HK1105685B - Glasses - Google Patents

Description

Glasses

The present invention relates to spectacles or spectacle frames and temples for such spectacle frames.

The prior art has disclosed different solutions for the hinge mechanism on spectacle frames. One of the most popular solutions is based on a hinge mechanism, in which pins are provided on the spectacle frame or spectacle lens frame, which pins cooperate with corresponding hinge parts provided at the end of the spectacle frame side of the spectacle arm in such a way that the two parts are nested into one another and are connected rotatably by means of special screws. In most spectacle frames, in particular spectacle frames intended for use with correction lenses, the opening and closing of the spectacle frame is carried out by means of a so-called locking piece for inserting or replacing the spectacle lenses. It is also conceivable for the lenses to be fastened directly to a spectacle frame by screwing screws directly into the lenses. The glasses legs of the glasses without the glasses frames are directly connected with the lenses by screws through accessories.

Since the rotary hinge (Drehgelenk) is subjected to very strong dynamic loads during the working life of the spectacles, various solutions no longer use the conventional rotary hinge for the sake of simplicity.

For example, US patent nr.3,155,982 proposes spectacles in which the temple directly cooperates with the front, lens-retaining frame part. For this purpose, the spectacle-frame-side end of the spectacle arm is divided into three leaf springs, the middle leaf spring resting against the outer edge of the spectacle-frame part, and the two outer leaf springs are inserted with hooks formed on their ends into holes provided in the vicinity of the outer edge in the main part. A disadvantage of the hinge construction described in US 3,155,982 is that the temples are only loosely connected to the frame, so that it is easy to happen that: the temples are disengaged from the frame, for example when the glasses fall to the ground.

Another spectacle hinge solution, which also works with a spectacle arm provided with three leaf springs, is proposed by Haffmans and Gottschling in european patent document nr.0863424B 1. The connecting element has an upper and a lower bore, which form a hinge axis extending perpendicularly to the direction of the pivoted temple. In the pivoted-out state of the temple, the two outer leaf springs of the temple, starting from the face of the connecting element facing the face of the person wearing the glasses, pass through the opening of the connecting element with the curved portion provided on the free end thereof and then rest against the face of the connecting element facing away from the face of the person wearing the glasses, while the middle leaf spring rests over its entire length against the face of the connecting element facing away from the face of the person wearing the glasses. Here, the connecting element is divided into two parts, thereby allowing for easy replacement of the lenses. In order to stabilize the use of the catch, the catch can be slipped over a separate connecting element. However, this mechanism has the disadvantage that the insertion of the temple is difficult, since the outer leaf spring and the intermediate leaf spring must be guided past the mutually opposite surfaces of the connecting element, wherein the spring action must be reversed and the end curvature has proven to be in the process a hindrance. Furthermore, there is a risk of the temple being detached from the connecting element under small mechanical stress, in particular when the hinge is small in size.

From WO 98/48313, a hinge mechanism is known in which two fingers are each bent away from one another at the hinge-side end of the temple and the bent ends are inserted rotatably in holes provided in a connecting element on the side of the spectacle frame. The bent ends of the fingers are held in the holes in a captive manner in such a way that the fingers exert a certain spring action upwards and downwards. However, such a hinge mechanism is not suitable for use on flat metal spectacles, such as those disclosed in EP 0863424B 1.

Starting from the above, the object of the invention is to provide a spectacle frame which allows the temple to be easily mounted and in which the temple is difficult to detach itself when the spectacles are subjected to mechanical stress, in particular in the case of flat metal spectacles.

This object is achieved by a spectacle frame having the features of claim 1, a spectacle frame according to claim 17 or 18 and a spectacle arm according to claim 19 or 20 and a method for producing such a spectacle arm according to claim 21.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention result from the dependent claims.

In one embodiment, the core of the invention is therefore: the side of the temple of the spectacle frame has at least two fingers in its longitudinal direction, which are designed such that they exert a spring action essentially in the direction of the hinge axis of a pivot hinge formed by the hinge element of the connecting unit of the spectacle frame and the cooperating hinge element of the temple, which spring action holds the hinge elements of the temple and of the connecting unit in a rotatable and anti-slip connection, which fingers are simultaneously designed as leaf springs, the sheet surfaces of which leaf springs extend essentially in the plane of the connecting unit corresponding to the temple in the folded-out state of the temple, which connecting unit is also formed approximately sheet-like.

In one embodiment of the spectacle frame, the fingers are designed in such a way that the spring force exerted by at least one finger acts in the direction of the other finger.

This construction can be used in particular in an advantageous configuration of the spectacle frame, in which the connecting element is divided longitudinally over its entire length into an upper strip and a lower strip. The separation line of the connection unit passes through the spectacle frame up to the spectacle lens. This makes it possible to easily replace the spectacle lenses, since the edges of the spectacle frame can be bent away from each other and thus come into contact with the lenses in a simple manner when the temple is removed.

When the temple is mounted, the spring force of the fingers finally causes the strips to be clamped together and the spectacle lens to be secured in the corresponding section of the spectacle frame in a slip-proof manner.

In this configuration, the temple has a hinge element in the form of a loop on the finger, while a corresponding pivot pin is provided on the connecting unit. In this case, the loops extend substantially perpendicularly to the plane or surface of the temple. The pivot pin of the connecting unit is therefore inserted into the loop of the finger when the temple is assembled, wherein the elastic action of the finger keeps the loop always rotatably on the pivot pin.

In a further embodiment, the pivot pins of the connecting unit are configured in such a way that they are received in corresponding concave bearing sleeves on the fingers, facing each other, in a pivotable manner, and the spring action of the fingers also ensures in this case: the bearing sleeve is always held in rotatable contact on the pivot pin of the connecting unit.

In a simple manner, the fingers can be pulled apart from one another against their spring action in order to detach the temple from the connecting unit and to manipulate the spectacle frame for changing the spectacle lenses.

In a further embodiment of the spectacle frame, the fingers are designed such that the spring force exerted by at least one finger acts in the opposite direction, i.e. is directed away from the other finger.

In a corresponding manner, loops can be provided on the connection unit, into which loops pivot pins projecting upwards and downwards from the spring fingers are inserted and fitted. In this case, the opening of the surround extends substantially perpendicularly to the face or plane of the connection unit. This spring action prevents the pivot pin from falling off the surround and at the same time constitutes a simple rotational hinge. For the removal of the temple, it is sufficient to simply press the fingers of the temple together against their elastic force.

In a further embodiment, in addition to the fingers embodied as leaf springs, an intermediate third leaf spring is also provided between them, all leaf springs extending parallel to one another.

The temple can be punched out of a flat blank in a simple manner together with the leaf spring and the surround in one working step. The loops can then be bent such that they extend substantially perpendicular to the plane of the temple.

The outer leaf spring of the three leaf springs has a hinge element, depending on the embodiment, which is a loop or a pivot pin, the middle leaf spring serving to form a spring-back mechanism which supports the pivoting out and pivoting in of the temple.

For this purpose, the central leaf spring is supported on a section of the connecting unit, which extends in the direction of the temple and thus forms a support.

In this case, according to the invention: the length of the leaf spring and of the abutment are selected such that the spring action is sufficient on the one hand to achieve a secure connection of the temple and the hinge element of the connecting unit and on the other hand the leaf spring action of the central leaf spring of the temple is sufficient to keep the temple in its swung-out state. In addition, in the embodiment with two strips of connecting elements, the length of the respective component is selected such that, in addition, the spring action is sufficient to effect the joining of the two strips of connecting elements.

If in one embodiment of the spectacle frame the plate-like support extends from the hinge element of the connecting unit in the direction of the temple, it is provided in this case that the outer leaf spring can be moved over the support when the temple is pivoted in.

In order to achieve additional stability, according to the invention, a collar can additionally be provided, which can be placed over the connection unit corresponding to the temple before the temple is mounted and thus fix the strips to one another in a flexurally rigid manner.

In a preferred embodiment, all the parts of the spectacle frame according to the invention can be produced from sheet metal as stamped or cut parts, which are then bent into the desired final shape. It is also conceivable to use titanium as the material for the individual components.

The invention will now be described in detail by means of embodiments shown in the drawings. The attached drawings show that:

FIG. 1: a perspective view of a temple for a spectacle frame according to the prior art;

FIG. 2 a: a perspective view of an unformed temple for an eyeglass frame according to the invention, on which the surround is formed;

FIG. 2 b: a perspective view of a shaped temple for a spectacle frame according to the invention with a bent-over surround;

FIG. 3: an exploded perspective view of the half of a spectacle frame according to the invention;

FIG. 4 a: according to the invention, the spectacle frame and the spectacle legs of the spectacle frame are in an outline view in a state that the spectacle legs are laid out;

FIG. 4 b: according to the invention, the spectacle frame and the spectacle legs of the spectacle frame are in an outline view in the state of putting the spectacle legs in; and

FIG. 5: a connection unit with alternating hinge elements.

Fig. 1 shows an exemplary spectacle arm 1 of the prior art, as disclosed in EP 0863424B 1. The temple 1 is divided into three leaf springs 2, 3 and 4, namely into two outer leaf springs 2 and 3 and a middle leaf spring 4. The outer leaf springs 2 and 3 have bent sections 5 at their ends, which are inserted into bores of a connecting unit of the spectacle frame, which are not shown in detail here. As mentioned above, the middle leaf spring 4 and the outer leaf springs 2 and 3 are here located on opposite sides of the connecting unit of the spectacle frame.

Fig. 2a and 2b schematically show a temple 1 for a spectacle frame according to the invention.

The temple 1 also has two outer leaf springs 2 and 3 and an intermediate leaf spring 4. These outer leaf springs 2 and 3 are each provided with a surrounding portion 6 at their ends.

Fig. 2a shows the shape of the temple 1 as a stamped sheet, while in fig. 2b the loops 6 are bent transversely to the longitudinal direction of the temple 1 in order to define an axis of rotation of the hinge.

The temple shown in fig. 2b has elongated slots for dividing the leaf springs in relation to the temple shown in fig. 1, in order to facilitate the pulling apart of the two outer leaf springs transversely to the longitudinal direction of the temple, as will be explained in more detail below.

Fig. 3 shows a temple 1 separated from the spectacle frame 7.

The spectacle frame 7 has a connecting unit 8 on each of its two sides, which is relatively short compared to the length of the spectacle arm, extends in the direction of the spectacle arm 1 and is divided into an upper strip 9 and a lower strip 10.

As can be seen in fig. 3, the separating line of the connecting unit extends into the front part of the spectacle frame 7 and up to the spectacle lens, which is not shown here. If the temple 1 is removed, the spectacle frame 7 is laterally easily opened in that the strips 9 and 10 are bent away from one another in order to insert or replace spectacle lenses.

Pivot pins 11 are provided on the strips 9 and 10 of the connecting unit 8, which pivot pins overlap one another and form an axis of rotation and, in the assembled state, engage in the loops 6 of the outer leaf springs 2 and 3 of the temple 1 and thus form a simple pivot joint, as shown in fig. 4a, 4 b.

As can be seen in fig. 3, the temple piece 1 can be attached to the connecting unit 8 in a simple manner by pulling the outer leaf springs 2 and 3 away from each other and fitting them over the pivot pin 11. The resilient action of the outer leaf springs 2 and 3 in opposition to one another causes the loop 6 to be locked, but pivoted, on the pivot pin 11, thereby additionally fixing the upper and lower straps 9 and 10 to one another in a manner that resists bending.

The connecting unit 8 has a plate-like support 12 which extends from the pivot pin 11 in the direction of the temple 1.

As can be seen from fig. 4a, in the folded-out state of the temple, the central leaf spring 4 rests against the side of the carrier 12 facing away from the wearer. In the pivoted-in state of the temple, as shown in fig. 4b, the intermediate leaf spring 4 is supported on the support 12 in order to form a spring-back mechanism. The support 12 is shaped in such a way that the outer leaf springs 2 and 3 can move unhindered on the support 12 in the pivoted-in state of the temple 1.

Fig. 5 also schematically shows an alternative embodiment of the connection unit 8. The connecting unit has conical pivot pins 13 which are received rotatably in bearing bushes, not shown here, of the outer leaf springs.

Claims (16)

1. Spectacle frame having a spectacle leg (1) on the left and right and having a spectacle frame (7) having a connecting unit (8) on the left and right, the ends of which on the spectacle leg side face in the direction of the spectacle leg (1) in the swung-out state, wherein the connecting unit (8) is provided with hinge elements (11; 13) in the form of loops or pivot pins which cooperate with hinge elements (6) provided on the spectacle leg (1) on the spectacle frame side in the form of pivot pins or loops in order to form a rotary hinge, and the spectacle leg (1) has on its spectacle frame side end in its longitudinal direction at least two fingers (2, 3) which are designed such that they exert a spring action substantially in the direction of the hinge axis of the rotary hinge, which spring action causes the hinge elements (6) of the spectacle leg (1) and of the connecting unit (8), 11; 13) keep rotatable and anticreep connection, its characterized in that: the fingers (2, 3) of the temple are formed by leaf springs, the faces of which extend substantially in the plane of the connecting unit (8) corresponding to the temple (1) in the extended state of the temple (1), the fingers being formed by three leaf springs (2, 3, 4), the outer leaf springs (2, 3) of the temple comprising the hinge element (6) arranged on the end of the temple (1) on the side of the frame, and the middle leaf spring (4) of the temple being used to form a spring-back mechanism which supports the extension and extension of the temple.

2. Eyeglass frame as per claim 1 that is distinguished by the fact that said elastic action consists in: the elastic force exerted by one finger (2 or 3) acts in a direction towards the other finger (3 or 2).

3. Eyeglass frame as per claim 2 that is distinguished by the fact that said connecting element (8) is divided over its entire length into an upper strip (9) and a lower strip (10).

4. Eyeglass frame according to claim 3, characterized in that the separation line of the connection unit (8) extends through the eyeglass frame (7) as far as the eyeglass lens received by the eyeglass frame (7).

5. Frame as claimed in one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the hinge elements of the temple (1) are loops (6) arranged on the fingers (2, 3), the opening of each loop extending substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the temple (1), the hinge elements of the connecting unit (8) being pivot pins (11) fitting into the loops (6).

6. Eyeglass frame as per one of claims 1 through 4 that is distinguished by the fact that the hinge element of the temple (1) is a bearing bush placed on the finger and the hinge element of the connecting unit (8) is a bearing pin (13) that is supported in the bearing bush.

7. Eyeglass frame as per claim 1 that is distinguished by the fact that said elastic action consists in: the elastic force exerted by one finger (2 or 3) acts in a direction away from the other finger (3 or 2).

8. Eyeglass frame according to claim 7, characterized in that the hinge elements of the connecting unit (8) are loops, the openings of which each extend substantially perpendicularly to the plane of the connecting unit (8), and the hinge elements of the temple (1) are pivot pins arranged on the fingers of the temple (1) which engage in the loops.

9. Eyeglass frame as per claim 1 that is distinguished by the fact that the connecting element (8) is designed in such a way that it forms a seat (12) for the central leaf spring (4) of three leaf springs of the temple (1) corresponding to the connecting element (8) in the folded-in state of the temple (1).

10. Eyeglass frame as per claim 8 or 9 that is distinguished by the fact that the length of the leaf springs (2, 3, 4) of the temple (1) and the length of the abutment (12) are selected such that the spring action is sufficient to achieve a secure connection of the temple (1) and the hinge element (6, 11; 13) of the connecting unit (8), and that the leaf spring action of the central leaf spring (4) of the temple (1) is sufficient to keep the temple (1) in its swung-in position.

11. Eyeglass frame as per claim 8 or 9 that is distinguished by the fact that the length of the leaf springs (2, 3, 4) of the temple (1) and the length of the abutment (12) are chosen such that the spring action is sufficient to hold the two strips (9, 10) of the connecting element (8) together, and that the leaf spring action of the middle leaf spring (4) of the temple (1) is sufficient to hold the temple (1) in its swung-in position.

12. Eyeglass frame as per claim 9 that is distinguished by the fact that the support (12) is configured as a plate.

13. Eyeglass frame according to claim 9, characterized in that the abutment (12) extends from the hinge element (11; 13) of the connecting unit (8) in the direction of the temple (1) in the swung-out state in such a way that the outer leaf springs (2, 3) of the temple (1) move past the abutment (12) when the temple (1) is swung in.

14. Spectacle frame according to claim 1, characterised in that a loop is provided which can be fitted over the connecting element (8) corresponding to the temple (1) before the temple (1) is mounted.

15. Eyeglass frame as per claim 1 that is distinguished by the fact that all parts are made of sheet metal.

16. Spectacle frame according to claim 1, characterized in that all parts are made of titanium.