Adjustable temple piece with securement attachment

An adjustable eyewear temple system is disclosed. The system includes both a substantially rigid temple piece and a flexible cable temple piece, wherein the cable temple piece extends through a channel along the inside of the rigid temple piece. An adjustment piece allows the cable temple piece to be stored within the rigid temple piece when not needed. The system appears to a passerby as a standard temple piece due to the location of the channel and adjustment piece on the inside.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to eyeglass frames featuring an adjustable temple piece with securement attachment, and more particularly to eyeglass frames which feature cable temples that may easily be extended and retracted per the wearer's need.

In general, eyeglasses are typically fashioned from a frame front (the portion that holds the lenses and bridges the top of the nose), temple members that extend over and/or behind the ears of the wearer, and hinges that attach the temple members to the frame front. For typical eyeglass use, the temples are usually fashioned in a rigid fashion in either a skull style (bent down slightly over the ear and following the contour of the skull) or paddle style (straight, to allow for easy placement and removal of the glasses). For normal daily use, skull and paddle temples are sufficient for most purposes. However, during brisk activity with rapid movements (for example, during sporting or physical activities) these temples can be insufficient to maintain the glasses in proper position on a wearer's head. While the loss of glasses can be inconvenient during these activities, it can also be dangerous during certain activities (for example, the loss of sunglasses during snow activities can potentially result in snowblindness and the loss of protective eyeglasses during ballistic activities). To help maintain glasses in place during strenuous activities, variations to the temples have been created. For example, spring-hinged temples include springs in the hinges to exert a pressure on the skull and cable temples hook behind the ear with a flexible cable. While these mechanisms aid in retaining glasses in position during strenuous activity, they often are uncomfortable to the user and/or not aesthetically pleasing. As such, there is a need in the art for eyeglasses that allow for retention during strenuous physical activities, while not being uncomfortable or unattractive during normal daily activity.

In order to overcome these problems, various solutions have been introduced. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,012,130 issued Mar. 15, 1977 to Guillet and U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,685 issued Jun. 6, 1996 to Conway. While the eyeglasses described in the Guillet and Conway patents provide secondary cable temples that may be stored in or along primary rigid temples when not needed, in both cases the secondary cable temples (or at least portions of them) are visible even when stored, thereby reducing the aesthetic quality of the eyeglasses. As such, there is need in the art for eyeglasses that allow for easy retention during strenuous physical activities, that appear visually as standard eyeglasses during normal daily activity.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, there is contemplated an adjustable eyewear temple system. The system includes a substantially rigid temple piece with an inner end configured to be attached to an eyeglass frame front and an outer end which extends over and behind an ear of a wearer. Further, there is a channel extending longitudinally within the substantially rigid temple piece, configured such that an opening of the channel faces the inside of the substantially rigid temple piece. Additionally, there is an opening located on the inside of the substantially rigid temple piece between the channel and the outer end of the substantially rigid temple piece. Within the channel is a flexible cable temple piece. The flexible cable temple piece can be moved between a stored position in which most of the length of the flexible cable temple piece is within the channel and a deployed position in which most of the length of the flexible cable temple piece extends out of the opening. When deployed, the flexible cable temple piece assumes a generally arcuate shape, such that the flexible cable temple piece is capable of gripping an ear of the wearer. Extending outwardly from the flexible cable temple piece is an adjustment piece that extends outside of the channel on the inside of the substantially rigid temple piece. The adjustment piece allows the wearer to adjust the flexible cable temple piece between the stored position and the deployed position by manually moving the adjustment piece back and forth within the channel. In certain embodiments, the substantially rigid temple piece may be fabricated from materials known within the art such as, but not limited to, metal, an injection molded plastic, or cellulose acetate. Further, the flexible cable temple piece may be fabricated from materials known in the art that will retain the arcuate shape when deployed, but that are readily flexible enough to straighten when stored within the channel, such as wound metal or resilient plastic. The flexible cable temple piece may further be wrapped in a soft material to better aid in comfort to the wearer.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure is an adjustable eyewear temple system wherein there is further an elastic object positioned within the channel between the flexible cable temple piece and an inner end portion of the channel. The elastic object compresses when the flexible cable temple piece is in the stored position and urges the flexible cable temple piece into the deployed position. In this embodiment, the channel runs along the bottom of the substantially rigid temple piece rather than the inside. In this embodiment, in order to maintain the flexible cable temple piece in the stored position, against the urging of the elastic object, the adjustment piece is rotated toward the inside of the substantially rigid temple member and secured within a retaining notch. By rotating the adjustment piece back to the bottom position, the retaining notch no longer secures it and the elastic object pushes the flexible cable temple piece into the deployed position. The elastic object may take various configurations, one of which is a spring.

Yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is an adjustable eyewear temple system wherein the substantially rigid temple piece takes the form of a paddle style temple piece, i.e., it extends in a straight fashion over the ear of the wearer without a curving portion that bends beyond the wearer's ear. This allows for ease of putting on and taking off of the glasses, while still allowing secure usage if the flexible cable temple pieces are deployed. Optionally, an elastic strap may be further attached to the outer end of the substantially rigid temple piece, in order to provide even further security in maintaining the glasses in place on the wearer's face, similar to goggles.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention, and is not intended to represent the only form in which the present invention may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions and sequences of steps for constructing and operating the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments and that they are also intended to be encompassed within the scope of the invention.

Referring toFIGS. 1-5, one embodiment of an adjustable eyewear temple system10is generally comprised of a substantially rigid temple piece, wherein the rigid temple piece12has an inner end12aconfigured to be attached to an eyeglass frame front14and an outer end12bwhich extends over and behind an ear of a wearer. The rigid temple piece12may be fashioned from suitable materials known within the art including, but not limited to, metal, injection molded plastic, and cellulose acetate. The rigid temple piece12further has a channel16integrally formed within. The channel16extends longitudinally along the inside of the substantially rigid temple piece12. The rigid temple piece12further has an opening18located on the inside of the substantially rigid temple piece12and positioned between the channel16and the outer end12bof the substantially rigid temple piece12. Positioned within the channel16, is a flexible cable temple piece20. The flexible cable temple piece20is moveable between a stored position (shown inFIGS. 1 and 3) in which most of the length of the flexible cable temple piece20is within the channel16and a deployed position (shown inFIGS. 2 and 5) in which most of the length of the flexible cable temple piece20extends out of the opening18and assumes a generally arcuate shape for gripping the ear of the wearer. The cable temple piece20may be fashioned from any suitably flexible material that will retain the generally arcuate shape when deployed, while maintaining enough flexibility to be straightened when stored in the channel16. Examples of such suitable materials include wound metal and elastic plastics. As can best be seen inFIG. 4, extending outwardly from the flexible cable temple piece20is an adjustment piece22that extends outside of the channel16on the inside of the substantially rigid temple piece12. The adjustment piece22allows the wearer to adjust between the stored position and the deployed position by manually moving the flexible cable temple piece20.

In another embodiment shown inFIGS. 6-7, the system10may further include an elastic object24positioned within the channel16between the cable temple piece20and an inner end portion16aof the channel16. The elastic object24may take the form of any suitable device that will tend to return to an extended position, for example, a spring. The elastic object24serves to urge the cable temple piece20into the deployed position. In this embodiment, the channel16runs along the bottom of the rigid temple piece12and further includes a retaining notch26. The retaining notch26is formed on the inside of the rigid temple piece12such that when the cable temple piece20is fully in the stored position, the adjustment piece22may be rotated from the bottom of the rigid temple piece12to the inside of the rigid temple piece12(shown inFIG. 6A). As such, when the adjustment piece22is secured within the retaining notch26, the cable temple piece20remains in the stored position against the urging of the elastic object24. By rotating the adjustment piece22back to the bottom of the rigid temple piece12(shown inFIG. 6B), the cable temple piece20is able to travel through the channel16into the deployed position.

In an additional embodiment, shown inFIG. 8, the outer end12bof the substantially rigid temple piece12extends over, but not behind, an ear of a wearer. More particularly, the outer end12bremains in the straightened fashion of the rest of the rigid temple piece12and does not curve behind the ear or conform to the skull, in the form of a typical “paddle style” temple piece. Optionally, in this embodiment the system10may further include an elastic strap28that attaches to the outer end12bof the substantially rigid temple piece12. The elastic strap28provides further security in maintaining the glasses on the wearer's face in the style of goggles.