Lighted Earring

Abstract

A lighted earring includes a hollow body and a spaced clamp mechanism for attaching the same to an ear lobe of a person wearing the earring. A bracket including a socket is supported on the hollow body in depending relation thereto and an insulated conductor extends from a point adjacent the socket to a point within the hollow body for engagement with a terminal on a battery positioned in the hollow body. The socket has a filigreed ornamental shade suspended therefrom and is adapted to receive a bulb extension member and an incandescent light bulb therein. Optional transparent colored sleeves are provided for altering the color of the lighted earring.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to earrings of the type normally worn to enhance the wearer's appearance and more particularly to earrings in which light means are incorporated.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Prior lighted earrings have incorporated ornamental earring structures with light bulbs and wires running therefrom to a remotely situated battery case which is usually positioned in the hair of the wearer. (See for example U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,945). Another construction locates a light bulb in an earring and requires that the light bulb be rotated to establish contact with the battery terminal. (See U.S. Pat. No. 2,798,148). Other prior art constructions relating to the use of lighted jewelry may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,508,041 relating to a lighted tie clip with a flasher circuit and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,149 which shows a luminous tube arranged in a jewelry piece.

This invention locates a filigreed ornamental light shade in relation to a color tube in which a light bulb is disposed and wherein the entire assembly is rotatably moved relative to a fixed portion of the earring so as to make and break an electric circuit with a battery therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A lighted earring comprises a hollow body with a clamp spaced adjacent thereto and arranged for clamping engagement with an ear lobe positioned therebetween, the hollow body supporting a socket in which a filigreed shade, a colored cylinder and a lamp bulb and extension therefore are positioned. A battery disposed in the hollow body has an insulated conductor extending to a point adjacent the light bulb extension so that rotary motion imparted the filigreed body member will move the light bulb extension toward and away from the conductor to act as a switch means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a lighted earring with parts broken away and parts in cross section.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a lighted earring showing the same position on a broken line representation of a portion of an ear.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a light bulb extension and light bulb positioned therein.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a plurality of different colored transparent sleeves.

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through a portion of the lighted earring seen in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In its simplest form the lighted earring consists of a hollow body 10 which may be, and preferrably is, of an ornamental design. The lower portion of the hollow body 10 is cut away as at 11 so that a cylindrical collar 12, which is internally threaded, may be positioned partially within the area of the hollow body 10. A small wafer-type battery 13 is positioned within the hollow body 10 with its central terminal engaged on an arm 14 which is integrally formed with the cylindrical collar 12 and extends upwardly therefrom and is insulated at its upper end where it is secured to a flange on the hollow body 10 by means of a fastener 15.

A clamp including a curved arm 16 with a hinged end portion 17 is also attached to the hollow body 10 by the fastener 15 and the hinged portion 17 is normally spring loaded to the position illustrated.

Those skilled in the art will observe that it may be manually moved as shown by the arrows in FIG. 1 of the drawings which will permit the ear lobe of a person wearing the earring to be positioned between the hinged portion 17 and the curved arm 16 whereby the earring may be secured to the ear of a wearer.

It will also occur to those skilled in the art that in place of the hinged spring loaded arm portion 17 an eyelet may be formed in the upper end of the curved arm 16 so that a metal fastener not shown can be positioned through a pierced ear and engaged therein whereby the earring may be used by wearers having pierced ears.

A conical fixture 18 supports a filigreed shade 19 in depending relation to the cylindrical collar 12 and is secured thereto by a tubular member 20 which threadably engages a thread pattern in the cylindrical collar 12 and has a socket in its lowermost end in which an incandescent bulb 21 is positioned. The tubular member 20 is frictionally or otherwise engaged in the conical fixture 18 so that the latter is supported thereby. Cylindrical transparent and preferably colored sleeves 22 are slidably engaged on the exterior of the tubular member 20 and may extend telescopically thereabout within the conical fixture 18. The sleeves 22 are interchangable and thus the color of the lighted earring may be changed in accordance with the wearer's preference.

By referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the exterior of the hollow body 10 is arranged in a semicircular design with the cylindrical collar 12 and the conical fixture 18 appearing to be attached to the lower portion thereof. Broken lines in FIG. 2 indicate the position of a wearer's ear and the letter E is applied thereto.

The several various colored tubular sleeves 22, which are formed of materials such as transparent plastic, may be seen in FIG. 4 of the drawings and in FIG. 3 of the drawings the tubular member 20 with the light bulb 21 positioned in its lower end may be seen.

By referring now to FIG. 5 of the drawings it will be seen that a cross section of the filigreed shade 19 may be seen along with one of the transparent sleeves 22 and the light bulb 21 therein and it will be observed that the arrangement is such that the entire filigreed shade 19, the light bulb 21 and the tubular member 20 are rotated along with a conical fixture 18 to bring the upper end of the tubular member 20 into and out of contact with the periphery of the battery 13. The electrical circuit is thus extended from the central terminal of the battery 13 through the arm 14 and the cylindrical collar 12 to the tubular member 20 where it is conveyed to the light bulb 21 while the return circuit extends axially of the tubular member 20 from the end terminal of the light bulb 21 to the end terminal of the tubular member 20 which can be moved toward and away from and thereby into contact with the periphery of the battery 13. The cylindrical collar 12 is spaced with respect to the hollow body 10 by the cutaway area 11 therein so that no shorting of the electrical circuit thus established occurs.

It will thus be seen that a lighted earring has been disclosed which is simple to form, easy to assembly and which may be lighted or turned off by merely rotating the filigreed shade 19 thereof which is of considerable size and therefore easy for the wearer to grasp. At such time as the battery 13 is replaced, the fastener 15 is loosened which permits the arms 14 and 16 along with the cylindrical collar 12 to be moved away from the interior of the hollow body 10 so that the battery 13 may be removed and/or replaced as desired.

Claims

It will thus be seen that a lighted earring has been disclosed which incorporates several advantages over those heretofore known in the art and having thus described my invention what I claim is:

1. A lighted earring consisting of a hollow body having a flat side, an arm positioned thereacross, a collar on said arm, means on said arm for securing the same to a wearer's ear lobe, a fixture and a filigreed shade thereon engaging said collar, a tubular member extending through said collar and into said fixture and filigreed shade, a lamp bulb in one end of said tubular member, a wafer type battery disposed on edge in said hollow body with the center terminal thereof engaging said arm, the other end of said tubular member being selectively engagable with the edge terminal of said battery.

2. The lighted earring of claim 1 and wherein the arm on said hollow body is an electrical conductor insulated with respect to said hollow body.

3. The lighted earring of claim 1 and wherein said tubular member is arranged to hold a portion of the filigreed shade between an end thereof and said collar.

4. The lighted earring of claim 1 and wherein a colored transparent sleeve is engaged on said tubular member and encloses said light bulb.