Goggles that allow water to escape when the swimmer rolls their head to one side (out of the water, presumably).

I propose molding grooves into the eyepieces to collect water and channel it towards small ports on the nosepiece side of the goggles. The ports would seal with a silicone flap acting as a one-way valve. The valve would have to be large/loose enough to allow small amounts of water to escape without generating a vacuum, yet seal sufficiently well to resist being forced open by turbulent water.

I imagine that this would work better on the larger goggles that slowpokes like me wear than it would on those tiny racing goggles. I'd also like to work out a proposal that solves the same problem using wicking materials or osmosis, but that's a bit beyond my knowledge, unless I commit the sin of WIBNI.
-- Don Quixote, Mar 24 2003

It's good you avoided wicking and osmosis - I don't think they can work here. I fear the "without creating a vacuum" part might be tricky. Too large and it would be tough to keep a seal under water (though seals love water, those cute things). Definately worth building some prototypes for testing. +
-- Worldgineer, Mar 24 2003


The only way I can see this working is if the goggle seals/fittings around your eyes expand and contract mildly via pressure changes and there are air inlet valves on the outside edges (towards the ear sides). When you raise your head above water air is sucked in through a one way valve and the goggles (one side at a time) move slightly away from your eye. As the goggles are re-submerged the air compresses sucking the eye piece inward and forcing the water out as described. It’s a pump.

Since the valves must be pretty flimsy to work properly, I like this idea as an eye safety device for those who think they can skin dive deep while wearing goggles. When the suction gets too high, the valves would blow protecting the wearer from broken blood vessels, sucking their eyes out of their sockets, etc. Croissant.
-- Shz, Mar 24 2003


If you block your ears and nose, and blow out hard while your mouth is closed, air actually comes out of your tear-ducts, using this natural phenomenon along with a form of one-way valve, you have the leaky goggles.

I though this was about goggles for helping find ancient skeletons of Australopithecus Afarensis children.
-- e-alias, Mar 25 2003


A very small compressed air cylinder attached to the strap? Could be activated by a small valve to force air into the eyepiece, expelling any water.
-- Mayfly, Mar 25 2003


Include a mose piece (a snorkeling mask). If you tilt your head back and exhale through your nose, the water runs out the bottom.
-- FloridaManatee, Mar 25 2003


The obvious solution is to grow a second, transparent eyelid - everything else seems to have them - cats, owls, sharks, etc. ("nictitating membrane" for the purists.)
-- dalek, Mar 25 2003


A small battery powered pump?
-- bristolz, Mar 25 2003


Based on a Winkel engine?
-- egbert, Apr 01 2003


Remember Man from Atlantis, the TV show? It was about a water-breathing human (complete with gills), sole survivor of underwater civilization of Atlantis, who emerged from an ocean and had to deal with air-breathers on the surface. He never needed a mask or goggles. A man among fish, a fish among men, A real fish's man, A real man's fish...
-- thumbwax, Apr 12 2003



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