MAGNIFYING VIEWING APPARATUS

Abstract

An apparatus for viewing an environment. The environment may be, for example, water inside a fish tank, the interior of a pet cage or habitat, or simply a room divided by a wall or window. The apparatus includes a first viewing piece defining a first viewport. The apparatus may further include a second viewing piece defining a second viewport with the first and second viewing pieces operably connected by a bracket or magnets. One of the viewing pieces magnifies at least a portion of the environment, and the first viewport may at least partially aligns with the second viewport. A line with a stay may be connected to the one of the viewpieces for maintaining the viewing apparatus in a stationary position relative to the environment. The stay may be an anchor or a suction cup for attachment to a partition, such a fish tank or pet cage wall, at least partially defining the environment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first viewing piece, in accordance with an embodiment of a viewing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the first viewing piece of FIG. 1, viewed along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a second viewing piece, in accordance with an embodiment of the viewing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the second viewing piece of FIG. 3, viewed along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a second embodiment of a second viewing piece.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the second viewing piece of FIG. 5, viewed along line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a third embodiment of a second viewing piece.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view of the second viewing piece of FIG. 7, viewed along line 7A-7A of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the second viewing piece of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a front view of an embodiment of a bracket and a first viewing piece.

FIG. 10 is a right side view of the bracket and first viewing piece of FIG. 9, which also shows an embodiment of the second viewing piece.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional of the bracket with the first viewing piece and the second viewing piece, viewed along line 11-11 in FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 is a view showing the bracket supporting the first and second viewing pieces, the first viewing piece located outside an environment defined by a partition and the second viewing piece within the environment.

FIG. 13 is a front perspective viewing of an embodiment of a bracket with first and second viewing pieces, the bracket mounted on a partition.

FIG. 14 is an exploded front perspective view of the bracket with first and second viewing pieces of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a front perspective view of another embodiment of the viewing apparatus.

FIG. 16 is a front perspective view of the two embodiments depicted in FIG. 15 placed within an environment defined by a partition, each embodiment showing a line extending a different length.

FIG. 17A is a front perspective view of yet another embodiment of the present invention, particularly showing the first viewing piece.

FIG. 17B is a rear perspective view of yet another embodiment of the present invention, particularly showing the second viewing piece.

FIG. 18 is a front elevation view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, viewed along line 19-19 in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, viewed along line 20-20 in FIG. 18.

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B.

Claims

1. An apparatus for viewing an environment, comprising: a first viewing piece defining a first viewport;a second viewing piece defining a second viewport;a mechanism operably connecting the first and second viewing pieces; whereinat least one of the first and second viewing pieces magnifies at least a portion of the environment; andthe first viewport at least partially aligns with the second viewport.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mechanism comprises a bracket joined to the first viewing piece and the second viewing piece.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the bracket comprises a first arm joined to the first viewing piece, a second arm joined to the second viewing piece, and a back connecting the first arm to the second arm.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least of the first and second arms are releasably joined to the back.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein at least one of the first and second viewing pieces are movable relative to the back.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the bracket is generally U-shaped.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a line joined to at least one of the first and second viewing pieces; anda stay joined to the line.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the mechanism comprises magnetic attraction between the first and second viewing pieces.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein at least one of the first and second viewing pieces includes at least one magnet.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second viewing pieces comprises a base and a window frame joined by a hinge to the base.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the window frame at least partially defines the viewport of the at least one of the first and second viewing pieces.

12. An apparatus for viewing an environment, comprising: a first viewing piece defining a first viewport;a line connected to the first viewing piece; anda stay connected to the line and selectively connectable to a partition at least partially defining the environment; wherein:the first viewing piece magnifies at least a portion of the environment; andthe line and stay maintain the first viewing piece in a stationary position relative to the partition.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the stay defines an anchor.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the stay is configured for attachment to an upper edge of the partition.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the stay is a suction cup.

16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a length of the line from the stay to first viewing piece may be selectively varied to change the stationary position of the first viewing piece relative to the partition.

17. A method for viewing an object in an environment defined by a partition, comprising: obtaining a viewing apparatus comprising a first viewing piece defining a first viewport and a second viewing piece defining a second viewport, a bracket operably connecting the first and second viewing pieces, and at least one of the first and second viewing pieces magnifies at least a portion of the environment;at least partially aligning the first viewport with the second viewport; andplacing at least one of the first and second viewing pieces in the environment.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising, supporting the bracket by the partition defining the environment.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein at least partially aligning the first view piece to the second view piece includes moving at least one of the first and second viewing pieces relative to the bracket.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising, changing an elevation of at least one of the first and second viewing pieces relative to the environment by moving the at least one of the first and second viewing pieces relative to the bracket.