This invention is in the field of straps and attachments, specifically for eyewear.
A sleep mask is used to shield the eyes from light, especially as a sleeping aid that prevents users from awakening prematurely due to the sun or other light sources. The ideal sleep mask is able to remain on the user's face without falling off before this intended wake-up time. Typical causes of fallen sleep masks include head movements during sleep and unconscious removal due to discomfort. This is commonly the result of poor fitting or irritating straps around the ears. A soft mask that fits well without pinching will be superior to a mask that slips off or chafes the face.
Sleep mask innovations tend to focus on the eyewear. For instance, Schwarz and Zhang describe an eyeshade with modular replaceable eye covers in U.S. Pat. No. 10,646,377.
The head strap is an important and oft-neglected feature of the sleep mask. To the inventor's knowledge, sleep masks in production today use a fixed single head strap, which is to be placed above the ears and is not adjustable beyond the length of the strap. The fixed single-strap structure creates problems with fit, stability, or comfort, and it limits adjustability for various users with different eye and ear shape, placement, and size.
The present invention is a head strap system for eyewear, with innovative attachment and adjustment features. It may be used with a sleep mask or other eyewear items such as safety goggles or ski masks. A preferred embodiment has a double-strap structure, with over-ear straps and under-ear straps. In this way, the head strap system is designed to fully surround the ears. Contrast this with prior art systems, which have only one attachment point on each end of the eyewear.
An alternative embodiment features a triple-strap structure, which adds a chin strap to the over-ear and under-ear straps. A further embodiment includes a hairline strap. The double, triple, or quadruple strap system greatly improves adjustability and stability for the sleep mask. The hairline strap and chin strap are secured to the eyewear with removable attachment means such as hook-and-loop fabric. This allows maximal adjustment of the straps. For instance, the point of attachment of the straps to the eyewear is easily adjustable along the vertical or sagittal axes to accommodate different sizes of heads and ears. The angles of attachment are also easily adjustable to accommodate people with ears located lower or higher on the head.
The major components of the sleep mask invention are most clearly seen in
The head strap system 2 is shown in greater detail in
A left over-ear strap 22L and a right over-ear strap 22R are attached end-to-end to the central elastic band. When properly placed, the over-ear straps are designed to protrude forward on the head and over the ears. Each over-ear strap may be configured with a strap arc 222, as shown in
Each over-ear strap is attached to a strap attachment (23L and 23R) at approximately a right angle to the over-ear strap. The strap attachments will be positioned in front of the ears, at the temples. They are designed to attach to the temple pad 3 with detachable securing means 231 such as hook-and-loop fabric.
Continuing along the length of the head strap system 2, around the ears, each strap attachment (23L and 23R) is attached end-to-end to an under-ear strap (24L and 24R). The under-ear straps are ideally made of a heavy elastic material.
Each under-ear strap (24L and 24R) is joined end-to-end with a neck strap (25L and 25R). The neck straps are designed to lead around the back of the neck. The neck straps are ideally made of neoprene or a similar material. The left neck strap 25L is attachable to the right neck strap 25R with temporary attachment means 251, such as hook-and-loop fabric, a clasp, or snapback straps, as shown in
The use of temporary attachment means allows great variation in the placement and orientation of the strap attachments 23, as illustrated in
An optional chin strap 4 can also be secured to the temple pad 3 with removable attachment means 41 such as hook-and-loop fabric. The chin strap provides extra stability for the eye mask 1. An optional hairline strap 5 (