U.S. patent application number 12/857569 was filed with the patent office on 2011-09-01 for jewelry system and method for expressing emotional state.
Invention is credited to Anita Scott.
Application Number | 20110209501 12/857569 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 44504541 |
Filed Date | 2011-09-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110209501 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Scott; Anita |
September 1, 2011 |
JEWELRY SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR EXPRESSING EMOTIONAL STATE
Abstract
A jewelry system and method for expressing a user's emotional
state. The jewelry system includes a body member having various
emotional states that are visible on its face. The jewelry system
also includes a smart bead for selecting any one of the emotional
states. The selected emotional state expresses the user's current
emotional state to the general public. The jewelry system further
includes one or more detachable charms namely an affected loved one
charm and a cause of grief charm.
Inventors: |
Scott; Anita; (Morgan Hill,
CA) |
Family ID: |
44504541 |
Appl. No.: |
12/857569 |
Filed: |
August 17, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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12714301 |
Feb 26, 2010 |
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12857569 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
63/40 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44C 15/004
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
63/40 |
International
Class: |
A44C 25/00 20060101
A44C025/00 |
Claims
1. A jewelry system for indicating a user's emotional state, said
jewelry system comprising: a body member having plurality of
emotional states displayed thereon; and a means for selecting any
one of said plurality of emotional states, said selected emotional
state expressing the user's emotional state to the general
public.
2. The jewelry system of claim 1 wherein said emotional states are
selected from the group consisting essentially of shock, denial,
bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, hope, survivor and shock.
3. The jewelry system of claim 1 wherein said means for selecting
is a smart bead having a silicone insert.
4. The jewelry system of claim 1 wherein said means for selecting
is a pin and socket system.
5. The jewelry system of claim 3 wherein said smart bead is movable
along a pin.
6. The jewelry system of claim 5 wherein said pin is incorporated
into a channel adjacent to said plurality of emotional states.
7. The jewelry system of claim 1 wherein said body member is
generally planar.
8. The jewelry system of claim 1 wherein said body member is
generally non-planar.
9. The jewelry system of claim 1 further comprising a first
detachable member that is detachably coupled to said body member,
wherein said first detachable member indicates thereon a loved one
for whom emotion is being displayed.
10. The jewelry system of claim 1 further comprising a second
detachable member different from a first detachable member, said
second detachable member being detachably coupled to the body
member, wherein said second detachable member indicates thereon a
cause of grief on its face.
11. The jewelry system of claim 1 wherein said body member further
comprises a frame for receiving an image of an affected loved
one.
12. An ornament wearable by a user, said ornament comprising: a
first portion displaying a plurality of user-related information
that said user wishes to convey to a general public; and a means
for selecting any one of said plurality of user-related information
for indication to said general public.
13. The ornament of claim 12 wherein said means for selecting is a
smart bead that is slide-able along a pin.
14. The ornament of claim 13 wherein said user-related information
is engraved on a face of said first portion.
15. A method for expressing a user's emotional state, said method
comprising: displaying a plurality of emotional states engraved on
an ornamental piece wearable by a user; and selecting any one of
said plurality of emotional states, said selected emotional state
indicating the user's emotional state to the general public.
16. The method of claim 15 further comprising using a smart bead
that is slide-able along a pin for selecting any one of said
plurality of emotional states.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED INVENTIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part application of and claims
priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/714,301 filed
Feb. 26, 2010, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by
reference for all purposes as if fully set forth in this
Specification.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to jewelry systems
and more specifically to jewelry systems for expressing emotions to
the general public.
[0003] Tragic situations (e.g. the passing of a family member) do
occur and many people often grieve and express their emotions in
any number of ways. Some people might place a ribbon on their front
door. By so doing neighbors and people in the community might
provide support by placing flowers at the griever's door.
[0004] Others might express their grief by placing a tattoo of the
affected person on their bodies. However, for most people this
might not be an acceptable way to express their grief. Other
grievers yet might seek to join a support group. They can attend
monthly support group meetings through which they can discuss and
share their experiences with other grievers. The support group
provides an outlet through which they can express their grief.
However support groups are few and far between and are unavailable
in many communities.
[0005] Consequently, many grievers have no outlet to express their
emotions to the general public and can often become alienated from
their communities. A griever that is grocery shopping might
encounter a friendly grocery clerk that is unaware of the griever's
personal situation. The griever may appear unresponsive and
uncommunicative due to the griever's personal situation. The
grocery clerk being unaware of the griever's situation might not
understand the griever's reaction all of which might further
alienate the griever. And so, many grievers can become more distant
and less communicative since there is no way for them to share or
express their grief or for the general public and community to
provide reciprocal support.
[0006] There is a need to address one or more of the foregoing
disadvantages of conventional systems and how the present invention
meets this need.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Various aspects of a jewelry system can be found in
exemplary embodiments of the present invention.
[0008] In a first embodiment, a user can utilize the jewelry system
to express the user's emotional state to the general public. The
user might be, for example, grieving the tragic passing of a loved
one and might wish to express the user's feelings to the community.
As another example, the user might also be coping with a seriously
ill family member.
[0009] The jewelry system comprises a body member having plurality
of emotional states displayed thereon. The body member might be a
heart-shaped precious metal having a front side and a back side,
for example. The emotional states may be engraved or etched on one
side of the body member. Such emotional states might include shock,
denial, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression, hope, survivor,
shock, etc.
[0010] The jewelry system further includes a means for selecting
any one of said plurality of emotional states to express the user's
emotional state to the general public. Such a means might be a bead
of acknowledgement system having a pin through which a smart bead
is passed. The smart bead is slide-able along the pin to a position
that shows the user's current emotional state.
[0011] In this manner, users can express to community members the
users' particular situation and their particular state of grief. In
turn, community members can understand and possibly offer their
support.
[0012] A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the
present invention herein may be realized by reference to the
remaining portions of the specification and the attached drawings.
Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well
as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the
present invention, are described in detail below with respect to
the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference
numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1A shows a front view of a jewelry system according to
an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0014] FIG. 1B shows an alternate front view of the jewelry system
of FIG. 1A according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows a back surface of the jewelry system of FIG. 1A
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 3A illustrates a bead of acknowledgement system
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0017] FIG. 3B illustrates a smart bead utilized in the bead of
acknowledgement system according to an exemplary embodiment of the
present invention.
[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates an affected person charm and a cause of
grief charm according to an exemplary embodiment of the present
invention.
[0019] FIG. 5A illustrates a front view of a jewelry system
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 5B shows a back view of the jewelry system of FIG. 5A
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 6 shows an alternate jewelry system according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 7A shows a front view of a jewelry system according to
an exemplary embodiment of the of jewelry system.
[0023] FIG. 7B shows a back view of the jewelry system of FIG. 7A
according to an exemplary embodiment of the of jewelry system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0024] Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of
the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in
conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood
that they are not intended to limit the invention to these
embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover
alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included
within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description
of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth
in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present
invention. However, it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in
the art that the present invention may be practiced without these
specific details. In other instances, well-known methods,
procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in
detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present
invention.
[0025] FIG. 1A shows a front view of jewelry system 100 according
to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] In FIG. 1A, jewelry system 100 can be utilized to express a
user's emotion to the community or general public at large. Here,
the user 102 might be a griever grieving for the illness or the
loss of a family member; and may wish to express grieving emotions
relating to the illness or the loss of a family member.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 1A, jewelry system 100 comprises a
unitarily-formed body member 104. Body member 104 is generally
non-planar and three dimensional. That is, jewelry system 100 can
be defined as having length, breadth and depth dimensions. Front
surface 506 also includes one or more decorative designs 507 shown
therein.
[0028] Jewelry system 100 can be any desirably shape. In this
embodiment, body member 104 is heart-shaped and is formed
preferably by casting, although other comparable processes namely
sintering, forging or other the like can be employed. Body member
104 can be any jewelry type material or metal such as silver,
stainless steel, platinum and other precious type metals.
Dimensions are typical jewelry dimensions such that body member 104
remains visible by the general public.
[0029] Here, body member 104 includes front surface 106 that is
oppositely disposed to back surface 206 (FIG. 2). When in use, back
surface 206 rests on user 102 while front surface 106 rests away
from the user's person; thus, front surface 106 is viewable by the
general public. As such, front surface 106 can include attractive
and decorative designs such as floral design 107. Note, however,
that body member 104 can also be worn such that front surface 106
rests on user 102 while back surface 206 is away from the user's
person.
[0030] As shown, jewelry system 100 is shown as a brooch or
pendant. Although not shown, one of ordinary skill in the art will
realize that other embodiments consistent with the spirit and scope
of the present invention can be utilized. As another example,
jewelry system 100 might be a lapel pin, belt, bracelet, pendant,
etc. adapted for use by user 102.
[0031] FIG. 1B shows an alternate front surface 106 according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] In FIG. 1B, front surface 106 incorporates image 109 of a
loved one or affected person. Of course, other images consistent
with the spirit and scope of the present invention may be
incorporated.
[0033] FIG. 2 shows back surface 206 of jewelry system 100
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] In FIG. 2, back surface 206 includes a plurality of
emotional states or grief stages. Each grief stage is preferably
engraved, etched or embodied using any known methods consistent
with the spirit and scope of the present invention.
[0035] As shown, the grief stages are listed in order of occurrence
below each other. Here, the first grief stage is shock 208. The
next grief stage is denial 210 (below shock 208). Denial 210 is
followed by bargaining 212. Bargaining 212 is followed by anger
214, guilt 216, depression 218, hope 220, and finally survivor 222.
The emotional states shown are not exhaustive. Other emotional
states consistent with the spirit and scope of the present
invention can be displayed.
[0036] Back surface 206 also comprises a means for selecting any
one of the plurality of emotional states. Specifically, said means
is bead of acknowledgment system 224. Bead of acknowledgment system
224 comprises pin 226 and smart bead 228. A smart bead has a
silicone lining through its aperture (FIG. 3B). The silicone allows
the smart bead to clutch onto pin 226. In this manner, smart bead
228 is maneuverable along pin 226 and remains in place when
positioned by user 102. User 102 can move smart bead 228 upwards
and downwards along pin 226 according to the user's current
emotional state. Pin 226 is itself incorporated at its proximal end
232 and its distal end 234 into a contiguous groove or channel
230.
[0037] As shown, bead acknowledgment system 224 and the emotional
states are adjacent and contiguous with each other; channel 230 is
substantially straight, running parallel to the emotional states.
This is but an example of an arrangement of channel 230 and the
emotional states. Although not shown, channel 230 might be
circular, around which the emotional states are arranged.
[0038] In operation, user 102 wishing to utilize the present
invention begins by grasping jewelry system 100 in the palm of one
hand. Here, if user 102 is unfamiliar with the various grief
stages, user 102 can slide smart bead 228 along pin 226 to study
each of the various stages. In this manner, the present invention
can assist users to become aware of the various grief stages and at
what stage they might possibly be.
[0039] As an example, the grief stage being experienced by user 102
might be shock 208. User 102 might be uncommunicative and not
realize that he or she is in a state of shock. By studying the
various grief stages as disclosed by the present invention, user
102 can realize not only which particular grief stage is being
experienced but also that each particular stage is transitory. User
102 can then be assured that any stage no matter how debilitating
will pass.
[0040] In this manner, as user 102 progresses through the various
grief stages, the present invention can assist users of jewelry
system 100 to identify through awareness what stage they are in.
Jewelry system 100 can help users validate their feelings that it
is normal and necessary to go through various grief stages. As user
102 progresses through each grief stage, user 102 feels a sense of
achievement because there is a tangible and concrete way to
acknowledge the passage of each stage.
[0041] Once user 102 has identified the appropriate grief stage,
user 102 slides smart bead 228 to the identified grief stage.
Thereafter, user 102 can then attach jewelry system 100 to the
user's clothing. In the case of a brooch embodiment, jewelry system
100 can be attachable via a safety pin (not shown) attached to the
upper portion of the jewelry system.
[0042] Referring now to FIG. 2, the grief stage being experienced
by user 102 is hope 220. The general public becomes aware that user
102 is experiencing hope. The letters for the grief stages are such
that they can be viewed by the general public or community no more
than a few yards from user 102. In this manner, users can express
to community members the users' particular situation and their
grief stage. In turn, community members can understand user 102 and
possibly offer support. Opportunities flourish when people and the
community find out that user 102 is grieving. Conversations are
started and they come easily and naturally with questions like,
"How old is your son?" and "Oh, my sister has cancer too" or "My
thoughts and prayers are with you."
[0043] After the appropriate grief stage is determined, user 102
can now attach one or more detachable charms namely affected loved
one charm 140 and/or cause of grief charm 142 to aperture 111 of
jewelry system 100. User 102 has the option to attach one or more
charms. Affected loved one charm 140 allows user 102 to specify the
individual for whom grief is being expressed. The loved ones that
can be specified on affected loved one charm 140 include self,
husband, wife, son, daughter, friend, mother 440 (FIG. 4), etc.
[0044] Cause of grief charm 142 allows user 102 to indicate the
reason for such grief. The available options are brain disease,
passed away, cancer, accident, suicide, breast cancer 442 (FIG. 4),
etc. One of ordinary skill in the art will realize that other
causes of grief consistent with the spirit and scope of the present
invention can be specified. For example, suicide, divorce,
diabetes, AIDS, heart disease, or violence can also be
specified.
[0045] Since it is an extremely personal decision to share such
information user 102 might feel that expression of such information
is too private. In that case user 102 might decide to wear only
affected loved one charm 140 or cause of grief charm 142. In fact,
user 102 might decide not to wear either charm. In that case only
body member 104 is worn. It is noted that both charms can be
attached using a clasp or hook type mechanism, and are attached to
body member 104 so as to permit sliding of the smart bead.
[0046] FIG. 3A illustrates bead of acknowledgement system 300
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0047] In FIG. 3A, bead of acknowledgement system 300 comprises pin
326 through which smart bead 305 is inserted. Each bead has an
interior lining or aperture 327 (FIG. 3b) that contains silicone.
In this manner, smart bead 305 is slide-able on and can clutch pin
326 after each smart bead is positioned.
[0048] FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate affected person charm 440
and cause of grief charm 442 according to an exemplary embodiment
of the present invention.
[0049] In FIG. 4, affected person charm 440 indicates that the
affected person is a mother; and cause of grief charm 442 shows
that the cause of grief is breast cancer 442. One skilled in the
art will realize that other affected persons can be indicated on
affected person charm 440 and other causes of grief can be shown on
cause of grief charm 442.
[0050] FIG. 5A illustrates a front view of jewelry system 500
according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0051] In FIG. 5A, unlike the embodiment of FIG. 1A, front surface
506 of jewelry system 500 is planar or two-dimensional. Front
surface 506 is otherwise similar to front surface 106 described
with reference to FIG. 1A.
[0052] FIG. 5B shows a back view of jewelry system 500 according to
an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0053] In FIG. 5B, back surface 506A includes the plurality of
emotional states namely shock, denial, bargaining, anger, guilt,
depression, hope and survivor. Back surface 506A also includes a
similar type bead of acknowledgement system described with
reference to FIG. 2.
[0054] FIG. 6 shows an alternate jewelry system 600 according to an
exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[0055] In FIG. 6, front surface 606 is transparent so that the
plurality of emotional states are visible through the front
surface. In this case, bead of acknowledgement system 224 is
replaced by pin and socket system 613. Pin and socket system 613
includes pin 615 that can be withdrawn and inserted into each one
of a plurality of sockets 617. Each socket 617 has a corresponding
emotional state 224. When the appropriate grief stage is
identified, pin 615 is inserted into the corresponding socket 617
for the identified grief stage. In FIG. 6, for example, pin 615 as
shown corresponds to denial 610.
[0056] FIG. 7A shows a front view of jewelry system 700 according
to an exemplary embodiment of the of jewelry system.
[0057] In FIG. 7A, jewelry system 700 can be utilized on a bracelet
as shown. Here, the word "Mother" 701 etched thereon indicates that
user 102 is grieving. On the back surface and oppositely disposed
to "Mother" 701 are a plurality of emotional states 703 (FIG. 7B)
and bead of acknowledgement system 224.
[0058] It is thus apparent that the present invention has many
advantages not hereinbefore observed in the prior art: (1) the
jewelry system of the present invention promotes connectivity and
acknowledgment so that grievers and other users can increase their
likelihood of connecting with others and receiving support from
others in the community; (2) the jewelry system can promote
learning of the grief stages through awareness and allow users'
feelings to become validated as part of the normal grieving
process; and (3) the jewelry system allows users to select and
display the grief stage they are in and consciously accept and
honor their feelings.
[0059] The jewelry system (4) also provides a tangible and concrete
way to mark a milestone through a user's progression; (5) the
jewelry system is a connection point and is a tangible item that
can be touched to provide a sense of peace; (6) jewelry system 100
encourages support so that users can feel that they are not alone;
and (7) once survivorship is achieved users can wear the jewelry
system to commemorate and honor the experience for many years as a
tribute to oneself or to loved ones.
[0060] The jewelry system of the present invention can also provide
community benefits namely (1) allowing the community to recognize
those directly in their midst who are suffering through grief; (2)
enabling the community to choose to become involved and provide
encouragement and support through a smile, a kind word,
encouragement, prayer or other meaningful gestures; (3) allowing
users the choice to wear a cause of grief charm such that the
public can become aware that users are grieving and to possibly
share experiences; (4) providing a deeper sense of appreciation and
meaning because community members can reflect on their own lives
and become more appreciative for the health and well being of their
loved ones.
[0061] While the above is a complete description of exemplary
specific embodiments of the present invention, additional
embodiments are also possible. Thus, the above description should
not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention, which is
defined by the appended claims along with their full scope of
equivalents.
* * * * *