WO2012104587A1

WO2012104587A1 - Winter sports goggles with movable wind guard

Info

Publication number: WO2012104587A1
Application number: PCT/GB2012/000103
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sandra Mcniell Asquith
Original assignee: Sandra Mcniell Asquith
Priority date: 2011-02-04
Filing date: 2012-02-02
Publication date: 2012-08-09
Also published as: GB201104001D0; GB201101905D0; GB2487768A; GB2487802A; GB2487802B

Abstract

There is provided a pair of winter sports goggles (2) adapted to be worn over the eyes (7) of a wearer (8), said goggles comprising: a frame (6); a lens (4) supported by said frame, and adapted to, at least partly, cover the eyes of the wearer; and a wind guard (16) which is pivotally attached, directly or indirectly, to said frame so as to be movable between: a) a lower position in which the wind guard is positioned, at least partly, below the eyes of the wearer in use and acts as a wind wind guard; and b) an upper position in which the wind guard is positioned at least partly above the eyes of the wearer in use; wherein, where g represents the height of said frame, when viewed from the front of the goggles, and D represents the distance said wind guard projects below the bottom of said frame when the wind guard is in said lower position, said frame and wind guard are dimensioned so that distance D is equal to or less than 1.25 times distance g.

Description

Winter sports goggles with movable wind guard Field of the invention The invention relates to improvements to winter sports goggles, and a method of protecting the face, particularly for skiing and snowboarding and other winter sports.

Background of the invention The modern skier or snowboarder typically wears a pair of goggles which cover the eyes, but do not cover the nose or mouth. Such goggles usually reduce glare from the snow, but also protect the eyes from the cold air and wind. If skiing whilst it is snowing, the goggles also protect the eyes from snowflakes. The rest of the face is often uncovered, which can cause significant chilling of the chin, mouth, nose and cheeks, particularly if the skier is moving fast through cold air. Some skiers wear a mask which covers the nose and mouth, such as that shown in JP9239050 (Yoshihiro). Similar masks made from neoprene, and having two hook- and-loop straps which fasten behind the wearer's neck, are available. However such a mask is not easily put on and removed. The wearer may need to remove the mask at regular intervals, particularly if the mask restricts the breathing and/or speech and this cannot easily be done.

Another problem with such a mask is that a proportion of exhaled air from the nose and/or mouth tends to be directed upwards by the mask. This exhaled warm air contains moisture which tends to condense on the outside (and possibly also on the inside) of the goggles which results in fogging of the lens of the goggles, thus impairing vision. JP9239050 (Yoshihiro) seeks to address this problem by providing a flap 3 at the top of the mask, which is intended to seal the top of the mask thus preventing exhaled air from reaching the goggles. Nevertheless the difficulties of putting on and removing the mask at regular intervals remain. A more common solution to the abovementioned problem of chilling of the face is to pull up the collar of a jacket, or pull up a separate tube worn around the neck, so that at least the chin and mouth, and possibly also the nose and cheeks, are covered. There are two problems with this. Firstly exhaled air is again directed up towards the goggles, and secondly the collar or tube can tend to slip down during use. The collar or tube can be tucked under the bottom edge of the goggles, but this is inconvenient (requiring the user to use two hands to lift the goggles away from the face), can be uncomfortable, and also breaks the seal around the goggles. An alternative solution is shown in US 5,697,100 (Horowitz), in which a separate fabric strip, or "nose and cheek warmer" is removably attached to the bottom of a pair of goggles using "hook type fasteners". A similar arrangement is shown in WO 2006/125167, in which Figure 7 shows a releasable attachable drape 102 fixed below a pair of goggles. The drape 102 may be made of cloth or a thermoplastic rubber or elastomer (see i 2, paragraph 3). However, neither the fabric strip of US 5,697,100 nor the cloth drape of WO 2006/125167 is easily fitted and removed at regular intervals.

A solution to the goggle fogging problem is proposed in CA 2220799, which uses a "breath deflector" attached to the skin, across the bridge of the nose, by skin friendly adhesive strips. Again this cannot easily be applied and removed by a skier at regular intervals.

US 5,956,760 does not relate to goggles, but describes a flip-up face shield which is attached by a lens adjustment slot 36. US 5,752,280 also does not relate to goggles, but shows an eyeshield which can be rotated between the eyes and the forehead using a bistable tensioning pivot mechanism. Neither of these arrangements includes goggles, and neither is suitable for skiing or other winter sports. US 3,298,031 (Morgan) shows a pair of safety goggles fitted with a pivoting safety face mask which is formed from a hard plastic material, and a lens 15 which may be darkened and hence suitable for a welder (col 2, lines 51-54 and lines 59-61). In US 3,298,031 the face guard (lower portion 11) is a protective safety guard which must necessarily cover and protect the whole face. The face guard is not designed or dimensioned to be fully raised, as shown in Figure 1 which shows the raised position of the face protecting portion (col 1, lines 33-35). The face guard is intended to be lifted only temporarily (col 2, lines 28-33) when the user is too hot. The goggles are safety goggles, rather than ski goggles, as is evident from the fact that the support member 40 (which forms the frame of the goggles) is made from a "soft flexible transparent plastic material" (col 1, lines 63-66), thus making the goggles themselves unsuitable for skiing. Summary of the invention

The invention provides a pair of winter sports goggles and method as set out in the accompanying claims. It should be noted that the present invention is applicable to all winter sports, and other activities in cold climates.

Brief description of the figures

Figure 1 is a front view of a first embodiment of the invention, showing a pair of goggles with a blizzard guard in its lower position;

Figure 2 shows the first embodiment with the blizzard guard in its upper or raised position; Figure 3 is a side view of the first embodiment, with the blizzard guard lowered;

Figures 4a to 4c show the movement of the blizzard guard between its upper and lower positions; Figure 5 is a plan view, from above, of the first embodiment, with the blizzard guard in its raised position;

Figures 6 to 8 show a second embodiment of the invention, in which the blizzard guard is fixed to the frame of the goggles by two pivoting arms;

Figure 9 is a third embodiment of the invention which is the same as the first embodiment except that the blizzard guard is formed from a fabric material supported by a pivoting frame; and

Figure 10 shows some dimensions of the embodiment of Figure 1.

Description of preferred embodiments

The following reference numerals are used in the drawings, and where the same features appear in different embodiments the same reference numeral is used.

Figures 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the invention, which will now be described. Figures 1 to 5 show a pair of goggles 2 comprising a lens 4 held within a frame 6. The lens 4 may, for example, be made of transparent plastics material, and the frame 6 of plastics material. The lens 4 is typically heavily tinted, so that the eyes are protected against bright sunlight and glare/reflection from snow. In order to further protect the eyes against sunlight and glare the frame 6 is not transparent, and is preferably opaque, or substantially opaque, or possibly translucent. The goggles cover the eyes 7 of a user 8, but not the user's nose 10 and mouth 12, and are held in place by a strap 14 (see Figures 3 to 5) around the back of the user's head.

The goggles 2 are provided with a blizzard guard 16 (also referred to herein as a wind guard, or simply a guard) which is movable between a lower position (shown in Figures 1, 3 and 4c) in which it functions as blizzard guard, and an upper position (shown in Figures 2, 4a and 5) in which it may function as a visor to shield the user's eyes 7 from direct sunlight. The guard 16 is intended to prevent wind chill of at least the cheeks and nose, and may for example be pulled down into the lower position in adverse weather conditions or when the user is sitting on windy chairlift, or simply when the user is moving fast and experiencing wind chill. In the first embodiment the blizzard guard 16 is fixed to the plastic frame 6 at two hinges 18, one on each side of the goggles 2. Two arms 20, which may be plastic, connect the side edges 21 of the guard 16 to the two hinges 18. If desired, the arms 20 may be integrally formed with the guard 16. When the guard 16 is viewed from the front in its lower position, as shown in Figure 1, it has a lower edge 22 which is gently curved in one direction, and an upper edge 24 which generally follows the shape of the bottom part 26 of the frame 6. The bottom part 26 of frame 6 has an indentation 28, labelled in Figure 2, shaped to accommodate / receive the nose 10 of the user. The upper edge 24 of the guard 16 therefore has a protrusion 30, labelled in Figure 5, which complements the shape of the indentation 28.

A rubber strip 32, shown in Figure 2, extends around the lower part 26 of the frame 6, so that when the blizzard guard 16 is in its lower position (see Figure 1) it forms an air-tight seal along the rubber strip 32. The ensures that exhaled air from the user's nose 10 and/or mouth 12 is prevented from flowing upwards between the guard 16 and the frame 6, so that fogging of the lens 4 is avoided. Referring to the top view of the goggles shown in Figure 5, it can be see that the frame 6 has a generally U-shaped cross-section so that it wraps around the user's face. A foam strip 34 extends around the inner rim of the frame 6, to provide a comfortable fit against the user's face. A number of vents 36 may be provided along the top of the frame 6 to allow some air to circulate within the goggles 2.

A small protuberance or bump 38, labelled in Figure 2, is provided on the inner surface of the guard 16, near its upper edge 24, which is received within a recess 42, labelled in Figures 2 and 5, on the upper surface 40 of the frame 6, thus forming a catch which releasably secures the guard 16 in its upper position. Alternatively the bump 38 and recess 42 may be the other way around, ie on the frame 6 and guard 16 respectively. Alternatively the blizzard guard 16 may be held in its upper position simply by friction, for example friction between the arms 20 and the frame 6. As shown in Figure 5, the upper edge 24 of the blizzard guard 16 does not have to have the same curvature, or follow the same path, as either the inner edge 44 or outer edge 46 (see Figure 5) of the frame 6. In Figure 5 the releasable catch (referred to above) is provided near the tip of the protrusion 30 of the blizzard guard 1 , so that two gaps 48, on either side of the protrusion 30, are formed between the blizzard guard 16 and the frame 6. These gaps arise from the realisation that, in the raised position, it is not necessary for the whole of the upper edge 24 of the blizzard guard 16 to lie directly above the frame 6. It follows from this that the depth of the blizzard guard 16, from its lower edge 22 to its upper edge 24, can have a wide range of dimensions. For example, the depth of the blizzard guard 16 can be greater than that shown in Figure 1 , so that the whole of the mouth 12 is covered, or less than that shown in Figure 1 , so that the whole of the nose 10 is covered but the whole of the mouth 12 is uncovered. The dimensions of the guard 16 can, for example, be based on the average dimensions of an adult face, in order to achieve these results, and the dimensions are discussed in greater detail below with reference to Figure 10.

In Figure 5, in the upper position, only the protrusion 30 covers the upper surface 40 of the frame 6, and an advantage of this arrangement is that the vents 36 remain unobstructed. The frame 6 may have a fair thickness, of perhaps 35 mm or more, from its inner edge 44 to its outer edge 46. As a result of this thickness, the upper edge 24 of the guard 16 can, in some embodiments, lie completely between the inner and outer edges 44 and 46, when viewed from above, so that the gaps 48 do not exist.

In any of the embodiments, the guard 16 may be rigid, for example plastics material, but may alternatively be flexible, for example of a soft rubber, to prevent injury in the case of a fall. In any embodiment the guard may be transparent, so that the user can see through the guard 16 regardless of the position of the guard 16, or opaque so that it blocks more sunlight when in the upper position. In any embodiment the guard 16 may be detachable from the frame 6. For example the hinges 18 may have caps which can be unscrewed to remove the guard 16 on occasions when it is not needed. Alternatively the guard 16 may be designed to clip on and off the frame 6. The arms 20 may be flexible and, as shown in the top view of Figure 5, the arms 20 may flex outwards to accommodate the width of the frame 6. The arms 20 can be provided with small prongs (not shown) which clip into holes (not shown) in the frame 6 at the position of the hinges 18, thus providing a detachable guard 16. Figures 4a to 4c show the movement of the blizzard guard 16 from its upper position (Figure 4a) to its lower position (Figure 4c) via an intermediate position 4b.

Figure 3 is an enlarged version of Figure 4c, and in Figure 3 it can be seen that the front / outer surface 50 of the blizzard guard 16 has a curved, convex shape to better accommodate the nose of the user. It can also be seen that each (left and right) side portion 52 of the frame 6 is provided with a protrusion 54 on which the hinge 18 is mounted, so as to ensure that the hinge 18 provides the correct centre of rotation for the blizzard guard 16. The position of the hinge 18 is such that not all of the lens 4 lies completely in front of the hinge 18. The eye of the user remains visible in the side profile of Figure 3, thus ensuring that the user maintains peripheral vision.

Figures 6 to 8 show a second embodiment, which is essentially the same as the first embodiment except that the blizzard guard 16 is attached to each side of the frame 6 by two arms 56 and 58, each of which is pivotally mounted to both the frame 6 and the blizzard guard 16. The two arms 56 and 58 cross over each other along their length. The effect of this mechanism is that when the blizzard guard 16 is pushed up from its lowered position (Figure 6), via an intermediate position (Figure 7), to its raised position (Figure 8) the blizzard guard 16 is caused to rotate (clockwise as viewed in Figures 6 to 8) through an angle which is greater than the angle through which either of the arms 56 or 58 rotates (clockwise as viewed in Figures 6 to 8). The rotation of the guard 1 is therefore linked to rotation of the arms 56 and 58, in the same direction (clockwise or anticlockwise) as rotation of the arms 56 and 58. This allows hinges (ie pivot points) 60 and 62, of the arms 56 and 58 respectively, to be positioned further back than the hinge 18 of the first embodiment, so that the protrusion 54 (described above) of the first embodiment is not required. This can result in an improvement to the peripheral vision of the user. The two arms 56 and 58 do not have to straight, as shown in Figures 6 to 8, and can take any path between the hinges 56, 58 and 60, 62. For example, the arms 56 and 58 may run parallel to each other along most of their length, and then cross over each other only at one end of the arms.

Figure 9 shows a third embodiment which is the same as the first embodiment except that the blizzard guard 16 is formed from a flexible material 72 supported by a frame 18, which is in turn supported by the arms 20 described above. The frame 18 can be moved between the upper and lower positions, as described above, and seals against the rubber strip 32 described above (see Figure 2) in the same way. However, because the remainder (72)_^of the blizzard guard 16 is formed from a flexible material 72 it is particularly safe in the event of a fall, and particularly comfortable for the wearer. The flexible material 72 may, for example, be formed from a fabric or cloth, such as cotton or a synthetic fibre, which may be woven, or from a rubber or elastomer, or from neoprene or any flexible foamed material containing air or gas cells, and may optionally be stiffened in any suitable way, such as by insertion of flexible plastic or card portions or strips, if desired. The frame 18 and/or arms 20 may, for example, be formed from metal and/or plastics material. In any of the embodiments, the central portion of the blizzard guard 16 may be formed from a stiff material, such as plastics, and the outer edge of the blizzard guard 16, or at least a portion of the outer edge, may be formed from a more flexible and/or softer material, such as rubber.

The goggles described in each embodiment provide the user with a blizzard guard or wind guard 16 which is immediately available when required, and which can be pulled down into position with a single hand. When the guard 16 is not required, it may be pushed up with a single hand, so that the guard 16 is immediately out of the way.

Various modifications are possible, some of which are noted here. In its upper position the guard 1 need not necessarily act as a visor against sunlight. For example the frame 6 of the goggles may be thicker, and the guard 16 shorter, so that when raised the guard does not project beyond the front of the goggles.

The frame 6 and lens 4 may be of single, unitary and/or integral construction. Also, the guard 16 need not be directly movably attached to the frame 6, and could be indirectly movably attached to the frame 6. For example the guard 16 could be movably attached to the lens 4 or to another part of the goggles 2.

Magnetic and/or metal strips could be provided in the blizzard guard 16 and/or frame 6 to ensure a good seal between the two. Such a strip or strips could, for example, extend along the upper edge 24 of the blizzard guard and/or along the bottom part 26 of the frame 6, and/or along the region of the frame 70 shown in Figure 10.

The guard 16 may be attached to said frame by a mechanism which is more complicated than the embodiments described herein. Such a mechanism may ensure that the guard 16 moves along a desired path, and rotates through a desired angle, on moving between said upper and lower positions. In this specification the terms "goggles" and "pair of goggles" include goggles with a single lens for both eyes, as shown in Figure 1, and also other types of goggles which have a separate lens for each eye. The goggles of any embodiment may also have any or all of the following features. The goggles may have an interior cavity which encloses the eyes of the wearer, but not the mouth or nostrils, so that the wearer does not exhale into the interior cavity of the goggles. The goggles may have one or more lenses which cover the eyes of the wearer, but not the mouth or nostrils, when viewed from the front of the goggles. The goggles may be held on the wearer's head only by a strap which passes around the back of the head. The goggles may cover the eyes of the wearer, but not the top or back of the user's head.

In each of the embodiments described it will be seen that the guard 16 rotates by about 90 degrees between its upper and lower positions. In the lower position the guard 16, or at least the centre of the guard 16, lies in a generally vertical plane and acts as a blizzard / wind guard, and in the upper position the guard 16, or at least the centre of the guard 16, lies in a generally horizontal plane and can act as a sun visor. The angle of rotation can be a little more or less than 90 degrees, depending on the circumstances. Preferably the angle of rotation of the guard 16 between said upper and lower positions is between 80 and 100 degrees. Alternatively the angle of rotation may be between 70 and 110 degrees. It will be appreciated that the mechanism connecting the guard 16 to the frame 6 may constrain the guard to rotate through a specified angle between said upper and lower positions.

We next discuss the dimensions of the guard 16, which are important because the guard 16 must be small enough not to experience great wind resistance, either in the lower position of Figure 1 or the upper position of Figure 2. In addition when in the upper position the guard 16 should act as a visor of suitable dimensions so that it can shield the eyes from direct sunlight without unduly obscuring vision.

Referring to Figure 10, we define the "goggle height" g as the vertical distance between two horizontal lines 74 and 76 which define respectively the top and bottom of frame 6 when viewed from the front as in Figure 10. The goggle height g is therefore the maximum height of the goggles 2 when viewed from the front, measured from the lowest part of the bottom part 26 of frame 6 to the top of the upper part 78 of frame 6. We also define the guard depth D as the vertical distance between horizontal line 76 defining the bottom of frame 6 and horizontal line 80 defining the bottom of the guard 16. The guard depth D is therefore the maximum distance which the guard 16 extends below the bottom of the goggles 2 when viewed from the front in the lower position as shown in Figure 1. In Figures 1 and 10 we have the following proportions of the goggles 2 and guard 16: D * 0.5 g

That is to say, the guard 16 projects below the goggles 2 by a distance of about half the height of the goggles 2. If the guard 16 of Figure 10 were to extend to the bottom of the user's chin, so as to completely cover the face of the user 8 we would need D approximately equal to 1.25 g. Therefore in general the guard depth D may have any value up to 1.25 g. Alternatively we can say that the distance between the user's eyes (which typically lie at or near the centre of the goggles 2, ie midway between horizontal lines 74 and 76) and the bottom of the guard 16 should not exceed about 1 1 or 12 cm.

However, preferably the bottom of guard 16 does not extend to the bottom of the user's chin, so that the face is not fully covered by the guard 16. The bottom of the guard 16 (ie horizontal line 80) may lie above the bottom of the chin, above the bottom of the lips or above the top of the lips of the user 8, or of a user having average facial dimensions. Preferably D is less than or equal to g. Some ski goggles are narrower than those shown in Figure 10, and so have a smaller value of g, and some ski goggles are wider, but in general D g includes suitable guard sizes. More preferably D is less than 0.75 g or 0.5 g. This allows guards of much lower wind resistance. A guard depth of around 0.5 g, or between 0.4 g and 0.6 g, is particularly suitable. For the guard 16 of Figure 10 the precise dimensions are D = 0.47g. The goggles 2 must be able to support the guard 16 in the generally vertical lower position, preferably a short distance away from the face as shown for example in Figure 3. Taller goggles, having a greater goggle height g, can in general provide a more stable support for a larger guard 16 than narrower goggles. This is one reason for the relationship between goggle height g and suitable guard depth D.

The proportions of the frame 6 and guard 16 expressed above (eg. D < 1.25g) provide suitable balances between the typical torques produced by wind resistance on the guard 16 and the stability of the support provided by the frame 6.

As explained above, the goggle frame 6 is required to support the wind guard 16 a short distance away from the face. The goggle frame 6 therefore needs to be able to provide a stable support which can resist any forces and torques created by the wind guard 16, without creating undue pressures on the face of the user. As the wind guard 16 becomes larger (ie as the value D increases) there are two factors which increase the forces and torques applied to the frame 6 by the wind guard 16, and these are the weight of the wind guard 16 itself and the torques produced as a result of wind resistance on the wind guard 16 during use. The wind resistance forces and torques may be significant. The greater the height (g) of the goggle frame 6, the more stably the frame 6 sits against the user's face, and the lower the forces applied to the user's skin around the bottom of the goggle frame 6 in order to resist any torque applied by the wind guard 1 . The proportions expressed above therefore provide a relationship between D and g in order to avoid twisting of the frame 6 as a result of the forces and torques, and undue forces on the face of the user.

The embodiments are suitable for any applications where the face needs to be protected from wind, including skiing, snowboarding, cycling and other activities, particularly in cold climates.

The frame 6 is preferably made of a rigid material, with a foam lining around the skin-contacting portions, so that it can firmly support the guard 16.

Claims

1. A pair of winter sports goggles adapted to be worn over the eyes of a wearer, said goggles comprising:

a frame;

a lens supported by said frame, and adapted to, at least partly, cover the eyes of the wearer; and

a wind guard which is pivotally attached, directly or indirectly, to said frame so as to be movable between:

a) a lower position in which the wind guard is positioned, at least partly, below the eyes of the wearer in use; and

b) an upper position in which the wind guard is positioned, at least partly, above the eyes of the wearer in use;

wherein, where g represents the height of said frame, when viewed from the front of the goggles, and D represents the distance said wind guard projects below the bottom of said frame when the wind guard is in said lower position, said frame and wind guard are dimensioned so that distance D is equal to or less than 1.25 times distance g.

2. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 1 , wherein distance D is less than or equal to distance g.

3. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 2, wherein distance D is less than or equal to 0.75 times distance g.

4. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 3, wherein distance D is less than or equal to 0.5 times distance g.

5. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least the majority of said frame is not transparent.

6. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least the majority of said frame is formed from a rigid material.

7. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claims, wherein said wind guard rotates between 70 and 110 degrees when moved between said upper and lower positions.

8. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 7, wherein said wind guard rotates between 80 and 100 degrees when moved between said upper and lower positions.

9. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said wind guard is pivotally mounted at a position on the goggles which is such that not all of said lens lies completely in front of said position.

10. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said wind guard is pivotally attached to said frame by at least a first arm.

1 1. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 10, which further comprises a mechanism which ensures that rotation of said first arm relative to said frame causes, and is linked to, a rotation of said wind guard relative to said first arm.

12. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 11 , wherein said rotation of said wind guard relative to said first arm is in the same, clockwise or

anticlockwise, direction as said rotation of said first arm relative to said frame.

13. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 11 or 12, wherein said mechanism includes, on each side of said goggles, at least said first arm and a second arm, both arms being hingedly attached to said frame.

14. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 13, wherein said first and second arms are also hingedly connected to said wind guard.

15. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein said first and/or second arms are integrally formed with said wind guard.

16. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein in said lower position said wind guard prevents exhaled air from the user from passing between the wind guard and the frame.

17. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 16, wherein a rubber, or other elastic material, strip is provided either along a lower edge of said frame, or along an edge of said wind guard, so that when in said lower position said strip provides a seal between said wind guard and said frame.

18. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said wind guard is releasably fixable in said upper position.

19. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 18, wherein said wind guard is releasably held in said upper position simply by friction.

20. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 18, wherein one of said wind guard and an upper portion of said frame is provided with a notch, and the other of said wind guard and said upper portion of said frame is provided with a recess, and wherein said wind guard is releasably fixed in said upper position by means of said notch being received within said recess.

21. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 20, wherein at least the upper surface of said frame is provided with air vents for allowing air to pass in and out of the goggles, and wherein when said wind guard is releasably fixed in said upper position either all of said vents or at least some of said vents remain uncovered by said wind guard, when said goggles are viewed from above.

22. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein a lower part of said frame is provided with an indentation which provides an opening adapted to accommodate the nose of the user.

23. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 22, wherein said wind guard is provided with a wind guard protrusion which, when said wind guard is in said lower position, partly or fully covers said opening provided by said indentation.

24. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 23, wherein when said wind guard is in said upper position only said wind guard protrusion, or a portion of said wind guard protrusion, overlaps with said frame when the goggles are viewed from above.

25. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 23 or 24, wherein when said wind guard is in said upper position at least two gaps are formed between said wind guard and said frame when the goggles are viewed from above, with at least one gap on either side of said wind guard protrusion.

26. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein when said wind guard is in said upper position the wind guard projects beyond the front of said lens so as to provide a visor which in use at least partly protects the eyes of the user from direct sunlight.

27. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claims, wherein said wind guard is detachable from said frame.

28. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least a portion of said wind guard is formed from a flexible material, such as a cloth, rubber, elastomer or neoprene. ^

29. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in claim 28, wherein at least one edge of said wind guard is provided with a rigid frame which moves with the wind guard between said upper and lower positions.

30. A pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any preceding claim, which are ski or snowboarding goggles.

31. A method of protecting the face of a user during winter sports, said method comprising:

covering the eyes of said user with a pair of winter sports goggles;

providing a wind guard which is movably attached to said goggles;

moving said wind guard between:

a) a lower position in which the wind guard is positioned at least partly below the eyes of the wearer in use; and

b) an upper position in which the wind guard is positioned at least partly above the eyes of the wearer in use,

32. A method as claimed in claim 31, which includes using a pair of winter sports goggles as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 30.