Patent Application
20100264056
The present invention relates to jewelry and more specifically to kit for a person to produce articles of jewelry with encoded messages which kit also includes a decoding device.
The present invention is a kit for making jewelry which jewelry is encoded with a secret message chosen by the jewelry maker. The jewelry kit includes a plurality of beads, each bead has an indicator which corresponds to an alpha-numeric symbol (i.e., a letter, a number, the space between words and a separate indicator bead which indicates the starting point of a message.) The beads are grouped together and are typically held in a container which container has separate compartments for each grouping of beads. Strands or threads for stringing together the beads are also provided as part of the kit and the strands may be elasticized. A first user chooses beads and assembles them onto a thread to make an article of jewelry whereby the first user places the beads in a predetermined order. The predetermined order is chosen to encode a secret message. Now a second user utilizes a decoder device to decode the secret message encoded onto the article of jewelry. There are two decoders which can be utilized to decode the message. The first is a card depicting each color bead with its corresponding symbol. The second decoder in the preferred embodiment is a device having an individual keyboard key for each of the alphanumeric symbols where a depiction of each of the beads is shown on the face of the keyboard key. The decoder further includes a screen for displaying the decoded message and may also print a print-out of the decoded message.
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention is a kit that is utilized for making jewelry at a get together, at home, at a party, fund raiser, convention or the like. In making an article of jewelry, the user encodes the said jewelry with a code that can thereafter be decoded to convey a message. Generally, the kit comprises a plurality of beads 12 grouped together by various indicia, one or more strands or treads onto which the beads are arranged in a predetermined order to encode a message into an article of jewelry 10 as shown in
The container 14 is shown in
Users, which users are usually children, at home, or attending a party or gathering, select a thread or an elasticized band for stringing together the encoded beads. The children choose beads to represent each of the letters or numbers that they desire in order to convey a message on the article of jewelry. As an example, a red bead could be utilized to represent the letter ‘l’, a blue bead could be utilized to represent the letter ‘o’, a green bead could be utilized to represent the letter ‘v’, and a yellow bead could be utilized to represent the letter ‘e’. Thus, if the child strings the beads onto the elastic band in the order: red bead-blue bead-green bead-yellow bead, the word “love” is encoded. As is evident, in the case of messages that comprise more than one word, the bead representing the space between words should be utilized, and a bead signifying the message starting point would be placed prior to placing the other beads. The children choose the appropriate beads to spell out their predetermined message, then string the beads onto the stringing strand by threading the strand through the stringing aperture in the correct order to spell out the chosen message. Finally, the end of the strand is formed into a knot or other jewelry closure thereby retaining the beads on the strand in the correct order, completing the article of jewelry 10 and spelling out the chosen message.
The fun times are expanded when other users (i.e. children) decode the messages that are encoded. In order to perform the decoding operation, a de-coder is provided. Included in the kit is a card depicting each color bead with its corresponding symbol, as depicted in
As an optional part of the kit of the present invention, each alpha-numeric key on the label maker is modified to show a representation (e.g. picture) of the bead that corresponds to the number, letter or space. In other words, either an actual bead or a picture of the bead is attached to the label maker's key to which that particular bead corresponds.
Now, one user can decode the message on the article of jewelry made by another user. One child examines the jewelry produced by another child. Bead by bead, the first user enters the keystrokes onto the keys 19 of the decoding device, each keystroke entered according to the indicator contained on the bead. As such, the coded message will be decoded, letter by letter, displayed onto the display 20 of the decoder and printed onto a label if desired.
The present invention is not limited to decoding devices taking the form of a label maker. Other decoding devices are contemplated in this disclosure. For example, a decoding display placard may contain a photograph or a drawing of each bead, along with the alpha-numeric symbol with which it corresponds. Alternatively, the code may simply be printed onto paper or stored in a computer or the memory of a cellular telephone in order that the codes may be decoded by other users.
Primarily, the articles of jewelry made by the children are bracelets. However, other beaded article made by produced, as shown in
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles and preferred embodiment of the invention. Furthermore, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to one skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, operation and embodiment shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
