JEWELRY SPRING RING CLASP

Abstract

A spring ring has an arcuate body having spaced apart open and closed ends. The spaced apart ends define an opening. The body defines a bore. The body has radially on its outer surface an elongate groove. A spring is disposed within the bore and abuts the closed end of the bore. A plunger is disposed partially within said bore, abuts the spring and extends through the open end of the bore. The spring biases the plunger to occupy the opening to form a ring. A tab is formed on the plunger and extends through the elongate groove. A fastener is coupled to or integrally formed with the tab. The fastener and the ring are each capable of being affixed to an article, such as an article of jewelry.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following relates generally to a spring ring clasp and more specifically to a spring ring clasp having an integrated handle and attachment loop.

BACKGROUND

Spring rings clasps operate by providing a fully enclosable ring having a moveable spring-loaded plunger disposed within a bore of an arcuate body of the ring. Generally, the body forms a partial circle defined by two ends. The partial circle is generally about two-thirds or three-quarters of a circular ring with a gap in the remaining open portion defined by the space between the two ends. The bore is open at one of the two ends. A spring disposed within the bore, and abutting the closed end, biases the plunger such that a portion of the plunger extends out of the open end, while a portion of the plunger, generally about one-half or more, is disposed within the bore. A user can manually move the plunger into the bore, compressing the spring, to insert or remove an article from the ring.

Referring to FIG. 1, in various prior solutions, a radial groove is formed on an outer surface of the body proximate its open end, and a tab, integral with the plunger, extends radially from the groove. A fastener, which is generally a small loop, is formed integrally on the outer surface of the body approximately ninety degrees from the tab. The user can therefore grasp the tab and the fastener to move them together, which moves the plunger into the bore exposing the gap.

Often, this type of spring ring is used on a piece of jewelry which, as is well known, is worn as an aesthetic accessory. The spring ring is most commonly used to affix a pendant to a jewelry item, such as a necklace or bracelet, or to affix one end of the jewelry item to the other, forming an encompassing jewelry piece. However, the tab is unsightly and reduces the aesthetic appearance of the jewelry.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a spring ring is provided, the spring ring comprising: (a) an arcuate body having spaced apart open and closed ends, said spaced apart ends defining an opening, said body defining a bore, said body having radially on its outer surface an elongate groove; (b) a spring disposed within said bore and abutting said closed end; (c) a plunger disposed partially within said bore abutting said spring and extending through said open end, said spring biasing said plunger to occupy said opening to form a ring; (d) a tab formed on said plunger and extending through said elongate groove; and (e) a fastener coupled to or integrally formed with said tab, said fastener and said ring each capable of being affixed to an article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a spring ring of the prior art;

FIG. 2A illustrates a front perspective view of the spring ring linked to an article of jewelry, wherein the spring ring is in an open position;

FIG. 2B illustrates a front perspective view of the spring ring linked to an article of jewelry, wherein the spring ring is in a closed position;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the spring ring viewed from the front; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a top perspective view of the spring ring.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, an improved spring ring is provided. The spring ring (200) has an arcuate body (202) having two spaced apart ends (204, 206), the body (202) defining a bore (300). A spring (302) is disposed within the bore (300), and a plunger (304) is disposed partially within the bore (300), biased by the spring (302) and extending from an end of the bore (300) to enclose an opening (208) defined by the two ends (204, 206) of the body (202). The body (202) will typically have a substantially uniform cross-section along its length but a tapered body or contoured body could be provided.

The bore is at least a portion of the length of the body and is hollow and accommodates the close-fitting plunger. One end (204) of the bore is an open end through which the plunger (304) extends and the other end (306) of the bore is closed or substantially closed such that the spring (302) is maintained in abutting relationship to the closed end (306). Preferably the bore (300) extends from both ends (204, 206) of the body (202) so that the plunger (304) can enclose the opening (208) as well as a portion of the bore at each side of the opening (208). In this case, the closed end (306) can be considered to be formed part way through the body (202). However, the closed end (306) of the bore (300) may be formed by the end (206) of the body (202).

The body (202) has an elongate groove (400) formed radially on an outer surface thereof proximate the open end (204) of the bore (300). A tab (402) integral with the plunger (304) extends through the groove (400). The tab (402) comprises or is further coupled to a fastener (404) accommodating an item of jewelry (210). The body (202) does not require an additional fastener, as in the prior art. Thus, when used with an item of jewelry, the spring ring may be caused to appear as a part of the jewelry item rather than an add-on portion, increasing aesthetic appeal.

The length of the plunger (304) will typically be less than one-half the circumference of the body (202) and preferably about one-quarter or less of the circumference of the body (202). The plunger (304) is suitably sized to be longer than the opening (208). The plunger (304) has a substantially similar radius to the body (202), having a cross-sectional width slightly less than the bore (300), and is disposed within the bore (300) and closefitting to the bore (300) while being slidable therein.

The spring (302) is disposed within the bore (300) such that one end (306) of the spring abuts the closed end (306) of the bore and the other end of the spring (308) abuts the plunger (304). The spring (302) is in a suitably compressed state such that it biases the plunger (304) to fully occupy the opening (208) in the ring and, optionally, to urge the plunger (304) through the bore (300) at the other end of the opening proximate the bore's closed end (306). Thus, in its rest state, the spring ring (200) is a fully enclosed circular ring formed by the body (202) and the plunger (304), wherein the plunger occupies the opening (208) between the two ends (204, 206) of the body (202).

The tab (402) is integrally formed radially on the plunger (304). When the plunger (304) is placed within the bore (300), the tab (402) extends through the elongate groove (400) and is slidable from one end of the groove (400) to the other, or at least a portion thereof. The length of the groove (400) is selected to enable the plunger (304) to be slid into the bore (300) enough that an article can pass through the opening (208). However, the length of the groove (400) is preferably shorter than the length of the body (202) by a suitable amount to enable a person to grasp the body (202) with two or more fingers while sliding the tab (402) with one or more other fingers to move the plunger (304). It is by grasping the body (202) in this way that a person is able to slide the tab (402) without the use of a separate fastener, as in the prior art.

The tab (402) comprises or is coupled to a fastener (404) extending radially from the ring. The fastener (404) accommodates attachment to one end of a jewelry item (210) while the other end of the jewelry item (210) can be held within the spring ring (200).

The fastener (404) may be disposed along a common plane to the body (202) or at an angle thereto. The selection of an appropriate angle may take into consideration the end-use of the spring ring (200). For example, if the spring ring (200) is intended to be used with a substantially flat necklace, it may be suitable for the spring ring (200) to be substantially flat as well, and therefore the fastener (404) and body (202) should be substantially co-planar. Alternatively, if the necklace comprises a plurality of large hoops linked together, each of which tend to orient themselves along orthogonal planes to adjacent hoops, the fastener (404) should be substantially orthogonal to the body (202). In another embodiment, the fastener (404) may be rotatable relative to the body (202), which can be accomplished for example with a rotating joint between the two.

In embodiments, the fastener (404) may be of substantially similar radius to the body (202), such that the fastener (404) and body (202) appear to be two adjacent rings when affixed to a necklace, for example. In such a case, the radius of the body (202) and fastener (404) are preferably selected to be substantially similar to a necklace ring. In an example, the fastener and ring may have a radius of 1.5 to 10 mm with radius of the fastener being greater, less than or equal to the radius of the ring.

Although the invention has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as outlined in the claims appended hereto. The entire disclosures of all references recited above are incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. A spring ring comprising:

(a) an arcuate body having spaced apart open and closed ends, said spaced apart ends defining an opening, said body defining a bore, said body having radially on its outer surface an elongate groove;

(b) a spring disposed within said bore and abutting said closed end;

(c) a plunger disposed partially within said bore abutting said spring and extending through said open end, said spring biasing said plunger to occupy said opening to form a ring;

(d) a tab formed on said plunger and extending through said elongate groove; and

(e) a fastener coupled to or integrally formed with said tab, said fastener and said ring each capable of being affixed to an article.

2. The spring ring of claim 1, wherein said fastener and said ring have substantially similar radii.

3. The spring ring of claim 1, wherein said fastener and said ring are co-planar.

4. The spring ring of claim 1, wherein said fastener and said ring are disposed along orthogonal planes.

5. The spring ring of claim 1, wherein said fastener is rotatable relative to said ring.