Coacting grooved earring post and serrated clutch

A clutch and post for pierced earrings is operative for retaining an earring on an earlobe of a wearer with increased effectiveness. The clutch comprises a base portion having an aperture therethrough for receiving the post, and a pair of rearwardly and inwardly curled resilient leaves which extend from the base portion and have serrations thereon. The serrations are transversely disposed on the leaves, and they are preferably arranged so that they define longitudinally extending ribs of adjacent serrations on the leaves. This structure strengthens the leaves and enables using a metal thickness up to 30% less than that of a similar clutch without the ribs. The post comprises an elongated substantially cylindrical member having a plurality of substantially circumferential grooves therein and it is receivable through the aperture in the base portion of the clutch and between the resilient leaves thereof so that the serrations of the leaves interengage the grooves to more securely retain the clutch on the post.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The instant invention relates to earrings, and more particularly, to a 
clutch and post for pierced earrings, wherein the clutch is effectively 
retained on the post to retain an earring on an ear of a wearer to prevent 
inadvertent loss of the earring. 
Most of the pierced earrings currently available are of a type which 
comprises an elongated substantially straight cylindrical post which is 
receivable through an aperture in an earlobe of a wearer, and a clutch 
which is receivable on the post on the rear side of the earlobe so that it 
frictionally embraces the post and thereby retains the earring on the 
earlobe. The most common clutch construction for pierced earrings of this 
general type comprises a base portion having an aperture therethrough and 
a pair of curled resilient leaves which converge and meet in substantially 
face-to-face relation along the axis defined by the aperture. When a 
clutch of this type is received on an earring post, the resilient leaves 
embrace the post where it passes therebetween and accordingly the leaves 
cooperate to frictionally retain the clutch on the post. However, it has 
been found that a clutch and post arrangement of this type can be less 
than entirely satisfactory for securing an earring on an ear of a wearer 
and that in many instances clutches of this type have become dislodged 
from the ends of posts and this has resulted in the loss of the earrings. 
Obviously this presents a more serious problem with expensive earrings, 
such as earrings bearing precious gems or the like, although it is really 
a problem with a wide range of the heretofore available pierced earrings. 
In order to overcome this problem, a variety of other types of pierced 
earring post and clutch constructions have been developed to securely 
retain pierced earrings on the ears of wearers. The devices disclosed in 
the U.S. Pat. Nos. to Artzt 3,040,406, Masters 3,630,048, Tucker 
4,139,993, Green 4,184,343, Block 4,245,484, Block 4,236,385, Mancini 
4,307,582, Evans 4,353,370, McDonald et al 4,382,317, and Rapseik 
4,397,067 are exemplary of other types of posts and clutches which are 
adapted for use in earring constructions and represent the closest prior 
art to the instant invention of which the applicant is aware. However, 
these devices have also not been entirely effective for retaining earrings 
on the ears of wearers and some of them are relatively expensive to 
manufacture because of high material costs, particularly when they have 
been constructed of precious metals. In this regard, since most earring 
clutches and posts are required by law to be either constructed from, or 
at least plated with, precious metals in order to minimize the risks of 
infection to the wearer's ear, material costs are normally a primary 
concern. In any event, none of the above patents teach the novel features 
of the earring clutch and post of the instant invention and hence they are 
believed to be of only general interest with respect thereto. 
The instant invention provides a pierced earring clutch and post which are 
operative for effectively retaining a pierced earring on an earlobe of a 
wearer but which can be manufactured relatively inexpensively and hence 
the clutch and post of the instant invention have substantial advantages 
over other heretofore known post and clutch constructions. Specifically, 
the clutch of the instant invention comprises a base portion having an 
aperture therethrough and a pair of curled resilient leaves which extend 
from the base portion and converge so that they substantially meet in 
face-to-face relation along the axis defined by the aperture. The leaves 
are, however, formed with serrations thereon which are engageable with an 
earring post received through the aperture and between the leaves so that 
the serrations are operative for retaining the clutch on the post with 
enhanced effectiveness. Preferably the serrations are embodied as serrated 
ribs which are centrally disposed on the leaves and co-extend with the 
leaves from the base portion to the terminal ends of the leaves. It has 
been found that when the clutch of the instant invention is constructed in 
this manner the serrations of the ribs are operative for effectively 
grasping a post when it has been received in engagement therebetween to 
retain the clutch on the post, and the ribs also function to strengthen 
the leaves. In fact, it has been found that when the clutch is formed with 
serrated ribs on the leaves, the entire clutch can actually be constructed 
from a metal having a slightly reduced thickness and this feature is 
particularly significant when the clutch is constructed of a precious 
metal. Preferably the clutch is used in combination with a pierced earring 
post having a plurality of substantially circumferential grooves therein 
which are interengageable with the serrations on the clutch so that the 
grooves and the serrations cooperate to further retain the clutch on the 
post. When the clutch and post of the instant invention are embodied in 
this manner, they can be relied upon to effectively retain an earring on 
an earlobe of a wearer and because of their high degree of reliability 
they can be utilized with even highly expensive earrings. 
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide an 
effective post and clutch for a pierced earring. 
Another object of the instant invention is to provide an earring clutch 
having serrations thereon and a post having circumferential grooves 
therein, wherein the serrations on the clutch are engageable with the 
grooves in the post to effectively retain the clutch on the post. 
A still further object of the instant invention is to provide an earring 
clutch having serrated ribs which are engageable with a post to retain the 
clutch on the post and which also add strength to the clutch. 
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention shall become 
apparent as the description thereof proceeds when considered in connection 
with the accompanying illustrative drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring now to the drawing, a pierced earring embodying the post and 
clutch of the instant invention is illustrated and generally indicated at 
10 in FIG. 1. The earring 10 comprises a conventional ornamental portion 
12, a post generally indicated at 14 which is attached to the ornamental 
portion 12, and a clutch generally indicated at 16 which is receivable on 
the post 14. The earring 10 is adapted to be worn in a conventional 
manner, wherein the post 14 extends through an aperture in an earlobe of a 
wearer so that the ornamental portion 12 is positioned on the front side 
of the lobe and the clutch 16 is positioned on the rear side of the lobe 
and received on the post 14, whereby the earlobe is captured between the 
clutch 16 and the ornamental portion 12 and the earring 10 is retained on 
the earlobe. 
The clutch 16 is preferably integrally formed in a stamping and forming 
operation from a suitable sheet metal having the requisite resiliency and 
comprises a base portion 18 which is preferably of a generally oval-shaped 
configuration, and first and second curled leaves 20 and 22 which extend 
rearwardly and inwardly from opposite extremities of the base portion 18 
and hence are located on the rear side of the clutch 16. The base portion 
18 has a rearwardly recessed central portion 24 and a substantially 
central aperture 26 extends through the central portion 24. The leaves 20 
and 22 are formed in curled configurations and they converge so that when 
the clutch 16 is disassembled from the post 14, they substantially meet in 
face-to-face relation, i.e., they are spaced from each other a distance 
less than the diameter of post 14, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The leaves 20 
and 22 are formed so that they are resiliently biased together and they 
are resiliently separable to receive the post 14 therebetween. 
Accordingly, when the clutch 16 is received on the post 14 the leaves 20 
and 22 resiliently embrace the post 14 to retain the clutch 16 thereon. 
Formed on the leaves 20 and 22 are serrated ribs 28 and 30, respectively, 
which co-extend along the central portions of the leaves 20 and 22 from 
the base portion 18 to the terminal ends of the leaves 20 and 22. The ribs 
28 and 30 each comprise a plurality of serrations 32 which are preferably 
substantially transversely disposed with respect to the longitudinal 
extents of the respective ribs 28 and 30. The ribs 28 and 30 are postioned 
on the leaves 20 and 22 so that at least the substantially face-to-face 
portions of the pluralities of serrations are substantially parallel with 
the axis defined by the aperture 26, and hence when the clutch 16 is 
received on the post 14 the serrations 32 engage the post 14 to provide 
enhanced retention of the clutch 16 on the post 14. Further, it has been 
found that when the leaves 20 and 22 are formed with the ribs 28 and 30 in 
the manner herein set forth, the ribs 28 and 30 also function to 
strengthen the leaves 20 and 22. As a result of this phenomenon, the 
entire clutch 16 can be constructed with a reduced metal thickness which 
provides substantial economic benefits, particularly when the clutch 16 is 
constructed of a precious metal. Specifically, it has been found that a 
clutch which includes the ribs 28 and 30, requires a metal thickness which 
is approximately 30% less than a similar clutch which does not include the 
ribs 28 and 30. For example, it has been found that a clutch constructed 
without the ribs 28 and 30 which requires a metal having a thickness of 
0.007 inches can be constructed from the same metal with a thickness of 
0.005 inches when it includes the ribs 28 and 30. Hence when the clutch of 
the instant invention is constructed of a precious metal, substantial 
economic benefits are also realized. 
The post 14 comprises an elongated substantially cylindrical member which 
is dimensioned to be received through the aperture 26 and it is preferably 
formed with a plurality of substantially circumferential grooves 34 
therein adjacent the free end thereof. As a result, the post 14 is 
interengageable with the serrations 32 of the serrated ribs 28 and 30 when 
the clutch 16 is received on the post 14. Specifically, when the post 14 
is inserted through the aperture 26, the terminal portion of the post 14 
initially engages the leaves 20 and 22 to urge them apart. As the post 14 
is further inserted through the aperture 26 the serrations 32 interengage 
the post 14 in the grooves 34 so that an enhanced grasping of the post 14 
by the leaves 20 and 22 is achieved. In this regard, the post 14 can 
easily be inserted between the leaves 20 and 22 despite the presence of 
the serrated ribs 28 and 30 since the leaves 20 and 22 are resiliently 
separable, but when an attempt is made to remove the post 14 from between 
the leaves 20 and 22, the interengagement of the serrations 32 with the 
post 14 in the grooves 34 causes the leaves 20 and 22 to be curled more 
tightly so that they grasp the post 14 even more firmly. The clutch 16 
can, however, be removed from the post 14 when desired by applying a force 
to the clutch 16 which is sufficient to overcome these grasping forces. 
Further, by providing a plurality of grooves 34, as illustrated, the 
position of the clutch 16 on post 14 may be adjusted to comfortably 
accomodate different thickness earlobes. 
It is seen therefore that the instant invention provides an effective 
clutch and an effective clutch and post combination for pierced earrings. 
The serrated ribs 28 and 30 provide enhanced grasping of the post 14, 
particularly when the post 14 is formed with the grooves 34. The ribs 28 
and 30 also add strength and rigidity to the clutch 16 and this allows it 
to be made of a lighter guage metal. The clutch and post of the instant 
invention are operative for effectively retaining the earring 10 on an ear 
of a wearer and for substantially reducing the risk of losing the earring 
10 because of the firm embracing engagement of the post 14 by the clutch 
16. Accordingly for these reasons, as well as other reasons hereinabove 
set forth, it is seen that the instant invention represents a significant 
advancement in the jewelry art which has substantial commercial merit. 
While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure 
embodying the invention, 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.