Patent Application
20110265513
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to body piercings, specifically a decorative body jewelry system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Body piercing, a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn. The word piercing can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to an opening in the body created by this act or practice. While the history of body piercing is obscured by a lack of scholarly reference and popular misinformation, ample evidence exists to document that it has been practiced in various forms by both sexes since ancient times throughout the world.
The reasons for piercing or not piercing are varied. Some people pierce for religious or spiritual reasons, while others pierce for self-expression, for aesthetic value, for sexual pleasure, to conform to their culture or to rebel against it. Some forms of piercing remain controversial, particularly when applied to youth. The display or placement of piercings have been restricted by schools, employers and religious groups. In spite of the controversy, some people have practiced extreme forms of body piercing, with Guinness bestowing World Records on individuals with hundreds and even thousands of permanent and temporary piercings.
Contemporary body piercing practices emphasize the use of safe body piercing materials, frequently utilizing specialized tools developed for the purpose. Body piercing is an invasive procedure with some risks, including allergic reaction, infection, excessive scarring and unanticipated physical injuries, but such precautions as sanitary piercing procedures and careful aftercare are emphasized to minimize the likelihood of encountering serious problems. The healing time required for a body piercing may vary widely according to placement, from as little as a month for some genital piercings to as much as two full years for the navel. Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples of references related to the present invention are described below in their own words, and the supporting teachings of each reference are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,159, issued to Rose, discloses an interchangeable jewelry system for creating custom jewelry assemblies. Custom assemblies of one or more interchangeable jewelry segments. Interchangeable jewelry segments can contain male and/or female interchangeable mechanisms and/or body connector assemblies for attaching to the body or to items which attach to the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,073,232, issued to Fuhrman et al., discloses a jewelry clasp having a pair of bodies at the free ends of a piece of jewelry affixed together by magnetic forces. Each body has a magnet means having north and south poles that are aligned along the longitudinal center line of the clasp with opposite poles abutting each other to hold those bodies in the affixed relationship. There is a safety catch on one of the bodies having a protrusion extending therefrom that overlaps the other body to hold the bodies together. As the protrusion is moved into its latched position, the other body is displaced along the longitudinal centerline to misalign the respective magnetic means, and when the protrusion seats in its latched position, the magnetic means realigns by the magnetic attraction between the magnetic means creating an click that can be heard and/or felt by the wearer to confirm that the bodies are properly affixed together.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,760, issued to Tyler, discloses various jewelry devices are provided for use in a pierced body part, such as the naval, and/or with devices implanted in a pierced body part. In one embodiment, a ring-shaped member is provided and it includes a first semi-circular member having first and second terminal ends, and a second semi-circular member having a first portion that is hingedly connected to the first terminal end of the first semi-circular member and a second portion that is fixedly mated to the first portion and that includes a terminal end that is adapted to removably mate to the second terminal end of the first component. The present invention also provides a connector for easily removably mating various jewelry ornaments to a jewelry device that is worn in a pierced body part.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,073, issued to Kaping Jr., discloses a cap for body piercing jewelry has a retention member for resisting passage through a pierced passageway. The retention member is composed of a plastic material. An enlarged end of a shank is anchored into the retention member with a threaded stud extending therefrom. The process to make the cap includes positioning viscous plastic material in a mold to produce the desired retention member shape. The enlarged portion of the shank is inserted and embedded into the plastic material. The enlarged portion of the shank has a pointed tip which enables the enlarged end of the shank to be inserted into the plastic material without producing visible unsightly air bubbles. As the shank is inserted into plastic material, the plastic material flows into anchors on the enlarged portion of the shank to assist in securing and locking the shank to the retention member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,659, issued to Kaping Jr., discloses a body jewelry device having a post part and cap part with the cap part having an integral and threaded stub. The post part has an integrally formed and complementary threaded bore for receiving the threaded stud. The cap part post is thereby securely, but releasably, coupled to the post part. In a preferred embodiment, the cap has a counter sink for receiving an end of the post. The cap for the body jewelry may be formed by shaping a stock material into a generally enlarged ornamental piece. A stub is integrally formed on the generally enlarged shape and threads formed on the stub. A counter sink may be formed around the stub for receiving an end of the post. The stub threads are constructed to threadably mate with an opposing and complementary bore on a post.
U.S. Design Pat. No. D463,751, issued to Wilkinson, discloses an ornamental design for body jewelry.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages which include being limited in application, being limited in use, being unsafe, being unsanitary, being expensive, being difficult to use, and being limited in adaptability.
What is needed is a decorative body jewelry system that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.
The present invention has been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available decorative body piercing systems. Accordingly, the present invention has been developed to provide a sterile and efficient decorative body jewelry system.
According to one embodiment of the invention, there is a decorative body jewelry system configured to selectably decorate a part of a human body. The decorative body jewelry system may include a body anchor that may be configured to secure under and/or protrude through human skin. The body anchor may include an anchor base and/or a receiving post extending from the base and/or including a first coupling device. The body anchor material composition may consist of hypo-allergenic and/or non-magnetically active materials.
The system may also include a stage member that may be configured to selectably couple to the receiving post of the anchor and/or to provide a support. The support may include a platform that may have a first magnetically active portion and/or a second coupling device that may extend from the platform and/or be configured to selectably couple to the first coupling device. The platform may have a first magnetically active portion that may comprise a hypoallergenic disc with a magnetically active core. The first magnetically active portion and the second magnetically active portion may be magnetically attracted to each other. The platform may further include a decorative layer that may be disposed over the top of the hypoallergenic disc. In addition, the system may include a decorative device including a decorative base having a second magnetically active portion. The decorative device may include a lateral accessory ring that may be configured to selectably couple to an accessory.
Furthermore, the system may include a retaining protrusion that may be positioned to restrict lateral displacement of the decorative device with respect to the stage member when the decorative device is coupled to the stage member. The retaining protrusion may be a circumspect retaining wall extending downwardly from the base. Moreover, the circumspect retaining wall may be frustoconical or may be cylindrical. The system may further include a decorative element coupled to the decorative base and configured to decorate.
Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the invention.
These features and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
In order for the advantages of the invention to be readily understood, a more particular description of the invention briefly described above will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawing(s). It is noted that the drawings of the invention are not to scale. The drawings are mere schematics representations, not intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. Understanding that these drawing(s) depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are not, therefore, to be considered to be limiting its scope, the invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawing(s), in which:
For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing(s), and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention.
Reference throughout this specification to an “embodiment,” an “example” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, or combinations thereof described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases an “embodiment,” an “example,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment, to different embodiments, or to one or more of the figures. Additionally, reference to the wording “embodiment,” “example” or the like, for two or more features, elements, etc. does not mean that the features are necessarily related, dissimilar, the same, etc.
Each statement of an embodiment, or example, is to be considered independent of any other statement of an embodiment despite any use of similar or identical language characterizing each embodiment. Therefore, where one embodiment is identified as “another embodiment,” the identified embodiment is independent of any other embodiments characterized by the language “another embodiment.” The features, functions, and the like described herein are considered to be able to be combined in whole or in part one with another as the claims and/or art may direct, either directly or indirectly, implicitly or explicitly.
As used herein, “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “is,” “are,” “characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional unrecited elements or method steps. “Comprising” is to be interpreted as including the more restrictive terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of.”
The illustrated body anchor 12 configured to secure under and protrude through human skin. The illustrated body anchor 12 includes an anchor base 14 and a receiving post 16 extending from the base 14 and including a first coupling device 18. The illustrated coupling device 18 is a threaded cavity configured to receive a threaded post. Other coupling devices are contemplated, such as but not limited to snaps, threaded posts, slide-lock devices, friction fittings, hooks, and the like. The body anchor 12 includes material composition consisting of hypo-allergenic and non-magnetically active materials such that the body anchor will be well-received by the body of the user and will not require removal during procedures, such as but not limited to Magnetic Resonance Imaging procedures.
The illustrated stage member 20 is configured to selectably couple to the receiving post 16 of the body anchor 12 and to provide a support 22 for the decorative device 36. The support 22 includes a platform 24 having a first magnetically active portion (magnetically active core 32) and a second coupling device 28 extending from the platform 24 and configured to selectably couple to the first coupling device 18. The illustrated second coupling device 28 is a threaded post. It is contemplated that the second coupling device 28 may be any device configured to selectably couple to or mate with the first coupling device 18. The illustrated platform 24 includes a hypoallergenic disc 30 with a magnetically active core 32. Accordingly, the platform provides a “stage” on which the decorative device 36 may be displayed, advantageously keeping the decorative device 36 a desired distance from the skin and in an appropriate position of display. The illustrated platform 24 further includes a decorative layer 34 disposed over the top of the hypoallergenic disc 30, thereby providing a decorative effect even when the decorative device is not in place. The decorative layer 34 may include paint, layered metal, ceramic, plastic, and/or any other material configured to generate a display effect when disposed over a stage surface.
The illustrated platform is a flat disc. However, it is contemplated that the platform may be differently shaped depending on the desired display and attachment effect. As non-limiting examples, the stage/platform may be spherical, conical, frustoconical, irregular, sculptured, star-shaped, and the like.
The illustrated decorative device 36 includes a decorative base 38 having a second magnetically active portion 40 and a lateral accessory ring 42 configured to selectably couple to an accessory 44. The first magnetically active portion 26 and the second magnetically active portion 40 are magnetically attracted to each other, thereby enabling a wearer to easily couple and uncouple the decorative device without irritating the skin or area around the body anchor. In addition, the magnetic coupling of the first and second magnetically active portions enable the decorative device to uncouple from the stage member if excessive force is applied to the decorative device, thereby not enabling the anchor base to pull out from the skin of the wearer. In one embodiment, both the first and second magnetically active portions are magnets oriented to attract. In another embodiment, only one of the first and second magnetically active portions are magnetic, while the other is ferrous, or otherwise attracted by magnetic fields. In still another embodiment, one or more of the first and second magnetically active portions include an electromagnetic device, such as but not limited to a current carrying coil or loop coupled to a source of electrical current, such as but not limited to a watch battery.
Furthermore, the decorative device 36 includes a retaining protrusion 46 positioned to restrict lateral displacement of the decorative device 36 with respect to the stage member 20 when the decorative device 36 is coupled to the stage member 20. As illustrated, the retaining protrusion 46 is a circumspect retaining wall extending downwardly from the base 38. It is contemplated that the circumspect retaining wall may be frustoconical, cylindrical, a mesh cage, a set of protrusions, a single protrusion, or the like. The decorative device 36 further includes a decorative element 48 coupled to the decorative base 38 and configured to decorate. The decorative element may be, but is not limited to, a precious stone, a precious metal, jewelry, jewels, ornamental valuables, cameo, light emitting device, and etc.
The illustrated accessory 44 couples to the decorative device 36 by linking to the ring 42 extending from the decorative device 36. The accessory 44 may be a typical piercing accessory that connects by linking, such as but not limited to an earring, belly ring, clip, nose ring, and the like. Advantageously, one may utilize a collection of piercing jewelry in combination with the system.
In operation of one embodiment of the invention, a body piercing technician punctures the skin of a wearer and secures the anchor base of the body anchor underneath the skin of the wearer. The wearer couples the stage member to the receiving post of the body anchor. The wearer magnetically couples the stage member to a decorative device. The wearer also couples an accessory to the lateral accessory ring of the decorative device. Advantageously, abrasion, percussive force, tangling, and the like applied against the system will tend to dislodge the decorative device 36 from the stage 20 without severe damage to the skin about the anchor 12. Further, the stage may be simply removed during medical or other procedures wherein strong magnetic forces are applied to the body without needing to remove the anchor 12.
The decorative body jewelry system 10 further includes a retaining protrusion 46 positioned to restrict lateral displacement of the decorative device 36 with respect to the stage member 20 when the decorative device 36 is coupled to the stage member 20. As illustrated, the retaining protrusion 46 is a circumspect retaining wall extending downwardly from the base 38. The system 10 also includes a decorative element 48 coupled to the decorative base 38 and configured to decorate.
In addition, the system 10 includes a decorative device 36 including a decorative base 38 having a second magnetically active portion. The first magnetically active portion and the second magnetically active portion are magnetically attracted to each other. The system 10 further includes a decorative element 48 coupled to the decorative base 38 and configured to decorate.
In operation of one embodiment of the invention, a wearer magnetically couples a decorative device to a stage member of a decorative body jewelry system. The wearer couples an accessory to the D ring and/or the lateral accessory ring of the decorative device. In addition, a wearer may couple a plurality of decorative body jewelry accessory systems to a plurality of stage members disposed on a wearer in a double linear configuration. The double linear configuration includes a plurality of body anchors disposed on a wearer in two linear rows parallel to each other. The wearer then couples a fabric material through each D-ring, of the double linear configuration, and tightens the fabric material in a corset configuration.
Furthermore, the stage member 20 includes a magnetically active core 32 disposed within the platform 24. As illustrated, the stage member may include a plurality of magnetically active cores 32 disposed within the platform 24 and configured to magnetically couple to a decorative device having a second magnetically active portion. The stage member 20 also may include a retaining protrusion 46. As illustrated, the retaining protrusion 46 is a circumspect retaining wall extending downwardly. The stage member 20 may further include a lateral accessory ring 42 configured to selectably couple to an accessory 44. The various elements of the stage member may be in any combination with any other element herein described.
It is understood that the above-described embodiments are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiment is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
Thus, while the present invention has been fully described above with particularity and detail in connection with what is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made, without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims. Further, it is contemplated that an embodiment may be limited to consist of or to consist essentially of one or more of the features, functions, structures, methods described herein.
