Patent Application
20230400706
The present disclosure relates to folding eyeglasses. More particularly, the disclosure relates to folding eyeglasses which can be folded in order to occupy as little space as possible.
As is known, folding eyeglasses are available commercially in which, however, the folding mechanism of the eyeglasses does not allow a packing of the eyeglasses with the smallest possible volume, i.e., with an extremely reduced thickness given by the superimposition of temples and lenses, with a simple action requiring negligible effort by the user.
The aim of the present disclosure is to provide folding eyeglasses which can be folded so as to obtain the smallest possible space occupation in thickness, with at the same time the smallest possible required folding effort.
Within this aim, the present disclosure provides folding eyeglasses in which the folding thickness obtained by folding the eyeglasses, therefore by superimposing the lenses on themselves with the temples, is smaller with respect to folding eyeglasses of the known type.
the disclosure also provides folding eyeglasses in which folding occurs both at the temple level and at the front level.
The present disclosure further provides folding eyeglasses that are highly reliable, simple to provide and at competitive costs.
This aim and these and other advantages which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by providing folding eyeglasses, comprising a front which supports a pair of lenses and a pair of temples hinged to the front, each one of said temples comprising a proximal portion and a distal portion which are mutually hinged by means of a hinge, characterized in that said hinge comprises a multi jointed central body configured to allow a first 90° rotation of the distal portion of the temple, and a further 90° rotation of the multi jointed central body with respect to the proximal portion of the temple, in order to arrange the proximal portion of the temple and the distal portion of the temple so that they are mutually parallel and superimposed.
Further characteristics and advantages of the disclosure will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the eyeglasses according to the disclosure, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:
With reference to the figures, the folding eyeglasses according to the present disclosure, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, comprises a front 2 with a pair of lenses 3 and a pair of temples 4. The particularity of the disclosure resides in the folding method of the temples and of the front so as to move the two lenses 3 so that they are mutually superimposed and make the eyeglasses be folded with the smallest possible space occupation as regards the total thickness of the folded eyeglasses.
The temple 4 is divided into a proximal temple portion 4a, i.e., the temple portion connected to the front 2, and a distal temple portion 4b, i.e., the temple portion adapted to be rested on the ear of the user.
Between the proximal temple portion 4a and the distal temple portion 4b there is a hinge 5 which allows to fold the distal temple portion 4b onto the proximal temple portion 4a, as will be described in detail hereinafter.
In particular, the hinge 5 comprises a multi jointed hinge body 6 adapted to be arranged centrally between the proximal temple portion 4a and the distal temple portion 4b, and a first slider 7a adapted to mate with the proximal temple portion 4a and a second slider 7b adapted to mate with the distal temple portion 4b.
Springs 8a and 8b are arranged between the first and second sliders 7a and 7b and the respective temple portions 4a and 4b. Each one of the springs 8a and 8b is accommodated in a blind cavity 13 formed in the body of each proximal and distal temple portion 4a and 4b and each spring abuts against the respective slider 7a and 7b.
Each slider 7a and 7b is shaped so that it can slide on the temple body 4a and 4b in contrast with the force of the spring 8a, 8b.
Conveniently, the elastic force of the springs 8a and 8b is mutually different, and in particular the force of the spring 8b is smaller than the force of the spring 8a.
Therefore, the springs 8a and 8b, which are springs of the compression type, are compressed with different loads.
The multi jointed central body 6 of the hinge 5 is provided with a pair of holes 6a and 6b, which are arranged at respective holes 12a, for the proximal temple portion 4a, and 12b, for the distal temple portion 4b, and there are screws, respectively 9a and 9b, for fixing the central hinge body 6 to the proximal portion 4a and to the distal portion 4b of the temple 4.
Therefore, the coupling of the multi jointed central body 6 with the proximal temple 4a and distal temple 4b occurs by interposition of the respective sliders 7a and 7b and of the respective springs 8a and 8b.
Conveniently, the multi jointed central body 6 of the hinge 5 is provided with two mutually opposite cam-like portions 10a, 10b which allow the rotation of the central body 6 around the rounded portions of the ends of the proximal temple 4a and of the distal temple 4b, i.e., the portions in which the holes, respectively 12a, 12b, of the proximal portion 4a of the temple and of the distal portion 4b of said temple are formed.
The multi jointed central body 6 of the hinge 5 is a bistable mechanism which allows the 180° rotation of the distal portion 4b of the temple with respect to the proximal portion 4a of said temple, by means of vertical axes of the multi jointed hinge, and are identified by the axes of revolution of the two screws 9a and 9b.
Essentially, the bistable mechanism allows the rotation through of each one of the two joints of the temple portions 4a and 4b, where the joints are identified by the holes 12a and 12b of the two temple portions, maintaining at the same time the arrangement of the temple in the normally opened and normally closed equilibrium conditions.
The operation of the bistable mechanism in the two equilibrium conditions, i.e., in a normally open hinge condition and a normally closed hinge condition, is controlled by the force of the load applied by the compression springs, by means of the slider 7a and 7b, to the two faces of the mechanical cam 10 of the multi jointed central body 6 of the hinge 5.
The rotation of the multi jointed hinge 5 from the normally open position to the normally closed position is possible by applying a greater force to the rear joint, i.e., to the distal portion 4b of the temple with respect to the one applied by the compression spring 8b, rotating the temple up to the central rotational position (dead center), and where the remaining stroke is then followed autonomously by the mechanism by means of a snap action of the springs 8a and 8b on both sides of the joints.
The front of the eyeglasses according to the disclosure can also be folded, as shown in detail in
In a constructive variation, the central part (bridge) that separates the two lenses is symmetrical with respect to the slider 20.
In another embodiment, the portion 2a of the front has an end provided with a pair of coaxial holes 22, while the portion 2b of the front has a single hole 23 adapted to be inserted between the two coaxial holes 22 for the mating of the two portions 2a and 2b of the front, with the interposition, as already mentioned, of the slider 20 and of the compression spring 21.
A screw 24 defines the center of rotation of the portion 2a of the front with respect to the portion 2b of the front and is inserted in the holes 22 and 23 of the two front portions.
The folding sequence of the eyeglasses according to the disclosure is shown in
The folding step of
In fact, the folding provides for folding each one of the temples 4 in the manner described above, by moving them in a folded condition into contact with each respective lens 3, and finally for folding one lens 3 onto the other by using the central hinge arranged between the two lenses 3, i.e., by folding the front portion 2a on the portion 2b.
In this manner a packing of the eyeglasses in the smallest possible space is obtained, with the two temples 4 folded and arranged mutually parallel between the two front portions 2a and 2b, in order to form a package.
In practice it has been found that the folding eyeglasses according to the disclosure fully achieves the intended aim and advantages, since it allows to be folded in a simple manner by the user, occupying the smallest possible space once folded, in terms of thickness of the package thus obtained.
The folding eyeglasses thus conceived are susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the accompanying claims.
In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102020000025978 | Nov 2020 | IT | national |
This application is a 35 U.S.C. § 371 National Stage patent application of PCT/IB2021/060116, filed on 2 Nov. 2021, which claims the benefit of Italian patent application 102020000025978, filed on 2 Nov. 2020, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IB2021/060116 | 11/2/2021 | WO |
