Eyeglass holder

An eyeglass holder of ornamental design is constructed such that it may be worn with any garment in any position. The holder is a continuous loop shaped to form a first and second portion defining an opening therebetween, wherein a temple sidepiece of a pair of eyeglasses is placed through the opening and supported in a pendulous nature such that the eyeglasses maintain a substantially downward orientation regardless of eyeglass holder position. Additionally, the eyeglass holder is provided with a third portion from which objects such as an identification badge may be suspended.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a holder for eyeglasses and more 
particularly to an inconspicuous eyeglass holder which is adapted to be 
pinned on any garment of an eyeglass wearer for pendulously supporting a 
pair of eyeglass. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Eyeglasses, when not worn, are often carried in a bulk case or a pouch for 
protection and may be placed in a pocket or handbag. However, when glasses 
are frequently put on and taken off, it is desirable to have them in a 
more easily and quickly accessible position. Thus, glasses may be hung in 
front of the user by an elastic cord encircling the neck and attached to 
the end portions of each temple piece. That arrangement is somewhat 
unsatisfactory because the eyeglasses remain open and rest against the 
chest of the wearer, and with an especially active person, the eyeglasses 
may swing about excessively and be damaged as well as interfere with or 
restrict a person's movement. More frequently, people tend to merely fold 
up their eyeglasses and slip them in a shirt or coat pocket where they may 
be scratched by other material carried in the pockets or fall out causing 
possible damage. 
Accordingly, eyeglass holders which support the eyeglasses in a safe, 
accessible, and compact manner have been developed. One such eyeglass 
holder is U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,384 issued to Arnold. The Arnold patent 
discloses a wire segment in a double loop configuration which may be 
pinned to the clothing of an eyeglass wearer. An eyeglass wearer then 
slides one of the temple sidepieces through both loops to secure the 
eyeglasses. However, this design presents the same problem as encountered 
when eyeglasses are left lose in a pocket. That is, when the eyeglass 
wearer bends over, the eyeglasses have a tendency to fall out causing 
breakage. 
Therefore, a second design which attempts to solve that problem has been 
disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,887, issued to Ward, II. The Ward, II 
patent discloses a pair of interconnected, downward extending fingers used 
as a clip-on connection to a shirt, coat pocket, or belt formed with an 
integral loop so that a temple sidepiece of a pair of eyeglasses may be 
suspended from the loop. Although the single loop design purports to solve 
the above problem because the pendulous nature of the eyeglass support 
allows the glasses to assume a substantially downward inclination even 
though the user bends over, thereby, keeping the eyeglasses from falling 
out, there still are several design limitations. For example, the clip 
design for use with only a pocket or belt limits the position and type of 
clothing where the eyeglass retainer may be used. A dress having no 
pockets or belt would be a type of clothing incompatible with the clip-on 
eyeglass retainer. In addition, the front clip portion attached to the 
loop extends below the loop and can restrict the swing of the glasses as 
well as cause difficulty when the eyeglasses are placed in or removed from 
the loop, thereby, reducing accessibility. Thus, the design of the 
eyeglass holder of the present invention has been advanced to overcome 
many of the above problems. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a continuous loop which is substantially oval in 
shape bent about its middle such that it forms first and second portions 
substantially perpendicular to each other. That design presents the 
improvement of a large and unobstructed opening being formed between the 
first and second portions through which a temple sidepiece of eyeglasses 
of almost any size may be placed. That large opening allows for easy and 
quick access to the glasses while still providing the support necessary to 
ensure that the glasses do not fall out causing potential breakage. The 
single loop design also allows eyeglass support of a pendulous nature such 
that the eyeglasses in the eyeglass holder will always maintain a 
substantially downward inclination regardless of the orientation of the 
holder. In addition, the smooth rounded front of the second portion allows 
the glasses to easily shift from side to side with the user's body 
movements. Furthermore, the eyeglass holder of the present invention is 
provided with a pin and clasp so that it can be conveniently attached to 
any garment, including a dress that has no pockets or belt. 
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a small, 
ornamental eyeglass holder to provide eyeglass support regardless of user 
body orientation and that further may be attached to any piece of clothing 
in almost any position. 
Additionally, it is an object of the present invention to provide the 
eyeglass holder with a third portion to which objects such as 
identification badges may be suspended. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide the eyeglass 
holder of the present invention with a loop attached to the first portion 
so that the eyeglass holder may be suspended about the neck of an eyeglass 
wearer using a chain. 
The above and further features of the invention will be better understood 
with respect to the following detailed description of a preferred 
embodiment considered in combination with the several figures of the 
accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, eyeglass holder 10 of the present invention will be 
described. Eyeglass holder 10 is constructed of a precious metal such as 
gold or silver or other substantially rigid material formed into 
continuous loop 90 which is substantially oval in shape and bent about its 
middle to form a first portion 30 and a second portion 20. First portion 
30 and second or lower portion 20 are positioned substantially 
perpendicular to each other creating opening 80 formed therebetween. For 
the purposes of disclosure, upper member 30 and lower member 20 were 
described as being substantially perpendicular, however, one of ordinary 
skill in the art will understand that any angle which will still allow 
eyeglass support could be used. 
The back portion of first portion 30 is further formed with joint 40 to 
which pin 50 is pivotally connected. The opposite end of pin 50, after it 
has passed through the clothing to which eyeglass holder 10 is to be 
attached, fits into clasp 60 and held in place when clip 70 of clasp 60 is 
rotated into the position shown in FIG. 4. Although the preferred 
embodiment discloses the pin and clasp means as shown in FIGS. 1-4, 6 and 
8, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that any pin and clasp 
could be used. For example, the straight pin with removable clasp used in 
military decorations could easily be employed. 
Although the preferred embodiment discloses the use of precious metals 
because of the ornamental nature of the present invention, one of ordinary 
skill in the art will readily recognize that any non-precious metal such 
as copper or brass or wood or any synthetic material such as a plastic may 
be used, and further that the loop structure could be substituted for by 
any other shape or ornamental design. 
After eyeglass holder 10 has been pinned to the desired garment, one temple 
sidepiece of a pair of folded glasses is inserted inside of lower member 
20 through opening 80. Thus, the eyeglasses are held firmly while still 
allowing the eyeglasses to swing freely as the eyeglass holder user bends 
over. Additionally, the size of opening 80 is such that the eyeglasses are 
easily and quickly accessible, yet still solves the problem of the 
eyeglasses falling out and possibly breaking. 
The preferred method of making eyeglass holder 10 is from a one piece 
molded construction. However, one of ordinary skill in the art could use 
any means to fashion eyeglass holder 10. 
Referring to FIGS. 5-8, the alternative embodiment of the present invention 
will be disclosed. Eyeglass holder 100 is constructed of the same 
materials and in the same manner as described above. Furthermore, first 
portion 110 and second portion 120 form opening 130 therebetween through 
which a sidepiece of a pair of eyeglasses may be inserted in order to 
pendulously support the eyeglasses. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, eyeglass 
holder 100 may be pinned to any garment using the same pin and clasp means 
as described above in reference to the preferred embodiment. However, as 
shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, eyeglass holder 100 may be provided with loop 160 
which is integrally formed with first portion 110 and used as a means to 
suspend eyeglass holder 100 about the neck from a neck chain. Furthermore, 
eyeglass holder 100 is provided with third portion 140 which is integrally 
formed with first portion 110 and second portion 120 to define opening 150 
(see FIG. 7). 
Many employers require the display of identification badges by their 
employees in an easily noticeable place. If the employee does not have a 
shirt pocket to clip the badge to, then it cannot be easily displayed. 
However, eyeglass holder 100 solves that problem by being provided with 
third portion 140 which is used as a place from which to suspend an 
identification badge. Eyeglass holder 100 is merely pinned onto the 
garment from which the badge must be displayed or suspended from the neck 
using a chain placed through loop 160, and then the badge is clipped onto 
third portion 140. 
While a specific preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, 
it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that variations may be 
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as 
described in the appended claims.