Eyeglasses

To be stably wearable without nose pads and to have a support structure which is inconspicuous when worn, eyeglasses include: temples which are wide in an upward/downward direction; and temple pads each having a tip and a root, the root being fixed to a prescribed location on an inner side of a corresponding one of the temples, each of the temple pads extending along an extension direction of the corresponding one of the temples to gradually deviates from an inner side surface of the corresponding one of the temples from the prescribed location to the tip, each of the temple pads has a root portion which is narrow and a tip portion formed to have a thick shape that gently protrudes downward, the tip portion being in contact with a wearer's temple when the eyeglasses are worn, the temple pads being entirely or mostly hidden by the temples in a side view.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is the national phase of International Application No. PCT/JP2019/046701, filed on Nov. 29, 2019, which claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-226945, filed on Dec. 4, 2018 and 2019-134270 filed Jul. 22, 2019, and the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to eyeglasses, and in particular, to eyeglasses which are stably wearable without nose pads.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, eyeglasses include a front to which a pair of left and right lenses is fixed, temples extending from both left and right ends of the front, and temple tips attached to respective tips of the temples. Moreover, the front has a central part provided with nose pads to prevent the front from slipping off the face of a person when the eyeglasses are worn.

When a person wears such eyeglasses for a long time, the load of the front of the eyeglasses is continuously applied to his or her nose root with which the nose pads are in contact, and the person may feel uncomfortable. Moreover, when the person takes off the eyeglasses, traces of the nose pads may be left at his or her nose root, which may not be cosmetically preferable. In view of the problems, many eyeglasses without nose pads have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Literatures 1 to 5).

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2003-121800 A

Patent Literature 2: JP 2001-201721 A

Patent Literature 3: JP 3214365 U

Patent Literature 4: JP 3198964 U

Patent Literature 5: JP 2011-99939 A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

When the nose pads are omitted, the load of the front of the eyeglasses is no longer supported by the nose root, and therefore, background art eyeglasses without nose pads adopt a structure in which the load is supported by wearer's temples.

To stably support the load of the front of the eyeglasses on the face by the temples at temporal regions of the wearer, the size of a support structure has to be increased to a certain extent by, for example, increasing areas that come into contact with the wearer's temples. However, when the size of the support structure is increased, the support structure is conspicuous when the eyeglasses are worn, which may impair appearance. In particular, in eyeglasses which require fashionability, the support structure is desirably made as minimally conspicuous as possible. However, when the support structure is made narrow and small with the priority given to the appearance, the stability is in turn degraded when the eyeglasses are worn. Therefore, the wearing stability and the appearance of the eyeglasses without the nose pads are in a trade-off relationship.

In view of the problems, an object of the present invention is to provide eyeglasses which are stably wearable without nose pads and which have a support structure which is inconspicuous when the eyeglasses are worn.

Solution to Problem

Eyeglasses according to one aspect of the present invention includes: temples which are wide in an upward/downward direction; and temple pads each having a tip and a root, the root being fixed to a prescribed location on an inner side of a corresponding one of the temples, each of the temple pads extending along an extension direction of the corresponding one of the temples to gradually deviates from an inner side surface of the corresponding one of the temples from the prescribed location to the tip, each of the temple pads has a root portions which is narrow and a tip portion formed to have a thick shape that gently protrudes downward, the tip portion being in contact with a wearer's temple when the eyeglasses are worn, the temple pads being entirely or mostly hidden by the temples in a side view.

Each of the temple pads may include a core member made of plastically deformable metal, and a pad body placed over the core member such that one end of the core member is exposed, the pad body including the root portion and the tip portion continuing from the root portion which are formed as an integral member, the pad body being made of a synthetic resin, and the one end exposed from the pad body may be fixed to the prescribed location on the inner side of the corresponding one of the temples, and the core member may extend along the extension direction of the corresponding one of the temples to gradually deviate from the inner side surface of the corresponding one of the temples from the prescribed location to the other end of the core member.

Each of the temples may include a pocket on the inner side surface, the pocket opening in the extension direction of the temple, and the root portion of each of the temple pads may include a tip inserted in the pocket to fix the temple pad to the temple.

The temple, the pocket, and a temple tip may be integrally formed as one member. Moreover, the temple tip may have a tip, and a portion in a vicinity of the tip may protrude inward with a largest thickness of about 7 mm. The root of each of the temple pads may be fixed to a prescribed position at a rearward of the corresponding one of the temples and may extend frontward from the prescribed position. Moreover, the root portion of each of the temple pads may have a side which faces the corresponding one of the temples and on which a projection is provided, the projection protruding to an extent that a gap between each of the temple pads and the corresponding one of the temples at the root portion.

Each of the temple pads may be detachably attached to the corresponding one of the temples.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, eyeglasses which are stably wearable without nose pads and which have a support structure which is inconspicuous when the eyeglasses are worn.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings accordingly. Note that unnecessarily detailed description may be omitted. For example, the detailed description of already well-known matters and/or duplicated description of substantially the same components may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessarily redundant description below and to facilitate the understanding by those skilled in the art.

Note that the inventor provides the drawings and the following description for satisfactory understanding of the present invention by those skilled in the art, and the drawings and the following description do not intend to limit the subject matter of the claims. The dimension, thickness, detailed shape, and the like of each of components shown in the drawings may be different from the actual ones.

FIG. 1is a perspective view illustrating eyeglasses according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2is a plan view illustrating the eyeglasses according to the embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 3is a side view illustrating the eyeglasses according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that in the present specification, the sagittal direction, the horizontal direction, and the vertical direction of the head of a person when the person wears the eyeglasses are respectively referred to as a frontward/rearward direction, a rightward/leftward direction, and an upward/downward direction of the eyeglasses.

Schematic Configuration of Eyeglasses

Eyeglasses100according to the present embodiment include a front20to which a pair of left and right lenses10L and10R is fixed, a pair of left and right temples30L and30R, and a pair of left and right temple pads40L and40R respectively fixed to prescribed locations on inner sides of the temples30L and30R. The temples30L and30R are connected to the front20respectively via hinges50L and50R provided at both left and right ends of the front20and are configured to be folded toward the front20.

Configuration Example of Front

The front20is gently curved to slightly protrude frontward and has a curvature which is at least designed in accordance with applications of the eyeglasses100. For example, the curvature may be increased for fashion eyeglasses, whereas the curvature may be reduced for vision correction eyeglasses. Alternatively, the front20may have a straight shape which is not curved.

Specifically, the front20includes a pair of left and right rims21L and21R to which the lenses10L and10R are to be fixed respectively, a bridge22connecting the rims21L and21R, and a pair of left and right end pieces23L and23R respectively provided to a left end of the rim21L and a right end of the rim21R. The hinges50L and50R are respectively attached to the end pieces23L and23R.

The lenses10L and10R may be vision correction lenses, light-shielding lenses, or so-called lenses of plain glass. The rims21L and21R, the bridge22, and the end pieces23L and23R may be integrally formed as a single member or may be formed as individually separated parts, and the individually separated parts may be connected to each other.

Note that materials for the front20may be a synthetic resin or metal.

Configuration Example of Temples

The temples30L and30R are formed from, not a narrow bar-like member, but a member having a certain width in the upward/downward direction. Materials for the temples30L and30R may be a synthetic resin or metal.

Specifically, the temples30L and30R have a shape whose width in the upward/downward direction gradually decreases from their portions connected to the hinges50L and50R to their distal portions. The width of the widest portions of the temples30L and30R (the portions connected to the hinges50L and50R) is about 15 mm, and the width of the narrowest portions (portions bordering temple tips which will be described later) is about 4 mm. Note that these dimensions are mere examples, and the present invention is not limited to this example.

The temples30L and30R respectively have substantially linear portions31L and31R extending from temples to upper portions of the ears of a person when the eyeglasses100are worn by the person. The substantially linear portions31L and31R extend in the frontward/rearward direction to form arcs slightly protruding to the outer side. The temples30L and30R respectively have temple tips32L and32R extending from the upper portions to the back of the ears. The temple tips32L and32R extend inward with a decreasing curvature and are curved downward. The substantially linear portions31L and31R have substantially rectangular transverse sections and have inner side surfaces33L and33R and outer side surfaces34L and34R which are substantially flat. Moreover, the temples30L and30R have beveled corners. On the other hand, the temple tips32L and32R have distal portions which have a thick three-dimensionally curved surface shape gently protruding inward.

The temples30L and30R further include pockets35L and35R which are respectively on the inner side surfaces33L and33R and which are respectively open in an extension direction of the temples30L and30R. The temple pads40L and40R have root portions whose tips are to be inserted into the pockets35L and35R to fix the temple pads40L and40R respectively to the temples30L and30R.

FIG. 4is an enlarged view illustrating a part in the vicinity of the pocket35R into which the temple pad is to be inserted. A part in the vicinity of a rear end of the substantially linear portion31R of the temple30R is formed as a thick part protruding inward from the inner side surface33R of the temples30R and has the pocket35R. The thick part protruding inward from the inner side surface33R smoothly continues to the temple tip32R, thereby forming an inner side surface36R of the temple tip32R.

The pocket35R has an opening in a front end surface thereof, and the opening has a length of about 3 mm in the upward/downward direction, a length of about 2 mm in the right/left directions, and a depth of about 6 mm in the frontward/rearward direction (the extension direction of the temple30R). Note that these dimensions are mere examples, and the present invention is not limited to this example.

The pocket35R has an upper portion at which a rib37R is formed to smoothly continue from an upper end of the inner side surface33R of the temple30R to an upper end of the inner side surface36R of the temple tip32R. The pocket35R has a lower portion at which a rib38R is formed to smoothly continue from a lower end of the inner side surface33R of the temple30R to a lower end of the inner side surface36R of the temple tip32R. The pocket35R is located at the back of a space between these two ribs37R and38R. These two ribs37R and38R serve as guides when the tip of the root portion of the temple pad40R is inserted into the pocket35R.

The inner side surface36R of the temple tip32R has a pore39R formed at a location apart rearward by about 3 mm from the opening of the pocket35R. The pore39R is a pore used for screwing the temple pad40R inserted into the pocket35R.

Note that the pocket35L has a shape that is a mirror image of the pocket35R described above, and the detailed description thereof is thus omitted.

Configuration Example of Temple Pad

Referring back toFIGS. 1 to 3, the temple pads40L and40R have respective roots fixed to prescribed locations on the inner sides of the temples30L and30R respectively, and the temple pads40L and40R extend along the extension direction of the temples30L and30R to gradually deviate from the inner side surfaces33L and33R of the temples30L and30R from the prescribed locations to respective tips thereof. Specifically, the roots of the temple pads40L and40R are respectively inserted into and fixed to the pockets35L and35R provided in the vicinity of the rear ends of the substantially linear portions31L and31R of the temples30L and30R, and from there, the temple pads40L and40R extend frontward, that is, toward the front20, along the substantially linear portions31L and31R to gradually deviate from the inner side surfaces33L and33R of the temples30L and30R.

The temple pads40L and40R have root portions41L and41R which are narrow and tip portions42L and42R formed to have a thick shape that gently protrude downward. The tip portions42L and42R comes into contact with wearer's temples when the eyeglasses100are worn. Moreover, the tip portions42L and42R have a thick three-dimensionally curved surface shape gently protruding inward in a similar manner to the distal portions of the temple tips32L and32R.

The inner side surfaces33L and33R of the temples30L and30R are respectively apart from the tips of the temple pads40L and40R by about 7 mm. Moreover, in a state where the temples30L and30R are open, the temple pads40L and40R are apart from each other by about 130 mm between the root portions41L and41R and by about 120 mm between the tip portions42L and42R. Note that these dimensions are mere examples, and the present invention is not limited to this example.

FIG. 5is an exploded enlarged view illustrating the temple pad40R. The temple pad40R includes a core member43R made of a plastically deformable metal and a pad body44R made of a synthetic resin (preferably a slightly soft synthetic resin). The pad body44R includes the root portion41R and the tip portion42R which are formed as an integral member. The tip portion42R is continuous to the root portion41R. The core member43R has one end slightly protruding in the upward/downward direction and has a screw hole45R. The root portion41R of the pad body44R has a side surface having an opening into which the core member43R is to be inserted. The pad body44R is configured to, from the opening, be placed over the core member43R in a direction of the entire length of the pad body44R. In a state where the pad body44R is placed over the core member43R such that the core member43R reaches a deep part in the pad body44R, the one end of the core member43R having the screw hole45R is exposed.

The dimensions of the core member43R are about 40 mm in length, about 1 mm in thickness, about 1 mm in width in the upward/downward direction, about 3 mm in width of a portion exposed from the pad body44R in the upward/downward direction and about 5 mm in length of the portion, and about 1 mm in diameter of the screw hole45R. The dimensions of the pad body44R are about 44 mm in entire length, about 3 mm in thickness, about 4 mm in width of the root portion41R in the upward/downward direction, about 12 mm in maximum width of the tip portion42R in the upward/downward direction, and about 10 mm in length from a topmost part to a part having the maximum width in the upward/downward direction of the pad body44R. Note that these dimensions are mere examples, and the present invention is not limited to this example.

FIG. 6is a view illustrating how the temple pad40R is attached. As illustrated in the figure, (1) the pad body44R is placed over the core member43R, (2) the one end of the core member43R having the screw hole45R is inserted into the pocket35R, and (3) a screw46R is inserted into the pore39R and is screwed, thereby fixing the temple pad40R to a prescribed fixation location on the inner side of the temples30R.

The screw46R has a length of about 3 mm and a diameter of about 1 mm. Note that these dimensions are mere examples, and the present invention is not limited to this example.

When the temple pad40R is to be replaced, the screw46R is removed, and the temple pad40R is pulled out of the pocket35R and is replaced with a new temple pad40R. Alternatively, only the pad body44R may be replaced while the core member43R remains fixed by the screw to the pocket35R.

FIG. 7is a view illustrating a state where the pad body44R is pulled out of the temple pad40R. When the pad body44R is pulled out of the temple pad40R, the core member43R appears. The core member43R extends along the extension direction of the temple30R to gradually deviate from the inner side surface33R of the temples30R from the one end having the screw hole45R to the other end of the core member43R. As illustrated in the figure, the core member43R is placed over the new pad body44R with the core member43R being exposed.

Note that the temple pad40L has a shape that is a mirror image of the temple pad40R described above, and the detailed description thereof is thus omitted.

Effects

In the eyeglasses100according to the present embodiment, the temple30L, the temple tip32L, and the pocket35L on the left side are integrally formed as a single member, and the temple30R, the temple tip32R, and the pocket35R on the right side are integrally formed as a single member, and in particular, the outer side surfaces34L and34R of the temples30L and30R are respectively formed to have smooth curved surfaces without steps from portions connected to the hinges50L and50R to distal ends of the temple tips32L and32R. Moreover, the width and the thickness of the end pieces23L and23R in the upward/downward direction are respectively matched to the width and the thickness of the temples30L and30R in the upward/downward direction. This achieves a design that provides simple and neat impression with respective portions from the front20to the left and right temples30L and30R and further to the left and right temple tips32L and32R being integrally continuous in a state where the temples30L and30R are expanded.

Moreover, when the eyeglasses100are worn, the three-dimensionally curved surface shape portions on the inner sides of the distal portions of the temple tips32L and32R move from upper portions to the rear portions of the ears while being in contact with temporal regions, and in a state where the eyeglasses100are worn, the distal portions of the temple tips32L and32R grip the rear portions of the ears from both left and right sides with appropriate force, so that the rear ends of the eyeglasses100are firmly held on the head.

Moreover, the roots of the temple pads40L and40R are respectively fixed in the vicinity of the rear ends of the substantially linear portions31L and31R of the temples30L and30R, and the temple pads40L and40R are arranged to extend along the substantially linear portions31L and31R toward the front20to gradually deviate from the inner side surfaces33L and33R of the temples30L and30R from the rear ends. In this way, when the eyeglasses100are worn, the eyeglasses100are smoothly worn without the tip portions42L and42R of the temple pads40L and40R being caught by the temporal regions of the head.

Moreover, since the temple pads40L and40R including the core member made of metal have appropriate resiliency, the tip portions42L and42R of the temple pads40L and40R grip wearer's temples from the left and right sides with appropriate force in a state where the eyeglasses100are worn, and thereby, the eyeglasses100are securely supported so that the front20does not slip off without nose pads.

Moreover, in a state where the eyeglasses100are not worn, the tip portions42L and42R of the temple pads40L and40R may be moved farther inward or farther outward by, for example, applying force to the temple pads40L and40R by fingers such that the tip portions42L and42R fit to the shape of the head of a person who is to wear the eyeglasses100.

Moreover, since the pad bodies are detachable with the core members43L and43R of the temple pads40L and40R being fixed to the temples30L and30R, the temple pads40L and40R are easily replaceable.

It is further noteworthy that in the eyeglasses100according to the present embodiment, the temple pads40L and40R are mostly hidden by the temples30L and30R in a side view.FIG. 3is a left side view illustrating the eyeglasses100, and only a small part of the lower portion of the tip portion42L of the temple pad40L appears from the temple30L.

As described above, the eyeglasses100according to the present embodiment adopt the temple pads40L and40R having relatively large contact areas to the wearer's temples while the temple pads40L and40R are not conspicuous when the eyeglasses100are worn. This achieves the object that the eyeglasses are made stably wearable without nose pads and the support structure is made inconspicuous when the eyeglasses are worn.

Variations

The eyeglasses100may be accordingly modified as described below. For example, the temple30L, the temple tip32L, and the pocket35L on the left side may be formed as separate parts and may be connected to each other, and the temple30R, the temple tip32R, and the pocket35R on the right side may be formed as separate parts and may be connected to each other.

The temple pads40L and40R may be directly fixed to the inner side surfaces33L and33R of the temples30L and30R without the pockets35L and35R.

The frames21L and21R may be configured for rimless eyeglass frames or half-rim eyeglass frames.

The hinges50L and50R may be omitted.

Slightly increasing the width of the temples30L and30R in the upward/downward direction, or slightly reducing the width of the tip portions42L and42R of the temple pads40L and40R in the upward/downward direction, or both thereof may be performed to hide the entirety of the temple pads40L and40R by the temples30L and30R in the side view.

Measures Against Pinching of Hair

In the eyeglasses100according to the embodiment described above, the temple pads40L and40R are arranged to gradually deviate from the inner side surfaces33L and33R of the temples30L and30R toward the front20from the rear ends of the temples30L and30R. Therefore, when the eyeglasses100are worn, hairs may enter gaps between the temple30L and the temple pad40L and between the temple30R and the temple pad40R, may be caught by the root portions41L and41R of the temple pads40L and40R, and may not be able to be pulled out. Thus, the temple pads40L and40R may be disposed in an inverted orientation. That is, the roots of the temple pads40L and40R may be fixed to the vicinity of the hinges50L and50R, and the temple pads40L and40R may be attached along the extension direction of the temples30L and30R such that the tip portions42L and42R gradually deviate from the inner side surfaces33L and33R of the temples30L and30R rearward from the vicinity of hinges50L and50R.

Alternatively, the root portion41R and41L of the temple pads40L and40R may have a projection.FIG. 8is a perspective view illustrating the temple pad40R according to the variation and is a view ofFIG. 5viewed from the back. In a temple pad40R according to the variation, a root portion41R of a pad body44R has a side which faces a temple30R (not shown) and on which a projection47R is formed. The projection47R slightly protrudes to such an extent that a gap between the temple pad40R of the root portion41R and the temples30R is filled. For example, the projection47R protrudes by about 1 mm from a surface of the root portion41R of the pad body44R and extends toward the tip portion42R by about 6 mm with a width of about 2 mm from a side surface (an opening end into which a core member43R is to be inserted) of the root portion41R of the pad body44R.FIG. 9is an enlarged view illustrating an attachment portion when the temple pad40R ofFIG. 8is attached to the temple30R. The gap between the temple pad40R and the temples30R at the root portion41R of the temple pad40R is filled with the projection47R. Therefore, even if hairs enter the gap between the temples30R and the temple pad40R when the eyeglasses100is worn, the hairs are not caught by the root portion41R of the temple pad40R but smoothly are pulled out of the gap.

The shape of the projection47R is not limited to the example shown inFIG. 5but may be a triangular shape or a hog-backed shape in cross section. Moreover, the projection47R does not have to extend from the side surface of the root portion41R of the temple pad40R but may be disposed to protrude at a location apart by about 6 mm from the side surface of the root portion41R. Alternatively, a projection may be provided on the inner side surface33R (seeFIG. 7) of the temples30R without the projection47R provided to the temple pad40R. Note that the temple pad40L has a shape that is a mirror image of the temple pad40R described above, and the detailed description of the variation thereof is thus omitted.

Measure Against Slipping-Off of Front

The eyeglasses100have no nose pads. Therefore, if the temple tips32L and32R do not firmly hold the back of the head (rear portions of the ears) of a wearer, the front20may slip off with the tip portions42L and42R of the temple pads40L and40R serving as supporting points. Therefore, the thickness of the temple tips32L and32R may be increased so that the back of the head is more firmly held.FIG. 10is a comparative view illustrating a general temple tip and a temple tip of the variation. In a similar manner to the general temple tips, the temple tips according to the variation have tips, and a portion in the vicinity of each tip protrudes inward, and the largest thickness of the portion is about 7 mm, which is about three times that of the general temple tip. In this way, increasing the thickness of the portions in the vicinity of the tips of the temple tips enables the temple tips32L and32R to firmly hold the back of the head of a wearer, slipping-off of the front20to be prevented, and a wearing feeling of the eyeglasses100to be improved.

As can be seen in the foregoing, embodiment has been described merely as an example of the technique disclosed in the present invention. For this purpose, the drawings and the detailed description are provided.

Thus, the components illustrated in the drawings and the detailed description may include not only components essential for solving the problems but also components which are mentioned to illustrate the technique but which are not essential for solving the problems. Therefore, these components which are not essential should not be construed as essential only because they are illustrated in the drawings and the description.

Moreover, the embodiment is to illustrate the technique of the present invention, and thus, modification, replacement, addition, omission, and the like may be made in various ways within the scope of the claims or equivalent scopes thereof.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST