EP3164027A1

EP3164027A1 - Protective case for storing and protecting glasses

Info

Publication number: EP3164027A1
Application number: EP15736227.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Gemma GONZÁLES FERRER; Miguel MORALES FUCIÑOS
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-07-03
Filing date: 2015-07-02
Publication date: 2017-05-10

Abstract

It comprises a continuous flat body member adapted to be folded over itself to define an interior space for accommodating glasses. The interior space has open side ends and it is suitable for accommodating therein the lenses of the glasses such that the arm pieces of the glasses are arranged on an outer face of said body passing through said side ends. The body may include bend line(s)for folding the body to define said inner space to accommodate the glasses therein. Closure means may be provided for releasably attaching the opposite end faces of the body.

Description

Protective case for storing and protecting glasses

Description The present disclosure relates to a case for storing any type of glasses, suitable for protecting them when not in use.

BACKGROUND Glasses are typically fragile objects whose handling, transportation and storage usually involves a risk of accidentally causing inadvertent rupture of the lens or producing damages which may become irreparable, such as scratches.

In order to avoid or to at least reduce such risk, a number of cases have been proposed in the prior art for protecting the glasses, especially during transportation and when stored therein. For this purpose, known and usually used cases are made of a substantially rigid body that is adapted to define an interior space suitable for entirely accommodating the glasses therein. In known cases, the body has two parts hinged to each other by means of a hinge element. Each of said two hinged parts has a sidewall extending substantially along its entire perimeter. Thus, when the case is closed, a closed inner housing is defined by such hinged configuration with a perimetric sidewall for entirely accommodating the glasses therein. There are also bag like cases intended for accommodating the glasses therein. Such cases, however, do not adequately protect the glasses as they are made of a soft material such as fabric.

The main drawback of this conventional configuration is complexity. In the above described configuration there are involved at least one hinge as well as said body comprising at least two pieces moulded with a sidewall along its perimeter to define a closed interior space for entirely accommodating the glasses therein.

In order to solve this technical problem concerning complexity in prior art cases for glasses, a new concept case is herein provided for protecting glasses with which the case assembly can be greatly simplified and consequently the weight is reduced. With such simplification costs are also reduced while, at the same time, the purpose of protecting the glasses remains unchanged. The case that is described herein further provides many other advantages such as it will be detailed hereinafter. SUMMARY A protective case for storing and protecting glasses will be described in the following by which drawbacks associated with known cases are avoided or at least reduced, providing many additional advantages.

The case for glasses provided herein is characterized in that the body is a

continuous flat body adapted to be folded over itself defining an interior space. This interior space defined by the body of the case when folded over itself is suitable for accommodating glasses or lenses therein.

Preferably, the flat body includes at least one bend line, such as two or four, but a different number thereof is not ruled out, such as for example two, three, etc. Such bend lines in the continuous flat body are arranged to allow the flat body to be folded around the bend lines defining said space for storing glasses or lenses therein.

Since the body is a continuous flat element, this internal space for storing glasses, when the body is folded over itself, for example around the bend lines, has side ends that are open since no walls or flanges are present in the body. The arm pieces of the glasses can pass through free open side ends of the body of the case so that they are arranged on an outer side of the body of the case. The above described configuration is the simplest embodiment of the present case for glasses in which the glasses are stored therein when the body is folded upon itself around the bend lines. Advantageously, since there are no more elements than a continuous flat body, the assembly is extremely simple and with a very intuitive user operation. Once the body is opened, the glasses are loose, exposed to the user, such that they can be picked to be used quickly and in a very comfortable way.

As noted, the space of the case allows glasses or lenses, which is the part of the glasses that suffers most from damages in everyday use, to be accommodated therein. This part of the glasses is perfectly protected from scratches and other irreparable damages when stored in the described case. Therefore, a very simple and effective protective case is obtained to protect glasses, with a configuration that fits the lenses of any gasses, providing good protection to the glasses stored in the case, covering and protecting them, leaving the arm pieces of the glasses out.

Said flat body defining the interior space for accommodating the glasses may consist of a single piece. In some embodiments, however, the flat body defining the interior space for accommodating glasses could be formed of several pieces joined together defining a continuous flat member.

The number of bend lines formed in the continuous flat body may be two or more, for example four. However, there is no limit to the number of bend lines in the flat body of the case, as required. Preferably, the body of the case is made of a semirigid material. However, the body of the case may be of a rigid nature so as to increase protection of glasses stored therein as necessary, for example for storing glasses with a more fragile

configuration. Examples of materials from which the body of the case may be made are plastic, cardboard, corrugated cardboard, wood, sheet metal, aluminium, fabric, textile, leather, neoprene, etc. Other materials and combinations thereof are not ruled out. For example, the body could be made of a flexible material and

incorporate a sheet of semi-rigid or rigid material to protect the glasses. Such sheet of semi-rigid or rigid material could be fixedly attached to the body or be detachable therefrom as necessary.

In some cases, the body of the case may be made of a substantially transparent or at least translucent material. In combination with the fact that the case is formed by a continuous flat body, this feature would allow the type of glasses stored in the case to be easily identified by the user from the outside.

In a further example, the body of the case might include a solar collector. This solar collector may be arranged on the outside of the case to accumulate electrical power to be used for glasses provided with any electronic device with batteries requiring to be recharged. This solar collector can be a separate element or it may be integrated into the body of the case. The use of a solar collection material for manufacturing the body of the case is not ruled out. In this event, the body of the case itself would act as a solar collector.

Suitable closure means may be provided in the body of the case herein described for releasably attaching its opposite front ends. Said closure means may be, for example, magnetic means (magnets attached to the front ends or edges of the body of the case), a snap fastener (for example of the button type), Velcro®, a zipper, a buckle, a tab and slot closure, and many other fastening means as long as they are suitable to keep the case closed securely and allow it to be easily opened by the user.

The body of the present case may include at least one padded inner face intended to protect the lenses or the glasses accommodated therein. Examples of padding materials for the case inner face may be various types of fabrics, suede, wadding, neoprene, bubble packing material, etc. A further advantage is that, due to the above described configuration of the padded inner face, the present case can be used for cleaning the glasses. In some embodiments, the case may include a mirror arranged inside, for example adhered to the case inner face.

In addition to the above mentioned advantages concerning simplicity and

consequently reduced costs, the present case for glasses has many other

advantages.

One advantage of the design simplicity of the case refers to its low weight. The case is noticeably lighter than conventional cases due to the absence of hinge

mechanisms of the body of the case and side walls for closing the interior space. Further, the configuration of the case based on a continuous flat body takes has up very little space especially when no glasses are stored in the case, which

advantageously allows a large number of cases to be stored, for example in warehouses and stores for sale, taking up very little space.

On the other hand, the flat shape of the body of the case provides a wide outer space for printing decorative or advertising motifs. Said decorative and/or

advertising motifs can be combined with the arm pieces of the glasses which remain outside the case. This advantage is particularly interesting when the arm pieces bear a decorative pattern, as in many current arm pieces. On the other hand, given the simplicity of the assembly, decoration of the flat body could be applied on both inside and outside sides thereof. When this is combined with suitable closure means, for example, with magnet front ends at opposite edges of the body of the case, the user would have a reversible casing so it could have the same case decorated in two different ways by simply folding the body over itself inside out.

The glasses described above could be formed of a flat body with appropriate dimensions to define one or more pockets suitable for storing flat objects, such as credit cards, bills, documents, etc. The pocket or pockets may be formed inside the body of the case, outside the body of the case, or both inside and outside the body of the case. The present case may therefore be configured to be used as a wallet.

Due to the configuration of the case described above, when the glasses are stored in the case, the arm pieces of the glasses are exposed such that if they bear a brand, logo, decoration, etc. this is shown outwardly very clearly so that it is readily identifiable by third parties. This involves additional attraction for manufacturers and also for users. Alternatively, or additionally, the outside face of the body may include a brand, logo, decoration etc. which may be very visible especially if the user wears the glasses stored inside the case hung by the arm pieces that are out of the case, for example, in a pocket or the neck of a sweater.

Additional objects, advantages and features of embodiments of the protective case for storing and protecting glasses will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the description, or may be learned by practice of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A particular embodiment of one example of the present protective case will be described in the following. This description is given by way of a non-limiting example with reference to the appended drawings. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present protective case for storing and protecting glasses viewed from above, in an open position, with glasses partially stored therein;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the case for glasses shown in figure 1 seen from above in a closed position and with the glasses stored therein;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the case for glasses in figures 1 and 2, in a closed position with the glasses stored therein; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of one example of the protective case viewed from above, in a closed position with the glasses stored therein, in which the body of the case includes an exterior pocket. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

In the particular non-limiting example shown in figures 1 to 3, the protective case for storing and protecting glasses is generally designated by reference numeral 10. The case 10 consists of a rectangular body 20 formed from a single piece of a rigid or semi-rigid material. The body 20 of the case 10 is a continuous flat element which, in the example shown, has four bend lines 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d. With this configuration, the body 20 of the case 10 allows an interior space 30 to be defined by folding the flat body 20 over itself about said bend lines 25a, 25b, 25c, as shown in figure 3 of the drawings.

The interior space 30 of the case 10 is suitable for accommodating glasses 100. In particular, this interior space 30 is adapted for accommodating glasses 100 or lenses 1 10 therein, as shown in the figures, especially in figure 3 of the drawings. Since the body 20 of the case 10 is a flat element without side walls or flanges, the inner space 30 of the case 10 has the free, i.e. open, side ends as it can be seen in the view of figure 3. The arm pieces 120 of the glasses 100 can pass through the open side ends of the inner space 30 of the case 10. Thus, when the glasses 100 are stored in the case 10, the arm pieces 120 are arranged in an outer face 40 of the body 20 of the case 10, as it can be seen in figures 2 and 3.

The body 20 of the case 10 further includes closure means 50a, 50b as shown schematically in figure 1 . The closure means 50a, 50b allow the opposite front ends 21 , 22 of the body 20 of the case 10, more specifically, the opposite edges of the shorter sides thereof, to be releasably attached to each other. In the example illustrated in the figures, the closure means are elongated magnets 50a, 50b extending at least partially along the opposite front ends 21 , 22 of the shorter sides of the body 20 of the case 10. However, other different closure means could be used, such as for example, Velcro®, snap fasteners, zippers, etc. In the non-limiting example shown in figure 1 , the body 20 of the case 10 includes a padded inner face 60. The padded inner face 60 protects the lenses 1 10 of the glasses 100 accommodated in the interior 30 of the case 10.

For storing the glasses 100 in the case 10 it is enough to arrange the glasses 100 with the arm pieces 120 open such that the lenses 1 10 are arranged on the inner face 60 of the case 10, as shown in figure 1 . Then, the body 20 of the case 10 is folded around the bend lines 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d and then the arm pieces 120 are closed in over the outer face 40 of the case 10, as shown in figures 2 and 3. The body 20 of the case 10 remains in this folded condition by the closure means 50a, 50b. For removing the glasses 100 from the case 10, the process is simple and consists in opening the arm pieces 120 and unfolding the body 20 of the case 10 such that the glasses 100 of the lenses 1 10 are exposed.

One example of the present case 10 in which the body 20 has a pocket 41 on its outer face 40 is shown in figure 4. In the example shown, the pocket 41 of the case 10 is formed by an additional outer face 42 taking up the entire length of the outer face 40 although in other cases it could take up one portion thereof or more than one pocket may be provided. The pocket 41 shown in the example is adapted to store objects 43 therein such as bills, credit cards, business cards, documents, etc. In other examples, the pocket or pockets 41 may be formed on an inner face of the body 20 (not shown in the drawings). In other examples, the pocket or pockets 41 may be formed both in an outer face 40 and an inner face of the body 20 of the case.

Although only a number of particular embodiments and examples of the present case for glasses have been disclosed herein, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other alternative embodiments and/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalents thereof are possible. The scope of the present invention should not be limited by particular embodiments, but should be determined only by a fair reading of the claims that follow.

Claims

1 . Protective case for storing and protecting glasses, comprising a body adapted for accommodating glasses, characterized in that the body is a continuous flat body member adapted to be folded over itself and to define an interior space for accommodating glasses, said interior space having open side ends and being suitable for accommodating therein the lenses of the glasses such that the arm pieces of the glasses are arranged on an outer face of said body passing through said side ends.

2. Case according to claim 1 , wherein the body of the case includes at least one bend line for folding the body to define said inner space to accommodate the glasses therein.

3. Case according to claim 3, wherein the body includes at least two bend lines.

4. Case according to claim 2 or 3, wherein it that comprises four bend lines.

5. Case according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the body is a one piece body.

6. Case according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the body is made of a semirigid material.

7. Case according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein said body is made of a flexible material and includes at least one sheet of a semi-rigid material attached to said body.

8. Case according to any of the preceding claims, wherein it includes closure means for releasably attaching the opposite end faces of the body.

9. Case according to claim 8, wherein said closure means are at least one selected from magnetic means, snap fastener, Velcro®, zipper, buckle, tab and slot closure.

10. Case according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the body includes at least a padded inner face to protect the lenses of the glasses stored therein.

1 1 . Case according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the body is made of a substantially transparent material.

12. Case according to any of the preceding claims, wherein it includes a solar collector arranged outside the body for accumulating electrical power.

13. Case according to any of the preceding claims, wherein it includes a mirror arranged inside.

14. Case according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said body includes at least one pocket.

15. Case according to claim 14, wherein said pocket is formed in at least one portion selected from the interior and the exterior of the body of the case.