Close-view data display implant for sporting eyewear

DETAILED DESCRIPTION An eyewear apparatus for use with sporting activities in accordance with the present invention allows convenient view and control of a data display device by an athlete.
The eyewear apparatus includes a data display implant device having a data means and a lens.
The data display implant device may be incorporated within sporting eyewear such as a pair of swimming goggles and may be an integral unit of the eyewear or may be a retrofit unit.
A motion sensitive switch may also be included to cause pausing of the display device following each flip-turn of the swimmer.
In addition, a radio transmitter and receiver may be used to control the data display means.
Alternatively, an electronic switch that is sized and shaped for placement within the athlete's mouth may be provided to control the data display means.
Similarly, an optical sensor that senses light reflected from the surface of the athlete's eye could be provided to control the data display means.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the eyewear apparatus includes a transparent eye shield, means for supporting the eye shield near a person's eyes to allow viewing of objects through the eye shield, a data display means mounted adjacent to the eye shield for displaying information, and a lens optically positioned to allow viewing of the data display means through the lens.
A switch encapsulated within a water-tight encasement may further be provided for controlling the data display means.
The eyewear apparatus may further comprise a mirror optically positioned between the lens and the data display means and a timing circuit coupled to the data display means.
In one embodiment, the lens is a Fresnel lens.
In yet another embodiment, a motion sensitive switch is coupled to the timing circuit to cause automatic control of the timing circuit upon the occurrence of a particular movement of the athlete.
The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the drawings and the detailed description.
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the invention is applicable to data display devices used in association with sporting eyewear in general, and is not limited to the specific embodiment disclosed