BANDE DE RETENUE DE LUNETTES RETRACTABLE

RETRACTABLE EYEWEAR RETAINING STRAP ASSEMBLY

Abrégé anglais

A retractable eyewear retaining strap assembly consisting of a strap and a
hollow
eyewear temple for containing the strap, a strap retaining block to which the
strap is
attached positioned within the temple and arranged to slide along the temple,
an elastic
member such as an extendable spring connected between the block and the
eyewear end
of the temple and fastening means attached to the strap at the temple end for
fastening the
withdrawn strap to the eyewear. A block locking device is provided to secure
the block at
a desired position along the temple, particularly at one end or the other. The
strap is
withdrawn by releasing the block at the eyewear end of the temple and
retracted by
releasing the block at the temple end.

Revendications

-6-
What is claimed is:
1. A retractable eyewear retaining strap assembly for an eyewear frame
comprising in combination:
A. a hollow temple having a strap receiving end and an eyewear
frame attachable end hingeably attachable to said frame;
B. a strap securing block member slideably disposed within said
temple;
C. an eyewear retaining strap disposed within said temple and
connected to said block member, said strap withdrawable from said
hollow temple at said strap receiving end;
D. an elastic member disposed within said temple connected
between said block member and said temple eyewear frame
attachable end;
E. fastening means attached to said eyewear retaining strap, said
fastening means attachable to said eyewear; and
F. lock means for securing said block member at a selected
position within said temple whereby said strap may be withdrawn
from said temple and secured behind the head of an eyewear user
to said eyewear.
2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said elastic member comprises an
extendable spring.
3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said strap is elastic.
4. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said strap is inelastic.
5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said lock means comprises a spring
biased ball disposed in said block member, said ball arranged to seat
within a recess disposed in said temple.
6. The assembly of claim 1 further including strap securing means
disposed between said strap and said fastening means, said strap
securing means arranged to fit into said temple at said strap receiving
end.

-7-
7. The assembly of claim 6 wherein said strap securing means comprises
a second block arranged to fit within said temple, said second block
having a spring biased ball arranged to seat within a recess disposed in
said temple.
8. Eyewear comprising in combination:
A. an eyewear frame for containing a pair of lenses;
B. a pair of hollow temples each having a strap receiving end and
an eyewear frame attachable end, one each hingeably attached to
an opposite side of said eyewear frame at said eyewear frame
attachable end;
C. a strap securing block member slideably disposed within each
said temples;
D. an eyewear retaining strap disposed within each of said temples
and connected one each to each of said block members, said straps
withdrawable from said hollow temples at said strap receiving
ends;
E. an elastic member disposed within each of said temples
connected one each between each of said block members and said
temple attachable ends;
F. fastening means attached to each of said eyewear retaining
straps, said fastening means attachable to one another; and
G. lock means for securing each of said block members at a
selected position within each of said temples whereby each of said
straps may be withdrawn from said temples and secured to one
another behind the head of an eyewear user.
9. The assembly of claim 8 wherein said elastic members comprise an
extendable spring.
10. The assembly of claim 8 wherein at least one of said straps is elastic.
11. The assembly of claim 8 wherein at least one of said straps is inelastic.

-8-
12. The assembly of claim 8 wherein said lock means comprises a spring
biased ball disposed in each of said block members, said ball arranged
to seat within a recess disposed in each of said temples.
13. The assembly of claim 8 further including strap securing means
disposed between said straps and said fastening means, said strap
securing means arranged to fit into said temples at said strap receiving
ends.
14. The assembly of claim 13 wherein said strap securing means
comprises a second block arranged to fit within said temple, said
second block having a spring biased ball arranged to seat within a
recess disposed in said temple.

Description

CA 02492184 2005-O1-07
-1-
Retractable Eyewear Retaining Strap Assembly
Cross Reference to Related Applications
This application is based on the disclosure of Provisional Application
Serial No. 60/457,133, filed March 25, 2003 which is hereby incorporated by
reference.
Background of the Invention
Field of the Invention: The invention relates to devices for securing eyewear
to
the body of a wearer and more particularly relates to retaining straps
connected to
eyewear temple members for holding eyewear in place about the head or neck.
Description of the prior art: Retaining straps for eyewear or eyeglasses are
well
known in the prior art. Simple string type retainers having loops at each end
to engage
eyewear temples are readily available. These devices are usually inelastic and
are
designed to allow the eyewear to be worn about the neck when removed from the
head.
Elastic retainers are also sold for use in sports activities to keep the
eyewear securely
attached to the head. Both of the prior art types of elastic and inelastic
retainers are
separate units which remain external to the eyewear unless removed.
LJ.S. Patent No. 4,479,703, Enghofer, discloses a retaining assembly wherein
the
retaining straps are elastic and retract of there own elasticity into hollow
temples. As both
of the straps are elastic, this approach does not provide for a passive
retractable strap
which will allow the eyewear to hang loosely when not worn on the head.
In contrast, the present invention provides a retractable assembly for both
elastic
and inelastic straps so that both an active mode, i.e., secured to the head,
and passive
mode are available. Additionally, the invention allows the straps to be
completely
retracted when neither form of use is desired.
Summary of the Invention
The invention may be summarized as an assembly which provides a retractable
retaining strap for head worn eyewear. By eyewear is meant any framelike
device which
contains, holds, or supports transparent, clear, colored, and/or corrective
lens structures,

CA 02492184 2005-O1-07
. , _2_
which frame is supported on the head by the use of temples that fit over the
ears. Items
such as sunglasses, sight correcting eyeglasses, and safety glasses are all
included in the
class of eyewear for which the invention is appropriate.
'the assembly is composed of a hollow temple which contains a retractable
retaining strap, a block slideably disposed in the temple to which the strap
is attached,
and an elastic member such as an extendable spring. The elastic member is
positioned
between and attached to the block and frame end of the temple.
A locking device is provided to secure the block in the temple at a selected
position along the length of the temple, in particular, at each end of the
temple. A
fastening arrangement is located at the end of each strap opposite the strap
end secured to
the block which fastens the strap to another portion of the eyewear, for
example, an
opposite temple or strap end .
'The strap disposed in the hollow temple may be either inelastic or
stretchable
allowing combinations of strap length and retaining tension at the option of
the wearer.
For example, if a pair of strap containing temples are provided either as
substitutes for
temples of previously acquired eyewear or as part of a complete eyewear
assembly, one
temple may contain an elastic strap and the other, an inelastic strap. The
straps are
separately withdrawn by releasing the block at the frame end and relocking at
the
opposite or temple end adjacent to the ear. Means may also be provided at the
temple end
to further secure the strap within the temple when not in use, This may
include a second
lockable block or a force fit assembly attached to the strap fastenable end
With both straps retracted, the eyewear is in a normal state without the
retaining
feature of the invention. When the elastic strap only is withdrawn and
fastened, the
eyewear will be retained about the head. When the inelastic strap only or both
the
inelastic and elastic straps are withdrawn and coupled, the eyewear may be
held about the
neck or on the forehead.
These, and other features and advantages of the invention will become more
evident from the description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with
the
drawings which follows.

CA 02492184 2005-O1-07
-3-
Description of the Drawings
Fig. 1 is a partially cut away perspective view of the preferred embodiment of
the
invention in a first configuration of use;
Fig. 2 is the view of Fig. l in a second configuration of use;
Fig. 3 is the view of Fig. 1 in a third configuration of use;
Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of the structural arrangement of Fig. 1;
Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of the structural arrangement of Fig. 2;
Fig. 6 is a schematic representation of the structural arrangement of Fig. 3;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a component of Fig. l; and
Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the component of Fig. 7.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Keferring first to Fig. 1, there is shown a partially cutaway perspective view
of the
preferred embodiment of the invention. Eyewear 10, a pair of sunglasses for
example,
consists of frame 12 supporting lenses 14 and 16 and a pair of hollow temples
18 and 20
secured to frame 12 by hinges 22 and 24 respectively. Disposed within temple
18 are
sliding block 26, spring 28 or similar such elastic or extendable device
mounted between
block 26 and temple frame end 30, and inelastic retaining strap 32. Disposed
within
temple 20 are sliding block 34, spring 36 or similar such elastic or
extendable device
mounted between block 34 and temple frame end 38, and elastic retaining strap
40.
In addition to being inelastic or stretchable, straps 32 and 40 may be
constrained
to a particular size or diameter which fits within the temples or may be
composed of a
sheet material which expands upon removal and then furls or folds up upon
retraction.
Blocks 26 and 34 have depressable spring biased balls 27 and 35 respectively
which seat in temple recesses 29 and 37 respectively for locking blocks 26 and
34 at the
frame ends of the temples.
At the end of each strap is attached a fastening arrangement shown as clasp
member 42 for strap 32 and clasp member 44 for strap 40. As illustrated, the
fastening
arrangement consists of mating male and female blocks employing a spring
biased ball
46 in male block 44 which ball seats into recess 48 in female block 42 upon
connection.
Other fastening arrangements such as a hook and eye may also be used.

CA 02492184 2005-O1-07
-4-
When the retaining straps are retracted into the temple by the force of
springs 28
and 36 as is shown in Fig. 1, an arrangement may be provided to further secure
the straps
fastenable ends inside the temples. For example, a lockable block 50 or 52
having
depressable a spring biased ball 54 or 56 seating in recesses 58 or 60 in the
respective
temples 18 or 20 will provide a means for preventing the strap from being
removed
without first releasing block 50 or 52 by depressing ball 54 or 56. Similarly,
clasp
members 42 and 44 may have extensions which tightly press into the temple
ends.
Referring next to Fig. 2, the same embodiment as that of Fig. 1 is illustrated
in a
condition of use wherein eyewear 10 is held in place on the head by
withdrawing elastic
strap 40 from temple 20. This is accomplished by first depressing ball 56 in
block 52 to
release the temple or fastening end of the strap from its secure position as
described
above. Then ball 35 is depressed in block 34 to allow block 34 to slide within
temple 20
to the end where it will relock by seating ball 35 in the same recess 60 as
held ball 56 of
block 52.
Strap 40 is fastened to the opposite side of the eyewear around the head by
the
fastening arrangement of engaging mating blocks 44 and 48 as described above.
As
shown, spring 36 is fully extended and will retract strap 40 into temple 20
when the
fastening or catch arrangement is disengaged and block 34 is released by
depressing
ball 35.
Fig. 3. shows an additional condition of use which allows the eyewear to be
removed from the eye position and hang loose over the neck or up on the
forehead. This
involves the removal of the additional inelastic strap 32 from temple 18 by
the same
procedure used to withdraw strap 40. First release the temple or the
fastenable end of the
strap from its secure position by depressing ball 54 in block 50 and then
depressing
ball 27 in block 26. This allows block 26 to slide within temple 18 to the end
where it
reseats in recess 58 locking strap 32 in the withdrawn position. The strap is
then fastened
as in the description of Fig. 2. Spring 28 will retract strap 32 when the
procedure is
reversed.
Referring next to Figs. 4, 5, and 6, schematic representations of Pigs. 1, 2,
and 3
are presented to further illustrate the position of the components of the
invention in the

CA 02492184 2005-O1-07
-5-
various conditions of use described above. All views are looking forward
through the
lenses and all numerical identifications are exactly the same as previously
described.
Fig. 7 is a perspective illustration of the form of block component disposed
inside
the temples at each end for the purpose of securing the straps in place,
either extended or
retracted. Block 62, a thin walled structure comprised, for example, of
plastic, is arranged
to fit within the hollow temples of the invention. The bottom 64 and top 66
are open to
provide access for the insertion of balls 68 and 70 biased by spring 72 into
recesses 74
and 76 in walls 78 and 80.
In use, balls 68 and 70 fit into corresponding recesses in the temples
preventing
the movement of the block until the balls are depressed. The balls reseat when
the block
is slid or replaced in a chosen position. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional
illustration of the block
of Fig. 7 further clarifying the structure of the block.
As variations in the above described preferred embodiment may be made within
the general concept of the disclosure, the invention is accordingly defined by
the
following claims.

Dessin représentatif