US2882702A

US2882702A - Ratchet-type earring construction

Info

Publication number: US2882702A
Application number: US578380A
Authority: US
Inventors: Goldberg Rubin; Barany Oscar
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1956-04-16
Filing date: 1956-04-16
Publication date: 1959-04-21
Anticipated expiration: 1976-04-21

Description

i R. GOLDBERG ETAL RATCHET-TYPE EARRING CONSTRUCTION April 21, 1959 Filed April 16, 1956 FIG. I.

, YINVENTORS. RUBIN GOLDBERG BY OSCAR BARANY.

ATT RNEY 4 2 w z w w m a 8 2 Q United States Patent RATCHET-TYPE EARRING CONSTRUCTION Rubin Goldberg, Brooklyn, and Oscar Barany, New York, N.Y.

Application April 16, 1956, Serial No. 578,380

1 Claim. (Cl. 63-14) This invention relates to a ratchet-type earring construction.

The use of spring arms in engagement with a screw to provide a combination screw and ratchet construction is known to the art and an improved form of such construction is shown in our said copending patent application. The present invention relates mainly to said con struction as shown in our co-pending patent application and it is intended to improve it by limiting the ratchet action to only one direction of movement of the screw longitudinally of itself and relative to the spring arms. In our said construction as disclosed in said co-pending patent application, the spring arms are adapted to flex sufliciently in both directions to enable the screw to engage in ratchet action upon movement in either direction longitudinally of itself.

It is accordingly the principal object of this invention to provide a combination screw and ratchet-type device for earrings and other articles of manufacture, wherein spring arms engage a screw to serve as a nut in mesh therewith, said spring arms being adapted to flex in one direction to enable the screw to engage in ratchet action in one direction longitudinally of itself, said spring arms being prevented from flexing in the opposite direction to the extent required to enable the screw to engage in ratchet action in the opposite direction longitudinally of itself.

As is shown in the drawings of this application, the spring arms are bowed at their outer ends where they are joined to a supporting plate and it is their bowed portions which enable them to flex in either direction, depending upon the direction of longitudinal movement of the screw. In the present case, however, a spacer is interposed between the spring arms and their supporting plate and said spacer provides a positive stop limiting the flexing movement of the spring arms and preventing them from flexing toward their supporting plate beyond a predetermined spaced distance from said supporting plate. In short, said spring arms are permitted to flex in the direction away from said supporting plate and they are permitted to flex back to their original positions adjacent the spacer, but they are not permitted by said spacer to flex beyond that point toward the supporting plate.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a side view, partly in section, showing the ratchet-screw construction herein claimed as embodied in an earring.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a blank from which the supporting or hearing plate and the spring arms of said screw construction are made.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the spacer which is interposed between the spring aims and the supporting or hearing plate.

Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the spacer of Fig. 3 mounted upon the supporting plate of Fig. 2 and the spring arms of Fig. 2 bowed over and across said spacer for engagement with a screw.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section showing a screw projecting through the supporting plate and spacer and engaged by the spring arms, and showing longitudinal movement of the screw in a ratchet action with said spring arms.

Fig. 7 is a similar view showing how the spacer prevents the spring arms to flex in the opposite direction to the extent necessary to permit the screw to engage in ratchet movement in the opposite direction from that shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan view 'of a spacer shaped somewhat differently from that shown in Fig. 3 but performing the same function.

Fig. 1 shows an earring 10 of generally conventional construction, save for the screw ratchet mechanism therein shown. The earring consists of an ornament 12 which also serves as a pad for the outside of the lobe of an ear, a bowed wire 14 connected at one end to said ornament 12 and a bearing shell 16 connected to the opposite end of said bowed wire. There is a central opening 18 in said. shell and it will be observed that a screw 20 projectsthrough said opening in line with the ornament 12. At. the inner end of said screw is a pad 22 which engagesthe inner side of the lobe of the ear and said lobe is engaged in conventional manner between said ornament 12- and said pad 22. At the outer end of screw 20 is a knob- 24 which is knurled and may be rotated in eitherdirection to rotate the screw.

Engaging the screw is a pair of spring arms 26 which serve as a nut for said screw so as to cause the screw to engage in longitudinal movement in either direction depending upon the direction of its rotary movement. Spring arms 26 engage the screw with their inner ends and their thickness is such as to enable them to engage the screw between its threads.

The outer ends of the spring arms are bowed to form bights 28 which are integrally connected with a supporting -or hearing plate 30. This supporting plate has a hole 32 formed therein centrally thereof and in registration with the hole 18 in shell 16. The screw is thereby enabled to extend through both holes and to be supported both by the shell and said supporting plate in proper position relative to the ornament 12 namely, in gener-,

ally perpendicular relation to its inner surface which serves as the pad for the outer portion of the ear lobe.

Spring arms 26, their bowed portions or bights 28 and the supporting plate 30 are all made from the blank 34 shown in Fig. 2. It will be observed that said blank is generally disc-shaped, save for the arms which radially project therefrom in diametrically opposite directions. These arms are tapered outwardly at their bases to form a relatively wide, tapered neck portion 36 which forms the bights 28 when the arms are bent over to their Fig. 5

positions. Adjacent these neck portions 36 are cutouts 38 which project radially inwardly from the circumferential edge of the supporting plate portion 30. It is these cutouts which permit the spring arms, and more particularly the neck portions the circumferential edge of said supporting plate 30. This is clearly shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5. By reason of this condition, a clear and unencumbered marginal edge is provided on said supporting plate 30.

It will now be observed that shell 16 is provided with a generally cylindrical side wall 40 which is integrally joined to an end wall 42 (in which hole 18 is formed) and to an annular flange 44 which occupies a plane gen erally parallel to the plane of the end wall 42. Said end wall 42 is tapered inwardly adjacent cylindrical wall 40 to form an annular shoulder 46 opposite flange 44. Said flange is itself bent inwardly toward the shoulder 46 to form an annular rib 48. It will be seen in Fig. 1,

36, to be bent radially inwardly of that the free. marginal edge of the supporting plate 30 is disposed between annular shoulder 46 and annular rib 48 within cylindrical wall 40.

The final element of this assembly is spacer 50 which conforms, generally, in;shapie and size to the supporting plate 30 but is made of considerably thicker stock.

Spacer 50 is provided with a central opening 52 corre-- sponding to the central opening 32 in the supporting plate 30. This, spacer is disc-shaped save for a pair of cutouts 54 which are formed in its peripheral edge in diametrically opposite locations. When spacer 50 is placed'fiat against the supporting plate 30, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, its peripheral edge coincides with the peripheral. edge of said supporting. plate and the neck portions 36 of spring arms 26 project through cutouts 54 in; saidspacer. It will now be noted in Fig. 1 that annularyrib. 48 clamps-said supporting plate 30 to the spacer 50 and causes said spacer to be clamped against the annular shoulder 46. It is in this manner that the supporting plate 30. and its spring arms and the spacer 50 are locked in place within the shell 16.

Spacer 50 is of such thickness that when spring arms 26.are disposed in a common plane parallel to the plane of the supporting plate 30, as shown in Fig. 5, they bear flat against the spacer 50 which itself lies flat against said supporting plate. It is obvious, therefore, that said spring arms cannot be made to flex toward the supportingiplate 30 beyond their Fig. 5 positions.

The spring arms 26 project radially inwardly into engagement with the screw 20. Thisis shown in Figs. 1 and 7. The space between the spring arms, when they are maintained in their Fig. 5 positions, is slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw so that when said spring arms are in normal engagement with the screw, they are flexed in biased positions as shown in Fig. 1.

Reference to Fig. 6 will show how the spring arms flex outwardly (rightwardly as shown in said Fig. 6) when the screw is moved longitudinally of itself in the direction of the arrow, thereby'engaging in a ratchetaction with said spring arms. When an attempt is made with moderate force and without rotating the screw to move said screw longitudinally of itself in the opposite direction (leftwardly as viewed in Fig. 6), the flexed or biased spring arms will provide relatively still opposition to such moderate force and the screw will be prevented from moving in said opposite direction. When, however, such attempt is made with a relatively strong force, the result willfbe as shown in Fig. 7 wherein the screw will draw the spring arms intoengagement with the spacer and no further flexing movement ofthe spring arms will be permitted to take place. cannot take place between the screw and the spring arms in this direction. When it is desired to move the screw leftwardly beyond its Fig. 7 position, it is necessary to turn the screw in counter-clockwise or clockwise direction, depending upon how its threads are oriented, as indicated by the curved arrow. The spring arms now function solely as a nut with respect to the screw.

Fig. 8 discloses. a slightly difierent form of spacer. The spacer 60 shown in said Fig. 8 is provided with

parallel sides

62 and 64 and with four

rounded corners

66, 68, Y70 and 72 respectively. Between corners 66 and Consequently, a ratchet action 68 is a cutout 74' and a similar cutout 76 is provided between corners and 72,,bothcutouts corresponding to the cutouts 54 shown in Fig. 3. A central opening 78 is provided in spacer 60 to correspond to opening 52 in spacer 50. Spacer 60 is used in precisely the same manner as spacer 50 above described. Its advantage over spacer 50 is that it may be punched out of a relatively narrow strip of stock, the-width of said strip corresponding to the distance between parallel sides'62 and 64 of said spacer.

The foregoing is illustrative of preferred forms of this invention and it will be understood that these forms may be modified and other forms may be provided within the broad spirit of 'the invention and the broad scope of the claim.

We claim:

A screw and nut earring construction comprising a U-shaped wire having an ear-lobe engaging pad on the end of. one leg thereof, the end of the other leg of said U-shaped wire being rigid with a circular bearing shell disposed in parallel relation to the said other leg, said shell comprising a circular end wall having a central aperture and a cylindricalside wall, an annular shoulder at the junction of said end wall and-said sidewall, said' side wall being provided with a radially inwardly pro jecting flange including an:annular rib spaced from and opposing said shoulder, a generally circular supporting, plate disposed within said bearing shell with'the periphery thereof engaged by said rib, said supporting plate having a central aperture'co-axial with said aperture'in said end wall, an elongated spring arm projecting from said supporting plate at each end of a diameter thereof, said spring arms being spaced from the supporting plate and being normally in a plane parallel with" the supporting plate, semi-circular inwardly opening neck portions at the juncture of the arms and the supporting plate, a generally circular spacing plate disposed between said supporting plate and said spring arms and adapted to engage said shoulder and having a central aperture coaxially of said first and second mentioned apertures, said' spacing plate being provided with diametrically opposed notches in which said neck portions are disposed, a screw freely extending through the apertures in said end wall, said supporting plate and said spacing plate with the free end thereof disposed between said ear-lobe engaging pad and said end'wall'and having a second ear-lobe engaging pad'thereon, a manipulating knob on the opposite end of the screw, and the free ends of said arms engaging said screw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS