1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a decorative clip assembly attachable to an item of wear, such as, for example, a boot, e.g. a Western style cowboy boot. The decorative clip assembly optionally includes a decorative embellishment affixed to a mounting portion of the clip assembly and/or one or more hanging decorative embellishments, such as, for example, a cluster of charms which hang down alongside the item of wear when the decorative clip assembly is secured to an edge of the item. The decorative clip assembly comprises a ring portion having a spring loaded open end or a gate ring adjacent to the mounting portion for slideably receiving and carrying the hanging decorative embellishments.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known to add decorative features to an item of footwear by attaching a charm to a fixed location on the outside of the footwear. Such an attachment may be permanently affixed to the footwear or it may be detachable.
Examples of ornamental articles for a shoe are disclosed in the following patents. Mathews, U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,502 filed Mar. 18, 1996 illustrate ornaments which snap to a shoe. Solo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,821 filed Jun. 21, 1995 discloses an article that rests on and attaches to the top of the shoe. Rowland, U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,151 B1 filed Sep. 29, 2000 discloses a shoe ornamentation system comprising a detachable locking clip that has a shoe ornament affixed to it and a bar, the center of which the locking clip attaches, and the ends of the bar are fastened to the shoe in the shoe manufacturing process.
Further examples of ornaments for footwear are disclosed in the following documents: White, U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0260153 published on Nov. 23, 2006 discloses a decorative composite convertible ornamental memory triggering device that is slideably attachable/detachable to a shoelace on a shoe or boot. As shown in FIG. 2, the device includes a primary loop 1 connected to an attachment 2 which is connected to any suitable expressive jewelry piece 3. The device is slideably attachable/detachable to a single shoelace or a single Velcro-style fastener on a shoe or boot as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4; or alternatively, the loop may be an openable/closeable loop as shown in FIG. 6, which may be attached/detached from a tied shoelace as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.
Fromm, U.S. Patent Publication 2008/0271348 A1 published Nov. 6, 2008 discloses a shoe snap for attaching embellishments to shoes. The shoe snap 20 includes a first section 30 which is coupled to the shoe 10 and a cooperating second section 40 which may be fitted with an ornamental object and which is received by the first section 30.
Nordstrom-Wehner, U.S. Patent Publication 2009/0300948 A1 discloses a footwear adornment system. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the adornment 20 includes a clip 50 which, in turn, includes a legged structure 40 and a mounting 30. A decorative accessory 22 is attached to mounting 30 with fastener 24.
Ferrante, et al., U.S. Patent Publication 2010/0058619 published on Mar. 11, 2010 discloses a removably attachable charm that may optionally be attached to the strap of a sandal. FIGS. 5A-5C and 6A-6C show different types of connectors for removably connecting a charm to the strap of a sandal.
None of these prior art patent documents discloses a decorative clip assembly for an item of wear that is designed to be secured around an edge or rim of an item of wear, such as, for example, a boot and comprising a mounting portion for optionally supporting a decorative embellishment and a ring portion adjacent to the mounting portion and comprising a spring loaded open end or a gate ring for slideably receiving the hanging decorative embellishments, for example, a cluster of charms or elongated tassel-like ornaments.
The present invention provides such a unique decorative clip assembly. A decorative clip assembly is securely positioned to a rim or an outer edge of an item of wear, such as, for example the top of a boot, e.g. a Western style cowboy boot. In particular, an aspect of the invention is to provide a decorative clip assembly, comprising a bent portion having a first free-end portion and a second end portion for positioning and attaching the decorative clip assembly around an edge of an item of wear; a mounting portion connected to the second end portion for selectively mounting a first decorative embellishment; and a ring portion connected adjacent to the mounting portion for selectively receiving and carrying a second decorative embellishment.
The ring portion comprises a spring loaded open end or a gate ring adjacent to the mounting portion for slideably receiving one or more second decorative embellishments, e.g. charms or a tassel-like ornament. The decorative clip assembly may be manufactured from a spring wire which provides a spring pressure action or it may be manufactured from a flat rolled piece of spring steel which provides a spring pressure action. Both the spring wire and the flat rolled piece of spring steel are bent into the desired shape for forming the decorative clip assembly.
The first decorative embellishment may take one of several forms. For example, the first decorative embellishment may contain a bezel with a round glass stone, a rhinestone or a turquoise stone, which may be glued or welded to the mounting portion, or the first decorative embellishment may be a metal disk with an etched or tooling design. In some embodiments, the first decorative embellishment may have the same configuration as the mounting portion and this configuration may be circular, triangular, rectangular, or other configurations.
If the decorative clip assembly is made of spring wire, then the ring portion preferably includes a hinged gate ring. The hinged gate ring is pushed inwardly relative to the ring portion thereby allowing the second decorative embellishments to be slideably received on the ring portion and which hinged gate ring once released springs back to its original position to close the ring portion for securing and carrying the second decorative embellishments.
If the decorative clip assembly is made of spring steel, then the ring portion preferably includes a spring loaded open end. The spring loaded open end is pushed away from the mounting portion to open the ring portion thereby allowing the second decorative embellishment to be slideably received on the ring portion and which spring loaded open end section once released returns to its original position in order to secure and carry the decorative embellishment.
The second decorative embellishment may be a hanging accessory and may be designed to aesthetically complement and/or match the first decorative embellishment mounted to the mounting portion of the decorative clip assembly.
A further aspect of the invention provides a method for forming a decorative clip assembly. The steps include: (a) bending a straight piece of spring wire in a first plane to form a first free end portion; (b) bending the spring wire of step (a) into a second plane that is perpendicular to the first plane to form a bent portion which is located between the first free end portion and the second end portion; (c) fixedly attaching the second end portion of step (b) to a mounting portion; and (d) fixedly attaching a ring portion to the mounting portion of step (c). Additional steps optionally include attaching a first decorative embellishment to the mounting portion, and/or inserting a second decorative embellishment onto the ring portion so that the second decorative embellishment hangs freely from the ring portion.
A still further aspect of the invention is to provide a method for forming a decorative clip assembly, the steps comprising: (a) using a single flat sheet metal made of spring steel and cutting the flat sheet metal into a desired pattern wherein the decorative clip assembly comprises a first free end portion, a second end portion connected to the first free end portion, a mounting portion connected to the second end portion, and a ring portion connected to the mounting portion; (b) bending the first free end portion in a first plane; and (c) bending the second end portion along with the mounting portion and the ring portion in a second plane perpendicular to the first plane to form a bent portion which is located between the first free end portion and the second end portion. Additional steps after forming the decorative clip assembly may include tumbling, heat treating give a spring action effect to the decorative clip assembly, and burnishing to smooth the rough edges. A first decorative embellishment may be attached to the mounting portion, and/or a second decorative embellishment may be inserted onto the ring portion.
These and other aspects of the invention will be better appreciated and understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawings.
The invention relates to a decorative clip assembly for decorating an item of wear.
Decorative clip assembly 10 comprises a bent portion 12 having a first free end portion 14a (
Mounting portion 16 is fixedly attached to the free ends 20, 22 (
Referring to
Mounting portion 16 and ring portion 18 may be made of the same material, which may be metal. In some instances, this metal may be the same material as that of the wire spring used for bent portion 12, first free end portion 14a, and second end portion 14b of decorative clip assembly 10. The first free end portion 14a and the second end portion 14b of bent portion 12 are spaced apart a sufficient distance so that decorative clip assembly 10 can be positioned around an edge of an item of wear, where after portions 14a and 14b can be pressed together so as to secure decorative clip assembly 10 to the item of wear.
As shown in
Referring particularly to
Even though mounting portion 46 has a circular configuration, this configuration may take another form, such as, for example, a rectangle, an oval, or a triangle, and the first decorative embellishment may coincide with this configuration for mounting portion 46. Instead of the decorative embellishment 50 of
Referring again to
When decorative clip assembly 40 is formed into the form of
The first decorative embellishment for clip assemblies 10 and 40 may include a bezel portion for securing decorative ornaments, such as, for example, diamonds, cabochons, glass beads, precious stones and gems, such as, for example, opal, diamond, turquoise and tanzanite. If the bezel portion is mounted on mounting portion 16, 46 of clip assembly 10, 40 respectively, then this bezel portion may have a circular configuration or it may take another form, such as, for example, a rectangle, an oval, and a triangle. Also, as disclosed herein above, front flat support surface 24, 46a of mounting portion 16, 46, respectively may comprise a logo and/or a trademark.
The second decorative embellishment for clip assembly 40 may include any variety of ornaments, such as a cluster of charms or the elongated ornament 32 of
A method for forming decorative clip assembly 10 includes the steps of: (a) bending a straight piece of spring wire in a first plane to form a first free end portion 14a; (b) bending the spring wire of step (a) into a second plane that is perpendicular to the first plane to form bent portion 12 and the second end portion 14b for draping clip 10 over the top of an item of wear, such as boot B in
A method for forming decorative clip assembly 40 includes the steps of: (a) using a single flat sheet metal made of spring steel and cutting the flat sheet metal into a pattern or configuration representing a decorative clip assembly similar to that of
The mounting portion 16, 46 of decorative clip assembly 10, 40 respectively may also be comprised of a precious metal, such as, for example, gold, silver, or bronze or a combination thereof.
Even though the invention has been described with respect to a decorative clip assembly for decorating a boot by being attached to the top of a boot, it is to be understood that decorative clip assembly 10, 40 may be attached to any item of wear, such as, for example, a shoe, a sandal, a purse, a belt, an edge of a pocket, a shirt, and a saddle. Additionally, the ring portion 18, 48 of decorative clip assembly 10, 40, respectively may be used to carry other items, such as, for example, keys.
While the present invention has been described in connection with preferred embodiments of the figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiment for performing the same function of the present invention without deviating there from. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as come within the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/518,764, filed May 11, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61518764 | May 2011 | US |