HK1261424B - Swimming goggles - Google Patents

Description

swimming goggles

Technical Field

The present invention relates to swimming goggles.

Background Art

Typically, swimming goggles comprise a support structure for the lens, made of a soft and resilient material, which surrounds the lens and extends behind the lens in the form of a seal adapted to rest against the swimmer's eye socket.

The two side ends of the support structure of the lens are connected to a strap that secures the goggles to the swimmer's head via a buckle whose length and tension can be adjusted.

Goggles intended for competitive swimming must have special features.

Firstly, these goggles must be as small as possible, as their size has a negative impact on the resistance to forward movement.

Secondly, the support structure of the lens must be able to fit into the user's eye socket while preventing the lenses from moving away from or towards each other during use. Therefore, the user maintains the support structure of the lens in a fixed position by adjusting the connecting buckle between the goggles and the strap.

This is difficult to achieve, as the lens support structure is usually made of an elastic and soft material. Therefore, a widely known and widely available solution consists of a two-part support structure for the lens, with a support frame for the lens connected to each other by a strip of inextensible material which, however, lacks any torsional rigidity and therefore cannot ensure that the initial position of the goggles in the user's eye socket is maintained.

The present invention therefore sets out to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned in the prior art by realising high-performance swimming goggles that can be used in the competitive field.

Summary of the Invention

An object of the present invention is to produce swimming goggles that are light, compact, and have a structure suitable for maintenance, and the position of the goggles can be fixed by the swimmer during use by adjusting the buckle connecting the goggles to the strap.

The task set and these and other objects according to the invention are achieved by producing swimming goggles comprising:

Two lenses;

a pair of support frames for supporting lenses, which are made of a rigid material to ensure the shape of the lenses and support end buckles for connecting the goggles and the support strap of the goggles;

a rigid first component interposed between the pair of support frames for the lenses, the first component being different from the pair of support frames for the lenses and being made of a material having a lower rigidity than the pair of support frames for the lenses, and being selected in a manner as described below so as to adapt to the shape of the user's nasion but resist a pulling force tending to change the distance between the lenses and a torsional moment tending to change the relative plane of the two lenses;

A flexible second component, different from the first component and the pair of support frames of the lens, is formed by a seal comprising a pair of annular portions for resting on the swimmer's eye sockets and a connecting bridge between the annular portions, the pair of annular portions protruding rearwardly from the two support frames of the lens.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the swimming goggles according to the present invention, illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 to 5 illustrate swimming goggles according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, reference numeral 10 denotes swimming goggles as a whole.

The swimming goggles 10 include two lenses 11; a pair of support frames 13 of the lenses 11, which are made of a relatively rigid material so that the block 22 can provide fixed support for the connecting buckle of the strap; a first component 15, which is located between the pair of support frames 13 of the lenses 11 and is different from the pair of support frames 13 of the lenses 11 and is made of a material with lower rigidity; and a flexible second component, which is different from the pair of support frames 13 of the lenses 11 and the first component 15 and is made of a material with lower rigidity.

Each support frame 13 is formed by a ring of rigid material, conforming to the periphery of the lens 11 and used to rest on the periphery of the lens.

The first component 15 has a lower rigidity than the pair of support frames 13 of the lens 11 , so as to provide greater adaptability to the user's nasal root while preventing the distance between the lens support frames from changing and their relative displacement.

The first component 15 is integrated with the support frame 13 of the lens 11 .

In particular, the first assembly 15 comprises a connecting bridge 14 connecting the two support frames 13 , and preferably, but not necessarily, also comprises a reinforcing mesh 23 having an annular portion conforming to the support frames 13 .

The first component 15 projects forward on the front face of the support frame 13 , and in particular the reinforcing mesh 23 has a flat rear surface positioned in a logo shaped complementarily thereto and located on the front face of the support frame 13 .

The second component is formed by a seal comprising a pair of annular portions 16 intended to rest against the swimmer's eye sockets and a connecting bridge 24 between the annular portions 16 .

The pair of annular portions 16 protrude rearward from the two support frames 13 of the lens 11 .

Alternatively, the bridge 24 is integral with the bridge 14 and projects rearwardly from the bridge 14 to accommodate the nasal root of a swimmer.

A special material deposit can be included between the two connecting bridges 14 , 24 , which also facilitates mutual mechanical clamping therebetween.

The distal ends of the two support frames 13 have engagement areas 22 for buckles (not shown) for adjusting the straps of the goggles 10 .

Advantageously, the first component 15 , the second component and the support frame 13 are each made of different materials.

For example, the support frame 13 is made of elastic polypropylene with an elastic modulus (Young's modulus) of 750 MPa ± 10%, the first component 15 with a lower elastic modulus is made of thermoplastic rubber (TPE) with a hardness between 60 and 80 Shore A (Shore A hardness), and the second component, which must be very soft to fit comfortably on the user's eye socket, is made of silicone or thermoplastic rubber with a hardness between 30 and 60 Shore A.

The goggles can be assembled, for example, by multi-step molding. In this case, in a first step, the support frame 13 is molded onto the lens 11. The lens 11 has a small hole around its periphery filled with the molten material of the support frame 13 to facilitate mechanical gripping. Next, the mold is rotated and the first component 15 is molded onto the front surface of the support frame 13. Finally, the second component is molded onto the rear surface of the support frame 13 and the rear surface of the connecting bridge 14 of the first component 15.

In summary, according to the present invention, goggles particularly suitable for competitive swimming are made of a plurality of different and integrated components, each of which is further made of a dedicated material in order to achieve its specific function.

The first component ensures that the relative plane orientation of the two lenses and the relative distance between the two lenses are maintained despite the loads caused by the swimmer's movements, while the second component for placement on the user's eye sockets and nasal root is made of a soft and elastic material.

Claims (7)

1. A swimming goggle (10), characterized in that the swimming goggle (10) comprises: Two lenses (11); A pair of rigid support frames (13) for supporting the lens (11), the pair of rigid support frames (13) being separate from and independent of the lens (11), each of the pair of rigid support frames being formed of a polypropylene ring, the pair of rigid support frames being aligned with the periphery of each lens in the lens for resting the periphery of each lens, the pair of rigid support frames (13) being rigid to ensure the shape of the periphery of the lens (11) and supporting the end buckle for connecting the swimming goggles (10) and the support strap of the swimming goggles (10); A rigid first component (15) for connecting the pair of rigid support frames (13) to each other, the first component (15) being separate from and independent of the pair of rigid support frames (13), and the first component (15) comprising: a first connecting bridge (14) between the pair of rigid support frames (13), and a reinforcing mesh (23) extending along the front of the pair of rigid support frames (13) and having an annular portion consistent with the pair of rigid support frames (13), the first component (15) being made of a material having a lower rigidity than the rigidity of the pair of rigid support frames (13) of the lens (11), and being selected in such a way that the first component (15) adapts to the shape of the user's nasal root, but resists traction forces that tend to change the distance between the lenses (11) and torsional moments that tend to change the relative planes of the two lenses (11); A flexible second component, which is separate and distinct from the first component (15) and the pair of rigid support frames (13) of the lens (11), is formed by a seal comprising a pair of annular portions (16) for resting against the swimmer’s eye socket and a second connecting bridge (24) between the annular portions (16), the pair of annular portions (16) protruding rearward from the pair of rigid support frames (13) of the lens (11); The pair of rigid support frames (13) are fastened to the second connecting bridge (24) between the pair of annular portions (16); The first component (15) protrudes forward from the two lenses (11), the pair of rigid support frames (13), and the flexible second component at various locations along the entire extension length. The first connecting bridge (14) is directly fastened to the second connecting bridge (24) between the pair of rigid support frames (13); and The rigid support frame (13), the first component (15), and the flexible second component are integrated together. 2. The swimming goggles (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first connecting bridge (14) is integrated with the second connecting bridge (24) located between the annular portions (16). 3. The swimming goggles (10) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the reinforcing mesh (23) extends along the pair of rigid support frames (13) of the lens (11). 4. The swimming goggles (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reinforcing mesh (23) is positioned such that its rear surface is arranged in a mark complementary to its shape and is located on the front surface of the pair of rigid support frames (13) of the lens (11). 5. The swimming goggles (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first component (15), the second component, and the rigid support frame (13) of the lens (11) are each made of different materials. 6. The swimming goggles (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first component (15) is made of thermoplastic rubber having a hardness between 60 and 80 Shore A. 7. The swimming goggles (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second component is made of silicon or a thermoplastic rubber having a hardness between 30 and 60 Shore A.