An earring cartridge carrying a hinged hoop stud with a post and a nut in slidably aligned, spaced apart, and oppositely opposed placement so that an ear part may be placed between said post and said nut for piercing providing sterile ear piercing comprising:
- a stud post holder assembly for holding the stud in two halves, each half comprising a main body, a front stud head adaptor attached to the front side of the body and an L-shaped terminal member having a base and a leg attached to the rear side of the body, wherein the front stud head adaptor is recessed to receive the stud head and forms a through hole adapted to hold a hoop earring stud;
- an alignment system for the two halves of the stud post holder assembly comprising a peg jutting out of the outer surface of one body and the other body having a cavity sized to adaptably receive said peg such that when the two halves of the stud post holder assembly are assembled together in alignment said peg is received within said cavity;
- an earring jaw for movably carrying said stud post holder assembly, wherein the earring jaw has a top channel for holding the body of each half of the stud post holder such that said stud post holder assembly can slide in and out of the earring jaw, a bottom channel adapted for slidably engaging the nut jaw extension, two intermediate channels configured to adaptably receive the legs of the terminal member of each half of the stud post holder assembly whereby the legs slide within said intermediate channels when said stud post holder assembly slides in and out of the earring jaw, and a plurality of ribs, said plurality of ribs present on an exterior of said earring jaw, generally opposite said bottom channel, said ribs providing means by which secure manual engagement may be made of the exterior of said earring jaw;
- a nut jaw for alignedly holding said nut opposite said stud, said nut jaw having a nut holder and a nut jaw extension for slidably engaging the nut jaw with said earring jaw, wherein;
- the nut holder comprises a block, said block coupled to a support means for supporting the nut holder and defining first and second nut grooves within which an earring nut may fit, said first nut groove perpendicular to said second nut groove, and a finger, said finger rising up from a floor of said block in said first groove, said finger capable of engaging with slight compression a nut fitted in said first and second nut grooves whereby said nut may be securely held in place by said finger in said first and second grooves of said block yet easily disengaged from said block, wherein the support means for supporting the nut holder comprise an upright portion supporting said block away from said nut jaw extension whereby a void is defined between said upright portion, said nut jaw extension, and said earring jaw to provide room for an ear, said upright portion having a width approximately the same as a width of said earring jaw to provide means by which said nut jaw may be manually engaged, and a plurality of ribs, said plurality of ribs present on an outward facing portion of said upright portion opposite said void, said ribs providing means by which secure manual engagement may be made of the exterior of said nut jaw, and the nut jaw extension comprises a base portion coupled to said nut holding means, said base portion having a width approximately the same as a width of said earring jaw to provide means by which said nut holding means may be sturdily supported and to provide means by which said nut jaw may be engaged by said earring jaw thereby obstructing further slidable travel of said nut jaw into said earring jaw;
- a neck portion, said neck portion coupled to said base portion and having a width approximately the same as a width of said bottom channel so that said neck portion may slide into said bottom channel, and a tongue portion, said tongue portion extending from said neck portion and terminating in a hook, said tongue portion descending at an angle from said neck portion whereby said catch may engage a terminal end of an opening present in a bottom side of said earring jaw, and an elongated portion slidably engaging the interior of said bottom channel, wherein said elongated portion defines a bore wherein said bore is defined by first and second extensions, said first extension extending above said bore and said second extension, said first and second extensions having oppositely opposed curved sections that serve to retain a spring within said bore and that serve to define corresponding gaps between said first and second extensions;
- a nut jaw retention system comprising a bottom side of said earring jaw adjacent said bottom channel and defining an opening between an interior and an exterior of said earring jaw, said opening parallel to a length of said bottom side and extending from a rear portion of said earring jaw to a point just past a midpoint between said rear portion and a front portion of said earring jaw, said opening accommodating a hook coupled to said nut jaw introduced into said opening whereby said hook may travel along said opening and may be caught at a forward end thereof at said point just past said midpoint;
- a biasing engagement mechanism for engaging said earring jaw and said nut jaw that also tends to urge said earring jaw away from said nut jaw comprising a spring post, said spring post coupled centrally to an interior rear wall of said bottom channel, said spring post extending into said bottom channel generally parallel to a bottom side approximately one-quarter the distance between a rear and a front of said earring jaw;
- and
- a flexible tang and a hump juxtaposed with the flexible tang such that when the rear end of the body of the stud post holder assembly moves past the flexible tang, the bases of the terminal members are forced up onto the hump and wherein the flexible tang is shorter than the legs of the terminal members and wherein the hump is attached to the upper surface of the nut jaw extension and wherein said flexible tang is flared upward to engage an underside of said post holder assembly so as to better open said assembly once said assembly moves past the tang.