Ornament support device

A device for confining an ornament possessing a pin fastener to a piece of material utilizing a base member which is adapted to lie adjacent the backside of the ornament. The base member is attachable to the pin fastener of the ornament and is linked to a support which holds the base member to the piece of material.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a device for confining a ornament having a 
pin fastener to a piece of material. 
In the past, ornaments such as jewelry, including pendants, broaches, 
ornamental pins, and the like are normally fastened to a piece of material 
such as an article of clothing by the use of a pin fastener. Typically, 
the pin fastener includes an elongated pin section and a lock which 
prevents the pin from rotating and moving once the pin has penetrated the 
article of clothing. Unfortunately, pin fasteners tend to damage articles 
of clothing, especially scarves, ties, and other materials which are of 
fine quality. 
Other means of fastening an ornamental article such as jewelry to a piece 
of material have been devised. These include adhesives, magnets, and the 
like. In general, it has been found that alternate means of fastening 
jewelry to a piece of material are either ineffective or damage the 
material in some manner. 
An ornamental article having a pin fastener which may be alternately 
fastened to a piece of material without permitting the pin fastener to 
penetrate the material would be a notable advance in the fashion industry. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention a novel and useful device for 
confining an ornamental article such as jewelry having a pin fastener to a 
piece of material is herein provided. 
The device of the present invention uses a base member which is capable of 
lying adjacent the backside of the ornamental article or jewelry item. The 
base member includes an attachment means for engaging the pin fastener. 
For example, such attachment means may take the form of a plurality of 
bores or holes through the base member which serves to anchor the pin 
fastener. Thus, the plurality of bores are capable of fastening or 
accommodating a fastening pin of a certain size. The base member may be a 
flexible or resilient member possessing the capability of conforming to 
the backside of the ornamental article. 
Support means is also found in the present invention for holding the base 
member to the piece of material. The support means may include linking 
means for connecting the support means to the base member. In certain 
cases, the support means may take the form of at least one elongated 
member which possesses elasticity. The elongated member may be formed into 
a pair of closed loops which extend from the base member in side-by-side 
configuration. The pair of loops may be stabilized by the use of a clasp 
or fastener which holds the pair of loops together. Thus, the pair of 
loops are easy to manage when engaging the piece of material such as a 
scarf, tie, belt, and the like to which the ornamental article is 
attached. 
Linking means for connecting the support means to the base member is also 
included in the present invention and may include a multiplicity of 
openings through the base member spaced from the plurality of bores 
intended to accommodate the locking or fastening pin. Thus, a pin fastened 
ornamental article may be attached to a piece of material without 
employing the pin to penetrate the material. 
It may be apparent that a novel and useful device for confining an 
ornamental article having a pin fastener to a piece of material has been 
described. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for 
confining an ornamental pin fastened article to a piece of material which 
achieves this result without the pin fastener puncturing the piece of 
material. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for 
confining a pin fastened ornamental article to a piece of material which 
is adaptable to articles of jewelry of various sizes and shapes. 
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for 
confining a pin fastened ornamental article to a piece of material which 
may be used on various pieces of jewelry or ornamental articles in 
interchangeable fashion. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for 
confining a pin fastened ornamental article to a piece of material which 
is not visible after fastening. 
The invention possesses other objects and advantages especially as concerns 
particular characteristics and features thereof which will become apparent 
as the specification continues.

For a better understanding of the invention reference is made to the 
following detailed description of the preferred embodiments which should 
be taken in conjunction with the hereinbefore described drawings. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Various aspects of the present invention will evolve from the following 
detailed description of the preferred embodiments thereof which should be 
taken together with the prior described drawings. 
The invention as a whole is depicted in the drawings by reference character 
10. The device 10 intended to confine an ornamental article such as a 
broach 12, FIG. 3 to a piece of material 14, FIG. 5. With reference to 
FIG. 1, it may be observed that device 10 possesses a base member 16 which 
may be formed of any suitable material. Preferably, base member 16 is 
formed of a flexible resilient material such as an elastomer, including 
rubber, plastic, fiber, and the like. Base member 16 is thus able to 
conform to space afforded by broach 12, which will be discussed in greater 
detail hereinafter. In addition, base member 16 may be transparent to 
minimize the visibility of device 10 when in use. Base member 16 includes 
front side 18, backside 20, FIG. 4, and an endless edge portion 22. 
Means 24 is also found in the present invention for engaging pin fastener 
26 of broach 12. Means 24 may take the form of bores 28 and 30 which 
extend through base member 16. Bores 32 and 34, shown in phantom on FIG. 
1, may also be formed through base member 16 to accommodate pin fasteners 
of different size and/or configuration. FIG. 3 illustrates pin fastener 26 
having elongated pin 36, which rotates about base 38 and is confined by 
lock 40. 
Device 10 is also provided with support means 42 for holding base member 
16, and attached broach 12, to piece of material 14. Support means 42 
includes an elongated member 44 which is in the form of an elastic band or 
loop. Band 44 may be formed into a pair of loops 46 and 48, FIG. 2, that 
extend outwardly from front side 18 of base member 16. Clasp or fastener 
50 hold loops 46 and 48 together for the sake of stability and ease of 
use. 
Linking means 52, best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, connects support means 42 to 
base member 16. Linking means 52 takes the form of a plurality of openings 
54 (four openings depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2) which lie outside of openings 
28 and 30. Thus, pin 36 does not interfere with loops 46 and 48 when 
emplaced. 
In operation, the user slips pin 36 of broach 12 through openings 28 and 30 
in order to activate attachment means 24. Link pin 36 is held in its 
closed position by holder 40, loops 46 and 48 are slipped over piece of 
material 14 to permit broach 12 to be viewed as shown in FIG. 5. This 
process is reversed to remove device 10 from piece of material 14. Device 
10 may be interchanged with different ornamental articles similar to 
broach 12. The flexibility of base member 16 permits variability in the 
length of pin 12 as far as the use of device 10 is concerned. In certain 
cases, device 10 must be particularly sized to accommodate certain 
ornamental articles that do not properly fit the size of base members 
shown in the drawings. In essence, device 10 prevents pin 36 from 
penetrating piece of material 14 which can be undesirable when material 14 
possesses a fineness such as that afforded by silk. While in the 
foregoing, embodiments of the present invention have been set forth in 
considerable detail for the purposes of making a complete disclosure of 
the invention, it may be apparent to those of skill in the art that 
numerous changes may be made in such detail without departing from the 
spirit and principles of the invention.