BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to jewelry, and more particularly to a jewelry assembly having an adjustable clasp and a length of jewelry chain, such as a necklace, bracelet, anklet, and so on, adjustably held by the clasp for adapting the hanging length or opening size of jewelry around a person to a desired amount to thereby accommodate the person's body size, clothing type, and fashion preferences.
For many years, people have worn necklaces at different lengths depending upon the prevailing fashion at the time. During some years the common length has been a short choker length of approximately fifteen inches. During other years the common length has been eighteen inches or longer. The trends in length have come and gone repeatedly over the decades.
Necklaces commonly comprise a fixed length of flexible chain made from one or more precious metals, such as gold, silver and platinum, and these chains are available in a wide variety of designs. The flexible chains are also commonly adorned with a wide variety of pendants, which generally comprise one or more precious stones, such as diamonds, rubies and sapphires, mounted in settings of precious metal.
Purchasers of fine jewelry currently select a pendant of a desirable style and size and have it mounted on a flexible chain having a fixed length, which is usually fifteen, eighteen, twenty-four, or thirty inches. If the popular fashion changes, the pendant can in many cases later be mounted on a chain of a different length, but this generally requires the purchase of a new chain and also often requires the services of a professional jeweler to remove the pendant from the old chain and mount it on the new chain. Thus, mounting a pendant on a new chain can be inconvenient, time consuming and expensive.
Due to the wide variety of body shapes and sizes, a necklace chain of a given length will hang differently from person to person. For example, an eighteen-inch necklace chain which hangs at a fashionable length on an average-sized person would not hang at the same fashionable length on a relatively larger or relatively smaller person. In some cases, such persons have been unable to wear necklaces and other jewelry at appropriate fashionable lengths.
Moreover, the style and type of a person's clothing can interfere with the appearance of a necklace and affect the way the necklace hangs. For example, a pendant which hangs at approximately the same length as the neckline of the person's clothing can often be hidden from view by the clothing. Likewise, a pendant which hangs at a fashionable length when worn over light clothing may not hang at the same fashionable length when worn over relatively bulky clothing.
Many necklace chains include a fixed clasp for connecting and separating opposite ends of the chain for mounting and dismounting the chain around a person's neck. Such clasps are relatively small in size and thus are relatively difficult to manipulate.
In an effort to overcome the afore-mentioned difficulties, U.S. Pat. No. 6,484,535 to Grosser-Samuels, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses an adjustable jewelry assembly having a length of chain and various clamping mechanisms for adjusting the hanging length of the chain and/or pendant mounted on the chain to accommodate the particular user's clothing style and size in a relatively quick and easy manner. Although the Grosser-Samuels adjustable jewelry assembly has found much success and enthusiasm in the jewelry industry, the clamping mechanism requires multiple small parts, such as a plunger, biasing member and cap which are most often constructed of precious metals. The parts must be separately cast, formed and assembled together using skilled labor, resulting in additional expense to the adjustable jewelry assembly.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an adjustable jewelry assembly for adjusting the hanging length or jewelry, such as necklaces and/or pendants, or to adjust the opening size of necklaces, bracelets, anklets, etc., to accommodate the particular size and clothing style of the wearer in a relatively quick and easy manner while reducing the manufacturing costs associated with the adjustable jewelry assembly.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an adjustable clasp for precisely adjusting the length of jewelry, such as necklaces, to easily and conveniently accommodate the particular size, clothing type, and fashion preferences of the wearer. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention is not limited to necklaces, but can also be readily applied to jewelry commonly worn elsewhere, such as around the waist, wrist and ankle.
An adjustable jewelry assembly according to one aspect of the present invention comprises an adjustable clasp and an elongate flexible member releasably secured to the clasp. The elongate flexible member forms a loop portion with the clasp and is slidable in the clasp to adjust the size of the loop portion. The clasp includes a first wall, a second wall and a biasing portion that extends between the first and second walls. The biasing portion exerts a biasing force that tends to push the first and second walls apart. A first tab extends from the first wall in a first direction and a second tab extends from the second wall in a second direction opposite the first direction. At least one first opening extends through the first tab and at least one second opening extending through the second tab.
An elongate flexible member is also provided with first and second legs and a loop portion that extends between the legs. The first and second legs extend through the first and second openings, which are normally misaligned under biasing force from the biasing portion to thereby create opposing forces on the flexible member and prevent relative movement between the clasp and the first and second legs of the flexible member. The adjustable clasp can slide along the first and second legs to adjust the size of the loop portion of the flexible member when the first and second tabs are moved relative to each other against the biasing force to thereby align the first and second openings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing summary as well as the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be best understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like designations denote like elements throughout the drawings, and wherein:
FIGS. 1A and 1B are front and rear views, respectively, showing a clasp, pendant and necklace of an adjustable jewelry assembly according to the present invention placed around the neck of a wearer and adjusted to a relatively short length;
FIGS. 1C and 1D are front and rear views, respectively, showing the adjustable jewelry assembly according to the present invention around the neck of a wearer and adjusted to a relatively long length;
FIG. 1E is an enlarged view of a clasp in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the adjustable jewelry assembly according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a clasp in a clamping position according to the present invention that forms part of the adjustable jewelry assembly of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the clasp in a closed position;
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clasp in an open position;
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clasp in the closed position showing longitudinal adjustment of a jewelry chain of the jewelry assembly of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clasp in the clamped position to hold the jewelry chain in place;
FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a clasp blank subsequent prior to bending;
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a clasp blank according to a further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a clasp blank according to an even further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a jewelry assembly that employs the clasp blank of FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 is a top plan view of a clasp blank according yet a further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 13 is a top plan view of plan view of a clasp blank according to another embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a jewelry assembly that employs the clasp blank of FIG. 13;
FIG. 15 is a top plan view of a clasp blank according to yet a further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 16 is a top plan view of a clasp blank according to a further embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 17 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view of a jewelry assembly employing the clasp blank of FIG. 16 with the clasp in the clamped position to hold the jewelry chain in place; and
FIG. 18 is a longitudinal sectional view of the clasp of FIG. 17 in the open position.
It is noted that the drawings are intended to depict typical or exemplary embodiments of the invention and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope thereof. It is further noted that the drawings are not necessarily to scale. The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings, and to and to FIGS. 1A-1D and 2 in particular, an adjustable jewelry assembly 10 comprises an elongate, flexible jewelry member 12 and an adjustable jewelry clasp 14. The flexible member 12 can be formed of any suitable material, such as metal, fabric, string, plastic or silicone, and is preferably formed as a jewelry chain of base metal such as stainless steel, nickel, aluminum and so on, and more preferably as semi-precious or precious metal such as such as gold, silver, platinum, various alloys thereof and so on, using methods that are well known in the art.
As shown, the flexible member 12 includes a loop portion 16 extending from one side of the clasp 14, and a pair of legs 18 and 20 extending from the opposite side of the clasp. The loop portion 16 can extend around the neck 22 of a wearer 24 with the clasp 14 located behind the neck and the legs 18 and 20 extending generally downward from the clasp. The leg 18 terminates in a first free end to which a first end stop 26 is attached by means well known in the art, such as soldering when the components are constructed of metal. The leg 20 terminates in a second free end to which a second end stop 28 is attached by similar means. The first and second end stops 26 and 28 can be fashioned in a wide variety of decorative and ornamental shapes and can also comprise precious stones, such as one or more diamonds, rubies, sapphires and so on. Alternatively, the flexible member 12 can be a single continuous length of material which itself forms a loop and which therefore would not have a first free end or a second free end. Thus, in this alternative embodiment, the first end stop 26 and second end stop 28 would not be present.
A decorative ornament or pendant 30, which can comprise a setting with one or more precious stones, such as a diamond 32 as shown, rubies, sapphires and so on, can be mounted on the loop portion 16 of the flexible member 12. The pendant 30 is preferably mounted on the flexible member 12 according to means well known in the art so that the pendant 30 can freely slide along the length of the loop portion 16. Alternatively, the pendant 30 can be fixedly connected to the loop portion 16 in a well-known manner.
Manipulation of the clasp 14, as will be described in greater detail below, permits the legs 18 and 20 and thus the loop portion 16 to be adjusted to a desired length on the wearer. For example, when the clasp 14 is adjusted so that the loop portion 16 is of a relatively short length, the pendant 30, if utilized, hangs relatively higher on the front of the wearer's neck, with the legs 18 and 20 being of a relatively long length, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. When the clasp 14 is adjusted so that the loop portion 16 is of a relatively long length, the pendant 30, if utilized, hangs relatively lower on the wearer's neck or chest, with the legs 18 and 20 being of a relatively short length, as shown in FIGS. 1C and 1D. Likewise, although not shown, it will be understood that when the clasp 14 is adjusted so that the loop portion 16 is at an intermediate length between the long and short lengths, the pendant 30, would hang at the intermediate length with the legs 18 and 20 also being of intermediate length.
Since the clasp 14 can be positioned at any desired location relative to the first and second legs 18 and 20, the loop portion 16 of the flexible member 12 can be adjusted to any desired size and thereby accommodate any desired length, regardless of the wearer's relative size, clothing styles, and fashion preferences.
With reference now to FIGS. 2 through 7, the adjustable clasp 14 is preferably constructed of a single, thin strip of material and includes a first wall 36 and a first tab 38 extending in a first direction from the first wall 36. The clasp 14 also has a second wall 40 and a second tab 42 extending in a second direction opposite the first direction from the second wall 40, with the first tab in front of the second tab. However, it will be understood that the clasp 14 can be constructed with the second tab in front of the first tab. Preferably, the first and second walls are of a generally circular planar shape. A biasing portion 44 extends between the first and second walls 36 and 40, respectively. Although the biasing portion 44 is shown with a curved shape, it will be understood that the biasing portion 44 may be straight, V-shaped, inversely curved-shaped, and so on. A pair of first openings 46 and 48 extend through the first tab 38 and a pair of second openings 50 and 52 extend through the second tab 42. Likewise, a pair of third openings 54 and 56 extend through the biasing portion 44. Preferably, each of the pairs of first, second and third openings are oriented in a lateral direction on the strip 34.
Referring now to FIG. 8, a blank 34 of a clasp 14 can be stamped and formed out of a thin sheet of material in a continuous operation with well known stamping and forming equipment. Preferably, the first and second walls 36, 40, the first and second tabs 38, 42, the shape of the biasing portion 44 and the openings 46-56 are simultaneously formed. The tabs 38 and 42 are preferably bent along bend lines 58 and 60 during the same operation. Likewise, the area of the biasing portion 44 between dashed lines 62 and 64 may be shaped during the same operation but preferably after the tabs are bent. In this manner, a large number of clasps can be automatically formed by machine in a much quicker and efficient manner than the multiple part clasps of the prior art that require separate casting and assembly steps. It will be understood, of course, that the stamping and bending operations may be accomplished through separate operations.
It will also be understood that the clasp 14 can be formed partially or completely by hand. By way of example, the blank 34 may be cut manually by hand or machine, and the bending may be performed by hand. In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, the clasp 14 may alternatively be formed by well known casting techniques in either its completed shape as shown in FIG. 3 or in its flat shape as shown in FIG. 8.
With reference now to FIG. 1E, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, the clasp 14 may include a setting 53 for mounting a precious stone 55 such as a diamond or the like. The setting 53 may be simultaneously formed on one of the walls 36, 40 when the clasp 14 is cast, or may be formed separately and attached to one of the walls through laser welding or the like when the clasp is separately stamped and bent. The setting 53 is arranged so that the precious stone 55 is viewable when the adjustable jewelry assembly 10 is worn. It will be understood that the clasp 14 may include other settings, stones or ornamental features.
Referring to FIG. 5, a cross section of the completed clasp 14 is shown in an unstrained or free condition with the first wall 36 and second wall 40 extending at an acute angle A. The angle A, and thus the amount of bending of the biasing portion 44, depends on the desired biasing force to be applied against the flexible member as well as the elasticity of the clasp material and the relative size and shape of the flexible member 12 (FIG. 2). The biasing portion 44 thus acts as a torsional biasing member to pull the tabs 38 and 42 away from each other.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the legs 18 and 20 of the flexible member 12 extend through the set of first openings 34, 36 and the set of second openings 38, 40, respectively, of the clasp 14 with the first and second tabs in an overlapping position. Relative movement between the clasp 14 and the first leg 18 and second leg 20 is normally prevented by opposing shear forces acting on the first and second legs by the edges of the first openings 46, 48 and second openings 50, 52 due to the torsional biasing force created by the biasing portion 44. In particular, the biasing portion 44 tends to force the first tab 38 away from the second tab 42 of the clasp 14, and thereby creates a misalignment between the first openings 46, 48 and second openings 50, 52. This misalignment produces a shear force on the first leg 18 at the openings 46 and 50 and a shear force on the second leg 30 at the openings 48 and 52. The opposing shear forces applied to the first and second legs 18 and 20 keep them firmly secured within their respective openings when the clasp is in its normal, prestressed or biased position (FIGS. 2, 3 and 7). As shown in FIG. 7, the angle B between the first wall 36 and second wall 40 at the clamped position is less than the angle A (FIG. 5) at the unbiased position.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 6, when it is desired to adjust the size of the loop portion 16, opposing forces are applied to the first and second walls 36, 40 of the clasp 14 sufficient to overcome the biasing force of the biasing portion 44 as represented by arrows 66 and 68 until the openings 46, 48 of the first tab 38 are aligned with the openings 50, 52 of the second tab 42. The opposing forces may be applied by the thumb and forefinger of a user. In this position, the first and second walls 36, 40 are generally parallel and the clasp 14 is free to slide along the length of the legs 18 and 20 of the flexible member 12 to thereby adjust the length of the loop portion, and thus the position of a pendant that may be installed on the loop portion with respect to a wearer. The clasp 14 can then return to its normal, clamping condition as shown in FIG. 2 by simply removing the external compressive forces applied to the first wall 36 and second wall 40 to thereby clamp the legs 18 and 20 against movement with respect to the clasp 14. The openings 54 and 56 ensure that the legs 18, 20 do not move laterally out of the clasp 14 during movement, such as when the clasp is adjusted or worn. It will be understood that the openings 54 and 56 may be eliminated.
In order to assemble the adjustable jewelry assembly 10, a pendant 30 (FIGS. 1A & 1C), if desired, is first mounted to the flexible member 20, preferably by sliding or stringing one of the legs 18, 20 through an aperture or other mounting means (not shown) of the pendant. The first and second walls 36, 40 of the clasp 14 are then pressed toward each other until the openings 46, 48 of the first tab 38 are aligned with the openings 50, 52 of the second tab 42 as previously described. The leg 18 is then threaded through the aligned openings 46, 50 and the opening 54 of the biasing portion 44. Likewise, the leg 20 is threaded through the aligned openings 48, 52 and the opening 56 of the biasing portion, with the pendant, if used, positioned on the loop portion 16. Once a suitable length of the legs has been attained, the first and second walls are released to secure the flexible member 12 against movement with respect to the clasp 14. The first end stop 26 can then be attached to the free end of the first leg 18 and the second end stop 28 can be attached to the free end of the second leg 20, using suitable attachment means, such as soldering. The first and second end stops 26, 28 are preferably larger in cross dimension than the diameter or cross dimension of the openings 46-56 to thereby prevent disassembly of the adjustable jewelry assembly 10.
The material of the clasp 14 is preferably compatible with the material of the flexible member 12, pendant, and end stops. By way of example, when the flexible member is in the form of a jewelry chain constructed of 18 karat yellow gold, the strip 34 may also be constructed of 18 karat yellow gold, albeit a different alloy due to the spring requirements of the clasp. Likewise, the pendant and end stops may also be constructed of 18 karat yellow gold. When the jewelry chain 12 is constructed of precious or semi-precious metals, it is especially important to construct the clasp 14 so that, on the one hand the clamping force does not deform or kink the chain, yet on the other hand the clamping force is sufficient to clamp the jewelry chain against movement.
As shown in FIG. 4, the clasp 14 is preferably relatively small in size with a width W of approximately 3 mm, a length L of approximately 5 mm, and a height H of approximately 2.5 mm. The openings are preferably sized to receive a chain with a cross dimension or diameter of about 0.6 mm. It has been found that a clasp constructed with these general dimensions yields what appears to be a small, delicately shaped ornamental clasp that complements the jewelry chain and any pendant that may be used, but unobtrusively and advantageously holds the loop portion 16 and pendant 30 to the desired position around a wearer's neck. It will be understood that the above dimensions, materials, shapes, and so on are given by way of example only and can vary over a wide range of values, materials and shapes.
Referring now to FIG. 9, a blank 70 of a jewelry clasp 14A in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The jewelry clasp 14A is similar in construction to the clasp 14 previously described, with the exception that a single slotted opening 72 replaces the separate first openings 46, 48, a single slotted opening 74 replaces the separate second openings 50, 52, and a single slotted opening 76 replaces the separate third openings 54, 56. The slotted openings 72, 74 and 76 of the FIG. 9 embodiment result in less frictional force during assembly and adjustment of the jewelry clasp 14A with respect to the flexible member 12.
Referring now to FIGS. 10 and 11, a jewelry clasp 14B in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The jewelry clasp 14B is preferably formed from a blank 80 that is similar in construction to the clasp 14 previously described, with the exception that the generally circular first wall 36 and second wall 40 are replaced with a generally rectangular first wall 82 and second wall 84, respectively. Accordingly, it will be understood that the first and second walls may be of any convenient functional, decorative and/or ornamental shape.
Referring to FIG. 12, a blank 90 of a jewelry clasp 14C in accordance with another embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The jewelry clasp 14C is similar in construction to the clasp 14B previously described, with the exception that the first openings 46, 48, the second openings 50, 52 and the third openings 54, 56 extend in a longitudinal direction of the blank 90. In order to accommodate the change in orientation of the openings, the tabs 38, 42 and biasing portion 44 may be elongated. It will be understood that the pairs of openings can be replaced with longitudinal slotted openings as in the FIG. 9 embodiment.
With reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, a jewelry clasp 14D in accordance with yet a further embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The jewelry clasp 14D is preferably formed from a blank 90 that is similar in construction to the blank 80 (FIG. 10) previously described, with the exception that opposing side walls 92 and 94 extend from the first wall 82. The side walls are bent along fold lines 96 and, as shown in FIG. 14, serve to cover the portion of the legs 18, 20 that extend through the clasp 14D for a more aesthetic appearance than the previous embodiments.
Referring now to FIG. 15, a blank 100 of a jewelry clasp 14E in accordance with a further invention is shown. The blank 100 is similar in construction to the blank 90 previously described with the exception that the side wall 94 extends from the second wall 84. Accordingly, it will be understood that the side walls 92 and 94 may be arranged in any combination on one or both walls 82, 84.
Referring now to FIGS. 16-18, a jewelry clasp 14F in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The jewelry clasp 14F is preferably formed from a blank 110 that includes a generally rectangular first wall 112, a second wall 114, and a biasing portion 116 extending between the first and second walls. A first tab 118 is formed in the first wall 112 and is bent along bend line 120 so that the tab 118 extends toward the second wall 114. A slotted opening 122 is formed in the tab 118 for receiving the flexible member 12, as previously described. Likewise, a second tab 124 is formed in the second wall 114 and is bent along bend line 126 so that the tab 124 extends toward the first wall 112 adjacent the first tab 118. 4. A slotted opening 128 is formed in the second tab 124 for receiving the flexible member 12. A slotted opening 130 is also formed in the biasing portion 116.
As shown in FIG. 18, since the tabs 118 and 124 are closer to the biasing portion 116 than the previous embodiments, the shear force acting on the flexible member 12 will be lower. Accordingly, the angle C between the first and second walls 112, 114 may be larger than the angle A (FIG. 5) of the previous embodiments to create similar shear forces on the flexible member at the slotted openings 122 and 128. Alternatively, the material may be selected with lower elasticity or higher resistance to deformation. As can be appreciated from this embodiment, the tabs 118 and 124 may be formed at any longitudinal position along their respective walls 112 and 114.
While the invention has been taught with specific reference to the above-described embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that changes can be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. By way of example, it should be sufficiently demonstrated by the above exemplary embodiments that the adjustable clasp may be formed of any desired shape. Moreover, although both legs of the flexible member are shown and described as being slidable with respect to the adjustable clasp embodiments, one of the legs may be fixed with respect to the clasp, such that the loop portion is adjusted by sliding the other leg with respect to the clasp. Thus, the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
Patent Application
20070251269
