabs  54 ,  56  into an area under end piece  20 . More specifically, because lens overlays  42 ,  44  are flexible, first and second tabs  54 ,  56  may be bent toward the backside of end piece  20  so that each of tabs  54 ,  56  frictionally rests against the backside of end piece  20  resulting in lens overlays  42 ,  44  being securely attached to lens  12 . It being understood that lens overlays  42 ,  44  may be disposed on the inner surface of lens  12 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates a lens overlay of a second embodiment of the present invention and is generally indicated at  70 . Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, lens overlay  70  comprises a single piece overlay which is formed to conform to the shape of primary lens  12 . In this second embodiment, because lens overlay  70  is a single piece overlay, it has a contiguous narrow bridge portion  72  which corresponds to bridge section  32  of lens  12  and connects the left and right eye sections of lens overlay  70 . In other respects, lens overlay  70  is similar to lens overlays  42 ,  44  in that lens overlay  70  includes endpiece sides  74  which each include 
     To attach lens overlay  70  to lens  12  and template assemblies  14 ,  16 , bridge piece  30  is removed from lens  12  to fully expose bridge section  32  of lens  12 . Endpiece sides  74  of lens overlay  70  are attached to lens  12  by disposing each end piece  20  generally within the corresponding opening  60  and then disposing first and second tabs  54 ,  56  into an area under each end piece  20 . More specifically, because lens overlay  70  is flexible, first and second tabs  54 ,  56  may be bent toward the backside of each end piece  20  so that each of tabs  54 ,  56  frictionally rests against the backside of each end piece  20  resulting in endpiece sides  74  being securely attached to lens  12 . The attachment process is completed by snapping bridge piece  30  back onto lens  12 . This results in bridge portion  72  of lens overlay  70  being trapped beneath bridge piece  30 . Accordingly, lens overlay  70  is thus securely and removably attached to eyewear  10 . Lens overlay  70  is easily removed from lens  12  by reversing the above process. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of conventional eyewear of a second embodiment and is generally indicated at  100 . Eyewear  100  includes a browbar frame  102  which receives  20  lens  104 . Temples  106  are hingedly attached to the distal ends of browbar frame  102 . Browbar frame  102  includes a pair of “L” shaped locking tabs  124  which extend from browbar frame  102  and are designed to catch and hold a detent (not shown) formed in each of sideshields  108  of lens  104 . The detents formed in sideshields  108  are received in a recess defined by the “L” shaped tabs  124 . Browbar frame  102  comprises a central mounting section  126  and a pair of side extensions  128  which have a curved bottom surface which seats against curved lens  104  including sideshields  108 . Lens  104  is similar to lens  12  shown in FIGS. 1-3 and thus preferably comprises a suitable optical quality lens. 
     Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 7 illustrates a second embodiment of the lens overlay according to the present invention which is shown and generally indicated at  140 . In this second embodiment, lens overlay  140  comprises a single piece overlay, it has a bridge portion  142  which corresponds to the bridge section of lens  104  and connects the left and right eye sections of lens overlay  140 . In addition, lens overlay  140  has a pair of integral sideshields  144  which are intended to be disposed on sideshields  108 . Integral sideshields  144  each have a detent  145  which is similarly shaped and aligned with the detent formed in lens  104  when the two are disposed on one another. Lens overlay  140  includes a hole  146  which is located in bridge portion  142  and axially aligns with a hole (not shown) of lens  104  when lens overlay  140  is attached to lens  104 . It being understood that the hole formed in lens  104  matches hole  146  formed in lens overlay  140 . Preferably, hole  146  matches hole  110  of lens  104  so that dimple  112  of browbar frame  102  engages both holes  146  and  110 . It being understood that it is within the scope of the present invention that lens overlay  140  may be disposed on either the inside or outside of primary lens  104 . 
     To attach lens overlay  140  to lens  104  and template assemblies  106 , lens overlay  140  is positioned either on the inside or outside of primary lens  104 . For purpose of illustration, lens overlay  140  will be described as being attached to the outside of primary lens  104 ; however, it is understood that lens overlay  140  can equally be attached to the inside of primary lens  104 . Lens overlay  140  is initially placed on the outside of primary lens  104  so that integral sideshields  144  are disposed on sideshields  108  and holes  146  and  110  are axially aligned. Lens  104  and lens overlay  140  are then moved towards the browbar frame  102  and lens  104  and lens overlay  140  are positioned in the “L” shaped tabs  124  to secure integral sideshields  144  and sideshields  108  within the “L” shaped tabs  124 . More specifically, the detents of lens  104  and detents  145  of lens overlay  140  are received in “L” shaped tabs  124  to secure sideshields  108  and integral sideshields  144  to browbar frame  102 . At the same time, lens  104  and lens overlay  140  are manipulated so that dimple  112  engages holes  146  and  110  and secures both lens  104  and lens overlay  140  to browbar frame  102 . When lens overlay  140  is disposed on the inside surface of lens  104 , detents  145  are used to secure integral sideshields  144  and dimple  112  engages hole  146 . The length of dimple  112  is extended when lens overlay  140  is disposed on the inside surface of lens  104  so that dimple  112  passes through hole  110  formed in lens  104  and through hole  146  to secure lens overlay  140  to lens  104 . 
     Turning now to FIGS. 8-10. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of conventional eyewear of a third embodiment and is generally indicated at  200 . Eyewear  200  comprises a ventilated browbar frame  202 , a suitable optical quality lens  204 , and two pivotal, adjustable temple assemblies  206  and  208 . Lens  204  also includes a pair of sideshields  209 . Adjustable temple assemblies  206  and  208  have an end piece  230  which has a circular neck and an oblong fastening head  232  extending from the circular neck. Adjustable temple assemblies  206  and  208  further include a temple length adjustment housing  234  which is attached to end piece  230  in a hinged manner. Temple tips  236  are movably mounted to temple length adjustment housing  234  which allows the user to adjust the overall length of temple assemblies  206  and  208 . 
     The ventilated browbar frame  202  is preferably of a molded one-piece construction and is disclosed in great detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/095861 filed on Jun. 11, 1998 entitled “Ventilated Browbar Frame and Eyewear” which is assigned to the assignee hereof, all of the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     As best shown in FIG. 10, browbar frame  202  includes a central mounting section  210  having a channel  212  which receives a portion of lens  204 . Channel  212  has an outside wall  214  curved to match the outside surface of lens  204  and an inside wall  216  shaped to match the inside surface of lens  204 . Preferably, there is a dimple  218  which matches and mates in a hole  220  (FIG. 9) in the lens to provide extra rigidity when the ventilated browbar frame  202  is secured to lens  204 . Attachment of lens  204  to the browbar frame  202  occurs by positioning lens detents (not shown) so that they engage ridges  222  in left and right mounting sections  224  and  226 . Lens  204  is then moved towards the browbar frame  202  and lens  204  is positioned in channel  212  in central mounting section  210  an in channel  212  in the left and right mounting sections  224  and  226 . Lens  204  is manipulated so that dimple  218  engages hole  220  and secures lens  204  to the browbar frame  202 . 
     In accordance with the present invention, lens overlay  140  of FIG. 7 is used with eyewear  200  of FIGS. 8-10. To attach lens overlay  140  to lens  204  and template assemblies  206  and  208 , lens overlay  140  is positioned either on the inside or outside of primary lens  204 . For purpose of illustration, lens overlay  140  will be described as being attached to the outside of primary lens  204 ; however, it is understood that lens overlay  140  can equally be attached to the inside of primary lens  204 . Lens overlay  140  is initially placed on the outside of primary lens  204  so that integral sideshields  144  are disposed on sideshields  209  and holes  146  and  220  are axially aligned. The lens detents and overlay detents  145  are positioned to engage ridges  222  in left and right mounting sections  224  and  226 . Lens  204  and lens overlay  140  are then moved towards the browbar frame  202  and lens  204  and lens overlay  140  are positioned in channel  212  in central mounting section  210  and in channel  212  in the left and right mounting sections  224  and  226 . Lens  204  and lens overlay  140  are manipulated so that dimple  218  engages holes  146  and  260  and secures both lens  204  and lens overlay  140  to the browbar frame  202 . 
     It will be understood that lens overlay  140 , like lens overlays  40  and  70 , comprise a thin, formed plastic overlay that can easily be attached to the inside or outside of primary lens  104  or  204 . In an exemplary embodiment, lens overlay  140  has a thickness in the range from about 0.006 inches to about 0.03 inches and is preferably formed of a thermoplastic material. 
     The lens overlays of the present invention may be manufactured so that the lens overlays may be suitably shielded by manufacturing the lens overlays in varying shades of color so that the lens overlays act as a shield and transform ordinary clear eyewear into varying shades of sunglass lens overlays. In addition, the present lens overlays may be manufactured so that the lens overlay has a polarized vision property. Another advantage of the lens overlay of the present invention is that is comprises a disposable member which is easily manufactured at low cost. Because of the ease of attaching the lens overlay to the eyewear and its disposability, the lens overlay can be discarded and replaced with a new one whenever the lens overlay is soiled or damaged during any given application. In addition, if the user is changing settings where conditions likewise change, e.g., going into a high light setting, the user can easily attach a lens overlay which offers the necessary shielding characteristics (e.g., sunglass tint). 
     While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustrations and not limitation.