Novelty eye patch with artificial eye or eyelid
A novelty eye patch with a retaining, elastic band connected to a gag, false eye, eyelid or other embodiment, concealed beneath the patch. The patch and false eye or lid will be adjoined by a small, hidden spring, built onto two (2) hard wire frames. The spring will compress the false eye or lid against the user's real eye while allowing the patch to be lifted, revealing the gaff eye or lid. The two (2) steel wire frames will be concealed, along with the adjoining spring. One wire frame will be sewn into the outer circumference of the eye patch while the other frame will be molded into the underlying gaff or falsetto eye, to conceal their identity while maintaining stability to the patch and the gaff. Opposing force, created by the hidden spring, will compress downward the false eye or lid firmly against the user's real-eyelid, while maintaining a constant upward force of pressure on the patch. The spring will include a locking clip to keep the patch lowered to the position of the user's eye until such time that the user elects to lift the patch to reveal the gaff. This pressure will make lifting the patch more simplistic, while conversely maintaining an opposing force against the gaff eye or lid thereby preserving firmness of the gaff onto the user's real eyelid.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/272,589 filed Oct. 8, 2009. The contents of this prior provisional application are incorporated by reference herein.
REFERENCES CITED U.S. Patent DocumentsU.S. Pat. No. 6,450,814 B1 9/2002 Brittain . . . 433/215
U.S. Pat. No. 7,495,835 B2 2/2009 Daley . . . 359/630
U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,669 7/1998 Hornsby et al . . . 446/342
U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,320 B1 8/2009 Kurup . . . 351/203
U.S. Pat. No. 0,200,998 A1 8/2007 Schrimmer et al . . . 351/158
U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,767 1/1990 Burlison . . . 222/78
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to novelty products for the face. In particular, the invention is designed to cover one eye with what appears to be a common eye patch that gives the user the facade of having a normally injured eye. When the eye patch is lifted, either a shockingly deformed or mutated false eye or eyelid will be revealed, or a mechanical, robot-like eye or even an LED light panel, for numerous usages. With respect to the novelty of the invention, it allows the wearer to lift the patch, thereby revealing an artificial deformity, consistent with the appearance of a serious or abnormal injury, or grotesque deformity of and around the wearer's eye. The concealed gaff may also include the revelation of a robot-like eye with or without an LED illumination, or an LED lit embodiment, which could feature a variety of designs or panels.
Novelty gags and illusionary gaffs that create false human appearances and unusual deformities are very popular among people worldwide. An entertaining gaff item for the human body, that requires little or no practice to use, which is easy to put on, can create lighthearted fun for individuals and their friends. Reducing or eliminating any complication from using or wearing a gaff is by far more popular and in greater demand than those that take practice and/or are complicated to use or set up.
An eye patch with entertainment value such as U.S. Pat. No. 7,575,320 to Kurup, embodies an adhesive design, but is proposed to aid in correcting vision and would not include a concealed gaff. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,669 to Hornsby et al., the provision for an eye assembly is constructed for the use on a stuffed toy. With respect to U.S. Pat. No. 7,495,835 to Daley, a facemask reveals the appearance of permanently visible red eyes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention, a common fabric eye patch, with an elastic band for the head, is supported by two (2) concealed, metal, wire frames. A concealed, miniature, locking-spring mechanism, fused to both wire frames adjoins the eye patch to an underlying falsetto construction, of an aforementioned design. The concealed, miniature, locking spring mechanism, which adjoins the two entities, also places opposing force on the two connected structures. The novelty eye patch could be placed over the eye of a participant and with a gentle lift from the user's fingers, the patch will flip upward thereby revealing the underlying gaff to achieve the desired, entertaining results.
The novelty eye patch can be worn indiscriminately at any given time and does not require any practice or skill. The elastic band would enable usage for both children and adults. The invention gives the appearance to an observer that the wearer has some sort of normal eye injury. When the patch is raised, it would appear to the observer that the wearer had either some horrible malformation, some type of robotic appearance or even could expose a humorous LED design. The designs could vary from being humorous and absurd to very eerie and bizarre.
The design of the underlying gaff could be made to be see-through, although it would not be absolutely necessary in that the other eye would be uncovered. When the patch is pushed back down into place, the locking clip on the spring will sustain the patch in the down position, to be used again by the wearer, when ready.
It is therefore a primary objective to the present invention to provide a novelty and amusement device that exposes an exaggerated eye injury, an inhuman eye deformity, or some other entertaining revelation to nearby onlookers.
Another objective is to provide a simulated eye patch novelty gag device that is simple and easy to transport and use.
The invention and its construction concepts will be better understood upon reviewing the following detailed descriptions and accompanying drawings, wherein:
While the present invention is subject to embodiment in a variety of forms, there is demonstrated in the drawings and will hereinafter be described a presently preferred embodiment with the understanding that the present submission is to be considered an exemplification of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiment illustrated.
It should be further understood that the title of this section, namely “Detailed Description of the Invention,” relates to a requirement of the United States Patent Office, and does not imply, nor should be inferred to limit the subject matter disclosed herein.
Referring now to the figures, and in particular
In
The spring 16 is the adjoining element that both combines the patch 11 and the gaff 13 as well as stabilizes the invention's usage. The spring 16 is designed as a low tension expansion spring that has a constant outward force when the eye patch 11 is in the down position as in
The preceding description and the appended drawings are provided to illustrate and describe the preferred embodiment of the novelty eye patch with artificial eye or eyelid assembly of the present invention. Although a description of the preferred embodiment has been presented, various changes, including those mentioned above, could be made without deviating from the spirit of the present invention. It is desired, therefore, that reference be made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A novelty interactive eye patch comprising:
- an eye patch having a supporting frame about at least a portion of the patch perimeter, and a locking spring affixed to the frame for continuously placing upward pressure on the patch;
- a concealed, underlying aperture constructed to appear as a deformity, oddity, or representation of humor supported on a further supporting frame affixed to the locking spring continuously placing downward pressure on the aperture; and
- wherein the locking spring continuously submits force in opposite directions against the supporting frame and the further supporting frame.
2. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 1 wherein the underlying aperture is constructed of durable, rubber or plastic, and is painted or molded to have the appearance of a human eye.
3. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 1 wherein the patch is formed of fabric and the supporting frame is sewn into the perimeter of the patch to secure the patch to the supporting frame.
4. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 1 wherein the locking spring is permanently affixed to both of the supporting frames.
5. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 4 wherein the locking spring places opposing force against the two supporting frames, as to the patch and as to the aperture.
6. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 5 wherein the release of the eye patch from the aperture projects the eye patch upward, thereby revealing the aperture.
7. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 5 wherein the release of the eye patch from the aperture forces downward tension on the aperture to secure it against the user's eyelid, thereby stabilizing the aperture.
8. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 1 wherein a false eyeball is incorporated into the aperture.
9. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 1 wherein a robotic-like eye with an LED fixture is incorporated into the aperture.
10. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 1 wherein a false eyelid is incorporated into the aperture.
11. The novelty eye patch in accordance with claim 1 wherein an LED aperture is incorporated.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 5, 2010
Publication Date: Apr 14, 2011
Inventor: Richard Brockley (Dover, PA)
Application Number: 12/923,692
International Classification: A63H 37/00 (20060101);