EP0333543B1 - Device for movable fixing an object, especially jewellery, on a support - Google Patents

Abstract

The device for the removable fixing of an object, especially jewellery, on a support, particularly another item of jewellery or a jewellery mounting mechanism, comprises two elements (1:2) integral with or capable of being fixed to the object, and respectively the support, the said elements comprising cooperating locking means, in the form of at least one lug (22) protruding from one of the elements (male element 2) capable of engaging in an opening (8, 17) of the other element (female element 1), and a member (3) which is mobile in the said other element between a locked position in which the said mobile member cooperates with the said lug or lugs engaged in the corresponding opening or openings in order to ensure the retaining and an unlocked position in which the said mobile member is disengaged from the said lug or lugs. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for detachably attaching an object to a support, and more particularly to a device for temporarily and at will fixing a piece of jewelry on a support, the latter being for example another piece of jewelry such as a necklace or bracelet, or a jewel mounting mechanism, for example a brooch or earring mechanism.

It is known to report a piece of jewelry in particular in the form of a subject, applied on another piece of jewelry, a necklace for example.

However, the means provided for this purpose, for example sliding systems, pump systems or screw systems are impractical and also of limited application. Indeed, these means require delicate handling for the user with sometimes the use of a tool and especially do not allow to use the jewel reported for another use than that originally intended, for example to mount it as a brooch, or to be able to put the jewel in another location on the same support.

Also known, for example from FR-A-1 325 860 or DE-A-1 557 510, safety clasps of the type comprising a male element and a female element comprising cooperating locking means, in the form of at least one protruding tab of the male element capable of engaging in a lumen of the female element and of a movable member in said female element between a locking position in which said movable member cooperates with the engaged tab (s) in the corresponding aperture (s) to ensure retention and an unlocked position in which said movable member is released from said lug (s), the female element comprising a receptacle provided with an interior cavity in which said movable member is mounted arranged in the form of a sliding tongue, the tongue and the receptacle being provided with superimposable lights which correspond in number and in dimensions to the projecting tabs of the male element and a spring mounted in said receptacle so as to permanently urge said tongue in its locked position.

In these clasps, the unlocking is carried out by pushing back at least one movable part of the clasp, which involves a risk of unintentional opening, in particular in the event of accidental impact on the movable part.

The present invention proposes to produce a fixing device which is simple to handle and which makes it possible to fix removably but nevertheless very reliably, that is to say with considerable security, an object such as a piece of jewelry on a support.

The characteristics of the device according to the invention are the subject of claim 1.

Advantageously, the or each of the projecting tabs of the male element has a slot in which the movable member can engage, in particular by a hooking rim which constitutes the rear edge of the corresponding lumen formed in the movable member. arranged in tongue.

Advantageously, the face of the or each of the tabs into which the slot opens has a ramp-shaped profile, preferably of curved shape, allowing the male element and the female element to be locked by snap-fastening when the two elements are reconciled to be applied one on the other, the ramp-shaped profile of the tab pushing the catching flange of the tongue against its return spring until said flange engages in the corresponding slot in the flap of the male element.

Advantageously, the female element further comprises means limiting the longitudinal displacement of the movable member in the form of a tongue in the receptacle. Preferably the movable member further comprises at its end a tab projecting towards the outside of the receptacle to facilitate gripping of the movable member for its displacement by traction in order to unlock the device.

In addition, according to a particular characteristic of the invention, the female element and the male element comprise in at least one facing wall in the locked position, cooperating engagement means, in particular in the form of projections and orifices. corresponding, to contribute to the positioning and the retention in particular in longitudinal direction of the male element and the female element.

• la figure 1 représente schématiquement en perspective éclatée un dispositif selon l'invention avant son assemblage,
• les figures 2 à 4 sont des vues en coupe du dispositif selon A-A de la figure 1 au cours de trois phases de mise en place et de verrouillage de l'élément mâle et de l'élément femelle,
• les figures 5 et 6 illustrent deux variantes de réalisation de l'élément mâle du dispositif selon l'invention.

Other advantages and characteristics of the invention will emerge from the following description given by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the appended drawing in which:

• FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows in exploded perspective a device according to the invention before it is assembled,
• FIGS. 2 to 4 are sectional views of the device according to AA in FIG. 1 during three phases of positioning and locking the male element and the female element,
• Figures 5 and 6 illustrate two alternative embodiments of the male element of the device according to the invention.

We see in Figure 1 a female element generally designated by 1 and a male element generally designated by 2, the female element being in fact made up of five parts intended to be assembled before assembly of the female element with the element male. In the position of use of the device, the female element 1 is constituted in the form of a unitary assembly as seen in particular in FIGS. 2 to 4 on which the male element 2 is locked.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the female element 1 comprises a tongue-shaped member 3, a hollow receptacle 4 intended to slide the tongue 3, a spring, in particular a helical spring 5, an end piece 6 and a rod, in particular a connecting screw 7.

The tongue 3 has a substantially parallelepiped shape and is provided, in the example illustrated, with two through holes 8 of substantially rectangular section, the parts of the tongue constituting the rear edges 9, lights 8 being intended to constitute locking edges as will be explained later.

For the housing of the spring, the tongue 3 comprises in its axial central part a substantially cylindrical tubular conduit 10, the spring 5 is housed inside the conduit 10 abutted by its front end against a wall 11 defining the bottom of the conduit 10 as best seen in Figures 2 to 4.

The tongue 3 further comprises in its upper face an oblong opening 12 intended to delimit the maximum amplitude of movement of the tongue 3 in the receptacle 4.

Finally, the tongue 3 comprises an end flange 13 provided with a gripping tab 14, the notch provided at the upper part of the tab allowing the latter to be grasped for example by the nail of the user to pull the tongue outward as will be explained later.

Finally, in the example illustrated, the tongue 3 has at its opposite end a lug 15 projecting outwards.

The receptacle 4 has an internal recess 16 whose shape and dimensions are adapted so as to slide the tongue 3.

The receptacle 4 has in its upper face lights 17, two in number in the example illustrated. These lights having a substantially rectangular section.

For the passage of the assembly screw 7, the receptacle 4 further comprises an orifice 18 in its upper face and a tapped hole 19 in its lower part.

For the passage of the assembly screw 7, a through hole 20 is also provided in the endpiece 6 placed at the end of the spring opposite to that coming into abutment against the bottom of the conduit 10.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 to 4, the female element 1 is formed in the form of a unitary assembly by assembling elements 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.

The assembly screw 7 passes, for this purpose, successively the upper face of the receptacle by passing through the orifice 18, the tongue 3 by crossing the oblong opening 12, the end piece 6 by crossing the hole 20, the screw coming finally engage in the threaded hole 19 on the opposite face of the receptacle, the final assembly then being carried out by screwing. In the assembled position and as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, the tongue 3 is in the retracted position in the receptacle 4, the rear edge 9 of the slots 8 of the tongue being offset axially forwards, that is ie to the right in the drawing, relative to the rear edge of the lights 17 of the receptacle.

We see that thanks to the assembly carried out, the tongue 3 is always biased towards this position by the spring 5, a traction on the tongue in particular by action on the tab 14 of the flange 13, that is to say a displacement of the tongue around the left of the drawing being carried out against the stress of the spring which, after removal of the external traction force, naturally has the effect of bringing the tongue back to the retracted position in the receptacle.

The maximum amplitude of the longitudinal displacement of the tongue 3 in the receptacle 4 is determined by the length of the oblong opening 12 of the tongue through which the screw 7 secured to the receptacle 4 passes.

The male element 2 of the device according to the invention has the shape of a substantially rectangular plate 21 projecting from a face from which two locking tabs 22 are produced, arranged in hooks and comprising a face in the form of a curved ramp 23 completed. by a slot 24 arranged parallel to the plane of the plate 21.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, the male element 2 further comprises, in the plate-shaped part 21, a hole 25 intended for the engagement of the head of the screw 7 in the locked position illustrated in Figure 4 and an end flange 26 perpendicular to the plate 21 and provided with an orifice 27 intended to engage on the projecting lug 15 of the female element.

The device according to the invention is implemented in practice in the following manner.

The female element made up of its five assembled components is fixed, in particular by welding, on an object such as a piece of jewelry to be brought on a support.

To this end, the female element 1 can be welded at the level of zones 28 and 29 projecting from its lower part in a hollowed out part made on the rear face of the object, in particular the jewel, (not shown) to be brought into square. In this use, the female element will be permanently attached to the jewel which will allow it to be fixed to any support (not shown) on which a corresponding male element will have been fixed or attached.

If the male element illustrated in FIG. 1 is used, it must be fixed, in particular by welding, by the face of the plate 21 opposite the face carrying the locking tabs 22 and / or by its flange 26 , to a support which can for example be a mechanism for mounting a piece of jewelry such as a pin or earring mechanism.

FIG. 5 thus illustrates a male element 2 ′ in which on the rear face of the plate 21 from which is welded a pair of curved pins 30 constituting a brooch jewel mounting mechanism.

The pins 30 can of course be replaced by any other jewel mounting mechanism, in particular another pin mechanism, an earring mechanism etc.

It is understood that with such an embodiment, the same piece of jewelry to which a female element of the device according to the invention is fixed can be placed at will interchangeably on different supports, the same piece of jewelry thus being able to be worn in different ways depending on the user choice.

Thanks to the alternative embodiment illustrated in Figure 6, it is also possible to set up the object such as the jewel provided with the female element in any location of a support such as for example a necklace or a bracelet.

In this embodiment, the male element 2˝ comprises, articulated to the plate 21 provided with the tabs 22, a flap 31 provided with a hooking claw 32. By folding the flap 31 the male element 2˝ can be thus placed on a bracelet, for example with articulated links, the bracelet then passing through a recess 33 formed between the plate 21 and the flap 31 in the folded position.

It is understood that with this embodiment, the jewel provided with the female element can also be put in place removably at will at any desired point on the same support. In addition with the male element 2˝, it is possible to place on the support interchangeably different pieces of jewelry each provided with a female element.

Once the male element and the female element are in place or respectively fixed on the corresponding object and support, the male element is brought closer to the female element as illustrated in FIG. 3.

When the flange 26 is provided, it is engaged by its orifice 27 on the lug 15 of the female element so as to position the male element on the female element after which a pressure is exerted from top to bottom on the male element so, as illustrated in FIG. 3, to repel by the ramp-shaped parts 23 of the tabs 22, the hooking edges 9 of the tongue 3 then allow engagement by snap-fitting 1, of the edges 9 in the slots 24 under the return effect of the spring 5 to reach the locked position illustrated in FIG. 4.

If desired, between the position of Figure 2 and that of Figure 3, one can exert a pull towards the outside on the tongue to facilitate the introduction of the locking tabs in the corresponding slots of the tongue and the receptacle .

It will be appreciated that the device according to the invention offers great security insofar as, in the locking position illustrated in FIG. 4, it constitutes a compact assembly, the only effort capable of being exerted from the outside to obtain the unlocking can only be a tensile force which cannot be obtained accidentally.

Good positioning and good retention of the male element and the female element are further favored by the engagement of the lug 15 of the female element in the hole 27 of the flange 26 of the male element and the engagement of the head of the screw 7 of the female element in the hole 25 of the plate 21 of the male element.

In addition, in the event of damage to the mechanism, in particular of the spring, it is easy to disassemble the female element, without removing it from the object to which it is fixed, by unscrewing the screw 7 so as to be able to remove the receptacle 4, the tongue 3 remaining attached to the object, and then removing to replace the spring, the end piece 6 and the spring 5. We then reassemble the female element as indicated above.

Claims (10)

1. Device for removably fixing an object, especially a jewel, on a support, especially another jewel or a jewel-mounting mechanism, comprising a male element (2, 2′, 2˝) and a female element (1) securely fastened or capable of being fixed to the object, and respectively to the support, the said elements comprising interacting locking means, in the shape of at least one lug (22) projecting from the male element (2, 2′, 2˝) capable of engaging in a slot (8, 17) of the female element (1) and of a member (3) movable in the said female element between a locking position in which the said movable member interacts with the said lug or lugs engaged in the corresponding slot or slots to retain them and an unlocking position in which the said movable member is disengaged from the said lug or lugs, the female element (1) comprising a receptacle (4) provided with an internal cavity in which the said movable member is mounted, which movable member is arranged in the shape of a sliding tab (3), the tab and the receptacle being equipped with superposable slots (8, 17) which correspond in number and in dimensions to the lugs (22) projecting from the male element (2, 2′, 2˝) and a spring (5), mounted in the said receptacle so as to permanently stress the said tab into its locking position characterised in that, in its locking position, the said tab is pushed into the receptacle, the movement of the tab (3) towards its unlocking position being carried out by exerting a pulling force outwards on the said tab against the return effect of the said spring.
2. Device according to Claim 1, characterised in that the lug or each of the lugs (22) projecting from the male element comprises a notch (24) in which the movable member can engage, in particular via a fastening edge which is constituted by the rear edge (9) of the corresponding slot (8) made in the movable member (3).
3. Device according to Claim 2, characterised in that the face (23) of the lug or of each of the lugs (22) into which the notch (24) emerges has a ramp-shaped profile, preferably of curved shape, enabling the male element and the female element to lock together by clipping when the two elements are brought together to be pushed onto each other.
4. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the female element comprises means (7, 12) limiting the longitudinal movement of the movable member.
5. Device according to Claim 4, characterised in that the said means consist of an oblong slit (12) made in the upper face of the movable member (3), and in which a rod (7) is guided, which rod is securely fastened to the receptacle (4) in which the said movable member (3) arranged as a tab slides.
6. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the movable member (3) comprises at its end a lug (14) projecting outwards in order to facilitate gripping the movable member.
7. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the male element and the female element comprise, in at least one wall which is facing in the locking position, interacting engagement means, especially in the shape of projections (15, 7) and corresponding orifices (25, 27), to contribute to the positioning and the retention of the male element and of the female element.
8. Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the female element (1) is fixed to the object, especially the jewel to be put in place, especially by soldering in the region of the portions (28, 29), projecting from its lower portion, in particular in a hollowed-out portion produced on the rear face of the object, the male element being fixed or attached to a support such as another jewel, especially a bracelet or necklace or a jewel-mounting mechanism, in particular a brooch or earring mechanism.
9. Device according to Claim 8, characterised in that the male element (2′) is securely fastened to a jewel-mounting mechanism, especially a brooch mechanism (30).
10. Device according to Claim 8, characterised in that the male element (2˝) comprises an articulated flap (31), preferably equipped with a fastening claw (32), for removably putting the male element in place on a support such as a necklace or a bracelet.

Images