US20030106338A1

US20030106338A1 - Bracelet with at least one jewelry piece connected thereto

Info

Publication number: US20030106338A1
Application number: US10/299,060
Authority: US
Inventors: Philip Klingenberg
Original assignee: CENTURY TIME GEMS Ltd
Current assignee: CENTURY TIME GEMS Ltd
Priority date: 2001-11-23
Filing date: 2002-11-19
Publication date: 2003-06-12
Also published as: EP1314372A1; JP2003153711A

Abstract

The jewelry pieces (11) are supposed to move relative to the bracelet through the movements of the person wearing the bracelet (1), without disturbing or hindering the person. For this purpose, each jewelry piece (11) is connected to a bearing part (10) which is received displaceably along the bracelet in a guide (7).

Description

This invention relates to a bracelet with at least one jewelry piece connected thereto.

Numerous bracelets are known in which jewelry pieces, for instance gemstones, are mounted. The bracelets themselves can have as their sole purpose to bear jewelry, or they can hold a watch on the wrist of a person, for instance. Jewelry pieces, in particular such as those which refract and/or reflect light, are particularly noticeable when they are moved. Many known bracelets have hanging jewelry pieces which swing freely when the bracelet is worn. Although this makes possible the desired movement of the jewelry pieces, it has the drawback, however, that these jewelry pieces can impede or disturb the person wearing them.

The invention has as its object to propose a bracelet with at least one jewelry piece connected thereto in which the jewelry piece(s) move through the movements of the person wearing the bracelet without disturbing or hindering the person.

To achieve this object the jewelry piece is connected to a bearing part which is received, displaceable along the bracelet, in a guide.

At least one section of the bracelet is preferably divided longitudinally into two parts, the guide being formed by guide slots which are disposed on surfaces, turned toward one another, of the parts, and guide members are disposed on the bearing part, which members protrude into the guide slots. This design has the advantage that the guide and the guide members are practically invisible from outside. In an embodiment especially simple to manufacture, the guide members can be designed as guide pins which are able to be pressed into the bearing part, for example. The guide members can also have the shape of guide ribs, however, which are disposed on both sides of the bearing part and which give this bearing part an elegant appearance when it is separated from the bracelet. If a particularly smooth, low friction movement of the bearing part is desired, the guide members can be designed as guide rollers according to a further embodiment of the invention. According to a preferred embodiment, the bearing part is designed circular and the guide members have the form of a guide disk. A thus constructed bearing part can turn during its displacement, a diamond borne by it becoming particularly noticeable, for example. According to an especially easy-to-manufacture embodiment of the invention, the guide is formed by a longitudinal slot which is present in at least one section of the bracelet, and grooves are present on the bearing part into which grooves the edges of the longitudinal slot protrude. The bracelet can have means for exchange of the bearing part, whereby it is possible for the person wearing the bracelet to be able to add bearing parts with the desired type of jewelry piece in each case himself or herself. Finally, the bracelet can be designed as a wristwatch band, for example.

Preferred embodiment examples of the invention will be described more closely in the following, by way of example, with reference to the appended figures. [0006]
FIG. 1 shows a view in perspective of a portion of the bracelet with a first embodiment example of a bearing part, [0007]
FIG. 2 shows a variant of the guide members on a bearing part according to FIG. 1, [0008]
FIG. 3 shows another variant of the guide members on a bearing part according to FIG. 1, [0009]
FIG. 4 is a view in perspective of a portion of a bracelet with a second embodiment example of a bearing part, [0010]
FIG. 5 is a cross-section through the embodiment according to FIG. 4, which shows a variant of the guide members, [0011]
FIG. 6 is a cross-section, similar to FIG. 5, which shows another variant of the guide members, [0012]
FIG. 7 is a view in perspective of a portion of a bracelet with a third embodiment example of the bearing part, [0013]
FIG. 8 is a view according to FIG. 7, whereby a part of the bracelet has been omitted, [0014]
FIG. 9 is a cross-section through the embodiment according to FIGS. 7 and 8, and [0015]
FIG. 10 is a cross-section through a further embodiment of the bracelet according to the invention. [0016]
The bracelet according to the invention can be designed as a kind of bangle, for instance as one piece. It can also have members, however, which are connected to one another in an articulated way. The bracelet can be designed as a jewelry bracelet or a watchband, as in the embodiment examples shown. FIG. 1 shows in a schematic, perspectival view a [0017] member 2 of a bracelet 1 serving as a watchband. A watchcase is indicated in the figure by a ring and is designated by 20. The member 2 of the bracelet is designed bipartite, and the two parts 3 and 4 are put together in a plane which runs along the bracelet and perpendicular to its surface. The parts 3 and 4 are held together through pins 5 and 6, the pin 5 being at the same time received in a fastening means 21 disposed on the watchcase 20. Disposed between the parts 3 and 4 is a guide, which has in this example the form of guide slots 7 made in the parts 3 and 4. A bearing part 10 provided with guide members is received in these guide slots 7 in a freely displaceable way such that the bearing part 10 shifts itself by its own mass along the bracelet 1 when the person wearing the bracelet moves his or her arm. The bearing part 10 can bear on its side visible from outside some jewelry piece or other; in the examples shown it is a diamond 11 which is set through the bearing part 10.
In the example according to FIG. 2, the said guide members of the bearing [0018] part 10 have the form of guide pins 12 which ensure that the bearing part 10 is able to displace itself parallel in the guide formed through the guide slots 7, whereby the diamond 11 is always visible from outside. In the example according to FIG. 3, guide ribs 13 are disposed on the bearing part 10 on both sides, which ribs fulfil the same purpose as the guide pins 12 described previously with reference to FIG. 2.
Measures can be taken which facilitate the exchange of the bearing [0019] part 10. The person wearing the bracelet thereby has the possibility of adapting the number, composition and combination of the jewelry pieces according to his or her needs. These measures can consist, for example, of there being a recess 8, closable with a closing part 9, on the underside of the bracelet 1. To exchange the bearing part 10, the closing part 9 simply has to be removed, similar to what is known with curtain tracks. Another type of such a measure can consist in the guide slot 7 extending up to the end of the respective part 3, 4 of the member 2 of the bracelet 1 so that the bearing parts 10 can be exchanged after removal of one of the pins 5 or 6.
The examples according to FIGS. [0020] 4 to 6 show embodiments that have the aim of an especially smooth, friction-free movement of the bearing part 10. For this purpose the guide members of the bearing part are designed as guide rollers 14 which are disposed on the ends of the bearing bolts 17 pressed into the bearing part 10. In the example according to FIG. 5, two guide rollers 14 form in each case a concave surface and roll on a convex pathway formed at the bottom of the guide slot 7. The guide rollers sit on a shaft 16 held in the bearing bolt 17 directed perpendicular to the plane of the guide slot 7. In the example according to FIG. 6, each bearing bolt 17 has a single guide roller 14 with a convex, cambered surface which rolls on a concave pathway formed at the bottom of the guide slot 7. The shaft 16 is thereby formed by points which form bearings at the same time, as is to be learned from FIG. 6.
FIGS. [0021] 7 to 9 show a further embodiment example. The particularity of this example is that here the bearing part 10 can, in addition, turn about an axis directed perpendicular to the plane of the guide slot 7. Through such a rotating movement, which can be superimposed over the translatory movement, the sparkling of the diamond 11 is shown even better to advantage. As follows especially clearly from FIG. 8, the bearing part 10 in this example is designed round, and the guide member connected thereto has the shape of a round guide disk 15. So that the guide disk 15 cannot tilt in the guide slot 7, it is preferably tapered outwardly, as shown in FIG. 9, and the guide slot 7 is approximately V-shaped, whereby there is sufficient play between the guide slot 7 and the guide disk 15.
The guiding principle underlying the embodiments described so far can also be reversed of course without going beyond the framework of the invention. FIG. 10 shows a cross-section through a bracelet [0022] 1 with a longitudinal slot 18 in which a bearing part 10 is displaceable, the bearing part having grooves 19 in which the edges of the longitudinal slot 18 project. In this example, too, the bearing part 10 can be designed rectangular or square, or it can be designed round, whereby in this case an annular groove can be provided instead of two grooves 19 disposed on opposite sides. This bracelet 10 does not have to be divided by the longitudinal slot, but instead the longitudinal slot can have an extension at one place, which extension serves to introduce the bearing part 10. So that the movement of the bearing part 10 is not hindered through contact with the arm of the person wearing the bracelet, the central region of the bracelet is offset upwards as shown.

Claims

1. A bracelet (1) with at least one jewelry piece (11) connected thereto wherein the jewelry piece (11) is connected to a bearing part (10) which is received, displaceable along the bracelet (1), in a guide (7; 18).

2. The bracelet according to claim 1, wherein at least one section (2) of the bracelet (1) is divided longitudinally into two parts (3, 4), the guide being formed through guide slots (7) which are disposed in surfaces, turned toward each other, of the parts (3, 4), and guide members (12; 13; 14) are disposed on the bearing part (10) which members project into the guide slots (7).

3. The bracelet according to claim 2, wherein the guide members are guide pins (12).

4. The bracelet according to claim 2, wherein the guide members are guide ribs (13).

5. The bracelet according to claim 2, wherein the guide members are guide rollers (14).

6. The bracelet according to claim 2, wherein the bearing part (10) is designed circular and the guide members have the form of a guide disk (15).

7. The bracelet according to claim 1, wherein the guide is formed through a longitudinal slot (18) which is present in at least one section of the bracelet (1), and grooves (19) are present on the bearing part (10) into which grooves the edges of the longitudinal slot (18) project.

8. The bracelet according to one of the preceding claims, wherein means (8) are present to exchange the bearing part (10).

9. The bracelet according to one of the claims 1 to 7, wherein it is designed as a wristwatch band.

10. The bracelet according to claim 8, wherein it is designed as a wristwatch band.