ASSEMBLING THE SAME

Field of the invention:

The present invention relates to the field of jewellery and the like. More particularly, and according to a possible intended use, the present invention relates to a new ring assembly and/or structure, and also relates to a kit with corresponding components for assembling the same, and to a corresponding method of assembling.

Background:

Jewelry items, such as rings, and the traditional methods of making them, have been known for many centuries now.

Despite these well-known techniques, there is always a need to continue innovating and finding better and/or different ways of making (i.e. manufacturing, creating, personalizing, etc.) jewellery, such as rings, for example, and/or the like, in a quicker, easier, simpler, faster, more efficient, more reliable, more adjustable, more customizable, more personable and/or more attractive manner.

Indeed, manufacturing rings in the conventional manner is generally long, tedious, time-consuming, high in terms of costs and energy, and is not always very precise. Indeed, one has to first manually create a wax model of the intended finished product. Then one has to create a mold around and about the wax model. Typically after, the wax must be removed from the mold using some sort of heat treatment to melt and evacuate the wax from the mold. Then, one has to heat and liquefy the material to be used for intended finished product, and this liquefied material has to then be inserted into the mold. Then, one must allow the material to cool off and solidify. Then, one must remove the mold from the hardened material of the intended finished product. Very often, the product has to be touched up in order to arrive to a finalized product of a certain given quality and esthetics. If the resulting product cannot be repaired and/or touched up in a satisfactory manner, the entire process has to be repeated.

Thus, it would be particularly useful to be able to provide a new ring assembly and/or structure which, by virtue of its design and components, would be able to overcome or at least minimize some of the known drawbacks associated with conventional systems.

Summary of the invention: An object of the present invention is to provide a ring assembly and/or structure which, by virtue of its design and components, satisfies some of the above- mentioned need(s) and which is thus an improvement over other related rings and/or manufacturing methods known in the prior art. In accordance with the present invention, the above object is achieved, as will be easily understood from the present description, with a ring assembly and/or structure such as the one briefly described herein and such as the one exemplified in the accompanying drawings. More particularly, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ring assembly comprising:

an annular body having an outer portion and an inner portion;

at least one groove provided about the inner portion of the annular body so as to define at least one corresponding symbol, said at least one corresponding symbol having a raised body with respect to a bottom surface of the inner portion of the annular body; and

a coating provided over the at least one groove defined about the inner portion of the annular body in order to provide a contrast (ex. visual demarcation, etc.) between the coating and the at least one corresponding symbol on the inner portion of the annular body.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a ring assembly comprising at least one inner chamfer (ex. for comfort and/or ease of insertion of a finger into the ring, etc.). Optionally, the ring assembly may include a pair of inner chamfers (one on each side of the ring, for example).

According to another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a method of assembling and/or mounting the above-mentioned ring assembly and/or structure (and/or component(s) and/or corresponding portion(s) thereof).

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is also provided a kit with components for assembling the above-mentioned ring assembly and/or structure (and/or component(s) and/or corresponding portion(s) thereof).

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a set of components for interchanging with components of the above- mentioned kit. According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of assembling and/or using components of the above-mentioned kit and/or set. According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a method of doing business with the above-mentioned ring assembly and/or structure (and/or component(s) and/or corresponding portion(s) thereof), kit, set and/or method(s).

The objects, advantages, and other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reading of the following non-restrictive description of preferred embodiments thereof, given for the purpose of exemplification only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings:

Figures 1 -37 are different views of various components and features of the ring assembly and/or structure (and/or component(s) and/or corresponding portion(s) thereof) according to different possible embodiments of the present invention.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention:

In the following description, the same numerical references refer to similar elements. Furthermore, for sake of simplicity and clarity, namely so as to not unduly burden the figures with several reference numbers, only some figures have been provided with reference numbers, and components and features of the present invention illustrated in other figures can be easily inferred therefrom. The embodiments, geometrical configurations, materials mentioned and/or dimensions shown in the figures are preferred, for exemplification purposes only.

Moreover, although the present invention was primarily designed for use with a "ring" in the general field of "jewelry", it may be used with other objects (ex. bracelets, earrings, etc.) and/or in other types of applications, as apparent to a person skilled in the art. For this reason, expressions such as "ring", "bracelet", "earing", "jewelry", "metal", etc., used herein should not be taken so as to limit the scope of the present invention and include all other kinds of objects and/or applications (ex. other ornamental purposes, etc.) with which the present invention could be used and may be useful.

Moreover, in the context of the present invention, the expressions "ring", "band", "jewelry", "assembly", "structure", "system", "device", "apparatus", "product", "unit", "equipment", "method" and "kit", as well as any other equivalent expressions and/or compound words thereof known in the art will be used interchangeably, as apparent to a person skilled in the art. This applies also for any other mutually equivalent expressions, such as, for example: a) "making", "manufacturing", "assembling", "creating", "mounting", "connecting", "inserting", "securing", "restraining", "affixing", "holding", "fastening", "adjusting", etc.; b) "surface", "space", "area", "volume", etc.; c) "positioning", "placing", "moving", "adjusting", "nesting", etc.; d) "assembled", "connected", "secured", "mounted", "riveted", "welded", "affixed", etc.; e) "hingedly", "pivotably", "rotatably", etc.; f) "track", "rail", "guide", "path", etc.; g) "precious material", "metallic material", "plastic material", etc.; h) "protruding", "raised", "elevated", "projecting", etc.; i) "body", "element", "part", "portion", "component", etc.; i) "selectively", "adjustably", "progressively", "incrementally", etc.; as well as for any other mutually equivalent expressions, pertaining to the aforementioned expressions and/or to any other structural and/or functional aspects of the present invention, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art.

Furthermore, in the context of the present description, it will be considered that all elongated objects will have an implicit "longitudinal axis" or "centerline", such as the longitudinal axis of a shaft or a panel for example, or the centerline of a annular body (ex. ring) for example, and that expressions such as "connected" and "connectable", or "mounted" and "mountable", may be interchangeable, in that the present invention also relates to a kit with corresponding components for assembling a resulting fully assembled and operational ring assembly and/or structure (and/or component(s) and/or corresponding portion(s) thereof).

Moreover, components of the present system(s) and/or steps of the method(s) described herein could be modified, simplified, altered, omitted and/or interchanged, without departing from the scope of the present invention, depending on the particular applications which the present invention is intended for, and the desired end results, as briefly exemplified herein and as also apparent to a person skilled in the art.

In addition, although the preferred embodiments of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprise various components, and although the preferred embodiments of the ring assembly and/or structure (and/or component(s) and/or corresponding portion(s) thereof) as shown consist of certain geometrical configurations, as explained and illustrated herein, not all of these components and geometries are essential to the invention and thus should not be taken in their restrictive sense, i.e. should not be taken so as to limit the scope of the present invention. It is to be understood, as also apparent to a person skilled in the art, that other suitable components and cooperation thereinbetween, as well as other suitable geometrical configurations may be used for the ring assembly and/or structure (and/or component(s) and/or corresponding portion(s) thereof) according to the present invention, as will be briefly explained herein and as can be easily inferred herefrom by a person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the present invention. Broadly described, and as better exemplified in the accompanying drawings, the present invention relates to a new ring assembly and/or structure, and to corresponding kit and method for assembling the same, which enable to make (i.e. manufacture, create, personalize, etc.) jewellery (ex. rings, etc.), and/or the like, in a quicker, easier, simpler, faster, more efficient, more reliable, more adjustable, more customizable, more personable and/or more attractive manner than what is possible with conventional known methods.

List of numerical references for some of the corresponding possible components and features illustrated in the accompanying drawings:

I . ring assembly (and/or structure)

3. annular body

5. outer portion (of annular body)

7. inner portion (of annular body)

9. at least one groove

I I . at least one corresponding symbol

13. raised body (of the at least one corresponding symbol)

15. bottom surface (of the inner portion)

17. coating

19. at least one sectional component (ex. an "inlay" component, etc.)

21 . inner recess (of the main component)

23. substrate (of the at least one sectional component)

23. width (of the main component)

25. width (of the inner recess of the main component)

27. depth (of the inner recess of the main component)

29. total height (of the at least one sectional component)

31 . thickness (of the resulting ring assembly)

33. thickness (of substrate) 35 inner chamfer

37 rounded rim

39 fluted surface

41 outer surface (of ring)

43 other component and/or feature

Broadly described, the present invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, relates to a new ring assembly and/or structure, and to a kit with corresponding components and to an associated method for assembling the same, which enable to make (i.e. manufacture, create, personalize, etc.) jewellery (ex. rings, etc.), and/or the like, in a quicker, easier, simpler, faster, more efficient, more reliable, more adjustable, more customizable, more personable and/or more attractive manner, than what is possible with conventional known methods. (the present description may and/or will be amended in the event of filing a Chapter II Request at the PCT level, in order to review and/or edit the application, including the following paragraphs, so that, among other things, they may refer to the accompanying drawings, etc.) The present ring assembly and/or structure may come in the form of a ring assembly and/or structure including one and/or several of the following possible components and features (and/or different combination(s) thereof):

1 . A ring assembly comprising:

an annular body having an outer portion and an inner portion;

at least one groove provided about the inner portion of the annular body so as to define at least one corresponding symbol, said at least one corresponding symbol having a raised body with respect to a bottom surface of the inner portion of the annular body; and a coating provided over the at least one groove defined about the inner portion of the annular body in order to provide a contrast (ex. visual demarcation, etc.) between the coating and the at least one corresponding symbol on the inner portion of the annular body.

2. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the outer and inner portions of the annular body are separate components being selectively (ex. removably, securely, adjustably, etc.) connectable to one another.

3. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the outer and inner portions of the annular body are sub-components of the resulting ring assembly. 4. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the outer portion includes a main component, and wherein the inner portion includes at least one sectional component (ex. an "inlay" component, etc.) configured for insertion into a corresponding inner recess of the main component. 5. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component (ex. an "inlay" component, etc.) is press-fitted into the corresponding inner recess of the main component.

6. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the corresponding inner recess of the main component is a circumferential inner recess. 7. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the corresponding inner recess has a substantially rectangular cross-section (ex. in the form of a "rectangle", of a "square", etc.). 8. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component comprises at least one circular sectional component.

9. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component comprises at least one semi-circular sectional component.

10. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component comprises at least one arched (ex. angular, radial, etc.) sectional component.

1 1 . A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component comprises n sectional components, n being an integer being equal or greater to 1 (ex. n = 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.).

12. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component comprises a pair of sectional components. 13. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component comprises comprises a pair of semicircular sectional components.

14. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one groove provided about the inner portion of the annular body to define the at least one corresponding symbol is provided about at least one of the at least one sectional component.

15. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component comprises a common substrate, and wherein the at least one corresponding symbol is provided on said common substrate.

16. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one corresponding symbol comprises a plurality of symbols (ex. same and/or different symbols, etc.) provided on said common substrate.

17. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one symbol includes a combination of alphanumeric symbols.

18. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one symbol includes a combination of non-alphanumeric symbols. 19. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one symbol includes a combination of both alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric symbols.

20. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one symbol is selected from the group consisting of name(s), date(s), word(s), letter(s), number(s), logo(s), trademark(s) (ex. Carlex™), other sign(s) conveying information, other visual depiction(s), other visual representation(s), band(s), wall(s), divider(s), section(s), sub-section(s), etc. 21 . A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the coating includes an enamel material. 22. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the coating is provided over the at least one groove defined about the inner portion of the annular body so as to be substantially flush with the at least one corresponding symbol on the inner portion of the annular body in order to provide a substantially smooth (ex. uniform, straight, etc.) inner portion for the ring assembly.

23. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the coating includes a color different from a color of the at least one symbol in order to provide a visual contrast (ex. demarcation, etc.) thereinbetween.

24. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the coating includes a dark color and wherein the at least one symbol includes a light color.

25. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the coating includes a light color and wherein the at least one symbol includes a dark color. 26. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the main component of the annular body is made of a first material (ex. precious metal, etc.), and wherein the at least one sectional component is made of a second material (ex. precious metal, etc.). 27. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first material is the same as the second material.

28. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the first material is different from the second material. 29. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the main component has a final width selected from the group consisting of 6.5 mm, 7.5 mm, 8.5 mm, 9.5 mm and 10.5mm (approximate values). 30. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the inner recess of the main component has a final width selected from the group consisting of 3.5 mm, 4.00 mm, 4.5 mm, 5.0 mm and 5.5mm (approximate values). 31 . A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the inner recess of the main component has a final depth of about 1 .9 mm (approximate value).

32. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the at least one sectional component (ex. an "inlay" component, etc.) has a total height of about 1 .9 mm (approximate value).

33. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein a final thickness of the resulting ring assembly is of about 2.6mm (approximate value).

34. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the common substrate has a final thickness of about 0.7 mm (approximate value).

35. (text to be inserted here and/or elsewhere).

36. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the ring assembly includes at least one inner chamfer (ex. for comfort and/or ease of insertion of a finger into the ring, etc.). 37. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the ring assembly includes a pair of inner chamfers. 38. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein each inner chamfer spans about an inner circumferential portion of the ring.

39. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein each inner chamfer includes an assembly of at least one groove and coating according to any one of the preceding combination(s).

40. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the annular body includes at least one rounded rim. 41 . A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the annular body includes a pair of rounded rims.

42. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the annular body includes at least one fluted surface.

43. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the annular body includes a pair of fluted surfaces.

44. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the outer portion of the annular body includes a smooth outer surface.

45. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the outer portion of the annular body includes a textured outer surface. 46. A ring assembly according to any one of the preceding combination(s), wherein the ring assembly is a jewelry item (ex. wedding ring, engagement ring, bracelet, etc.). 47. A kit with corresponding components for assembling a ring assembly according (and/or corresponding part(s) and/or portion(s) thereof) according to any one of the preceding combination(s).

48. A method of assembling a ring assembly according (and/or corresponding part(s) and/or portion(s) thereof) according to any one of the preceding combination(s). 49. A method of using a ring assembly according (and/or corresponding part(s) and/or portion(s) thereof) according to any one of the preceding combination(s).

As may now be better appreciated, the present new ring assembly and/or structure, and kit with corresponding components and associated method for assembling the same, is advantageous in that it enables to make (i.e. manufacture, create, personalize, etc.) jewellery (ex. rings, etc.), and/or the like, in a quicker, easier, simpler, faster, more efficient, more reliable, more adjustable, more customizable, more personable and/or more attractive manner, than what is possible with conventional known methods

It is worth mentioning that several modifications could be made to the present compartmentation system and corresponding components, without departing from the scope of the present invention, such as, for example: a) (text to be inserted); b)

(text to be inserted); c) etc.

The present ring assembly and/or structure, and corresponding parts and/or portions thereof (ex. (text to be inserted), etc.), are preferably made of substantially rigid materials, such as metallic materials (precious metals, etc.), hardened polymers, composite materials, polymeric materials, and/or the like, so as to ensure a proper operation thereof depending on the particular applications for which the ring assembly and/or structure is intended and the different parameters (forces, impacts, etc.) in cause, as apparent to a person skilled in the art.

As may now be appreciated, the present invention is a substantial improvement over conventional systems of the prior art in that, by virtue of its design and components, as briefly explained herein, the present system enables to overcome or at least minimize some of the known drawbacks associated with conventional systems.

Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been briefly described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments and that various changes and modifications could be made without departing form the scope and spirit of the present invention, as apparent to a person skilled in the art.