CN110908139B

CN110908139B - Improved elastic hinge for eyeglass frame with parallel arm bracket

Info

Publication number: CN110908139B
Application number: CN201910876277.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 里纳尔多·蒙塔尔班
Original assignee: Visottica Industrie SpA
Current assignee: Visottica Industrie SpA
Priority date: 2018-09-17
Filing date: 2019-09-17
Publication date: 2023-12-22
Anticipated expiration: 2039-09-17
Also published as: CN110908139A

Abstract

A resilient hinge for an eyeglass frame is disclosed, comprising a female part (2) and a male part (1) which are mutually pivotable. The male part (1) has a box-shaped body (4) provided with an inlet mouth and an inner housing, in which the carrier is slidably guided, in contrast to the elastic means, which carrier is provided with at least two parallel guide arms (5 a, 5 b) ending with pairs of eyelet heads (5 a ', 5 b'), one end of the elastic means being constrained to the box-shaped body (4) by means of a retaining clip (7). The female part (2) has at least one fork portion provided with a fork head (2 b), the fork head (2 b) having a cam profile edge which abuts against a corresponding abutment surface (4 a-4 c) of the inlet mouth of the box-shaped body (4), wherein at least one of the fork heads (2 b) interposed between the eyelet heads (5 a ', 5 b') is further provided with a protrusion (8), the protrusion (8) being arranged at least partially within the housing of the box-shaped body between the guide arms (5 a, 5 b) at least in the open position of the hinge.

Description

Improved elastic hinge for eyeglass frame with parallel arm bracket

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a hinge for spectacles, in particular a so-called elastic hinge with double arms or U-shaped brackets.

Background

As is known, eyeglass hinges are composed of a series of elements and mechanisms that allow the two lateral temple wires to be hingedly mounted on the front of the eyeglass frame.

The shape of the eyeglass hinge is varied based on the functionality of the eyeglass and the aesthetic style that must be imparted to the eyeglass. The hinge most commonly used today is the so-called elastic hinge.

The term "elastic or flexible hinge" applies to those hinges provided with elastic elements that determine a respective stable open and closed position (thanks to the presence of the cam element) and allow an elastic movement of additional opening (i.e. excessive opening beyond the open position compared to the elastic force).

To achieve this result, the elastic hinge is generally composed of a box-shaped body mounted on each spectacle rod, having a housing inside which a slider or carriage is slidable, provided with protruding eyelet portions designed to be coupled by means of hinge pins with female prongs provided at the opposite end pieces or front portions of the spectacle frame. The carrier is slidable within the box-shaped housing, in contrast to the elastic means which usually take the form of one or two helical springs. The mouth edge of the box-shaped body abuts and cooperates with the opposite female fork element by means of a cam surface to determine the alternate movement of the hinge axis away from the box-shaped body and towards the box-shaped body, respectively causing the stressing and releasing of the elastic means of the bracket.

The female prongs and the housing of the box-shaped body can also be mounted on the eyeglass portion in the opposite manner.

Two main types of brackets for elastic hinges provide structures with a single central body (as described in FR2662516 or EP 1175638), or with a double-arm central body (as described in EP2553519, WO2011/121522, WO2011/121554 or DE 102014223150).

The invention relates to a second type of hinge, in which the sliding carriage is provided with two parallel arms (for example because it is U-shaped), which end with two different eyelet heads, between which elastic means are arranged. In these devices, the elastic means are normally constrained longitudinally against the distal end of the bracket on one side and against an elastic clip, suitably snapped into engagement with the inner wall of the box-shaped casing, on the other side.

Such a general arrangement is well known in the art and is appreciated in view of the excellent guiding effect that can be obtained between the two arms of the carrier and the inner wall of the corresponding box-shaped housing.

However, it has been found that the two eyelet portions of the respective arms are less constrained in the transverse direction than brackets having a single central body. Thus, problems with torsional stiffness and overall lateral robustness of the hinge may occur.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the above problems by providing a resilient hinge which has the typical advantages of a double arm bracket hinge, but which is at the same time more robust and robust.

This object is achieved by the following hinge means.

The elastic hinge is used for a spectacle frame, the elastic hinge is a pivoting means between a side temple and a front of the spectacle frame, the elastic hinge comprises a female part and a male part which are mutually pivoted, the male part is provided with a box-shaped body provided with an inlet mouth and an inner shell, the bracket is slidably guided in the inner shell compared with the elastic means, the bracket is provided with at least two parallel guide arms ending with paired eyelet heads, one end of the elastic means is restrained to the box-shaped body by a retaining clip, and the female part is provided with at least one fork part provided with a fork head, the fork head is provided with a cam profile edge, the cam profile edge is abutted with a corresponding abutting surface of the inlet mouth of the box-shaped body, wherein at least one of the fork heads inserted between the eyelet heads is further provided with a protrusion arranged to be at least partially positioned in the inner shell between the guide arms in the open position of the elastic hinge, characterized in that the extension over the protrusion length is lower than the height of the inlet mouth of the box-shaped body, so that the male part and the female part do not interfere with the inner mouth when rotating relative to each other.

The projection has a substantially rectangular profile and a width such that it is closely received between the arms of the bracket.

The corners of the protrusions have a connecting radius of at least 0.05mm with respect to the cam profile edge of the respective prong, and the extension over the length is less than 90% of the inlet mouth height of the box-shaped body.

The projections protrude from the respective prongs by a size to be inserted into the housing of the box-shaped body until the retaining clip.

The cam profile edge of at least one of the prongs has a substantially circular cusp profile extending over an arc of at least 150 °.

The female component has three prongs, each prong having the substantially circular spike profile.

Drawings

Further features and advantages of the device according to the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description, given by way of example and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a hinge in partial cross section according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 1B is an enlarged detail view in circle B of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a side view of a fork of a female member according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2B and 2C are perspective and side views, respectively, of a fork of a female member according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are perspective views of a box-shaped housing according to two different exemplary variations;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an exemplary bracket with opposing retention clips;

FIG. 5A is a partial perspective view of the attachment area of the cam surface of the hinge of FIG. 1 with the bracket removed;

FIG. 5B is a partial top view of the coupling region of the cam surface of the hinge of FIG. 1 with the box housing removed;

FIG. 6A is a partially transparent broken side view of a hinge according to a first embodiment in an open condition;

fig. 6B and 6C are views similar to fig. 6A, respectively of a hinge according to a second embodiment in an over-open condition and in a basic closing step.

Detailed Description

As shown in the figures, the elastic hinge, also called flexible hinge, is formed in a manner known per se by the male element 1 and the female element 2, the male element 1 and the female element 2 being hinged to each other by means of a hinge pin (not shown) inserted in a hinge hole 3, the hinge hole 3 being formed in the fork of the female element 2, the hinge hole 3 being aligned with the eyelet hole of the male element 1.

The male element 1 constituting the "elastic" part of the hinge generally comprises a box-shaped housing 4, which box-shaped housing 4 is provided with an elongated housing cavity adapted to receive and guide a slider body or carrier 5 having a longitudinal sliding movement. The housing of the box-shaped body 4 is normally closed at its distal end and open at its proximal end, i.e. from the side facing the female element 2, to allow the introduction and removal of the carriage 5.

As shown in fig. 4, the carrier 5 has two parallel arms 5a and 5b, the parallel arms 5a and 5b being connected to each other at a distal end 5c and ending at a proximal end with a pair of eyelet heads 5a 'and 5b', the eyelet heads 5a 'and 5b' being provided with respective coaxial holes 5d intended for an aligned arrangement of the hinge holes 3.

In the preferred embodiment shown in fig. 4, the bracket 5 is formed from a U-folded sheet metal, wherein the saddle of the U forms the distal portion 5c.

Between the two arms 5a and 5b of the bracket 5, elastic means (schematically represented in fig. 6A in the form of a helical spring) are accommodated, the longitudinal axis of which coincides with the longitudinal axis of the bracket 5. One end, the distal end, of the elastic means rests against the distal end 5c of the bracket 5; the other proximal end of the elastic means abuts against the retaining clip 7, the retaining clip 7 being constrained to the housing wall of the box-shaped body 4 in one of a plurality of modes within reach of a person skilled in the art.

The male part 1 of the hinge is in fact composed of a box-shaped body 4, a bracket 5, a clip 7 and elastic means, intended to be firmly fixed to one of the mutually hinged parts of the spectacles, typically the temple, while the opposite female part 2 is integral with the other part, typically the front part of the spectacles frame.

This arrangement is classical but should not be considered limiting, as it is entirely possible to fix the two parts of the hinge in opposite ways, i.e. the female part 2 attaches the pin and the male part 1 attaches the front of the frame.

Instead, the female part 2 is constituted by a separate fork element adapted to be coupled in rotation with the pairs of heads 5a 'and 5b' of the carriage 5. In particular, the female part 2 has an anchoring base 2a, for example fixed to the front of the frame, and a series of prongs 2b in the form of plates, the edges of which have a cam-shaped profile.

The prongs 2b (three in number in this example) are traversed by holes 3 for receiving hinge pins. The circumferential cam edge of each prong 2b is intended to abut against a corresponding abutment surface profile 4a-4c in the mouth portion of the box-shaped body 4. In order to determine the stable open/closed position of the hinge, the cam profile edge of the fork 2b conventionally has a sharp point between two adjacent rectilinear sections constituting the stable position of the hinge, in cooperation with the return action of the elastic means that pull the female part 2 towards the box-shaped body 4.

According to the invention, there is provided a central prong 2B of the female part, the peripheral edge of which has a modified profile, in which a projection 8 is provided, the width of the projection 8 being such as to be able to be tightly housed between the two arms 5a and 5B of the bracket 5 (fig. 1B).

The extension of the protrusion 8 is lower than the height of the mouth of the box-shaped body 4 so as not to interfere with the inner mouth wall when the male part 1 and the female part 2 are rotated relative to each other.

According to a first variant (fig. 3A), the box-shaped body 4 has a mouth of the casing, the peripheral edges of which are on the same plane.

According to another variant (fig. 3B), the lower edge 4d of the mouth of the box-shaped body 4, i.e. the outermost edge with respect to the rotation allowed by the hinge, is recessed with respect to the other abutment surface edges 4a-4c, for example, which can be further milled after obtaining the box-shaped housing. This variant allows extension of the extension projection 8 (as can be seen from a comparison between fig. 2A and 2C) without risking interference when the hinge is turned.

As can be seen in fig. 2A-2C and 5B, the protrusion 8 protrudes significantly from the cam profile edge of the prong 2B. In any case, the projection 8 extends by such a dimension as to be inserted into the box-shaped casing 4 up to the clip 7 without being significantly in contact therewith (as shown in fig. 1).

The position of the protrusion 8 along the cam edge of the central prong 2b falls into the box-shaped housing 4 at least when the male part 1 and the female part 2 are in the open position (fig. 1 and 6A) with respect to each other, i.e. at least when the temple wire is in the active position with respect to the front of the glasses, where the torsional stress on the hinge is most relevant. In other excessively open (fig. 6B) and substantially closed conditions (fig. 6C), the protuberance 8 can still come out of the box-shaped casing 4.

Advantageously, the protuberance 8 is therefore substantially rectangular, with its corners connected to the peripheral edge of the central prong 2b at a radius of at least 0.05mm, and with its length preferably less than 90% of the mouth height of the casing 4.

In a second preferred embodiment (as shown in figures 2B, 2C and 6B, 6C), the cusp cam profiles 2B' on the peripheral edge of the prongs 2B project on the edges, in particular they have a substantially circular profile extending over an arc of at least 150 °. Thus, at least on one side, the cam point 2b' is connected with an adjacent edge having a convex portion 2b ". This preferred feature of the cusp cam profile 2b' produces the desired abrupt back-off effect (i.e. a high slope ratio with displacement curve) between the female component 2 and the box-shaped body 4, which is particularly advantageous for reducing the interference problem between the protuberance 8 and the mouth of the casing 4.

The function of the two cusp cam profiles 2b' and the protuberance 8 is as follows:

firstly, the projection 8 is designed to project towards the inside of the housing 4, being inserted exactly in the gap between the two arms 5a and 5b of the bracket 5, thus achieving a reinforcing effect making the male part more robust against lateral forces, and further against torsion constraint structures, torsion (also known as "rocking" movement) about the longitudinal axis between the two hinge elements relative to each other;

the preferred shape and dimensions of the protuberance 8 allow to ensure such a stiffening effect even when the temple wire is moved in the closing direction, since the profile, although fully extended, does not interfere with the mouth of the body housing 4;

finally, the profile of the cusp cam 2b' is designed to exert on the respective abutment profile 4a-4c of the box-shaped body 4a spacing action which is already particularly fast at the first rotation angle of the closing phase of the lever: the box-shaped body 4 is thus sufficiently spaced from the projections 8 to ensure that it is removed without interference.

It will be clear from the foregoing that the hinge construction according to the invention fully achieves the objects set forth in the introduction. In particular, by a very low aesthetic and economical impact arrangement, it is possible to greatly reduce any problems of torsional stiffness and lateral robustness of the hinge with parallel arm brackets.

It should be understood, however, that the invention is not to be considered as limited to the particular arrangements described above, which represent only exemplary embodiments thereof, but that various modifications are possible, all within the reach of a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention itself, as defined in the following claims.

For example, although it has been described that the protrusion 8 is integral with the prongs of the female fork, it is not excluded to produce the protrusion separately and then apply it to the central prong by welding or other stable bonding system.

Furthermore, the principles of the present invention are described with reference to a carrier provided with two parallel arms, but it is not excluded that the principles of the present invention can be applied to carriers provided with more parallel arms.

Claims

1. A resilient hinge for a spectacles frame, said resilient hinge being a pivoting means between a side temple and a front of the spectacles frame, said resilient hinge comprising a female part (2) and a male part (1) which are pivoted to each other,

the male part (1) has a box-shaped body (4), the box-shaped body (4) being provided with an inlet mouth and an inner housing, in which a carrier is slidably guided in comparison to elastic means, the carrier being provided with at least two parallel guide arms (5 a, 5 b) ending with paired eyelet heads (5 a ', 5 b'), one end of the elastic means being constrained to the box-shaped body (4) by means of a retaining clip (7), and

the female part (2) has at least one fork portion provided with a fork head (2 b), the fork head (2 b) having a cam profile edge which abuts against a corresponding abutment surface (4 a-4 c) of the inlet mouth of the box-shaped body (4),

wherein at least one of said prongs (2 b) interposed between said eyelet heads (5 a ', 5 b') is further provided with a protrusion (8), said protrusion (8) being arranged to be at least partially located within said inner housing between said guide arms (5 a, 5 b) at least in the open position of said elastic hinge,

characterized in that the extension of the length of the protrusion (8) is lower than the height of the inlet mouth of the box-shaped body (4) so that the protrusion (8) does not interfere with the inner mouth wall of the box-shaped body (4) when the male part (1) and the female part (2) are rotated relative to each other.

2. The elastic hinge according to claim 1, wherein said protrusion (8) has a substantially rectangular profile and the width of said protrusion (8) is such that it is tightly housed between said arms (5 a, 5 b) of said bracket (5).

3. The elastic hinge according to claim 1, wherein the corners of said protrusions (8) have a connection radius of at least 0.05mm with respect to the cam profile edge of the respective prong (2 b), and the extension over said length is less than 90% of the inlet mouth height of the box-shaped body (4).

4. The elastic hinge according to claim 1, wherein said projections (8) protrude from the respective prongs (2 b) by a dimension so as to be inserted into said housing of said box-shaped body (4) up to said retaining clip (7).

5. The elastic hinge according to claim 1, wherein the cam profile edge of at least one of said prongs (2 b) has a substantially circular cusp profile (2 b') extending over an arc of at least 150 °.

6. The elastic hinge according to claim 5, wherein said female part (2) has three prongs (2 b), each prong (2 b) having said substantially circular cusp profile (2 b').