Abstract:
The invention relates to an eyeglass frame having a portion of the frame removably coupled to the body of the frame to permit the removal and replacement of the lenses in the frame.

Description:
The present application is a continuation in part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/794,321 which was filed on Feb. 3, 1997 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,760,866 and which in turn is a continuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/689,223 filed on Aug. 7, 1996 for which priority is claimed herein pursuant to 35 USC 120 now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to an eyeglass frame, in particular it relates to an eyeglass frame where at least a portion of the frame can be removably coupled to the body of the frame to permit the removal and replacement of the lenses in the frame. 
     2. The Prior Art 
     The prior art teaches a number of eyeglass frames. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,564 to Werling has a hinge mechanism and a clasp mechanism. The clasp and hinge mechanisms are cumbersome, conspicuously visible, and aesthetically displeasing. The frame can be opened up to permit the lenses to be removed. Similarly the U.S. Pat. No. 2,479,754 to Marks discloses a frame that permits the lenses to be removed. As shown in FIG. 1 of Marks&#39;, the frame has a hinge base 16 with a stud 17 that goes through the top portion 14. Hinge screw 16 provides a pivot for a portion at the temple. 
     All of the prior art proposals are both cumbersome and aesthetically inappropriate for today&#39;s eyeglass frames, notably designer frames, which are primarily meant to be aesthetically pleasing. It would, therefore, be most desirable to provide a lens frame which would permit lenses to be removed, while at the same time requiring a minimum amount of disassembly and reassembly on the part of the wearer and also an insignificant amount of clasping or hinge mechanisms on the frame itself, which would add unnecessary weight to the frame and also would be unattractively visible on the frame when worn by the wearer. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is a principle object of the invention to provide an aesthetically pleasing, simple mechanism which permits the frame to be opened and for lenses to be removed and replaced. Such an invention will permit new lenses to be inserted when the old lenses become scratched or a new prescription is required. In addition, lenses to be used in the outdoors, such as prescription sunglass lenses or tinted lenses can be inserted and the same frame can be utilized. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide an invention which can be used for both metal frames as well as for plastic eyeglass frames. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide another embodiment utilizing a cam to facilitate the opening and closing of the frame and an alignment pin and alignment recess to align the upper and bottom portions of the frame during opening and closing of the frame. 
     It is yet another object of the invention to provide a mechanism for restricting the amount of movement by which the frame can be opened to prevent the lenses from accidentally falling out of the frame while either being opened or in the fully opened position by limiting the degree to which the frame opens and providing guide means in the form of a slot and a journey pin traveling within the slot and to ensure that the frame is closed flush in the closed position. 
     Other objects will become known from the following drawings and description. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of the eyeglass frame showing the retaining wire member unlocked on the left side; 
     FIG. 2 is a partial rear view, showing the retaining member in locked position on the eyeglass frame; 
     FIG. 3a is a partial perspective exploded, view of the frame in a locked or latched position; 
     FIG. 3b is the same as FIG. 3a except the retaining member or hook is in a disengaged position; 
     FIGS. 3c and 3d show a section of the bottom part of the frame (taken from FIG. 1), showing two different shapes of the wire inside; 
     FIGS. 4a-c show three different stages of unlocking the frame in order to change the lens; 
     FIG. 5 shows the combination of a plastic frame where the frame itself includes a portion that acts as a spring. 
     FIG. 6 shows a metal frame embodiment in a locked position. 
     FIGS. 7-9 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention in which: 
     FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view of an embodiment of the invention with the frame in the closed position; 
     FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing the rotatable latch rotated as the latch pin and the cam become tightly compressed against each other due to the cam profile; and 
     FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view showing the frame in the opened position. 
     FIGS. 10-13 illustrate another embodiment of the present invention utilizing a slot, a journey pin and a pivot pin and a lever, in which: 
     FIG. 10 illustrates a partial view of the frame in which the frame is in a substantially closed position and the journey pin and the pivot pin are at the closest proximity to each other when the frame is closed; 
     FIG. 11 shows the embodiment of FIG. 10 with the lever rotated so that the frame is in the open position and the journey pin and the pivot pin being the furthest distance away from each other; 
     FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 10 showing the lever is pivotally connected to the frame by the pivot pin; and 
     FIG. 13 is a sectional view illustrating that the pivot pin 303 goes through both sides A and B of the lever and the frame. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to the drawings, and in particular the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4c, reference is made to FIG. 1 in which an eyeglass frame 1, in this case made of plastic is shown. This can be seen from the drawings in the bottom portion 1a of the frame 1 which has a spring mechanism 5 therein. The spring mechanism 5 terminates in the preferably hook-shaped wire 6 which latches on to a portion 13 of the frame 1. As can be seen in FIGS. 3a and 3b, this hook mechanism 6 latches on so that the upper part 13 of the frame 1 attaches to the lower portion 1a of the frame 1 in which the spring 5 is embedded therein. 
     FIGS. 4a-4c show the manner in which this mechanism can be released. The side portion 2 of the frame 1 has a little latch or groove 9 which can be pulled by an implement or fingernail 11, so as to release the hook portion 6 of the wire 5 therefrom and permitting the frame 1 to open up. This disengagement can be done on both ends of the eyeglass frame 1 and permits the lenses 10 to be removed and replaced. 
     This wire retainer or hook 6 is perfectly formed to the shape of the frame 1 and is tempered to provide a slight spring action. The cross section can either be round (FIG. 3C) or rectangular(FIG. 3D), but can be made round and flattened and folded on one end. The round would more easily be contoured to the shapes of the frames. Alternatively, the wire 5 does not have to travel the full width of the glasses but can extend into the end of the frame by approximately 1/10 of an inch. A plastic frame then would be able to serve as a display and the wire can act as a retainer. The plastic in this case would have to be carefully chosen so that the proper spring action can be obtained and there would be no fatigue failure after repeated uses. 
     The retainer plate portion 14 of the frame which is shown as part of the retaining means would require that the hinge or retainer would preferably be assembled in the post molding operation. The retainer plate 14 keeps the retainer 6 from disengaging from the rear without pulling out the catch as shown in FIG. 5. 
     The retainer plate could be designed separately assembled, allowing the retainer to be molded in as it is presently. The molded in catch can be operated with a thumbnail or any flat pointed object, such as a pocket knife or a small screwdriver. 
     The plastic frame itself can be molded in the open position. 
     Referring now to the second embodiment of a metal or wire-framed glasses, as shown in FIG. 6, a similar catch mechanism is employed in which a portion of the frame 1 acts as the hook or retainer piece 6 that latches in to the upper portion 13 of the frame 1. 
     FIGS. 7-9 of the drawings illustrate another embodiment of the invention. As shown in FIG. 7, a rotatable latch 27 is employed for opening and closing the frame 1 for the removal of the lenses. FIG. 7 shows the frame 1 in the close-locked position. The frame 1 has a temple portion 25 which has an alignment recess in which an alignment pin 30 is positioned in place and the frame 1 is in the close-locked position of FIG. 7. 
     A rotatable latch (27) as shown in FIGS. 7-9 can be utilized to open the frame 1 for removal of the lenses. In the release position (see FIG. 9) the side of the frame 1 may be opened to release the lenses. When a new lens is held in place the user pushes the upper and lower sections of the frame together. An alignment pin 30 fits into the alignment recess 31 so that the ends of the frame will be near one another as they clamp (see FIG. 9). 
     When the user pushes the top of the rotatable latch 27 when the ends are close to one another by means of the alignment pin 30 and the alignment recess 31, the rotatable latch 27 moves or rotates clockwise about the pivot pin 28. The latch pin 32 moves in the contact with the cam 34 as the rotatable latch 37 rotates as shown in FIG. 8. 
     As rotatable latch 27 continues rotating in the clockwise direction, the latch pin 32 and the cam 34 become tighter due to the profile of the cam 34. As rotatable latch 27 continues to rotate in the clockwise direction, the rotatable latch 27 ends in position with the latch pin 32 engaged in the locking recess 36 as shown in FIG. 7. 
     The radial distance from the locking recess 36 to the pivot pin is shorter than it is to the cam 34. Therefore, the latch pin 32 utilizes the locking recess 36 in a detente fashion. 
     With the latch pin 32 locked within the locking recess 36, the rotatable latch 27 is held in a stable detente position. In this position, the frame is held together and cannot easily be removed. 
     By lifting the rotatable latch 27, counter clockwise rotation is started therein. The latching pin 32 is then released from the locking recess. The latch pin 32 moves along the cam 34, gradually reducing the tension between the upper and lower frame portions. The rotatable latch 27 rotates counter-clockwise until the latch pin 32 releases from the cam 34 (see FIG. 8). It is in this position that the upper/lower frame portions can be easily pulled apart from each other so that the lens can be removed (see FIG. 9). 
     An optional feature, shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings, is a limit screw 34, which prevents the frame from opening more than approximately 0.05 inches (see FIG. 8). 
     FIGS. 10-13 show another embodiment of the present invention in which a lever 304 is pivotally mounted onto the eyeglass frame 305 by means of pivot pin 303 (see FIG. 12) so that the lever 304 can open and close the eyeglass frame 305 with a restricted amount of movement to prevent the lenses from dropping out while opening or in the fully opened position and to ensure that the eyeglass frame 305 is closed flush in the closed position. 
     In the embodiment of FIG. 9 a slot 301 is provided for a journey pin 302M which the slot 301 moves along from one end at the journey pin 302 (FIG. 10) to the other end of the slot at the journey pin 302 (FIG. 11) from a closed position to an open position (and vice versa). The distance between the journey pin 302 and the pivot pin 303 is at its greatest when the lever is in the open position (See FIG. 11). The distance between the journey pin 302, the pivot pin 303, is at its smallest when the lever 304 and the frame 305 are in the closed position (See FIG. 10). This movement of the slot 301 about the journey pin 302 limits the distance which the frame 305 can be opened to preferably 0.1&#34; for plastic frame and a 0.05&#34; for a metal frame. 
     The preferable minimum distance between the journey pin 302 and the pivot pin 303 is 0.219 inches for the frame 305 and the lever 305 in the closed position and 1.4×0.219 inch distance between the journey pin 302 and the pivot pin 303 for the frame 305 and the lever 305 in the open position. Alternatively this mechanism can be reversed so that the lever 304 is opened or closed 180 degrees in the opposite direction from that shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. It is understood that these dimensions are not intended to be limiting and other frames of various sizes may be constructed of different dimensions in accordance with the present invention. 
     FIG. 13 shows a sectional view illustrating that pin 303 goes through sides A and B of lever 304 and the frame 305. 
     While presently preferred embodiments have been described for purposes of the disclosure, numerous changes in the arrangement of method steps and apparatus parts can be made by those skilled in the art. Such changes are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.