HK1043629B - Continuous frames of glasses - Google Patents

Description

Continuous spectacle frame

Technical Field

The present invention relates to continuous frames for spectacles. Obtaining a metallic frame for traditional spectacles or sunglasses requires qualified manpower and adequate infrastructure, several assembly stages being generally necessary in order to have the finished spectacles, thus involving the use of different small pieces of jewellery, triangular headers, leg-bars, etc. The method of manufacturing the spectacle frame according to the invention incorporates a series of constructive simplifications which allow to avoid small ornaments and to reduce the necessary manpower, thus reducing costs and obtaining an aesthetic quality and structural robustness. This innovative method also allows the reuse of the lenses, which usually represent the most valuable part of the spectacles, since it will be easy to change the spectacle frame alone, which will fit the various lenses and take different shapes.

Background

Currently, in metal eyeglass frames, the front face is always separated from the leg members, even when using special metals such as titanium. The front frame and leg members are connected by various types of hinges, typically welded thereto, or by joints therebetween, and in many cases the nose piece and nose piece also require welding, but a metal front made from a single plate is possible. The presence of the lens means the need for adjusting bolts or nylon threads, and an acceptable level of labor. Spectacle frames made of sheet metal are always thicker than 0.5mm and require the use of a press to engrave therein the appropriate curvature required to fix the lens. Furthermore, eyeglass exhibitors are produced at different angles and currently production optimizations of eyeglasses are not considered, as they are seen as a problem to be solved later from the eyeglass frame design.

FR- A-1077777 and US- A-5828436 disclose spectacle frames made from A piece of cardboard or plastic. However, these known frames, if they are made of metal, i.e. the best material for this purpose, do not allow the use or arrangement of the lenses without significant changes to their specific shape and/or configuration.

Disclosure of Invention

Summary and objects of the invention

The present invention is directed to simplifying the production of eyeglass frames, thereby reducing labor, cost, eliminating trim, and making the structure lighter. By redesigning the conventional spectacle frame we define a geometry that can be obtained in one step from a very soft metal material and by subsequent customizable folding, the spectacle frame is brought to the desired shape. Using photochemical etching techniques, starting from a sheet of metal material with suitable elasticity and thickness, use is made of the elasticity of the material in the region subject to bending, in particular in the region traditionally used primarily as hinge. Another advantage resides in: given the shape of a lens, it will be possible to choose between different shapes and types of frames without having to change the lens shape, which is a great advantage for those who want to use these frames with spectacle lenses, because of the high cost of the lenses. The glasses will come with a range of items that will facilitate their sale and the production of the glasses at the same time will result in economic advantages. The manufacture of the spectacles and the rest of the sheet material nearby will serve as a presenter for the spectacles, while optimizing the production process. The metal plate will be used to complete all surface treatments in one pass to modify the eyeglasses because it has fixing holes (part a of fig. 1).

Description of the problems and solutions proposed

The state of the art includes welding, and separating the elements in the vicinity of the nose piece, nose piece and hinge region in each case, in the present manufacturing process, the hinge region always includes the actual portion between the front face and the leg bar member. Welding is omitted by the proposed shape, the processing of the sheet and the subsequent folding process are simplified and the problem is solved. The omission of appliques contributes to a reduction in overall weight. Furthermore, when no part can be separated from the other part, the resulting structure will be stronger because the whole is a single, resilient element. The end portions of the leg bars are generally covered with a finish in plastic: in the present invention, in addition to such a solution, it is also possible to adopt an overlay formed by winding a strain-resistant tape around a metal. If the product cannot be guaranteed to be very safe, due to the reduced thickness of the thin metal plate, it will be possible to apply the coating around the edge at a later insertion, also to facilitate the insertion of the lenses, and to achieve the simultaneous handling of several such frames, all of which are on the same plane, so something will reduce the cost and will improve the quality.

The invention aims to provide a spectacle frame in a continuous shape, which is characterized in that: the spectacle frame is made of a metal plate, wherein a front frame, leg rods, a nose bridge and a nose pad are connected with each other, and each leg rod is connected with the front frame through a hinge area, the leg rods have elasticity of a metal plate material, and the metal plate material has a thickness of not more than 0.5 mm; wherein at least one notch communicating with the lens aperture is provided on a surface of the eyeglass frame.

The spectacle frame is obtained from the metal plate by means of a photochemical etching process.

The spectacle frame is obtained from the metal plate by means of laser cutting, electro-erosion, or mechanical cutting.

The eyeglass frame is folded about the hinge region, nose frame and nose pad.

The folding area of the spectacle frame is a folding line a, which folding is performed later, so that the spectacle frame can be transported in a flat manner and the flat spectacle frame can be adjusted to fit the face of the user by the person or specialist.

The shape of the lens has a concave chamfer suitable for replacing a lenticular or sunglass lens with the lens and for replacing only a spectacle frame.

The cutout for facilitating insertion of a lens having a concave chamfer is located near an area of the nose pad and/or the nose piece.

The cut for insertion of a lens having a concave chamfer is located adjacent the hinge region, thereby allowing resilient insertion of the lens and weakening of the hinge region to facilitate bending.

The terminal portion of the leg shaft is made of a strip wound in a helical motion.

The eyeglass frame is provided with an opening at the area surrounding the lenses for ease of insertion, the opening being closed around the same lens by subsequent fixation of a bolt into the corresponding hole.

To facilitate insertion of the lens, the eyeglass frame is provided with a cut-out that attaches to the lens aperture at the nose piece region, which becomes a double nose piece that is held in place by bolts, nylon threads, adhesive tape, fasteners or other securing means.

The nose pad is made of silicon rubber and is glued on a proper plane of the spectacle frame near the nose frame.

The nose pads are made of silicone rubber and include a sheath that rests on a suitable flat surface of the eyeglass frame.

The nose pads are made of silicone rubber and are inserted into the eyeglass frame through an opening so as to be adjustable between two positions of the same silicone rubber nose pad to fit the face of the user.

A portion 4 of the spectacle frame is perforated, corresponding to a lens, like an eyelids, overlying the same lens.

The lens aperture is closed by a plate fitted with a series of apertures 10 of various shapes.

The nose pad region includes a flat surface coated with a soft, antiallergic material.

The nose pad region starts from the upper region of the nose bridge and is folded down and then folded sideways, so that a defined configuration is obtained.

Description of the advantages of the invention

The following are some of the advantages that can be achieved with the present invention: (1) the labor for folding the spectacle frame, inserting the lenses, the silicon rubber nose pads and the joints is reduced, so that the production cost is reduced; (2) because the spectacle frame has a reduced and flexible thickness: this does not require a pressing step of the same spectacle frame, so the same lens determines the shape of the spectacle frame and bends it; (3) the ability to preserve the lenses, especially when these are spectacle lenses and therefore more expensive; and the ability to change only the frame, since a different shape of frame will be used for each lens shape; (4) the hinge area utilizes the elasticity of the material and reduces the thickness of the plate material for manufacturing the glasses, and has the possibility of further checking the efficiency by a photochemical etching method at the position where the thickness of the plate material is more than 0.5 mm; (5) the production method for the proposed metallic spectacles can be different, but in particular the method using photochemically etched metal plates is most efficient and also allows to customize the individual models with limited costs; (6) the pressure engagement of the lens inside the spectacle frame profile is facilitated by the presence of incisions of suitable length, which represent elastically yielding zones of the structure; (7) the terminal portions of the leg members are also wrapped with a strain resistant material strip; (8) the frames may not be folded by the manufacturer, but by the optician or the final customer, for convenient storage and transport; (9) the exhibitor is produced in the same production process of the glasses, thereby reducing the cost; (10) the entire sheet from which the spectacles are manufactured is arranged for the desired surface treatment: painting, polishing, electro-painting, since there is no welding in the frame, a significant quality is obtained afterwards; (11) since there is no hinge in the spectacles manufactured according to the above principle, in order to keep the same spectacles protected and in the resting position, an extruded tube of soft material, for example plastic, a transparent material, is used, which is cut to the appropriate length and into which the spectacles can be inserted.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows the working state of a photochemically etched metal plate with different shaped frames using the same lenses, and parts obtained from the same metal plate, which will eventually act as a spreader.

Fig. 2-7 show some examples of spectacle frames according to the invention as applied.

Detailed Description

One mode of carrying out the invention is illustrated by way of example and the accompanying drawings

The frames for spectacles 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 shown in fig. 1 are examples of applications of the invention, in which the shape of the frames is changed while the shape of the lenses remains unchanged, all lenses having an inverted chamfer, while at the same time achieving great advantages for the use as spectacles, in view of the savings for the user. Between these different frames, only the frame numbered 10 has no lenses, but it has a series of holes for the purpose of stimulating vision, or simply for purely aesthetic purposes. The spectacle frame 4, together with the lenses, has a shutter which is connected to the spectacle frame and folds it for overlying the lenses. In all other cases, each spectacle frame 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 is made in a form change around a lens of the same shape, where the form 5, 6, 11, 12 has only the right or left lens, and this determines their asymmetric appearance. The particular C that assembles fig. 1 shows replaceable elements that will serve as color samples, bookmarks, or something else. Part E in the same figure is a fixing hole for the modification treatment.

Once the frames 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and C are partially separated, the folding lines a and B of fig. 1 enable the rest of the plates to be obtained with the exhibitor (exhibitor) of the same eyeglasses supported by a suitable base, indicated schematically by the letter D in fig. 1, and which will enable the positioning of the eyeglasses once they are folded towards the outside of the zone between the nose bridge and the nose pad of each frame. The folding lines F, G, H in fig. 1 are those which transform the flat spectacle frame 1 and give it the shape of a spectacle. The spectacle frame shown in fig. 2 shows that the spectacle frame has a cut a made inside the hole for housing the lens, near the area of contact with the leg-bar. This incision a has the dual purpose of enabling resilient insertion of the lens and weakening of the hinge region for ease of bending. Instead, there are cut-outs, indicated with a, B, C, in fig. 3, which correspond to the hinge, the nose piece and the nose pads. These cutouts are all present together, either individually or in pairs, for resiliently fitting the lens in its hole. Fig. 4 shows two parts B and C, where a nose pad D made of silicone rubber will find a place for fitting the glasses to the face, while the folding line a shows the area in which the glasses frame is folded. Fig. 5 shows in part a flat area where it can be glued or placed on a suitably shaped nose pad made of silicone rubber, or instead of a silicone rubber element, rely on a surface colouring treatment of the spectacle frame for forming a protrusion a acting as a nose pad. Fig. 6 shows an example of a spectacle frame with an open area at point B for facilitating the insertion of a lens, which will then be closed by means of a bolt with or without an associated nut until it assumes the position shown with the particular a. Fig. 7 shows another type of spectacle frame, which presents, in zone a of the bridge, a part representing a double bridge that connects the holes for inserting the lenses: this enables the insertion of the lens to be facilitated and it can be fixed in their holes and subsequently the two parts of the double-nosed frame can be connected to each other in various ways, one of the two parts being prepared with an adhesive tape.

Applicability to industry

In the department of spectacle production, the production method of the invention finds application to spectacles or sunglasses. The lens to be used must be provided with a concave chamfer in order to be able to insert the thin metal sheet, which makes up the spectacle frame, into the lens groove to the necessary depth. When choosing lens shape, color, power in professional glass shops, it will be possible to choose the preferred frame at the same time, as an alternative, choosing a new frame may occasionally be done through media, including the internet, through the media's appearance will be up to date, thus leaving unchanged quality characteristics without changing the purchased lenses. Exhibitors made with eyeglasses have a variety of uses and are adapted to be combined in a vertical and/or horizontal position on suitable supports, they are lightweight, compact and inexpensive. It is possible to provide displays of different colours which are obtained from different panels in the collections disclosed, in order to create the necessary colour contrast for displaying different styles of spectacles.

Claims (18)

1. Spectacle frame in continuous shape, characterized in that: the spectacle frame is made of a metal plate, wherein a front frame, leg rods, a nose bridge and a nose pad are connected with each other, and each leg rod is connected with the front frame through a hinge area, the leg rods have elasticity of a metal plate material, and the metal plate material has a thickness of not more than 0.5 mm; wherein at least one notch, said notch communicating with an opening for a lens, is provided on a surface of said spectacle frame.

2. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the spectacle frame is obtained from the metal plate by means of a photochemical etching process.

3. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the spectacle frame is obtained from the metal plate by means of laser cutting, electro-erosion, or mechanical cutting.

4. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the eyeglass frame folds about the hinge region, nose piece, and nose pad.

5. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the spectacle frame is provided with a folding line (a) suitable for indicating a folding zone.

6. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the shape of the lens has a concave chamfer suitable for replacing a lenticular or sunglass lens with the lens and for replacing only a spectacle frame.

7. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the cut-out, which facilitates insertion of the lens with the concave chamfer, is located near the area of the nose pad and/or the nose piece.

8. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the cut-out, for insertion of a lens having a concave chamfer, is proximate the hinge region.

9. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the terminal portion of the leg shaft is made of a strip wound in a helical motion.

10. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the spectacle frame is provided with an opening at the area surrounding the lenses for easy insertion, said opening being closed around the same lenses-by subsequent fixing by a bolt entering the corresponding hole.

11. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: to facilitate insertion of the lens, the eyeglass frame is provided with a cut-out that connects to the lens aperture at the nose piece region, which becomes a double nose piece that is held in place by bolts, nylon threads, adhesive tape, fasteners or other securing means.

12. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nose pads are made of silicone rubber and are glued to a suitably flat surface of the spectacle frame in the vicinity of the nose bridge.

13. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nose pads are made of silicone rubber and include a sheath that rests on a suitably flat surface of the eyeglass frame.

14. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nose pad is made of silicon rubber, and the silicon rubber nose pad is inserted into the spectacle frame through an opening.

15. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: a portion (4) of the spectacle frame is perforated, corresponding to a lens, like an eyelids, superimposed on the same lens.

16. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the aperture for the lens is closed by a plate provided with a series of apertures (10) of various shapes.

17. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nose pad includes a flat surface coated with a soft, antiallergic material.

18. A spectacle frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the nose pads start from the upper region of the nose piece and are folded down and then to the sides, so that a defined configuration is obtained.