Coupling

A quick connect and disconnect coupling for connecting the free ends of chains, wires or cables and more particularly for connecting the free ends of pieces of jewelry such as bracelets, chain bracelets, neck chains, necklaces and the like. The coupling of the invention comprises a male member having a T-shaped element which is adapted to be introduced into a slotted aperture in the end plate of a female member. A pair of flat springs disposed in the female member engages the branches of the T-shaped element and resiliently rotate the male member such that the projecting lateral ears of the T-shaped element are engaged behind the end plate of the female member. For disconnecting the coupling, the male and female members are rotated relative to each other, against the torque exerted by the springs, until the laterally projecting ears of the T-shaped element registers with the slot in the female member end plate and the male member may be removed from the female member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a quick connect and disconnect coupling 
particularly well adapted as a coupling for pieces of jewelry and the 
like. 
Many couplings have been devised in the past for connecting together the 
free ends of a piece of jewelry such as a bracelet, a neck chain, a waist 
chain, a necklace and the like. Such couplings are generally in the form 
of spring clasps, split rings, with spring-biased pins, and the like. Such 
couplings must, of necessity in order to avoid detracting from the 
aesthetic appearance of the piece of jewelry, be made in a relatively 
small size, and be as inconspicuous as feasible. On the other hand the 
couplings must be sturdy and they must not be subject to accidental 
disconnect, while still providing great ease of connect and disconnect. 
The couplings must be able to withstand repeated use, and sometimes abuse, 
without failure and they must structurally be as strong as the chain, 
bracelet or other piece of jewelry of which they form a part. 
The various requirements that jewelry couplings must meet are therefore 
somewhat contradictory. A jewelry coupling must be of small size, which 
makes it difficult to manufacture with a reasonable degree of sturdiness, 
and it must be made with sufficient precision such that its operation is 
practically foolproof. It is therefore advantageous to make the coupling 
as simple as possible, with as few parts as convenient in order to reduce 
the manufacturing costs and the risks of malfunction. 
The present invention provides a simple coupling, which can be made as 
small as desired, which is relatively easy to manufacture, which comprises 
only two moving parts, the male member and the female member of the 
coupling, which locks simply by pushing the male portion into the female 
portion, which unlocks simply by rotating the two members relative to each 
other, and which can be manufactured at relatively low cost. 
SUMMARY 
The present invention accomplishes its objects by providing a coupling 
structure consisting of a male member and a female member, the male member 
having a T-shaped tongue or key insertable through a slot formed in the 
end plate of the female member, the female member being provided 
internally with a pair of parallel leaf springs the end of which are 
slidably engageable by the male member T-shaped tongue and deflected such 
that the T-shaped tongue is automatically rotated by the springs resuming 
their original position, with the result that the ends of the branches of 
the male member T-shaped tongue is engaged under the imperforate portion 
of the end plate of the female member, thus locking the male member to the 
female member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, an example of coupling according to the present 
invention comprises a female member 10 shown at FIG. 1 connected with a 
male member 12 and, at FIG. 2, disconnected therefrom. The female member 
10 comprises a generally cylindrical housing 14 having a flattened end 16 
provided with an aperture 18 for mounting therethrough the end link of a 
piece of jewelry 20, such as a bracelet, neck chain, necklace, or the 
like. The housing 14 is preferably made of a precious metal such as 
silver, gold or the like, matching the metal of the piece of jewelry 20 
whose ends are connected by means of the coupling of the invention. The 
housing 14 is provided with an end plate 22, best shown at FIG. 3, 
fastened in place such as by soldering, or by crimping of the rim of the 
open end of the housing 14 over the edge of the end plate. The end plate 
22 has a centrally disposed circular aperture 24 provided with a 
diametrally disposed slot 26. A pair of substantially parallel co-planar 
separate leaf spring blades 28 and 30 are mounted in an internal cavity or 
bore 32 disposed in the housing 14, as a result of the end of each spring 
blade being press-fitted, cemented, soldered, or otherwise fastened in 
each of a pair of appropriate holding cavities 34 and 36 formed at the 
bottom of the housing bore 32. Alternatively, the spring blades 28 and 30 
may be made in a single integral part having a root portion extending 
through the flattened end portion 16 of the housing 14 and crimped 
therein, the aperture 18 being also formed through the common root portion 
of the spring blades. The free ends of the spring blades 28 and 30 are 
provided with oppositely inclined tapered camming surfaces 38 and 40, 
respectively, and the common plane of symmetry of the two spring blades 28 
and 30 is disposed a few degrees away from the position of the axis of the 
slot 26 in the end plate 22, as best shown at FIG. 3. 
The male member 12 of the coupling has a housing 40 having a flattened end 
42 provided with an aperture 44 for attachment therethrough of the other 
end of the neck chain, necklace, bracelet or like piece of jewelry 20. The 
other end of the housing 40 forms a recess 46 defining a guiding means and 
having an internal diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of 
the female member housing 14 for accepting the free end of the female 
member 10 therein, when the two members of the coupling are connected, as 
shown at FIG. 1. Within the recess 46 of the male member 12 is mounted a 
T-shaped element in the form of a flat rectangular key or tongue member 48 
insertable through the slot 26 in the end plate 22 of the female member 
10, the tongue member 48 being supported by a cylindrical base 50 of a 
diameter fitting the internal diameter of the circular aperture 24 in the 
end plate 22 of the female member 10. The cylindrical base 50 has a height 
slightly larger than the thickness of the end plate 22 in the female 
member 10. The key or tongue member 48 has a rounded or tapered leading 
edge 52 and forms a pair of lateral ear sections 51 and 53 extending 
beyond the periphery of the cylindrical support base 50. 
The housing 14 of the female member 10 has a pair of dimples 54 and 56 
projecting on the interior surface of the bore 32, and angularly disposed 
as best shown at FIG. 3 limiting, respectively, the deflection of the 
spring blade 28, for example, when the tongue 48 of the male member 12 is 
introduced through the slot 26 in the end wall 22 of the female member 10, 
and the amount of rotation of the male member relative to the female 
member when the two members are coupled together as shown at FIG. 1. 
FIGS. 5-7 graphically illustrate the operation of the coupling of the 
invention, from the uncoupled mode, FIG. 5, to the coupled and locked 
mode, FIG. 7. For coupling the male member 12 to the female member 10, the 
tongue member 48 of the male member 12 is introduced through the slot 26 
in the end plate 22 of the female member 10. The leading edge 52 of the 
tongue member 48 progressively engages the camming surfaces 38 and 40 of 
the spring blades 28 and 30, such that the spring blades are resiliently 
deflected in opposite directions as illustrated at FIG. 6, with the tongue 
member 48 introduced therebetween and the cylindrical base 50 disposed in 
the circular aperture 24 in the female member end plate 22. The 
positioning of the end of the spring blades 28 and 30 relative to the axis 
of the slot 26 is such that the space between the opposite camming 
surfaces 38 and 40 is oriented the same as the position of the tip or 
leading edge 52 of the tongue member 48 when the tongue member is 
introduced through the slot 26. Further penetration of the male member by 
the tongue member 48 beyond the end plate 22 of the female member 10 
progressively bends the ends of the spring blades 28 and 30 in opposite 
directions. The spring blades 28 and 30 thus exert a torque on the lateral 
ear sections of the tongue member 48 which automatically rotates the male 
member 12 relative to the female member 10, even though only two fingers 
of a hand may be used to apply a slight pressure on the free ends of the 
female member 10 and male member 12 in opposite directions. As the 
cylindrical base 50 supporting the tongue member 48 is slightly higher 
than the thickness of the end plate 22, the trailing edge of the tongue 
member 48 clears the inside surface of the female member end plate 22, 
such that the male member 12 is free to rotate relative to the female 
member 10, around the longitudinal axis of the assembly, in the direction 
of the arrow 58, FIG. 6. The spring blades 28 and 30 resiliently resume 
their normal co-planar position, thus forcing the male member 12 to rotate 
relative to the female member 10 approximately 90.degree., to the locked 
position shown at FIG. 7. In such locked position the tongue member 48 is 
disposed substantially at a right angle to the plane of the spring blades 
28 and 30, the thickness of the tongue member 48 being equal or less than 
the space separating the spring blades 28 and 30. In that position, one of 
the laterally projecting ear portions, 51 or 53, of the tongue member 48 
engages the crimped projection 50 on the inside surface of the bore 32 of 
the female member 10 and the laterally projecting ear portions 51 and 53 
are disposed behind the female member end plate 22, thus preventing the 
female and male members 10 and 12 from being pulled apart. 
In order to uncouple the female member 10 from the male member 12, the two 
members are manually rotated relative to each other around their 
longitudinal axis to the position of FIG. 6. In such position, one side of 
the spring blade 28 abuts against the projection 54 on the surface of the 
female housing bore 32, thus preventing the spring blade 28, and 
consequently the spring blade 30, to be deflected beyond a certain amount 
and the tongue member 48 from being rotated beyond the position in which 
it registers with the slot 26 in the end plate 22, such as to enable the 
male member 12 to disengage from the female member 10. The male member 12 
tends to automatically pop away from the female member 10 in view of the 
resultant force in a longitudinal direction exerted by the spring blades 
28 and 30 and their camming surfaces 38-40 againstthe leading edge 52 of 
the tongue member 48, if the spring blades 28 and 30 are made stiff 
enough. 
Although the coupling of the present invention has been described as a 
coupling for uniting the two free ends of a pliable piece of jewelry such 
as a neck chain, a necklace, a bracelet or the like, it will be readily 
apparent that the structure and the principle of the coupling of the 
invention can be manufactured at low cost, in any type of material, such 
as metal, plastic and the like, and in any size which is convenient, and 
for any type of application, including industrial applications.