This is a Continuation-In-Part of application Ser. No. 09/458,711 filed on Dec. 13, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,179.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and a device for coupling spectacles and clip-on sunshades with each other, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and a device for coupling spectacles and clip-on sunshades with each other, which enable sunglasses referred to as “clip-on sunshades” not having arms to be detachably coupled to spectacles.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, spectacles are used for the purpose of enhancing the eyesight of a person who has defective vision. Sunglasses help to protect the eyes from strong light which may cause damage to the eyes. Ordinary spectacles comprise lens frames connected together at their inner ends by a nose frame, lenses fitted into respective lens frames, and arms mounted to outer ends of the lens frames through hinges.

Eyesight is divided into normal eyesight, nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. If incoming parallel lights are imaged such that an image is focused in front of the retina, nearsightedness (myopia) exists, whereby an observer can properly view close objects, but has a poor view of distant objects. By utilizing concave lenses within spectacles, nearsightedness can be adequately corrected. If incoming parallel lights are imaged such that an image is focused behind the retina, farsightedness (hyperopia) exists, whereby an observer has a poor view of close objects, but can properly view distant objects. In the case of astigmatism, due to the fact that a spherical surface of the eyeball, especially the cornea, is not even, incoming parallel lights cannot be focused directly to a point on the retina, whereby an observer cannot properly focus his eyesight.

While, as described above, spectacles are used for enhancing the eyesight of a person who has defective vision, in hot summer weather when ultraviolet rays dominate, a spectacle wearer requires sunglasses with corrective lenses.

In other words, unlike non-prescription sunglasses which are worn by persons who do not have vision defects, in the case of persons who wear spectacles due to an ocular refractive error, separate sunglasses having vision-corrective lenses of a power which corresponds to that of the user's normal spectacle lenses must be used, which can be expensive.

To cope with this problem, clip-on sunshades which do not have arms and to which tinted lenses are mounted, are attached in front of the spectacles, thereby rendering the same vision enhancing effect as can be achieved by wearing conventional vision-corrective sunglasses having arms.

Referring to

FIG. 9

, there is shown a cross-sectional view illustrating a state wherein spectacles and clip-on sunshades according to the conventional art are coupled with each other. The spectacles

10

have first lens frames

2

which are connected together at their inner ends by a first nose frame

3

, lenses

1

which are fitted into respective first lens frames

2

, and arms

4

which are mounted to outer ends of the first lens frames

2

through hinges

5

. The clip-on sunshades

20

have second lens frames

22

which are connected together at their inner ends by a second nose frame

23

, and tinted lenses

21

which are fitted into respective second lens frames

22

.

In order to couple the spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

with each other, the first nose frame

3

of the spectacles

10

and the second nose frame

23

of the clip-on sunshades

20

are formed with accommodating grooves

25

and

26

, respectively, and permanent magnets

27

and

28

are inserted into the accommodating grooves

25

and

26

, respectively, whereby the clip-on sunshades

20

are stably coupled to the spectacles

10

by virtue of magnetic force of the permanent magnets

27

and

28

.

However, the above-described coupling structure between the spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

suffers from defects in that, since the accommodating grooves

25

and

26

for receiving the permanent magnets

27

and

28

must be defined in the spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

, respectively, sizes of the first and second nose frames

3

and

23

are enlarged, and limitations are imposed on design freedom for the spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

. Moreover, due to weight of the first and second nose frames

3

and

23

and the permanent magnets

27

and

28

which have enlarged sizes, the entire weight of the combination including the spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

is increased, and wearing comfort is reduced.

In addition, due to the fact that the permanent magnets

27

and

28

should be mounted to the first and second nose frames

3

and

23

of the spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

, respectively, assembly operations must be carefully performed while paying attention to directional characteristics of the permanent magnets

27

and

28

which depend upon magnetic poles, increasing the difficulty of assembly and reducing productivity. In the worst case, if the permanent magnets

27

and

28

are misassembled, it is impossible to couple the clip-on sunshades

20

to the spectacles

10

.

In particular, as shown in

FIG. 10

which is a view illustrating magnetic flux distribution between the spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

, in the case that the spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

are coupled with each other using the pair of permanent magnets

26

,

27

and

28

, the North and South poles N and S of the permanent magnets

26

,

27

and

28

, which adjoin to each other, are properly coupled with each other by attractive force generated therebetween. However, because magnetic force which is generated in the North and South poles N and S of the permanent magnets

26

,

27

are maintained in an opened status, the magnetic force is dissipated and lost to the outside, whereby coupling force between spectacles

10

and the clip-on sunshades

20

is significantly reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in an effort to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method and a device for coupling spectacles and clip-on sung-shades with each other, which enables the spectacles and clip-on sunshades to be easily coupled with each other, simplifies manufacturing and assembling procedures of coupling means, reduces costs of the spectacles and clip-on sunshades, and enlarges freedom in designing spectacles and clip-on sunshades. The present invention also enhances productivity and quality of the spectacles and clip-on sunshades, preventing the clip-on sunshades coupled to the spectacles from being undesirably uncoupled from the spectacles and improving user convenience.

In order to achieve the above objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for coupling spectacles and clip-on sunshades with each other, the spectacles having first lens frames connected together at their inner ends by a first nose frame, lenses fitted into respective first lens frames and arms mounted to outer ends of the first lens frames through hinges, the clip-on sunshades having second lens frames connected together at their inner ends by a second nose frame and tinted lenses fitted into respective second lens frames. The device includes a permanent magnet mounted to or otherwise part of either one of the spectacles or the clip-on sunshades at a predetermined position, and a soft magnetic member mounted to or otherwise part of the other of the spectacles or the clip-on sunshades at a preset position in a manner such that the soft magnetic member can be mated with the permanent magnet thereby coupling the spectacles and the clip-on sunshades with each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1

is an exploded perspective view illustrating spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A—A of

FIG. 1

, illustrating a state wherein the spectacles and the clip-on sunshades are coupled with each other;

FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state wherein spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention are coupled with each other;

FIGS. 4A and 4B

are enlarged cross-sectional views each illustrating a state wherein spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention are coupled with each other;

FIG. 5

is a view illustrating magnetic flux distribution between the spectacles and the clip-on sunshades which are coupled with each other in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6

is an exploded partial perspective view illustrating spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7

is an exploded partial perspective view illustrating spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with other embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8

is an exploded partial perspective view illustrating spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with other embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9

is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state wherein spectacles and clip-on sunshades according to the conventional art are coupled with each other;

FIG. 10

is a view illustrating magnetic flux distribution between the spectacles and the clip-on sunshades which are coupled with each other according to the conventional art;

FIG. 11

is an exploded perspective view illustrating spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 12

is an perspective view of the magnetic connection between the spectacles and the clip-on sunshades as coupled together in accordance with the embodiment of FIG.

11

.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerable will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1

is an exploded perspective view illustrating spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2

is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A—A of

FIG. 1

, illustrating a state wherein the spectacles and the clip-on sunshades are coupled with each other.

FIG. 3

is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state wherein spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention are coupled with each other.

FIGS. 4A and 4B

are enlarged cross-sectional views each illustrating a state wherein spectacles and clip-on sunshades in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention are coupled with each other.

FIG. 5

is a view illustrating magnetic flux distribution between the spectacles and the clip-on sunshades which are coupled with each other in accordance with the present invention.

The spectacles

100

have first lens frames

102

which are connected together at their inner ends by a first nose frame

103

, lenses

101

which are fitted into respective first lens frames

102

, and arms

104

which are mounted to outer ends of the first lens frames

102

through hinges

105

. The clip-on sunshades

150

have second lens frames

152

which are connected together at their inner ends by a second nose frame

153

, and tinted lenses

151

which are fitted into respective second lens frames

152

.

In the present invention, the spectacles

100

and the clip-on sunshades

150

are coupled with each other by using soft magnetic members and permanent magnets. For this, as shown in

FIGS. 1 and 2

, a permanent magnet

200

is mounted to or otherwise part of the first nose frame

103

of the spectacles

100

, and a thin plate-shaped soft magnetic member

210

constitutes the second nose frame

153

of the clip-on sunshades

150

, whereby the spectacles

100

and the clip-on sunshades

150

may be coupled with each other. In this invention, soft magnetic member means metal material which acts with and adheres onto a magnet such as iron-based metal, nickel-based metal, etc. In preferred embodiments, such soft magnetic material may be embodied as Permalloy®, pure iron, carbon steel, low alloy steel or ferrite stainless steel.

Permalloy® includes alloys of nickel and iron containing more than 30% nickel and may representatively be comprised of 45% nickel and 55% iron, or 75% nickel and 25% iron. Other formulations suitable for use with a permanent magnet may also be used in accordance with the principles of the present invention. For example, an alloy of 76-80% nickel, 3-5% molybdenum and 3-6% copper, with the balance being iron, may be suitable. Another alternative is an alloy of 78-82% nickel, 4-7% molybdenum, 3-6% copper, with the balance being iron. Low alloy steel may include 95% iron, with the balance bing any combination of nickel and molybdenum. Carbon steel may include 1-20% carbon, with the balance being iron. These examples are representative only.

A further alternative is an alloy including iron, chromium and cobalt, representatively distributed as 50-65% iron, 20-30% chromium and 5-20% cobalt. An amount of 0.2-0.5% silicon may be added to this alloy. This Fe—Cr—Co or Fe—Cr—Co—Si alloy may be used as the soft magnetic material as with the other alloys. In addition, this Fe—Cr—Co or Fe—Cr—Co—Si alloy may itself be magnetized so as to act as the magnet used with the invention. Accordingly, the Fe—Cr—Co or Fe—Cr—Co—Si may be the magnet while another of the alloy alternatives serves as the soft magnetic material. Alternatively, non-magnetized Fe—Cr—Co or Fe—Cr—Co—Si alloy may be the soft magnetic material while magnetized Fe—Cr—Co or Fe—Cr—Co—Si alloy is the magnet. As with other magnets and soft magnetic materials, the Fe—Cr—Co or Fe—Cr—Co—Si alloy may be used on any part of the spectacles and/or sunshades.

Unlike other magnetic material, the Fe—Cr—Co or Fe—Cr—Co—Si alloy is easily processed to form any part of the spectacles such as frontal hinges, bridges or frames. Furthermore, this magnetized or non-magnetized alloy is easily welded to other parts, that may be made of different materials.

As discussed, a range of alloys may be used for the soft magnetic material. In a method of manufacturing the soft magnetic material, it is beneficial to subject the material to a heat treatment at a temperature of approximately 1100° C. for one hour in a H

2

environment.

The permanent magnet

200

and the soft magnetic member

210

are not limited to the first and second nose frames

103

and

153

. Instead, as shown in

FIG. 3

, the permanent magnet

200

and the soft magnetic member

210

can be used to constitute the first and second lens frames

102

and

152

or fastening pieces for fastening lenses

101

and

151

which are fitted in the first and second lens frames

102

and

152

, respectively. The soft magnetic member may also be made as the hinge member that adjoins the lens frames

102

, the stud on the lens frames

152

, or as any other part of the spectacles or clip-on sunshades suitable for coupling as described herein. The soft magnetic member may also be a piece which is welded onto any part of the spectacles and/or clip-on sunshades.

While, in the illustrated embodiment, the permanent magnet

200

is mounted to the spectacles

100

and the soft magnetic member

210

is part of the clip-on sung-shades

150

, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the permanent magnet

200

may be mounted to the clip-on sunshades

150

and the soft magnetic member

210

may be mounted to the clip-on sunshades

150

and the soft magnetic member

210

may be part of the spectacles

100

.

Furthermore, as shown in

FIGS. 4A and 4B

, the soft magnetic member

210

which may be part of the spectacles

100

or the clip-on sunshades

150

, can be formed integrally with a release-preventing piece

220

which prevents the clip-on sunshades

150

coupled to the spectacles

100

from being inadvertently uncoupled therefrom.

Of course, contours of the permanent magnet

200

, soft magnetic member

210

and release-preventing piece

220

vary depending upon configurations of the spectacles

100

and clip-on sunshades

150

and their positional arrangement. That is to say, the permanent magnet

200

, soft magnetic member

210

and release-preventing piece

220

can have straight line-shaped, bent, rounded or curved contours.

As described above, in the present invention, when it is required to protect eyes from ultraviolet rays while wearing spectacles

100

, the clip-on sunshades

150

can be coupled to the spectacles

100

in front of the spectacles

100

in a state wherein the spectacles

100

are already being worn on the user's face. Accordingly, the inconvenience of having to wear separate spectacles is eliminated.

Namely, if the clip-on sunshades

150

are coupled to the spectacles

100

in front of the spectacles

100

, the permanent magnet

200

which is located at the predetermined position on one of the spectacles

100

or the clip-on sunshades

150

and the soft magnetic member

210

which is located at a preset position on the other of the spectacles

100

or the clip-on sunshades

150

, are coupled with each other. In this way, it is possible to continuously maintain the coupled state of the spectacles

100

and the clip-on sunshades

150

. The predetermined and preset positions can be defined on the first and second nose frames

103

and

153

, first and second lens frames

102

and

152

, hinge members, connecting pieces, etc. Connecting pieces may include any structure on the sunshades designed to allow the sunshades to be coupled to the spectacles.

In the case that the permanent magnet

200

and the soft magnetic member

210

are coupled with each other, as shown in

FIG. 5

, which is a view illustrating magnetic flux distribution between the spectacles and the clip-on sunshades which are coupled with each other in accordance with the present invention, magnetic flux which is generated from the North pole N or the South pole S of the permanent magnet

200

which is coupled to the soft magnetic member

210

is focused to the South pole S or the North pole N of the permanent magnet

200

through the soft magnetic member

210

, to enable the spectacles

100

and the clip-on sunshades

150

to be coupled to each other with stronger magnetic force.

In other words, the soft magnetic member

210

which is coupled to the permanent magnet

200

, serves as a magnetic closed circuit for magnetic flux, thereby preventing magnetic flux from being lost and increasing coupling force.

Moreover, by the release-preventing piece

220

which is integrally formed with the soft magnetic member

210

, the clip-on sunshades

150

are prevented from being undesirably uncoupled from the spectacles

100

. Also, because the soft magnetic member

210

is made of a thin plate-shaped metal segment and only one permanent magnet

200

is used, vigorous activity or exercise can be undertaken while the spectacles

100

are worn on the user's face, the weight of the spectacles

100

and the clip-on sunshades

150

can be minimized, and manufacturing procedures can be achieved in an easy manner.

FIGS. 6

,

7

and

8

show other embodiments of this invention directed to coupling of the sunshades to the spectacles using an interlocking hinge member. As shown in these figures, the interlocking hinge member on the sunshades acts in close cooperation with the frontal hinge member, with one being fitted within the other or otherwise sandwiched thereby for a measured interlocking fit.

The embodiment of

FIG. 6

shows the above magnetic apparatus made on the frontal hinge assembly which connects the lens frame

102

and arms

104

. The frontal hinge member

210

of lens frame

102

is made of a soft magnetic material and has an upper planar surface and a lower planar surface. The corresponding interlocking hinge member

220

of sunshades

150

includes one or more extruded plates

202

.

As shown in

FIG. 6

, the extruded plates include an upper extruded plate

202

a

and a lower extruded plate

202

b.

While either plate could be used, in

FIG. 6

the upper extruded plate

202

a

contains a permanent magnet

200

in magnet hole

211

to make a closed loop of magnetic flux as shown in FIG.

10

. In this embodiment, places like frontal hinge member

210

of lens frame

102

, where a soft magnetic material is used, can receive instead a permanent magnetic member and vice versa, and can be fully magnetized by a special device like a magnetizer instead of having an individual permanent magnet

200

inserted.

Another embodiment shown in

FIG. 7

has the same notation as that of

FIG. 6

but has a different structure for the hinge members. The frontal hinge member

210

includes a receiving member

300

shaped like a piece of tube opened upward and made of a soft magnetic material to form a hollow center portion for receiving the inserting member

301

of the corresponding interlocking hinge member

202

of sunshades

150

. The inserting member

301

is made of a permanent magnet, or magnetized, and extruded downward to be inserted into the receiving member

300

. The two corresponding members of the receiving member

300

and inserting member

301

can be substituted with each other. In the preferred embodiment shown in

FIG. 7

, the inserting member

301

has a circular circumference and the hollow center portion of the receiving member

300

also has a circular circumference. However, the hollow center portion and the mating surface of the inserting member

301

could have other shapes provided the fit was complementary. For example, the outer surface of the inserting member

301

could be rectangular, in which case the hollow center portion would also preferably be rectangular to mesh properly in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 8

shows clip-on sunshades in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention having the same notation as that of

FIG. 6

but having a different structure for the hinge members. In this embodiment, the frontal hinge member includes a receiving member

400

made of a soft magnetic material having an upwardly extending part

210

topped with a stopper head or button

401

. In the preferred embodiment shown, the button has an outer circumference that is greater than an outer circumference of the upwardly extending part

210

.

The upwardly extending part

210

is preferably shaped like a tube, but other shapes may also be used. The interlocking hinge member

410

on the sunshades is comprised of a U-shaped inserting member made of a permanent magnet and having two arms. The interlocking hinge member

410

may also be shaped like a hook, or given any other shape that is complementary to the shape of the upwardly extending part

210

. When the clip-on sunshades are mounted on the spectacles, an inner surface of the inserting member interfaces with an exterior surface of the upwardly extending part. In

FIG. 8

, the tube-shaped upwardly extending part

210

is sandwiched between the two arms of the U-shaped inserting member. The button

401

prevents the sunshades from disengaging from the spectacles in an upward direction. As with the other embodiments, the magnet and the soft magnetic material may be reversed, so that the interlocking hinge member is made of a soft magnetic material and the frontal hinge member is a permanent magnet. The two corresponding members of the interlocking hinge member

410

and receiving member

400

may also be reversed.

FIG. 11

shows clip-on sunshades in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, showing a different structure for the frontal hinge member

510

and employing an overlapping hinge member

500

. In this embodiment, each of the overlapping hinge members

500

has a connecting arm member

501

with a permanent magnet

502

connected to a lower surface

503

of the connecting arm member

501

.

FIG. 12

shows the connection between the overlapping hinge member

500

and the frontal hinge member

510

when the sunshades

150

are coupled to the spectacles

100

.

As shown in

FIGS. 11 and 12

, the frontal hinge member

510

preferably has an approximate L-shape, including a first portion

512

that extends outwardly from and substantially parallel with the plane of the first lens frames

102

, and a second portion

514

that extends rearwardly in a direction corresponding to the orientation of the respective arm

104

mounted to the frontal hinge member

510

. The Frontal hinge member

510

is made of a soft magnetic material.

The connecting arm member

501

of each interlocking hinge member

500

is directed outwardly and rearwardly. As noted, a permanent magnet

502

is affixed to a lower surface

503

of the connecting arm member

501

and oriented so that the bonding surface of the permanent magnet is substantially perpendicular to the lower surface

503

of the connecting arm member and facing forwardly. When the clip-on sunshades

150

are mounted on the spectacles

100

, the connecting arm member

501

passes over the upper surface of the frontal hinge member

510

and the permanent magnet

502

attaches to a rear surface of the first portion

512

of the respective frontal hinge member

510

.

As aforementioned above, according to the present invention, advantages are provided in that spectacles and clip-on sunshades are easily coupled with each other, manufacturing and assembling procedures of coupling means are simplified, and costs of the spectacles and clip-on sunshades are reduced. In addition, productivity in manufacture and quality of the spectacles and clip-on sunshades are enhanced, the clip-on sunshades coupled to the spectacles are effectively prevented from being undesirably uncoupled from the spectacles, and user convenience is improved.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed typical preferred embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.