Patent Application
20150230566
The present invention is related to improvements in the attachment of one type of material to another. More particularly, the present invention provides a process and system whereby a precious metal can be attached to another material that is not as valuable as the first; this less valuable material defined by the jewelry industry as “alternative,” “contemporary,” or “non-traditional.”
Just prior to the formation of Spectore Corp in 1983, Edward Rosenberg (Spectore's founder) was one of, if not the only American to pioneer and introduce refractory metals to the jewelry industry. Through the last 30 years contemporary materials (including but not limited to: the entire family of refractory metals titanium, niobium, zirconium, and tantalum as well as stainless steel, chrome cobalt and others deemed as alternative, contemporary, and new age materials) grew to become a staple accepted fine and fashion jewelry, gift and accessory material. The onset of inflation, the meteoric rise in precious metal prices for such as gold, platinum, silver, palladium have further increased in cost to such an extent that the average consumer finds it difficult to purchase items made purely of the aforementioned. As a consequence, jewelry retailers and customers have been forced by current market trends to cut back on their purchasing of now highly expensive items; thus, articles having precious metals such as rings, bracelets, jewelry, consumer products, giftware, personal and table top accessories, watches, and any form of decorative encasements have experienced a general decline in their respective market shares.
Because of this many have begun to purchase items having materials outside of the traditional materials used in the industry; these are known in the common parlance of the industry as alternative materials. These alternatives were introduced and or promoted by manufacturers stung by their falling sales; of these, Spectore Corporation was one of the principal if not the only pioneer of AM going back as early as 1980. Thus, a growing number of manufacturers have followed suit in that they rightly reacted to the cost driven decline by shifting production to articles containing tungsten, titanium, stainless steel, surgical stainless steel, platifina or rhodium based jewelry and many other types of alternative materials. As a result, customers now have the choice of articles using AM in providing the benefit of an inert material which is incredibly compatible with the skin and is highly durable.
However, people still like precious metal jewelry and there is still a great demand for these items if some solution to their exorbitant cost could be found. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a solution to this problem that overcomes the cited deficiencies of high upfront cost whilst still providing a valuable, precious metal article that conveys value over time.
An article of manufacture having an alternative material and a precious material making this unique in bonding materials that are significantly dissimilar comprising:
A process for attaching a precious metal to an alternative material comprising the steps of:
creating an alternative material having a first surface that matches a precious metal second surface
creating a precious metal material having a second surface that matches an alternative material first surface and
attaching the precious metal material second surface to the alternative material first surface.
In another aspect,
providing a precious metal portion
providing an alternative material portion and
pressing the precious metal portion to the alternative metal portion thereby creating a combination of materials.
In another aspect, cutting the combination to an appropriate size and shape.
In another aspect, raising the temperature on the combination so that it becomes super ductile whilst simultaneously raising pressure thereon.
In another aspect, shaping the combination.
In another aspect, wherein the step of shaping the combination is either rolling or extrusion.
In another aspect, finishing the combination with polishers.
1. The process for attaching a precious metal to an alternative material of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
An article of manufacture a portion of which has a surface having an integral attachment to another device such that the device comprises:
These and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, in which:
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “rear”, “right”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in each individual figure. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.
The concept taught herein is a laminated precious metal having matching contours with an alternative material found underneath. A securing area (hole, undercut, pin etc) or extended surface on the one or more sides (anywhere on piece) of the alternative material forms a convenient support piece for attachment of the top precious metal surface. Thus, this securing area(s) can be found anywhere about the surface that one using this concept would find it useful to locate a support surface about the alternative material article to be overlaid.
The article 3 to be laminated or overlaid is a solid piece of alternative material such as stainless steel, titanium, rhodium or similar materials. It has a convex curved surface 4 that matches the contours of the concavity 2 of the precious metal laminate or overlay 1. The edge 8 of the concave laminate 1 has a corresponding edge 11 that is integral with the convex curved surface 4 on either side of the alternative material. Similarly, the flat surface 5 on either side of the laminate or overlay 1 has a corresponding flat surface 6 or securing area on the alternative material that meets the inner disposed edge 11 and runs parallel to the laminate's surface 5 on either side. Finally, the article 3 has a face F that runs perpendicular to the surface 6 and is integral with it along an edge 12 on either side. Finally, the two faces F of the article to be laminated 3, have a slightly concave surface 3 that connects the two together. It should be understood that the description of surfaces, angles, and directions are adaptable to various configurations, sizes and dispositions and should be taken as exemplary only and not as limiting the scope of the invention.
The materials are bonded and/or Laminated by pressing, drawing, and/or extruding the materials in any or all combinations. This may be done with heat and in two or more material layers alternating in any sequence. The materials may also, at the same time or afterward, be further extruded, drawn or formed in a die or mold having the contours that correspond with the contours of an alternative material surface
The placement of the alternative material piece underneath the precious metal is done in any sequence necessary to reach the final goal; i.e., gold to titanium to cobalt to silver to black titanium to platinum and to titanium.
It should be understood that the securing area taught herein is a flat surface extending from the sides of the article being manufactured. However, as a substitute securing area an undercut, a pin, a hole or similar securing device is useable as an alternative so as to attach the two or more parts together.
This type of lamination (including co-extrusion) of precious metals gold (all Karats), silver, platinum and palladium, to what is defined as contemporary or alternative metals; specifically, titanium and all refractories (Niobium/columbium), zirconium, and Tantalum), stainless steel, chrome cobalt, Tungsten carbide, ceramics, etcetera. This technique applies to consumer products and/or further, for jewelry, giftware, personal and table top accessories, watches, and any form of decorative encasements.
The combined piece made of precious metal and an alternative material can be attached to giftware, accessories wherein the attachment is through woodworking adhesive, screws, bolt nut, welding, heat treatment, plastic or similar protrusion, and slot insertion.
The above-described embodiments are merely exemplary illustrations of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations, combinations, modifications or equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all the embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/766,093 filed Feb. 18, 2013, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference.
