Closure for article, in particular for jewelry

Abstract

A jewelry item has a ring part pivotally attached to a closure at one end, the closure comprising a ring continuation arm pivotally attached to the ring part, and a bias arm which in turn has a spring part and a lever pivotally attached to each other, the bias arm being rigidly attached to the ring part, so that as the ring part is opened, the lever rotates inwardly, pulling the pivoted end of the spring part, the spring part having a natural shape of smaller circumference than the ring itself so that once a certain extent is reached, the spring part pulls the lever to allow the spring part to attain its smaller diameter and thus establishes a stable open position. On closure of the ring part, the lever pushes the spring part outwardly towards the ring continuation arm to establish a second stable position to close the earring.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A jewelry item, the jewelry item having a ring part pivotally attached to a closure at one end, the closure spanning the continuity of the ring from an end of the ring part and comprising a ring continuation arm extending in continuity of the ring and pivotally attached to an end of the ring part at a pivoted connection, the closure further comprising a bias arm extending along with the ring continuation arm along said ring continuity, the bias arm comprising a spring part and a lever part pivotally attached to each other, a connection between said lever part and the ring part being rigid, so that as the ring part is opened, said lever part is configured to rotate inwardly towards an interior of said item, pulling the pivoted end of said spring part, the spring part having a natural shape of smaller circumference than said ring part so that once a certain extent is reached, the spring part pulls the lever part towards the spring part in order to allow the spring part to attain its smaller diameter and thus establish a stable open position, the lever further on closure of the ring part, being configured to push the spring part outwardly towards the ring continuation arm to establish a second stable position to close the earring. 
     
     
         2 . The jewelry item of  claim 1 , wherein said lever part is relatively shorter than said spring part. 
     
     
         3 . The jewelry item of  claim 1 , wherein the jewelry item comprises an earring, the earring comprising a pin for insertion into an ear, and the closure being for closing the pin against said ring part, a first end of said closure being on the ring and the second end being a free end, the closed position being a position in which the closure abuts against the pin to close the earring and the open position being a position in which the closure is spaced away from the pin to open the earring. 
     
     
         4 . The jewelry item of  claim 1 , wherein the jewelry item comprises a ring or a bracelet, the ring comprising a band and the closure being incorporated into the band, the closed position being a position in which the closure closes the band to a uniform ring circumference and the open position being a position in which the band is opened beyond said circumference. 
     
     
         5 . The jewelry item of  claim 1 , wherein said spring part extends inwardly of a circumference of said ring continuity when said closure is opened. 
     
     
         6 . The jewelry item of  claim 5 , wherein said spring part remains within said outer circumference when said closure is opened. 
     
     
         7 . The jewelry item of  claim 2 , wherein said spring part is approximately four times as long as said lever part. 
     
     
         8 . The jewelry item of  claim 7 , wherein said bias arm is continuous with a ring structure of said jewelry item. 
     
     
         9 . The jewelry item of  claim 2 , being a huggie style earring. 
     
     
         10 . A jewelry item comprising a ring part and a closure, the closure being continuous with the ring part and connecting to said ring part at a first end, the closure comprising a continuation of said ring part and a spring arm pivoted to said continuation at a first location thereon and further pivoted to said ring part at a second location, said continuation having a pivoted hinge located at said first end, said first end being between said first location and said second location, thereby providing said closure with a first open stable position and a second closed stable position and a snapping motion between said first and second stable positions. 
     
     
         11 . The jewelry item of  claim 10 , wherein said connecting between said ring part and said continuation is via a pivot. 
     
     
         12 . The jewelry item of  claim 10 , wherein said connecting between said ring part and said continuation is continuous. 
     
     
         13 . The jewelry item of  claim 10 , wherein said first end is closer to said first location than to said second location. 
     
     
         14 . The jewelry item of  claim 10 , wherein the jewelry item comprises an earring, the earring comprising a setting and a pin, and the closure for closing over the pin, the first end being on the setting and the second end being a free end of the pin, the first position being a position in which the closure connects to the pin to close the earring and the second position being a position in which the closure is spaced away from the pin to open the earring, or wherein the jewelry item comprises a ring or a bracelet, the ring comprising a band and the closure being incorporated into the band, the first and second ends being on the band, the first position being a position in which the closure connects the band to close the ring and the second position being a position in which the closure opens the band. 
     
     
         15 . The jewelry item of  claim 10 , wherein said leaf spring sits within an outer circumference of said item when said closure is closed, and said leaf spring extends outwardly of said outer circumference when said closure is opened. 
     
     
         16 . The jewelry item of  claim 10 , being a huggie style earring. 
     
     
         17 . A method of manufacturing a closure for a jewelry item, comprising:
 providing a ring part;   constructing a closure by providing a segment within said ring part, said segment being attached at one end to said ring part, a second end being free to open and close;   providing a leaf spring, said leaf spring being attached at one end to said ring part and at a second end to a first pivot on said segment;   providing an intermediate pivoted joint within said segment between said attached end and said first pivot; thereby configuring the closure to flip between two stable positions.