Abstract:
A piece of jewelry comprising a substantially rigid base member comprising a groove along its length and a plurality of beads retained within the groove wherein the shape of the groove conforms to the shape of each bead to limit transverse movement of he beads and to allow the beads to slide along the groove. An outer member over a groove in the beads in turn holds the beads in the groove in the base member.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a piece of jewelry, in particular, but not exclusively, it relates to a ring or bracelet. 
     It is very common that a wearer of jewelry fiddles with the jewelry. This has great comfort value to some people that can be therapeutic helping to relief stress etc. Commonly known types of jewelry, which are designed for such a purpose, are beads carried in the Middle East, known as worry beads, or beads worn around the neck in Asia, known as Tibetan beads. Another type of jewelry which has great appeal is the three band Russian wedding ring. The ring is formed of three interlocking bands which the wearer can work around his/her finger moving the bands with respect to one another. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention seeks to provide a piece of jewelry which is satisfying to fiddle with. 
     A piece of jewelry comprises a substantially rigid base member comprising a groove along its length and a plurality of beads retained within the groove wherein the shape of the groove conforms to the shape of each bead to prevent transverse movement of the beads and to allow the beads to slide along the groove, the beads being retained by an outer member which engages a groove in each of the beads. 
     In this way an attractive piece of jewelry can be made which allows beads to be fiddled within one direction only, namely along a groove. 
     The shape of the groove is preferably such that the base member does not overlap the outer surface of each bead. The outer surface of the side walls of the groove and beads may be curved to form a continuous curved surface to give an attractive finish. 
     The beads may be retained within the groove by inwardly projecting side walls of the groove holding the beads captive. Another alternative arrangement, would be a monorail arrangement along the base of the groove in the base member engaging a corresponding groove within the beads, the monorail and the groove in the beads being shaped so as to retain the beads on the monorail. 
     The outer member may be slideable with respect to the beads so that another component of the piece of jewelry is movable. 
     The inner surface of the side walls of the groove of the base member may be curved, or angled outwardly from the base of the groove. 
     Preferably, the base member has an annular shape and the beads may slide along the outer circumference of the base member and the outer member may also have an annular shape so that the base member and the outer member are concentric. 
     The beads may be made of the same material or made from at least two different materials, for example, different types of precious metals, or materials containing different quantities of gold so that the beads are of different colours. Further, the moveable pieces may be set with precious stones. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 shows a side view of a ring according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 shows a section taken along the line A—A of the ring in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 shows a side view of the separated components of the ring of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 shows a section taken along the line B—B of the components of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 shows a part section of a ring according a second embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 6 shows a section along the line C—C of the part of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 shows a cross section of a ring according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 shows a side view of a ring according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 9 shows a part section of the ring of FIG.  8 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings which illustrate a ring. Of course, the invention may relate to any type of jewelry. 
     The ring comprises a substantially rigid base member  1  which has an annular shape of a size suitable to be worn on the finger. The ring may be formed of gold, silver, platinum or plastic or any other suitable material. 
     The base member  1  comprises an outer circumferential groove  3  having a substantially flat base  5  and opposing, outwardly-extending side walls  7 . The side walls  7  slope outwardly from the base  5  of the groove  3  so as to provide an opening to the groove wider than the base  5 . 
     The ring further comprises a plurality of movable pieces in the form of beads  9 . Each bead comprises a substantially flat base  10  and opposing side walls  11 . The side walls  11  slope outwardly from the base  10  to correspond to the shape of the groove  3  of the base member  1  so that the beads fit snugly in the groove without play in the transverse direction. This allows the beads to be easily inserted into the groove  3 . The outer surface  13  of the bead  9  is curved. A precious stone, as at  14  in FIG. 1, may be set in one or more of the beads  9 . 
     A groove  15  is formed in the outer surface  13  of each bead  9 . The groove has a generally rectangular cross section. 
     The ring further comprises an outer member  17 . The outer member  17  has an annular shape having a diameter greater than that of the base member  1 . The cross section of the outer member  17  is generally rectangular so as to conform with the shape and dimensions of the groove  15  of the beads  9 . The outermost surface  19  of the outer member  17  is curved. 
     To form the composite ring of FIGS. 1 and 2 from the components shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the beads  9  are placed within the groove  3  of the base member  1  so that the outer surface  13  faces outermost. The number of beads placed within the groove  3  are such that they do not completely fill the groove  3  in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the beads  9  can freely move along the groove  3  of the base member  1  as far as adjacent beads will allow. 
     The outer member  17  is placed within the groove  15  of the beads  9  to retain the beads within the groove  3  of the base member  1 . This is achieved by forming the outer member  17  having a diameter such that it fits over the beads  9  in the groove  3  and is compressed into the groove  15  of the beads  9  as shown in FIG.  4 . Since the outermost surface  19  of the outer member  17  is curved, when it is placed within the groove  15  of the beads  9 , the outermost surface of the composite ring has a substantially continuous curved surface formed by the outer surface  13  of the beads  9  and the outer surface  19  of the outer member  17 . 
     FIGS. 5 and 6 show a part of a ring according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The ring comprises an annular-shaped base member  21 . The base member base  21  comprises a circumferential groove  23 . The groove  23  comprises a base  25  which is curved and opposing side walls  27 . Each side wall comprises a protrusion  28   a  which extends inwardly to form an undercut  28   b.    
     A plurality of beads  29  are provided. Each bead  29  comprises a base  30  which curved to complement the curved beads  25  of the groove  23  of the base member  21 . Each bead  29  also comprises side walls  31  which are shaped to conform to the shape of the side walls  27  of the groove  23  of the base member  21  so that the beads fit into the undercut  28   b.  The outer surface  33  of each bead  29  is curved. 
     The beads  29  are placed into the groove  23  of the base member  21 . This is achieved by forming the base member  21  in two halves. The halves are formed by dividing the ring along its circumference at an angle to produce two oblique surfaces  35 . The two halves are placed together so that the oblique surfaces met with the beads in the groove  23 . The two halves can then be soldered together to form the composite ring. 
     As described with reference to the first embodiment, the beads are held captive within the groove of the base member, in this case by means of the undercut  28   b.  The beads, therefore, fit snugly in the groove without play in the transverse direction. The number of beads placed within the groove  23  of the base member  2  are such that they do not completely fill the groove  23  in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the beads  29  freely move along the groove  23  as far as adjacent beads will allow. 
     FIG. 7 shows an alternative to the ring of the first embodiment in which the side walls  7  of the groove  3  are not vertical as in the first embodiment but are curved. Further the outer surface  19  of the outer member  17  may be flat instead of curved. 
     Therefore when worn, the composite ring as described above provides movable pieces (beads) which can be moved around the outside of the ring by the wearer. These movable pieces are slideable along the groove and the outer member is also slideable with respect to the remaining components. 
     FIGS. 8 and 9 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The ring comprises an annular shaped base member  41 . The base member  41  has a circumferential groove  43 . The groove  43  has a base  45  which is substantially flat and opposing side walls  47 . Each side wall  47  slopes inwardly as it extends from the base  45 . 
     A plurality of beads  49  are provided. Each bead  49  has a base  50  which is substantially flat and side walls  51  which slope inwardly so that the shape of the bead conforms to the shape of the groove  43  of the base member  41 . The outer surface of the side walls  47  of the groove  43  and the outer surface  53  of each bead  49  are curved to form a continuous curved surface and the side walls  47  of the groove  43  do not overlap the outer surface  53  of the bead  49 . 
     The ring is formed by forming the groove  43  in the base member  41  with the side walls  47  of the groove  43  being substantially perpendicular to the base  45  of the groove  43 . The beads  49  are placed into the groove  43 . The side walls  47  are then shaped to conform to the shape of the beads. This can be achieved by use of a known technique utilizing lasers. 
     The inwardly sloping side walls  47  of the groove  43  hold the beads captive within the groove so that the beads fit snugly without play in the transverse direction. The number of beads placed within the groove  43  are such that they do not completely fill the groove  43  in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the beads  49  freely move along the groove  43  as far as adjacent beads will allow. 
     The beads may be formed of at least two different materials, for example materials containing different quantities of gold so that the beads are different colors. The outer member and base member may also be formed of different materials. The components of the ring may be formed of different colored plastics or be formed of a transparent plastic. The base member, beads or outer member may be set with precious stones. The outermost surface of the ring may be textured. 
     In the light of this disclosure, modifications of the described embodiments as well as other embodiments, all within the scope of the appended claims will now become apparent to a person skilled in the art.