GB2036538A - Fastening for jewellery - Google Patents

Abstract

A fastening for jewellery comprising a hollow body (10) having flat front and rear plates (11, 12), with an arcuate shackle (14) pivotally mounted in the body, the shackle and the body being shaped as a key-operated padlock. A blade spring (19) disposed in the body (10) is of generally V-shape and extends around the interior thereof. One end of the spring (19) is in the form of a flat portion (20) which bears against the pivoted end of the shackle in its fastened position, whilst the other end of the spring has an operating portion (22) which projects through a slot (18) in a wall (13) of the body, in the fastened position of the padlock. The end of the spring has a hook-shaped portion (24) which can releasably engage a recess (17) in the shackle to fasten it. Inward pressure on the operating portion (22) causes release of the hook-shaped portion (24) from the recess (17) and thus unfastens the padlock. The fastening consists of relatively few parts and can easily and quickly be assembled. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Fastenings for jewellery This invention relates to fastenings of the kind used for securing jewellery such as bracelets. Such fastenings may have the appearance of key operated padlocks but are not, in fact, so operated, having instead finger operable means for releasing a shackle thereon.

Afastening of this kind, which has the appearance of a padlock is shown and described in British Patent Specification No. 1451049. Such a fastening would have its body produced by casting, a top plate of the fastening being secured to the remainder of the body by riveting. The fastening does not lend itself to being produced by a less expensive process, such as pressing and moreover contains components which are relatively difficult accurately to produce.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved fastening of the kind used for securing jewellery, which is relatively simple and inexpensive to produce.

According to the invention a fastening for jewellery comprises a body, a fastening member hingedly mounted thereon and a resilient element mounted in the body, said element having at one of its ends a portion arranged to engage with said fastening member releasably to secure the fastening member in a fastened position, and also having an operating portion extending out of the body in said fastened position so as to allow disengagement of said elementfrom said fastening member.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, the single Figure of which is a partly broken away front plan view of a fastening constructed in accordance with the invention.

The fastening illustrated has the appearance of a key operated padlock and comprises a hollow body 10 of generally heart shape. The body comprises flat front and rear plates 11, 12 respectively and has a generally uniform thickness. The rear plate 12 and the thickness of the fastening formed by a wall 13 are formed by a pressing process and the front plate 11 is secured thereto by soldering. The fastening would usually be produced in silver or gold.

A fastening member in the form of an arcuate shackle 14 is pivotally mounted in the body 10. Adjacent one end of the shackle, a short piece of tube 15 is secured thereto and a pivot pin 16 passes through the tube 15 and through holes in the front and rear plates 11, 12. The hole in the front plate is positioned in the top right-hand part of the body, which is formed as a lobe on the body.

The shackle can thus pivot between a fastened position in which its free end is received in and sec ured in the body, and an unfastened position in which its free end is clear of the body. A recess 17 is provided at the free end of the shackle in the surface thereof facing towards the pivot pin 16. The wall 13 is removed around a left-hand lobe portion of the body as well as around said right-hand lobe portion to allow such pivoting of the shackle. Moreover, a slot 18 is provided in the wall 13 adjacent the lefthand lobe portion of the body, for a purpose now to be described.

Mounted in the hollow body and extending around the interior thereof is a resilient element in the form of a generally V-shaped steel blade spring 19. The spring 19 is formed in a single piece. The resilience of the spring causes it to tend to straighten out.

One end of the spring 19 is formed as a generally flat portion 20, which bears against the pivoted end of the shackle 14 in its fastened position. In its unfastened position, this end of the shackle is clear of the portion 20, which is consequently unstressed. The wall 13 is provided with a bent-in part 21, against which a part of the portion 20 of the spring bears, the part 21 thereby preventing bodily upward movement of the portion 20 due to the resilience of the spring.

Adjacent its other end, the spring is provided with an operating portion 22, formed by bending part of the spring into a generally semi-circular shape. The resilience of the spring causes this portion 22 to projectthrough the slot 18 so as to be operable from outside of the body 10.

From the portion 22, the spring is formed with an inwardly directed straight portion 23 which, in the fastened position of the shackle extends underneath the free end thereof. The end of the spring is then formed with a hook-shaped portion 24, which, for a fastened position of the fastening, engages in the recess 17 in the shackle. In this position the portion 20 of the spring is acting against the pivoted end of the shackle, and thus it is acting against the engagement of the hook-shaped portion 24 with the shackle 14, trying to cause the shackle to pivot clockwise, as viewed in the Figure, about its pivot pin 16.

To release the shackle, the portion 22 is depressed inwardly into the body. This causes the hook-shaped portion to move out of the recess 17 and the shackle 14 is thus biassed by the spring portion 20 to pivot to the position where its free end is clear of the body.

Once the shackle is released, the portion springs back to protrude through the slot 18.

To re-fasten the shackle, its free end is pushed down onto the hook-shaped portion of the spring.

The bottom surface of the free end of the shackle is inclined as shown, so that it acts as a cam surface to force the end of the spring into the body, until the free end is sufficiently far into the body for the portion 24 once more to engage in the recess 17. Further inward movement of the free end of the shackle is prevented by it engaging the portion 23 of the spring. Opening movement of the shackle is limited by engagement of a portion of it adjacent the pivot pin, with the part 21.

To construct the fastening, the shackle is pivotally positioned on the rear plate 12 and the front plate 11 is then soldered onto it, the plates being spaced by the wall 13. The shackle is thus pivotally mounted on the body. The spring 19 is then threaded into the body, starting with the portion 20, through the open ing provided bythe removal ofthewall 13 around the left-hand lobe formed on the body, until the whole spring is in the body, with the portions 20 and 22 located in position. The shackle can then be fastened.

It will be appreciated that the fastening contains only a few parts which are relatively easy to produce.

Moreover, the construction of fastening is such that the body parts can be produced by a pressing operation, and assembly is also relatively quick and easy.

All these features enable the cost of producing the fastening to be kept relatively low, whilst ensuring long and efficient operation of the device. Better tolerances can be achieved by pressing instead of casting.

The front plate 12 is provided with screw simulating markings 25 and a keyhole 26. Although shown and described as a padlock shape, the fastening can take any other alternative shape as required.

Claims (9)

1. Afasteningforjewellerycomprising a body, a fastening member hingedly mounted thereon and a resilient element mounted in the body, said element having at one of its ends a portion arranged to engage with said fastening member releasably to secure the fastening member in a fastened position, and also having an operating portion extending out of the body in said fastened position so as to allow disengagement of said element from said fastening member.

2. A fastening as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the other end of said resilient element acts upon said fastening member to cause it to pivot to an unfastened position when said operating portion is operated.

3. A fastening as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein said resilient element is a one-piece blade spring.

4. A fastening as claimed in Claim 3 wherein said fastening member is a shackle, one end of said blade spring engaging an end of said shackle to bias the shackle to an unfastened position and the other end of the spring being hook-shaped to engage in a recess in the other end of the shackle.

5. A fastening as claimed in Claim 4 wherein said operating portion is formed by a shaped portion of the blade spring adjacent said hook-shaped end.

6. Afastening as claimed in Claim 4 or Claim 5 wherein said recess is formed in the surface of the shackle which, in said fastened position, faces away from the operating portion, so that in order to release the shackle, the operating portion must be pressed into the body.

7. A fastening as claimed in any one of Claims 4 to 6 wherein the body and the shackle are shaped as a key-operated padlock.

8. A fastening as claimed in Claim 7 wherein the blade spring is V-shaped when disposed in said body.

9. Afastening forjewellery substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawing.