WO2015044902A1

WO2015044902A1 - Modular element for jewellery or costume jewellery articles

Info

Publication number: WO2015044902A1
Application number: PCT/IB2014/064853
Authority: WO
Inventors: Leonardo PINZAUTI
Original assignee: Leo France S.R.L.
Priority date: 2013-09-30
Filing date: 2014-09-26
Publication date: 2015-04-02
Also published as: EP3051971A1; ITFI20130226A1; EP3051971B1

Abstract

The present invention refers to the field of jewellery and costume jewellery articles and more in particular it refers to a modular element for the manufacture of necklaces, bracelets and the like, to a kit for manufacturing them and to the related method using it.

Description

MODULAR ELEMENT FOR JEWELLERY OR COSTUME JEWELLERY

ARTICLES

Field of the invention

The present invention refers to the field of jewellery or costume jewellery articles, and more specifically it refers to modular elements that can be easily connected to one another so as to obtain necklaces, bracelets and the like, with an assembling method that is extremely simple which is also part of the invention.

State of the art

Various types of chains are known consisting of repeating elements, generally called "beads", for creating necklaces and bracelets; they consist of elements, which are generally the same as one another, connected to one another or, in any case, held together so as to form a chain. The different types of these chains known to this day can be substantially divided into the following systems: "central thread" systems, "rosary" systems and "military type" systems. In the first type, the central thread system, the element which repeats itself has a through hole, inside which a thread, which can be made of nylon, steel, silver, etc., runs, and keeps the various elements together so as to form the chain; between one element and another the thread can be knotted so as to space apart the elements and give greater stability to the chain, which is, however, generally quite fragile, and subject to breaking of the thread, repairing which necessarily involves the replacement thereof with consequent complete reconstruction of the chain.

Even in the rosary system the individual repeating elements of the chain have through holes, inside which a metal thread, generally made from copper or nickel, passes being rotated and cut so as to create a loop that emerges from one of the holes of the element itself, whereas the free ends of the thread come out on the other side of the hole. The interconnection between the elements is achieved in this case by making the free ends of the thread which come out from a first element pass inside the loop that comes out from the adjacent element, so as to create the chain. In this system, which is quite laborious to make, the metal loops remain visible in the chain, furthermore giving it limited resistance to traction and twisting.

Finally, in the military type system, a chain of typically sphere-shaped elements is made starting from a sheet that is moulded and folded linking the elements with one another. Such a system is not exactly modular, in the sense that it is not possible to assemble elements that are different from one another, or replace single broken or damaged elements.

As far as the Applicant is aware of there is to this day no system available for manufacturing necklaces, bracelets or similar products of costume jewellery or jewellery, which allows to obtain a resistant product in a simple manner, obtaining a pleasing appearance, in which between the individual elements that form it there is an actual interchangeability. On the other hand, the demand for customised products that are highly personalised, has grown even in the fields of jewellery and costume jewellery, where over the last few years necklaces and bracelets which can be personalised with pendants and charms of different kinds, with the name of the person, and the like have, been put on the market.

There is thus a strong need of having a chain that is indeed modular, and with which it is possible to make bracelets and necklaces in a relatively simple manner when required by a client, according to personal tastes and moods.

Summary of the invention

Scope of the present invention is therefore to provide a modular element and a related mounting system that overcomes the drawbacks outlined above, and in particular that is simple to make, is resistant to traction and twisting, and allows to obtain a chain that is really modular, in which the single elements are interchangeable and can be easily replaced by other elements that are the same or different in terms of the colour, shape, finishing, etc..

A further scope of the invention is that of making a jewellery or costume jewellery article comprising several modular elements that are connected between each other so as to form a customised chain which can be assembled in a different manner according to the requirement of the client, and a kit for the manufacture of such a chain, which is particularly simple to use so that the chain can be assembled, based upon the taste and requirements of the client at that moment, directly by the retailer.

These and other scopes are achieved with the modular element according to the invention, the characteristics of which are described in the first and the following attached claims.

The inventions shall now be illustrated in greater detail with the following description of an embodiment thereof, given as an example and not for limiting purposes, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

- figure 1a is a section view of a spherical body of a modular element according to the invention;

- figure 1 b is a perspective view of an insert of a modular element of the invention;

- figure 2 shows a sequence for assembling a spherical body of figure 1 a and an insert of figure 1 b so as to form a modular element according to the invention;

- figure 3 is a perspective view of a modular element of the invention that is connected to a spherical body of an analogous adjacent modular element.

With reference to the aforementioned figures, a modular element of the invention comprises a body 10, for example a spherical body, provided with a hole 1 1 and, on the side opposite to the hole, with a connection element 13 extending integrally from the spherical body 10 and ending with a rounded head 14. In particular, figure 1a shows a section view of a first component 1 of the modular element, consisting, in fact, of the spherical body 10 having the hole 1 1 and the "male" connection element 13. In such a figure 1a it is possible to see in greater detail the structure of such a connection element 13, consisting of the rounded head 14, which rests on a neck with reduced diameter 15, smaller than the diameter of the head.

The present modular element further comprises an insert 2, which is visible in particular in figure 1 b and constitutes a second component of the modular element of the invention. Such an insert 2, with a frusto-conical shape, has a channel 21 on its surface, which extends inside the insert itself, forming a housing 22. Thanks to its structure, the insert 2 is suitable for receiving the connection element 13 and thus acts as a "female" connection element, snap-receiving the "male" element 13 inside the housing 22, forming the modular element of the invention completed with the two components 1 and 2.

Figure 2 illustrates the sequence for assembling the two components 1 and 2 of the modular element according to the invention, in three separate steps: in the initial step illustrated in figure 2a the rounded head 14 of the connection element 13 in the component 1 is arranged at one end of the housing 22 of the insert 2; the rounded head 14 is thus made to slide along the housing 22, with the neck 15 that slides in the channel 21 , as shown in figure 2b; once the rounded head 14 has reached the end of the housing 22 that is opposite with respect to the entry end, the neck 15 is made to rotate until it reaches the position shown in figure 2c, in which the connection element 13 is snap-locked with the rounded head 14 inside the housing 22 and the neck 15 that partially emerges from the insert 2, allowing the spherical body 10 to have a wide freedom of movement with respect to the insert 2.

The insert 2 of the modular element according to the present invention is moreover suitable for being snap-inserted inside a hole 11 ' of another analogous modular element according to the invention, which, just like the hole 1 1 which is provided with a groove 12, and like every other hole of the modular elements of the invention, is provided with a groove 12' that is suitable for snap-receiving the insert 2 inside the hole 1 1', said insert being provided with a projecting edge 23 that is created at the connection between two portions of the body of the insert having a different diameter. The projecting edge 23 is such as to allow the insert to be inserted inside the hole by applying a light pressure, then keeping the insert locked in position, said insert, in any case, being able to be easily removed with tweezers or another similar tool.

According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the portion 24 of body of the insert 2 having smaller diameter, above the projecting edge 23, is provided with at least one recess 25, more preferably two recesses facing each other, to facilitate taking the insert with tweezers or other similar tool, thus helping the insert to come out from the hole.

The present invention also provides a kit for the manufacture of a modular chain with n modular elements for jewellery and costume jewellery articles, comprising at least n modular elements, and possibly further elements to be used as spare parts in the case of breaking or wearing, and tools to facilitate the connection and disconnection operations between said modular elements, like for example tweezers with suitable shapes and sizes for extracting the insert 2 from the hole 1 1'.

The present invention also provides a method for the manufacture of a chain for jewellery or costume jewellery articles comprising n modular elements of the invention, comprising the following steps:

- selection of a number n of components 1 with which said chain is to be manufactured, and insertion of their respective connection elements 13 in a number n of inserts 2, in order to form n modular elements;

- connection between the so formed n modular elements according to a predetermined sequence according to the taste of the user/client, by means of insertion of each insert 2 of a modular element in the hole 11 ' of a component V of another modular element, until connection of the last element n, and closure of the chain.

Figure 3 shows a portion of chain made with the connection of two modular elements according to the invention. In figure 3 it is moreover possible to see how the portion 24 with smaller diameter in the insert 2 emerges from the hole 11' when the two elements are connected, so as to leave the recess or recesses 25 uncovered for gripping the insert and disconnecting the adjacent modular element from the spherical body.

Advantageously, the presence of an insert that is separated from the spherical body ensures that the connection between adjacent elements is stable and effective but at the same time the spherical body 10 can move freely thanks to the rounded head 14 that is free to rotate in the housing 22 of the insert 2.

The present modular element therefore, in addition to achieving the purpose of making modular chains in a simple manner, is also useful for obtaining chains that are very flexible, in which between each element and the adjacent modular elements there is complete freedom of movement, despite having at the same time high stability and strength in the connection; the traction and twisting resistance and consequently the risk of breaking is minimal, contrarily to known modular chain systems illustrated above.

The effect in terms of its appearance is very pleasing, in fact the visual impact of the connection is minimal, contrarily to known modular chain systems, such as the "rosary" system in which the loops which are used as connection elements for the connection between the beads can be clearly seen in the finished article. The chain made with the modular elements of the invention is moreover extremely versatile: the complete modularity of the present system ensures that elements with a different colour, finishing, shape and size, can be assembled, and that they can be easily replaced with others in a chain that has already been made, both in the cases in which single elements are worn out or broken or simply to change the appearance of the chain. Even these characteristics are particularly advantageous with respect to known systems, in which there is no real modularity since the elements cannot be individually replaced if not by making the whole chain again, like what occurs for example in the system with central thread, in which the breaking of an element of the chain causes the loss or detachment of all the elements.

Finally, with respect to known systems like those of the military type, in which the beads of the chain are formed during moulding and do not make it possible to assemble elements that are different from one another, the present system allows to assemble different elements without any limitation.

It is finally worth noting that, in the present description, by the term jewellery or costume jewellery article is meant not only products that are made from non-precious or precious metal, respectively, but also to products that are made from different materials, like for example plastic, and any other material used in the field, possibly set with precious stones or glasses, enamelled, painted, decorated, clad in fabric, hide, leather, etc.

Jewellery or costume jewellery articles according to the invention, as well as the kit for making them according to the invention, can moreover comprise pendants, trinkets, charms or other decorations, for being hooked, for example, at the neck 15 of the connection element, between the spherical body of an element and that of the adjacent element.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment described and illustrated above, but it comprises any variant embodiments. In particular, the component 1 of the present modular element can have, instead of the spherical body 10 illustrated in the attached figures, a body having a different shape, for instance oval, square, etc.

Claims

A modular element for the manufacture of chains for jewellery and costume jewellery articles, said modular element comprising a component (1) having a body (10) with a hole (1 1) and a connection element (13) extending integrally from said body (10) on the side opposite to said hole (1 1), said connection element (13) having a rounded head (14) placed on a neck of reduced diameter (15), said modular element further comprising an insert (2) of a truncated conical shape with a channel (21) on its surface ending with an internal housing (22), said insert (2) being adapted to snap receive said connection element (13) so that said rounded head (14) may be locked inside said housing (22) letting said body (10) free to rotate around said neck (15), said insert (2) having further a body having two portions of different diameter with a projecting edge (23) where said portions are connected, said edge being such that it allows the insertion of the insert (2) in a hole (1 1') of another analogous modular element applying a light pressure, keeping then locked in position said insert (2) thanks to the presence of a groove (12') inside said hole (11 ') in which said projecting edge (23) remains locked.

The modular element according to claim 1 , wherein said insert (2) has the portion with lower diameter (24) above said projecting edge (23) provided with at least a recess (25).

The modular element according to claim 2, wherein said insert (2) is provided with two recesses (25) facing each other.

The modular element according to claims 1-3, wherein said element is made of a material selected from between metal and rigid plastic materials, possibly clad with precious stones, glasses, decorations, enamel, colour and similar.

A jewellery or costume jewellery article comprising more modular elements as defined in claims 1-4, equal or different, connected between each other so as to form a chain.

A kit for the manufacture of a modular chain for jewellery or costume jewellery articles, said kit comprising at least n modular elements as defined in claims 1- 4, and possibly tools to facilitate the operations of connection and disconnection between said modular elements.

A method for the manufacture of a chain for jewellery or costume jewellery articles comprising n modular elements as defined in claims 1-4, said method comprising the following steps:

selection of a number n of components (1) with which said chain is to be manufactured, and insertion of their respective connection elements (13) in a number n of inserts (2), in order to form n modular elements;

connection between the so formed n modular elements according to a predetermined sequence, by means of insertion of each insert (2) of a modular element in a hole (11 ') of a component (1') of another modular element, until connection of the last element n, and closure of the chain.