Shear saver

A device for arresting the fall of a hand-held implement, such as hair shears, in case the operator drops them accidentally, comprises a finger ring, a short flexible connector attached to the finger ring, and a spring ring or sister hook attached to the free end of the connector for attachment to the hand-held implement. The short arrested fall prevents possible bodily injury, and avoids damage to the shears because they cannot fall on the floor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Field of the Invention 
When using implements held by and manipulated by the fingers of one hand, 
such as hair-cutting shears, it occasionally happens that the user will 
drop the implement. If the implement is hair-cutting shears, for example, 
the shears may cause bodily injury when dropped, particularly if the 
shears are in an open position. Additionally, in the case of professional 
hair-cutting shears, the relationship of the blades to each other is 
highly precise. If the shears drop directly to the floor, they may be 
damaged beyond repair, because the relationship of the blades to each 
other may be altered. Such professional shears are expensive, often 
costing several hundred dollars per pair. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A finger ring has smaller ring, or padeye, attached to the outside 
periphery of the ring. A flexible connector, such as a jewelry-type chain, 
for example, has a spring ring or sister hook or similar attachment means 
at each end thereof. A first end of the connector is attached to the 
smaller ring, or padeye. The second end of the connector is attached to 
the ring-shaped portion of one of the handles of the shears. The second 
end may instead be attached to the shank between the ring-shaped portion 
and the pivot point of the shears. 
It is an object of this invention to arrest the fall of the pair of shears 
if the operator drops them while cutting hair. Allowing the shears to fall 
only a short distance serves two purposes. Arresting the fall of the 
shears prevents possible bodily injury to the operator and to the person 
whose hair is being cut. Preventing the shears from falling to the floor 
saves the operator considerable money because it will not be necessary to 
have the shears repaired or to replace them.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S) 
Referring to FIG. 1 the shear save 10 comprises a finger ring 11 having 
smaller ring 12 attached to, and extending outward from the outer 
periphery of ring 11. A spring ring 13, which is a standard commercially 
available jewelry item, is attached to smaller ring 12. Spring ring 13 has 
projection 18 which may be moved peripherally to open a gap in spring ring 
13. When a segment of spring ring 13 is placed within padeye 12, 
projection 18 may be released to close the gap, thereby securing spring 
ring 13 to smaller ring 12. Spring ring 13 is attached to a first end 16 
of connector 14 which, in the referred embodiment, is a chain. Spring ring 
15, which is identical to spring ring 13, is attached to second end 17 of 
connector 14. 
A spring ring is a hollow toroidal metal part forming an arc of about 
300.degree.. One of the ends of the hollow toroidal ring is closed. A 
spring is inserted into the hollow torus, and a rod having the curvature 
of the torus is inserted into the torus where it rests against the spring. 
The spring urges the rod around the open part of the arc, where the rod 
rests against the closed end of the torus, closing the circle. An outward 
projection from the rod enables the user to open and close the spring 
ring. 
Referring to FIG. 2, a pair of shears 20 has ring-shaped portion 21 at the 
end of one handle thereof, and ring-shaped portion 22 at the end of the 
outer handle thereof. Spring ring 15 is shown attached to ring-shaped 
portion 21. 
Referring to FIG. 3, shears 20 has a shank 23 between ring-shaped handle 
portion 21 and pivot 25. Shears 20 also has shank 24 between ring-shaped 
portion 22 and pivot 25. Spring ring 15 is shown attached to shank 23. 
Spring ring 15 may be attached to either shank 23 or shank 24. 
The shear save in use is illustrated in FIG. 4. Ring 11 is shown in 
position on one of the operator's fingers 31 of hand 30. The illustration 
shows ring 11 on the fourth finger, commonly called the ring finger, but 
the operator may place ring 11 on any finger, depending on personal 
preference. The length of connector 14 is sufficient to enable the 
operator to open and close the shears while experiencing no restriction 
from connector 14. 
Shears 20 are shown in FIG. 5 as they would appear if the operator had 
allowed them to slip from his or her hand 30. It can be seen that the 
shears 20 would drop only a short distance, not enough to cause bodily 
injury, and certainly not enough to fall to the floor and become damaged. 
Ring 11 may be made of any suitable material such as an alloy of gold, 
silver, platinum or any precious metal, and may also be made of a steel or 
copper alloy. The ring and connector may also be made of plastic as 
illustrated in FIG. 6, which shows ring 40 and connector 41. A first end 
42 of connector 41 is attached directly to ring 40. Second end 43 of 
connector 41 has sister hook 44 attached thereto. Sister hook 44 may be 
attached to shears 20 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. 
A sister hook is an oppositely disposed pair of hooks which overlay each 
other, and rotate around a common axis on the shanks of the hooks. The 
surface of the hooks which are in contact with each other are flat, so 
that when the sister hook is closed it forms a ring. The hook is opened 
and closed by means of a small projection on each hook. When the 
projections are moved apart, the hook is opened for attachment to an 
object. When the projections are moved closer to each other, the hooks 
overlie each other, and the retaining ring is complete. 
It will be recognized that ring 11 or ring 40 may be decorated or 
ornamented in any manner without departing from the spirit of this 
invention. Connector 14 and connector 41 may be made of any flexible 
lightweight material without departing from the spirit of this invention. 
The invention has been described in language more or less specific as to 
structural features. It is to be understood, however, that the invention 
is not limited to the specific features shown, since the means and 
construction herein disclosed comprise a preferred form of putting the 
invention into effect. The invention is, therefore, claimed in any of its 
forms of modifications within the proper scope of the claims appropriately 
interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.