Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Article holder attachable to apparel or body – Eyeglass holder including retaining means
Reexamination Certificate
1997-05-07
2001-02-06
Sakran, Victor N. (Department: 3626)
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Article holder attachable to apparel or body
Eyeglass holder including retaining means
C024S003100, C351S156000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06182334
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to an end fastener for eyeglass holders and, more particularly, to an improved end fastener for attaching the end of a holder cord to a temple leg of an eyeglass frame.
Eyeglass holders formed by a cord whose ends are attached to the temple legs of the glasses by an end fastener are known and utilized in the prior art. Conventionally, such end fasteners are affixed to the ends of a holder cord and comprise a loop or eyelet of elastic material and/or metallic spring components to resiliently grip eyeglass temple legs upon mounting thereto.
Various eyeglass holder devices are disclosed in prior art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,531 to Kahaney depicts an elongated tubular sleeve which is adapted to receive a temple portion of a pair of eyeglasses. A connector member, having a slot therein, can be snapped onto the rear end of the tubular sleeve. The slot receives an eyeglass retainer strap. In essence, the construction of the patent is a tube having a single hole in it. The hole receives a pin member in order to anchor the connecting piece.
A variety of patents disclose molded rubber tubes having bores open through one end for receiving the temple portion of a pair of eyeglasses and a retainer strap fused to the rear end of the tube. See U.S. Pat. No. 1,819,738 (Daniels), U.S. Pat. No. 2,539,922 (Nyberg), U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,961 (Weil) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,042 (Kalbach). Typically, these constructions retain the cord through techniques such as gluing, clamping, etc., for example, by means of a ferrule inside of the tube or other techniques to render the cord too large to pull back through the end opening of the tube, e.g., knotting. U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,668 to Welch shows a number of features of eyeglass cord retainer apparatus. Many of these features are present in devices available in the marketplace. The Welch '668 patent discloses a securement cord with a ring formed at each end, whereby each ring is mounted to an elastomeric loop. Each elastomeric loop includes a medial spring member encompassing each loop to effect an upper and lower loop with the upper loop of each elastomeric loop resiliently securing a temple leg of an eyeglass assembly.
Conventional eyeglass holders or retainers are known to exhibit some undesirable and disadvantageous properties. Such undesirable attributes can be related to functional deficiencies and/or to manufacturing aspects. In regard to the latter, for instance, need for special machinery and fixturing, high labor content and/or high material cost, etc. are generally representative of disadvantageous characteristics.
Some of the prior art eyeglass holders of versions that are commonly available in the market are akin to those shown and disclosed by the Welch '668 patent. Such devices have a number of disadvantages. Loops for holding temple legs tend to lose elasticity and can thusly allow detachment of the holder cord from the temple leg. Rings, springs, adjustable collars, etc. which serve for adjustment to temple-leg size and to hold tension of the loop over the temple leg have often been found inadequate to the task; and, moreover, have added material and labor cost. They also frequently capture and pull the user's hair.
Some prior art devices, particularly those having cord-end fasteners molded in one piece or fused with ends or extension components of the cord, drastically limit the choice of cord material to only those that are not adversely affected by high-temperature molding or fusing conditions. Thus, for instance, it is difficult to fuse or heat seal leather cord effectively to end fasteners of suitable moldable elastomeric materials; and, cords of Nylon and similar plastics are apt to melt at fusing temperatures. Additionally, rigid joining of end fasteners to cords (by fusing and otherwise) requires a relatively bulky joint region, which is undesirable both for reasons of the user's inconvenience and of material and cost.
A persistent problem associated with many, if not most, conventional eyeglass holders lies with the unreliable holding capability of cordend fasteners about eyeglass temple legs, particularly since temple legs of different types of glasses significantly differ in size and shape. Although various solutions have been disclosed, many have been found to be either ineffective in the long run or costly—particularly when used in combination with other features. For example, Guthman (U.S. Pat. No. 2,780,853) discloses a metal spring clasp for attaching ends of a cord to eyeglass temples. This appears to be effective, but it is also a relatively high-cost solution. One-piece, molded cord-end fasteners of elastomeric material go a long way toward low cost, but they often pose problems with unadaptability to different temple sizes and with unreliability of attachment. In this respect, Seet (U.S. Pat. No. 4,820,036) shows an end member
20
(molded in one piece with the headband) having an opening
22
through which is passed a temple leg that is to be held securely. Whereas the end member requires relatively high resiliency and elasticity to accommodate and reliably hold different-size temple legs, the headband needs substantially less resiliency and elasticity to be effective in use.
Another solution to the need for reliable holding to different-size temples is disclosed by Seron (U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,934) wherein a holding fixture
20
at the end of a band
14
includes a tail-like projection
24
with an elongated slot
26
for receipt of one of the temples. In order to provide tight gripping for differing size temples, a projection
24
is provided with a wire band
34
whose position is adjustable along projection
24
to close the slot. Again, however, adjustable collars or wire bands, etc. have often been found inadequate to the task. Moreover, they require added material and labor cost, while frequently capturing and pulling hair.
Accordingly, it is a feature of the present invention to provide a practical and functionally convenient and effective end fastener for eyeglass holders that is reliable, cost-effective, attractive, and convenient in use.
SUMMARY
In accordance with principles of the present invention, there is provided an improved end fastener for attaching the end of a holder cord to a temple leg of eyeglasses. The improved end fastener is effective, attractive, convenient to use, reliable, and relatively low in cost.
The improved end fastener of the invention includes a tubular, molded, elastomeric body for resiliently mounting the fastener about a temple leg of eyeglasses. In a first embodiment, the fastener further includes a connector-ring holder for connecting the body to an end of the cord of an eyeglass holder via a cord-end cap. In a second embodiment, the tubular elastomeric body is molded around the cord, so that the elastomeric material forms an intimate attachment with the cord, trapping the cord inside the end fastener.
In the first embodiment, the cord-end cap comprises a substantially cylindrical tube that is hollow with one end closed—the outside of the closed end being provided with an eyelet for connecting to the connector ring. The inside of the cap serves to secure an end of the cord thereto by crimping of the cap about a cord-end, by adhesive attachment of the cord-end within the cap, by fusing of the cord-end material to the inside of the cap, or by similar processes. A connector ring holder is formed by a hole through the end-fastener body. The end fastener comprises a body of elastomeric material having an elongated tubular shape and a hollow core, including a base and an open end, and having a long axis defined through said base and said open end, said axis running through the center of said hollow core, said open end being adapted to receive a temple leg of eyeglasses, said base having means for connecting said body at said base to said end of a holder cord, said means for connecting comprising a hole extending completely through said body substantially orthogonally to said axis in the region of said base.
The base can be an extensio
Millen White Zelano & Branigan P.C.
Peeper Keepers, Inc.
Sakran Victor N.
LandOfFree
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