SWIMMING GOGGLES

Abstract

Swimming goggles includes lens units each made of transparent hard material, lens frame units each made of hard material and gasket units each made of soft and elastic material. Each of the gasket units is formed along an outer peripheral surface thereof with a convex rib.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of swimming goggles according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a scale-enlarged plan view of the goggles;

FIG. 3 is a scale-enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway side view of the goggles; and

FIG. 6 is a scale-enlarged sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Details of swimming goggles according to the present invention will be more fully understood from the description of a preferred embodiment thereof given hereunder with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As will be seen in FIGS. 1 through 3, swimming goggles having a frontward direction, a rearward direction and a transverse direction which is orthogonal to the front and rearward directions comprise a pair of lens units 10, a pair of annular lens frame units 11, a pair of annular gasket units 12, a transversely elongated strap-like nose bridge 13 and a head strap 14.

The lens units 10 and the lens frame units 11 are injection molded integrally together as a so-called eye cup unit from transparent hard material such as acryl- or carbonate-based plastic material. Each of the lens units 10 has an elliptical shape slightly longer in the transverse direction. The gasket units 12 are preferably formed from thermoplastic elastomeric material which is soft and has a relatively low elasticity such as olefin-, styrene-, urethane-, natural or synthetic rubber-based material. The gasket units 12 are integrated with the eye cup unit while the gasket units 12 are injection molded.

Although not shown, it is also possible to form the lens unit 10 and the lens frame unit 11 in separate steps so that the former may be put in engagement with groove extending along front inner peripheral edge of the latter and thereby the former may be integrated with the latter in a desired water-tight relationship, as well known with respect to the goggles of such type.

The lens frame unit 11 corresponds to the peripheral wall of the eye cup, which has a width as well as a length larger in the vicinity of its outer end (i.e., in the vicinity of outer corner of the wearer's eye than in the remaining unit. The lens frame unit 11 has a groove 15 extending along an outer peripheral surface thereof and a rear edge 16 defining a rear wall of this groove 15. The lens frame unit 11 is further provided on an internal side thereof, i.e., in the vicinity of the inner corner of the wearer's eye with a protuberance serving to support the nose bridge in a detachable manner and an outer edge 18 lying in the vicinity of the outer corner of the wearer's eye (See FIG. 6).

The gasket unit 12 comprises a first region 19, a crook region 20 extending inwardly of the lens frame unit 11 in a radial direction of the lens frame unit 11, and a second region 22 extending outward in the radial direction of the lens frame unit 11 at a slight angle through the intermediary of a concave region 21 having a substantially V- or U-shaped cross-section. The first region 19 is formed with a groove 23 extending along an inner peripheral surface thereof. The gasket unit 12 is joined integrally with the lens frame unit 11 along an outer peripheral surface thereof in a manner that the first region 19 is engaged with the groove 15 of the lens frame unit 11, the crook region 10 closely bears against the rear edge 16 of the lens frame unit 11 and the groove 23 is engaged with the rear edge 16 of the lens frame unit 11.

The second region 22 of the gasket unit 12 has a convex rib 24 formed integrally therewith and made of the soft and elastic material for the gasket unit 12 itself. This convex rib 24 extends on an outer peripheral surface of the second region 22 along a substantially intermediate level thereof. The convex rib 24 has a substantially triangular cross-section and an apex of this triangular cross-section is opposed to and spaced rearward from the rear edge (the crook region 20) by an appropriate distance. The convex rib 24 functions to strengthen a force with which the second region 22 elastically bears against the wearer's face, to assure a water-tightness between the second region 22 and the wearer's face and to prevent, for a relatively long period, the second region 22 from getting out of its normal configuration.

With the goggles put on the wearer's face, the second region 22 is pushed toward the crook region 20 defined by the rear edge of the first region 19 and thereby elastically deformed while the convex rib 24 comes in contact with the outer peripheral edge of the crook region 20 (See a chained line in FIG. 3), resulting in that a gap defined between the outer peripheral edges of the concave region 21 is closed and thereby a resistance against water flow which otherwise would be generated by the concave region 21.

Referring to FIGS. 4 through 6, the gasket unit 12 lies in the vicinity of the outer corner of the wearer's eye and extends outward in the transverse direction so as to define a distal portion 25 of the first region 19. A buckle 26 made of hard material such as thermoplastic material is connected to the distal portion 25. Specifically, the soft and elastic distal portion 25 is interposed between the outer edge 18 of the lens frame unit 11 and the buckle 26 and elastically deformable between these outer edge 18 and buckle 26.

An inner end 27 of the lens frame unit 11 lying in the vicinity of the inner corner of the wearer's eye is provided with a locking part 28 used for attachment of the nose bridge 13 (See FIG. 1). The inner surface of the locking part 28 is flush with the inner surface of the gasket unit 12 to provide a substantially smooth transition and therefore it is unlikely that the wearer might experience a discomfortable feeling as it possibly occurs when the rigid locking part due to the rigid locking part sticks out and comes in an acute contact with the wearer's face.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the nose bridge 13 is made of material which is relatively rigid and elastically deformable, for example, thermoplastic plastic material or elastomeric material, and serves to connect the inner ends of the respective lens frame units 11 with each other. The head strap 14 is made of relatively soft elastomeric material and serves to connect the paired lens frame units 11 to each other by the intermediary of the buckles 26 provided on the outer sides of the respective lens frame units 11.

The entire discloses of Japanese Patent application No. 2006-256354 filed on Sep. 21, 2006 including specification, drawings and abstract are herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Claims

1. Swimming goggles having frontward/rearward directions and a transverse direction being orthogonal thereto, comprising: lens units each made of transparent hard material;annular lens frame units each made of hard material so as to extend from a peripheral edge of the associated lens unit in said rearward direction;annular gasket units each made of soft and elastic material so as to extend from a peripheral edge of the associated lens frame unit in said rearward direction wherein each of said gasket units comprising a first region integrally covering an outer peripheral surface of the associated lens frame unit and a second region extending from said outer peripheral surface along a rear edge of the associated gasket unit crooked inward as viewed in a radial direction of the associated lens frame unit and wherein a concave region extends along said outer peripheral surface between said rear edge and said second region;each of said gasket units including a convex rib integrally formed with said gasket unit from said soft and elastic material of said gasket unit so as to extend along said outer peripheral surface of said second region opposed to and spaced from said rear edge of said first region in said rearward direction.

2. The goggles defined by claim 1, wherein said first region of said gasket unit extends outward in said transverse direction to define an elastically deformable distal portion including no portion of the associated lens frame unit and said distal portion include, on its outer end, a buckle made of hard material and provided integrally with said outer end so as to serve for coupling of a head strap.

3. The goggles defined by claim 1, wherein said lens unit and said lens frame unit are integrally molded from said transparent hard material as an eye cup unit.

4. The goggles defined by claim 1, wherein said eye cup unit and said gasket unit are integrally molded and thereby integrally joined to each other.