US2725610A

US2725610A - Clasps for jewelry

Info

Publication number: US2725610A
Application number: US277385A
Authority: US
Inventors: Smith Ernest
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1952-03-19
Filing date: 1952-03-19
Publication date: 1955-12-06
Anticipated expiration: 1972-12-06

Description

Dec. 6, 1955 E. SMITH p fi CLASPS FOR JEWELRY Filed March 19, 1952 F l [5 I INVENTOR' 5' By FIE-6 M 7 United States Patent" P CLASPS' FOR JEWELRY Ernest Smith,. Jamestown; N. Y.

Application March 19', 195.2,,Serial'No. 277,385

1 Claim. (Cl. 24=230)- This, invention relates. ot articles of jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces and all other items which, are placed about, the, neck or armof a wearer, andmore particularly to clasps by which, such articles may befastenedlinplace.

Clasps have generally, in the past, been considered merely a necessary part. of. a bracelet. or necklace and for many years. were made as small and inconspicuous as possible in order that. they would not, detract from the ornamental effect of articles to which. they were, applied. Sjuch, clasps included minute, delicate, operative. parts. These parts frequently became, out. of orderv and, at best, were extremely diflicult to operate, especially when used with a necklace. As with other. articles, jewelry of this class, for satisfactory; enjoyment of the wearer, is entirely dependent on the clasp that holds it in place. Itis immaterialwhetherthe bracelet or necklaceisof the relatively' inexpensive costume jewelry type or of considerable value. Thefactremains that the owner of such an article does not wish to lose it and is entirely dependent on the quality of the clasp to prevent such loss. Apparently too little attention on the part of manufacturing jewelers has been given to the structural features of clasps, with the result that bracelets and necklaces were frequently lost due to the clasps failure.

More recently the size of clasps has been increased to enable use of larger, more rugged, operative parts. This increase in size necessitated special designing to render the clasp ornamental, in a complementary manner, to the article with which it was used. However, even increasing the size did not apparently result in a satisfactory structure, as it was still difiicult to operate the clasps and such difliculty gave rise to forcing the operation thereof, with resultant damage thereto.

The present invention is directed to and has for an object the provision of a clasp for use with a bracelet or necklace that, although of relatively small proportions, is easily operable in any place of use.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a clasp that has positive means for securing the joinable parts thereof against separation.

A further and important object of the invention lies in the provision of a clasp that has a simple, slidable locking part that is yieldingly held in operative position.

Another and important object of the invention lies in the provision of a clasp in which a slidable cover plate is movable to expose or enclose a pin receiving recess.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more fully understood from a consideration of the follow ing specification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing; in which- Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a clasp embodying one form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a greatly enlarged vertical sectional view of the clasp with the knob in elevation, being taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 4, and shows the parts in pin securing position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and shows the operative parts in a position to release the pin;

Patented Dec. 6, 1955 Fig. 4' is an enlarged top. plan view of the claspv shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view, being taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6' is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 66ofFig .-2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the reference numeral. 10 is employed to generally designate a clasp in which one formv of the present invention is embodied; As shown in the drawing, the. clasp is joined to the ends of a chain of rope 11 of a necklace I2. Suitable rings 13 and loops 14' connect the separable terminals. 16 of the clasp, with the. chain or rope ends. It will; of course, be understood' 'that the particular manner in which the chain or rope of a necklacev is attached to the terminals 16 constitutes no part of the present invention and'may be varied'as found most suitable from a practical or ornamental standpoint. It will also be understood that the showing of a necklace is merely'illustrativ'e of one application of the invention and that the invention may be utilized with equal facility as a means ofv securing the ends of'a bracelet.

The clasp 10* comprises. a body member 17' which,. in the present showing, is of generally rectangular form. Thismember includes

end walls

18 and 19,.base. wall 21, and front wall 22. A partition 23 divides the interior ofthe member into two compartments 24 and 262 Compartment 24 is at an end of the member opposite that of terminal 1 6; A top wall 27 only encloses the compartment 26, leavingthe upper end of compartment 24 open. Thevarious walls' and partition so far described as constituting: the body member are. made integral; A rear wall 28 is applied to the member and, for convenience in assembly, as Well as appearance, the edges of this wall are stepped, substantially as indicated at 29 in Fig. 5, corresponding steps being formed in the other walls of the member with which this rear wall is engaged.

The wall 27 that closes the top of compartment 26 is formed with a slot 31 that extends in a direction of the length of this wall. Mounted on wall 27 is a plate 32 that is of the width of the member and extends the full length thereof. A finger grip or knob 33 extends upwardly from the central top portion of the plate. Attached to or formed integral with this plate is a depending neck 34, to which is joined an elongated bar 36. The connection of the neck 34 is with the central portion of the bar and the spacing of this bar from the plate provides space in which to receive those portions of the top wall 27 that define the slot 31. Depending from one end of the bar 36 is a flange 37 which is apertured to receive a rod 38. This rod extends nearly the full length of the compartment 26 and is secured in any suitable manner at one end to the member wall 18. The inner face of flange 37 mounts a washer 39 which receives one end of an expansion spring 41. This spring encircles the rod 38 and has its other end in abutment with the inner face of the wall 18. The spring 41, under normal expansion, moves the flange 37 and the connected bar and

plate

36 and 32, respectively, to the position on the member shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. In this position it will be noted that one end of the plate 32 completely closes the open end of compartment 24. When the plate 32 is moved from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 3, the open end of the compartment 24 is exposed and spring 41 has been compressed and continually urges return of the plate 32 to a covering position over the compartment.

The other part of the clasp 10 consists of a terminal identical with the terminal 16. This terminal, however, has joined to it a pin 42 which, in the present instance, is in the nature of a cylindrical body. The pin is so proportioned that it may be readily projected into the compartment 24. Of course, in order to interfit this pin with the walls of 'the compartment, the end wall 19 of the member 17 is providedwith a vertically extending slot 43. This slot is closed at its lower end where the wall 19'joins the base wall 21', and is open at its upper end to enable projecting the innermost portion of the terminal 16 thereinto.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, a brief description of the assembly and operation of the parts is set out. Prior to assembling the rear wall 28 with the body member 17, the plate 32 is mounted, the bar 36 thereof interfitting with the top wall 27. At the time of mounting the plate 32, the rod 38 and spring 41 are also inserted. Following this assembly, the rear wall 28 is engaged with the body member 17 and may be permanently secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as with solder or by slightly rolling over the edges of the walls of the body member onto the rear wall 28. The plate 32 may now be moved to expose the open end of the compartment 24, and the combined terminal and pin assembled with the member 17. Upon release of the knob 33, the plate closes the open end of the compartment 24 and secures the pin against displacement. When the clasp, thus assembled, is joined to the ends of a bracelet or chain, it is ready for use.

It is pointed out that through the use of a readily slidable plate that serves as a closure for a pin receiving compartment, it is possible to provide a clasp that cannot, under almost any condition of use, become inadvertently open and the parts thereof separated. It will also be apparent that through the use of a very simply constructed sliding plate, a user of the clasp has no difiiculty with its operation and, therefore, regardless of the minuteness of the clasp, the operative parts are in nowise subjected to improper handling or operation.

Although applicant has shown and described only one form of his invention, it will be apparent that the parts of the structure of the body member of the clasp, as well as the bracelet or necklace engaging terminals, may be varied as found desirable, both as to size and shape, without in any way departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set out in the annexed claim.

Having thus set forth my invention, what I claim as new and for which I desire protection by Letters Patent A clasp for a necklace or the like comprising a body member having an attaching terminal at one end thereof, walls forming a compartment at the other end of said member, said compartment having an opening to the exterior through one Wall of said member, one of the walls of said compartment having a slot terminating in said compartment opening, a plate mounted on said member, said plate being movable into and out of position to close said opening and the end of said slot, a bar forming part of said plate and cooperating therewith to interfit a slotted wall of said member, a flange depending from said bar and projecting into said member, a rod in said member projecting through an opening in said flange and being anchored at one end to a wall of said member, a spring encircling said rod, said spring normally urging said plate into position to close said opening and the end of said slot, and a combined pin and attaching terminal, said terminal projecting through said slot when said pin is located in said compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 938,267 Morris Oct. 26, 1909 1,467,465 Wiedmann Sept. 11, 1923 2,449,167 Hopewell Sept. 14, 1948