Exterior shaped link and method
OwnerEitan Weinberginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A chain link for intertwining with other chain links to form a jewelry chain is machine formed by contouring the outer periphery of the link without any reduction in material volume while the link thickness is being compressed and reduced. The outer periphery is preferably machine contoured into an octagonal shape and the link is substantially flattened on all sides such that a cross-section taken through the contoured link is preferably substantially rectangular.
Claims17
A method of forming a shaped chain link suitable for intertwining with other shaped chain links to form a jewelry chain, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a chain link having top, bottom and a pair of side surfaces and a thickness between said pair of said surfaces, said chain link having, when viewed toward said side surface, an inner periphery, an outer periphery and a width defined between said inner and outer peripheries,
- placing said chain link on an elongated support having an end wall and a support surface accommodating the shape of the inner periphery of said chain link,
- advancing said elongated support toward a die having an end wall and a guiding bore extending therethrough, said guiding bore adapted to receive and guide said elongated support,
- compressing said chain link between said end wall of said elongated support and said end wall of said die such that said thickness of said chain link is reduced, and
- altering said outer periphery of said chain link during said compressing step without reducing said materiel volume, to form a contoured outer periphery.
A method of forming a shaped chain link suitable for intertwining with other shaped chain links to form a jewelry chain, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a chain link having top, bottom and a pair of side surfaces and a thickness between said pair of said surfaces, said chain link having, when viewed toward said side surface, an inner periphery, an outer periphery and a width defined between said inner and outer peripheries,
- placing said chain link on an elongated support having an end wall and a support surface,
- advancing said elongated support toward a die having an end wall and a guiding bore extending therethrough, said guiding bore adapted to receive and guide said elongated support, end
- compressing said chain link between said end wall of said elongated support and said end wall of said die and conforming said outer periphery of said chain link to a predetermined contour.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.