Patent Application
20180249795
The present invention relates generally to body piercing jewelry for attachment to a body piercing and, more particularly, relates to body piercing jewelry which has a magnetic portion to easily and quickly adjust a decorative component.
Body piercing jewelry has become a very popular form of self-adornment and personal expression that continues to rise in popularity among females and males alike. Body piercing jewelry has been proposed for body piercings in many various locations on the body, one popular location being the navel or belly button. Essentially a body piercing is a narrow passage formed through anatomical tissue for attachment of body piercing jewelry on the anatomical tissue via insertion of a component of the jewelry through the passage. The body piercing has an entry hole and an exit hole along a surface of the anatomical tissue providing communication with the passage. Depending on the location of the body piercing, the entry and exit holes may lie along different aspects of the body, as in the case of a pierced earlobe where the entry hole is along the front of the earlobe and the exit hole is along the back of the earlobe, or the entry and exit holes may both lie along the same aspect of the body, as in the case of a navel piercing where the entry and exit holes both lie along a frontal aspect of the body.
It is common for body piercing jewelry to comprise an insertion component to extend entirely through the body piercing passage, and structures respectively attached to opposite ends of the insertion component to present enlargements on the entry and exit sides of the body piercing. The enlargements are prevented by their size from entering the body piercing and thereby deter unintended detachment or removal of the body piercing jewelry from the body piercing. Usually one enlargement is formed by an ornament or jewelry component that provides a decorative aesthetic effect, and the other enlargement is formed by a retention component that serves a purely utilitarian or mechanical purpose. Either the ornament component or the retention component must be detachable from the insertion component to allow the insertion component to be inserted in and withdrawn from the body piercing.
Most commonly, the ornament component attached to the first end of the insertion component is maintained on the entry side of the body piercing due to its size preventing it from entering the body piercing. The ornament component is usually permanently attached to the insertion component. This creates several issues, in which the wearer has to remove the entire piece of jewelry to change the ornament component. Due to the need to remove the entire piece of jewelry the wearer must keep various pieces with them, and also risks losing the many different components of the piece of jewelry. During the securement and removal process, it is easy for components to be dropped, misplaced or lost. Searching for a dropped, misplaced or lost component is made more difficult due to the small size of them. When a component is missing and a replacement is not readily available, as is often the case, the jewelry is rendered unusable. Given that the ornament component oftentimes includes precious or semi-precious metals, stones and/or gems, this presents a financial loss to the user.
Thus, a device that can have the ornamental design quickly, easily, and conveniently detached and reattached. This method creates fewer opportunities to lose the various components of the jewelry and also greatly increases the versatility of the jewelry.
The present invention provides a jewelry connection apparatus for body piercings, comprising an elongated piece having a first end and second end, wherein the first end is threaded a predetermined distance, an anchor having an opening, wherein the opening is threaded to mate with the threaded portion of the elongated piece, a first hollow component having a top end and an open bottom, wherein the top is attached to the second end of the elongated piece, a first magnet inserted into the open bottom and the first magnet is recessed into the first hollow component, a second hollow component having an open top end and a bottom end, a second magnet inserted into the open top end of the second hollow component and the, and wherein when the first magnet mates with the second magnet.
The present invention provides an additional embodiment of a jewelry connection apparatus for body piercings, comprising, an elongated piece having a first end and second end, wherein the first end is threaded a predetermined distance, an anchor having an opening, wherein the opening is threaded to mate with the threaded portion of the elongated piece, a first hollow component having a top and a substantially flat bottom, wherein the top is attached to the second end of the elongated piece and the substantially flat bottom has an opening, a first magnet inserted into the opening in the bottom of the first hollow component and the expose surface of the first magnet is substantially parallel with the substantially flat bottom of the first hollow component and the first magnet is recessed into the hollow component a predetermined distance, a second hollow component having a substantially flat top and a bottom, wherein the substantially flat bottom has an opening, a second magnet inserted into the opening in the top of the second hollow component and the expose surface of the second magnet is substantially parallel with the substantially flat top of the second hollow component and the second magnet protrudes above the substantially flat top of the second hollow component a distance that is substantially opposite that of the first magnet, and wherein when the first magnet is in contact with the second magnet, the magnets are substantially concealed within the first hollow component and the second hollow component.
The present invention provides an additional embodiment of a jewelry connection apparatus for body piercings, comprising an elongated piece having a first end and second end, wherein the first end is threaded a predetermined distance, an anchor having an opening, wherein the opening is threaded to mate with the threaded portion of the elongated piece, a hollow component having a first connection surface attached to the second end of the elongated piece and a first magnet is affixed within the hollow component, wherein the first magnet and the connection surface are substantially parallel and offset a predetermined distance and an ornament comprising, a hollow body having a second connection surface, wherein the second connection surface is substantially the same dimensions as the first connection surface of the hollow component, a second magnet inserted and affixed within the hollow body, wherein the second magnet and the second connection surface are substantially parallel and are offset a predetermined distance that is opposite the offset of the first magnet and the hollow component offset so when the second magnet of the hollow body and the first magnet of the hollow component mate the hollow component and the ornament create a substantially seamless surface, and a charm attached to the hollow body.
The products of the present invention provides a body piercing jewelry attachment system. The present system makes use of a detachable means to allow for easy and convenient removal of the ornamental component. This is helpful when a wearer desires to change the ornamental component of the body piercing without removing the entire article of jewelry.
As will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading this disclosure, each of the individual embodiments described and illustrated herein has discrete components and features which may be readily separated from or combined with the features of any of the other several embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the present invention. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to particular embodiments described, as such may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting, since the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein may also be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methods and materials are now described.
All publications and patents cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication or patent were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference and are incorporated herein by reference to disclose and describe the methods and/or materials in connection with which the publications are cited. The citation of any publication is for its disclosure prior to the filing date and should not be construed as an admission that the present invention is not entitled to antedate such publication by virtue of prior invention. Further, the dates of publication provided may be different from the actual publication dates which may need to be independently confirmed.
It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is further noted that the claims may be drafted to exclude any optional component. As such, this statement is intended to serve as antecedent basis for use of such exclusive terminology as “solely,” “only” and the like in connection with the recitation of claim components, or use of a “negative” limitation.
The anchor 101 is used to secure the jewelry system 100 once the wearer adorns the jewelry. In the depicted embodiment, the anchor 101 is substantially a sphere. In additional embodiments, the anchor 101 may have various shapes, textures, and the like to provide the wearer with more diversity and ability to modify the article of jewelry. The anchor 101 has the necessary portions to properly attached to the securing mechanism integrated into the stem 102. For example, the anchor 101 and the stem 102 have the mating male and female portions of the securing mechanism that is employed with the jewelry system 100. The securing mechanism maybe but not limited to a pressure snap fit, a threaded system where the anchor 101 is the female portion and the end of the stem 102 is the male portion, or other various means known in the art.
The stem 102 is designed to traverse the piercing opening. The diameter, length, and curvature of the stem 102 may be varied depending on the portion of the body which is being pierced. In the depicted embodiment, the stem 102 is sized to traverse a naval piercing. As stated above the stem 102 and the anchor 101 are detachably connected so that the wearer can remove the body piercing 100. At the end of the stem 102 which is not attached to the anchor 101, the stem 102 provides a various designs or features that are aesthetically pleasing to the wear. In the depicted embodiment, the stem 102 has a sphere attached to the stem 102 that concludes at a closed loop. In additional embodiments, this feature may not be present and the stem 102 terminates at a loop where the connection means 103 attaches.
The connection means 103 attaches the first charm attachment member 104 to the stem 102. In the depicted embodiment, the connection means 103 is a closed loop that passes through the loop at the end of the stem 102 and the loop that is part of the first charm attachment member 104. In some embodiments, the connection means 103 is detachable to allow for the replacement and adjustment of the first charm attachment member 104.
The first charm attachment member 104 is comprised of a main body with a closed loop attached to the top, and a recessed portion on the bottom, wherein a first securing mechanism 105 is inserted. In the depicted embodiment, the first charm attachment member 104 has a spherical design and a textured surface. In additional embodiments, the first charm attachment member 104 may have various textures, shapes, and sizes. In some embodiments, based on the size and weight of a body charm 200 the strength of the first securing mechanism 105 needs to be increased which results in an increased first charm attachment member 104. The first charm attachment member 104 is hollowed to allow for the first securing mechanism 105 to be inserted into and provide a portion of the first charm attachment member 104 which extends beyond the exposed surface of the securing mechanism 105.
The first securing mechanism 105 is recessed into the charm attachment 104 to create a lip as depicted in
The second charm attachment member 202 is comprised of a main body with a closed loop attached to the bottom end, and a recessed portion on the top, wherein a second securing mechanism 205 is inserted into the hollow portion. In the depicted embodiment, the second charm attachment member 202 has a spherical design and a textured surface. In additional embodiments, the second charm attachment member 202 may have various textures, shapes, and sizes. In some embodiments, based on the size and weight of a body charm 200 the strength of the second securing mechanism 205 needs to be increased which results in an increased diameter of the second charm attachment member 202. The second charm attachment member 202 is hollowed to allow for the second securing mechanism 205 to be inserted into and provide a portion of the second securing mechanism 205 which extends beyond the surface of the second charm attachment member 202. This allows the body piercing 100 and the body charm 200 to be detachably engaged with one another and fit substantially flush together.
The second securing mechanism 205 is recessed into the second charm attachment 202 to create a lip as depicted in
The connection means 204 attaches the second charm attachment member 202 to the charm 203. In the depicted embodiment, the connection means 204 is a closed loop that passes through the loop at the end of the second charm attachment member 202 and the loop that is part of the jewel 203. In some embodiments, the connection means 204 is detachable to allow for the replacement and adjustment of the jewel 203, or to allow for the replacement of the second charm attachment member 202 if something is broken or damaged.
The jewel 203 may be various designed, features, items, icons, emblems, or the like. In the depicted embodiment, the jewel 203 is a panda bear. The jewel 203 includes a closed loop to connect with the connection means 204.
The securing mechanism 105 and 205 need to be strong enough to hold the weight of the body charm 200. For this to be accomplished the charm attachment members 104 and 202 may have to have the shape modified to an oval shape or other shapes to allow a greater surface area for the securing mechanisms to interact with one another.
In additional embodiments, the offset from the first charm attachment member 104 and the first securing mechanism 105 and the offset from the second charm attachment member 202 and the second securing mechanism 205 may be reversed. The offsets may be angled or adjusted provided they are reciprocal offsets.
While this invention has been described in conjunction with the specific embodiments outlined above, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.
