CN210960665U

CN210960665U - Decorative article and assembly thereof

Info

Publication number: CN210960665U
Application number: CN201921866053.6U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴少玲; 黄伟明
Original assignee: Sky Creator Ltd
Current assignee: Sky Creator Ltd
Priority date: 2018-11-02
Filing date: 2019-11-01
Publication date: 2020-07-10
Anticipated expiration: 2029-11-01

Abstract

The utility model discloses a decorative article and subassembly thereof. The decorative article includes a body, wherein the body includes a precious metal curved body portion that is curved to extend along a bending axis to define a bending direction, wherein the curved body portion includes a first body portion having a first end and a second body portion having a second end, wherein the first end and the second end are in physical abutment, close proximity sufficient to close the curved body portion, or are resiliently urged toward each other in abutting contact to define a channel joint having an engagement axis defining an axial direction; wherein the first body portion includes a first tapered end portion and the second body portion includes a second tapered end portion, wherein the first tapered end portion tapers to terminate at the first end as it extends toward the second end and the engagement axis, and the second tapered end portion tapers to terminate at the second end as it extends toward the first end and the engagement axis. The decorative article assembly includes a plurality of decorative articles.

Description

Decorative article and assembly thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to decorative articles and components thereof, and more particularly to annular noble metal decorative articles.

Background

Noble metal ornaments for appreciation or personal wear are very popular. Many popular decorative items include annular precious metal members and many annular precious metal members that come in pairs and carry precious memorial and significant emotional value.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The present invention provides a decorative article comprising a body, wherein the body comprises a precious metal curved body portion that is curved to extend along a bending axis to define a bending direction, wherein the curved body portion comprises a first body portion having a first end and a second body portion having a second end, wherein the first end and the second end are in close physical proximity, close proximity sufficient to close the curved body portion, or are resiliently urged toward each other in close contact to define a channel joint having an engagement axis defining an axial direction; wherein the first body portion includes a first tapered end portion having the first end and the second body portion includes a second tapered end portion having the second end, wherein the first tapered end portion tapers to terminate at the first end when extending toward the second end and the engagement axis and the second tapered end portion tapers to terminate at the second end when extending toward the first end and the engagement axis.

The utility model also provides a decorative article subassembly, including a plurality of decorative article, wherein a plurality of decorative article include first article and second article, and each of first article and the second article all is the decorative article that the utility model provides, wherein first article and the second article interlock into the subassembly, but the accessible is followed axial relative motion is in order to withdraw from and release by one of them of passageway joint.

Drawings

The disclosure will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an exemplary decorative article 100 according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 1A1 and 1A2 are cross-sectional views of FIG. 1A taken along the engagement axis J-J';

fig. 1B to 1E are front, side, top and bottom views, respectively, of article 100 of fig. 1A;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an exemplary decorative article 200 according to the present disclosure;

fig. 2B-2E are front, side, top, and bottom views, respectively, of the article 200 of fig. 2A;

FIG. 3A is a perspective view of an exemplary decorative article assembly 10 including the article 100 of FIG. 1A and the article 200 of FIG. 2A in a loosely interlocked/joined state;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the decorative article assembly 10 of FIG. 3A in a released/entered alignment;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of an exemplary decorative article assembly 20 including three articles in a loose interlocked state;

FIGS. 4B and 4C are perspective views of the decorative article assembly 20 of FIG. 4A in a securely locked condition;

FIG. 4D is a perspective view of the configuration of the decorative article assembly 20 of FIG. 4A in which each article is interlocked with the other articles; and

fig. 4E and 4F are perspective views of the decorative article assembly 20 of fig. 4D with two of the three articles in a securely locked condition.

Detailed Description

As shown in fig. 1A to 1E, an exemplary decorative article 100 includes a body 102 and a plurality of gems mounted to the body. The exemplary article 100 has a noble metal body and has an annular shape. The body includes an inward surface, an outward surface surrounding the inward surface, and a pair of sides interconnecting the inward surface and the outward surface. Gemstones are dispersedly mounted to the outwardly facing surface of the body. The inward-facing surface is an inner surface that extends in a longitudinally circumferential direction to define an annular/ring/loop (loop), an annular aperture, an annular plane, and an annular axis orthogonal to the annular plane. The ring is closed or substantially closed and the annular aperture is an inner or internal aperture of the ring. The inner bore is generally adapted to enable the article 100 to be retained on a support having a support surface. The annular aperture is generally shaped and sized to facilitate retention of the article on a designated support having a designated support surface. In the case of an article for personal wear, the ring may define a wearing loop for attachment to and/or around a wearing body part of a wearer, and the ring acts as a retaining loop, typically designed for retention on a support. When a loop is fitted to an individual, the loop is typically a circular ring, and the loop length is a dimension measured along the loop size, which is a specification/characteristic of the article's wear dimension.

The body includes a first body portion 120, a second body portion 140, and a bridging body portion 160. The bridging body portion 160 is arcuate and interconnects the first body portion 120 and the second body portion 140 to form the body. The first body portion 120 and the second body portion 140 cooperate to form a curved body portion. The curved body portion extends along a bending axis X-X' defining a bending direction and an annular plane containing the bending axis. The body has a joint 150 where the first body portion 120 and the second body portion 140 meet.

The body 102 is arcuate and curved along a bending axis X-X' to define a ring. The exemplary body has a circular outer/outer boundary (outer periphery) along its length defined by the axis of bending, except at the junction 152 where the body has a non-circular outer periphery. The joint 152 includes the joint 150 and an adjacent body portion against which the joint 150 abuts. The inwardly facing surface is arcuate and generally convex with respect to the bending or annular axis. The outward facing surface is arcuate and generally concave with respect to the bending or annular axis. The term "circular" herein refers to circular, substantially circular, elliptical, or substantially elliptical. The bending axis is intermediate the inward and outward surfaces of the body having a circular periphery. In some embodiments, the inward surface is concave toward an annular axis passing through a center of the ring.

The example body 102 of fig. 1A has a generally circular shape and defines a generally circular bending axis and a generally circular donning ring. The wearing ring surrounds a wearing surface of the person that provides a support surface when the article is worn on the person. The support surface may be the surface of a finger, neck or wrist and the wearing ring is dimensioned accordingly for the intended purpose without loss of generality. The bending axis X-X' is the central axis of the exemplary body and the body is generally circularly symmetric about the bending axis along a substantial length portion of the body where the body has a circular periphery. The bending axis is substantially parallel to the looping direction.

The curved body portion 110 includes a first body portion 120 and a second body portion 140. The first body portion 120 includes a first end portion 122 and a first intermediate body portion 124 abutting the first end portion 122. The first end portion 122 includes a first tapered end having a first tip 128. The second body portion 140 includes a second end portion 142 and a second intermediate body portion 144 abutting the second end portion 142. Second end portion 142 includes a second tapered end having a second tip 148. The first and second tapered ends are first and second loop ends, respectively, and the loop length of the article is determined by the spacing between the loop ends extending in the loop direction across the bridging body portion. The

tips

128, 148 are elongate and extend in the elongate direction of the joint axis and are orthogonal to the direction of the taper.

The curved body portion 110 is configured such that the end portions 122,142 are between the first intermediate body portion 124 and the second intermediate body portion 144. The first intermediate body portion 124 and the second intermediate body portion 144 are interconnected by a bridging body portion 160 to form a major portion of the ring in the hoop direction, while the end portions 122,142 form a very minor and remaining portion of the ring. In this configuration, the first mid-body portion 124 is intermediate the first end portion 122 and the bridging body portion 160, while the second mid-body portion 144 is intermediate the second end portion 142 and the bridging body portion 160. The minor portion may constitute 5% -10% or less of the length of the loop.

The first and

second body portions

120, 140, and more specifically the first and second end portions 122,142, cooperate to form or define a joint 150 and a joint location 152. The first end portion 122 includes a first pair of

chamfered surfaces

122a, 122 b. The chamfer surfaces 122a, 122b cooperate and converge in a chamfer direction to meet at a first tip 128. Second end portion 142 includes a second pair of

chamfered surfaces

142a, 142b, chamfered

surfaces

142a, 142b cooperating and converging in a chamfer direction to meet at a second tip 148. The first pair of

chamfered surfaces

122a, 122b and the second pair of

chamfered surfaces

142a, 142b are distributed on opposite sides of the joint 150 and along the bending axis.

First tip 128 and second tip 148 cooperate to define a junction 150. First end portion 122 and second end portion 142 are on opposite sides of joint 150 and cooperate to form joint 152. The joint 150 has a joint axis J-J' defining a direction of translation. The direction of translation may be an entry direction or an exit direction relative to the ring. The first tip 128 and the second tip 148 are substantially parallel. In this example, the first tip 128 and the second tip 148 extend parallel to and in an engagement direction that is parallel to and defined by an engagement axis J-J'.

In the neutral state of the body, first tip 128 and second tip 148 may be in close contact or separated by an engagement gap. The joint gap includes a joint axis J-J' and a small joint span measured in the bending direction. The engagement span has a characteristic engagement width defining an engagement gap that is a fraction of the circumferential width of the end portions 122,142 measured in the direction of bending. In many embodiments, the fraction is between 0.1%, 1%, 3%, 5%, 7%, 9%, 10% or one or more ranges defined by the foregoing values. With first tip 128 and second tip 148 in a neutral state abutting but not permanently engaged to each other, the engagement joint formed by end portions 122,142 cooperating has a gap width of 0.0% and no effective engagement gap. The neutral state includes a manufacturing state, an invited purchasing state, a trade show state, or a sales state. A joint (or simply "joint") is a dynamic joint in which the joint width or joint gap can be varied, for example by a small amount relative to the circumferential width of the end portion. Small amplitude herein refers to small fractions below 10%, including the ranges listed above. First tip 128 and second tip 148 are relatively movable, for example, in a tangential direction relative to the bending axis. As the first end portion 122 and the second end portion 142 move relatively in opposite tangential directions relative to the bending axis, the engagement width and the engagement gap will increase. When the separation force used to separate or increase the separation distance of first tip 128 and second tip 148 is removed, the elasticity present in the body or end portion will return the fitting to its neutral state and its original gap width.

In some embodiments, first tip 128 and second tip 148 are permanently joined, such as by laser fusion, molding, or welding, to define a permanent joint and no physical gap between the axes of joining, and

tips

128, 148 may not be individually viewable or identifiable from the joint.

Generally, the engagement axis is aligned or coaxial with first tip 128 and second tip 148. The end portions 122,142 have a generally triangular shape, the

tips

128, 148 are pointed tips defining the vertices of the triangle, and the portions of the

intermediate body portions

124, 144 immediately adjacent the end portions 122,142 form the bases of the triangle. In some embodiments, the end portions 122,142 have a generally trapezoidal shape, the

tip

128, 148 is an extended tip defining a shorter top side of the trapezoid, the shorter top side being one of the parallel sides, and the portion of the

intermediate body portion

124, 144 proximate to the end portions 122,142 defines a longer bottom side of the trapezoid that is the longer of the parallel sides and forms the bottom of the trapezoid. The pointed tip and the extended tip herein may be rounded tips without loss of generality. The extended tip is "extended" in the sense that it extends to a tip width that is a fraction of the base width of the

end portions

122, 142. Tip width is a dimension measured in a direction generally parallel to the annular axis and generally perpendicular or at an angle to the bending axis, and the fraction is typically more than 10% and may be between 10-20%. The end portions 122,142 have a shape generally similar to the shape of a serpentine or serpentine head. The first and

second end portions

122 and 124 are identical or symmetrical and are symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of the engagement axis J-J'. The end portions 122,142 may be non-identical or symmetrical. For example, one end portion may be triangular (or trapezoidal) while the other end portion may be trapezoidal (or triangular) or even non-tapered. Typically, at least one of the end portions is a tapered end which tapers/narrows towards the junction as it extends in the bending direction.

The bridge body portions 160 are symmetrically disposed on opposite sides of the engagement shaft, but may be asymmetrically disposed.

The joint axis J-J 'intersects the bending axis X-X'. The engagement shaft is orthogonal to the bending axis, but may be angled with respect to the bending axis in some embodiments.

The end portions 122,142 are formed to include a pair of

chamfered surfaces

122a, 122b; 142a, 142 b. The chamfered portion has a top surface that is part of the inward surface and faces the internal bore, and a bottom surface that is part of the outward surface and faces away from the internal bore. The top surface is a tapered surface which tapers/diminishes towards the junction as it extends in the bending direction. The exemplary tapered top surface is generally triangular in shape, and more specifically has the shape of an equilateral triangle with a pair of equal chamfered edges. The

tips

128, 148 of the beveled end portions are elongated tips having a thickness that is comparable to, i.e., equal or substantially equal to, the thickness of the intermediate body portion immediately adjacent thereto, the thickness of the beveled end portions and tips being measured in the direction of the joint axis. By way of example, the length of the chamfered edge corresponds to the thickness of the

tip

128, 148, or to the thickness of the non-chamfered portion immediately adjacent the respective end. As described above, the top surface of the chamfered end portions 122,142 may have a trapezoidal shape.

The chamfered end portions 122,142 are generally aligned in the direction of the bending axis. This means that the top and bottom surfaces of the first end portion 122 and the top and bottom surfaces of the second end portion 142, respectively, are at the same or substantially the same level along the engagement direction. In some embodiments, the first end portion 122 and the second end portion 124 may be offset, such as slightly offset in the engagement direction. In some embodiments, the bottom surfaces of the first end portion 122 and the second end portion 142 are not aligned.

The bottom surface has the same features as the top surface and the description relating to the top surface is incorporated herein by reference and as applicable/mutatis mutandis. In this example, the top and bottom surfaces are substantially the same size and shape, i.e., the shape of an equilateral triangle, which converge and extend toward the junction to form the

elongated tips

128, 148. The beveled end portions 122,142 have a generally uniform cross-section in the direction of extension of the

elongate tips

128, 148 and the end portions 122,142 have a thickness corresponding to the thickness of the non-beveled body portion immediately adjacent the

beveled end portions

122, 142.

An end portion 122; 142 are angled at an oblique angle relative to the bending axis, with the

chamfer surfaces

122a, 122b, 142a, 142b of 142.

Chamfered surfaces

122a, 122b; 142a, 142b are symmetrically disposed about a bending axis, which is also the central axis of the body, such that the

chamfered surfaces

122a, 122b forming the end portions; 142a, 142b are at the same angle of inclination to the bending axis. In some embodiments, the end portion 122; 142a, 142b are not symmetrically arranged about the bending axis, and the

chamfered surfaces

122a, 122b; 142a, 142b are not at the same angle of inclination to the bending axis. The angle of inclination is typically between 30 and 60 degrees.

As shown in fig. 1A, 1A1, and 1A2, in this example, the joint axis divides the main item into two laterally symmetrical halves; the bending axis defines a median plane that divides the body into two substantially equal halves and that contains the joint axis. The example median plane is orthogonal to the annular axis. In some embodiments, the median plane forms an acute angle with the annular axis.

The body includes a channel notch to allow or facilitate relative intersection, i.e., entry/exit intersection, between the article and a compatible article. The channel recess includes a pair of chamfered spacing portions (space portions) and members of the chamfered spacing portions are distributed on opposite sides of a bending axis intersecting the engagement axis. The pair of chamfered spacer portions and the pair of portions 122,142 cooperate to define an engagement site 152. The chamfered spacer portion is defined by a pair of

chamfered surfaces

122a, 142 a; 122b, 142b, which chamfer surfaces are distributed over the

adjacent end portions

122, 142. The chamfered spacing portion is an angular recess and the characteristic angle of the angular recess is defined by the relative inclination of the members of the chamfered surface, as measured with respect to the bending axis. Exemplary chamfered spacing portions have an angle between 60 degrees and 120 degrees, such as between 75 degrees and 90 degrees. More specifically, the first end portion 122 and the second end portion 144 cooperate to define a first chamfered spacing portion on one side of the bending axis or median plane and a second chamfered spacing portion on the other side of the bending axis or median plane. In the case where the first and

second end portions

122, 144 are laterally symmetrical with respect to the bending axis, as in the case of this example, the first and second chamfer intervals are laterally symmetrical with respect to the bending axis. In addition, the chamfered spacer portion is symmetrical with respect to a cutting plane containing the joint axis and orthogonal to the bending axis.

The engagement site 152, and each of the first and second end portions 122,142 have a substantially uniform cross-section in the direction of the engagement axis. Due to the triangular shape of the end portions, the cross-section of the example junction 152 has a generally cross-shape or X-shape.

The exemplary body, or at least the curved body portion, is made of a resilient metal, such as a resilient precious metal. The noble metal may be gold, silver, platinum, alloys thereof, combinations thereof, or other metals considered noble metals when in actual use. Although the curved body portion is shaped to be bendable along the bending axis X-X', the curvature need not be uniform along the length of the curved body portion and the curvature may vary along the length of the bending axis.

The exemplary body has a generally uniform curvature along the length of the loop defined by the body. In some embodiments, the bridging body portion is more curved (i.e., generally has a smaller radius of curvature) than the curved body portion, such that the curved body portion is flatter than the bridging body portion. In other words, the curved body portion is less curved (i.e., generally has a larger radius of curvature) than the bridging body portion. In some embodiments, the curved body portion has a flatter or substantially flat region/area at or near the junction.

In some embodiments, the article is shaped and sized for use as a ring worn on a finger, or as a wristband or bracelet worn on the wearer's wrist, or as a loop-like article attached to another article, for example as a pendant on a decorative chain (such as a necklace).

An exemplary intermediate body portion is a non-chamfered portion having a continuous circular periphery for comfort to the wearer. The exemplary body has a continuous circular inner periphery to define a smooth wearing ring and a continuous circular outer periphery to define a smooth outer ring. In some embodiments, the article has one gemstone or no gemstone.

The chamfered end portions 122,142 are solid metal portions formed in the shape of arrows or snakes. In some embodiments, one of the two opposing/oppositely facing end portions 122,142 is non-chamfered and may have a flat or rounded tip surface facing oppositely from the other end portion.

As shown in fig. 2A-2E, the exemplary decorative article 200 includes a body 202 that does not have a gemstone. Body 202 has the same features as body 102 and references to and related descriptions of the bodies of article 100 are incorporated herein by reference with corresponding reference numbers increased by 100. Although the bodies of

articles

100, 200 have features in the same description, the dimensions and associated curvatures of

bodies

102, 202 may be the same, but are not necessarily the same.

The exemplary decorative article assembly 10 includes a plurality of

article members

100, 200, and the combination articles are in an interlocked, interlocked condition. As shown in fig. 3A, the plurality of composite articles forming the assembly includes a first article and a second article in a loose mechanical interlock or in a loose interlock. The

articles

100, 200 are in a mechanically interlocked state, wherein the first body 102 of the first article 100 is trapped/captured or retained by the loop defined by the second body 202 of the second article 200, and vice versa. First article 100 and second article 200 are in a loosely interlocked state, wherein a portion of body 102 of first article 100 is trapped by body 202 of second article 200, and vice versa. When in the loose interlocked condition, the body portion of one

article

100, 200 is surrounded by the

body

102, 202 of the other article, and vice versa, and the surrounded body portion is free to move within the annular bore and is movable in other directions relative to the surrounding

body

102, 202 until stopped by the inwardly facing surface of the trapped body.

First and

second articles

100, 200 may be released from the loose interlock by relative translational movement of

joints

150, 250. When the

articles

100, 200 are released from the interlocked condition, the first and

second articles

100, 200 are no longer connected into an assembly and each of the articles can be selectively used or worn as individual decorative articles. The assembly 10 may include a pair of compatible decorative articles, such as a larger ring for wearing on a larger finger and a smaller ring for wearing on a smaller finger, or a pair of loop articles having different loop sizes or physical dimensions. Articles are compatible herein when they have compatible or mating and complementary joints, wherein the dimensions of the joint 150, 250 of one article match the dimensions of the channel recess of the other article to facilitate interdigitation and relative translation of the joints.

In preparation for releasing the assembly 10 from the loose interlocked condition, the two

modular articles

100, 200 are first brought into release alignment. When the articles are in the release alignment, the articles are in complementary alignment such that a pair of chamfered end portions 122,142 of one article; 222. 242 are aligned with a pair of chamfered spacer portions of another article while their axes of engagement are coaxially aligned. After the

combination articles

100, 200 are in the released alignment configuration of fig. 3B, relative translational movement of the subsequent articles in the separating direction along joint axis J-J' will bring the article joints 150, 250 into and out of the interdigitating condition. Further relative translational movement in the separating direction and out of the interdigitating configuration until the main bodies of the combined articles are disengaged from the mechanical interlock will result in complete separation and complete disassembly of the

articles

100, 200. The separating direction is a direction in which the

bodies

102, 202 are relatively moved in opposite directions along the engaging axis J-J'. When in the exit cross-over condition, the bridging body portion 160 of the article to be released is outside the loop of the other article, so that the only overlap between the assembled articles is at their juncture.

To facilitate release from the mechanical interlock between the composite articles, the composite articles have a pair of complementary joints, and at least one of the joints is a dynamic joint. The example dynamic joint has a pair of joint tips, and the joint tips are located on opposite sides of the joint axis. The

joint tips

128, 148 are distributed along the bending axis and are relatively movable along the bending axis when subjected to a separation force that serves to expand the axial separation distance between the

joint tips

128, 148 to form an engagement gap with sufficient clearance to allow entry into and exit from the crossover. In this example, when the axial separation force applied in the direction of bending is removed and the spring bias is inherently provided by the resilience of the elastic material forming the body, the joint tip is under spring bias urging it to return to its unexpanded neutral state.

To prepare the

loose articles

100, 200 for assembly, the two

non-interlocked articles

100, 200 may be brought into an aligned configuration. When the two

articles

100, 200 are in entry alignment, the

articles

100, 200 are in complementary alignment such that a pair of chamfered end portions 122,142 of one article; 222. 242 are aligned with a pair of chamfered spacer portions of another article while their axes of engagement are coaxially aligned. The entry alignment configuration is essentially the same as the release alignment configuration, but is named differently to illustrate the difference in transitional motion. The above steps for releasing the loose interlock are reversed until the tabs of one article move within the loops of the other article to form the interlock assembly. The steps for releasing above are incorporated herein and mutatis mutandis by replacing the term "exit" with "entry", replacing "release" with "interlock", and replacing "detach" with "connect" without loss of generality.

When the ready assembly is released or ready to put loose items into interlock, the items are first moved into an interdigitating configuration so that the tabs of the items are in fitting abutment. When the

articles

100, 200 are in an interdigitated configuration, the

junctions

150, 250 of the articles are in complementary frictional engagement with the end portions of one article mating in the channel recesses of the other article, and vice versa. When in an interdigitated configuration, the chamfered

surfaces

122a, 122b of one article 100 are in physical abutment with the chamfered

surfaces

142a, 142b of the other article 200. In this interdigitated state, the chamfered surfaces of one article and those of the other article are alternately arranged about the engagement axis. The interdigitation may be an exit interdigitation or an entry interdigitation. When the articles are in an interdigitated condition, the bridging body portion 160 of one article is outside the loops of the other article so that the only overlap between the assembled articles is at their juncture or joint. The splice joint is also referred to herein as a "channel joint" because the article must pass through the splice joint to transition between the interlocked and released states.

When the body, or more specifically the joint, is shaped and dimensioned such that the chamfered end portion of one composite article has a chamfer dimension, in particular a chamfer dimension in the chamfer direction, that matches or is comparable to (i.e. slightly larger than, equal to or slightly smaller than) the chamfer dimension of the corresponding chamfered end portion of the corresponding composite article, and at least one composite article has a dynamic joint, then the articles herein have a complementary joint. The chamfer dimension herein may include a chamfer angle of the chamfered portion.

When the chamfer angle of each chamfered end portion of the assembled article is 90 degrees or less, the article can be attached or detached at the intersection of each other by having the joint and median plane of the article in one of a plurality of different relative orientations/orientations, such as in a first orientation and a second orientation rotated 180 degrees relative to the first orientation. When the angle of chamfer of one or each chamfered end of the combined article is greater than 90 degrees, the articles have a single and specific relative orientation at the intersection with each other.

In some embodiments, the chamfered spacing portions of the combined article are asymmetric with respect to the median plane such that the article can be attached or detached only when the joint of the article and the median plane are in a particular relative orientation or a particular relative orientation within a small angle range. As a general example, the angular tolerance may be between 0.1 degrees and 30 degrees, including between 0.1 degrees, 5 degrees, 10 degrees, 15 degrees, 20 degrees, 25 degrees, 30 degrees, and one or more ranges formed by any combination of the above values.

In some embodiments, the chamfered end portion and the chamfered spacing portion of the

combination article

100, 200 are configured to mate such that the joint of the combination article is in temporary frictional engagement or frictional retention in an interdigitated state and/or during a transition between the loosely locked state and the withdrawn state of fig. 3A, or during a transition between the released state and the entry state of fig. 1A and 2A.

The assembly may be configured as a self-supporting structure having a defined shape when resting on a support surface, the defined shape being retained by the physical support provided by the interlocking joints of the composite article. To provide material support, the joint surfaces of the article that are in frictional engagement when interlocked and that are in or about to be in frictional contact need to be large enough to provide sufficient support force to promote self-support. The structure includes a support base for contacting the support surface to facilitate self-support on the support surface in cooperation with the frictionally engaged interlocking joint. The support base needs to have a sufficiently large base area to provide stable support. The joints are a tight fit or interference fit and are interdigitated when frictionally engaged to form a structural support joint. The structure has a determined shape when the bodies are in a particular relative orientation determined by the structural joint. The bodies are in a particular relative orientation in which, due to the relative configuration of the end portions, the annular plane defined by the girdle of the respective body is in a fixed or particular relative orientation.

The self-supporting structure may be configured to have the engaged joint rest against or abut the support surface to provide pitch support for the structure in cooperation with the support base, or the engaged joint may be lifted above the support surface and pitch support provided by the support base. In the example of the former case, the body (first body) of one article (first article or supporting article) rests on the supporting surface with its annular plane (first annular plane) parallel to the supporting surface to form a supporting base, and the body (second body) of the other article (second article or supported article) is lifted by the supporting base so that the annular plane (second annular plane) of the second article is lifted and held at an elevation angle relative to the first annular plane by the support of the first body and the engaged joint. In this configuration, the bodies of the composite article are not trapped against each other. In another example of the former case, the structure is supported by a support base that includes the engaged joint 150, 220 and the

curved body portion

110, 210 of the

article

100, 200. In this further example, the bridging body portions of the two articles are lifted above the support surface by the support base in cooperation with the engaged support joint. In the latter case, the bridging body portion of the two articles is brought into abutting contact with the support surface and the engaged tab is lifted above the support surface. In the last two examples, the body of one of the combination items is trapped inside the body of the other combination item.

A self-supporting structure herein is a self-supporting structure comprising a first article 100 and a second article 200, wherein the first article 100 is supported by the second article 200 to stand upright from a supporting surface, and vice versa. When the

article

100, 200 is supported to stand or rise from the support surface, the annular plane of the article is at an angle to the support surface, for example between 60 and 90 degrees. To facilitate self-support through cooperation of the

joints

150, 250, the

joints

150, 250 are support joints having a sufficient joint depth and a sufficient joint width to facilitate lifting support by wedging engagement. The engagement depth may be measured in the direction of the engagement axis and the engagement width may be measured in the direction of the bending axis.

In an exemplary self-supporting configuration, the assembly is configured as a cage-like self-supporting structure, with bridging body portions comprising one article being trapped within the loops of the other body, and the bridging body portions crossing to form a cage, plus the joints being in frictional engagement while the bodies are in a particular relative orientation. When in this free-standing configuration, the joints of the modular articles cooperate to form a support base to support the cage assembly on a support surface such that the bridging body portion of the modular articles is elevated above the support surface. In an exemplary embodiment where each chamfered end portion has a right angle chamfer angle of 90 degrees, the annular planes of the bodies will be at a particular relative orientation of about 90 degrees. In an example embodiment, the annular planes may be at a particular relative orientation between 30 degrees and 90 degrees. The relative orientation is determined by the miter cut angle of the combination joint.

The example assembly 10 may be configured between the loosely locked configuration of fig. 3A and a securely locked, free-standing alternative configuration.

In the example configuration of the assembly 10, the

bodies

102 and 202 of the

combination articles

100, 200 interlock in a wrapped manner. When the

combination articles

100, 200 are so interlocked, the

articles

100, 200 will frictionally fit together and cannot move relative to one another until the wrapped articles are disengaged or released from the friction fit engagement. In an exemplary caging assembly, the

combination article

100, 200 is shaped and dimensioned such that a first portion of the outward facing surface of the article 100 engages a first portion of the inward facing surface of the article 200 and a second portion of the inward facing surface of the article 100 engages a second portion of the outward facing surface of the article 200. The first and second portions are located generally on diametrically opposite sides of the girdle defined by the body and have diameters passing through the girdle axis as the girdle center axis.

In some embodiments, the decorative article assembly is formed from more than two articles. The exemplary decorative article assembly 20 includes an article 100 as an example of a first assembly, an article 200 as an example of a second assembly, and an article 200' as an example of a third assembly. Both articles 200 and 200' are interlocked with article 100, as shown in fig. 4A to 4C. The article 200 'includes a body 202' without gemstones. Body 202' has the same features as body 202, and the statements related and relating to the body of article 200 are incorporated herein by reference.

The example assembly 20 is configurable between the loose locked configuration of fig. 4A and the securely interlocked and wrapped second configuration of fig. 4B and 4C.

In this second configuration, the

bodies

102, 202 and 202 'of the composite articles 100, 200' interlock in a intertwined manner, while the joints are not joined together. When the combined articles 100, 200 'are interlocked in this wrapped manner, the articles 100, 200' are frictionally engaged together and do not move relative to each other until the wrapped articles are disengaged from the frictional engagement, i.e., when the frictional forces holding the combined articles are overcome.

As shown in fig. 4D, the example decorative article assembly 20 including the example three interlocked

articles

100, 200, and 200' may be arranged in a third configuration.

In this third configuration, the two component articles 100, 200 'are securely joined in the mechanically interlocked state of fig. 3B, while the third article 200 is loosely interlocked with the first and second articles 100, 200'. Each of the second item and the third item has a dynamic joint. When in this configuration, the body 202 of the third article 200 is trapped by the loops of the first and second articles, and vice versa, while the body 202 of the third article 200 surrounds the joint formed by the first and second articles. When in the configuration of fig. 3B, the bridging body portion of the article in secure engagement is on the opposite side of the engagement joint. More specifically, a portion of body 202 of third article 200 is trapped by body 202 'of second article 200', while another portion of body 202 of third article 200 is trapped by body 102 of first article 100. The third article is free to move within the annular aperture defined by the first and second articles and in different orientations relative to the surrounding body 102, 202' until stopped by the inward facing surface of the surrounding article.

As shown in fig. 4E, the assembly 20 may be configured in a fourth configuration. In this configuration, first article 100 and second article 200 interlock in the entangled manner of fig. 4B to form a entangled pair, while third article 200' is disengaged from and loosely interlocked with the entangled pair. When in this configuration, the annular plane of first article 100 is at an angle to the annular plane of second article 200, then a portion of the chamfered end portion of first article 100 will be covered by body 202 of second article 200, and vice versa. Thus, third article 200' is prevented from being released from assembly 20. Third article 200' cannot be released from the

Claims

1. A decorative article comprising a body, wherein the body comprises a precious metal curved body portion that curves to extend along a bending axis to define a bending direction, wherein the curved body portion comprises a first body portion having a first end and a second body portion having a second end, wherein the first end and the second end are in physical abutment, close proximity sufficient to close the curved body portion, or are resiliently urged toward each other in abutting contact to define a channel joint having an engagement axis defining an axial direction; wherein the first body portion includes a first tapered end portion having the first end and the second body portion includes a second tapered end portion having the second end, wherein the first tapered end portion tapers to terminate at the first end when extending toward the second end and the engagement axis and the second tapered end portion tapers to terminate at the second end when extending toward the first end and the engagement axis.

2. The decorative article of claim 1, wherein the first tapered end portion has a beveled end with a first elongate tip extending orthogonally to the bending axis and defining the first end; wherein the second tapered end portion has a beveled end with a second elongate tip extending orthogonally to the bending axis and defining the second end; and wherein the first elongate tip and the second elongate tip are parallel to each other on the bending axis and cooperate to define the engagement axis.

3. The decorative article according to claim 2, wherein the engagement axis is orthogonal to the bending axis or at an acute angle, the acute angle being greater than 30 degrees.

4. The decorative article of any one of the preceding claims, wherein each of the first and second body portions includes a chamfered body portion defined by a pair of chamfered surfaces, and wherein the chamfered surfaces of the chamfered body portions are separated by the elongate tip and the chamfered body portions are symmetrical with respect to the bending axis and the engagement axis.

5. The decorative article according to claim 4, wherein the chamfered surface is at an oblique angle where the chamfered surface intersects the bending axis.

6. The decorative article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first tapered end portion has a chamfer angle of substantially 90 degrees.

7. The decorative article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second tapered end portion has a chamfer angle of substantially 90 degrees.

8. The decorative article of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first and second body portions cooperate to define four chamfered end portions, wherein the four chamfered end portions include a pair of oppositely facing chamfered body portions made of resilient and precious metal and a pair of oppositely facing chamfered spacer portions; and wherein the chamfered end defining surfaces of the chamfered body portions cooperate to define the chamfered spacing portion.

9. The decorative article according to claim 8, wherein the pair of oppositely facing chamfered body portions are disposed on or distributed along the bending axis and the pair of oppositely facing chamfered spacer portions are disposed in a direction transverse to the bending axis.

10. The decorative article of claim 8, wherein each of the four chamfered end portions has a chamfer angle defined by a pair of chamfered end defining surfaces, and the chamfer angles of the four chamfered end portions are equal.

11. The decorative article of claim 10, wherein the body has a median plane containing the bending axis, and the chamfered end defining surface is orthogonal to the median plane; and wherein the channel joint has a cross-shaped or X-shaped cross-section along the engagement axis.

12. The decorative article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the channel joint has a uniform cross section along the joining axis, the cross section being taken in a direction orthogonal to the joining axis.

13. The decorative article of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first body portion comprises a non-chamfered body portion and a chamfered body portion, wherein the chamfered body portion of the first body portion extends away from the non-chamfered body portion and toward the engagement axis, wherein the second body portion comprises a non-chamfered body portion and a chamfered body portion, wherein the chamfered body portion of the second body portion extends away from the non-chamfered body portion and toward the engagement axis.

14. The decorative article according to claim 13, wherein the non-chamfered body portion has a circular or elliptical outer boundary with respect to the bending direction.

15. The decorative article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the body defines a through-loading hole or an inner hole, and is integrally formed of an elastic and noble metal.

16. The decorative article according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the body is in the form of a wearable loop.

17. The decorative article according to claim 16, wherein the body is in the form of a loop, a wristband or a bracelet.

18. A decorative article assembly comprising a plurality of decorative articles, wherein the plurality of decorative articles comprises a first article and a second article, and each of the first article and the second article is a decorative article according to any preceding claim, wherein the first article and the second article are interlocked into an assembly but releasable by relative movement in the axial direction to exit by one of the channel joints.

19. The decorative article assembly of claim 18, wherein said channel joint of said first article is a first channel joint and said channel joint of said second article is a second channel joint, and wherein said first channel joint and said second channel joint are shaped, sized, and dimensioned such that when said first channel joint and said second channel joint are aligned in a release orientation relative to said engagement axis, said interlocked first article and said second article are releasable by relative translational movement in said axial direction.

20. The decorative article assembly of claim 19, wherein when in the released orientation, the first channel joint and the second channel joint are complementarily aligned relative to the engagement axis being a common axis.

21. The decorative article assembly of claim 19, wherein when complementarily aligned, the first channel joint and the second channel joint are in frictional engagement with each other under resilient urging such that the body of the first article and the body of the second article are held at an angle relative to each other.

22. The decorative article assembly of any one of claims 19 to 21, wherein at least one of the first channel joint or the second channel joint is a non-permanent joint that is resiliently separable along the bending axis or the bending direction upon being subjected to a separation force applied in a separation direction along the bending axis.