The present invention relates to the field of spectacles frames and, more particularly, to that of hinges for spectacles frames.
Conventionally, spectacles are made of a spectacles frame in which lenses are mounted, for protection against the sun, eyesight correction or for novelty and costume purposes. The spectacles frame comprises a front face, also called main frame, configured to receive said lenses, and temples mounted on the side ends of said front face. Each temple is connected to the main frame by means of a hinge, the main purpose of which is to allow the folding/unfolding of the temple.
In this document, the terms horizontal and vertical are defined with respect to a spectacles frame in a position of use, which comprises a front face in a vertical plane and longitudinal temples configured to unfold in a horizontal plane, i.e. orthogonally to said front face according to a vertical axis. In this document, a transversal plane is a plane that is both orthogonal to the horizontal plane and to the vertical plane.
Ordinarily, a hinge comprises a front face element, a side element and a connecting element connecting said front face element to said side element to enable a rotation of the side element with respect to the front face element in a horizontal plane. In other words, each hinge authorises a horizontal rotation to fold/unfold the temples of the spectacles with respect to the front face, between an open and a closed position. Such a rotation is known in the prior art and will not be described in further detail. Furthermore, such a hinge generally allows an over-opening with respect to the conventional open position, which extends its lifespan. The hinge also includes an elastic spring to facilitate the opening/closing of the temple by accelerating the motion of the side element.
Furthermore, in order to increase the lifespan of a spectacles frame, it has been proposed to authorise the rotation of the temples of the spectacles in a transversal plane about a horizontal axis in order to reduce the risk of breakage when handling the temple. The temple of the spectacles can thereby be inclined according to a “breaking” angle.
Patent application FR3023928A1 proposes a hinge for a spectacles frame, comprising a double articulation to allow the temples to open/close in the horizontal plane, while also allowing them to be inclined in the transversal plane. For this purpose, a hinge is proposed comprising a front face element in which is formed an internal cavity to enable the housing of a head member of the connecting element.
To allow a relative movement in the horizontal plane of the side element with respect to the front face element (rotation about a first vertical axis of rotation), the body of the front face element comprises a first guide slot, extending in the horizontal plane, formed in a continuous manner on the two faces of the front face element. Therefore, the connecting element can move from an open position to a closed position of the hinge. Similarly, to allow a relative movement in the transversal plane of the side element with respect to the front face element (rotation about a second horizontal axis of rotation), the front face element comprises a second guide slot, extending in the transversal plane to allow an upwards and a downwards inclination.
The ends of the guide slots form end stops for the side element when the side element is closed/open/over-opened or transversally inclined upwards or downwards. To ensure the robustness of the hinge, the walls of the front face element must be thick to allow the formation of end stops providing sufficient mechanical resistance, despite the presence of the guide slots. If a hinge of small dimensions is required, it is not possible to reduce the thickness of the walls of the front face element 1 without affecting the robustness of the hinge, which is a disadvantage. An immediate solution would be to reduce the length of the guide slots, but this would limit the amplitude of inclination in the horizontal plane and in the transversal plane. The performance of the hinge would therefore be reduced.
The purpose of the invention is therefore to overcome this disadvantage by proposing an elastic hinge, i.e. with an elastic spring, capable of allowing a first rotation according to a horizontal plane and a second rotation according to a transversal plane with elevated amplitudes, while remaining robust and having reduced dimensions.
The invention relates to a hinge for a spectacles frame, comprising a front face element, a side element and a connecting element connecting said front face element to said side element, said connecting element comprising a base element, mounted in the side element, and a head element, housed in a cavity of the front face element allowing the opening/closing of the side element about a first vertical articulation axis, and an inclination of the side element about a second horizontal articulation axis.
The hinge is notable in that the front face element comprises at least one internal end stop member that extends in said cavity so as to limit the movement of the side element about a second horizontal articulation axis.
Therefore, the inclination of the side element is limited internally by the end stop member of the front face element. Advantageously, the side element is no longer stopped by an end of a guide slot of the front face element, which authorises the formation of a front face element featuring a reduced thickness. Advantageously, a small hinge can therefore be manufactured. When the side element is inclined in breaking position, its inclination is limited, in an optimal manner, by the internal end stop member. The hinge thereby obtained is robust.
Furthermore, as the internal end stop member extends in the internal cavity, the force applied by the side element on the front face element is reduced, because the lever arm is shorter than in the prior art. The size of the end stop element can be reduced by forming an optimal end stop. Advantageously, an effective hinge is obtained, the hinge being able to be inclined according to both articulation axes and featuring increased robustness.
Preferably, the front face element comprises at least two internal end stop members so as to define a given amplitude of movement about the second articulation axis. The use of two end stop members enables to restrict the motion of the side element about an articulation axis in order to prevent unwanted excessive movements.
In a preferred embodiment, the internal end stop members are symmetrical to authorise an angular displacement centred on a central resting position, namely the open position of the hinge.
According to a preferred aspect, the internal end stop member extends to an end of said internal cavity so as to facilitate the mounting of the connecting element in the front face element.
Advantageously, the front face element comprises means to close said internal cavity, the internal end stop member belonging to said closing means. Advantageously, the end stop member is mounted removable in the front face element, in particular on the closing means. Advantageously, the internal end stop member can be added after the mounting of the connecting element in the front face element.
In a preferred embodiment, the closing means are in the form of a hood. Such a hood enables, on one hand, to prevent the removal of the connecting element, and on the other hand, to add the internal end stop member.
Preferably, the head member comprises at least one protruding member configured to cooperate with the internal end stop member. Therefore, the movement of the side element is limited directly in the internal cavity by the head member, no additional element being necessary.
Also preferably, the protruding element is configured to cooperate with the internal end stop member on a flat surface. Cooperation on a flat surface provides significant mechanical resistance and guarantees great stability. Furthermore, the wear of such a flat surface is limited.
In a preferred embodiment, the head member comprises two protruding members so as to cooperate with two internal end stop members.
The invention also relates to a spectacles frame comprising a front face and two temples, each temple being connected to said front face by a hinge such as described above.
The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description, provided solely as an example, and with reference to the appended figures, in which:
It should be noted that the figures provide a detailed view of the invention to illustrate its implementation, said figures can naturally also serve to better define the invention as necessary.
With reference to
In this document, with reference in particular to
The spectacles frame 300 comprises a front face 100, also called main frame, extending in the vertical plane (X, Z) and comprising a left opening 101G and a right opening 101D to receive respectively a left lens 301G and a right lens 301D.
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As shown in
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With reference to
As shown in
In this document, the term open position of the hinge 4G describes the position of the hinge 4G when the temple 200G is unfolded i.e. aligned with the axis Y. The term closed position of the hinge 4G describes the position of the hinge 4G when the temple 200G is folded, i.e. aligned with the axis X. Similarly, the term breaking position of the hinge 4G describes the position of the hinge 4G when the temple 200G is inclined about the second articulation axis X2.
As shown in
The opening face O of the front face element 1 corresponds with the face in contact with the side element 2 in an open position of the hinge 4G. Similarly, the closing face F of the front face element 1 corresponds with the face in contact with the side element 2 in a closed position of the hinge 4G.
In this example, the opening face O and the closing face F comprise respectively a moving opening surface and a moving closing surface. In a preferred embodiment, each moving surface defines a curved surface such as described in patent application WO2010100087. Similarly, as described below, the side element 2 comprises an active moving surface to cooperate with the moving surface of the opening face O and the closing face F in order to facilitate the opening and closing of the left temple 200G.
Advantageously, the opening face O and the closing face F both comprise elementary contact points distributed at the corners of said faces in order to limit the wear of the hinge 4G during its handling from an open position to a closed position. Naturally, the invention also applies to a front face element 1 that does not feature moving surfaces.
With reference to
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In this example, with reference to
Now with reference to
Preferably, the guide slot 14 extends on the entire horizontal length of the opening face O to enable the over-opening of the temple 200G, i.e. a rotation of the left temple 200G about a first axis of rotation Z1 in the opposite direction of the right temple 200D as shown in
The opening section of the guide slot 14 is smaller than the mounting opening section 120 so that the closing face F forms a stop wall during the insertion of the head member 6, as described below.
This front face element 1 is easy to manufacture by machining since it does not comprise complex shapes, which is advantageous.
As shown in
The rigid member 20 preferably has a globally parallelepiped shape defining a front face A, a rear face and side faces. The front face A, referred to herein as active face A, extends substantially in the vertical plane (X, Z) in an open position of the hinge. As mentioned above, the active face A of the side element 2 features an active moving surface to cooperate with the moving surfaces of the opening O and closing F faces of the front face element, depending on the opening or closing of the hinge. The active moving surface of the side element 2 is shaped to fit with the moving surfaces of the front face element 1.
The side element 2 further comprises the connecting means 21 to a part of the temple 200G which is in the form, with reference to
Still with reference to
In this example, the section of the traversing opening 22 is configured to prevent a rotation of the base member 5 of the connecting element 3 with respect to the side element 2 about the axis of the opening 22. The section of the traversing opening 22 is rectangular in this case but naturally it could be different. Preferably, the section of the traversing opening 22 is smaller at the level of the connecting means 21 than at the level of the front face A of the rigid body 20.
This side element 2 is easy to manufacture by machining since it does not comprise complex shapes, which is advantageous.
The connecting element 3, as shown in
The connecting element 3 is made of metal in order to feature significant mechanical resistance and a low wear rate. However, the connecting element 3 could naturally be made of other materials, such as a metal/plastic alloy.
With reference to
With reference to
The front section of the longitudinal stem 50 has a front end with an annular form in which is formed a traversing opening 52 along the axis Z1 (
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The head member 6 comprises a mounting groove 65 defining a housing, delimited by two flat surfaces, wherein the longitudinal stem 50 is mounted.
As described previously, the head member 6 further comprises a traversing opening 64 to cooperate with each of the two ends of the connecting bar 51 projecting on either side of the longitudinal stem 50. The traversing opening 64 extends orthogonally to the flat surface of the mounting groove 65. In this embodiment, the opening 64 is blind and doesn't traverse the head member, which facilitates assembly. In an assembled position, the opening 64 of the head member 6 is aligned with the opening 52 of the base member 5 in order to allow the assembly of the connecting bar.
The base member 5 is therefore articulated around the first articulation axis Z1 with respect to the head member 6 by means of the connecting bar 51, so as to allow the base member 5 to rotate with respect to the head member 6 in the horizontal plane (X, Y). The temple can therefore move between opening, closing and over- opening positions.
Similarly, the connecting element 3 is articulated about a second articulation axis X2 with respect to the front face element 1 so as to enable the connecting element 3 to rotate with respect to the front face element 1 in the transversal plane (Y, Z). The temple can therefore move between upper and lower breaking positions.
The outer guide surface of the head member 6 has a diameter that is smaller than that of the inner cavity 12, of approximately 1 to 2 mm, in order to create a clearance during the assembly while allowing optimal guiding.
According to the invention, the front face element 1 further comprises two internal end stop members 13 that extend in said internal cavity 12 of the front face element 1 so as to limit the movement of the side element 2 about the axis of rotation X2, i.e. to limit the breaking angle of the temple. These internal end stop members 13 enable to define an angular range of movement β about the second articulation axis X2.
As shown in
In order to cooperate with the internal end stop members 13 of the front face element 1, the head member 6 comprises two protruding members 63 configured to limit the relative movement between the connecting element 3 and the front face element 1. Naturally, the number of internal end stop members 13 and protruding members 63 can change according to the needs.
Still with reference to
Preferably, each protruding member 63 is configured to cooperate with an internal end stop member 13 on a flat surface to enable a robust and firm stop, which improves the solidity of the hinge and enables its miniaturisation. The assembly of a hinge is now described. In this example, the connecting element 3 has been preassembled. Firstly, the longitudinal stem 50 of the base member 5 is inserted successively in the opening of the mounting face M of the front face element 1 and then in the traversing opening 22 of the side element 2 so that the connecting element 3 is in the side element 2.
Upon insertion, the longitudinal stem 50 is guided by the guide slot 14 of the front face element 1. Because of the section difference, the front part of the longitudinal stem 50 abuts against the side element 2 and remains protruding with respect to said side element 2.
Then, the head member 6 of the connecting element 3 is introduced by the mounting face M of the front face element 1 to be housed in the internal cavity 12 and abut against the closing face F. The protruding members 63 then extend to the vicinity of the mounting face M. Then the opening 120 of the mounting face M is closed by the addition of the closing hood 16. Any unwanted movement of the head member 6 is thereby eliminated. Furthermore, as the closing hood 16 comprises internal end stop members 13, the movements of the head member 6 are directly limited during the installation of the closing hood 16.
The active face A of the side element 2 then comes to bear against the opening face O of the front face element 1 so that their moving surfaces cooperate. The tension of the elastic spring 7 that maintains the contact of the front face element 1 against the side element 2 is then adjusted by crimping. In the open position, the longitudinal stem 50 extends in the centre of the guide slot 14 of the opening face O.
The assembly of such a hinge is a simple process, which represents a time saving and a reduction of the cost price of the frame formed with said hinges.
As shown in
To fold the temple, a user moves the temple towards the front face. With the articulation between the base member 5 and the head member 6, the connecting element 3 can turn in the internal cavity 12 of the front face element 1 about the articulation axis Z1. During this rotation, the base element 5 moves in the guide slot 14, in particular in the opening face O and the closing face F. As shown in
Furthermore as the guide slot 14 of the front face element 1 extends on the entire horizontal length of the opening face O. the temple can move to an over-open position as shown in
The inclination of the temple in a breaking position is now presented. Starting from the open position of the hinge, the active face A of the side element 2 is in contact with the opening face O of the front face element 1.
With reference to
The temple can therefore move in the transversal plane (X, Y) in an angular range β of −45 to +45° with respect to its reference open position. This annular range β can advantageously be adjusted based on the position of the internal end stop members 13 and the protruding members 63.
As the sides of the guide slot 14 are curved, the temple can be moved in directions comprising a component along the first axis of articulation Z1 and a component according to the second axis of articulation X2 to provide flexibility to the hinge and improved resistance in its open position.
Furthermore, because of the elastic spring 7 and the nature of the connecting element 3, the hinge 4G is returned automatically to a centred opening position when the user is no longer acting on the temple.
Advantageously, during the rotation of the side element 2 about the articulation axis X2 in opening position, the periphery of the guide slot 14 is not used and can have a reduced thickness. A high performance miniature hinge can therefore be obtained.
With the hinges according to the invention, the spectacles frame 300 is more resistant and can withstand various handling operations without being damaged (folding, unfolding, over-opening, transversal movements, etc.) while featuring a simple structure that can be miniaturised with few constraints. Furthermore, its cost price is reduced with respect to the prior art, given the manufacturing simplicity of the connecting element 3 and its ease of assembly. Finally, such a hinge is integrated to the frame, i.e. it is not visible to the end user, which is an aesthetic advantage.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1655340 | Jun 2016 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2017/062108 | 5/19/2017 | WO | 00 |