Adherable body jewelry

Abstract

Adherable body jewelry includes a body ornament having a non-planar area and a non-soluble adhesive pad having opposite adhesive surfaces. One surface is conformable to the non-planar area of the body ornament and the other is independently conformable to a non-planar human body region so as to securely adhere the body ornament to a person's body. In a preferred form, the jewelry provides adherable navel jewelry with the body ornament being a gem-studded globe and the adhesive pad being disk-shaped. The invention also provides a kit including a multi-chamber case for storing the ornament separate from a plurality of adhesive pads.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/224,951, filed Aug. 11, 2000.

STATEMENT OF FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to jewelry and in particular adherable jewelry.

[0004] It is quite common for women and men to wear jewelry on various parts of their bodies. For example, people commonly wear chains of beads or precious metals around their neck, wrists, waist and ankles. People also wear gemmed jewelry such as rings on their fingers and earrings on their earlobes. Often such jewelry has a post for fitting in openings pierced through skin and soft tissue in various parts of the body, such as the earlobes.

[0005] More and more, women and men are desiring to wear jewelry on other, less conventional parts of their bodies. For example, it has become fashionable in certain segments of society for people to wear rings and studded jewelry in their nose, tongue, nipples and navel. To do so typically requires that the body part where the ornamentation is desired be pierced so that the jewelry can be affixed to their body. As such, the wearer must endure considerable discomfort during the piercing process, particularly when done to highly sensitive areas of the body. Moreover, the piercing can leave a permanent hole and can cause infection if not performed with sanitary instruments and jewelry.

[0006] To avoid this discomfort and permanent scarring, alternative methods of temporarily affixing jewelry directly to one's body have been developed. One alternative is to adhere the jewelry directly to the skin. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,845 discloses a sculptured jewelry having a flat bottom surface coated with an adhesive that is designed to be adhered to a flat portion of a person's skin. The adhesive coating is covered by a peel-away release liner until it is to be worn. The adhesive coating is permanently attached to the jewelry such that the jewelry cannot be worn in another way, for example as a pendant on a chain, due to the sticky surface. Moreover, the adhesive layer will lose its stickiness over time so that it can no longer be adhered to a body.

[0007] To avoid this, jewelry using removable and replaceable adhesive layers have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,016 discloses a ring jewelry holding a heat sensitive stone that is adhered to a person's body using surgical tape. U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,853 discloses a post-less earring having of a pre-cut double-sided adhesive tape section that is adhered to a person's body also using tape adhesive. The disclosures of all of the above patents are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

[0008] Adhesive tape can be difficult to apply to the jewelry and typically loses its adherence when wet, for example, due to perspiration. Moreover, tape is not well-suited for jewelry or body parts having curved or uneven surfaces, such as the navel or breasts, because it is difficult to bend without creasing as needed in order to provide proper surface contact for strong adherence. This is why the jewelry of the above patents have a flat surface to which the tape is adhered.

[0009] The adhesive could be supplied in liquid form, however, this too is problematic. For example, liquid adhesive is messy and requires drying time in which the jewelry must be immobilized against the person's skin, thereby making it difficult to adhere the jewelry in the proper orientation or at all. Moreover, the adhesive is likely to remain on the jewelry once removed from the skin, thereby dulling its appearance and making it unpleasant to handle.

[0010] Accordingly, a need exits for improved adherable jewelry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention provides jewelry that can be adhered to irregular, non-planar parts of a human body, such as the navel.

[0012] Specifically, the invention provides adherable body jewelry including a body ornament having a non-planar area and a non-soluble adhesive pad. The adhesive pad has opposite first and second adhesive surfaces separated by a thickness of the pad. The first adhesive surface is conformed and adhered to the non-planar area of the body ornament. The second adhesive surface can be conformed independent of the first adhesive surface to adhere to a non-planar human body region.

[0013] The invention also provides an adherable body jewelry kit. The kit includes a case; a plurality of non-soluble, adhesive pads carried on one or more release liner sheets; and a body ornament. Preferably, the case is a compact defining isolated first and second storage compartments. The first storage compartment contains the plurality of adhesive pads separate from the body ornament contained in the second storage compartment. The kit can also include accessories, such as a chain and a pendant, that are attachable to the body ornament. The accessories can be contained within one of the compartments of the case.

[0014] Preferably, the adhesive pad is latex based, pressure and heat sensitive, non-toxic, odorless, transparent (although it could be colored) and does not readily dry out. The adhesive is preferably formed from a cold or hot melt process, as known in the art, from latex adhesive pellets, slugs, sticks or sheets, placed on a release liner and cooled for later use. The melted adhesive can be extruded and pressed or cut into desired shapes of varied thicknesses. The adhesive pads are sufficiently flexible and malleable to be formed around and adhered to curved and/or irregular surfaces without creasing, thereby providing a uniform contact surface for the entire area of the adhesive pad, without non-contacting gaps or pockets that can prevent proper adhesion. In one preferred form, the adhesive pads are disk-shaped so that they can be easily formed around a spherical body ornament. The adhesive pads are stored between release liners from which they can be easily peeled away. The adhesive pads are sufficiently low-tack prior to use such that they can be easily handled. The adhesiveness increases as the disks are warmed by body heat during use, thereby providing a secure bond to the skin. The bond can be broken easily when desired by grasping and pulling on the ornamental globe. The adhesive pads can then be saved for reuse, if desired, by re-flattening the disks and storing them between the release liners.

[0015] The jewelry is preferably worn in the navel by wrapping an adhesive pad around a portion of the body ornament so that the adhesive pad forms a cup, the inner surface of which adheres to the body ornament. The body ornament is then inserted into the navel with the adhesive pad first so that its outer adhesive surface conforms and adheres to the skin of the navel.

[0016] The body ornament is of a suitable shape and size so that the jewelry can be worn comfortably in the navel for extended periods of time. The jewelry is also sized to exert a slight outward force on each side of the navel so the resulting friction acts to hold it mechanically within the navel.

[0017] The body ornament can have one or more openings at opposite poles in which can be inserted in one or more eyelets for connecting a bracelet or necklace for suspending the ornament around a neck, waist, wrist or ankle. The eyelets can also be used to attach hanging pendants or additional ornaments.

[0018] It is thus an object and advantage of the present invention to provide jewelry having irregular, non-planar surfaces that can be easily adhered to a person's body.

[0019] It is another object and advantage of the invention to provide jewelry that can be easily and securely adhered to irregular, non-planar surfaces of a person's body, such as the navel. This is accomplished by using the ready-to-use, pre-sized adhesive pads that can be quickly and easily wrapped around a portion of the body ornament, which can be then adhered to one's body immediately.

[0020] It is still another object and advantage of the present invention that the adhesive pad can be completely removed from the ornament without leaving a stick film.

[0021] These and still other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the description of the preferred embodiments which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] FIG. 1 shows the jewelry kit of the present invention having a body ornament and a plurality of adhesive pads stored between plastic release liners;

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the body ornament;

[0024] FIG. 3 shows one-half of the body ornament before being bent into a spherical globe shape;

[0025] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the jewelry worn within a human navel;

[0026] FIGS. 5A & 5B show the adhesive pads in flat sheet and rolled release liners;

[0027] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate jewelry kit in which the body ornament and the plurality of adhesive pads are stored in a three-piece compact;

[0028] FIG. 7 shows the body ornament adapted to include a pendant;

[0029] FIG. 8 shows the body ornament with the pendant as in FIG. 7 also attached to a chain for use as an anklet; and

[0030] FIG. 9 shows the body ornament mounted to a chain for use as a necklace.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0031] The present invention provides jewelry that can be adhered to a human body, particularly at irregular, non-planar surfaces of the skin, such as at the navel. Referring to FIG. 1, the jewelry 10 comprises a kit having a body ornament 12 and a plurality of adhesive pads 14 stored in a case 16, such as a reclosable bag or rigid compact (see FIG. 6).

[0032] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 the body ornament 12 is preferably a globe shape having a lattice structure with a plurality of conical pockets 18 sized to retain natural or artificial gem stones 20. The lattice structure is comprised of two generally Y-shaped components 22 (one shown in FIG. 3) of soft metal having a hub 24 with a central opening 26 therein. From the hub 24, three equally spaced wings 28 extend outwardly, each defining two gem stone pockets 18. A set of prongs 30 are located on each side of the pockets 18 that are bent over the edges of each gem stone 20 so as to retain them. A narrow finger 32 extends from the end of each wing 28. The wings 28 of both Y-shaped components 22 are bent inwardly about the hub 24 and the Y-shaped components 22 are intertwined so as that the fingers 32 of the three wings 28 of both Y-shaped components 22 fit through the hub opening 26 of the opposite Y-shaped component. In this way, the hollow, spherical gem-studded body ornament 12 is formed. The body ornament 12 is sized to be easily and comfortably inserted into a person's navel, being approximately 1 cm in diameter.

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 4, 5A and 5B, the body ornament 12 is adhered to a person's skin by one of the adhesive pads 14. The jewelry 10 of the present invention includes a plurality of such adhesive pads 14, each forming a disk-shape and having two opposite adhesive surfaces 34 and 36 (See FIG. 4). The adhesive pads 14 can be disposed between two plastic release liners 38 in sheet form (as shown in FIG. 5A) to prevent degradation of the adhesive surfaces 34 and 36. Alternatively, the adhesive pads 14 can be in a rolled release liner (as shown in FIG. 5B) with the opposite adhesive surfaces of the pads adhered to opposite sides of the rolled release liner. In either case, the adhesive pads 14 are approximately 1 mm thick and have a diameter slightly larger than the body ornament 12, however, the thickness and diameter of the adhesive pads 14 can vary. The adhesive pads 14 are preferably a suitable latex (rubber-based) adhesive that is transparent, nontoxic, waterproof, and resists drying out. The adhesive pads 14 are no-mess and ready-to-use adhesive layers that can be used to quickly and easily apply the body ornament 12 to a person's skin.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 4, the jewelry 10 is preferably worn in a person's navel 40 by wrapping an adhesive pad 14 around a portion of the body ornament 12 so that the adhesive pad 14 forms a non-planar, irregular cup shape, the inner surface 34 of which conforms and adheres to a non-planar area of the body ornament 12. The body ornament 12 is then inserted into the navel 40 with the adhesive pad 14 first so that the outer surface 36 of the adhesive pad 14 conforms and adheres to the irregular, non-planar surface of the skin of the navel 40. The adhesive pads 14 are sufficiently malleable to conform and adhere to the irregular surfaces of the body ornament 12 and the navel 40 independently without creasing or creating non-contacting gaps or pockets 18 which reduce adhesion. The body ornament 12 with the adhesive pad 14 attached will exert a slight outward force on each side of the navel 40, thereby allowing friction to aid mechanically in retaining the body ornament 12 in the navel 40.

[0035] The adhesiveness of the pads 14 increases as they are warmed by body heat during use, thereby providing an increasingly secure bond to the skin. The bond can be broken easily when desired by grasping and pulling the body ornament 12 outwardly. The adhesive pad 14 can be completely removed from the body ornament 12 without leaving a sticky film. The adhesive pad 14 can then be cleanly handled and saved for reuse, if desired, by re-flattening the adhesive pad 14 and storing it between the release liners 38.

[0036] FIG. 6 shows an alternate embodiment of the kit of the present invention. In this embodiment, the body ornament 12 and the adhesive pads 14 are the same as described above albeit each of the plurality of adhesive pads 14 are stored individually, being adhered between two release sheets sized to hold only one pad. However, rather than the case 16 being a reclosable bag (as in FIG. 1), it is a hard-shell compact 16A. The compact 16A has three separate components: a base 50, a partition cup 52 and a lid 54. The base 50 provides a lower storage compartment 56 in which the plurality of adhesive pads 14 are stored. The removable partition cup 52 fits into the base 50 and has a hollow cylindrical bottom 58 leaving space for the adhesive pads 14. The partition cup 52 has a central flange 60 sized slightly smaller than the inner dimension of the base 50 to close off the lower storage compartment 56. The lid 54 defines an upper storage compartment 62 above the flange 60 in which the partition cup 52 defines a cup 64 for holding the body ornament 12 as well as external threads 66 for engaging an internally threaded ring (not shown) at the underside of the lid 54. Thus, the compact 16A holds the body ornament 12 in the upper storage compartment 62 separate from the adhesive pads 14 in the lower storage compartment 56. Preferably, the lid 54 has a transparent window 68 so that the body ornament 12 can be viewed without opening the compact 16A.

[0037] It should be noted that it is within the scope of the present invention to modify the body ornament 12 to take any other suitable shape. Also, as shown in FIG. 7, variously shaped pendants 70 or other ornaments can be connected to the body ornament 12. The pendant 70 can be connected directly to the body ornament 12 or to an eyelet 72 fixed permanently or temporarily to the body ornament 12 through a space therein (such as opening 26 shown in FIG. 3).

[0038] It also should be noted that the body ornament 12 can be adhered to other parts of a person's anatomy, such as within the cleavage of a woman's breasts, or affixed to a person by means other than, or in addition to, adhesion. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, ends of a chain 74 can be attached directly or via eyelet 72 to the body ornament 12 at openings therein. The chain 74 can then be wrapped around a person's neck, wrist, waist or ankle or clipped to clothing so as to suspend the jewelry 10 therefrom. The body ornament 12 can be held in a fixed place with the adhesive pad 12 or suspended freely. The jewelry 10 can be worn comfortably and cleanly after once being adhered to a person's skin because the adhesive pad 14 peels away from the body ornament 12 without leaving behind a sticky film or residue.

[0039] A preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in detail above. However, modifications and variations to the preferred embodiment will be apparent to those skilled in the art, which will be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention should not be limited to the described embodiment. To ascertain the full scope of the invention, the following claims should be referenced.

Claims

1. Adherable body jewelry, comprising:

a body ornament having a non-planar area; and

a non-soluble adhesive pad having opposite first and second adhesive surfaces separated by a thickness of the pad, wherein the first adhesive surface is conformed and adhered to the non-planar area of the body ornament and the second adhesive surface can conform independent of the first adhesive surface to adhere to a non-planar human body region.

2. The adherable body jewelry of claim 1, wherein the adhesive pad is latex based.

3. The adherable body jewelry of claim 2, wherein the adhesive pad is pressure sensitive.

4. The adherable body jewelry of claim 3, wherein the adhesive pad is heat sensitive, becoming increasingly sticky as it is warmed.

5. The adherable body jewelry of claim 4, wherein the adhesive pad is non-toxic and odorless.

6. The adherable body jewelry of claim 1, wherein the adhesive pad is transparent.

7. The adherable body jewelry of claim 1, wherein the body ornament includes at least one gem stone.

8. The adherable body jewelry of claim 1, wherein the body ornament is substantially spherical.

9. The adherable body jewelry of claim 8, wherein the adhesive pad is disk-shaped and sized to cup substantially one half of the body ornament.

10. The adherable body jewelry of claim 8, wherein the body ornament is formed of two structures having an open hub and three wings with fingers at their ends, wherein the two structures are interconnected by bending the wings so that the fingers engage the hub of the other structure.

11. The adherable body jewelry of claim 10, wherein the structures define pockets for retaining gem stones.

12. The adherable body jewelry of claim 1, further including an accessory attachable to the body ornament.

13. The adherable body jewelry of claim 12, wherein the accessory is selected from the group consisting of a chain and a pendant.

14. An adherable body jewelry kit, comprising:

a case;

a plurality of non-soluble adhesive pads disposed between one or more sets of release liner sheets, the plurality of adhesive pads each having opposite first and second adhesive surfaces separated by a thickness of the pad such that the first adhesive surface can be conformed independent of the second adhesive surface to adhere to a non-planar human body region; and

a body ornament having at least one non-planar area adherable to a non-planar human body region by one of the plurality of adhesive pads.

15. The kit of claim 14, wherein the case is a compact defining isolated first and second storage compartments, wherein the first storage compartment contains the plurality of adhesive pads separate from the second storage compartment containing the body ornament.

16. The kit of claim 14, further including an accessory attachable to the body ornament, wherein the accessory is selected from the group consisting of a chain and a pendant.

17. The kit of claim 14, wherein the plurality of adhesive pads are latex based and transparent.

18. The kit of claim 17, wherein the plurality of adhesive pads are heat sensitive, becoming increasingly sticky as it is warmed.

19. The kit of claim 14, wherein the plurality of adhesive pads are disk-shaped and the body ornament is substantially spherical.

20. The kit of claim 19, wherein the body ornament includes a gem stone.