Abstract:
The invention concerns rimless eyeglasses in which each lens integrally comprises on the nose side, connection elements made to couple together to connect the two lenses with the aid of a blocking element which houses them forming a nose bridge. On the temple side each lens has a templet to which the arm is hinged. The templets and the arms of the eyeglasses can have means for interlocking them together to protect the integrity of the hinge when the arms are subjected to incorrect forces.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention concerns the eyeglasses field and in particular the rimless or so-called glasant version eyeglasses, both for reading, for long-sightedness, plus goggles and sunglasses. 
       STATE OF THE ART 
       [0002]    Eyeglasses can be with or without rimmed lenses. In particular, rimless eyeglasses are usually produced using flat edge chamfer grinding of the lenses, drilling each lens in the temple and nose edges followed by inserting and blocking of the screws, pins or the like in the drilled holes of the lenses to connect and fix the latter to the centre nose bridge and lateral arms. 
         [0003]    When using this method of production however, assembly of a pair of spectacles is extremely laborious and costly and furthermore the screws, pins or the like, besides forming a weak point in the structure of the spectacles, are always on the inside of the lenses, occupying two parts of the temple and nose areas and correspondingly limiting the useful field of vision. 
       OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    One object of this invention is on the one hand to create the conditions to avoid the above criticized drawbacks regarding the construction of the rimless eyeglasses and therefore to propose spectacles that do not require any drilling of the lenses and that, although being rimless, do not suffer any impingement nor limitation of the field of vision, guaranteeing maximum comfort and safety for the wearer. 
         [0005]    Another object of the invention is to provide lenses equipped with means for connecting them to the arms and which advantageously can be cast from polymeric material available on the market having high optical and mechanical characteristics, thanks to the possibility of establishing the sections of the end parts of the lenses on the nose and temple sides for a correct distribution of the polymeric material in a mould. 
         [0006]    A further object of the invention is to provide lenses for eyeglasses prepared for their simple and direct mechanical coupling, also in an irreversible form, with complementary elements, such as the nose bridge and arms, without the need either for further machining or particular equipment; in addition the nose bridge and arms can be made with the same material used to produce the lenses. 
         [0007]    Yet another object of the invention is therefore to propose rimless eyeglasses simple to produce, solid in structure and at a competitive cost even compared with eyeglasses of the same type, and the assembly of which can be carried out directly by the optician involving limited labour, once the ophthalmic or protective lenses, even different, have been selected based on the sight imperfections of the user and request of the latter as regards to material, shape and colour of the components forming the eyeglasses. 
         [0008]    These objects and implicit advantages deriving from them are achieved, according to the invention, with an improved, rimless pair of eyeglasses comprising two lenses, a nose bridge and two arms, in which each lens is cast and has a connecting piece protruding from the nose edge and a templet projecting from the temple side, both integral with the lens and in which the connecting element of one lens fits complementarily with the connecting element of the other lens with the help of a blocking element which encloses them to form the nose bridge, and where each templet is prepared to receive the hinge of the relative arm. 
         [0009]    The connecting element on the nose side of each lens can be differently shaped, and the blocking element can be provided to simply enclose the connecting elements, avoiding uncoupling, or to actively take part in the blocking function in association with other fixing devices. 
         [0010]    On the other hand, the templet on the temple side of each lens is prepared to hinge onto an arm simply by inserting a pin which can be force fitted. 
         [0011]    Furthermore, according to another innovative aspect, each templet and relative arm are shaped to be interlocked complementally when the arm is unfolded and in line with the templet, resulting in a definite improvement in the mechanical resistance of the spectacles at the hinge point between the templets and arms, a point which is notoriously less thick and weakest area on spectacles especially if made of plastic. 
         [0012]    Sometimes a cord or chain is connected to the arms so that when the spectacles are not being used they hang around the neck of the user. In this condition however, the spectacles are subject to, even if unintentionally, stress and compression which can lead to the arms flexing and bending, generating incorrect forces that are exerted directly on the parts of the hinge with the risk of them breaking. 
         [0013]    The expedient to couple by interlocking each templet with its relative arm is directed at eliminating this risk in that, the forces the arm can be subject to are no longer exerted on the hinge zone but on the section accommodating the templet adjacent to the lens, a section that is normally much thicker and consequently more resistant than the parts of the hinge the pin passes through. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The invention will however be described in more detail with reference to the enclosed indicative and not limiting drawings, in which: 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  shows an exploded view of the components of a pair of spectacles according to a production method of the invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 1   a  shows a circled detail in  FIG. 1 , enlarged to show the connecting elements between the lenses and the nose bridge; 
           [0017]      FIG. 1   b  shows the joining of two lenses with the connection elements of  FIG. 1   a;    
           [0018]      FIG. 1   c  shows a pair of spectacles assembled starting from the components in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  shows another manufacturing method of the connection elements of the lenses; 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  shows a cross section of the connection of two lenses with the connection elements in  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  shows a further method of production of the connection elements; 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  shows a cross section of the connection of the two lenses with the connection elements of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  shows still another method of production of the connection elements; 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  shows a cross section of the connection of the two lenses with the connection elements of  FIG. 6 ; and 
           [0025]      FIGS. 8 and 9  show the views from two angles of the connecting devices and connection by interlocking of an arm with the templet of a lens. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0026]    As shown, the spectacles comprise two lenses  10 ,  11 , left and right, that according to optical requirements can be analogous or different and are however prepared with two devices to be connected in correspondence with a nose bridge  12  and two arms  13 . 
         [0027]    The lenses  10 ,  11  can be made of a polymeric material for optical use, usable with any moulding technique, which advantageously enables the production of any shape of finished lenses, with different thicknesses depending on the optical parameters required and the possibility of equipping the lenses with the accessories parts. In fact the lenses are made using this technique and, according to the invention each are equipped with a connection element on the nose side to form a connection with the nose bridge and with a templet  26  protruding from the temple zone to form a connection with the arm, both elements being integral with the lenses and formed during casting. 
         [0028]    According to another method of manufacturing and as shown in  FIGS. 1   a - c , the connection element of each lens can be made up of a lug  14 ,  15  having a lateral connecting tooth  14 ′,  15 ′, and the nose bridge  12  has at each of its ends a blind cavity  12 ′ with a lateral opening  12 ″. Lugs  14 ,  15  of the lenses are inserted into the cavities  12 ′ of the nose bridge  12  to become blocked thanks to the action of their connecting teeth  14 ′,  15 ′ in the openings  12 ″ of the cavities. 
         [0029]    In another form of manufacture, a first lens  10  has on the nose side, a connection element  24 —FIG.  2 —in the shape of a tang with an end chamfer  28  followed by a connecting tooth  29  along its side. The second lens  11  has a connection element  25  which has a similar shape with an end chamfer  30  and a tooth  31  to engage complementarily with the connecting tooth  29  of the connection element  24  of the first lens. 
         [0030]    On the other hand, the nose bridge  12  is made up of a blocking element  27  with a cavity  27 ′ whose shape and cross section correspond to those of the connection elements  24 ,  25 . Therefore, the two lenses can be constrained to each other by inserting one after the other, from opposite sides, the respective connection elements  24 ,  25  in the cavity the blocking element  27  so as to make them connect complementarily as shown in  FIG. 3 . In this way the blocking element will prevent them from uncoupling, thus ensuring a stable and permanent connection of the lenses. 
         [0031]    In another example of manufacture— FIG. 4 , lenses  10 ,  11  are equipped on the nose side with connection elements  32 ,  33  whose free ends are shaped, for example with steps, to fit and self-align when fitted. In this case the connection of the two lenses is achieved by inserting the connection elements  32 ,  33  into the hollow blocking element  27  until the ends meet, possibly with the placing of a layer of bonding agent  34  to stabilise the connection as shown in  FIG. 5 . To improve the setting capacity of the bonding agent the surfaces of the connection elements can be rough or grooved. 
         [0032]    According to yet another method of manufacture, lenses  10 ,  11 —FIGS.  6  and  7 —are equipped on the nose side with connection elements  35 ,  36  having on at least one side indents or notches  35 ′,  36 ′. The connection elements  35 ,  36  are inserted into a hollow blocking element  37  which has slots  37 ′ in line with said indents or notches and the connection is then stabilised with an inserted anchoring plate  38 , having small teeth  39  which, by passing through the slots of the blocking element, engage with said indents or pressure notches and/or with the layer of bonding agent as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0033]    Evidently and without moving outside the objectives of this invention, to connect the lenses it will be possible to envisage and use connection elements with other and different configurations compared with those illustrated, as long as the connection elements are integral with the lenses and engage, either directly or indirectly, with or without the use of a bonding agent, with an intermediary blocking element made up of, or acting as a nose bridge. Moreover, the coupling of the connection elements to each other and inside the blocking element could be stabilised also with pins inserted crossways in the elements. 
         [0034]    Furthermore, the nose bridge can be equipped with integrally cast nose pads or made separately and attached in whatever way to the nose bridge. 
         [0035]    The templet  26  on the temple side of each lens is shaped to hinge fit to a relative arm  13  with the help of a pin  40  pressure fitted and held in matching holes provided in the coupled parts of the hinge both of the templet and arm. 
         [0036]    Advantageously as shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9  and by dotted lines in  FIGS. 1 and 5 , each templet  26  extends beyond the axis of the hinge  40  with an extension  41  acting as a support for a similar part of the arm when it is unfolded. The extension  41  of each templet on the side the arm folds towards, can be provided with an indent  42  made to fit into an tooth head  43  provided in the external side of the arm  13  or, on the contrary, extension  41  can have a tooth head and the arm an indent facing towards said tooth head and engaging with it. 
         [0037]    In both cases, when the arm  13  is moved from the folded to the unfolded position it rests against extension  41  of its respective templet so that the tooth head  42  and indent  43  connect together and the templet and arm become practically integral so that any incorrect forces applied on the arm will be exerted on the templet section which is far more resistant than the hinge area. 
         [0038]    In addition it should be noted that the nose bridge or blocking element, provided and shaped to connect both with the lenses and the arms can be made of the same material as the lenses, transparent or added with colouring pigments, or of another different plastic or metal material so that different styles of spectacles can be accommodated. 
         [0039]    In any case, following an appropriate choice of lenses, and as regards to materials and/or colours of the arms and the element forming the nose bridge, it will be possible to create personalised spectacles, also directly by the optician, with a simple and rapid assembly, resulting in spectacles which are extremely adaptable, robust, flexible and foldable, in other words indestructible.