An eyewear retainer of fabric-covered elastic foam material or molded soft elastic and flexible plastic or rubber-like material, for holding eyeglasses and the like securely in place on wearer's head and providing padding for the bow portions of the eyeglasses. A pair of tubular portions fit over downwardly curved rear ends of the bows of a pair of glasses, and downwardly depending hook portions, attached to the tubular portions, fit behind a wearer's ears to retain the eyewear in place. Bending of the tubular portions causes bulging, acting as cushioning for the bows. end pieces of a strap may be attached removably to the tubular portions. The strap may be in two portions interconnected separably by mating pieces of hook-and-loop fastening material or a buckle to provide for adjustability and easy removal of glasses. A rear end portion of each tubular portion may define a number of rearwardly inclined interior circumferential ridges and grooves to provide a secure grip on the bows of a pair of glasses.
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29. An eyewear retainer, comprising:
(a) an extender for each of a pair of rearwardly-extending bows of a pair of eyewear, each extender including a flexible and elastic tubular portion adapted to fit on a respective one of said bows, said tubular portion having a rearward portion; (b) a plurality of radially inwardly projecting circumferential ridges being included in said rearward portion; (c) at least one circumferential groove being defined between said ridges; and (d) forwardly concave hook means attached to said tubular portion and depending downwardly therefrom for fitting behind a wearer's ear and holding a pair of eyewear with added security.
28. An eyewear retainer comprising:
(a) an extender for each of a pair of rearwardly-extending bows of a pair of eyewear, each extender including a flexible and elastic tubular portion adapted to fit on a respective one of said bows, and forwardly concave hook means attached to said tubular portion and depending downwardly therefrom for fitting behind a wearer's ear and holding a pair of eyewear with added security; (b) a security strap having a pair of ends, each of said ends including an end piece defining an opening; and (c) projecting pin means included on each of said extenders, for engaging said opening in a respective one of said end pieces, each of said ends thereby being removably attached to a respective one of said extenders.
30. An eyewear retainer, comprising:
(a) an extender for each of a pair of rearwardly-extending bows of a pair of eyewear, each extender including a flexible and elastic tubular portion adapted to fit on a respective one of said bows, said tubular portion having a rearward portion; (b) a plurality of radially inwardly projecting circumferential ridges included in said rearward portion, each of said ridges being rearwardly biased and elastic, so as to resist rearward movement of said tubular portion along a rearwardly-extending bow of a pair of eyewear; (c) at least one circumferential groove defined between said ridges; and (d) forwardly concave hook means attached to said tubular portion and depending downwardly therefrom for fitting behind a wearer's ear and holding a pair of eyewear with added security.
1. An eyewear retainer for use with eyewear including a pair of bows which extend rearwardly and include respective downwardly curved terminal portions, the eyewear retainer comprising:
an extender of resiliently flexible and elastic rubberlike material, attachable in a selected position on a respective one of the pair of bows, said extender including an elongate tubular portion adapted to fit around said terminal portion, said tubular portion having a front end and a rear end, said extender further having hook means, including flexible elongate forwardly concave hook member means, attached to and depending downwardly from said tubular portion at a location spaced apart from said front end thereof, for fitting behind a wearer's ear and resiliently holding said eyewear securely in place while being flexible enough to bend resiliently and facilitate removal of said eyewear when desired.
24. An eyewear retainer for use with eyewear including a pair of bows which extend rearwardly and include respective downwardly curved terminal portions, the eyewear retainer comprising:
(a) a grip member molded of resiliently flexible and elastic rubberlike material and attachable in a selected position on a respective one of the pair of bows, said grip member including a tubular portion adapted to fit around said terminal portion, said tubular portion having a front end and a rear end and being straighter than said downwardly curved terminal portion; (b) integrally-molded strap attachment means including an elongate member interconnected with and extending diagonally upward and thence rearward from said front end of said tubular portion and generally parallel therewith, for receiving a strap to interconnect said grip member with another grip member; and (c) strap means interconnecting said strap attachment means with another grip member for extending about the head or neck of a person to retain eyewear to which said eyewear retainer is attached.
17. An eyewear retainer for use with eyewear including a pair of bows which extend rearwardly and include respective downwardly curved terminal portions, the eyewear retainer comprising:
an extender of resiliently flexible and elastic material, attachable in a selected position on a respective one of the pair of bows, said extender including a tubular portion adapted to fit around said terminal portion, said tubular portion having a front end and a rear end, wherein at least an intermediate portion of said tubular portion has a thin wall and an upright oval cross-sectional shape when said extender is separate from said bow, said intermediate portion of said tubular portion defining means for assuming a laterally outwardly bulging shape when said tubular portion is bent to conform to said terminal portion of said respective one of said bows when said extender is in place thereon, said extender further having hook means, including a flexible elongate forwardly concave hook member attached to and depending downwardly from said tubular portion at a location spaced apart from said front end thereof, for fitting behind a wearer's ear and holding said eyewear securely in place.
19. In combination with eyewear including a pair of bows extending rearwardly and including respectively downwardly curved paddle-like terminal portions, an eyewear retainer comprising:
an extender of resiliently flexible and elastic material, attachable in a selected position on a respective one of said pair of bows, said extender including an elongate tubular portion, said tubular portion having a front end and a rear end and being straighter than said downwardly curved terminal portion, said extender further having hook means, including a flexible elongate forwardly concave hook attached to and depending downwardly from said tubular portion and located rearward of and spaced apart from said front end thereof, for fitting behind a wearer's ear and resiliently holding eyewear securely in place while being flexible enough to bend resiliently and facilitate removal of said eyewear when desired, wherein said terminal portion has a maximum width adjacent its rearward extremity and said tubular portion elastically grips said terminal portion adjacent the rearward extremity thereof, and wherein said tubular portion has an upper intermediate interior surface and a lower front interior surface which are resiliently biased into contact with said respective one of said bows as a result of said tubular portion bending to conform to said downwardly curved terminal portion, said tubular portion thereby gripping said downwardly curved terminal portion of said respective one of said bows to hold said extender in a desired position thereon.
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32. An eyewear retainer for use with eyewear including a pair of bows which extend rearwardly and include respective downwardly curved terminal portions, the eyewear retainer comprising:
an extender of resiliently flexible and elastic rubberlike material, attachable in a selected position on a respective one of the pair of bows, said extender including an elongate tubular portion adapted to fit around said terminal portion, said tubular portion having a front end and a rear end, said extender further having hook means, including flexible elongate forwardly concave hook member means, attached to and depending downwardly from said tubular portion, for fitting behind a wearer's ear and resiliently holding said eyewear securely in place while being flexible enough to bend resiliently and facilitate removal of said eyewear when desired. 33. The eyewear retainer of
respective one of said bows. 36. The eyewear retainer of claim 32 wherein said tubular portion of said extender includes a radially inwardly projecting circumferential ridge adjacent said rear end thereof. 37. The eyewear retainer of claim 32, including a front margin which is slanted diagonally downward and forward, defining an opening at said front end of said tubular portion. 38. The eyewear retainer of claim 37 wherein said tubular portion has a layer of textile fabric as an outer surface thereof. 39. The eyewear retainer of claim 32 wherein said resiliently flexible and elastic material is a rubberlike foam. 40. The eyewear retainer of claim 32 wherein said extender is of a molded plastics material. 41. The eyewear retainer of claim 32, including a pair of said extenders and a security strap having a pair of ends, each of said ends being attached to a respective one of said extenders. 42. The eyewear retainer of claim 41 wherein said ends of said security strap include means for removably attaching each of said ends to a respective one of said extenders. 43. The eyewear retainer of claim 41 wherein said security strap is of adjustable length. The eyewear retainer of claim 43 wherein said security strap includes a pair of longitudinally overlapping parts each provided with a respective one of a pair of mating pieces of hook-and-loop fastening material. 45. The eyewear retainer of claim 43, including slide means attached to said security strap for adjusting the effective length thereof. 46. The eyewear retainer of claim 41 wherein said security strap includes a pair of parts, each including a respective one of said ends, and buckle means for selectively interconnecting said parts. 47. The eyewear retainer of claim 32, including a pair of said extenders, each including means for defining a point of attachment for receiving an elongate necklace portion. 48. The eyewear retainer of claim 32 wherein said hook member means is long enough to extend downwardly at least behind a middle portion of said wearer's ear. 49. The eyewear retainer of claim 48 wherein said hook member means is long enough to extend downwardly beyond said middle portion of said wearer's ear and rest snugly against a lower portion of the base of said wearer's ear.
PAR 0. In combination with eyewear including a pair of bows extending rearwardly and including respectively downwardly curved paddle-like terminal portions, an eyewear retainer comprising:
an extender of resiliently flexible and elastic material, attachable in a selected position on a respective one of said pair of bows, said extender including an elongate tubular portion, said tubular portion having a front end and a rear end and being straighter than said downwardly curved terminal portion, said extender further having hook means, including a flexible elongate forwardly concave hook attached to and depending downwardly from said tubular portion, for fitting behind a wearer's ear and resiliently holding eyewear securely in place while being flexible enough to bend resiliently and facilitate removal of said eyewear when desired, wherein said terminal portion has a maximum width adjacent its rearward extremity and said tubular portion elastically grips said terminal portion adjacent the rearward extremity thereof, and wherein said tubular portion has an upper intermediate interior surface and a lower front interior surface which are resiliently biased into contact with said respective one of said bows as a result of said tubular portion bending to conform to said downwardly curved terminal portion, said tubular portion thereby gripping said downwardly curved terminal portion of said respective one of said bows to hold said extender in a desired position thereon. 51. The eyewear retainer of
said extender is in place on said bow. 53. The eyewear retainer of claim 50 wherein said tubular portion includes thin wall means for causing said tubular portion to bulge laterally when bent to conform to said downwardly curved terminal portion of said respective one of said bows, and including a front margin which is slanted diagonally downward and forward, defining an opening large enough to receive said paddle-like terminal portion, at said front end of said tubular portion. |
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The hook member 94 extends downward and forward around the base of the ear, as shown in FIG. 17, from a point along the downwardly directed rearmost portion 106 of the bow 116. The base of the hook member 94 may be located at the rear of the ear with the extender installed on the bow 116 as shown in FIG. 15, and optionally at the middle portion of the height of the ear, as shown in FIG. 17, or even below the middle of the ear as would be the case using the retainer attached to the bow 116 as shown in FIG. 16. This, together with the length of the hook member 94, ensures that the hook member 94 can extend downwardly at least to the middle portion of the ear, and can also extend beyond the middle portion to rest snugly against a lower portion of the base of the wearer's ear. At this time, the flexibility of the hook member 94 permits the glasses to be removed without having to move the extender 90 with respect to the bow 116, while the size of the hook member 94 is large enough so that it will not cut into the wearer's skin uncomfortably.
In FIG. 18 a further alternative eyewear retainer according to the present invention is shown to include a grip member 132 including a tubular portion 134 which is generally similar to the tubular portion 92 of the extender 90, having a front end 136 including a sloping front margin 138. The tubular portion 134 has a rear end 140 which is necked down to a reduced size relative to the remainder of the tubular portion 134. As shown in FIG. 19, the tubular portion 134 may be placed on the downwardly curving rearmost portion 106 of a bow 116 of a pair of glasses in generally the same position in which the extender 90 is shown in FIG. 9. The curvature of the tubular portion 134 resulting from conformity to the curved portion of the bow 116 will result in a lateral bulging of the tubular portion 134 similar to that occurring in the tubular portion 92.
Extending upwardly and rearwardly from the front margin 138 is a strap attachment portion 142. A rearward extension 144 of the attachment has a rear end which is fanned out slightly and attached to a loop portion 146. A security strap 148 has an end 150 attached to the loop 146, as by being stitched to itself as at 152. An opposite end of the security strap 148 is similarly attached to a loop 146 of another grip member 132 of a pair, interconnecting the pair of grip members so that they can be mounted on the pair of bows 116 of a pair of eyeglasses or the like, with the security strap 148 extending behind the wearer's head to hold the eyeglasses in place as desired.
The reduced size of the rear end portion 140 gives that portion a tight, secure grip on the rear end of a bow to which the grip member 132 is attached. Under rearward tension in the rearward extension 144 the rear end portion 140 continues to grip the bow securely, while the tubular portion 134 ahead of the rear end 140 may bulge and resiliently allow a small amount of movement without releasing the glasses bow. This makes the eyewear retainer including the grip member 132 particularly useful for a user who prefers to leave the eyewear retainer in place on a pair of glasses without the convenience of particularly easy removal. The grip member 132 is also particularly intended for use where glasses might be subjected to being jolted or struck during athletic competition, for example.
As shown in FIG. 20, a security strap 154 has a pair of separate segments 156 and 158, each of which has one of a pair of mating pieces 160 and 162 of hook-and-loop fastening material so that the length of the security strap 154 can be adjusted easily.
A security strap 164, as shown in FIG. 21, also has two interconnecting portions 166 and 168 which are adjustably interconnected with one another by means of a side release buckle 170 attached to the strap segments 166 and 168 by well known means.
As shown in FIG. 22 the security strap 148 may be attached adjustably to the loop portion 146 by the use of a three-bar slide 169 to fasten the end of the security strap to the portion extending toward the other of a pair of eyewear retainers. The three-bar slide 169 may be of a suitably strong plastic, and permits adjustment of the effective length of the strap 148.
A slightly different type of fastener is the slide fastener 171 which surrounds and grips a doubled portion of a security strap 148 extending between the ones of a pair of devices such as eyewear retainers 132 to adjust the effective length of the security strap 148 by forming an adjustable loop 173 therein. A pair of fingers 175 prevent the loop 173 from being accidentally removed from the slide fastener 171.
Referring to FIG. 24, an extender 172 includes a tubular portion 174 and a depending hook member 176. The extender 172 thus is essentially a combination of features of the grip member 132 and the hook member 94 of the extender 90, so that an eyewear retainer comprising a pair of extenders 172 includes both the security strap features of the grip 132 and the adjustably positionable hook of the extender 90.
The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing abstract and specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expression of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.
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