Patent Application
20220330668
This disclosure relates to charms, jewelry items with charms, and methods of manufacture and use thereof.
A person often desires to wear different pairs of earrings for different occasions. For example, the person may wear a first pair of earrings with a first aesthetic appearance to a first event (e.g., a professional conference) and a second pair of earrings with a second aesthetic appearance, different from the first aesthetic appearance, to a second event (e.g., a personal party). However, such desire may be difficult to attain, especially without taking off the first pair of earrings. For example, the person may have nowhere to carry another pair of earrings, the person may have forgotten the second pair of earrings at home, the person may have lost or broke the second pair of earrings before the second event, the person may not want to remove the first pair of earrings to insert the second pair of earrings, the person may not be able to afford the second pair of earrings, or other reasons.
Generally, this disclosure enables various charms, jewelry items with charms, and methods of manufacture and use thereof. For example, some of these charms can be detachably attached (e.g., secured, clasped, connected, fastened, mated, interlocked, magnetized, latched, grasped, hook-and-looped) to an earring (e.g., with a post, a clip-on) being worn on an ear (e.g., a lobe region, a conch region, a helix region) of a wearer (e.g., a person, a showcase head, a mannequin), without taking off the earring from the ear. Therefore, the wearer may change its aesthetic appearance quickly and easily, without taking off the earring from the ear. For example, the wearer may change its aesthetic appearance for (a) different occasions (e.g., a professional conference and a birthday party) or (b) matching with different items of clothing, without taking off the earring from the ear. Note that this disclosure is not limited to earrings and ears. As such, this disclosure can be applied to other jewelry items worn by the wearer in other regions of the wearer. For example, some of these charms can be detachably attached (e.g., secured, clasped, connected, fastened, mated, interlocked, magnetized, latched, grasped, hook-and-looped) to a jewelry item (e.g., a ring, a bar, a chain) being worn on a navel of the wearer, without taking off the jewelry item from the navel. Therefore, the wearer may change its aesthetic appearance quickly and easily, without taking off the jewelry item from the navel. For example, the wearer may change its aesthetic appearance for (a) different occasions (e.g., a birthday party and a beach party) or (b) matching with different items of clothing, without taking off the jewelry item from the navel.
In an embodiment, a method comprises: causing a clasp of a charm to be switched from a closed state to an open state while (a) a post of an earring extends between a frontal piece of the earring and a backing of the earring, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing; causing the post to extend through the clasp while the clasp is in the open state such that the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing; and causing the clasp to be switched from the open state to the closed state while (a) the post extends through the clasp and (b) the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing such that the backing prevents the clasp in the closed state from sliding off the post away from the obverse side and thereby detachably attaching the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, a method comprises: switching a clasp of a charm from a closed state to an open state while (a) a post of an earring extends between a frontal piece of the earring and a backing of the earring, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing; extending the post through the clasp while the clasp is in the open state such that the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing; and switching the clasp from the open state to the closed state while (a) the post extends through the clasp and (b) the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing such that the backing prevents the clasp in the closed state from sliding off the post away from the obverse side and thereby detachably attaching the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, a kit comprises: an earring including a front piece, a post, and a backing; and a charm including a clasp configured to: switch from a closed state to an open state while (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing; receive the post such that (a) the post extends through the clasp while the clasp is in the open state and (b) the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing; and switch from the open state to the closed state while (a) the post extends through the clasp and (b) the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing such that the backing prevents the clasp in the closed state from sliding off the post away from the obverse side and thereby detachably attaching the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, there is a device for use with an earring including a front piece, a post, and a backing while the earring is worn on an ear having a front side and an obverse side such that (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between the front side and the obverse side, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing. The device comprises: a charm including a clasp configured to: switch from a closed state to an open state while (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing; receive the post such that (a) the post extends through the clasp while the clasp is in the open state and (b) the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing; and switch from the open state to the closed state while (a) the post extends through the clasp and (b) the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing such that the backing prevents the clasp in the closed state from sliding off the post away from the obverse side and thereby detachably attaching the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, a kit comprises: an earring including a front piece, a post, and a backing; and a charm including a connector configured to: detachably attach to at least one of (a) the backing or (b) the post while (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing and thereby detachably attach the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, there is a device for use with an earring including a front piece, a post, and a backing while the earring is worn on an ear having a front side and an obverse side such that (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between the front side and the obverse side, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing. The device comprises: a charm including a connector configured to: detachably attach to at least one of (a) the backing or (b) the post while (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing and thereby detachably attach the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, a method comprises: causing an earring including a front piece, a post, and a backing to be worn on an ear having a front side and an obverse side such that (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between the front side and the obverse side, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing; and detachably attaching a connector of a charm to at least one of (a) the backing or (b) the post while (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing and thereby detachably attach the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, a device comprises: an earring including a frontal piece, a post, and a backing; and a charm including a clasp configured to: switch from a closed state to an open state while (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing; receive the post such that (a) the post extends through the clasp while the clasp is in the open state and (b) the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing; and switch from the open state to the closed state while (a) the post extends through the clasp and (b) the clasp extends between the obverse side and the backing such that the backing prevents the clasp in the closed state from sliding off the post away from the obverse side and thereby detachably attaching the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, a device comprises: an earring including a frontal piece, a post, and a backing; and a charm including a connector configured to: detachably attach to at least one of (a) the backing or (b) the post while (a) the post extends between the frontal piece and the backing, (b) the post extends between a front side of an ear and an obverse side of the ear, and (c) the ear extends between the frontal piece and the backing and thereby detachably attach the charm to the earring.
In an embodiment, a method comprises: causing a charm to be detachably attached to an earring worn on an ear of a wearer without taking off the earring from the ear; and causing the charm to be attachably detached from the earing worn on the ear without taking off the earring from the ear.
In an embodiment, a device comprising: an earring configured to be worn on an ear of a wearer and hosting a charm detachably attached thereto such that the charm can be attachably detached therefrom without taking off the earring from the ear.
In an embodiment, a kit comprising: an earring configured to be worn on an ear of a wearer; and a charm configured to be detachably attached to the earring without taking off the earring from the ear such that the charm can be attachably detached from the earring without taking off the earring from the ear.
In an embodiment, a method comprising: causing a charm to be detachably attached to a jewelry item worn on a body of a wearer without taking off the jewelry item from the body; and causing the charm to be attachably detached from the jewelry item worn on the body without taking off the jewelry item from the body.
In an embodiment, a device comprising: a jewelry item configured to be worn on a body of a wearer and hosting a charm detachably attached thereto such that the charm can be attachably detached therefrom without taking off the jewelry item from the body.
In an embodiment, a kit comprising: a jewelry item configured to be worn on a body of a wearer; and a charm configured to be detachably attached to the jewelry item without taking off the jewelry item from the body such that the charm can be attachably detached from the jewelry item without taking off the jewelry item from the body.
In an embodiment, a method comprises: detachably attaching a charm to a jewelry item worn on a body of a wearer without taking off the jewelry item from the body; and attachably detaching the charm from the jewelry item worn on the body without taking off the jewelry item from the body.
Generally, this disclosure enables various charms, jewelry items with charms, and methods of manufacture and use thereof. For example, some of these charms can be detachably attached (e.g., secured, clasped, connected, fastened, mated, interlocked, magnetized, latched, grasped, hook-and-looped) to an earring (e.g., with a post, a clip-on) being worn on an ear (e.g., a lobe region, a conch region, a helix region) of a wearer (e.g., a person, a showcase head, a mannequin), without taking off the earring from the ear. Therefore, the wearer may change its aesthetic appearance quickly and easily, without taking off or removing the earring from the ear. For example, the wearer may change its aesthetic appearance for (a) different occasions (e.g., a professional conference and a birthday party) or (b) matching with different items of clothing, without taking off the earring from the ear. Note that this disclosure is not limited to earrings and ears. As such, this disclosure can be applied to other jewelry items worn by the wearer in other regions of the wearer. For example, some of these charms can be detachably attached (e.g., secured, clasped, connected, fastened, mated, interlocked, magnetized, latched, grasped, hook-and-looped) to a jewelry item (e.g., a ring, a bar, a chain) being worn on a navel of the wearer, without taking off the jewelry item from the navel. Therefore, the wearer may change its aesthetic appearance quickly and easily, without taking off the jewelry item from the navel. For example, the wearer may change its aesthetic appearance for (a) different occasions (e.g., a birthday party and a beach party) or (b) matching with different items of clothing, without taking off the jewelry item from the navel. However, note that this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as necessarily being limited to various embodiments disclosed herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough and complete, and fully conveys various concepts of this disclosure to skilled artisans.
Various terminology used herein can imply direct or indirect, full or partial, temporary or permanent, action or inaction. For example, when an element is referred to as being “on,” “connected,” or “coupled” to another element, then the element can be directly on, connected, or coupled to another element or intervening elements can be present, including indirect or direct variants. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, then there are no intervening elements present.
As used herein, various singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include various plural forms (e.g., two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, tens, hundreds, thousands) as well, unless specific context clearly indicates otherwise.
As used herein, various presence verbs “comprises,” “includes” or “comprising,” “including” when used in this specification, specify a presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof.
As used herein, a term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of a set of natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances.
As used herein, a term “or others,” “combination”, “combinatory,” or “combinations thereof” refers to all permutations and combinations of listed items preceding that term. For example, “A, B, C, or combinations thereof” is intended to include at least one of: A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC, and if order is important in a particular context, also BA, CA, CB, CBA, BCA, ACB, BAC, or CAB. Continuing with this example, expressly included are combinations that contain repeats of one or more item or term, such as BB, AAA, AB, BBC, AAABCCCC, CBBAAA, CABABB, and so forth. Skilled artisans understand that typically there is no limit on number of items or terms in any combination, unless otherwise apparent from the context.
As used herein, unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in an art to which this disclosure belongs. Various terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with a meaning in a context of a relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
As used herein, relative terms such as “below,” “lower,” “above,” and “upper” can be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the set of accompanying illustrative drawings. Such relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of illustrated technologies in addition to an orientation depicted in the set of accompanying illustrative drawings. For example, if a device in the set of accompanying illustrative drawings were turned over, then various elements described as being on a “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of other elements. Similarly, if a device in one of illustrative figures were turned over, then various elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” other elements. Therefore, various example terms “below” and “lower” can encompass both an orientation of above and below.
As used herein, a term “about” or “substantially” refers to a +/−10% variation from a nominal value/term. Such variation is always included in any given value/term provided herein, whether or not such variation is specifically referred thereto.
Features described with respect to certain embodiments may be combined in or with various some embodiments in any permutational or combinatory manner. Different aspects or elements of example embodiments, as disclosed herein, may be combined in a similar manner.
Although various terms first, second, third, and so forth can be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers, or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers, or sections should not necessarily be limited by such terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer, or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer, or section without departing from various teachings of this disclosure.
Features described with respect to certain example embodiments can be combined and sub-combined in or with various other example embodiments. Also, different aspects or elements of example embodiments, as disclosed herein, can be combined and sub-combined in a similar manner as well. Further, some example embodiments, whether individually or collectively, can be components of a larger system, wherein other procedures can take precedence over or otherwise modify their application. Additionally, a number of steps can be required before, after, or concurrently with example embodiments, as disclosed herein. Note that any or all methods or processes, at least as disclosed herein, can be at least partially performed via at least one entity in any manner.
Example embodiments of this disclosure are described herein with reference to illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of this disclosure. As such, variations from various illustrated shapes as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, various example embodiments of this disclosure should not be construed as necessarily limited to various particular shapes of regions illustrated herein, but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing.
Any or all elements, as disclosed herein, can be formed from a same, structurally continuous piece, such as being unitary, or be separately manufactured or connected, such as being an assembly or modules. Any or all elements, as disclosed herein, can be manufactured via any manufacturing processes, whether additive manufacturing, subtractive manufacturing, or other any other types of manufacturing. For example, some manufacturing processes include three dimensional (3D) printing, laser cutting, computer numerical control routing, milling, pressing, stamping, vacuum forming, hydroforming, injection molding, lithography, and so forth.
The body 102 is monolithic, but can be an assembly (e.g., fastening, mating, adhering). The body 102 includes a metal (e.g., gold, silver, copper, iron, titanium) or an alloy (e.g., stainless steel, brass), but can include other suitable materials (e.g., plastic, rubber).
The stationary portion 104 cantileveredly extends from the body 102 in an open shape (e.g., C-shape, U-shape, J-shape). The stationary portion 104 is monolithic with the body 102, but can be assembled therewith (e.g., fastening, mating, adhering). The stationary portion 104 includes a metal (e.g., gold, silver, copper, iron, titanium) or an alloy (e.g., stainless steel, brass), but can include other suitable materials (e.g., plastic, rubber).
The first arm 106 hosts the handle 108 cantileveredly extending therefrom. The first arm 106 is monolithic with the handle 108, but can be assembled therewith (e.g., fastening, mating, adhering). Each of the first arm 106 or the handle 108 includes a metal (e.g., gold, silver, copper, iron, titanium) or an alloy (e.g., stainless steel, brass), but can include other suitable materials (e.g., plastic, rubber).
The first arm 106 is pivotally attached (e.g., via a pin, a hinge, a bracket) to the stationary portion 104 such that the first arm 106 can pivot (or rotate, spin, swing, or otherwise move) between a first position (e.g., a closed state) and a second position (e.g., an open state), as shown in
As shown in
The first arm 106 is configured to avoid freely swinging. This can be accomplished in various ways. For example, as shown in
The body 102 has the set of second arms 112 branching therefrom. Each arm of the set of second arms 112 is monolithic with the body 102, but can be assembled therewith (e.g., fastening, mating, adhering). Each arm of the set of second arms 112 hosts a pin 126 (or a hinge or another suitable pivoting mechanism) monolithic therewith or assembled therewith (e.g., fastening, mating, adhering). Each of the pins 126 respectfully and pivotally hosts the first decorative piece 114 (e.g., an elongated bar) such that the first decorative piece 114 can respectfully and freely pivot (or rotate, spin, swing, or otherwise move) about that pin 126 relative to that pin 126 and relative to that respective second arm 112. This configuration allows that respective first decorative piece 114 to freely move relative to the body 102 when the charm 100 is worn. Further, that respective first decorative piece 114 is secured to that respective second decorative piece 118 (e.g., an elongated bar) via the set of rings 116, which enable that respective second decorative piece 118 to respectfully and freely pivot (or rotate, spin, swing, or otherwise move) relative to that respective first decorative piece 118. Note that each of that respective first decorative piece 114 and the second decorative piece 118 has its own respective ring 116, and those rings 116 are looped onto each other. Further, note that the respective first decorative piece 114 and the respective second decorative piece 116 can be identical or different from each other in geometry (e.g., a length, a width, a thickness), aesthetics, weight, volume, or other physical properties.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
This process of detachably attaching the charm 100 to the earring 200, without taking off the earring 200 from the ear 300, can be reversed such that the charm 100 is attachably detached from the earring 200. This occurs when the clasp, as collectively formed via the body 102, the stationary portion 104, and the first arm 106, is switched from the closed state (e.g., the first position) to the open state (e.g., the second position) while (a) the post 204 extends through the channel 110 and (b) the clasp, as collectively formed via the body 102, the stationary portion 104, and the first arm 106, extends between the obverse side 302 and the backing 202 such that the charm 100 can be attachably detached from the earring 200 by not extending the post 204 through the channel 110.
As shown in
The charm 100 can be packaged in a kit, alone or in combination with the earring or another jewelry item, as disclosed herein. For example, the kit can include a package (e.g., an envelope, a box) containing the earring 200 (or another jewelry item) and the charm 100.
Various corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in various claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Various embodiments were chosen and described in order to best disclose various principles of this disclosure and various practical applications thereof, and to enable others of ordinary skill in a pertinent art to understand this disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to a particular use contemplated.
This detailed description has been presented for various purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be fully exhaustive or limited to this disclosure in various forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations in techniques and structures will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in an art without departing from a scope and spirit of this disclosure as set forth in various claims that follow. Accordingly, such modifications and variations are contemplated as being a part of this disclosure. Scope of this disclosure is defined by various claims, which include known equivalents and unforeseeable equivalents at a time of filing of this disclosure.
