Extendable jewelry clasp

Abstract

A jewelry system comprising a necklace and a clasp. The clasp includes a housing having a bottom including a hole disposed in a side of the bottom and a centered anchor post comprising a groove disposed perpendicular to the hole. The clasp also includes an actuator comprising an actuator housing having a housing anchor, an opening, and a connector interface, and a spring comprising a first spring anchor and a second spring anchor, wherein the spring is received in the actuator housing by coupling the second spring anchor with the housing anchor. The actuator housing is received in the bottom such that the anchor post is inserted into the opening and the groove receives the first spring anchor of the spring. The clasp includes a cord having a first end coupled with the connector interface and a second end to be pulled away from the clasp.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A clasp configured to couple to a necklace at both a first end and a second end of the necklace, the clasp comprising:
 a housing having an anchor post comprising a groove;   an actuator comprising:
 an actuator housing comprising a housing anchor, an opening, and a connector interface, wherein the housing anchor includes a flange and an aperture extending through the flange; and 
 a spring comprising a first spring anchor and a second spring anchor, wherein the second spring anchor extends through the aperture to engage the flange thereby coupling the second spring anchor with the housing anchor, and 
 wherein the actuator housing is received in the housing such that the anchor post is inserted into the opening of the actuator housing and the groove of the anchor post receives the first spring anchor of the spring; and 
   a cord having a first end coupled with the connector interface of the actuator housing and a second end configured to be pulled away from the clasp;   wherein when a force is applied to the cord, the cord is configured to be pulled away from the clasp causing the actuator housing to rotate relative to the housing, and the clasp is configured to transition from a first configuration to a second configuration, wherein the necklace and the clasp have a first circumference when in the first configuration, and wherein the necklace and the clasp have a second circumference when in the second configuration that is greater than the first circumference.   
     
     
         2 . The clasp of  claim 1 , wherein the flange extends from an exterior portion of the actuator housing toward a central portion of the actuator housing. 
     
     
         3 . The clasp of  claim 1 , wherein the flange extends from an exterior circumferential boundary of the actuator housing toward the opening. 
     
     
         4 . The clasp of  claim 1 , wherein the connector interface extends about an exterior of the actuator housing. 
     
     
         5 . The clasp of  claim 4 , wherein the connector interface is configured to engage the cord to wind the cord about the actuator housing when the clasp is in the first configuration. 
     
     
         6 . The clasp of  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a hole disposed at a bottom portion of the housing. 
     
     
         7 . The clasp of  claim 1 , wherein the first spring anchor includes a flat interface to be received by a flat interface of the groove of the anchor post. 
     
     
         8 . The clasp of  claim 1 , wherein in an expanded configuration the spring is configured to apply a biasing force to the actuator housing to hold the actuator housing stationary relative to the housing. 
     
     
         9 . The clasp of  claim 8 , wherein when the force is applied to the necklace the spring is configured to bias to a compressed configuration, and wherein in the compressed configuration the spring is configured to limit a rotational movement of the actuator housing relative to the housing. 
     
     
         10 . A clasp comprising:
 a housing having an anchor post comprising a groove;   an actuator comprising:
 an actuator housing comprising a housing anchor and an opening, wherein the housing anchor includes an aperture; and 
 a spring comprising a first spring anchor and a second spring anchor, wherein the second spring anchor extends through the aperture to engage the housing anchor thereby coupling the second spring anchor with the housing anchor, and 
 wherein the actuator housing is received in the housing such that the anchor post is inserted into the opening of the actuator housing and the groove of the anchor post receives the first spring anchor of the spring; and 
   a cord having a first end coupled with the actuator housing and a second end configured to be pulled away from the clasp;   wherein when a force is applied to the cord the clasp is configured to transition from a first configuration to a second configuration, wherein the cord and the clasp have a first length when in the first configuration, and wherein the cord and the clasp have a second length when in the second configuration that is greater than the first length.   
     
     
         11 . The clasp of  claim 10 , wherein the flange extends from an exterior portion of the actuator housing toward a central portion of the actuator housing. 
     
     
         12 . The clasp of  claim 10 , wherein the flange extends from an exterior circumferential boundary of the actuator housing toward the opening. 
     
     
         13 . The clasp of  claim 10 , wherein the actuator housing comprises a connector interface that extends about an exterior of the actuator housing, wherein the cord is coupled with the connector interface. 
     
     
         14 . The clasp of  claim 13 , wherein the connector interface is configured to engage the cord to wind the cord about the actuator housing when the clasp is in the first configuration. 
     
     
         15 . The clasp of  claim 10 , wherein the housing comprises a hole disposed at a bottom portion of the housing. 
     
     
         16 . The clasp of  claim 10 , wherein the first spring anchor includes a flat interface to be received by a flat interface of the groove of the anchor post. 
     
     
         17 . The clasp of  claim 10 , wherein in an expanded configuration the spring is configured to apply a biasing force to the actuator housing to hold the actuator housing stationary relative to the housing. 
     
     
         18 . The clasp of  claim 17 , wherein when the force is applied to the cord the spring is configured to bias to a compressed configuration, and wherein in the compressed configuration the spring is configured to limit a rotational movement of the actuator housing relative to the housing. 
     
     
         19 . A clasp comprising:
 a housing;   an actuator comprising:
 an actuator housing comprising a housing anchor, an opening, and a connector interface, wherein the housing anchor includes a flange; and 
 a spring comprising a first spring anchor and a second spring anchor, wherein the second spring anchor extends to and engages the flange thereby coupling the second spring anchor with the housing anchor, and 
 wherein the actuator housing is received in the housing; and 
   a cord having a first end coupled with the connector interface of the actuator housing and a second end configured to be pulled away from the clasp;   wherein when a force is applied to the cord, the cord is configured to be pulled away from the clasp causing the actuator housing to rotate relative to the housing and increasing a length of the cord and the clasp.   
     
     
         20 . The clasp of  claim 19 , wherein the clasp is configured to couple to a necklace at both a first end and a second end of the necklace, and when the cord is pulled away from the clasp, a circumference of the necklace, clasp, and cord increases.