FIELD OF INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to sports eyewear suitable for use in turbulent water situations, particularly, but not limited to surfboard or sailboard riding. BACKGROUND ART

The exposure of unprotected eyes to the elements of wind, salt and ultra¬ violet glare experienced by those engaged in sports such as surfboard riding, body surfing, water skiing, canoeing and sailboard riding often leads to a condition known as pterygia. Pterygia are growths of skin which gradually encroach over the cornea onto the pupil and eventually have to be removed surgically. A common problem with any form of swim eyewear is retaining the eyewear in place while at the same time providing optimum comfort for the activity. The usual forms of swim eyewear are of the goggle type where a lens frame is supported by a rubber skirt surrounding the eye and biased by an elastic head strap passing around the back of the head. These are specialised swim equipment and are satisfactory for underwater activity but have little, if any, use as afterswim eyewear or where the activity involves predominantly above water action such as is the case in surfboard riding where the surfboard rider spends most of his time out of the water. They are also unattractive and uncomfortable. Some prior art workers have tried to produce a conventional sunglass look but these have all involved the adaptation of designs based on swimming goggles fitted with ultra-violet protective lenses. The disadvantage of such goggle-based designs is that they are often uncomfortable to wear and require a tight fitting in the socket of the eye which excludes any movement of air, resulting in misting of the lenses. Other alternative prior art solutions have included helmets for water sports which incorporate retractable visors which can fully cover the face of the wearer. Efforts to use conventional sunglasses in the surf has been on an adhoc basis using head straps but due to the lack of the usual skirt to grip the wearer, those have been found unsatisfactory and quite often the sunglasses can be dislodged and lost. This can be quite expensive where the sunglasses are a name brand or a represcription glasses.

The fact that people have tried to use conventional sunglasses means there is a need for something along these lines that works. The motivating factors for

using conventional sunglasses in these situations rather than the swimming goggles seems to be one of comfort and secondly, that the sunglasses can be used both in and out of the water.

Hitherto, there has not been any satisfactory eyewear for vigorous sport based on the conventional spectacle frame that would enable the conventional style to be easily, properly and faithfully secured for the sporting activity and then afterwards used in the normal way. It would be desirable to provide an arrangement whereby a person can quickly adapt their conventional sunglasses between normal usage and their sporting use and be confident to use the same pair of sunglasses for both activities. The desirability is even greater where the user owns prescription sunglasses and would prefer to use these than non- prescription eyewear as this could detract from the enjoyment of the sporting activity and may even be unsafe.

OUTLINE OF THE INVENTION In one broad aspect, the present invention resides in a pair of spectacles in combination with an accessory, the spectacles having an upper edge, a lower edge, right side and a left side, a centrally disposed nose piece, a right eye lens positioned to the right side of the nose piece and a left eye lens positioned to the left side of the nose piece, a spectacles frame, the spectacles frame having a right forward extremity and a left forward extremity, a spectacles holding and positioning means for retaining the spectacles in an operative position, the spectacles holding and positioning means having respective right and left ear sections adapted in use to be positioned in close proximity to the respective right and left ears of a wearer characterised in that the spectacles have a right side accessory attachment means positioned on the right side of the spectacles at or adjacent to the right forward extremity of the spectacles frame and in front of the right ear section of the spectacles holding and positioning means and a left side accessory attachment means positioned on the left side of the spectacles at or adjacent to the left forward extremity of the spectacles frame and in front of the left ear section of the spectacles holding and positioning means, the accessory having spectacles attachment means attached to at least one of the accessory attachment means.

The accessory can be any item that may be used to enhance operation or appearance of the spectacles. Typical accessories include clip on badges, coloured pins, straps and hats.

In one preferred form the accessory comprises a strap means, the strap means comprising a jaw strap, an upper strap passing behind the head of a wearer and connecting the right and left sides of the spectacles, a right side lower strap passing below the wearer's right ear and a right side connecting strap portion extending down in front of the wearer's right ear to connect the right side lower strap to the right side accessory attachment means, a left side lower strap passing below the wearer's left ear and a left side connecting strap portion extending down in front of the wearer's left ear to connect the left side lower strap to the left side accessory attachment means.

Preferably, the connecting strap portions have upper and lower connections, the upper connection, in each case, being spaced a greater distance from the user's adjacent ear than the lower connection.

In another embodiment, the spectacles holding and positioning means passes around the head of the wearer and the accessory compresses a chin strap having bifurcated right and left ends passing either side of the respective right and left ears of the wearer, the ends being secured at spaced locations to the spectacles holding and positioning means.

More than two accessory attachment means can be employed and typically the spectacles include further accessory attachment means located to the rear of the right and left accessory attachment means in order to provide extra points of attachment for the accessory or to enable a second accessories to be secured to the spectacles where the accessory comprises a hat, the hat preferably has right and left projecting tabs carrying the respective spectacles attachment means.

In another preferred embodiment, the spectacles frame comprises an eye jacket and the right and left extremities include a contoured section extending around and adjacent to the temple regions of the wearer's face, the accessory attachment means being located in the right and left contoured sections respectively.

Typically, the spectacles holding and positioning means comprises right

and left arms, respective hinge means connect the arms to the frame, the accessory attachment means being located on the arms adjacent to the hinge means.

In another independent aspect, there is provided a strap assembly suitable for holding eyewear in operative position, the eyewear having an upper edge, a lower edge, right side and a left side, a right eye lens, a left eye lens, the strap assembly comprising a jaw strap, an upper strap passing behind the head of a wearer and connecting the right and left sides of the eyewear, a right side lower strap passing below the wearer's right ear and a right side connecting strap portion extending down in front of the wearer's right ear to connect the right side lower strap to the right side of the eyewear, a left side lower strap passing below the wearer's left ear and a left side connecting strap portion extending down in front of the wearer's left ear to connect the left side lower strap to the left side of the eyewear. Preferably, the connecting strap portions have upper and lower connections, the upper connection, in each case, being spaced a greater distance from the user's adjacent ear than the lower connection. The strap assembly can be used to hold any eyewear in position including spectacles, goggles or the like.

In another independent aspect, there is provided a pair of spectacles and a head strap holding the spectacles in operative position, the spectacles having an upper edge, a lower edge, right side and a left side, a centrally disposed nose piece, a right eye lens positioned to the right side of the nose piece and a left eye lens positioned to the left side of the nose piece, a spectacles frame, the spectacles frame having a right forward extremity and a left forward extremity, a spectacles holding and positioning means for retaining the spectacles in an operative position, the spectacles holding and positioning means having respective right and left ear sections adapted in use to be positioned in close proximity to the respective right and left ears of a wearer characterised in that the spectacles include spacer means holding the frame a predetermined distance from the face of the wearer, the relative dimensions of the spacer means, frame and the strap means being so chosen to allow air circulation between the wearer and the lenses to inhibit fogging of the lenses. Preferably, the spacer means comprises a resilient flange extending along a major portion of the upper edge of the

spectacles and projecting toward the wearer, and in use, being resiliently biased against the wearer to fill the region above the eyes, the lower edge of the spectacles being free to enable circulation of air. In another form, the spacer means comprises a nose piece locating at the indent defined at the juncture between the base of the forehead at the top of the nose of the wearer.

In a most preferred form, the spacer means comprises a nose piece locating at the indent defined at the juncture between the base of the forehead at the top of the nose of the wearer and extending into a resilient flange extending along a major portion of the upper edge of the spectacles and projecting toward the wearer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS To enable the invention to be fully understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one preferred embodiment; Figure 2 is a side view of an alternative embodiment;

Figure 3 is a front view;

Figure 4 is a side view of another embodiment;

Figure 5A is a side view showing potential forces experienced during use of the embodiment illustrated; Figure 5B is a partial rear view showing distribution of forces along the straps as described in Figure 5A;

Figure 6A and Figure 6B are perspective representations illustrating a preferred strap configuration;

Figure 7A and Figure 7B are perspective representations with an alternative strap configuration;

Figure 8A and Figure 8B show preferred accessory attachment means; Figure 9A and Figure 9B show another aspect of the invention wherein a nose piece and flange function to space the lenses from the wearer in order to inhibit fogging; and Figure 10 shows the aspect of a hat removably attached to the embodiment of Figure 5A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 , a preferred embodiment of conventional styled sunglasses 1 in the correct operational position as worn by a wearer 2. In this embodiment, the sunglasses do not have the conventional arms. Ultra-violet filter lenses 3 are supported in a plastic frame 4 which is held in place by a nose piece 5. The frame 4 is held in place by an accessory which, in this case, is a strap assembly comprising rear head encircling straps 6 and 7 and jaw strap 8 which are connected at their opposite ends to opposite ends of the frame 4. In order to clear the region of the ear 9 and to provide an attachment point for strap 7, there is an auxiliary strap 10 which is attached to the jaw strap 8 at point 1 1 Auxiliary strap 10 is attached to the strap 6 at point 12 Attached to frame 4 is a rubber flange 1 3 which conforms to region 14 above the eyes and aids spacing the frame from the face of the wearer and provided extra contact surface area to improve retention of the sunglasses by reason of the bias by the straps The flange 13 also limits entry of water from above but doesn't overly impinge upon the convention, look and style. Straps 6 and 7 have adjustable clips 1 5 and 16 respectively and jaw strap 8 is adjustable by a Velcro™ fastening 17.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the invention in which the frame 18 has side arms 19 which are supported by the ears 9. In this embodiment, an encircling strap 20 is connected to the frame by being joined to the side arms 19. Jaw strap 22 is attached to auxiliary strap 23 and to lower strap 24. Auxiliary strap 23 is attached to side arm 19 by rivet 21 .

Figure 3 shows a front view of the invention. The frame 4 has a central nose piece 5 which is made of soft neoprene rubber. The nose piece 5 is located snugly over the bridge of the nose 25 of a wearer in order to locate and firmly support frame 4 when engaging in turbulent wind and water activity. The nose piece 5 may be custom made to fit the bridge of a wearer's nose 25 or may be supplied in an assortment of sizes The side arms 19 (shown in phantom) encircle the ears 9 of the wearer. Figure 4 is a side view of an alternative strap arrangement In this embodiment there is an upper head encircling strap 26. Jaw strap 27 is connected to auxiliary strap 28 and to lower strap 29 which are both connected

to upper strap 26. Length adjustments may be made via clip 30 and Velcro™ fastening 31. Frame 4 is connected to upper strap 26 by rivet 32.

Figure 5A shows the direction of forces 33, 34, 35 and 36 which are experienced by the frame 4 during heavy water turbulence such as during a wipeout whilst surfing. It is evident that the major dislodgment forces 36 which tend to push the frame 4 away from the wearer 2 are resisted by encircling straps 43 and 44 and to a lesser extent by jaw strap 39 which combine to provide a resultant force 40 tending to pull the frame 4 downwards and rearwards onto the face of the wearer. Forces 33 directed towards the lenses 3 are firmly countered by the rubber flange 13 seated against the regions 41 above the eyes and by the bottom of lenses 3 against the region below 42 of the eyes. Upward forces 35 are resisted by the jaw strap 39 as well as the seating of rubber flange 13 against the upper marginal region 41 of the orbit of the eye. Downward forces 34 are resisted by the frame 4 resting against the lower marginal region 42 of the orbit of the eye and/or the top of a cheekbone. In addition, the rubber band 1 3 serves to reduce the flow of water contributing to forces 34 and keeps the lens 3 at a suitable distance away from the eyes to prevent fogging.

Figure 5B shows the embodiment of Figure 5A from a partial rear perspective. Strap 43 and 44 firmly encircle the head of the wearer 2. It will be evident that any force 47 tending to dislodge the glasses when in turbulent conditions will be countered by force 48 along strap 43 and resultant force 49 resisted by the combination of strap 44 and jaw strap 39.

Figure 6A and Figure 6B show perspective views of the invention of Figure 5A where the frame 4 has a pair of side arms 50, 51 to which are attached an upper head encircling strap 43 and jaw strap 39. To jaw strap 39 is attached a lower head encircling strap 44. For length adjustment purpose, the jaw strap 39 has Velcro™ adjustment portion 52 and the head encircling straps 43, 44 have adjustable locking clips 53 and 54, respectively. The frame 4 has a soft nose piece 5 and a flexible band 13. The flexible band 1 3 prevents excess water flowing behind the lenses 3 thereby reducing the water pressure tending to dislodge the frame 4 from the wearer.

Figure 7A and Figure 7B show the strap configuration of Figure 2 where

the frame 4 has a pair of side arms 19 to which are attached the head encircling strap 20 and jaw strap 22. The jaw strap 22 has a Velcro™ adjustment portion 55 and the head encircling strap 20 has an adjustable locking clip 56. There are auxiliary straps 23, 24 attached to the jaw strap 22 and head encircling strap 20. The frame 4 has a soft nose piece 5 and a flexible band 1 3. The flexible band 1 3 prevents excess water flowing behind the lenses 3 thereby reducing the water pressure tending to dislodge the frame 4 from the wearer.

Figure 8A and Figure 8B show detail of the attachment of the strap 57 to a side arm 58 by means of a co-operating press stud fitting 56a and 56b located on the strap 57 and side arm 58 respectively. The side arm 58 is connected to the frame 4 by a hinge 59. The flexible band 13 extends past the hinge 59 and clears the side arm 58 when swivelled in the direction of the arrows 60. In this embodiment, the accessory can be easily detached so that the sunglasses can be used with or without the accessory. Referring now to Figures 9A and 9B there is illustrated a pair of spectacles

71 in operative position. The spectacles are biased by an inextensible strap so that they are held tightly against the wearer. A simple head strap or a strap assembly as previously described can be used. A spacer means 72 is formed from a moulded or mouldable plastics and comprises a flange 73 extending along the upper edge 74 of the spectacles and a nose piece 75 (shown in section in Figure 9A and in phantom in Figure 9B) which locates at the indent between the nose and the forehead of the wearer. This nose piece 75 can suitably be a small channel so that it extends to bridge over the uppermost part of the nose ridge. Although a combined flange and nose piece is illustrated in some circumstances just the special nose piece or the flange alone need be used to space the lenses from the face of the wearer.

Figure 10 shows another accessory, in this case, a hat 63 attached to the sunglasses 64 shown in Figure 5A. The hat 63 has an encircling size adjustment band 65 to which extension portions 66 and 67 are attached to side arms 68 by means of press stud fittings 69 and 70 respectively. It will be evident to the skilled addressee that in embodiments of the invention where side arms are absent, the hat may be attached to a head encircling strap. Although Figure 10

also shows straps in place, the hat could be secured to the sunglasses without the straps. This application of the invention has particular application to young children. In the case of small children, a single rear strap is preferable along with the hat.

The preferred embodiments described herein are intended to illustrate the principal of the invention but not to limit its scope. Other embodiments and variations to the preferred embodiments may be evident to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.