The name of the invention is Rims ‘n’ Rocks. The applicant/inventor's name is Ashwini Prasad, of U.S. citizenship and U.S. residence. Rims ‘n’ Rocks is the collective title of a threaded case and house (male and female) mechanism for studding any item with gemstone or gemstone imitations. The invention allows for the gemstone or gemstone imitation to be interchangeable with considerably less effort than has traditionally been associated with setting and unsetting stones within metal settings.
The invention pertains to the field of ornamenting objects with natural and/or synthetic gemstones and/or gemstone imitations (referred to as stones). Traditionally, stones have been set in some form of metal by a variety of methods, from prong-setting, to bezel setting, to pave' setting, to channel setting, and so on. Prong setting has always been the most common, in most part because of the simplicity and versatility entailed. The second most common form has been bezel setting. The problem with the traditional method of bezel setting a stone is that it requires micro hammering the metal around the girdle (11) of the stone (see
The initial use for the invention will be to ornament automobile wheels (also referred to as rims and wheels) with the aforementioned stones. The aftermarket automobile wheel industry has experienced exponential growth over the last decade plus. While that expansion has given rise to product innovation, most of that innovation has been with regard to only the aesthetic design of the wheels. Aside from the spinning rims, which are comprised of a separate piece of metal rotating on ball bearings while attached to the main wheel, all of the “innovation” has been with respect to the diameter (wheels up to 28″ in diameter are now available) and configuration/shape of the spokes of the wheel.
Additionally, the invention will be used in auto accessories such as radio knobs, shift handles, and other aesthetic trimmings throughout the interior and exterior of the car. The invention also lends itself to usage in clothing such as buttons for pants and shirts, trimmings for shoes, etc. It will also be used in knob trimmings for bathroom and kitchen fixtures. As mentioned above, the invention will be used in fashion and genuine jewelry as well.
Because wheels are so heavy and such an integral part of the utility of the car, once they are attached to the axles of the vehicle, they are not easily changeable, and are for the most part, permanent. This means that changing rims on a regular basis for the sake of changing the overall aesthetic look of the car is not practical. To change rims, a consumer would have to take his/her automobile to a facility where there is some kind of hydraulic lift to raise the automobile off the ground to remove the wheels from the axles and install a new set of rims. Additionally, new rims will more than likely require a new set of tires, unless the new rims are the exact dimensions as the old set of rims (tire width has to be taken into consideration) so a new set of (usually expensive) tires has to purchased and installed on the rims. Even if the new rims are the same dimensions as the old ones, the tires still have to be transferred from one set to the next, and would then have to be rotated and balanced again, etc. Most importantly, a “spare” set of rims is relatively expensive for the average car enthusiast. Ultimately, the point is that it is a tedious and expensive process to change rims on an automobile. The bottom line is changing rims on an automobile on a regular basis is not a practical idea.
The invention is a modular screw-like case (referred to as case) and an accompanying receptacle (referred to as house) for the respective screw. The screw component is threaded to the same threading specifications as the receptacle component so the screw case piece can be turned in to penetrate the receptacle house piece. This is different than a conventional nut and bolt in that the screw piece (bolt) is partially hollowed out on one end in a conical shape (17) (see
Within the rim itself, the purpose of the case and house pieces will be for the cosmetic purpose of studding a wheel with gemstone/gemstone imitations for aesthetic enhancement of the wheel. The screw piece is an individual piece as illustrated in the Drawings. That screw would hold the gemstone/gemstone imitation as described in the Detailed Description of the Invention below. In the confines of the rim, the house piece would be the actual wheel itself. The wheel serves as multiple house pieces for many cases as there would be multiple threaded holes in the wheel from the back to the face of the wheel, and where the hole on the face would be 1 mm smaller than the stone that would sit in the case turned into that particular hole.
The other benefit of this mechanism is that the gemstone/gemstone imitation would be interchangeable to alter the complexion of the wheel without actually removing the rim from the axle of the car/truck. Many different colors are available in gemstone/gemstone imitations. They could be easily changed like the plastic colored bezels on some fashion watches. This is beyond anything the aftermarket automobile rims industry/market has ever seen.
The invention is a case (1) which is threaded (4) with a cone-shaped hollowed-out space of a particular base diameter, along with a house (2) for the mentioned case, which is tapped (8) to match the threading of the mentioned case. The house allows for the case to be screwed into it. The house has a hole at both ends. One end allows for the corresponding case to fit into it (9). The hole at the other end of the house (6) is 1-2 mm smaller than the base diameter of the cone, or in this case the girdle diameter of the stone (11), that would fit in the hollowed-out portion of the case (17). The stone rests in the cone shaped hollow space of the case (17). The stone's interaction with the case is such that the complete surface area of the stone's pavilion (12) is in contact with the case's hollowed out cone shaped space (17), from the stone's girdle (11) (which sits at the same plane level as the opening in the case (3)) to the stone's culet (13). The stone's culet angle (16) is similar in measurement (in terms of degrees) to the vertex angle of the hollowed out space (17) in the case. The stone's pavilion angle (15) is similar in measurement (in terms of degrees) to the base angle of the hollowed out space (17) in the case. And the stone's culet (13) fits into the vertex of the hollowed out space (17) in the case. Additionally, the front/face hole (6) of the house has a countersink with a conical angle (18) similar in measurement (in terms of degrees) to the crown angle of the stone (14) that fits in the corresponding case. When viewed from the face (front view,
As mentioned above, when incorporated into aftermarket automobile wheels, each wheel serves as the house for multiple cases. This is done by milling the wheel and threading the milled holes (8) to fit a particular case size. The spokes of the wheel are milled with holes that pass completely through the wheel. The aperture at the back of the wheel (9) would allow for the corresponding case to be screwed into the hole. The aperture where the hole comes through to the front (face) (6) of the wheel is 1-2 mm smaller in diameter than the base diameter of the cone (3) in the case, which would be at the face (front) (7) of the wheel spoke. Because the hole on the front of the wheel is smaller than the diameter of the opening in the case (3) and thus the diameter of the stone residing in the hollow space in the case (17), neither can be removed from the front (face) (7) side of the house {without destroying them, in which case, it does no one any good—in the event someone wants to steal the stone}. Once the case is screwed completely into the house, the stone is supported from the back/bottom (pavilion) (12) by the case, and supported from the front/top (crown) (10) by the house (side cross section view,
The invention is different from the traditional nut and bolt device in that bolts pass all the way through nuts, and bolts do not house anything which is held in place from the back by the bolt, and from the front by the nut.
The composition material of the invention may be plastic, or another material (aluminum, metal alloy, etc.) depending on the context of the use. Also, the house may be of a different material than the case in some instances (the house may be aluminum as in an automobile wheel, and the cases may be hard plastics).
Casting and post-cast milling will be used for production of the invention. In the case of a separate, self-standing house, there will be a mold for the house that will be used for casting them. After casting, the house will be milled and threaded with different sized holes at opposite ends of the house with specifications as described above. The case for the stone will also have a mold that will be used to cast the case in a particular material composition. The mold for the case will have the threading already in the mold, so it won't have to be milled after casting.
In the case of aftermarket automobile wheels, the wheels will be milled as separate individual houses after casting of the wheels, as described above, to fit a particular designated case diameter size. The smaller hole (6) with a countersink with a conical angle (18) as described above, will be at the face side of the wheel. The case will be screwed into the wheel (as seen in
The method of screwing the case into the house will be with a flathead or some other custom screwdriver as the base of the house (5) will be grooved for such a tool, as exhibited in all of the cross sectional side views of (5) (see
Besides the original case and house mechanism are the modified two versions of the invention. First, the case has a cylinder (tube) shaped hollow space (19) from the center of the bottom of the case (5) to the vertex of the hollow cone shaped space in the case (17). In that space (19) is a light source (20) (see
The second variation of the case is also a cylinder shaped hollow space from the base of the case (5) upwards towards the culet (13). In this variation however, the hole does not extend as far as the vertex, as illustrated in