Personal ornaments

Abstract

Provided is a jewelry piece that includes an ornament attachment member that is retained at a prescribed position in the longitudinal direction of an elongated body of the jewelry piece. The jewelry piece includes the elongated body that includes a tube formed by a flexible material, multiple magnet pieces that are inserted into the inside of the tube over the entire length of the tube other than both end sections of the tube, and caps that close both ends of the tube, and the ornament attachment member that the elongated body passes through, and that is retained due to the magnetic attraction force exerted by a magnetic substance at a prescribed position in the longitudinal direction of the elongated body. The ornament attachment member is formed by a core body made of a magnetic material, through which the elongated body passes, and by an ornament that is integrally formed with the core body so as to surround the core body.

Claims

1. A jewelry piece comprising: an elongated body comprising a tube that is formed by a flexible material, multiple magnet pieces that are inserted into the tube's inside over its entire length other than both end sections of the tube, and caps that close both ends of the tube, the magnet piece being a ferrite magnet made from iron oxide and barium; and an ornament attachment member that the elongated body passes through, and that is retained due to a magnetic attraction force exerted by the magnet pieces at prescribed positions in the elongated body's longitudinal direction, wherein the ornament attachment member is formed by a core body made of a magnetic material, through which the elongated body passes, and by an ornament that is integrally formed with the core body so as to surround the core body; wherein the ornament attachment member is made by forming a magnetic material in a ring shape through which the elongated body passes; wherein each of the magnet pieces is formed so as to be rotatable inside the tube; wherein the tube comprises an inner tube into which the magnet pieces are inserted, and an outer tube that covers the inner tube; and wherein the caps are attached to the inner tube and the outer tube at the two ends of both of those tubes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the present invention showing a cross section of a jewelry piece in which an ornament attachment member is provided to an elongated body, and caps are attached to each end of the elongated body.

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the ornament attachment member of the present invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another example of the ornament attachment member of the present invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is an overall view of the jewelry piece of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT

(5) Referring to FIGS. 1-4, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. A jewelry piece 1 of the present invention includes (1) an elongated body 2 that includes a tube 3 that is formed by a flexible material, multiple magnet pieces 4 that are inserted into the inside of the tube 3 over the entire length of the tube 3 other than both end sections of the tube 3, and caps 8 that close both ends of the tube 3, and (2) an ornament attachment member 5 that the elongated body 2 passes through, and that is retained due to the magnetic attraction force exerted by a magnetic substance at a prescribed position in the longitudinal direction of the elongated body 2.

(6) FIG. 1 is a cross section of the jewelry piece 1 that includes the elongated body 2 and the caps 8, showing the configuration of the magnet pieces 4 inserted into the elongated body 2.

(7) The tube 3 is formed by an inner tube 3a into which the magnet pieces 4 are inserted and an outer tube 3b that covers the inner tube 3a. The caps 8 are provided at the both ends of the elongated body 2 so as to close the both ends of the inner tube 3a and the outer tube 3b. Each of the magnet pieces 4 is formed so as to be rotatable inside the tube 3.

(8) The ornament attachment member 5 is formed by a core body 9 made up of a magnetic material 6, through which the elongated body 2 passes, and an ornament 7 that is integrally formed with the core body 9 so as to surround the core body 9.

(9) In another embodiment, the ornament attachment member 5 is made by forming a magnetic material 6 in a ring shape through which the elongated body 2 passes.

(10) As shown in FIG. 1, from the one end closed by the cap 8, the magnet pieces 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e) are arranged in series inside the elongated body 2 of the jewelry piece 1. Each of the magnet pieces 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e) is formed in a cylindrical shape. The north pole (N) and the south pole (S) of each of the magnet pieces 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e) are arranged opposed with each other on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical magnet piece. The north poles and the south poles of the adjacent magnet pieces 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e) are arranged in alternate directions. Specifically, the north pole of the magnet piece 4a, which is disposed closest to the cap 8 at the one end among the magnet pieces 4, is arranged to be directed downward, and the south pole of the magnet piece 4a is directed upward. The north pole of the magnet piece 4b that is adjacent to the magnet piece 4a and that is the second from the cap 8 is arranged to be directed upward, and the south pole thereof is directed downward. Also, the north pole of the magnet piece 4c that is adjacent to the magnet piece 4b and that is the third from the cap 8 is arranged to be directed downward, and the south pole thereof is directed upward. Moreover, the north pole of the magnet piece 4d that is adjacent to the magnet piece 4c and that is the fourth from the cap 8 is arranged to be directed upward, and the south pole thereof is directed downward.

(11) Each of the adjacent magnet pieces 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e) is rotatable inside the tube.

(12) The cap 8 at one end is constituted by a disk-shaped cap that has the same diameter as the outer diameter of the tube 3, and a cylindrical insertion part that has the same diameter as the hole diameter of the inner tube 3a and that projects from the flat surface of the disk-shaped cap. The cylindrical insertion part of the cap at one end is inserted into the opening at the one end of the elongated body 2, so that the opening at the one end is closed by the cap 8. Similarly, the cap 8 at the other end is constituted by a disk-shaped cap that has the same diameter as the outer diameter of the tube 3, and a cylindrical insertion part that has the same diameter as the hole diameter of the inner tube 3a and that projects from the flat surface of the cap 8. The cylindrical insertion part of the cap at the other end is inserted into the opening at the other end of the elongated body 2, so that the opening at the other end is closed by the cap 8.

(13) Permanent magnets used for the magnet pieces 4 include ferrite magnets, samarium-cobalt magnets, and neodymium magnets.

(14) The raw materials of the permanent magnets include iron oxide, cobalt, and nickel. The elements that show ferromagnetism at room temperature by a single substance are limited to these three elements. Samarium and neodymium can be listed as raw materials for magnets, and they do not exhibit ferromagnetism by a single substance, but if they are used as a raw material to produce magnets, the resultant magnets exert strong magnetic force.

(15) Ferrite magnets are made from iron oxide by sintering. The ferrite magnets have the following features. The magnetic flux density is low, but the coercive force is high and demagnetization hardly occurs. The electric resistance is high and eddy current loss is low. They can be applied to devices that generate high frequencies. The hardness is relatively high, and cracking easily occurs. They are strong against chemicals and will not rust because of the properties as ceramics. The ferrite magnets are formed into various shapes by sintering because the original form is powder.

(16) To manufacture the ferrite magnets, the mixture of iron oxide and barium or strontium of a small amount is baked, and is pulverized into particles of about 1 m. The resultant powder is molded and sintered. Because the ferrite magnets use iron oxide as a main material, they are inexpensively made and chemically stable, whereby they are used for various purposes.

(17) Samarium cobalt magnets are made from samarium and cobalt. There are SmCo 2:17 series magnets and SmCo 1:5 series magnets, which are different in composition ratios. Because SmCo 1:5 series magnets contain a high proportion of expensive samarium, they have become less used since SmCo 2:17 series magnets have appeared. The samarium cobalt magnets are extremely resistant to demagnetization and have good temperature stability (usable up to 200 C.).

(18) Neodymium magnets are the most widely used type of rare-earth magnets, made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron. They have high magnetic flux density and exert strong magnetic force. Because they contain iron and are rusty, plating is usually applied to the surface thereof. Thermal demagnetization is relatively high, and shows about 0.12%/K. Their Curie temperature (the temperature above which the ferromagnetism disappears) is about 310 C. Because of the strong magnetic force exerted by them, they are applied to the drive of a hard disk and CD player, the vibration motor of a mobile phone, and a field magnet of a permanent magnet synchronous motor used for the drive of a train, hybrid car, and elevator.

(19) The ornament attachment member 5 made of a circular-shaped magnetic substance as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 can be attached to any position of the outer periphery of the elongated body of the jewelry piece 1. The ornament attachment member 5 is formed by a core body 9 made of a magnetic material 6, through which the elongated body 2 passes, and an ornament 7 that is integrally formed with the core body 9 so as to surround the core body 9. Because the inner periphery of the ornament attachment member 5 is made of a permanent magnet, the ornament attachment member 5 is strongly attached to the outer periphery of the elongated body of the jewelry piece 1 that is also made of a permanent magnet.

(20) In another embodiment of the ornament attachment member 5, a magnetic material 6 is formed in a ring shape as the ornament attachment member 5, through which the elongated body 2 is inserted, and to which an ornament 7 is attached.

(21) In the ornament attachment member 5 in FIG. 2, an ornament 7 is formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical core body 9.

(22) In the ornament attachment member 5 in FIG. 3, the magnetic material 6 formed in a ring shape is provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical elongated body 2. An ornament 7 can be attached to the ornament attachment member 5. This configuration allows for easy replacement of the ornament 7.

(23) Because the elongated body 2 of the present invention is made of a magnetic substance, just overlapping the both ends of the elongated body 2 enables those ends to be joined because of the magnetic force exerted by the elongated body 2, which eliminates the use of a clasp at one end of the elongated body 2, and enhances the easiness of wearing the jewelry piece 1 on a wearer's neck.

(24) Also, the magnetic force exerted by the both ends of the elongated body 2 is set to a level of strength that the joined ends can be separated without applying a strong force, and therefore the jewelry piece 1 worn around the neck can be easily removed.

(25) The jewelry piece 1 of the present invention allows the ornament attachment member 5 to be retained at any position in the longitudinal direction of the elongated body 2, and also makes the ornament 7 to be replaceable with other ornaments.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS

(26) 1 jewelry piece 2 elongated body 3 tube 3a inner tube 3b outer tube 4, 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e magnet piece 5 ornament attachment member 6 magnetic material 7 ornament 8 cap 9 core body