Plastic ear clip
OwnerSteven R. Alvitiinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ear clip is molded from a plastic material and has two arms hinged together. The arms are each attached to a curved link by hinges. The link expands and contracts between its two ends maintaining the arms in one of two positions and urges the arms to return to one of two positions.
Claims5
A plastic ear clip molded as a single unit comprising an ornament, a pair of arms, said ornament affixed to a first arm, said first arm hinged to a second arm on a first hinge line, a curved link hinged to each arm on link hinge lines spaced from the first hinge line, said arms having a first open and second closed positions, said positions exhibiting minimum stress in the curved link, said link in the first position being deformed above the first hinge line and in the second position lying adjacent the first hinge line whereby departures from said first or second position results in a deformed link and unstable equilibrium causing movement of the arms toward and away from each other.
A plastic ear clip molded as a single unit having a pair of arms joined by a thin web section, a curved link connected at one end by a thin web section to a first arm and at the other end by a thin web section to a second arm, the first arm having an arcuate outwardly extending terminal end, the second arm affixed to an ornament, the thin web sections of said link lying on an imaginary line on one side of the web section joining the arms when in closed position and on the other side thereof when in an open position to define two states of equilibrium.
A plastic ear clip molded as a single unit comprising an ornament, a pair of arms, said ornament affixed to a first arm, a second arm hinged to the first arm about a first hinge line, a curved resilient link joined at one end of the first arm at a second hinge line and joined at the other end integrally to the second arm on a third hinge line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.