Patent Application
20230189943
The present invention relates to a portable object comprising a case and a bracelet connected to the case, intended to be worn on the user's wrist. The invention relates more particularly to a device for removably attaching the bracelet to the case of the portable object, allowing the bracelet to be assembled and removed without the use of tools.
The invention more particularly relates to a wristwatch comprising a watch case and a bracelet connected to said watch case, via a device for removably attaching the bracelet to the watch case.
The attachment devices used to attach a bracelet to a watch case are typically quite complex, in terms of the number of different parts required for assembly, the complexity of these parts and the difficulty in manufacturing them.
In particular, the ends of each strand of the bracelet and the watch case must be specially shaped and machined in order to fit together. Moreover, the assembly of these various elements is quite long and thus costly.
The usual attachment devices are based on the presence of two horns, or other projecting elements, provided on the perimeter of the middle of the watch case, and a cross bar inserted at the end of a bracelet strand, each end of the cross bar being inserted into a hole made in each horn.
This type of attachment for attaching a bracelet to a watch case requires a specific tool to be used for bracelet interchangeability. As a result, if the user wants to change his/her bracelet due to wear and tear or for aesthetic purposes, he/she must typically ask a professional to carry out this replacement. This takes time and is carried out at a certain cost.
From an industrial point of view, the horns or other elements projecting from the periphery of the middle prevent many operations from being automated during the manufacture of the watch case or during the finishing process. Some operations must thus be carried out manually to avoid damaging the horns or other projecting elements.
Attachment devices facilitating the interchangeability of bracelets are known. However, these attachment devices are typically complex to produce and require the use of spacers between the bracelet strand and the watch case in order to lock the bracelet, such as springs or blades, etc.
Moreover, attachment devices that offer simplified bracelet interchangeability require extensive modifications to the watch case and/or bracelet without facilitating the method for manufacturing these elements, thus resulting in additional costs during manufacture.
As a result, there is a need to improve devices for removably attaching a bracelet to a watch case, and more generally a bracelet to a portable object, in order to overcome at least one of the known limitations described hereinabove.
In this context, the purpose of the invention is to propose a device for removably attaching a bracelet to a case of a portable object that is simple in design, inexpensive, and that does not require any additional parts between the bracelet and the case of the portable object to ensure elastic coupling and locking. Thus, the invention offers a “one-piece” solution that does not require the use of additional parts in order to fit and lock the bracelet in position on the case.
The invention further aims to provide an attachment device that allows the bracelet to be assembled on and removed from the case without the use of tools. The user can thus easily change his/her bracelet in the event of wear and tear, or to change the aesthetics thereof, without contacting a professional.
The invention further aims to provide an attachment device that allows the parts to be manufactured easily, so that the bracelet and case can be fully automated by conventional means of producing and without requiring manual reworking of the attachment device.
The attachment device according to the invention provides a case whose middle is devoid of horns and of projecting elements for assembling the bracelet, which makes it possible to procure a symmetrical case whose production can be easily automated.
To this end, the invention relates to a portable object comprising a case having a middle, a bracelet, and an attachment system for removably securing each end of said bracelet to the middle, the middle comprising two longitudinal cavities configured to form a slide bar, each end of the bracelet comprising a fastening head, that has a complementary shape of longitudinal cavities, and that is configured to cooperate, by sliding, with one of the longitudinal cavities to form the attachment system, said portable object being characterised in that said fastening head comprises a portion made of a viscoelastic material, and in that the attachment system comprises viscoelastic fitting means for locking the axial movement of said fastening head inside the longitudinal cavity by the viscoelastic response of the portion, the viscoelastic fitting means being formed by the cooperation of a rigid locking protrusion, provided in each of the longitudinal cavities, and configured to deform the portion (made of a viscoelastic material) upon insertion of the bracelet, said locking protrusion being configured to fit inside a recess made in the portion made of a viscoelastic material in order to lock the axial movement of the fastening head.
In addition to the features mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the portable object according to the invention can have one or more complementary features from among the following, considered either on an individual basis or according to any combination technically possible:
Advantageously, the portable object is a wristwatch.
The purposes, advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood upon reading the detailed description given below with reference to the following figures:
In all figures, common elements bear the same reference numerals unless indicated otherwise.
The portable object 10 comprises a case 20, intended to receive a horological movement for example (not shown here for clarity reasons). The horological movement carries and drives means for displaying information, for example the current time.
The case 20 consists of a middle 21, the lower part whereof is closed by a back 23 and the upper part whereof is closed by a crystal 22. The case 20 can further comprise a bezel (not shown) assembled onto the middle 21 and capable of carrying the crystal 22, whereby the bezel may or may not be capable of rotating.
The case 20 defines a main plane P which is visible, for example, in
In the example embodiment shown, the transverse axis x is parallel to the 3 o'clock-9 o'clock time axis and the longitudinal axis y is parallel to the 6 o'clock-12 o'clock time axis.
The case 20 shown by way of example is circular in shape overall. However, the case 20 can have other known embodiments without leaving the scope of the invention.
The portable object 10 further comprises a flexible, removable bracelet 30, the two ends whereof are intended to be removably coupled to the middle 21 of the case 20, via an attachment system 100. The attachment system 100 allows the bracelet 30 to be secured to the case 20, to be locked in position, and to make it possible to easily interchange the bracelet 30 without using tools.
The attachment system 100 allows the bracelet 30 to be fitted, in a reversible manner, by viscoelastic deformation. As a result, the attachment system 100 according to the invention is particularly advantageous compared to a system with irreversible snap fitting, which requires the destruction or deterioration of at least one of the elements constituting the attachment system when the bracelet 30 is removed from the case 20.
The attachment system 100 according to the invention is an alternative embodiment of a snap fitting type of attachment system. Such an attachment system by viscoelastic deformation in particular simplifies the production of such an attachment system in particular by using the viscoelastic deformation properties of the bracelet. This makes the bracelet 30 easier to design and manufacture.
The bracelet 30 takes on the form of two strands 30a, 30b connected to one another by a fastening device (not shown), for example a clasp, a folding buckle or any other ad-hoc element procuring this function of attaching the two strands 30a, 30b of the bracelet 30 around the user's wrist.)
According to an alternative embodiment, the bracelet 30 can be formed by a single strand.
The middle 21 comprises two longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b configured to receive the end of each strand 30a, 30b of the bracelet 30, and more particularly of the fastening heads 31a, 31b forming the ends of each strand 30a, 30b of the bracelet 30. A first longitudinal cavity 110a is shown more particularly in
The longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b are made in the middle 21 and advantageously replace the attachment horns commonly used to fasten the bracelet 30. The longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b cooperate with the fastening heads 31a, 31b of the strands 30a, 30b of the bracelet 30 to form the attachment system 100 of the bracelet 30.
Thus, it can be seen that the middle 21 of the case 20 according to the invention does not comprise any projecting element for attaching the bracelet 30. As a result, the manufacture of the case 20 can be fully automated.
The longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b are made in two attachment portions, opposite one another, located on either side of a dial (not shown), and advantageously located at 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock.
The longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b extend over two circular segments of the middle 21 located in the 6 o'clock and 12 o'clock positions.
The longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b form slide bars extending along a longitudinal axis forming a sliding axis X-X, parallel to the transverse axis x of the case 20.
The longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b are configured to receive the fastening heads 31a, 31b of the strands 30a, 30b of the bracelet 30 and to guide the fastening heads 31a, 31b in translation along the sliding axis X-X when the bracelet 30 is being assembled or removed.
Thus, the strands 30a, 30b are assembled on the middle 21 by sliding the fastening heads 31a, 31b into the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b of the middle 21.
The longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b are open-ended, i.e. they are open at a first end and at a second end, so that the bracelet 30 can be inserted and removed by sliding both through the first end and through the second end of the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b, i.e. through the end located on the same side as the crown (3 o'clock side) or through the end located on the side opposite the crown (9 o'clock side).
The fastening heads 31a, 31b of the strands 30a, 30b have a complementary shape and are adapted to be housed inside the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b and to cooperate by sliding in a rectilinear manner, along the sliding axis X-X, inside the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b.
It can be seen that the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b and the fastening heads 31a, 31b have a substantially hook-shaped cross-section.
The longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b have a lower surface 111 defining the lower portion of the cavity, a bottom 112 and an upper surface 113 defining the upper portion of the cavity.
Advantageously, the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b have an undercut portion allowing the movements of the bracelet to be blocked except for those in which it moves in translation along the sliding axis X-X, corresponding to the longitudinal axis of the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b.
In the example embodiment shown, an undercut portion is made in the upper surface 113 of the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b, the lower surface 111 being planar.
In an alternative embodiment (not shown), an undercut portion can be made in the lower surface 111 of the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b, the upper surface 113 being planar.
In an alternative embodiment (not shown), the lower surface 111 and the upper surface 113 of the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b can have an undercut portion.
Each fastening head 31a, 31b has an end flange 311 forming the free end of the fastening head 31a, 31b, the end flange 311 having an end surface 312 intended to be positioned facing or in contact with the bottom 112 of the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b.
The end flange 311 has an excess thickness of material compared to the strand 30a, 30b of the bracelet 30.
Such a form advantageously makes it possible to allow the strand 30a, 30b to move in translation inside the corresponding longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b by sliding along the axis X-X, while blocking the other degrees of freedom by the presence of the end flange 311 of material at the end of the fastening head 31a, 31b forming an excess thickness of material with respect to the strand 30a, 30b. The flange 311 is shaped to cooperate with the undercut portion of the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b and to form means for holding the bracelet 30.
It goes without saying that other embodiments can also be envisaged. For example, the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b and the complementary fastening heads can have a circular, L-shaped, T-shaped, or C-shaped section, etc.
The attachment system 100 further comprises viscoelastic fitting means for securing and locking the axial movement of each strand 30a, 30b inside the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b of the middle 21, to lock the position of each strand 30a, 30b in a so-called locking position.
The viscoelastic fitting means are configured to procure a reversible viscoelastic fitting of the fastening heads 31a, 31b of the strands 30a, 30b on the middle 21, by viscoelastic deformation of the fastening heads 31a, 31b, and more particularly of the end flanges 311.
To this end, at least the end flanges 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b are made of a material that allows for viscoelastic deformation when the strands 30a, 30b are inserted into the case 20.
The viscoelastic fitting means comprise a locking protrusion 210, such as a stud or finger. Advantageously, the locking protrusion 210 is centred longitudinally in each longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b, relative to the sliding axis X-X. However, other positions of the locking protrusion 210 can also be envisaged.
The locking protrusion 210 is made at the bottom 112 of the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b, and projects from the bottom 112, so as to form an obstacle preventing assembly of the strands 30a, 30b of the bracelet 30.
Advantageously, the locking protrusion 210 is rigid.
Advantageously, the locking protrusion 210 is formed integrally in one piece with the middle 21.
The locking protrusion 210 is configured to cooperate with the end surface 312 of the end flange 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b, and to viscoelastically deform the end flange 311 when the bracelet 30 is being assembled. Thus, in order to assemble the bracelet 30, the user must counter a certain assembly resistance due to the forces required to ensure that the viscoelastic deformation of the end flange 311 is sufficient to ensure passage of the locking protrusion 210 when the bracelet 30 is being inserted into the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b.
A recess 213 is made at the end surface 312 of the flange 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b. The recess 213 is configured to receive the locking protrusion 210 and to form a blocking means for blocking the axial movement of the strand 30a, 30b inside the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b. The recess 213 has a shape that is complementary to the shape of the locking protrusion 210.
The locking protrusion 210 cooperates with the recess 213 to form the viscoelastic fitting means of the bracelet 30 and to lock the axial movement of the fastening head 31a, 31b. In order to remove the bracelet 30, the user must generate sufficient force to remove the locking protrusion 210 from the recess 213 and to deform the end flange 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b again.
Advantageously, the locking protrusion 210 and the complementary recess 213 have relief angles or curvilinear shapes at the contact surfaces to facilitate the assembly and removal of the bracelet 30.
The viscoelastic fitting means according to the invention are configured to deform the end flanges 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b by compressing the material towards the bracelet 30, and more particularly the strands 30a, 30b, substantially along the longitudinal axis y of the case 20.
The fastening heads 31a, 31b of each strand 30a, 30b of the bracelet 30 are made of a more flexible material than the middle 21 of the case 20 so as to allow for the deformation of the end flanges 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b when the bracelet 30 is being assembled.
Advantageously, at least the end flange 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b of the bracelet 30 is made of a thermoplastic elastomer, of the TPV (ThermoPlastic Vulcanizate), TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) or TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) type. By way of example, at least the end flange 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b can be made of Opti-Flex™.
By way of example, the fastening heads 31a, 31b of the bracelet 30 can be made of the same material or of a different material to the end flanges 311, with the same or different viscoelastic and hardness properties.
By way of example, the strands 30a, 30b can be made of the same material or of a different material to the fastening heads 31a, 31b of the bracelet 30, with the same or different viscoelastic and hardness properties.
By way of example, the middle 21 is made of a metal material or polymer. Advantageously, the middle 21 is made of a thermoplastic polymer. For example, the middle 21 can be made of polyamide 11, also referred to as polyundecanamide or nylon 11.
The middle 21 is advantageously a one-piece middle. However, a middle can also be assembled from a plurality of parts manufactured separately.
Advantageously, the polymer middle is a one-piece middle made by injection moulding.
The bracelet 30 is assembled onto the middle 21 of the case 20 in the following manner.
In a first stage, shown in
As the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b are symmetrical, the bracelet 30 can be assembled either via a first end or via a second end of the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b, i.e. via the end located on the same side as the crown or via the opposite end thereto.
In a second stage shown in
When inserting the strand 30a, 30b, and when the locking protrusion 210 comes into contact with a lateral end of the end flange 311, the user must assert force to viscoelastically deform the portion of the end flange 311 facing the locking protrusion 210, so as to allow the strand 30a, 30b to slide in the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b until the locking protrusion 210 reaches the recess 213 in order to ensure that the bracelet 30 is locked by the viscoelastic response of the material at the flange 311, which recovers its initial shape.
Once the locking protrusion 210 is inserted into the recess, the bracelet 30 is then locked in position in the case 20. This third locking stage is shown in particular in
In order to unlock and remove the bracelet 30, the user must assert sufficient force to remove the locking protrusion 210 from the recess 213 and to deform the end flange of the fastening heads 31a, 31b again, and in particular the portion of the end flange 311 facing the locking protrusion 210.
When the locking protrusion 210 is no longer in contact with the end flange 311 of the fastening heads 31a, 31b, the strand 30a, 30b can be slid freely and extracted from the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b, by translating the strand 30a, 30b along the sliding axis X-X.
It should be noted that since the end flange 311 is made of a deformable material, the thickness of the end flange 311 and the hardness thereof must be determined so as to prevent the bracelet 30 from being extracted from the longitudinal cavity 110a, 110b by the user by exerting a tensile force on the bracelet 30 in the longitudinal direction of the case 20 by excessively deforming the end flange 311. Thus, with sufficient thickness, it will be ensured that the user cannot unbuckle the bracelet 30 by exerting a tensile force on the strands 30a, 30b.
According to an alternative embodiment, not shown, the fastening heads 31a, 31b, and more particularly the end flanges 311 have dimensions that are slightly greater than the dimensions of the longitudinal cavities 110a, 110b. This requires the fastening heads to undergo additional deformation when the strands 30a, 30b are being inserted. In particular, such an alternative embodiment allows the force required to assemble and remove the bracelet by sliding to be increased.
The case and the system for attaching a bracelet to the case according to the invention greatly facilitate the method for producing the case, since the case is devoid of attachment horns and is entirely symmetrical. Thus, the manufacture of the case and of the bracelet can be automated. The manufacturing costs of such an assembly and of such a portable object are thus reduced, in particular due to the absence of reworking operations on the case and the absence of the need to use additional elements, such as bars, to attach the bracelet to the case.
The attachment system according to the invention advantageously dispenses with the need to use additional parts or spacers between the bracelet and the middle of the case, such as bars, or elastic clips, etc., or the need to use tools (whether specific or commonly used tools) to secure and/or remove the bracelet.
Moreover, the attachment system according to the invention simplifies the interchangeability of the bracelets, which makes it possible to easily renew a bracelet in the event of wear and tear, or to modify the aesthetics, via a simple handling operation, without the use of tools and without causing damage to one of the elements of the attachment system when removing the bracelet.
The invention has been described by way of a specific embodiment of the case and of the ends of the strands of the bracelet. However, it is clear that other embodiments, as well as those derived from that described, can be envisaged.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21216079.0 | Dec 2021 | EP | regional |
