Eyeglass holder

Abstract

An eyeglass holder for attachment to an article of clothing has a decorative emblem with an integral loop adapted to receive a temple piece of eyeglasses to be suspended from the eyeglass holder. The eyeglass holder is attached to an article of clothing magnetically.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/282,147 filed Apr. 9, 2001, incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention is concerned with eyeglass holders and more particularly with an eyeglass holder that can be attached to an article of clothing simply and securely.

[0003] Previously, eyeglass holders designed for attachment to an article of clothing, such as a jacket or blouse, for example, have incorporated a pin for piercing a layer of the article of clothing. Such an attachment is disadvantageous, however, because of potential damage to the article of clothing and the difficulty of performing an attachment operation, particularly while the article of clothing is being worn.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention avoids the disadvantages of prior eyeglass holders and provides eyeglass holders that are easily and securely attached to an article of clothing and that can be manufactured simply and economically.

[0005] An eyeglass holder in accordance with the invention comprises a decorative three-dimensional emblem with an integral loop adapted to receive a temple piece of eyeglasses. A first disc-shaped magnet is secured to the back of the emblem. Also provided is a second disc-shaped magnet. The eyeglass holder of the invention is designed to be attached to an article of clothing, such as a jacket or blouse, for example, with a layer of the article of clothing interposed between the first magnet and the second magnet, so that the emblem, facing outwardly, is strongly attached to the article of clothing without the need for piercing the clothing with a pin.

[0006] Once the eyeglass holder of the invention is secured to the article of clothing by virtue of the magnets, eyeglasses can be securely suspended from the loop of the emblem by means of a temple piece inserted through the loop. To remove the eyeglass holder from the article of clothing, the magnets are separated, usually by sliding the magnets relative to one another laterally.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The invention will be further described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate preferred (best mode) embodiments of the invention, and wherein:

[0008] FIG. 1 is a front elevational view showing an eyeglass holder of the invention with eyeglasses suspended therefrom;

[0009] FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the manner in which the eyeglass holder is attached to a layer of an article of clothing;

[0010] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing an eyeglass holder of the invention from the rear of a layer of an article of clothing; and

[0011] FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of an eyeglass holder of the invention with a magnet embedded in the emblem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] FIG. 1 shows an eyeglass holder 10 of the invention, with an emblem 12, the front of which is in the form of a cat, having an integral loop 14 for suspending eyeglasses 16 by means of a temple piece 18 inserted through the loop. The emblem may take any one of a wide variety of decorative forms and can be made of a number of different materials, e.g., cast pewter plated with gold or silver, or electroformed (plated) silver or silver alloy. The eyeglass holder is secured to an article of clothing 20, such as a jacket or blouse, for example, by means of a pair of disc-shaped magnets 22 and 24 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, at opposite sides of a layer 26, of which the article of clothing 20 is comprised. Magnet 24 may have a diameter smaller than that of magnet 22. The magnets are preferably strong, neodymium-iron-boron magnets, for example.

[0013] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3, the back of the emblem 12 has an integrally molded cup 28, and magnet 22, having a diameter that is slightly less than the diameter of the cup, is glued into the cup by an appropriate adhesive, such as Super Glue or a similar alpha cyanoacrylate.

[0014] When the magnets are brought together in an attracting relationship at opposite sides of the layer 26, their strong attraction secures the eyeglass holder to the article of clothing. To remove the eyeglass holder from the article of clothing, the magnets are separated, as by sliding the magnet 24 laterally relative to magnet 22.

[0015] FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the invention wherein an emblem 12′, in the form of a flower, for example, has a first magnet 22 embedded in it, so that it is totally hidden. To embed the first magnet in the emblem, the magnet 22 can be pressed into a wax matrix from which the emblem is modeled, and then a non-magnetic material, such as silver, can be electroformed over a conductive layer applied to the wax matrix and over the magnet 22.

[0016] By virtue of the invention, an eyeglass holder can be simply and securely attached to an article of clothing without the need for piercing a layer of the article with a pin.

[0017] While preferred forms of the invention have been shown and described, these forms are intended to be exemplary, not restrictive, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An eyeglass holder comprising an emblem with a decorative front and having an integral loop adapted to receive a temple piece of eyeglasses to be suspended from the loop, the emblem having a back to which a first magnet is fixed, and a second magnet cooperable with the first magnet to attach the eyeglass holder to a layer of an article of clothing by attraction of the magnets to one another from opposite sides of the layer.

2. An eyeglass holder according to claim 1, wherein the back of the emblem has an integral cup open rearwardly, and wherein the first magnet fits within the cup and is secured thereto by an adhesive.

3. An eyeglass holder according to claim 2, wherein the magnets are disc-shaped.

4. An eyeglass holder according to claim 3, wherein the magnets are neodymium-iron-boron magnets.

5. An eyeglass holder according to claim 1, wherein the first magnet is embedded in the emblem.

6. An eyeglass holder according to claim 5, wherein the emblem is formed of a non-magnetic material that covers the first magnet.