A spectacle holder including: a loop member; and a sliding member slidingly disposed on the loop member; wherein the sliding member slides on the loop member to capture a portion of a spectacle in a portion of the loop member. The sliding member can be decorative, such as a charm, broach, or pendant. The sliding member can also have one or more holes therethrough for acceptance of first and second strands of the loop member, the one or more holes having an exit located above a lower portion of the sliding member such that the portion of the loop member is hidden from view when worn by a user and no spectacle is captured.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of art to which this invention relates is spectacle holders, and more particularly to a loop/lariat spectacle holder.

2. Description of the Related Art

Eyeglass holders worn by a user for suspending eyeglasses therefrom are well known in the art. Such eyeglass holders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,033,612; 5,680,191; and 6,075,925. Such eyeglass holders are useful for users, who don't always need to wear their eyeglasses, who do not want to always wear their eyeglasses, or who wish to carry another pair of eyeglasses, such as sunglasses. For such people, the eyeglass holders provide a convenient place to carry their eyeglasses while they are not being worn, and in some instances, such as in the eyeglass holders disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,860,191, Des 465,327, and Des 487,344, they do so in an attractive and decorative manner. The contents of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,860,191, Des 465,327, and Des 487,344, are incorporated herein by their reference in their entirety.

Although such decorative eyeglass holders have utility and advantages over the spectacle holders known prior thereto, they generally do not positively “trap” the spectacles or double as a necklace when not used to hold spectacles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a spectacle holder that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.

Accordingly, a spectacle holder is provided. The spectacle holder comprises: a loop member; and a sliding member slidingly disposed on the loop member; wherein the sliding member slides on the loop member to capture a portion of a spectacle in a portion of the loop member.

The loop member can be a continuous loop of material. Alternatively, the loop member can have first and second ends and a clasp for attaching the first and second ends to form a loop.

The loop member can be fabricated from a material chosen from a group consisting of fabric, rope, and chain.

The sliding member can have a single hole therethrough for acceptance of first and second strands of the loop member. Alternatively, the sliding member can have first and second holes therethrough for acceptance of first and second strands of the loop member, respectively.

The sliding member can have one or more holes therethrough for acceptance of first and second strands of the loop member, the one or more holes being integrally formed in the sliding member. Alternatively, the one or more holes can be formed on an exterior surface of the sliding member.

The sliding member can be decorative. The decorative sliding member can be chosen from a group consisting of a charm, broach, and pendant.

The sliding member can have one or more holes therethrough for acceptance of first and second strands of the loop member, the one or more holes having an exit located above a lower portion of the sliding member such that the portion of the loop member is hidden from view when worn by a user and no spectacle is captured.

Also provided is a method for holding spectacles on a user. The method comprising: placing a portion of the spectacles in a loop member worn by the user; and sliding a sliding member on the loop member to capture the portion of a spectacle in a portion of the loop member.

Wherein the loop member is worn around a neck of the user, the method can further comprise wearing the loop member as a decorative necklace while no spectacle is being captured in the portion of the loop member.

The method can further comprise hiding the portion of the loop member from view while no spectacle is being captured in the portion of the loop member.

Still further provided is a decorative necklace. The decorative necklace comprising: a loop member; and a decorative sliding member slidingly disposed on the loop member; wherein the decorative sliding member slides on the loop member to capture a portion of a spectacle in a portion of the loop member.

The loop member can be a continuous loop of material.

The loop member can have first and second ends and a clasp for attaching the first and second ends to form a loop.

The loop member can be fabricated from a material chosen from a group consisting of fabric, rope, and chain.

The decorative sliding member is chosen from a group consisting of a charm, broach, and pendant.

The decorative sliding member can have one or more holes for acceptance of first and second strands of the loop member, the one or more holes having an exit located above a lower portion of the decorative sliding member such that the portion of the loop member is hidden from view when worn by a user and no spectacle is captured.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Although the spectacle holder described herein has particular utility when suspended around the neck of a user, the invention is not limited thereto. For example, the spectacle holder can also be suspended from another article or device, such as the eyeglass holders disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,860,191, Des 465,327, and Des 487,344. As used herein, spectacle shall mean any form of eyeglasses, reading glasses, sunglasses and the like. Furthermore, as used herein, “front” shall mean the portion of the spectacle holder that is visible while being worn by a user, “back” shall mean the portion of the spectacle holder facing the user and not visible while being worn by a user, “top” shall mean the portion of the spectacle holder facing in the direction of a head of the user while being worn by the user, and “bottom” shall mean the portion of the spectacle holder facing in the direction away from a head of the user while being worn by the user.

Referring now toFIG. 1, there is shown an embodiment of a spectacle holder, generally referred to with reference numeral100. The spectacle holder100ofFIG. 1is shown holding a spectacle102. The spectacle holder100includes a loop member104. The loop member104can be a continuous loop of material. Alternatively, the loop member104can have first and second ends104a,104band a clasp106for attaching the first and second ends to form a loop as shown inFIG. 2. The clasp106can be any of a number of types known in the jewelry arts. Furthermore, the loop member104can be fabricated from a number of materials, such as fabric, rope, and chain. The rope and chain can be natural material, plastic, elastomer, or metal.

The spectacle holder100also includes a sliding member108slidingly disposed on the loop member104. The sliding member108, can be fabricated from any material known in the art, such as plastic, metal, stone, jewels (precious and semi-precious), natural materials, such as ivory or pearl and any combination thereof. The sliding member108slides on the loop member104to capture a portion of a spectacle110in a portion of the loop member112. As shown inFIG. 1, the portion of the spectacle110captured can be a hinge portion114of the spectacle102comprising a connection between a front116and a temple118of the spectacle102. The sliding member108can be slid in the direction of Arrow A (up) when a sliding force is applied to open a loop defined at least in part by the portion of the loop member112. After insertion of the portion of the spectacle110, the sliding member108is slid in a direction opposite to Arrow A (down) with the application of a closing force to positively capture the portion of the spectacle110and thereby securing the spectacle thereto.

FIGS. 3A and 3Bshow a first variation of the sliding member, referred to by reference numeral108a. The sliding member108aofFIGS. 3A and 3Bhas a single hole120therethrough for acceptance of first and second strands104c,104dof the loop member104. The first and second strands104c,104d, are inserted into the hole120such that the sliding member108acan freely slide on the loop member104when the sliding or closing force is applied thereto and the sliding member108aremains stationary with respect to the loop member104when no sliding or closing force is applied. Alternatively, a manual stop/spring mechanism can be disposed in or on the sliding member108to manually lock the same relative to the loop member104. The sliding member108ainFIG. 3Adiffers from the sliding member ofFIG. 3B(although both are referred to with reference numeral108a) in that the location of an entrance and exit of the hole120differs (as will be discussed below).

As shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B, the hole120can be integrally formed in the sliding member108and centrally located from front to back in the sliding member (FIG. 5A) or offset towards the front or back (FIG. 5B). Furthermore, as shown inFIG. 5C, the hole120can be formed on an exterior surface of the sliding member108, such as in a tube126connected to the sliding member. The tube126can be provided in one length as shown inFIG. 5Cor in tube portions, such as a first tube portion (not shown) near the top of the sliding member108and a second tube portion (not shown) at the bottom of the sliding member108. The tube (or tube portions) can be connected to the exterior surface of the sliding member108, in many ways known in the art, such as by adhesive or brazing. The tube126(or tube portions) can also be integrally formed on the exterior surface of the sliding member108.

FIGS. 4A and 4Bshow a second variation of the sliding member, referred to by reference numeral108b.The sliding member108bofFIGS. 4A and 4Bhas first and second holes122,124therethrough for acceptance of first and second strands104c,104dof the loop member104, respectively. That is, the first stand104cis disposed in the first hole122and the second strand104dis disposed in the second hole124. As with the sliding member ofFIGS. 3A and 3B, the first and second strands104c,104d, are inserted into the first and second holes122,124such that the sliding member108bcan freely slide on the loop member104when the sliding or closing force is applied thereto and the sliding member108bremains stationary with respect to the loop member104when no sliding or closing force is applied. The sliding member108binFIG. 4Adiffers from the sliding member ofFIG. 4B(although both are referred to with reference numeral108b) in that the locations of entrances and exits of the first and second holes122,124differ (as will be discussed below).

As shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B, the holes122,124can be integrally formed in the sliding member108and centrally located from front to back in the sliding member (FIG. 5A) or offset towards the front or back (FIG. 5B). Furthermore, as shown inFIG. 5C, the holes122,124can be formed on an exterior surface of the sliding member108, such as in tubes126connected to the sliding member. The tubes126can be provided in one length as shown inFIG. 5Cor in tube portions as described above. The tube (or tube portions) can be connected to the exterior surface of the sliding member108or integrally formed therein as also described above.

Referring now toFIG. 6A, the sliding member108can be configured such that the portion of the loop member112is visible when the same is withdrawn against the sliding member108b. Thus, when wearing the spectacle holder100while spectacles102are not being captured, the portion of the loop member112is visible to others. Although, sliding member108bis shown inFIG. 6A, the sliding member108ahaving a single hole120can be similarly configured, as shown inFIG. 3A. However, as shown inFIG. 6B, the sliding member108bcan be configured such that the first and second holes122,124each have an exit122a,124alocated above a lower portion128of the sliding member such that the portion of the loop member112is hidden from view when worn by a user and no spectacle102is captured. Entrances122b,124bcan be similarly hidden by being below a top portion130of the sliding member108b. Although, sliding member108bis shown inFIG. 6B, the sliding member108ahaving a single hole120can be similarly configured, as shown inFIG. 3B.

Referring now toFIG. 7, the sliding member108can be decorative, such as by having a decorative face132which may contain precious or semi-precious stones134. Thus, the sliding member can be a charm, broach, or pendant. In such a configuration, the decorative sliding member has particularly utility when used in combination with the features illustrated inFIGS. 5Cand/or6B. In such configurations, the spectacle holder100has the appearance of a necklace when the spectacle102is not being captured and the portion of the loop member112is withdrawn so as not to be visible to others. Therefore, when not being used to hold spectacles, the spectacle holder100can be worn as a decorative necklace thus avoiding the appearance of using a spectacle holder or the necessity to remove the spectacle holder when spectacles are not being held.

While the invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the system and its functional components, it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms set forth but, on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.