Abstract:
A jewelry clasp is provided with two bodies, each having a surface magnetically attracted to the other. The clasp has a safety catch that includes an arm hinged to one of the bodies. The arm may be swung about the hinge between an open position and a closed position. A further magnetic attraction keeps the arm in the closed position until opened with a fingernail. A retaining wall may extend generally perpendicular to a direction of elongation of the arm to block a path that the other of the bodies could travel if the bodies were to separate from each other while the safety catch is in the closed position. If desired, a male connector may be inserted into a female connector to prevent separation of the bodies from each other. The male connector and female connector are usable in tandem with the retaining wall, or in lieu thereof.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates generally to jewelry and more particularly to a magnetic jewelry clasp with a safety catch. While the jewelry clasp is magnetic, the catch may or may not be magnetic. The clasp may include a retaining wall or other device to help retain the safety catch in a closed position. 
     2. Discussion of Related Art 
     A conventional jewelry clasp is connected to links of a necklace, bracelet, ankle bracelet or belly chain. By opening or closing the mechanical clasp, the jewelry can be either removed from or secured on the wearer. A second clasp or “safety catch” is sometimes provided. This is especially true for more expensive jewelry. A conventional safety catch is also a mechanical connection. 
     A magnetic jewelry clasp includes two bodies that are held together by magnetic attraction and released from each other by pulling them apart to break the magnetic attraction. Thus, the bodies are movable between a connected condition (when together) and a separated condition (when pulled apart). 
     The inventor is unaware of a magnetic jewelry clasp which also employs a safety catch. This is probably due to the fact that conventional magnetic clasps do not limit the position for connecting the two sides of the clasp. Thus, while employing a safety catch with conventional magnetic jewelry clasps would add the benefit of added security, it would also eliminate an advantage offered by such clasps by requiring a user to properly align the sides of the clasp for the clasp to be closed. The inventor is also unaware of any magnetic safety catches. 
     The making and breaking of a magnetic attraction force between the two portions of the clasp renders the magnetic jewelry clasp easy to use. However, it would be beneficial to make the clasp more secure by adding a safety clasp (magnetic or mechanical). Additionally, it would be desirable to make the safety catch easier to use and yet still resist forces that might otherwise break the magnetic attraction force between the two sides of the clasp. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     To improve upon the conventional jewelry clasp, the invention provides a magnetic jewelry clasp with a safety catch. The clasp includes two bodies movable between a separated condition and a connected condition. Each of the two bodies has at least one magnetically attractive surface that is attracted to the other in the connected condition. At least one of the magnetically attractive surfaces is formed by a magnet. The other may be a magnet or a magnetically attracted material. The two bodies are arranged to move into the separated condition in response to manual forces that pull the two bodies apart to break the magnetic attraction between the surfaces. The invention also includes a safety catch, connected to one of the two bodies, that includes an arm movable between a catch position and a release position. The safety catch may be magnetic or conventional. 
     The arm is hinged to one of the bodies and has a free end that may be moved between a catch position and a release position. In the catch position, the arm may be in magnetic attraction with one of the two bodies in accordance with one embodiment or with the magnetic connection between the two bodies in accordance with another embodiment. The arm may be in magnetic attraction with one of the magnets in one of the bodies in an embodiment and/or the arm may be conventionally connected to one of the bodies. 
     While the arm is in the release position, there may be blocking surfaces that no longer abut even though the two bodies are still magnetically connected to each other. While the arm is in the catch position, the blocking surfaces abut to resist forces that otherwise would tend to pull the bodies apart and break the magnetic attraction between the bodies. These blocking surfaces may also be magnetically attracted to each other. 
     The arm may enter the release position from the catch position by using the user&#39;s fingernail to flick a free end of the arm in a direction that breaks the magnetic attraction between the arm and the one of the two bodies. Once the safety catch is released, the two bodies may be pulled apart by breaking the magnetic connection between the surfaces that face each other. To close the jewelry clasp, the two bodies are brought together so as to establish the magnetic connection and then the safety catch is secured. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of a jewelry clasp in accordance with the present invention with a safety catch secured with its arm in a closed position; 
     FIG. 2 shows a bottom plan view of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 2 a  shows a side elevation view of an additional embodiment; 
     FIG. 2 b  shows a top plan view of the arm in accordance with the additional embodiment of FIG. 2 a;    
     FIG. 2 c  shows a bottom plan view of another embodiment with a safety catch in an open condition; 
     FIG. 2 d  shows the embodiment of FIG. 2 c , but with the arm of the safety catch secured in a closed condition; 
     FIG. 2 e  shows a top plan view of an alternate embodiment of the arm of FIG. 2 c  in accordance with a further embodiment in which the side elevation view of this further embodiment with the arm of the safety catch secured in a closed condition would be identical to FIG. 2 d;    
     FIG. 3 shows a side elevation view as in FIG. 1, but with the safety catch released with its arm in an open position; 
     FIG. 4 shows a top plan view of the safety arm of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 5 shows a bottom plan view of one of the two bodies of FIG. 1 with a magnet on the bottom surface; 
     FIG. 6 shows a side elevation view of the two bodies separated from each other, but without showing the safety catch; 
     FIG. 7 shows a front plan view of either of the bodies of FIG. 6, as viewed when looking at the magnet; 
     FIG. 8 shows a rear plan view of either of the bodies of FIG. 6, as viewed when looking at the half ring to attach to necklace or other jewelry chain links; 
     FIG. 9 shows a side elevation view of an alternate embodiment of a jewelry clasp in accordance with the present invention with a safety catch secured with its arm in a closed position; 
     FIG. 10 shows a bottom plan view of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 shows a top plan view of the safety arm of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 12 shows a bottom plan view of one of the two bodies of FIG. 9 with a magnet on the bottom surface; 
     FIG. 13 shows a side elevation view of another alternate embodiment of a jewelry clasp in accordance with the present invention with a safety catch released with its arm in an opened position; 
     FIG. 14 shows a bottom plan view of FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 15 shows a top plan view of the safety arm of FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 16 shows a bottom plan view of one of the two bodies of FIG. 13 with the magnet open to the bottom surface; and 
     FIG. 17 shows a front plan view of either of the bodies of FIG. 13, as viewed when looking at the magnet. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Turning to the drawings, FIGS. 1,  2 ,  2   a ,  2   c ,  2   d ,  3 ,  6 ,  9 ,  10 ,  13  and  14  show two bodies  10 ,  12  of a jewelry clasp. The main bodies have connection surfaces  14 ,  16 , that face each other and have opposite surfaces  18 ,  20  that face away from each other. As seen in FIGS. 1,  2 ,  2   a ,  2   c ,  2   d ,  3 ,  6 ,  9 , and  13  each of the connection surfaces  14 ,  16  is shown with a magnet  22 ,  24  so that the connection surfaces  14 ,  16  of the bodies  10 ,  12  are magnetically attracted to each other when brought together face to face. Those skilled in the art will recognize that only 1 of the magnets is necessary and that the other magnet may be eliminated if the other face is made of a magnetically attracted material. They will also recognize that if both connection surfaces  14 ,  16  include magnets that the magnets could be configured with north and south poles such that when the two surfaces are brought together they align to the same orientation every time. As seen in FIGS. 1,  2   a ,  3 ,  6 ,  8 , and  9  each of the opposite surfaces  18 ,  20  has a half ring  26 ,  28  that is used to connect with a necklace or a bracelet or other jewelry chain links (not shown) in a conventional manner. 
     FIGS. 1,  2   a ,  2   b ,  3 ,  4  and  9  show a safety catch  30 , which includes an arm  32 , a hinge  34 , a retaining wall  36 , a ball  38 , a magnet holder  40  and a magnet  42 . The hinge  34  is secured to body  10 . The arm  32  is connected to the hinge  34  at one end, and also has a free end at which is located the ball  38 . The arm  32  is rotatable about the hinge  34  between a release position clear of the body  12 , as shown in FIG. 3, and a catch position adjacent bottom surfaces  44 ,  46  of bodies  10 ,  12 , as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The arm may be considered to be a thin and narrow paddle with flat opposite sides. Rotation of the arm  32  may be to the extent necessary (i.e., up to and including 360 degrees) to the particular design. FIG. 13 illustrates an alternate design for the safety catch  30 . This design includes the retaining wall  36  (*also referred to as a blocking surface) but not the magnet  42  or magnet holder  40 . However, those skilled in the art will recognize that retaining wall  36  could be replaced by magnet  42  and magnet holder  40  without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     The bottom surface  46  of the body  12  has a magnet  48 . When the arm  32  is in the catch position, the magnet  42  and the magnet  48  have faces that contact each other and are magnetically attracted. The magnet  42  is held in a holder  40 , which is secured to a flat side of the arm  32  at a location so that when the arm  32  is rotated about the hinge  34  to be neighboring the bottom surfaces  44 ,  46 , faces of the magnets  42 ,  48  contact each other. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the holder may not be required and that one of the magnets could be replaced by a metal such as steel, iron or the like. 
     The retaining wall  36  extends from the arm  32 , preferably in a direction perpendicular thereto, to lie against a rear surface  20  of the body  12  when the arm  32  is in the catch position, as shown in FIG.  3 . When the arm  32  is in such a catch position, the retaining wall  36  is in the most likely path that the body  12  would travel to separate from the body  10 . Also, magnetic attractive surfaces  42 ,  48  of the arm  32  and the body  12  are in contact with each other to effect a magnetic connection therebetween. The retaining wall  36  blocks the two bodies  10 ,  12  from inadvertently moving apart from each other. The blocking force exerted resists such movement because the opposite end of the arm  32  is secured by the hinge connection  34  to the body  10 . Such a blocking force is in addition to the magnetic attraction afforded by the magnets  42 ,  48 ,  22  and  46  that also resist movement of the bodies  10 ,  12  away from each other. 
     In addition, when the arm  32  is in the closed or catch position, the ball  38  is beyond a periphery of the body  12 . To open the safety catch  30  from the position shown in FIGS.  1  and  2 , one need only place one&#39;s fingernail against the ball  38  and move the ball  38  in a direction away from the body  12  that will separate the magnets  42 ,  48  from each other. Thus, the two bodies  10 ,  12  are grasped in one hand while the ball is moved with the other hand. In other words, the safety catch  30  may be released by moving the arm  32  from a catch position to the release position. In the release position, the retaining wall  36  is clear of the path and the magnetic connection is broken between the magnetically attractive surfaces  42 ,  48  of the arm  32  and the body  12 . Once the safety catch is open, pulling apart the two bodies  10 ,  12  to break the magnetic attraction between them will result in a separated condition of the bodies, as shown in FIG.  6 . 
     While the two bodies  10 ,  12  are shown to have cubic shapes in the drawings, they may be configured instead to have any other geometric shape. For instance, instead of having a circular cross-section, it may be rectangular, square, trapezoidal, pentagonal, hexagonal, octagonal or any other polygonal shape. The shape of the magnet  48  may be changed accordingly to suit. Further, while the arm  32  is magnetically attracted to the clasp it need not be. 
     The magnets  22 ,  24  and the magnets  42 ,  48  each may be cylindrical with a circular cross-section, as shown in FIG. 7, or may have any other geometric shape needed to best accomplish closure of the jewelry clasp. The clasp may be made out of any material or combination of materials so long as the connection surfaces  14 ,  16  of the two bodies  10 ,  12  are magnetically attracted to each other. The arm  32  may also be magnetically attracted to the bottom surface  46  of at least one of the bodies  10 / 12 . For example, if the jewelry clasp is made of an expensive metal, i.e., gold, silver, platinum or titanium, then both pairs of magnets  22 ,  24  and  42 ,  48  may be employed for additional protection. If, however, the clasp is made of fashion metals, each of the pairs of magnets  22 ,  24  and  42 ,  48  on their respective connection surfaces may be replaced by one magnet, on one of the connection surfaces, provided the other of the connection surfaces to which the magnet contacts in the closed position is made of a magnetically attractive metal itself, such as iron, steel, etc. 
     The magnet  42  may be secured to its magnet holder  40  with an adhesive. Likewise, the magnet  48  may be secured to the body  12  with an adhesive. It may also be secured within a recess  50  formed in the body  12 . To help keep the magnets from dislodging over time due to the adhesive losing its adhesive strength, the outer periphery of the recess  50  and the magnet holder  40  may be bent inwardly or a metal rim added to extend inwardly from the outer peripheries. Preferably, at least one half of the outer peripheries will have this inward bend or metal rim, under which is placed the respective magnet edge. Such a configuration prevents dislodgment of the magnet  42  from the magnet holder  40  or the magnet  48  from the recess  50 . Likewise, the peripheries of recesses that contain the magnets  22 ,  24  may be bent in the same manner or a metal rim added to protrude inwardly. Preferably, at least one half of the periphery has the metal rim or bent portions. 
     Instead of rotating the arm  32  about a hinge  34  connection, provision may be made to replace the hinge  34  connection by a guide groove to permit the arm  32  to slide between the catch and release positions (not shown). In such a construction, outwardly directed projections may be provided on the arm  32  spaced from either end of the guide groove to prevent the arm  32  from sliding entirely out of the guide groove. Further, the guide grooves may each have a lip that extends toward each other to either cover the arm  32  or define a gap therebetween that is smaller in dimension that the width of the arm  32 . 
     As an alternative, the hinge  34  connection may remain, but the hinge  34  may be modified to allow the arm  32  to rotate in a plane parallel to the adjacent surface of the body  10  as opposed to rotating in a plane transverse thereto (FIG. 2 c ). 
     While the retaining wall  36  provides advantages in preventing the two bodies  10 ,  12  from inadvertently separating from each other, the magnetic attraction between the magnets  42 ,  48  alone may suffice, so that the retaining wall  36  may be dispensed with. Alternatively, the retaining wall  36  may be used in tandem with complementary male and female connectors  52 ,  54  provided on the arm  32  and the body  12  to engage each other when the magnets  42 ,  48  contact each other. The male connector  52  preferably is an oblong peg attached to the bottom surface  44  of the body  12 . The female connector  54  preferably is a complementary shaped orifice passing through the arm  32  at a location in alignment with the male connector  52  when the safety catch is in the closed position. 
     The male connector  52  and the female connector  54  are sized relative to each other so that the male connector  52  fits without tension within the female connector  54  in the catch position. This contrasts with conventional catch devices where pressure must be exerted to force a male connector into a female connector. This also contrasts with conventional catch devices that lock the male connector and the female connector together. Although such conventional catch devices may be employed if no magnetic attraction is used to maintain the catch in the catch position. 
     As an alternative, the female connector may be formed as a recess instead of an orifice. If desired, the male connector may be configured into a different shape other than as an oblong peg, provided the recess or orifice is configured to accommodate its insertion. Also, the female connector may be on the body  10  and the male connector may be on the arm  32 . 
     FIGS. 9-12 show a further embodiment that is identical to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8 except that the male connector  52  and the female connector  54  of FIGS. 1-6 are omitted. 
     As a further alternative to the embodiment of FIGS. 1-8, the retaining wall  36  may be dispensed with, but the complementary male and female connectors  52 ,  54  of FIGS. 1-8 remain together with the magnet pairs  22 ,  24  and  42 ,  48 . As still a further alternative, only the magnet pairs  22 ,  24  and  42 ,  48  remain to enable opening and closing of the clasp, which means that both the retaining wall  36  of FIGS. 1-12 and the complementary male and female connectors  52 ,  54  are omitted. 
     The embodiment of FIGS. 2 a  and  2   b  differs from that of the embodiment of FIG. 1 by dispensing with the magnet  48  and arranging the magnet  55  and its holder  55   a  in a different position on the arm  32  than was the case for magnet  42  and holder  40 , such that the magnet  55  aligns with the edges of the magnets  22 ,  24  to effect magnetic attraction when the arm  32  is moved from its release position to the catch position. Also, the arm  32  has a step  60 , which may be curved as shown in FIG. 2 b , to abut a peg  52   a  from the body  12 . Thus, any tendency to pull the bodies  10 ,  12  apart while the arm is in the catch position will be resisted by the peg  52   a  acting against the body  12 , while the magnet  55  keeps the arm in the catch position by magnetic attractive forces between the magnet  55  and the edges of the magnets  22 ,  24 . If desired, magnet  55  may be replaced by a magnetically attracting surface. 
     The embodiment of FIG. 2 c  differs from the embodiment of FIG. 1 in that the arm  32  of FIG. 1 moves away from and toward the faces of bodies  10 ,  12  while the arm  32   a  of FIG. 2 c  moves sideways across the faces of the bodies  10 ,  12 . Also, the hole  54  of FIG. 2 is replaced by a cut-out  54   a  that opens to the side. The embodiment of FIGS. 2 d  and  2   e  differ from the embodiment of FIG. 2 c  by eliminating the need for the magnet  48 . Instead, the magnet  55  is moved on the arm to align with the edges of the magnets  22 ,  24  when the arm is in the closed condition. While the magnets  22 ,  24  need not have their sides exposed for the embodiment of FIG. 2 c , exposure is necessary for the embodiment of FIGS. 2 d  and  2   e  to enable magnetic attraction with the magnet  55 . 
     FIGS. 13-17 show another alternate embodiment of the invention. Instead of the retaining wall  36  being positioned to lie against the rear surface  20  of the body  12  when the arm  32  is in the catch position, the retaining wall  36  is positioned to lie within the body  12 . Accordingly, body  12  includes a recess  60  that extends from the bottom surface  46  to the magnet  24 . The recess  60  may be a hole in a portion of the body such that the two bodies  10 , 12  would need to be properly oriented for the arm to be placed into the catch position, or it may be a groove extending around the entire body  12  such that the arm could be placed into the catch position regardless of the orientation of the bodies  10 , 12 . Those skilled in the art will recognize that if retainer wall  36  is replaced by a magnet or includes an additional magnet (not shown) that the recess  60  need not extend all the way to magnet  24 , although it still could, so long as the body  12  is a magnetically attractive material such as iron, steel etc, or such a metal is located within the recess  60 . As with the other embodiments, the retaining wall  36  may be any shape so long as it is capable of mating with recess  60 . Further, while it is preferred that retaining wall  36  and recess  60  have the same general shape, it is not necessary. 
     When the arm  32  is in a catch position, the retaining wall  36  is in the most likely path that the body  12  would travel to separate from the body  10 . The retaining wall  36  blocks the two bodies  10 ,  12  from inadvertently moving apart from each other. The blocking force exerted resists such movement because the opposite end of the arm  32  is secured by the hinge connection  34  to the body  10 . Such a blocking force is in addition to the magnetic attraction afforded by the magnets  22  and  24  that also resist movement of the bodies  10 ,  12  away from each other. Also, the magnetic attraction between retaining wall  36  and magnet  24  oppose movement of the clasp in any less likely path that the body  12  would travel to separate from the body  10 . 
     The foregoing specific embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the specification herein are for illustrative purposes only. Various deviations and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of this invention, without departing from the main theme thereof.