Abstract:
An article of jewelry comprising plates having indicia embossed or engraved thereon mounted on a shoelace type cord. The ends of the cord have rigid rectangular aglets and are threaded through rectangular holes at opposed ends of the plates. The generally flat cord cannot twist or fold within the rectangular holes in the plates so the plates always maintain the same orientation and position on the cord, allowing them to be arranged and displayed sequentially. The article of jewelry can be tied to itself using one hand because the cord is provided with a rectangular button hole of the same size as the rectangular holes in the plates. The rigid rectangular aglet is passed through the button hole, under the cord and back through the created loop and pulled tight, thereby tying the cord to itself using only one hand.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to an article of jewelry that may be personalized and modified by designing, adding or changing plates with individualized indicia thereon to a cord. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates generally to jewelry and more particularly to jewelry that may be infinitely customized to suit an individual&#39;s tastes and interests. It has long been desirable to those wearing jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets to personalize such jewelry. Birthstones, charms, beads, plates or panels that are inscribed, printed or embossed, can represent names, birthdays, quotations, or other indicia like logos or other symbols that have particular meaning to the wearer. Jewelry can be and is customized in a vast number of ways to incorporate the individual tastes and interests of the wearer. 
         [0003]    Any article of jewelry that may be personalized suffers from a number of disadvantages. First, the cost is high to create a personalized plate or arrangement of beads or charms if it is done in a permanent way, i.e. permanently affixed such as by soldering links of a chain, which limits the wearer&#39;s ability to modify, add or delete indicia or elements. Any system allowing a user to add or remove plates, beads or charms must be easy to use for a user while also being secure enough to retain the individualized elements. It also must be securable enough to keep the article of jewelry fastened around the wearer&#39;s wrist, ankle or neck. In prior art articles of jewelry, an interlocking closure clasp is provided at the two ends of the cord on which the personalized elements are mounted. However, such interlocking clasp components present a significant problem for the addition or removal of elements to the cord if such personalized elements are to be slid onto the cord at the ends because of the size and shape of the clasp components. The personalized elements added, changed or removed by a user have to be big enough or have provisions such that the closure clasps pass through them, which necessarily makes the personalized elements themselves large and bulky. 
         [0004]    Once the personalized elements of a piece of jewelry are added over the end clasps to a cord, typically such elements are free to move about the cord so that, for example, any personalized element with indicia printed, engraved, embossed or otherwise represented on a plate will probably not be visible or readable because it will be twisted and/or disoriented about the cord. 
         [0005]    In a significant feature of the present invention, a personalized plate, or number of plates, are securely affixed to a cord that is worn as a necklace, bracelet or anklet, in such a manner that the plates are prevented from twisting or moving longitudinally along the cord. Example benefits of the present invention include the ability to construct an article of jewelry having multiple individual panels that it is desirable to arrange and display in a particular order, such as words in a sentence (e.g. “what would Jesus do”), names of children on plates or even photographs of children printed on plates and worn by a proud parent. With prior art personalized jewelry, it was not possible to create such an individualized expression in a way that the separate elements were kept properly oriented and arranged. 
         [0006]    It is desirable to provide a piece of jewelry that may include personalized elements that may be added or removed over specially formed end pieces at the ends of the cord designed to aid the threading of the cord through the personalized elements. Again, using the example benefit of a parent displaying the names or photographs of their children on individual plates, it will be readily possible to add more names or replace photographs without having to employ a jeweler to add links or charms or beads to an existing piece of jewelry; the wearer will need only to have a new plate created, and place it on the mounting cord. 
         [0007]    It is also desirable, and a feature of the present invention, to incorporate a closure device allowing the article of jewelry to be affixed about a wearer&#39;s wrist, ankle or neck, requiring only one hand for closure, and which closure device does not impede the attachment or removal of personalized elements to the cord. 
         [0008]    Charm bracelets are well known in the prior art as an article of jewelry that may be personalized by selecting charms such as hearts, angels, volleyballs, miniature roller skates, etc., that allow some individual expression. Generally, such charms are added to a charm bracelet through a “ring to ring” type connection wherein each charm is affixed to a ring and then attached to a typical link bracelet. Such an arrangement allows the charms to dangle from the bracelet, while also preventing all the charms from just falling into a group at the low point of the bracelet. However, such an arrangement suffers from the serious shortcoming that the charms are dangling and, necessarily free to twist and turn. In addition, charms are generally not defined or designed by the wearer and, thus, lack much of personalization possible with the present invention. For example, while it may be possible for a mother to display the names of her children if they have common names like Bill, Jane and Tom, if the children are more exotically named it will be impossible or very expensive to create a charm bracelet bearing their names. Also, because the charms do not maintain a constant orientation or visibility, it will be very difficult for an onlooker to make out what the charm or what it represents and any desired perception of sequencing of the charms will be impossible. 
         [0009]    In a number of United States patents, systems and apparatuses are provided that include “ring-to-ring” type connections for the charms to the cord. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,427,823 and 6,256,974 are two examples, among many, disclosing the use of charms mounted on a ring which is then added to a link on a chain bracelet. The &#39;974 patent further discloses the use of rings that may be “broken” to allow the charms to be attached to the otherwise closed loops of the bracelet. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,865,908 provides a charm loop with separable, lockable U-shaped friends, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,237 provides a locking member for the charms to the bracelet, but the charms will still dangle and be disoriented. 
         [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,540,172 is directed to structure to maintain the position of beads on a bracelet or necklace strand, and includes end connectors allowing beads to pass over them. The beads are held in place on the strand by friction between a gripping inner ring formed on each bead and the cord. The &#39;172 patent does not, however, address the need to orient the bead axially on the strand. In addition, the requirements in the &#39;172 arrangement that each bead have a frictional inner diameter will greatly complicate the manufacturing of the beads. 
         [0013]    In general, prior art charm bracelets do not contemplate affixing decorative plates, or charms, to a “flat” bracelet. Thus, there is no provision for sliding them onto or off of the bracelet over an end of the bracelet, or for maintaining the position and orientation of the plates relative to each other and the mounting strand. 
         [0014]    The present invention, as set forth in more detail herein, is advantageous in that it allows individualized plates to be slid onto the cord and retained at a spot on the cord, both the position and orientation relative to the other plates and the cord being fixed. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a personalized article of jewelry incorporating infinitely selectable plates affixed and oriented on an elongated cord. 
         [0016]    It is another object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry that may have plates easily added to, or removed from, and elongated cord without impediment from the closing device of the cord. 
         [0017]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry formed by threading a cord through one or more selectable, personalized plates. 
         [0018]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry wherein the size and shape of the mounting cord cooperates with the size and shape of access openings in personalized plates to provide a system wherein friction prevents the plates from moving relative to the cord. 
         [0019]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry having a closure device requiring only one hand to effect. 
         [0020]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry comprising cord mounted personalizable plates wherein the closure device is part of the cord and presents no impediment to the addition or removal of plates to the cord. 
         [0021]    It is another object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry comprising personalized plates mounted on a cord wherein the cord is essentially flat and cooperates with rectangular threading holes formed in the plates. 
         [0022]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry wherein personalized plates are mounted on oriented on a flat cord, the plates constructed from relatively inexpensive materials such as embossed, printed or engraved plastic, or relatively expensive materials, such as engraved precious metal plates. 
         [0023]    It is another object of the present invention to provide an article of jewelry wherein personalized elements may be added to a cord and maintained in a sequence and orientation on the cord. 
         [0024]    These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from a review of the following specification and accompanying drawings. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0025]    The present invention, in its most preferred embodiment, comprises an article of jewelry having at least one generally flat decorative plate, an elongated cord, and a means for securing the decorative plate to the cord. The means for securing is important because it has provisions precluding longitudinal or axial translation by the decorative plate relative to the cord. 
         [0026]    In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the decorative plate has laterally opposed ends and threading holes near the laterally opposed ends, so that when the plate is affixed to the cord it is with the cord passing through the threading holes of the plate. 
         [0027]    The elongated cord in the most preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a generally flat cord having a generally rectangular cross section. This flat cord structure cooperates with the shape of the threading holes, which are rectangular and cooperatively sized for the generally flat cord to pass therethrough while preventing twisting and folding of said cord within the rectangular threading holes. 
         [0028]    The generally flat cord of the present invention has two rigid ends of generally rectangular cross section and, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the elongated cord comprises a length of woven fabric like a shoelace. In the most preferred embodiment, the two rigid ends of the elongated cord comprise rectangular aglets sized to fit into the threading holes. 
         [0029]    In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the article of jewelry comprises an elongated cord, defined to have a first end and a second end, and a means for tying the elongated cord to itself to allow the article of jewelry to be worn as a necklace, bracelet and anklet, with means for tying requiring one hand only to tie. This means for tying includes a hole formed in the cord adjacent to the first end of the cord, whereby the second end of the cord passes through the hole such that a user can use one hand to tie the cord to itself. 
         [0030]    In the preferred embodiment having a means for tying, the elongated cord is a generally flat cord having a generally rectangular cross section, and the hole in the cord is a generally rectangular shaped button hole. The cord is tied to itself using the first end and the second end of the cord which are rigid ends of generally rectangular cross section. 
         [0031]    In another preferred embodiment, the present invention combines the means for securing the plates to the cord with the means for tying the cord to itself by providing an article of jewelry having at least one generally flat decorative plate, an elongated cord, a means for securing the decorative plate to the cord, and means for securing the cord to itself wherein provisions preclude longitudinal or axial translation by the decorative plate on the cord and the means for tying requires one hand only to tie. 
         [0032]    The article of jewelry of the present invention, and particularly the means for tying the cord to itself requiring only one hand, comprise in the most preferred embodiment a button hole formed in the cord adjacent to the first end of the cord, with the second end of the cord passing through the button hole such that a user can use one hand to tie the cord to itself. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0033]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of the article of jewelry of the present invention worn as a bracelet by a user. 
           [0034]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of the article of jewelry of the present invention reflecting personalized plates having a flat cord threaded therethrough. 
           [0035]      FIG. 3  is a detailed perspective view of a personalized plate reflecting the rectangular threading holes at laterally opposed ends of the personalized plate. 
           [0036]      FIG. 4  is a detailed perspective view of the flat cord of the present invention threaded through the rectangular holes of the plate, the cord terminated with a flat aglet. 
           [0037]      FIG. 4A  is a schematic representation of the flat cord passing through a first threading hole formed in a personalized plate. 
           [0038]      FIG. 4B  is a schematic representation of the flat cord passing through the second threading hole formed in the personalized plate. 
           [0039]      FIG. 5  is a representation of prior art cylindrical aglet formed at the end of a typical shoelace. 
           [0040]      FIG. 6  is a schematic representation of the article of jewelry of the present invention illustrating personalized plates mounted on a flat cord with a flat aglet also used to pass through a button hole formed in the cord near a first end thereof. 
           [0041]      FIG. 7  is a schematic representation of the present invention with a first cord end having a flat aglet having passed through the button hole formed near a first end of the cord. 
           [0042]      FIG. 8  is a schematic representation of the article of jewelry of the present invention wherein the flat aglet passes through the button hole in the cord a second time, creating a loop through which an end of the cord is passed to tie it to itself. 
           [0043]      FIG. 9  is a schematic representation of the article of jewelry of the present invention illustrating the end of a first end of the cord tied in a knot upon itself to provide the means for retaining on the wearer&#39;s wrist, ankle or neck. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0044]    An article of jewelry  10  is provided that may be worn as a bracelet (see  FIG. 1 ), although it may also be worn as a necklace or anklet without departing from the principles of the present invention. 
         [0045]    The article of jewelry  10  comprises at least one plate  14  removably secured to an elongated mounting cord  12 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . A series of plates  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  may be provided without departing from the principles of the present invention. The plates  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  may be personalized to display text, symbols, photos, logos, dates or any other indicia desired by the wearer and, in a significant feature of the present invention, may be arranged and oriented sequentially and maintained in the desired orientation and sequence. For example, in the event a wearer wishes to express a thought in a sentence, or to display the chronological names or photos of her children, each word of a sentence or name of photograph of a child may be represented on a single plate and the sequence and orientation of the plates will be maintained so that the sentence expressed or chronology of children will always be as desired by the wearer. 
         [0046]    The plate  14  comprises a generally flat decorative plate having indicia  30  printed, engraved, embossed or otherwise affixed thereto. It is contemplated that the plate  14  may be almost infinitely wearer defined and customized, the wearer selecting a word, logo, symbol, graphic image from a catalog or even providing, for example, a digital image of a photograph to be transferred to a plate  14  that is then removably mounted to the cord  14 . By creating an article of jewelry  10  that incorporates the use of multiple infinitely definable plates  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26 , the present inventors provide an infinitely personalizable, customizable modifiable piece of jewelry that every wearer can craft and tailor to reflect his or her tastes and interests. 
         [0047]    The plate  14  may be constructed from virtually any die castable or punchable substrate. In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention the plate  14  is constructed from sturdy plastic of a composition and thickness roughly approximating credit card plastic. It is specifically contemplated, however, that the plate  14  may be constructed from a vast array of materials of varying rigidity, and that altering the material does not depart from the principles of the present invention. In the most preferred embodiment, the plastic plate  14  may be embossed, engraved or printed with virtually any indicia—characters, numbers, letters, logos, pictures, photos—the wearer desires. The manufacturing of the plates  14  contemplates a process for printing, embossing, engraving or otherwise transferring indicia to a number of plates  14  formed on a sheet of plastic, and then punching the sheet to create the individual plates  14  with threading holes  34 ,  36  formed therein. 
         [0048]    It is specifically contemplated, however, that the plates  14  may also be constructed from other materials, such as precious metals with indicia  30  printed, embossed or engraved thereon, without departing from the principles of the present invention. It is contemplated that the decorative plates  14  formed from precious metals may be punched, pressed or die cast to include threading holes  34 ,  36 , after which the plate  14  will be printed, embossed or engraved with the wearer selected indicia. 
         [0049]    The elongated cord  12  may also be constructed from a variety of materials, including, without limitation, woven fabric such as shoelaces, leather, cast metals or extruded plastic. In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention the cord  12  comprises a shoelace having opposed ends  40 ,  42  allowing it to be threaded through the plate  14  ( FIG. 2 ). 
         [0050]    In a significant feature of the present invention a means for removably securing the decorative plate  14  to the elongated cord  12  is provided that prevents the plate  14  from moving longitudinally along the length of the cord  12 , or of twisting around the cord  12 . The means for securing the plate  14  to the cord  12  is provided in the most preferred embodiment of the present invention by providing a generally flat cord  12  and a decorative plate  14  that has rectangular threading holes  34 ,  36  formed therein (see  FIG. 3 ). Other arrangements for removably securing the plate  14  to the cord  12  are contemplated, specifically and without limitation Velcro, adhesive, buttons, zippers and other mechanical connectors, such that the use of such other devices for removably securing the plate  14  to the cord  12  does not depart from the principles of the present invention. 
         [0051]    In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flat cord  12 , with a generally rectangular cross section, is threaded through a first threading hole  34  and then through a second threading hole  36 , as shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . 
         [0052]    The rectangular threading holes  34 ,  36  are formed in the decorative plate  14  near laterally opposed ends  38 ,  40  thereof, with the cord  12  threaded first through the threading hole  34  of the plate  14  from the front of the plate  14  (i.e. the side bearing the indicia  30 ) to the back, and then through the threading hole  36  from the back (i.e. the side not bearing the indicia  30 ) to the front. 
         [0053]    In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the threading holes  34 ,  36  are rectangular and only slightly longer and wider than the dimensions of the flat cord  12  with a generally rectangular cross section. The similar sizing of the cord  12  and threading holes  34 ,  36  is intentional and important for a number of reasons. First, the threading holes  34 ,  36  are defined to be too small to allow the cord  12  to twist axially or to fold over within the threading holes  34 ,  36 . In this way, the orientation of the plate  14  on the cord  12  will always be maintained, i.e. the front with indicia thereon being visible and not obscured by the cord  12 . In addition, the cooperative sizing of the threading holes  34 ,  36  and cord  12 , along with the dual front-to-back and back-to-front threading of the cord  12  through the plate  14  creates frictional resistance between the plate  14  and looping cord  12  so that the plate  14  will also not move longitudinally along the length of the cord  12 . Thus, the personalized plate  14 , once added to the cord  12 , is not free to move about the cord  12  so that, for example, any plate  14  with indicia  30  printed, engraved, embossed or otherwise represented thereon is visible or readable because it can not twist or be disoriented relative to the cord  12  or other plates. Preventing the plate  14  from twisting or moving longitudinally along the cord  12  has the significant benefit of being able to construct an article of jewelry having multiple individual plates  14  that are arranged and displayed in a particular order, such as words in a sentence (e.g. “what would Jesus do”), names of children on plates  14  or even photographs of children printed on plates  14  and worn by a proud parent. With prior art personalized jewelry, it was not possible to create such an individualized expression in a way that the separate elements were kept properly oriented and arranged. 
         [0054]    To further facilitate the threading of the cord  12  through the plate  14 , the opposed ends  40 ,  42  of the cord  12  are provided with flat aglets  44 ,  46  ( FIG. 2 ) in the most preferred embodiment of the present invention. It is contemplated that the aglets  44 ,  46  may be formed in a variety of methods from a variety of materials, including without limitation metal aglets stamped or cast upon the ends of the cord  12  or plastic formed or molded onto the ends of the cord  12 . With whatever method or material is used, the aglets are formed with a rectangular cross section (see  FIG. 4 ) as opposed to the prior art cylindrical cross section aglets ( FIG. 5 ) that is typical for prior art shoelaces. 
         [0055]    When the plates  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 ,  24 ,  26  are positioned on the cord  12 , the article of jewelry  10  is fastened to secure it on the wearer&#39;s wrist, ankle or neck. In prior art articles of jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, anklets) a locking or clasping mechanism has typically been provided to fasten the ends of the cord together. Such locking or clasping mechanisms are disadvantageous for the principles of the present invention, mainly as a result of their size. That is, the locking and/or clasping mechanism of prior art jewelry is necessarily bulky to provide a mechanical device that can be manipulated by human hands, and because it is necessary to make it adequately strong to hold the ends of the cord together. In many of the prior art articles of jewelry the personalized elements, such as charms on a typical charm bracelet, are hung onto links of the bracelet rather than looping the charm, and its mounting ring, over the end of the bracelet. 
         [0056]    The present invention solves both problems associated with locking and clasping mechanisms by providing the rectangular cross section aglets  44 ,  46  allowing the plates  14  to be readily threaded onto or off of the cord  12 , and by providing a button hole  50  formed in the cord  12  near an end thereof. 
         [0057]    Button hole  50  is dimensionally the same as the threading holes  34 ,  36  formed in the plate  14 , so that it allows aglets  44 ,  46  to pass therethrough while making it impossible for the cord  12  to be twisted or folded over onto itself while in the button hole  50 . In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cord  12  is fastened to itself using an aglet  44  passing through the button hole  50  (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ), which is then looped back through the button hole  50  a second time, creating a loop  54  through which the aglet  44  is pulled, to tighten down the cord  12  upon itself to create a knot  56  ( FIG. 9 ). 
         [0058]    The provision of at least one flat aglet  44  on the cord  12 , along with the rectangular button hole  50  which is cooperatively sized to prevent the cord from twisting or folding while in the button hole  50 , provides a device for securing the ends of the cord  12  together which can be accomplished using only one hand to do so. It also eliminates the need for locking, clasping devices at the ends of the cord  12 . It is specifically contemplated that the closure device comprising the flat aglet  44  and flat cord  12 , and rectangular button hole formed in the cord  12 , comprises a new and useful jewelry closure device, separate and apart from the remainder of the present invention disclosed in this specification. 
         [0059]    The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto.