Pierced earring

Sept. 28, 1965

3,208,239

R. PINTARELLI

PIERCED EARRING

Filed April 29, 1963

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INVENTOR.

BY , ,

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3,208,239

Patented Sept 28, 1965

United States Patent Office ~~ T~ ~ _

3,208,239 , , _z PIERCED earring Ralph Pintarelli, 96 Waterman Ave. Johnston R τ

Filed Apr. 29, 1963, Ser. No. 276,325 ’

Claims. (Cl. 63—12)

P^re^/“ion relates to a pierced earring and to the method of making same. More particularly the Present invention relates to a pierced earring having a body portion that includes a unique constructional ^§ar rangement for pivotally attaching an ear wire thereto.

The present invention, as hereinafter described has application to that class of pierced earrings which have a generally circular shaped body portion. However, as will concfntof ·^ίΓΟΐη -^{a deSCripti0n of the} invention, the concept of the invention may be employed in pierced ear ^,taK’ “&lt; »»S«.

Prior to the instant invention, pierced earrings that were fabricated in generally circular shape were normally constructed by soldering together two circular-like shells ²⁰HptJ^hTu^{fter a}®^{xmg the ear wire} to an end of the soldered shells m pivotal relation by means of a pivot pin tvnl ^PJ^{Ojected thr}°ugh the shells. Although this prior type of earring construction had useful application the steps required to solder the shells together and then to coXn^fi⁰^ T ^ea^Wire P^rohibitively increased the the nrnw ^earrmg· ^{Tbe present} invention avoids larrtoiS ^en'°™^{tered in} these prior known pierced arrings and includes a unique constructional arrangement, wherein the earring body portion is fabricated “in a one-piece construction by stamping it from a blank rXkf^meta1· ^Sin/^e-^{the body p}”^{tion is} damped froi L^bl„ v ^f°^r.^m’ ^ίΙΓ7 ^desired ornamental configuration may be achieved, and, moreover, various types of materials such as aluminum, may be utilized, thereby materially decreasing the cost of manufacture of the finished earrin_g^y. Because the body portion of the earring of the present invention is formed in a one-piece construction Ξ means must be provided for pivotally securing the ear wire thereto. In order to accomplish this purpose, one he opposed ends of the body portion as stamped is ouslvXmed^h .^Sl^amping operation, and simufianeA f X^d *^βΓβννιΛ are a projection and tab. The tab extends outwardly of the end to which it is joined while the projection is formed in the cut-away _PE’ ⁴⁵The projection defines a pivot pin over which the loop of ear wire is placed, and the tab is thereafter folded in aUv lock^gfS^atl°^{n With}.^{respect t0 the} Projection to pivotally lock the ear wire in place. In the final assembly of tbe ear wire to the body portion, the tab is located such X^{at tb}? °^Utr^{r tbereof is} coincident with respect to the adjacent surface of the body portion. This lends a finished appearance to the earring construction and in no way detracts from, the ornamental characteristics thereof nrE^{rdme y}’ 'S^{18 aU} °^{bjeCt Of tbe present} invention to wherein th “· °^{f Plerced earring} construction a metal blank ^Χ °^{f earring is Stamped from}thaikSni’^V ^{t0 PrOvide an earring} construction durable in use.“ ^{COnstructlonal detaiIs} thereof and is

Another object is to provide an earring construction of the pierced type wherein the ear wire is pivotally focked to the. body portion of the earring by a tab that as an integral part of the body portion.

wfi? h_P™^ObjeCtS’ ^{features and} advantages of the invention _whL^b °™e apparent as the description thereof proceeds ifiustrative'drawings. ^C°^{nneCtlOn accon}Wing

In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present invtntton?

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the pierced earring embodied m the present invention;

FIG^l'·² '^{S a t0P plan vieW of ibe earrin}S illustrated in minted in^anFIG. t°^{f the pierced ealTing bdG}'.^{4 is an} enlarged fragmentary view with parts shown in section of the earring illustrated in FIG. T Λ · ⁵J^{S an}.enlarged perspective view of one end of If thpTm ^e“bodied herein showing the location I the foldable tab prior to the movement thereof to the folded position;

FIG.. 6 is an enlarged perspective view similar to FIG. 5 showing the tab in the folded position thereof;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the ear wire that is bnAS^dh^{n P}-^laCe °? ^{the b0dy portion of the} earring embodied herein; and ^{8 a} sectional view taken along line 8—8 in irJLLr. 4.

. Referring now to the drawings, the earring construcron embodied m the present invention is generally indicteed at 12 “a ^mcludes .^{a body} P^ortion generally inSk f ¹² -^{nd an ear wire} generally indicated at 14. illntrarea ^pordon,¹² ?^f earring construction 10, as illustrated in the drawing and particularly in FIG 1 is formed in a generally crescent shape. This type of earring design is conventional in pierced earrings and is shown m. the present invention for illustrative purposes in _m^y\ ^T -^{1S unde}rst°od that the concept of the invention ³⁰ XT ^{be 1}^corP°!'^{ated ln a} pierced earring of any suitable design, shape, form or configuration. As will be discussed hereinafter, the crescent-shaped body portion 12 is stamped in one piece from blank form, thereby facili. taring the manufacture and final assembly of the earring ) configuration. ⁶ • X ^tb® ^b°^{dy portion} 12, opposed ends indicated at 16 and 18 are formed in spaced relation in the conventional manner. Referring to FIG. 4, it will be noted that a recess 20 is formed in the end 18 of the body portion 12 and is adapted to receive an end 22 of the “t X^{s iS}/^1S0 T^ventionaI in earring constructions of this kind and as will be further explained hereinafter. . in the stamping operation of the body portion 12 wherein the desired shape and configuration of the body portion ^{W thereof is} also formed in a manner as described, below to. accommodate the ear wire 14 thereon in pivotal relation. Referring now to FIGS. 4 5, 6 and 8 the end 16 of the body portion 12 is shown ut out to define a shelf 24 and a shoulder 26. The cutout portion is formed such that the shoulder 26 extends T^{an one}’^{half the tot}al thickness of the end 16. During the stamping operation in which the end 16 is cut away to define the shelf 24 and shoulder 26 a projection 28 is also integral with the shelf 24 and projects outwardly therefrom substantially perpendicular with respect to the surface thereof. As indicated in FIG 8 X® ^{ppojeptIon 28 extends} less than the full dimension of the shoulder 26 but is of such a height as to accommodate he loop 30 formed on the ear wire 14.

. Also formed, on the body portion 12 during the stamn^{1S a} J^{ab 32 Which}’ ^{as shown in} Ml Hues m FIG. 5, is formed as an extension of the end 16 and is generally coextensive with the shelf 24. In the assembly is formed ₆₅ °? X® ^ear y^{jre 14}.^to the body portion 12, the loop 30 is rionnl on the projection 28. However, since some fric32 into Xt? ^{1S desired} between the loop 30 and the tab 32 folded thereover, the height of the projection 28 is formed almost equal to the cross sectional dimension of 70 ^thejy^{ire tbat forms the} I⁰⁰? 30. With loop 30 in place 70 on the projection 28, the tab 32 is folded from the poriilustnted toFIG E Ϊ “ ^FIG' ^{5 t0 tbe position}lustrated in FIG. 6. In this position, and as shown in

FIG. 8, the tab 32 overlies the projection 28 and is located in engagement with the outer end thereof and in engagement with the adjacent surfaces of the loop -&gt;0 and thus mounts the ear wire 14 in place on the projection 28. As further shown in FIG. 8, the projection 28 is dimen- । sioned so that it is less than the full height of the shoulder 26. This provides for receiving the tab 32 thereon such that the outer surface thereof is substantially coincident with the adjacent surface of the end 16 of the body porAs further seen in FIG. 8, the diameter of the wire forming the ear wire 14 as seen in cross section is only slightly smaller than the dimension of the projection 28. Thus, when the tab 32 is located in the folded position thereof, the loop 30 of the ear wire 14 substantially occupies the space provided between the tab 32 and the shelf 24. The loop 30 is thus locked in position on the projection 28 for pivotal movement with respect thereto; but the close fitting relation of the loop 30 between the tab 32 and the shelf 24 prevents undue sideways movement of the ear wire 14 with respect to the body portion 12. As described above, it is also desirable to have some frictional contact between the loop 30 and the opposed shelf 24 and tab 32 whereby the ear wire 14 may be retained in any position to which it is moved.

When the earring construction 10 is to be assembled on the ear of the wearer, the ear wire 14 is passed through an opening in the wearer’s ear and is then locked in place by locating the relatively straight end 22 within the recess 20 of the end 18 of the body portion.

In carrying out the steps in the method of fabricating the earring construction 10, a blank form of any suitable metal material, such as aluminum, is utilized. However it is understood that other metals that are capable of being gold or silver plated may also be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention. The body portion 12 is formed in a single operation, preferably by a stamping process wherein a suitable design is also etched or stamped in the body portion 12. Simultaneously with the formation of the body portion 12 to the desired configuration, one of the ends thereof which is indicated at 16 in the drawing is formed with the cutout section to define the shelf 24 and shoulder 26. The stamping operation further forms the projection 28 as an integral part of the shelf 24 and the tab 32 as an extension of the shelf 24. The opening 20 in the end 18 is then formed in a separate operation. With the end 16 stamped in the manner as illustrated in FIG. 5 wherein the tab 32 extends outwardly with respect to the shelf 24 and as an extension thereof, the loop 30 of the ear wire is placed in position over the projection 28. The tab 32 is then folded from the position illustrated in FIG. 5 to the position illustrated in FIG. 6 to engage the outer end of the projection 28 and thus lock the ear wire 14 in pivotal position on the projection 28. In the folding movement of the tab 32 to the final assembled position thereof, the tab is located such that the outer surface thereof is coincident with the adjacent surface of the end 16.

While there is shown and described herein certain specific method steps and structure embodying the inven3,208,239 tion, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and. that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.