US2433737A

US2433737A - Jewelry clip

Info

Publication number: US2433737A
Application number: US703548A
Authority: US
Inventors: Chernow Michael
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1946-10-16
Filing date: 1946-10-16
Publication date: 1947-12-30
Anticipated expiration: 1964-12-30

Description

Dec. 30,v 1947. M, cHEm'ww 2,433,731

JEWELRY CLIP Filed Oct. 1 1946 ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 30, 1947 UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE JEWELRY CLIP Michael Chernow, New York, N. Y. Application October 16, 1946, Serial No. 703,548

5 Claims.

The present invention relates to jewelry clips I .and more particularly to earrings of the hinged clip type.

The invention is an improvement upon that of my prior Patent No. 2,351,925 of June 20, 1944, which also relates to earrings of the hinged clip type.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide a jewelry clip and more particularly an earring clip which is simple to construct and has a minimum number of inexpensive parts and which is devoid of springs, ratchet or screw locking adjustments that are subject to wear, jamming or derangement in use, which frequently result on the one hand in discomfort to the wearer due to pinching the ear lobe, or on the other in looseness and loss of the clip, the clip of the present invention afiording simple means for tightening the hinge portion in the event of looseness thereof and inherently affording a secure hold without pinching the ear lobe, regardless of its thinness or thickness.

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown one of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

Fig. l is a side elevation of the earring clip in use,

Fig. 2 is a rear view of the earring with the clip arm in clamped position,

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the earring with the clip arm in open position, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 44 of Fig. 1.

Referring noW to the drawings, there is illustratively shown an earring clip which comprises the ornamental face member or plate ID to the rear of which is soldered, brazed, welded or other-v wise attached the base of a U-shaped bracket II, the outer parts of which constitute upstanding jaws I2.

clip arm or one blanked out of sheet metal stock of uniform thickness. This arm desirably includes an eye I5 interposed between the jaws of the bracket. A rivet IB', placed transversely through the bracket jaws and the interposed eye I5, securely clamps the latter in place between said jaws. Desirably the eye has a, bore slightly larger than the shank of the rivet, the latter'being friotionally held as an axle in the two bracket jaws I2.

In the earring embodiment particularly, the width of the clip arm I4 extends generally parallel to the length of the rivet and the plane of the eye is at right angles to said arm, th metal Between the jaws I2 of the bracket is .7 hinged a clip arm I4, desirably a stamped metal of the arm being twisted for that purpose at I I at a point near, but beyond the jaws I2 of the bracket, affording a shank portion I8 between the eye I5 and the twist H. The clip arm preferably flares outward toward its free end, which presents a generally convex holding cup conformation I9 of substantial width in the neighborhood of 1% inch. The convex holding cup end I9 desirably has tranverse ribs 20 across the face thereof extending parallel to the rivet to more securely hold the earring clip on an car when the ear lobe is squeezed between holding cup I9 and the rear of plate Ill.

The construction thus far described is not per se claimed herein as it is the subject of my prior patent above identified.

According to the present invention, each of the jaws l2 of said bracket has an asymetrical resilient tongue portion I3 unitary therewith. The tongues I3 are transversely aligned and substantially in the planes and at right angles to the lengths of the respective bracket arms, the lengths of said tongues extending in the general direction of the ear lobe engaging area of the plate Ill. The ends of said tongue portions turn inwardly but do not touch.

In the assembled unit, when the clip arm is in the opened position, as shown in Fig. 3, it does not extend between the ends of the tongues I3. When the clip arm is pivoted to the position of use, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the shank portion I8 is forced between the converging ends of said tongues and wedged therebetween.

The shank portion I8 of the clip arm is slightly longer than the tongues I3, so that when the clip arm is pivoted from the open to the closed position of use, the converging tongues will only engage the shank of the clip arm and not the twisted portion thereof. Unnecessary spreading of the tongues is thus avoided and smooth pivotingof the clip arm-from open to closed position occurs with firm frictional hold of the clip arm by the tongues when the clip arm is in use, thereby keeping the arm from easy displacement out of any position in which it is set when closed. When the clip arm is open, no pressure is exerted by thetongues against the shank of the clip arm, thereby releasing the strain on the tongues so that they will, maintain their resiliency for a long time when the earring clip is not in use. I The inner sides I3 of the tongues are rounded and the tongues are so placed on the periphery of jaw I2 that the loweredge 2| of the. lobe of the car may comfortably fit between the rear 3 of plate In and th rounded portion [3' of tongue IS without pinching or cutting.

As the width of the shank portion N3 of the clip arm I4 is greater than the width of the clamping ends of the tongue, the clip arm, when in the closed position, will be firmly held by said tongues regardless of the thickness of the ear lobe.

The clip arm ,ldis of suchlength, asshown in Fig. 1, that when the clip is applied to the ear with the bracket H against the lower edge 2| of the lobe, the convex gripping cup IQ of the arm will rest in the concavity 22 of said lobe, the hu-' man ear lobe presenting considerably morefflesh.

about its entire rim 23 than it doesiinitsmide portion 22.

Thus in use the clip can Ibeinstantiy applied to the ear, the gripping cup 19 becoming registered with the concavity 22 in the ear lobe and the tongue portions l3 maintaining the clip in any position of pivoted adjustment on an ear. The relatively large :suriace 'Ofthehbldingbub on "the clip arm and the transVerse-ribs zt'therecf enhance the frictional hold and also prevent angular displacement ofthe' earrin'girom its ini- "tial'set position.

In my rior patent heretofore referred to, the eye of the cliparm i's split andthe ends'thereof are displaced laterally in the manner of a lock washer. .In the s.rassembled=unit,ithe -pressure exerted by the ri've't brings thetend's' o'f' the eye in line, sonthattin its tendency torspread out, it exerts a frictional holduagain'st't he ja'ws'of the bracket. It has been :found that after considerable .use, :the displaced ends of the: eye tend to remain aligned, therebyFiooseriing-the hinge portion of theearring"and-allowing displacement or 'the :clip arm. :In order to tighten the hinge, .ithad to be disassembled,=:the.-ends of the "split. eye had to :be distalacedandthe hinge reassembled.

This-operation requiredw'considerable eiiort and necessitated return of the earring to the factory.

According to the,present invention, if the; hinge does loosen due toa spread-ingof the lip portion ofthe jaws, it is :mere1y-necessary to move the clip arm to the openrpositionr out-of. engagementby the .tong-ues,.and-to squeeze the ends of the tongue portions 13. of the jaws together, a. relatively simple operation that canbe performed.bytheiuser-with anordinarypair. of pliers.

-Asmany changes could be madein the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of .thisiinven'tion could be made without departing'from the scope of the claims, itis intended that all .m'att'er contained in the above description or 'shown'in'the accompanying drawings shall'be interpreted as illustrative and not in a "limiting sense.

Having thus described "my in'vention, what 'I claimas new and desire to secur by LettersP'atent of the United States is.

*1. A jewelry'clip compri'sin a'face plate, "a bracket rigidly afiixed to the "back thereof and having apair of "jaws, 'each of said jaws having a rivettransverselylthrough saidjaws and said.

interposedeye'to clamp said eye in place between said jaws, saidclip arm having a shank portion between and frictionally engaged'bysaid tongues when the clip is in use.

4 2. A jewelry clip comprising a face member, a bracket having a base rigidly affixed to the back thereof and having a pair of jaws, each of said jaws having a resilient tongue portion unitary 5 therewith, said tongue portions being in registry and converging at the ends thereof, a metal clip arm having an eye unitary therewith at right angles to the general plane thereof and inter- ,posed betweenrsaid jaws, means frictionally to lo clamp said eye'between said jaws, said means comprising a rivet transversely through said jaws .and said interposed eye, said clip arm having a shank portion between and engaged by said iiiton-gues when the clip arm is closed, said rivet being frictionally held as an axle in said bracket "and saideye having clearance with respect to said 'irive't.

3. Anarticle of clip jewelry comprising a face member, a U-shaped bracket secured to the rear thereof and having a pair of jaws extending therefrom,-'each 'of'said jaws ha'v ing' a tongueportion unitar therewith at right angles :to the length of said bracket, said tongue portions being aligned and converging toward each nth-er at the ends thereof, a clip arm'having an reye unitar therewith hinged at one-en'dtbetween 's'aid jaws and twisted at right angles beyond but near said eye,

a shank portion fo'rmed'by said twist between said eyeand -said twisted portion, a rivet trans- 3'0 versely through said jaws and said eye frictionally to clamp 'saideye between said jaws, said converging tongue portions "of said jaws ccacting with the shank "portion of said clip arm when the :clip is in'use, therebyirict-ionallyf holding said 35 clip arm in'position.

:4. An'eari'ing clip 'compri'sing a faceiplate, a bracket "rigidly afiixed tothe back thereof and having "a pair of .ja'ws, e'ach of'said jaws having an "asymmetricaltongue portion extending verti- 40 'ca'lly outward therefrom, said tongue Iportio'ns being aligned and converging towardeach :other at the endsthereof,said tongue portions occupying a. small "section of the periphery of said jaws and being spaced from the rear 'of'sai'd 'face plate,

thereby to allow easy insertionof the lobe oi'an ear between said f'ace plate and said tongues, a metal clip arm having an eye unitary therewith at right angles'to t'he general plane thereof and interposed between said jaws, a rivet'transverse- '60 1y through said :jaws'and said'interposed eye to clamp said eye in place between said jaws, said clip armhaving a shank portion between'and frictionally engaged by said tongue w-henthe clip is in use.

5. As an article of manufacture, a jewelry clip comprising a U-shaped bracket having a pair of jaws extending therefro'myeach of said jaws hav ing an asymmetrical tongue portion unitary therewith extendingvertically outward therefrom at '5 right angles to the lengthof said bracket, said tongue portions beingaligned and converging toward each other at the ends thereof, a clip arm having an eye unitary therewith hinged atone end between said jaws and a'shank portion near '65 said eye, arivet transverselyjthrough said jaws and said eye frictionally to clamp said eye between said jaws, said converging tongueportions ofsaid jaws coacting with the shank porti'oncf said-clip arm when the clip is in use, thereby frictionallyholding said clip-arm in position.

\ -MIGHAEL CHERNOW.