Abstract:
An article of functional jewelry includes a magnetically responsive substrate with front and back surfaces, a bend dividing the substrate into first and second substantially planar regions, and a holding device. A magnet holds the article in position by sandwiching a piece of fabric between the magnet and the substrate. The holding device may include an aperture penetrating the first region forming a loop that supports an object such as a pair of eyeglasses or a scarf.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field 
         [0002]    This invention is in the field of functional jewelry. In particular, it concerns a jewelry finding including holding features. 
         [0003]    2. Background 
         [0004]    Many useful items are used so frequently that people keep them close at hand. Some items may be conveniently disposed about the body, such as eyeglasses perched atop the head or a pencil carried behind an ear. Items may also be carried in pockets, in purses, on chains about the neck, or by hand. However these methods may be unsightly, difficult to access, susceptible to loss, or cause damage to clothing. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,260,749 to Horovitz entitled Small Article Holder Including Magnet Means, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, describes a variety of devices to support eyeglasses about the body. Horovitz further discloses his own invention of an eyeglass holder fastened to a section of fabric magnetically. The holder is described as a decorative base member with a ring secured to the base member. Another embodiment discloses a hook depending from the decorative base member. The base member is described and illustrated as a flat body attached to a disk on the rear surface. The disk and a separate magnet hold the device to an article of clothing. While this device may be satisfactory for some applications, it is difficult to insert and remove items from a flat device attached to fabric without risk to the item or the fabric. Further, a particular decorative base member may appeal to some but not others. 
         [0006]    Thus there remains a need for a jewelry finding that may support a decorative setting, that adheres magnetically to clothing or other fabrics, and that provides a convenient and safe holding device that retains commonly used articles. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    My invention includes a finding that is capable of supporting and holding a useful object such as a pen, nametag, or reading glasses. The object may be readily removed and reinserted as needed. The finding may be magnetically attached to clothing or other fabric without damaging the fabric and without visible fastenings. The finding is also configured to support an ornament more permanently affixed. In some embodiments, the finding includes an attachment segment and a holder segment. Both segments are substantially planar and connect to one another at a bend line. The two segments may be disposed at a defined angle to one another. The holder segment includes a holding device that may be an elongated hole perforating the holder segment. The attachment segment includes a front surface treated to aid in adhering an ornament. The attachment segment is made of magnetic material. A separate magnet attaches to the back of the attachment segment sandwiching a section of fabric to hold the finding in place. The back surface of the attachment segment may be roughened to increase friction holding the finding in place. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates a front view of an embodiment of the finding of my invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2   a  illustrates a top view of the same embodiment. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2   b  illustrates a top view of the same embodiment. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of the same embodiment. 
           [0012]      FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b  illustrates the same embodiment applied to a section of fabric and supporting a pair of eyeglasses and including an applied ornament. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  illustrates a second embodiment of the finding of my invention. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b  illustrates a third embodiment of a portion of the finding of my invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]      FIGS. 1-4   b  illustrate different views of the same embodiment of the finding  1 . The embodiment includes a bent flat body that is thin relative to its diameter. The body may be composed of a sheet of magnetic material, such as plated steel. This embodiment includes two parts, a keeper  10  and a retainer  30 .  FIGS. 2-3  show retainer  30  with exaggerated separation from keeper  10  for clarity. In use, as illustrated in  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b , the two parts may be disposed on either side of a section of fabric and held together by magnetic attraction between keeper  10  and retainer  30 . The effect of this is to frictionally hold the keeper and retainer in a fixed position with respect to the fabric. Once held in a fixed position, the keeper can support and removably hold useful items such as glasses, pens, timepieces, flowers, keys, nametags, or the like. The keeper may also be bonded to and display ornamental items such as jewels, beadwork, badges, charms, and the like. 
         [0016]    The keeper includes two substantially planar bodies connected to one another along a bend line  12  and disposed at a relative angle  14 . Such a structure may be formed, for example, by a simple bend of a planar substrate, such as sheet metal, along a bend line. Bend line  12  divides the part into two planar regions, with each region disposed at an angle with respect to the other. In some embodiments, the two planar regions may be substantially symmetrical about respective midlines. The respective midlines may meet at the bend line such that the entire finding is substantially symmetrical about the plane containing the conjoined midlines 
         [0017]    Two planar bodies may be disposed at any angle with respect to each other. The angle between such bodies may be measured in either direction on the common reference plane. A first direction of measurement yields an angle less than 180 degrees. The second direction of measurement yields an angle more than 180 degrees. The sum of the two angles is 360 degrees. Such angles are occasionally referred to as explementary angles. 
         [0018]    In this document, two surfaces are said to face toward each other if the surfaces are disposed at an angle with respect to one another and the angle between the surfaces is less than 180 degrees. Conversely, two surfaces are said to face away if the surfaces are disposed at an angle with respect to one another and the angle between the surfaces is greater than 180 degrees. The purpose of this convention is to clearly identify the relationship of surfaces within the device. 
         [0019]    The two substantially planar portions of the keeper may be identified as an attachment segment  18  and a holder segment  20 . Attachment segment  18  cooperates with retainer  30  to affix the keeper to a section of fabric. Holder segment  20  includes a holding device  22  to support and removably hold useful items. Each of attachment segment  18  and holder segment  20  has substantially parallel front and back surfaces. The back surface of attachment segment  18  continues as the back surface of holder segment  20  and the front surface of attachment segment  18  continues as the front surface of holder segment  20 . The front surface of attachment segment  18  faces toward the front surface of holder segment  20 . 
         [0020]    Angle  14  between attachment segment  18  and holder segment  20  is selected to support the item carried by holding device  22  and to permit easy attachment and removal of the item without snagging or catching. I have found that certain angles provide benefits not provided by other angles and that these beneficial angles are intimately related to the conformation of the entire finding. While the finding may be oriented in any direction, an orientation with attachment segment  18  positioned above holder segment  20  is useful to both hold useful items and to display decorative items. In such an orientation, the weight of supported items may drag the holder portion of the finding downward. With angles of less than about 130 degrees and with common items such as reading glasses, the entire finding may pivot about the bend line  12  causing the attachment segment  18  to jut outward and the holding segment  20  to retreat toward the fabric. This change in position makes removal of the item difficult and cause an unsightly “sag” in the fabric supporting the keeper. The change in position may also interfere with viewing of decorative items affixed to the attachment segment. 
         [0021]    Angles greater than about 175 degrees may make insertion and removal of the held items difficult. Angles between about 130 degrees and about 175 degrees are thus desirable. In some configurations, a narrower range of angles improves the appearance of keeper  10  when positioned on a section of fabric, particularly a fabric section near an open edge, such as adjacent the top of a pocket or a lapel. Angles between about 150 degrees and about 170 degrees are desirable in such configurations. Even narrower ranges of angles, such as about 160 degrees are appropriate for particular supported items such as reading glasses. Use of the term “about” here means within a few degrees of the stated angles. 
         [0022]    As discussed above, keeper  10  may support and removably hold useful items such as glasses, pens, timepieces, flowers, nametags, scarves, or the like. Holder segment  20  of keeper  10  includes holding device  22 . Holding devices  22  may be simple geometrical extension of holder segment  20 , such as a hole, a tie, a cleat, a peg, a notch, a boss, or a hook. More complex holding devices include spring retainers, magnets, clips (such as alligator style clips), or pins. 
         [0023]    In some embodiments, including that illustrated in  FIG. 1 , holding device  22  is a hole piercing holder segment  20 . The hole includes smooth contours that allow easy loading and unloading of the supported item. Useful shapes for such a hole are circles, ellipses, and polygons, particularly polygons with rounded corners. Some of these shapes, such as ellipses and ovals, have larger major axes and smaller minor axes. The major axis of the hole may be advantageously oriented perpendicularly to the edge of the holder segment shared with the attachment segment (the bend line). This orientation makes it easier to insert items when the keeper is affixed to a segment of fabric such as a garment. 
         [0024]    In some embodiments, holder segment  20  may include an elongated hole positioned such that the long axis of the hole is coincident with the midline of holder segment  20 . The midline of holder segment  20  may coincide with the extension of the midline of the attachment segment  18 , and each of the segments may be symmetrical with respect to the midline. This advantageously presents a pleasing shape as well as providing a finding that may be conveniently mounted in a variety of orientations to the fabric or clothing. 
         [0025]    A hole in holder segment  20  may dominate that segment to the extent that the holder segment surrounding and defining the hole is relatively narrow with respect to the size of the hole. In some cases, portions of holder segment  20  surrounding the hole form a border or rim that may have extent similarly sized to the thickness of the material. This is particularly useful surrounding portions of the hole distant from the bend line. This arrangement makes it easier to insert and remove hinged objects, such as reading glasses, to and from the hole. The embodiment of  FIGS. 1-4  includes a narrow rim  42  surrounding the lower aspect of the hole. 
         [0026]    In embodiments including an elongated hole, the hole may be sized to fit items to be carried. I have found that hole type holder devices fit a variety of useful items if the holes have major axis between about  0 . inches and about 1.0 inches and the ratio of the minor axis of the aperture to the major axis is about 0.5 to about 1.0. An elliptical hole measuring about 0.7 inches end-to-end and about 0.4 inches side-to-side allows easy insertion and removal of reading glasses when the angle between the holder segment and the attachment segment is about 160 degrees. 
         [0027]    As discussed above, the keeper may display decorative items such as jewels, beadwork, badges, charms, and the like. Such decorative items may be permanently or temporarily affixed to the front surface of the keeper using adhesives, welds, screws, rivets, clips, or other fastening methods. I have found that adhesives, such as epoxy adhesives, are of particular benefit because of their bonding versatility, strength, and ease of use. However, such adhesives bond poorly to relatively smooth substrates. 
         [0028]    The keeper  10  may be of generally smooth finish to avoid snagging fabrics or damaging held items during insertion, removal, or carriage. This smooth finish, while desirable for these reasons, lessens the adherence of adhesives. In some embodiments, the keeper includes a portion  24  of roughened texture to promote adhesion. This roughened texture may be limited to areas of the keeper where adhesives may be applied. In many applications, the roughened texture is confined to the central region of the front face of attachment segment  18 . 
         [0029]    In this document, a portion of a surface has roughened texture if its surface area is greater than twice that of an equivalently disposed plane and if the local excursions from flatness are greater than five percent of the material thickness. Such roughened surface may be created, for example, by coining, stamping, etching, punching, scribing, or abrading the material of the keeper. 
         [0030]    In this document, substantially planar includes planar structures and shallow curves. A shallowly curved keeper may be substantially planar if it may be held in place by a planar magnetic retainer of smaller facial area than the keeper, and if its concavity or convexity does not deviate from planarity by more than about five times the material thickness of the keeper. 
         [0031]    The shape and size of the attachment segment may vary, but should be at least comparable in area to the retainer so as to maximize the force between retainer and keeper. A larger size also provides more surface area for attachment of ornamental items. However, the attachment segment should be kept relatively small so that it does not protrude from attached ornamental items mounted to it. One suitable shape for the attachment segment is roughly rectangular, with rounded corners to prevent snags. Round shapes may also be suitable as they reduce the possibility of protruding corners while matching the outline of commonly available magnets. The attachment segment may range between about one-half inch to about one and one-half inch across. In some embodiments, the shape may be an ellipse or an oval, each of which provides a smooth contour. 
         [0032]    The shape and size of the holder segment may also vary but generally conforms to smoothly connect the attachment segment to the holding device. In cases where the holding device is a hole, the holder segment may extend from the bend line between one-eighth inch and one-half inch more than the size of the hole. The edges of the keeper may be rounded or radiused to prevent snags. 
         [0033]    The keeper may be composed of a monolithic piece of material, such as sheet metal. Appropriate materials include pure metals, alloys, and composites that are susceptible to magnetic attraction, particularly ferromagnetic materials. Such materials include iron and its alloys, such as various magnetic steels, including mild steel sheet stock. Steels have the additional benefits of wide availability at low cost, easy formability, and high mechanical strength. Some common steels are subject to corrosion by oxidation. This can be prevented by plating or coating the finished finding with an anticorrosion coating. Suitable anticorrosion coatings resist oxidation, support adhesion of decorative items by gluing, and have an attractive finish. Acceptable anticorrosion coatings include, for example, chrome or nickel plating, epoxy paints, and conductive polymers. Alternatively, the keeper portion may be composed of a corrosion-resistant metal or alloy, such as a magnetic stainless steel. 
         [0034]    Material thickness depends upon strength and magnetic properties. Mild steel sheet between 0.018 inches and 0.067 inches thick (26 to 13 gauge) is suitable for most applications. 
         [0035]    The retainer comprises a magnet separable from the keeper. Suitable magnets provide high binding strength at low weight and size. Appropriate magnets include nickel-plated neodymium iron boron magnets sized to fit the particular keeper. Useful sizes for disk magnets range from about one-half inch diameter to about one and one-half inch diameter. Other shapes, such as rectangular magnets may also serve. Thinner magnets, 1/16 inch to ¼ inch thick provide good holding strength without protruding too far from the back of the retained fabric while in use. A suitable magnet may be about ⅛ inch thick. A variety of such magnets are commercially available, including those sold by K&amp;J Magnetics, Inc. of Jamison, Pa. One suitable magnet is K&amp;J part number DAH1 ⅝ inch diameter× 1/10inch thick grade N42 nickel-plated axially magnetized neodymium iron boron disk magnet. 
         [0036]    Some fabrics are very smooth so that even a strong force between retainer and keeper is insufficient to prevent the finding from sliding down the fabric. In some embodiments, the back surface of the keeper or a surface of the retainer, or both may include a roughened region (not shown but disposed, for example, on the rear surface opposite portion  24 ) to increase friction between the finding and the fabric. Such a roughened region may be formed in the same manner as portion  24 , for example, by coining, stamping, etching, punching, scribing, or abrading the material of the keeper or retainer. 
         [0037]      FIG. 4  shows the same embodiment disposed on a section of fabric  40 , supporting a pair of eyeglasses  46 , and including an applied ornament  48 .  FIG. 4   a  shows a front perspective view. The attachment segment is partially hidden from view by ornament  48  applied to the face of attachment segment  18 .  FIG. 4   b  shows a rear perspective illustrating the position of round magnetic retainer  30  on the distal side of fabric  40 . The folded temple piece of eyeglasses  46  inserts through holding device  22 . 
         [0038]    To use the finding to support an object such as the illustrated eyeglasses, the user places a section of fabric between the back surface of the keeper and the retainer. Friction between the fabric and the keeper holds the finding and its attached ornament in place. The user then inserts a portion of the object, such as one temple piece of the folded eyeglasses, through the loop formed by holding device  22 . The angle between the attachment segment and the holding segment makes it simple to insert and remove the eyeglasses as needed. 
         [0039]    The finding may also support other objects. It is also suitable for anchoring a scarf or shawl to another item of clothing. The user threads a portion of the scarf through the loop and places a section of fabric from the item of clothing between the keeper and the retainer. This serves to keep in place a scarf that otherwise may move to an undesired position. The portion of the scarf threaded through the loop can be one free end, both free ends, or a corner of the scarf. When two free ends are threaded through the holder, these may be threaded in the same direction (for example, entering from the front surface and exiting the back surface) or in opposite directions from one another. This latter method is particular appropriate when the keeper and retainer are placed on the shoulder portion of a garment. When so placed, one end of the scarf may be draped toward the front of the garment and the other end draped toward the back of the garment giving a pleasing appearance. Alternatively, the user may push a midsection of the scarf into the loop. The pushed-through section may be adjusted in length to drape the scarf as the best fits the user&#39;s desires. Friction between the inserted section of the scarf and the loop can hold the scarf in position. The friction may be adjusted by pushing greater or lesser portions into the loop or by pushing through more than one section of the scarf. 
         [0040]    In embodiments for anchoring a scarf or shawl, the hole may be larger than that best suited for supporting other objects. Holes in such embodiments may range from about ¾″ to about 1⅛″ in diameter to permit easy insertion and removal while retaining sufficient friction to hold the scarf. 
         [0041]      FIG. 5  shows a front perspective view of second embodiment of finding  2  including keeper  50  and magnetic retainer  52  (shown with exaggerated separation for clarity). Keeper  50  comprises a rectangular attachment segment  56  and a rounded holder segment  54 . Holder segment  54  has holding device  60  comprising a flanged stud. The roughened area  58  of attachment segment  56  includes straight parallel lines, illustrating that the roughened texture can take any number of forms. Magnetic retainer  52  is in this embodiment rectangular to increase overlap, and hence retention strength, with keeper  50 . 
         [0042]      FIGS. 6   a  and  6   s  show front perspective and side views of a third embodiment of a keeper  75 . This embodiment comprises a rectangular attachment segment  76  and a rounded holder segment  78 . Holder segment  78  includes a hole  80  that takes up most of holder segment  78  and extends partly into attachment segment  76 . Holder segment  78  surrounding hole  80  forms a border or rim with extent similarly sized to the thickness of the material. Keepers of this form are particularly advantageous for securing larger objects such as scarves or the like because only a relatively small portion of holder segment  78  is visible once a scarf is inserted. Smaller visible portions may avoid detracting from the appearance of the deployed scarf. The edged of keeper  75 , particularly the edges of holder segment  78  surrounding hole  80 , may be rounded to avoid snagging a scarf during insertion and removal. The roughened area  82  of attachment segment  76  includes crossed line knurling, again illustrating that the roughened texture can take any number of forms. 
         [0043]    Some embodiments (not shown) may include a holder segment having stiff wire formed into a planar holding loop and adhered to the attachment segment by, for example, adhesive, soldering, or welding. Other embodiments (not shown) may include a holder segment connected to an attachment segment without a bend between them. 
         [0044]    The features disclosed above may be combined with one another even though sometimes described with reference to different embodiments. Still other embodiments will be apparent without departing from the basic scope of my invention. I intend the scope of the appended claims to encompass such alternative embodiments.