GB2216283A - Spectacles with extractable temples - Google Patents

Description

--- r. 1 16283 SPECTACLES WITH EXTRACTABLE TEMPLES The present invention

relates to spectacles with extractable temples and, more particularly, to eyeglasses, sunglasses, stereoscopic-viewing glasses, polarized-lens glasses, eye-protective glasses, and the like, hereinafter referred to broadly as spectacles, composed of long life or short-lived materials for repeated use or single-use applications for retention or disposal, and utilizing glass, or synthetic-resin (plastic) lenses, and which can be supplied or stored in a compact configuration whereby a temple is at least partly received in the bridgepiece between lenses or the frame structure overlying same.

The usual pair of spectacles, as this term has been defined above, comprises a frame which may have a bridgepiece j interconnecting a pair of window-forming portions which can be provided with respective lenses, with a respective temple being pivotally connected to each of these portions and formed with an earpiece.

When the spectacles are worn, the frame is supported on the nose of the wearer by the bridgepiece, the lenses are located in front of the eyes, and the temples extend rearwardly along the sides of the head and may engage, e.g. with the earpieces, behind the ears'of the wearer.

Spectacles have been provided for a wide variety of purposes only some of which need be alluded to here. For example, they may be provided as ordinary eyeglasses with corrective lenses or lenses intended to assist in normal vision, either fabricated specially for the user or to provide magnification or some other special effect.

2 Sunglasses, for example, may be used as filters or attenuators to protect the eyes from the sun, while stereoscopic glasses may be used to provide three-dimensional illusions in viewing three-dimensional displays in which two distinct images are created by polarized light or color effects.

Colored-lens glasses may alo be used simply as novelty items without sunlight filtering effects.

Spectacles may also be used to protect the eyes against vapors, the spattering of liquids and flying particulates.

For conventional frames, synthetic resin materials may be used or other materials such as wire and metals can be employed in whole or in part. Disposable or single-use spectacles, e.g. as sunglasses or for viewing three-dimensional motion pictures may be distributed widely at low cost and may utilize materials such as cardboard or paperboard.

In recent years, a compact construction has been desired. In the standard mode of use, the temples of a pair of spectacles are permanently hinged at the outer ends of the frame to allow the temples to be swung inwardly and enable the folded D pair of glasses to be inserted into a standard sleeve, into a pocket or otherwise stored. Sometimes a hinge or flexible connection is provided at the bridge piece to enable the spectacles to be folded into a somewhat more compact configuration.

While these systems have proved to be relatively compact, they invariably are somewhat bulky and it is desirable in some cases to provide an extremely flat construction.

It is the principal object 9f the present invention to 0 provide an improved spectacle structure which has a flatter configuration than earlier spectacles but which nevertheless has greater versatility.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple, flat, compact spectacle construction avoiding disadvantages of prior art systems.

3 These objects and others which will become more readily apparent hereinafter are attained, in accordance with the invention, in which is provided a flattened spectacle frame provided with at least one longitudinal channel extending across the lens7receiving portion of the frame and through a bridgepiece thereof while opening at an end of the frame to enable a temple to be at least in part retracted from this channel and to be swung into a position of use in which this temple lies substantially transverse to the plane of the frame and channel.

Generally, the channel will accommodate two such temples, each of which can be extended from the channel in a respective direction generally linearly before the temple is swung into its use position.

This arrangement has the advantage that the temples are largely received within the frame while the latter retains its flat and preferably planar construction, without requiring folding of the temples or even telescoping of various sections of a temple into-one another, systems which increase the complexity of manufacture and use. While the invention is applicable to the use of any materials, it can be carried out utilizing temples of plastics material, wire and other materials which are commonly utilized in spectacles.

According'to a feature of the invention, each temple is provided with an earpiece which may continue to project when the temple is otherwise received in the respective channel so that the earpiece can serve as a holder enabling the temple to be extended from the channel.

Alternatively, the earpiece may be partly received within the frame in a more compact construction.

The free end of the temple remote from the earpiece can be shaped, e.g. with a head of transvrse formation, to prevent the shank of the temple from being fully extracted from the channel.

The frame of the spectacle can be molded in one or more pieces from a synthetic resin material. Especially in the latter case, it has been found to be advantageous to provide two distinct 4 and parallel channels to accommodate the respective temples which can be more or less rigid and can be provided with means in their inner ends to enable the swinging notion of each temple about a hinge point at the end of the respective channel. In this case, each channel may open only at a respective side of the frame and may be closed at the opposite side of the frame.

One of the channels may'lie in front of the other or the channels may be provided one above the other.

Advantageously, in the embodiment in which the temples are rigid, an earpiece can be hingedly connected to the temple so as to be able to swing between a position in which the elongated earpiece lies substantially at a right angle to the respective temple into a position in which the earpiece includes an obtuse angle therewith.

In the first of these positions, the earpiece can lie close to the side of the frame for a compact construction of the spectacles when the temples are retracted in their respective channels while the second position corresponds to a position of use and is, of course, more comfortable for the user.

Detent means may be provided between the earpiece and the temple to index the earpiece relative to the temple in each of the two positions previously described or in additional positions of adjustment to accommodate the predilections or requirements of the user.

Advantageously, the channels are formed by upper and lower frame members which are held together by a channel formed on a lens- carrying member which depends ' from the channel-forming structure and can be provided with any nosepiece engaging the bridge of the nose of the wearer.

The above objects, features and advantages -of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a pair of spectacles utilizing the principles of the invention and showing the temples retracted in solid lines, butextended in a dot-dash view; FIG. 2 is a front-elevational view, partly broken away of the spectacles; FIG. 3 is a detail view in section along the line III-III of FIG. 2; - FIG. 4 is a section through a rigid-frame spectacle of the invention having two channels for respective rigid temples lying in a front-to-back relationship according to the invention; FIG. 5 is a top view with part of the cover broken away 1-0 to show the two channels; FIG. 6 is a side view of one of the temples showing part of the ingexing means thereof; FIG. 7 is,a top view of this temple; FIG. 8 is a side view of the earpiece adapted to cooperate with this temple; FIG. 9 is a top view of a portion of this earpiece; FIG. 10 is a section through the lens-forming member; and FIG. 11 is an elevational view with the earpiece in place showing an alternative positionin dot-dash lines.

In FIGS. 1-3, we have shown another embodiment in which the generally flat character of the spectacles is retained.

The frame 40 can comprise a pair of lens-receiving portions 41 and 42 interconnected by a bridgepiece 43, molded rigid therewith. The portions 41 and 42 are provided with windows 44, 45 each of which receives a lens 46, 47. In this embodinent, a channel 48 is provided in the linear rigid member formed by the upper parts of members 41 and 42 and by the bridgepiece 43.

While a common channel is utilized to receive the two temples 50 and 51 (only one of which is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3), it will be understood that separate channels can-also be employed, if desired (see FIGS. 4 and 5). Each of the temples 50, 51, is formed with an earpiece 52 and projects through a passage 53 at the respective end of the frame so that the temple can be retracted through this 6 passage and swung into a rearwardly open slot54 (FIG. 3), the retraction being limited by an enlarged head 55 at the end of the temple.

Thus in the retracted position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in solid lines, the temples are practically completely receiVed within the channel and only the earpieces 52 remain exposed and are coplanar substantially with the balance of the frame. When, however,, the temples are retracted. they can be swung into the normal use position shown in dot-dash lines at 56 and 57 to engage the head of the wearer. It is also possible in both of the embodiments described to form the channels from a tubular member which can be applied to the frame element, e.g. by heat sealing, adhesive bonding or other conventional means.

These principles have been extended in the embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5 to a frame 90 in which a pair of channels 91 and 92 in a front-and-back relationship are provided in a rigid bar extending above both lenses and across the bridge of the spectacles. This bar is constituted by a base 93 and a cover 94, each of which can be injection molded,from synthetic resin D material and which, when interfitted as shown in FIG. 4, define the two channels. The two members 93 and 94 may be held together by a channel-shaped portion 95 of the lens-forming member 96. As can be seen from FIGS. 4 and 5,each of the channels 91 and 92 receives a respective temple 97, 98, the temples being shown in their swung-out positions in FIG. 5 where the two channels 91 and 92 are also visible. Hinge formations are provided at 99 and 100 for the temples to inable them, when they each reach the end of the respective channels, to be swung outwardly into the position z shown in FIG. 5.

0 The temples are each provided with earpieces as has been shown for the temple 97 in FIGS. 6 and 7. More particularly, each temple is formed at-its free end with a hollow circular lug 101 with a pair of pins 102, 103 projecting in opposite directions so as to form a pintle for the earpiece which can be slipped over the lug. The, pintle has ramps 104 which facilitate spreading of the bifocated end of the earpiece to ensure that it will snap over a pivot upon the pintle.

7 A pair of bumps 105. 106 is provided on each lug to form detent means for the earpiece and a stop in the form of a projection 107 is likewise provided on this lug.

The earpiece is best seen in FIGS. 8 and 9 and has-been represented at 110. It has a bifurcated end 111 which is adapted to snap over the pintle and has a bore 112 into which the pintle fits to allow a limited pivoting movement of the earpiece on the temple. A cavity 113 in the pintle accommodates the projection 107.

The earpiece 110 (FIG. 11) can thus be indexed in either of the two positions shown, i.e. in the dot-dash position in which the earpiece is substantially at a right angle to the temple so that it will lie close to the side of the frame and provide a compact configuration when the temple is fully inserted in its channels, and in the solid-line position in which the earpiece may be rotated for use. other detent means or ratchet con.,0j-guraJk-.ions may be provided to allow for additional positions which comfort so warrants.

FIG. 10 shows the lens member 96 in greater detail, the lens being seen at 114.

11 14 1

Claims (6)

1. CLAIMS:

   A pair of spectacles comprising:

   a rigid member carrying a lens element and formed with a pair of channels overlying lenses on said element; and respective temples received in said channels and extendable therefrom at opposite ends of said member and swingable relative to said member upon extension from said channels to lie along opposite sides of the head of the user.
2. 2. A pair of spectacles according to claim 1, wherein said member is formed from two interfitting- members defining said channels between them.
3. 3. A pair of spectacles according to claim 2, wherein said element has a channel-shaped structure receiving said interfitting members and holding them together.
4. 4. A pair of spectacles according to claim 1, 2 or 3 and further comprising an earpiece swingably mounted on a free end of each of said temples.
5. 5. A pair of spectacles according to claim 4, further comprising indexing means for indexing said earpieces in a plurality of relative angular positions with reference to the respective temples.
6. 6. A pair of spectaclest substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 3 or Figures 4 to 11 of the accompanying drawings.

   Published 1989&tTheP&tentOMoe,St&WHouse.68.'71 HighHc)lbornLondonWClR4TP. Further copies maybe obtainedfrom ThefttentOftlce, Sales Branch, St Mary Cray, Orpington, Kent BR5 WW. Printed by Multiplex techniques ltd, St Mary cray, Kent, ron. 1/87