JP2004109741A - Spectacles with frames made of sheet metal - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing conveniently portable thin, lightweight and strong spectacle frames having a structure consisting of a few components and reduced in production cost and to provide spectacles assembled using the frames. <P>SOLUTION: In spectacles with metal frames, (1) a sheet metal is formed by blanking or cutting into lower rims, a bridge and temples united in one with slits in bendable parts which connect the temples to the lower rims and into upper rims parted right and left, (2) fitting engagement parts for lens fixation are disposed in the lower rims near the bridge and near the temples, fitting engagement parts for lens fixation are disposed in the upper rims at positions corresponding to the above fitting engagement parts for lens fixation, the lower rims and the upper rims are inserted in grooves cut in the peripheries of spectacle lenses, and the matching fitting engagement parts of the upper rims and the lower rims are fastened to fix the lenses. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to spectacles using a metal frame.
[0002]
[Prior art]
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-249988 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-304742 [0003]
Eyeglasses are composed of many parts. Although it depends on the type of spectacles, in general, the main components of the spectacles are the lens, the rim for fixing the lens, the bridge connecting the left and right lenses, the purpose of stabilizing the spectacles, and the edge of the spectacles (front frame) hits the nose When the pad that softens the touch, the pad foot that connects the pad and the front frame, the temple that stabilizes the glasses on the face, the chin that connects the temple and the front frame, and the temple end (the part that hangs on the ear) hits the ear And the hinges that make up the temple hinge mechanism. In order to connect the respective parts, various methods such as screwing, brazing, gluing, fitting, caulking, and anchoring are adopted depending on the parts and types of the glasses.
[0004]
The purpose of use of eyeglasses is essentially to correct eyesight, but there is no single purpose of use, such as for wearing fashionable glasses called Date Glasses or for protecting eyes from sun rays like sunglasses. To reduce the weight, reduce the number of parts, conversely, add decorative parts that are different from the original purpose of the glasses to produce luxuriousness, and remove the rim of the lens to widen the field of view, Various glasses are made for each purpose.
[0005]
By reducing the number of eyeglass parts, advantages such as cost reduction, weight reduction, and simplification of the assembly process can be obtained. Many low-cost glasses have a front frame (front frame) made of a synthetic resin and integrally formed with a rim and a bridge. “Integrated structure thin eyeglass front frame and manufacturing method by punching and twisting of the same eyeglass front frame” (Patent Document 1) aiming at a tough, thin and lightweight eyeglass front frame and streamlining the front frame manufacturing process. About the manufacturing method of the spectacle frame. In this patent, a front frame (a frame in which the right and left rims, bridges, and brackets are integrally formed) is manufactured by punching a metal plate. Similarly, a temple is manufactured by punching the same metal. The bracket is cut and the rim can be opened slightly up and down, the rim fits into the groove of the peripherally grooved lens, and the bracket is closed to secure the lens to the rim. Furthermore, the eyeglasses are assembled by being hinged to the temple with a bracket.
[0006]
In "Fiber reinforced material for spectacle frames and method for producing the same" (Patent Document 2), high-strength fibers are organized into a braid, and the entire spectacle frame (rim, bridge, temple) is integrally formed with the braid. It mentions a method for manufacturing spectacle frames.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Presbyopia progresses with age. Unlike myopia, presbyopia usually does not require spectacles (myopia also results in presbyopia, but here it is about hyperopia). Recently, there are also bifocal glasses, but usually there is resistance to always wearing glasses. When people are presbyopic, many people use loupe instead of spectacles only when looking at small letters and small details. However, as the frequency of hyperopia increases, it becomes inconvenient to use a loupe and one must use glasses. Unlike people with myopia, people with hyperopia who are not very advanced often only need to see characters and small details, so they carry their glasses like a mobile phone and carry around.
[0008]
It's not something you always wear, so forget it often. Even when at home, they are rarely carried from room to room. For this reason, it often happens that one eyeglass is misplaced and searched. Recently, the price of eyeglasses has become cheaper, and the number of people who use a plurality of eyeglasses in each place is increasing. For example, prepare some reading glasses for living room, study, bedroom, and portable. In this way, you don't have to go to another room to take your glasses and remember when you go out.
[0009]
The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a spectacle frame having a structure that is thin, light and durable, has few parts, and keeps production costs low so that it is convenient to carry, and spectacles assembled with the frame. It is to be.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 is a metal frame eyeglass, wherein (1) a metal thin plate is integrally formed with a lower rim, a bridge, and a temple, and the temple and the lower rim are bent. A slit is formed in the connecting portion, and the upper rim is formed by punching or cutting the left and right portions separately. (2) The lens fixing fitting locking portion is provided on the lower rim near the bridge and the temple, and A lens fixing fitting locking portion is provided at a position corresponding to the lens fixing fitting locking portion, and the lower rim and the upper rim are fitted into a groove of a spectacle lens having a groove formed on a peripheral edge. A thin metal frame spectacle characterized in that a lens is fixed by fitting a lower rim with a corresponding lens fixing fitting / locking portion.
[0011]
The invention described in claim 2 is the thin metal frame glasses according to claim 1, wherein a grooved nose pad is fitted and fixed to the lower rim.
[0012]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the thin metal frame glasses according to the first or second aspect, wherein the thin metal is a nickel titanium alloy.
[0013]
In the present invention, a thin metal is processed to reduce the number of parts, and to provide an eyeglass structure that does not require screwing, brazing, using an adhesive, or the like. For this purpose, the sheet metal is sheared, the lower rim, the bridge and the temple are integrally formed, and the upper rim for fixing the spectacle lens together with the lower rim is formed separately. As a method of shearing, a method such as punching (cutting press) of a metal plate or cutting (cutting by NC <numerical control> using a laser or the like) is used.
[0014]
The spectacle frame of the present invention is formed from a thin metal plate. There is a method of punching and cutting for molding. Parts to be cut from a metal plate when manufacturing one pair of glasses are composed of a total of three points: a main part in which a lower rim, a bridge, and a temple are integrated, and an upper rim (two points on the left and right) for fixing a lens. Since the lower rim is cut off in the form of a bridge, a connecting step between the bridge and the rim is unnecessary. Since the temple and the lower rim are also cut off integrally, there is no need for a rim lock or chin, and no step of connecting the rim and the temple is required.
[0015]
The upper rim is molded separately to make it easier to fix the lens. In order to stably fix the lens with the rim, a groove is formed in the periphery of the lens, the upper rim and the lower rim are fitted into the groove of the lens periphery, and the lens is fixed by pressing the upper rim and the lower rim. However, in this state, the upper rim and the lower rim are not fixed, so that the upper rim is provided with a fitting hole at both ends of the lower rim (two locations on the bridge side and the temple side, and a total of four locations on the left and right lower rims). Are provided at both ends thereof, and they are fitted so that the upper rim and the lower rim do not separate.
[0016]
The bridge is formed integrally with the lower rim. Because the bridge is made of metal, it can be painful if you keep it on your nose for a long time. Therefore, a nose pad can be attached along the peripheral shape of the bridge. There is a method of attaching a groove to the nose pad for insertion into the bridge, and inserting the groove into the edge of the bridge.
[0017]
The temple is formed integrally with the lower rim. The temple fixes the glasses to the face with the face in between by bending. It uses only the elastic force of metal, and when not in use (when removed from the face), it is folded by the elastic force (spring force of metal). That is, the portion where the slit connecting the temple and the lower rim is formed forms the spring hinge mechanism. Since the connecting portion between the temple and the lower rim is plate-shaped and twisting occurs when the temple is opened, some slits are provided in the connecting portion between the temple and the lower rim to make it easier to twist.
[0018]
The eyeglasses of the present invention are made as thin as possible when folded, and are convenient when carried or when they are closed. When assembled into eyeglasses, it is preferable that the temples overlap with the periphery of the upper rim. In other words, it is ideal that the temple, the upper rim, the lens, and the lower rim are designed to be arranged on the same plane without any gap in the folded state. For this purpose, the temple is sheared so that when the lens is fixed by the upper rim and the lower rim, the temple overlaps along the upper edge of the upper rim. As a result of the above-described shearing, when the temple is folded, the left and right temple ends come into contact with each other.
[0019]
Therefore, the temple is slightly shorter than ordinary glasses. The structure is such that the temple end is hung on a part of the earlobe, and the glasses are basically held on the face by sandwiching the face with the elastic force of metal. For this reason, if the metal portion directly hits the skin, the skin feels poor or becomes slippery. Therefore, the area corresponding to the temple's temple is formed wider, and furthermore, the inside is pierced, and the pad is inserted into the pierced portion. As the material of the pad, a synthetic resin such as rubber or silicone resin is used.
[0020]
Although various materials can be considered as the metal plate, a nickel titanium alloy (NT material) is suitable as a material that is durable and does not cause allergy even in a thin plate. NT material is also the most suitable material for achieving the gist of the present invention in that it is elastic, resistant to rust, and lightweight.
[0021]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing components of the thin metal frame glasses of the present invention. The lower rim 1, the temple 3, and the bridge 4 are integrally sheared from a thin metal plate, and the upper rim 2 is sheared from the same metal plate. As the shearing method, die cutting with a press or cutting with an NC can be used. Although not shown in this figure, the only other components necessary for the glasses are a temple pad and a lens. The nose pad 5 is a portion corresponding to the nose, and a nose pad made of a silicone resin is suitable in terms of softness. The temple pad is also made of the same material as the nose pad, and is inserted into the temple pad hole 320.
[0022]
The lens is fixed between the lower rim and the upper rim. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing how the lens is fixed to the rim. A groove 610 is carved along the periphery of the lens 6, the lower rim 1 is inserted into the groove below the lens, and the upper rim 2 is inserted into the groove above the lens. However, since the lens cannot be stably fixed in this state, convex portions 211 and 212 are provided at both ends of the upper rim, and slots 111 and 112 are provided at both ends of the lower rim. Part into the slot. As described above, the lens is stably fixed by the upper and lower rims.
[0023]
The temple 3 and the lower rim 1 are connected by a connecting portion 310. The connecting portion also serves as a hinge mechanism. In the state of a single metal plate, not only a force is exerted when opening and closing the temple, but also a load is applied to the metal due to twisting. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, a gap (slit-shaped hollow portion 330) is provided in the connecting portion that transitions from the lower rim to the temple, and crescent-shaped slits 311 and 312 are opened in the bent portion of the connecting portion. The outer slit 311 is structurally longer than the inner slit 312. FIG. 3 shows a state where the temple is opened. When the temple is opened, a force is applied to the connecting portion, but the cutout portion (slit portion) disperses and absorbs this force, so that the load applied to the connecting portion is reduced. Further, the temples are easily opened because of the slits. When the spectacles are worn on the face, the temple has a shape sandwiching the face by the elastic force of the metal, and the spectacles are stably mounted on the face. If you remove it from your face, it will return to its original shape with the elasticity of the metal. That is, the hinge mechanism formed by the connecting portion is a spring hinge mechanism using the elastic force of metal. FIG. 4 conceptually illustrates a state when the temple is opened. Although it depends on the material of the metal to be used, the temple 3 generally opens in a bow shape in the case of a thin metal having elasticity. When the temple is hung on the face in an open state and released, the temple is in a state of pressing the face at the position of the pad hole 320 (see FIG. 1).
[0024]
FIG. 5 is a completed view of the glasses of the present invention. The temple 3 is in a closed state (folded state), and the temple overlaps the upper rim 2 in a state of being in contact with the periphery. That is, in a state where the temple is closed, the thickness of the spectacles becomes extremely thin, which is only the thickness of the metal plate and the lens. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the groove 111 of FIG. 5. The convex portion 211 of the upper rim 2 is bent at a right angle and inserted into the groove 111 so that the upper rim does not come off. Since the rim is fitted in the groove of the lens, the lens can be sufficiently fixed stably even with this. To make it stronger, the upper rim and the lower rim are completely fixed by making the protrusion slightly longer as shown in FIG. 7 and bending the portion protruding from the slot. When the NK material is used as the metal plate, the thickness of about 0.2 mm (thickness of a prepaid card) can sufficiently maintain the strength, and therefore, the protrusion in FIG. 7 does not matter.
[0025]
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view when the lens is cut substantially at the center in FIG. The lower rim 1 and the upper rim 2 are fitted in grooves 610 cut in the periphery of the lens 6, and the temple 3 is in contact with the upper rim 2. It is preferable to design the temple and the upper rim such that the temple and the upper rim come into contact with each other at all parts, but a slight gap may be opened depending on the part.
[0026]
In FIG. 5, a nose pad 5 and a temple pad 321 are portions that contact the skin, and are components made of a material such as rubber or synthetic resin. In the present invention, a silicone resin is suitable. As can be seen, the temples are shorter than normal glasses. Therefore, rather than putting the temple on the ear and stabilizing it, the face (around the temple) is worn by the elastic force of the metal. In order to fix the eyeglasses to the face at the three points of the left and right temple pads and the nose pad, it is preferable to design the temple pad holes to be large and increase the frictional force. Further, the above-mentioned silicone resin is suitable as a material that softens the contact with the skin and generates a frictional force.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
The thin metal frame glasses of the present invention are characterized in that they have a small number of parts, and are small, light and thin. The number of parts is one point for the lower rim temple bridge, two points for the left and right upper rims, two points for the left and right lenses, one point for the nose pad, and two points for the left and right temple pads, for a total of eight points. The former three points, that is, the spectacle frame is formed by one metal plate, so mass production is easy by punching or cutting. Since the assembly of the parts is only fixing by fixing the left and right lenses, fitting the nose pad and the left and right temple pads, there is no need for screwing, brazing, caulking, joining with adhesive, so the glasses are easily assembled Can do it (it is possible for an amateur to purchase only parts and assemble glasses). The hinge mechanism for opening and closing the temple is also a simple one that utilizes the elasticity of metal, so no hinges or screws are required. For this reason, very lightweight and low-cost glasses can be provided to customers.
[0028]
When a nickel titanium alloy (NT alloy) is used as the metal plate, sufficient strength can be maintained even with a plate thickness of about 0.2 mm. Moreover, because of its high elasticity, the connecting portion of the frame in which the lower rim and the temple are cut out integrally can be used as a spring hinge mechanism. When the temple is closed, the temple comes into contact with the upper rim, and the left and right temple ends come into contact with each other, so that compact glasses like a loupe are obtained. The thickness of the glasses is extremely thin, only the thickness of the lens and metal plate (basically the thickness of the lens is the maximum thickness), making them compact, lightweight and portable.
[0029]
As mentioned earlier, there is no inconvenience for people with presbyopia without wearing glasses. If it gets in the way, it's hard to read with glasses. For this reason, reading glasses are often misplaced. I often use it at home, leave it at home, and go out without glasses and struggle. To solve this problem, people with presbyopia have multiple glasses and decide to use them anywhere in the house or out. Since the thin metal frame glasses of the present invention are inexpensive, even if a plurality of them are purchased, the economic burden is small, and it is possible to purchase a plurality of them and place them for each place. Also, since they are ultra-thin, small and lightweight glasses, they can be kept out of the way even if they are left in their bags. The metal frame is durable and rarely breaks easily at the hinges, as is the case with inexpensive plastic eyeglasses, which are widely available recently. Another advantage of the thin metal frame eyeglasses of the present invention is that they can be used easily as a loupe and can be used as eyeglasses.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view for explaining a thin metal frame spectacle part of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining a method of fixing a lens with a lower rim and an upper rim of thin metal frame glasses according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining a hinge mechanism of the thin metal frame glasses of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a plan view (a diagram showing only a skeleton) for explaining a temple shape when the temple of the thin metal frame glasses of the present invention is opened.
FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining a completed state of the thin metal frame glasses of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining how to fix the upper rim to the lower rim in the thin metal frame glasses of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining how to fix the upper rim to the lower rim in the thin metal frame glasses of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the thin metal frame spectacles according to the present invention when the temple is closed and cut near the center of the lens.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Lower rim 111 Slot 112 Slot 2 Upper rim 211 Convex part 212 Convex part 3 Temple 310 Connection part (hinge part)
311 slit 312 slit 320 pad hole (cavity)
321 pad (pad for temple)
330 Slit-shaped cavity 4 Bridge 5 Nose pad 6 Lens 610 Groove (lens peripheral groove)

Claims (3)

In metal frame glasses,
(1) A metal thin plate is formed by integrally punching or cutting the lower rim, bridge, and temple, and slits at the bent connection portion between the temple and the lower rim, and the upper rim is separated left and right,
(2) The lower rim is provided with a lens fixing fitting locking portion near the bridge and the temple, and the upper rim is provided with a lens fixing fitting locking portion at a position corresponding to the lens fixing fitting locking portion. The lower rim and the upper rim were fitted into the groove of the spectacle lens having a groove formed on the periphery, and the lens was fixed by fitting the upper rim and the lower rim with the corresponding lens fixing fitting locking portions. A thin metal frame spectacle characterized in that: The thin metal frame glasses according to claim 1, wherein a grooved nose pad is fitted and fixed to the lower rim. 3. The thin metal frame glasses according to claim 1, wherein the thin metal is a nickel titanium alloy.

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