WO2016062389A1

WO2016062389A1 - Eyeglasses frame

Info

Publication number: WO2016062389A1
Application number: PCT/EP2015/002052
Authority: WO
Inventors: Camillo Rattaro
Original assignee: Camillo Rattaro
Priority date: 2014-10-23
Filing date: 2015-10-16
Publication date: 2016-04-28

Abstract

Eyeglasses frame comprising a front (1) provided with a pair of rings (L1, L2) wherein the lenses (L) are inserted joined together by a central nose-bridge (P) and with lateral external protrusions (9), temples (2) equipped, at a first end, of lateral support (3) bent with respect to the temple by an angle of approximately 90 degrees and joined to it by a hinge (4), said lateral support (3) supports in an articulated manner said temple (2) and, at the opposite end, equipped with a bearing terminal portion (12) of the glasses on the ears, wherein said lateral support (3) has a fixing portion (5) in a "U" shape, which is inserted in an opening (10) provided in the lateral external protrusions (9) of the front (1), said fixing portion being provided with at least one fin (6), fitted with a projection (7), placed substantially at the end of the free arm of said "U" and at least one pair of lateral locking fins (8, 8'), placed substantially in a median position on said arms, which firmly crimp the lateral internal sides of the opening (10).

Description

EYEGLASSES FRAME

This invention refers to an eyeglasses frame in which the temples are equipped with a coupling device to the front of a typical frame in semi-rigid material such as plastic, polycarbonate, plastic resins, light metals (e.g. aluminium), etc.

The temples of this type of eyeglasses are made up of a rod made of rigid material (e.g. metal) with one curved end coated with plastic or other comfortable material that rests on the ear of the person wearing the glasses to hold them in position and an opposite end, with a hinge for the closing of the temples when the glasses are placed in their case or in a pocket and side supports (so-called end pieces) that are joined to the front of the frame.

In some systems of a known type the temples are fixed to the front of the frame by means of heated insertion of a pin in the shape of a mushroom, or by use of one or more fastening pins, generally two, of metallic material.

The temples are then adjusted to the shape of the head of the wearer of the eyeglasses by means of bending of the terminal portions behind the ear so that it remains at rest and keeps the glasses in position despite head movements. These systems have various drawbacks: in the first solution above (pin inserted hot), in case of breakage of the temple-front connecting part, it is necessary to replace the entire frame which is now useless, while in the second solution (one or more fastening pins),, always in case of breakage, the pins must be removed and the end piece replaced so that, generally, it is necessary to perform rather complex operations on the part of the optician. Similarly, to regulate the temple properly and correctly to the shape of the head, the user must periodically go to the optician for the necessary changes to the end equipped with a coating that is worn behind the ear.

Furthermore, said systems of the state of art do not have a sufficient elasticity of the structure which would, however, be necessary for a good and secure adaptation of the frame to the shape of the head of the person wearing the eyeglasses and to prevent breakage of the components.

The aim of this invention is to obviate these drawbacks by providing a temple for eyeglasses having the features of attached claim 1.

Further characteristics of this invention are contained in the dependent claims. A temple is therefore provided at a first end, with a lateral support (so-called end piece) of the temple to the front of the frame with a system of rapid attachment/detachment and at the second opposite end, with a terminal support portion of the eyeglasses fitted with a system of length adjustment. It follows that, in the event of breakage of the end piece, it is possible to replace it with extreme ease and speed just as, in an equally simple and rapid way, it is possible to adjust the length of the temple to fit the frame to the shape of the head of the person wearing the glasses.

The invention will be better explained by the following description, in which the preferable embodiment of the invention is described, made with the aid of the accompanying figures which respectively illustrate:

Figure 1 illustrates a front view of an eyeglasses frame according to this invention; Figure 2 illustrates a partial exploded perspective view of the coupling system of the lateral support or end piece to the front of the frame according to a first embodiment of this invention;

Figure 3 illustrates a perspective view of the lateral support or end piece attached to the front of the frame according to a first embodiment of this invention;

Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the steps of extraction of the lateral support or end piece from the front of the frame according to a first embodiment of this invention;

Figure 6 illustrates a frontal view of the front of the frame according to a first embodiment of this invention;

Figure 7 illustrates an enlarged frontal view of the protrusion of the front according to a first embodiment of this invention;

Figure 8 illustrates an enlarged perspective view of the protrusion of the front according to a first embodiment of this invention;

Figure 9 illustrates a perspective view of the lateral support or end piece attached to the front of the frame according to a second embodiment of this invention;

Figure 10 illustrates an enlarged detail of the lateral support or end piece of

Figure 9 according to a second embodiment of this invention;

Figure 1 1 illustrates a perspective view of the lateral support or end piece attached to the front of the frame according to a third embodiment of this invention;

Figure 12 illustrates an enlarged detail of the lateral support or end piece of Figure 1 1 according to a third embodiment of this invention; Figure 13 illustrates a perspective view of the lateral support or end piece attached to the front of the frame according to a fourth embodiment of this invention;

Figure 14 illustrates an enlarged detail of the lateral support or end piece of

Figure 13 according to a fourth embodiment of this invention;

Figure 15 illustrates a perspective view of the lateral support or end piece attached to the front of the frame according to a fifth embodiment of this invention;

Figure 16 illustrates an enlarged detail of the lateral support or end piece of

Figure 15 according to a fifth embodiment of this invention;

Figure 17 illustrates a perspective view of the lateral support or end piece attached to the front of the frame according to a sixth embodiment of this invention;

Figure 18 illustrates an enlarged detail of the lateral support or end piece of Figure 17 according to a sixth embodiment of this invention;

Figures 19 and 20 illustrate the steps of extraction of the lateral support or end piece from the front of the frame according to the second embodiment of this invention illustrated in Figures 9 and 10;

Figure 21 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the temple and the terminal part resting on the ear according to this invention;

Figure 22 illustrates an enlarged detail of the terminal part of the temple resting on the ear according to this invention.

With reference to the figures above, the frame, according to the first embodiment of this invention, comprises a front 1, provided with a pair of rings LI , L2 in which the lenses L are inserted, joined together by a nose- bridge P, a pair of temples 2 equipped, at one end of the lateral support 3 (so- called end piece), bent with respect to the temple by an angle of about 90° and joined to it by means of a hinge 4, which supports in an articulated manner said temples which rest the eyeglasses on the ears. Said lateral support 3 or end piece also presents, in part for attachment to the front 1 , a fixing portion 5, in a "U" shape, with at least a first pair of fins 6, 6', positioned substantially at the ends of the free arms of that "U", provided with projections 7, 7' in the rear of said fixing portion 5 and at least a second pair of side fins 8, 8' preferably in the form of a "fishbone" placed in a substantially median position on said branches. Between the two fins 6, 6' there is a free space (given by the "U" shape) that allows their approach at the time of insertion, illustrated below.

In the two side ends of the front 1 of the frame protrusions 9 are envisaged provided with an opening 10 of preferably rectangular shape, slightly larger in height and width with respect to the fixing portion 5 and, in particular, to the lateral dimension of the "U" shape, where said opening 10 is adapted to receive said fixing portion 5. Preferably, the protrusion 9 has a recess 1 1 situated in the outer side wall.

To mount the eyeglasses and join the front 1 to the temples 2 as described above, it is enough to insert the front of the fixing portion 5 in the opening 10 and exert a push in the direction of the opening 10, taking advantage of its elasticity.

Said fixing portion 5, once inserted into the opening 10, remains firmly anchored to the inner side walls of said opening 10 due to the force of the elastic engagement of portion 5 on the inner side walls of the opening 10 and the effect of fins 8, 8' which grip the inner side walls of the opening 10, so as to realise a solid and, at the same time, elastic bond between the components of the frame. The projections 7, 7' remain outside the opening 10 while a portion of the lateral support 3 rests on the outer side wall of the opening 10 provided with recess 1 1. It is therefore quite easy to extract from the opening 10 the fixing portion 5 since it is sufficient, through the use of pliers (Figs. 4 and 5), to exert a thrust force on the side walls of the fixing portion 5 at the bottom of the projections 7, T, so as to release it from the constraint with the walls of the opening 10 and remove it. In this way, the end piece 3 and the temple 2 can easily be replaced in case of breakage or, more simply, because the one who is wearing the glasses wants to change end piece or temple with a different type or colour.

In a further second alternative embodiment illustrated in Figures 9 and 10, the fixing portion 5 is directed orthogonally with respect to the temple 2 and is joined to the branch portion of the "U" more internally with respect to the face of the person wearing the eyeglasses, and is a natural extension of the lateral support 3 or end piece. Said fixing portion 5 is inserted into the opening 10 made on the outer side, with respect to the person wearing the glasses, of the protrusion 9 of the front 1.

In a third alternative embodiment (Figures 1 1- and 12), the fixing portion 5 is turned in the opposite direction with respect to the first embodiment described above and is inserted into the opening 10, made in the front part, with respect to the person wearing the glasses, of the protrusion 9 of the front 1.

Figures 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 illustrate three further alternative embodiments: A) In a fourth embodiment (Figures 13 and 14), the fixing portion 5 is joined to the lateral support 3 or end piece through the innermost branch, with respect to the front 1 , of the "U" shaped fixing portion 5 while the other branch remains free and is of shorter length than the first;

B) In a fifth embodiment (Figures 15 and 16), the lateral support 3 is joined to the opposite branch of the "U" shaped fixing portion 5 with respect to the solution shown in Figures 9 and 10 and is its natural extension;

C) In a sixth embodiment (Figures 17 and 18), the "U" shaped fixing portion 5 is joined to the lateral support 3 or end piece through the innermost branch, with respect to the front 1 , of said "U" shaped portion, while the other branch remains free and is of shorter length than the first.

Figures 19 and 20 illustrate the steps of extraction of the fixing portion 5 from the opening 10 made in the lateral part of the protrusion 9 of the second embodiment of this invention.

The curved end part 12 of the temple 2, namely the one that goes to rest over and behind the ear of the person wearing the glasses, is a piece detachable from the temple 2, preferably in semi-rigid material such as, for example, rubber or plastic. Said end part 12 has, in its straight part, a plurality of holes 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, preferably of rectangular shape, spaced one from another, suitable to receive the detent 18 provided in the exterior end of the temple 2. Therefore, it is possible to adapt the length of the end portion 12 of the temple 2 to the head of the person, by insertion of the detent 18 in one of the holes of said end part 12, without, therefore, the need to fulfil the difficult operations of bending the temple which, however, are necessary to adapt the eyeglasses to the head of the person according to the devices of the state of art. Said holes are made in the lower part of the terminal part 12, as shown in Fig. 21, but alternatively may be made on the top or side of it.

The temples 2, the end piece 3 and the fixing portion 5 are made of substantially rigid material, e.g. metal or plastic, so as to allow the easy penetration and the blocking of the fins 8, 8' in the opening 10 of the front 1 which, however, is preferably of semi-rigid material, for example, plastic resin.

A further advantage of this invention is represented by the fact that the fixing portion 5 is made in a single body with the lateral support 3 or end piece so as to ensure good strength and elasticity.

Said parts are made in one piece without welding using a laser cutting system, or other system known to the person skilled in the art, of a metal plate, or by using the moulding method in a suitable mould: in this way, said elements turn out to be rather resistant and elastic and, thus, free of weakened areas subject to easy breakage.

Claims

1. Eyeglasses frame comprising:

^• a front (1) provided with a pair of rings (LI , L2) wherein the lenses (L) are inserted joined together by a central nose-bridge (P) and with lateral external protrusions (9),

• temples (2) equipped, at a first end, of lateral support (3) bent with respect to the temple by an angle of approximately 90 degrees and joined to it by a hinge (4), said lateral support (3) supports in an articulated manner said temple (2) and, at the opposite end, equipped with a bearing terminal portion (12) of the glasses on the ears,

characterized by the fact that said lateral support (3) has a fixing portion (5) in a "U" shape, which is inserted in an opening (10) provided in the lateral external protrusions (9) of the front (1), said fixing portion being provided with at least one fin (6), fitted with a projection (7), placed substantially at the end of the free arm of said "U" and at least one pair of lateral locking fins (8, 8'), placed substantially in a median position on said arms, which firmly crimp the lateral internal sides of the opening (10).

2. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1 , wherein said lateral fins (8, 8') are "fishbone" shaped.

3. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1 , wherein the opening (10) is slightly larger in height and width than the fixing portion (5) and is of rectangular shape.

4. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1, wherein the outer lateral wall of the opening (10) is provided with a recess (1 1) for the support and the fitting of the lateral support (3).

5. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1 , wherein the disassembly of the lateral support (3) of the temple exerts a thrust force on the side walls of the fixing portion (5).

6. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1 , wherein the fixing portion (5) in a special shape of "U" is inserted in the opening (10) provided in the front or rear part of the protrusion (9) of the front (1).

7. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1, wherein the fixing portion (5) in a special shape of "U" is inserted in the opening (10) provided in the lateral external part of the protrusion (9) of the front (1).

8. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1 , wherein the temple (2), the lateral support (3) and the fixing portion (5) are made with a substantially rigid material so as to permit the easy penetration and the locking of the fins (8, 8') in the opening (10) of the front (1), made in a semi-rigid material.

9. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1 , wherein the fixing portion (5) is formed in a unique body with the lateral support (3) so as to ensure good strength and elasticity.

10. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1 , wherein the terminal portion (12) of the temple (2) is made in a semi-rigid material.

1 1. Eyeglasses frame as by claim 1 , wherein the curved terminal portion (12) of the temple (2), i.e. the part that rests over and behind the ear of the person wearing the glasses, is a piece detachable from the temple (2), said terminal portion (12) having, in the right part, a plurality of holes (13, 14, 15, 16, 17) spaced apart, able to receive a detent (18) provided at the end of the temple (2) that rests over and behind the ear of the person wearing the glasses, so as to fit the length of said terminal portion (12) of the temple (2) to the head of the person, by inserting the detent (18) in one of said holes of said terminal portion (12).