Barrette for supporting ornamental broaches

Abstract

A barrette for removably securing there to an ornamental broach of the type having an ornamental element which is provided a fastening element, said fastening element including a pin member pivotally connected at one end to the ornamental element and adapted to be removably secured at its other end to the ornamental element. The barrette includes a body portion having a conventional hair clasping portion and a cradle mounted on the body portion for receiving the pin member of the ornamental broach. The cradle is provided with at least one longitudinally extending bore therethrough for receiving the pin member of the ornamental broach in a plurality of different angular positions relative to the body portion of the barrette; in one form of the invention, the cradle is provided with a single longitudinally extending bore and the cradle is pivotally connected to the body portion of the barrette; in another embodiment of the invention, the cradle is in the form of a turret which is provided with a plurality of angularly arranged and longitudinally extending bores any one of which is adapted to receive the pin member of the broach.

Parent Case Text

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Ser. No. 305,592, filed Nov. 10, 1972, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,260 for "Ornamental Barrette."

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in jewelry and more particularly to a hair clasp or barrette for securing an ornamental broach to milady's hair.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Hair clasps or barrettes are in widespread use today for holding a tress of hair in a preslected position for enhancing the beauty of milady's hair style. These devices are usually of a relatively inexpensive construction, comprising a molded plastic-type body portion having a clasping element secured to the underside thereof. The clasping element is adapted for passing through the hair tress and locking the body portion in a preselected position on the outer or exposed portion of the hair tress whereby the hair tress is held securely in the set position. The body of the barrette adds a decorative touch to the hair style. However, due to the relatively low cost of items such as these, it will be apparent that many of the barrettes available today are not especially attractive or decorative as compared with a more expensive piece of jewelry which milady may desire to wear. Many persons who wear barrettes possess beautiful items of jewelry, such as broaches which may be heirlooms, and the like, which they desire to display, and frequently these jewelry items would greatly enhance milady's hair style in a much better manner than the usual barrette available today. However, these jewelry items are not normally constructed for being fastened in milady's hair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention contemplates a novel hair clasp or barrette having the usual clasping element provided thereon for engaging a hair tress in the well known manner. The body portion of the novel barrette, however, is provided with means for receiving a separate piece or item of jewelry, such as a broach, thereon for securely retaining the jewelry item on the barrette during use of the barrette in milady's hair. The broach may be readily removed from a barrette when no longer needed for decoration, or may be replaced by another broach, thus providing unlimited decorative hair clasp devices for milady's hair. The body portion of the barrette also includes a cradle having at least one longitudinally extending bore therethrough for receiving the pin or piercing element of the broach. In one embodiment of the present invention the cradle has a single longitudinally extending bore therethrough but the cradle is adapted to be pivoted relative to the body portion to provide a plurality of different angular positions of the broach with respect to the body portion. In another embodiment of the invention, the cradle is in the form of a turret which is provided with a plurality of angularly arranged longitudinally extending bores whereby the pin member of the broach can be inserted through whichever longitudinally extending bore will provide the proper angular disposition of the broach with respect to milady's hair. Thus, a relatively inexpensive and basic barrette may be utilized with an expensive and ornamental broach for providing an ornamental or decorative item for milady's hair.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a barrette embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the barrette shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the barrette shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, showing a modified means for pivotally securing the cradle to the body portion of the barrette.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along section line 5--5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, but showing a further modification of the means for pivotally securing the cradle to the body portion of the barrette.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of an ornamental broach which can be utilized with the barrette of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a modified form of the cradle.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view of the upper portion of FIG. 8, showing the ornamental broach of FIG. 7 attached thereto.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along section line 10--10 of FIG. 8, showing the internal details of the cradle.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10, but showing a still further modified form of the cradle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character 10 generally indicates a hair clasp or barrette comprising an upper or outer body portion 12, and a clasp element 14. The body portion 12 as shown herein is an arcuate side elevational configuration whereby the general contour thereof approximates the general contour of milady's head (not shown) as is well known in devices of this type. The body 12 as shown in FIG. 2 is an elongated oval configuration, but it will be apparent that there is no intention of limiting the body 12 to this particular configuration. The clasp element 14 may be of any suitable or well known type, and as shown herein comprises an elongated arcuate arm 15 having one end 16 thereof pivotally secured to the under or lower surface of the body 12, and the opposite end 18 thereof adapted for selective engagement with a hook or catch member 20 provided on the lower or under surface of the body 12 in spaced relation with respect to the hinge connection 16, as is well known. Thus, the arm 15 may be pivoted in a direction away from the body 12 for opening of the clasp element 14 whereby the arm 15 may be inserted about a hair tress (not shown), and the outer end 18 thereof may then be engaged with the catch member 20 for securing the barrette 10 on the hair tress, as is well known.

An ornament receiving member or cradle 22 is disposed in spaced relationship from the outer or upper surface of the body 12, and is movably or pivotally secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by a shaft 24 and support button 26, the latter being secured to the shaft 24 and resting against the upper surface of the body portion 12. The end of the shaft 24 extends through the body portion 12 and is flattened at its inner end, as at 27, to provide the remainder of the pivotal connection. A suitable locking device 29 is provided on the body 12 for cooperating with the button 26 to lock the button in position when the cradle 22 has been properly oriented with respect to the hair tress. The locking device 29 is preferably in the form of a set screw, which can be screwed into the body 12 to lock the button in place.

The cradle 22 as shown in FIGS. 1-3 is preferably in the form of an elongated body portion 28 having a longitudinal bore 30 extending therethrough.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the button 26 has been replaced by a disc 32 and the body 12 is provided with a plurality of small bumps or protusions 34 which can be molded in the body 12 or which can be in the form of small metal protrusions attached to the body of the barrette. The disc 32 is preferably a disc of very thin sping steel, and as shown in FIG. 5, can be provided with a plurality of rounded notches or recesses 36 which are adapted to receive the bumps or protrusions 34. The disc 32 is connected to the shaft 24 for rotary movement therewith. Thus, when it is desired to move the cradle 22 to a different angular position with respect to the body 12 of the barrette (as compared with the positions shown in FIGS. 1-4), the cradle 22 is rotated about the shaft 24 to force the recesses of the disc out of contact with the protrusions 34 until the latter reside in different rounded recesses 36 as represented by the desired angular position of the cradle 22.

FIG. 6 represents a modification of the disc 32 shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 6 the disc 32 has been replaced by another disc 38 which is provided with a plurality of holes (or indentations) 40, also adapted to receive the ends of the protrusions 34 (not shown in FIG. 6). The disc 38 is also preferably made of very thin spring steel and is keyed or connected to the shaft 24 for rotation therewith. The modification of FIG. 6 permits angular adjustment of the cradle 22 in the same manner as described above in relation to FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows a broach 42 of the type which can be used with the barrette of the present invention. The broach 42 normally includes an ornamental element 44 (the back side of which is shown herein) having a fastening element 46 secured to the back or undersurface thereof. The fastening element 46 includes a piercing member 48 commonly called a pin, having one end pivotally secured at 50 to the element 44 and the opposite end 52 adapted for engagement with a hook or catch 54. The opposite side of the element 44 from that shown in FIG. 7 would be provided with a decorative surface or ornamentation. In order to use the ornamental broach 43 with the barrette 10, it is merely necessary to disengage the pin 48 from the catch 54 and then insert the in 48 into the longitudinally extending bore 30 of the cradle 32. Thereafter the pin 48 is engaged with the catch 54. With barrette in milady's hair, the broach 42 can then be adjusted to the desired position by rotating the cradle 22 to the desired position with respect to the body 12.

As shown in FIG. 8, the pivotal cradle 22 has been replaced by a fixed button or turret 56. The turret 56 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending bores 58 angularly arranged with respect to each other as best shown in FIG. 10 which represents a cross-sectional view of the turret 56 shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 is a view of a portion of the body 12 and the turret 56 showing the broach of FIG. 7 inserted through one of the longitudinally extending bores 58. The pin element 48 would first have been released from the clasp or catch 54, pivoted downwardly with respect to the pivotal connection 50, and then inserted through the longitudinal bore 58, and then refastened.

FIG. 11 represents a modification of the turret 56 where the turret 70 is a hollow member having a plurality of oppositely disposed openings 62 constituting, in effect, the equivalent of the longitudinally extending bores 58 of the turret 56. The pin element 48 of the broach can be inserted through any pair of opposite openings 62 in the same manner as described above with relation to FIG. 9.

Whereas the present invention has been described in particular relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A barrette for securing therein an ornamental broach, said broach being of the type having an ornamental element with a fastening element on one side thereof, said fastening element including an elongated pin having one end pivotally secured to the fastening element, the opposite end of said pin being adapted to be removably secured to said ornamental element; said barrette comprising a body portion, hair tress clasping means carried by the body portion for securing the barrette to a hair tress, a cradle carried by said body portion and having at least one bore extending longitudinally therethrough, said cradle being adapted to receive the pin of said broach through a bore thereof in a plurality of different angular positions relative to said body portion.

2. A barrette as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cradle is provided with a single longitudianlly extending bore therethrough and wherein said cradle is pivotally connected to said body portion.

3. A barrette as set forth in claim 2 wherein said cradle is pivotally connected to said body portion by means of a shaft attached to said body portion and wherein locking means interacting between said shaft and said body portion are provided to lock said cradle in a plurality of different angular positions relative to said body portion.

4. A barrette as set forth in claim 3 wherein said locking means comprising a circular button fixed to said shaft adjacent said body portion and a set screw threadedly received in said body portion and adapted to engage said button.

5. A barrette as set forth in claim 3 wherein said locking means comprises a flexible disc secured to said shaft adjacent said body portion, said disc being provided with a plurality of circumferentially spaced peripheral notches, said body portion being provided with a plurality of protrusions adapted to be received in the peripheral notches.

6. A barrette as set forth in claim 3 wherein said locking means comprises a flexible circular disc having a plurality of circumferentially arranged indentations in the surface thereof, said body portion having plurality of protrusions received in said indentations.

7. A barrette as set forth in claim 3 wherein said locking means comprises a flexible circular disc having a plurality of circumferentially arranged holes in the surface thereof, said body portion having a plurality of protrusions received in said holes.

8. A barrette as set forth in claim 1 wherein said cradle is in the form of a non-rotatable turrent having a plurality of angularly arranged bores therethrough.

9. A barrette as set forth in claim 8 wherein said turret is hollow and wherein said plurality of angularly arranged bores are provided by pairs of opposite openings disposed around the circumference of said turret.