Abstract:
A clip is provided for releasably attaching a pair of reading eyeglasses to an electronic device. The clip is attachable to a rear surface of the electronic device. It includes an opening therein configured for receiving the bridge of the eyeglasses to stow the eyeglasses.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/816,381 filed on Apr. 26, 2013 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING READING GLASSES TO ELECTRONIC DEVICES, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The present application relates generally to smart phones and other portable electronic devices having displays and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for attaching reading glasses to such devices. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
       [0003]    In accordance with one or more embodiments, a kit is provided for use with an electronic device, which has a first side with a display thereon and a second side opposite the first side. The kit includes at least one pair of reading glasses having a pair of lenses, a bridge connecting the lenses, and temples extending from the lenses. The kit further includes at least one clip affixable to the second side of the electronic device. The clip has an opening therein configured for receiving the bridge of the eyeglasses to releasably attach the eyeglasses to the electronic device to stow the eyeglasses when not in use. 
         [0004]    In accordance with one or more embodiments, a clip is provided for use with an electronic device to retain a pair of reading glasses. The electronic device has a first side with a display thereon and a second side opposite the first side. The reading glasses have a pair of lenses, a bridge connecting the lenses, and temples extending from the lenses. The clip is affixable to the second side of the electronic device. The clip comprises first and second resilient elements connected together. They have an opening therebetween configured for receiving the bridge of the eyeglasses to releasably attach the eyeglasses to the electronic device to stow the eyeglasses when not in use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a rear view of a representative smart phone with a clip for holding reading glasses in accordance with one or more embodiments. 
           [0006]      FIGS. 2A ,  2 B, and  2 C are top, bottom, and side views, respectively, of the clip shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of an exemplary pair of reading glasses in accordance with one or more embodiments. 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a rear view of the smart phone of  FIG. 1  with attached reading glasses in accordance with one or more embodiments. 
           [0009]      FIGS. 5 ,  6 A,  6 B,  7 , and  8  are perspective views illustrating alternative clips in accordance with one or more embodiments. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    Smart phones, tablets, e-books, and other portable electronic devices having displays are widely used today. These devices present visual content to users that is often difficult to see, particularly for users having presbyopia (the inability to focus on close objects). The present application is directed to a method and apparatus for attaching reading glasses to such portable electronic devices that users can remove and wear while using the devices, enabling the users to more clearly see the content displayed on the electronic devices. 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a rear view of a smart phone  10  having an exemplary clip  12  or other fastener in accordance with one or more embodiments for conveniently holding reading glasses  14  as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0012]      FIGS. 2A ,  2 B, and  2 C are top, bottom, and side views, respectively, of the clip  12  shown in  FIG. 1 . The clip  12  includes a slot  16  as shown in  FIG. 2C  for receiving the bridge portion  18  of the reading glasses  14 . The clip  12  has a resilient, spring-like construction so as to securely hold the reading glasses  14  on the case when the glasses  14  are stowed and not in use. 
         [0013]    The clip  12  can be constructed from a variety materials including, e.g., plastic, rubber, and metal. In one or more embodiments, the clip  12  is attached to the back of the smart phone  10  using an adhesive. 
         [0014]    In other embodiments, the clip  12  is attached to the back of a smart phone case or is integrally constructed with the smart phone case through, e.g., a molding process used to construct the smart phone case. 
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates a representative pair of reading glasses  14  in accordance with one or more embodiments. The reading glasses  14  include a pair of lenses  20 , which are preferably lightweight and can be made from plastic, polycarbonate, or glass. The lenses are connected by the bridge  18 , which may include nose pads (not shown). A pair of temples  22  extend from the lenses for resting on the user&#39;s ears. The temples  22  preferably comprise a flexible, resilient material having high bendability that can be easily and compactly folded when the reading glasses  14  are stored in the clip  12  as shown in  FIG. 4 . The reading glasses  14  preferably have a low profile and may have a reduced length and width so that they will not substantially increase the bulk of the smart phone when stored. 
         [0016]    A variety of other fasteners can be used instead of the clip  12  including, e.g., snap fasteners. 
         [0017]      FIGS. 5 ,  6 A,  6 B,  7 , and  8  are perspective views illustrating alternative clips in accordance with one or more embodiments. 
         [0018]      FIG. 5  illustrates a clip  50  including an opening  52  for receiving the bridge of a pair of eyeglasses, which can be inserted through slot  58 . The opening  52  is formed between first and second resilient elements  54 ,  56 , which securely retain the bridge of the eyeglasses. 
         [0019]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate an alternate clip  60 , which can be opened to insert the eyeglasses bridge and then closed to securely retain the bridge. The clip  60  comprises a first resilient element  62  and a second resilient element  64 , which has a hinged connection to the first resilient element. The bridge of the eyeglasses can be inserted in the opening  66  between the elements  62 ,  64  when the clip  60  is in the opened position as shown in  FIG. 6B . The clip can then be closed as shown in  FIG. 6A  by locking the first and second elements using a latch mechanism  68 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 7  illustrate a further alternate clip  70  in accordance with one or more embodiments. The clip  70  includes first and second resilient elements  72 ,  73  having a plurality of openings  74 ,  75 ,  76  therebetween to accommodate different sized bridges  77 ,  78 ,  79  (a portion of which are shown in the figure), respectively. In this way, a single clip can be used for different-sized eyeglass bridges. 
         [0021]      FIG. 8  discloses a further alternate clip  80  in accordance with one or more embodiments, which also includes a plurality of openings  82 ,  84 ,  86  configured to accommodate different-sized eyeglass bridges. 
         [0022]    The clip and glasses can be sold as a kit to consumers. For instance, one kit may contain several clips and pairs of glasses. Consumers can attach the clip directly to the back of the smart phone or other device or to a case for such device. The clip can be provided with a peel-off adhesive to allow users to quickly and easily attach the clip to the device. 
         [0023]    The reading glasses can be sold in a variety of magnifications. 
         [0024]    A significant advantage of having reading glasses clipped to smart phones or other electronic devices is that the glasses would be readily available to users at generally any time since people tend to constantly have their devices with them. The reading glasses could be worn when using the device or used for reading anything else. 
         [0025]    In addition, the presence of the clip on back of the electronic device reminds the device user to not forget to take glasses with them as many users often do. 
         [0026]    Having thus described several illustrative embodiments, it is to be appreciated that various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to form a part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. While some examples presented herein involve specific combinations of functions or structural elements, it should be understood that those functions and elements may be combined in other ways according to the present disclosure to accomplish the same or different objectives. In particular, acts, elements, and features discussed in connection with one embodiment are not intended to be excluded from similar or other roles in other embodiments. Additionally, elements and components described herein may be further divided into additional components or joined together to form fewer components for performing the same functions. 
         [0027]    Accordingly, the foregoing description and attached drawings are by way of example only, and are not intended to be limiting.