EARRING HAVING S-MEMBER EARRING POST AND METHODS FOR USE THEREWITH
An earring includes an s-member earring post having a first end that includes a keeper, and a second end for insertion in a pierced ear hole of a user's ear. One or more beads are slideably attached to the s-member earring post, wherein, when the earring is worn on the user's ear, the keeper maintains a stable position of the at least one bead based on a gravitation force on the bead.
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TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates earrings and earring posts for use therewith.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ARTEarrings are a common fashion accessory that are worn by both men and women. Different earrings are worn with different outfits of different colors and styles and on different occasions. This can require a user to own a large number of earrings.
Many earring designs include a back that secures the earring post to the ear of a user. These earring backs can be difficult to use and tend to come loose when removing a garment over the head or talking on the telephone. Further, the back can generate discomfort to the user when installed to tightly.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,275,396 presents an APPARATUS AND METHOD OF SUPPORTING AN EARRING, that is constructed of a single length of flexible metal wire or plastic line bent back on itself. This design presents a significant additional structure that must be worn in addition to the earrings themselves. U.S. Publication No. 2007/0199347 presents an EARRING APPARATUS that forms a post for attachment to an earring with an elongated wire with a point that is oriented in such a fashion as to present a potential hazard to the user.
These and other disadvantages of traditional and convention approaches will be evident to one skilled in the art when presented the disclosure herein.
The embodiments of the present invention yield several advantages over the prior art. In particular, various earrings are presented that can be worn in a pierced ear hole or other body piercing. These earrings can be attached without a back or other fastener. The design is flexible and attractive, and in an embodiment of the present invention, the user can choose and insert one or more decorative beads on the earring post to achieve different styles and colors. These earrings can be securely and comfortably worn by hanging the earring posts from a pierced ear hole.
In this fashion, different numbers of beads and beads of different materials, varieties, colors, shapes and configurations can be added or removed to create one or more earrings 125 with different “looks”. In particular beads can be constructed or metal, plastic, glass, wood, non-precious stone, semi-precious stone, precious stones, and/or other materials. While bead 104 is shown as a ball, earring 125 can include earring post 100 along with any decorative object that can be attached thereto. In an embodiment of the present invention, bead 104 is constructed of a material that changes color based on light or temperature to further add to the unique and novel features of earring 125. In a further embodiment of the present invention, bead 104 is constructed of a glow-in-the-dark material. Additional bead configurations are presented in conjunction with
While much of the discussion herein has focused on a single earring, one skilled in the art when presented the disclosure herein will recognize that a pair of similar or dissimilar earrings may likewise be worn by a user. Further, while the term earring has been used and the wearing of such earring has been described primarily in conjunction with the insertion of such as device within one or more pierced ear holes of a user, the present invention can be inserted in other artificially pierced holes in a user's body. While the various designs of earring post 99-101 are presented as being planar, non-planar designs may likewise be employed. In particular, when non-planar designs are employed, the parallel or substantially parallel relationship between arms 200, 204 and 208 can be defined in terms of a projection of these arms onto a common plane.
As one of ordinary skill in the art will further appreciate, the term “coupled”, as may be used herein, includes direct coupling and indirect coupling via another component or element. As one of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate, inferred coupling (i.e., where one element is coupled to another element by inference) includes direct and indirect coupling between two elements in the same manner as “coupled”.
Thus, there has been described herein an earring post, earring and method, as well as several embodiments including a preferred embodiment. Various embodiments of the present invention herein-described have features that distinguish the present invention from the prior art.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed invention may be modified in numerous ways and may assume many embodiments other than the preferred forms specifically set out and described above. Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications of the invention which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. An earring comprising:
- an s-member earring post having a first end that includes a keeper, and a second end for insertion in a pierced ear hole of a user's ear; and
- at least one bead ornament that is slideably attached to the s-member earring post;
- wherein, when the earring is worn on the user's ear, the keeper maintains a stable position of the at least one bead based on a gravitation force on the bead.
2. The earring of claim 1 wherein the s-member earring post includes a first arm, a second arm and a third arm that are substantially parallel to one another.
3. The earring of claim 2 wherein the s-member earring post further includes a first bridge portion between the first arm and the second arm that rests in the pierced ear hole when the earring is worn.
4. The earring of claim 1 wherein the keeper includes at least one of: a ball, a cap, a crimp, a bend, a knot and a ring.
5. The earring of claim 1 wherein the keeper includes at least two of: a ball, a cap, a crimp, a bend, a knot and a ring.
6. The earring of claim 1 wherein the bead includes a functional object.
7. The earring of claim 6 wherein the functional object includes at least one of: a clock, a thermometer, and a light.
8. The earring of claim 1 wherein the bead changes color based on at least one of: light and temperature.
9. An earring post comprising:
- a first arm having a first end that includes a keeper;
- a first bridge portion coupled to the first arm for resting in a pierced ear hole when worn by a user;
- a second arm, coupled to the first bridge portion and substantially parallel to the first arm;
- a second bridge portion coupled to the second arm;
- a third arm, coupled to the second bridge portion, the third arm having a second end for insertion in the pierced ear hole, wherein the third arm is substantially parallel to the second arm.
10. The earring post of claim 9 wherein the keeper maintains a stable position of at least one bead that is slideably attached to the s-member earring post when the s-member earring post is worn by the user.
11. The earring post of claim 9 wherein the keeper includes at least one of: a ball, a cap, a crimp, a bend, a knot and a ring.
12. The earring post of claim 9 wherein the keeper includes at least two of: a ball, a cap, a crimp, a bend, a knot and a ring.
13. A method comprising:
- providing a s-member earring post; and
- providing instructions to a user on the insertion of at least one decorative bead on the s-member earring post.
14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:
- providing instructions to the user on the insertion of the s-member earring post in a pierced ear hole.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 28, 2008
Publication Date: Oct 1, 2009
Inventor: Marianne Jo Stanke (Elmhurst, IL)
Application Number: 12/057,618
International Classification: A44C 7/00 (20060101); A44C 25/00 (20060101);