U.S. patent number 3,745,788 [Application Number 05/202,162] was granted by the patent office on 1973-07-17 for finger ring and radially compressible adjustable sizing device, and method of fitting a ring.
Invention is credited to James P. L. Sullivan.
United States Patent |
3,745,788 |
Sullivan |
July 17, 1973 |
FINGER RING AND RADIALLY COMPRESSIBLE ADJUSTABLE SIZING DEVICE, AND
METHOD OF FITTING A RING
Abstract
An adjustable device is disclosed for use with a finger ring
which permits the wearer to easily size the ring for a comfortable
fit. The adjustable device comprises an externally threaded shim
which threadably engages the inside periphery of the ring so as to
circumferentially compress the shim as the ring is rotated relative
thereto.
Inventors: |
Sullivan; James P. L.
(Scottsdale, AZ) |
Family
ID: |
22748730 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/202,162 |
Filed: |
November 26, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
63/15.6 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A44C
9/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A44C
9/00 (20060101); A44C 9/02 (20060101); A44c
009/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;63/15.6,15.1,15.2,15.3,15.4 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Shay; F. Barry
Claims
I claim:
1. A finger ring and ring adjusting device comprising: a ring
having shank portion; a sleeve adapted for insertion into the
interior periphery of the shank of said ring so that the exterior
periphery of said sleeve is in contact with the interior periphery
of the shank of said ring; and deflection means including a thread
formed on the interior periphery of the shank of said ring and a
mating thread formed on the exterior periphery of said sleeve, said
thread and said mating thread adapted for an interference fit
therebetween with the amount of interference increasing as the
amount of threaded engagement therebetween increases for
increasingly inwardly circumferentially compressing said sleeve as
said sleeve is inserted into the shank of said ring.
2. A finger ring adjustment device as claimed in claim 1, wherein
said sleeve is formed of deformable resilient material.
3. A finger ring and ring adjustment device as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said deflection means comprises a tapered thread on the
interior periphery of the shank of said ring and a linear thread
formed on the exterior periphery of said sleeve.
4. A finger ring and ring adjustment device as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said deflection means comprises a linear thread formed on
the interior periphery of the shank of said ring and said sleeve
defining an externally threaded frustrum having a linear interior
periphery.
5. A finger ring and ring adjustment device as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said deflection means comprises a linear thread formed on
the interior periphery of the shank of said ring and said sleeve
defining a frustrum having a tapered thread formed on the exterior
periphery thereof and a conical interior periphery.
6. A finger ring and ring adjustment device as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said deflection means comprises a tapered thread formed on
the interior periphery of the shank of said ring, and said sleeve
defining a frustrum having a tapered thread formed on the exterior
periphery thereof.
7. A method of adjustably fitting a ring to a wearer's finger
comprising the steps of: threading the interior periphery of the
band of the ring with a tapered thread; selecting a deformable
resilient sleeve having a thread formed on the exterior periphery
thereof which substantially matches the largest diameter of the
tapered thread of the ring, said sleeve having an interior
circumference which will comfortably slide over the wearer's
knuckle; mounting the sleeve and the ring on the wearer's finger;
and rotating the ring relative to the sleeve for producing threaded
engagement therebetween to circumferentially compress the sleeve
about the wearer's finger.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention pertains to the jewelry art, and more particularly
to a device for use with a finger ring which permits the wearer to
adjust the ring size for comfort and ease of passing over a
knuckel.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The problems involved in ring comfort and sizing have always
amounted to a compromise between being able to pass the ring over a
knuckle and a good fit on the ring-wearing portion of the finger.
This compromise results in a relatively loose fitting ring which is
not only aggravating but dangerous, as serious injuries have
resulted from rings being snagged on obstructions. Loose fitting
rings are especially irritating when the ring has a gem or signet
mounting, as the mounting will invariably turn into the palm of the
wearer. It is practically impossible to comforably fit a ring to a
person having large knuckles or arthritis, and many people have
given up wearing rings for that reason.
Many variables enter into ring comfort as well as the hereinbefore
mentioned problems; the wearer may gain or lose weight, and a
person's extremities are known to swell causing variations in
finger size even from one day to the next.
It would, therefore, be highly advantageous to provide an
adjustable ring-sizing device that the wearer can adjust for
comfort and ease of passing over a knuckle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Altering the size of finger rings has long been an art reserved
exclusively for the craftsmen in the jewelers' trade. This art has
basically amounted to adding or removing metal to alter the ring
diameter or modifying the basic structure of the ring so that it
will accept the well-known crescent-shaped shim.
Among the many attempts to solve ring sizing problems, the
disclosure of U. S. Pat. No. 3,465,544 is exemplary of the prior
art. This particular prior art device discloses, among other
things, the usual crescent-shaped shim which is provided with means
for pivotally connecting the shim to a reduced cross-sectional area
machined in the band of the ring. The shim is adapted to pivot
about this area and snap into arcuate grooves or notches provided
on the internal diameter of the ring.
Other prior art devices have provided tabs, screws, springs, and
the like to provide mounting means for the crescent-shaped
shims.
The prior art devices provided, at best, are only partial solutions
to the ring sizing problems, and some of these devices created
other problems which hindered their wide acceptance. Some of the
short comings of the prior art devices are their inability for
adjustment and their lack of easy removal, as some even required
tooling to unsnap the crescent shims. Other devices resulted in
protruding parts such as tabs, screws and the like, which often
irritated fingers and caught on objects handled by the wearer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a new adjustable
ring-sizing device is provided which facilitates passing the ring
over a knuckle and allows the wearer to adjust the ring size for a
comfortable fit. Th device comprises an externally threaded sleeve
or shim of deformable resilient material which is appropriately
selected so that the internal periphery will comfortably pass over
a particular wearer's knuckle. To accommodate the deformable
sleeve, the ring is provided with threads on the internal periphery
of the band or shank portion. The adjustable feature of this
invention is obtained by either the threads of the ring or the
threads of the sleeve (or both) being tapered, and sized to apply
an increasing circumferential pressure to the sleeve as it is
threaded into the ring. Since the material of the ring is rigid in
comparison to the deformable material of the sleeve, a decreasing
internal diameter results as the sleeve threadably engages the
ring. This device may be used on existing rings as well as new
manufactures by simply taping the internal periphery of
ring-shank.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an
adjustable ring-sizing device which is simple and inexpensive to
manufacture.
Another object of this invention is to provide a ring-sizing device
which is easily passed over a knuckle and then adjusted to provide
a comfortable fit on the ring-wearing portion of the finger.
A further object of this invention is to provide a ring-sizing
device which permits the wearer to increase the ring size for ease
of removal.
A still further object of this invention is to provide an
adjustable ring-sizing device which is easily adapted to existing
rings.
The foregoing and other objects of this invention, the various
features thereof as well as the invention itself, may be more fully
understood from the following description when read in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view of a hand having the ring and sleeve
of the present invention exploded therefrom.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a ring with a shim adjacent
thereto, and incorporating the features of the present
invention.
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the shim assembled
thereto.
FIG. 4 is a front view of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the present invention.
FIG. 6 illustrates yet another modification of the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a
fragmentary portion of a hand 10 with a ring 12 and an adjustable
sizing shim or sleeve 14 exploded therefrom.
To accomplish the adjustable ring sizing objectives of the present
invention, a deflection means cooperating between the ring 12 and
the sleeve 14 is contemplated. The deflection means is intended to
circumferentially inwardly compress sleeve 14 to provide a variable
effective internal diameter of the sleeve. To accomplish this
inwardly directed circumferential compression, various cooperating
devices are possible such as tapered splines, cam-lock mechanisms
and the like. However, as illustrated and described in the
preferred embodiment, the deflection means is shown as various
combinations of linear threads and tapered threads as will now be
explained in detail.
As seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the ring 12 is provided with a setting
16 which may be of any of the usual forms of signet, gem, and the
like. The band or shank portion 18 of the ring 12 is provided with
tapered threads 20 which may be formed in a conventional manner
during manufacture of the ring, or may be added to an existing ring
by using a simple tap. The shim or sleeve 14 is formed of a
deformable resilient material of relatively thin wall construction,
having linear, that is, straight, untapered threads 22 formed on
the periphery. As may be seen in the drawings, the sleeve 14 and
the ring 12 are designed for threaded engagement therebetween with
the obvious result that an increasing circumferential deformation
or compression of sleeve 14 due to an increasing interference fit
therebetween will result as sleeve 14 is threaded into ring 12. The
inwardly directed deformation will result in randomly spaced bulges
24 as illustrated in FIG. 4. The number of bulges and the
dimensional deflection of each bulge depends on the material of
sleeve 14, the angle of taper threads 20, the cross-sectional
dimensions of the walls of the sleeve 14, and the amount of thread
engagement. The inwardly deflected deformation of bulges 24 have
been found not to create any discomfort to the wearer, therefore,
by controlling the variables of material, thread angle and wall
thickness in the design, the only remaining variable, thread
engagement, is used to provide the adjustable feature of the
invention.
To properly fit a ring, employing the adjustable feature of the
present invention, it is only necessary that a sleeve 14 be
selected which will comfortably slide over the wearer's knuckle and
to select a ring 12 having the large diameter 26 of taper threads
20 substantially equal to the outside diameter of sleeve 14. This
dimensional relationship will allow threaded engagement between the
sleeve 14 and the ring 12 after they have been passed over the
wearer' s knuckle. To adjust the effective internal diameter, the
wearer need only slide the ring-shim assembly toward the palm of
the hand, or toward the knuckle to a point where the diameter of
the finger increases sufficiently to frictionally retain the sleeve
14 so that th ring 12 can be rotated relative thereto.
FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the hereinbefore described
structure. The differences being that the ring band or shank 18 is
provided with conventional linear threads 28, and the sleeve 14 is
a frustrum with external taper threads 30 and a linear or conical
internal bore 32.
FIG. 6 illustrates yet another species where the sleeve 14 is an
externally threaded frustrum similar to the one hereinbefore
described in relation to FIG. 5. The ring 12 is provided with taper
threads 20 as described in regard to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.
Both of the modified structures described in relation to FIGS. 5
and 6 will result in the same type of inwardly directed
deformations as hereinbefore described, hence the adjustable
feature of the present invention results from any of these
structures.
Some rings, usually of the inexpensive variety, are formed with an
internal cavity (not shown) adjacent to the area where the gen or
signet is mounted on the band. To adapt this type of ring to the
adjustable device of the present invention, it will be necessary to
fill this cavity 34 with a material 36 to prevent sleeve 14 from
deforming thereinto during adjustment.
Various changes in the device herein chosen for purposes of
illustration in the drawing will readily occur to pereons skilled
in the art having regard for the disclosure hereof. To the extent
that such modifications and variations do not depart from the
spirit of the invention, they are intended to be included within
the scope thereof which is not limited to the device or method
specifically illustrated but rather by a fair interpretation of the
following claims.
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