Clasps for joining jewelry elements together in a string

Abstract

Various jewelry pieces may be assembled by selectively coupling together jewelry elements of varying ornamental design using clasps that are easily manipulated without the need for tools and which are generally hidden from view when the jewelry piece is worn.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A jewelry element comprising:
 a housing having an inner chamber defined by a top wall, a bottom wall, and a sidewall having a first end section surrounding a first exterior opening extending through the sidewall to the inner chamber;   a spring element comprising a curved head section and a pair of legs extending from the curved head section, each of said legs terminating in an outwardly extending foot, wherein the head section biases the legs and feet toward a spaced apart configuration;   a pair of spring retention members positioned within the inner chamber and adapted to engage and retain the spring element so that the curved head of the spring element is within the chamber, the legs extend through the exterior opening and the feet reside outside of the housing; and   at least one foot receiving member.   
     
     
         2 . The jewelry element of  claim 1  wherein said pair of spring retention members comprise a pair of stops separated by a space adapted to receive the curved head section of the first spring element. 
     
     
         3 . The jewelry element of  claim 2  wherein the curved head section of the spring element has a concave side and a convex side, and wherein one of the stops has a concave portion for engaging the convex side of the head section of the spring element and the other of the stops has a convex portion for engaging the concave side. 
     
     
         4 . The jewelry element of  claim 1  wherein a first of said pair of retention members is a stop having a concave portion, and the second of said pair of retention members comprises a spring having at least one end adapted to reside in the chamber and bias the curved head portion of the spring element toward the concave portion of the stop. 
     
     
         5 . The jewelry element of  claim 4  wherein the spring is and elongate coil spring coiled around the curved head section and the legs of the spring element and the having a pair of ends engaging the first end section surrounding the exterior opening extending through sidewall. 
     
     
         6 . The jewelry element of  claim 1  wherein the at least one foot receiving member is a second exterior opening in the sidewall. 
     
     
         7 . The jewelry element of  claim 1  wherein the at least one foot receiving member comprises a pair of hollow tubes coupled to the housing each having foot receiving open and wherein the foot receiving openings of the tubes face each other. 
     
     
         8 . The jewelry element of  claim 1  further comprising a charm attached to the housing. 
     
     
         9 . A jewelry piece comprising a plurality of jewelry elements, each of said jewelry elements comprising:
 a housing having an inner chamber defined by a top wall, a bottom wall, and a sidewall having a first end section surrounding a first exterior opening extending through the sidewall to the inner chamber;   a spring element comprising a curved head section and a pair of legs extending from the curved head section, each of said legs terminating in an outwardly extending foot, wherein the head section biases the legs and feet toward a spaced apart configuration;   a pair of spring retention members positioned within the inner chamber and adapted to engage and retain the spring element so that the curved head of the spring element is within the chamber, the legs extend through the exterior opening, and the feet reside outside of the housing; and   at least one foot receiving member;   wherein the jewelry elements are adapted to be joined together by coupling the feet of a first of said plurality of jewelry elements with the at least one foot receiving member of a second of said plurality of jewelry elements.   
     
     
         10 . The jewelry piece of  claim 9  wherein said pair of spring retention members of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements comprise a pair of stops separated by a space adapted to receive the curved head section of the first spring element. 
     
     
         11 . The jewelry piece of  claim 10  wherein the curved head section of the spring element of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements has a concave side and a convex side, and wherein one of the stops has a concave portion for engaging the convex side of the head section of the spring element and the other of the stops has a convex portion for engaging the concave side. 
     
     
         12 . The jewelry piece of  claim 9  wherein a first of said pair of retention members of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements is a stop having a concave portion, and the second of said pair of retention members comprises a spring having at least one end adapted to reside in the chamber and bias the curved head portion of the spring element toward the concave portion of the stop. 
     
     
         13 . The jewelry piece of  claim 12  wherein the spring of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements is an elongate coil spring coiled around the curved head section and the legs of the spring element and the having a pair of ends engaging the first end section surrounding the exterior opening extending through sidewall. 
     
     
         14 . The jewelry piece of  claim 9  wherein the at least one foot receiving member of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements is a second exterior opening extending through the sidewall. 
     
     
         15 . The jewelry piece of  claim 9  wherein the at least one foot receiving member of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements comprises a pair of hollow tubes coupled to the housing, each of said hollow tubes having a foot receiving openings and wherein the foot receiving openings of the tubes face each other. 
     
     
         16 . The jewelry piece of  claim 9  further comprising a charm attached to the housing of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements. 
     
     
         17 . A jewelry piece comprising a plurality of jewelry elements, each of said jewelry elements comprising:
 a housing having an inner chamber defined by a top wall, a bottom wall, and a sidewall having a first end section surrounding a first exterior opening extending through the sidewall to the inner chamber;   a spring element comprising a curved head section having a concave side and a convex side, and a pair of legs extending from the curved head section each terminating in an outwardly extending foot, wherein the head section biases the legs and feet toward a spaced apart configuration; and   a pair of spring retention members positioned within the inner chamber and adapted to engage and retain the spring element so that the curved head of the spring element is within the chamber, the legs extend through the exterior opening and the feet reside outside of the housing, wherein a first of said pair of retention members comprises a stop that has a concave portion, and wherein a second of said pair of spring retention members is adapted to bias the curved head of the spring element toward the concave portion of the stop and comprises an elongate coil spring coiled around the curved head section and the legs of the spring element and having a pair of ends engaging the first end section surrounding the exterior opening extending through sidewall; and   at least one foot receiving member;   wherein the jewelry elements are adapted to be joined together by coupling the feet of a first of said plurality of jewelry elements with the at least one foot receiving member of a second of said plurality of jewelry elements.   
     
     
         18 . The jewelry piece of  claim 17  wherein the at least one foot receiving member of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements is a second exterior opening extending through the sidewall. 
     
     
         19 . The jewelry piece of  claim 17  wherein the at least one foot receiving member of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements comprises a pair of hollow tubes coupled to the housing, each of the hollow tubes having a foot receiving open and wherein the foot receiving openings of the tubes face each other. 
     
     
         20 . The jewelry piece of  claim 17  further comprising a charm attached to the housing of at least one of the plurality of jewelry elements.