JP3363422B2 - Spring with hinge for glasses - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spring-loaded hinge for eyeglasses according to the preamble of claim 1 and a method for disassembling a spring-loaded hinge for eyeglasses according to the preamble of claim 13.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A spring-loaded hinge of the type described here has an elongated first cavity formed in the temple of an eyeglass, into which a spring member and a latch can be inserted. It is clear in the specification. The latch, with which the locking member engages and locks in the second cavity, receives pressure from the spring member in the assembled state. The latch is self-locking. That is, the latch is inserted into the first cavity only until the locking member is displaced to the position where it overlaps the second cavity and automatically engages with the second cavity. This spring-loaded hinge has the drawback that it cannot be disassembled without breaking the spring-loaded hinge, since it is impossible from the outside to act on the locking member so as to displace it in the disengaged position. One method of disassembling the spring-loaded hinge is to open a through hole connecting to the second cavity in the closed outer surface of the temple of the spectacles, and to push the locking member from the through hole to the second cavity. Is to insert. However, this approach is not desirable because it involves damage to or undesired effects on the temple optics.

Detachable spring-loaded hinges of the type described here are also known from DE-A-3628682. The spring-loaded hinge has a latch that can be slid into the elongated first cavity against the force of the spring member.
The latch has a dihedral shape when seen in a plan view. The latch has a knurled screw head on the upper side. A latch arranged in the first cavity can be swiveled around a vertical axis by means of a suitably shaped screwdriver, whereby the arcuate part of the latch is displaced in the guide groove and there. Is determined. The disadvantage of this latch, which is embodied as a rotating body, is that it is tedious to manufacture and therefore expensive. Since the latch is not formed as a self-locking type, it is particularly troublesome to disassemble the eyeglasses because the eyeglasses and the central portion of the eyeglasses must be held simultaneously and the screwdriver must be operated.

A spring-loaded hinge for spectacles having a latch with a locking member consisting of a sphere is German Patent No. 223.
It is apparent from the specification of 8730. The sphere is in the hole of the latch. To lock the latch in the first cavity, the hole with the sphere inside reaches the position where it overlaps the second cavity, where the sphere falls out of the hole in the latch and the second cavity The latch must be inserted into the first cavity until it falls into the part. The spring member provided in the first cavity thus locks the latch receiving the pressing force. To remove the spring-loaded hinge, the spring-loaded hinge must be inverted and the hinge member compressed, loosening the latch and allowing the sphere to fall back into the hole in the latch. Clearly, disassembling the spring-loaded hinges is extremely cumbersome and unreliable.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a spring-loaded hinge of the type mentioned at the outset, which has a simple construction and can be easily assembled and disassembled. Another object is to present a simple method of disassembling a spring-loaded hinge for spectacles, which can ensure high reliability.

[0006]

To solve the problem, a spring-loaded hinge having the features of claim 1 is proposed. The spring-loaded hinge has a force-applying surface at a position where the latch is separated from the locking member for operating means for exerting a releasing force on the latch via the end face of the first cavity to displace the locking member to the disengaged position. It is characterized by First
The latch, or at least its force-applying surface, which automatically locks when inserted into the cavity of the first cavity can thus be reached from the open end face of the first cavity by the operating means, so that the disengagement force can be easily applied to the force-applying surface. Can be worked on. The force acting surface is arranged at a distance from the locking member,
Therefore, it is not a surface forming a part of the locking member. Rather, the locking member is preferably arranged in the end face area of the latch opposite the force exerting surface. This latch, which can be manufactured easily and therefore inexpensively, is inserted into this cavity from the open end face of the first cavity, the latch then
Preferably, after reaching the proper position in the cavity, the locking member disposed in the latch automatically locks in the second cavity for locking the latch. Moreover, since it is not necessary to open or provide an opening in the temple of the spectacles for unlocking, there is a closed surface, especially on the opposite side of the spring-loaded hinge, so that the operating means is for displacing the locking member to the disengaged position. It is particularly advantageous to be able to use spring-loaded hinges also on the temples of spectacles, which are not accessible.

In a preferred embodiment, the latch is formed so as to be tiltable so as to be displaced from the locking position to the disengagement position when a pressing force acts on the force acting surface of the latch.
By the pressing force acting on the force acting surface, the locking member is thus ejected from the second cavity. In that case, it is preferable to form the latch so that the latch can be tilted to release the locking even when the latch is still being pressed by the spring member. That is, when disassembling the spring-loaded hinge, it is not necessary to first release the pressing force of the latch in order to displace the locking member to the disengaged position, unlike the known spring-loaded hinge. The dismantling of the spring-loaded hinge can therefore be carried out easily by one person, without the glasses having to be fitted in a suitable holding device.

Another embodiment of the spring-loaded hinge has an elastically formed spring tongue with which the latch can be biased by operating means relative to the base of the latch, the spring tongue being provided with a locking member. The spring tongue can be displaced with respect to the second cavity so that the locking member reaches the unlocked position from the locking position. For this purpose, the spring tongue has a force-applying surface on which a disengagement force can be exerted, so that the spring tongue is deformed or biased such that the locking member is pushed out of the second cavity into the disengaged position. It is preferable. In this embodiment, the latch is preferably constructed such that the release force is directed generally in the opposite direction of the direction of the pressing force applied by the spring member to the latch. In this embodiment as well, the latch is preferably configured such that the displacement of the latch or spring tongue or locking member when unlocking results in a further compression of the spring member already preloaded in the assembled state. In other words, it is not necessary to relieve the pressure on the latch prior to unlocking. This simplifies disassembly of the spring-loaded hinge.

In another embodiment of the spring hinge, the second cavity is located in the bottom wall of the first cavity. "Bottom wall"
The concept of means a longitudinal septum of an elongated first cavity which is arranged in the vicinity of the temple of the spectacles or is drilled in the temple of the spectacles. In this case, the direction of the separating force acting on the force acting surface is at least substantially perpendicular to the hinge axis about which the hinge member of the spring-loaded hinge pivots. In another embodiment, the second cavity is disposed on the sidewall of the first cavity and the latch is disposed or configured such that the disengagement force acting on the force exerting surface is directed generally in the direction of the hinge axis. . In this embodiment, the locking member extends through an elongated opening or slot in the slide member of the spring-loaded hinge that is displaceable relative to the temple of the glasses.

The latch has an upper guide surface and a lower guide surface,
A preferred embodiment is a spring-loaded hinge in which the guide surfaces are arranged at a distance from one another and are parallel to one another.
The mutual spacing of the guide surfaces is preferably the first of a rectangular cross section.
Is approximately equal to or less than the height of the cavity of the. Thus, for example, the spring member exerts a pressing force to automatically cause the latch to escape in the direction of the open end surface of the first cavity, so that the latch does not tilt when displaced in the first cavity. Is guaranteed.

In a preferred embodiment, the latch has a recess on the end face facing the spring member, and a transmission member arranged between the latch and the spring member engages in the recess. The transmission member comprises, for example, a spring-loaded piston that is movably passed in the longitudinal direction of the first cavity. When the release force acts on the force application surface and the latch is displaced, the transmission member moves in the direction opposite to the direction of the force of the spring member in the direction of the seat of the spring member without tilting and catching in the recess. The shape of the transmission member engaging the recess is preferably matched to the shape of the recess so that it can be displaced by the latch or locking member.

In a preferred embodiment, the recess is wedge-shaped and has side walls which adjoin in the direction of the bottom of the recess.
The parts of the transmission member which engage in the recesses are in this case formed in a triangular cross section, while the triangular flanks are respectively parallel to the side walls of the recesses.

Finally, the preferred embodiment of a spring-loaded hinge in which the latch is integrally formed. Thus, the locking member is not a separate member, as is known in the art of disassembling spring hinged latches. This simplifies the manufacture, assembly and disassembly of the latch.

The latch is made of, for example, an elastic material such as plastic or can be made flexible in some cases. The tiltable latch may of course be made of metal.

Other advantageous embodiments of the spring-loaded hinge are apparent in the other dependent claims.

In order to solve the problem, a method of disassembling a hinge with a spring for glasses having the features of claim 13 is proposed. This method is characterized in that a release force for displacing the locking member to the release position is exerted on the latch from an opening of the first cavity through which the latch is inserted during assembly. In this way the unlocking can be done simply by acting on a latch reachable externally through the assembly opening, so that the spring-loaded hinges or the temples of the eyeglasses are not damaged or locked. It is not necessary to provide an auxiliary opening for inserting the operating means into the second cavity in order to act on the member and displace it into the disengaged position.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A shows a longitudinal sectional view of a part of a first embodiment of a spring-loaded hinge 1 for glasses. The spectacles have a temple hinge 5 arranged on the temple 3 of the spectacles and a central hinge (not shown) provided at a central portion (not shown) of the spectacles, and the central portion is pivotable about an axis 7 of the hinge. Are connected to each other. The spring-loaded hinge 1 is formed so that it can be opened beyond its normal wearing position.

The temple hinge 5 has a slide member 9, and the slide member 9 has a two-piece hinge member 11. The temple 3 of the eyeglasses is provided with an elongated first partial cavity 13. The first partial cavity 13 has a guide groove 15 which is part of a guide 17 for the slide member 9. As can be seen in FIG. 1C, which shows a bottom view of the spring-loaded hinge 1, a part of which is shown in a sectional view, the guide groove 15 has a U-shape composed of two linear groove portions and a curved groove portion. As is clear from FIG. 1D, which shows a front view of the spring-loaded hinge 1, in this embodiment the guide 17 is formed as a flat guide.

The slide member 9 passed through the guide groove 15 so as to be vertically movable has a vertically elongated second partial cavity 19. The second partial cavity 19 forms an elongated first cavity 21 together with the first partial cavity 13 of the temple 3 of the spectacles,
The spring member 23, the latch 25, and the transmission member 27 arranged between the spring member 23 and the latch 25 are housed therein. The first cavity 21 has in this case at least a generally rectangular cross section and is closed except for the end faces through which the spring member 23, the transmission member 27 and the latch 25 are inserted.

In this case, the spring member 23 is composed of a compression coil spring and serves as a seat for the first elongated hollow portion 21.
One end is supported by the closed end surface of the and the pressing force is exerted on the side surface of the transmission member 27 facing the latch 25. Transmission member 27
In this case consists of a piston-like pressing member and has a guide pin 31 which fits into the compression coil spring. Transmission member 2
7 has a wedge-shaped portion 33 on the opposite end surface of the spring member 23. This part 33 engages a recess 35 in the end face 53 of the latch 25 facing the spring member 23, which corresponds to the shape of said part 33. In this case, the integrally formed latch 25 has a locking member 37. The locking member 37 in this case engages and locks the second cavity 41 arranged in the bottom wall 39 of the first cavity 21. Both the first cavity portion 21 and the second cavity portion 41 of the temple 3 of the eyeglasses,
It is clear in FIGS. 1A and 1D that it does not penetrate the outer surface of the temple 3 which is visible when wearing glasses. Thus, in this preferred embodiment outer surface 42 has a closed surface. It is of course possible to provide the outer surface of the temple of the eyeglasses with one or more openings which connect to the first or second cavity in another embodiment not shown. These openings do not affect the function, assembly and disassembly of the latch.

Latch 25 is shown in the locking position in FIGS. 1A-1D. In this position, the latch 25 receives a pressing force from the preloaded spring member 23 via the transmission member 27. As a result, on the basis of the wedge-shaped recess 35 on the end face of the latch 25 and the part 33 of the transmission member 27, which is likewise formed and engages the recess 35, the locking member 37 is moved to the second position.
Since it is pushed to the wall of the cavity 41, the unintentional unlocking of the latch can be virtually eliminated.

Next, the structure of the latch 25 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C showing a side view, a bottom view or a front view of the latch 25. The latch 25 has an upper guide surface 43 and a lower guide surface 45 which are flat and parallel to each other. Since the distance A between the guide surfaces 43, 45 is equal to or slightly smaller than the height of the first cavity 21, a generally play-free guidance of the latch 25 in the first cavity 21 is ensured. . The width of the latch 25 is preferably equal to or slightly smaller than the width of the first cavity 21. As is apparent from FIG. 3A, the upper guide surface 43 is much shorter than the lower guide surface 45. There is a locking member 37 on the lower guide surface 45. The locking member 37 extends over only a part of the width of the latch 25 and has a so-called rectangular locking protrusion shape.

The latch 25 also has a beveled surface 46 that connects the lower guide surface 45 and the end surface 47 on the opposite side of the spring member in the assembled state of the latch 25. The slope 46 is formed flat and extends the full width of the latch 25.

A nose-shaped projection 49 is formed between the end surface 47 and the upper guide surface 43, and a force-applying surface 51 for the operating means shown in FIG.

A wedge-shaped recess 35 on the end face 53 that faces the spring member 23 in the assembled state of the latch 25 has side walls 55 and 57 formed flat.
In this case, the arrangement of the side walls 57 is selected so that at least one force component of the pressing force acting on the latch 25 by the action of the spring member 23 is directed toward the lower proposal plane 45. As a result, the locking member 37 causes the second cavity portion 4 to move.
It is pressed into 1.

Another recess 59 is provided in the area between the upper guide surface 43 and the rear end surface 53, and in combination with the slope 46, an edge 61 between the lower guide surface 45 and the slope 46 is used as a fulcrum. Allows the latch 25 to tilt. This point will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG.

In order to assemble the spring-loaded hinge 1 shown in FIGS. 1A to 1D, first the slide member 9 is attached to the temple 3 of the spectacles.
1 to the position shown in FIG. 1A. Next, the spring member 23 and the transmission member 27 are inserted into the first hollow portion 21. Finally, the latch 25 is put into the first cavity 21, and the first cavity 2 is resisted against the pressing force of the spring member 23 until the locking member 37 automatically engages with the second cavity 41.
Plug in 1. Obviously, the locking of the latch 25 takes place automatically.

In order to disassemble the spring-loaded hinge 1, the locking member 37 should be removed from the second cavity 41.
It is necessary to displace the latch 25. This is done as follows. That is, in this case it consists of pins,
The force acting surface 51 of the latch 25 is exerted with a releasing force from above by the operating means 63 shown in FIG. 2, which is inserted from the end surface of the hollow portion 21 into the force acting surface 51. Thereby, the latch 2
5 tilts counterclockwise in FIG. 2 with the end edge 61 as a fulcrum, and the locking member 37 is displaced to the disengaged position shown in FIG. When the latch 25 tilts, the portion 33 of the transmission member 27 slides along the side wall 57 of the recess 35 of the latch 25, which causes the transmission member 27 to the right in the illustration of FIG.
It is pushed toward the seat of the spring member 23. Thereby, the spring member 23 is further compressed. By releasing the locking member 37 from the second cavity 41, the latch 25
After reaching the release position, the spring member 23 pushes the latch 25 to the left in the drawing of FIG. 2 toward the open end face of the first cavity 21. Thereby, the latch 25 can be removed from the cavity 21. It is clear that no special equipment is required for dismantling the spring hinge 1.

The operating means 63 passes through the open end face of the first hollow portion 21 through which the spring member 23, the transmission member 33 and the latch 25 itself are inserted into the first hollow portion 21,
The force acting surface 51 is guided. In this embodiment, the force acting surface 51
The latch 25 is arranged at the locking position such that the protrusion 25 protrudes from the end surface of the first cavity 21 to some extent. Therefore, the first hollow portion 21 is particularly easy to reach for the operating means, and can be easily disassembled because the person who handles the operating means can immediately identify it.

FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal section through another embodiment of the spring-loaded hinge 1. This embodiment differs mainly in the structure of the latch from the spring-loaded hinge described with reference to FIGS.
The parts already described on the basis of the previous figures are provided with the same reference numerals, for which reference is made to the description of FIGS. 1A to 3D.

The latch 25 'shown in FIG. 4 has a body 65 from which a relatively thin flexible spring tongue 67 emerges. A locking member 37 is arranged at the end of the spring tongue 67 opposite the body 65 and engages and locks the second cavity 41 in the illustration of FIG. In order to displace the locking member 37 to the disengaged position, a disengagement force directed in the direction of the arrow 69 is applied to the spring tongue 67. This separating force can be applied by the operating means 63 shown in FIG. 2, for example. Due to the pressing force of the spring member 23 and the disengagement force in the opposite direction, the elastic spring tongue 67 causes the main body 65 of the latch 25 '.
The locking member 37 is biased or swung with respect to the second hollow portion 41 to be released from the second hollow portion 41 and displaced to the release position (not shown). Also in this case, since the transmission member 27 is first moved to the right in the drawing of FIG. 4, the spring member 23 is further compressed until the locking member 37 finally reaches the disengaged position. Next, the spring member 23 causes the transmission member 27 to move the latch 25 ′ from the cavity 21 to at least the first cavity 21.
By pushing in the direction of the open end face of the locking member 37, the locking member 37 is prevented from being unintentionally locked again in the second cavity.

According to the second embodiment, the spring tongue 67 extends over the entire width of the latch 25 '. In another embodiment, the spring tongue 67 extends only a portion of the width of the latch 25 'and is preferably located in the central area of the latch 25', which improves the rigidity of the body 65.

[0033]

In common with all embodiments of the hinge 1 with spring, a pressing force is exerted on the force-applying surface by the operating means which is passed through the latch via the open end face of the first cavity 21. This allows the self-locking latch to be easily displaced from the locking position to the release position. For this reason, no special equipment is required, and it can be easily performed by one person. Since the latch is easy to manufacture, the cost of the spring hinge is correspondingly low. After a number of times of assembly and disassembly, the spring-loaded hinge 1, in particular the latch 25 or 25 ', the spring element 23 and the transmission element 27 are reusable and therefore do not have to be replaced.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A-1D are partial views of a first embodiment of a spring-loaded hinge of the present invention with a latch in a locking position, respectively.

2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the spring-loaded hinge of FIGS. 1A-1D with the latch in the disengaged position.

3A-3C are views of the latch shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of a second example of a spring-loaded hinge having a latch of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 First cavity 25 latch 25 'latch 37 Locking member 51 Force acting surface 63 Operation means

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. An elongated first cavity for accommodating a spring member and a latch, the latch being biased by the spring member and comprising a locking member, the locking member being the second cavity in the locking position. In a spring-loaded hinge for spectacles that engages and locks a portion of the latch for the operating means 63 that exerts a release force on the latch 25 via the end face of the first cavity 21 to displace the locking member 37 to the release position. 25 is the locking member 3
7 has a force acting surface 51 at a position distant from 7, and the latch 25 has a lower guide surface 45, and an inclined surface 46 extending from the opposite end surface 47 of the spring member 23 toward the lower guide surface 45. A spring-loaded hinge having. 2. The latch 25 is formed so as to be tiltable, and when the pressing force acts on the force acting surface 51 of the latch 25, the latch 25 is displaced from the locking position to the releasing position. Spring hinge. 3. The first hollow portion 21 comprises a plurality of partial hollow portions, and the first partial hollow portion 13 is attached to the temple 3 of the spectacles or the cap connected to the temple 3 of the spectacles, and the second partial cavity is formed. 3. A spring-loaded hinge according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the part 19 is provided on a slide member 9 movably mounted on it. 4. A sprung according to the second cavity 41 is any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that disposed on the bottom wall 39 or the side wall of the first cavity portion 21 Hinge. 5. A sprung hinge according to any one of claims 1 <br/> to 4, characterized in that the first cavity 21 has a cross-section of at least substantially rectangular. 6. The latch 25 has an upper guide surface 43, the upper guide surface 43 and the lower guide surface 45 being spaced apart from each other and parallel to each other. 5. A hinge with a spring according to any one of items 1 to 5 . 7. An end surface of the latch 25 facing the spring member 23 has a recess, and a transmission member 27 disposed between the latch 25 and the spring member 23 engages with this recess. 7. A hinge with a spring according to any one of items 1 to 6 . 8. A flat or generally flat sidewall 55 in which the indentations 35 meet, when viewed in the direction of the bottom of the indentations 35,
Spring-loaded hinge according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , characterized in that it comprises 57. Any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that 9. force which is part of the projection 49 provided in the region of the end face 47 on the opposite side of the latch 25 of the working surface 51 the spring member 23 The spring-loaded hinge described in. 10. A sprung hinge according to the latch 25 is any one of claims 1, characterized in that it is formed integrally 9. 11. An elongated first spring housing for housing a spring member and a latch comprising a locking member.
Has a cavity, the latch is subjected to pressing force by the spring member, in particular according to any one of claims 1 to 10 of the locking member is locked in engagement with the second cavity portion at the locking position For use with the spring-loaded hinges of
In a method for disassembling a spring-loaded hinge for spectacles, a releasing force for displacing a locking member to a releasing position is passed from an opening of a first cavity to a latch when the latch is inserted into the first cavity during assembly. A method characterized by working.