DE20116193U1 - Eyeglass temples with insert - Google Patents

Description

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Temples with insert element

Technical background of the invention

The invention relates to a temple and an insert element for the same.

The area where the temples rest on the user's head and ear is often problematic, as the temples made of hard material can cause red or sore skin if the glasses are worn for a long time. This is particularly the case with the side areas where the temples rest above the ear.

State of the art

There has been no lack of attempts (e.g. US-PS 5,907,385; US-PS 6,065,834; US-PS 3,953,114) to defuse this skin-sensitive area. However, the known solutions are either complex or unsatisfactory in long-term use.

Description of the invention

The object of the invention is to find a structurally simple, effective and aesthetically pleasing solution that improves the wearing comfort in this skin area and minimizes the aforementioned health impairments.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the insert element is designed to be flexible and is profiled in such a way that it can be inserted into a slot in the temple and is durable.

The basic idea of the invention is that the mounting of such an insert in the temple of the glasses can be achieved without additional aids such as screwing, gluing or similar, but also by the dimensions

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The profiling and the choice of material for the elements involved are such that there is sufficient frictional resistance between the temple and the insert. This frictional resistance is appropriately chosen so that it is not possible to accidentally pull the insert out of the slot, but that it is easy to renew or replace the insert, for example if the material becomes brittle due to constant contact with the skin.

All that is required for this is an elongated slot in the temple of the glasses, whereby a special embodiment of the invention provides that a shape in the end region of this slot and a corresponding design of the profiling on the insert enable an additional locking effect which ensures that the insert is held in the temple of the glasses.

According to a special embodiment, the slot is designed as an elongated hole and has a widening at its front end into which the insert can be threaded from the outside until it has reached its final position at the end of the elongated hole.

Further details can be found in the subclaims.

Short description of the drawings

Two preferred embodiments will now be explained in more detail with the aid of drawings, which show:

Figure 1: Top view and sections through an embodiment of the insert,

Figure 2: Top view and section through the first embodiment of the temple,

Figure 3: two sections to illustrate the assembly of Figure 1 in a temple according to Figure 2,

Figure 4: Section and top view of the second embodiment of the temple, and

Figure 5: Detailed illustrations to illustrate the assembly of the insert on a glass plate as shown in Figure 4 ^: ··|. *; · · ·

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-3- Description of the implementation examples

The insert element 10, which is common to both embodiments of the temple, serves to cushion lateral pressure effects between the temple 20 and the skin area above the ear. In the embodiment shown, the insert element is made up of two parts, namely a lower part 11 and an upper part 15, which are connected to one another at the edges, for example welded or glued.

&iacgr;&ogr; The lower part consists of a base plate 13 which carries a profile 12 on its underside along its central axis. This profile 12 has a profile neck 12A and a profile foot 12B which projects beyond the profile neck 12A, so that the mushroom-like cross section of the lower part 11 shown in section is created, the profile neck 12A having a height H.

This lower section of the insert 10 serves to hold the insert on or in a temple of a pair of glasses, as will be explained further below.

In the embodiment shown, the upper part 15 has two constrictions or indentations 15A.15B running transversely to its longitudinal axis, so that the volume of air used as padding between the lower part and the upper part is divided into three chambers 16A, 16B, 16C which are connected to one another in the embodiment shown. The design of the passage cross-section between these chambers depends essentially on the desired function of the padding chambers: If there is sufficient air passage, pressure equalization takes place between the chambers, which in practice means that a certain shape adjustment of the insert to the shape of the wearer's head in the area above the ear can take place. If such a connection is omitted, each air chamber acts as an independent spring element which can be dimensioned separately in terms of its length and the volume of air it encloses.

The counterpart to this insert is a temple 20, as shown in two embodiments in Figure 2 and Figure 4. The common feature of these two

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In the embodiments, there is a slot whose length and width are matched to the length and width of the profile neck 12A in such a way that when the insert 10 is inserted into the temple 20, a substantially force-fitting and form-fitting holding of the insert on the temple 20 in an end position is ensured.

For the type of holder and in particular the introduction, i.e. the installation of the insert in the temple, the two examples of the temple show two exemplary possibilities:

&iacgr;&ogr; In the first embodiment according to Figure 2, the slot is designed as an elongated hole and has a widening 21A at one end, the width of which corresponds approximately to the width of the profile foot 12B. This ensures that the insert 10, as shown in Figure 3, can be inserted into the elongated hole 21 at the point of the widening 21A in such a way that the underside of the base plate 13 slides onto the temple area around the elongated hole 21, whereas the profile foot 12B slides onto the opposite side of the temple, which of course presupposes that the thickness D of the temple corresponds approximately to the height H of the profile neck 12A. After threading (Figure 3, upper part), the insert 10 can then be pushed towards the rear end of the temple (arrow) until the end position shown in Figure 3 below is reached, in which the temple is held securely between the base plate 13 and the profile foot 12B. Preferably, the profile foot 12B protrudes beyond the profile neck 12A so far that the widening 21A is covered in the mounted position. The width of the profile foot 12B should therefore correspond at least to the width of the widening 21A.

Figure 4 shows the second embodiment of the temple: instead of an elongated hole, a longitudinal slot 22 is provided which is accessible from the rear end of the temple 20 and has a widening 22A at its exit area. In contrast to the widening 21A described above, which serves to introduce the insert, the widening 22A in the second embodiment serves as an additional locking element in conjunction with a thickening 12C of the profile foot 12A of the modified insert 10 shown in Figure 5. For assembly, the temple 20 is pushed over the profile foot 12A until the profile section 12C on the profile foot

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12A engages in the widening 22A and fixes the insert 10 in its desired position on the temple 20.

In both embodiments, numerous modifications are possible with regard to the material of the temple 20 (for example metal, but also plastic), or the manufacturing method and the material properties of the insert, which can also be made from a one-piece injection-molded part (without air chambers). With all such variants, the described insertion can be achieved through the interaction of the profiling on the underside of the insert on the one hand and the Î slot/long hole in the temple, if an appropriate shape and/or material adaptation is made. The profiling serves as an assembly aid for all of these functions. The dimensions of the insert 10 can of course be selected so that they partially or completely cover the end area of the temple, depending on the desired wearing comfort or also depending on design ideas.

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Claims (8)

1. Insert for a spectacle temple, characterized in that it is designed to be flexible and is profiled in such a way that it can be inserted into a slot ( 21.22 ) of the spectacle temple ( 20 ) and is retained. 2. Insert according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists of a substantially flat base plate ( 13 ) with protruding profiles ( 12 A, 12 B) for holding in the temple ( 20 ) and a substantially groove-like curved upper part ( 15 ), which form an air cushion between them. 3. Insert according to claim 2, characterized in that the upper part ( 15 ) has transverse constrictions ( 15 A, 15 B) by which separate and/or interconnected air chambers ( 16 A, 16 B, 16 C) are formed. 4. Insert according to claim 2, characterized in that the lower part ( 11 ) and upper part ( 15 ) are injection-molded parts made of silicone or thermoplastic elastomer. 5. Insert according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists of a one-piece cushion element. 6. Temple for receiving an insert according to claim 1, characterized in that the slot is designed as a longitudinal slot ( 22 ) which is open at the rear end. 7. Temple according to claim 6, characterized in that the longitudinal slot ( 22 ) has a widening ( 22A ) in the region of its open end, into which a corresponding widening ( 12C ) of the profile neck ( 12A ) of the insert ( 10 ) engages in a locking manner in its end position. 8. Temple for receiving an insert according to claim 1, characterized in that the slot is designed as an elongated hole ( 21 ) with at least one widened portion ( 21A ) at the end, and that the insert is profiled in such a way that it can be inserted into the elongated hole ( 21 ) through the widened portion ( 21A ).