The present invention relates to an eyeglass system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an eyeglass system having side shields and retractable arms.
Eyeglasses are useful for many reasons beyond correcting the vision of the wearer. Tinted eyeglasses protect the wearer from harmful sunrays, safety glasses protect the wearer from flying debris, and Google glass allows the wearer to interact with a computer. In each of these uses, glasses with side shields provide additional benefits, such as increased protection against sunlight or particles coming from side angle. A number of prior art side shield designs clip onto the frame or the arms of the glasses. But these separate sections can be lost or broken more easily. Other prior art side shields that are permanently mounted to the glasses are less fashionable and difficult to store in a sleeve or case.
The present invention is an eyeglass system (eyeglasses) having a frame, left and right side shields connected to the frame at inset locations, arms connected to the side shields, and user select mechanisms for releasing the arms from a retracted position to a protracted position. The frame has a left side edge and a right side edge and the side shield are hingedly connected to the frame inset from the side edges, i.e. the left side shield is hingedly connected at a location inset from the left side edge and the right side shield is hingedly connected at a location inset from the right side edge. In an open condition, the left and right side shields extend lateral to the frame. Changing from the open condition to a closed condition, each side shield rotates about its hinge connection until it is substantially parallel to the frame. The open condition allows the eyeglasses to be worn by a user while the closed condition allows the user to store the eyeglasses in a sleeve or case.
In addition, the left arm is coupled to the left side shield and the right arm is coupled to the right side shield and each arm has a retracted position and a protracted position. The retracted position keeps the left side arm from extending past the right side edge of the frame and the right side arm from extending past the left side edge of the frame when the side shields are in the closed condition.
In order to provide the user with the ability to release the arms from the retracted position to the protracted position, the left and right arms may be formed from two sections, a first section closest to the side shield and a second section having arm triggers and a tip that rests on the ear of the wearer. Each section may contain a cavity for housing components, such as a biasing mechanism that is compressed when the arms are in the retracted position and released when the arms are in the protracted position. In the retracted position, the second section of the arm is retracted into the first section of the arm. When a user releases the arms from the retracted position, the biasing mechanism pushes the second section of the arm out of the first section of the arm. Locking hooks may hold the arms in the protracted and retracted positions and user select mechanisms cause the arms to switch from retracted to protracted positions and from protracted to retracted positions.
In another embodiment, a method of using the eyeglass system includes rotating side shields and attached arms to an open condition, releasing the arms from a retracted position to a protracted position, and putting the eyeglass system over the eyes of the wearer with the arms resting above the ears of the wearer and the side shields encompassing the eyes. The method further includes removing the eyeglass system from the wearer, pressing a release mechanism that allows the arms to be retracted, pushing a second section of the arm into a first section of the arm to a retract position, and rotating the side shields to a closed condition.
Before the present invention is described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described, as these may vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for purposes of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope. It is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner. In addition, a detailed description of known functions and configurations will be omitted when it may obscure the subject matter of the present invention.
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Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above by way of example only, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, different biasing mechanisms 50 may be used to retract and protract the arms 15 and different locking mechanisms 60 may be used to lock the arms 15 in the retracted position and the protracted position.
Additionally, the present invention may incorporate other components, such as computer components, similar to Google glass, to allow the user to interface with a computer. For example, the components may be incorporated into the arms 15, and the side shields 10 may provide extra surface area for capturing eye movements. Similarly, the present invention may incorporate blue tooth or wireless elements into the glasses 2 to work with an existing external phone or incorporate the components of a phone into the glasses 2. These features will allow the wearer to use voice commands to control a variety of other technologies.
Furthermore, various embodiments described herein or portions thereof can be combined without departing from the present invention. For example, the side shields 10 may be part glass and part mesh.
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