Retroreflective Chain and Manufacturing Method
The present invention relates to jewelry and specifically jewelry with retroreflective inlays. Specifically, the invention relates to a chain link or other jewelry item, with an inlay trough formed in the chain. The inlay trough can be created in a number of ways including casting, CNC milling, photolithography and chemical milling. Once an inlay trough is created, a retroreflective material is embedded in the trough. The retroreflective material which has a bonded top layer of acrylic or polyester is then sealed into the trough with a resin layer that creates a highly reflective, water-resistant, and protective surface. The disclosed invention covers the chain or other jewelry of similar style and the method for producing the jewelry.
The disclosed invention relates to jewelry and specifically jewelry with retroreflective inlays. Jewelry of various types including chains, bracelets, rings, earrings and many others have been status symbols and ways of decorating the human body for many millennia. One of the most sought after characteristics of these items is reflectiveness or sparkle. The goal for the wearer is often to draw attention to themselves with the sparkle or reflective nature of their jewelry accessories.
Precious metals, gems and various other valuable materials have long been used to achieve the desired reflective and sparkling nature. These materials come at a high cost and as such are not available to many people. Another approach known in the art is to inlay other materials into less expensive metals to achieve reflectivity or a unique design.
The novel aspect of the disclosed invention is the type of reflective material inlayed into the jewelry and the method for manufacturing the jewelry with this unique inlay material.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ARTMethods of manufacturing jewelry with materials inlayed into other materials are well known in the art. These known methods include metals with other materials inlayed such as other metals, stone, ceramic, gems, or shells.
In addition to traditional inlays manufactured with metals as the base materials, there are multiple other types and methods for costume jewelry found in the prior art. These include costume jewelry made in sheets or with non-traditional materials inlayed in troughs manufactured in the item. These non-traditional materials can include ground gemstones or faceted material.
In addition to materials inlayed in a trough, the background prior art discloses covering inlayed items with a variety of clear materials, including cellulose, pyroxylin, xylonite, clear plastic or polyurethane domes.
As will become clear from the disclosure below, the claimed invention improves on these existing products and methods.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the invention to provide a method of manufacturing a retroreflective jewelry item.
It is an object of the invention to provide a uniquely reflective chain manufactured with retroreflective film.
It is an object of the invention to embed a retroreflective material into an inlay trough.
It is an object of the invention to apply an acrylic/polyester waterproof face film on top of the retroreflective material.
It is an object of the invention to apply a coat of resin on top of the acrylic/polyester waterproof face film and retroreflective material.
It is an object of the invention to utilize a retroreflective material comprised of glass beads in the inlay trough.
It is an object of the invention to utilize a retroreflective material comprised of ceramic beads in the inlay trough.
It is an object of the invention to utilize a prismatic retroreflective material that creates reflectivity with prisms.
It is an object of the invention to use a metal mold to produce a chain link with an inlay trough.
It is an object of the invention to use a computer numerical control device to create an inlay trough in a chain link.
It is an object of the invention to use photolithography and chemical milling to create an inlay trough in a chain link.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe disclosed invention relates to jewelry and specifically jewelry with retroreflective inlays. Specifically, the invention relates to a chain link or other jewelry item, with an inlay trough formed in the chain. The inlay trough can be created in a number of ways including casting, CNC milling or photolithography and chemical milling. Once an inlay trough is created, a retroreflective material is embedded in the trough. The retroreflective material which is comprised of a water-resistant top layer is sealed into the trough with a resin layer that creates a protective, water-resistant, and highly reflective surface. The disclosed invention covers the chain or other jewelry of similar style and the method for producing the jewelry.
The disclosed invention, preferred embodiment and claims relate to a jewelry item, in the preferred embodiment comprising a chain, with a unique retroreflective material inlayed into a trough in the material, layered with an acrylic/polyester face film and covered with a clear epoxy material. Both the inlayed material and the manufacturing method are unique and novel extensions of the existing prior art.
While the descriptions below are in reference to the preferred embodiment, many other embodiments are anticipated by the claims and this preferred embodiment is not intended to limit the breadth of the claims in any way.
Further detail of the claimed invention is shown with retroreflective material 9 and resin material 8 in an exploded view of the chain bracelet. More detail will be provided in later figures about the specific materials used and methods for manufacturing the claimed invention.
The retroreflective material of the preferred embodiment comes in A4 sheets (210 mm×297 mm) and is cut into the shape of inlay trough 1 by laser cutting, a blade, plotter device or a vinyl cutter. For best results, the retroreflective material is placed in the trough by hand, but machine means are also anticipated. Once retroreflective material 9 is placed into the inlay trough 1, resin 8 is dripped into inlay trough 1. This material coats and seals retroreflective material 9 into the trough. In the preferred embodiment, resin 8 is clear epoxy resin. Resin 8 can also be one of the following materials: clear UV resin or clear polyester resin. Other retroreflective materials that can be used in the trough include high intensity glass bead reflective tape, metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape and non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.
Metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape is shown in
The non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape in
Claims
1. A method for manufacturing a reflective jewelry item comprising the steps of:
- Casting metal into a jewelry body having a top side and a bottom side using a mold comprising a top mold and bottom mold;
- Forming a trough in the top side of the jewelry body, the trough having a defined shape;
- Cutting a retroreflective material into the defined shape, the retroreflective material comprising an adhesive layer, a retroreflective layer and a face film layer;
- Placing the retroreflective material into the trough; and
- Covering the top of the retroreflective material with resin.
2. The method of claim 1 where the metal is a non-ferrous metal from the group of silver, stainless steel, gold, platinum, titanium, copper, palladium, tungsten, aluminum, brass, bronze, niobium and bronze.
3. The method of claim 1 where the jewelry body shape is from the group of chain, rope, ring, band, cable, cuff or bead.
4. The method of claim 1 where the top and bottom mold are formed of a material from the group of aluminum, copper, titanium, steel, cast iron, graphite, ceramic and sand.
5. The method of claim 1 where the top mold and bottom mold are formed of 6061 aluminum alloy.
6. The method of claim 1 where the top and bottom mold are formed of rubber.
7. The method of claim 1 where the trough is formed using a computer numerical control machine.
8. The method of claim 1 where the trough is formed using photolithography.
9. The method of claim 1 where the retroreflective material is engineer grade glass bead reflective tape.
10. The method of claim 1 where the retroreflective material is high intensity glass bead reflective tape.
11. The method of claim 1 where the retroreflective material is metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.
12. The method of claim 1 where the retroreflective material is non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.
13. A reflective jewelry item comprising:
- A jewelry body having a top side and a bottom side, the jewelry body being formed of metal;
- The top side of the jewelry body having a trough formed therein; and
- The trough containing a retroreflective material and a resin material covering the top of the retroreflective material, the retroreflective material comprising an adhesive layer, a retroreflective layer and a face film layer.
14. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the metal is from the group non-ferrous metal from the group of silver, stainless steel, gold, platinum, titanium, copper, palladium, tungsten, aluminum, brass, bronze, niobium and bronze.
15. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the jewelry body shape is from the group of chain, rope, ring, band, cable, cuff or bead.
16. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the trough is formed using a computer numerical control machine.
17. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the trough is formed using photolithography and chemical milling.
18. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the retroreflective material is engineer grade glass bead reflective tape.
19. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the retroreflective material is high intensity glass bead reflective tape.
20. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the retroreflective material is metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.
21. The jewelry item of claim 11 where the retroreflective material is non-metalized micro-prismatic reflective tape.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 24, 2020
Publication Date: Mar 24, 2022
Applicant: Unnamed Studios LLC (New York, NY)
Inventors: Yi Hu (Arcadia, CA), Christina Liu (Oakland Gardens, NY)
Application Number: 17/030,743