US20160023075A1

US20160023075A1 - Swim goggles for improving swimming technique

Info

Publication number: US20160023075A1
Application number: US14/799,496
Authority: US
Inventors: Brady V. Dunham; Jennifer S. Dunham
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-07-23
Filing date: 2015-07-14
Publication date: 2016-01-28
Also published as: WO2016014366A1

Abstract

Some embodiments of the present disclosure include a device for improving a user's sighting swimming technique, particularly in open waters. The device may be a pair of goggles that includes a lens and an angle-dependent darkening mechanism configured to darken a portion of the lens depending on an angle of the user's head. In some embodiments, the goggles may include a front transparent lens, a rear transparent lens, and a cavity between the front transparent lens and the rear transparent lens; and the darkening mechanism may be volume of opaque liquid filling a portion of the cavity. Alternatively, the device may be a detachable lens configured to attach to a standard pair of goggles, wherein the detachable lens includes a front transparent lens, a rear transparent lens, a cavity between the front transparent lens and the rear transparent lens, and the darkening mechanism positioned within the cavity.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to provisional patent application U.S. Ser. No. 62/028,241 filed on Jul. 23, 2014, the entire contents of which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The embodiments herein relate generally to athletic accessories, and more particularly, to a swim goggles for improving swimming technique.
Swimming in open water proves to be a difficult skill to learn. Visibility in the water is limited, and the swimmer must use the technique of sighting to know his or her direction. However, most swimmers learn and practice swimming in a swimming pool. In this environment, the swimmer has clear water to see in, lanes to stay in, and lines to guide them. This prevents them from efficiently learning the technique of sighting, which is a critical aspect of open water swimming.
Therefore, what is needed are swim goggles comprising a mechanism that blocks a portion of the lenses to mimic the field of vision available to a swimmer when swimming in open waters.

SUMMARY

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The detailed description of some embodiments of the invention is made below with reference to the accompanying figures, wherein like numerals represent corresponding parts of the figures.

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in use.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a top view of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a section detail view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a side view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in use.

FIG. 6 is a section detail view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in use along line 6-6 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a side view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in use.

FIG. 8 is a section view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in use.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in use along line 9-9 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a side view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in use.

FIG. 11 is a detail side view of one embodiment of the present disclosure, shown in use.

FIG. 12 is an exploded view of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of the invention, numerous details, examples, and embodiments of the invention are described. However, it will be clear and apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments set forth and that the invention can be adapted for any of several applications.
The device of the present disclosure may be used to mimic the field of vision available to a swimmer in open water, thus improving the swimmer's swimming technique and may comprise the following elements. This list of possible constituent elements is intended to be exemplary only, and it is not intended that this list be used to limit the device of the present application to just these elements. Persons having ordinary skill in the art relevant to the present disclosure may understand there to be equivalent elements that may be substituted within the present disclosure without changing the essential function or operation of the device.
1. Goggles
2. Angle Dependent Mechanism to Darken Lens
The various elements of the swim goggles for mimicking the field of vision of a swimmer in open water of the present disclosure may be related in the following exemplary fashion. It is not intended to limit the scope or nature of the relationships between the various elements and the following examples are presented as illustrative examples only.
By way of example, and referring to FIGS. 1-12, some embodiments of the device of the present disclosure comprise swim goggles 10 configured to engage with a user's 18 head, wherein the lens of the goggles 10 comprises a mechanism for darkening at last a portion of the lens depending of the angle of the user's 18 head.
In some embodiments, the goggles 10 comprise a front transparent lens 12, a rear transparent lens 14, a cavity 24 between the front transparent lens 12 and the rear transparent lens 14, and a volume of opaque liquid 16 within the cavity 24, wherein the opaque liquid 16 is configured to block at least a portion of the goggles 10, creating a limited field of vision 22 based on how the user 18 has positioned his or her head. In some embodiments, the volume of opaque liquid 16 may be equal to about half the volume of the cavity 24. For example, when the user 18 is holding his or her head such that a normal field of vision is perpendicular to the ground, the opaque liquid 16 may block substantially the bottom half of the front transparent lens 12 and the rear transparent lens 14, such that the user 18 can only see out of the top half of the goggles 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when a user 18 is swimming and looking straight ahead, the angle of the user's 18 head may cause the opaque liquid 16 to block a portion of the front transparent lens 12 and the rear transparent lens 14, such as about half of each lens. When the user 18 is looking downward into the water, as shown in FIGS. 5-7, the opaque liquid 16 may block substantially all of the front transparent lens 12 and the rear transparent lens 14, such that the user 18 cannot see through the goggles 10. Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, when a user 18 is looking to his or her side, the opaque liquid 16 may block either a substantial portion of the right half or the left half of each of the transparent lenses 12, 14 depending on which way the user 18 is looking In any case and no matter how a user 18 holds his or her head, the goggles 10 of the present invention may block the user's field of vision 22 into the water. As a result, the swimmer 18 may be required to learn how to sight, improving his or her swimming technique.
Some embodiments of the invention may further comprise a level bubble positioned in the lenses of the goggles 10, such that a user 18 knows whether his or her head is level, which in turn may help a user 18 know whether his or her swimming technique is correct. Additionally, in some embodiments, the front transparent lens 12 may be concave to help the opaque liquid 16 concentrate to the middle of the lens.
In an alternate embodiment and as shown in FIG. 12, the device of the present disclosure may comprise a pair of detachable lenses 26 configured to attach to a standard pair of goggles 28, wherein the detachable lenses 26 comprise a fastener, such as a hook 30, for connecting the detachable lenses 26 to the goggles 28. In such embodiment, each detachable lens 26 may comprise a front transparent lens, a rear transparent lens, a cavity between the front transparent lens and the rear transparent lens, and a volume of opaque liquid within the cavity, wherein the opaque liquid is configured to block at least a portion of the detachable lens 26 and, thus, at least a portion of the lens of the standard goggles 28, creating a limited field of vision based on how the user has positioned his or her head, as explained above. Thus, the device of the present disclosure may comprise an accessory configured to attach to a standard pair of goggles 28, such that a user 18 may use his or her standard goggles 28 as normal and only attach the device of the present disclosure when desired. While the detachable lenses 26 are described above and shown in FIG. 12 using hooks 30 as a fastener, any conventional fastener configured to attach the detachable lenses 26 to the standard goggles 28 may be used.
Instead of an opaque liquid 16 being positioned between a front transparent lens 12 and a rear transparent lens 14, the darkening mechanism may comprise a small rolling material, such as metal balls. Alternatively, holographic lenses or angle dependency lenses could be used instead of the opaque liquid 16 to block the swimmer's view of various viewing angles. Similarly, an electronic darkening lens could be used by using a switch, such as a gravity switch, that would turn on and off the darkened lens by the angle of the swimmer's head. In fact, any angle-dependent darkening mechanism or device for blocking the swimmer's view of various viewing angles may be used in place of the opaque liquid 16.
To use the swim goggles of the present disclosure, a user would put the swim goggles on like conventional goggles and then begin swimming. Alternatively, the user may attach the detachable lenses to a standard pair of goggles. In either instance, the lenses may allow the swimmer to practice open water sighting techniques by simulating what it is like to swim in open water.
Persons of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that numerous design configurations may be possible to enjoy the functional benefits of the inventive systems. Thus, given the wide variety of configurations and arrangements of embodiments of the present invention the scope of the invention is reflected by the breadth of the claims below rather than narrowed by the embodiments described above.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A pair of swim goggles for improving a user's sighting swimming technique, the swim goggles comprising:

a lens; and

a darkening mechanism configured to darken a portion of the lens depending on an angle of the user's head.

2. The swim goggles of claim 1, wherein the darkening mechanism is a member selected from the group consisting of a volume of opaque liquid, a rolling material, an angle-dependent holographic material, and an electronic darkening lens.

3. The swim goggles of claim 1, wherein:

when a user's head is positioned such that a normal field of vision is perpendicular to the ground, the darkening mechanism is configured to block a bottom half of the lens, such that a user can only see out of a top half of the lens;

when the user is swimming and looking straight ahead, the darkening mechanism is configured to block about half of the lens;

when the user is looking downward, the darkening mechanism is configured to block an entire surface of the lens, such that the user cannot see through the lens.

4. The pair of swim goggles of claim 1, wherein:

the goggles comprise a front transparent lens, a rear transparent lens, and a cavity between the front transparent lens and the rear transparent lens; and

the darkening mechanism comprises a volume of opaque liquid filling a portion of the cavity.

5. The pair of swim goggles of claim 4, wherein the volume of opaque liquid is equal to about half a volume of the cavity.

6. A device for mimicking a field of vision available to a swimmer when swimming in open waters, the device comprising:

a detachable lens configured to removably attach to a pair of swimming goggles, the detachable lens comprising:

a darkening mechanism configured to darken a portion of the detachable lens depending on an angle of a swimmer's head; and

a fastener configured to engage with a pair of goggles, such that the detachable lens is removably attached to the goggles and aligned with a goggle lens.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the darkening mechanism is a member selected from the group consisting of a volume of opaque liquid, a rolling material, an angle-dependent holographic material, and an electronic darkening lens.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein:

9. The device of claim 6, wherein:

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the volume of opaque liquid is equal to about half a volume of the cavity.