This invention relates to improvements to eyewear and in particular to eyewear which may be used in swimming, for example in surfing. The present invention in one aspect aims to provide eyewear which in addition to being wearable whilst swimming or surfing, may also be used as a conventional pair of spectacles, for example prescription spectacles or sunglasses. Background Art

Swimming goggles are currently well known and most commonly are in the form of a pair of housings which support respective lenses and which are interconnected by a flexible strap which locates in use over the bridge of the nose. The housings are also interconnected by means of a resilient headstrap of rubber or the like which locates about the rear of the head to hold the goggles in position. Such goggles are usually only designed to seal the eyes from water and do not protect the eye from sun or glare. Nor are they designed for use out of water. Swimming goggles also because of the configuration of their housings, limit peripheral vision.

Pterigium growth over the cornea of the eye occurs after prolonged exposure to the elements, in particular glare and wind. Pterigium growth is predominant in surfers and other persons who spend many hours in the sun in recreational or professional pastimes. Currently available swimming goggles do not sufficiently provide protection against the growth of pterigia. Most swimming goggles are also not usually designed to have prescription lenses and therefore persons who are short sighted are inconvenienced, particularly persons who are surfing around sunset or sunrise where visibility is at its worst. Whilst sunglasses,including prescription tinted sunglasses, can reduce or eliminate the problems referred to above, conventional sunglasses, of course are not suited for use as goggles in a surfing or swimming application.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention aims to overcome or at least alleviate one or more of the above disadvantages by providing eyewear which may be used both as eyewear for swimming or surfing to protect the eyes against direct contact with water and further to protect the eyes from the sun, glare or other elements.

The present invention in a further preferred aspect aims to provide eyewear which may be worn in a conventional manner out of water as sunglasses or other spectacles, or the like.

The present invention aims to provide in yet a further preferred aspect eyewear which may be simply converted to use either as swimming or surfing goggles or as sunglasses or other spectacles. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.

The present invention thus provides an article of eyewear comprising a main frame including a pair of lens supporting frames and a nose bridge joining said lens supporting frames, said lens supporting frames being of a generally annular configuration, a pair of lenses supported in respective said lens supporting frames and seal mounting means on the rear side of each said lens supporting frames and extending substantially continuously around each said lens supporting frames, each said seal mounting means being adapted to receive and support sealing means for engagement with the face of a user about the eye socket to seal each lens supporting frame to the face of the user whereby said article of eyewear may be used as goggles for swimming or surfing and said seal means being detachable from said seal mounting means to permit said article of eyewear to be used as spectacles.

Means are provided for attaching the article of eyewear to the user and may comprise, where the article or eyewear is to be used out of water, arms, for engagement over the ears of the user. Where the article of eyewear is to be used in water, the attachment means may comprise a

strap or straps such as an elastic strap or straps.

The strap or straps may be interchangeable with the arms. For this purpose the main frame may include sockets on opposite sides thereof with which the arms or ends of the strap or straps may be engaged. The arms may be provided with plugs releasably insertable into the sockets. The arms are suitably hingedly mounted to respective plugs so as to enable them to be moved between a folded attitude for example for storage and an open attitude where they may be supported over the ears of the user.

The strap may also include at opposite ends, similar plugs for detachable receipt in the sockets. Alternatively, the straps may be simply passed through and secured to the sockets for example by a tie or buckle arrangement.

The seal mounting means for attaching the sealing means to the lens frames suitably is in the form of a continuous flange with which the seal may be engaged. The flange may be spaced outwardly from the rear of each lens supporting frame and directed generally radially outwardly therefrom. The sealing means suitably comprises a boot¬ like sealing ring formed of rubber, silicon or other similar sealing material. Each sealing ring may be formed with an inner groove which may receive a flange on the lens supporting frame to enable the sealing ring to be secured to the lens frame and sealed thereto. In an alternative con iguration, the sealing means may comprise a foam plastics sealing member such as a moulded foam plastics member which is secured to the rear of the frame about each lens supporting frame.

In a further aspect, the present invention provides an article of eyewear comprising a spectacle frame including a pair of lens supporting frames and a nose bridge joining said lens supporting frames, said lens supporting frames being of a generally annular configuration, a pair of lenses supported in respective said lens supporting frames and seal mounting means on the

rear side of each said lens supporting frames and extending substantially continuously around each said lens supporting frames, each said seal mounting means being adapted to receive and support sealing means for engagement with the face of a user about the eye socket to seal each lens supporting frame to the face of the user whereby said article of eyewear may be used as goggles for watersports.

The present invention in yet a further aspect provides an article of eyewear adapted for use as swimming or surfing, said article of eyewear including lens means, said lens means defining a pair of lens portions adapted to be located forwardly of the respective eyes of the user and an integral nose bridge portion adapted to extend over the nose of the user, first and second seal mounting means on the rear side of said lens means and aligned with respective said lens portions, said seal mounting means being adapted to receive and support a seal for engagement about the eye socket of a user to seal each said lens portions to the face of the user, and means for attaching said lens means to the head of the user.

The first and second seal mounting means may comprise first and second annular seal mounting members which may be secured to the rear side of the lens means or formed integrally therewith. Preferably the seal mounting members are fixed to the lens means by ultrasonic welding or adhesives. The lens means preferably comprises an integral rigid or semi rigid thin one piece lens which is shaped to extend in use over the bridge of the nose and over both eyes and which includes means for attachment of a strap or other fixing means for securing the lens to the head of the wearer.

The means for attaching the lens to the head of the user may comprise where the article or eyewear is to be used out of water, arms, for engagement over the ears of the user. Where the article of eyewear is to be used in water, the attachment means may comprise a strap or straps such as an elastic strap or straps.

The strap or straps may be interchangeable with

the arms. For this purpose the lens may include sockets on opposite sides thereof with which the arms or ends of the strap or straps may be engaged. The arms may be provided with plugs releasably insertable into the sockets. The arms are suitably hingedly mounted to respective plugs so as to enable them to be moved between a folded attitude for example for storage and an open attitude where they may be supported over the ears of the user.

The lenses in either aspect may comprise UV protective lenses, polarised lenses, optical prescription lenses or a combination of same. The lenses may be formed of plastics or glass. Brief Description of the Drawings

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an article of eyewear according to the present invention with alternative attachment means for the head;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the article of eyewear of Fig. 1?

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the frame along line A-A of Fig. 2 shown with associated seals; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the article of eyewear with one seal attached;

Fig. 5 illustrates an alternative arrangement for securing a holding strap to the article of eyewear of the invention; Fig. 6 illustrates an alternative form of eyewear according to the invention;

Fig. 7 is a rear view of one lens of the article of eyewear similar to that of Fig. 6 but with an alternative strap attachment; Fig. 8 is a plan view of the lens of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 illustrates the embodiment of eyewear of Fig. 7 and 8 with an alternative strap arrangement. Detailed Description of the Embodiment

Referring to the drawings and firstly to Figs. 1 to 4, there is illustrated an article of eyewear 10 according to the present invention which is in the general shape of a conventional pair of spectacles including a main frame 11 of similar form to a conventional frame of spectacles, such as sunglasses or prescription glasses and including a pair of generally annular lens supporting frames 12, each defining a lens opening 13. The lens frames 12 may be recessed as at 14 to receive and support within the opening 13 a lens 15. Alternatively, the lens frames 12 may be formed with a groove extending around their inner periphery to accept edge portions of the respective lenses 15 for supporting same. The lens supporting frames 12 are joined by a nose bridge 16 which preferably is integrally formed with the lens supporting frames 12. The main frame 10 comprises the lens supporting frames 12 and nose bridge 16 is suitably integrally formed of a substantially rigid or semi-rigid material, such as a hard plastics material. The rear side of each frame 12 is provided about each lens opening 12 with a seal attachment means 17 which surrounds each opening 12. The seal attachment means 17 extends continuously around the lens frame 12 and comprises a first annular flange 18 which extends rearwardly from each lens frame 12 and a second ring-like flange 19 which formes a lip extending generally radially outwardly from the annular flange 18 and which is spaced from the rear of its frame 12 to define an annular channel or recess 20 therewith. An annular seal 21 of boot-like form is shaped in cross-section so as to enable it to be forced over the flange 19 and locate within the recess 20. For this purpose, the seal 21 is of somewhat serpentine form in cross-section having an annular groove 22 adapted to be located over the flange 19 and be retained to the frame 11 and a leading annular edge 23 which is adapted to locate in the recess 20. The seals 21 is formed of a flexible resilient material such that it may be stretched over the

flange 19 such that the flange 19 locates in the groove 22 and is sealed to the seal 12.

The main frame 11 additionally includes, on opposite sides respective rearwardly directed hollow sockets 24 of inwardly tapering thickness for receiving head attachment means for the article of eyewear. The head attachment means in one form comprising opposite arms 25, each of which is hingedly mounted at 26 to a plug 27 of complementary form to the socket 24. The plug 27 may include a location member 28 which may locate within a side opening 29 in the socket 24 when the plug 27 is inserted into the socket 24. The plug location member 28 is resilient or resiliently supported so that it may "snap" into position in the opening 29 to positively hold the plug 27 within the socket 24 when the plug 27 is forced into the socket 24. Release of a plug 27 is achieved by depressing the member 28 which allows the plug 27 to be detached rearwardly from the socket 24.

An alternative attachment means where article of eyewear is spectacles are to be used as goggles may comprise a strap 30 of elastic material which is connected at each end to respective plugs 27 of similar form to those described above. The length of the strap 30 between the plugs 27 may be selectively adjusted through, for example a buckle at or adjacent one or both plugs 27. The strap 30 may comprise a band of rubber elastic or other material with similar properties.

The lenses 15 for the article of eyewear 10 may be tinted lenses such as UV protected lenses, polarised lenses and/or prescription lenses. The lenses 15 for use in water may also be treated with an anti-fogging liquid or substance.

In use and where the article of eyewear 10 is to be used in the manner of conventional spectacles, the plugs 27 associated with the arms 25 may be inserted into the respective sockets 24. The article of eyewear 10, in this configuration may be used in the same manner as a conventional pair of spectacles, either as sunglasses.

prescription glasses or both, with the arms 25 when pivoted open, locating over the ears of the user. When worn in this fashion, the seals 21 are not employed and the seal mounting means 17 is spaced from the face so as not to engage the face.

Where the article of eyewear 10 is to be used for swimming or surfing or other purposes where the eyes are to be protected, the seals 21 are engaged over the flanges 19 and locate the recesses 20 in the manner described above and the arms 25 are detached by removing the plugs 27. The plugs 27 of the strap 30 are then inserted and "snapped" into the respective sockets 24. The article of eyewear 10 is then fitted to the head, such that the seals 21 engage the face and locate about the eye sockets whilst the strap 30 is passed about the rear of the head to hold the article of eyewear 10 in position, the resilience of the strap 30 urging the seals 21 into sealing engagement with the face. The article of eyewear 10 may then be used in conventional manner for swimming, surfing or other water sports, the seals 21 preventing water from passing into the eye socket region. Of course it is possible to use the eyewear 10 out of water using the straps 30 without the necessity for attaching the arms 25.

Referring now to Fig. 5, there is illustrated an alternative arrangement for attaching a strap 30 to the article of eyewear 10. In this instance, the sockets 24 are provided with slots 31 and the opposite ends of the strap 30 are passed through the slots 31 and threaded through buckles 32 at one or both ends which enables the length of the strap 30 to be adjusted. The buckles 32 also act as a stops against the frame 11 to lock the strap 30 in position to the frame 11, permitting the eyewear 10 to be used for water activities.

Referring now to Fig. 6 to 8, there is illustrated an alternative embodiment of eyewear 33 according to the present invention which does not include a main frame 11 as in the embodiment of Fig. 1 but which includes a single large lens 34 which defines lenses 35 for

each eye and an integral nose bridge 36. The lens 34 terminates at opposite ends in sockets 37 of similar form to the sockets 24 of the embodiment of Fig. 1 for mounting of the arms 25 or a strap 30. The rear face of the lens 34 is further provided with a pair of generally annular, spaced apart seal mounting members 38 which are aligned with each lens 35. The seal mounting members 38 include an outer radially directed flange or lip 39 which is spaced from an an inner flange 40, the flanges 39 and 40 extending continuously around the seal mounting members 38 and which defining therebetween a continuous groove 41. The inner flange 40 has a inner surface complementary to the shape of the rear face of the lens 35 and sits flat against the rear face of the lens 35. The flange 40 may be secured to the lens 35 by welding, such as by sonic welding or adhesives.

The eyewear 33 of this embodiment may be used in the same manner as described above either for in-water or out of water use, the seals 21 being applied over the flange 39 as shown in dotted outline in Fig. 8 or being detached depending upon the use. Similarly the plugs 24 carrying the arms 25 may be engaged with the sockets 37 for out of water use whilst for in water use, the strap 30 with associated plugs 24 is attached via the sockets 37.

Referring now to Fig. 9, there is illustrated an alternative arrangement for attaching the strap 30 to the eyewear 33 which in this instance in lieu of sockets 37, is provided with elongated slots 42 on opposite sides. Opposite ends of the strap 30 are passed through the slots 42 and threaded through buckles 43 which enables the length of the strap 30 to be adjusted. The buckles 43 additionally acts as a stop against the lens 34 to lock the strap 30 in position to the lens 34 permitting the eyewear 33 to be used for water activities.

In the embodiment of Figs. 6 to 9, the eyewear 33, when worn, has the lens 34 positioned over the eyes and held to the head by the strap 30. The seals 21 will be urged by the elasticity of the strap 30 into sealing engagement with the face around eye sockets. The

eyewear 33 may thus be used in underwater situations or other situatino where protection against the sun and wind is required. When required for use as normal sunglasses or spectacles, the straps 30 may be detached and replaced by the arms 25 which may hook over the ears of the user. The eyewear 33 however may also be worn out of water with the straps 30 retaining the eyewear 33 to the head of the user.

It will, of course be realised that the lens 34 may be in many different shapes and configurations. In addition, the seal mounting members 38 may be either attached to the rear of the lens 34, or the seal mounting members 38 may be integrally formed with the lens 34.

The present invention thus provides a eyewear which is capable of protecting the eyes from the elements, both underwater and abovewater. The article of eyewear may include prescription lenses and may be treated to allow the user to see underwater obstructions. In either form, the article of eyewear may be used by any persons who require protection from the sun, glare or other elements and who also require an article of eyewear for use under or in the water.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative embodiment of the invention, all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as herein defined in the appended claims.