The field of the invention and its embodiments relates to optical devices namely eyeglasses. In particular, to foldable eye glasses that can be conveniently stored and coupled to a secondary object such as a keychain. Further, the eyeglasses can double as a hand held magnifier.
There are written accounts of using glass for magnifying purposes dating back thousands of years. However, it was not until the end of the late 13th century that the first pair of eyeglasses were have purported to be constructed in Europe. Since then, eyeglasses have become more than a way to correct vision, as they are widely used in fashion and take many forms including safety glasses and sunglasses.
Modern eyeglasses typically have two lenses supported by a frame. The lenses can be a variety of different materials depending on the intended use. These may include glasses or plastics. The frames may be any combination of metal, plastic, wood, stone, shell, horn, and the like. The frame has a bridge connecting the two lenses with pads to comfort and protect the user. The frame also usually has two temple arms extending from each side of the glasses. The temple arms fit over the ears of the wearer and help to prevent the glasses from falling off or shifting during wear.
One issue glasses wearers' face is the inconvenient storage/transportation of their glasses, as not everybody wears their glasses constantly. Many people only need their glasses for a specific function (i.e. reading). Thus, they need to keep their glasses safely stowed away when not in use. Many will use a case that can be soft or hard in order to help protect the glasses. This means the case must remain with the person at all times, or they won't have a place to keep their glasses. Additionally, the cases take up space which can be conserved for other items.
Another issue is the limited functionality of the glasses. They assist in helping individuals see the world around them more clearly, but perform only that one intended function. It is desirable to have glasses that can prove useful in more than one function thereby limiting the need for carrying other alternatives.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,905,591 pertains to an overall apparatus assembly that provides folding reading glasses, survival series wherein the glasses fold into a jewelry shape hung from a necklace. The overall apparatus assembly further provides a hinged nose portion that allows the eyeglass lenses to fold inward in a quick snap action about the hinged nose. The temples also fold inward and serve as the encase thus protecting the lenses rotating about a second quick action hinge. The spring loaded hinges will provide for cam action to lock the glasses in either an open or closed position. The closed position will further protect the eyeglass lenses and provide a decorative jewelry shaped integral encasement to store the eyeglass apparatus and protect the lenses.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,637,610 pertains to folding eyeglasses with a multifunction carrying case. The folding eyeglasses maybe any type of glasses such as reading glasses, sun glasses, and/or prescription glasses. Preferably, the glasses fold at the bridge of the nose and on each temple. Once folded, the glasses may be placed inside the multifunction carrying case. The carrying case includes a retractable pen and/or a light. The pen may be exposed and/or retracted in any suitable manner. For example, the pen may be spring-loaded and a button may be pushed to expose the pen. In such an instance, the pen may be retracted by pushing it back into the carrying case, thereby resetting the spring. The light may use any suitable light source. For example, the light may use one or more white and/or colored light emitting diodes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,966 pertains to foldable glasses having telescoping temples and central pivoting bridge. The temples are shown with three or four telescoping elements. The four element temple has a distal element that is preformed from material that has a memory which when extended curves around the ear of the user and when the elements are telescoped together can be straightened for inserting in the adjacent straight telescopic element. Two bridge pivoting embodiments are shown, one has an angled pivot pin and the other has a spring biased pivotal section wherein the adjacent pivotal elements are vertically and horizontally translatable against the spring bias when the frame elements are folded for non-use.
Thus, there needs to be a device that is easily storable and compact along with having a multipurpose functionality. The current invention addresses and exceeds these needs by providing a pair of eyeglasses that can be folded for storage or to serve as a hand held magnifier. In turn, various devices are known in the art, however, their structure and means of operation are substantially different from the present disclosure. The eyeglasses cannot be folded to serve as a hand held magnifier, and their structure therefore differs from that of the current invention. As such, the other inventions fail to solve all the problems taught by the present disclosure. At least one embodiment of this invention is presented in the drawings below and will be described in more detail herein.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a pair of foldable glasses is provided. The pair of foldable glasses includes two lenses surrounded by a frame, the two lenses having a first side and a second side, the first side facing outwards and the second side facing the wearer, a hinged bridge for connecting the lenses together and permitting the lenses to fold together, and two temple pieces extending from an outer edge of the frame with a hinged connection between each of the temple pieces and the outer edge of the frame enabling the two temple pieces to fold inwards or forwards, wherein the two temple pieces have a hinged joint permitting a rear section of the temple pieces to fold forwards underneath the temple pieces, wherein the rear section on at least one of the two temple pieces includes a loop configured to enable the pair of foldable glasses to be secured to a separate device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain. The pair of foldable glasses includes two lenses surrounded by a frame, the two lenses having a first side and a second side, the first side facing outwards and the second side facing the wearer, a hinged bridge for connecting the lenses together and permitting the lenses to fold together, and two temple pieces extending from an outer edge of the lenses with a hinged connection between each of the temple pieces and the outer edge of the lenses enabling the two temple pieces to fold inwards or forwards, wherein the two temples piece have a hinged joint permitting a rear section of the temple pieces to fold forwards underneath the temple pieces, wherein the rear section on at least one of the two temple pieces includes a loop configured to enable the pair of foldable glasses to be held on the keychain. The pair of foldable glasses further includes a coupling mechanism and a complimentary coupling mechanism on a front surface of the frame, wherein the coupling mechanism and the complimentary coupling mechanism have male and female connectors.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses, wherein the pair of foldable glasses further includes a coupling mechanism and a complimentary coupling mechanism on a front surface of the frame,
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses, wherein the coupling mechanism and the complimentary coupling mechanism are defined by two raised rectangular portions and two depressed rectangular portions arranged in a rectangular configuration having two rows and two columns, wherein one of the two raised rectangular portions is in each row and in each column.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses, wherein one of the two depressed rectangular portions is in each row and in each column.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses, wherein the hinged bridge is folded outwards bringing together the coupling mechanism and the complimentary coupling mechanism on the front surface of the frame forming a rigid structure and aligning the two lenses forming a magnifier.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses, wherein the hinged bridge for connecting the lenses together forms the bridge of the foldable glasses.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses, wherein the rear section on each of the temple pieces includes the loop.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses, wherein, when the foldable pair of glasses are folded in a folded position, the loop on each of the temple pieces are aligned.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses, wherein the loop is located on an end portion of the rear section.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain, wherein the coupling mechanism and the complimentary coupling mechanism are defined by two raised rectangular portions and two depressed rectangular portions arranged in a rectangular configuration having two rows and two columns.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain, wherein one of the two raised rectangular portions is in each row and in each column, and wherein one of the two depressed rectangular portions is in each row and in each column.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain, wherein the hinged bridge for connecting the lenses together forms the bridge of the foldable glasses.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain, wherein the connection means are complimentary structures having two flat extensions with substantially circular portions at the terminal ends of the flat extensions.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain, wherein the rear section on each of the temple pieces includes the loop.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain, wherein, when the foldable pair of glasses are folded in a folded position, the loop on each of the temple pieces are aligned.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain, wherein the loop is located on an end portion of the rear section.
It is an object of the present invention to provide the pair of foldable glasses that when folded are adapted to be held on a keychain, wherein the foldable glasses are carried on a keychain in a protective case.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified, as far as possible, with the same reference numerals.
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the present invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that various modifications and variations can be made thereto without deviating from the innovative concepts of the invention.
Referring to the drawings,
There is another similar connection between the lenses 12 and the temple pieces 14. Between the two is a hinged connection 16 with one connection being on each side of the eyeglasses 1. This hinged connection 16 is preferably a threaded area with a hinge pin or screw inserted therein. The temple pieces 14 can move either inwards toward the lenses 12 and placing them parallel to the lenses 12 or forwards and placing them in the same plane as the lenses 12. Thus, the hinged connection 16 gives the temple pieces 14 at least about 180° of motion.
The temple pieces 14 have at least a couple different features. Each of the two temple pieces 14 has a rear section 20 that is hingedly connected to the remainder of the temple piece 14. The hinged joint 18 permits forward movement of the rear section 20 of the temple piece 14. The hinged joint 18 has a screw or hinge pin connecting the rear section 20 to the remainder of the temple piece. The rear section 20 can move forwards for storage and transport or to provide a shorter handle for the magnifier application. The temple piece 14 may provide a complimentary shape to the rear section 20. This enables the rear section 20 to be folded up underneath the remainder of the temple piece forming a uniform and easy to hold structure (see
In
The magnification of the eyeglasses 1 can vary depending on the magnification (for reading purposes) of each of the lenses 12 or the prescription of the lenses 12. The magnification is generally calculated and achieved using basic physics principles upon placing the lenses 12 within a narrow or potentially negligible distance to one another with a simplified overall calculation of magnification as:
Magnification=Image Size/Object Size
Thus, enabling the two lenses 12 to combine to provide a greater magnification than either lens 12 individually.
In
Further, the temple piece 14 rotates about the hinged connection 16 thereby covering at least one of the lenses 12. This positioning of the temple piece 14 along the length of the lens 12 protects the lens 12 from scuffs, scrapes, cracking, and the like or any combination thereof. This is further evidenced from the top view of the same configuration in
Additionally, there is a stabilization loop 11 which provides stability to the structure. The stabilization loop 11 limits or prevents the lenses 12 from being torqued when in use. When the foldable glasses are to be stored or transported, the stabilization loop 11 is exposed thereby providing a structure for coupling the foldable glasses 1 to a secondary object such as a keychain, keychain connector, or the like or any combination thereof.
Referring now to
In
The magnets 21 help to hold the glasses in the storage position such as demonstrated by
Referring now to
Referring now to
There is another similar connection between the lenses 12 and the temple pieces 14. Between the two is a hinged connection 16 with one connection being on each side of the eyeglasses 1. This hinged connection 16 is preferably a threaded area with a hinge pin or screw inserted therein. It is noted, however, that other types of hinged connections may also be used while maintaining the spirit of the present invention. The temple pieces 14 can move either inwards toward the lenses 12 and placing them parallel to the lenses 12 or forwards and placing them in the same plane as the lenses 12. Thus, the hinged connection 16 gives the temple pieces 14 at least about 180° of motion.
Each of the two temple pieces 14 has a rear section 20 that is hingedly connected to the remainder of the temple piece 14. The hinged joint 18 permits forward movement of the rear section 20 of the temple piece 14. The hinged joint 18 has a screw or hinge pin connecting the rear section 20 to the remainder of the temple piece. It is noted, however, that other hinged connections may also be used while maintaining the spirit of the present invention. The rear section 20 can move forwards for storage and transport or to provide a shorter handle for the magnifier application. The temple piece 14 may provide a complimentary shape to the rear section 20. This enables the rear section 20 to be folded up underneath the remainder of the temple piece forming a uniform and easy to hold structure (see
According to an embodiment, one or more of the rear sections includes a loop 110. The loop may be configured to enable the pair of glasses 100 to be connected and/or help of a separate device such as, e.g., a keychain, a string, wire, and/or any other suitable object. According to an embodiment, the loop 110 is positioned on an end portion of the rear section 20. It is noted, however, that the loop 110 may be positioned on any suitable location on the pair of glasses 100. According to an embodiment, one or more of the rear sections 20 include two or more loops 110.
Referring now to
According to an embodiment, when the pair of foldable eyeglasses 100 are in a folded position, the loops 110 on the pair of rear sections 20 are aligned. This enables a single device (e.g., keychain, string, wire, etc.) to be placed through both loops 110.
Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.
This application claims the priority of U.S. application Ser. No. 61/862,778, filed on Aug. 6, 2013, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/451,728, filed on Aug. 5, 2014, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61862778 | Aug 2013 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 14451728 | Aug 2014 | US |
Child | 15587517 | US |