PROCEDE POUR FABRIQUER DES BIJOUX ET AUTRES ITEMS DECORATIFS EN UTILISANT DES OBJETS NATURELS

METHODS FOR FABRICATING JEWELRY AND OTHER DECORATIVE ITEMS USING NATURAL OBJECTS

Abrégé anglais

This invention relates to the use of real natural objects as items of
ornamentation for
jewelry and for decoration. This invention represents an improvement of a
process for
encapsulating fragile objects found in nature within plastic resins, attached
to a jewelry
finding of precious or semi-precious material, and to be used as an item of
jewelry or of
personal or home decoration.

Revendications

CLAIMS
1. A sealed ornament, suncatcher or article of jewelry comprising:
a backing of glass, of plastic (such as acrylic, lexan, or polyethylene), of
wood, of stone
(such as semi-precious minerals), or of metal (such as silver, pewter, brass,
copper, nickel, or
an alloy of these materials). The dimensions and shape of the backing will
vary, depending
upon the design of the ornament and the dimensions and shape of the natural
object to be
embedded;
an outer rim around this backing, which is either integral with the material
used in the
backing (as would be the case if the backing were cast in a mould), or which
is separate from
and glued to the backing. The dimensions, shape and design of the outer rim
will vary, as
will the materials used in its construction, depending upon the design of the
ornament and
the dimensions and shape of the natural object to be embedded;
a design or colour may be applied to this backing on the inside, by means of
painting,
enamelling (or similar method), guilding, applying sparkles, or decorating by
any other
means so as to increase the attractive appearance of the ornament;
the natural object (or objects), whether it (or they) be real dried plant
parts (including, but
not exclusive to: petals, flowers, fruits, grains, and leaves), feathers from
domesticated birds,
or various insects and arachnids (including, but not exclusive to:
butterflies, bees, beetles,
bugs, flies, and spiders) is (are) cleaned and treated with a stabilizing
agent to preserve the
natural colour of the specimen and to prevent an adverse reaction between the
specimen(s)
and the plastic resin;
several layers of plastic resin (which may include an ultraviolet inhibiting
agent), are poured
onto the backing, with the specimen(s) secured between layers;
the ornament, after resin curing, is secured to a jewelry finding (for
example, such a bezel
cup in the case of some earrings); or is otherwise a part of a jewelry
assembly; or in the case
of some castings, the jewelry finding is an integral component of the base of
the ornament.
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2. A sealed ornament or article of jewelry comprising:
the natural object, whether it be real dried plant parts (including, but not
exclusive to: petals,
flowers, fruits, grains, and leaves), feathers from domesticated birds, or
various insects and
arachnids (including, but not exclusive to: butterflies, bees, beetles, bugs,
flies, and spiders)
is cleaned and treated with a stabilizing agent to preserve the natural colour
and shape of the
specimen and to prevent an adverse reaction between the specimen and the
plastic resin;
a design or colour may be applied to the natural object or parts thereof, by
means of painting,
enamelling (or similar method), guilding, applying sparkles,or decorating by
any other
means so as to increase the attractive appearance of the ornament;
several layers of plastic resin (which may include an ultraviolet inhibiting
agent), are applied
to the natural object by various methods to the natural object;
the ornament, after resin curing, is secured or glued to a jewelry finding
(for example, such a
bezel cup in the case of some earrings), or is otherwise a part of a jewelry
assembly.
3. A sealed ornament, suncatcher or article of jewelry comprising:
the natural object (or objects), whether it (or they) be real dried plant
parts (including, but
not exclusive to: petals, flowers, fruits, grains, and leaves), feathers from
domesticated birds,
or various insects and arachnids (including, but not exclusive to:
butterflies, bees, beetles,
bugs, flies, and spiders) is (are) cleaned and treated with a stabilizing
agent to preserve the
natural colour of the specimen and to prevent an adverse reaction between the
specimen(s)
and the plastic resin;
several layers of plastic resin (which may include an ultraviolet inhibiting
agent), are poured
into a mould, with the specimen(s) secured between layers;
a design or colour may be applied to one of the resin layers, by means of
painting,
enamelling (or similar method), guilding, applying sparkles, or decorating by
any other
means so as to increase the attractive appearance of the ornament;
the mould, if it is a transparent material, may form an integral part of the
ornament.
Conversely, a release agent may be sprayed into the mould before pouring the
resin, so that
the ornament may be easily released from the mould after the resin cures;
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the ornament, either before or after resin curing, is secured to a jewelry
finding (for example,
such a bezel cup in the case of some earrings); or is otherwise a part of a
jewelry assembly;
or in the case of some castings, the jewelry finding is an integral component
of the structure
of the ornament..
4. A sealed ornament or article of jewelry comprising:
the natural object (or objects), whether it (or they) be real dried plant
parts (including, but
not exclusive to: petals, flowers, fruits, grains, and leaves), feathers from
domesticated birds,
or various insects and arachnids (including, but not exclusive to:
butterflies, bees, beetles,
bugs, flies, and spiders) is (are) cleaned and treated with a stabilizing
agent to preserve the
natural colour of the specimen and to prevent an adverse reaction between the
specimen(s)
and the plastic resin;
the natural object (or objects) is (are) placed in a clear tube, vial or
similar enclosure of glass
or plastic, which is filled with a viscous liquid; whereby the natural object
(or objects) is
(are) capable of moving in the liquid in a manner that is pleasing to the eye;
the tube or vial is capped and attached to a jewelry finding, so that the
ornament may be
used as an earring, pendant, bracelet, brooch, or some article of decoration
or adornment.

Description

CA 02297498 2000-O1-21
REFERENCES CITED
1. U.S. Patent Documents:
4,142,383 March 1979 Eberhart 156/145; 428/13; 428/28
D274,712 July 1984 Sun D1 1/135; D1 1/137;
DI 1/139
4,885,037 Dec. 1989 Ohkubo 156/57; 427/4; 428/13
5,456,776 Oct. 1995 Noguchi 156/57; 427/4; 428/13
5,478,613 Dec. 1995 Sugino 428/13; 428/22
5,935,355 Aug. 1999 Lai 156/57; 156/222;
156/242; 156/250
5,970,638 Oct.1999 Henley 40/593,594,675,661,771
2. Canadian Patent Documents:
CA2,051,377 Aug. 1999 Noguchi A4 I G 1 /00; B32B9/02
3. Jayanese Patent Documents:
63-239091 Oct. 1987 428/24
LITERATURE
1. Working With Acrylic Plastics, Jack Wiley, Tab Books, Inc., 1986.
2. Science and Math Catalogue, Carolina Biolgical Supply Company, Burlington,
NC., 1998.
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CA 02297498 2000-O1-21
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. 1' field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to novel methods of producing articles of
jewelry or
ornamental decoration that include real natural objects, and the articles
produced thereby.
More specifically, the present invention relates to methods of producing
articles of
jewelry and suncatchers using real plant parts (including, but not exclusive
to: petals,
flowers, fruits, grains, and leaves); using feathers from domesticated birds;
and using various
insects and arachnids (including, but not exclusive to: butterflies, bees,
beetles (for example,
ladybird beetles), bugs, flies, and spiders); which are encapsulated in a
plastic resin within a
jewelry finding of precious, semi-precious or base metal or mineral.
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CA 02297498 2000-O1-21
2. Description of the Related Prior Art'
Real objects, such as feathers, bones, flowers, seashells, have been used
since
prehistoric times as items of jewelry and adornment. The problem with more
fragile objects
such as flowers and feathers is that they deteriorate rapidly with use.
Jewelers resolved this
problem by replicating natural objects such as flowers in their designs using
gemstones,
gold, silver, and other lasting and beautiful materials. For example, Sun
(July 1984: U.S.
Patent D274,712; Appl. No. 378085) patented a design for a transparent
ornament with
butterflies and flowers. Nevertheless, the intrinsic beauty of a natural
object can never be
completely replicated.
This disadvantage may be overcome by using a variety of modern day plastic
resins
to encapsulate the natural object. T'he hardened plastic serves to protect
fragile, beautiful
objects such as dried flowers, leaves, feathers, or butterflies. Since
plastics were discovered,
these types of natural objects have been encapsulated in resins for a variety
of other
purposes.
Castable resins and liquid hardeners are used to preserve scientific specimens
for
microscope slide mounts and for biological displays. In other instances,
various natural
objects have been encapsulated in castable resins for use as paperweights,
keychains, or
Christmas tree ornaments. Plastinated preparations, whereby the natural fluids
of a plant or
animal specimen have been physically removed and replaced with a curable
resin, are used
to study anatomy. Taxidermy mounts are used to preserve entire animal
specimens.
Types of display mounts for butterflies and dried plants (typically displayed
on walls
or shelves) include Rikker mounts, Shadowboxes, Artboard mounts, and sealed
glass
containers.
More recently, the prior art has provided numerous methods of preserving
flattened,
pressed, dried flowers as sealed ornaments in a two dimensional form. Ohkubo
(1989; U.S.
Patent 4,885,037) described an invention whose object was to solve problems
with
conventional drying methods, by placing a dried and pressed plant between a
substrate and a
transparent sheet, and then eliminating the moist air between these two
surfaces using
various methods (such as using a dessicating agent), so as to preserve the
integrity and colour
of the plant. This invention applies to articles such as postcards, bookmarks,
postal folders
and labels.
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CA 02297498 2000-O1-21
Methods have been devised (Oct. 1987; Japanese Patent 63-239091 ) to attach a
dried
and pressed flower to cloth, by sandwiching the flower between a film having a
low melting
point and one with a higher melting point, pressing and heating the assembly
to integrate the
tlower with the low melting point film, and fixing the whole to the cloth.
Noguchi (Oct. 1995; U.S. Patent 5,456,776; Canadian Patent CA2,051,377)
described a method of producing a sealed airless ornament whereby a dried and
pressed
flower is put in a state which gradually becomes a complete vacuum, with the
flower placed
between a base and a film having a low melting point, again with the purpose
of eliminating
problems associated with the presence of moisture and air in the plant. He
suggested that in
some cases the outermost film layer could be coated with resin if necessary.
In the same
vein, Sugino (Dec. 1995; U.S. Patent 5,478,613) described a means of mounting
a pressed
flower assortment in an airtight frame for display, between a transparent
plate and a
baseboard containing a dessicant and/or deoxidant.
Henley (Oct. 1999; U.S. Patent 5,970,638) described a wall ornament using flat
objects such as photographs, drawings, prints, or dried and pressed flowers,
which are
mounted between a transparent electrostatic vinyl sheet and a cover film. The
enclosed
objects are thus tightly sealed therein.
There is also some prior art relating to ornamental objects in a three
dimensional
form. Eberhart (March 1979; U.S. Patent 4,142,383) invented a method of
producing
decorative ornaments such as earrings or pendants, by providing a viscous
liquid (such as
glycerine admixed with clear miscible solvents) and a particulate metal and/or
mineral
through an opening in a hollow transparent glass envelope and then bonding a
cap over the
opening with a resin impervious to the liquid, The object is to provide an
ornament that is
pleasing to behold, since the metals and minerals appear to float in the
liquid when they are
agitated. And Lai (Aug. 1999; U.S. Patent 5,935,355) invented a method of
manufacturing
acrylic boards containing real flower materials, by first adhering the flowers
to an artificial
fiber paper or cloth using a glue solution soluble in an acrylic solution.
Then, the acrylic
solution is poured into a mold holding the fiber paper or cloth with the
flower materials
adhered thereto. Finally, the acrylic board thus obtained is bent into a
desirable shape.
T'he present invention is directed toward the use of three dimensional objects
from
the natural world as ornaments or articles of jewelry. This is because the
shape of an object
(such as a flower) is an integral part of its beauty and form. To press a
flower into a two
dimensional object detracts from the flower's original and integral beauty.
Furthermore, the
prior art addresses only real flowers as forming the basis of the ornamental
object. The
present invention is directed not only to ornaments fabricated from real
flowers in a three
dimensional form, but also to ornaments made from other real plant parts, real
insects and
arachnids, and real feathers.
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CA 02297498 2000-O1-21
SUMMARY OF 'filE INVENTION
One of the primary objectives of the invention to resolve problems of making
fragile
natural objects durable enough to be used as articles of adornmeHt.
Another of the objectives of the invention is to use three dimensional natural
articles
as items of ornamentation and jewelry. Prior art has focused on the use of two
dimensional
natural articles, such as pressed flowers.
Another of the objectives of the invention is to use natural articles for
ornamentation
that have previously not been considered as ornaments, or more particularly,
as items of
jewelry. These natural articles include (but are not limited to) all manner of
insects and
arachnids, feathers from domesticated birds, and plant parts such as leaves,
seeds, and
fruiting bodies.
BRIEF UESCRIP'I'ION OF TIIE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is an exploded frontal view of the first embodiment of the sealed
ornament of this
invention, showing a natural object (a butterfly in this instance) being used
in a suncatcher.
Fig. 2 is an exploded frontal view of the first embodiment of the sealed
ornament of this
invention, showing natural objects (feathers in this instance) being used in a
brooch.
Fig. 3 is a frontal view of the third embodiment of the sealed ornament of
this invention,
showing a natural object (a flower in this instance) being used in a pendant.
Fig. 4 is an exploded frontal view of the second embodiment of the sealed
ornament of this
invention, showing a natural objects (flowers and a fly, in this instance)
being used in an
earring.
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Dessin représentatif