The present invention relates to a sheet for manufacturing articles, particularly glasses and the like, and to the associated method for manufacturing said sheet.

In the glasses sector it is currently known to use frames made of materials such as cellulose acetate, or of materials such as plastics, generally obtained by means of injection molding techniques, or also made of composite materials such as carbon, but also basalt, glass, et cetera.

Glasses made of acetate are known in particular for their comfort and for the aesthetic effects that distinguish them, because they evoke visual and sensory sensations of materials such as ebony, ivory, ceramic.

Glasses provided by means of plastics injection molding or pouring techniques are instead known for their characteristics of mechanical and thermal strength, although they do not allow to obtain chromatic effects that can be compared to those of eyeglasses made of acetate. Glasses made of composite materials also have optimum technical characteristics in terms of weight/strength ratio and therefore in terms of light weight and flexibility.

However, said glasses of the known type have aesthetic characteristics that, although differentiated depending on the models and on the types of materials used for the frame, are generally common to all glasses.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a frame for glasses that has particular aesthetic characteristics, at the same time ensuring comfort and mechanical characteristics at least equal to those of frames for glasses of the known type.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a frame for glasses that is easy to adapt to the face of the user.

A further object of the invention is to provide a frame for glasses that is capable of giving the greatest assurances of reliability and safety in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a frame for glasses that is easy to provide and economically competitive if compared with the background art.

Another object of the invention is to provide a frame for glasses that requires a shorter production cycle than the production cycles of frames for glasses of the known type.

A further object of the invention is to provide a frame for glasses that requires production equipment that is cheaper than the equipment for manufacturing frames for glasses of the known type.

This aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a sheet for manufacturing articles, particularly frames for glasses and the like, characterized in that it comprises at least one technical layer made of a material such as polymers and at least one aesthetic layer made of a material such as fabric.

Moreover, this aim and these and other objects that will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a method for producing a sheet for manufacturing articles, particularly frames for glasses and the like, characterized in that it comprises the steps of:

- having at least one technical layer made of a material such as polymers and at least one aesthetic layer made of a material such as fabric;

- associating said at least one technical layer with said at least one aesthetic layer;

- mutually compressing said at least one technical layer and said at least one aesthetic layer;

- heating said at least one technical layer and said at least one aesthetic layer, which are mutually associated, to obtain said sheet.

Further characteristics and advantages will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a sheet for manufacturing articles, particularly frames for glasses and the like, illustrated by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a frame for glasses provided starting from a sheet, according to the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged- scale view of a detail of the frame of Figure 1, according to the invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic view of a sheet, according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a schematic view of a first variation of the sheet of Figure 3, according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic view of a second variation of the sheet of

Figure 3, according to the invention.

With reference to the figures, the sheet for manufacturing articles, particularly frames for glasses and the like, is generally designated by the reference numeral 1.

According to the invention, the sheet 1 comprises at least one technical layer 10 made of a material such as polymers and at least one aesthetic layer 12, 14 made of a material such as fabric. In particular, the material of the technical layer 10 can be comprised in the so-called category of thermoplastics.

Advantageously, the material of the technical layer 10 is a polyolefm, and preferably polypropylene.

Polypropylene is a material that has good mechanical characteristics of resistance to loads, to traction, to impact and to abrasion. Moreover, polypropylene is odorless and physiologically harmless, making it an excellent material for products that are in very close contact with human beings.

The material of the aesthetic layer 12, 14 is fabric made of natural fibers and/or synthetic fibers, advantageously denim fabric, or silk, or velvet, or also aramid fibers.

In particular, as shown schematically in Figure 3, the sheet 1 can comprise advantageously a first aesthetic layer 12 and a second aesthetic layer 14, both made of a material such as fabric, and in which the technical layer 10 is interposed between the first aesthetic layer 12 and the second aesthetic layer 14. In this manner, the technical layer 10 is advantageously embedded between the two aesthetic layers 12 and 14. It should be noted that said aesthetic layers 12 and 14 may be made of the same type of fabric or of different fabrics.

For example, the aesthetic layer in contact with the skin of the user can be made of velvet or silk and the external technical layer can be made of denim fabric, or vice versa.

The sheet 1, however, can comprise a plurality of aesthetic layers 12, 14 alternated with technical layers 10, so as to vary at will the thickness of the sheet 1 proper.

Figure 4 concerns a first variation of the sheet 1, which shows how the technical layer 10 is adapted to receive a metallic core 16, as will be explained better hereinafter.

Figure 1 shows a frame 100 for eyeglasses and the like, which comprises a front 3 adapted to accommodate a pair of lenses 5 and two lateral temples 7. The front 3 and the temples 7 are advantageously obtained from one or more sheets 1.

The method for producing a sheet 1 for manufacturing articles, particularly frames for glasses and the like, according to the invention, comprises the steps of:

- having at least one technical layer 10 made of a material such as polymers and at least one aesthetic layer 12 made of a material such as fabric;

- associating the technical layer 10 with the aesthetic layer 12, 14;

- mutually compressing the technical layer 10 and the aesthetic layer 12, 14;

- heating the technical layer 10 and the aesthetic layer 12, 14, which are mutually associated, in order to obtain the sheet 1.

Advantageously, the step of mutually compressing the technical layer 10 and the aesthetic layer 12, 14, or the several technical and aesthetic layers that provide the sheet 1, and the step of heating the technical layer 10 and the aesthetic layer 12, 14, or the several mutually associated technical and aesthetic layers, are simultaneous. These steps can be achieved by means of heating hydraulic presses.

The method for producing the sheet 1 can comprise furthermore steps for surface treatments depending on the desired final effect. For example, there can be a coloring step, a wate roofmg step, a finishing step for giving particular effects such as vintage, ordered in the sequence that is most suitable for the aesthetic result being sought.

A preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the method for producing the sheet 1 is described hereinafter.

The method begins with the preparation of a sheet, termed main sheet, which is obtained by arranging in a mutually adjacent manner a technical layer 10, an aesthetic layer 12, 14 and another technical layer 10. The sheet thus obtained can be pressed, for example by means of aluminum plates of a mold, and then heated to the melting point of the polymer of the technical layer 10. In the case of polypropylene, the melting point is comprised approximately in the range between 165°C and 170°C and the heating time required is approximately 25-30 minutes. Such main sheet will have a thickness comprised advantageously in a range between 0.9 and 1.5 millimeters.

In the preferred embodiment described herein, the production of the sheet from which the front 3 of the frame 100 is to be obtained entails arranging in a mutually adjacent manner and in sequence: an aesthetic layer 12, 14, a technical layer 10, one or more of said main sheets, preferably three, a further technical layer 10 and a further aesthetic layer 12, 14.

Such composition of layers is then subjected to the same step of compression and heating described above. Said sheet for producing the front 3 will have a final thickness comprised preferably between 4 and 10 mm.

The production of the sheet from which the lateral temples 7 of the frame 100 is to be provided entails instead arranging in a mutually adjacent arrangement and in sequence: an aesthetic layer 12, 14, a technical layer 10, a main sheet, another technical layer 10, another main sheet, a further technical layer 10, and finally a further aesthetic layer 12, 14. Such composition of layers is then subjected to the same step of compression and heating described above. Said sheet for producing the lateral temples 7 will have a final thickness comprised preferably between 2 and 6 mm.

Both the lateral temples 7 and the front 3 can comprise a metallic core 16 conveniently coupled to a technical layer 10, adapted to ensure the adjustability of the frame 100, and/or to make the frame 100 mechanically stronger.

The core 16 can be embedded in the technical layer or can be interposed between the technical layer 10 and at least one of the first and second aesthetic layers 12, 14.

The coupling of a metallic core 16 allows moreover advantageously to reduce the number of technical and aesthetic layers necessary in order to give the frame 100 the desired thickness, therefore making said frame 100 lighter.

The materials such as fabric used for the aesthetic layer 12, 14 are advantageously materials capable of withstanding the melting points of the material such as the polymers of the technical layer 10.

The use of the term "technical" with reference to the technical layer

10 and of the term "aesthetic" with reference to the aesthetic layer 12, 14 is not to be understood as limiting, because both layers, the technical one 10 and the aesthetic one 12 and 14, contribute both to the aesthetic appearance of the frame 100 and to its mechanical characteristics.

Once the sheets made in fabric (denim) have been formed and cooled, one proceeds with a step of trimming the edges so as to remove the excess polypropylene, and then the sheets are left to stabilize for a certain period of time before proceeding with the subsequent surface treatment steps.

After the surface treatment steps, the sheets are subjected to a milling treatment.

In practice it has been found that the sheet for providing articles, particularly glasses and the like, and the corresponding method for providing said sheet according to the invention achieve the intended aim and objects, since they allow to obtain particular aesthetic characteristics, ensuring at the same time comfort and mechanical characteristics at least equal to those of frames for glasses of the known type.

The sheet, the method and the frame thus conceived are susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

Thus, for example, the step of inserting the metallic core can be provided directly on the sheet that is then milled, or can be provided after the milling step on the individual components of the frame, i.e., the temples and the front.

All the details may further be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, so long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. MT2013A001336 from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.