Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to ear ornament clips.
An ear ornament clip construction is disclosed in United
I~ingdom Patent Specification No. 976,341 and the form in which the
ear ornament clip disclosed in that Specification has been marketed
in the United Kingdom and overseas at least during the last ten
years is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings
in which Figure 1 illustrates a prior art clip in the fully open
position and Figure 2 illustrates a prior art clip in a partially
open position.
Figure 1 of said drawings illustrates a first clip member
10 (hereinaiCter called the front part) and a second clip member 11
(hereinafter called the back part~ which are pivotally connected to
one another at 12, the back part being in the position which it is
able to occupy, and will in practice occupy, when the two parts have
; been separated to release the lobe of the earO This condition of
the clip (and indeed of any ear ornament clip) will be hereinafter
referred to as the fully open condit:ion. It will be appreciated
that in order to enable a woman to apply the clip and the ornament
carried thereby to the lobe of her ear, it will be necessary for
her to put, say, her index finger in contact with the front surface
of the ornament 13 and the tip of her thumb in contact with the
surface 14 of the back part 11. However, instead of being able simply
to squeeze the ~ront part 10 and the back part 11 towards one
another, she must firstly push said back part upwardly about the
pivotal axis 12 relative to the front part 10 in order to bring
that back part into the position thereof which is illustrated in
Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.
In practice, this necessity proves to be a complication
from the woman's point of view because the ear ornament clip is
extremely small and its smallness makes it very aasy for a
woman to drop the clip in the
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course of trying to apply it to the lobe of an ear. In fact, the smaller the
ornament 13 is, the more difficult is the task of application of the clip to
the ear. If the ornament were circular and of the diameter shown in Figure
2 in full line, it would be relatively easy for the tip of the index finger and
the ball of the thumb to exert a clip-closing force along, say, the line A-A
shown in Figure 2 whereas, if the ornament (for example, a small pearl)
were to be of the size shown in dotted line in Figure 2, the ability of the
woman to exert pressure along the l;ne A-A without either the index finger
or the thumb slipping off would diminish very considerably because the
index finger would have much less area of ornament to which to apply the
force. In fact9 in experiments which I have made myself, particularly
wher~ the ornarnent carried by the front part 10 is very small, I have found
th~t ~with the front and back parts in the Figure 2 positions) the index
finger and thumb sometimes exert the force along the I ine B-B because
the thumb is not actualIy far enough along the back part 11 towards the
curved end part 15 thereof. Discovery of this necessitates re-positioning
of the clip carefully between the tips of the index finger and thurnb and everi
~; th~n the ciosure of the clip to the lobe gripping condition thereof can be
quite a slow process.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a cl ip
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construction in which the drawback discussed in the preceding paragraph is
overcome completely, or at least significantly reduced.
Accordingly, the present invention consjsts in an ear ornament
cl ip which oomprises a front part and a back part 80 connected to one another
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as to perrnit angular movement of said parts relative to one another in
order to grip or release the lobe of the wearer's ear.
(a) said front part having a first portion of which one face is adapted
to carry the ornament and of which the other face is adapted to be
placed in contact with that surface of the lobe of the wearer's ear
against which said ornament is to be displayed;
(b) said front part having a second portion which is integral with said
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,~ ~ first portion and which includes elements which are so joined to
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one another at corresponding one ends thereof as to form resilient
elements in the form of a V, the corresponding other and free ends
of said elements being directed towards said first portion of the .
front part;
(c) a generally C-shaped back part which has a first portion which
includes a face which is adapted to b,e placed in contact with
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that surface of the lobe of the wearer's ear which is remote from .
said surface thereof against which said ornament is to be displayed;
(d) said back part having a second portion which is integral with the
first portion thereof and which comprises substantial!y parallel
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I egs;
(è) said front part having first means located near said resilient
: ~ elements and sa,id back part having second means located near
the free ends of said legs, said first rneans and said second
- ~ ~ me~ns being complementary and coacting to form a pivotal eon-
nection between the front and back parts;
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(f) said generally C-shaped configuration of said back part being
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such that, in the fully open condition of the ear ornament clip,
that end or end portion of said back part which is remote from
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said free ends of said legs is in contact with the free end of
at least one of said resilient elements;
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(g) angular movements of the front and back parts relative to one
. another from said fully open condition to the condition in which
the lobe of an ear becomes gripped between the first portion of
the front part and the first portion of the back part not only cau-
, ~ . .
10~ sing the lobe-gripping portions of said front and back parts of the
. clip to become disposecl directly opposite to one another but also
causlng the inside surfaces of said legs to slide with friction al
ong the outside surfaces of said resilient elements together to
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establish and to maintain the desired lobe-gripping condition of
said front and back parts.
Preferably, said back p~rt further includes a projecting nib which
is integral with said first portion thereof and which is .ocated between said
face and said second portion thereof, said nib being shaped ~nd provided
to facilitate manual engagement of the back part pre~aratory to manual ex-
- 20 ~- ~ ertion o~ pressure on the front and back parts in order to close the clip into
its lobe-gripping condition.
The present invention further consists in an ear ornament clip which
is constructed, arranged and operable substantially as hereinafter described
,
with referance to and as illustrated in Figures 3 to 9 of the accompanying
drawin~s, in which :-
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Figure 3 illustrates a side elevation of the front part of said clip;
Figure 4 illustrates a front view of said front part, looking in thedirection of the arrow X in Figure 3;
Figure 5 illustrates a side elevation of the back part of said clip;
Figure 6 is a front view of said back part looking in the direction
o~ the arrow Y in Figure 5;
Fis~ures 7, 8 and 9 illustrate various conditions of the assembled
ront and back parts; and
Figure 10 shows the two parts positioned for assemblyO
Referrlng to Figures 3 and 4, there is illustrated therein a front
part 20 of the two-part ear ornament ciip, said front part having a first
portion 21 of which one face 22 is adapted to carry the ornement (not illus-
trated) and of which the other face 23 is adapted to be placed in contact
with th~t surface of the lobe of the wearer's ear against which said orna~
ment is to be displayed. The front part 20 also has a second portion 24
which is integral with the first portion 21 and which includes elements 25
which are 90 jolned to one another at correspondinç~ one ends thereof ~s to~
form resili0nt elements in the form of ~ V, the corre~ponding other and free
ends 26 of the resilient elements 25 being directed towards the first portion
`20 27. It will be appreciated that only one of the divergent elements 25 is visi-
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ble in Figura 3, the other one being of identical shape and being directiy be-
hind the one which is visible. Located near said resilient elements 25 are
two lugs 27 j in which coaxial apertures 28 are formed, only one of the lugs
and the aperture therein being visible in Figure 3 for the same reason as has
be-n ~iven above in relation to the elements 25. The first portion 21 hQs an
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aperture 29 in the enlarged free end 30 thereof, said encl 30 and the aper~
ture 29 being necessary for the support and attachment of some kinds of
ornament .
Referring to Figures 5 and 6, there is illustrated therein a generally
C-sh=ped back part 40 of said two-part ear ornament clip, said back part
40 having a first portion 41 which includes a face 42 which is adapted to
be pl=ced in contact with that surface of the lobe of the wearer s ear which
is remote from said surface thereof against which the ornament is to be dis-
played. Said back part 40 also comprise~ a second portion 43 which is in-
tegral with the first portion 41 and which is constituted by substantially
parall=l legs 44. Each of the legs 44 has near the free end thereof a pro-
tuberance or pip 45 formed by upsetting, the pips 45 being coaxial and
=xtending towards one another as seen in Figure 6. The circle seen in
Figur= g near the free end of the one visible leg 44 is the depression which
- was forrned in that face of the leg when the pip 45 was upset.
R~ferring now to Figures 7 to 99 it will be seen, firstly, that the
back p=rt 40 is also preferably provided with a projecting nib 50 which will
be formed by cutting =nd upsetting the material of the first portion 41.
The illustrated location of the nib 50 may need to be altered, possibly by
moving it further away from the legs 44 towards the face 42. The purpose
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of the nib 5~ will be described below.
The front part 20 and the back part 40 are brought together to cause
the coaxial pips 45 to snap into the coaxial apertures 28, both of the clip
parts being made of a springy material (for example, spring steel~. In
Figure 8~ the front and back parts 20, 40 are shown in the fully open
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condition in which,
(a) the inside surfaces of the substantially parallel legs 44 are no
longer in frictional engagement with the outer surfaces of the
divergen. resilient elements 25; and
(b) the free end of the first portion 41 of the back part 40 is in con-
tact with the free end of at least one of the elements 25 of the
front part 20.
In thîs fully open condition of the clip, a woman will not need
: ~ ~ to make any such preliminary adjustment of the back part relative to the
front part as was described above with reference to Figures 1 and 2. All
that she will need to do is to pick up the ear ornament clip and to press
the front and back parts 20, 40 together to bring them into the lobe-gripping
condition thereof which is illustrated in Figure 7. Although the angle
through which the back part 40 needs to be moved relative to the front part
.
. ;20 is approximately 40 (as can be measured by comparing Figures 7 and 8),
tha inside sur~aces of the legs 44 contact the outside surfaces of the diver-
gent elements 25 at a very early stage of the angular movement of the back
part 40 E~bout the pivotal axis provided by the interengaged pips 45 and aper-
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tures 28. Thus, the degree of friction which is ultimrltely necessary to rnain-
~: ~20 ~ tain ths clip parts in the relative positions thereof shown in Figure 7 begins
t o be developed almost as soon as the back part 40 is moved angularly rela-
tive to the front part 20. Of course, the friction developed between the legs
44 ~nd the divergent elements 25 increases as said elements are constrained
to bocome less divergent, and reaches a degree in the Figure 7 position of
the back part 40 which will maintain that setting of the clip parts.
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The nib 50 is intended not only to give the tip of a won anis thumb
something to push against in order to close the clip but also to give the
woman something to engage with her thumbnail in order to open the clip.
The precise location of the nib 50 will have to be determined by trial and
error but the nearer it is to the surface 42 of the back part 40, the better,
because the force appl ied between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the
index fin~er will act along a line which is as far as is feasible from the
pivotal axis of said front and back parts 20, 40. Moreover, it is thought
that if the tip of the thumb has the nib 50 to push against and if the curva-
10 ~ ture of the C-shaped back part 40 will actually cause the tip of the thumb
to slide along the first portion 41 until the nib S0 is reached, any tendency
of the thumb to apply pressure along the line C-C in Figure 8 will be reduced,
i f not el i minated .
Figure 9 illustrates the ear ornament cllip in an artificial condition
in that it cannot be used in that condition. However, it is of interest to note
that, in the Figure 9 condition, the entire ear ornament clip tin its most pop-
,
ular sizs) is contained within a rectangle measuring 1 cm. by 12 mm.
The free end of the back part 40 is shown in Figure 8 e~s being suppor-
tsd by the free end of at least one of the elements 25. However, this contact
between free ends is not essential; the same desired effect could be obtained
for example, by contact between the freQ end of the back part 40 and the top
edge of ~t least one of the elements 25 or by contact between the free end of
at least one of the elements 25 and a portion of the end 30.
~The end 30 shown in Figure 4 is suitable for riveting, soldering or
spot welding in order to secure the ornarnent thereto. However, said end
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may be altered to provide for securing an ornament by an adhesive, or by
heat (heated tabs on said end being pressed into an ornament made of a
synthetic resin material) and to provide for the securing of a peari bouton
ornament .
In addition to the already mentioned advantages which are obtain
able from the clip according to the present invention, two more advantages
may be mantioned. The first, which is of importance to the user, can be
appreciated from a comparison of Figures 1 and 7. In Figure 1, the back
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part 11 is drawn in dotted lines in approximately the position in which it
occupies when the lobe is gripped between the front part 10 and the back part
11. However, it will be noticed that the surface 16 of the curved end part
15 of the back part ~1 is not in horizontal alignment with the top edge 17 of
the front part ~0; this does not give rise to any awkwardness when the orna-
ment i8 large (as drawn in full line, marked 13~, but could give rise to awk-
wardness and possibly some discomfort when the ornamant is small (as
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; ~ ~ shown in dotted line, marked 13), In Figure 7, it will ba seen that the two
portions which will actually grip the lobe between them are in exact horizon-
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tal alignment, and such is clearly the optimum arrangement because the
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grip does not depend for effectiveness and comfort on the size of the orna- -
ment,
The second advantage, which is of importance to any person or
firm whi8h has to assemble the front and back parts 20, 40, i9 that by
po~itioning the said parts as illustrated in Figure 10 of the accompanying
drawing~, their assembly is completed simply by moving the two parts to-
~ether in such a manner that the centres of the apertures 28 move along the
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line D which joins said centres of the centres of the pips 45. Indeed, due
to the shapes of the front and back parts 20, 40, it is impossible to assem-
ble those parts in any other way and this means that said parts cannot ever
be assembled in the wrong way around relative to one another. The cl ip
parts 10, 11 in Figures 1 and 2 can, on the contrary, be assembled correctly
or incorrectly and it is immediately apparent, upon incorrect assembly having
taken place, that something is wrong which can only be rectified by the
assembl-d parts being taken apart again and then being correctly assembled.
The resilient elements 25 can either be inherently resilient as a
result of the material chosen for the manufacture of the clip parts (for
example, spring steel) or be given the necessary springiness by placing
; ~ el~stic means between the elements if the clip parts are made of a precious
metal . Such elastic means and their design and mode of use in a precious
metal ear ornament clip are described and illus~rated in United Kingdom
Patent Specification No. 11286,245 and United States Patent Specification
,
No. 3,654,774. Consequently, anyreferenceto "resilientelements" inthe
appended Claims is to be interpreted as includihg elements to which the
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` ~ ~ necessary springiness has been imparted by su~h eiastic means.
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