US20070186395A1

US20070186395A1 - Accessory

Info

Publication number: US20070186395A1
Application number: US11/516,296
Authority: US
Inventors: Hidetaka Dobashi
Original assignee: Crossfor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Crossfor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2006-02-13
Filing date: 2006-09-06
Publication date: 2007-08-16
Also published as: EP1832194A1; CN101053460A; JP2007209674A; JP4996106B2; KR100835949B1; KR20070081742A

Abstract

In an accessory comprising a basic accessory part, an insertion part, which is joined to the basic accessory part and inserted into a penetration hole provided in a wearing target, and a catch for holding a portion of the insertion part, which penetrates into the penetration hole, the insertion part comprises an insertion core part one end of which is joined to the basic accessory part, and a stop part which is formed at the other end of the insertion core part and has a diameter larger than the insertion core part on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the insertion core part, and the catch is made of an elastic material and has an insertion hole corresponding to the shapes of the stop part and a portion of the insertion core part extending from the stop part by a predetermined length.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accessory put on a human earlobe, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, accessories such as pierced earrings are configured by joining an accessory core part (such as a needle) to a basic accessory part, and a portion of the accessory core part, which penetrates into a wearing target (such as an earlobe), is held by a catch in normal cases. Here, holding by a normal catch is made to prevent the accessory core part from falling out of the wearing target.
For the above described accessory, the following accessory is disclosed, for example, by Patent Document 1 (Japanese Examined Utility Model Application Publication No. HEI7-6809). This accessory is configured by providing a basic accessory part having a diameter larger than that of the accessory core part at one end of the accessory core part, and a stop part also having a diameter larger than that of the accessory core part at the other end, and by omitting a catch.
[Patent Document 1] Examined Utility Model Application Publication (???) No. HEI7-6809
Incidentally, the accessory according to the above described Patent Document 1 is fixed to a wearing target with the stop part having a diameter larger than the accessory core part. However, since also the stop part once penetrates into the wearing target, it sometimes falls out of an earlobe. If the diameter of the stop part is made larger than the accessory core part in order to prevent this fall, there arises a problem such that the wearing target is injured, or the pierced earring does not become stable in the wearing target.
Additionally, since the stop part has a protruding configuration, for example, the neck of a person positioned in the rear of the wearing target is injured in some cases. Even if attempts are made to provide a member which covers the stop part in order to overcome this problem, the stop part must be configured to have a diameter further larger than the insertion core part, and this is difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention is to provide an accessory which prevents a fall, and enhances safety with a simple configuration in consideration of the above described conventional problems.
To overcome the above described problems, the accessory according to the present invention comprises a basic accessory part, an insertion part that is joined to the basic accessory part and inserted into a penetration hole provided in a wearing target, and a catch for holding a portion of the insertion part, which penetrates into the penetration hole. The insertion part comprises an insertion core part one end of which is joined to the basic accessory part, and a stop part which is formed at the other end of the insertion core part and has a diameter larger than the insertion core part on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the insertion core part. The catch is made of an elastic material, and is configured to have an insertion hole part corresponding to the shapes of the stop part and the insertion core part extending from the stop part by a predetermined length.
With the above described configuration, the insertion hole part corresponding to the shapes of the stop part and the insertion core part extending from the stop part by the predetermined length are comprised, and the stop part is fixed to the catch made of an elastic material, whereby the stop part is easy to be inserted into the catch and difficult to fall. Accordingly, with the simple configuration, the accessory is prevented from falling out of a wearing target, and the stop part is prevented from injuring the neck of a person, an object, etc. positioned in the rear of the wearing target.
Preferably, the stop part is configured to be almost spherical or almost semispherical.
Preferably, the stop part is configured to be almost ellipsoidal or almost semi-ellipsoidal.
Preferably, the elastic material is silicone rubber.
With the accessory according to the present invention, the insertion hole part corresponding to the shapes of the stop part and the insertion core part extending from the stop part by the predetermined length are comprised, and the stop part is fixed to the catch made of an elastic material, whereby the stop part is easy to be inserted into the catch and difficult to fall. Accordingly, the accessory is prevented from falling out of a wearing target, and the stop part is prevented from injuring the neck of a person, an object, etc. positioned in the rear of the wearing target with the simple configuration. Therefore, with the accessory according to the present invention, a fall can be prevented and safety can be enhanced with the simple configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an accessory according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing an insertion part and a catch according to the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing an insertion part and a catch according to a first modification example of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view showing an insertion part and a catch according to a second modification example of the preferred embodiment; and

FIG. 2D is a cross-sectional view showing an insertion part and a catch according to a third modification example of the preferred embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An accessory according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the accessory according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention.
In this figure, the accessory 1 comprises a basic accessory part 2, an insertion part 3, and a catch 4. This accessory 1 is inserted into a penetration hole 5 a provided in a wearing target 5. The basic accessory part 2 is an accessory portion, which is positioned on the front side of the wearing target 5, namely, positioned in a portion that is most visible in the accessory 1.
The insertion part 3 comprises an insertion core part 3 a and a stop part 3 b. One end of the insertion core part 3 a is joined to the basic accessory part 2, for example, by being formed as a single-piece or by being welded. In contrast, the stop part 3 b, which has a diameter L2 larger than the diameter L1 of the insertion core part 3 a on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction A of the insertion core part 3 a, is provided at the other end of the insertion core part 3 a. The stop part 3 b here is spherical in shape.
The catch 4 is made of an elastic material (such as silicone rubber), and an insertion hole part 4 a, which corresponds to the shapes of the stop part 3 b and the insertion core part 3 a extending from the stop part 3 b by a predetermined length, namely, which has the same shapes, is open. This insertion hole part 4 a is open to an extent not to penetrate into the catch 4 in order to prevent the stop part 3 b from touching the neck of a person, etc. positioned in the rear of the wearing target. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the insertion part 3 (the stop part 3 b and a portion of the insertion core part 3 a) is already inserted into the insertion hole part 4 a, and fits neatly. Here, the catch 4 is made of an elastic material. Therefore, even if the stop part 3 b having the larger diameter (diameter L2) is inserted into the portion (diameter L1) of the insertion hole part 4 a, which corresponds to the insertion core part 3 a, the insertion hole part 4 a once expands and restores to the original shape.
If the wearing target 5 is a human earlobe, the insertion part 3 having a diameter larger than the diameter L3 of the penetration hole 5 a shown in FIG. 1 can be penetrated without being damaged. Therefore, it is desirable to make the diameter L2 of the stop part 3 b slightly larger than the diameter L3 of the penetration hole 5 a.
Additionally, if the diameter L1 of the insertion core part 3 a is equal to or smaller than 2 mm, it is desirable to multiply the diameter L2 of the stop part 3 b by 1.05 to 2.00 times of the diameter L1 of the insertion core part 3 a, preferably, 1.2 to 1.8 times, and, more preferably, 1.5 to 1.7 times. Here, if the above proportions are applied when the diameter L1 is more than 2 mm, this causes a problem such that a difference between the diameter L2 of the stop part 3 b and the diameter L1 of the insertion core part 3 a increases, and the insertion core part 3 a does not become stable in the penetration hole 5 a of the wearing target 5. Accordingly, it is desirable to make the above described proportions lower when the diameter L1 is more than 2 mm.
As described above, the accessory 1 according to this preferred embodiment has a configuration where the insertion core part 4 a, which corresponds to the shapes of the stop part 3 b and the insertion core part 3 a extending from the stop part 3 b by a predetermined length, is comprised, and the stop part 3 b is fixed to the catch 4 made of an elastic material, whereby the stop part 3 is easy to be inserted into the catch 4 and difficult to fall. Accordingly, the accessory 1 is prevented from falling out of the wearing target 5, and the stop part 3 b is prevented from injuring the neck of a person, an object, etc. positioned in the rear of the wearing target 5 with the simple configuration. Therefore, with the accessory 1 according to this preferred embodiment, its fall can be prevented and safety can be enhanced with the simple configuration.
Additionally, the stop part 3 b is configured to be spherical in shape, whereby the stop part 3 b is easy to be inserted into the insertion hole part 4 a of the catch 4, and the insertion hole part 4 a is difficult to be destroyed. Accordingly, the catch 4 can be used without daily trouble.
FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing the insertion part and the catch according to the above described preferred embodiment. FIGS. 2B to 2D are cross-sectional views showing insertion parts and catches according to modification examples of the above described preferred embodiment.
The insertion part 3 and the catch 4, which are shown in FIG. 2A, are the same as those shown in FIG. 1. Namely, the stop part 3 b of the insertion part 3 is spherical in shape. In contrast, a stop part 13 b of an insertion part 13, which is shown in FIG. 2B, is semispherical in shape. In this case, the stop part 13 b can be further prevented from falling out of a catch 14.
Additionally, a stop part 23 b of an insertion part 23, which is shown in FIG. 2C, is ellipsoidal in shape. This stop part 23 b is ellipsoidal in shape extending on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction A of an insertion core part 23 a. Furthermore, a stop part 33 b shown in FIG. 2D is semi-ellipsoidal in shape. Also in this case, the stop part 33 b is semi-ellipsoidal in shape extending on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction A of an insertion core part 33 a. Also with these stop parts 23 b and 33 b, which are ellipsoidal and semi-ellipsoidal, the accessory 1 is further prevented from falling out of catches 24 and 34.

Claims

1. An accessory having a basic accessory part, an insertion part, which is joined to the basic accessory part and inserted into a penetration hole provided in a wearing target, and a catch for holding a portion of the insertion part, which penetrates into the penetration hole, wherein:

the insertion part comprises an insertion core part one end of which is joined to the basic accessory part, and a stop part, which is formed at the other end of the insertion core part and has a diameter larger than the insertion core part on a plane orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the insertion core part; and

the catch is made of an elastic material, and has an insertion hole part corresponding to shapes of the stop part and the insertion core part extending from the stop part by a predetermined length.

2. The accessory according to claim 1, wherein

the stop part is almost spherical or almost semispherical in shape.

3. The accessory according to claim 1, wherein

the stop part is almost ellipsoidal or almost semi-ellipsoidal in shape.

4. The accessory according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein

the elastic material is silicone rubber.