Patent Publication Number: US-6701583-B1

Title: Jewelry clasp casing

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     In general, the present invention relates to jewelry clasps of the type that are used on chain necklaces and bracelets. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices that engage jewelry clasps in a selective manner so that the length of the jewelry chain extending from the device can be selectively adjusted. 
     2. Prior Art Statement 
     There are many types of jewelry. Often the jewelry is made from flexible chains. This is particularly true in the field of necklaces and bracelets. When a flexible chain is used to create a piece of jewelry, the chain is typically not manufactured to be continuous. Rather, the chain is manufactured as a straight length having two open ends. Each of the ends is terminated with part of a clasp that enables the ends of the chain to be connected around the neck or wrist. 
     Over the years, many types of clasps that join together the ends of jewelry chains have been invented. In modern jewelry, a very common clasp design involves the use of a locking hoop and a static hoop. With such a clasp, one end of a chain is terminated with a round or elongated static hoop. The opposite end of the chain is terminated with a hoop that can be selectively opened with a locking latch. To join the two hoops, the locking latch must be momentarily moved to the open position. A small lever is typically located just below the locking latch. It is this lever that must manipulated in order to open the locking latch. The locking latch must then be held open while the static hoop is interconnected with the locking hoop. The locking latch is then closed to prevent the two hoops from separating. 
     For many reasons, different people find it hard to manipulate the locking latch on a claps when either putting on or taking off chain jewelry. This is especially true for necklaces that are clasped out of sight behind the neck. In an attempt to make the opening and closing of jewelry clasps easier, clasp cases have been developed in the prior art that eliminate the need to manipulate the locking latch on a clasp in order to open or close the clasp. Such clasp cases provide a thin post in a casing. The static hoop on one end of the chain and the locking hoop on the opposite side of the chain are then placed around the post. As such, the two ends of the chain are joined to the same point without having to manipulate the small latching lever that is part of the clasp. Such prior art clasp cases are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,368 to Battersby, entitled Decorative And Protective Jewelry Chain Guard. 
     As is well known in the field of jewelry, necklaces and bracelets come in different lengths. Depending upon the day&#39;s fashion, the cut of clothing being worn, the style of the clothing being worn and/or the occasion, a woman may select a necklace of a different length. Consequently, it is common for a woman to have necklaces in a variety of different lengths even though the style of many of the necklaces may be similar. 
     Often women buy long necklaces. If a woman wants to shorten the length of the necklace, she either ties or otherwise binds the necklace behind her neck. In the prior art, there are devices that enable a necklace to be adjusted in length. Such devices are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,481,155, to Cook, entitled Combined Necklace And Wristband Including Loop Shortening Means. However, with such devices, the excess chain extends out of the device and is visible. With many cuts of dress, the dangling excess parts of the necklace are unsightly. Furthermore, when prior art necklace shortening devices are used, the ends of the necklace hang free and often become entangled with each other, hair or other objects. 
     A need therefore exists in the art for a device that can be used to shorten a necklace or bracelet without exposing the unused portions of such jewelry. A need also exists for a device that can shorten a length of jewelry chain while confining the ends of the chain. Furthermore, a need exists for a device that can shorten a length of jewelry chain yet be easily manipulated and operated by a person of less than optimal dexterity or vision. These needs are met by the present invention as described and claimed below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is an apparatus and method for selectively adjusting the hanging length of a piece of chain jewelry. Chain jewelry, like necklaces, have a hanging length that is determined by the length of the chain jewelry between the clasp ends. The present invention is a clasp casing that receives the clasp ends of the chain jewelry. Within the clasp casing is a matrix of posts. The matrix of posts are arranged in three row sets, that include a center post set and a post set on either side of the center post set. The clasp ends of the jewelry chain are fed into the casing and attached to separate posts. If attached to posts near the ends of the casing, the hanging length of the jewelry chain can be increased because the casing adds length to the jewelry chain. However, by wrapping the jewelry chain around the posts inside the casing, the hanging length of the jewelry chain can be dramatically shortened. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of an exemplary embodiment thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown with the ends of a piece of chain jewelry; 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the base section of the casing; 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, shown in a standard clasping configuration; 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, shown in an enlarging clasping configuration; 
     FIG. 5 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, shown in a simple shortening configuration; and 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention, shown in a complex shortening configuration. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention clasp device  10  is shown. The clasp device  10  is shown in conjunction with two opposite ends of a piece of chain jewelry  12 . The chain jewelry  12  can be a bracelet, necklace or any similar item. The chain jewelry  12  terminates with a traditional clasp. One end of the chain jewelry terminates with a static hoop  14 . The opposite end of the chain jewelry  12  terminates with a lockable hoop  16  that can be selectively opened and closed. 
     The present invention clasp device  10  contains a casing  20  that can engage the hoop terminated ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  in a variety of different orientations. As will later be explained, by selectively varying how the chain jewelry is engaged within the casing  20  will determine how much of the chain jewelry  12  is confined within the casing. By adjusting the amount of chain jewelry  12  that is contained within the casing  20 , the length of the chain jewelry  12  that extends outside of the casing  20  can be selectively adjusted. 
     From FIG. 1, it can be seen that the casing  20  of the clasp device  10  has a base section  22  and a lid section  24 . The base section  22  and lid section  24  are interconnected along a common hinge joint. As such, the lid section  24  can be selectively closed over the top of the base section  22  or opened to expose the interior of the base section  22 . 
     The base section  22  has a first end  26  and an opposite second end  28 . Reliefs  27 ,  29  are formed in both the first end  26  and the second end  28  of the base section  22  so that the chain jewelry  12  can pass into the interior of the base section  22  without effecting the ability of the lid section  24  to lay flush over the top of the base section  22 . 
     Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that a matrix of posts extend upwardly within the interior of the base section  22 . The matrix of posts are divided into three sets, which include first end post set  31 , the center post set  30  and the second end post set  32 . Each post set contains at least one post and can contain a plurality of posts, as will later be evident. The center post set  30  is disposed in the center of the base section  22 . The first end post set  31  is positioned between the center post set  30  and the first end  26  of the base section  22 . Conversely the second post set  32  is disposed between the center post set  30  and the second end  28  of the base section  22 . 
     The base section  22  of the casing  20  has a center line  35  that passes between the two reliefs  27 ,  29  at the first end  26  and the second end  28  of the casing  20 . In the shown embodiment, the first end post set  31  contains a single post  36  that is located on the center line  35 . Similarly, the second end post set  32  contains a single post  38  that is also located on the center line  35 . Accordingly, the post  36  in the first end post set  31  and the post  38  in the second end post set  32  are linearly aligned with the reliefs  27 ,  29  in the casing  20 . 
     The center post set  30  contains two posts  40 ,  42  that are disposed above and below the centerline  35  of the base section  22 . Both posts  40 ,  42  are equidistant from the reliefs  27 ,  29  on either end of the bottom section  22  of the casing  20 . 
     Returning briefly to FIG. 1, it will be understood that the lid section  24  of the casing  20  closes flush, or nearly flush, with the tops of the matrix of posts. Consequently, if the hopped ends  14 ,  16  of the piece of chain jewelry  12  is placed over any post and the lid section  24  were closed, the lid section  24  would prevent the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  from inadvertently sliding off any post. 
     Referring now to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the present invention clasp device can be used as a traditional clasp by placing the opposing hoops  14 ,  16  of a piece of chain jewelry  12  around posts  40 ,  42  in the center post set  30 . The opposite ends of the chain jewelry  12  enter the casing  20  through the reliefs  27 ,  29  in the two ends  26 ,  28  of the base section  22  of the casing  20 . The opposing ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  are then connected to the posts  40 ,  42  of the center post set  30  along the most direct path possible. By placing the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  onto the posts  40 ,  42  of the center post set  30 , the clasp device  10  retains both ends of the chain jewelry  12  and has only a nominal effect on the length of the chain jewelry  12 . Since the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  are placed around the posts  40 ,  42  of the center post set  30 , a person need not open and close the clasping mechanism that is designed into the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12 . Rather, the casing  20  of the clasp device is opened, the hooped ends  14 ,  16  are placed around the posts  40 ,  42  of the center post  30  and the lid section  22  closed. 
     The present invention clasp device, however, is capable of much more than just joining together the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of a piece of chain jewelry  12 . The present invention clasp device  10  can join together the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of a piece of chain jewelry  12  while simultaneously either increasing or decreasing the effective length of the chain jewelry  12 . 
     In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  are joined to the posts  40 ,  42  of the center post set  30 . As such, the effective length of the chain jewelry  12  is little different than if the present invention clasp device were not used. However, by referring now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the piece of chain jewelry  12  can be connected to different posts within the casing  20 . In FIG. 4, the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  are attached to the post  36  of the first end post set  31  and the post  38  of the second end post set  32 , respectively. The post  36  of the first end post set  31  and the post  38  of the second end post sets  32  are spaced apart by a predetermined distance. Accordingly, by attaching the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  to these posts, the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the jewelry chain  12  are separated by that predetermined distance. This results in the jewelry chain  12  appearing to be longer than it actually is. Thus, a nine inch necklace can be caused to hang as low as a ten inch necklace by using the present invention clasp device in the configuration of FIG.  4 . 
     Referring to FIG. 5, it can be seen that the present invention clasp device can also be used to shorten the effective length of a piece of chain jewelry  12 . Each hooped end  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  can be advanced into one side of the casing  20  and attached to the post set near the opposite side of the casing  20 . In this manner the two hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  overlap within the casing  20 . As a result, the effective length of the chain jewelry  12  can be shortened while maintaining the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the chain jewelry  12  and the excess of the chain jewelry  12  confined within the casing  20  of the clasp device. 
     In FIG. 5, the hooped end  16  of the chain jewelry  12  incoming from the left is placed over the post  36  of the first end post set  31  on the right side of the casing  20 . Similarly, the hooped end  14  of the chain incoming from the right is placed over the post  38  of the second end post set  32  on the left side of the casing  20 . As a result, the jewelry chain  12  is shortened by at least twice the distance between the first end post set  31  and the second end post set  32 . 
     In the shown embodiment, the clasp device contains a matrix of four posts that are disposed in three post sets. With such a structure, the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of a jewelry chain  12  can be wound in a few different configurations around the various posts. The number of times a section of a jewelry chain  12  can pass around any one post is limited only by the thickness of the chain, the space available between the posts and the space available between the posts and the surrounding casing. 
     Referring to FIG. 6, a more complex embodiment of the present invention clasp device is shown. In this embodiment, the first end post set  61 , the center post set  62  and the second end post set  63  all contain three posts. By using more posts, the jewelry chain  12  can be wound around the posts in a larger number of possible ways. Accordingly, more subtle changes can be created in the effective length of the jewelry chain  12 . By using complex serpentine windings, each hooped end  14 ,  16  of the jewelry chain  12  can be effectively shortened by a length much longer than the length of the casing. 
     Regardless of how much of the jewelry chain  12  is wound in the casing, the hooped ends  14 ,  16  of the jewelry chain  12  and the unused portions of the jewelry chain  12  are contained within the confines of the casing of the clasp device. As such, the length of the jewelry chain  12  extending from the clasp device can be varied. The number of rows of posts and the number of posts in each row can be varied. As such, it will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention clasp device that are specifically described and illustrated are merely exemplary and the shown embodiment can be modified in many ways. For example, more than one set of posts can be placed on either side of the center post set. Numerous posts or one post can be in each post set. All such alternate embodiments and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims as listed below.