DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an ornamental product, such as, for example a goldsmith's, jewellery or costume jewellery product, such as a necklace, a bracelet, an earring, a closure, etc. In particular, the invention relates to a hinging system for a rigid or non-rigid ornamental product, with two mutually hinged rigid portions.

As is known, rigid or non-rigid ornamental products exist, such as necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings, formed by two rigid portions that are mutually hinged so as to mutually rotate away from and/or close to each other to open and/or close the product onto the body of the user. Closures adapted to be used on jewellery and/or costume jewellery products in general are also considered among such types of products.

Reference is made, for example, to a bracelet or a rigid earring or closure. The two portions usually are two semi-circular or substantially semi-circular or semi-elliptical halves mutually hinged at an end thereof. Thanks to such hinging, the bracelet can therefore be opened and/or closed to be worn on or removed from the wrist of a user. A problem encountered with this type of products is that if the hinging has clearance, i.e. the rotation between the two portions is free, the two portions tend to always perform a complete rotation in closure or opening, reaching the stroke end. It therefore is not possible to keep the two portions in intermediate position. This obviously is annoying for the user because during the steps of removing or putting on the product, it tends to open or close suddenly. Moreover, such sudden closure tends to damage the hinge due to the repeated knocking/abutment effect.

To overcome this problem, an attempt has been made to find solutions that provide a hinging with interference, or between the pin and the through hole, or between the male and female ends, and also using pins with the jacket made of different material. However, this solution is not in any case satisfactory in the field of precious metals especially because considering the relatively soft materials used (in particular, metals such as gold and silver), there was no interference after a relatively small number of opening/closure cycles of the product, considering the material tends to become worn or even give rise to seizing problems, i.e. the hinging locking. Lubricants such as wax, oil or the like, were used to overcome the problems of excessive interference and therefore of seizing. However, the above problems return once these lubricants are dry (after a limited number of opening/closure cycles).

US2005/060981 describes a connection pin for male and female elements of the strap of a watch. Such pin firstly is intended to prevent the removal between the male and female portion and further, thanks to a protrusion housed in a suitable cavity made in the hole, obtains a constant forcing action along the whole pin, which therefore is not subjected to wear and has an increased duration.

EP1023851 describes a pin with an elastic area that keeps the tension constant also during the insertion.

It therefore is the object of the present invention to resolve the problems disclosed above by providing a hinged ornamental product that overcomes the defects of the state of the art described above.

In particular, it is the object of the hinging system of the ornamental product according to the invention to allow locking the two rigid portions with which the ornamental product is formed in any mutual intermediate position.

Moreover, the object of the hinging system is to ensure a soft and secure opening/closure of the ornamental product, i.e. of ensuring a mutual movement of the two portions with a slight forcing action.

Such objects are achieved by the ornamental product, the essential characteristics of which are defined by the first accompanying claim. Other important additional characteristics are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

The features and advantages of the ornamental product shall be apparent from the description below of an embodiment thereof, made by way of a non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

- Figure 1 shows a rigid and non-rigid ornamental product, specifically an exploded view of a bracelet;

- Figure 2 is an enlargement of a first embodiment of a hinging system of the bracelet of Figure 1;

- Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the hinging zone of the bracelet of the Figures above;

- Figure 4 shows, in isolation, an embodiment of a hinging pin; - Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a hinging zone of the ornamental product;

- Figures 6 and 7 show, in isolation, a second and a third embodiment of a hinging pin.

A first embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to Figures 1 to 4.

An ornamental product for jewellery or costume jewellery is intended as any accessory adapted to be applied to a jewel and/or worn on the body as an ornament, such as a closure, a necklace, a bracelet, a ring or the like. Such ornamental product may be made of precious material such as a precious metal (gold or silver, for example) or of any other material used in the field of jewellery and/or costume jewellery.

Again, in the specific case, the ornamental product comprises two portions, a first portion or female portion 1 and a second portion or male portion 2, that are mutually hinged to respective female 10 and male 20 terminal ends.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, such portions are rigid or substantially rigid. Such portions might possibly also not be rigid in other embodiments.

In a further embodiment of the invention, at least the female 10 and male 20 terminal ends of the respective portions 1, 2 are rigid.

In greater detail, the female end 10 has a U-shaped configuration, i.e. it comprises two arms 100, 101 that extend parallel to each other, alternated by an empty zone, i.e. a seat 102.

The seat 102 has such sizes as to house a protrusion 200 of the male end 20.

Through holes, respectively female 3', 3" and male 3"', are made on both arms 100 and 101 and on the protrusion 200. When the male and female ends are mutually engaged, the through holes are aligned to define a single through hole 3 for the insertion of a connection pin 4. The pin 4 defines a mutual axis of rotation X between the female portion 1 and the male one 2.

According to an aspect of the invention, the pin 4 comprises terminal ends 40. The terminal ends have such diameter as to penetrate the through hole 3. The terminal ends 40 delimit an elastic central zone 41 of the pin which has an increased diameter with respect to the terminal ends such as to penetrate the through hole 3 with forcing action; therefore, the central elastic zone 41 is such as to cause an elastic thrust action towards the walls of the hole 3 in response to such insertion with force. Such elastic response therefore faces a direction Y that is radial and perpendicular to the axis X. In essence, the central zone 41 of the pin may pass - under a thrust action - from a non-forced position in which it has an increased diameter, to a forced position in which it is flattened towards the central core of the pin.

The term pin in the present description is therefore meant as any element having mainly linear extension with at least one zone or portion 41, 41 ', 41" provided with elasticity, i.e. capable of elastically responding to a forcing action.

In greater detail, a notch 410 directed according to the axis X is made at the central zone 41 of the pin 4. The notch preferably has length substantially equal to the one of the central zone 41. Such notch may pass through the whole diameter of the pin, as in the example illustrated, or might not be a through notch, affecting substantially only its outer periphery.

The pin is made with material with a given elasticity. For example, materials may be used such as heat-treated white gold, steel or other suitable materials.

With reference now to Figure 3, it explains the operation of the pin 4. Each of the terminal ends 40 has such diameter as to enter the through hole 3 for inserting the pin. The latter may therefore be easily inserted into the hole 3. The central zone 41, having increased diameter, is instead radially pressed by the insertion into the hole 3. It is obvious that the pin might not have a perfectly circular cross section (on the plane YY); it could have an ovoid or ellipsoidal cross section. Therefore, the term diameter is not intended to be limited to the circular cross section alone, and in general means a dimensional value on the pin XY that identifies the maximum extension of such section with respect to the one of the cross section of the pin in a terminal end zone.

In a variant embodiment, such an increased zone 41 affects at least the male portion of the hole 3"'. In an embodiment, such length is such as to affect the hole 3 straddling the male and female ends. Such increased zone 41 has such length as to at least partially extend straddling between the protrusion 200 and each of the arms 100, 101 and exerts a contrary thrust action aiming to return to its original non-forced position. Such thrust action exerts a forcing action between protrusion 200 of the male element and arms 100, 101 of the female element, a forcing action that translates into a rotation between male and female element that is not free, rather is forced. In particular, the rotation between male and female element is to be accompanied by an action of force of the user such as to overcome the forcing action exerted by the pin 4, otherwise the rotation stops. Therefore, male and female element keep their position in any opening point the movement is interrupted.

In a variant embodiment, the terminal ends 40 may be integral with the respective arms 100, 101 ; in such solution, the terminal ends 40 of the pin are therefore fastened to the arms 100, 101, i.e. not rotating with respect to them and accordingly in the portions of hole 3', 3". By way of non-limiting example, the ends 40 may be welded to the arms 100, 101 once the pin is inserted into the hole 3. Alternatively, the terminal ends 40 may have a shape that is complementary to the female portions of hole 3', 3"; for example, the terminal ends 40 and the female portions of hole may have a different shape than the cylindrical one to create an engagement that prevents the mutual rotation thereof.

Thanks to this configuration (i.e. the prevention of the female element from rotating with respect to the pin) and to the forcing action exerted by the pin at the at least one male element of the closure, the male element is opposed to freely rotate with respect to the female element, and accordingly the male and female element keep their mutual position in any opening point in which the movement is interrupted.

With reference now to Figures 1 to 4, the pin 4 comprises two truncated portions 4a, 4b, each of which having semi-circular cross section (according to a plane XY). Therefore, each truncated portion comprises a flat face 40a, 40b. The pin is formed by associating the two truncated portions so that the respective flat faces 42a, 42b face each other. Moreover, each truncated portion is curve-shaped, i.e. bends in the form of an arc in a central section 41a, 41b. Therefore, some sections in the mutual association between the two truncated portions - the terminal ones 40a, 40b - are in mutual contact (in such end sections, the two truncated portions are associated by gluing or welding, for example), while the curved section 41a, 41b defines a separation zone between the two truncated portions. Such separation zone defines the aforesaid notch 410.

The pin may have a slightly shorter length than the overall length of the hole 3 to allow a material to be applied to close the hole, for the sake of appearance. Such material may also be the welding one if the ends of the pin are welded to the portions of the female element.

In a variant of this first embodiment, the increased zone of the pin 41 may have a different configuration. For example, it may be made with an insert of another material with respect to the terminal ends 40, material with an intrinsic elasticity.

A second embodiment of the invention is considered now with the aid of Figures 5 to 7. In such solution, illustrated in Figure 5, the pin 4' has equal diameter for its whole length. The zone 4T, 41" capable of elastically responding corresponds to the whole length of the pin.

In such second embodiment, the forcing action is given by the insertion, into a hole 3"', of the male protrusion 200 which is smaller with respect to the diameter of the pin and also with respect to the holes 3', 3" of the two arms 100, 101 of the female end. It follows that in the insertion, the pin penetrates the female holes 3', 3" with slight forcing action or without forcing action, while it is forced into the male hole 3"', which therefore exerts a pressure at a central section of the pin, towards the axis of the pin, i.e. a pinching, at which the pin 4' acts with an elastic response in contrary direction.

In a preferred embodiment, the pin 4' is made in a cylindrical, tubular shape with a longitudinal notch 410' directed according to the axis X that crosses a periphery wall of it (Figure 6). Otherwise, the pin 4" cold be cylindrical, tubular, spiral-shaped around the axis X (Figure 7).

The solution of making the terminal ends of the pin integral with the arms 100, 101 of the female element so as to prevent the rotation between pin and female element itself, is also applicable with these pin variants. For example, Figure 5 shows a solution in which the ends of the pin are welded to the portions of female hole.

The solution proposed has various advantages. In particular, thanks to the hinging system described, the ornamental product opens or closes with a slightly forced movement, therefore soft and comfortable for the user. Moreover, in the absence of forcing action, the ornamental product remains in the desired position, without it suddenly closing or opening in a snapping manner. It has also been tested that due to its elasticity, the pin 4, 4', 4" ensures a correct operation of the hinging for countless opening/closure cycles. Therefore, the perfect functionality of the product is ensured for a long time.

The pin 4, 4', 4" also is easy to insert and overall the ornamental product has a standard assembly configuration, therefore while completely meeting the needs and solving the problems of the state of the art, such a hinging solution does not involve structural or assembly complication of the product.

The present invention has been described hereto with reference to preferred embodiments thereof. It should be understood that there may be other embodiments that pertain to the same inventive core, all within the scope of protection of the following claims.