The frames for glasses of known type include a front structure provided with lenses and including hinged earpieces. Up to now, glasses have been used in order to perform essentially functions of aid to the human visual system, while applications connected to the use of mobile phones can not be found.

A purpose of the invention is to extend the range of functions that spectacles are capable to perform.

In a first aspect of the invention, there are provided glasses having a frame in which receiving means, arranged for receiving signals from a remote transceiver unit, and transmitting means, arranged for transmitting signals to said remote transceiver unit, are embodied.

In this way, a person wearing the glasses according to the invention can advantageously interact, either for receiving or for communicating, with a mobile phone at a remote position, having his hands free for carrying out other activities, such as for example driving a car.

In this way, a new and valuable function is assigned to the glasses, consisting in allowing communication between users who are interconnected with a mobile phone.

In an advantageous version, the receiving means and the transmitting means are not provided with wire links to the remote transceiver.

Consequently, a communication system very comfortable and functional is obtained.

In a second aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided including a transceiver unit provided with transceiver device suitable to exchange signals via ether, with receiving means and transmitting means that can be associated to a glass frame.

Preferably, said transceiver device is embodied in a mobile phone.

The invention can be better understood with reference to the enclosed drawings, that illustrate some embodiments thereof merely indicative and not restrictive, wherein: Figure 1 is a front view of a frame for glasses; Figure 2 is a side view of the frame of Figure 1 highlighting in a very sketched manner receiving means and transmitting means embodied in an earpiece; Figure 3 is a side view as Figure 1, but referring to a variation highlighting a movable earphone system in a closed non-operative position; Figure 4 is a view as Figure 3, but with the auxiliary rod in an operative, open position suitable for listening; Figure 5 is a view as Figures 2 and 3, but referring to a further variation concerning an endosteal sound transmission, in itself known; Figure 6 is a block diagram concerning the circuit of the transmitting means and the receiving means inserted in the frame; Figure 7 is a block diagram concerning the circuit of the remote transceiver unit coupled to the mobile phone.

In Figures 1 and 2, glasses 2 are highlighted provided with a frame 4 to which lenses 6 are fixed and earpieces 8 are bilaterally hinged. Receiving means and transmitting means, as a whole denoted with 10, are arranged at the inside of an earpiece 8, said means being powered by rechargeable batteries 12 through electrical connections 14, accessible from the outside.

The receiving and transmitting means 10 further includes a microphone 16 suitable to pick up audio information from a subject that wears the glasses 2. The receiving and transmitting means 10 further includes a loudspeaker 18, integrated, for example embodied in an earphone 20, connected through a short electrical wire connection 23 to the receiving and transmitting means 10 in order to send to the ear of the listening subject-as audio information-signals that are transmitted by a mobile phone apparatus 22 (Figure 7). The electrical wire connection 23 can include a removable connecting jack 25 with a thin wire 27 embodied in the earpiece 8.

With reference to Figure 3, the earpiece 8 is provided with a support for a movable earphone 24 hinged at one of its ends 26 to the earpiece 8 and having the other end holding a loudspeaker 18, advantageously an earphone.

Figure 5 illustrates how transmitting means 28 can be coupled to the end of the thin wire 27, suitable to transmit endosteally the signal coming from the remote transceiver unit 22 to the hearing system of the subject. The transmitting means 28 can include known systems such as prostheses, or auxiliary aids for people showing hearing deficiencies of various type.

With reference to Figure 6, there is shown how the receiving and transmitting means 10 includes a transmitting section TRASM capable of detecting through the microphone 16 an audio signal coming from the subject that wear the glasses, of convert it into a signal suitable to be transmitted to the transceiver unit 22 via ether, for example as ultrasonic, infrared or radio-frequency radiations. The audio signal detected by the microphone 16 is converted into an electric signal and sent to an amplifier AF AMPL coupled to a modulator circuit MODULAT advantageously provided with a signal coding device. In this way, it is possible to perform the communication only with the selected transceiver unit 22 excluding other similar units that lie near the transmitting and receiving means 10. The output signal from the circuit MODULAT is sent to a driving circuit DRIVER, which is capable of driving the output stage of the signal emitted towards the transceiver unit 22.

The receiving and transmitting means 10 further includes a receiving section RIC suitable to receive a signal emitted by the transceiver unit 22 through a receiving stage for an input signal IN and to send it to the earphone loudspeaker 18, or to the endosteal transmitter 28, according to the circumstances.

The input signal IN is sent to a processing and decoder circuit PLL in order to make possible to perform the communication only with the transceiver unit 22 pertaining to the selected mobile phone excluding other similar units that lie near the transmitting and receiving means 10. The circuit PLL is coupled to an amplifier AF AMPL1 that sends the received signal to the earphone loudspeaker 18, or to the endosteal transmitter 28, according to the circumstances.

The amplifiers AF AMPL and AF AMPL1 are coupled to a circuit NOISE in order to reduce the background noise and to improve the quality of the communication.

The mobile phone 22 can embody a transceiver device 30, or said device can be external to the phone 22.

The transceiver device 30 includes a further receiving section RIC1 and a further transmitting section TRASM1.

The further receiving section RIC1 is suitable to receive a signal INPUT1 emitted by the transmitting section TRASM and to send it to a processing and coding circuit PLL1, that for the already exposed reasons, is similar to the circuit PLL and that, through an amplifier circuit AF AMPL2, send the signal to the filter FIL1 and from here to the mobile phone 22 through a service socket of known type.

The transmitting section TRASM1 is suitable to receive the signal emitted by the mobile phone 22 and to send it, through the filter FIL1, to a further processing and coding circuit MODULAT1 that is connected to a driving circuit DRIVER1 capable of driving the input stage IN of the receiving and transmitting means 10.

In use, when a call is received by the mobile phone 22, that has been previously set in automatic answer mode, the signal is sent to the receiving and transmitting means 10 which transmit it to the ear of the subject wearing the glasses 2 via the earphone loudspeaker 18 or the transmitting means 28.

The subject can answer directly and its voice is picked up by the microphone 16, sent to the transceiver device 30 which transmit it to the mobile phone 22.

In a version not shown, the microphone 16 can be supported to an auxiliary support, similar to the support 24 and similarly hinged to one of the earpieces 8.