FR2715035A1 - Structure comprising a removable crimped element. - Google Patents

Abstract

The structure comprises a rigid part (1), having a passage (2) open at both ends, in the wall of which is formed a groove (3), in which is housed an elastomeric O-ring (4) forming a downstream stop ( 4) which cooperates with an upstream stop (7, 8) to keep an element (6) in abutment, the latter consisting, from upstream to downstream, of 3 section parts, the two more downstream of which are substantially circular, the diameter of the second being greater than the inside diameter of the seal (4) at rest but less than the inside diameter of the seal (4) compressed to the maximum, and the diameters of the other two sections being smaller than that of the second.

Description

The present invention relates to a structure comprising a crimped element

  removable, such as a decorative element made of precious or semiprecious stone, porcelain, glass or any other decorative material, or a functional element5 such as a watch case, in a support which may belong to the field of luxury jewelry or fantasy, fashion accessories, clothing, and arts and crafts in general. More specifically, the invention relates to a structure of the type which comprises a rigid part having a passage open at its two ends and defining a receiving cavity for such an element, said passage being furnished with a pair of stops, called respectively upstream stop and downstream stop by reference to the direction of introduction of the element into the passage, which stops cooperate to

  immobilizing said element in said passage.

  The objective pursued by the invention is to make it possible to personalize such a structure by modifying its appearance, its value, its quality, etc., by rapid replacement of its decorative or functional element (s), without the person carrying out the handling needs tools

or some kind of know-how.

  This object is achieved in that the invention provides a crimping structure which is characterized: - in that the upstream stopper is constituted by an elastomeric O-ring housed in a groove formed in the wall of said passage, said seal having a diameter internal minimum at rest and a maximum internal diameter when it undergoes maximum radial compression directed towards the outside, and - in that the element has a geometry such that it comprises from its upstream end to its downstream end: a first part of which no section parallel to the plane of said groove has a dimension greater than the maximum internal diameter of the O-ring, 35. a second part of substantially circular section whose diameter is greater than the minimum internal diameter but less than the maximum internal diameter of the seal toric, and at least one third part of substantially circular section whose diameter is less than that of the second part e, whereby the element is adapted to come into abutment by a zone of its first part against the downstream abutment and by its

  third part against the O-ring.

  Thanks to this structure, the element can be very easily crimped because, to do this, it suffices to place said seal in said groove - which will be done once and for all - and forcefully insert the element to be crimped into the passage through said joint by exerting on said element a pressure directed towards the downstream stop until said second part of the element has crossed the plane

throat.

  If one wishes to extract the element thus crimped to replace it with another, it suffices to release it from said seal by exerting on said element a pressure directed from downstream to upstream, the seal not being dislodged from the groove by

this simple operation.

  So that the joint remains well centered in the groove when it is not subjected to any compression, the structure preferably has stops at the bottom of the groove.

adapted to wedge it.

  In the simplest embodiment, the element to be crimped is spherical. It may thus be for example a ball of any material, having sufficient rigidity and an appropriate diameter. This material may be a metal, a mineral, wood, a resin, vegetable ivory, a plastic, etc. The spherical element may advantageously be a commercial glass or porcelain ball, because the choice of colors, the regularity of the diameters, the solidity and the low price make such balls very attractive decorative elements. Instead of being spherical, the element to be crimped can by

example be ovoid.

  The rigid part could for example be a jewel mount, or a similar article, that is to say that the groove will be formed directly in the substrate to be filled with the element. If, on the other hand, the substrate is flexible or semi-rigid, the rigid part will take the form of an eyelet

  adapted to be secured to said substrate.

  In either case, the downstream stop may be constituted by at least one contentive form projecting

  in said passage or in its imaginary extension.

  The invention will be described below in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a partial section of a ring mount forming a rigid part according to the invention, - Figure 2 illustrates the crimping of 'a sphere in a precious, semi-precious or simply decorative material in the frame of Figure 1, - Figure 3 shows the sphere as set after the operation of Figure 2, - Figure 4 illustrates the extraction of the previously crimped sphere, - Figure 5 shows in partial section an eyelet of the prior art being tightened on a flexible substrate, for example a garment, - Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 but showing an eyelet adapted to form the rigid element according to the invention, - Figure 7 illustrates the eyelet of Figure 6 after tightening on the flexible substrate, and - Figure 8 is a view similar to Figure 7 but

  after setting a decorative sphere.

  If we examine Figure 1, we see an asymmetrical ring frame part 1 which determines a passage 2

  whose section is at least cylindrical in a plane P-P.

  In this plane P-P, the wall of the passage is hollowed out with a groove 3 in which is housed with clearance an O-ring 4. Stops 5, for example four in number, regularly

  distributed in the groove, wedge the seal 4 in place.

  As seen in Figure 2, a sphere 6, constituting a removable decorative element, is manually pushed into the passage 2, according to the arrow F1 (from upstream to downstream), against the joint 4, the geometry is deformed by filling the groove 3. The progression of the sphere is stopped (FIG. 3) by the contention reliefs 7 and 8 of the frame, reliefs which, as can be seen better in FIG. 3, consist of the material of the frame which overflows, along dl and d2, inside the imaginary cylinder having the diameter of that of passage 2 and whose axis is perpendicular to the plane P. As also appears from FIG. 3, the plane of the diameter D of the sphere parallel to the plane PP is situated above said plane PP, so that after having undergone maximum compression the O-ring slightly relaxes while resisting the spontaneous displacement of the sphere in the direction of arrow F2, that is to say from downstream to upstream (figur e 4). It follows that the sphere is blocked between the reliefs 7 and 8 and the seal 4, which is invisible, once the crimping has been carried out. This seal is not subject to wear, but it can easily be replaced in the event of

need.

  To extract sphere 6, just push on

it as shown in Figure 4.

  FIG. 5 shows a conventional eyelet in the process of being laid, for example on a leather substrate 15. This eyelet is defined by a main part 9 having tongues 13 which together define a substantially cylindrical part 10 provided with a flange 11i at one of its ends, and by a secondary part 12 in the form of a washer threaded on the cylindrical part 10. The washer 12 and the flange 11 have complementary reliefs which come to fit when the tongues 13 are folded against the

washer 12.

  FIG. 6 shows an eyelet according to the invention: it differs from the previous one by the fact that it has, between its flange 11 and its cylindrical part 10, a content form 14 and, in its cylindrical part, a groove 3 'which, as in

  in the case of FIGS. 1 to 4, receives an O-ring 4.

  FIG. 7 shows the eyelet according to the invention, the laying of which on the flexible substrate is complete (tabs 13 folded over the substrate with the interposition of the washer 12). Figure 8 shows an immobilized decorative sphere

  between the O-ring 4 and the content form 14.

Claims (7)

  1 - Structure comprising a removable crimped element (6), of the type comprising a rigid part (1; 9) having a passage (2) open at its two ends and defining a receiving cavity for such an element, said passage being lined with a pair of stops, called upstream stop and downstream stop respectively by reference to the direction of introduction of the element into the passage, which stops cooperate to immobilize said element in said passage, characterized: - in that the upstream stop is constituted by an elastomeric O-ring (4) housed in a groove (3; 3 ') formed in the wall of said passage (2), said seal having a minimum internal diameter at rest and a maximum internal diameter when it undergoes maximum radial compression directed outwards, and - in that the element has a geometry such that it comprises from its upstream end to its downstream end: a first part of which no section parallel to the plane (P- P) of said groove has a dimension greater than the maximum internal diameter of the O-ring (4), a second part of substantially circular section whose diameter is greater than the minimum internal diameter but less than the maximum internal diameter of the O-ring (4) , and at least a third part of substantially circular section whose diameter is less than that of the second part, thanks to which the element (6) is adapted to come into abutment by a zone of its first part against the downstream abutment ( 7.8)   and by its third part against the O-ring (4).   2 - Structure according to claim 1, characterized in that it has, at the bottom of the groove (3; 3 '), stops (5) adapted to wedge said seal (4) when it is not subjected to no compression.   3 - Structure according to claim 1 or 2,   characterized in that the crimping element (6) is spherical.   4 - Structure according to claim 2, characterized in   that the element to be crimped is ovoid.   - Structure according to any one of the claims   1 to 4, characterized in that the rigid part is a jewelry frame or the like.   6 - Structure according to any one of claims   1 to 4, characterized in that the rigid part takes the form of an eyelet adapted to be secured to a flexible support or semi-rigid (15).   7 - Structure according to any one of claims   1 to 6, characterized in that the downstream stop (7,8; 14) is constituted by at least one contentive form projecting   in said passage (2) or in its imaginary extension.   8 - Crimping process using the   structure according to any one of claims 1 to 7,   which consists in placing said seal (4) in said groove (3; 3 ') and forcibly inserting the crimping element (6) in said passage (2) through said seal (4) by exerting on said element a pressure directed towards the downstream stop until said second part of the element has   crossed the plane (P-P) of the gorge (3; 3 ').