Patent Application
20220050423
The invention relates to a device for fastening a back on a middle of a watch.
The invention also relates to a timepiece, in particular a watch, including such a device.
The external parts of watches and similar apparatuses obey many constraints, in particular water resistance, robustness, appearance, and must be produced in such a way as to prevent any involuntary dismounting resulting irreparably in an after-sales intervention for exchange of seals, cleaning, lubrication, even repair.
Some external or control components must, again, be angularly indexed relative to each other, for markings of the original, rest or actuation reference position, or to facilitate the reading of indications or graduations, or to ensure the continuity of left and/or decoration surfaces. This angular indexing is often difficult to achieve properly, in combination with a good tightening of the components and with a perfect water resistance of the seals.
Use of an elastic closing element, independent of the members to be assembled, is known as in document CH 423 637 or in patent CH 447 046.
The drawback of the elastic elements proposed in these documents lies essentially in their space requirement. It is also known from document CH 512 769 to use pads made of compressible materials surrounded by crown segments which cooperate with millings made at the corners of a square or rectangular case. Such a device can only be used on cases of shape and elasticity given by a compressible material of elastomer type which is liable to change significantly during the ageing of the material.
The invention proposes to achieve a water resistant and secure assembly of external components with easy-to-adjust angular indexing.
To this end, the invention relates to a device for fastening a back on a middle according to claim 1.
The invention also relates to a timepiece including such a fastening device.
Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge more clearly upon reading the following description of a particular embodiment of the invention, given by way of simple illustrative and non-limiting example, and the appended figures, among which:
The invention proposes to achieve a water resistant and secure assembly of external components with angular indexing which is easy to be adjusted, and in a guaranteed position, with a minimum number of components, and reduced manufacturing costs.
The invention relates to a device 100 for fastening a back 2 on a middle 1 of a watch, the back 2 comprising a cover 20 arranged to form a bearing surface with the middle 1 and a body 21 arranged to rest in the middle, said device comprising a ring 4 disposed between the back 2 and the middle 1, said ring 4 being arranged to ensure the water resistance and indexing of the back. The ring 4 comprises an upper part 40 ensuring the water resistance and a median part 41 comprising positioning means 3 to ensure the indexing of the back 2 relative to the middle 1.
As can be seen in
Advantageously, the positioning means 3 comprise at least one lug 43 formed on the median part 41 of the ring 4 and arranged to rest in a housing 11 of the middle 1, the lug 43 being formed on the external wall and extending over all or part of the height of the median part 41 of the ring 4. Thus, the ring 4 cannot be moved in rotation when a torque is imparted to the back, for example.
The ring 4 also comprises a lug 46 arranged to cooperate with a machining 22 formed in the back 2. Such an arrangement allows the correct positioning, or the correct indexing, of the back 2 relative to the middle 1, which is particularly useful when the back 2 has a decoration and that it must be perfectly aligned along the 12 h-6 h axis of the watch According to a variant of the invention illustrated in
With this in mind, the ring 4 is made of a polymer material such as Asutane® or Hytrel®. Obviously, any other material accepting to be elastically deformed, and sufficiently strong, can be used to produce the ring 4. The external 44 and internal 45 ribs thus allow to obtain good resistance to driving out once the back 2 has been mounted, force-fitted or driven, on the middle 1.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ring 4 comprises at least two internal ribs 45 and at least two external ribs 44, the ribs being angularly spaced from each other by 60° to 90°. The internal ribs 45 and the external ribs 44 are intended to be offset relative to each other, that is to say that an external rib will not be positioned facing an internal rib, and thus provide better retention.
The back 2 and the ring 4 are dimensioned such that, when they are forced into the middle 1, the back 2 radially presses the ring 4 against said middle 28, which has the effect of compressing said elastic element 4 between the wall of the middle and the back. The ring 4 includes in particular ribs which extend over all or part of its height and which, in reaction to the compressive force, will deform and guarantee good retention of the assembly. A compression ratio of the ring 4 of the order of 20% is preferred to provide good retention. Such a ratio causes an increase in the frictional forces between the back 2 and the ring 4 on the one hand, and between the ring 4 and the middle 1 on the other hand, and therefore determines the torques involved for placing the back 2 on the watch.
The invention also relates to a timepiece or watch 1000 including such a fastening device 100.
In short, the invention provides a fastening device whose design is compact, maintains the water resistance of the watch, and protects against accidental dismounting.
The invention also allows to ensure the perfect orientation of a component kept blocked in its service position.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20191393.6 | Aug 2020 | EP | regional |
