Locking ring for jewelry

Abstract

This invention is a locking ring used for attaching charms to a bracelet or necklace to make up an article of jewelry. A locking ring has an end with a groove on a portion of its perimeter and a locking tab attached to the other end, which tab has an indentation that fits into said groove. The tab is bent to completely surround the ends of the locking ring.

Description

This invention relates to a locking ring for securing portions of jewelry together, such as charms onto a bracelet or necklace. This invention is an improvement over that shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,427,823, dated Feb. 18, 1969.

A disadvantage of the locking ring described in the aforesaid patent is that the ends thereof must be shaped to form intricate parts that are difficult and expensive to manufacture, such as the integral projection formed on one end and the socket therefor formed on the other end, thereby adding considerably to the cost thereof.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel locking ring for charm bracelets and the like which will overcome the abovenamed disadvantages.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a novel connector or tab for joining the ends of a locking ring easily and quickly without the necessity of shaping the ends of the locking ring, with the exception of the provision of a small groove extending along a small portion of the cross-section of one end portion of the locking ring.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from a study of the following description, taken with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view of a bracelet and charm secured together by a locking ring embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the locking tab or connector shown in FIG. 1 illustrating its shape before final bending;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III--III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows the locking ring and tab immediately before the locking ring ends are joined together;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, top view of the ends of locking ring of FIG. 4 but shown after the ends are secured together by bending of the locking tab 4;

FIG. 6 shows a modification of the mode of attachment of the locking tab to one end of the locking ring, showing the position of parts before the locking ring is closed; and,

FIG. 7 is a top view of the end of the locking ring of FIG. 6 when held together in the closed position by bending of the locking tab.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, numeral 1 denotes a fragmentary portion of a bracelet or necklace to which is attached a charm 2 or a plurality of charms, or the like, by means of a locking ring 3 which, when open, loops through an eye of the charm and a link of the bracelet or necklace in a well known manner.

The present invention relates to the locking tab construction and the manner it holds together the ends of the locking ring 3.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the locking tab 4 shown in FIG. 1 and comprises a channel shaped element of malleable or readily bent metal comprising a relatively long leg 5 having indentations 6 (see FIG. 3) a base 7 and a shorter leg 8.

FIG. 4 shows one form of the invention wherein the locking ring 3 is of rectangular cross-section and grooves 10a and 10b are formed only on one surface portion of the ends, as shown. The locking tab 4 is attached to one end of the locking ring by punching an indentation 6 so that it will fit into groove 10a and thus be held tightly to the end of the ring. A similar indentation 6, after the charm 2 is linked with the bracelet or necklace 1, is slid into groove 10b so as to hold the ends of the locking ring in abutment or close to abutment and thereafter the locking tab 4 is bent from the position shown in FIG. 4 to that shown in FIG. 5 so as to securely hold together the ends of the locking ring. If desired more than one indentation 6 may be formed for cooperation with either or both of grooves 10a and 10b . Also, means may be provided for connecting said open locking tab and ring of FIG. 4 with even greater security for example, the tab 4 may be additionally welded or soldered permanently to one end of the locking ring.

FIG. 6 and 7 show a modification of the invention wherein groove 10a is omitted and, instead, the locking tab 4' is welded or soldered to one end portion of the locking ring 3'. Only the other end is provided with a groove 10b which is slid onto indentation 6' and thereafter the tab 4' is bent from the position shown in FIG. 6 to that shown in FIG. 7 to securely lock the ends of the ring together, either in abutment or slightly spaced, as desired.

While the locking ring 3 has been shown as of square cross-section, it could be of round cross-section, instead, in which case groove 10b (and possibly groove 10a) extends only about a small portion of the perimeter of the round cross-section.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a highly efficient and very inexpensive locking tab arrangement for locking together the ends of a locking ring without the requirement of forming the ends of the locking ring in intricate shapes which would greatly increase the cost of manufacture, and, instead, I have provided a locking ring wherein only a partial slot is necessary on only one end of the ring which cooperates with a very simple and inexpensive channel shaped tab which easily and quickly joins the ends of the locking ring by the simple expedient of making a bend manually of the end portion of the locking tab.

While I have illustrated and described several embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that these are by way of illustration only, and that various changes and modifications may be contemplated in the specification and within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

I claim:

1. For use in combination with an endless chain for forming a bracelet or necklace, a locking ring looped through a link of said chain for connecting it to a charm or the like, said locking ring being split at one portion to form two adjoining ends, a transverse narrow groove adjacent each end of said locking ring and extending along only an outer peripheral portion thereof, a connecting tab of thin, flat material bent into substantially U-shape with one leg longer than the other, said ends of said locking ring being normally offset before locking, one of said tab legs having indentations thereon forming interior projections, means connecting said tab to said locking ring with one of said projections projecting into one of said grooves, whereby after the other end of said ring is brought into end-to-end relationship with said one end, the leg of longer length of said connecting tab may be bent to completely surround the end portions of said ring and securely lock them together.

2. A locking ring as recited in claim 1 wherein the legs of said connecting tab are in flat planes at right angles to a flat base plane.

3. A locking ring as recited in claim 1 wherein said means connecting said tab to said locking ring includes a soldered connection.