HINGE MECHANISM FOR GLASSES WITH AXIAL ROTATION, AUTOMATIC RETURN AND EXTRA-OPENING OF THE ROD

Abstract: The mechanism consists of a glasses hinge with rods which open wide in an elastic way, comprising a first element (14) integral with a glasses frame and a second element (16) rotating together with an end (10a) of a rod (10), the second hinge element (16) comprising a pin (20) having two opposite ends, a first end (20a) hinged to said first hinge element (14) and a second free end (20b), an element (24) sliding along the pin (20) and furthermore a spring (26) positioned between the sliding element (24) and the free end (20b) of the pin (20). The two ends of the spring (26) are respectively attached to the slidable element (24) and a nut (28) which is screwed into the free end (20b). The sliding element (24) is rotationally fixed to the pin whereas the nut (28) rotates together with the rod (10) so that rotating the rod (10), the nut (28) twists the spring (26) which allows the rod to return to the original position when the rod is released.

Description: Hinge mechanism for glasses with axial rotation, automatic return and extra- opening of the rod. The present invention relates to a hinge mechanism for glasses wilh rods which open wide in an elastic way, of the type comprising a first element integral wilh a glass frame and a second element rotating together with an end of a rod. Glasses provided with similar hinges are substantially different from the usual glasses of the prior arl because they allow the rods to be elastically opened wide beyond the usual opening position (the angle between the rod and the frame is about of 90 degrees) so permitting the user to easily wear them; the axial rotation of the rods allows the glasses to belter fit to Ihe user. Glasses of this type are usually made for example by means of an helicoidal spring having a first spiral-shaped end hinged to the first hinge element of the frame, by usual fixing means such as a peg, and a second end connected to the rod by otiier fixing means. Tlie end of the rod is hollow and suitably shaped in order to contain the spring and the fixing means. When the rod is opened wide beyond the usual opening position, the end of the rod connected to the second end of the spring moves away from the first hinge element stretching the spring which causes the rod to elastically return to the usual closing position. Suitable constraint means is provided for stiffening the structure so avoiding the rod to accomplish movements different from the simple rotation around the first hinge element and for only stretching the spring, said constraint means are for example telescopic structures or elements and /or slots which longitudinally slide inside each olher. These frames are considerably complex and furthermore, taking into account the very small size of their members, it is easy lo understand that the manufacturing of the single members as well as the assembly are very difficult and laborious with consequcnl increasing of the manufacturing lead times and consequently of the final cost of the frame. Moreover, because of the complexity of the glass frame, the glasses frequently break and breakages are difficult to repair, disadvantageous and sometimes irreparable. The aim of the present invention is to produce a hinge mechanism for glasses with rods which open wide in an elastic way eliminating the drawbacks cited with reference to the prior art. fhe aim of the present invention is obtained thanks to a hinge of the type comprising a (list element integral wilh a glasses frame and a second element rotating logcthcr with an end of a rod, characterised in the fact that said second hinge element comprises a pin having two opposite ends, a first end hinged to said first hinge clement and a second free end, an element sliding along said pin and furthermore elastic means positioned between said sliding element and the free end of the pin. More in particular, a first part of said sliding element abuts on the first hinge element when (he rod is in the usual opening position and increasingly presses on the first hinge element when the rod is opened wide beyond ils usual opening position so that said sliding clement moves towards the second free end of the pin and slides along the pin, so as to compress said elastic means, which causes the rod to return to (he usual opening position. Λ hinge made in such a way is simple, made up of few elements and strong; in fact, for example the elastic means is compressed and not stretched and the assembling is fast. Consequently, the final cost is not high and breakages limited. In particular, an element rotating wilh respect to the pin is mounted on the second free end of said pin, said rotating element being longitudinally fixed lo said pin and rotationally moving together with said rod, and said sliding element is rotationally fixed to said pin and said elastic means has two opposite ends, a first end of which is attached to said sliding element and a second end is attached lo said rotating element, so thai rotating the rod around the axis of the pin, starting from the usual position of the rod, said elastic means is torsionally stressed so to cause the rod lo return to the usual position. In such a way, even maintaining the rod in the position where it is, it is possible to rotate the rod around its axis and then the earpieces so as lo help the user wear such a pair of glasses; moreover, the earpieces fit onto the natural conformation of the user ' s ears. So, the drawback of manually modifying the earpiece is overcome. In addition, a second part of said sliding element abuts on the first hinge element when the rod is in the usual opening position and increasingly presses on the first hinge element when the rod is moved from the usual opening position towards an intermediate closing position, so thai said sliding element moves towards the second free end of the pin and slides along the pin, so as to compress said elastic means which causes the rod to return lo the usual opening position, and furthermore, characterised in that said second part of the sliding element presses, in a decreasing way, on the first hinge element when the rod is moved from the intermediate closing position towards a complete closing position, so that said sliding element moves away from the second free end of the pin and slides along the pin thanks to said elastic means, which causes the rod to elastically return to the complete closing posilion. In such a way when the rods are in the usual opening position and must be closed, once passed the intermediate closing position, they easily reach the complete closing position (hanks lo the releasing of said elastic means. Finally, the rod end is hollow and designed to contain inside said second hinge element so as lo obtain a pleasant aesthetic effect also avoiding the entry of dust or olher impurity hindering the correct operating of the hinge and also preventing hair entangle into (he hinge. These and other characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more clear from the following detailed description of an embodiment given only with illustrative and not limitative purpose with reference to the subsequent enclosed figures of which - figure 1 is a schematic view of a part of a glasses frame compπsing a hinge according lo (he present invention; - figure 2 is an enlarged view ofthe particular enclosed within the circle of figure 1 ; - figures 3,4 and 5 are longitudinal views of figure 2 wherein the rod is respectively represented in the usual closing position, in the usual opening position and opened wide beyond the usual opening position; -figures 6,7 and 8 are views of the hinge pin viewed along three directions perpendicular each other; - figures 9 and 10 are two views taken along the lines IX-fX and X-X of figure 6; - figures 1 1 and 12 are respectively the front and plant views of a spacer; - figures 13, 14 and 15 are views or the element sliding along the pin viewed along three direction orthogonal each olher; - figure 16 is a front view section of the rod end; - figure 17 and 18 arc section views respectively taken along the lines XVII-XV1I and XVlII-XVIII of figurc 16; -figures 19, 20 and 21 are views of a nut screwed into a pin end viewed along three directions perpendicular each olher. In figure I is represented a rod 10 hinged lo a glasses frame by a hinge 12. More in particular, from figures 2,3,4 and 5 it can be seen that Ihe hinge 12 comprises a first hinge element 14 fixed to the frame and a second hinge element 16 which rotates together w ith the end 10a of the rod 10. The first hinge element 14 has two prongs 14a and 14b respectively provided with holes 15a and 15b having aligned axes. The second hinge element 16 comprises a pin 20 (in particular sec figures 6 and 7) having opposite ends 20a and 20b; the end 20a is sphere-shaped with two fiat walls. has a centre hole 20a and is positioned between the two prongs 14a and 14b in such a way to align the holes 15a and 15b with the hole 20a into which a screw 02 (see figure 2) is screwed, whereas the end 20b is threaded and an hexagonal nut 28 (see figure 3) is screwed into the end 20b. The second hinge element 16 comprises also a sliding spoon-shaped element 24 (see figures 13.14 and 15) the inside of which is hollow and square into which slides a part of the pin 20 of the same square section (see figure 9) placed near the end 20a so that the sliding clement 24 is rotationally fixed to the pin 20. The second hinge element 16 comprises also a spring 26 placed between the sliding element 24 and the nut 28 . The spring 26 has two opposite ends 26a and 26b: the end 26a is inserted into a hole 27 made in the sliding element 24 whereas the end 26b is inserted inside a hole 30 made in nut 28 (sec figure 20). The pin 20. die nut 28 and the spring 26 arc contained inside a cavity 32 made in the end 10a of the rod 10 (sec figure 6). In particular Ihe cavity is cylindrical for almost ils length (sec figure 17) and is designed to contain also a cylindrical part 34 ( figure 13 ) of the sliding element 24, except for the bottom of the cavity w hich has an hexagonal section (see figure 16 and 18) designed to exactly contain the nut 28 so that the mil 28 rolates together with the rod 10. From figures 3 and 15, il can be seen that the sliding element 24 has, in addition to the cylindrical part 24, also a spoon-shaped projection 22 which abuts on a shoulder 38 (sec figure 3 ) made on (he first hinge element 14 when (he rod 10 is in the usual opening position as indicated in figure 4. Starting from this position, if the rod is further opened, as indicated in figure 5, the sliding element 24 presses on the shoulder 38 w hereby it is compelled to move away from the first hinge element 14 and slides along the pin 20 so lo approach Ihe nut 28 acting against the spring 26 which is compressed. If the rod is released, thanks to the elastic force of the spring 26, the rod reaches (he original opening position. Λ tube-like spacer (see figures 1 1 and 12) is positioned between the sliding element 24 and the nut 28 (sec figure 4 ) and inserted between the pin 20 and the spring 26 to limit the extra-opening of the rod 10, the spacer being slightly shorter than the distance between the sliding element 24 and the nut 28 when the rod 10 is in the usual opening position; when the rod 10 is opened wide at the maximum possible extent, the sliding clement 24 is moved towards the nut 28 and the two ends of the spacer 44 comes into contact with the sliding element 24 and the nut 28, so preventing a further opening of the rod 10. The sliding clement 24 has a flat surface 39 (see figure 15) whereas the first hinge element 14. and in particular the prongs 14a and 14b, has an right-angle contour formed by (wo sides 40 and 42. Closing the rod, the fiat surface 39 slides along the right-angle contour of the first hinge element 14 which functions like a cam and, more precisely, starting from the position where (he rod is in the usual opening position ( figure 4 ), wherein the flat surface 39 of the sliding element 24 abuts against the side 40 of the right-angled contour of the first hinge clement, until the rod is moved lo the usual closing position (figure 3) in which the fiat surface 39 of Ihe sliding element 24 abuts on (he side 42 of the right-angled contour of the first hinge clement 24. Consequendy, il can be seen that if the rod 10, starting from the usual opening position ( figure 4 ), is moved towards a closing position, the sliding element 24 is compelled to move away from the first hinge element 14 sliding along the pin 20 towards the nut 28 I hc spring 26 is compressed whereby if the rod 10 is released, it returns to Ihe usual opening position. Furthermore, if Ihe rod 10, starting from the usual closing position (figure 3) is moved towards an opening position, the sliding element 24 is compelled to move away from the first hinge clement 14 sliding along the pin 20 towards Ihe nut 28. I he spring 26 is again compressed whereby if the rod 10 is released, it returns lo the usual closing position. Therefore, there is an intermediate closing position, defined as unstable equilibrium. wherein if the rod is slightly moved towards the closing position, Ihe rod returns to the complete closing position, whereas, if the rod is moved towards the usual opening position, Ihe rod returns to the usual opening position. Moreover, the rod 10 may rotate around its axis torsionally stressing the spring 26 because the rotation of the rod causes the nut 28 to rotate and the end 26b of the spring 26 is attached to the nut 28, whereas, the other end 26a is attached to the sliding clement 24 which cannot rotate. Then, if the rod is released, it returns to the original position. Λ circumferential slot 46 (sec figures 2 and 16) is made on the free end of the cylindrical cavity 32 of the rod 10 in order to limit the rotation of the rod around its axis w hereas a hole 48 (see figure 13 and 15) is made in the cylindrical part 34 of (he sliding element 24 so that, after having inserted the rod 10, a screw 30 (figure 2) is screwed in the hole 48 thanks to the slot 46 so that the screw head may slide inside Ihe slot 46 when the rod 10 is rotated around its axis. In particular, when the rod 10 is in the usual position, (he spring 26 is slightly and torsionally stressed compelling Ihe head of the screw 30 lo abuts against an end of the slot 46. Starting from Ihis position, if ihc earpiece of the rod is bent outwards, the rod 10 rotates and lorsionallv stresses in a greater exlenl the spring 36 until the screw head is abutted against the other end of the slot 46. To sum up. Ihis mechanism stresses Ihe only spring 26 either in compression (for the extra-opening and the returning of the rod lo the opening position or during the closing of the rod ) and in torsion (lo fit the earpiece to the user ' s head). From (he above, il is clear and evident the advantages achieved from this invention, that, briell\ , consists of a pair of glasses with rods which open wide in an clastic way which aie simple and strong. I he frame is very flexible because has two equilibrium positions, one of Ihe usual opening and the other of complete closing and allow s also Ihe rod lo elastically rotate so as lo permit the same lo fit lo the user. Finally . il can be noted (hat the hinge may be easily mounted on any type of frame being sufficient lo suitably adapt the sliding element to the first hinge element of the frame. It is clear that functional and conceptual solutions similar lo those of this invention are protected by Ihe invention.

Claims: CLAIMS I . Glasses hinge wilh rods which open wide in an clastic way, of the type comprising a first element ( 14) integral with a glasses frame and a second clement ( 16) rotating together wilh an end ( 10a) of a rod ( 10), characterised in the fact that said second hinge element ( 16) comprises a pin (20) having two opposite ends, a first end (20a) hinged to said first hinge element (14) and a second free end (20b), an clement (24 ) slidable along said pin (20), elastic means positioned between said slidable clement (24 ) and Ihe free end (20b) of the pin (20) and thai an clcmenl (28) rotating wilh respect to Ihe pin (20) is mounted on the second free end (20b) of said pin (20). said rotating clement being longitudinally fixed to said pin and rotablc moves together with said rod ( 10) and thai said slidable element (24) is rolalionally fixed to said pin (20) and that said elastic means (26) has two opposite ends, a first end (26a) of which is attached lo said slidable clement (24) and a second end (26b) is attached lo said rotating clement (28) so that by rotating the rod ( 10) around the axis of the pin (20) starting from (he usual position of the rod, said elastic means (26) is torsionally stressed, so lo cause ihc rod lo return to the usual position. 2) Hinge mechanism for glasses according to claim I , characterised in that a first part (22) ol said slidable element (24) abuts on the first hinge element ( 14) when the rod is in the usual opening position and increasingly presses on Ihe first hinge clement ( 14 ) w hen the rod ( 10) is opened wide beyond its usual opening position, so thai said slidable clement (24) moves towards the second free end (20b) of the pin (20) and slides along Ihe pin, so as to compress said clastic means (26) which causes the rod ( 10) lo return lo Ihe usual opening position. 3) 1 linge mechanism for glasses according lo claim 1 , characterised in that a second part (39) of said sliding element (24) abuts on the first hinge clement ( 14) when the rod is in the usual opening position and increasingly presses on the first hinge element ( 14) when the rod ( 10) is moved from the usual opening position towards an intermediate closing position so that said slidable clement (24) moves towards the second free end (20b) of the pin (20b) and slides along the pin. so as to compress said clastic means (26) which causes the rod ( 10) to return to the usual opening position, and furthermore, characterised in that a second part (39) of the sliding element press, in a decreasing way, on the first hinge element ( 14) when the rod ( 10) is moved from the intermediate closing position towards a complete closing position so that said slidable element (24) moves away from the second free end (20b) of the pin (20b) and slides along the pin thanks to said elastic means (26) which causes the rod ( 10) lo elastically return to Ihc complete closing position. 4) Hinge mechanism for glasses according lo anyone of the previous claims, characterised in thai said elastic means consists of an helicoid spring (26) which operates in a compression and torsion way. 5) Hinge mechanism for glasses according to claim 4, characterised in that the end (26a) of the spring (26) is inserted inside a hole made in the sliding element (24) and the oilier end (24b) is inserted inside a hole made in the rotating clement (28). 6) Hinge mechanism for glasses according to anyone of the previous claims, characterised in that said rod end ( 10a) is hollow and designed lo contain inside said second hinge element ( 16). 7) Hinge mechanism for glasses according to claim 2, characterised in that said slidable element (24) has a spoon-sheped projection (22) which abuls on and increasingly presses on a shoulder (38) made on the first hinge clement ( 14) when Ihe rod ( 10 ) is opened wide beyond the usual opening position. 8) Hinge mechanism for glasses according lo claim 1 , characterised in thai said to rotating element (28) is a nut mounted on the second free end (20a) of the pin (20) . 9) Hinge mechanism for glasses according lo claims 6 and 8, characlerised in that said nut (28) is exactly contained inside said hollow end (32b) of the rod ( 10) so as lo rolale together with said rod ( 10). 10) Hinge mechanism for glasses according lo anyone of the previous claims, characterised in that said nut (28), mounted on the pin (20), longitudinally slides inside its seal (32b) when the rod ( 10) is opened wide beyond the usual opening position or closed. 1 1 ) Hinge mechanism for glasses according (o claim 1 , characlerised in that said second part (39) of the sliding elcmenl(24), which abuls on the first hinge elemenl ( 14) when the rod ( 10) is in the usual opening position and pressed on the first hinge elemenl ( 14) when the rod ( 10) is moved from the usual opening position towards a complete closing position, is a flat surface (39) which slides along a contour having two sides (40,42) approximately forming a right angle made on the first hinge clement ( 14), said flat surface (39) abutting on one of the two sides (40) of the right-angled contour when the rod is in the usual opening position, sliding along the right-angled contour when the rod ( 10) is moved towards the complete closing position and abutting on the second side (42) of the contour when the rod reaches the complete closing position. 12) Hinge mechanism for glasses according to claim 6, characlerised in that said slidable element (24) has a cylindrical part (34) designed to be inserted in a corresponding cylindrical part of the hollow end (32) of the rod ( 10). 13) Hinge mechanism for glasses according to claim I I , characterised in that a circumferential slot (46) is made in the cylindrical hollow part of the hollow end (32) of the rod, inside the slot a screw (30) is screwed into the sliding clement (24). the head ol Ihe screw- (30) projecting so as lo abut onto the slot (46) so as to cause the rod ( 10) to axially move together with the sliding clement (24) and allowing the rod ( 10) to rotate around its axis within the ends of the slol (46). 14) Hinge mechanism for glasses according to claim 2, characlerised in that a spacer is placed between said sliding element (24) and said rotating elemenl (28) so as to limit the movement of ihe sliding elemenl (24) towards the rotating element (28) when the rod ( 10) is opened wide beyond the usual opening position.

Inventors: FRARE SILVANO, FRARE, SILVANO
Applicants: FRARE SILVANO, TECNOSTYLE S R L, FRARE, SILVANO, TECNOSTYLE S.R.L.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: G02C5
IPC codes: G02C5