Necklaces and bracelets with keepers
This invention is a necklace or bracelet with provisions to prevent the bunching of baubles, bangles and beads which are strung on the necklace or bracelet. Bunching is prevented by keepers which are removably attached to bands fixed at intervals on the strands of the necklaces or bracelets. Two types of keepers are disclosed, one of which has internal threads which interact with a threaded bands, and one which uses a clamshell structure to secure the keeper on a band. The keepers may have a variety of shapes for decorative effects, such as cylindrical, spherical, cubical, or pyramid-shaped.
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/623,641 filed Jul. 21, 2003.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONSNot Applicable.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable.
Reference to “Microfiche appendix.”
Not Applicable.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to necklaces and bracelets with decorative baubles, bangles, and beads.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
A popular type of necklace includes a flexible strand to which a number of beads are retained by being strung on the strand a lumen in the bead or a loop attached to the bead. Beads often are purely decorative and come in a variety of colors and shapes and often have embedded decorative elements such as stones. In addition, beads often have symbolic meaning to the wearer and represent descendents or important events. Necklaces having a plurality of beads often suffer from “bunching”, the tendency of all of the beads to collect in a single group at the bottom of the necklace rather than remain in the desirable more even distribution about the length of the necklace. The invention of this patent application prevents bunching.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,716 discloses a jewelry lock in which the ends of strand have attached extensions. The extensions may be secured by a jewelry lock having the external shape of a bead. It includes two hinged hemispheric cups with notches which accommodate hitches attached to the ends of a bead chain, thereby securing the ends.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,221 discloses a necklace attachment for shortening the length of a string of pearls. The attachment engulfs and attaches together two pearls which are in adjacent portions of a strand of pearls. Another embodiment engulfs one pearl and may be used to attach decorative elements to the strand.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,704 discloses a latch for a chain having a male and female element. Removable designer elements are strung over the compressed male element and are retained by the female element and uncompressed male element. There are no provisions for preventing the movement of elements on the chain.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,322 discloses a pearl necklace with a stainless steel wire which is secured by a retainer having a setscrew. The pearls are separated by elastic rings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,132 discloses a holding device which prevents the movement of a body adornment suspended from a chain. This avoids the tendency of the clasp to walk-around or creep from the back to the front of the wearer's body. The adornment is affixed to the wearer's skin or clothing using a double-sided adhesive, spray adhesive, or brush on adhesive.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,449,810 discloses a stopper for jewelry strands. The stopper is strung on one or two strands and secured in place by two rubber rings, one above and one below the strand or strands. The stopper is used to adjust the length of a flexible strand.
None of the discovered prior art provides the advantages of the present invention, that of decorative keepers which retain beads on a necklace in a desirable distribution and prevent bunching.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONA necklace comprising a strand having two ends and a hook component attached to each end of the strand, the hook components capable of interaction with reversible attachment of the ends together. At least one band is fixedly attached to the strand, two or more beads, each bead having a bore of diameter greater than the diameter of the band and greater than the diameter of the hook component attached to one end of the strand, thereby allowing the stringing of the beads on the strand. Finally, there is at least one keeper having an outside diameter greater than the bore of the bead, the keeper capable of interacting with the band with reversible attachment of the band and keeper, thereby restricting the movement of the beads on the strand.
The objective of this invention is to provide a necklace with beads and keepers in which the beads do not bunch.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a necklace with beads and removable keepers so the distribution of the beads on the necklace can be modified by the necklace wearer.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a necklace with beads and keepers with a threaded keeper or a hinged keeper.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a necklace with beads and keepers with keepers in decorative shapes which add to the decorative effect of the necklace.
Another objective of this invention is to provide a necklace with beads and keepers with keepers of cylindrical, spherical, cubical or pyramid shapes.
A final objective is to provide a necklace with beads and keepers which can be manufactured inexpensively and without adverse effects on the environment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING
In this patent application body adornments such as necklaces, bracelets, anklets, waist chains are termed “necklaces”. Flexible chains, wire cables, bands, filaments, cords, strings, which are a component of the necklaces are termed “strands”. Baubles, bangles, pendants, trinkets, and beads which are strung on a strand are termed “beads”.
Beads 70 having a cylindrical bore (not visible in
The function of the threaded keeper 30 and hinged keeper 40 is to restrain the free movement of the beads 70 on the strand 60, thereby preventing bunching and keeping the beads in a desirable distribution on the necklace.
The threaded keeper 30 has a distinctive ornamental pattern 38 on the outer surface. The hinged keeper 40 has a distinctive ornamental pattern 48 on the outer surface which is easily distinguished from the ornamental pattern 38 of the threaded keeper 30. The distinct ornamental patterns allow the necklace wearer to easily distinguish between the threaded and hinged keepers when the necklace is being assembled or in use.
The beads 70 have a cylindrical bore (not visible in
Although the threaded keeper 30 shown in
Although the hinged keeper 40 shown in
The diameter the threaded band is larger than the bore of the threaded and hinged keepers, thus preventing the movement of a threaded keeper past a threaded band unless the threaded keeper is rotated into engagement of the band and keeper threads, and preventing the movement of a closed hinged keeper past a threaded band. The diameter of an unthreaded band is large enough to prevent the movement of a closed hinged keeper past an unthreaded band but small enough to allow the movement of a threaded keeper past the unthreaded band.
In use, the wearer strings beads and one or more threaded keepers on a strand having one or more threaded bands. The order of the beads and keepers is chosen in order to provide the desired distribution of beads on the necklace. The use of a hinged keeper provides additional flexibility for the wearer, as the hinged connector can be attached after the beads and the threaded keeper have been strung. The arrangement of beads and keepers may be altered by simply restringing the components on the strand.
Any suitable strong, flexible material may be used for the strand, or rigid material may be used in the form of a chain. A preferred material of construction is silver. Other suitable materials include bronze, steel, copper, plastic, and silk. Any suitable strong, hard material may be used for construction of the bands. A preferred material of construction is silver. Other suitable materials include stainless steel, copper, and plastic. Any suitable strong, hard material may be used for the keepers. A preferred material of construction is silver. Other suitable materials include bronze, steel, copper, and plastic.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the examples and embodiments described herein are by way of illustration and not of limitation, and that other examples may be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as set forth in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A necklace comprising:
- a strand having two ends,
- a hook component attached to each end of the strand, the hook components capable of interaction with reversible attachment of the ends together,
- at least one band fixedly attached to the strand,
- two or more beads,
- each bead having a bore of diameter greater than the diameter of the band and greater than the diameter of the hook component attached to one end of the strand, thereby allowing the stringing of the bead on the strand, and
- at least one keeper having a bore and an outside diameter greater than the bore of the bead, the keeper capable of interacting with the band with reversible attachment of the band and keeper, thereby restricting the movement of the bead on the strand.
2. The necklace of claim 1 wherein the bore of the keeper is threaded on its surface and the band is threaded on its external surface, the threaded surfaces of the keeper and band capable of interaction, thereby reversibly fixing the threaded keeper on the strand.
3. The necklace of claim 1 wherein the keeper comprises two hollow sections hinged together, each section having two walls, each wall having a notch, each notch of depth approximating one half the diameter of the strand, the sections and the band capable of interaction by the hinged keeper engulfing the band, thereby reversibly fixing the hinged keeper on the strand.
4. The necklace of claim 3 wherein the sections are reversibly secured in a closed position by a latch attached to one section.
5. The necklace of claim 1 further comprising at least one threaded keeper and at least one hinged keeper.
6. The necklace of claim 5 wherein the threaded keeper and the hinged keeper further comprise decorative elements.
7. The necklace of claim 6 wherein the decorative element of the threaded keeper differs from the decorative element of the hinged keeper.
8. The necklace of claim 2 wherein the threaded keeper has a three-dimensional geometric shape.
9. The necklace of claim 3 wherein the hinged keeper has a three-dimensional geometric shape.
10. The necklace of claim 2 wherein the threaded keeper has a cylindrical, spherical, cubic, or pyramid shape.
11. The necklace of claim 3 wherein the threaded keeper has a cylindrical, spherical, cubic, or pyramid shape.
12. The process of reversibly restricting the movement of beads on a strand, wherein the beads have bores and are strung on a strand by their bores, and a band having an external diameter less than the diameter of the bead bores is fixed on the strand, comprising the step:
- a attaching to the band a keeper having an external diameter greater than the bead bores.
13. The process of claim 12 wherein the band has an external thread and the keeper has a threaded bore, the keeper attached to the band by the steps comprising:
- a. threading the keeper onto the strand,
- b. bringing the keeper and the band into contact, and
- c. rotating the keeper, thereby engaging the band and keeper threads and attaching the keeper to the band.
14. The process of claim 12 wherein the keeper has two hollow sections hinged together comprising the step:
- a. positioning the hinged keeper over a band, and
- b. closing the hinged keeper over the band, thereby attaching the keeper to the band.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 24, 2006
Publication Date: Jun 8, 2006
Inventor: Per Enevoldsen (Roederovre)
Application Number: 11/338,097
International Classification: A44C 5/00 (20060101);