US3705591A

US3705591A - Hinged barrettes

Info

Publication number: US3705591A
Application number: US150038A
Authority: US
Inventors: Murray Jennis
Original assignee: GOODMAN AND SONS Inc H
Current assignee: H GOODMAN AND SONS Inc; GOODMAN AND SONS Inc H
Priority date: 1971-06-04
Filing date: 1971-06-04
Publication date: 1972-12-12
Anticipated expiration: 1989-12-12

Abstract

A barrette includes a main member and a tongue having one of its ends hinged to the main member and its opposite end latched. A stationary tab extension of a hinge part of the main member obstructs movement of the tongue into its latched position. The tab and the resilience of the parts develop spring bias that presses the latch end of the tongue against a latch part of the main member when the tongue is latched, and swings the tongue away from the main member when the tongue is unlatched.

Description

United States Patent Jennis [451 Dec. 12, 1972 [54] HINGED BARRETTES [72] Inventor: Murray Jennis,Laurelton,N.Y.

[73] Assignee: H. Goodman & Sons, Inc., Kearny,

22 Filed: June 4, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 150,038

[52] US. Cl ..132/48 R, 24/259 HC [51] Int. Cl. ..A45d 8/24 [58] Field of Search.l32/48 R, 46, 37 A, 37 R, 38 A,

132/38 R; 128/337, 325; 24/259 HC [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,559,417 7/1951 Florio ..l32/48 R 2,002,487 5/1935 Beskow ..l32/38 R Van Sickle et al. ..l32/48 Bufler ..l32/48 R Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-Gregory E. McNeill Attorney-Paul S. Martin [5 7 ABSTRACT A barrette includes a main member and a tongue having one of its ends hinged to the main member and its opposite end latched. A stationary tab extension of a hinge part of the main member obstructs movement of the tongue into its latched position. The tab and the resilience of the parts develop spring bias that presses the latch end of the tongue against a latch part of the main member when the tongue is latched, and swings the tongue away from the main member when the tongue is unlatched.

7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED 12 I97? 3. 705. 591

F/GJ

HINGED BARRETTES The present invention relates to barrettes.

Attractive barrettes of one piece have been used for many years having an outer, outward bowed part and a similarly bowed tongue, with reverse bends at the ends joining the tongue and the outer part. The one-piece structure was of resilient metal, and was formed so that the tongue, when unlatched, assumed an open position angled away from the outer part. This is represented in U.S. Pat. No. 2,553,370.

The presently preferred barrette improves on that barrette by retaining all of its advantages, but adds a hinge for the tongue to enablemuch wider and easier opening of the barrette, and without in any way impairing the operation or the appearance of the previous one-piece barrette. The latched end of the tongue and the hinged end of the tongue in the preferred form of the new barrette cooperate with reverse-bent end parts of the main member of the barrette. A tab extends from the reverse-bent end part of this barrette at the hinge, and obstructs the swing of the tongue toward the main member. Due to resilience of the parts, the tonguecan be latched and then the resilience of the parts provides spring latch pressure. When the tongue is unlatched, the resilience swings the tongue open, away from the main member of the barrette. The tab is stationary; it does not tend to snag hair, and it is simple and noncritical to make.

An important aspect of the invention is embodied bothin the foregoing barrette and in a barrette having a hinged tongue and having hinge and latch parts upstanding from and attached to the elongated outer part of the barrette. In both barrettes, there is a pivotpin; the hinge part on the elongated outer part includes a support portion and a pair of laterally spaced hinge elements extending continuously from the support portion about the pivot pin, curled away from the hair space and about the pivot pin; the tongue-obstructing tab extends continuously from said supportportion between the hinge elements; and one end of the tongue extends between the hinge elements and between the tab and the pivot pin and is curled about the pivot pin. The hinge provides for automatic spring opening of the tongue when unlatched, and it provides for spring latch pressure when the tongue is latched and it is highly effective in avoiding snagging of hair.

The two barrettes mentioned above are the illustrative embodiments in the detailed description that follows and in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a lateral view of a first presently preferred embodiment of various aspects of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-section of the barrette in FIG. 1, viewed at the plane 22 in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are top and bottom plan views of the barrette in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a lateral view of the barrette in FIGS. 1 4, showing only part of the tongue in its open position and, in dotted lines, initially touching an obstructing tab in the closing swing of the tongue;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary lateral cross-section of the barrette in FIGS. l--5, viewed from the plane 66 in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 7 is a lateral view of another barrette illustrating certain features of the invention.

In FIGS. 1-5, the barrette shown includes a onepiece sheet-metal main member 10 having an elongated outer part 12 that is bowed: outward as seen in FIGS. 1 and 5. Reverse-bent parts 14 and 16 extend continuously from the ends of part 12, and hingeand latch

terminal parts

18 and 20 extend continuously from parts 14 and 16, generally parallel to and under outer part 12. Tongue 22 is bowed outward,'like outer part 12.

Elongated tongue 22 has a hinge connection 24 to terminal part 18 of the main member 10. The hinge connection includesa pivotpin 26. Integral elements 28 are spaced apart laterally, extending continuously from the sheet-metal terminal part 18 and curled aroundpivot pin 26 as seen in FIG. 1. A tab 30 extends continuously from terminal part 18, as best seen-in FIG. 6. One end of tongue 22 can be latched under latch part 20, while at the opposite end, part 32 of tongue 22 extends between laterally spaced hinge elements 28 and betweenpivot pin 26 and tab 30, this end part 32 of the tongue being curled about pivot pin 26.

Elements 28 curl aboutpivot pin 26, extending from the terminal part 18, the curl starting at the hair-containing space between

parts

12 and 18 and ending outside that space as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 5. Tab 30 extends continuously'from part 18 across the hinge connection. This configuration of element 18 and tab 30 provides virtual immunity 'of the hinge to catching of hair. It is of course possible for some few strands of hair to find their way. into the space between tab 30 and tongue 22, but any such strands of hair that mightbe gripped between the tongue and the tab when the barrette is closed are released when the tongue is open. See the solid-line position of tongue 22 in FIG. 5.

Tab 30 appears in FIG. 5 in its unstressed state. Here it forms an obstruction against the closing swing of the tongue from the dotted-line position in FIG. 5 to the latched position of FIGS. l-4. The parts are all resilient, so that such swing of the tongue toward its latched condition develops spring bias that tends to press the latched end of tongue 22 against latch part 20 when the barrette is latched and to swing the tongue open when the latch end of the tongue is free. The direction of the curl of end part 32 of the tongue about pivot pin 26 as shown (rather than the reverse curl) insures a continuous length 32a of the tongue being in place to react against pivot pin 24 when the tongue is closed despite the obstructing effect of tab 30. This direction of curl of the end of tongue 22 also insures the very end 32b of part 32 being disposed remote from the hair-receiving spaces, thus avoiding any residual possibility of hair becoming caught by the hinge end of the tongue. I

The barrette of FIGS. 1-6 has all the attributes of the one-piece barrette of U.S. Pat. No. 2,553,370, in that it has spring bias tending to open the barrette when unlatched and the latch end of the tongue is springpressed against the cooperating latch part when the barrette is closed. In common with the one-piece barrette, the appearance of the barrette of FIGS. l-6 when in use is attractive, both the latched parts and the hinge being concealed when the barrette is in use. The attractive curved reverse-bent ends 14 and 16 of the onepiece barrette are preserved. Introduction of the hinge connection enables much wider opening of the barrette than is possible with the one-piece barrette, but the hinge does not negate the opening bias of the tongue nor does it introduce hair-snagging difficulties. The automatic opening bias of the tongue found in the onepiece barrette is retained due to tab 30.

Many of the advantages of the barrette of FIGS. 1-6 are found in another embodiment of various aspects of the invention, shown in FIG. 7. In this barrette, the

main member 1 includes an elongated outer part 1 12 and upstanding hinge and latch terminal parts 118 and 120 of sheet metal riveted or otherwise secured to outer part 1 12. The tab 130 and laterally spaced hinge elements 128 extend continuously from part 118, and elements 128 are curled away from the hair-containing space of the barrette in the same manner and with the same effects (other than appearance) as described above'in connection with FIGS. 1-6. The curled end (not shown) of the tongue 122 in the barrette of FIG. 7 extends around pivot pin 124 in the space between hinge elements 128 and between tab 130 and pin 124 just as in the case of the other barrette, and tab 130 also causes the tongue to have opening spring bias as in the case of the other barrette. Accordingly, further description of the details and the action of the barrette shown in FIG. 7 is omitted as unnecessary to a full understanding and appreciation thereof.

The foregoing detailed specification represents a presently preferred embodiment of the invention and a modification, but further applications and variations of the distinctive features of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore the invention should be construed broadly in accordance with its full spirit and scope.

I claim:

1. A barrette having an elongated main outer member and an elongated tongue under said main member, said main member having an elongated outer part, a pair of reverse-bent parts extending continuously from the ends of said elongated outer part, and latch and hinge terminal parts behind and generally parallel to the elongated outer part, said terminal parts extending continuously from said reverse-bent parts, respectively, and a hinge comprising part of said hinge terminal part and one end of said tongue, the opposite end of said elongated tongue being a latch part adapted to underlie the extremity of said latch terminal part, the hinge and the latch parts being concealed when the barrette is in use, said hinge terminal part having a tab extending along the tongue and disposed to obstruct pivotal movement of the tongue toward said outer part of the main member, at least one of said tongue, tab and main member being resilient and said tongue being forcibly operable despite said obstructing tab into latched cooperation with said latch terminal part and thereby developing spring bias for swinging said tongue when unlatched away from said outer part of said main member and for pressing the tongue against the latch terminal part when the tongue is latched.

2. A barrette in accordance with claim 1, wherein said hinge terminal part has three side-by-side portions, the center one of which constitutes said tab and the outer two of which comprise part of said hinge.

3. A barrette in accordance with claim 1, wherein both said outer elongated part and said tongue are bowed outwardly.

4. A barrette including an elongated mam member and an elongated tongue, said main member having an elongated outer part and having a hinge part and a latch part projecting from longitudinally separated portions of said elongated outer part, one end of said tongue being adapted to be latched by said latch part and the opposite end of the tongue having a pivotal connection to said hinge part, said hinge part having a fixed integral tab disposed to obstruct closing pivotal movement of said tongue toward said main member, at least one of said tongue, tab and hinge part being resilient so that said tab causes spring bias to be developed that presses said one end of the tongue against said latch in the latched condition of the barrette and causing the tongue to swing away from the main member in the unlatched condition of the barrette.

5. A barrette in accordance with claim 4, wherein said hinge part includes a pair of laterally spaced hinge elements in said pivotal connection and said tongue has an end hinge portion between said laterally spaced hinge elements, said tab being disposed between said laterally spaced elements and in the path of the tongue toward the main member.

6. A barrette in accordance with claim 4, wherein said pivotal connection includes a pivot pin, wherein said hinge part includes a support portion and a pair of laterally spaced hinge elements extending continuously from said support portion and curled about the pivot pin in the direction that disposes the very ends of said hinge elements remote from the hair space between the main member and the tongue, said tab extending continuously from said support portion between said laterally spaced hinge elements, and said opposite end of the tongue extending between said laterally spaced hinge elements and between said tab and said pivot pin and being curled about the latter, the tab and the hinge elements curled as aforesaid providing a safeguard against snagging of hair in the hinge.

7. A barrette in accordance with claim 6, wherein the curled end of the tongue is curled about said pin in the direction opposite to the curl of said hinge elements so that the part of the tongue that bears against the pivot pin when the tab obstructs closing of the tongue is spaced substantially from the very end of the curled end of said tongue.

lnAnlA run-x

Claims

4. A barrette including an elongated main member and an elongated tongue, said main member having an elongated outer part and having a hinge part and a latch part projecting from longitudinally separated portions of said elongated outer part, one end of said tongue being adapted to be latched by said latch part and the opposite end of the tongue having a pivotal connection to said hinge part, said hinge part having a fixed integral tab disposed to obstruct closing pivotal movement of said tongue toward said main member, at least one of said tongue, tab and hinge part being resilient so that said tab causes spring bias to be developed that presses said one end of the tongue against said latch in the latched condition of the barrette and causing the tongue to swing away from the main member in the unlatched condition of the barrette.