Decorative system
A decorative system comprising a charm mounting device wherein the charm may be removably mounted on an article, including but not limited to, a necklace, a bracelet, an anklet, an earring, an eyeglass frame, a shoelace, a rubber band, a hair band, a wire, a chain, a rope, a cord or a string. The mounting device comprises a u-shaped or p-shaped mount, which are moveable between an original position and a pressured position. When pressure is applied to the mounts the article may be inserted into an inner cavity so as to be at least partially nested, and wherein the mounts may be released to return to the original position upon release of pressure.
The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/376,538, filed Aug. 24, 2010, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to the field of jewelry, and more particularly to a means of attaching decorative items such as pendants, charms and the like to a desired article of jewelry.
Articles of jewelry may be continuous, such as continuous bands, or may include clasps that open to receive charms or other decorative items. To attach charms to continuous bands, these charms would have to include their own complex clasping mechanism, or the owner would have to take the article of jewelry to a jeweler to have it secured through soldering thereby rendering the attachment of charms thereto difficult and cumbersome. The prior art has failed to provide an inexpensive and simple means for attaching desired charms to any and all pieces of jewelry.
Accordingly there is a need in the art to provide a means of attaching charms to a desired piece of jewelry, wherein the charm is easily and securely attached without the need to take the bracelet to a jeweler and without providing cumbersome clasps. It is also desirable that these charms can be easily and quickly attached and detached while still maintaining their functionality of providing a strong and secure connection to the desired piece of jewelry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn one aspect of the present invention, a decorative system includes a u-shaped mount having a first arm, a second arm and a heel. The u-shaped mount comprises polyvinyl chloride having an elastic memory. The u-shaped mount is moveable between an original position and a pressured position. The first arm of the u-shaped mount terminates in a distal face. The system also includes a charm having a front side and a back side. The charm may comprise polyvinyl chloride, silicone or rubber. At least a portion of the back side may be substantially planar. The distal face of the first arm may be affixed to the back side of the charm. The system further includes an inner cavity defined by the first arm, the second arm, the heel, and the back side of the charm. The inner cavity has a cavity-effective diameter. The system further comprises an article to which the charm is removably attached. The article may be made of polyvinyl chloride, silicone or rubber. The article may comprise a necklace, a bracelet, an anklet, an earring, an eyeglass frame, a shoelace, a rubber band, a hair band, a wire, a chain, a rope, a cord or a string. The article has an article-effective diameter, and the article-effective diameter is less than the cavity-effective diameter. The u-shaped mount opens to the pressured position when pressure is applied to the second arm of the u-shaped mount such that the article may be inserted into the inner cavity so as to be at least partially nested within the inner cavity. The u-shaped mount may be released to return to the original position upon release of pressure from the second arm. The u-shaped mount may have a mount width and a mount height, wherein the mount width comprises about 5 millimeters, and the mount height comprises about 9 millimeters.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, a decorative system comprises a pshaped mount having a tail and a c-shaped portion. The p-shaped mount comprises polyvinyl chloride having an elastic memory. The p-shaped mount is moveable between an original position and a pressured position. The c-shaped portion terminates in a distal hook, and the tail terminates in a distal face. The distal hook is not affixed to the tail. The system also includes a charm having a front side and a back side, wherein at least a portion of the back side may be substantially planar. The distal face may be affixed to the back side of the charm. They system further includes an inner cavity defined by the tail and the c-shaped portion. The inner cavity has a cavity-effective diameter. The system also includes an article to which the charm is removably attached. The article has an article-effective diameter. The article-effective diameter is less than the cavity-effective diameter. The p-shaped mount opens to the pressured position when pressure is applied to the c-shaped portion of the p-shaped mount such that the article may be inserted into the inner cavity so as to be at least partially nested within the inner cavity. The p-shaped mount may be released to return to the original position upon release of pressure from the second arm.
These and other advantages of the invention will be further understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art by reference to the following written specification, claims and appended drawings.
It is to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification are exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.
Referring to
The object of the present invention is to provide a means for attaching charms to a desired article that overcomes these burdens of the prior art and provides a clasping mechanism that is a simple design, cost effective, and permits the user to securely attach and detach desired charms to desired articles.
Referring to
One of the benefits of the present invention is to have charms with mounts that are removably mountable on various articles, to make charm bracelets or necklaces, or create decorative systems in a variety of environments. This invention also provides the benefit of hanging or clasping charms on various articles for articles that do not contain a clasp, or are claspless, whereas prior charms were not attachable to an article without unclasping the article.
The system includes charms 1 having a front side and a back side. The charms 1 can comprise a wide variety of shapes, designs, colors, indicia, including letters, numbers, graphics drawings, or shapes of any suitable nature. The size of these charms may vary and include any width, height, and depth. At least a portion of the back side of the charm may be substantially planar to which such mounting devices 2 may be easily affixed. In another embodiment, the back side of the charm 1 may be completely planar, and in a further embodiment the back side of the charm 1 may be non planar.
Referring to
The u-shaped mount 20 is configured such that the second arm 23 terminates at a distal face which may abut or substantially abut a surface of the charm 1, but not be affixed to the surface of the charm, so that a space between the second arm 23 and the surface of the charm 1 may widen to allow for an article 3 to be inserted into the inner cavity.
Referring to
In one embodiment the second arm, the first arm and the heel of the u-shaped mount may be one monolithic piece, or in another embodiment the second arm, the first arm and the heel of the u-shaped mount may be separate pieces that are affixed to each other in any known manner including fusion bonding, adhesive, glue etc.
Referring to
The p-shaped mount 30 is configured such that a terminal end of the c-shaped portion 32 and/or distal hook 35 may abut or substantially abut the tail 31, but not be affixed to the tail 31, so that the space between the tail 31 and c-shaped portion 32 and/or distal hook may widen to allow an article 3 to be inserted into the inner cavity.
Referring to
In one embodiment the c-shaped portion and the tail of the p-shaped mount may be one monolithic piece, or in another embodiment the c-shaped portion and the tail of the p-shaped mount may be separate pieces that are affixed to each other in any known manner including fusion bonding, adhesive, glue etc.
The u-shaped and p-shaped mounts may comprise any polymer or plastic as is known to those skilled in the art so long as the material is sufficient to enable the mount to move between the original and pressured positions, and to have an elastic memory to enable the mount to “remember” the location of the original position. These polymer or plastic materials include but are not limited to polyvinyl chloride, silicone, nylon, latex, or synthetic rubber. Additives, such as antimicrobial agents and coloring agents may be included as desired. In a preferred embodiment, the mount comprises polyvinyl chloride. In another embodiment the mount comprises silicone.
The article 3 to which the charm 1 is removably attached comprises an article-effective diameter, which refers to that diameter that the respective longitudinal cross-section would transcribe if the article were rotated about its axis. For example, a cylindrical article would have an effective diameter defined by its own diameter. The article-effective diameter may be less than the cavity-effective diameter such that the article could be at least partially nested within the respective inner cavity of each mount. In another embodiment, the article is completely nested within the cavity. For example, in an embodiment with a charm 3 being removably mounted on a bracelet, the diameter of the bracelet must be smaller than the diameter of the inner cavity of the mount such that the bracelet would nest and remain secured within the inner cavity.
In the foregoing description, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the concepts disclosed herein. Such modifications are to be considered as included in the following claims, unless the claims by their language expressly state otherwise.
Claims
1. A decorative system comprising:
- a u-shaped mount comprising a first arm, a second arm and a heel, the u-shaped mount comprising a polymeric material, the u-shaped mount moveable between an original position and a pressured position, wherein an inner cavity, comprising a cavity effective diameter, is defined by the first arm, the second arm, and the heel; and a charm having a front side and a back side, wherein said first arm is affixed to a surface of the charm.
2. The decorative system of claim 1, wherein the polymeric material is polyvinyl chloride, silicone, rubber, nylon or latex.
3. The decorative system of claim 1, wherein the polymeric material is polyvinyl chloride.
4. The decorative system of claim 1, wherein the charm comprises polyvinyl chloride, silicone or rubber.
5. The decorative system of claim 1, further comprising an article to which the charm is removably attached; the article having an article-effective diameter, wherein the article-effective diameter is less than the cavity-effective diameter.
6. The decorative system of claim 5, wherein the u-shaped mount opens to the pressured position when pressure is applied to the second arm of the u-shaped mount such that the article may be inserted into the inner cavity so as to be at least partially nested within the inner cavity, and wherein the u-shaped mount may be released to return to the original position upon release of pressure from the second arm.
7. The decorative system of claim 5, wherein the article is a necklace, a bracelet, an anklet, an earring, an eyeglass frame, a shoelace, a rubber band, a hair band, a wire, a chain, a rope, a cord or a string.
8. The decorative system of claim 5, wherein the article is claspless.
9. A decorative system comprising:
- a p-shaped mount having a tail and a c-shaped portion; the p-shaped mount comprising an inner cavity defined by the tail and the c-shaped portion, the inner cavity having a cavity effective diameter; the p-shaped mount comprises a polymeric material; the p-shaped mount moveable between an original position and a pressured position; and a charm having a front side and a back side, wherein a distal face of the tail of the p-shaped mount is affixed to a surface of the charm.
10. The decorative system of claim 9, wherein the polymeric material is polyvinyl chloride, silicone, rubber, nylon or latex.
11. The decorative system of claim 9, wherein the polymeric material is polyvinyl chloride.
12. The decorative system of claim 9, wherein the charm comprises polyvinyl chloride, silicone or rubber.
13. The decorative system of claim 9, wherein a terminal end of the c-shaped portion terminates in a distal hook, wherein the terminal end is not affixed to the tail.
14. The decorative system of claim 9, further comprising an article to which the charm is removably attached; the article having an article-effective diameter, wherein the article-effective diameter is less than the cavity-effective diameter.
15. The decorative system of claim 14, wherein the p-shaped mount opens to the pressured position when pressure is applied to the c-shaped portion such that the article may be inserted into the inner cavity so as to be at least partially nested within the inner cavity, and wherein the p-shaped mount may be released to return to the original position upon release of pressure from the c-shaped portion.
16. The decorative system of claim 14, wherein the article is a necklace, a bracelet, an anklet, an earring, an eyeglass frame, a shoelace, a rubber band, a hair band, a wire, a chain, a rope, a cord or a string.
17. The decorative system of claim 14, wherein the article is claspless.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 21, 2010
Publication Date: Mar 1, 2012
Inventors: Sarah M. Caplan (New York, NY), Jenifer S. Caplan (Miami Beach, FL)
Application Number: 12/928,860
International Classification: A44C 13/00 (20060101); A44C 25/00 (20060101);