IMPROVE- MENTS IN SPECTACLES
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Willington, at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 8th February
1860.
I, HENRY WILLINGTON, of Sumner Place, Brompton, in the County of
Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SPECTACLES," to be as follows:-
This Invention consists, first, in an improved method of connecting the
frames of spectacles with the head of the wearer, also in connecting occasional
glasses to the face.
Secondly in adapting thereto, or separately, a certain extra piece of metal
that shall fall down the line of the nose, the purpose of this said extra piece
is to get rid of that glazing and imperfect figure in writing and reading we
experience at first looking at the subject. It is supposed by the Inventor
that unequal vision takes place with the two eyes, and that consequently the
act of sight not being truly a binocular effect, the picture or image is not
distinctly portrayed to the mind until the subject is cleared by an effort or
straining of the eyes; then one eye takes upon itself the labour, and a single
figure or letter with perfect contour appears, as this effort must necessarily
curtail the field of vision by limiting it to one eye, and in due time more and
more make the inequality increase, it follows the sight grows weaker. The
Inventor conceives this defect to arise from a want of power to converge the
eyes equally, and in proper axis one to the other, so that each eye sees an

page_text: equal half of the contour of a small object or figure at the same moment, which
cannot be the case if one eye converge more than the other, for the result
would then be too much convergence of one eye, and owing to the want of a
full impression on the retina of the other, too much divergence. In point of
fact one eye crosses too much its axis of vision over the nose, and the other
diverges. Therefore it has been found by this simple addition proposed to
spectacles or frames or otherwise to fall down the line of the nose that a better
convergence and more equal convergence of the two eyes takes place, and in
the act of reading or writing the straining effort so common to every one is
removed, and the act of reading or writing made easy and agreeable.
As regards the improved method of connecting the frames of spectacles and
eye glases to the head and face of the wearer, it is proposed to effect this by
forming the hinged side springs or cheek pieces (intended to embrace the
head) by such certain alterations as will be calculated to make them exercise
a pressure of their own; or, the chief principle in the improvement a stud or
some loose or separate piece of material attached to the extremities of the side
springs or cheek pieces; that is to say, firstly, a.stud or other loose body will
be attached to the extremities of the sides or cheek pieces of the spectacles, and
will be covered with some material like vulcanized rubber or gutta percha, or
anything promoting a closer adhesion to the surface of the flesh in order to
gain a purchase, or the stud may be carved or altered by perforations or rough-
ing so as to procure the same result. The said studs or loose pieces, as the
sockets to balls or other projecting pieces, will receive the pressure of the side
springs or cheek pieces, by which they will adhere with sufficient firmness to
the flesh of the wearer as to support the spectacles with security and ease.
Secondly. I propose to make the cheek pieces of spectacle frames to adapt
themselves to exercising a particular pressure on the studs or loose pieces, by
twisting or turning them with such curves and incurvations as will give them
a power of their own, in part I propose also to alter their length and shape,
as to enable them to touch such parts of the sides of the head of the wearer
as will be most suitable. I propose to apply such studs to the use of eye
glasses, and cause them to receive the weight and pressure of the glasses and
the bridge spring or connecting pièce which was and is usually thrown on the
edge of the eye pieces, painfully to the wearer, and unsteadily for the sight, and
insecure, owing to the inequalities of the nasal surfaces. In this case the
studs will apply themselves, by a pressure that oscillates, to the inequalities of
the nose with certainty, steadiness, and ease to the wearer. Furthermore cer-
tain other alterations will be made in the cross spring or piece of the occa-

page_text: sional eye glasses, so that more fully to apply this principle by obtaining a ful-
crum in the central part of the nose or bridge spring or piece, by carrying the
two ends one over the other, creating a central ring which will be an equal
fulcrum to each eye piece, in distributing pressure through them upon
the studs, also by otherwise altering and adapting joints. or the better folding
of them.