U.S. patent application number 13/298690 was filed with the patent office on 2013-05-23 for reversible carrier and harness system for eye patch constraints.
The applicant listed for this patent is Scott Schellhammer. Invention is credited to Scott Schellhammer.
Application Number | 20130125289 13/298690 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48425373 |
Filed Date | 2013-05-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130125289 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schellhammer; Scott |
May 23, 2013 |
Reversible Carrier and Harness System for Eye Patch Constraints
Abstract
The invention is an eye patch harness used to hold eye patches
in place during athletic exertion, using a cloth worn on the head
with eyelets in the cloth that position the eye patch precisely.
Such a harness does not move easily, and allows a wearer to move
without concern that the patch will lose proper position.
Inventors: |
Schellhammer; Scott;
(Arlington, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Schellhammer; Scott |
Arlington |
TX |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
48425373 |
Appl. No.: |
13/298690 |
Filed: |
November 17, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A41D 13/05 20130101;
A61F 9/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
2/206 |
International
Class: |
A41D 13/00 20060101
A41D013/00 |
Claims
1. An athletic eye patch harness, comprising: a cloth which
encircles a wearer's head, eyelets or loops located in the cloth
through which an eye patch's string is interlaced, an eye patch
held in place by a string or elastic band that interlaces through
the harness loops, said loops located in the cloth such that an eye
patch is kept in proper position over a user's eye.
2. An athletic eye patch harness, as in claim 1, with a cinch
included to hold the eye patch string at the proper tautness.
3. An athletic eye patch harness, as in claim 1, constructed so
that the harness is reversible, meaning that when the harness is
worn with one side out, the loops are positioned to hold an eye
patch over the right eye, but when the harness is worn with the
other side out, the eye patch is positioned over the left eye.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] None.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
[0002] None.
The Names of the Parties to a Joint Research Agreement
[0003] None.
INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT
DISC
[0004] None.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Field of the Invention: The invention pertains to eye
patches and structures to hold them in place on a user's during
exercise or other physical exertion.
[0006] Background Art: Eye care professionals have long recognized
that humans tend to have a dominant eye and a weaker eye.
Competitors in many sports find that they perform better when they
improve the strength of the weaker eye. Ophthalmologists often find
that children and occasional adults with Amblyopia ("Lazy Eye") and
Strabismus ("Cross-Eyed") can find some benefit from strengthening
a weaker eye.
[0007] Common approaches to strengthening a weaker eye are 1) eye
drops in the stronger eye, which blur the images from the strong
eye to the brain, which forces the brain to work with the images
sent by the weaker eye, and 2) use of an eye patch on the stronger
eye, which denies the brain any image at all from the stronger eye,
and also forces the weaker eye to strengthen.
[0008] Eye patches are known in the art. They may be held in place
with a string, strap, or elastic band that fits around the user's
head. Less used are adhesive strips or patches attached to a pair
of eyeglasses. However, an eye patch held in place by a strap can
easily fall off or change position during athletic events. Eye
patches held in place with adhesives can be irritating to the skin,
and also fail to hold the eye patch in place when a wearer is
playing sports such as basketball. Similarly, eye patches affixed
to a pair of glasses tend to slide or lose proper position during
strenuous exercise.
[0009] Coaches often need to evaluate an athlete's abilities, and
occasionally desire to test performance with a patch over the
strong eye. Today if a coach wants to conduct such an evaluation,
he must have an eye patch that fits reliably on the athlete's head,
is not overly bothersome to a wearer that is not familiar with use
of an eye patch, and can be used on either eye. Existing eye
patches are not always reversible, are very distracting, and tend
to dislodge during sporting events. Thus, there is a continuing
need for an eye patch addressing one or more of these problems.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] The invention is a harness worn on an athlete's head that is
constructed to carry an eye patch and maintain its proper position
during heavy physical exertion. The harness includes a wide head
band and cinch to hold the band snugly to the user's head. It is
built to be reversible, in that it can be used on either eye. In
using a head band as part of the structure, the user does not have
to worry about fragile glasses, bothersome adhesives, or the single
string that is so often used to hold an eye patch in place.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)
[0011] FIG. 1--A view of the invention from a wearer's front
side.
[0012] FIG. 2--A view of the invention form the back of the
wearer.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] According to the present invention, the foregoing and other
objects and advantages are attained by a eye patch harness 11 that
holds an eye patch 13 in place.
[0014] As shown in the figures, an eye patch 13 is worn so that it
covers up one eye, using the traditional string 15, but rather than
allowing the string to move, it is held in place by the harness 11.
The harness 11 has eyelets or loops 17 through which the eye patch
string 15 is threaded. In this embodiment, the eye patch string 15
is not elastic, and the string must be tied at the back or
restrained from loosening with some sort of cinch 19.
[0015] The figures in the drawings show the eye patch on the left
eye, but the invention can be constructed with the loop positions
reversed to cover up the right eye, or built with a dual-purpose to
reverse the eye position from the right to the left, or vice versa,
by making the head-band reversible, and the loops placed
symmetrically.
[0016] Loops 17 built into the harness 11 are not evenly spaced or
positioned, as they are designed to place the eye patch 13 over the
eye in a particular place by holding the eye patch string 15 so the
patch sits just below the harness 11 while covering an eye. Another
set of loops 17 are on the reverse side of the harness 11 which
provide spacing and positioning for the eye patch string 15 when a
user wishes to cover the other eye, making the device more
flexible.
[0017] The harness 11 maintains the eye patch 13 position during
heavy physical exertion. The harness 11 includes a wide head band
and cinch 15 to hold the band snugly to the user's head. It is
built to be reversible, in that it can be used on either eye. In
using a wide head band as part of the structure, the user does not
have to worry about fragile glasses, bothersome adhesives, or the
slippage that occurs when the patch is held in place by a single
string that is the most commonly used method of securing an eye
patch.
[0018] While this invention has been described as it is currently
built, the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments,
but can be employed in various equivalent arrangements included
within the spirit and scope of the claims.
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