ILLUMINATED EYEWEAR

• US 20110075095A1
• Filed: 09/30/2010
• Published: 03/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Waters Industries Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Michael Waters
• Inventors: Waters, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,444,266 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 351/158
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 11/04 Illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 5/146 having special front end

Abstract

Illuminated eyewear is provided. In one form, the temple arm members have all the lighting components mounted thereto including for each temple arm member a light, power source for the light, and electrical connections including a switch for providing power from the power source to the light. In another form, the cross-frame member has blinder portions integrally formed at either end thereof which are configured to block stray light to avoid glare problems. The blinder portions preferably include surfaces that are inclined to generally extend along the light cone generated by an LED light source mounted to the front end portion of each of the temple arm members. In another form, the temple arm members each have a recessed cavity formed in inner surface portion thereof in which the power source and switch components are received with the switch actuator mounted to the inner surface portion so it is hidden from view when the eyewear is worn for enhanced aesthetics.

Claims

1. Illuminated eyewear comprising:

a pair of temple arm members each having and forward and rearward ends;

inner and outer surface portions of each temple arm member having a flat configuration and extending lengthwise between the forward and rearward temple arm ends;

a front support including a bridge portion extending between the forward ends of the temple arm members with the temple arm members and bridge portion adapted to be supported on a user'"'"'s ears and nose;

a pivot connection between each of the front ends of the temple arm members and the front support for pivoting of the temple min members relative thereto;

a light source mounted to at least one of the temple arm members;

a plurality of disc-shaped batteries for providing power to the light sources;

a narrow width battery compartment of the one temple arm member between the respective flat inner and outer surface portions thereof sized so that a pair of the disc batteries are received in a non-overlapping, side-by-side arrangement in each compartment with main surfaces of the batteries facing the flat inner and outer surface portions of the one temple arm member; and

an electrical connection between the batteries and the light sources powered thereby mounted to the one temple arm member so that with the light source, the associated batteries and the electrical connection therebetween mounted to the one temple atm member there are no electrical components that span the pivot connection between the one temple arm member and the front support.

2. The illuminated eyewear of claim 1 wherein the light sources are mounted adjacent the forward end of each of the temple arm members, and the front support comprises a cross-frame member having opposite end portions adjacent the temple arm forward ends with the end portions comprising blinder portions each having a blinder surface that extends adjacent the corresponding light source to minimize glare from the light sources.

3. The illuminated eyewear of claim 2 wherein the light sources are LEDs that generate a cone of light of a predetermined angle, and the blinder surfaces are configured to generally extend along the light cone to avoid significant interference therewith.

4. The illuminated eyewear of claim 1 wherein the battery compartment includes a removable cover along which the inner surface portion of the one temple arm member extends.

5. The illuminated eyewear of claim 1 wherein the electrical connection for the one temple arm member includes a switch mounted to the inner surface portion of the one temple an member.

6. The illuminated eyewear of claim 5 wherein the switch is adjacent the pivot connection at the front end of the one temple arm member.

7. Illuminated eyewear comprising:

a front support including a bridge portion generally extending laterally along a lateral axis;

a pair of temple arm members that are pivotal between a use configuration with the temple arm members generally extending rearwardly from the front support along respective fore-and-aft axes that are orthogonal to the lateral axis, and a storage configuration with the temple arm members generally extending laterally adjacent to the front support along the lateral axis;

a pivot connection between each of the temple arm members and the front support;

a front frame portion adjacent each of the pivot connections;

a light source mounted adjacent to each of the pivot connections; and

an inclined blinder surface of each of the front frame portions adjacent the light sources and laterally inward therefrom with the inclined blinder surfaces extending at a laterally inward cant obliquely to the lateral axis to minimize stray light from the light sources from causing glare when the illuminated eyewear is worn.

8. The illuminated eyewear of claim 7 wherein the light sources generate a cone of light therefrom having a predetermined conical angle, and the laterally inward cant of the blinder surfaces is configured so that the blinder surfaces generally extend along or away from the light cones to avoid interference therewith.

9. The illuminated eyewear of claim 8 wherein the blinder surfaces each have a semi-frustoconical configuration with the semi-frustoconical blinder surfaces opening laterally outward.

10. The illuminated eyewear of claim 9 wherein the semi-frustoconical blinder surfaces each have a bottom notch opening that extends around the light source when the temple arm members are pivoted to the use configuration thereof.

11. The illuminated eyewear of claim 7 wherein the temple arm members include forward ends, and the light sources are mounted to the temple arm members to project forwardly of the forward ends thereof with the blinder surfaces adjacent thereto and extending forwardly beyond the light sources.

12. The illuminated eyewear of claim 7 wherein the light sources are mounted to the temple arm members to be canted inwardly and downwardly relative to the longitudinal axes thereof to maximize the amount of light projected to a reading area forwardly of a wearer of the eyewear.

13. The illuminated eyewear of claim 12 wherein the light sources are LEDs that project cones of light that are of a predetermined conical angle and so that central axes of the cones are canted inwardly and downwardly relative to the longitudinal axis of the respective temple arm members, and the inclined blinder surfaces are formed to each extend along a respective reference cone that is of the same or larger conical angle than that of the light cones of the LEDs with the reference cones each having a central axis coincident with the central axis of the light cone of the adjacent LED with the temple arms in the use configuration thereof.

14. The illuminated eyewear of claim 13 wherein the blinder surfaces each have a semi-frustoconical configuration and have a notch opening at the vertex of the reference cone in which the LED is received with the temple arms in the use configuration thereof.

15. The illuminated eyewear of claim 7 wherein the temple arm members each include a switch device mounted thereto that has three positions thereof for providing high and low intensity light from the associated light source or for providing both an “

on”

position and a “

temporary on”

position of the associated light source.

16. Illuminated eyewear comprising:

a pair of temple arm members each having forward and rearward ends;

a front support including a bridge portion extending laterally between the forward ends of the temple arm members;

a hinge between each of the forward ends of the temple arm members and the laterally extending front support to allow each temple arm member to be shifted between an open configuration with the temple arm members pivoted away from the laterally extending front support to extend rearwardly therefrom, and a closed configuration with the temple arm members pivoted toward the laterally extending front support to extend therealong adjacent thereto;

laterally inner surface portions of the temple arm members that generally face laterally inwardly toward each other with the temple arm members shifted to the open configuration thereof;

a light source mounted to each of the temple arms for projecting light therefrom;

a power source mounted to each of the temple arms for providing power to the light sources;

a switch mounted to each of the temple arm members for turning the light sources on and off;

a recessed cavity in each of the laterally inner surface portions of the temple arm members sized for receiving the power source and a portion of the switch therein so that the presence of the power source and the switch is substantially hidden from view.

17. The illuminated eyewear of claim 16 wherein the power source comprises a pair of disc-shaped batteries, and the recessed cavity is configured to receive the batteries in a longitudinal and non-overlapping side-by-side arrangement so that the thickness each of the temple arm members at the recessed cavity is only slightly thicker than the thickness of one of the batteries.

18. The illuminated eyewear of claim 17 wherein the recessed cavity of each temple arm member comprises a rearward battery subcompartment and a forward battery subcompartment formed by curved wall portions for the pair of batteries and a switch subcompartment adjacent to and forwardly of the forward battery subcompartment.

19. The illuminated eyewear of claim 18 wherein the battery subcompartments each include a well that are each sized to receive an electrical contact therein with one the contacts being from the switch and the other contact being from the light source of the respective temple arm members.

20. The illuminated eyewear of claim 16 wherein the switch of each temple arm member is mounted to the inner surface portion thereof adjacent the hinge.

21. The illuminated eyewear of claim 20 wherein the hinge includes hinge portions of each of the temple arm members at the forward ends thereof and at opposite ends of the front support, and the switch is oriented to either be vertically above or below the corresponding hinge portion of the temple arm member to which it is mounted.

22. The illuminated eyewear of claim 16 wherein laterally inner surface portions of each of the temple arm members includes a removable cover sized to extend over the recessed cavity for closing the power source therein.

23. The illuminated eyewear of claim 16 wherein the switches are each three position switch devices for providing high and low intensity light from the associated light source or for providing both an “

on”

position and a “

temporary on”

position of the associated light source.