US20130008205A1

US20130008205A1 - Openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like

Info

Publication number: US20130008205A1
Application number: US13/636,890
Authority: US
Inventors: Olinto Magrini
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-03-24
Filing date: 2011-03-24
Publication date: 2013-01-10
Also published as: ITAR20100004U1; EP2549902A1; WO2011117838A1

Abstract

An openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, includes at least two annular portions: a first annular portion and a second annular portion, which are connected to each other at one end by means of at least one hinge, and are suitable, at the other end, to be associated by way of closure elements. The closure elements include opening elements which protrude from the outer surface of one of the two annular portions.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like.

BACKGROUND ART

In the background art, a type of openable ring is known which has a structure provided in two annular portions joined to each other at one end by means of a hinge. The other two free ends have shaped regions for mutual detachable snap mating.
The elastic closure means, in other words, consist of two protrusions, i.e., two beaks, which are provided with teeth on the two facing surfaces of the beaks. In practice, each protrusion is the negative of the other one and therefore they can be mated perfectly.
The teeth allow mutual separation only with forces whose resultant has a transverse direction with respect to the direction of extension of the ring.
For this reason, in order to open the ring it is necessary to apply a pair of forces that can be obtained only by the action of two hands. It is therefore clear that the user is unable to remove the ring on his own but always needs someone's help.
Furthermore, openable rings of this type are provided with very conspicuous safety means to prevent the accidental opening of the ring. Normally, for example, such safety means can comprise a rotating transverse bridge, which is located proximate to the interface between the two annular portions, is connected to one of the portions and has a pin that can mate with a recess defined on the other annular portion.
The safety means, due to the structure of this type of openable ring, are necessarily highly visible and therefore, despite being very useful, are poorly compatible with the aesthetic criteria of jewelry and goldwork.
Furthermore, from an engineering standpoint, in order to obtain an openable ring that has protrusions or beaks as described it is necessary to resort to lost-wax casting or microcasting methods. In other words, very slow and expensive production processes, which require the use of specialized staff.
Finally, this type of openable ring, if made with an excessively low thickness (generally less than 2 mm for 18-carat gold rings) tends to break very quickly during opening and closure, with the associated economic consequences, which are due to the fact that the manufacturer is forced to make heavy items which are therefore very expensive if the metal used is precious.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The aim of the invention is to overcome the drawbacks noted above in known types of openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, which allows easy opening and closing of the ring, without the need for help by other people.
Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide an openable ring that has more specific aesthetic characteristics, suitable for providing items of jewelry and goldwork.
Another object of the openable ring according to the invention is to allow the production of items made of precious material having a lower thickness, even below 2 mm, without problems of breakage or fragility of the metal, so as to be able to provide ring retainers or products that are less expensive.
Another object of the invention is to provide an openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, that can be manufactured by pressing or with numeric-control machines so that manufacturing costs are much lower.
Another object of the invention is to provide an openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, with easily commercially available means and by using common materials, so that the openable ring is economically competitive.
This aim and these objects, as well as others that will become better apparent hereinafter, are achieved by an openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, which comprises at least two annular portions: a first annular portion and a second annular portion, which are connected to each other at one end by means of at least one hinge, and are suitable, at the other end, to be associated by way of closure means, characterized in that the closure means comprise opening means which protrude from the outer surface of one of the at least two annular portions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an openable ring, according to the invention, in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the ring in the open position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged-scale sectional view, taken along a plane that is parallel to the plane of arrangement of the ring, of a detail of the closure means, with the lamina in the insertion/extraction position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged-scale sectional view, taken along a plane that is parallel to the plane of arrangement of the ring, of a detail of the closure means during insertion in the slot defined by the abutment element;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged-scale sectional view, taken along a plane that is parallel to the plane of arrangement of the ring, of a detail of the closure means, with the lamina in the locking position;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the device of FIG. 3, taken along the line VI-VI.

WAYS OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to the figures, an openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, according to the invention, comprises at least two annular portions: a first annular portion 2 and a second annular portion 3, which are connected to each other at one end by means of at least one hinge 4 or other equivalent means and are suitable, at the other end, to be mated by way of elastic closure means.
A peculiarity of the invention resides in that the elastic closure means comprise opening means that protrude from the outer surface of one of the two annular portions 2 or 3.
Preferably, the elastic closure means comprise, on the annular portion 2, at least one male element 5, which can be mated detachably with a female element 6 on the annular portion 3.
With reference to FIG. 3, the male element 5 is provided with a lamina 7, preferably made of steel, that protrudes from the free end of the first annular portion 2 and has a part 8 that is bent along a direction that is transverse with respect to the longitudinal direction of the ring. The bent part 8 is elastically deformable, thanks to the characteristics of the metal of which it is made, along the transverse direction, from a locking position
(FIG. 5) to an insertion/extraction position (FIGS. 2 and 4) and vice versa.
Advantageously, the opening means are provided with a pin 11 which is associated with the bent part 8 of the lamina 7 and can be mated, in the closure position of the ring, with a hole 12 defined on the surface of the portion 3.
Advantageously, safety means against the accidental opening of the closure means are provided.
In the embodiment described here, the safety means can have an abutment element 13 for the bent part 8 in the locking position. The abutment element 13 is defined in a seat 9 which is internal to the female element 6. In this manner, the element 13 stops the retrograde motion of the bent part 8 during accidental opening of the ring.
Preferably, the seat 9 has an insertion slot 14 for the lamina 7 in the insertion/extraction position.
Since the invention is aimed at the field of jewelry, goldwork, silver jewelry, costume jewelry and accessories, it is presumed that the need is felt to provide the pin 11 in the most imaginative and sometimes bizarre manners.
For this purpose, to avoid the play that forms inevitably if the pin is undersized with respect to the hole 12 that it engages, there can be at least one vibration-preventing tooth 10, defined in the seat 9, for abutment for at least one portion of the free end of the bent part 8.
With reference to FIG. 6, in the embodiment shown there are two of said teeth 10, arranged in a symmetrical position with respect to the axis of symmetry of the second annular portion 3.
The height calculated between the final part of each one of the teeth 10 and the flat surface of the seat 9 must be greater than the sum of the thicknesses of the lamina 7 and of the bent part 8, in order to allow the insertion of the male element 5 in the female element 6.
The user who wishes to wear the openable ring according to the invention, after placing at least one of the annular portions 2 or 3 around the finger, closes the ring by mating the male element 5 and the female element 6 to each other. The lamina 7 is thus inserted in the seat 9, taking care to make the bent part 8, in the insertion/extraction position, pass within the slot 14 of the element 13.
For the above mentioned reasons, the bent part 8 is easily compressed and elastically deformable and therefore, once the compression force has ended, it returns automatically to the initial locking position, thanks to the elastic characteristics of the metal of which it is made.
The insertion of the male element 5 in the seat 9 allows the pin 11 to mate with the hole 12, ensuring the locking of the ring in the closed position.
At the same time, the male element 5, after insertion in the slot 14, moves beyond the teeth 10, which in the closed position act as an abutment for the free end of the bent part 8.
When the user decides to open the ring, by acting with a sharp point (e.g., a pin or similar tools), he presses the pin 11. The compression of the bent part 8 on the lamina 7 allows the male element 5 to exit from the seat 9, passing through the slot 14 of the abutment element 13.
Furthermore, the compression of the male element 5 allows the bent part 8 to disengage from the abutment against the teeth 10.
From what has been described above it is thus evident that the invention achieves the intended aim and objects, and in particular the fact is stressed that an openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, is provided which allows simple and quick opening and closure of the ring without requiring help from other people.
In particular, the elastic characteristic of the bent part of the lamina allows the user to detach the annular portions simply by acting on the pin with a pin, needle or any similar tool.
Another advantage of the openable ring according to the invention resides in that the abutment element makes it possible to stop the retrograde motion of the male element inside the seat, providing the user with assurance of further safety, so as to prevent unwanted opening of the ring, which is an addition to the provision of the safety means.
Another advantage of the invention resides in that since the safety means, as well as the abutment element, are inside the annular structure in the closed position of the ring, the final aesthetic characteristics are of very high quality and are also suitable for the production of items of fine jewelry and goldwork.
Another advantage of the openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, according to the invention, is to allow the production of rings made of gold and other precious metals with low thicknesses, down to 1 mm, without problems of breakage or fragility of the metal, due to the fact that the force required to open and close the ring is limited and is directed along the direction of longitudinal extension and therefore has no shear and is concentrated on the lamina and the bent part, which can be made of a material having stronger mechanical characteristics, such as for example steel.
Another advantage of the openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, according to the invention, resides in that it can be manufactured by pressing, or by means of numeric-control machines, and by subsequent soldering of the lamina to the first annular portion and is therefore economically convenient.
Not least, the use of easily commercially available means and the use of common materials make the openable ring according to the invention very competitive from an economic point of view.
The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, and all the details may be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.
In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to requirements without thereby abandoning the protective scope of the appended claims.
The disclosures in Italian Utility Model Application No. AR2010U000004, from which this application claims priority, are incorporated herein by reference.
Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims

1-8. (canceled)

9. An openable ring, particularly for jewelry, goldwork, costume jewelry and the like, the openable ring comprising at least two annular portions: a first annular portion and a second annular portion, which are connected to each other at one end by means of at least one hinge, and are suitable, at the other end, to be associated by way of elastic closure means, wherein said elastic closure means comprise opening means which protrude from the outer surface of one of said at least two annular portions.

10. The openable ring according to claim 9, wherein said elastic closure means comprise at least one male element, on said first annular portion, which can be mated detachably with a female element on said second annular portion.

11. The openable ring according to claim 10, wherein said male element comprises a lamina, which protrudes from the free end of said first annular portion and has a part that is bent along a direction which is transverse with respect to the longitudinal direction of the ring, said bent part being elastically deformable, along said transverse direction, from a locking position to an insertion/extraction position.

12. The openable ring according to claim 11, wherein said opening means comprise a pin which is associated with said bent part of said lamina and can be mated, in the closed position of the ring, with a hole defined on the surface of said second annular portion.

13. The openable ring according to claim 9, wherein the openable ring comprises safety means for the accidental opening of said elastic closure means.

14. The openable ring according to claim 13, wherein said safety means comprise an abutment element for said bent part in said locking position, said abutment element being defined in a seat which is internal to said female element.

15. The openable ring according to claim 14, wherein said seat comprises an insertion slot for said lamina in the insertion/extraction position.

16. The openable ring according to claim 14, wherein the openable ring comprises at least one vibration-preventing tooth, which is defined in said seat and acts as an abutment for at least one portion of the free end of said bent part.