Field

The present invention is directed to a bendable frame for spectacles or eyewear as well as a method for forming the frame.

Background

Wooden frames for spectacles constitute a high fashion accessory. Wooden frames are usually made of a layered composition of very thin wooden sheets glued or attached together. This production method grants certain flexibility to the frame.

A disadvantage however is the durability and breakability of wood. During production, CNC machines or other tools and machines tend to break parts of the wooden layers and make the workpiece unusable for customer applications. The rate of defective goods is high.

Moreover, in case layered wooden frames are formed, the layered structure is usually visible and is able to disturb the aesthetic character of the frame.

Even in everyday use of glasses this flexibility is desirable to prevent breakage in case of incautious act. Spectacles fall on the floor, a person sits down on a frame, the result is loss of the spectacles, at least the glass, most likely also the frame. In history, bendable, flexible frames have been in use as frames produced from horn (keratin) . The keratin is harder and heavier than wood, but lighter and more elastic than bone. It is up to 3% elastic under pressure, i.e. reversibly compressible.

Flexible spectacle frames in general are known as metal frames, a certain titanium alloy (Titanflex®) allows an extended bendability, which is particularly useful for children or persons, who conduct physical labor. Another aspect are stylistic wishes.

Wooden frames, as known since the earliest appearance of correctional spectacles, have since the beginning of the 19 ^th century been replaced by spectacle frames of metal and later even by various plastic materials. Recently, wood increasingly has been reintroduced in house construction, overstretching areas in large public halls, but also modern furniture. Wood is a naturally grown base material that meets demands in environmental preservation. In the 1920s, the production of soft, pliable wood was described, as published in GB 275,058. Disclosed is the production of soft pliable wood by boiling or steaming pieces of wood and piling, i.e. applying pressure to the same in the direction of the fibers until the completion of evaporation, as also the provision of devices for carrying the improved method into effect.

The wood is exposed to heat, preferable supplied by steam or boiling water, some 100°C at normal pressure conditions. The wooden workpiece is then compressed and shrinked by up to 20% in the longitudinal direction. This disrupts the fiber structures and makes the wood bendable without reasonable force. And it remains flexible after cooling and drying.

The German patent DE 946 479 C discloses the procedure to grant a more even bendability over the whole length of the wooden workpiece. US 2,030,819 A discloses that placing a thin piece of wood into an alkali solution in a certain procedure to retain the structural look of natural wood but retains the optical structure and the characteristic grain thereof. This procedure is named chemical softening. It is possible to transform thin wood sheets or woods into a soft, flexible condition by all processes for cellulose production, as long as the treatment is not extended too far. Especially good results may be obtained by the alkali softening, which results in a thorough swelling and loosening of the wood structure. The soft flexible structure, however, only lasts as long as the wood contains enough water. It gradually loses these properties by air-drying, and the dry product finally again becomes hard and brittle. In order to cause wood, which has been softened, to be more resistant to environmental impact, it must be impregnated with materials of low vapor pressure, which are suited to stabilize the condition of loosening and swelling. Experiments have shown that two groups of substances come into consideration for such an impregnation. The first group contains substances at low vapor pressure which a re water soluble and perhaps water attracting, such as glycerol, monoacetin and lactates. These substances act themselves as swelling and softening preservatives. The second group contains water insoluble but emulsifiable substances, such as liquid, dissolved or emulsified hydrocarbons, fats, oils and soaps, known emulsifying agents, such as sulfo- and oxy fatty acids and their derivatives (Turkey red oil, or similar products such as alkali salts of sulfonated castor oil). Other methods are known, as described in DD 284 189 A5, where layers of wooden particles and thermoplastic and/or duroplastic material are combined in a way to have a bendable piece of wood available. Disclosed is the limitation of the thermoplastic used in those areas of the work piece where the bending actually is applying deformation forces. According to the invention in the manufacture of a three-layer wood particle material, the particles of the middle layer in a conventional manner by addition of a thermosetting adhesive, the particles of the two layers on the other hand bound with a thermoplastic. The thermoplastic is the outer layer particles added either in solid form or in a dispersed form. Another method is described in AR 213.508 from 1979 : A method for introducing in wood frame glasses or neutral or optical glass for all types of spectacles, characterized by the steps of heating kerosene to between 30 and 80 degrees approximately, add wax in a proportion of 10 to 30% of the volume of kerosene, introducing into the mixture obtained by a wooden frame space of between about 5 and 30 minutes for softening, remove it and leave for 5 to about 30 minutes before introducing the glass and then proceed to drying.

EP 1 037 732 Al, showing a priority of 1997, discloses a method of isostatic pressure on a wooden workpiece and making it bendable and pliable to a high extent. The invention relates to a process for greatly increasing the elasticity and bendability of diffuse-porous wood and comprises the following steps: a) supplying a specimen of diffuse-porous wood; and b) isostatically pressing the specimen in a) with a pressure of at least 500 bar. The rigidity is increased once again by immersing the wood specimen in a liquid for up to 2 hours, after which the specimen is dried. This can be utilized when producing shaped products made of diffuse-porous wood.

Summary The problem underlying the present invention is to provide an improved or ameliorated frame for eyewear and a method of forming such frame.

The problem can be solved by the subject matter of the present invention exemplified by the description and the claims.

The present invention relates to a frame for eyewear. Eyewear is intended to cover any structure for supporting a lens or more than one lens in front of the eye of wearer. Typically, eyewear, such as eyeglasses or spectacles, is a device consisting of lenses mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes. Glasses are typically used for vision correction. Safety glasses provide eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near-visible light or radiation. Sunglasses allow better vision in bright daylight, and may protect a wearer's eyes against damage from high levels of ultraviolet light. Specialized glasses may be used for viewing specific visual information (such as stereoscopy). Sometimes glasses are worn simply for aesthetic or fashion purposes. Thus, the eyewear is intended to also embrace the terms spectacles and/or glasses and/or frame is intended to comprise the embodiments of any wearable vision aid with or without a correctional and/or protecting and/or decorating function. According to the present invention, at least one front rim is provided for hosting one lens (e.g. a monocle) or more lenses (most common spectacles). At least the front rim comprises wood or wooden material that can be durably bent in ambient atmosphere. The temple(s) can form a part of the frame and can comprise the same feature(s) as the rim. The bending should then not result in any considerably deficiencies of the frame. Other material can be integrated and/or laminated to this material, as other wooden, metallic and/or plastic materials. Alternatively or additionally, the frame and/or elements of the frame can be made of wood material that can be durably bent in ambient atmosphere, i.e., the frame may contain only material of this kind. The wood material can be wood with a rather constant density and no major differences in density and/or deciduous wood. The wood material can be densified and/or compressed in direction of at least the majority of fibers of the wood and/or the wood material can be pliable wood. The rate of compression in the direction of the majority of the fibers can extend up to 30% of the original length of the wood piece.

The wood can thereafter optionally be brought back again to the original density or even up to double the original density, e.g. by exerting pulling forces in the direction of at least the majority of fibers of the wood. Then the densification and/or compression is rather a pre-densification and/or pre-compression. This is an optional feature, as mentioned before.

The rather constant density before densification or compression is helpful to rather uniformly densify or compress the wood. The expression deciduous wood is synonymously to be read as wood from deciduous trees and alternatively referred as non-coniferous wood, porous wood, wood from foliage trees or hardwood, as long as hardwood is understood as wood from angiosperm trees. The grade of densification and/or pre-densification is at least 5%, preferably at least 10%, more preferably at least 30%, most preferably at least 50% and at most 70%, preferably at most 30%, even more preferably around 20%. This relation is calculated according to the original expansion of the wooden material in relation to the final expansion of the densified and/or compressed product.

The wood material of the frame can comprise fibers that are compressed in their length and comprising tattered and/or inflected fibers. This material having the before mentioned grade of densification or compression and the before mentioned fiber structure is generally also called pliable wood. The word "pliable" is intended to inter alia comprise the terms bendable, bended, bent, malleable etc.

Prior to the bending process, an adjustment of the relative humidity can be carried out. After densification and an optional dehydration, the humidity of the wood material can go down up to a maximum of 80%, preferably up to 50% and more preferably up to 20% and more preferably up to 10%. This dehydration of the wood can be advantageous if for instance oil or another liquid is applied to the pliable wood, preferably by a boiler pressure method. The percentage values of the humidity are defined as the amount of humidity in relation to the dry mass of the wood.

The frame can further comprise a bridge and/or nose pads and/or temples with or without earpieces. Also one or more or all of these elements can be made of densified and/or pliable wood.

At least in a surface section of the frame oil and/or wax is applied to and stored. This also includes the option of an oil and/or wax application and storage and/or impregnation through the whole cross-section of the frame. The grade of storage or impregnation may or may not vary over the depth of the material of the frame.

The oil can be at least one of linseed oil and/or detoxified tung oil and/or the wax can be natural wax, preferably beeswax. Some seed oil sorts cause a polymerization process with the wood under certain conditions. Such an oil is linseed oil, but also the tung oil. Impregnation with oil or wax can be helpful, as spectacle frames are exposed to the environment with humidity, heat, cold etc. In addition, the frame is entitled to be worn by humans and therefor have contact to the skin of the wearer. The wooden frame can resist such environmental exposures. On the other hand, these substances should not harm the wearer.

Linseed oil, but also other oil sorts and waxes intercept a polymerization process, and invade the wood structure into the most inner structures.

The frame can be durably bent without visual fractures by more than 0°, preferably at least 10°, more preferably at least 20°, more preferably at least 45°, more preferably at least 90°. These angles are the angles between the unbent material and the finally bent material.

The frame can further comprise at least one lens or two lenses being safely secured into the front rim. This can be obtained by any manner known in the art, such as respective grooves, glues and/or screws.

Protected is also a frame for eyewear, particularly according to any of the preceding and following description and claims, the frame being obtainable by the following steps: providing a wood material that can be durably bent in ambient atmosphere; and forming at least one front rim from the wood material for hosting one or more lenses and/or at least one temple with or without an earpiece. The further features mentioned before and in the following can be also integrated.

The present invention relates also to a method for forming a frame for eyewear, particularly according to any of the preceding and following descriptions and claims. The method can comprise the steps of providing a wood material that can be durably bent in ambient atmosphere; and forming at least one front rim from the wood material for hosting one or more lenses. The further features mentioned before and in the following can be also integrated. The wood material can be densified and/or compressed and/or pre-densified and/or pre- compressed in direction of the majority of fibers of the wood and optionally thereafter being brought essentially back into the density of before. The method further comprises the step of applying and storing at least in a surface section of the frame oil and/or wax, preferably the oil being at least one of linseed oil and/or detoxified tung oil and/or the wax is natural wax, preferably beeswax. This has been discussed before in more detail. The method can further comprise a bridge and/or nose pads, temples with or without earpieces from durably bendable and/or pliable wood material.

The method can further comprise the step of inserting at least one eyewear lens into the front rim.

The subject matter according to the present invention can involve the advantages to provide reliable and stable eyewear that also provides appealing aesthetic effects and a clear structure.

A mechanical customization of frames to individual customer requirements can be a considerable criterion of customers' attraction from an opticians and end users point of view. Moreover, the frames can have a certain robustness. In addition, an easy insertion of the lenses into the spectacle frame by the optician should be possible. Ideally, different geometries of glass (having varying base curves) should be able to be incorporated into the eyeglass frames. Allergens should also be largely avoided.

The problem with previous eyeglasses breaking tendency is also significantly reduced by the present application. The radii of bendability are widely increased without the destruction (fracture, breakage) of the wood. By modifying the wood with the described method breaking liability of the wood is reduced considerably.

By the present application it is now possible to easily insert the lenses in the spectacle frame by the given flexibility of the spectacle frame, under the necessary pretension. The high flexibility of the disclosed spectacle frame allows the use of various glass thicknesses, easily incorporate with different curvatures (base curves) due to different customer ^' s amblyopia.

Plywood eyeglasses of the prior art allow design variations only to a very limited extent. In the manufacturing process plywood layers are first glued together and then milled. The desired designs will heavily effect the manufacturing process as outer veneer layers must not be cut during the subsequent further handling. An edit of veneer layers in different planes would have the effect that different veneer layers are exposed. This application allows machining from solid block of wood so that the wood frames basically allow any three-dimensional shaping.

By the present application also adhesive- and chemical-free frames are made available.

This application also enables production methods, in which the wooden eyeglass frames are initially only pre-milled two-dimensionally. The final design of the eyewear can then be formed by hand or by a bending tool. This can even be achieved at the retail site.

By the present application the rejection rate (outbreaks of wood at the corners and edges or outer surfaces) during the milling process due to the previous modification of the wood is significantly reduced.

The innovation described can be applied equally to frames for the purpose as a visual aid, as well as sunglasses or any other eyewear.

All of the features and/or steps disclosed in the specification can be combined in any combination, except for combinations where at least some of the features and/or steps are mutually exclusive. In particular, preferred features of the invention are applicable to all aspects of the invention and may be used in any combination. The same reference numerals used for different embodiments are intended to identify parts or features of different embodiments with the same or similar function. In case the same reference numerals are not identified in other embodiments, this is by no means intended to mean that the corresponding features designated by these reference numerals are not present.

Drawings

The skilled artesian will understand the drawings, described below, are for illustration purposes only. The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present teaching in any way.

Fig. 1 shows a spectacles frame 1 with mounted or integrated temples 5. A hinge 22 can be fitted . However, a number of hinges 22 can be added at any location(s) desired. As known from conventional frames, two hinges 22 can be fitted. Four or more hinges 22 can be fitted as well. A rim 30 forms the front part and the part into which the lenses are to be inserted. Fig. 2 represents the frame 1 with the at least one recess 20. A bridge 21 is also shown as nose part. The indicating lines shall outline the bendability of the preferably wooden frame up and down to adjust to the wearers ^' personal conditions. The indicating lines 2 define the upwards bendability of the frame, while the lines 3 define the downwards bendability of the frame. It is clearly understood that this feature is valid for the left and the right part of the frame equally. The rim 30 can be a separate and/or an integral part of the frame 1. Further, the bridge 21 can be an integral part of the rim 30 portion of the frame but also be a separate piece, fixed to the rim 30 in a suitable manner. Fig 2 also indicates a monocle is included as a certain embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 3 depicts the temple 5 if fitted to be bendable in the upwards 4 and/or downwards 8 directions. This feature applies to the further temple(s) accordingly. Further indicating lines 6 allow for an adjustment outward and/or the lines 7 allow for an adjustment inwards as seen from the wearer.

Fig. 4 shows the spectacles as seen from a top view. The indicator lines 11 refer to the bendability inwards while the lines 12 indicate an outwards bendability of the frame and/or the rim 30. At the both sides of the frame temples can be seen. The temples are bendable to a high degree as indicated by the numbers 9 for inwards bending and 10 for outwards bending. The frame 1 can be formed of one single piece of pliable wood with the temples being bent by substantially 90° each side and thus don ^' t need to comprise one or more hinge(s) 22, as depicted in Fig. 1. This is applicable to the other temple identically. A hinge 22 could be supplied as shown in Fig 1. Further, the bridge 21 is indicated as an integral portion of the rim 30. Also the nose pad(s) 35 in this embodiment is depicted to be an integral part of the rim portion of the frame 1. It should be noted that both, the bridge 21 and/or the nose pad(s) 35 may also be separate pieces for an embodiment.

Embodiments

While the disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and non-restrictive; the disclosure is thus not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art and practicing the claimed disclosure, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to fulfill aspects of the present invention. The present technology is also understood to encompass the exact terms, features, numerical values or ranges etc., if in here such terms, features, numerical values or ranges etc. are referred to in connection with terms such as "about, around, ca., substantially, generally, at least" etc. In other words, "about 3" shall also comprise "3" or "substantially perpendicular" shall also comprise "perpendicular". Any reference signs in the claims should not be considered as limiting the scope. In the claims, the term "comprises/comprising" does not exclude the presence of other elements or steps. Furthermore, although individually listed, a plurality of means, elements or method steps may be implemented. Additionally, although individual features may be included in different claims, these may possibly advantageously be combined, and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and/or advantageous. In addition, singular references do not exclude a plurality.