Lens inserts for cage masks
Disclosed are lens assemblies for insertion into cage masks and cage helmets. The lens assembly has a lens mounted into at least one compression member, said compression member substantially conforming to the inner contour of the facepiece or helmet edges and sized and dimensioned to provide sufficient circumferential and arcuate compression with the facepiece or helmet so as to effectively hold the lens assembly in place behind the cage.
1. Field of the Disclosure
This disclosure relates to replaceable lens inserts for protective cage masks and helmets.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
It is known in the protective sports mask art to provide removable lenses, such as Cyr, US 2006/0090234, published May 4, 2006, but such lenses are not known in the cage mask art and further require that the helmet or mask be specially manufactured to mount with the lens.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSUREDisclosed are lens assemblies for insertion into cage masks and cage helmets. The lens assembly has a lens mounted into at least one compression member, said compression member substantially conforming to the inner contour of the facepiece or helmet edges and sized and dimensioned to provide sufficient circumferential and arcuate compression with the facepiece or helmet so as to effectively hold the lens assembly in place behind the cage.
The lens may be of any combination of plain clear, UV-blocking, full or partially tinted, colored, polarized, photochromic, or other desired type of lens.
The invention allows for rapid lens replacement without need to modify commercially available masks and helmets.
The present disclosure is that of a lens assembly that can be removably inserted into pre-existing commercially available cage masks or cage helmets. By “cage” mask or helmet is meant that type of protective headgear that utilizes a cage to protect the face, built of a plurality of (usually) metal bars, generally of steel, aluminum, or titanium, that protects the player's face, such as used in lacrosse and football helmets, lacrosse masks, and baseball catcher's masks.
The lens of the disclosure is provided in the form of a lens assembly that permits for easy and rapid removal and replacement. The protective helmet depicted in this disclosure is that for lacrosse, but this is for illustration only as the invention may be adapted to most or all protective sports helmets.
The advantages of providing a lens to a cage mask or cage helmet include a number of benefits. One problem players face is being blinded by the sun when looking up at a ball. Providing tinted, partially tinted, polarized, prescription or photochromic lenses will reduce this problem significantly. Another problem with cage-type facemasks is that, in cold conditions, cold winds blowing into the player's eyes will cause the eyes to tear almost immediately and blind the player instantly. Another is that a player may require corrective eyeglass lenses and may find standard eyeglasses uncomfortable and distracting because of the pressure of the helmet exerted upon the eyeglass temples.
Yet another advantage of providing lenses to cage masks and helmets is to increase visual acuity. For example, amber lenses allow players to see a white ball more clearly by filtering out blue light.
Yet another advantage of providing lenses to cage masks and helmets is to provide a means of providing protection from short wave ultraviolet solar radiation by providing UV blocking agents in the lens material. Players of outdoor sports that involve the throwing or casting of balls in the air are at risk of UV cornea damage because of the many hours spent exposed to sunlight and the frequent need to look upward to see the ball.
The lenses of this disclosure will preferable be impact resistant, usually plastic polymer, such as a polycarbonate.
Another advantage of the apparatus disclosed herein permits sports teams with high overturn, such as educational institutions whose players change year-by-year, to provide their players with generic protective helmets or masks, any of which a player in need of a specific type of lens may immediately customize to meet his or her lens needs.
Referring now to
The facepiece 10 defines an inner contour 16, into which the lens assembly of this disclosure will be mounted.
Referring now to
Referring to
The compression member 24 will also define two arc base portions 24b, the function of which will be explained with regard to
Referring now to
Referring to
It can be seen that, by a combination of circumferential and arcuate compression, a lens assembly may be provided that may be effectively mounted within a pre-existing cage mask without any need to modify the structure of the cage mask itself. It is simply a matter of providing lens assemblies of varying outer contours as needed to substantially conform to the inner contours of varying makes and models of cage masks already on the market.
Referring to
Referring to
Because the compression member 24 does not extend across the bottom of the lens, other means are needed to maintain circumferential compression. Here we mount one or more cage compression members 54 along the bottom edge of the lens 22, which will engage with a metal bar of the cage 12 and keep the upper surface of the compression member 24 pressed firmly against upper helmet edges 52. These cage compression members 54 may be of any shape or form effective in engaging with the cage, such as, for example tabs, hooks, and the like. Here we show tabs for illustration.
Referring to
While various values, scalar and otherwise, may be disclosed herein, it is to be understood that these are not exact values, but rather to be interpreted as “about” such values, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Further, the use of a modifier such as “about” or “approximately” in this specification with respect to any value is not to imply that the absence of such a modifier with respect to another value indicates that other value to be exact.
Changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art to the embodiments as disclosed herein and such examples, illustrations, and theories are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, the Abstract is intended as an aid to search and identify the general field of the invention and is in no way intended to limit the scope of the claims.
Claims
1. A lens assembly for insertion into a cage mask having a facepiece defining an inner contour and a cage, said lens assembly comprising:
- a lens mounted into a compression member, said compression member substantially conforming to the inner contour of the facepiece and sized and dimensioned to provide sufficient circumferential and arcuate compression with the facepiece so as to effectively hold the lens assembly in place within the inner contour of the facepiece, behind the cage.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is effective in substantially blocking ultraviolet light.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is at least partially tinted.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the lens is tinted amber.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is polarized.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is photochromic.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the lens is a prescription lens.
8. A lens assembly for insertion into a cage helmet having a helmet defining an inner contour and a cage, said lens assembly comprising:
- a lens mounted into a compression member; said compression member substantially conforming to the inner contour of the helmet edges and sized and dimensioned to provide sufficient circumferential compression in conjunction with one or more compression member mounted along the bottom of the lens and adapted to engage with the cage; and said compression member having arc base portions effective in providing arcuate compression with the helmet and cage; and
- wherein said arcuate and circumferential compression is effective to hold the lens assembly in place behind the cage.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is effective in substantially blocking ultraviolet light.
10. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is at least partially tinted.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the lens is tinted amber.
12. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is polarized.
13. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is photochromic.
14. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens is a prescription lens.
15. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the lens assembly is short enough to avoid being breathed upon by the wearer of the helmet.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 13, 2007
Publication Date: Feb 19, 2009
Inventors: Danielle C. Spagna , Debra J. Fogel Harris
Application Number: 11/891,766
International Classification: A63B 71/10 (20060101); A42B 1/06 (20060101); A42B 3/00 (20060101);