The following relates generally to eyewear assemblies and methods of manufacturing eyewear assemblies. More specifically, the following relates to a comfort enhancing attachment assembly for eyewear.
Conventional eyewear, particularly prescription eyeglasses, may be required by a user at all or most times to improve their vision. Eyeglasses generally include a frame that supports one or more lenses. The frame typically includes a nose bridge or nose pieces that engage the user's nose to support the eyeglasses on the user's head. Eyeglasses also typically include a pair of arms attached to (or integral with) the frame, to further support the eyeglasses, e.g. by resting the arms on the user's ears or engaging their head in the temple region.
One problem with conventional eyewear can arise when the eyewear frames are constructed from a hard material such as metal. This can cause discomfort to the wearer as the cold, hard, metal may impinge upon a wearer's face, especially around the nose bridge, temple and brow regions.
Moreover, although frames constructed from softer materials such as plastic may be more comfortable for the wearer, they may not be as durable as metal frames. Thus, metal eyewear that is durable, yet comfortable to wear can be difficult to find.
In certain instances, the eyewear may be missing nose pads or have damaged nose pads which cause the eyewear to repeatedly slip off the face. Currently the options for replacing or adding external nose pads to existing glasses can be limited.
It is an object of the following to address at least one of the above-noted disadvantages.
In one aspect, there is provided an attachment assembly sized to fit over a portion of a frame of a pair of metal eyeglasses wherein the assembly is composed of a first rigid material and a second flexible material. The assembly can be installed over a pair of existing eyeglasses to enhance comfort or be provided with new eyewear. The assembly also provides an adjustable nose pad that is composed of a soft material, such as rubber, to inhibit the impingement of rigid metal frame portions upon the wearer. In another aspect, an adjustable fit-over brow bar assembly and nose pad, is provided.
Another aspect pertains to an attachment assembly for eyewear comprising a support frame configured for coupling to the frame of eyewear and a flexible portion coupled to said support frame. The support frame comprises a top support having two brow portions coupled by a bridge portion located intermediately between said two brow portions. The flexible portion has a brow bar extending rearwardly from said top support of the support frame. The support frame is formed of a rigid material and the flexible portion is made from a compressible material.
In a further aspect, the brow bar is shaped to generally conform to the shape of a user's brow region.
In yet a further aspect, the rigid material has a Shore D durometer in the range of 10 to 100.
In yet a further aspect, the rigid material is a material chosen from the group consisting of polycarbonate (PC), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).
In yet a further aspect, the compressible material has a Shore 00 durometer in the range of 10 to 90.
In yet a further aspect, the compressible material is a material chosen from the group consisting of rubbers, silicones, elastomers, thermoplastic elastomers, and polyurethanes.
In yet a further aspect, the support frame has a Shore D durometer in the range of 10 to 100 and said flexible portion has a Shore 00 durometer in the range of 10 to 90.
In yet a further aspect, the support frame further comprises a pair of nose pad supports downwardly extending from the bridge portion, each supporting a nose pad formed from the compressible material.
In yet a further aspect, the nose pad supports and nose pads are separate from said top support and brow bar.
In yet a further aspect, the nose pad supports and nose pads are formed together with said top support and brow bar.
In yet a further aspect, the top support includes a receiving channel on the bottom side thereof for receiving a top edge of an eyewear frame.
In yet a further aspect, the two brow portions are generally shaped such that when engaged with an eyewear frame a first leg extends downwardly on a rear side of the eyewear frame and a second leg would extend forwardly on top of the eyewear frame. The top support further comprising two anterior portions located on a lateral end of each of the brow portions and extending downwardly to engage a front side of the eyewear frame.
In yet a further aspect, the bridge portion and the brow portions of the support frame are monolithically formed.
In yet a further aspect, the bridge portion, the brow portions and the nose pad supports are monolithically formed.
In yet a further aspect, the nose pads are comprised of the rigid material and the flexible material; and wherein only the flexible material is in physical contact with the wearer.
In yet a further aspect, the nose pads are adjustable.
Embodiments will now be described with reference to the appended drawings wherein:
In order to enhance comfort and fit of eyeglass, particularly metal or other relatively rigid eyewear, an assembly can be attached to an upper portion of the frame (also referred to herein as the “brow bar”). The assembly is preferably constructed from two materials to increase the wearer's comfort while maintaining durability.
Such an assembly could provide softer nose pads and/or a softer brow assembly to enhance the comfort of eyewear, including but not limited to metal frame eyeglasses.
The assembly 30 can be used to upgrade or retrofit existing eyewear 10 or provided as a feature in combination with an eyeglass frame 10. The preferred assembly 30, depicted in the figures includes soft or compressible nose pads 16 and a soft or compressible brow bar. While the assembly depicted in the figures includes a brow portion and a nose portion, it should be noted that the assembly could be adapted to include only a brow portion, or a brow portion and separate nose portion.
Referring to
The support frame 26 of the assembly 30 is formed with a groove, slot, or other recessed portion, preferably on an underside thereof, which is sized to receive the brow portion 102 of the lens retainers 14. Furthermore, in a preferred embodiment the bridge support 104 also includes a slot in the bottom thereof (shown in
The assembly 30 can be permanently adhered to frame 10 using adhesive or other fastening mechanisms. Alternatively, the assembly 30 can be detachably removable from the frame 10 using screws, clips, frictional engagement, or magnets and the like. In a preferred embodiment, the top of the lens retainer 14 can be thin and narrow to help facilitate the assembly 30.
The assembly 30 further includes a relatively soft, flexible, compressible or deformable portion 28 (herein after referred to as the flexible portion) extending rearwardly from the support frame 26 toward the side of the wearer. This flexible portion 28 is coupled or fixed to the support frame 26, the details of which will be discussed below.
Referring to
In an embodiment which includes nose pads, the flexible portion 28 further includes a pair of downwardly extended nose pad sections 116 which are supported by the nose pad supports 106. The nose pads, including both the nose pad support 106 and the flexible nose pad section 116 are refereed to collectively with reference character 16. These nose pads 16 are constructed with both the soft material of the flexible portion 28 and the more rigid material of the support frame 26 to increase the overall comfort of the nose pads 16 while providing some rigidity and flexibility through the use of a portion of the rigid material. In the preferred embodiment shown in
As mentioned above, for eyewear having existing nose pads, the assembly can be created without a nose pad component. While the nose pads 16 are shown to be integral with the brow portion of the assembly, it can be appreciated that the brow portion and nose pads could be separate components.
In a preferred embodiment, the soft portion 28 is over-molded onto the support frame 26, creating a sturdy, yet comfortable assembly 30 that fits over the brow bar of the frame 10 or otherwise provides a brow bar or enhances what may be referred to as the brow bar of the frame 10. Overmolding, sometimes referred to as two times injection molding, is a process where a single part is created using two or more different materials in combination. Typically, the first material (or substrate) is partially or fully covered by overmolded material during the manufacturing process. In this case, the support frame 26 acts as the substrate that is overmolded with the soft material 28, which is generally a softer plastic, rubber, or elastomer (e.g., PTE), or other suitable material. In an embodiment with nose pads, the outer, flexible material of the nose pads 16 can be overmolded onto the inner prongs 17 of the preferred embodiment which extend from the support frame 26. It can be appreciated that the overmolding steps may take place prior to or after the support frame 26 is affixed to the lens retainer 14.
A person skilled in the art would appreciate that there are many ways to couple the flexible portion 28 to the support frame 26 of the assembly 30. For example, the two components could be adhered together using techniques including, but not limited to, the use of a suitable adhesive, mechanical fasteners, heat welding, or vibration welding.
In a preferred embodiment, the flexible portion 28 of the assembly 30 is made from compressible materials, such as, but not limited to, rubbers, silicones, or elastomers such as thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), polyurethanes, etc. It has been found that compressible materials (i.e. with a Shore 00 durometer of at least 10 to 90 are suitable). However, in a preferred embodiment, materials with a Shore 00 durometer between 20 to 80 provide superior comfort and shock absorption properties. The support frame 26 can be made from a relatively harder plastic such as Thermoplastic such as PC (polycarbonate), PVC (polyvinyl chloride), polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and the like. It has been found that materials with Shore D durometer between 10 and 100 have suitable rigidity. However, in a preferred embodiment, materials with Shore D durometer between 35 and 90 provide enough rigidity to support the flexible portion and maintain in contact with the frame 10 while allowing for enough flexibility to allow for some deformation of the support frame as the bridge support is cammed over the bridge of the frame.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the examples described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the examples described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the examples described herein. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the examples described herein.
It will be appreciated that the examples and corresponding diagrams used herein are for illustrative purposes only. Different configurations and terminology can be used without departing from the principles expressed herein. For instance, components and modules can be added, deleted, modified, or arranged with differing connections without departing from these principles.
Although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the claims appended hereto. The entire disclosures of all references recited above are incorporated herein by reference.
The present application is a continuation of PCT Application No. PCT/CA2020/051027 filed Jul. 24, 2020, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/878,618 filed Jul. 25, 2019, the contents of both incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CA2020/051027 | 7/24/2020 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62878618 | Jul 2019 | US |