WO2023119340A1 - Spherical cavity joint for interchangeable temple of - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a spherical cavity joint for an interchangeable elastic temple of eyeglass and its assembly method. The joint comprises a fixed element with a cylindrical cavity and a hemispherical bottom, to be associated with the two ends of the eyeglass front, by joining said hollow element to a spherical end of an elastic means which is applied to the end of a respective temple, according to a method of assembly which provides for the thrust of the spherical end into the compartment with a hemispherical base of the joint fixed to the front, then the lateral thrust of the same sphere into the adjacent hemispherical compartment of said fixed joint, where said sphere is made to rotate in said hemispherical seat, by activating the stem which joins said sphere, which stem is made translatable along a transversal slot of said hollow joint element.

Description

TITLE: SPHERICAL CAVITY JOINT FOR INTERCHANGEABLE TEMPLE OF EYEGLASSES AND ITS ASSEMBLY METHOD

DESCRIPTION

It is the object of the present invention a new construction form and a new assembly method of the two members, which constitute each of the two elastic hinging joints of an interchangeable temple, to be applied to the ends of an eyeglass front.

Main feature of the present invention is to be able to associate a fixed member having a cylindrical cavity with hemispherical bottom, which member is already integral with the front end and provided with a standard shoulder for the articulation of the temple, as well as being provided with an hemispherical compartment, which is adjacent to the above hemispherical bottom, joining said spherical cavity member with the spherical end of an elastic means that is applied to the hinging end of a temple, said spherical end being connected by a method that provides for a first step of thrusting and housing the same temple spherical end into the cylindrical seat of the fixed member, then a second step of translating the same sphere into the adjacent hemispherical compartment of the same fixed member, and other further functional steps allow the opening, the maximum divarication, and the closure thereof, with respect to the eyeglass front supporting said fixed joint.

A number of constructive solutions of hinges for articulating temples to the ends of an eyeglass front are known, which are generally based on joining an eyelet, which for example is integral with the temple end, which eyelet is interposed between a pair of eyelets that are integral, for example, with the ends of an eyeglass front, their connection being ensured by a screw or pin threaded between said aligned eyelets.

Subsequently, these basic solutions have been developed with the application of devices for an elasticized articulation of the temples, by which an improved support of the eyeglasses to the face, and a suitable snapping to position during the opening and closure phases of the same temples are ensured, while still acting by means of a pin or screw that constrains the joining of each temple end to the end of the eyeglass front.

It is known that the presence of said pin has drawbacks, ranging from it being easily unscrewed and lost, hence requiring the replacement of the entire temple, to the difficulty for the designated optician to apply a new, identical temple, which may not always be available, as well as its problem of aligning the eyelets of the front to the eyelets of the elasticized temple to be joined, resulting in an impact on the times and costs for repairing the eyeglass. Moreover, the very presence of the hinging pin involves the consequent difficulty of making so that a series of temples is interchangeable, which temples could be made available for a single front, in order to achieve an eyeglass frame that is appropriate for the different occasions of being worn by an individual.

In order to promote the interchangeability of the temples on eyeglass frames that lack elasticity, a long-known prior art has proposed the presence of temple end members that are shaped as a small cylinder, to be housed into a cylindrical member of the front, which is provided with a through hole with a squared side loop, into which the cylindrical member is housed to be bayonet-coupled, such as described, for example, in US 1504212, EP 0926530, EP 0945751. These and other similar solutions, while being effective for an interchangeability of the temples, however turned out to be unsatisfactory due to their rigidity and lack of elasticity.

In general, the sight of the pin head and shank in the current solutions of a hinge for eyeglass elasticized temples generally involves an aesthetically unappealing, not very accurate appearance, as well as being the occasion for a deposition of dust and impurities during the daily use of the eyeglass.

In order to overcome this aesthetic concern, several hinge solutions have been proposed, which provide for covering the pin with wings extending from the temple end, such as described, for example, in W02004/040355, WOO2011/121522. However, these and other similar solutions, while fulfilling their aesthetic and cleanliness functions, showed to have a very complex construction and a very fragile structure also during the manufacturing phase, besides being difficult to be fixed, in case of a failure, thus having to limit the diffusion thereof, in particular for the interchangeability of the temples, even by a skilled optician.

Main task of the present invention is to make a joint for joining, onto a single eyeglass front, a plurality of interchangeable, elasticized temples, so as to ensure the highest constructive simplicity and the maximum reliability of the hinging, for an adjustable movement thereof of their snap closure and opening.

Within the scope of such task, another important object of the present invention is to make the replacement of the elasticized temples to a single eyeglass frame as simple and easy as possible, eliminating thereby any possibility of unscrewing or losing the pin.

A further object of the present invention is to be able to aesthetically eliminate the sight of the head or shanks of the screws or pins for the hinging connection, besides preventing the formation and the view of zones where dust and impurities may build up.

These and other objects are perfectly achieved by the present invention, as exemplified herein below and in accordance with what has been indicated in the attached claims, which invention provides for making a joint having a fixed member with a cylindrical cavity and hemispherical bottom, to be associated to the two ends of the eyeglass front, by connecting said hollow member to a spherical end of an elastic means that is applied to the end of a respective temple, in accordance with an assembly method, which method provides for thrusting the spherical end into the compartment with hemispherical base of the joint secured to the front, subsequently it provides for a side thrust of the same sphere into the adjacent hemispherical compartment of said fixed joint, where said sphere is made rotatable in said hemispherical seat, by actuating the stem that connects said sphere, which stem is made translatable along a transversal slot of said hollow joint member.

A more complete description and illustration of a preferred embodiment and implementation form of the present method, and the verification of its compliance with the specified objects, are best set forth in the following description, which is intended as nonlimiting and only exemplary, also with the aid of the schematic figures attached and of which:

- Fig. 1 depicts a horizontal view, along the sectional plan I - I of Fig. 3, of the hollow joint having also a securing shank at the end of an eyeglass front;

- Fig. 2 depicts a bottom view of the joint member of Fig. 1;

- Fig. 3 depicts a plan view of the joint member of Fig. 1, according to its sectional plan III -

III;

- Fig. 4 depicts a horizontal, axial -sectional view of an eyeglass temple end including an elasticization member thereof, having its free end in a spherical shape, to be housed in the hemispherical cavity of the hollow member of Fig. 1;

- Fig. 5 depicts an enlarged view only of the elasticization member comprised in the temple end of Fig. 4;

- Fig. 6 depicts a horizontal, axial -sectional view of the temple end of Fig. 4, in its initial phase of assembling to the hollow joint of Fig. 1;

- Fig. 7 depicts a horizontal and axial view of the same end of the temple and the joint of Fig.

6, depicted in a subsequent step, wherein the temple is snapped from its opening or closure position with respect to the eyeglass front;

- Fig. 8 depicts a horizontal and axial view, similar to the views in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7, depicted in its normal opening condition of the temple on the eyeglass front.

In all the Figures, like elements are indicated or are intended to be designated by the same identification number(s). With reference to Figs. 1 - 2 and 3, a preferably metallic fixed joint member (1) is composed of a substantially parallelepiped-shaped body (10), on the inner wall (10/a) of which a cylindrical hole (11) is located, the blind bottom (12) of which is of hemispherical shape and is made communicating with an adjacent hemispherical seat (13). Moreover, said body (10) has a transversal slot (14) that is arranged on the inner surface (10/a) thereof, which is in communication with the center line of the cylindrical hole (11) and extends just beyond the central line of the free outer wall (10/b), besides with the hemispherical walls (12 - 13). Therefore, the same body (10) has a flat base (15), which is integral with two anchoring feet (16 - 17), preferably separated by an intervening compartment (18).

Preferably, the hemispherical seat (13) of the body (10) provides a slight cavity towards the inner wall (10/a), to promote the containment of the sphere (21) during a normal use of the eyeglass.

Again, with reference to Figs. 1 - 2 - 3, the hollow body or joint (10) of the joint (1) is made integral with the end of a front (5), exemplarily made of acetate, by burying the feet (16 - 17) thereof, so that its base plate (15) is coplanar with the surface of the same eyeglass front (5).

With reference to Figs. 4 to 8, the hollow body (10) of the joint (1) is integral with the front (5) end and is connected with the temple (4) end via the interposition of an elasticization device (2) that is housed in a box (3).

With particular reference to Figs. 4 and 5, an elasticization device (2) comprise a spherical head (21) that is provided with a shank or stem (22), which stem has a threaded end (23) and an initial length, or tang (27), these having a squared or in any case flat section. In addition, the same device (2) comprises a jacket (28), which has a bottom (28/a) with an axial hole (28/b) through which the stem (22) passes. Said jacket (28) is housed and guided into the compartment (30) of the box (3), to be secured thereto for example by at least one grub screw (26).

With reference in particular to Fig. 4, the same elasticization device (2) comprises a coil spring or other elastic means (25) enveloping said stem (22). And end of said elastic means (25) abuts against the bottom (28/a) of the jacket (28), while the opposite end thereof contacts a nut (24), exemplarily spherical, which is screwed to the threaded end (23) of the stem (22) and allows adjusting the compression of said elastic means (25).

In the illustration of Figs. 4 and 5, for convenience of graphic representation, the spherical head (21) of the device (2) is shown slightly detached from the bottom (28/a) of the jacket (28) and from the aligned open edge of the box (3). In fact, a pre-loading of the elastic means (25) causes the nut (24), hence the stem (22), to bring said spherical head (21) in abutment position on the outer surface of said bottom (28/a). During the step of connecting the temple (4) to the joint (1) of the front (5), the displacement of the spherical head (21) from the bottom (28/a) of the jacket (28) is easily achieved by slightly pulling it, as specified herein below.

In more detail, with reference to Figs. 4 to 8, the connection, and the articulation actuation of the temple (4) to the front (5) is made possible by following a particular assembly and operative method thereof, which provides for at least two preliminary steps of preparing the temple (4).

In a first preliminary step of the method under consideration, the elasticization device (2) is prepared and assembled, passing the stem (22) of the spherical head (21) into the hole (28/b) of the jacket (28) and enveloping it by the elastic means (25), which is substantially housed in the compartment of the same jacket (28); then, the nut (24) is screwed onto the threaded shank (23) of the same stem (22), until imparting the desired compression to said elastic means (25), by way of example as depicted in Fig. 5.

In a second preliminary step of the same method under consideration, the elasticization device (2) is housed in the compartment (30) of the box (3), positioning the bottom (28/a) of the jacket (28) so that it is aligned with the bottom of the box (3) that houses it, and so that it can be secured thereto, for example by means of a grub screw (26), as depicted by way of example in Fig. 4, so that the temple (4) is ready to be associated with the joint (1). With particular reference to Fig. 6, a first step of the assembly method under consideration provides for the alignment and the arrangement of the temple (4) on axis with the blind hole (11) of the joint (1), by aligning the axis of the stem (22) of its elasticization device (2) to the axis of the cylindrical hole (11) of the joint (1), so as to be able to push the spherical head (21) of the device (2) along said conduit (11), until resting the same head (21) of the hemispherical bottom (12) of said blind hole (11).

A second step of the present assembly method, not illustrated in the attached figures, provides for translating the same spherical head (21) from the hemispherical bottom (12) to the adjacent hemispherical compartment (13), acting by translation on the temple (4), which forces the flat part (27) of the stem (22) to insert into the slot (14) of the joint (10). In particular, the width of the slot (14) of the joint (1) is slightly larger than the width of the contacting sides of the polygonal tang (27) of said stem (22), thus preventing any accidental axial rotation of the elasticization device (2) and of the same temple (4) with respect to the front (5).

As a result of this lateral thrust action onto the temple (4), the bottom (28/a) of the jacket (28) slides along the inner part (10/a) of the block (10), then along the sides of the slot (14), until the head (21) of the elasticization device (2) is housed into said spherical compartment (13) of the hollow joint (1). At this position, due to the expected compression of the elastic means (25) and of the constraint that the grub screw (26) exerts on the jacket (28), the normal closure condition of the temple (4) to the eyeglass front (5) is achieved. With reference to Fig. 7, a third operative step of the method under consideration provides for the rotation of the temple (4), for a passage thereof from the closure position of Fig. 6 to a possible opening position of Fig. 8.

In this intermediate step, given the known eccentricity of the shoulder (19), hence of the respective small shoulders of the slot (14) thereof, by continuing the thrust onto the temple (4), the spherical head (21) of the device (2) is rotated into the spherical compartment (13) of the joint (1), thus causing a further compression of the coil spring (25), whereby, with a minimum manual thrust onto the temple (4), it is snap passed from the closure position of Fig. 6 to the opening position of Fig. 8, or, in the opposite direction, in accordance with the direction of the thrust action onto the temple (4), on the other hand in a manner similar to any other snapping system for temples already known, but with an innovative joining system.

With reference to Fig. 8, it is clear that, in a fourth operative step of the method under consideration, as a result of the normal compression of the elastic means (25) on the small shoulders of the slot (14), along the outer wall (18/b), the temple (4) stably maintains its opening position on the eyeglass front (5), ensuring the best condition to wear the eyewear on the individual’s head, on the other hand in a manner similar to any other snapping system for temples already known, but with an innovative joining system.

In a fifth operative step of the method under consideration, which is not illustrated herein due to its obviousness, it is clear that, by continuing with the opening thrust of the temple (4), a possible maximum divarication thereof is defined by the width of the slot (14) on the wall (10/b), against which the tang (27) of the stem (22) can abut. In this step also, the divarication thrust on the temple (4) causes a further loading of the spring (25) which, when the thrust action stops, tends to snap the same temple (4) towards its normal opening condition of Fig. 8.

In accordance with one of the specified objects, the interchangeability of the temples, even for a single template of eyeglass front, for example, with a temple having a different colour or a different configuration, is made easily possible by the present invention by bringing the temple (4) back to its closure condition of Fig. 6, after moving the spherical head (21) thereof from the spherical seat (13) to the spherical seat (12) of the joint (1), so that the axis of its tie rod (22) coincides with the axis of the cylindrical blind hole (11). Subsequently, the spherical head (21) is simply extracted from the conduit (11), and the spherical head (21) of the new temple (4) to be applied is inserted, repeating the steps described above.

Of course, for each type of interchangeable elastic temple (4) to be associated to the hollow joint (1) of the front (5), both during the first application phase and in any other occasion of replacement or inspection of the temple (4), it is possible to adjust the desired compression of the spring (25) by simply extracting the elasticization device (2) from its box (3), after loosening the grub screw (26), and subsequently by screwing or unscrewing the nut (24) on the threaded end (23) of the stem or tie rod (22), in order to always have the best conditions of compression of the spring (25), hence of an optimal adherence of the eyeglass on the individual’s head, the temples being normally open when he/she is wearing his/her eyeglasses, in accordance with another one of the specified objects.

In the light of what has been exemplarily described and illustrated hitherto, it is apparent that the hollow joint (1) allows an articulated fit of the temple (4) without the need for a pin or a screw with respective nut that may unscrew and cause the loss of the temple, as well as the joint (1) itself also eliminates the presence and unsightly view of any screws or nuts, as well as it eliminates any formation of surface dirt, in accordance with other specified objects.

A similar adjustment of the desired compression of the temple (4) allows adjusting the consistency of the snapping of the same temple (4), for a passage from the closure position to the opening position, and vice versa, with respect to the front (5), as well as from the maximum divarication position, in accordance with another one of the specified objects.

In accordance with a first construction variation thereof, it is possible to provide for the distinct making of the spherical head (21) and the tie rod or stem (22) thereof, for example, by providing the same sphere (21) with a respective threaded hole thereof to which the threaded end of the polygonal or flat part (27) of the same stem (22) can be screwed and joined.

In accordance with a second construction variation thereof, the spherical end (21) of the elasticization device (2) can take a cylindrical shape, to be passed through the blind hole (11) of the joint (1), with its hollow bottom (12) having a cylindrical shape and adjacent seat (13) having a similar cylindrical seat. With this construction variation, the part of the tang (27) may also not be flat.

Of course, the joint and the application method thereof, exemplarily illustrated so far in a solution on frame of front (5) and temple (4) made of cellulose acetate or other plastic material, can also be applied in making metal or metal alloy eyeglasses of any known type. In this instance, which is not illustrated herein, the base plate (15) of the joint (1) can be without the feet (16 - 17) and may be provided with through holes, or with threaded shanks with which the same joint (1) is connected to each end of a metal front (5’). Furthermore, the present joint with spherical or cylindrical cavity can be applied and adapted to make any type of eyeglass made of acetate or injected, as well as made by milling, or with a frame made of other materials, even of the wooden type, as well as to make any type of so-called three-piece eyeglasses.

Similarly, for a metal temple solution, which is not illustrated herein, a wall of the box (3’) can be secured or welded to the inner surface of a metal temple (4’), while a grub screw (26’) thereof, which also may be the shank of a screw for securing the box (3’), ensures the positioning of the jacket ( 28’) with respect to the alignment of the bottom (28/a’) thereof and of the box (3’) edge, upon the contact with the surfaces (10/a) and (10/b) of the joint (1), along the slot (14) thereof.

Also, it is pointed out that the presence of the coil spring (25) can be counterbalanced by the presence of any other known elastic means that has similar features of reaction to compression upon a handling step of the temple (4) on the eyeglass front (5).

The illustration of the actuating steps of the assembly method of the joint under consideration provides for the possibility of two preliminary steps, which allow the availability of a plurality of temples (4) to be associated with a front (5), so that they are ready upon their replacement, for example, by an optician. However, these preliminary steps are intended to be complementary to the steps of joining the temple (4) to the joint (1); therefore, they are within the overall assembly method of the joint under consideration. These and other similar modifications or adaptations to similar construction forms of a spherical cavity joint for an interchangeable elastic temple of eyeglass, and of the assembly method thereof are intended to be within the novelty and originality of the finding for which protection is sought as defined by the claims.

Claims

1. Spherical cavity joint for an interchangeable elastic temple of eyeglass, characterized in that it is composed of a joint (1) with cylindrical cavity (11) having a hemispherical base (12) and an adjacent hemispherical cavity (13), which joint (1) is secured to a front (5) end of eyeglass, and is to be associated to the spherical end (21) of an elasticization device (2) of a temple (4), said joint (1) being composed of a substantially parallelepiped-shaped body (10), on the inner wall (10/a) of which a cylindrical hole or conduit (11) is located, the blind bottom (12) of which is of hemispherical shape and is made communicating with an adjacent hemispherical seat (13), said body (10) having a transversal slot (14) that is obtained on the same inner surface (10/a), is in communication with the center line of said cylindrical hole (11), and extends just beyond the center line of the free wall (10/b) of the same body (10), as well as with said hemispherical bottom cavities (12 - 13), inside which the spherical head (21) of an elasticization member (2) with open box (3) that is made integral to the temple (4) end is housed, said transversal slot (14) passes through the inner (10/a) and outer (10/b) surfaces of the parallelepiped-shaped body (10), which also divides its eccentric shoulder (19) into two parts, for housing and moving the square end (27) of the stem (22) of the elasticization device (2), inhibiting the outlet passage of its spherical head (21) from the housing seat (13) of said joint (1).

2. Spherical cavity joint for temple, according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises an elasticization device (2) having a spherical head (21) that is provided with a stem or tie rod (22), with an initial part or tang (27) having a squared or in any case flat section, so that it can slide into the slot (14) of the joint (1), while the free end (23) thereof is threaded and is adapted to screw a nut (24), where said stem (22) is axially enveloped by a coil spring (25), which is hold by an open box (3) with a jacket (28) having its flat bottom (28/a) which abuts against an end of said spring (25), while the opposite end of the same spring (25) abuts against the nut (24), which, by screwing to the end (23) of the stem (22), allows adjusting the compression by which the traction of the spherical head (21) of the same elasticization device (2) against the inner (10/a) and side (10/b) walls of the body (10) of the joint (1) is generated.

3. Spherical cavity joint, according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the elasticization device (2), together with its elastic means (25), its head sphere (21), its stem (22), its adjustment nut (24), and its jacket (28) are housed in the compartment (30) of an open box (3), while the presence of at least one grub screw (26), passing through the temple (4) body can preferably be screwed to a threaded hole of at least one wall of the box

9 (3), to allow the proper and firm securing of the jacket (28), so that the bottom (28/a) thereof is aligned with the open edge of the box (3), after the elastic device (2) has already been pre-loaded and housed into the same box (3), inhibiting any axial rotations of the same box (3) and of the temple (4) when they are hooked to the seat (13) of the joint (1), being able to slide into the slot (14) from and opening or closure condition of the same temple (4) on the eyeglass front (5).

4. Assembly method of a spherical cavity joint, according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the making of the temple (4) provides for a first preliminary preparation step, wherein the stem (22) is passed into the hole (28/b) of the jacket (28) to be subsequently enveloped by an elastic means (25), which is then housed in the same jacket (28) of the open box 3, while the nut (24) is screwed on the threaded shank (23) of the stem (22), to transmit the desired compression of said elastic means (25).

5. Assembly method of a spherical cavity joint, according to the preceding claims, characterized in that it provides for a second preliminary preparation step, wherein the elasticization device (2) is housed in the compartment (30) of the box (3), positioning the bottom (28/a) thereof aligned with the box (3) opening, to be secured thereto by at least one grub screw (26).

6. Assembly method of a spherical cavity joint for an interchangeable elastic temple of eyeglass, according to one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, after the preliminary steps of preparation and housing of the elasticization device (2) into the open compartment of the box (3), it provides for the following steps:

- a first step of aligning the stem (22) axis to the axis of the cylindrical blind hole (11) of the hollow joint (1) so as to be able to push the spherical head (21) of the device (2) along said conduit (11), until resting the same head (21) on the spherical bottom (12) of said blind hole (11);

- a second step of translating the temple (4), hence the spherical head (21) of the stem (22) of its elasticization device (2), in order to bring said head (21) from the hemispherical cavity (12) to the hemispherical cavity (13), of the joint (1), while the tang (27) of said stem (22) is guided into the slot (14) of the same joint (1);

- a third operation step, with the rotation of the temple (4) and the elasticization device (2) thereof, to bring them from the closed temple position to an open temple position, with respect to the front (5) to which it is constrained by the joint (1) where, given the known eccentricity of the shoulder (19), hence of the respective small shoulders of their slot (14), by continuing the thrust onto the temple (4), the spherical head (21) of the device (2) is rotated into the spherical compartment (13) of the joint (1), thus causing a further compression of the coil spring (25) whereby, with a minimum manual thrust onto the temple (4), it is snap passed from the closure position to the opening position, or, in the opposite direction, in accordance with the direction of the thrust action onto the temple (4);

- a fourth operation step of the method under consideration, as a result of the normal compression of the elastic means (25) on the small shoulders of the slot (14), along the outer wall (10/b), the temple (4) stably maintains its opening position on the eyeglass front (5), ensuring the best condition to wear the eyewear on an individual’s head;

- a fifth operation step of the method under consideration, by continuing with the opening thrust of the temple (4), a possible maximum divarication thereof is defined by the width of the slot (14) on the wall (10/b), against which the flat part (27) of the stem (22) can abut, where the divarication thrust on the temple (4) causes a further loading of the spring (25) which, when the thrust action stops, tends to snap the same temple (4) towards its normal opening condition.

7. Spherical cavity joint for an interchangeable elastic temple and assembly method thereof, according to one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it can be applied to both the manufacture of metallic or partially metallic frames, by adjusting the securing or welding of the hollow joint (1) and the elasticization device (2) to the structure of the ends of the front (5) and/or of the temple (4), to allow that a single type of joint (1) and of elasticization device (2) makes a plurality of eyeglass temples (4) and fronts (5) interchangeable.

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