Pierced earring with integral locking mechanism
OwnerMickie L. Steeleinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An earring includes a stem or post to be inserted through a pierced ear and an elongated head portion rotatably attached to the end of the stem. The stem is provided with an elongate slot in which the rotatable head portion is retained. During an insertion of the stem through a wearer's ear, the head portion is axially aligned with and substantially retained within the slot. After insertion, the head portion is rotatable into a position transverse to the longitudinal axis of the stem so as to effectively retain the earring in the wearer's ear without the necessity of utilizing a separate conventional fastener.
Claims7
A pierced earring for attachment to a wearer's earlobe, said earring comprising:
- ornament means;
- a post portion attached to said ornament means and being positionable through an opening in a wearer's earlobe;
- a first slot formed at least partially through said post portion;
- a shaft extending transversely across said first slot;
- and
- an elongated member possessing an axially extending second slot substantially centered between opposite ends of said elongated member, said shaft extending through said second slot such that said elongated member is mounted for reciprocal axial and rotatable movement with respect to said shaft, whereby said elongated member is movable to a locked position extending substantially transverse to said post portion with said shaft extending substantially centrally through said elongated member.
A pierced earring for attachment to a wearer's earlobe, said earring comprising:
- ornament means;
- a post portion attached to said ornament means and including an expanded bulbous end to facilitate insertion through an opening in a wearer's earlobe;
- an expanded rim portion disposed between said ornament means and said post portion to limit extent of insertion of said post portion through an earlobe opening;
- a first slot formed at least partially through said post portion;
- a shaft extending transversely across said first slot, between said expanded rim and said bulbous end;
- and
- an elongated member possessing an axially extending second slot substantially centered between opposite ends of said elongated member, said shaft extending through said second slot such that said elongated member is mounted for rotatable movement with respect to said shaft, whereby said elongated member is movable to a locked position extending substantially transverse to said post portion.
A pierced earring for attachment to a wearer's earlobe, said earring comprising:
- ornament means;
- a post portion attached to said ornament means and including an expanded bulbous end to facilitate insertion through an opening in a wearer's earlobe;
- an expanded rim portion disposed between said ornament means and said post portion to limit extent of insertion of said post portion through an earlobe opening;
- a first slot formed in said post portion;
- a shaft extending transversely across said first slot;
- an elongated member possessing an axially extending second slot substantially centered between opposite ends of said elongated member, said shaft extending through said second slot such that said elongated member is mounted for reciprocal axial and rotatable movement with respect to said shaft;
- and
- said first slot extending only partially through said post portion and forming a blocking surface for limiting the extent of rotation of said elongated member whereby said elongated member is movable to a locked position extending substantially transverse to said post portion with said shaft extending substantially centrally through said elongated member and with an upper end surface of said elongated member in abutment with an upper inner surface of a wearer's earlobe thus preventing, in combination with said blocking surface and said expanded rim, unintended movement of said elongated member to an unlocked position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.