US3709587A

US3709587A - Eyeglasses having readily removable lenses

Info

Publication number: US3709587A
Application number: US00122839A
Authority: US
Inventors: M Wick
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-03-10
Filing date: 1971-03-10
Publication date: 1973-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 1990-01-09

Abstract

Eyeglasses having a lens carrier and lens means detachably secured to the lens carrier. The lens means and lens carrier are provided with engaging means of complementary configuration to permit interchangeability of lenses of varying sizes and shapes with lens carriers of diverse style and ornamentation.

Description

United States Patent [191 Wick [54] EYEGLASSES HAVING READILY REMOVABLE LENSES [76] Inventor: Mary Irene Wick, 7533 Parkdale Drive, Clayton, Mo. 63105 [22] Filed: March 10, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 122,839

[52] U.S. Cl. ..35l/l06, 351/110, 351/149 [51] Int. Cl. ..G02c 1/02 [58] Field of Search ..35l/41,110,104109, 351/140,151, 60, 61,149

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 756,228 4/1904 Fox ..351/149 1,207,924 12/1916 Johnston ..351/149 3,394,980 7/1968 Dym ..35l/149 X 3,471,222 10/1969 Eisler ..351/106 X 51 Jan.9, 1973 3,475,083 10/1969 Gitlinetal ..35l/4l 2,091,296 8/1937 Williams ....35l/l06 2,880,649 4/1959 Eisler ..35l/61 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 984,493 2/1965 Great Britain ..35 1/108 Primary Examiner-David Schonberg Assistant Examiner-John W. Leonard Attorney-John D. Pope, Ill

[57] ABSTRACT Eyeglasses having a lens carrier and lens means detachably secured to the lens carrier. The lens means and lens carrier are provided with engaging means of complementary configuration to permit interchangeability of lenses of varying sizes and shapes with lens carriers of diverse style and ornamentation.

14 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures Pmmtnm 9197a 3.709.587

SHEET 1 0F 2 INVENTOR MARY IRENE WICK B go n P xnfi ATTORNEY PATENTED JAN 9 I973 SHEET 2 BF 2 FIG.9 FIG. IO

INYENTOR MARY IRENE WICK ATTORNEY EYEGLASSES HAVING READILY REMOVABLE LENSES This invention is directed to new and useful improvements in eyeglasses and more particularly to interchangeable eyeglass lenses and frames.

Eyeglass lenses that are supported by an eyeglass frame must generally be ground at the periphery thereof in order to fit the lenses to the frame. The fitted lens is then secured to the frame to form an integral and usually permanent combination. Thus, except for a change of eyeglass prescription or replacement of a broken lens, the initially fitted lenses and frames form a non-variable combination.

While eyeglasses serve mainly to correct a defect in vision or in the case of tinted glasses to cut down the glare of the sun, there exists a seemingly infinite variety of eyeglass styles and shapes. It is quite common to design eyeglasses to fit a mood or special occasion in accordance with one s individual taste and fashion concepts. Consequently it can be desirable to possess more than one pair of eyeglasses, with each pair being styled differently. Nevertheless, due to the expense of eyeglasses many eyeglass users must limit themselves to one pair.

Among the several objects of the present invention may be noted the provision of a novel eyeglass structure permitting lenses of varying sizes and shapes to be interchangeable with frames of diverse style and ornamentation; a novel eyeglass lens having a viewing portion and a support appendage; and a novel lens carrier having novel means for detachably engaging and holding an eyeglass lens. Other objects and features will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The present invention contemplates novel means for interchanging eyeglass lenses with eyeglass frames and vice versa. In one embodiment of the invention a pair of eyeglasses are provided with a lens having a viewing portion and an appendage that extends from a peripheral zone of the viewing portion. The eyeglasses further include a lens carrier having a slot formed to engage the appendage in order to hold the lens in position on the carrier. Spring restrained detent means are provided on engaging portions of the appendage and lens carrier to detachably secure the lens in the carrier slot. Eyeglass lenses of varying size and shape are provided with a standard size appendage and frames of diverse style and ornamentation are provided with a standard size carrier slot. A variety of frames and lenses can thereby be interchanged.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafter described, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which two of various possible embodiments of the invention are illustrated,

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of eyeglasses incorporating one embodiment of the present invention, the lens car- FIG. 7 is a front elevation of a lens means;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view thereof taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a lens means constructed of two pieces;

FIG. 10 is another variation of the lens means of FIG.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary side view of the lens means of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is another embodiment of eyeglasses incorporating the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG. 11.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings for a detailed description of the present invention, eyeglasses incorporating one embodiment thereof are generally indicated by reference number 10. Eyeglasses 10 comprise a pair of lens means l2, 14, held in place by a support means 16. Support means 16 can be formed of any suitable material such as plastic and includes an elongated lens carrier 18 and a pair of oppositely disposed

temple pieces

20, 22.

Temple pieces

20, 22, are hingedly secured to the free ends of carrier 18 by

hinges

24, 26, respectively. As lens means l2, 14, are of substantially similar structure, description thereof will be confined to lens means 12.

Lens means 12, as seen most clearly in FIG. 7, in-

cludes a transparent viewing portion 28 made of any suitable material such as glass or plastic. Lens means 12 also includes an appendage 30 extending from a peripheral zone 32 of viewing portion 28. Appendage 30 includes

opposite side portions

34, 36, which define the extent of peripheral Zone 32. Viewing portion 28 includes an exposed perimeter 38 extending from side portion 34 to side portion 36 of appendage 30. Appendage 30 further includes longitudinal detent grooves 40 and side

detent notches

42, 44. Appendage 30 and viewing portion 28 are formed as one piece but can be made of two pieces as seen in FIG. 9, wherein a transparent viewing portion 46 is seated upon an appendage 48 formed of any suitable resilient material not necessarily transparent. Viewing portion 46 includes a stublike appendage 50 seated intermediate

resilient gripping jaws

52, 54, provided on appendage 48. Under this arrangement viewing portion 46 can be detachably secured to appendage 48 or adhesively bonded thereto.

Similarly, FIG. 10 illustrates another variation of a two-piece lens means wherein a viewing portion 56 is secured to an appendage 58. Viewing portion 56 includes mounting grooves 60 in engagement with jaw teeth 62 of appendage 58. If desired, viewing portion 56 can be detachable from appendage 58.

Lens carrier 18 comprises a V-shaped bridge portion 64 and a pair of oppositely disposed

lens support arms

66, 68, formed at the mouth of bridge portion 64 and extending therefrom in substantially opposite directions. Lens support

arms

66, 68, each include means for engaging lens appendage 30, such as slots or

openings

70, 72, for insertion of said appendage. As

slots

70, 72, are of substantially similar structure, description thereof will be confined to slot 70.

As seen in FIG. 5, slot includes

opposed biasing springs

74, 76, provided therein and secured to carrier 18 in any suitable manner. For instance, spring holes 78 are formed in carrier 18 at the corners of slot 70 and a bent portion 80 is provided at the opposite ends of

springs

74, 76. Bent portions 80 resiliently bear against the walls of spring holes 78 to hold said springs in position.

Slot 70 further includes a detent nipple 82 provided at one end thereof in a hole 84 formed in arm 66. Nipple 82 includes a tip portion 86 secured to a trunk portion 88 disposed in hole 84. Hole 84 is provided with an end plug 94 having a through opening 90 of larger dimension than tip 86. A coil spring 92 provided in hole 84 urges nipple 82 toward through opening 90. Under this arrangement trunk portion 88 abuts plug 94 to limit the projection of tip portion 86 from through opening 90.

If desired, an opposing detent nipple 96 can be rigidly formed at the opposite end of slot 70 or biasing structure similar to that associated with nipple 82 can be provided therefor.

A slot 98 which is a variation of slot 70 is shown in FIG. 6. Slot 98 is open on one side and includes only one detent spring 100 secured to carrier 18 across the open side in the manner previously described for securing

springs

74, 76, within slot 70. Slot 98 further includes opposing

detent nipples

82 and 96.

In use, lens means 12 is detachably secured to carrier 18 by inserting appendage 30 in slot 70 intermediate biasing springs 74, 76, and

detent nipples

82, 96. Longitudinal detent grooves 40 of appendage 30 are formed to engage biasing

springs

74, 76, and

side detent notches

42, 44, are formed to accommodate

nipples

82, 96, to detachably secure lens means 12 within slot 70. Under this arrangement exposed perimeter 38 of lens means 12 is spaced from lens carrier 18 and viewing portion 28 is supported on carrier 18 solely at appendage 30. Accordingly, lens means 12 can be removed from carrier slot 70 by merely grasping viewing portion 28 and pulling it outwardly from slot 70 to overcome the detent force between

springs

74, 76,

nipples

82, 96, and appendage 30.

A further embodiment of eyeglasses incorporating the present invention is shown in FIG. 12 and generally referred to by reference number 102.

Eyeglasses 102 comprise a lens carrier 104 having a V-shaped bridge portion 106. Bridge portion 106 includes

legs

108, 110, provided with identical slots 70. Eyeglasses 102 further include a pair of lens means 112, 114, having oppositely disposed

similar appendages

116, 118, which appendages have a notch and groove structure (not shown) substantially corresponding to grooves 40, and

notches

42, 44, of the previously described appendage 30. Eyeglasses 102 further include oppositely disposed temple pieces 120 provided at appendages 118. Temple piece 120 includes a slot piece 124 having a slot 70. Temple piece 120 further includes an elongated stem piece 126 hingedly secured by a hinge 128 to slot piece 124.

In use, lens means 112, 114, are detachably secured at

appendages

116, 118, to the slots 70 in bridge portion 106 and temple pieces 120.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that lenses of varying sizes and shapes can each be provided with a standard appendage. It will be further apparent that lens carriers of diverse style and ornamentation can be provided with standard size carrier slots to accommodate the lens appendages. Interchangeability of lenses and frames is thus accomplished.

In accordance with the second embodiment, temple pieces of varying style and ornamentation can also be provided with standard size carrier slots. In this manner lenses of varying size and shape can be easily and economically interchanged with frames of diverse styling and ornamentation. For further economy the lens carrier and temple pieces of the first embodiment can be molded as one piece wherein the temple pieces are formed as integral elongations of the lens carrier. In the event that a particular lens and carrier combination are preferred above all others the lenses can be permanently secured to the carrier by providing a suitable bonding adhesive in the area of the appendage and slot. If desired, the lens carrier and temple pieces can be formed of a transparent plastic material in a simple standard design. The appearance of the standard lens carrier might then be varied by attaching in a known manner a variety of ornamental accessories thereto. The accessories while adding a decorative appearance to the glasses also provide a cosmetic effect for the user. In the case of detachable ornamental accessories, the decorative appearance of a single lens carrier could be varied at will according to the immediate dictates of the user.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. An eyeglass comprising at least one lens means having a lens viewing portion with an appendage of a first chosen dimension extending from a peripheral zone of said viewing portion and support means for said lens means including a first lens carrier having a slot of a second chosen dimension into which said appendage is disposed, said appendage having a longitudinal detent groove therein, said first lens carrier including deflectable resilient retaining means confined within said carrier for detachably holding said appendage in fixed position in said slot, said retaining means including an elongated detent spring protruding into said slot and arranged to deflectively retract upon disposition of said appendage in said slotsuch that said appendage is detentively retained in said slot by resilient expansion of said detent spring into said detent groove in said appendage.

2. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 1 wherein that a second lens means, having a second appendage of said first chosen dimension can be interchangeably disposed in said lens carrier slot with said one lens means.

3. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 2 wherein said carrier includes a curved V-shaped bridge portion having oppositely disposed depending legs and said slots are formed in the legs of said bridge portion for insertion of said appendage.

4. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 3, said support means further including means for maintaining said lens carrier in viewing position, said maintaining means comprising a temple piece having one end secured to said lens means and an opposite free end, said one end of said temple piece including a slot, said lens means including a second appendage in engagement with the slot of said temple piece.

5. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 1 wherein a second lens carrier, of differing size and shape than said first lens carrier but having a second slot of said second chosen dimension, is interchangeable with said first lens carrier for accommodating the appendage of said first lens means in the slot of said second lens carrier.

6. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 5 wherein, said carrier includes a curved V-shaped bridge portion and a pair of oppositely disposed lens support arms formed at the mouth of said V and extending away from said V in substantially opposite directions, said slots being formed in said oppositely disposed lens support arm.

7. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 1 wherein said spring is relatively movable with respect to said slot, disposition of said appendage into said slot causing said spring to retract, expansion of said spring against said detent groove retaining said appendage in said slot.

8. An eyeglass comprising at least one lens means having a lens viewing portion with an appendage of a first dimension extending from a peripheral zone of said viewing portion and support means for said lens means including a first lens carrier having a slot of a second chosen dimension into which said appendage is disposed, said retaining means including oppositely disposed side portions extending from said peripheral zone, at least one of said side portions having a detent notch therein, said first lens carrier including deflectable resilient retaining means confined within said carrier for detachably holding said appendage in fixed position in said slot, said retaining means including a detent nipple biased by spring means in said lens carrier and protruding into said slot and arranged to deflectively retract upon disposition of said appendage in said slot such that said appendage is detentively retained in said slot by resilient expansion of said detent nipple into said detent notch in said appendage.

9. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 8 wherein a second lens means, having a second appendage of said first chosen dimension can be interchangeably disposed in said lens carrier slot with said one lens means.

10. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 9 wherein said carrier includes a curved V-shaped bridge portion having oppositely disposed depending legs and said slots are formed in the legs of said bridge portion for insertion of said appendage.

11. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 10, said support means further including means for maintaining said lens carrier in viewing position, said maintaining means comprising a temple piece having one end secured to said lens means and an opposite free end.

12. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 8 wherein a second lens carrier, of differing size and shape than said first lens carrier but having a second slot of said second chosen dimension, is interchangeable with said first lens carrier for accommodating the appendage of said first lens means in the slot of said second lens carrier.

13. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 12 wherein said carrier includes a curved V-shaped bridge portion and a pair of oppositely disposed lens support arms formed at the mouth of said V" and extending away from said V in substantially opposite directions, said slots being formed in said oppositely disposed lens support arms.

14. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 8 wherein said detent nipple is relatively movable with respect to said slot and urged into said slot by a spring such that disposition of said appendage in said slot causes said nipple to retract, expansion of said spring urging said nipple into engagement with said detent notch to maintain said appendage in said slot.

Claims

1. An eyeglass comprising at least one lens means having a lens viewing portion with an appendage of a first chosen dimension extending from a peripheral zone of said viewing portion and support means for said lens means including a first lens carrier having a slot of a second chosen dimension into which said appendage is disposed, said appendage having a longitudinal detent groove therein, said first lens carrier including deflectable resilient retaining means confined within said carrier for detachably holding said appendage in fixed position in said slot, said retaining means including an elongated detent spring protruding into said slot and arranged to deflectively retract upon disposition of said appendage in said slot such that said appendage is detentively retained in said slot by resilient expansion of said detent spring into said detent groove in said appendage.

6. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 5 wherein, said carrier includes a curved V-shaped bridge portion and a pair of oppositely disposed lens support arms formed at the mouth of said ''''V'''' and extending away from said ''''V'''' in substantially opposite directions, said slots being formed in said oppositely disposed lens support arm.

13. An eyeglass as claimed in claim 12 wherein said carrier includes a curved V-shaped bridge portion and a pair of oppositely disposed lens support arms formed at the mouth of said ''''V'''' and extending away from said ''''V'''' in substantially opposite directions, said slots being formed in said oppositely disposed lens support arms.