Necklaces and bracelets with keepers

Abstract

This invention is a necklace or bracelet with provisions to prevent the bunching of baubles, bangles and beads which are strung on the necklace or bracelet. Bunching is prevented by keepers which are removably attached to bands fixed at intervals on the strands of the necklaces or bracelets. Two types of keepers are disclosed, one of which has internal threads which interact with a threaded bands, and one which uses a clamshell structure to secure the keeper on a band. The keepers may have a variety of shapes for decorative effects, such as cylindrical, spherical, cubical, or pyramid-shaped.

1 . A necklace comprising: 
 a strand having two ends,    a hook component attached to each end of the strand, the hook components capable of interaction with reversible attachment of the ends together,    at least one band fixedly attached to the strand,    two or more beads,    each bead having a bore of diameter greater than the diameter of the band and greater than the diameter of the hook component attached to one end of the strand, thereby allowing the stringing of the bead on the strand, and    at least one keeper having a bore and an outside diameter greater than the bore of the bead, the keeper capable of interacting with the band with reversible attachment of the band and keeper, thereby restricting the movement of the bead on the strand.    
   
   
       2 . The necklace of  claim 1  wherein the bore of the keeper is threaded on its surface and the band is threaded on its external surface, the threaded surfaces of the keeper and band capable of interaction, thereby reversibly fixing the threaded keeper on the strand.  
   
   
       3 . The necklace of  claim 1  wherein the keeper comprises two hollow sections hinged together, each section having two walls, each wall having a notch, each notch of depth approximating one half the diameter of the strand, the sections and the band capable of interaction by the hinged keeper engulfing the band, thereby reversibly fixing the hinged keeper on the strand.  
   
   
       4 . The necklace of  claim 3  wherein the sections are reversibly secured in a closed position by a latch attached to one section.  
   
   
       5 . The necklace of  claim 1  further comprising at least one threaded keeper and at least one hinged keeper.  
   
   
       6 . The necklace of  claim 5  wherein the threaded keeper and the hinged keeper further comprise decorative elements.  
   
   
       7 . The necklace of  claim 6  wherein the decorative element of the threaded keeper differs from the decorative element of the hinged keeper.  
   
   
       8 . The necklace of  claim 2  wherein the threaded keeper has a three-dimensional geometric shape.  
   
   
       9 . The necklace of  claim 3  wherein the hinged keeper has a three-dimensional geometric shape.  
   
   
       10 . The necklace of  claim 2  wherein the threaded keeper has a cylindrical, spherical, cubic, or pyramid shape.  
   
   
       11 . The necklace of  claim 3  wherein the threaded keeper has a cylindrical, spherical, cubic, or pyramid shape.  
   
   
       12 . The process of reversibly restricting the movement of beads on a strand, wherein the beads have bores and are strung on a strand by their bores, and a band having an external diameter less than the diameter of the bead bores is fixed on the strand, comprising the step: 
 a attaching to the band a keeper having an external diameter greater than the bead bores.    
   
   
       13 . The process of  claim 12  wherein the band has an external thread and the keeper has a threaded bore, the keeper attached to the band by the steps comprising: 
 a. threading the keeper onto the strand,    b. bringing the keeper and the band into contact, and    c. rotating the keeper, thereby engaging the band and keeper threads and attaching the keeper to the band.    
   
   
       14 . The process of  claim 12  wherein the keeper has two hollow sections hinged together comprising the step: 
 a. positioning the hinged keeper over a band, and    b. closing the hinged keeper over the band, thereby attaching the keeper to the band.