Patent Application
20220202149
The invention generally relates to jewelry, and more particularly, to an adjustable chain jewelry that may be worn around the neck or other limbs of a wearer.
Necklaces may be worn at various different lengths depending upon wearer's fashion and desired look. Some wearers prefer a shorter choker length necklace, of approximately fifteen inches, to be worn with, for example, a woman's dress or blouse. Others prefer a longer length necklace to be worn, for example, over a T-shirt or sweater.
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 commonly adorned with ornamental items, such as 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 may 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. Based on the desired fashion, 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.
In fine jewelry, the most common commercially-available necklace length is approximately eighteen inches, which generally allows the looped end to hang about two to three inches below an average-sized person's collar bone. A twenty-four-inch necklace is also common, which length generally allows the looped end to hang about three inches lower than the eighteen-inch chain. A thirty-inch necklace has been another common length, but this has generally been the longest commercially-available necklace length.
People, of course, come in a wide variety of body shapes and sizes, and a necklace chain of a given length will therefore hang quite differently on different people. An eighteen-inch necklace chain, for example, 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. Particularly large people and particularly small people, including children, have therefore, in some cases, 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. A necklace chain that hangs at a fashionable length when worn over light clothing may not hang at the same fashionable length when worn over relatively bulky clothing.
It is therefore desirable to provide methods and apparatus which allow the length of jewelry, such as necklaces, to be precisely adjusted to quickly and conveniently accommodate the particular fashion desires, size, and clothing of the wearer. Such methods and apparatus would permit the wearer to precisely adjust the length of the necklace chain so that the pendant or other ornament hangs at the most fashionable, appropriate, and flattering position, regardless of the person's particular size and clothing. It is also desirable to provide an apparatus that allows the person to adapt a necklace to mount various ornamental elements on the chain without requiring the services of a jeweler to remove the ornamental element from the old chain and mount it on the new chain.
An adjustable article of jewelry is provided. The article of jewelry includes a chain having a first end and a second end and an adjuster slidably coupled to the chain. The adjuster is adapted to slide along a length of the chain, where the adjuster includes a first orifice and a second orifice, each having dimensions for receiving the first end and the second end of the chain, respectively. The chain forms a loop that may be placed around a wearer's neck when the first end and the second end are received by the first orifice and a second orifice of the adjuster and the dimensions of the loop may be changed by slidably adjusting the adjuster along the length of the chain.
The article of jewelry further includes an end cap detachably coupled to the first end and the second end of the chain. The end cap is constructed to have outer dimensions greater than the dimensions of the first orifice and the second orifice to prevent the first end and a second end from disengaging the adjuster.
In some implementations, the article of jewelry may further include one or more ornamental elements that may be adjustably mounted to the chain. The one or more ornamental elements are constructed to slide along the length of the chain but be retained in grouped relation along the chain by one or more end stops.
In other implementations, an adjustable necklace is provided. The adjustable necklace may include a snake chain having an outer diameter, a first threaded end, and a second threaded end. An adjuster is slidably coupled to the chain, where the adjuster is slidable along a length of the chain. The adjuster includes a first orifice and a second orifice, where each orifice includes diametrical dimensions for receiving the first threaded end and the second threaded end of the chain, respectively. The chain forms a loop that may be placed around a wearer's neck when the first threaded end and the second threaded end are received by the first orifice and a second orifice of the adjuster, and the dimensions of the loop may be changed by slidably adjusting the adjuster along the length of the chain.
The adjustable necklace further includes an end cap threadedly coupled to the first threaded end and the second threaded end of the chain. The end cap has outer dimensions greater than the diametrical dimensions of the first orifice and the second orifice to prevent the first threaded end and a second threaded end from disengaging the adjuster.
One or more ornamental elements may be slidably coupled to the chain. The one or more ornamental elements are slidable along the length of the chain.
Other devices, apparatus, systems, methods, features and advantages of the disclosure will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
The present disclosure may be better understood by referring to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure. In the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the different views.
The article of jewelry further includes an end cap detachably coupled to the first end and the second end of the chain. The end cap is constructed to have outer dimensions greater than the dimensions of the first orifice and the second orifice to prevent the first end and a second end from disengaging from the adjuster.
The end caps 302 may preferably be made from the same material and the flexible member 102. While depicted as cylindrical members, the end caps 302 may be fashioned in a wide variety of decorative and ornamental shapes.
Returning now to
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An annual bushing 620 may be inserted into the pocket 606. The bushing 620 may be made of plastic, Delrin®, silicon, or other suitable material. The bushing 620 may be constructed by drilling or milling a hole through the middle of a disc-shaped body.
The bushing 620 defines a sleeve 622 for receiving a first end 202 or second end 204 of the flexible member 102. The bushing 620 is retained in the pocket 606 by a retaining ring 624 sized to fit within the counterbored hole 608. The retaining ring 624 may be secured within the counterbored hole 608 by press-fit, weldment, an adhesive, or any other suitable means.
The bushing 620 material produces friction that restricts free movement of end stop 310 along the flexible member 102. In this way, the end stops 310 may be used to hold the ornamental elements 210 in place on the flexible member 102.
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In some implementations, as shown in
In general, terms such as “coupled to,” and “configured for coupling to,” and “secured to,” and “configured for securing to” and “in communication with” (for example, a first component is “coupled to” or “is configured for coupling to” or is “configured for securing to” or is “in communication with” a second component) are used herein to indicate a structural, functional, mechanical, electrical, signal, optical, magnetic, electromagnetic, ionic or fluidic relationship between two or more components or elements. As such, the fact that one component is said to be in communication with a second component is not intended to exclude the possibility that additional components may be present between, and/or operatively associated or engaged with, the first and second components.
Although the previous description illustrates particular examples of various implementations, the present disclosure is not limited to the foregoing illustrative examples. A person skilled in the art is aware that the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents can be applied in various further implementations and modifications. In particular, a combination of the various features of the described implementations is possible, as far as these features are not in contradiction with each other. Accordingly, the foregoing description of implementations has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above description.
