Protective Eyeshields With Malleable Support Struts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing eyeshields designed for sleep often shift and cause discomfort due to inadequate positioning, potentially pushing lenses against sensitive eye areas from pressure during sleep.
Innovation Solution
The eyeshields feature interconnected lenses with an adjustable nose-bridge and conjugate connecting straps, supported by shape-retaining malleable struts that adapt to the facial configuration, providing stable and cushioned protection with convex curvature and optional prescription correction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the eyeshield uses a fixed rigid structure, then the lens position is stable, but it causes discomfort and pushes against the eyes when the wearer's face moves during sleep
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the support struts flexible and adaptable rather than fixed and rigid. The struts can bend and adjust their position to accommodate facial movements during sleep, allowing the eyeshield to maintain stable lens positioning while dynamically adapting to prevent pressure on the eyes.
Solution Approach 2:
The support struts change their physical parameters (bending angle, position) in response to facial movements. This parameter change allows the structure to transition from a rigid configuration that would push against the eyes to a flexible configuration that accommodates facial contours and movements, resolving the contradiction between stability and comfort.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the eyeshield uses a flexible adaptable structure, then it accommodates facial contours and prevents eye pressure, but the lens position may shift during sleep
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible support struts provide dynamic adaptation to facial contours while maintaining lens stability through their ability to return to a predetermined position. The struts flex to accommodate facial features but provide sufficient structural support to prevent lens shifting, balancing adaptability with position stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The support struts appear to use composite material properties combining flexibility for adaptation with sufficient rigidity for support. This composite characteristic allows the struts to bend and conform to facial contours while maintaining enough structural integrity to stabilize the lens position during sleep movements.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the eyeshield uses heavy rigid materials for structural support, then the lens position is stable, but it causes discomfort and potential eye injury due to excessive weight
Solution Approach 1:
The support struts change their effective stiffness parameter through flexible design rather than using heavy rigid materials. This allows the struts to provide sufficient support for lens stability while maintaining low weight, as the flexible structure achieves stability through geometric configuration and material elasticity rather than mass.
4Ease of manufacture
If the eyeshield uses a one-size-fits-all design, then it is simple to manufacture, but it does not accommodate various facial shapes and causes discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than creating multiple rigid sizes, the patent uses dynamic flexible support struts that can adapt to various facial shapes. This single design achieves versatility through material flexibility and geometric adaptability, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while accommodating different facial contours.
Solution Approach 2:
The support struts function as flexible elements that conform to different facial geometries. This flexible approach allows a single eyeshield design to adapt to various facial shapes without requiring multiple sizes or complex adjustment mechanisms, balancing manufacturing simplicity with adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
Protective eyeshields have two lenses, which are interconnected at their proximal ends by an adjustable nose-bridge and are releasably connectable at their distal ends by two conjugate connecting straps. The lenses have a longitudinal convex curvature so that they follow the contours of the wearer's face. They are substantially trapezoidal in shape, tapering from the proximal end to the distal end. The lenses are made of a light-weight semi-rigid plastic, such as plexi-glass, and may be clear transparent or tinted. Plastic foam padding is provided along the longitudinal edges of the lenses to cushion the area of contact between the lenses and the wearer's face. The weight of the lenses is support from below by four support struts, two of which are nose supports and two which are cheek supports. Each of the support struts integrally comprises a stem element and a contact pad element.