Metal strand and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

To provide a metal twisted wire that can develop in rich variations with a rope style used as a basis, and can be applied not only to an eyeglass frame but also to accessories and the like.SOLUTION: In a metal twisted wire formed by twisting a plurality of metal wires, the plurality of metal wires are separated into at least one first metal wire 11 and another second metal wire 12. The first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 are formed of metal wires different in properties. By twisting the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12, a form is made such that while the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 are mutually twisted, the second metal wire 12 or the first metal wire 11 wounds around the first metal wire 11 or the second metal wire 12 in an ivy-like way. A difference in the property may be a diameter, cross-sectional shape, rigidity and degree of elongation of the metal wire, or a combination of two or more of the diameter, cross-sectional shape, rigidity and degree of elongation thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a stranded metal wire formed by twisting together a plurality of metal wires, and in particular to a stranded metal wire with a new design in which some of the plurality of metal wires are wound around the other metal wires in a vine-like shape, and to a method for manufacturing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] The stranded metal wire is used, for example, in the temples and rims of eyeglass frames (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 6). Fig. 7 shows an eyeglass frame temple T using a stranded metal wire 1'. Eyeglass frames with such temples T are commercially available as the so-called "rope-hand style" and have become increasingly popular in recent years because they are lightweight, comfortable to wear, and have excellent design. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-44186 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-32263 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-224161 [Patent Document 4] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 7-029518 [Patent Document 5] Utility Model Registration No. 2607107 [Patent Document 6] Utility Model Registration No. 2541719 (see Figure 1 and paragraph 0014) DISCLOSURE OF THEINVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the conventional "nawate style" has problems such as its relatively monotonous form, the limited variety of designs, and the tendency to tire of it over the long term. Therefore, there is a demand for a wide variety of "nawate styles." The present invention has been made in consideration of such demands, and aims to provide a stranded metal wire and its manufacturing method that is based on the "nawate style" but can be developed into a wide variety of variations and can be applied not only to eyeglass frames but also to accessories, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the metal stranded wire of the present invention is formed by stranding a plurality of metal wires. For eyeglass frames and accessories In the twisted metal wire, the plurality of metal wires are composed of a first metal wire serving as an axis and a second metal wire formed from a metal wire having properties different from those of the first metal wire, the first metal wire is formed in a wavy shape, and the second metal wire is wound around the first metal wire as a central axis so as to be entangled in a vine-like manner between the waves of the wavy first metal wire, and the second metal wire is wound around the first metal wire so that the surface of the first metal wire serving as the axis appears between the waves of the second metal wire wound in a vine-like manner. and the first metal wire and the second metal wire are cut to a certain length for the eyeglass frame or accessory. It is composed of:

[0006] The properties include the diameter, cross-sectional shape, hardness, elongation, etc. of the metal wire. In addition, a combination of two or more of these may be used. At least one of the first metal wire and the second metal wire may be a twisted metal wire, A plurality of the second metal wires may be wound in a vine-like manner around the first metal wire in a closely spaced relationship. In addition, one of the first metal wire and the second metal wire is made of a titanium alloy, and the other of It may be made of pure titanium.

[0007] Furthermore, a surface treatment layer including a coating layer, a paint layer, a plating layer, or an oxide film layer may be formed on at least one of the first metal wire and the second metal wire by subjecting the first metal wire or the second metal wire to a surface treatment in advance, or by subjecting the first metal wire or the second metal wire to a surface treatment after twisting. Alternatively, the twisted first metal wire and the twisted second metal wire may be subjected to a pressure from the periphery to cause plastic deformation. The pressure to be applied may be by pressing, rolling, swaging, or the like. Effect of the Invention

[0008] In the present invention, a plurality of metal wires with different properties are twisted together to form a shape in which the second metal wire or the first metal wire is wound around the first metal wire or the second metal wire in a vine-like shape. This shape is different from the shape generally known as a rope-style in the field of eyeglass frames. In addition, the variations of the rope-style can be easily increased by changing the properties of the first metal wire and the second metal wire in various ways, using a metal twisted wire as the first metal wire or the second metal wire, or applying a surface treatment such as painting or plating. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THEINVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 relates to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a diagram showing a part of a stranded metal wire, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the stranded metal wire in (a), and (c) is a diagram explaining the shape of the first metal wire after being twisted together. In this embodiment, the stranded metal wire 1 is formed from three metal wires with a circular cross section, and one of the metal wires (first metal wire) 11 has a larger diameter than the other two metal wires (second metal wire) 12. In addition, in this embodiment, the first metal wire 11 is formed of a titanium alloy such as β-titanium having a higher hardness than the second metal wire 12, and the second metal wire 12 is formed of pure titanium or the like having a lower hardness (softer) than the first metal wire 11.

[0010] Fig. 2(a) shows a schematic configuration of a stranded wire manufacturing apparatus 2 that forms a metal stranded wire 1 from three metal wires 11, 12, 12. Fig. 2(b) is a view of the stranded wire manufacturing apparatus 2 in Fig. 2(a) as viewed from the direction of arrow I. The stranded wire manufacturing apparatus 2 shown in Fig. 2 is a known apparatus that includes a metal wire supply unit 21 and a stranded wire forming unit 22. One of the three metal wire supply units 21 is assigned to a drum on which the first metal wire 11 is wound, and the other two are assigned to drums on which the second metal wire 12 is wound.

[0011] When a large-diameter first metal wire 11 and small-diameter second metal wires 12, 12 are supplied to a strand forming unit 22 to form a stranded metal wire 1, the second metal wire 12 is entangled in a vine-like shape around the large-diameter first metal wire 11, which is less likely to deform. When the stranded metal wire 1 is formed with two second metal wires 12 in close contact with each other, the two metal wires 12 are entangled in a vine-like shape around the first metal wire 11, as shown in Figures 1(a) and 1(b).

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1(c), the first metal wire 11 becomes wavy when twisted, and the second metal wire 12 becomes entangled in a vine-like manner between the waves, so that the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 are tightly entangled, and even if the twisted metal wire 1 is cut to a certain length corresponding to the temple T of the eyeglass frame, the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 will not come undone.

[0013] Fig. 3 shows another embodiment of the stranded metal wire 1 of the present invention, in which the stranded metal wire 1 is formed from one large-diameter metal wire (first metal wire) 11 and three smaller-diameter metal wires (second metal wires) 12. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 1(b), two second metal wires 12 are placed in close contact with each other, and the remaining one second metal wire 12 is placed apart from the two second metal wires 12. The stranded metal wire 1 formed by feeding these four metal wires 11, 12, 12, 12 into a stranded wire manufacturing apparatus 2 (see Fig. 2) has a configuration in which the three second metal wires 12 are entangled in a vine-like manner around the first metal wire 11, with another second metal wire 12 being positioned between the two second metal wires 12 in a close contact state, as shown in Fig. 3(b).

[0014] In this embodiment, the hardness of the first metal wire 11 is made smaller (softer) than the hardness of the second metal wire 12, so that the second twisted metal wire 12 is embedded in the outer periphery of the first metal wire 11, and together with the waveform of the first metal wire 11 as shown in Fig. 1(c), the three second metal wires 12 and the first metal wire 11 are tightly entangled. In this embodiment, it is preferable to use, for example, pure titanium as the first metal wire 11 and, for example, a titanium alloy such as β-titanium as the second metal wire 12.

[0015] 4A shows yet another embodiment of the stranded metal wire of the present invention, in which a stranded metal wire 1 is formed from three metal wires 11, 12 of the same diameter. By making the hardness of the first metal wire 11 higher (harder) than that of the second metal wire 12, it is possible to form a stranded metal wire 1 in which two second metal wires 12 in close contact with each other are entangled in a vine-like manner around the first metal wire 11, as in the embodiment of FIG. 1A.

[0016] In the example of (b), the twisted metal wire 1 is formed from four metal wires 11, 12 of the same diameter. By making the hardness of the first metal wire 11 higher (harder) than that of the second metal wire 12, it is possible to form the twisted metal wire 1 in which three second metal wires 12 in close contact with each other are entangled around the first metal wire 11 in a vine-like manner. In the example of (c)(i), a first metal wire 11 having a square cross section and two second metal wires 12 having a circular cross section are twisted together, and in the example of (ii), a first metal wire 11 having a circular cross section and two second metal wires 12 having a hexagonal cross section are twisted together. In the example of (d), a first metal wire 11 having an irregular cross section is twisted with two pairs of second metal wires 12 in a state where the two wires are in close contact with each other. Furthermore, in the example of (e), the first metal wire 11 is a stranded metal wire formed from a plurality of metal strands 11a.

[0017] In this way, the cross-sectional shape of the first metal wire 11 is not limited to a circle or an ellipse, but may be of various shapes such as a square, a polygon, an irregular shape, etc. Similarly, the cross-sectional shape of the second metal wire 12 is not limited to a circle or an ellipse, but may be of various shapes such as a square, a polygon, an irregular shape, etc.

[0018] Fig. 5 is a photograph showing the stranded metal wire 1 in the embodiment of Fig. 4(c)(ii), in which a first metal wire 11 made of β-titanium with a diameter of 1.2 mm and a circular cross section is twisted together with two second metal wires 12 made of pure titanium with a circumscribed circle diameter of 0.9 mm and a hexagonal cross section. In this example, the stranded metal wire 1 is anodized after twisting. By the anodization, oxide coatings of different colors are formed on the first metal wire 11 made of β-titanium and the second metal wire 12 made of pure titanium, and a stranded metal wire 1 with a colored pattern in which two colors alternate can be obtained.

[0019] Although not specifically shown, in the other embodiments of the stranded metal wire 1 shown in Figures 3 and 4, the first metal wire 11 and the multiple second metal wires 12 are each formed from different metals, and the stranded metal wire 1 formed from these first metal wire 11 and the multiple second metal wires 12 is subjected to surface treatment such as anodizing, painting, plating, resin coating, etc., to obtain a stranded metal wire 1 with a colored pattern in which multiple colors alternate. In addition, the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 may be subjected to a surface treatment such as anodizing, painting, plating, or resin coating in advance, and then the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 may be twisted together.

[0020] The stranded metal wire 1 obtained by each of the above embodiments can be cut to an appropriate length or bent depending on the application and used for eyeglass frames, accessories, etc. Fig. 6 shows an application example in which the stranded metal wire 1 is used for the temple T of an eyeglass frame, in which the stranded metal wire 1 is used in the front part of the temple T.

[0021] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the above description. For example, although titanium alloys such as β-titanium and pure titanium are given as examples of materials for the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12, the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 may be made of other metal materials, such as stainless steel, copper, gold, and aluminum. The use of the stranded metal wire of the present invention is not limited to eyeglass frames and accessories. Furthermore, when the stranded metal wire of the present invention is applied to eyeglass frames, it can be applied not only to temples but also to other parts such as the front frame and rim. In addition, in the above explanation, the differences in the properties of the first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 are given as examples of diameter, cross-sectional shape, and hardness, but the differences may be in other properties such as elongation, or a combination of two or more different properties. In addition, in FIG. 4(e), the first metal wire 11 is described as being a twisted metal wire formed from a plurality of metal strands 11a, but at least one of the second metal wires 12 may be a twisted metal wire formed from a plurality of metal strands. Furthermore, a pressing force may be applied from the periphery to the twisted first metal wire 11 and the second metal wire 12 to cause plastic deformation. The pressing force may be applied by pressing, rolling, swaging, or the like, and the desired plastic deformation may be obtained by applying the pressing force once, or the pressing force may be applied multiple times until the desired plastic deformation is achieved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a portion of a stranded metal wire according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the stranded metal wire in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is a diagram explaining the shape of the first metal wire after being twisted together. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1(a) is a schematic diagram of a stranded wire manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a stranded metal wire of the present invention, and FIG. 1(b) is a view of the stranded wire manufacturing apparatus of (a) as viewed from the direction of arrow I. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the stranded metal wire of the present invention, which shows a stranded metal wire formed from one large-diameter first metal wire and three large-diameter second metal wires. [Figure 4]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing yet another embodiment of the stranded metal wire of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 4(c)(ii) is a photograph showing the stranded metal wire in the embodiment of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example in which the stranded metal wire is used in the temples of an eyeglass frame. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a temple of an eyeglass frame using a metal strand according to a conventional example of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0023] 1,1′ Metallic stranded wire 11 First metal wire 11a Metal wire 12 Second metal wire 2. Stranded wire manufacturing equipment 21 Metal Wire Supply Department 22 Strand forming section T Temple C center line

Claims

1. A metal strand for eyeglass frames and accessories, which is made by stranding a plurality of metal wires, The plurality of metal wires are composed of a first metal wire serving as a shaft and a second metal wire formed from a metal wire having properties different from those of the first metal wire, The first metal wire is formed in a wavy shape, The second metal wire is wound around the first metal wire as a central axis, so that the second metal wire is entangled between the waves of the wavy first metal wire in a vine-like manner, and the second metal wire is wound so that the surface of the first metal wire, which is the axis, appears between the waves of the second metal wire wound in a vine-like manner; the first metal wire and the second metal wire are cut to a certain length for the eyeglass frame or accessory; A metal strand for eyeglass frames and accessories, comprising:

2. 2. The stranded metal wire for eyeglass frames and accessories according to claim 1, wherein the property is any one of diameter, cross-sectional shape, hardness, and elongation of the metal wire, or a combination of two or more of these.

3. 3. The stranded metal wire for eyeglass frames and accessories according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the first metal wire and the second metal wire is a stranded metal wire.

4. 4. The metal strand for eyeglass frames and accessories according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said second metal wires are wound in a vine-like manner around said first metal wire in a closely spaced state.

5. The metal strand for eyeglass frames and accessories described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that one of the first metal wire and the second metal wire is formed of a titanium alloy, and the other is formed of pure titanium.

6. A metal strand for eyeglass frames and accessories as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one of the first metal wire and the second metal wire is formed with a surface treatment layer including a paint layer, a plating layer, a coating layer or an oxide coating layer.

7. The metal strand for eyeglass frames and accessories as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the first metal wire and the second metal wire are twisted together and plastically deformed by applying a pressure from around them.

8. A method for manufacturing a stranded metal wire for eyeglass frames and accessories, which is made by stranding a plurality of metal wires, comprising the steps of: A first metal wire and a second metal wire having different properties are prepared; The first metal wire is a shaft located at the center of the stranding, forming the first metal wire into a corrugated shape by twisting the first metal wire together with the second metal wire; The second metal wire is wound around the first metal wire so that the surface of the first metal wire appears alternately between the second metal wires and the second metal wire is wound around the first metal wire in a vortex-like manner between the waves of the first metal wire which serves as an axis of the wavy shape; cutting the first metal wire and the second metal wire to a certain length for the eyeglass frame or accessory; A manufacturing method of a metal strand for eyeglass frames and accessories, comprising:

9. The method for manufacturing a metal strand for eyeglass frames and accessories according to claim 8, characterized in that a surface treatment is applied to the first metal wire or the second metal wire in advance, or a surface treatment is applied to the first metal wire or the second metal wire after being stranded.

10. The method for manufacturing a stranded metal wire for eyeglass frames and accessories according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that after the first metal wire and the second metal wire are stranded together, a pressing force is applied from around the first metal wire and the second metal wire to cause plastic deformation.

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