US3237266A

US3237266A - Earring clips

Info

Publication number: US3237266A
Application number: US204725A
Authority: US
Inventors: Johannes A W P Van Bergen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1961-06-29
Filing date: 1962-06-25
Publication date: 1966-03-01
Anticipated expiration: 1983-03-01
Also published as: GB976341A; BE619533A; DE1195992B; ES278744A1

Abstract

976,341. Clip fastenings. J. A. W. P. VAN BERGEN. June 29, 1962 [June 29, 1961], No. 23566/61. Heading E2B. An ear ornament clip comprises a first clip member adapted to be pressed against one side of the lobe of an ear, a second clip member in the form of an arm 3 pivoted at one end to the first clip member by interengaging pivotally connected parts of the two members, said arm at its other and free end being adapted to be pressed against the other side of the ear lobe, means to maintain the two clip members frictionally in the ear-lobe engaging relationship and comprising as part of one of the members a bifurcation 7, 8 comprising part of the pivotal connection and provided as part of the other clip member resilient parts 5, 6 adapted to mate frictionally between the limbs of the bifurcation and separated from the pivot axis of the pivotal connection. In the construction shown the first clip member comprises a shallow dished part 2 to which is attached an arm 4 which carries the parts 5, 6 and lugs 9, 10 of which are engaged by the limbs 7, 8 of the bifurcation. The outer curved surface of the dished part 2 engages one side of the wearer's ear when the clip is in use and carries an ornamental button. The parts 5, 6 are outwardly splayed and the outer surface of each part 5, 6 is curved to produce a line engagement between the part and the limbs 7, 8, the frictional engagement between the parts 5, 6 and the limbs 7, 8 due to the outward splaying being such that the two clip members will retain any angular relation to which they are set. The lugs 9, 10 are either at the junction of two parts of the arm 4 as shown or intermediate the length of the portion of the arm secured to the dished part 2. The lugs 9, 10 are formed with holes which are engaged by dimples in the limbs 7, 8 to form the pivoted connection between the clip members.

Description

March 1, 1966 FIG. 11

FIG. 12

INVENTOR Johannes A.W.F? vcn Bergen BY W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,237,266 EARRING CLIPS Johannes A. W. P. van Bergen, 27 Dancer Road, Fulham, London, England Filed June 25, 1962, Ser. No. 204,725 Claims priority, application Great Britain, June 29, 1961,

6 Claims. (Cl. 24-248) This invention relates to earring clips.

Earring clips in common use frequently comprise a pair of members which snap together under pressure, and this clip action is utilized to retain the clip on the wearers ear. The spring pressure employed is often quite strong in order to retain the parts in the requisite position, but the spring pressure is transferred to the wearers ear, which can be extremely uncomfortable, and the present invention aims to provide an earring clip which will prove more comfortable in use.

According to the present invention an earring clip comprises a pair of pivoted clip parts one of which carries a pair of resilient gripping arms which engage the other part to retain it in any of a plurality of operative angular positions.

Thus the position of the arms or parts attached thereto relative to each other may be adjusted to fit each side of the wearers ear so that the earring carried by the clip will be held in position but the pressure on the Wearers ear lobe will not be sufficient to cause discomfort.

Preferably the resilient gripping arms are biased away from each other and they may conveniently be provided in the form of a U or V-shaped member, to the lower part of which can be secured the ornamental part of the earring.

The resilient gripping arms may be arranged to engage a channel section portion formed on the other clip part, and preferably the outer surfaces of the arms of the U- or V-shaped member are in frictional contact with the inner side walls of the channel section portion on the other clip part and act to retain the clip parts in their relative angular positions.

In this arrangement one side edge of each of the arms of the U- or V-shaped member may be arranged adjacent the inner surface of the base of the channel section portion of the other clip part, when the clip is in use.

Each of the clip parts may carry a series of co-operating inter-engaging serrations which will tend to hold the clip parts in their relative angular positions and will aid the friction effect of the gripping arms.

In any case each of the clip parts is preferably formed with indented pressed-out portions, which cooperate between the two parts to provide a hinge about which one part may pivot in relation to the other.

The invention may be performed in various ways, but one specific embodiment with alternative variations thereon will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a side elevation, an end elevation and a plan view of an earring clip according to the invention,

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 show respectively a side elevation, an end elevation and a plan view of one of the clip parts utilized in the arrangement shown in FIG- URES 1, 2 and 3,

FIGURES 7, 8 and 9 illustrate respectively a side elevation and an end elevation and a plan View of an alternative clip part, and

FIGURES 10, 11 and 12 illustrate respectively a side elevation, an end elevation and a plan view of a further alternative clip part which could be used with the arrangement shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

In the arrangement shown in FIGURES 1 to 6, a first clip part 1 comprises a substantially U-shaped member 2 having a pair of limbs 3 and 4 which respectively form a pair of resilient gripping arms which are biased away from each other, and which are splayed slightly outwardly as is shown more clearly in FIGURE 5. The horizontal cross-piece 5 of this part is formed with a soldering tag 6 which is secured to a dished member 7 to which can be attached the decorative part of the earring with which the clip is to be used. The outer curved surface of the dished part 7 indicated at 8, engages the wearers ear when the clip is in use.

A second clip part indicated generally at 11 comprises an ear piece 12, the surface 13 of which engages the wearers car when the clip is in use. A channel section .portion 14 provides a pair of side members 15 between which the gripping arms 3 and 4 extend, and both the gripping arms and these side members are formed with inwardly directed pressed out-parts 16 which, when the first and second clip parts are assembled click into engagement and provide a hinge about which relative movement between the parts may take place.

The outer surface of each of the resilient gripping arms 3 and 4 is curved as is clearly shown in FIGURE 6, so that there is line engagement between the gripping ar-ms 3 and 4 and the side members 15, the frictional engagement between these parts due to the outward bias of the arms 3 and 4 being such that the parts will retain their relative angular positions.

The inter-engaging pressed-out parts 16 may be provided with a series of radially extending serrations as shown at 17 on FIGURE 4 which will not only provide extra grip between the moving parts, but will retain the two parts in a plurality of relative angular positions. As the serrations are quite small the number of positions is large so that although the relative angular positions of the two parts are not infinitely variable as they are when the serrations are omitted, there is still a very large number of positions which can be used.

The parts of the clip may be made from any suitable material, but it has been found that beryllium copper gives good results and the resilient gripping arms 3 and I 4 formed by the U-shaped portion 2 retain their resilience if made from this material.

. In the alternative arrangement shown in FIGURES 7, 8 and 9 the first clip part 1 consists of two portions 20, 21 which are approximately normal to one another. The portion 20 has a U-shaped part 22 which provides a pair of resilient gripping

arms

23, 24, which will engage with the inner surfaces of the members 15 on the second part 11, and as will be seen from FIGURE 9 these are splayed outwardly from one another. The portion 21 is formed with a pair of

upstanding lugs

26, 27, each of which is formed with an inwardly directed pressed-out portion 28, to provide a hinge as set forth above. As will be seen from FIGURE 8 the outer surfaces of the

arms

23, 24, are curved to again provide line contact as mentioned with reference to the arrangement shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6. It will be seen that the length of the

arms

23, 24, which provide the frictional contact with the second part 11, can be greater than that shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 without increasing the height of the clip, as one side edge of each of the

arms

23 and 24 is adjacent the inner surface of the base of the channel section portion 14 on the second clip part when the parts are in their operative positions.

In the final alternative arrangement shown in FIG- URES 10, 11 and 12, the first clip part is somewhat similar to that illustrated in FIGURES 7, 8 and 9, and similar reference numerals are used, but the

lugs

26 and 27 are replaced by fillets 30, each of which is formed with an inwardly directed pressed-out portion 31. This arrangement provides a first clip part which is somewhat stronger than that shown in FIGURES 7, 8 and 9, as the fillets will prevent any tendency for the portion 20 to bend in relation to portion 21.

In use the earring clip is applied with a clip part on either side of the wearers ear lobe. The clip parts are now squeezed together with the

surfaces

8 and 13 in contact with the wearers ear to a comfortable position to hold the earring in place, and they will retain this position due to the gripping action between the parts. The pressure upon the wearers ear is thus dependent upon the pressure which the wearer applies, and a comfortable fitting may be arrived at in which the earring will be held in place, but the clip will not cause unnecessary physical discomfort due to excessive squeezing of the ear lobe.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An ear ornament clip comprising a first clip part having two strip-like portions joined together in angular relationship, a pair of resilient gripping arms, said arms being connected to opposite edges of one of said striplike portions, each of said arms having a substantial extension in the same direction as, but spaced apart from, the extension of the other of said strip-like portions, one of said strip-like portions having a surface adapted for attachment thereto of an ear ornament, said ear ornament clip further comprising a second clip part having near an extremity thereof an ear engagement surface and having near the opposite extremity thereof a channel-shaped portion, said channel-shaped portion having two spaced apart side members extending substantially in a normal direction with respect to such ear engagement surface in frictional engagement with said gripping arms, said ear ornament clip still further comprising means for pivotally coupling said side members of said second clip part to said first clip part on an axis intermediate said gripping arms and the extremity of said other strip-like portion remote from said gripping arms, said axis passing through said side members adjacent the ends thereof.

2. An ear ornament clip according to claim 1 wherein the ends of said gripping arms remote from the striplike portion to which said arms are connected are splayed outwardly from each other to exert spring forces against the mating side members of said second clip part.

3. An ear ornament clip according to claim 1 wherein said pivotal coupling means comprise a pair of upstanding lugs mounted one on each of two opposite edges of said other portion of said first clip part, each of said lugs having an indented portion, and a corresponding indented portion on each of said side members of said second clip part.

4. An ear ornament clip according to claim 1 Wherein said pivotal coupling means comprise a pair of fillets disposed one on each of two opposite edges of said first clip part at the intersection of the two portions thereof, each of said fillets having an indented portion, and a corresponding indented portion on each of said side members of said second clip part.

5. An ear ornament clip comprising a first clip part having two strip-like portions joined together in angular relationship, a pair of resilient gripping arms, said arms being connected to opposite edges of one of said strip-like portions, each of said arms extending in substantially the same direction as, but spaced apart from, the extension of the other of said strip-like portions, said ear ornament clip further comprising a second clip part having near one extremity thereof a channel-shaped portion, said channel-shaped portion having two spaced apart side members extending in a substantially normal direction from said second clip part and frictionally engaging said gripping arms, said ear ornament clip further comprising means for pivotally coupling said side members of said second clip part to said first clip part on an axis intermediate the location of said gripping arms and the extremity of said other strip-like portion remote from said gripping arms, one of said clip parts being adapted to support an ornament and the other of said clip parts having an ear engagement surface.

6. An ear ornament clip according to claim 5 wherein said coupling means include a pair of lugs mounted one on each of two opposite edges of said first clip part intermediate the point of connection of said gripping arms and the remote extremity of said other strip-like portion, each of said lugs having a hinge point and each of said side members of said second clip part having a corresponding hinge point, said hinge points being cooperatively engageable for relative pivotal movement of said first and second clip parts.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 870,330 11/1907 Wilde 6314 2,303,267 11/1942 Goodwin 6314 2,947,054 8/ 1960 Adams 24-248 FOREIGN PATENTS 739,789 11/1955 Great Britain.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner, DONLEY I. STOCKING, Examiner,

Claims

1. AN EAR ORNAMENT CLIP COMPRISING A FIRST A CLIP PART HAVING TWO STRIP-LIKE PORTIONS JOINED TOGETHER IN ANGULAR RELATIONSHIP, A PAIR OF RESILIENT GRIPPING ARMS, SAID ARMS BEING CONNECTED TO OPPOSITE EDGES OF ONE OF SAID STRIPLIKE PORTIONS , EACH OF SAID ARM HAVING A SUBSTANTIAL EXTHE EXTENSION OF THE OTHER OF SAID STRIP-LIKE PORTIONS, THE EXTENSION OF THE OTEH OF SAID STRIP-LIKE PORTIONS, ONE OF SAID STRIP-LIKE PORTIONS HAVING A SURFACE ADAPTED FOR ATTACHMENT THERETO OF AN EAR ORNAMENT, SAID EAR ORNAMENT CLIP FURTHER COMPRISING A SECOND CLIP PART HAVING NEAR AN EXTREMITY THEREOF AN EAR ENGAGEMENT SURFACE AND HAVING NEAR THE OPPOSITE EXTREMITY THEREOF A CHANNEL-SHAPED PORTION, SAID CHANNEL-SHAPED PORTION HAVING TWO SPACED APART SIDE MEMBERS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY IN A NORMAL DIRECTION WITH RESPECT TO SUCH EAR ENGAGEMENT SURFACE IN FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID GRIPPING ARMS, SAID EAR ORNAMENT CLIP STILL FURTHER COMPRISING MEANS FOR PIVOTALLY COUPLING SAID SIDE MEMBERS OF SAID SECOND CLIP PART TO SAID FIRST CLIP ON AN AXIS INTERMEDIATE SAID GRIPPING ARMS AND THE EXTREMITY OF SAID OTHER STRIP-LIKE PORTION REMOTE FROM SAID GRIPPING ARMS, SAID AXIS PASSING THROUGH SAID MEMBERS ADJACENT THE ENDS THEREOF.