Protective shield with arcuate lens portion having a horizontally varying vertical curvature

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10856601-B2
Application number	US-201816227226-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2018
Priority date	Jun 30, 2016
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

A protective shield can be mounted in front of the face of a wearer of a protective helmet. In an as worn orientation, the protective shield extends across the eyes and typically also across the nose of the wearer. The protective shield has at least one arcuate lens portion which, in the as worn orientation, curves across an eye of the wearer. The arcuate lens portion has a horizontal curvature extending in a horizontal direction and a vertical curvature extending in a vertical direction, wherein the vertical curvature is a horizontally varying vertical curvature (κ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A protective shield mountable in front of a face of a wearer in an as worn orientation and extending across a field of view of the wearer, the protective shield comprising:
an arcuate lens portion that is configured to curve across the field of view of the wearer, the arcuate lens portion having a horizontal curvature extending in a horizontal direction and a vertical curvature extending in a vertical direction; and
left and right temporal side regions;
wherein the horizontal curvature refers to the horizontal curvature of a front surface or a back surface of the arcuate lens portion, and the vertical curvature refers to the vertical curvature of the front surface or the back surface of the arcuate lens portion,
wherein the vertical curvature is a horizontally varying vertical curvature,
wherein the protective shield is configured to be worn with a protective helmet, the protective helmet having left and right temporal sides configured to receive the left and right temporal side regions, respectively,
wherein the arcuate lens portion is a single arcuate lens portion which, in the as worn orientation, extends towards the left and right temporal sides of the protective helmet, respectively,

wherein the vertical curvature decreases horizontally from a central region of the arcuate lens portion towards at least one of the left and right temporal side regions, and
wherein the left and right temporal side regions have a vertical curvature greater than −0.5 dptr and smaller than +0.5 dptr.

2. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the arcuate lens portion is a plano or afocal lens portion.

3. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the vertical curvature varies horizontally along an intersection curve of the arcuate lens portion and a horizontal plane which, in the as worn orientation, is configured to include a position of the eye of the wearer.

4. The protective shield according to claim 3 , wherein the vertical curvature is configured to vary horizontally along the intersection curve of the arcuate lens portion and the horizontal plane as a function of a horizontal angle in the horizontal plane.

5. The protective shield according to claim 3 , wherein the vertical curvature at a horizontal position on the intersection curve of the arcuate lens portion and the horizontal plane is the curvature of the arcuate lens portion in a plane orthogonal to the horizontal plane and containing a surface normal of the arcuate lens portion on the intersection curve.

6. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the vertical curvature of the arcuate lens portion varies by at least 0.5 dptr.

7. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the vertical curvature of the arcuate lens portion varies linearly with an angle (α) or quadratic with the angle (α) or cubic with the angle (α).

8. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the arcuate lens portion further comprises a central region, and wherein the vertical curvature of the central region is constant.

9. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the vertical curvature is configured to vary horizontally within the field of view region of the wearer.

10. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the arcuate lens portion provides a maximum back vertex power p v of −0.12 dptr<p v <+0.12 dptr.

11. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the arcuate lens portion provides a vertex power in a second principal meridian minus a vertex power in a first principal meridian of less than 0.12 dptr.

12. The protective shield according to claim 1 , wherein the arcuate lens portion is made of at least one of a transparent impact resistant material and polycarbonate.

13. A protective helmet comprising the protective shield according to claim 1 .

14. The protective helmet according to claim 13 , being a sports helmet.

15. The protective helmet according to claim 13 , being a hockey helmet.

16. A computer-implemented method for designing a protective shield mountable in front of a face of a wearer in an as worn orientation and extending across a field of view of the wearer, wherein the protective shield includes an arcuate lens portion and left and right temporal side regions, the method comprising:
determining a vertical plane and a horizontal plane of the protective shield in an as worn orientation;
configuring the arcuate lens portion to curve across the field of view of the wearer, the arcuate lens portion having a horizontal curvature extending in a horizontal direction and a vertical curvature extending in a vertical direction,
wherein the horizontal curvature refers to the horizontal curvature of a front surface or a back surface of the arcuate lens portion and the vertical curvature refers to the vertical curvature of the front surface or the back surface of the arcuate lens portion;
configuring the vertical curvature to be a horizontally varying vertical curvature;
wherein the protective shield is configured to be worn with a protective helmet, the protective helmet having left and right temporal sides configured to receive the left and right temporal side regions, respectively, wherein the arcuate lens portion is a single arcuate lens portion that curves across the eye and a nose of the wearer and extends towards the left and right temporal sides of the helmet, respectively, and
configuring the vertical curvature to decreases horizontally from a central region of the arcuate lens portion towards at least one of the left and right temporal side regions in the as worn orientation,
wherein the left and right temporal side regions have a vertical curvature greater than −0.5 dptr and smaller than +0.5 dptr.

17. A computer program product comprising a program code for causing a computer to carry out the method as claimed in claim 16 when the computer program is carried out on the computer.

18. A machine readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising program code means for carrying out the method according to claim 16 .

19. A protective shield mountable in front of a face of a wearer in an as worn orientation and extending across a field of view of the wearer, the protective shield comprising:
an arcuate lens portion that is configured to curve across the field of view of the wearer, the arcuate lens portion having a horizontal curvature extending in a horizontal direction and a vertical curvature extending in a vertical direction; and
left and right temporal side regions;
wherein the horizontal curvature refers to the horizontal curvature of a front surface or a back surface of the arcuate lens portion and the vertical curvature refers to the vertical curvature of the front surface or the back surface of the arcuate lens portion,
wherein the vertical curvature is a horizontally varying vertical curvature,
wherein the protective shield is configured to be worn with a protective helmet, the protective helmet having left and right temporal sides configured to receive the left and right temporal side regions, respectively,
wherein the arcuate lens portion is a single arcuate lens portion that extends towards the left and right temporal sides of the protective helmet, respectively,
wherein the vertical curvature decreases horizontally from a central region of the arcuate lens portion towards at least one of the left and right temporal side regions, and
wherein the left and right temporal side regions have a vertical curvature greater than −0.25 dptr a

Assignees

• Zeiss Carl Vision Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Spratt Ray Steven

Classifications

• G02C7/16

  Shades; shields; Obturators, e.g. with pinhole, with slot {(G02C5/003 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• G02C7/02

  Lenses; Lens systems {; Methods of designing lenses} · CPC title

• A42B3/22 Primary

  Visors · CPC title