In the following description by the term"cord"is meant a long thin body made of cord, chain, string, elastic or other material, used to hang the spectacles around the neck, holding them by the end of the arms.

In particular, the invention concerns a device which can be applied to or built into the arms of the frame, in which the cord is contained and from which it is extracted each time the wearer wishes to drop the spectacles on his chest holding them by the cord which passes around his neck, and into which it re-enters when needed.

Background art Technicians in the field are well acquainted with the cords which are applied to the ends of the frame arms and which allow the wearers to take off their spectacles without needing to worry about losing them, as they always remain hanging around their necks like a necklace.

It is thanks to these cords that when the wearer takes off his spectacles, instead of placing them on a table, they remain hanging around his neck by the cord which passes around the neck and which holds the spectacles due to the fact that it is attached to the two ends of the arms.

Until today, all known spectacle cords are accessories which

are entirely separate from the arms and have the disadvantage of being inconvenient to use. In the first place, you need to have them with you and apply them to the frame from which they are a separate part; secondly when the spectacles are put away or put on, the cord is a nuisance, it becomes knotted and it is difficult to put away with the spectacles folded.

At present, the wearer proceeds to wrap the cord around the closed frame, but does not always act with precision, owing to haste, and often when coming to use the spectacles again, they are found to be wrapped in muddled knots that are difficult to undo.

In fact there are no known devices that hold the spectacle cord or that can contain it in a small space, or that can be applied to or built into the spectacle arms.

The main aim of this invention is to eliminate the inconveniences mentioned above and to supply a device that is built in or applied onto the arms, which contains the spectacle cord and which enables the cord to be released and re-inserted simply and rapidly into the container on the device, thus avoiding trouble to the wearer when he puts away his spectacles.

The advantages of this invention are essentially that the cord disappears into the device when the spectacles are not worn around the neck, without becoming muddled or creating annoyance; that it is not necessary to remember to take the cord with you as it is always on the spectacles, even if it cannot be perceived; that besides holding the glasses around the neck, it keeps them firmly on the head when they are worn;

that it is quite invisible externally.

Disclosure of invention This result has been achieved with an invention, a device made up of two elements to apply to or build into each of the frame arms provided with an internal groove which contains the cord.

When the wearer wishes to wear the spectacles around his neck, he only has to extract the cord from the device on the arms to its entire length; when the spectacles are put away or worn, the cord is returned into the elements described above, leaving a length of cord outside equal to the distance between the two arms.

The characteristics of this invention are described in the parts pertaining to independent claims. Other characteristics of this invention are the subject of subordinate claims.

Reducing it to its essential structure and with reference to the enclosed drawings, a device for containing the spectacle cord, characterised by the fact that it is built in, or applied to the arms of the frame, in conformity with this invention, is made up of: -A means of containing the cord on the spectacle arms, with a space made inside the arms or two elements (10) to be applied to each of the arms, made up of a slide guide or groove (6,6A, 16), inside which the cord is contained (12,2, 18) when not in use; -A means of allowing the cord to come out (12), with an opening (14) on one side of the elements described above (10) or on the end of the arm, through which the cord passes and comes out when it is pulled.

-A means of stopping the cord once it has been pulled out, with a slot, a groove, a lock or similar (9,17), which blocks the cord, stopping it from returning to its container; -A means of returning the cord to its container when it is no longer needed, with elastic (2), a spring or some other means (17) that immediately draws back the cord once it has been freed by the lock (9,17) which blocked it.

It is an advantage that, even when it is inside the container, the cord (12) projects from the arms to a length equal to the distance between the two open arms, which enables the wearer to put the spectacles on without difficulty, or to fold the arms easily, without entwining the cord. Moreover, the projecting cord can also help keep the spectacles firmly on the head and stop them from accidentally falling.

It is an advantage that it is a single cord (12) which has two pieces of elastic at each end (2) each situated inside each slide guide on the two frame arms.

It is an advantage that one part of the spectacle cord is made of (12) cord, thin chain or other suitable material which is connected to a second length of elastic (2) fixed at a point (13) at the end of the slide guide, so that in order to make the cord come out, it only has to be pulled until the elastic becomes taut, and kept so while blocking the cord on the device inside the groove (9) or by another means.

It is an advantage that when the wearer wishes to make the cord (12) go back inside the device, he only has to unhook the cord from the point at which it is locked (9), so that it is drawn back into the slide guide by the pull of the elastic (2)

and becomes shorter.

It is an advantage that the device has a slide guide (6-6A) that is double with respect to its length as both parts of the slide guide (6), (6A) are separated by a dividing element (8) or are themselves made up of two cylindrical tubes having an empty (8) rather than a filled space between them.

It is an advantage that the cord runs on a small wheel (3) that is applied at the bend of the slide guide (6-6A).

It is an advantage that in a different model and with reference to fig. 6, the cord is connected to an element (17), which is inserted by pressure into the single slide guide (16) externally visible, so that when the cord has to be drawn into the device, it is merely necessary to pull the element (17) and until it arrives at the internal locking point. When the cord has to be used, the wearer only has to move the element (17) to the opposite end of the arm.

It is an advantage that the element (17) is made up of a projecting part (19) open at the centre, so that on being inserted into the slide guide, it can be pressed lightly and then released, once it has entered the slide guide itself, which it cannot come out of.

It is an advantage that the cord can be a single piece or made up of two pieces (18) (18A) which are separable, and interchangeable using suitable slots (22) (23).

It is an advantage that the device can be used both to keep the spectacles hanging round the wearer's neck and to keep them firmly on his head when being worn, stopping them from slipping down his nose. In the second case, once the

spectacles have been put on, the wearer needs only let the cord out and then release it so that the elastic keeps it taut, or by taking the knob (19) of the element (17) to the desired point to obtain the desired pressure.

It is an advantage that the device can be applied or incorporated into the arm with any method, by glueing, moulding, embedding, by means of a hook and other methods that are suitable for joining each part reversibly.

Brief description of drawings The attached drawings are practical examples of the invention, but are not to be considered restrictive.

-Fig. 1 shows the diagram of the side of the spectacle frame with an element of the device (10) applied to or built into the arm (4), seen in cross-section and in which a groove (6) has been made in which the first piece of elastic cord (2) is inserted and fixed inside the device at a certain point (13), and the second part of the cord (12) made of cord or some other material, which is the part which comes out of the device through the opening (14) on the device or the arm. On the bend in the groove, there is a small wheel (3) which facilitates the passage of the cord; the lens (5) is also visible in the diagram ; -Fig. 2 again shows the diagram of the side of the spectacle frame (1) with the element (10) in which it is possible to see the slide guides (6-6A) and the cord (12) and the elastic (2) running along them, in this case held taut by the cord being drawn out, which stops in a groove (9) which blocks it ;

-Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an overhead view of the device (10) in cross section in which the cord (12) can be seen running around the wheel (3); -Fig. 4 is a diagram in profile of the device (10) highlighting the cord (12) and the elastic (2) inside; -Fig. 5 is a diagram of the device (10) with the elastic taut (2) and the cord (12) blocked in the slot (9), while the dividing element (8) between the two superimposed slide guides is visible.

-Fig. 6 shows a different system for building the device in which the element containing the cord, whether it be applied to or built into the arm, (15) is provided with a slide guide (16) that is visible from the exterior and inside which there is a moving element (17) attached to the cord (18) which in this case is supplied with slots (22) (23) connecting it to the remaining part of the cord (18A); -Fig. 7 shows an enlarged axonometric projection of one part of the element in Fig. 6, highlighting the slide guide (16), the projecting part (19) of the element (17) and the section (21) from which the cord comes out (18); -Fig. 8 shows a cross section of the device (21) highlighting the element (17) made up of a projecting part (19) and of an internal part (20), inside which the cord is fixed (18).

In practice, the details of execution can vary in accordance with the shape, size, position of the elements, type of materials used, without however, straying from the principle of the solution adopted and therefore remaining inside the boundaries of protection granted by this patent.