Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title: AUXILIARY LENS UNITS FOR EYEGLASSES
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention peri:ains to eyeglasses and in particular
to auxiliary lens units that may be detachably mounted to eyeglasses.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is known for prescription eyeglasses to be fitted with
detachable auxiliary lens units that are tinted for protection against the
sun. The auxiliary lens units are typically mounted to the eyeglasses with
clips and/or magnets. For instance, U.~S. patent 5,568,207 (Chao) discloses
an eyeglass device with auxiliary lenses having arms that rest on the upper
surface of side portions of the primary lenses. The arms are equipped with
magnets for engaging corresponding magnets located on the primary
lenses. U.S. patent 5,737,054 (Chao) discloses an eyeglass device with
auxiliary lenses having a middle bridge portion that extends over the
bridge of the primary lenses. Corresponding magnets are disposed in the
bridge and middle bridge portion to secure the respective members
together.
There is a need for an unproved eyeglass device in which
auxiliary lens units may be easily fitted to primary lens units in an
aesthetically pleasing manner where the auxiliary lens units are supported
against movement relative to the primary lens units.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the present invention provides an eyeglass
device comprising:
a primary lens unit for supporting at least one lens, said
primary lens unit having a pair of nose pad supports for supporting nose
pads;
an auxiliary lens unit for supporting at least one lens, said
auxiliary lens unit having a pair of connector arms for engaging said pair
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of nose pad supports; and
at least one attachment device disposed in at least one of said
pair of said nose pad supports and said pair of said connector arms to
detachably secure said auxiliary lens unit on said primary lens unit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
For a better understanding of the present invention, and to
show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be
made by way of example to the accompanying drawings.
Fig. 1 is a front view of the eyeglass device in accordance with
the present invention showing the auxiliary lens unit detached from the
primary lens unit;
Fig. 2 is a top view of the eyeglass device of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a front view of the eyeglass device of Fig. 1 showing
the auxiliary lens unit attached to the primary lens unit;
Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the eyeglass device as viewed
along lines 4-4 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a partial rear view of the nose pad and nose pad
support as viewed along direction arrow 5 of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the eyeglass device as viewed
along lines 6-6 of Fig. 2;
Fig. 7 is a front view of a second embodiment of an eyeglass
device in accordance with the present invention showing the auxiliary
lens unit attached to the primary lens unit;
Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the auxiliary lens unit for the
eyeglass device of Fig. 7 as viewed along lines 8-8; and
Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the eyeglass device of Fig. 7 as
viewed along lines 8-8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
An eyeglass device in accordance with the present invention
is shown generally at 20 in the figures. The eyeglass device includes a
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primary lens unit 22 and an auxiliary lens unit 24.
The description includes directional terms such as "upper",
"lower", "front" and "rear" and variations thereof to refer to elements of
the eyeglass device 20. These terms should be understood to relate to the
orientation of the eyeglass device when it is worn on the head of a user.
Thus, "upper" refers to a surface that faces generally toward the sky and
"lower" refers to a surface that faces generally toward the ground. "Rear"
refers to a surface that faces generally toward the back of the user's head
and "front" refers to a surface that faces generally away from the user's
face.
Referring to Figures 1 to 5, the primary lens unit 22 includes
lenses 26 that are typically prescription lenses to aid a person's eyesight.
The lenses 26 are supported by rims 28 spanned by a bridge 30. A side
extension member 32 extends from each side of the primary lens unit 22.
Each side extension member 32 has a laterally extending portion 34 and a
rearwardly extending portion 36. Temple arms 38 are pivotally mounted
with a hinge 40 to the rearwardly extending portion 36.
Located below the bridge 30 are nose pads 42 supported by
nose pad supports 44. Nose pad supports 44 are either integrally formed
with rims 28 or mounted to rims 28 by fasteners 46 such as solder, welds,
glue or screw fasteners as known in the art. Nose pad 42 preferably has a
neck 48 that is either integrally formed with the nose pad 42 or that is
separately formed and mounted to or embedded partially within the nose
pad 42 as known in the art. The neck 48 is received within a
corresponding collar 50 located on the nose pad support 44. A fastener 51
such as a screw fastener or pin extends from one side of the collar 50 to the
other side through the neck 48 to pivotally support the nose pad 42 on the
nose pad support 44. In this manner, the nose pad 42 may pivot into a
position where it sits comfortably against the surface of a person's nose.
Alternatively, nose pad 42 is integrally formed with nose pad support 44.
Referring to Fig. 4, it may be seen that nose pad support 44 is
modified from a conventional nose pad support to include a magnet 52.
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The nose pad support 44 may be integrally formed with a housing 54 to
receive magnet 52. Alternatively, magnet 52 may be attached to nose pad
support 44 with a fastener (not shown) such as solder, welds or glue.
Magnet 52 is oriented to face generally outwardly relative to a person's
nose (i.e. the direction opposite to the nose pad 42) in order to receive a
corresponding magnet located on the auxiliary lens unit 24 as discussed
below.
The auxiliary lens unit 24 includes lenses 60 that are typically
tinted to protect a person's eyes against the sun. The lenses 60 are
supported in rims 62 that are spanned by a bridge 64. Side extension
members 66 are provided to bear against the upper surface of side
extension members 32 located on the primary lens unit 22.
Connector arms 68 extend :rearwardly and downwardly from
the rims 62 of the auxiliary lens unit 24 below the bridge 64. Magnets 70
are disposed at the terminal end of connector arms 68 facing inwardly
toward a person's nose for engaging magnets 52 on the primary lens unit
22. The magnets 52 and 70 are so positioned as to maintain attractive
contact with each other when the auxiliary lens unit 24 is fitted to the
primary lens unit 22 to secure the units 22, 24 together. Further support
for the auxiliary lens unit 24 may be provided by the side extension
members 66 bearing on top of the side extension members 32 of the
primary lens unit.
Referring to Figs. 7 to 9, a second embodiment of the eyeglass
device 20 is shown. For convenience, the same reference numerals have
been given to structural elements corresponding to the elements of the
first embodiment described above.
In the second embodiment of the eyeglass device 20, the
connector arms 70 are positioned higher on the auxiliary lens unit 24 such
that the arms extend over the bridge 3CI of the primary lens unit 22 and
bear against the upper surface of the bridge 30 while the magnets 72 engage
the magnets 52 to secure the primary and auxiliary lens units 22, 24
together. In this embodiment, the auxiliary lens unit 24 does not include
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side extension members 66.
It is to be understood that what has been described are
preferred embodiments to the invention. The invention nonetheless is
susceptible to certain changes and alternative embodiments fully
comprehended by the spirit of the invention as described above, and the
scope of the claims set out below. For instance, magnets 52 and 70 may be
replaced with mechanical attachment devices such as corresponding
resilient tabs and recesses on the respective nose pad supports 44 and
connection arms 68. The mechanical attachment devices would permit a
"snap fit" attachment that may be detached by applying a sufficient upward
force upon the auxiliary lens unit 24.
