CABLE DISPENSING AND RETRACTING DEVICE
An eyewear retention device is disclosed that includes a length of resilient braided or monofilament line, terminating at each end in a tapered, rubberized retention tubing. One or more retractable spring loaded mechanisms have a locking mechanism for easy extraction and retraction back and forth by simply pulling on said line. The combination of the resilient line and the mechanisms produces a tensioned arc such that in addition to retaining eyeglasses around wearers head when in use when not in use with a simple pull on said line, the retention device forms a suspended arc over the wear's upper torso such that the device does not contact the wear's upper torso or their vestment when donned over a wearer's eyes.
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This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/180,060, filed on Jun. 12, 2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/175,021 filed Jun. 12, 2015, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The above benefit/priority claims are being made in an Application Data Sheet submitted herewith in accordance with 37 C.F.R. 1.76 (b)(5) and 37 C.F.R. 1.78.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to eyewear, such as eyeglasses, sunglasses, or safety glasses and, more specifically, to an eyewear retention device.
2. The Prior ArtFor many decades, probably longer, eyewear users have attached strings, cloth-based retainers, lightweight chains, and small ropes to eyewear to loosely retain them upon a wearer's upper torso when not positioned upon the wearer's head. Several years ago, retention systems “Cablz” were introduced which are essentially a coated piece of cable having a rubber tubular retention portion into which eyewear temples slip into and an arc portion that extends around the rear of a user's head.
Eyewear retention systems (i.e. Cablz) immediately became popular with the general public, athletes, skiers, fisherman, and hunters who utilize sunglasses with strongly tinted lenses to provide protection from intense glare and reflected light off water, ice, and snow, and other reflective surfaces in brilliant sunlight. As a user transitions from direct sunlight to a shady or darker environment, they can use the eyewear retention system to hang their eyewear from their neck region. However, with the advent of more stylized eyewear, and especially the darker tinted glass and plastic (e.g. polycarbonate) lenses, especially in non-prescription type sunglass lenses, wearer's are more frequently required to dismount their glasses in order to read close-up materials or inspect materials that are viewed in relatively low-light conditions. For example, it is quite common for a fishermen, skippers, or first mate deckhands to discard their glasses when going underneath the top deck of a boat to retrieve fishing tackle, read charts, or view other navigational aids during bright sunlight hours in order that they may be able to see the items they are utilizing. Hence, Cablz, and other types of retained devices have become popular for outdoorsmen and sportsmen alike seeking to provide the safety and proximity retention of their glasses while providing the flexibility to discard them quickly and utilize their eyes in relatively lowlight conditions.
Unfortunately, the existing eyewear retaining devices place a burden upon the wearer in that they protrude past the back of the head when eyewear is on. This creates problems when sitting back in chairs, putting hooded clothing on, stocking hats etc. Also, cloth retention devices soak up a person's sweat that can cause a foul odor after multiple uses. Some retention devices have two tabs provided on the retainer for the cable to be tightened around a person's head while the glasses are in use. These devices still leave too much space from the back of the head, which will be hindered when wearing clothing or sitting in chairs etc. These locations are inconvenient because the retention device itself becomes potentially in the way of the wearer's vestment which might hinder the re-application or the re-mounting of the glasses over the wearer's eyes. The tightened cable also makes it too hard to fit eyewear back on the wearer, for the cable is too small to fit over the chin and face. When trying to loosing or pull the tabs on the cable or pull tabs to put it back to the original length, one must spread the arms of the eyewear which is very inconvenient and also puts the expensive eyewear in jeopardy of breaking.
Hence, what is needed is an eyewear retention device that maintains the full utility of the retention objective for eyewear, while avoiding all of the difficulties of past eyewear retention devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThis patent discloses and claims a useful, novel, and unobvious invention for an eyewear retention device in the eyewear field.
An eyewear retention device is disclosed in one embodiment that includes a length of resilient braided or monofilament line, terminating at each end in a tapered, rubberized retention tubing, including retractable spring loaded mechanism or mechanisms molded in the ends of the retention tubing with a locking mechanism for easy extraction and retraction back and forth by simply pulling on said line. The combination of the resilient line and the mechanism or mechanisms produce a tensioned arc such that in addition to retaining eyewear around a wearer's head when in use when not in use with a simple pull on said line, the retention device forms a suspended arc over the wearer's neck and upper torso region.
Referring to the drawings for a better understanding of the function and structure of the invention,
This embodiment has a single retractor 50 typically located in the center of the line or cable 60, with retention tubing 48 attached to each end of the line or cable 60, capable of removably attaching eyewear (not shown) to the retention system 46. The retractor 50 has a front housing 52 and a rear housing 54 that fit together when the retractor 50 is fully assembled. Within the retractor 50 are located a retractor spring 58, a retractor spool 56, and a retractor guide ball 62. The retractor spring 58 is utilized to retract the cable 60 when moving from an extended to a retracted position by winding it evenly from both sides around the retractor spool 56. The retractor spring 58 is inserted in the inside of top side of the retractor spool 56, with one end engaging slots 57 in the circumference of the retractor spool 56 and the other end in a spring retention slot 68 in the retractor rear housing 54. The cable 60 is inserted through a cable channel 59 in the retractor spool 56. When the cable 60 is extracted, the retractor spool 58 rotates, unwinding the cable 60, and putting tension on the retractor spring 58. The tension is then released when the retractor spool rotates in the opposite direction, moving from an extracted or extended position to a retracted position. The retractor guide ball 62 moves up and down in a rear housing guide ball channel 66 in the retractor rear housing 54, and rotates around the retractor spool 56 in a retractor spool guide ball channel 64. The retractor guide ball 62 operates to lock the cable 60 in an extracted or extended position. Then, when the cable 60 is pulled out on both sides of the retractor 50 (typically by pulling the eyewear out), the retractor guide ball 62 disengages, allowing the retractor spring 58 to retract the cable 60, winding it evenly around the retractor spool 56.
While the invention in several forms, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that is not so limited but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the inventor envisions that the braided line may be replaced by a resilient plastic or carbon fiber replacement member exhibiting resiliency characteristics similar to a plastic, rubber or foam coated braided line.
An eyewear retention device is disclosed that includes a length of resilient braided or monofilament line, terminating at each end in a tapered, rubberized retention tubing, including retractable spring loaded mechanism or mechanisms molded in the ends of the retention tubing with a locking mechanism for easy extraction and retraction back and forth by simply pulling on said line. The combination of the resilient line and the mechanism or mechanisms produces a tensioned arc such that in addition to retaining eyewear around wearer's head when in use when not in use with a simple pull on said line, the retention device forms a suspended arc over the wearer's upper torso.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that this invention encompass all such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A cable dispensing and retracting device comprising:
- a) a length of cable having a first end and a second end;
- b) a mechanism located between the first end of the cable and the second end of the cable, the mechanism comprising: a housing; a spring loaded retractable spool disposed within the housing and operable to retract the cable by winding the cable around an exterior of the spool; a guide ball disposable in a ball stop point in a side wall of the spool and operable to hold the spool in a locked state, and operable to transition to an unlocked state and move through a channel in the side wall of the spool, rendering the spool rotatable in dispensing of the cable from the spool and rotatable in retraction of the cable by the spool.
22. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 21, wherein the spring loaded retractable spool comprises a spring located within the spool, the spring engaging both the spool and the housing and operable to rotate the spool, thereby winding the cable around the spool when the spool is in the unlocked state.
23. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 21, wherein when the guide ball is disposed in the ball stop point, the ball stop point renders the spool in a locked state and immobilizes the cable relative to the housing when no external tension is applied to the cable.
24. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 23, wherein when external tension is applied to the first end and the second end of the cable, the spool is operable to rotate, releasing the guide ball from the ball stop point, and rendering the spool in an unlocked state.
25. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 24, wherein the length of cable is comprised of a center region, a first retractable region between the center section and the first end, and a second retractable region between the center section and the second end, and wherein the first region is retractable into the retractable spool, and the second region is retractable into the retractable spool.
26. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 25, wherein the application of sustained external tension on the cable causes the spool to rotate in an extraction direction, thereby releasing portions of the first and second retractable regions of the cable from the housing, and causing the guide ball to cycle through the channel.
27. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 25, wherein the application of a temporary external tension to the first end and the second end of the cable causes the guide ball to be released from the ball stop point, and subsequent release of the external tension enables the spool to rotate in a retraction direction, thereby retracting portions of the first and second retractable regions of the cable into the housing, and causing the guide ball to cycle through the channel.
28. A cable dispensing and retracting device comprising:
- a) a cable comprised of a first end, a second end, a center region, a first retractable region between the center section and the first end, and a second retractable region between the center section and the second end;
- b) a housing comprised of: a front housing portion; and a rear housing portion comprising a rear housing wall, a housing guide ball channel formed in the rear housing wall, and a center pin extending from the rear housing wall and having an open slot at a distal end of the center pin;
- c) a retraction mechanism disposed within the housing and operable to retract the first and second retractable regions of the cable into the housing and release the first and second retractable regions of the cable from the housing, the retraction mechanism comprising: a spool comprised of a body having a central opening defining a spool rotational axis and surrounding the central pin of the rear housing portion and rotatable around the central pin of the rear housing portion, a cable channel formed in the body and containing the center section of the cable, an exterior surface contiguous with first and second ends of the cable channel and operable to receive wound cable in operation of the device, and a side wall including a guide ball stop recess and a spool guide ball channel formed therein; a wound spring disposed within a spring cavity in the body of the spool and surrounding the center pin of the rear housing portion, and comprising a first end disposed in the open slot of the center pin, and a second end disposed in a slot formed in the body of the spool; and a guide ball contained within the housing guide ball channel, the spool guide ball channel, and the guide ball stop recess.
29. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 28, wherein when the guide ball is disposed in the guide ball stop recess, the guide ball stop recess acts as a guide ball stop point, rendering the spool in a locked state and immobilizing the cable relative to the housing when no external tension is applied to the cable.
30. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 29, wherein when external tension is applied to the cable, the spool is operable to rotate, releasing the guide ball from the guide ball stop recess and rendering the spool in an unlocked state.
31. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 30, wherein the application of sustained external tension on the cable causes the spool to rotate in an extraction direction, thereby releasing portions of the first and second retractable regions of the cable from the housing, and causing the guide ball to cycle through the spool guide ball channel.
32. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 30, wherein the application of a temporary external tension on the cable causes the guide ball to be released from the guide ball stop recess, and subsequent release of the external tension enables the spool to rotate in a retraction direction, thereby retracting portions of the first and second retractable regions of the cable into the housing, and causing the guide ball to cycle through the spool guide ball channel.
33. A cable dispensing and retracting device comprising:
- a) a cable comprised of a first end and a second end, and a first retractable region between the first end and the first second;
- b) a housing comprised of: a front housing portion; and a rear housing portion comprising a rear housing wall, a housing guide ball channel formed in the rear housing wall, and a center pin extending from the rear housing wall and having an open slot at a distal end of the center pin;
- c) a retraction mechanism disposed within the housing and operable to retract the first retractable region of the cable into the housing and release the first retractable region of the cable from the housing, the retraction mechanism comprising: a spool comprised of a body having a central opening defining a spool rotational axis and surrounding the central pin of the rear housing portion and rotatable around the central pin of the rear housing portion, a cable channel formed in the body, an exterior surface contiguous with first and second ends of the cable channel and operable to wind the first retractable region of the cable in operation of the device; and a wound spring disposed within a spring cavity in the body of the spool and surrounding the center pin of the rear housing portion, and comprising a first end disposed in the open slot of the center pin, and a second end disposed in a slot formed in the body of the spool.
34. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 33, wherein the spool of the retraction mechanism is further comprised of a side wall including a guide ball stop recess and a spool guide ball channel formed therein, and the retraction mechanism is further comprised of a guide ball contained within the housing guide ball channel, the spool guide ball channel, and the guide ball stop recess.
35. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 34, wherein when the guide ball is disposed in the guide ball stop recess, the guide ball stop recess acts as a guide ball stop point, rendering the spool in a locked state and immobilizing the cable relative to the housing when no external tension is applied to the cable.
36. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 35, wherein when external tension is applied to the cable, the spool is operable to rotate, releasing the guide ball from the guide ball stop recess and rendering the spool in an unlocked state.
37. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 36, wherein the application of sustained external tension on the cable causes the spool to rotate in an extraction direction, thereby releasing a portion of the first retractable region of the cable from the housing, and causing the guide ball to cycle through the spool guide ball channel.
38. The cable dispensing and retracting device of claim 36, wherein the application of a temporary external tension on the cable causes the guide ball to be released from the guide ball stop recess, and subsequent release of the external tension enables the spool to rotate in a retraction direction, thereby retracting a portion of the first retractable region of the cable into the housing, and causing the guide ball to cycle through the spool guide ball channel.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 20, 2020
Publication Date: Oct 8, 2020
Applicant: BBT Innovations LLC (Glen, MT)
Inventor: Robert HOLT (Glen, MT)
Application Number: 16/853,439