3D Printed Eyewear Frame with Integrated Crossed-Spring Hinge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional eyewear designs are delicate, require sophisticated tools for repair, and often feature multiple fasteners that can back out, leading to durability issues and the need for professional repairs, while 3D printed eyewear faces challenges with stress and wear due to limited elastic materials.
Innovation Solution
The integration of crossed-spring hinge assemblies within 3D printed eyewear frames, eliminating the need for screws or bolts and allowing for durable flexibility, comfortable fit, and easy folding, with the hinges made from the same material as the frame using 3D printing technology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional hinges with multiple fasteners (screws, pins, bolts) are used to attach temples to the frame, then the eyewear can be assembled with conventional manufacturing methods, but the fasteners may back out after extended wear, requiring professional repair tools and custom parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the hinge and temple components into a single integrated 3D-printed structure, eliminating separate fasteners (screws, pins, bolts) that were previously used to attach temples to the frame. This integration resolves the technical contradiction by maintaining ease of manufacture through additive manufacturing while eliminating fastener back-out issues entirely, as there are no separate fasteners to loosen or fail.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and eliminates the fastener subsystem (screws, pins, bolts, and their associated assembly/disassembly operations) from the eyewear structure. By removing these problematic components entirely and replacing them with an integrated 3D-printed hinge-temple assembly, the invention resolves the contradiction between ease of manufacture and fastener retention reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple separate components and fasteners are used in eyewear design, then assembly is possible with conventional methods, but repair requires sophisticated tools, custom parts, and professional optician services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate components (hinge, temple, and mounting structure) into a single integrated 3D-printed unit. This merger eliminates the need for sophisticated repair tools and custom parts, as the integrated structure can be easily replaced or reprinted if damaged, resolving the contradiction between assembly capability and repair complexity.
3Strength
If eyewear components are made from conventional materials, then structural strength is achieved, but customization for individual users is difficult, expensive, or impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes 3D printing technology to enable parameter changes in eyewear design, allowing customization of temple length, angle, and shape for individual users while maintaining structural strength through controlled material deposition and inflection point design. This resolves the contradiction between structural strength and user customization by enabling variable geometry optimization for each user's anatomy.
4Adaptability or versatility
If 3D printed materials with limited elasticity are used for eyewear frames, then manufacturing flexibility and customization are improved, but stress distribution and durability under repeated use are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates preliminary action by designing built-in inflection points and stress-distributing geometries into the 3D-printed frame structure before use. These pre-engineered features prepare the material to handle stress and repetition by directing forces through optimal pathways, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing flexibility and durability under stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material strategies by combining 3D-printed polymer materials with strategically designed geometric structures (inflection points, cross-section variations) to create a composite system that achieves both manufacturing flexibility and durability. The geometric complexity compensates for material limitations, enabling stress distribution and repeated use durability.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a 3D printed eyewear frame having an integrated hinge. Advantageously, the integrated hinge assembly is a crossed spring hinge. Methods of manufacturing a 3D printed eyewear frame are likewise provided.