Integrated disposable ear piercing earring and clutch cartridge and ear piercing instrument for use therewith

Abstract

An ear piercing assembly includes a disposable cartridge assembly including a first and second ear piercing earring and an ear piercing earring retaining sub-assembly for releaseably supporting the ear piercing earring therein. A clutch retaining sub-assembly is integrally formed with the ear piercing earring retaining sub-assembly and releaseably supports a first and second clutch therein. An ear piercing instrument is adapted to receive the cartridge assembly and includes a plunger assembly for ejecting an ear piercing earring from the ear piercing earring retaining sub-assembly and is displaceable for selectively moving between a first position for ejecting the first ear piercing earring from the ear piercing earring retaining sub-assembly and a second position for ejecting the second ear piercing earring from the ear piercing earring retaining sub-assembly.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention is directed to a disposable earlobe piercing earring and clutch cartridge and instrument for use therewith and in particular, to an earlobe piercing assembly for facilitating earlobe piercing and maintaining the piercing earring sterile during handling, storage and piercing.The most recent prior art ear piercing systems are of two types, namely cartridge housed earrings and open earrings. Both types operate by inserting a pointed earring or stud through the earlobe. This earring remains in place four to six weeks until the hole produced is healed.The cartridge housed earring systems utilize either a cartridge housing a single piercing earring and clasp, requiring two cartridges per pair of earrings; a separate cartridge for each earring and clasp requiring four cartridges per pair of earrings; or no cartridge, but instead earrings and clasps which are unprotected and inserted into the piercing instrument from a carrier block. In all cases ex...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

A further object of the invention is to provide an ear piercing earring cartridge which increases ear piercing aiming accuracy.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved ear piercing earring cartridge utilizing a sliding bullet, the bullet being formed in a clam shell co

Problems solved by technology

In all cases excessive handling with a high potential for earrings coming in contact with the fingers of the ear piercing instrument operator result, increasing the chance of cross contamination between successive ear piercing patients and the ear piercing instrument operator.

Furthermore, these systems do not protect the instrument itself from contamination due to human contact or back splashing of blood or fluids during piercing.

The earring clasps or clutches are housed in a separate cartridge and are not totally encapsulated, but make direct contact with the operator difficult.

However, they suffer from the disadvantage that the disposable cartridges which prevent contact between each person and the instrument do not fully cover the piercing area of the instrument itself which is proximate to the earlobe allowing potential for contamination from blood back splash or the like.

Additionally, because the cartridge must be inverted or slid by hand by the ear piercing instrument operator, the cartridges are still excessively handled exposing the cartridges to contamination from the operator as well as the susceptibility of being dropped.

This is particularly significant when handling the clutch cartridge in which the clutches are exposed to some extent and may even be touched during handling.

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