Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02881181 2015-02-03
JEWELLERY CLASP
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved clasp for attaching
jewellery
items which have a loop and a clasp closure to a chain, necklace or bracelet
or similar item.
Background of the Invention
In the past, most jewellery items such as pendants or charms were attached to
chains
or the like by opening a link on the chain and placing a pendant on the chain.
One of the
problems with these products was that it was difficult to open the link on the
chain or
necklace and when opened, the charms or pendants could easily falloff the
chain or
necklace.
The present invention has overcome these difficulties and problems by
providing
the means to attach the charm or the pendant directly to the chain or necklace
on the charm
or pendant directly and not on the chain or necklace. This invention also
allows for charms,
pendants and the like to be attached to a chain which is a continuous chain
and which does
not have an opening link or device to secure the charm to the chain on the
chain itself.
Thus charms and the like can be affixed to a continuous chain or necklace
which does not
have an opening link on the chain.
Common bracelets or necklaces have a means on the bracelet or the necklace to
secure a bead, a charm or a decorative item to the chain. These means
typically comprise
a clasp to secure the charm or if a bead is to be inserted onto the bracelet,
a clasp which
may be inserted directly through the bead or charm itself This of course
requires that the
necklace have a link which can be opened and then secured.
Summary of the Invention
The present invention has been designed to overcome these disadvantages by
providing that the insert such as a charm or pendant include a means to secure
the charm
or pendant directly to a chain by opening a clasp on the charm or pendant
itself and then
mounting the pendant on the chain.
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To this end, in one of its embodiments, the invention provides a jewellery
clasp for
securing an ornamental item to a continuous chain comprising a pair of
oppositely oriented
decorative portions hinged on one side of a tubular member extending
circumferentially
around the clasp and terminating in a short gap at the opposite side of the
hinged portion,
a gap closure member extending from one of the decorative portions adapted to
releasably
secure the decorative potions in a closed position thereby closing the gap.
In another of its aspects, the invention provides a jewellery clasp for
securing an
ornamental item to a continuous chain comprising a pair of oppositely oriented
decorative
portions hinged on one side of a tubular member extending circumferentially
around the
clasp and terminating in a short gap at the opposite side of the hinged
portion, a gap closure
member extending from one of the decorative portions adapted to releasably
secure the
decorative potions in a closed position thereby closing the gap, wherein the
gap closure
member is a tongue portion extending inwardly from one of the decorative
elements.
In yet another of its aspects, the invention provides a jewellery clasp for
securing
an ornamental item to a continuous chain comprising a pair of oppositely
oriented
decorative portions hinged on one side of a tubular member extending
circumferentially
around the clasp and terminating in a short gap at the opposite side of the
hinged portion,
a gap closure member extending from one of the decorative portions adapted to
releasably
secure the decorative potions in a closed position thereby closing the gap,
wherein the gap
closure member is tongue portion extending inwardly from one of the decorative
elements
and the tongue portion is press fitted to secure the decorative portions
together.
In yet a still further aspect of the invention, it provides a jewellery clasp
for securing
an ornamental item to a continuous chain comprising a pair of oppositely
oriented
decorative portions hinged on one side of a tubular member extending
circumferentially
around the clasp and terminating in a short gap at the opposite side of the
hinged portion,
a gap closure member extending from one of the decorative portions adapted to
releasably
secure the decorative potions in a closed position thereby closing the gap,
wherein the gap
closure member is tongue portion extending inwardly from one of the decorative
elements
and the tongue portion is press fitted to secure the decorative portions
together, wherein
the tubular member is a continuous member extending through a channel attached
to the
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two decorative portions thereby allowing the decorative portions to be swung
away from
each other.
Brief Description of the Drawin2s
Figure 1 shows a pendant having the new clasp in the closed position.
Figure 2 shows a side view the pendant of figure 1 in an open position.
Figure 3 shows the pendant of figure 1 in a fully open position.
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Reference will be made to a pendant have the new clasp but the invention of
the
new clasp is equally applicable to any insert to be mounted on a chain, a
necklace, a bracelet
or on any similar item.
The pendant comprises an ornamental portion 2 on its front 4 and on its rear
surface
6 (not shown in figure 1). A circumferential tubular member 9 extends around
the
ornamental portions as shown in figure 1 thereby providing a closed ring when
the
ornamental portion 2 is in the closed position. A chain 11 is secured through
the closed
ring in the assembled condition thus retaining the pendant on the chain.
The tubular member 9 carries a hinge portion or connector 8 at the mid-point
of a
first side of the pendant which allows ornamental portions 4,6 to swing away
and pivot
from each other as shown in figure 2.
The tubular member 9 extends upwardly from connector 8 and back down the
opposite side terminating at end portion 12. In the opposite direction,
tubular member 9
extends in the opposite direction from the connector 8 terminating in an end
portion 16
leaving a short gap 20 between end portion 12 and end portion 16. This gap 20
is
sufficiently wide to allow a standard chain to be inserted through the gap and
attached to
either element 10 or element 14.
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The tubular member 9 may be a continuous member or may be two separate
members welded or otherwise secured at each end of connector 8.
One of the ornamental portions 4,6 carries a locking element 22 which is
adapted
to lock the clasp in a closed and locked position as shown in figure 1 when
the two
ornamental portions 4,6 are pivoted towards the gap 20.
In one embodiment, the locking element 22 is a short rectangular tongue 26
affixed
to the ornamental portion 4 which extends over the gap 20 and press fits
closed with the
opposite element 6.
In operation, the tongue 26 is forced away from the opposite ornamental
portion 6
and each ornamental portion 4, 6 is swung away from the tubular member 9. By
swinging
each ornamental portion 4,6 away from the tubular member 9, this leaves the
gap 20 in the
open position allowing a chain or similar article to be inserted through the
gap. After
inserting the chain, each ornamental portion 4, 6 is swung to the closed
position and the
tongue 26 is press fitted to the opposite ornamental portion thereby closing
the gap 20 and
preventing the charm from falling off the chain.
With this structure, the pendant may be placed on the chain without opening
the
chain and possibly losing the other pendants which may be attached to the
chain. Also, a
pendant may be placed on a chain which does not have a means to open the
chain, in other
words, a continuous chain.
It is also noted that with this invention, one may place two or more chains on
the
pendant itself or in fact, may secure one pendant to a second pendant and then
to a chain.
This flexibility provides and improved structure for connecting a variety and
number of
pendants and a number of chains together.
While the principles of the invention are described in one embodiment of the
invention, those skilled in this art may make modifications in the structure,
arrangement
and components of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of
the
invention. It is intended that the description and drawings be illustrative
and not limiting
in any sense and that the invention be given a scope commensurate with the
invention
referred to therein.
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