1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure generally relates to a head alignment trainer for an athlete. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a head alignment trainer device comprised of telescoping tubes mounted to an eyeglass frame for restricting the wearer's field of view.
2. Background
There are a number of sports related devices designed to improve an athlete's performance. In sports which require a repetitive motion, such as throwing a football or baseball or striking a golf ball, muscle memory plays an important role in the athlete's ability to produce quality actions consistently. There a number of devices which assist the development of muscle memory including straps or braces, vision manipulation devices, and external gadgetry, to name a few.
Several devices have been invented to facilitate keeping an athlete's vision directed to a selected target. For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,743 issued to Lott, discloses a golfer's aid consisting of a pair of glasses equipped with a sheet of material extended beyond the frame. The sheet of material is configured with slots and crosses to restrict the wearer's forward vision so that the wearer focuses on the desired target (i.e. the ball) when conducting a swing. This aid allows the golfer to monitor whether the head remains in a constant position during the swing or whether the golfer moves the head thereby losing sight of the ball. Although the device does limit forward vision, there is no consideration to eliminating distractions from peripheral vision. Additionally, the proximate placement of the apertures requires the eyes to focus to a central point relatively close to the wearer (i.e. a matter of feet). Beyond this distance, the apertures no longer restrict the field of vision to a narrow field (i.e. less than 2 foot diameter view).
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,882 issued to Otsuka, et al., which discloses a golfing aid device which restricts peripheral vision and forces the golfer to view the ball through vision constricted apertures. The device is strapped to the head and possesses a tiltable body which assists the golfer in locating and focusing on the ball depending on the environs in which the ball is located (i.e. on a hill or in the fairway). The golfer can then swing at the ball while holding his head still. This patent discloses a device which restricts peripheral vision while also constricting forward vision. However, the apertures are located proximate the wearer's eyes and project outwardly in what appears to be a roughly parallel plane that does not narrowly restrict the athlete's view specifically to the target.
Still another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,444,501 issued to Aloi, et al, which discloses a golfing aid which comprises a pair of spectacles to assist the golfer in sighting the ball during a swing. The device consists of a frame having a pair of lenses wherein each lens allows only 1.5 percent of light to pass through the lens. Depending on the handedness of the golfer, the opposite handed lens has a small aperture through with the golfer sees the ball and maintains his head position through the swing. The problem with the invention described in this patent is that it does not provide for any restriction to a wearer's peripheral vision. Thus, although the wearer can focus forward, there are still distractions due to peripheral vision.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,823 describes a golf aid having a telescoping lens which is positioned in front of the wearer's eyes. The aid is comprised of two telescoping arms between which is positioned a single lens. The lens is generally doughnut-shaped and the wearer's view is directed through the doughnut hole. Although telescoping, this device suffers a number of significant drawbacks. First, peripheral vision is not impeded and the wearer can be subject to distractions. Secondly, the lens has a single aperture which creates a monoscopic, two-dimensional view of the ball. When viewing objects at a distance (such as a catcher's mitt as envisioned in the present disclosure), depth perception is of utmost importance. Therefore, an image should be three-dimensional, thereby requiring a binocular lens arrangement.
Thus it is readily apparent that there is a need of a head alignment trainer specially designed to selectively limit the wearer's field of view by eliminating any peripheral vision thereby allowing the wearer to focus on a target and create muscle memory by consistently maintaining head position while training for a variety of different sports activities.