Eyeglass frame with decorative piece

Abstract

Frame (2) for eyeglasses having an optical face (3) and two side arms (4) joined with hinges onto the two end portions (30) of said optical face, each side arm (4) having an inner longitudinal surface (42) and an outer longitudinal surface (43), and a front end surface (44) extending transversely to the longitudinal surfaces over a front end of said side arm, said front end surface extending to face a rear end surface (31) of the relevant end portion of the optical face when the side arm is in the open position, said frame further including at least one means for receiving a decorative piece (6), wherein the or each receiving means consists of a slotted hole (45) formed in one side arm and opening only into its front end surface or of a slotted hole formed in an end portion of the optical face and opening only into its rear end surface, the said or each slotted hole being designed to form a slide channel for receiving the decorative piece.

Claims

1. A frame for eyeglasses comprising an optical face designed for accommodating the lenses and two side arms joined with hinges onto the two end portions of said optical face between an open position and a closed position, each side arm having at least one inner longitudinal surface and at least one outer longitudinal surface extending along the length of the side arm, and a front end surface extending transversely to the longitudinal surfaces over a front end of said side arm, said front end surface extending to face a rear end surface of the relevant end portion of the optical face when the side arm is in the open position, said frame further including at least one means for receiving a decorative piece designed to be attached in a temporary manner to said frame, wherein the said or each receiving means comprises a slotted hole formed in one side arm and opening only into its front end surface or of a slotted hole formed in an end portion of the optical face and opening only into its rear end surface, the said or each slotted hole being designed to form a slide channel for receiving the decorative piece and wherein the or each slotted hole has, from the relevant end surface, a lead in portion that is rectilinear and extended by a terminal portion that is inclined relative to the lead in portion to form an interior ramp.

2. A frame according to claim 1, wherein the or each slotted hole is either formed in the constituent material of the side arm or of the end portion of the optical face or is provided in an insert fixed in a notch formed in the side arm or in the end portion of the optical face.

3. A frame according to claim 1, wherein the or each slotted hole opens into an end surface and comes to be directly in front of the other end surface so as to face it when the side arm is in the open position, such that said slotted hole is covered by the other end surface facing it when the side arm is in the open position.

4. A frame according to claim 1, wherein the end portions of the optical face are substantially contiguous, and are flush, with the outer longitudinal surfaces of the side arms, a clearance (J) being provided between the front end surface and rear end surface respectively, of said side arms and said end portions.

5. An optical assembly for eyeglasses comprising: a frame according to claim 1; and at least one decorative piece comprising of at least one resiliently deformable pin designed to be slid into at least one slotted hole of the frame, at least one decorative element designed to extend to the exterior of the slotted hole and the frame, in particular facing the outer longitudinal surface of the side arm and/or facing the end portion of the optical face and a linking element between the pin and the decorative element, and wherein the or each pin is engaged and held within a slotted hole of the frame, the linking element extends between the two relevant end surfaces of the side arm and the end portion of the optical face when said side arm is in the open position, and the decorative element extends to the exterior of the slotted hole and the frame.

6. An optical assembly according to claim 5, wherein the or each slotted hole has, from the relevant end surface, a lead in portion that is rectilinear and extended by a terminal portion that is inclined relative to the lead in portion to form an interior ramp and the pin of the decorative piece has a curved shape.

7. An optical assembly according to claim 6, wherein the pin of the decorative piece has a rectilinear initial portion extended by a curved terminal portion.

8. Eyeglasses including an optical assembly according to claim 5.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other characteristic features and advantages of the present invention shall become apparent upon reading the detailed description here below of several examples of implementation provided without limitation, with reference made to the appended figures wherein:

(2) FIGS. 1a and 1b are schematic side views of eyeglasses according to the invention with the side arm open and respectively with and without the decorative piece;

(3) FIGS. 2a and 2b are schematic views in perspective of the first and second side arms for frames in accordance with the invention, for which the slotted holes are formed in the side arms;

(4) FIGS. 3a to 3e are schematic top and partial views of a frame according to the invention, at various stages of assembly of the decorative piece on a side arm of the frame;

(5) FIG. 4a is a schematic side view of a side arm for a frame according to the invention with a decorative piece;

(6) FIG. 4b is a schematic view in a longitudinal cross section, along the plane of cross section C-C, of the side arm in FIG. 4a,

(7) FIG. 5 is a schematic top and partial view of a frame according to the invention, with a decorative piece mounted on a tenon of the optical face of the frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) The eyeglasses 1 in accordance with the invention are described with reference made to FIGS. 1 to 5 in which the same reference numerals are used to illustrate the identical or similar pieces and parts.

(9) The eyeglasses 1 are comprised of two lenses 10 supported by a frame 2 including: an optical face 3 to support the lenses 10 with or without the circle; and two side arms 4, right and left respectively, hinged onto the optical face 3 by means of hinge type joints 5.

(10) The optical face 3 has two end portions 30, respectively right and left, on which the side arms are joined by hinges, and may be presented in the form of tenons in the examples of FIGS. 1, 3 and 5. Each tenon 30 has a rear end surface 31 substantially parallel to the hinge pin (joint axis) 52 of the corresponding hinge 5.

(11) The side arm 4 includes essentially of two parts, namely a front portion 40 that is rectilinear and hinged onto the face 3 and extending along a main longitudinal direction, and a rear portion 41, generally curved, designed to go around the back of the ear and to be supported on the ear.

(12) The side arm 4 has an inner longitudinal surface 42 and an outer longitudinal surface 43, and a front end surface 44 extending transversely to the two longitudinal surfaces 42, 43 over a front end of the side arm 4. Each front end surface 44 is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the side arm 4, and substantially parallel to the rear end surface 31 of the corresponding tenon 3 when the side arm 4 is open.

(13) When the side arm 4 is open, the front end surface 44 is not visible from the side as it is substantially contiguous to the rear end surface 31 of the tenon 3 by coming face to face with the latter with only a small clearance J between the two end surfaces 44, 31, only the outer longitudinal surface 43 being visible, as is the outer surface of the tenon 3 which goes along the length of the outer longitudinal surface 43 of the side arm 4.

(14) In the embodiments of FIGS. 2 to 4, each side arm 4 has a blind slotted hole 45 opening into the front end surface 44 and extending orthogonally to said front end surface 44, in other words along the longitudinal direction of the side arm 4. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4b, the slotted hole 45 has, from the front end surface 44, a rectilinear lead in portion having a substantially constant cross section and extended by a terminal portion inclined towards the inside of the side arm 4 in relation to the lead in portion and thereby defining an inner ramp 46.

(15) In the example in FIGS. 2b and 3, the slotted hole 45 is formed in the constitutive material of the side arm 4, therefore directly within the side arm 4. In the example in FIGS. 2a and 4, the slotted hole 45 is provided within an insert 47 mounted in a notch provided in the side arm 4, and more specifically in the longitudinal outer surface 43; the insert 47 thus being visible from the side when the eyeglasses 1 are worn, but not the slotted hole 45.

(16) In the embodiment of FIG. 5, each tenon 30 has a blind slotted hole 32 opening into the rear end surface 31 and extending orthogonally to said rear end surface 35, in other words, in the longitudinal direction of the side arm 4 when it is open. The slotted hole 32 has, from the rear end surface 31 a rectilinear lead in portion of substantially constant cross section and extended by a terminal portion inclined towards the inside of the tenon 30 in relation to the lead in portion and thereby defining an inner ramp 33.

(17) The hinged joint 5 comprises a fixed knuckle 50 attached onto the tenon 30 of the optical face 3 and a movable knuckle 51 attached to the inner longitudinal surface 42 of the side arm 4, with a hinge pin 52 connecting in rotation the two hinge knuckles 50, 51.

(18) In accordance with the invention, the eyeglasses 1 also comprise at least two decorative pieces 6, at least one decorative piece 6 per side arm 4 and/or at least one decorative piece 6 per tenon 3. Each decorative piece 6 comprises of a resiliently deformable pin 61 forming an elongated stem adapted to engage and be held within the slotted hole 45, 32 of the side arm 4 or of the relevant tenon 30. It is also possible to provide a decorative piece 6 having multiple pins 61 which engage in multiple slotted holes 45 or 32.

(19) The decorative piece 6 further comprises a decorative element 62 that is linked to the pin 61 by means of a linking element 63, this decorative element 62 being designed to extend to the exterior of the slotted hole 45, 32 and come in front of the outer longitudinal surface 43 of the side arm 4 and/or of the tenon 30 on the outer side.

(20) The pin 61 has a curved shape, with a free end which is curved in the direction opposite to the decorative element 62 by moving away from it, and is made out of a resiliently deformable material such as metal or plastic.

(21) The decorative piece 6 may be made integrally of one piece or by assembling multiple elements joined to each other for example by welding, gluing, etc. The decorative element 62 may have various shapes and configurations, such as for instance, a flat piece like in the examples in FIGS. 1 to 4, or a protuberance as in the example in FIG. 5, for instance in the shape or form of a button, ball, butterfly, flower, etc.

(22) In order to attach the decorative piece 6 onto the frame 2, it is firstly necessary to close, at least partially, the side arm 4, as shown in FIGS. 3b to 3d, from the open position shown in FIG. 3a, so as to allow access to the slotted hole 45 or 32. Then it is necessary to insert the pin 61 of the decorative piece 6 into the slotted hole 45 or 32, until the curved end of the pin 61 is resiliently stretched out at the level of the interior ramp 46 or 33 in order to ensure the locking of the pin 61 in the slotted hole 45 or 32. And finally the side arm 4 may be reopened, as illustrated in FIG. 3e, so as to enable the wearing of the eyeglasses 1.

(23) A clearance J is provided between the front end surface 44 of the side arm 4 and the rear end surface 31 of the tenon 30, this clearance J being at least equivalent to the thickness of the linking element 63 of the decorative piece 6 so that it does not interfere with the complete opening of the arm 4 as shown in FIGS. 3e and 5. In the embodiments of FIGS. 2 to 5, the slotted hole 45 or 32 opens backwards set back from the relevant end surface 44 or 31 by a depth equivalent to this clearance J needed for the passing of the linking element 63.

(24) Obviously indeed, the implementation example discussed here above is presented without any limitations, and other improvements and details may be made attributed to the eyeglasses according to the invention without however departing from the scope of the invention where other forms of joints may for example be fabricated.