| JP2008220699 | METHOD FOR PROCESSING JEWELRY |
| JP03234205 | BRAZING DEVICE FOR RING |
| WO/2006/129334 | METAL ALLOY FOR JEWELS AND SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
PERIN, Giordana (Via 4 Novembre 63, Trissino, I-36070, IT)
| CLAIMS 1) Method (1) for stiffening a decorative item (100) comprising a plurality of concatenated elements (101), characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - preparing a template (200) with a recess (201) slightly lowered with respect to the upper surface (202) of said template (200); - inserting said decorative item (100) in said recess (201); - interposing soldering means between said decorative item (100) and at least one of the walls (203, 204) of said recess (201); - heating said template (200) with said decorative item (100) up to the melting temperature of said soldering means; - cooling said template (200) with said decorative item (100) to ambient temperature; - extracting said decorative item (100) from said template (200). 2) Method (1) according to claim 1), characterized in that said soldering means comprise at least one foil (104) whose surface facing towards said decorative item (100) is covered with solder. 3) Method (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said elements (101) that make up said decorative item (100) are spaced from each other according to the concatenation direction. 4) Method (1) according to claim 1) or 2), characterized in that said elements (101) that make up said decorative item (100) are arranged one against the other according to the concatenation direction. 5) Method (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thickness of said at least one foil (104) is included between 40 and 50 tenths of a millimetre. 6) Method (1) according to claim 5), characterized in that the thickness of said at least one foil (104) is 45 tenths of a millimetre. 7) Method (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that said heating step includes the introduction of said template (200) with said decorative item (100) into an oven. 8) Method (1) according to claim 7), characterized in that the temperature of said oven is between 800 and 900 degrees centigrade. 9) Method (1) according to claim 8), characterized in that the temperature of said oven is 850 degrees centigrade. 10) Decorative item (300) constructed according to the method of the invention described in claims from 1) to 9) and comprising a plurality of concatenated elements (301), characterized in that each one of said elements (301) comprises one or more gemstones (302). |
PLURALITY OF CONCATENATED ELEMENTS.
DESCRIPTION
The invention concerns a method for stiffening a decorative item comprising a plurality of concatenated elements.
The invention also concerns the decorative item with definite and unchangeable shape that is obtained by means of said stiffening method.
It is known that in the sector of costume jewellery and goldsmithery decorative items such as, for example, bracelets, earrings and the like are produced, which have a definite and unchangeable shape and are worn at the wrist or ear by the user.
In the case where said decorative items are bracelets, they may be constituted by two or more rigid parts that diverge from each other owing to the interposition, at the level of their ends, of closing and hinge elements, in such a way as to make it easier for any person to wear them at his/her wrist.
On the contrary, said bracelets may comprise a single circular or rectangular element, or a single element in any other closed shape suited to be passed through the hand and worn at the wrist.
As regards the earrings made using the same type of decorative items, they can have the most varied shapes, like the bracelets, and, in the specific case, comprise means for insertion and coupling, so that they can be inserted through the hole present in the ear lobe.
In general, the decorative items of this type have a filiform profile, and are thus constituted by any element with limited thickness and mainly longitudinal development.
In this specific case, the decorative items taken in consideration are defined by a shape that is not completely homogeneous along their longitudinal development.
In particular, they have a structural and aesthetic configuration that substantially simulates the combination of several elements that are concatenated and permanently fixed in such a way as to give the decorative items a specific unchangeable appearance.
An example of these decorative items is shown in Figure 1 , illustrating the known art, where it is possible to identify a circular earring O that requires the presence, at one end, of means M for insertion in the ear lobe L. In greater detail, in the example shown herein it is possible to observe a plurality of gemstones, each one of which is set in a decorative item.
It is also known that for making the above mentioned decorative items jewellers use the well-known technique of micro fusion, that in technical jargon is also called "lost wax casting".
This technique consists in making a wax model that has the shape of the decorative item to be produced.
Successively, the outside of the model is covered with a refractory material, for example clay, making some communication channels between the external environment and the wax model.
Once the refractory material has stabilized, the operator introduces the melted material with which the decorative item must be produced through a first one of the previously defined communication channels.
In most cases the above mentioned melted material, brought to a high temperature, is gold or silver, and causes the wax model to melt, taking its place.
The melted wax in turn flows out of the refractory material through a second channel providing communication with the external environment and arranged on the opposite side with respect to said first channel. After a necessary waiting time, the melted material that replaces the wax has solidified again, thus making it possible to extract the finished decorative item from the refractory material.
In order to further improve the appearance of the decorative item, as already explained, after the melting operation gemstones may be set in its surface. The above mentioned micro fusion technique, though being extremely widespread, however poses some recognized drawbacks that are described here below.
A first important drawback lies in that for making any individual decorative item it is necessary to make a specific wax model that during the process melts and loses its structural configuration.
This technique also poses a further recognized drawback lying in that it does not make it possible to produce decorative items that are smaller than a given limit size and, in particular, a given limit cross section.
The above mentioned limitation is necessary in order to guarantee the soundness of the same decorative items both during the production process and subsequently during use.
Consequently, said technique disadvantageously requires a production time and therefore a production cost of each individual decorative item that is not negligible. Furthermore, even the production of decorative items whose size must necessarily exceed a minimum limit that it is advisable to respect has the negative consequence of requiring the use of a certain quantity of precious material and therefore a considerable cost of each individual item. The present invention aims to overcome all the drawbacks listed above. In particular, it is the main object of the present invention to provide a method for stiffening articulated decorative items comprising a plurality of concatenated elements, in such a way as to reduce their production time and therefore their production costs compared to the techniques used in the known art. A further object of the present invention is to provide a method that makes it possible to stiffen decorative items whose cross section is substantially smaller compared to the decorative items that can be obtained using the techniques of the known art.
The objects described above are achieved by the present invention concerning a method for stiffening a decorative item whose main characteristics are in accordance with the contents of the first claim.
Advantageously, the method that is the subject of the invention can be applied even by personnel that is not necessarily skilled in the jewellery sector, thus further reducing labour costs. Still advantageously, the decorative item produced using the method of the invention has a more elegant and refined appearance than the decorative items produced with the known techniques described above. The objects and advantages described above will be highlighted in greater detail in the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention that is supplied as an indicative, non-limiting example with reference to the enclosed drawings, wherein:
- Figure 1 illustrating the known art shows a stiffened decorative item produced with the micro fusion technique;
- Figure 2 schematically shows the steps of the method that is the subject of the invention; - Figure 3 shows an axonometric view of the decorative item consisting of several elements concatenated in an articulated manner before application of the method of the invention;
- Figure 4 shows an axonometric view of a first example of the template used for applying the method of the invention; - Figure 5 shows an axonometric view of a second example of the template used for applying the method of the invention;
- Figure 6 shows an axonometric view of the step in which the decorative item is introduced in the recess provided in the template according to the method of the invention; - Figure 7 shows an axonometric view of the step in which the foil is inserted in the recess provided in the template according to the method of the invention;
- Figure 8 shows a section view of the recess with inside it the decorative item and the foil of Figure 7 according to the plane Vl-Vl; - Figure 9 shows an axonometric view of an example of a decorative item obtained with the stiffening method of the invention.
The method 1 that is the subject of the invention, as already explained, makes it possible to stiffen a decorative item 100, shown in Figure 3, comprising a plurality of elements 101 concatenated in an articulated manner, thus giving the item a definite and unchangeable shape.
The method 1 comprises a plurality of operations, schematically shown in Figure 2, which above all include the preparation of a template 200 in which a recess 201 is obtained, slightly lowered with respect to the upper surface 202 of the template 200, as shown in Figure 4. As described in greater detail below, according to the method 1 the decorative item 100 to be stiffened is introduced in the recess 201. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein, the above mentioned template 200 is made of graphite, and thus can absorb heat without chemically reacting with any other material of which in this specific case the decorative item 100 arranged in the recess 200 can be made.
This quality is necessary, as explained in detail below, because during implementation of the method 1 of the invention the template 200 is subjected to a great amount of heat. On the contrary, in the case where the template 200 isn't made with a material having the above mentioned characteristic, during exposure to heat the decorative item 100 may be subjected to excessive heat and reach its melting point.
In different embodiments of the invention the template 200 can be made with a material different from graphite, provided that it is of the refractory type. Regarding the recess 201, in the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein and shown in Figure 8, its depth p with respect to the upper surface 202 of the template 200 is substantially equal to the height I of the decorative item 100 to be placed inside it.
In different embodiments of the invention not illustrated herein the recess 201 may have a depth p substantially equal to the height I of two superimposed decorative items 100 for the execution of more complicated jewellery items.
In general, in alternative embodiments the recess 201 may have a depth p equal to the height I of several decorative items 100 placed one on top of the other. As regards the profile of the same recess 201 in plan view, in the preferred embodiment described herein it has the shape of a closed ring, as shown in
Figure 4.
In a different embodiment of the invention, shown in Figure 5, the same profile may assume a rectangular shape. In general, the above mentioned recess 201 can have any profile, open or closed.
The important aspect to be underlined is the fact that the profile of the recess
201 determines the definitive shape that the decorative item 100 will assume once it has been treated with the stiffening method 1 of the invention. For example, in the first embodiment illustrated in Figure 4 the template 200 is used to make circular earrings or bracelets.
The template 200 shown in Figure 5, on the other hand, allows rectangular earrings or bracelets to be produced.
Furthermore, the recess 201 can be carried out with a rectilinear profile that allows, for example, items like tie pins or the like to be obtained.
According to the method 1 of the invention, in the second step, as already mentioned, the decorative item 100 is placed inside the recess 201, as shown in Figure 6.
In particular, in the embodiment described herein, the decorative item 100 is preferably but not necessarily introduced and positioned in such a way that the elements 201 that make it up are arranged one against the other, according to the concatenation direction.
In this way, there is no space at all between an element 101 and the immediately adjacent one. Nevertheless, in other embodiments of the invention the elements 101 may be spaced from each other in such a way as to give the entire decorative item 100 a different aesthetic appearance.
In further embodiments not described and not illustrated herein, it is also possible to have some elements 101 arranged against each other and other elements 101 spaced from those beside them, according to the designer's creative needs and the execution requirements of the decorative item as a whole.
Once the decorative item 100 to be stiffened has been positioned, in the successive step soldering means are interposed between the item 100 and at least one of the walls 203 and 204 of the recess 201.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein said soldering means comprise a foil 104 covered with solder.
Said solder covering is arranged at least on the surface of the foil 104 facing towards the decorative item 100. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, not described and not illustrated herein, the soldering means may comprise a solder powder distributed using specific means, for example a syringe, exactly between the item 100 and at least one of the walls 203 and 204 of the recess 201.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the method 1 includes the interposition of the above mentioned foil 104 exclusively at the level of one of the walls 203 or 204 of the recess 201, as shown in Figure 7.
In greater detail, the decorative item 100 includes gemstones 102 set in each element 101 that makes it up.
As shown always in Figure 8, in this case the decorative item 100 is necessarily arranged with the gemstones 102 facing towards a first wall 203 of the recess 201 and the foil 104, instead, is interposed at the level of the second wall 204.
However, it cannot be excluded that with other types of decorative items 100, for example including concatenated elements 101 without gemstones 102, two foils 104 can be positioned, one at the level of each of the two walls 203 or 204 of the recess 201.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention, as previously mentioned, the foil
104 is made of gold covered with solder.
In different embodiments of the invention, the above mentioned foil 104 may be made with other more or less precious materials, like for example silver.
Always regarding the foil 104, according to the method of the invention its thickness is included between 40 and 50 tenths of a millimeter.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention described and illustrated herein, in particular, the foil 104 has a thickness of 45 tenths of a millimeter, Furthermore, the height a of the foil 104 is substantially equal to the height I of the decorative item 100 together with the depth p of the above mentioned recess 201, as can be seen in Figure 8.
In the successive step of the method 1 of the invention the template 200 in which the decorative item 100 is arranged and the corresponding foil 104 are heated.
In particular, the template 200 is heated up to the melting temperature of the solder arranged on the foil 104 so that the decorative item 100 and the foil 104 can be welded to each other.
In fact, according to the method 1 of the invention, after the heating step there is the cooling step, in which the template 200 and the elements (item 100 and foil 104) placed inside the recess 201 are heated until reaching the ambient temperature.
Said cooling step allows the solder to firmly join the foil 104 to the decorative item 100. Consequently, the individual elements 101 that make up the decorative item
100 are permanently concatenated, which gives the entire decorative item a definite and unchangeable shape.
As regards the heating step, in the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein it is carried out by inserting the template 200 inside an oven not illustrated herein.
In particular, the temperature the oven must reach in order to allow the solder to melt is approximately between 800 and 900 degrees centigrade.
The tests carried out have shown that the ideal temperature for obtaining a high structural and aesthetic quality of the decorative item 100 is preferably but not necessarily 850 degrees. It cannot be excluded, however, that the oven temperature can be set to a level different from that just mentioned, provided that it allows the solder to melt.
In the particular embodiment of the invention described herein the oven used is an oven of the belt type, which means that the template 200 is arranged on a conveyor belt and passes through the above mentioned oven for a given lapse of time.
However, it is also possible to use another type of oven, like for example a static oven and to insert the template 200 in a high temperature room through an opening.
Finally, according to the method 1 of the invention, once the template 200 has cooled down, the operator carries out the last step, which consists in the extraction of the stiffened decorative item 300 with its definite shape from the template 200, an example of which is shown in Figure 9. In particular, the present patent, besides claiming the stiffening method 1, also protects the decorative item 300 obtained from said method.
In the preferred embodiment of the invention described herein the decorative item 300 obtained in this way includes gemstones 302 set in the rigidly concatenated elements 301. In other embodiments of the invention, however, the item 300 resulting from the above mentioned process may also be produced without the above mentioned gemstones.
The above clearly shows that the method that is the subject of the invention achieves all the set objects. In particular, the invention achieves the object to provide a method for stiffening articulated decorative items comprising a plurality of concatenated elements, in such a way as to reduce their production time and costs compared to the techniques of the known art.
A further object achieved by the invention is the implementation of a method that makes it possible to stiffen decorative items whose cross section is substantially smaller than that of the decorative items obtainable with the techniques of the known art.
Furthermore, the method of the invention also offers the advantage of being able to be applied even by staff that isn't necessarily skilled in the jewellery sector and in the same way allows the resulting decorative item to have a more elegant and refined appearance compared to the decorative items made using the known techniques described above.
In the production phase, the method that is the subject of the invention and the decorative item obtained therewith may undergo further changes that, though not illustrated or described herein, shall nonetheless be covered by the present patent, provided that they come within the scope of the claims that follow. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference sings have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the protection of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.
Next Patent: CONTROL APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD FOR VEHICLE