US2992495A

US2992495A - Rosary

Info

Publication number: US2992495A
Application number: US13590A
Authority: US
Inventors: Perreira Alvarine Valentine
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1960-03-08
Filing date: 1960-03-08
Publication date: 1961-07-18
Anticipated expiration: 1978-07-18

Description

July 18, 1961 A. v. PERREIRA ROSARY Filed March 8, 1960 INVENTOR. ALvAR/NE VALENTINE PIERRE/RA B 9 bowa M14 ATTORNEY United States Patent O 2,992,495 I ROSARY Alvanne Valentine Perreira, 26165 Regal Ave,

Hayward, Calif. Filed Mar. 8, 1960, Ser. No. 13,590 2 Claims. (01. 35-23) This invention relates to an improved rosary.

In general, a rosary is a string of beads formed into a loop. The beads are arranged in groups of ten (decade) and the groups are separated by a lone bead. The beads are usually of the same size and configuration and all the beads in the decade are a uniform distance apart with the lone bead spaced a greater distance from the end bead in the decade than the end head in the decade is spaced from the next bead in the decade. A Roman Catholics rosary has five or fifteen decades. Each bead is emblematic of a prayer and the prayers are emblematic of a religious event. Therefore, when someone prays the rosary, he touches each bead in turn and says the right prayer for the particular bead he touches, thus ensuring to himself that he has said his rosary correctly. But as one gets older, his sense of touch diminishes and he may not readily feel the beads, much less be able to detect the number of beads that slipped through his fingers and consequently he will not say the required number of prayers. Then, to ensure himself that the rosary was said correctly, he will repeat the rosary. This repetitious act may seem trivial to an outsider but the person saying the rosary does not have peace of mind because everyone desires to practice his religion correctly. In another case a young mother, during the process of praying her rosary, may be required to set aside the rosary and take care of the wants of a small child. Then the young mother would be required to start the rosary all over as she cannot remember where she was interrupted.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rosary with a suitable place-marker.

It is another object of this invention to provide a rosary with a marker whereby a person can clearly feel the beads snapping through the marker.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an improved rosary.

In terms of broad inclusion, a marker is applied to the rosary whereby the beads pass through an opening therethrough. The opening is slightly smaller than the overall dimension of the beads and, since the marker has some resilience, the beads can squeeze therethrough, providing a definite snapping motion to: the beads as they slip through the marker.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred embodiment of the invention. One must understand that the invention is not limited only to the disclosed embodiment but includes other variant embodiments thereof within the scope of the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a view of the improved rosary as it is held in the hands for prayer.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the marker and the beads in the rosary.

FIGURE 3 is a view of another embodiment of the marker.

Referring to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown a right hand and a left hand 12. The hands are holding a rosary 14 which includes a cross 16 attached by a short string of beads 18 to a medal 20, and a loop of beads 22. The loop of beads 22 passes through an opening in a marker 24 which is held between the thumb 26 and forefinger 28 of the left hand 12. The marker 24 should be several times as large as the beads 22 as shown so that an elderly person, as heretofore explained, can readily grasp andfeel the marker 24.

In FIGURE 2 an enlarged view of the marker 24 and a portion of the string of beads are shown. The string of beads 22 passes through the opening in the marker 24, which opening is shown in the form of a cylindrical aperture 30. The marker 24 is annular with the aperture 30 concentric therein but the opening in the marker may have other configuration as will be explained hereinafter. The width of the marker 24 is such that a bead 34 is just entering the aperture 30 as the previous head 36 is exiting. Of course, when the marker 24 is between the last bead in the decade and the lone bead, there will be more motion between the beads and the marker than there is when the marker is between two beads which are within the decade. There may not be any motion between the marker and the heads when the marker is between the beads of the decade, but I prefer some motion because the marker will have more snap and feel as the beads pass through. The aperture 30 must have a slightly smaller diameter than the outside diameter of the beads, or if the beads are not smooth, the aperture 30 must have a diameter which is slightly less than the overall dimension of the beads when measured perpendicular to the direction of the length of the string of beads. The marker 24 can be made of any resilient material that will yield under the pressure of a bead as it is forced through the aperture 30. Of course, for a given bead size, if the marker 24 is made of a material that has the resilience of cast iron, the aperture 30 must be slightly larger than when the marker 24 is made of a material that has the resilience of rubber. I have made the marker 24 out of polyethylene because the resilience is relatively large, and polyethylene provides a definite amount of lubrication between it and a bead. The marker 24 can be made of other materials such as wood, polystyrene, hard rubber, etc., but the tolerance between the aperture 30 and the beads must be corrected so that the materials in the marker 24 and the beads will yield without breaking or deforming. With some materials an opening 38 in the marker 24 as shown in FIGURE 3 may be required. The function of the opening 38 is the same as the aperture 30. Opening 38 in this embodiment has a slot 40 which communicates between the interior of the opening 38 and the exterior of the marker 24. This marker 24 as shown in FIGURE 3 has an added advantage of being able to slip on or off the loop-form string of beads 22, besides having more resilience.

I claim:

1. A rosary and a marker for said rosary, said marker comprising a resilient body having an opening through which the beads in the rosary pass, said opening being slightly smaller than the beads which pass therethrough, and said opening having a length less than the smallest spacing between the center of one head to the center of the next bead, whereby said marker body is movable transversely between and relatively to adjacent heads, but said opening having a length more than the length of spacing between said adjacent beads.

2. The rosary and marker of claim 1 wherein said marker body is made of a material yieldable under pressure of a bead forced through said opening and of such resiliency that each contraction of the marker as it passes from one bead to the next creates an impact throughout said body to the fingers of the user.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,937,459 Belfield May 24, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 479,171 Canada Dec. 11, 1951