Swimming Goggles with Localized Soft Pads for Comfort and Hydrodynamics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional swimming goggles cause discomfort due to direct contact with hard frames, often lead to water leakage, and increase water resistance and obstruct the visual field during swimming.
Innovation Solution
The goggles feature frame bodies with protective pads and inclined lenses that fit snugly around the eye sockets, reducing water resistance and ensuring an unobstructed visual field by matching the contours of the face and using polycarbonate resin and thermal plastic rubber for comfort and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If conventional racing swimming goggles use a hard material frame without protective pads, then water resistance is reduced to a minimum, but the wearer experiences uncomfortable feeling and water leakage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is designed with different local properties: the portions contacting the face are made of soft flexible material for comfort and seal, while other portions maintain hard material characteristics for hydrodynamics. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between water resistance and wearing comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame combines hard material and soft flexible material in a composite structure, integrating the advantages of both materials - the hard material provides streamlined water resistance while the soft material provides comfort and leak prevention at contact points.
2Ease of operation
If conventional racing swimming goggles provide protective pads on sides of frame, then wearing comfort is improved, but the frame sticks out of the forehead and increases water resistance
Solution Approach 1:
Protective pads are applied only at specific locations where the frame contacts the face, rather than covering the entire side portions. This localized application maintains comfort while preserving the streamlined profile for water resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame is segmented into different functional zones: hard material portions for hydrodynamics and soft material portions for comfort, with protective pads strategically positioned only where needed for sealing and comfort without extending forward.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional swimming goggles have frame over the forehead, then protective coverage is improved, but lenses become inclined and block the field of vision at corners of eyes
Solution Approach 1:
The frame makes contact with the face at specific localized points (upper inner periphery, lower inner periphery, side portions) rather than covering the entire forehead area. This localized contact provides necessary protection while maintaining an unobstructed visual field.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing the frame over the forehead as in conventional designs, the frame is repositioned to contact the face at the inner peripheries of the eye sockets, inverting the traditional placement approach to achieve both protection and unobstructed vision.
4Strength
If conventional swimming goggles use hard material for frame, then structural strength is maintained, but direct contact causes uncomfortable feeling
Solution Approach 1:
The frame uses hard material for structural portions requiring strength while using soft flexible material at contact portions where comfort is needed, creating local quality differentiation throughout the frame structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame is constructed as a composite structure combining hard material for overall strength and soft flexible material for comfort at contact points, integrating both material types to satisfy conflicting requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Swimming goggles include left and right frame bodies installed with lenses, a connecting element, and protective pads and head strap bases respectively disposed on the left and right frame bodies. The left and right frame bodies each of which has an inner peripheral face and an outer peripheral face, and the protective pads each has a face contact portion and a connecting portion. Contours of the outer peripheral faces of the left and right frame bodies and the face contact portions are fit to face portions with respect to inner peripheries of eye sockets of a cranium of a wearer. Upper and lower edges of the face contact portions with respect to lower sides of eyebrows and lower sides of under-eye bags remain gaps with the connecting portions in a manner that the upper and lower edges of the face contact portions are nearly in contact with the connecting portions.