Abstract:
A configurable jewelry article such as a pendant, broach, ring, bracelet or earring that is alterable to include additional settings and to allow an even or an odd number of settings to be aesthetically pleasing. The settings may be positioned so that they are centered or symmetrically positioned regardless of whether an even or odd number of settings are mounted. The settings are formed with a mount or beam that is received in one of a number of positions within the jewelry. Typically, the setting mount is retained between upper and lower frames. The setting positions are typically within a central channel and the setting positions include a central setting position, suitable for mounting a single setting and two setting positions equidistant from the central setting position. The setting positions may be equally spaced as the distance from the central positions increases or the spacing may increase as the distance from the central positions increases. The configurable jewelry may be an ideal application for mother&#39;s jewelry, since it may be updated for the births of additional children in the future.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    A number of modular jewelry articles are currently available. This modular jewelry typically allows for a number of different settings to be held within a releasable closure. Examples of such modular jewelry are shown in a number of patents. U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,655 which shows a gem setting having a number of interconnected links. Each link includes an opening for receiving and holding a single gem stone and additional links may be added as desired. U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,453 discloses a jewelry setting including a frame having an upper surface with a number of apertures and a lower frame surface that retains the gems between the upper and lower surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,241 discloses a finger ring having two hinged opposed members including a clasp which retains one or more gems on a first member and a catch on the second member. The clasp engages the catch to form a finger ring. 
         [0002]    To date all recognized modular jewelry does not contemplate the need for even distribution of an odd or an even number of settings while maintaining a balanced distribution. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a configurable jewelry article is presented having a first frame section, a second frame section, the first and second frame sections being mated to define a channel having a plurality of setting positions to retain at least one jewelry setting. The setting positions are grouped into two groups, the first group centered on a central setting position and a plurality of pairs of setting positions spaced from said central position, and the second group centered on a pair of setting positions equidistant from the central setting position. The channel may be straight, triangular, square, circular, arcuate, heart-shaped, rectangle, V-shaped. The article may also include a hinge connecting the first and second frame sections. 
         [0004]    In accordance with additional embodiments of the present invention, a jewelry article is presented having first and second frame sections defining a jewelry display channel, at least one jewelry setting having a beam, said beam having a predetermined cross-sectional shape, a first set of beam receivers, having a central beam receiver, formed into at least one of said first and second frame sections, the central beam receiver positioned at the midpoint of said channel; a second set of beam receivers, having a central pair of beam receivers, formed into at least one of said first and second frame sections, the central pair of beam receivers of said second set of beam receivers being equally spaced from the central beam receiver of the first set. The first set of beam receivers are formed in the first frame section and the second set of beam receivers are formed in the second frame section. 
         [0005]    In accordance with additional embodiments of the present invention, a configurable jewelry article is presented having a first frame section, defining a channel, and having a number of paired indentations on either side of said channel, a second frame section, fixed to said first section, and at least one setting mounted on a beam, the beam being received within the paired indentations of the first frame section. The paired indentations may be aligned in two groups, the first group centered on a central setting position and a plurality of pairs of setting positions spaced from said central position, and the second group centered on a pair of setting positions equidistant from the central setting position. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    A more complete appreciation of the invention and the many embodiments thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates an isometric drawing of the configurable jewelry article in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates an isometric drawing a setting suitable for use with the configurable jewelry article in accordance with the present invention 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates a plan view of the hinged end of the configurable jewelry article in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  illustrates an isometric drawing of the internal portion of the configurable jewelry article in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4A  illustrates an isometric drawing of the internal portion of the configurable jewelry article in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates an isometric drawing of the internal portion of the configurable jewelry article in accordance with an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  illustrates a plan view, partially cut away, of an internal setting retention structure of the configurable jewelry article in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6A  illustrates an isometric drawing of an internal setting retention structure in detail of the configurable jewelry article in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  illustrates an isometric drawing of another configurable jewelry article in accordance with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    The present invention will now be described with occasional reference to the specific embodiments of the invention. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. 
         [0017]    Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is for describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description of the invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. 
         [0018]    Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients and so forth as used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated, the numerical properties set forth in the specification and claims are approximations that may vary depending on the desired properties sought to be obtained in embodiments of the present invention. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical values, however, inherently contain certain errors necessarily resulting from error found in their respective measurements. 
         [0019]    The present invention relates to a configurable jewelry article such as pendants, broaches, rings, earrings, bracelets and other jewelry which may easily be altered to include additional decorative pieces such as settings for stones or other charms. The jewelry article allows for a number of setting positions where settings may be retained within the article and allows the stones to be positioned so that they are centered or symmetrically positioned regardless of the number of settings. The reconfiguration is accomplished by placing the setting on a mount or beam that is received in one of a number of positions within the configurable article. The setting mount is preferably retained between upper and lower frame pieces. The frame pieces may be hinged to ease reconfiguration and are secured to one another during use. The setting positions are typically within a central channel formed in the article and the setting positions include a central setting position, suitable for mounting a single setting or as the centerpiece for an odd number of settings and two setting positions equidistant from the central setting position for an even number of settings. The jewelry includes two groups of setting positions: a first group having a central position, for an odd number of settings, and a second group having two central setting positions, for an even number of settings. The setting positions may be equally spaced as the distance from the central positions increases or the spacing may increase as the distance from the central positions increases. 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , configurable jewelry article  10  includes one or more settings  20 . The settings  20  may include gems  22  or may be charms of any description. The upper frame  12  includes a display section formed from a channel or orifice that includes a number of setting receiver positions  56  and at least one upper frame hinge section  24 . The lower frame  14  includes one or more lower frame hinge mechanisms  46   a,    46   b.  A hinge pin  26  secures the upper frame hinge section  24  to the lower frame hinge mechanisms  46   a,    46   b.  Opposite the lower frame hinge mechanisms  46   a,    46   b  are frame ears  54   a,    54   b.  Frame ears  54   a,    54   b  cover channel  62 , which is a through hole formed when lower frame is engaged with upper frame  12 . The channel  62  allows the article  10  to be suspended from a chain (not shown). Other features could also be added to the article to allow it to be suspended from a chain. 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , a setting assembly  20  includes a setting beam  16 , having lateral beam ends  16   a,    16   b,  a beam upper surface  16   c,  a beam base surface  16   d,  a forward and rear surfaces  16   e,    16   f.  As shown in  FIG. 2 , a number of prongs  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d  extend from the setting beam  16  to retain a gem  22  within the setting. The gem girdle  22  may be retained in notches formed in each of prongs  20   a,    20   b,    20   c,    20   d.  While a gem setting is shown in  FIG. 2  it is possible to have sculptural charms mounted to setting beam  16 . 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the upper frame  12  includes a hinged base  24  and frame extensions  12   a,    12   b  which cooperate with lower frame hinge mechanisms  46   a,    46   b  to allow the jewelry article to pivot and retain setting  20  and gem  22  between the upper frame  12  and lower frame  14 . The assembly may include a hinge pin  26  (shown in  FIG. 5 ). 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the article  10  is hinged to allow the reconfiguration of the settings. The lower frame  14  may include a base  46  with hinge rounds  46   a,    46   b.  The frame may include left and right rails  14   a,    14   b  or may have a solid back piece. Opposite base  46  is crown  48 , which may include left and right ears  54   a  and  54   b  as well as screw orifice  50  although any suitable closure mechanism may be used. The upper frame  12  includes a hinge knuckle  24  that cooperates with hinge rounds  46   a,    46   b  and hinge pin  26 . The upper frame  12  may include left and right frame extensions  12   a,    12   b  and a threaded hole  52  adjacent the screw orifice  50 . The upper frame  12  includes a number of setting beam receivers  56  spaced along the length of the display channel formed in frame  12 . The setting beam receivers  56  may optionally be formed in the lower frame  14  or formed partially in both upper frame  12  and lower frame  14  or a first set of beam receivers  56  may be formed in the upper frame  12  and a second set of beam receivers  56  may be formed in the lower frame  14 . The beam receivers  56  are distributed along the length of the display channel and the lower frame  14  is pressed against the upper frame  12  to retain any number of setting beams  16  in the beam receivers  56 . The number of setting beam receivers in the article is equal to N+(N−1) where N is the maximum number of stones the article is designed to accept. 
         [0024]    As shown in  FIG. 4A , the article  10  is hinged to allow the reconfiguration of the settings. The lower frame  14  may include a base  46  with hinge rounds  46   a,    46   b.  The frame may include left and right rails  14   a,    14   b  or may have a solid back piece. Opposite base  46  is crown  48 , which includes channel  64  through where the article  10  may be mounted to another jewelry article such as a chain. The upper frame  12  includes a hinge knuckle  24  that cooperates with hinge rounds  46   a,    46   b  and hinge pin  26 . The upper frame  12  may include left and right frame extensions  12   a,    12   b  as well as locking pin  66 . The article  10  may be mounted to another jewelry article, such as a chain, a ring or an earring post. As shown in  FIG. 4A  vias  70   a,    70   b  which align with lower frame via  64  allows a chain to pass through the article. Lower frame  14  includes a locking pin receiver  66   a  adjacent locking pin  66 . The upper frame  12  includes a number of setting beam receivers  56  spaced along the length of the display channel formed in frame  12 . In  FIG. 4A  two sets of beam receivers  56  are shown. The first set of beam receivers  56  is formed in the first frame section  12  and the second set of beam receivers  56  is formed in the second frame section  14 . As also shown  FIG. 4A , the setting beam receivers  56  may optionally be formed in the lower frame  14  or formed partially in both upper frame  12  and lower frame  14 . The beam receivers  56  are distributed along the length of the display channel and the lower frame  14  is pressed against the upper frame  12  to retain any number of setting beams  16  in the beam receivers  56 . 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , the article  10  includes an upper frame which may include left and right rails  14   a,    14   b  as well as threaded screw holes  52   a,    52   b.  The two screw closure mechanism shown in  FIG. 5  may decrease manufacturing costs or ease installation of additional settings  20 . Similar to  FIG. 4 , the setting beam receivers  56  spaced along the length of the display channel formed in frame  12 . The setting beam receivers  56  may optionally be formed in the lower frame  14  or formed partially in both upper frame  12  and lower frame  14 . The beam receivers  56  are distributed along the length of the display channel and the lower frame  14  is pressed against the upper frame  12  to retain any number of setting beams  16  in the beam receivers  56 . 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the lower frame  14  may include a base  46  with a hinge round  46   a,  and at least one rail  14   a  or may have a solid back piece. Opposite base  46  is crown  48 , which may include a screw orifice  50  or any suitable closure mechanism. The upper frame  12  includes a hinge knuckle  24  that cooperates with hinge rounds  46   a  and hinge pin  26 . The upper frame  12  may include a threaded hole  52  adjacent the screw orifice  50 . The upper frame  12  includes a number of setting beam receivers  56  spaced along the length of the display channel formed in frame  12 . The setting beams  16  are retained in the assembly by lower frame  14  adjacent the upper frame  12 . 
         [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 6A , in detail, the upper frame  12  includes a setting beam receiver  56 . The receiver  56 , as shown, has a right quadrilateral cross section although other suitable shapes such as circular, trapezoidal or triangular may be preferred to allow ease of inserting the beams  16  and reduce manufacturing costs. The beam receiver  56  includes surfaces  56   a,    56   b,    56   c,  and  56   d  which contact beam surfaces  16   f,    16   e,    16   a  and  16   c  respectively. 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , other configurations of a jewelry article are contemplated. The configurable jewelry article includes one or more settings  20 . The upper frame  112  may be generally circular and includes an arcuate display section formed from a channel or orifice that includes a number of setting receiver positions  156  formed in outer frame section  112   a  and inner frame section  112   b  and at least one upper frame hinge section  124 . The lower frame  114  includes outer frame section  114   a  and inner frame section  114   b  as well as one or more lower frame hinge mechanisms  146   a,    146   b.  A hinge pin  126  secures the upper frame hinge section  124  to the lower frame hinge mechanisms  146   a,    146   b.    
         [0029]    The beam receiver positions  56  are spaced such that a single setting is positioned at or near the center of the display channel such that a single setting will be centered or an odd number of settings may be spaced equidistant from the central setting. Beam receiver positions  56  are also included such that two settings may positioned equidistant from the center of the display channel to give a symmetrical appearance. An even number of settings may be added and spaced equidistant from the two initial settings. The number and spacing of the beam receiver positions  56  allows for an even or odd number of settings to be displayed in a pleasant and symmetrical manner. The article  10  may be reconfigured as additional settings  20  are added. An alternative is to have a graduated spacing where a central receiver has equi-spaced pairs of receivers on either side where the spacing between adjacent receivers increases as the distance from the central receiver increases. 
         [0030]    The jewelry article may be formed by any suitable process. In metal manufacture, any suitable casting technique such as sand casting, plastic casting, shell casting, plaster casting, and investment casting by the lost-wax or lost foam technique or a metal stamping process could be used. Other possible techniques may be permanent, die, centrifugal, and continuous casting. If the article  10  is formed of a polymer material, injection molding is one suitable method. 
         [0031]    Other possible configurations for the jewelry article include configurations where any number of settings  20  can be displayed in any alternative suitable shapes, such as a triangle, square, heart-shape, rectangle or V-shape. 
         [0032]    The present invention should not be considered limited to the specific examples described herein, but rather should be understood to cover all aspects of the invention. Various modifications, equivalent processes, as well as numerous structures and devices to which the present invention may be applicable will be readily apparent to those of skill in the art. Those skilled in the art will understand that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, which is not to be considered limited to what is described in the specification.