Hoop earring closure construction and method of making

Abstract

A novel bracket assembly for a hinge bar for a hoop type earring in which the pivot pin is integrally formed with a bracket formed of hollow tubing. Hollow tubing is used to form the hinge bar as well.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 13 / 161,861, filed Jun. 16, 2011, which is incorporated herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the Invention[0003]This invention relates to hoop earring closure structures, especially for items of jewelry of precious metals or their alloys. The invention may be applicable more generally, but it was devised in connection with the manufacture of items of jewelry, in particular items of jewelry known as creole or hoop earrings.[0004]Therefore, in the following, reference is made mainly to hoop or creole earrings, as such reference best explains the nature of the invention. It must be stated however, that having regard to the nature of the invention, it has particular advantage and application in the field of items of jewelry which have hinge constructions of a delicate nature.[0005]The construction and method of making standard hoop earring closures generally use solid metal o...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0021]By eliminating the need to separately handle the pin during its attachment to the ear of the bracket as in the Doran structure, a significant, very difficult and time consuming step is eliminated. The hinge bar has an aperture at one end through which the pin on one ear member passes and is secured in the aperture of the other pin ear member by a simple soldering or swaging technique. In this manner, there is a significantly enhanced method and apparatus to assemble the hinge pin without the difficulty in handling the separate pin as a separate member.

[0023]The novel method of assembly of the hoop earring closure using hollow tubing enhances the formation of the elements of the closure as well as reducing the cost thereof. The hollow members are structurally sufficient to perform the functions required, and by using hollow structures and the novel method of forming such hollow structures for use as elements in the closure, significant advantage in reduction of metal, costs and ease of assembly is achieved.

Problems solved by technology

Such earrings are notoriously difficult to make mainly because of the size, and typically are entirely hand made.

The difficulties include that

(I) it is difficult to locate the hinge pin in the hole of the hinge bar when such bar is a plate pressing, and it is difficult to form the wire around the hinge pin when the hinge bar is of wire

(ii) the pin, which is of the order of 10-20 thousandths of an inch in diameter, is cut (usually with hand operated wire cutters) from wire and it may have burrs or flashings on the ends which have to be removed, and is difficult to handle.

(iii) the formation of the bracket from a flat plate (again of only 10-20 thousandths of an inch thickness) is a difficult operation, and if not performed perfectly, can cause difficulties in the hinge construction regarding the location of the hinge pin

(iv) generally, the current method of construction and assembly is slow, difficult and expensive.

As described above, properly locating the pin in place between the apertures of the holding bracket and soldering the pin properly is time consuming, difficult and ultimately expensive.

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