Attachment mechanism for eyewear accessory

Abstract

A clip for attaching a strap to eyewear, the clip comprising a hook to interface with the eyewear and a clip magnet to pull the hook into a locking position through magnetic influence between the clip magnet and a magnetic portion of the eyewear. Also provided is a connector for attaching a strap to eyewear, the connector including a tab to interface with a portion of an arm of the eyewear; and a pair of magnetic elements positioned to attract the tab to the portion of the arm through magnetic influence between the pair of magnetic elements.

Description

ATTACHMENT MECHANISM FOR EYEWEAR ACCESSORY CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.63 / 778,649 filed on March 27, 2025, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The following generally relates to attachment mechanisms for eyewear accessories, particularly for attaching such accessories to eyewear portions.BACKGROUND

[0003] Eyewear such as eyeglasses, sunglasses, safety goggles or safety glasses may include various accessories such as clip-on lenses or straps / cords that attach to the arms. In the case of a strap or cord, the accessory is used to allow a user to rest their eyewear on themselves when not in use, e.g., by resting on a user’s chest or back with the strap or cord hanging against the user’s neck. These cords or straps require attachment to the eyewear arms to ensure the eyewear stays connected and to allow the cord to hang from the eyewear when not in use, in an unobtrusive location, such as trailing behind the user’s head.

[0004] A cord or strap may be desired in some situations but not others and thus users tend to want the cord or strap to be detachable. Providing detachability can pose challenges when balancing the competing objectives of secure attachment and ease of detachment.SUMMARY

[0005] In one aspect, there is provided a clip for attaching a strap to eyewear, the clip comprising a hook to interface with the eyewear and a clip magnet to pull the hook into a locking position through magnetic influence between the clip magnet and a magnetic portion of the eyewear.

[0006] In certain example embodiments, the hook slides along a passage from an unlocked position to the locking position when the clip magnet is in proximity with the magnetic portion of the eyewear.1CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1

[0007] In certain example embodiments, the hook is configured to protrude into a passage in the eyewear and fit into a slot in the passage when in the locking position.

[0008] In certain example embodiments, pulling the hook away from the slot uncouples the magnetic influence between the clip magnet and the magnetic portion of the eyewear to disengage the strap from the eyewear.

[0009] In certain example embodiments, the clip includes an attachment mechanism, the attachment mechanism comprising: a tab; the hook extending from the tab at one end thereof; and a connector configured to attach to the strap at the other end of the tab; wherein the clip magnet is integrated into the tab and spaced from the hook to magnetically attract to or repel from the magnetic portion of the eyewear.

[0010] In certain example embodiments, the clip magnet is embedded in the clip or is a magnetic coating applied to the clip.

[0011] In certain example embodiments, the portion of the eyewear is on an arm of the eyewear.

[0012] In certain example embodiments, the portion of the eyewear is located at a distal end of the arm of the eyewear.

[0013] In certain example embodiments, the connector to attach to the accessory comprises a rotatable hinge.

[0014] In certain example embodiments, the rotatable hinge permits a plurality of positions.

[0015] In certain example embodiments, the plurality of positions are permitted via frictional engagement between a hinge portion on the attachment mechanism and a hinge portion on the accessory.

[0016] In certain example embodiments, the frictional engagement is provided by a ratchet mechanism.

[0017] In certain example embodiments, the magnetic influence comprises a magnetic attraction between the clip magnet and the magnetic portion of the eyewear.2CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1

[0018] In certain example embodiments, the magnetic influence comprises a magnetic repulsion between the clip magnet and the magnetic portion of the eyewear.

[0019] In another aspect, there is provided an accessory for eyewear, comprising: at least one clip as defined above and a strap connected to the at least one clip.

[0020] In certain example embodiments, the strap comprises an adjuster.

[0021] In certain example embodiments, the strap is cord-like.

[0022] In another aspect, there is provided a connector for attaching a strap to eyewear, the connector comprising a tab to interface with a portion of an arm of the eyewear; and a pair of magnetic elements positioned to attract the tab to the portion of the arm through magnetic influence between the pair of magnetic elements.

[0023] In certain example embodiments, the connector includes a pin on one of the tab or portion of the arm and a slot in the other of the tab or portion of the arm, the pin entering the slot as the magnetic elements engage the tab with the portion of the arm.

[0024] In another aspect, there is provided an eyewear assembly, comprising: eyewear, the eyewear comprising a frame for holding at least one lens, and a pair of arms extending from the frame; and an accessory as defined above and comprising a pair of clips, or a pair of the connectors defined above.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Embodiments will now be described with reference to the appended drawings wherein:

[0026] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an eyewear assembly having eyewear and an accessory coupled to arms of the eyewear.

[0027] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the eyewear assembly of FIG. 1 with the accessory detached.

[0028] FIG. 3 is a front view of the eyewear assembly.

[0029] FIG. 4 is a side view of the eyewear assembly.3CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1

[0030] FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of the eyewear assembly shown an attachment mechanism for the accessory.

[0031] FIGS. 6a, 6b, and 6c are enlarged partial cross-sectional views illustrating an attachment process for coupling the accessory to arms of the eyewear using the attachment mechanism.

[0032] FIGS. 7, 8a and 8b are side views of a portion of the eyewear assembly illustrating an external view of the attachment mechanism.

[0033] FIGS. 9a, 9b, and 9c illustrate a rotatable feature of the attachment mechanism to permit adjustment of the accessory relative to the eyewear.

[0034] FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of an attachment mechanism configured to use magnetic repulsion to secure a locking position.

[0035] FIGS. 11a and 11 b illustrate an alternative configuration for the attachment mechanism.

[0036] FIGS. 12a and 12b illustrate yet another alternative configuration for the attachment mechanism.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] For simplicity and clarity of illustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the examples described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the examples described herein may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the examples described herein. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the examples described herein.

[0038] Accessories used with eyewear can be challenging to integrate with the eyewear for reasons including, without limitation, detachability, consistent aesthetic appearance, storage or non-use of the accessory, adjustability, etc. A particular challenge is how to conveniently attach and detach the accessory when that accessory is not always being used. For example, a strap or cord (hereinafter4CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1referred to as a “strap” for brevity) may be used in some circumstances, e.g., in certain weather conditions, on a boat or bicycle or during physical activity but not in other circumstances such as while driving or at a social event. In other cases, the user may wish to have the strap available and attached quickly when these circumstances change. Moreover, a user may have multiple different straps with different lengths, thicknesses, shapes, colors, styles, etc.

[0039] The present disclosure describes an attachment mechanism for attaching an accessory such as a strap to the distal ends of the arms of the eyewear. In the following discussion, an eyewear “assembly” refers to the eyewear in addition to some other element such as the accessory. While the examples described herein show the attachment mechanism being located at / with the distal ends of the arms (particularly suitable for a strap), the attachment mechanism can be integrated at any location of the eyewear, for example, to enable an accessory to be attached to an eyewear frame or at another location along the arms (e.g., midpoint or elsewhere). Moreover, while the examples show a pair of attachment mechanisms being used, the principles discussed herein may be applied to any singular attachment mechanism. For example, the strap shown in examples below may be fixed to one arm and detachably coupled to the other arm using the attachment mechanism.

[0040] Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an eyewear assembly 8. The assembly 8 includes eyewear 10 and an accessory 14. The accessory 14 shown in FIG. 1 embodies a strap and may be referred to herein using numeral “14” interchangeably with “accessory”. The accessory 14 is coupled to the eyewear 10 to form the assembly 8 via one or more attachment mechanisms 16. In this example, the assembly 8 includes a first attachment mechanism 16a coupled to a first attachment portion 18a of a first arm 12a of the eyewear 10, and a second attachment mechanism 16b coupled to a second attachment portion 18b of a second arm 12b of the eyewear 10. A strap 20 extends between the attachment mechanisms 16a, 16b. The strap 20 may be constructed using any elongate member having various thicknesses, using various materials, with varying levels of stiffness / slackness, etc. That is, the strap 20 shown in FIG. 1 is for illustrative purposes only. The strap 20 may optionally include a length adjuster 22 that may5CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1allow the strap 20 to be shortened by pulling a portion thereof through the adjuster 22. An adjuster 22 is an optional feature show for illustrative purposes only.

[0041] FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate the pieces of the assembly 8 in isolation. FIG.2a shows the eyewear 10 without the accessory 14 attached. Likewise, FIG. 2b shows the accessory 14 detached from the eyewear 10.

[0042] Referring first to FIG. 2a, the attachment portions 18a, 18b of the respective arms 12a, 12b of the eyewear 10 may be embodied as apertures, holes, passages, slots or other attachment points with complementary configurations to features provided on portions of the strap 20 that complete the respective attachment mechanisms 16a, 16b. In the example shown in FIG. 2b, the attachment mechanisms 16a, 16b include tabs 24a, 24b that secure against the respective attachment portion 18a, 18b of the arms 12a, 12b. The tabs 24a, 24b each include a hook 26a, 26b, which in this example is complementary to the passages provided by the corresponding attachment portions 18a, 18b such that the hooks 26a, 26b may fit into and secure against / within the portions 18a, 18b as described further below.

[0043] As can be seen in FIG. 2b, the tabs 24a, 24b may include a magnet 28a, 28b or portion of magnetically attractable material (e.g., magnetic coating) to engage with a magnetic feature of the attachment portions 18a, 18b of the arms 12a, 12b, discussed further below.

[0044] The tabs 24a, 24b may optionally, as shown in FIG. 2b, include ratchet hinge pairs 30 / 32. Shown in FIG. 2b is a first hinge pair 30a, 32a, which allows the strap 20 to be rotatably connected to the attachment mechanism 16a. It can be appreciated that the same connection may be made to the other attachment mechanism 16b. The ratchet hinge pair 30a, 32a is one example of a rotatable connection and others may be created using frictional engagement, etc. Moreover, the accessory 14 may include freely rotatable connections between the strap 20 and the attachment mechanisms 16a, 16b or have a fixed (non-rotatable) connection in other examples.

[0045] As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the choice of material for the strap 20, the type of connections between the strap 20 and the attachment mechanisms 16a, 16b, among other physical characteristics can affect the “hang” of the strap 20 behind the6CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1eyewear 10. Moreover, as seen in FIG. 3, the adjuster 22 can be included to allow adjustment of the size of the loop created by the strap 20. FIG. 4 includes a line V-V to denote a cross-section, shown in FIG. 5.

[0046] Referring now to FIG. 5, an engaged position or configuration is shown in which the hook 26a is seated within the passage and slot included in the attachment portion 18a of the arm 12a. Here, it can also be seen that through magnetic attraction between the magnet 28a and a complementary magnetic surface 36a (or opposing magnet, etc.), the hook 26a “locks in” to the attachment portion 18a around a complementary contour in the passage / slot. That is, as the hook 26a passes into the passage of the attachment portion 18a, the magnetic attraction between the magnet 28a and magnet 36a pulls the hook 26a into its locking position. When the user wishes to detach the accessory 14 from the eyewear 10, the hook 26a may be pulled in the opposite direction to disengage the magnetic attraction between the magnets 28a, 36a to separate the tab 24a from the attachment portion 18a of the arm 12a.

[0047] FIGS. 6a, 6b, and 6c illustrate the insertion and engagement of the hook 26a into the attachment portion 18a described above. FIG. 6a illustrates the complementary contouring and configuration of the hook 26a and the slot 42a in the attachment portion 18a and the positioning of the magnets 28a, 36a. Then, as seen in FIG. 6b, inserting the hook 26a through the passage provided by the attachment portion 18a creates a magnetic pull between the magnet 36a and the magnet 28a that is now in its proximity. This encourages the hook 26a to slide towards and into the slot 42a until the magnets 28a, 36a align (as shown in FIG. 6c) or otherwise cannot move any further. That is, while FIGS. 6b and 6c illustrate an alignment of the slot 42a and hook 24a that coincides with alignment of the magnets 28a, 36a, the magnets 28a, 36a do not require such strict alignment so long as a magnetic pull occurs to secure the hook 24a against or into the slot 42a.

[0048] FIG. 7 illustrates an external view of the attachment mechanism 16a, encircled to highlight the movement of the hook 26a into the slot as shown in the enlarged views of FIGS. 8a and 8b. As seen in FIG. 8a, the end of the hook 26a may begin at one end of the slot 42a and move against the opposite end of the slot 42a7CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1as shown in FIG. 8b due to the magnetic pull between the magnets 28a, 36a shown in FIGS. 6a-6c.

[0049] FIGS. 9a, 9b, and 9c illustrate how the ratchet hinge pair 30a, 32a allows adjustability of the strap 20 relative to the eyewear 10. In FIG. 9a, through frictional engagement between the hinge pair elements 30a, 32a, the strap 20 may sit higher than the eyewear 10. FIG. 9b illustrates a relatively linear arrangement, while FIG. 9c illustrates a hang between the strap 20 and the eyewear 10. The rotatability of the strap 20 relative to the eyewear 10 in the assembly 8 may permit the strap 20 to hang against the user’s back when the eyewear 10 is in use or allow the eyewear 10 to more comfortably hang over the chest or front contours of the user while not in use by allowing the strap 20 to rotate relative to the arms 12a, 12b.

[0050] Referring now to FIG. 10, while the examples above illustrate the hook 26 being urged into a locking position due to magnetic attraction between the magnets 28, 36, the opposite magnetic influence may instead be used, namely to utilize magnetic repulsion. In this example, as the hook 26 is inserted into the passage 18’, the magnets 28, 36 repel each other to urge the hook 26 into the slot 42’. As such, any suitable magnetic influence between magnetic portions or features of the eyewear 10 and the attachment mechanism 16 may be utilized to enable the accessory 14 to be coupled to the eyewear 10.

[0051] Referring now to FIGS. 11 a and 11b, in another configuration for the attachment mechanism(s) 16, a tab 100 attached to the hinge pair 30, 32 may be attracted to and secured against a distal portion 102 of the arm 12 using only magnetic attraction between a first magnetic element 104 and a second magnetic element 106. That is, attachment may be achieved, in some embodiments, without the hook 26.

[0052] Similarly, as shown in FIGS. 12a and 12b, the coupling of the strap 20 to the arm 12 may be achieved using a combination of magnetic attraction between magnetic elements 104, 106 and a pin 110 that engages with and inserts into a slot 112 in the distal end 102 of the arm 12. In this configuration, while different than the hook 26, the pin 110 can encourage alignment of the magnetic elements 104, 106 to promote attachment. It can be appreciated that various other combinations are8CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1possible, e.g., by including magnetic materials or coating on the pin 110 or slot 112 to further encourage alignment. Moreover, while a single magnetic contact point is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, multiple magnetic contact points may be used.Furthermore, the hinge pair 30, 32 shown is for illustrative purposes and, as discussed above, variations may be used, including free moving and fixed versions.

[0053] It will be appreciated that the examples and corresponding diagrams used herein are for illustrative purposes only. Different configurations and terminology can be used without departing from the principles expressed herein. For instance, components and modules can be added, deleted, modified, or arranged with differing connections without departing from these principles.

[0054] The steps or operations in the flow charts and diagrams described herein are provided by way of example. There may be many variations to these steps or operations without departing from the principles discussed above. For instance, the steps may be performed in a differing order, or steps may be added, deleted, or modified.

[0055] Although the above principles have been described with reference to certain specific examples, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art as having regard to the appended claims in view of the specification as a whole.9CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1

Claims

Claims:

1. A clip for attaching a strap to eyewear, the clip comprising a hook to interface with the eyewear and a clip magnet to pull the hook into a locking position through magnetic influence between the clip magnet and a magnetic portion of the eyewear.

2. The clip of claim 1 , wherein the hook slides along a passage from an unlocked position to the locking position when the clip magnet is in proximity with the magnetic portion of the eyewear.

3. The clip of claim 2, wherein the hook is configured to protrude into a passage in the eyewear and fit into a slot in the passage when in the locking position.

4. The clip of claim 3, wherein pulling the hook away from the slot uncouples the magnetic influence between the clip magnet and the magnetic portion of the eyewear to disengage the strap from the eyewear.

5. The clip of any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising an attachment mechanism, the attachment mechanism comprising:a tab;the hook extending from the tab at one end thereof; anda connector configured to attach to the strap at the other end of the tab; wherein the clip magnet is integrated into the tab and spaced from the hook to magnetically attract to or repel from the magnetic portion of the eyewear.

6. The clip of any one of claim 1 to 5, wherein the clip magnet is embedded in the clip or is a magnetic coating applied to the clip.

7. The clip of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the portion of the eyewear is on an arm of the eyewear.10CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.

18. The clip of claim 7, wherein the portion of the eyewear is located at a distal end of the arm of the eyewear.

9. The clip of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the connector to attach to the accessory comprises a rotatable hinge.

10. The clip of claim 9, wherein the rotatable hinge permits a plurality of positions.

11. The clip of claim 10, wherein the plurality of positions are permitted via frictional engagement between a hinge portion on the attachment mechanism and a hinge portion on the accessory.

12. The clip of claim 11 , wherein the frictional engagement is provided by a ratchet mechanism.

13. The clip of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the magnetic influence comprises a magnetic attraction between the clip magnet and the magnetic portion of the eyewear.

14. The clip of any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the magnetic influence comprises a magnetic repulsion between the clip magnet and the magnetic portion of the eyewear.

15. An accessory for eyewear, comprising:at least one clip according to any one of claims 1 to 14; anda strap connected to the at least one clip.

16. The accessory of claim 15, wherein the strap comprises an adjuster.

17. The accessory of claim 15, wherein the strap is cord-like.

18. A connector for attaching a strap to eyewear, the connector comprising:11CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1a tab to interface with a portion of an arm of the eyewear; anda pair of magnetic elements positioned to attract the tab to the portion of the arm through magnetic influence between the pair of magnetic elements.

19. The connector of claim 18, further comprising a pin on one of the tab or portion of the arm and a slot in the other of the tab or portion of the arm, the pin entering the slot as the magnetic elements engage the tab with the portion of the arm.

20. An eyewear assembly, comprising:eyewear, the eyewear comprising a frame for holding at least one lens, and a pair of arms extending from the frame; andan accessory according to any one of claims 15 to 17, comprising a pair of clips; ora pair of connectors according to claim 18 or claim 19 and a strap connected to the pair of connectors.12CPST Doc: 1380-0287-9004.1

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