WO1993008712A1 - Jewelry and apparel fixation - Google Patents

Abstract

A fixing device for affixing an adornment to a part of a person's body includes a decorative front piece (2) and a back piece (4), the front piece (2) having at its rear a magnet (8) having a rear surface, the back piece (4) including a magnet (12) having a front surface, the front (9) and rear surfaces (13) having opposite magnetic polarity, whereby a body part (1) can be interposed between and held by the pieces, the decorative front piece (2) being positioned where desired on the body part (1) and the back piece(4) being placed opposite, the front and rear surfaces facing toward one another, so that the mutual magnetic attraction between the pieces urges them toward one another. Also, a similar fixing device for affixing an adornment to an article of wearing apparel, whereby a portion of the material of the article of wearing apparel can be interposed between the pieces and held by the mutual magnetic attraction between them.

Description

JEWELRY AND APPAREL FIXATION Background of the Invention

This invention relates to devices for fixing wearing apparel in place on the wearer, or for fixing jewelry and other adornments and accessories to a part of the wearer's body or to wearing apparel.

Traditionally, parts to be joined in apparel, accessories or jewelry are brought together and then fastened by mechanical devices such as buttons, buckles, snaps, pins, clips, hooks, locks, or threaded type connectors. See generally, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 4,901,405. Some such traditional items include a piece that passes through or pierces the item of clothing or a body part. For example, earrings may be suspended from a wire that passes through a hole pierced in the earlobe. Or, an earring may include a decorative part provided with a pin (the "post") that passes -from the front through the pierced earlobe and a "backing", hidden when in place, that grips the end of the post and locks the earring in place. Similarly, a lapel pin or brooch or tie clasp, for example, may include a decorative front part provided with a sharp pin or post that pierces the fabric of the clothing or tie and is held in place by a clamp behind. Some piercing items are more primitive; nametags, for example, are typically provided behind with a "safety pin" fastener, including a sharp pin that passes through the fabric of the apparel twice and is hooked or clipped to prevent loss. Piercing fasteners can damage clothing by leaving holes or tears in the fabric, or can cause infection (or allergic reaction in some individuals) where they pass through the body part. Non-piercing fasteners for tie clasps or earrings operate by spring- clamp or screw-clamp like devices. The screw-clamp devices are subject to loss and, in earrings for example, they necessarily include a more or less unsightly portion passing around the edge of the earlobe from the decorative portion in front to the screw portion in the rear. The spring- clamp types can be unwieldy and, while they are less subject to loss because they are effectively self-adjusting, they can be uncomfortable when used for affixing jewelry to a body part such as an earlobe.

Adornments that encircle a body part, such as most necklaces, bracelets, ----n-klets, and watchbands, include a mechanical fastener having two clasp pieces, each attached to an end of the adornment when open, that are joined to close the circle when in use. Such fasteners typically include in one clasp piece a hook or retractable claw that hooks onto a small link or ring in the other clasp piece. Traditional mechanical fasteners using claws or hooks can wear out or break with prolonged and repeated use, and in many instances require significant dexterity to operate. Individuals having limited mobility of hands and arms, such as some older or physically disabled persons, may have difficulty in bringing together the two parts of the fastener and operating the clasping mechanism. In many instances the operation must be done with one hand (as, for example, when one fastens a bracelet on oneself), or in a place where ie cannot be seen (as, for example, a necklace that fastens behind the neck).

Magnetic couplers or connectors have been proposed as fasteners for jewelry or clothing applications, in which the two portions of the coupler are brought into and held in contact by magnetic attraction. These typically employ a ferrous-type magnet in one joining segment of the clasp and a piece of ferromagnetic metal in the other, or else two ferrous-type magnets in the joining segments whose contacting surfaces are of opposite polarity. See generally, e.g., U.S. Patent No. 4,901,405.

U.K. No. GB 2026079, describes a magnetic connectors for use in handbag clasps, buttons, or necklace chain connectors. The device consists of a single ferrous permanent magnet and a concave ferromagnetic element (i.e. iron) that is attracted to and contacts and fits over the magnet. The magnet and iron element are each coated with a thin coat of paint or metal film to help inhibit deterioration of the magnet and corrosion of the iron.

U.S. Patent No. 4,901,405 describes a magnetic necklace clasp, said to be self-aligning, that employs a metallic cylindrical insert fitting through a retainer ring into a tubular chamber and held there by a magnetic structure.

U.S. Patent No. 3,129,477 describes a magnetic clasp for personal ornaments, including two coin-like mutually attracting permanent magnets directly contacting each other when in use. Summary of the Invention

I have discovered that, by use of suitable magnets in suitable configurations, parts of wearing apparel can be joined and held in place, and jewelry and other adornments can be affixed to apparel or to a part of the body, without the use of clamps and the like, and without piercing the clothing or body part. According to the invention generally, a decorative front piece of the fixing device is provided at its rear with a powerful permanent magnet, and a rear piece is provided at its front with a second magnet; the pieces are positioned on the respective front and rear sides of the body part or wearing apparel to be adorned, or on the respective -front and rear sides of wearing apparel parts to be held together. The two pieces are drawn forcefully toward one another by the strong mutual attraction between them, so that they compress the body part or wearing apparel interposed between them. In the case of jewelry or other adornment on a body part or item of apparel, such as an adornment worn on the earlobe or a lapel decoration, the fixing device is held in place by the compression of the interposed body part or apparel material {e.g. , earlobe or lapel) between the pieces; or, in the case where the fixing device is to be used for joining portions of wearing apparel (as, for example, joining left and right parts of a dress or shawl in front) the apparel parts are held together by the compression of the front and rear parts of the device.

In one general aspect, the invention features a fixing device for affixing an adornment to a part of a person's body, including a decorative front piece and a back piece, the front piece having at its rear a magnet having a rear surface, and the back piece having at its front a magnet having a ront surface, the respective surfaces of the magnets having opposite magnetic polarity, whereby the decorative front piece can be positioned where desired on the body part with the rear surface of its magnet touching the front of the body part and the back piece can then be placed opposite with the front surface of its magnet touching the rear of the body part, so that the mutual magnetic attraction between the pieces draws them toward one another, compressing the body part between.

In another general aspect, the invention features a fixing device for affixing an adornment to an article of wearing apparel, including a front piece and a back piece, the front piece having at its rear a magnet having a rear surface, and the back piece having at its front a magnet having a front surface, the respective surfaces of the magnets having opposite magnetic polarity, whereby the decorative front piece can be positioned where desired on the article of wearing apparel with the rear surface of its magnet touching the front of the wearing apparel and the back piece can then be placed opposite with the front surface of its magnet touching the rear of the wearing apparel, so that the mutual magnetic attraction between the pieces draws them toward one another, compressing the wearing apparel between. In some preferred embodiments, the adornment is an item of jewelry to be worn on a body part; such items of jewelry include for example an ear or nose adornment, in which part of the external ear (such as a lobe) or of the external nares is compressed between the two magnets. In other preferred embodiments the adornment is an ite of jewelry or other decorative item to be worn on an article of wearing apparel; such items include for example a lapel decoration, in which the material of the lapel is compressed between the two magnets, holding the pieces in place. In still other preferred embodiments the adornment is a device for holding in place two or more layered pieces of wearing apparel, in which the layered pieces are compressed between the two magnets.

In preferred embodiments, the magnets are neodymium or other rare earth alloy permanent magnets whose attractive power exceeds that of ferrous magnets and approximates or exceeds that of neodymium. In some embodiments the surfaces of the magnets that contact the skin of the person's body, or that contact the material of the article of wearing apparel, are modified, by covering or coating, to reduce slippage between the magnet surface and the skin or material surface.

The present invention permits the fastening of clothes or the attachment of adornments, such as for example earrings or brooches, without piercing or pinching any fabric or body part. Articles of adornment according to the invention do not pierce or pass through a hole in the article of apparel or the body part on which they are worn, and so damage to the apparel or injury to the body part is avoided. Moreover, the front and rear parts of the device are easy to bring together even where they cannot be seen by the user, as the attractive force draws the pieces together in the appropriate orientation; and the device is easy to secure in the desired place even by a user who has limited use of the hands or fingers, because it has no small hooks or catches to be manipulated. The rare earth alloy permanent magnets used in the fixing devices according to the invention are durable and have long-lasting effectiveness.

Description of Preferred Embodiments Fig. 1 is a sketch showing an ear adornment in use according to the invention in perspective view. The broken lines indicate the outline of a portion of the ear.

Fig. 2 is a sketch in side elevational view of the ear adornment of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sketch in front view of a lapel decoration according to the invention. The broken lines indicate a portion of the lapel on which the adornment is fixed.

Fig. 4 is a sketch in side elevational view of the lapel decoration of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sketch in front view of a name plate according to the invention. The broken lines indicate a portion of the pocket upon which the name plate is fixed.

Fig. 6 is a sketch in side elevational view of the name plate of Fig. 5. Structure and Use As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 an adornment according to the invention includes a decorative front piece 2 and a back piece 4. The embodiment of Figs. 1, 2 is an adornment for the ear 1. A decorative part 6 is mounted on the front of front piece 2, and a neodymium permanent magnet 8 is mounted on a rear part 10 of front piece 2. A second neodymium permanent magnet 12 is mounted on a front part 14 of back piece 4, and oriented such that a rear surface 9 of front piece magnet 8 has opposite magnetic polarity with respect to a front surface 13 of back piece magnet 12. As a result, whenever the front piece 2 and the back piece 4 are brought near one another, they mutually attract with increasing force as they move nearer, tending to bring the surfaces 9, 13 into apposition and alignment. The magnetic surfaces of each component can then attract each other so as to secure the clasp. As Fig. 2 particularly shows, an earlobe 1 interposed between the two pieces 2, 4 is compressed slightly between surfaces 9, 13, holding the earlobe tightly between the pieces and securing the ear adornment securely in place.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and Figs. 5 and 6, in which like reference numerals identify parts corresponding to those referred to and described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 above, a lapel decoration or name plate according to the invention has a generally similar configuration. In Fig. 4, particularly, the fabric of a lapel 21 is shown compressed between the surfaces 9, 13 of the magnets 8, 12 on the decorative front piece 2 and the back piece 4, respectively. Similarly, in Fig. 5, the fabric of a breast pocket 31 is shown compressed between the respective surfaces of the magnets, and the front piece 2 is here a name plate.

Preferably, the magnets are secured to the front and back pieces by a permanent adhesive, as is well known in the jewelry findings art. Or, the rear magnet may form the back piece in and of itself. The magnets themselves may be small, however, and preferably the back piece includes a portion of a size convenient to grasp in the fingers, as are well-known for backing pieces in the jewelry findings art. One or more of the skin- or fabric-contacting surfaces of the magnets can be modified to provide for reduced slippage in use. This can be accomplished, for example, by texturing the surface, either by carving into the magnet material or by depositing a textured material onto the magnet surface; or by providing a reduced slippage coating or covering over the magnet surface, such as a polymer paint.

Preferred magnets are permanent having a high magnetic flux density, exemplified by neodymium alloy magnets. Such magnets are nnm-mp.r----i---.T-y available in a variety of shapes and sizes.

Preferably, the skin- or fabric-contacting portions of the pieces have a generally smooth configuration, without prominent ridges, even when they are textured to provide a firmer contact. Prominent ridges can be irritating to the soft tissues of the body part, or can damage or form unsightly wrinkles in fabric.

Other Embodiments As will appear to the person who designs jewelry fasteners, a similar configuration and principle can be applied according to the invention to fixation of any of a variety of adornments and articles of clothing or other accessories, wherever it is desired to have secure and convenient fixation, without any clamping, clipping or pinching configuration, and without piercing the part of the body or the material of the apparel or accessory. For example an adornment that appears as a brooch, or cufflink, or tie clasp can be made according to the invention, in which the pin or post is eliminated and the fixation is provided by the attractive force between the front and back pieces impinging upon the fabric of the apparel interposed between.

The invention is further adaptable for use where the adornment has no identifiable "front piece" and "rear piece", and where traditionally two ends of a single piece are clasped together to form a circular piece, as, for example, a necklace that has a central decorative portion meant to be worn in view (for example over the wearer's bodice) and end fastener elements, forming a closed clasp out of view when the necklace is worn. Particularly, it can be desirable in such a necklace prevent rotation of the necklace about the neck so that the clasp comes into view. In place of the traditional fastener elements in such a necklace, a fixing device according to the invention can be employed, here right and left pieces rather than front and back pieces, and a tab of fabric sewn into the clothing or attached to and hidden in the hair of the wearer at the point of concealment can be interposed between the respective right and left magnet surfaces and thereby compressed to secure the necklace in place.

Claims

Claims

1. A fixing device for affixing an adornment to a part of a person's body, comprising a decorative front piece and a back piece, said front piece having at its rear a magnet having a rear surface, said back piece comprising a magnet having a front surface, said front and rear surfaces having opposite magnetic polarity, whereby a body part can be interposed between and held by said pieces, said decorative front piece being positioned where desired on the body part and said back piece can be placed opposite, said front and rear surfaces facing toward one another, so that the mutual magnetic attraction between said pieces urges them toward one another.

2. A fixing device for affixing an adornment to an article of wearing apparel, comprising a front piece and a back piece, said front piece having at its rear a magnet having a rear surface, said back piece comprising a magnet having a front surface, said front and rear surfaces having opposite magnetic polarity, whereby a portion of the material of the article of wearing apparel can be interposed between and held by said pieces, said front piece being positioned where desired on the article of wearing apparel and said back piece being placed opposite, said front and rear surfaces facing toward one another, so that the mutual magnetic attraction between said pieces urges them toward one another.

3. The fixing device of claim 1, said magnets comprising a rare earth alloy.

4. The fixing device of claim 3, said magnets comprising neodymium.

5. The fixing device of claim 1, at least one of said magnet surfaces being rendered slip-resistant.

6. The fixing device of claim 5, said slip-resistant magnet surface being textured.

7. The fixing device of claim 5, said slip-resistant magnet surface being covered by a slip-resistant material.

8. The fixing device of claim 7, said slip-resistant material comprising a polymer coating.

9. The fixing device of claim 2, said magnets comprising a rare earth alloy.

10. The fixing device of claim 9, said magnets comprising neodymium.

11. The fixing device of claim 2, at least one of said magnet surfaces being rendered slip-resistant.

12. The fixing device of claim 11, said slip-resistant magnet surface being textured.

13. The fixing device of claim 11, said slip-resistant magnet surface being covered by a slip-resistant material.

14. The fixing device of claim 13, said slip-resistant material comprising a polymer coating.