Rotating Jewelry Closure

This application is a continuation of allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/101,480, filed on Jan. 25, 2023, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference.

This application relates to the field of jewelry. More particularly, the present application relates to the field of jewelry closures of connection elements.

In the field of jewelry, particularly with earrings, bracelets and necklaces, there are many types of closures or backings that are used in the prior art. For example, with earrings, the most common type of backing is the push-back which has a friction end stopper that is placed on the stem after it pressed through the piercing. These push-backs can come in many forms such as a butterfly shape, bell, or disc end-stopper. A drawback with this type of closure is that in some cases it is hard to fit the closure onto the stem, and also such independent push-backs are often lost or misplaced.

Another type of earing closure is the kidney closing which can take the shape of the stem extending an elongated loop that closes by latching the end behind a small hook. Here a pendant can hang on the kidney-closing and kept in place by a recess, but if left open the pendant can slide out of the closure. Another open stem closing is the fishhook closing which looks essentially similar to a fishing hook. Where the kidney closure is a closed-loop when closed, a fishhook type is somewhat similar but is always be open and could potentially result in the earing falling out.

Another earing closure is the endless closure where a post extends from one end of a hoop and, after passing through the piercing, enters a cavity on the other side of the hoop, making an apparently seamless hoop. This provides a very streamlined closure, but it can be hard to fit the post into the small opening on the other side of the hoop.

There are other common earring closures for non-pierced ears such a clip-on closures or friction closures, but they are not applicable to pierced earring closures.

Regarding closures for larger jewelry items such as bracelets or necklaces, there are numerous other known closures. A first type of common closure is a ball or bead clasp, which is a round, spherical jewelry fastener. Another common clasp is the barrel clasp which is small barrel or torpedo-shaped closure which fastens two ends together through a screw, box or hook-insert mechanism.

A box clasp is another form of closure that uses a tab or insert that is inserted into a decorative box. A fishhook clasp is another form of clasp that has a hook designed to be inserted into an oval shaped casing and can be used for lighter weight jewelry. This is similar to a basic hook clasp that simply has a curved piece for catching onto a loop or circle on the opposing side of jewelry.

Other types of bracelet or necklace clasps include the lobster clasp which resembles a pinching style lobster claw that is spring loaded to clamp onto an opposing loop. Another spring-loaded closure is the push button clasp that clicks into place when an opposing stem or ball joint is inserted into a spring clasp, later released by pressing the button. A swivel clasp is another form of closure that is the same as lobster clasp but with a 360° swivel. There is also the basic springing clasp which is a loop with a spring-loaded slide that is retracted to allow an opposing hoop to connect.

Another type of clasp used on certain types of material bracelets, like leather bracelets is a buckle clasp which is essentially the same a belt buckle. A concealed clasp is another rarer form of jewelry closure that is hidden within a design but otherwise functions the same as other clasps functionally, for example, a hidden box clasp. Another less common closure is the ladder clasp which has what appears as a two-spoke ladder, that is folded over against an opposing side with a notch that can be fit into one of the spokes of the ladder for an adjustably sized fit.

Again, other closure types for bracelets and necklaces can include slide clasps, with two bars that slide into a locked position with one another. Magnetic clasps are very basic and simply connect with two opposing magnets. A toggle clasp is a two-piece closure in the form of a bar on one side and a hoop on the other. The bar is angled and passed lengthwise through the hoop and then arranged in a wide manner so as not to be able to pass back through the same hoop to complete the connection.

However, despite these numerous types of closures for both earrings as well as necklaces and bracelets, they all tend to suffer from at least one of three different drawbacks, and occasionally two or even all three.

Because jewelry tends to be small, the closures are even smaller. Many people, particularly the elderly and those with arthritis or poor vision, have great difficulty in manipulating the small parts needed to open the closures, make the connection, and then close the closure. See for example the basic spring clasp which requires manipulation of a small spring and threading a small eyelet over an open hoop.

Another major drawback to the prior art closures is that many of the designs simply don't hold very well or do not lock at all which can lead to lost jewelry. See for example the basic push-back earing closures or the fish-hook style stems.

Another drawback with prior art closures is that some of the more secure closures tend to be complicated to construct and include parts that can wear out over time. This is particularly true of all spring-loaded closures because the spring can either wear out over time because it is usually very small, and also such springs can become displaced making the closure inoperative.

The present arrangement looks to overcome the drawbacks associated with the prior art and provide a jewelry closure that can be used on both earrings as well as bracelets and necklaces, and possibly other forms of jewelry that is constructed in a way to make it easy to open and close, manufactured in a sturdy yet relatively less complicated manner, and further provides a secure connection with no chance of losing the jewelry item or parts of the closure.

Such an arrangement includes a stem with a notch on a first side of the jewelry item. On the other side a ball joint is provided. A collar is disposed over the ball joint, with the ball joint exposed on the other side. A rotatable connection element is pressed against the collar and snap locks onto the ball joint in a manner securing both the collar and the rotatable connection element to the other side of the jewelry item. Inside the rotatable connection element are two parallel catches with a space in between them for receiving the notched stem.

To close the closure, the notched stem is placed into the rotatable connection element with the stem passing through the two parallel catches inside. Then the wearer locks the closure by rotating the rotatable connection element. In doing so the two parallel catches engage the notch on the stem and prevent the closure from opening. To open the closure, the rotatable connection element in the opposite direction, re-orienting the parallel catches to release the notch on the stem, allowing the stem to be removed, opening the closure.

To this end a jewelry item and closure is provided having a first side of the jewelry item with a stem and locking notch and a second side of the jewelry item having a mounting stem and ball. The closure has a collar with a hollow cavity for fitting over the mounting stem and said ball. A rotatable connection element connects with the ball of the second side of the jewelry item, affixing the collar and the rotatable connection element with the second side of the jewelry.

In an open configuration, the stem with the locking notch of the first side of the jewelry can be inserted within a locking cavity of the rotatable connection element. In a closed configuration, the rotatable connection element is configured to be rotated to engage the locking notch of the stem, preventing removal of the stem from the rotatable connection element.

illustrate various views of an earringhaving a closurein accordance with one embodiment. It is noted that the present examples shown in these figures is for an earring, but the closure described herein may be equally applicable to different jewelry items such as necklaces or bracelets as shown for Example in(bracelet).

As shown in-earringhas a first sideand a second sideconnected at the bottom through a hinged pivot connection. First sideof earringhas a stemthat has a locking notchoriented as point of reduced thickness in the form of two cut aways on opposing side of stem. Second sideof earringhas a balllocated on a short mounting stem.

Turning to the independent components of closure, a collarincludes a hollow cavitypassing entirely therethrough for allowing balland mounting stemof second sideto pass therein. On the side surface of collarfacing the second sideof earing, there are two alignment knobsso that collaraligns correctly against and does not rotate relative to second side. Collaralso has a recesslocated approximately in the middle of hollow cavityand extending around the entire inner circumference of cavity, the function of which is disclosed in more detail below. Finally, collarhas a square/diamond recesson the side of collarfacing towards first sideof earringto assist in connecting with a rotatable connection elementas explained in more detail below.

The other independent component of closureis rotatable connection element. Rotatable connection elementhas four spring/pin cavitiesconfigured to receive connection springswhen collarand rotatable connection elementare placed against one another as explained below. Rotatable connection elementalso has four (4) snap connectorsthat are deformable and configured to encapsulate ballwithin cavity. For example, when rotatable connection elementis placed flush against collar, snap connectorspass within cavityencapsulate ball, affixing both rotatable connection elementand collarto second sideof earing. As shown in-each of the four (4) snap connectorshave a catch tabthat fits within recessof collarallowing rotatable connection elementto securely rotate within collar, but without coming disconnected from second sideof earing, allowing rotatable connection elementto rotate around ball joint. It is noted that connection springsmay be placed through the four spring cavitiesand into square/diamond recessof collar, e.g., into the points of the square, to provide a rotation limiter to rotatable connection element to approximatelydegrees and to provide a friction feedback to the user so that they can feel when the rotatable connection elementhas been returned enough to lock closureas explained below.

On the opposing side of rotatable connection elementfacing first sideof earing, is a locking cavityhaving two parallel locking bars. Locking cavityis dimensioned to receive stemand locking notchof first sideof earing. When rotatable connection elementis oriented in a first unlocked position, parallel locking bars allow stemto fit fully within locking cavitywhen first sideand second sideare pressed together via pivot connection. However, when rotatable connection elementis turned about ballapproximately 90 degrees to a locking position, with springand square/diamond recessproviding friction feedback to the user, parallel locking barsrotate to catch on locking notch, preventing stemfrom leaving locking cavity. In order to facilitate turning of rotatable connection elementthe outer circumference has engagement ridgesto help grasp with the user's fingertips.

Each of the components of earingand closurehas a set of exemplary dimensions. These dimensions are for illustration purposes only for an exemplary sized earingas shown. However, it is understood that other dimensions may be used in keeping with the functions of the various components of earringand closure. For example, stemcan be approximately 0.95 mm in width/diameter, with locking notchhaving an opening width of approximately 0.60 mm. Collarmay have width of 3.05 mm and a thickness of about 1.35 mm. Rotatable connection elementis slightly larger than collarand can be approximately 4.0 mm wide and approximately 1.90 mm thick. Four (4) snap connectorsof rotatable connection elementcan be approximately 1.75 mm wide to fit within cavityof collar. On the other side of rotatable connection element, parallel locking barswithin locking cavitycan be about 0.48 mm wide to engage/disengage with locking notch. The depth of locking cavitycan extend an additional 0.60 mm beyond locking barsto accept the remainder of stemthat extends beyond locking notch.

In another embodiment shown in, a braceletis shown using the same closureas described above in-with all the same components and functions. A similar closuremay also be used for other jewelry items such as necklace or other applicable jewelry items.

While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes or equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore, to be understood that this application is intended to cover all such modifications and changes that fall within the true spirit of the invention.