GB2200473A - A protective removable cover for the arms of a pair of spectacles - Google Patents

Abstract

A disposable cover, for the arms 15 of a pair of spectacles and for use within environments in which the wearer of the spectacles subjects them to potentially damaging substances, includes a thin walled tube 20 of plastics material having an end bearing a soil resilient ring 23. The resilient ring 23 is attached to the tube 20 by either a folding or a rolling method. <IMAGE>

Description

A PROTECTIVE COVER FOR THE ARMS OF SPECTACLES AND A METHOD OF FORMING THE COVER This invention relates to a protective cover for the arms of spectacles and methods of forming the cover.

Because of the many problems and inconveniences encountered by spectacle wearers due to the interaction between the arms of the spectacles and the wearer, practitioners in the art of spectacle design have undertaken the creation of numerous devices directed toward minimizing these problems and Inconveniences.

One such structure set forth in US Patent 2 294 840 shows a protective covering member constructed from tubular rubber in a closed-end configuration and which is affixed to the port ion of the spectacle arm which engages the wearer behind the ear. The object of US Patent 2 294 840 is to provide a cushioning action between the ear engaging portion of the spectacles and the skin of the wearer.

Another structure set forth in US Patent 3 156 757 is directed to a tensioning device, the object of which is to provide a retaining force at the spectacle arm hinge. The function of this tensioner ls to inhibit the tendency of the spectacles to move downward on the nose of the wearer.

US Patent 3 685 356 is directed to an arm boot structure made of a rubber-like material and applied to the ends of the arms of the spectacles to increase the friction between the spectacles and the head of the wearer, and thereby tend to maintain the position of the spectacles on the wearer.

US Patent 1 622 668 sets forth an ophthalmic mounting and method of construction therefor in which a flexible metallic wire-like arm is provided with a rubber-like tubular protective covering. The covering is secured to the arm by a cap portion fitted to the end of the arm and attached with a cement.

US Patent 3 933 403 sets forth an insulated sheath for spectacle arms. A protective, removeable, flexible, insulated sheath is employed on the heat softened arms of spectacles during the fitting process to prevent injury or discomfort to the wearer. Once the heat formable arms have cooled and set to a stable shape fitted to the wearer, the flexible sheath is removed and discarded.

US Patent 2 502 734 provides a spectacle arm cover which comprises an elongated flexible sleeve having a central passage and a longitudinal split from its inner passage to exterior surface.

The arm cover is applied to the ear engaging portion of the arm by sliding the arm portion through the longitudinal slit in the cover.

US Patent 2 436 101 sets forth a replaceable spectacle arm cover formed of an elastic deformable material and adapted to be slid onto the arm cover piece of the pair of spectacles. The arm cover is generally tubular, having an inside diameter sufficient to permit the cover to be placed upon the arm and constricted end portion which serves to grip the arm and secure the arm cover.

US Patent 1 810 220 sets forth a spectacle arm including a wire core member covered with a nonmetallic tube and provided with an enlargement on the end of the core. The wire projects beyond the tube to lock the tube on the core and to fit a cap member on the end of the tube. An enlarged portion at the end of the core engages the cap and provides thereby a finished end for the covering tube.

French Patent 1 579 956 sets forth a generally tubular arm cover of similar construction to that shown In US Patent 2 502 734 described above, in that the generally tubular arm cover Includes a central longitudinal passage and a longitudinal slit in the wall of the tubular member for its entire length. The arm cover is placed upon the arm of the spectacles by passing the arm through the longitudinal slit to be captivated within the central passage of the cover.

While the foregoing described structures in the prior art have, with varying degrees of success, provided Improved interfaces for the spectacle wearer in most normal uses of spectacles, there arise additional environments in which spectacles are worn which create the need for a disposeable, inexpensive, easily installed and removed arm cover which will protect the arm against its environment. Such application may arise for example in the environment of a beauty parlour In which the wearer IS undergoing a hair or scalp treatment involving the use of chemicals which may be damaging to the material of the arm.Similarly, patients being treated by a dermatologist or other physician treating scalp or head surface disorders may require the patient to remain at the facility for extended periods of time while an applied substance is present on the skin in the region of the spectacle arm or to the scalp.

Often, such substances tend to drip or run down the patient onto the spectacle arms. Particularly during treatments or beauty parlour sessions in which the spectacle wearer is expected to remain for an extended period of time some hardship is imposed upon the patient or client if the time cannot be passed by reading or other activities for lack of the opportunity for the patient or client to wear his or her spectacles for fear of damaging them.

There remains therefore a need In the art for a disposeable, inexpensive, easy to install and easy to remove arm cover which by its construction will accommodate a wide variety of spectacle arm structures and configurations.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved removeable cover for spectacle arms. The embodiments to be described provide a removeable cover for an arm of a pair of spectacles and which is easy to install and remove and which is sufficiently flexible in design to accommodate a wide variety of arm structures and configurations.

In accordance with the invention there is provIded spectacle arm cover having a generally tubular confIguratIon formed of a thin resIlient plastIcs material or the like and defining a longitudinal centre passage and first and second ends. A soft resilient plastic ring sufficiently elastic to conform to and captivate the cross section of the spectacle arm is attached to and born by the tubular member. In one embodiment, the soft plastic ring is placed upon the outer surface of the tubular member a short distance from one end thereof. The short portion of the tubular member extending through the soft plastic ring is then rolled back upon the plastic ring to surround it with a plurality of layers of the tubular material.In another embodiment, the short portion of the tubular member extending beyond the soft plastic ring is "flared" and pulled outside and back captivating and overriding the soft plastic ring. In either embodiment, the arm cover thus formed may be placed upon the arm of the spectacles by sliding the arm through the central passage of the arm cover. The constricting action of the soft plastic ring captivates and grips the underlying portion of the arm and maintains the position of the arm cover.

Arm covers for a pair of spectacles and embodying the invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a pair of spectacles having carrying arm covers embodying the present invention; Figures 2a and 2b show the sequential stages of the assembly of the arm cover of Figure 1; Figure 7 is a partially sectioned view of the arm of the spectacles shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a section through the arm cover taken along section lines 4-4 in Figure 2a; and Figure 5 is a partially sectioned view of another form of arm cover.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a pair of spectacles 10, in which a pair of lenses 11 and 12 are attached in a spatial relationshlp by a nose bridge 17. In accordance with commonly accepted methods of manufacture, the nose bridge 13 includes means providing a resting surface for spectacles 10 upon the nose bridge of the wearer. A pair of arms 14 and 15 are attached to the lenses 11 and 12 and extend backward generally parallel therefrom. The arms 14 and 15 further include respective ear portions 17 and 16 which curve generally downward and terminate in end portions 19 and 18 respectively. A pair of arm covers 20 are supported upon arms 14 and 15 of spectacles 10. The structure and configuration of arm covers 20 are set forth below with greater detail.However, suffice it to say here that arm covers 20 are positioned upon the arms 14 and 15 such that they extend from the portion of the arms attached to the lenses past the point at which arms 14 and 15 would engage the wearer. It should also be noted that while arms 14 and 15 are shown to be full length in Figure 1 in that they extend the entire length of arms 14 and 15 it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that in any given application the length of arms 20 may be modified to suit the needs of the wearer and the environment in which they are worn. Figure 2a shows the arm cover 20 in a relaxed position. A resilient, soft elastic ring 23 having a generally torroidal shape is supported bg the cover 20 adjacent one end thereof. A flare 24 is formed in the portion of arm cover 20 extending beyond ring 23.

The flare 24 defines a gradually increasing diameter terminating at end 25 in a substantially greater diameter than the outside diameter of ring 23. During assembly, the flare 24 is folded outwardly from the central passage of the cover 20 to overlie and captivate the ring 23. This assembly process is shown in Figure 2b. Because cover 20 is formed of a thin film-like plastics material of the type which tends to cling to itself, the folded portion of flare 24 which surrounds the surface of arm cover 20 beyond ring 23 clings thereto captivating the ring 23. The final configuration, when this assembly is carried forward, is shown more clearly in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows the arm cover 20 fully assembled upon the arm 15 such that flare 24 and ring 23 are posItioned near lens 12. As can be seen, the cover 20 extends away from lens 12 toward end portion 18 of arm 15.As can be seen by examination of Figure 3, the resilience of ring 29 within flare 24 grips the underlying portion of the cover 20 thereby attaching the cover 20 to the arm 15. Ring 23, being formed of an elastic material, permits easy assembly onto and removal from arm 15.

The installation of the cover 20 upon arm 15 is carried forward by sliding the end of the cover 20 which bears ring 23 captivated by flare 24 over end portion 18 across ear portion 16 to the position shown near lens 12 of arm 15. Thereafter, the constricting force supplied by ring 23 grips the surface of arm 15 and retains the cover 20 thereupon.

Figure 4 shows a section view of the cover 20 taken along section lines 4-4 of Figure 2a and more clearly shows the centre passage 21 passing longitudinally through the cover 20 and surrounded by the tube wall 22. As mentioned above, in the preferred form the cover 20 is formed of a thin film-like tube.

Therefore it should be understood that the drawing figures depict the wall thickness of cover 20 much greater than actual size. This is necessary because the thin wall of the cover 20 could not be printed if actual scale were used. The assembly of the cover 20 to arm 15 provides a complete protective covering for cover 15 which is easily installed. After completion of use, the cover 20 is easily removed in the reverse manner of its assembly by simply sliding the cover 20 away from lens 12 and off arm 15. The embodiment of Figure 5 differs from that shown in Figures 1 to 4 solely in its use of an alternate method of attaching the ring 23 to the cover 20. In the embodiment of Figure 5 the portion of the cover 20 extending beyond the ring 23 is not flared as shown in Figure 2a, but is of relatively constant diameter.During assembly, the end 25 of the cover 20 is instead of overlapping as shown in Figure 3, caused to roll upon the ring 23 in multiple layers. The number of layers of cover 20 rolled onto the ring 23 is a matter of application and choice. However, suffice it to say a sufficient number of layers of the cover 20 are rolled upon ring 23 to securely embrace it and captivate it. The assembly of the cover 20 to arm 15 in the embodiment shown in Figure 5 is carried forward in the same manner as that of Figure 3 in that the end portion bearing ring 23 is slidably moved onto end portion 18 ear portion 16 to a position close to the lens 13 on arm 15. In similar manner to the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the constricting force provided by ring 23 provides a gripping force which maintains and secures the cover 20 upon the arm 15.As can be seen, the cover is capable of fabrication for inexpensive, easy to provide materials and is assembled without the aid of any cements or other affixing materials.

Accordingly, the cover is fabricated using, for example, an inexpensive roll of tubular plastic or similar elastic material cut to the desired length.

The construction of ring 23 is no more difficult or complicated than the construction of conventional rubber "O-rings" used in other applications. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the described methods of fabricating arm cover 20 of the thin inexpensive tubular material are made possible by the manner in which ring 23 is attached.

What has been shown is an inexpensive, easy to fabricate and easy to install and remove arm cover for use in the protection of the arms of spectacles when worn in an environment which would otherwise subject those spectacle arms to deleterious affects of fluids present upon the skin or the scalp of the wearer.

Claims (9)

1. A removeable covering for the arms of a pair of spectacles, the covering comprising: a hollow tube having a thin wall formed of a plastics material and defining a first end and a second end and a longitudinal passage therebetween; and a resilient ring having a centre aperture supported upon and encircling said tube at a point a predetermined distance from said first end, the portion of said tube between said ring and said first end of said tube defining a first end portion of said tube and captivating said resilient ring and securing it to said tube.

2. A removeable covering according to Claim 1 wherein said first end portion of said tube defines: an outwardly extending flare, having a diameter which increases from the point at which said resilient ring encircles said tube toward said first end, sad outwardly extending flare being folded outwardly from said ring and back upon said tube so as to cling to the underlying portion of said tube to secure said ring upon said tube.

3. A removeable covering according to Claim 1 wherein said first end portion of said tube is rolled upon said ring and is wrapped upon it in multiple layers.

4. A method of fabricating a covering for the arms of a pair of spectacles, said method comprising the steps of forming a thin-walled tube of plastics material, cutting said thin-walled tube to a predetermined length, forming a resilient ring having an inside diameter approximately equal to the tube diameter, assembling said resilient ring to said tube by passing a portion of said tube through said ring, and securing said resilient ring upon said tube by causing at least a portion of said tube to overlie said resilient ring.

5. A method according to Claim 4 wherein said step of securing includes wrapping the port ion of said tube passed through said ring upon said ring by: placing said ring close to one end of said tube; and rolling said ring upon said tube such that multiple layers of said tube encircle said ring.

6. A method according to Claim 4 wherein said step of securing includes: placing the ring a predetermined distance from one end of said tube; and folding the portion of said tube between said ring and the end of said tube closest to said ring outwardly and back upon said tube so as to cause the folded portion to overlie and cling to a portion of said tube.

7. A removable covering for the arms of a pair of spectacles, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

8. A method of fabricating a covering for the arms of a pair of spectacles, said method being substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.

9. A pair of spectacles incorporating a covering according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 and 7 or fabricated by the method according to any one of Claims 4 to 6 or 8.