GB2180664A - Improvements in spectacle frames - Google Patents

Abstract

While it is known to coat the glass frame portions of a spectacle frame with interchangeable coating elements of different colours a corresponding exchangeability of the colour of the side bars has not so far been practiced. The invention provides for a spectacle frame, the side bars of which are separable by a screw connection such that a thin rod portion between the front hinge portion and the rear ear piece is easily endwise releasable from one of these portions, whereby a coating tube can be pushed onto the rod portion, thus enabling the user to shift between a number of coating tubes of different colours. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in spectacle frames The present invention relates to a spectacle frame of the traditional type comprising a spectacle portion holding the glasses and a pairofside barsforholding the spectacle frame to the ears of the user.

Forthe marketing of spectacles it is very important that the spectacle frames are not only functionally suitable, but are also designed and coloured according to changing fashions. It will even be desirable that the colour of the spectacle portion as normally formed by a pair of glass frames and an interconnecting nose rider may be changeable in some simple manner, and this has already been achieved in practice in the way that together with a single set of glasses the customer is offered several spectacle frames of different colours, even as far as the side bars are concerned, and these frames are designed in such a mannerthat the customer herself or himself can easily change the glasses between the various frames. This solution is reasonable cheap, but it still requires the use of a plurality of spectacle frames.

Another and simplified solution has been suggested, according to which only a single spectacle frame is used, while the glass frame portions thereof are provided with an interchangeable coating member, a so-called Windsor ring, which is an axiallysplittube piece of a resilient material, e.g. of celluloid, which is mountable over and along or around the glassframe portions to coverthese in a releasable manner.

Hereby the visually essential part of the spectacle frame can easily be broughtto change colour by the user simply changing out the Windsor ring with a similar ring ofanothercolour.

The side bars, of course, are not affected by such colour change, but the spectacle designers and manufacturers have taken care to make the side bars appearin a suitably discrete mannersuch thatthey are well usable together with all the various colours, with which the glass frame portions can be provided by exchange of the said Windsor rings.

Principally even the side bars could be covered by a corresponding "Windsor tube", i.e. an interchangeable, axially split tube of a suitably resilient material of any desired colour. Such a proposal is believed to be novel, but it is realized at the same timethat the corresponding solution would not be too attractive in practice, because the axial split ofthe tube would be likely to be visible or give rise to problems with the user's hairs.

The invention has for its purpose to provide a spectacle frame, which allows the user to change the colour of the side bars in a simple, safe and convenient manner. According to the invention each side bar comprises a thin rod or wire portion extending between the front hinge portion and the rear ear portion of the side bar, said rod or wire portion being connected with said front hinge portion or said rear ear portion through a releasable insert connection, preferably a screw connection, and the rod orwire portion being coated orcoatable by an exchangeable coating sleeve member as axially inserted or insertable on the rod orwire portion when this is released from its connection with the hinge portion or the ear portion, respectively.

Hereby the user may separate the side barwithout having to releasethefactory adjusted hinge connection with the glass carrying spectacle frame portion and maythen pull off the coating sleeve and insert another coating sleeve of another colour or even another shape, whereafterthe side bar is reassembled. With the use of a screw connection the work is easy to carry out, as the bent ear portion of the side bar is usable as a screw handle.

In the following the invention is described in more detail with reference to the drawing, in which Figure lisa perspective view of a spectacle frame according to the invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of a modified and preferred design of a side bar.

The spectacle frame shown in Figure 1 is provided with conventional hinges 2 forthe side bars. Attheir front ends the side bars have a short cylindrical portion 4, which isforwardly prolonged into a flat, conventional hinge plate portion, while to the rear the portion 4 is rigidly connected with a thin rod or wire piece 6, the rear outer end of which is threaded as shown at 8. The side bar has a separate ear piece 10, which has at its front end a socket portion 12 of the same external diameter as the portion 4, and which is provided with a threaded central hole for receiving the threaded end portion 8 of the rod or wire piece 6.

Prior to the ear piece 10 being screwed onto the rod orwire end 8 a coating sleeve 14 is inserted overthe rod orwire piece 6, this sleeve being made of a semi stiff plastic and having a length adapted so as to be locatable between the interfacing ends ofthe portions 4 and 12 in the assembled side bar, while the outer diameter of the sleeve 14 is preferably equal to the outer diameter of the portions 4 and 12.

It will be appreciated that several sets of differently colouredandlorshaped coating sleeves 14may belong to each single spectacle frame, whereby the user may easily shift between different colours and/orshapesofthesidebars. Preferably the frame set even comprises a plurality of the said known Windsor rings of different colours such that the user may choose the frame, now including the side bars, to be provided with a coating of almost any desired colour.

It has been found possible to providethethin thread connection 8,12 in such a manner that at the end of the screwing in of the ear piece 10, 12 onto the treaded rod or wire end 8 a rotation friction will occur such that the ear piece may assume a stabilized correct position of use, from which it is unscrewable only by a conscious unscrewing action. On the other hand, such an unscrewing is easy to effect inasfaras the ear piece 10 itself constitutes an easily operable screwing handle. For the same reason it will not be necessary to make use of respective right-handed and left-handed threadings for the opposed side bars, i.e. a usual right-handed threading may be used for both bars, whereby any user may easily carry out the required screwing operations.

In Figure 2 is shown a preferred design ofthe side bars. Here the rod or wire 6 is rigidly connected with the ear piece 10, while it is frontwise screw connected with the hinge portion 4. It is an at least theoretical possibilitythatthe hinge portion may be shaped integrallywiththefrontend ofthe rod orwire 6and still be practically asthin or narrow,whereby the sleeve 14may be drawn overthe hinge portion itself, i.e. withoutthe side bar being separated, but merely disconnected with the hinge portion ofthe glass holding frame member. In that case the connection may be of a plug-in type, in which a bifurcated end portion of the rod 6 is pushed over a vertical hinge pin oftheframe member.

Experiments have shown that it is even possible to arrange for a screw and socket connection anywhere along the rod 6, i.e. between the members4and 12 of Figure 1, inasfaras the socket portion may well be made with a very small thickness so as to be receivable inside the tube 14. This tube, of course, will then be of increased importance for stabilizing the assembled rod portion 6.

It should be mentioned, finally,thatthetube 14 mayeven replace the rod portion 6,whenthetube ends are prepared for releasable connection with the respective portions 4 and 12 of Figure 1 orwith connector members projecting therefrom.

A spectacle frame according to the invention should of course preferably be sold notonlywith a number oftube members 14 of different colours, but also with a corresponding number ofthe said Windsor rings of corresponding colours, such that the user may change the colour of both theframe portion and the side bars. Principally, though in a less desirable manner, the invention will comprise the use of axially split coating tubes 14 corresponding to the Windsor ring material, whereby the side bars would of course not need to be separable.

Claims (6)

1. Aspectacleframeofthetypecomprising a frame portion forholdingthe glasses and a pairof side bars provided with ear pieces, characterized in that each of the side bars comprises a thin rod portion extending between a front hinge portion and the rear ear piece and thatthe said rod portion is covered by a tube member, which is releasably and interchangeably held on the rod portion so asto enable the userto change the colour and/or shape of the tube member by changing the tube member with another tube member belonging to the spectacle frame.

2. A spectacle frame according to claim 1, in which the rod portion is connected with eitherthe front hinge portion or the ear piece by a releasable insert connection, such as a screw connection.

3. Aspectacleframe according to claim 1, in which the rod portion is connected to the hinge portion by a push on connector.

4. A spectacle frame according to claim 3, in which the rod portion is provided with a bifurcated end arranged to be a push on fit on a hinge pin ofthe frame portion.

5. Aspectacleframe according to claim 1,2,3 or 4, in which the hinge portion and the ear piece are facing each otherwith respective end portions of a diameter largerthan the diameters ofthethin rod portion, and in which thetube member or members have a corresponding larger outer diameter.

6. A spectacle frame substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.