HK1204370B - Eyeglasses - Google Patents

Description

Glasses

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to spectacles, in particular of the type having progressive lenses for reading.

Background

Glasses of this type, provided with integrated lighting for lighting and therefore capable of reading even in poor lighting environments, such as in theaters, airports, cinemas, conference rooms or similar backgrounds, have been proposed, for example, in documents nos. US-7, 699, 486, US-2007/0013865 and US-2011/013135.

In these known solutions, the lighting devices integrated in the eyeglasses are generally activated and deactivated manually: i.e. they require the operation of one or two switches (in the case of separate lighting means for each side of each arm or front). The following problems are caused: in case the user is looking up towards the person he is talking to when reading with the activated lighting device, the person talking to him may feel dazzled, which is therefore uncomfortable.

In an attempt to solve this problem, in japanese patent document No. JP-9017204, it has been proposed to equip a lighting device integrated in eyeglasses with an anti-glare system designed to automatically deactivate the lighting device under certain conditions. However, this document does not describe or suggest any technical solution capable of implementing the automatic shut-off function, since it is only limited to the presentation of such a concept and does not explain how such a concept may be implemented.

US-2196543 and US-2964613 disclose eyeglasses corresponding to the preamble of claim 1, wherein the means for activating and deactivating the illumination means of the eyeglasses comprise an on-off mercury switch: the light is turned on when the glasses worn by the user are moved downward, and is turned off when the glasses are moved upward again.

US-2008/273166 discloses a spectacle frame with a micro-gyroscope, i.e. a gyro microsensor, for controlling an electro-active lens. Even in the case of sensors operating in on-off mode: the lens is activated when the wearer's head is moved to a first position that is steeply angled downward relative to horizontal, for example at a different focal length or hue, and once activated remains on until the wearer's head is moved to a second position that is angled slightly above horizontal.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a simple, functional and effective solution for converting the concept of automatic switching off of a lighting device into practice, thereby preventing the above-mentioned glare situation.

According to the invention, the above object is achieved due to the following facts: the eyeglasses further comprise control means of the gyroscopic inclinometer type, configured for automatically attenuating the intensity of light emitted by the aforesaid lighting means when, in use, the eyeglasses are moved angularly upwards with respect to a reference angular position.

Thanks to the concept of this solution, it is thus possible to automatically manage the gradual attenuation of the light emitted by the lighting means, suitably continuing as far as the angular position of complete cut-off or of minimum light intensity, according to the spatial position of the eyeglasses worn by the user.

The reference angular position and the angular position of cut-off or of minimum intensity may advantageously be set via a manual selector, and the angular range between said positions may be, for example, in the region of 30 ° to 40 ° or more.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lighting means comprise a pair of LEDs (light emitting diodes) which are planar in front of the end where each arm is hinged to the front and are arranged to overlap (i.e. one on top of the other) in order to generate a significantly wider lighting range.

Drawings

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are provided by way of non-limiting example only, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating one embodiment of eyewear in accordance with the present invention; and

fig. 2 is a schematic plan view showing an electrical diagram of a lighting circuit and a corresponding control device.

Detailed Description

It should be noted that the aesthetic configuration of the eyeglasses illustrated in fig. 1 should not be considered in any way limiting, but should be understood simply to mean one of the various embodiments of eyeglasses designed to incorporate the special features of the present invention.

The eyeglasses represented in the example comprise, in a manner generally known per se: a front portion 1 having a pair of lenses 2, more particularly of the progressive reading type; and a pair of arms 3, 4 hinged to the sides of the front portion via respective hinges (generally referenced 5 and 6 in figure 2). The arms 3 and 4 are able to rotate between a use extended position, shown in the accompanying drawings, in which they extend substantially in a direction orthogonal to the front portion 1, and a folded position, in which they rest against the front portion.

In accordance with the present invention, eyewear incorporates a front lighting system to enable a user to read in poor lighting conditions. The lighting system comprises two pairs of LEDs (light emitting diodes) which are planar from the end where the arms 3, 4 are hinged to the front part 1. The LEDs 7, 8 of each pair are arranged and oriented to generate a relatively broad beam: as shown in fig. 1 (and differently from the arrangement of fig. 2), they are suitably arranged in a configuration in which they are disposed one on top of the other.

The two pairs of LEDs 7, 8 are suitably housed in respective recesses having a conical or curved shape, treated to present a highly reflective surface in order to maximize the light emission.

With reference to fig. 2, the circuitry for activating and deactivating the LEDs 7, 8 will now be described in detail.

Inside the arm 3 is incorporated an electronic card, generally designated 9, a manual selector 10, the function of which will be described in greater detail hereinafter, operatively associated with the electronic card. Inside the other arm 4 a power supply battery 11 is incorporated, the power supply battery 11 being suitably of the lithium polymer rechargeable type. The battery 11, accessible for recharging through an openable hatch/access (not shown) present on the arm 4, is electrically connected to the electronic card 9 via a first conductor 12, the first conductor 12 being incorporated along the front portion 1 and belonging to fixed contacts 13, 14, which are plane at the ends of the front portion 1. The fixed contacts 13, 14 are designed to cooperate with respective moving contacts 15, 16, the moving contacts 15, 16 being laterally planar from the arms 4, 3 in the vicinity of the respective articulated hinge 6, 5.

The electronic card 9 is directly connected to the LED 7 carried by the arm 3, the arm 3 being in turn connected to the LED 8 carried by the arm 4 through a second conductor 17 and via moving contacts 18, 19, the second conductor 17 being also merged along the front portion 1, the moving contacts 18, 19 being laterally planar from the arms 3, 4 in the vicinity of the moving contacts 16, 15. Said moving contacts 16, 15 cooperate with respective fixed contacts 20, 21, the fixed contacts 20, 21 being planar from the end of the front portion 1 in the vicinity of the fixed contacts 14, 13.

With the arrangement described above, the electrical connection between (on the one hand) the fixed contacts 14, 20 and the moving contacts 16, 18 and (on the other hand) the fixed contacts 13, 21 and the moving contacts 15, 19 is obtained when the arms 3, 4 are set in the extended position of use of the spectacles shown in the drawings, whereas said connection is interrupted when the arms 3, 4 are closed against the front 1.

The electronic card 9, which can be manually activated and deactivated for controlling the random switching on and off of the LEDs 7, 8 via the selector 10, incorporates an anti-glare device 9A, the anti-glare device 9A being provided for automatically varying the intensity of the emitted light when the eyeglasses are moved angularly upwards with respect to a reference angular position, in use. The automatic change of intensity may consist in a momentary switch-off or, more suitably, in a decreasing manner from a maximum lighting condition to a minimum lighting condition or even in a complete switch-off of the LEDs 7 and 8.

According to the invention, said anti-glare device 9A is constituted by a gyroscopic sensor 9A of the micro-electromechanical (MEMS) type, for example of the type produced and sold by STMicroelectronics under the trade name LYPR540AH or under the trade name FC 30.

The reference angular position corresponding to the maximum light intensity condition and the angular position at which the minimum light intensity is switched off or generated by the LEDs 7, 8 can be set, for example, via the same selector 10. The reference angular position will generally correspond to the tilt exhibited by the eyeglasses when read by the user wearing the eyeglasses, while the angular position of cut-off or minimum intensity will correspond to the tilt exhibited by the eyeglasses when the user turns his head up, for example to watch a person talking to him. The angular range of variation between the two positions may be, for example, in the range of 30 ° to 40 ° or more.

The selector 10 can also be used for manually changing the light intensity of the LEDs 7, 8, in which case, in order to be able to perform all the functions described, said selector 10 can be rotated between the off position and the on position of the control card 9, the control card 9 being displaceable by being pressed for setting and selecting the reference angular position and the angular position of the off or reduced intensity, and being translatable along the arm 3 for manually adjusting said light intensity. It is obvious that the functions can be enabled via different types of commands, even different from each other and separate from each other.

The electronic card 9 can also incorporate a possible voice recognition sensor to enable the user to recognize the glasses in the most immediate way in case they happen to be misplaced.

Of course, the details of construction and the embodiments may vary widely from those described and illustrated herein without thereby departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. Glasses for reading, comprising: a front part (1) having a pair of lenses (2); a first arm (3) and a second arm (4) hinged to the sides of the front portion (1) via respective hinges (5, 6); an integrated lighting device (7, 8) for emitting light in front of the glasses; and, an electronic card (9) for activating and deactivating said lighting means (7, 8), said eyeglasses being characterized in that they further comprise microelectromechanical gyroscopic sensor control means (9A), said microelectromechanical gyroscopic sensor control means (9A) being configured for automatically gradually reducing the intensity of the light emitted by said lighting means (7, 8) as a function of the spatial position of the eyeglasses worn by said user, when, in use, said eyeglasses are moved angularly upwards with respect to a reference angular position.

2. The eyeglasses according to claim 1, characterized in that said gyroscopic sensor control means (9A) are designed to reduce the intensity of said light in a gradual manner as far as the angular position of cut-off or minimum intensity.

3. The eyeglasses according to claim 2, characterized in that said reference angular position can be set via a manual selector (10).

4. The eyeglasses according to claim 3, characterized in that the angular position of the cut-off or of the minimum intensity can be set via a manual selector (10).

5. The eyeglasses according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the angular range between said reference angular position and said angular position of cutoff or minimum intensity is in the region of 30 ° to 40 °.

6. The eyeglasses according to any of the claims from 2 to 4, characterized in that said lighting means comprise a pair of LEDs (7, 8) emerging from the end of each arm (3, 4) where it is hinged to said front portion (1).

7. The eyeglasses according to claim 6, characterized in that the LEDs (7, 8) of each pair are arranged one on top of the other.

8. Eyeglasses according to claim 6, characterized in that said first arm (3) incorporates said electronic card (9) with said gyroscopic sensor control means (9A) and said second arm (4) incorporates a rechargeable power supply battery (11), and in that for the electrical connection between said battery (11), said electronic card (9) and said LEDs (7, 8) fixed contacts (13, 14, 20, 21) are provided, arranged at the sides of said front portion (1) and interconnected by respective conductors (12, 17) incorporated in said front portion (1), and moving contacts (15, 16, 18, 19) carried by the ends of said arms (3, 4) and which, in the condition of use of the eyeglasses, interact with said fixed contacts (13, 14, 20, 21) cooperate.

9. The eyeglasses according to any of the claims from 1 to 4, characterized in that they also comprise a manual selector (10) for manually switching on/off said lighting means (7, 8).

10. The eyeglasses according to any of the claims from 1 to 4, characterized in that they also comprise a manual selector (10) for adjusting the intensity of the light emitted by said lighting means (7, 8).