improvements in ear piercing studs

Abstract: An ear piercing stud (10) has a machined piercing post (11) of metal suitable for being in contact with flesh. A stud head (13) is engaged by the post (11) with a friction fit and a shield (12) of a material suitable for being in contact with pierced flesh is held between the stud head (13) and a shoulder (16) on the post (11). The stud head is of a material capable of being gold plated.

Description: The invention relates to ear piercing studs, this term herein referring to studs having a post and a stud head, the post having a point at the end remote from the head. Such ear piercing studs are usually driven through an ear lobe by an ear piercing instrument, and may act as a keeper, retained by a clasp engaging the post adjacent its free end. The term "ear piercing stud" covers studs for use in piercing other parts of the body such as the nose. Ear piercing studs are commonly made in one piece, turned from a metal such as stainless steel. The material of the stud is often plated to have a gold appearance. A material frequently used is stainless steel 303S21 which has good mechanical properties, but has 7% nickel content. Even when plated, it has been suggested that this level of nickel is unacceptably high. Studs with a plastic post have been proposed, for example in GB-A-2187930A, but plastics has disadvantages of its own such as the likelihood of surface imperfections in moulding, and the need for the post to be relatively thick to provide adequate strength. A metal post is thus desirable, and it is essential, if the stud is made in more than one part for the parts to be fixed together permanently. US-A-3943935 discloses an ear piercing stud comprising an ear piercing post, a stud head of a material capable of being gold plated, and an annular shield of a material suitable for being in contact with pierced flesh, the shield lying against the stud head where the post meets the stud head to shield flesh from contact with the stud head in use, part of the post passing through the shield and engaging in the stud head to hold the post and stud head together permanently. One metal which is particularly suitable for the post, namely titanium, which can be of surgical grade and polished, has a problem that it is impossible to gold plate by conventional electroplating methods, and a gold plated finish for the visible stud head is the most commonly requested finish. The object of this invention is to provide an improved ear piercing stud with a post of precision machined and highly polished, surgical grade titanium, but which has a gold plated stud head, and in which material of the stud head is kept out of contact with flesh. According to the invention, there is provided an ear piercing stud comprising a precision machined and polished piercing post of surgical grade titanium, a stud head of a material capable of being gold plated, and an annular shield of a material suitable for being in contact with pierced flesh, the shield lying against the stud head where the post meets the stud head to shield flesh from contact with the stud head in use, the post, shield and stud head being made separately and assembled with part of the post passing through the shield and engaged in the stud head with a friction fit, the post having a shoulder to hold the shield against the stud head permanently. It will be appreciated that the parts of the assembled stud could be separated if sufficient force is applied; the term "permanently" is to be understood as referring to the fact that the stud is not intended or designed to be taken apart. The shield is preferably of titanium, but other materials such as plastics may be used. It is less important for he shield to have structural strength than is the case for he post. The head is preferably brass, and preferably gold plated. By way of example, one embodiment of an ear piercing stud according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a sectional side view of an ear piercing stud. A stud has three separately formed elements, namely a post 11 machined from surgical grade titanium, and polished to a mirror finish to remove surface imperfections, an annular shield 12 also of surgical grade titanium suitably finished, and a brass stud head 13, preferably gold plated. The stud head 13 is formed with a cylindrical recess 14 and the post 11 is formed with a cylindrical spigot 15 dimensioned to engage the recess 14 with a friction fit. The spigot 15 is of the same diameter as a shaft portion 17 of the post. The post has an annular shoulder 16 of external diameter larger than both the external diameter of the spigot and the shaft portion 17 of the post 11. The post 11 has a point 18 at its free end, and an annular step 19 for engagement by a back clasp (not shown) in conventional manner. The shield 12 has a central hole 20 through which the spigot 15 passes, the shoulder 16 holding the shield 12 against the stud head 13. It will be appreciated that the shield 12 can be of materials other than titanium, provided the materials exhibit satisfactory characteristics and are safe to be against pierced flesh avoiding contact nickel dermatitis. Similarly, the material of the stud head may be different from brass, and may have different finishes. The particular advantage of this embodiment is that the stud head can be finished as desired, without concern about the material of the stud head contacting pierced flesh because of the protection afforded by the shield. The material of the stud head can be inexpensive. Above all, this embodiment solves the problem of having a viable stud with a titanium post, and represents a significant improvement in ear piercing studs. It will be appreciated that the foregoing description is by way of example only, and that modifications and alterations may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims: An ear piercing stud (10) comprising a precision machined and polished piercing post (11) of surgical grade titanium, a stud head (13) of a material capable of being gold plated, and an annular shield (12) of a material suitable tar being in contact with pierced flesh, the shield (12) lying against the stud head (13) where the post (11) meets the stud head to shield flesh from contact with the stud head (13) in use, the post (11), shield (12) and stud head (13) being made separately and assembled with part of the post (11) passing through the shield (13) and engaged in the stud head (13) with a friction fit, the post (11) having a shoulder (16) to hold the shield (12) against the stud head (13) permanently. An ear piercing stud as claimed in claim 1 wherein the shield (12) is of titanium. An ear piercing stud as claimed in claim 1 wherein the stud head (13) is of brass. An ear piercing stud as claimed in claim 3 wherein the stud head (13) is gold plated.

Inventors: GARDNER WILLIAM JAMES, GARDNER, WILLIAM JAMES
Applicants: GARDNER WILLIAM JAMES, GARDNER, WILLIAM JAMES
Application year: 1993
Main classification: A44C7
IPC codes: A44C7