U.S. patent application number 09/790791 was filed with the patent office on 2002-01-17 for ornamental member for accessory.
This patent application is currently assigned to Miki Corporation. Invention is credited to Kimura, Yuhko.
Application Number | 20020005048 09/790791 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18679052 |
Filed Date | 2002-01-17 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020005048 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kimura, Yuhko |
January 17, 2002 |
Ornamental member for accessory
Abstract
An ornamental member for an accessory is in the form of a frame
surrounding an opening, or is in the form of a base plate formed of
a rigid material having rigidity and being integral with the frame.
A slit is formed through one side wall of the ornamental member,
the slit being longer than the width of an upper end of the opening
between two side walls adjacent to the one side wall. An ornamental
sheet is removably insertable through the slit, and all edges of
the ornamental sheet are concealed by the frame with the ornamental
sheet inserted. One accessory exhibits various different ornamental
appearances by remobably inserting various kinds of ornamental
sheets into the ornamental member.
Inventors: |
Kimura, Yuhko; (Tokyo,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Jordan and Hamburg LLP
122 East 42nd Street
New York
NY
10168
US
|
Assignee: |
Miki Corporation
|
Family ID: |
18679052 |
Appl. No.: |
09/790791 |
Filed: |
February 22, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
63/29.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44C 17/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
63/29.1 |
International
Class: |
A44C 017/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 13, 2000 |
JP |
2000-177461 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A combination comprising ornamental member for an accessory and
an ornamental sheet to be received and displayed by the ornamental
member, the ornamental member comprising a frame forming an opening
surrounded by the frame, the frame having side walls, a slit being
formed in one of said side walls, said side walls including two
opposed side walls adjacent the side wall having the slit, a space
being formed between the opposed side walls, said slit being longer
than the width adjacent the slit of the space, an ornamental sheet
removably insertable through said slit, the ornamental sheet being
so dimensioned that thereof are concealed by the frame after the
ornamental sheet has been inserted.
2. The combination according to claim 1, wherein a base plate
formed of a rigid material is provided integrally with the frame on
a back side thereof.
3. The combination according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the base
plate has a curved surface, and is of rectangular cross section
only in one direction.
4. The combination according to claim 3, wherein the base plate has
a curved surface, and the slit is formed in a side crossing the one
direction in which said sectional form is rectangular.
5. The combination according to any one of claims 1,2 and 4,
wherein the ornamental sheet comprises a colored thin sheet and at
least one protective sheet for protecting said thin sheet, one said
protective sheet being transparent or translucent.
6. The combination according to any one of claims 1, 2 and 4,
wherein the protective sheet or the ornamental sheet is at least
one of plastic sheets subjected to hologram processing, plastic
sheets having pearl luster, plastic sheets having iridescent
luster, plastic sheets vapor-deposited with aluminum, luminous
plastic sheets, mirror surface sheets and a matte-finished
translucent sheets.
7. The combination according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 5,
wherein the protective sheet or the ornamental sheet has a
thickness of 80 .mu.m to 400 .mu.m.
8. The combination according to claim 2, further comprising a
finger ring, the ornamental member being centered thereon.
9. The combination according to claim 2, further comprising a
pendant, the ornamental member comprising a front of the pendant.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to an ornamental member for an
accessory in which various kinds of ornamental sheets are each
detachably inserted into a ornamental member surrounded by, for
example, a quadrilateral, diamond-shaped or rectangular frame,
whereby one accessory can exhibit various different decorative
appearances, and an accessory using the same such as a finger ring,
a pendant, a necklace, a bracelet, a clip earring, an earring for a
pierced ear, an anklet, cuff links, a tiepin, a buckle for a belt
or a watch strap.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The conventional accessories have been produced by combining
noble metals, plated articles, jewels, semi-precious stones such as
agate and turquoise, glass beads and the like. As a result, one
accessory has a fixed design, and does not exhibit other different
decorative appearances.
[0003] Recently, accessories have come into more general use, and
it has been in fashion to have many accessories of various kinds
and to use various ones depending on ones mood. In particular, this
tendency has become popular among young women.
[0004] However, it is uneconomical to have many accessories of
various kinds even if the individual accessories are
inexpensive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENITON
[0005] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an
ornamental member for an accessory in which the appearance of one
accessory is changed to at least one other different decorative
ppearance only by an operation of exchanging an ornamental sheet,
whereby one accessory functions as two or more accessories.
[0006] Another object of the invention is to provide an accessory
using the ornamental member.
[0007] According to the invention, there is provided an ornamental
member comprising a rigid base plate, a frame provided on the whole
periphery of the base plate integrally therewith, and an opening
surrounded by the frame, wherein a slit is formed in one side wall
of the ornamental member, and an ornamental sheet can be removably
inserted through the slit, the slit being longer than the width of
an upper end of the opening between two side walls adjacent to the
one side wall and shorter than the width of the base plate. Only
the frame having the slit may be used without the use of the base
plate. Further, the base plate may have a curved surface, and is
rectangular in the sectional form only in one direction. The slit
is formed in a side wall crossing the one direction in which the
curved surface is rectangular. As the ornamental sheet, a colored
thin sheet and a transparent or translucent protective sheet for
protecting the thin sheet are used, and a plastic sheet subjected
to hologram processing or having iridescent luster, or a plastic
sheet vapor-deposited with aluminum is used as the protective sheet
or the ornamental sheet.
[0008] That is to say, according to the invention, variously
colored or patterned ornamental sheets are each inserted into the
frame-like ornamental member through the slit formed in the one
side wall of the frame. Thus, one accessory can be used matching it
to dress of various kinds by changing the color, raw material and
pattern of the ornamental sheet, and further by combinations of
various variations such as a hologram-processed sheet, a pearl
luster sheet, an iridescent luster sheet, a metallic luster sheet
such as a sheet having an aluminum-deposited layer, a mirror
surface sheet and a matte-finished translucent sheet. Further, the
frame can be formed with a semicylindrical curved surface, or in a
cylindrical shape, thereby giving solidity to the member for the
accessory.
[0009] The use of the ornamental member for an accessory makes
possible to obtain a different appearances by purchasing one
accessory such as a finger ring, a necklace, a pendant, cuff links
or a tiepin, and changing the ornamental sheet, which increases the
usefulness of the accessory.
[0010] In convention with the invention, the term "accessory" means
an article worn for making ones appearance more ornamental, such as
a finger ring, a pendant, a necklace, a brooch, a bracelet, a clip
earring, an earring for a pierced ear, an anklet, cuff links, a
tiepin, a buckle for a belt, an ornamental button, a watch strap, a
hair ornament, an ornamental comb, a hair band, a key holder or an
ornament worn over an obi.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which an
ornamental sheet comprising a thin sheet and a protective sheet is
inserted into an ornamental member for an accessory of the
invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an ornamental member
composed of only a frame 2 without a base plate;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line IV-IV of FIG.
3;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view showing a finger ring
prepared using the ornamental member of FIG. 1;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line IV-IV of FIG.
5;
[0017] FIGS. 7-a to 7-d and FIGS. 8-a to 8-d are schematic views
for illustrating the forms of base plates, the forms of slits and
the arrangements thereof;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which the
base plate of the ornamental member 3 shown in FIG. 1 has a curved
surface; and
[0019] FIG. 10 is a view illustrating the relationship among the
form of a base plate 1, a direction in which the sectional form
becomes rectangular, and a slit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] The invention will be illustrated with reference to the
drawings in detail below.
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 1
designates a base plate, which is generally made of a metal, but
may be made of a hard plastic in some cases. The base plate 1 is
integrally provided with a frame 2 on the periphery thereof. That
is to say, the frame 2 comprises four side walls 2a extending so as
to protrude inward from the outer periphery of the base plate 1 and
a border portion 2b bordering the front of the base plate 1. The
border portion 2b, base plate 1, and side walls 2a are elements of
an ornamental member 3. A slit 4 is formed in one of the walls 2a
of the frame 2. The slit 4 is shorter in length than the side wall
2a in which the slit 4 is formed, and has a width allowing an
ornamental sheet 5 to be removably, i.e., reversibly, inserted
therethrough. It is required that the ornamental sheet 5 be larger
than an opening 6 surrounded by the border portion 2b, with the
ornamental sheet 5 inserted, to conceal all edges of the ornamental
sheet 5 under the border 2b. The opening 6 is a front portion of
the base plate 1 surrounded by the border portion 2b.
[0022] The ornamental sheet 5 may be any, as long as it can be
removably inserted through the slit 4, has such a form and a size
that all edges of the sheet are concealed under the border portion
2b after insertion, and has a decorative appearance. Specifically,
a sheet having a thickness of 80 to 400 .mu.m can be used to which
a pattern has been imparted or metallic luster has been imparted by
vapor deposition with aluminum, and moreover, which is laminated
with a plastic sheet to impart such rigidity that the sheet can be
easily removed or inserted through the slit. Further, the
ornamental sheet can also be constituted by a thin sheet 7 composed
of ordinary printing paper or stationary and a transparent or
translucent plastic protective sheet 8 having a thickness of 80 to
400 .mu.m. The combinations of color and/or pattern and/or texture
of the thin sheet 7 and pattern optionally imparted to and
transparency of the protective sheet 8 can impart to the ornamental
member various different ornamental appearances.
[0023] Taking insertion and removal of the ornamental sheet 5
through the slit 4 into account, the thin sheet 7 requires at least
the rigidity of writing paper, and is preferably printing paper or
packaging paper. The transparent plastic sheets used for the
protective sheets 8 include sheets of acrylic resins, polystyrene,
polyesters, polypropylene, vinyl chloride resins, copolymers
thereof and copolymers thereof with other monomers. Further, it is
also possible to make these sheets translucent, matte-finished
translucent, mirror-finished or aluminum-deposited. A thin layer of
deposited aluminium gives metallic luster to a color of the thin
sheet 7. Imparting translucent pearl luster to the protective sheet
8 also preferably gives depth to the color of the thin sheet 7.
[0024] The protective sheet 8 laminated with a film having a
hologram pattern gives special brilliance. In conducting the
hologram processing, a pattern or an image is formed only by
engraving minute striped unevenness having a width and a depth
roughly corresponding to a wavelength of visible light on a surface
of a smooth film or membrane, somewhat different from hologram in
the original meaning that a light wave (signal wave) diffracted by
an object is allowed to interfere with another light wave having
coherence therewith, and the resulting interference fringes are
recorded on a light-sensitive material and measured. As a result,
when the treated surface is exposed to light, visible light is
irregularly reflected by the unevenness to glitter in rainbow
colors, and the color tones thereof change with angles of
incidence.
[0025] The hologram processing of the invention can be easily
conducted with a commercially available hologram-processing
machine, such as "Davis Light Machine" or "Light Machine"
manufactured by Dimensional Arts, U.S.A. That is to say, the
unevenness is directly or indirectly engraved on the surface of the
smooth film by a laser beam high in coherence. The term "pattern"
as used in the invention means a concept including not only a
simple continuous pattern, but also a three-dimensional image.
[0026] Further, the protective sheet can also be laminated with an
iridescent reflecting film. The iridescent reflecting film is a
multi-layer transparent thermoplastic film composed of at least 20
ultra thin membrane layers each having a substantially uniform
thickness, wherein the thickness of each ultra thin membrane layer
is roughly a wavelength of visible light, and the ultra thin
membrane layers adjacent to each other are 0.03 or more different
in refractive index. Specific examples thereof include films of
thermoplastic terephthalate polyesters, methyl methacrylate
polymers, linear low density polyethylene, and blended polymers
thereof and other thermoplastic polymers. The iridescent reflecting
film is changed in the color tone according to the angle from which
it is looked at like a buprestid.
[0027] Further, one ornamental sheet 5 can also be used in which
the protective sheet 8 is integrally laminated with the thin sheet
7.
[0028] Furthermore, a luminous plastic sheet obtained by kneading
luminous microcapsules with a resin, and forming a film from the
resulting product can also be used as it is or as a laminate.
[0029] FIGS. 3 and 4 show an ornamental member composed of only a
frame 2 having a slit 4 without a base plate. In this case, a
backing sheet 9 having rigidity is required as a protective member
substituting for the base plate 1. Accordingly, an ornamental sheet
5 is overlaid onto the backing sheet 9, and the superposed sheets
are inserted through the slit 4. In FIG. 4, border portions 2b on
the front side and the back side are identical to each other in
width. However, the width on the back side can made greater than
that on the front side to enhance the reinforcing effect. The space
between the front and back border portions defines a groove 13 that
holds edge portions of the ornamental sheet 5 and the back sheet
9.
[0030] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in a finger ring 10, an
ornamental sheet 5 is inserted into an ornamental member 3
aethestically connected to the ring 10 by support 11 and having a
rectangular opening 6 and a slit 4 to be oriented toward the distal
or nail end of the finger when the ring 10 is worn.
[0031] As to the forms of the ornamental members 3 or the base
plates 1, various forms can be conceived, and exemplary other forms
of the ornamental members 3 or the base plates 1, forms of the
slits 4 and the arrangements thereof are shown in FIGS. 7 and
8.
[0032] For meeting the requirement that the ornamental sheet 5 is
removably inserted into the opening 6 formed of the base plate 1
and the frame 2 through the slit 4, it is required that two side
walls of the ornamental member, facing each other and perpendicular
to a side wall provided with the slit, are parallel to each other
or converge in the direction of insertion through the slit. FIGS.
7-a and 7-b show rectangular ornamental members. When a long side
wall is provided with the slit as shown in FIG. 7-a, an oblong
ornamental member is obtained. When a short side wall is provided
with the slit as shown in FIG. 7-b, an elongated ornamental member
is obtained. FIG. 7-c shows a parallelogrammic ornamental member,
and FIG. 7-d shows an ornamental member having a parallelogrammic
form in which the respective sides are identical in length to one
another, that is to say, a diamond shape. As shown in the figures,
the ornamental sheet 5 can be inserted through the slit provided
through one side wall to which two side walls parallel to each
other are perpendicular.
[0033] Insertion and removal of the ornamental sheet 5 are possible
not only in the case that two side walls of the ornamental member,
facing each other and perpendicular to a side wall provided with
the slit 4, are first parallel to each other and then converge in
the direction of insertion through the slit 4 as shown in FIG. 8-a,
but also in the case that two side walls of the ornamental member,
facing each other and perpendicular to a side wall provided with
the slit 4, are in no portion parallel to each other but
continuously converge in the direction of insertion through the
slit 4 as shown in FIG. 8-b. A trianglular ornamental member is
available as well as the pentagonal ornamental member as shown in
FIG. 8-a and the reverse-trapezoidal ornamental member as shown in
FIG. 8-b.
[0034] Further, the side wall provided with the slit 4 or the side
wall facing the side wall provided with the slit 4 is not
necessarily one straight line, and may be a bent line or in a
circular arc form, which has no effect on insertion and removal of
the ornamental sheet 5. The side wall provided with the slit is
formed into a circular arc form in FIG. 8-c, and the side wall
facing the side provided with the slit is formed into a circular
arc form in FIG. 8-d. However, both the aforementioned side walls
may be formed into a circular arc form. Although all the
aforementioned circular arc forms shown in the figures convex, they
may be concave.
[0035] FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which the
base plate of the ornamental member 3 shown in FIG. 1 has a curved
surface so that cross sections perpendicular to the direction of
insertion and withdrawn of the ornamental sheet which directions
are shown by the arrows are curved. To permit ready insertion of
the ornamental sheet 5, cross sections parallel to the directwise
of insertion and withdrawal of the ornamental sheet are
rectangular. At the same time, the sectional form of a slit is also
linear. In FIG. 9, the slit is provided in a position crossing at
right angles a direction in which the sectional form of the base
plate is rectangular. Accordingly, even if the curvature of the
base plate 1 is pronounced, the ornamental sheet 5, being pliable
or flexible, can be easily inserted and removed. Referring to FIG.
9, the reference numeral 12 indicates a fitting for hanging the
ornamental member on a chain as a pendant. In FIG. 9, the fitting
12 is attached to an upper portion of the ornamental member 3.
However, fittings 12 may be attached to both sides thereof to
permit use of two or more ornamental members 3 connected directly
or through other chains, strings or ornaments.
[0036] FIG. 10 is a view illustrating the relationship among the
form of the base plate 1, the direction in which the sectional form
is rectangular, and the slit. Even if the slit 4 does not cross at
right angles a direction in which the sectional form of the base
plate is rectangular, when the slit 4 is provided on a side wall
crossing a direction in which the sectional form of the base plate
is rectangular, insertion and removal of the ornamental sheet 5 are
easy.
[0037] However, in the case of the diamond form as shown in FIG.
7-d, when the direction in which the sectional form of the base
plate becomes rectangular is the direction indicated by the arrow
in FIG. 7-d, insertion and removal of the ornamental sheet 5
becomes somewhat inconvenient. However, when the radius of
curvature is not so great, insertion and removal of the ornamental
sheet 5 are possible, and decorative effect is also high. Although
the form in which the curved surface is concave is shown in FIG. 9,
the curved surface may be convex.
[0038] Further, when the base plate is cylindrical, circular frames
are provided in two parts, upper and lower. A slit is circular, and
provided only through one side wall. A circular ornamental sheet 5
can also be removably inserted through the slit.
EXAMPLE 1
[0039] A 1.5 cm .times.2 cm ornamental member 3 having the form
shown in FIG. 1 was produced. The thickness of a base plate was 1
mm, the width of a slit 4 was 1 mm, the length thereof was 1.3 cm,
and the thickness of a side wall 2a was 3 mm. This ornamental
member 3 was mounted on an ornamental face of a finger ring as
shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. A thin sheet 7 in the form of calendered
paper on which a colored pattern of a golden color and a red color
faded in the boundary between them was painted was overlaid with a
protective polyvinyl chroride sheet 8 in which a hologram pattern
was formed and the hologram face was protected with a transparent
acrylic sheet to prepare an ornamental sheet 5 having a thickness
of 400 .mu.m. This sheet 5 was inserted through the slit 4. A
finger ring that was beautiful and had a feeling of high quality
was obtained. Then, the ornamental sheet 5 was pulled out.
[0040] Thereafter, a thin sheet 7 having a pattern in which various
colors were arranged in dot form based on black was overlaid with a
translucent pearl luster acrylic sheet having a light transmittance
of 80% as a protective sheet 8 to prepare another ornamental sheet
5. This sheet 5 was inserted through the slit 4. A color tone
suggestive of black opal was obtained.
* * * * *