Abstract:
A tubular protector prevents the tearing and elongation of body piercing holes by heavy jewelry and decorative items which mount using small gauge wire or other sharp mountings. Several configurations of the protector are described as well as installation tools and methods.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to cosmetic surgery and, particularly to its application in the field of body piercing as utilized for the insertion of jewelry. Hence, the invention is also applicable to the field of jewelry. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Body piercings have been utilized for centuries by many cultures for the enhancement and beautification of the body through the addition of jewelry of varying types. In recent years this practice has found new interest within the Western civilizations. The piercing of ear lobes to allow application of pierced earrings has been popular in Western cultures for well over 100 years. Usually this was restricted to a single earring in each ear; however, in recent years the practice has been extended to include anywhere from one to many earrings in a single ear. In addition, the piercing is no longer restricted to the ear lobe; many individuals are now piercing the ear from top to the bottom lobe. 
         [0005]    In addition to the piercing of ears, current practices include the piercing of other body parts including the tongue, naval, lips, nipples and more. This patent will address the problems and solutions using the ear and earring as its primary implementation because these are the most popular and prevalent examples of piercing; however, it is recognized that similar problems and solutions exist for other parts of the body and the inventions disclosed herein are equally applicable to other parts of the body. In fact, the inventions disclosed herein are applicable to any instance in which a foreign object may penetrate the flesh of a body. 
         [0006]    Jewelry intended for piercings usually has one of two general forms: stud mounts or wire mounts. Stud mounts have an 18 to 20 gauge solid metal shank which is placed through the pierced hole made in the flesh of the body, such as an ear lobe. The jewel or other art object is glued, threaded or soldered to one end of the shank and a clasp or clamp is placed over the other end after it has pierced the flesh of the body. The purpose of the clasp is to keep the stud from falling out of the flesh. In the wire type of jewelry, a thin gauge hard wire is used to pass through the flesh. The art object may hang on one end of the wire, while the other end passes through the flesh. Usually the two ends of the wire are secured together to keep the wire from falling out of the body flesh. 
         [0007]    Piercing is usually performed by one of four methods: 1) Standard Needle Method, 2) Indwelling Canula Method, 3) Dermal Punching or 4) Piercing Gun. 
         [0008]    In the Standard Needle Method a hollow medical needle is used to puncture the body part being pierced. While the needle is still in the hole the jewelry is inserted into the hole and pulled through the hole as the needle is removed. In this method no flesh is removed, rather a “c” shaped slit is cut. When performed in soft flesh, e.g. an earlobe, the needle is the same gauge as the initial jewelry being inserted. When performed in cartilage, e.g. upper ear, the needle may be slightly larger than the jewelry. 
         [0009]    The Indwelling Canula Method is popular in Europe. This method uses a hollow needle with a thin plastic canula, or tube, threaded through it. The jewelry is then inserted into the tube and both canula and jewelry are pulled through the pierced hole. This method protects the tender flesh from irritation if the jewelry is threaded. The canula is removed at the end of the procedure. 
         [0010]    In the dermal punching method a punch is used to actually remove a circular piece of flesh and cartilage. This is particularly useful when piercing areas having cartilage since this method is not prone to closing the opening as it heals. Similar methods using a scalpel are also used. 
         [0011]    Finally, the piercing gun is used in retail situations to pierce earlobes only. This tool actually pushes the earring stud through the flesh with a fairly high force. 
         [0012]    It is well known by wearers of pierced jewelry that one should attempt to find light objects to hang from the ears, and other parts, in order to prevent tearing of the flesh. Those who wear heavy jewelry, particularly with wire mounts, eventually may find that the hole pierced through the ear lobe becomes torn and elongated over time due to the dangling weight pulling on the sharp metal wire or stud. It is not uncommon for the pierced hole to actually tear all the way through the ear lobe. This can be painful, cause infection and be cosmetically unappealing. 
         [0013]    Another problem often encountered by wearers of pierced jewelry is that piercing holes often grow over if jewelry is not worn for a long period. This is just a natural reaction of the body attempting to repair itself, however, it does require the wearer to repeat the piercing process before jewelry can be worn again. 
         [0014]    It would be desirable to have a system of piercing the body for cosmetic purposes with would protect the flesh of the body from tearing. This would allow more widespread use of wire mounted jewelry and would allow the wearer to wear slightly heavier jewelry without fear of tearing the flesh. It would also protect those who are susceptible to tearing and are unable to wear pierced jewelry. By removing the fear of tearing, such a system would broaden the market for pierced jewelry and allow greater latitude in the choice of designs. 
         [0015]    It would also be desirable to have a system of piercing which would prevent the flesh from growing together and filling the pierced hole. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    The present invention solves these and other problems by providing a protective sleeve through which the piercings may be passed. The protective sleeve is permanently implanted so that it protects the flesh from whatever piercing the wearer may decide to use. It provides a hard surface which can not be easily cut to interface with the wire or stud mounting of the jewelry. The sleeve also acts to enlarge the gauge of the wire or stud mount so that there is not a sharp wire cutting into the flesh as it is pulled upon by the weight of the jewelry. 
         [0017]    The present invention comprises a small tube which the cosmetologist or doctor can implant inside the hole pierced through the ear lobe or other body flesh. In the preferred embodiment said tube is made of a plastic material which will not decompose or be absorbed by the body. In the preferred embodiment it may have a flared disc on one end so that the tube does not pass through the hole but rather stops when fully inserted. 
         [0018]    In another embodiment of the invention the tube is made of a thermoplastic. The tube is slightly longer than the thickness of the flesh which it will penetrate. By applying a small amount of heat to the unflared end of the tube the practitioner can melt the tube into a flare on the second end, thus making the tube captive in its hole so that it can not fall out. 
         [0019]    The presence of the tube in the flesh prevents the flesh from growing together and filling the pierced hole. Thus, piercings made with the insertion of the tube described herein can be made permanent, particularly if both ends of the tube are flared so that the tube is captive and can not be pushed out of the hole by growth of new flesh. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  shows the present invention implanted in a pierced ear with a wire mounted piece of jewelry passing through the protective tube. 
           [0021]      FIG. 2  illustrates several designs of earring mountings, wire mounts, stud mounts, screw mounts and flattened wire mounts using current methods of piercing. It also shows typical jewelry construction for these types of jewelry. 
           [0022]      FIG. 3  shows how a wire mounted piece of jewelry tears the piercing hole of an ear lobe over time due to the weight of the jewelry and small gauge of the wire which acts like a blade. 
           [0023]      FIG. 4  shows three embodiments of the current invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 5  shows one method of installing the tear prevention tubes into a piercing hole. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]      FIG. 1  shows an example of the preferred embodiment wherein a wire mounted earring ( 101 ) is inserted through the protective tube ( 102 ) of the current invention which is inserted through the pierced hole ( 103 ) in a human ear lobe ( 104 ). Note that the protective tube ( 102 ) prevents the sharp wire ( 105 ) from contacting the tender flesh of the ear lobe ( 104 ). In addition the protective tube ( 102 ) is significantly larger in diameter than the wire mount ( 101 ), thus making the earring ( 101 ) less likely to cut or tear the ear lobe flesh ( 104 ). 
         [0026]      FIG. 2  shows several types of earring mountings. Typically wire mounts ( 201 ) are made from 0.8 to 1.0 mm diameter hard wire. Stud mounts ( 202 ) are typically in the range 1.5 to 0.8 mm with screw mounted studs ( 203 ) being the thickest to accommodate the threads ( 204 ). Screw mounted studs are threaded so that the backing ( 205 ) can be screwed onto the stud for added security. However, the rough surface of the threads can be irritating to the ear. This irritation is alleviated by insertion of a protective tube. There are many designs available including one ( 206 ) wherein the wire mount is flattened to look like a piece of sheet metal. With this design the thickness of the metal ( 207 ) pulling down on the ear ( 100 ) may be as thin as 0.5 mm while the height of the wire ( 207 ) may be 3 mm or more. This design can then act as a knife blade cutting into the ear ( 100 ) while expanding the pierced hole ( 208 ) in the vertical direction. Earrings that are thicker in the horizontal direction are less likely to cut the earlobe than those which are narrow and sharp. Inserting a protective tube into the pierced hole ( 208 ) protects the ear from the sharp wire ( 207 ). 
         [0027]    If the wall thickness of the protective tube is made to be 0.004″ or 0.1 mm and the hole in the tube is 1.5 mm to accommodate a large stud mount the entire tube will have an outer diameter of 1.7 mm. The actual diameter of the tube can be selected to fit the particular jewelry that the wearer plans to use. The tube can also be made from a softer material than the wire or stud mounts; thus between the larger diameter and the softer material cutting and tearing of the earlobe is greatly reduced. 
         [0028]    Wires and studs for piercings to other parts of the body are usually significantly larger than earrings. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  shows the effects of wearing heavy, sharp earrings. The pierced hole ( 208 ) becomes elongated and stretched. In extreme cases the stretching can actually result in a tear ( 300 ) which completely severs the ear lobe. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  illustrates several implementations of the present invention. The first implementation ( 400 ) is a hollow tube which can be inserted into the pierced hole in the ear lobe ( 207 ). This is the simplest implementation, but has the disadvantage that it can easily fall out of the hole. To help avoid falling out and to make insertion into the ear easier the second implementation ( 401 ) includes a ridge ( 402 ) greater than the diameter of the tube on one end of the tube which prevents the tube from being pushed all the way through the ear. Finally, to prevent the tube from being backed out implementation ( 403 ) is a modification to implementation ( 401 ) whereby the second end also has a ridge ( 404 ) or flare to hold the tube in place. This ridge ( 404 ) could be formed after the tube has been inserted into the ear in order to make the tube ( 403 ) captive in the pierced hole. This ridge can be formed by slightly heating the tube ( 403 ) on one end to flare it. 
         [0031]    In  FIG. 5  a tool ( 500 ) for flaring the back side of implementation ( 403 ) is shown. The tool resembles a punch in a scissors configuration. One side of the tool has a metal dowel ( 501 ) for holding the tube ( 403 ) in its configuration prior to flaring. After the tube is inserted through the pierced hole the tool would be closed so that a heated tip ( 502 ) is inserted into the tube softening the tube material and causing it to flare. Other configurations of this tool may be developed; this implementation is given as an example. Also, other tools which accomplish the same purpose are envisioned.