Patent Description:
The present invention relates to the technical field of auxiliary ornament mounting devices, in particular to an ear piercing instrument.

Ear piercing instruments in related technology are mainly classified into two types, namely fully disposable hand-driven ear piercing instruments and reusable spring-driven gun-shaped ear piercing instruments. The former are fully disposable and thus are effective at avoiding cross-infection and more hygienic, but require more courage and skill of the operator to push a stud through the earlobe with the power of the fingers. The later can pierce a disposable stud through the earlobe under the action of a spring, which is easy and fast in operation, but with a potential risk of cross-infection due to repeated using.

Japanese patent <CIT> specifically discloses a fully disposable spring-driven ear piercing instrument which is assembled by a plurality of scattered parts by screwing (bolting), resulting in extremely low assembly efficiency and thus high manufacturing cost of the instrument.

Korean patent <CIT> also discloses a piercing device for perforating skin to wear an earlobe.

Thus, a technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an ear piercing instrument, in which a piercing assembly and a stud piercing housing can be quickly assembled integrally and connected to a base housing by snap, so that the piercing housing is reliably positioned, and the ear piercing instrument is assembled in a simplified manner and higher efficiency and manufactured in lower cost.

The present invention provides an ear piercing instrument, including:.

In some embodiments, the base housing and the stud holder moving body are both integrally formed.

In some embodiments, the base housing is integrally formed.

In some embodiments, the stud holder moving body is integrally formed.

In some embodiments, a chute which radially runs through inner and outer walls of the push rod guiding cylinder is provided on the push rod guiding cylinder, and the ear piercing instrument further includes a locking piece which is connected in a sliding way in the chute and fitted to the stopper to position the push rod.

In some embodiments,
a second mounting cavity extending parallel to the stud piercing direction is also provided on the base housing, the stud holder moving body is provided with a sliding guide rod embedded in the second mounting cavity, and a first bump and a second bump are provided on the sliding guide rod; and the push rod is located at the push rod locked position when the first bump is in contact with the locking piece, and can move to the push rod piercing position from the push rod locked position when the second bump is in contact with the locking piece.

In some embodiments,
a through hole is formed on the locking piece, so that the second bump can be inserted into the through hole to force the locking piece to move away from the push rod when the sliding guide rod slides from outside to inside of the second mounting cavity, and the first bump can abut against one side of the locking piece away from the push rod to force the locking piece to abut against the push rod when the sliding guide rod slides from inside to outside of the second mounting cavity.

In some embodiments,
the stud piercing housing is further provided with a stud mounting base which is located outside the first mounting cavity and provided with a receiving cavity corresponding to the stud assembly, and an inner cavity of the receiving cavity is communicated with a cavity of the push rod guiding cylinder and provided with an outlet corresponding to the position of the stud mounting base; a first slit extending parallel to the stud piercing direction is formed on a wall of the receiving cavity, and a second slit extending perpendicular to the stud piercing direction is formed on the wall of the receiving cavity.

In some embodiments,
the stud piercing housing is further provided with a stud mounting base which is located outside the first mounting cavity and provided with a receiving cavity corresponding to the stud assembly, an inner cavity of the receiving cavity is communicated with a cavity of the push rod guiding cylinder and provided with an outlet corresponding to the position of the stud mounting base, and a first slit extending parallel to the stud piercing direction is formed on a wall of the receiving cavity.

In some embodiments,
the stud piercing housing is further provided with a stud mounting base which is located outside the first mounting cavity and provided with a receiving cavity corresponding to the stud assembly, an inner cavity of the receiving cavity is communicated with a cavity of the push rod guiding cylinder and provided with an outlet corresponding to the position of the stud mounting base, and a second slit extending perpendicular to the stud piercing direction is formed on a wall of the receiving cavity.

In some embodiments,
a first boss, on which the first elastic member is further sleeved, is integrally formed on the bottom wall of the first mounting cavity.

In some embodiments, the stud holder moving body is connected in a slidable way in the second mounting cavity by a second snap, and clamps and positions a reset assembly together with a bottom wall of the second mounting cavity.

In some embodiments,
the reset assembly includes a second elastic member, a second boss is integrally formed on the bottom wall of the second mounting cavity, a third boss is provided at a free end of the sliding guide rod, and the second elastic member is sleeved on the second boss and the third boss simultaneously; and a sliding rail structure is correspondingly provided on an outer sidewall of the sliding guide rod and an inner sidewall of the second mounting cavity.

In some embodiments,
the reset assembly includes a second elastic member, a second boss is integrally formed on the bottom wall of the second mounting cavity, a third boss is provided at a free end of the sliding guide rod, and the second elastic member is sleeved on the second boss and the third boss simultaneously.

In some embodiments,
the reset assembly includes a second elastic member, a second boss is integrally formed on the bottom wall of the second mounting cavity, and a sliding rail structure is correspondingly provided on an outer sidewall of the sliding guide rod and an inner sidewall of the second mounting cavity.

According to the ear piercing instrument in the present invention, the integrally formed stud piercing housing is provided with the corresponding push rod guiding cylinder to allow the piercing assembly to be at least partially located therein, and can be quickly assembled and connected to the first mounting cavity by the first snap. During assembly, the piercing assembly is put in the push rod guiding cylinder, i.e., the piercing assembly and the push rod guiding cylinder are combined integrally and then inserted into the first mounting cavity. In the process of inserting the stud piercing housing by moving towards the base housing, the first snap will be clamped and connected to the base housing, so that the base housing and the stud piercing housing are quickly assembled and the piercing assembly is reliably positioned simultaneously, without bolting tedious parts as in related technology, thus assembling the ear piercing instrument in a simplified manner and higher efficiency and effectively reducing the manufacturing cost.

in which:
<NUM>: base housing; <NUM>: first mounting cavity; <NUM>: first boss; <NUM>: third snap recess; <NUM>: second snap recess; <NUM>: second mounting cavity; <NUM>: second boss; <NUM>: stop step; <NUM>: straight slot; <NUM>: stud piercing housing; <NUM>: third snap; <NUM>: push rod guiding cylinder; <NUM>: chute; <NUM>: stud mounting base; <NUM>: first slit; <NUM>: second slit; <NUM>: first snap; <NUM>: stud holder moving body; <NUM>: second snap; <NUM>: sliding guide rod; <NUM>: first bump; <NUM>: second bump; <NUM>: third boss; <NUM>: stud holder mounting base; <NUM>: piercing assembly; <NUM>: push rod; <NUM>: stopper; <NUM>: first elastic member; <NUM>: reset assembly; <NUM>: locking piece; <NUM>: through hole; <NUM>: raised strip; <NUM>: flute; <NUM>: stud assembly; <NUM>: stud; <NUM>: stud clamp; <NUM>: stud holder; and <NUM>: ear.

Referring to <FIG>, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an ear piercing instrument is provided, including: a base housing <NUM> on which a first mounting cavity <NUM> and a second mounting cavity <NUM> extending parallel to a stud piercing direction are provided; and an integrally formed stud piercing housing <NUM> which is configured to assemble a stud assembly <NUM> or a stud <NUM> and fixed in the first mounting cavity <NUM> by a first snap <NUM>. The stud piercing housing <NUM> is provided with a push rod guiding cylinder <NUM> embedded in the first mounting cavity <NUM>, and a piercing assembly <NUM> is at least partially located in the push rod guiding cylinder <NUM> and is clamped and positioned by both the stud piercing housing <NUM> and a bottom wall of the first mounting cavity <NUM>. In this technical solution, the integrally formed stud piercing housing <NUM> is provided with the corresponding push rod guiding cylinder <NUM> to allow the piercing assembly <NUM> to be at least partially located therein, and can be quickly assembled and connected to the first mounting cavity <NUM> by the first snap <NUM>. During assembly, the piercing assembly <NUM> is put in the push rod guiding cylinder <NUM>, i.e., the piercing assembly <NUM> and the push rod guiding cylinder <NUM> are combined integrally and inserted into the first mounting cavity <NUM>. In the process of inserting the stud piercing housing <NUM> by moving towards the base housing <NUM>, the first snap <NUM> will be clamped and connected to the base housing <NUM>, so that the base housing <NUM> and the stud piercing housing <NUM> are quickly assembled and the piercing assembly <NUM> is reliably positioned simultaneously, without bolting tedious parts as in related technology, thus assembling the ear piercing instrument in a simplified manner and higher efficiency and effectively reducing the manufacturing cost.

It can be understood that the first snap <NUM> is integrally formed on the stud piercing housing <NUM>, and correspondingly, a second snap recess <NUM> is provided on an inner sidewall of the base housing <NUM>, so as to allow snap-fit connection with the first snap <NUM>.

The integrally formed manner means injection molding, machining and other manners that allow appropriate parts to be organically integrated, which can greatly reduce the number of parts to be combined and assembled. For example, a plurality of parts that were originally independent of each other can be combined integrally without welding, riveting, bolting, etc..

In the present invention, the ear piercing instrument further includes a stud holder moving body <NUM> which is configured to mount the stud holder <NUM> and provided with a first position and a second position in the process of moving towards the base housing <NUM>. The push rod <NUM> can be triggered to move to a push rod locked position when the stud holder moving body <NUM> moves to the first position, and to move to a push rod piercing position from the push rod locked position when the stud holder moving body <NUM> moves to the second position. It can be understood that both the first position and the second position are located on a linear path of the stud holder moving body <NUM> moving towards the base housing <NUM> and in the direction near the base housing <NUM>, and the first position is reached first, followed by the second position. In this technical solution, the position of the push rod <NUM> in the piercing assembly <NUM> is associated with a returning process of the stud holder moving body <NUM>. It can be understood that the returning process of the stud holder moving body <NUM> is also an aiming process of the ear piercing instrument, i.e., the state and position of the piercing assembly <NUM> can be switched. In other words, a piercing operation is enabled in this aiming process, thus allowing easy operation of the ear piercing instrument.

In some embodiments, the stud piercing housing <NUM> and the stud holder moving body <NUM> are also integrally formed, respectively, and the stud holder moving body <NUM> is slidablly connected in the second mounting cavity <NUM> by a second snap <NUM> (which is integrally formed on the stud holder moving body <NUM>), and clamps and positions a reset assembly <NUM> together with a bottom wall of the second mounting cavity <NUM>. With the reset assembly <NUM>, the stud holder moving body <NUM> can be forced to move along one side close to the base housing <NUM> (opposite to the stud piercing direction), and to move back to an original assembly position along the stud piercing direction after an external force applied thereto is eliminated. In the technical solution, the base housing <NUM>, the stud piercing housing <NUM> and the stud holder moving body <NUM> are all integrally formed during which the first snap <NUM> and the second snap <NUM> are molded on the corresponding components respectively, so that the stud piercing housing <NUM>, the stud holder moving body <NUM> and the base housing <NUM> can be easily and quickly assembled through snap-fit connection without bolting tedious parts as in related technology, thus assembling the ear piercing instrument in a simplified manner and higher efficiency and effectively reducing the manufacturing cost. It can be understood that a third snap recess <NUM> or a stop step <NUM>, corresponding to the first snap <NUM> and the second snap <NUM>, is provided on the inner sidewall of the base housing <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, there are two first snaps <NUM> symmetrically located on both sides of the stud piercing housing <NUM> to ensure reliable and fixed connection between the stud piercing housing <NUM> and the base housing <NUM>. Specifically, the second snap <NUM> is required to be provided in such a way as to effectively prevent the stud holder moving body <NUM> from disengaging the second mounting cavity <NUM> and to facilitate the sliding of the stud holder moving body <NUM> towards the bottom wall of the second mounting cavity <NUM>. In this case, as shown in <FIG>, the stop step <NUM> is provided at an opening of the second mounting cavity <NUM>, and the second snap <NUM> is in snap-fit connection in an area between the stop step <NUM> and the bottom wall of the second mounting cavity <NUM>, such as a flute or a straight slot <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the stud piercing housing <NUM> is further fixed to the base housing <NUM> by a third snap <NUM>. For example, the third snap <NUM> is also integrally formed on the stud piercing housing <NUM>, and the first snap <NUM> and the third snap <NUM> are respectively spaced in a length direction of the stud piercing housing <NUM>, thus allowing more reliable and stable snap-fit connection between the stud piercing housing <NUM> and the base housing <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the stud holder moving body <NUM> is provided with a sliding guide rod <NUM> embedded in the second mounting cavity <NUM> and a stud holder mounting base <NUM> outside the second mounting cavity <NUM>, and the stud holder <NUM> is assembled on the stud holder mounting base <NUM>. Specifically, the stud holder mounting base <NUM> may be an open receiving cavity for easy operation by operators, and the stud holder <NUM> can be easily placed in the receiving cavity. In appearance, the stud holder moving body <NUM> is designed to be L-shaped so that the stud holder mounting base <NUM> can adapt to a stud piercing position in the stud piercing housing <NUM>.

In some embodiments, a sliding rail structure is correspondingly provided on an outer sidewall of the sliding guide rod <NUM> and an inner sidewall of the second mounting cavity <NUM>, and is configured to guide the stud holder moving body <NUM> to move in the stud piercing direction. Specifically, the sliding rail structure includes a raised strip <NUM> (on the outer sidewall of the sliding guide rod <NUM>) and flutes <NUM> (on the inner sidewall of the second mounting cavity <NUM>). The raised strip <NUM> is provided on the outer sidewall of the sliding guide rod <NUM>, and the flutes <NUM> are provided on the inner sidewall of the second mounting cavity <NUM>. The sliding rail structure is designed to ensure that the stud holder moving body <NUM> slides smoothly and stably.

In the present invention, the piercing assembly <NUM> includes a push rod <NUM> and a first elastic member <NUM> (such as a coil spring) capable of exerting a thrust on the push rod <NUM> towards a stud holder <NUM>. One end of the first elastic member <NUM> abuts against a stopper <NUM> of the push rod <NUM> while the other end thereof abuts against the bottom wall of the first mounting cavity <NUM>. With the first elastic member <NUM>, the push rod <NUM> is forced to move towards the stud holder <NUM> at a certain piercing speed, so as to enable the stud to pierce through the ear without any manual effort. It can be understood that a tail end of the push rod <NUM> can abut against the stud <NUM> in the stud assembly <NUM>. The stopper <NUM>, as an end stop and a force-exerting portion of the first elastic member <NUM>, can be designed in various forms, such as a sheet structure facing a certain direction or a ring structure as shown in <FIG>.

In some embodiments, the stud piercing housing <NUM> is further provided with a stud mounting base <NUM> outside the first mounting cavity <NUM>, and a chute <NUM> which radially runs through inner and outer walls of the push rod guiding cylinder <NUM> is provided on the push rod guiding cylinder <NUM>. The ear piercing instrument further includes a locking piece <NUM> which is connected in a sliding way in the chute <NUM> and provided with a push rod locked position which abuts against one side of the stopper <NUM> facing away from the bottom wall of the first mounting cavity <NUM> as well as a push rod piercing position which disengages from one side of the stopper <NUM> facing away from the bottom wall of the first mounting cavity <NUM>. In this technical solution, the stopper <NUM> objectively serves as a component configured to trigger the push rod <NUM> to switch its position.

In some embodiments, a first bump <NUM> and a second bump <NUM> are provided on the sliding guide rod <NUM>. The push rod <NUM> is located at the push rod locked position when the first bump <NUM> is in contact with the locking piece <NUM>, and is triggered to move to the push rod piercing position from the push rod locked position when the second bump <NUM> is in contact with the locking piece <NUM>. In this technical solution, whether the push rod <NUM> is triggered by the locking piece <NUM> to switch its position depends on the sliding process of the sliding guide rod <NUM>. Specifically, whether the first bump <NUM> or the second bump <NUM> is in direct contact with the locking piece <NUM> is determined by different positions to which the sliding guide rod <NUM> slides, thus enabling position change.

In some embodiments, a through hole <NUM> is formed on the locking piece <NUM>, so that the second bump <NUM> can be inserted into the through hole <NUM> to force the locking piece <NUM> to move away from the push rod <NUM> when the sliding guide rod <NUM> slides from outside to inside of the second mounting cavity <NUM>, and the first bump <NUM> can abut against one side of the locking piece <NUM> away from the push rod <NUM> to force the locking piece <NUM> to abut against the push rod <NUM> when the sliding guide rod <NUM> slides from inside to outside of the second mounting cavity <NUM>. The first bump <NUM> and the second bump <NUM> can be designed to be wedge-shaped to guide the locking piece to move towards or away from the push rod, so as to make the triggering process smoother.

Specifically, referring to <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG> and <FIG>, in which <FIG> shows that the first bump <NUM> abuts against the bottom of the locking piece <NUM> (the orientation shown, namely the side of the locking piece <NUM> away from the push rod <NUM>). In this case, the push rod <NUM> is locked at the push rod locked position by the locking piece <NUM>, and the stud holder moving body <NUM> is located at its original position (the stud holder mounting base <NUM> of the stud holder moving body <NUM> is far away from the bottom wall of the second mounting cavity <NUM>), and a slit for receiving an ear <NUM> to be pierced is formed between the stud holder mounting base <NUM> and the base housing <NUM>. In case of a need for ear piercing, an operator pushes one side of the stud holder mounting base <NUM> by hand (by external force) to force the stud holder moving body <NUM> to move towards the base housing <NUM> (this process is a closing-up and aiming process), so that the first bump <NUM> gradually disengages from the locking piece <NUM>, and the second bump <NUM> gradually approaches the locking piece <NUM> and is finally inserted into the through hole <NUM>. Because of a wedge-shaped outline of the second bump <NUM>, the second bump <NUM> gradually presses down the locking piece <NUM> when the stud holder moving body <NUM> slides towards the base housing <NUM>, and the locking piece <NUM> is therefore forced to finally move down to a position where it disengages from the stopper <NUM>. The first elastic member <NUM> is pre-compressed to force the push rod <NUM> to move at a high speed in the piercing direction and finally to force the stud <NUM> in the stud assembly <NUM> to approach and finally pierce through the ear and to be inserted into the stud holder <NUM> on a piercing path (this process is a piercing process), thus completing a complete ear-piercing operation. Upon completion of the ear-piercing operation, the stud <NUM> and the stud holder <NUM> naturally disengage from the ear piercing instrument along with the ear. In this case, the operator applies force at the stud holder mounting base <NUM> to force the stud holder moving body <NUM> to return back to its original position under the action of the reset assembly <NUM>. In this process, the operator can apply force at a free end of the push rod <NUM> (one end close to the stud holder <NUM>) to compress the first elastic member <NUM> and finally trigger the push rod <NUM> to move from the push rod piercing position to the push rod locked position. At this moment, the whole ear piercing instrument is restored to an original state, as shown in <FIG>. It is also clear that the first bump <NUM> is closer to the bottom wall of the second mounting cavity <NUM> than the bump <NUM> in the direction parallel to the piercing direction.

In some embodiments, a first boss <NUM>, on which the first elastic member <NUM> is further sleeved, is integrally formed on the bottom wall of the first mounting cavity <NUM>. In this way, the force application process of the first elastic member <NUM> can be facilitated to make the piercing process smoother and more stable. Similarly, in some embodiments, the reset assembly <NUM> includes a second elastic member (e.g., a coil spring), a second boss <NUM> is integrally formed on the bottom wall of the second mounting cavity <NUM>, and a third boss <NUM> is provided at a free end of the sliding guide rod <NUM>, and the second elastic member is sleeved on the second boss <NUM> and the third boss <NUM> simultaneously.

In some embodiments, the stud mounting base <NUM> is provided with a receiving cavity corresponding to the stud assembly <NUM>, and an inner cavity of the receiving cavity is communicated with a cavity of the push rod guiding cylinder <NUM> and provided with an outlet (facing one side of the stud holder <NUM>) corresponding to the position of the stud holder <NUM>. A first slit <NUM> extending parallel to the stud piercing direction is formed on a wall of the receiving cavity, and/or a second slit <NUM> extending perpendicular to the stud piercing direction is formed on the wall of the receiving cavity. With the first slit <NUM> and the second slit <NUM>, the size of the receiving cavity can be properly adjusted so that the stud mounting base <NUM> can adapt to the stud assembly <NUM> of different specifications. The stud assembly <NUM> includes the stud <NUM> and a stud clamp <NUM>. The stud clamp <NUM> is of a split structure having a shape matched with an inner outline of the receiving cavity.

It is readily understood by those of skill in the art that the above advantageous embodiments may be freely combined and superimposed without conflict.

Claim 1:
An ear piercing instrument, comprising:
a base housing (<NUM>), on which a first mounting cavity (<NUM>) extending parallel to a stud-piercing direction is provided; and
an integrally-formed stud-piercing housing (<NUM>), which is used for installing a stud assembly (<NUM>) or a stud (<NUM>); the stud-piercing housing (<NUM>) being provided with a push-rod guiding cylinder (<NUM>) embedded in the first mounting cavity (<NUM>), and a piercing assembly (<NUM>) being at least partially located in the push-rod guiding cylinder (<NUM>), the stud-piercing housing (<NUM>) and a bottom wall of the first mounting cavity (<NUM>) form a clamping position to the piercing assembly (<NUM>);
characterzied in that
the stud-piercing housing (<NUM>) is fixed in the first mounting cavity (<NUM>) by a first snap (<NUM>);
the piercing assembly (<NUM>) comprises a push rod (<NUM>) and a first elastic member (<NUM>) capable of exerting a thrust on the push rod (<NUM>) towards a stud holder (<NUM>), and one end of the first elastic member (<NUM>) abuts against a stopper (<NUM>) of the push rod (<NUM>) while the other end thereof abuts against the bottom wall of the first mounting cavity (<NUM>);
a stud holder moving body (<NUM>), which is configured to mount the stud holder (<NUM>) and provided with a first position and a second position in the process of moving towards the base housing (<NUM>); the push rod (<NUM>) is configured to be triggered to move to a push rod locked position when the stud holder moving body (<NUM>) moves to the first position, and to move to a push rod piercing position from the push rod locked position when the stud holder moving body (<NUM>) moves to the second position.