Abstract:
The invention relates to an eyeglass frame having a portion of the frame removably coupled to the body of the frame to permit the removal and replacement of the lenses in the frame.

Description:
The present application is a continuation in part application of a continuation in part application Ser. No. 09/336,541 filed on Jun. 19, 1999 now abandoned, which in turn is a continuation in part application, Ser. No. 08/990,056, filed Dec. 12, 1997 which issued on Jun. 22, 1999 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,914,767, and which in turn is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/794,321 which was filed on Feb. 3, 1997 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,866 on Jun. 2, 1998 and which in turn is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/689,223 filed on Aug. 7, 1996, now abandoned, for which priority is claimed herein pursuant to 35 USC 120. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an eyeglass frame, in particular it relates to an eyeglass frame where at least a portion of the frame can be removably coupled to the body of the frame to permit the removal and replacement of the lenses in the frame. 
     2. The Prior Art 
     The prior art teaches a number of eyeglass frames. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,564 to Werling has a hinge mechanism and a clasp mechanism. The clasp and hinge mechanisms are cumbersome, conspicuously visible, and aesthetically displeasing. The frame can be opened up to permit the lenses to be removed. Similarly the U.S. Pat. No. 2,479,754 to Marks discloses a frame that permits the lenses to be removed. As shown in FIG. 1 of Marks&#39;, the frame has a hinge base 16 with a stud 17 that goes through the top portion 14. Hinge screw 16 provides a pivot for a portion at the temple. 
     All of the prior art proposals are both cumbersome and aesthetically inappropriate for today&#39;s eyeglass frames, notably designer frames, which are primarily meant to be aesthetically pleasing. It would, therefore, be most desirable to provide a lens frame which would permit lenses to be removed, while at the same time requiring a minimum amount of disassembly and reassembly on the part of the wearer and also an insignificant amount of clasping or hinge mechanisms on the frame itself, which would add unnecessary weight to the frame and also would be unattractively visible on the frame when worn by the wearer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a principle object of the invention to provide an aesthetically pleasing, simple mechanism which permits the frame to be opened and for lenses to be removed and replaced. Such an invention will permit new lenses to be inserted when the old lenses become scratched or a new prescription is required. In addition, lenses to be used in the outdoors, such as prescription sunglass lenses or tinted lenses can be inserted and the same frame can be utilized. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an invention which can be used for both metal frames as well as for plastic eyeglass frames. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide another embodiment utilizing a cam to facilitate the opening and closing of the frame and an alignment pin and alignment recess to align the upper and bottom portions of the frame during opening and closing of the frame. 
     It is yet another object of the invention to provide a mechanism for restricting the amount of movement by which the frame can be opened to prevent the lenses from accidentally falling out of the frame while either being opened or in the fully opened position by limiting the degree to which the frame opens and providing guide means in the form of a slot and a journey pin traveling within the slot and to ensure that the frame is closed flush in the closed position. 
     Other objects will become known from the following drawings and description. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of the eyeglass frame showing the retaining wire member unlocked on the left side; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial rear view, showing the retaining member in locked position on the eyeglass frame; 
     FIG. 3 a  is a partial perspective exploded, view of the frame in a locked or latched position; 
     FIG. 3 b  is the same as FIG. 3 a  except the retaining member or hook is in a disengaged position; 
     FIGS. 3 c  and  3   d  show a section of the bottom part of the frame (taken from FIG.  1 ), showing two different shapes of the wire inside; 
     FIGS. 4 a-c  show three different stages of unlocking the frame in order to change the lens; 
     FIG. 5 shows the combination of a plastic frame where the frame itself includes a portion that acts as a spring. 
     FIG. 6 shows a metal frame embodiment in a locked position. 
     FIGS. 7-9 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention in which: 
     FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of an embodiment of the invention with the frame in the closed position; 
     FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing the rotatable latch rotated as the latch pin and the cam become tightly compressed against each other due to the cam profile; and 
     FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view showing the frame in the opened position. 
     FIGS. 10-13 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention utilizing a slot, a journey pin and a pivot pin and a lever, in which: 
     FIG. 10 illustrates a partial view of the frame in which the frame is in a substantially closed position and the journey pin and the pivot pin are at the closest proximity to each other when the frame is closed; 
     FIG. 11 shows the embodiment of FIG. 10 with the lever rotated so that the frame is in the open position and the journey pin and the pivot pin being the furthest distance away from each other; 
     FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 10 showing the lever is pivotally connected to the frame by the pivot pin; and 
     FIG. 13 is a sectional view illustrating that the pivot pin  303  goes through both sides A and B of the lever and the frame. 
     FIGS. 14-18 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention in which: 
     FIG. 14 is a view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 15 is a partial sectional top view of the embodiment of FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 16 is the release member for the embodiment of FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 17 is a partial sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 14 illustrating use of the release member; and 
     FIG. 18 is a view illustrating the upper and bottom temple portions of the frame separated from each other. 
     FIGS. 19-23 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention in which: 
     FIG. 19 is a partial sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 20 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 19; 
     FIG. 21 is a partial sectional view of FIG. 19 illustrating the engagement between the overhanging portion of the top temple portion and the recess portion of the bottom temple portion of the frame when the frame is in the securely closed position of FIG. 19; 
     FIG. 22 is a view of the embodiment of FIG. 19 when the frame is open and the upper temple and bottom temple portion are disengaged from each other; and 
     FIG. 23 is a view of FIG. 22 illustrating the disengagement of the overhanging portion of the top temple portion from the recess portion of the bottom temple portion when the frame is in the open position of FIG. 22; 
     FIGS. 24-27 illustrate another embodiment of the invention for which FIG. 25 is a modification thereof, in which: 
     FIG. 24 illustrates a partial sectional view of the present invention employing a cam mechanism for facilitating the opening and closing of an eyeglass frame at its temple portions in which the frame is shown in its closed position; 
     FIG. 25 is the present invention of FIG. 24 in an open position modified with the temple portion having an inwardly curved portion to accommodate the head of the cam therein; 
     FIG. 26 is a top view of FIG. 24; 
     FIG. 27A is the hinge pin of the cam mechanism of FIG. 24; 
     FIG. 27B illustrates the hinge pin pivotally coupled to the cam lock of the cam mechanism without the frame for simplicity of illustration; 
     FIGS. 28-29 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention in which a spring wire or clip provides a releasing mechanism for an arm of the cam lock in which: 
     FIG. 28 illustrates a partial sectional view of the embodiment of the invention with the arrow indicating how the spring wire or clip latch mechanism releases the arm of the cam lock to open the frame; 
     FIG. 29 is a top view of FIG. 28; 
     FIGS. 30-31 is another embodiment of a release mechanism for a cam lock in which the spring lock or clip latch mechanism has an L-shaped configuration, in which: 
     FIG. 30 is a partial sectional view of the embodiment of the of the invention with the arrow indicating how the spring wire or clip latch mechanism releases the arm of the cam mechanism to open the frame; 
     FIG. 31 is a top view of FIG. 30; and 
     FIG. 32 is another embodiment of the invention of FIG. 24 in which the frame can be fine tune adjusted to close completely when the cam lock is in the closed-locked position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings, and in particular the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4 c , reference is made to FIG. 1 in which an eyeglass frame  1 , in this case made of plastic is shown. This can be seen from the drawings in the bottom portion  1   a  of the frame  1  which has a spring mechanism  5  therein. The spring mechanism  5  terminates in the preferably hook-shaped wire  6  which latches on to a portion  13  of the frame  1 . As can be seen in FIGS. 3 a  and  3   b , this hook mechanism  6  latches on so that the upper part  13  of the frame  1  attaches to the lower portion la of the frame  1  in which the spring  5  is embedded therein. 
     FIGS. 4 a - 4   c  show the manner in which this mechanism can be released. The side portion  2  of the frame  1  has a little latch or groove  9  which can be pulled by an implement or fingernail  11 , so as to release the hook portion  6  of the wire  5  therefrom and permitting the frame  1  to open up. This disengagement can be done on both ends of the eyeglass frame  1  and permits the lenses  10  to be removed and replaced. 
     This wire retainer or hook  6  is perfectly formed to the shape of the frame  1  and is tempered to provide a slight spring action. The cross section can either be round (FIG. 3C) or rectangular(FIG.  3 D), but can be made round and flattened and folded on one end. The round would more easily be contoured to the shapes of the frames. Alternatively, the wire  5  does not have to travel the full width of the glasses but can extend into the end of the frame by approximately {fraction (1/10)} of an inch. A plastic frame then would be able to serve as a display and the wire can act as a retainer. The plastic in this case would have to be carefully chosen so that the proper spring action can be obtained and there would be no fatigue failure after repeated uses. 
     The retainer plate portion  14  of the frame which is shown as part of the retaining means would require that the hinge or retainer would preferably be assembled in the post molding operation. The retainer plate  14  keeps the retainer  6  from disengaging from the rear without pulling out the catch as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     The retainer plate could be designed separately assembled, allowing the retainer to be molded in as it is presently. The molded in catch can be operated with a thumbnail or any flat pointed object, such as a pocket knife or a small screwdriver. 
     The plastic frame itself can be molded in the open position. 
     Referring now to the second embodiment of a metal or wire-framed glasses, as shown in FIG. 6, a similar catch mechanism is employed in which a portion of the frame  1  acts as the hook or retainer piece  6  that latches in to the upper portion  13  of the frame  1 . 
     FIGS. 7-9 of the drawings illustrate another embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 7, a rotatable latch  27  is employed for opening and closing the frame  1  for the removal of the lenses. FIG. 7 shows the frame  1  in the close-locked position. The frame  1  has a temple portion  25  which has an alignment recess in which an alignment pin  30  is positioned in place and the frame  1  is in the close-locked position of FIG.  7 . 
     A rotatable latch ( 27 ) as shown in FIGS. 7-9 can be utilized to open the frame  1  for removal of the lenses. In the release position (see FIG. 9) the side of the frame  1  may be opened to release the lenses. When a new lens is held in place the user pushes the upper and lower sections of the frame together. An alignment pin  30  fits into the alignment recess  31  so that the ends of the frame will be near one another as they clamp (see FIG.  9 ). 
     When the user pushes the top of the rotatable latch  27  when the ends are close to one another by means of the alignment pin  30  and the alignment recess  31 , the rotatable latch  27  moves or rotates clockwise about the pivot pin  28 . The latch pin  32  moves in the contact with the cam  34  as the rotatable latch  37  rotates as shown in FIG. 8 . As rotatable latch  27  continues rotating in the clockwise direction, the latch pin  32  and the cam  34  become tighter due to the profile of the cam  34 . As rotatable latch  27  continues to rotate in the clockwise direction, the rotatable latch  27  ends in position with the latch pin  32  engaged in the locking recess  36  as shown in FIG.  7 . 
     The radial distance from the locking recess  36  to the pivot pin is shorter than it is to the cam  34 . Therefore, the latch pin  32  utilizes the locking recess  36  in a detente fashion. 
     With the latch pin  32  locked within the locking recess  36 , the rotatable latch  27  is held in a stable detente position. In this position, the frame is held together and cannot easily be removed. 
     By lifting the rotatable latch  27 , counter clockwise rotation is started therein. The latching pin  32  is then released from the locking recess. The latch pin  32  moves along the cam  34 , gradually reducing the tension between the upper and lower frame portions. The rotatable latch  27  rotates counter-clockwise until the latch pin  32  releases from the cam  34  (see FIG.  8 ). It is in this position that the upper/lower frame portions can be easily pulled apart from each other so that the lens can be removed (see FIG.  9 ). 
     An optional feature, shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings, is a limit screw  34 , which prevents the frame from opening more than approximately 0.05 inches (see FIG.  8 ). 
     FIGS. 10-13 show another embodiment of the present invention in which a lever  304  is pivotally mounted onto the eyeglass frame  305  by means of pivot pin  303  (see FIG. 12) so that the lever  304  can open and close the eyeglass frame  305  with a restricted amount of movement to prevent the lenses from dropping out while opening or in the fully opened position and to ensure that the eyeglass frame  305  is closed flush in the closed position. 
     In the embodiment of FIG. 10 a slot  301  is provided for a journey pin  302  which the slot  301  moves along from one end at the journey pin  302  (FIG. 10) to the other end of the slot at the journey pin  302  (FIG. 11) from a closed position to an open position (and vice versa). The distance between the journey pin  302  and the pivot pin  303  is at its greatest when the lever is in the open position (See FIG. 11 ). The distance between the journey pin  302 , the pivot pin  303 , is at its smallest when the lever  304  and the frame  305  are in the closed position (See FIG.  10 ). This movement of the slot  301  about the journey pin  302  limits the distance which the frame  305  can be opened to preferably 0.1″ for plastic frame and a 0.05″ for a metal frame. 
     The preferable minimum distance between the journey pin  302  and the pivot pin  303  is 0.219 inches for the frame  305  and the lever  305  in the closed position and 1.4×0.219 inch distance between the journey pin  302  and the pivot pin  303  for the frame  305  and the lever  305  in the open position. Alternatively this mechanism can be reversed so that the lever  304  is opened or closed 180 degrees in the opposite direction from that shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. It is understood that these dimensions are not intended to be limiting and other frames of various sizes may be constructed of different dimensions in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 13 shows a sectional view illustrating that pin  303  goes through sides A and B of lever  304  and the frame  305 . 
     FIGS. 14-18 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment the mechanism for opening and securely closing the eyeglass frame  401  includes upper and bottom temple portions  405 ,  410 , respectively, for each of the two temple sections of each side of the eyeglass frame  401 . A pin or projecting member  406  is mounted on top of the bottom temple portion  410  and the pin  406  is received inside a recess  407  of the upper temple portion  405 . As shown in FIG. 17, release means in the shape of a release member  412  can be inserted through the upper temple portion  405  to put pressure on top of on the pin  406  in the recess  407  to cause it to become dislodged from the recess  407  causing the upper temple portion  405  and bottom temple portion  410  to separate thereby permitting the lenses of the eyeglass frame  401  to be removed and replaced as desired. The release member  412  can be longitudinally extending in shape and have a tapered end (FIG. 16) which first enters through the opening or chamber of the top surface of the upper temple portion  405 . The pin  406  is preferably slightly larger in diameter than said recess  407 . The pin  406  can then be reinserted by hand into the recess  407  to securely lock the upper temple portion  405  and the bottom temple portion  410  together so that the eyeglass frame  401  is securely closed in place with the lenses contained there. 
     It is preferable if the release member or key is utilized by an optician, optometrist or ophthalmologist. 
     The embodiment can be made for metal and plastic frames and made of metal or plastic materials. 
     FIGS. 19-23 illustrates still another embodiment of the present invention in which the upper and bottom temple portions  505  and  510 , respectively of each side of the frame  501  of eyeglasses, are disengageably attached to each other. The upper temple portion  505  on each side of the frame  501  includes an overhanging piece or flap  511  which can be pulled outward a little and the overhanging piece  511  thus has some play or flexibility in it due to the flexibility of the overhanging piece  511  and due in part to the gap  503 . A portion of the bottom temple portion has a grooved or recessed portion  513  for mounting on the overhanging piece  511  and this grooved portion  513  disengages from the overhanging piece  511  when the overhanging piece  511  is pulled outward so that the upper temple portion  505  and the bottom temple portion  510  separate so that the lenses can be removed and replaced in the frame  501 . 
     When the grooved portion  513  of the bottom temple portion  510  is pushed back into place onto the overhanging piece  511 , the frame is closed securely in place. This embodiment can be made for metal or plastic frames and made of metal or plastic materials. 
     Referring now to the embodiment(s) of FIGS. 24-27, FIG. 24 illustrates an eyeglass frame having a cam mechanism  615  located at each temple portion (shown in the drawings only on the left temple portion for illustrative purposes but understood to be the same for the right temple portion of the eye glass frame). 
     The cam mechanism  615  includes a hinge pin  617  (FIG. 27A) and a cam lock  616 . The cam lock  616  includes a pair of cam heads  614  at one end of the cam lock  616  attached to an arm  612  with the pair of cam heads  614  sandwiching the hinge pin  617  (as shown in FIG. 27B) and connected thereto with the bottom portion of the temple portion  610  of the frame by pivot pin  613 , so as to be pivotally connected together. The hinge pin  617  is recessed within the temple portion in a hole  604  as shown In FIG.  24 . FIGS. 27A and 27B show the hinge pin  617  alone and connected to the cam lock  616 , respectively. The hinge pin  617  in the temple portion connects the cam lock  616  to the bottom temple portion  610  at the pivot point  613  as shown in FIG.  24 . 
     In FIG. 24 the arm  612  is shown in an upward position when the upper portion  605  and bottom portion  610  of the temple portion of the frame is closed and the cam lock  616  and cam heads  614  are closed and locked in place. However the arm  612  could also be configured to be located in a downward position for the closed frame position, but it is understood that the arm  612  can also be configured in an upward position, if desired and is not limited to any one orientation for the invention. 
     Further, the arm  612  is shown flush against a surface  611  of the eyeglass frame, a side surface  611 . It is understood that the arm  612  could be against any surface of the frame such as the front or back surface adjacent to the temple portion and preferably the back surface to conceal the arm and enhance the aesthetic appeal of the frame. 
     The cam mechanism  615  operates as indicated by the arrows A, B of FIGS. 24 and 25, respectively. FIG. 24 shows the frame in its closed position. When the arm  612  is moved in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 24 it causes the cam heads  614  and cam lock  616  to rotate out of engagement with the bottom portion  610  of the temple portion of the frame causing the eyeglass frame&#39;s top  605  and bottom  610  portions to separate from each other a distance C of preferably {fraction (1/16)}th of an inch permit the lens in the frame to be removed and replaced. 
     By lifting the arm  612  back up in the direction of the arrow B of FIG. 25, the top  605  and bottom  610  portions come together and the frame is closed with the cam heads  614  rotating back into engagement with the bottom surface  618  of the bottom portion  610  of the temple portion of the frame. In FIG. 25 an improvement of the invention of FIG. 24 is shown in that the bottom surface  618  is curved to permit the cam heads  614  to fit within the curve of the bottom surface  618  when the frame is in the closed position. This feature keeps the cam heads  614  from protruding outward as much from the frame and enhances the aesthetic appeal of the frame. 
     FIG. 26 shows the cam mechanism from a bottom view of FIG.  24 . 
     FIG. 27A shows the hinge pin  612 . 
     FIG. 27B shows the hinge pin mounted (without the frame for easy illustration of the cam mechanism  615 ) by the pivot point to the cam heads  614  of the cam lock  616 . 
     FIGS. 28 and 29 illustrate another embodiment of the invention of FIG. 24 in which a spring latch mechanism  620  locks the arm  612  in place when the cam mechanism  615  is in its closed or locked position. FIG. 29 is a top view of FIG.  28 . The latch  620  can be lifted to release the arm  612  as shown by the arrow of FIG.  28 . The latch  620  can be formed as a spring wire or a clip. Preferably a 0.020 inch spring wire is used. 
     FIGS. 30 and 31 are an alternative embodiment of FIG. 28 in which the latch mechanism  620  is L-shaped. FIG. 31 is a top view of the latch mechanism  620 . The latch  620  can be lifted in the direction of the arrow D as shown in FIG. 30 to release the arm  612 . The latch  620  can be formed using leaf spring material for the clip. Preferably a 0.020″ thick leaf spring material is used. 
     FIG. 32 is another embodiment of the invention of FIG. 24 in which a threaded insert  625  can provide for a fine tuned closing the temple portion of the frame thereby preventing it from falling open by accident. The hinge pin  617  is provided with threading to threadably engage the threaded insert  625  thus be fine tune screwed tightly in place to ensure that the frame does not accidently jar open. 
     In this embodiment the hinge pin  617  has a thread on it to ensure that temple portions of the frame are tightly closed, preferably, a size 2,56 pitch screw threaded insert with a 0.80 thread in the center. 
     While presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of the disclosure, numerous changes in the arrangement of method steps and apparatus parts can be made by those skilled in the art. Such changes are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.