US 6,202,267 B1Granted

Ornamental jewelry catch

AssigneesD. Strickland, C. Remeta, G. Addington, J. Edde

InventorVirginia Brownlee Collins

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Abstract

An ornamental jewelry catch is disclosed having opened and closed positions for removably connecting ends of a piece of jewelry. The ornamental catch comprises an openable link having a base for attachment to one end of the piece of jewelry, the link including: (1) a first member having a curved receptacle formed at one end thereof and a finger press at another end thereof; (2) a second member having a hook at one end thereof which is received by and releasably held in the curved receptacle of the first member in a snap-fit manner and a finger press at another end thereof; and (3) a hinge pin for pivotally connecting the first and second members at a pivot axis so that the finger presses of the first and second members are juxtaposed to one another at one side of the pivot axis and the curved receptacle and hook of the first and second members are juxtaposed to one another at another side of the pivot axis, the hinge pin positioning a distal end of the hook slightly outside of a front opening of the curved receptacle to create a snap fit having sufficient force to hold the first and second member together in the closed position. Also included is a ring for attachment to the other end of the piece of jewelry, the ring engaging the hook to attach the ends of the piece of jewelry together when the catch is in the closed position. In operation, the catch is opened by pressing the finger presses of the first and second members toward one another so as to snap the hook out the curved receptacle to open the link; and the ornamental jewelry catch attaches the ends of the piece of jewelry by hooking the ring around the hook of the open link and pressing the hook into snap fit engagement with the curved receptacle to close the link.

Claims17

Dependent claims

An ornamental jewelry catch, having opened and closed positions, for removably connecting ends of a piece of jewelry, the ornamental catch comprising:

(a) an openable link having a base for attachment to one end of the piece of jewelry, the link including:
(1) a solid receptor shell made of high density metal, the solid receptor shell having a curved receptacle formed at one end thereof extending radially inward from a curved substantially non-resilient supporting portion and a finger press at another end thereof;
(2) a solid catch hook made of a high density metal and having a hook with a continuously curved, ball-like outer surface at one end thereof which is received by and releasably held in the curved receptacle of the solid receptor shell in a snap-fit manner and a finger press at another end thereof;
(3) a hinge pin for pivotally connecting the solid receptor shell and the solid catch hook at a pivot axis so that the finger presses of the solid receptor shell and the solid catch hook are juxtaposed to one another at one side of the pivot axis and the curved receptacle and hook are juxtaposed to one another at another side of the pivot axis, the hinge pin positioning a distal end of the hook slightly outside of a front opening of the curved receptacle to create a snap fit having sufficient force to hold the solid receptor shell and the solid catch hook together in the closed position;
and
(b) a ring for attachment to the other end of the piece of jewelry, the ring engaging the hook of the solid catch hook to attach the ends of the piece of jewelry together when the catch is in the closed position;
wherein the catch is opened by pressing the finger presses toward one another so as to snap the hook out the curved receptacle to open the link;
and
wherein the ornamental jewelry catch attaches the ends of the piece of jewelry by hooking the ring around the hook of the open link and pressing the hook into snap fit engagement with the curved receptacle to close the link.

6 more elements

An ornamental jewelry catch, having opened and closed positions, for removably connecting ends of a piece of jewelry, the ornamental catch comprising:

(a) an openable link having a base for attachment to one end of the piece of jewelry, the openable link including:
(1) a solid ornamental member made of a high density metal for display when the piece of jewelry is worn, the solid ornamental member having a curved, inner receptacle portion at one end thereof extending radially inward from a curved substantially non-resilient supporting portion and a finger press at another end thereof;
(2) a solid catch hook made of a high density metal having a hooked portion with a continuously curved, ball-like outer surface at one end thereof which is received by and releasably held in the curved, receptacle portion of the solid ornamental member in a snap-fit manner when the catch is in the closed position to form a closed loop and a finger press at another end thereof;
(3) a hinge pin for pivotally connecting the solid ornamental member to the solid catch hook at a pivot axis positioned to form the base at one side thereof at which the finger presses are juxtaposed to one another and the hooked portion and curved receptacle portion are juxtaposed to one another at another side thereof, the hinge pin positioning a distal end of the hooked portion slightly outside of a front opening of the curved receptacle portion to create a snap fit having sufficient force to hold the solid ornamental member and the solid catch hook in the closed position;
and
(b) a jump ring for attachment to the other end of the piece of jewelry, the jump ring engaging the solid catch hook to attach the ends of the piece of jewelry together when the openable link is closed;
wherein the catch is opened by pressing the finger presses of the solid ornamental member and the solid catch hook toward one another so as to pivot the curved receptacle portion and hook portion away from and out of snap-fit engagement with one another to open the link;
and
wherein the ends of the piece of jewelry are connected together by opening the link and hooking the jump ring over the solid catch hook, then closing the catch by pressing the hook portion of the solid catch hook into snap-fit engagement with the curved receptacle portion of the solid ornamental member to close the link of the catch.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.