Background of the Invention

The present invention relates to eyeglasses . The invention more particularly, although not exclusively, relates to eyeglasses that can be disassembled and reassembled with different shaped lenses .

The removal of lenses from the frames of known eyeglasses is of course readily achieved. However, generally speaking, the replacement lenses must be cut to the same shape and size as the original in order to fit to the frames correctly. Some modern eyeglasses have a lens strap pulled taut about the outer and lower channelled edges of the lenses and attached at opposite ends to the temple area of the brow bar and the nose bridge respectively. Even with this type of construction replacement lenses must be shaped such that their upper and inner peripheral edges mate correctly with the brow bar and nose bridge portions of the frame which are fabricated integrally.

Objects of the Invention

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate at least one of the above disadvantages and/or more generally to provide eyeglasses in which differently shaped lenses can be readily interchanged .

Disclosure of the Invention

Disclosed herein are eyeglasses comprising: a brow bar providing a pair of lens upper edge- engagement portions; a nose bridge detachably connected to the brow bar between said lens upper edge-engagement portions and comprising a pair of depending legs each having a lens inner edge-engagement portion.

Preferably, the nose bridge is connected to the brow bar by a tongue-in-groove connection.

Preferably, the eyeglasses further comprise a pair of lenses each respectively engaging one of the upper edge- engagement portions and one of the inner edge-engagement portions .

Preferably, each lens comprises an outer edge portion and a lower edge portion, and wherein the brow bar comprises a pair of temple portions each having a temple aperture therethrough and wherein each leg of the nose bridge has a leg aperture therethrough, and further comprising a pair of lens-retaining straps respectively extending from one said temple aperture to one said leg aperture and taut about the outer edge and lower edge portions of a said lens . Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred form of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings , wherein :

Fig. 1 is a schematic elevation of a brow bar;

Fig. 2 is a schematic elevation of the brow bar with a first style of nose bridge attached thereto;

Fig. 3 is a schematic elevation of the brow bar with the nose bridge attached and with lens-retaining straps being connected to form a frame;

Fig. 4 is a schematic elevation of the frame of Fig. 3 with first style lenses being attached thereto;

Fig. 5 is a schematic elevation of a completed first style frame;

Fig. 6 is a schematic elevation of the frame of Fig. 3 with the lenses being removed;

Fig. 7 is a schematic elevation of the frame having the first style nose bridge detached; - A -

Fig. 8 is a schematic elevation of the brow bar having a second style of nose bridge attached thereto;

Fig. 9 repeats Fig. 4 but shows a second style nose bridge ;

Fig. 10 repeats Fig. 4 but with second style lenses being attached;

Fig. 11 is a schematic elevation of a completed second style frame; and

Fig. 12 is a schematic detailed illustration showing a tongue-in-groove keyway attachment between a nose bridge and the brow bar.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

In Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings there is depicted a brow bar 11 which has a pair of lens upper edge engagement portions 27. The brow bar would typically be formed of moulded plastics material but might alternatively be metallic . At each outer end portion of the brow bar there is a depending lip 16 through which there is provided a small aperture 17. The lens upper edge-engagement portions would typically have a channel into which the upper edge of a lens is to be received. Fig. 2 shows a first style of nose bridge 12A being attached to the brow bar 11. A tongue-in-groove connection is preferred and will be described later with reference to Fig. 12.

The nose bridge 12A is typically of moulded plastics material and includes a pair of depending legs 13 each having a small aperture 14 therethrough. Each leg 13 includes a lens inner edge-engagement portion 15 which would typically comprise a channel 21 into which the inner edge of a lens is to be received.

A lens-retaining strap 18 is typically made of nylon and has a ball end 19 moulded or otherwise formed thereon. As shown in Fig. 3, the strap 18 is passed through the apertures 17 then 14 to define a space into which a lens is received.

A first style of lens 2OA is inserted as shown in Fig. 4 into the space whereupon the straps 18 are made taut so that the respective upper and inner edges of the lenses are received by the aforementioned channels . At the nose bridge, a small length of the strap 18 is squeezed into the channel 21 by the lens and a small length of strap passing through aperture 14 and extending under the nose bridge is trimmed off .

The first style of nose bridge 12A and first style of lens 2OA can be removed as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 to be replaced by a second style of nose bridge 12B and lens 2OB. This is simply a matter of removing the respective lenses, withdrawing the ends of the retaining strap 18 from the nose bridge apertures bridge and sliding the nose bridge to one side and then repeating the above assembly procedure with the second style parts .

The tongue-in-groove attachment of the respective nose bridge 12A, 12B to the brow bar 11 is depicted in Fig. 12. The nose bridge 12A, 12B has a keyway 22 formed at its upper edge. A key 23 includes bulbous strips 24 and 25.

The bulbous strip 24 slides into the keyway 22 of the nose bridge 12A, 12B. The bulbous strip 25 fits into a corresponding keyway 26 formed in the underside of the midsection of the brow bar 11. The key 23 would be typically formed of plastics material , but might alternatively the metallic.

It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations obvious to those skilled in the art are not to be considered as beyond the scope of the present invention . For example , in the case where the brow bar 11 is formed of moulded plastics material, instead of providing a separate key 23, a bulbous strip 24 could be formed integrally with the midsection of the brow bar 11 and depend slightly downwardly therefrom. Such a bulbous strip would be received directly by the keyway 22 of a nose bridge 12A, 12B.