GB2385942A

GB2385942A - Spectacles with removable lenses

Info

Publication number: GB2385942A
Application number: GB0204785A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dick Powell
Original assignee: Seymour Powell Ltd
Current assignee: Seymour Powell Ltd
Priority date: 2002-03-01
Filing date: 2002-03-01
Publication date: 2003-09-03
Also published as: GB0204785D0

Abstract

A spectacle frame 1 has at least two lens carriers 2, 4 including at least two parts for engaging and holding a respective lens at its periphery. The lens carriers 2, 4 may be in upper and lower halves 6, 8 and connected by a bridge piece 14 and at marginal regions of the carriers 2, 4. The marginal regions may include snap in engagement means 20, 22 including detent elements 24 for connecting with mating formations 26. In another embodiment (figures 6-10) the lens carriers having front and rear parts and the engagement means are provided at spaced apart locations around the carriers where the lens is held between locking members and grooves. In a further embodiment (figures 11-14) the lens carriers are wing pieces, provided with hinged side arms and engagement slots, and locating formations provided on a bridge piece.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO SPECTACLE FRAMES This invention concerns improvements in or relating to spectacle frames for lenses.

Spectacle frames have assumed many and varied shapes and constructions over the years and more recently modern technology has facilitated the testing and prescription of lenses for defective sight. More particularly there have emerged retail outlets specialising in the provision of spectacles on a'while-you-wait'basis with qualified optometrists or opticians in attendance to prescribe the correct lens strengths and with suitable technicians available to translate the prescriptions into appropriate lenses for accommodation in frames selected by the customer.

This type of service represents an accelerated approach to the dispensing of the prescribed lenses which are customised for the individual eyes.

It is of course well known in optometry to employ adjustable frames provided with the capability of accommodating lens elements which can be removably slotted into the relevant lens receiving area for the purpose of defining the appropriate lens strength for the eye concerned. A number of lens elements can be used in each receiving area such that if necessary a combination of lenses is deployed to afford the correct calculation of the power of the lens to be produced for the spectacles to be supplied to the customer.

Another type of retail outlet that has become established in very recent years is that concerned with the supply of'off-the-shelf'spectacles. The customer conducts the requisite tests and the results dictate the prescription, but notably the spectacles can only provide for a single prescription thus giving rise to an unsuitable lens strength for one eye.

It is rare that both eyes have the same power and accordingly spectacles acquired in this manner are less than ideal for correcting the customer's sight.

It is thus an object of the invention to provide spectacles having the capacity to accommodate lenses of differing powers as selected by the customer.

According to the invention there is provided a spectacle frame comprising at least one lens carrier, each lens carrier including at least two parts for engaging a respective lens at its periphery and for holding the lens therein.

The spectacle frame also includes the usual side arms at the relatively outer margins of the lens carriers, the arms being appropriately hinged.

In one embodiment of spectacle frame each carrier may include a relatively lower part which is conveniently connected to the relatively lower part of the adjacent carrier by the lower half of a bridge piece.

Each such carrier also includes a relatively upper part connected to the upper part of the adjacent carrier through the agency of the upper half of the bridge piece. Each carrier is thus made in two halves and in this embodiment engagement means are provided at the marginal regions of the carriers whereby positive location of the respective halves can be effected when the lenses are in position. The engagement means may advantageously include a latching arrangement whereby positive interengagement between the two halves of the carriers is achieved thereby to lock the lenses in position within the spectacle frame. The latching arrangement may be characterised by a snap-in action. The latching arrangement may be such as to prevent subsequent separation of the parts of the lens carriers, but the arrangement may be such as to allow

separation whilst maintaining a positive locking of the lenses in the respective carriers when in use. It will be understood that the carriers are provided with suitable locating means, for example in the form of grooves, for locating the lenses and the relatively lower parts of the carriers have the hinged arms mounted thereon.

In an alternative embodiment, the lens carriers are again in two separate parts, each part including two holders for the lenses interconnected by a bridge piece, one part being provided with the usual hinged side arms.

In this embodiment the lenses are effectively clamped between the two parts with engagement means being provided at the marginal edges of the holders for positively engaging and locking the lenses into the frame.

The engagement means again may advantageously be characterised by a snap-in action which either prevents or allows subsequent removal.

In a still further embodiment the spectacle frame comprises three parts, namely two side parts including the hinged side arms, and a separate bridge piece. In this embodiment the lenses are themselves provided with engagement means at their lateral peripheries which register and lock with mating formations in the parts of the frame.

The spectacle frame of the invention may itself be used as a test frame into which lenses of differing prescriptions can be tried by the customer, the lenses being at that stage releasably supported in the frame. Once selection of the correct prescription has taken place, the lenses are then held within the carriers in the manner described above according to the particular configuration adopted.

By way of example only, three embodiments of spectacle frame according to the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :

Figure 1 is an exploded front view of a first embodiment showing the lens carriers of the spectacle frame separated; Figure 2 shows a plan view of the lower part of the lens carriers; Figure 3 is a front view corresponding to Figure 1 with the lens carriers of the spectacle frame in registration, with enlarged views of the engagement means; Figure 4 is a cross sectional view on the line IV-IV of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a cross sectional view on the line V-V of Figure 3; Figure 6 is a front elevation of a part of a lens carrier of a second embodiment; Figure 7 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 6; Figure 8 is a front elevation of another part of the lens carrier corresponding to Figure 8; Figure 9 is a side view of the part shown in Figure 6; Figure 10 is a cross sectional view on the line X-X in Figure 6 including an enlarged view of the engagement means; Figure 11 is a front elevation of a third embodiment; Figure 12 is a plan view corresponding to Figure 11; Figure 13 is a detailed view of the bridge piece shown in Figure 11; and Figure 14 is a detailed view of a part of the lens carrier.

Referring to Figures 1 to 5 a spectacle frame 1 includes two carriers 2,4 each comprising a relatively upper part 6 and a relatively lower part 8, the respective upper and lower parts being connected together by the upper half 10 and the lower half 12 of a bridge piece 14, the carriers being provided with grooves to locate lenses (not shown).

The lower parts 8 of the carriers 2,4 are provided at their outer margins with hinged side arms 16,18.

Engagement means 20 are provided adjacent each peripheral location of the carrier parts and the bridge piece 14 is likewise provided with engagement means 22.

The engagement means 20,22 include detent elements 24 for registration with mating formations 26, the elements being provided on the relatively upper parts of the lens carriers 2,4 and the formations 26 being provided on the lower parts thereof. Essentially the detent elements 24 are in the form of latches which are adapted to engage the formations 26 that are in the form of shoulders, the latches possessing some degree of resilience to allow temporary deformation to allow them to spring out and then back into an interengaging locking position with respect to the formations 26.

In use, once the correct prescription lenses has been selected they are replaced within the groove of the lower parts 8 of the carriers 2,4 and the upper parts 6 are brought into registration whereby the lenses are held within the grooves of the carrier parts and also are clamped in the carriers by dint of the latching interengagement of the detent elements 24 and the formations 26.

Whilst it is the intention that the two parts of the carriers of this embodiment should not be separable once the lenses have been appropriately located, it is within the scope of the invention that they are capable of being separated if required.

Referring now to Figures 6 to 10 a second embodiment of spectacle frame according to the invention is shown and includes two lens carriers 30 comprising a front part 32 and a rear part 34, the lens carriers 30 of each such part being interconnected by a bridge piece 36,38 respectively and

being grooved to accommodate the lenses. The front part 32 of the lens carriers is provided with the usual hinged side arms.

In this embodiment the engagement means 40 are provided at spaced apart locations around the carriers as shown and comprise locking members 42 on the rear part 34 which register with the grooves 44 on the front part of the carriers the lenses being held between the locking members and the grooves 44. A detent 48 on the rear part 34 engages a corresponding shoulder 50 adjacent the groove 44 thereby positively to locate the lens 52 in the respective carrier.

In this embodiment the engagement means is such that the lenses are locked in situ.

Referring now to Figures 11 to 14 a third embodiment includes lens carriers generally shown at 60 each one being constituted by a wing piece 62 provided with a hinged side arm and an engagement slot 63, and a locating formation 64 provided on the bridge piece 66. In this embodiment the lenses 70 are each provided at their marginal lateral edges with a detent 72 adapted to engage with the engagement slot 63 and the formation 64 on the wing piece 62 and the bridge piece 66 respectively. As with the first embodiment the detent 72 is a latch which registers with the slot 63 and the formation 64. The positive interengagement thus afforded ensures that the lenses remain locked within the carriers 60.

The present invention provides the facility to employ modern ophthalmic technology by enabling customer selection of each prescription and a choice of lens type according to the embodiments herein described, the lenses being positively held within the carriers provided therefor.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A spectacle frame comprising at least one lens carrier, each lens carrier including at least two parts for engaging a respective lens at its periphery and for holding the lens therein.
2. A spectacle frame according to Claim 1 in which each carrier includes a relatively lower part connected to the relatively lower part of the adjacent carrier by the lower half of a bridge piece.
3. A spectacle frame according to Claim 2 in which each such carrier also includes a relatively upper part connected to the upper part of the adjacent carrier through the agency of the upper half of the bridge piece.
4. A spectacle frame according to Claim 3 in which each carrier is made in two halves and engagement means are provided at the marginal regions of the carriers whereby positive location of the respective halves can be effected when the lenses are in position.
5. A spectacle frame according to Claim 4 in which the engagement means include a latching arrangement whereby positive interengagement between the two halves of the carriers is achieved thereby to lock the lenses in position with the spectacle frame.
6. A spectacle frame according to Claim 5 in which the latching arrangement is characterised by a snap-in action.

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7. A spectacle frame according to Claim 6 in which the latching arrangement is such as to prevent subsequent separation of the parts of the lens carriers.
8. A spectacle frame according to Claim 5 in which the latching arrangement is such as to allow subsequent separation of the parts of the lens carriers.
9. A spectacle frame according to Claim 1 in which the lens carriers are in two separate parts, each part including two holders for the lenses interconnected by a bridge piece.
10. A spectacle frame according to Claim 9 in which the lenses are clamped between the two parts with engagement means being provided at the marginal edges of the holders for positively engaging and locking the lenses into the frame.
11. A spectacle frame according to Claim 10 in which the engagement means is characterised by a snap-in action which either prevents or allows subsequent removal.
12. A spectacle frame according to Claim 1 in which the spectacle frame comprises three parts, namely two side parts including the hinged side arms, and a separate bridge piece.
13. A spectacle frame according to Claim 12 in which the lenses are themselves provided with engagement means at their lateral peripheries which register and lock with mating formations in the parts of the frame.

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14. A spectacle frame according to Claim 1 in which the frame is adapted for use as a test frame.
15. A spectacle frame substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5,6 to 10 or 11 to 14.
16. A spectacle frame according to any one of the preceding claims including two lenses.