US3150505A - Finger ring having an adjustable ring guard - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 29, 1964 c. A. OLSON FINGER RING mvmc AN ADJUSTABLE RING GUARD Filed July 6. 1962 Carl A. Olson 1N VEN TOR. m3 M MW BY QM United States Patent 3,150,505 FINGER RING HAVING AN ADJUSTABLE RING GUARD Carl A. Olson, 545 N. Main St., Las Cruces, N. Mex. Filed July 6, 1962, Ser. No. 207,921 4 Claims. (Cl. 63-15.6)

The present invention generally relates to rings and more particularly to a novel ring. guard means capable of being incorporated into most present-day rings.

One of the major problems involved in the fitting of rings resides in the fact that the ring of necessity must be made so as to fit over the knuckle of the ring wearer. However, inasmuch as the knuckle is in many instances quite a bit larger than the remainder of the finger, a ring of a size to fit thereover will be too large for the portion of the finger past the knuckle, thus tending to result in an undesirable twisting or turning of the ring on the finger. This problem of enlarged knuckles is quite prevalent among older people and those afilicted with various ailments, such as arthritis. Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a ring guard which is capable of being adjustably engaged with the finger once the ring is positioned past the knuckle thereby allowing the wearer of the ring to easily insert his finger therein and at the same time obtaining a tight fit avoiding any undesirable turning or twisting of the ring.

While it is appreciated that various types of ring guards for substantially the same purpose have been invented, it will be appreciated that most of the previously known ring guards require a drastic modification of the basic ring, or else are positioned on the ring somewhat in the manner of a temporary repair being both easily seen and quite troublesome both because of their tendency to catch on clothing and because of the manner in which such temporary guards tend to become completely disengaged from the ring itself.

As such, another significant object of the present in vention resides in the provision of a ring guard which can be permanently secured to most if not all of the conventional types of rings, requiring only a minimum amount of modification.

In line with the above object, another object of the present invention resides in the provision of a ring guard which can be particularly useful in various types of womens engagement rings because of the manner in which the ring guard is located so as to not interfere with the interlocking of the engagement and wedding rings such as is now commonly done.

Further, an object of the present invention resides in the provision of a ring guard which can be applied to a ring in a manner so as to be practically indistinguishable from the ring body.

Also, an object of the present invention resides in the provision of a ring guard which can be adjusted so as to vary the ring size to accommodate a substantial range of diiferent sized fingers.

Likewise, an object of the present invention is the provision of a ring guard which is simple in construction, easy to adjust and capable of being incorporated permanently into a ring at a minimum cost.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming'a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which: FIGURE 1 illustrates an elevational view of a ring having the ring guard of thepresent'invention incorporated therein; I

FIGURE 2. is an enlarged cross sectional view taken Patented Sept. 29, 1964 ice substantially on a plane passing along line 2-2 in FIG- URE l and illustrating the ring guard in both its contracted and expanded position; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial cross sectional view taken substantially on a plane passing along line 33 in FIGURE 2 and illustrating the manner in which the eccentric wheel is used to contract the ring guard.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally designates a ring having a setting 12 at the upper end thereof and being provided with a centrally located recess 14 beneath the setting 12. This recessed portion 14, as will be readily appreciated, need only be of a size so as to accommodate the eccentric wheel 16, thus enabling the use of any of a wide range of various types of settings, the only limitation residing in the provision of the relatively small recess 14 therebeneath.

As will best be seen in FIGURE 2, the eccentric wheel 16 is fixedly mounted on a journal 18 which is rotatably received within a blind bore 20 which extends transversely from one outer side 22 of the ring 10 through the recess 14. The journal 18 at its outer portion is provided with a slotted end 24 so as to enable its rotation and consequently the rotation of the eccentric wheel 16 by means of a small screwdriver. While this slotted end 24 of the journal 18 has been illustrated as extending slightly beyond the side 22 of the ring 10, it will be appreciated that such can be provided flush with the side 22 if so desired for matters of appearance or convenience.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, it is contemplated that the eccentric wheel 16 be provided with a plurality of planes 26, denoted by the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4, each plane 26 being spaced radially outward from the center of rotation a greater distance than the previous plane. However, while four such planes 26 have been illustrated, it will be readily apparent that any number of such planes can be provided. Further, while it is preferred that each such plane or land 26 be spaced so as to vary the effective inner periphery of the ring the equivalent of a half ring size, in a manner which shall be described presently, any variation thereof can be provided within the scope of the present invention.

Upon rotation of the eccentric wheel 16 by means of the turning of the journal 18 to which it is rigidly afi'ixed such as by the setscrew 28, a plunger 30, extending upwardly into the recess 14, is forced downwardly thus causing a downward movement of the thin resilient metallic strip or band 32 to which it is rigidly affixed in a conventional manner such as by welding.

The flexible strip 32 is substantially semi-circular in configuration and is provided at each end 34 thereof with two outwardly extending tabs 36 being of a size only suflicient so as to engage about the inner half of the ring 10, this being sufiicient so as to prevent the accidental removal of the strip 32 while at the same time allowing for a slight downward movement thereof substantially in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 2 in response to a downward forcing of the plunger 30 by means of the eccentric wheel 16 thereby resulting in a reduction of the finger receiving aperture. Because of the flexible nature of the strip 32, it will be apparent that in addition to a downward sliding of the ends 34, the central portion 33, substantially in line with the plunger 30, Will bend slightly inwardly as illustrated in FIGURE 3, thus further increasing the holding power of a ring guard.

From the foregoing, the present invention and the manner in which it works is considered to be readily apparjustment is carried out by means of: an eccentric wheel positioned within a recess provided generally beneath the setting and rotatable by means of a journal extending therefrom to one side of the ring. Upontrotation. of the eccentric, a plunger in contact therewith is forced downwardly thus causing the contraction of a resilient hand slidably secured within the upper half of the inner periphery of the ring, the contracted andtexpanded positions of the metal stripbeing illustrated in full and phantom lines in FIGURES 2 and 3. A further significant feature-residing in the use of an eccentric wheel to maintain the resilient strip in contracted position resides in the fact that the ends. of the stripneed only be slidably engaged about the inner portion of. the ring thus provicling an entirely projection free outer surface to the ring contrary to the manner in which many conventionalv flexible strip ring guards require the complete encompassing of the ring portion so as to maintain them in the desired position. As pointed out supra, the specific ring guard set forth in detail. herein is capable of being incorporated in aperrnanent manner on most conventional rings, the only prerequisite being the availability of sufficient area so as to enable the provision of a relatively small recess for the reception of the eccentric wheel therein. in a manner so as to enable the, juxtapositioning of the flexible strip with the inner surface of the ring when the strip is in its normally relaxed position such as would be required during the putting on of the ring.

A final significant feature to be specifically pointed out resides in the provision of an eccentric wheel having a plurality of different planes thereon so as to enable the varying of the size of the ring over a substantial number of different sizes.

The foregoing. is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, it is not desired'to limit the invention to the exact construction and: operation shown and de- 4 scribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equiyalentsmay be restored. to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a finger ring having an inner periphery, a recess opening through said inner periphery, an arcuate resilient strip, means mounting said strip within the inner periphery of said ring in spanning relation to the open end of said recess, a plunger fixedly secured to said strip and extending slidably into said recess, and means for selectively varying the projection of the plunger into the recess v and the position of the arcuate strip relative to the ring inner periphery, said means including a wheel rotatably mounted-within said recess-and having a peripheral surface eccentric relative to the axis of rotation and. in. engagement with the inner end of said plunger, and means. accessible from the exterior of said ring for rotating said wheel.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said last mentioned means includes a journal rotatably mounted on said ring and extending transversely through said recess, said wheel being fixed to said journal for rotation therewith.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said wheel is provided with a plurality of consecutively offset lands.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein saidwheel is provided with aplurality of consecutively offset lands.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 304,579 Sussman Sept. 2, 1884 512,839 Openheimer Ian. 16, 1894 1,075,673 Segman Oct. 14, 1913 1,851,213 Rosset Mar. 29, 1932 2,162,849 Landis June 20, 1939

Claims (1)

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A FINGER RING HAVING AN INNER PERIPHERY, A RECESS OPENING THROUGH SAID INNER PERIPHERY, AN ARCUATE RESILIENT STRIP, MEANS MOUNTING SAID STRIP WITHIN THE INNER PERPHERY OF SAID RING IN SPANNING RELATION TO THE OPEN END OF SAID RECESS, A PLUNGER FIXEDLY SECURED TO SAID STRIP AND EXTENDING SLIDABLY INTO SAID RECESS, AND MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY VARYING THE PROJECTION OF THE PLUNGER INTO THE RECESS AND THE POSITION OF THE ARCUATE STRIP RELATIVE TO THE RING INNER PERIPHERY, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A WHEEL ROTATABLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID RECESS AND HAVING A PERIPHERAL SURFACE ECCENTRIC RELATIVE TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION AND IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INNER END OF SAID PLUNGER, AND MEANS ACCESSIBLE FROM THE EXTERIOR OF SAID RING FOR ROTATING SAID WHEEL.

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