1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices and apparatus used in conjunction with piercing ears, more particularly to a universal cartridge for holding a pierced earring in a form that may be used in a number of earring stud guns and/or makes existing stud guns more effective and efficient in operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
The piercing of ears for jewelry purposes was once a minor operation. However, the procedure is now more casual. Yet, it remains important to pierce ears in a sterile, controlled, and reliable manner. A number of devices such as stud guns have allowed the health-conscious seller of earrings and the like to perform the ear piercing process under sanitary conditions.
Generally, a pierced earring (having a pierced earring stud with a projecting pin and a nut or clasp that engages the end of the pin) is driven in a quick, forceful, but precise manner through the ear so as not to inflict injury upon the ear tissue or other tissue being pierced. The marketplace currently encompasses a number of devices providing quick, sanitary, and simple means by which ears may be pierced with pierced earring studs. A common configuration has a stud gun that serves as the alignment and driving means by which the pierced earring is inserted into the ear. Individual and self-contained cartridges provide a chassis and cover that hold a pierced earring under sterile conditions until ready for use. The chassis may have a nut-supporting portion that holds nuts in alignment with the earring post or stud with a carriage of one kind of another carrying the earring stud and allowing it to be inserted through the ear and onto the nut.
Increasingly, with the variety of stud guns available on the marketplace, it becomes a difficult and restrictive factor to have pierced earring cartridges dedicated to only one type of gun. It forces the proprietor to carry a large number of stud guns in order to accommodate the desires or fancies of the customer with respect to earrings and the piercing of ears with respect thereto. It is more advantageous if a universal pierced earring cartridge is available that fits a number of stud guns so that a greater variety and number of pierced earrings can be used in conjunction with the ear piercing process. Thus, a universal system and technique for piercing ears is now available that is ideally suited for safe and effective ear piercing when used with the disclosed stud gun and even enhances the operation of other, prior art conventional stud guns.
Not only does the universal cartridge of this invention attain economic values not heretofore available, because of decreased inventory and the like, but it also contributes to the health and safety of both ear piercer and the person having their ears pierced.
That is to say, some prior art stud guns do not have the combined ability to safely and accurately position and place a stud in the ear. The stud gun with associated universal cartridge of the invention allows the operator of the stud gun to see, because of the transparency of the cartridge, exactly what is being positioned in the stud gun. Additionally, the universal cartridge allows for safely and accurately associating stud and nut or clasp and there is no need to reposition the stud and nut or clasp after the initial piercing procedure. Many times the prior art cartridges are opaque and also require manual positioning of the stud and partially associated nut or clasp, before or after nut association during the piercing or post-piercing process, requiring, if sanitary conditions are to be observed, repositioning of stud and nut or clasp with a gloved hand.