Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6779917
-
Patent Number
6,779,917
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, March 21, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, August 24, 200419 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Martin; David
- Goodwin; Jeanne-Marguerite
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 368 10
- 368 276
- 368 281
- 368 282
- 368 223
- D10 33
- D10 39
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
The reversible watch includes first (1) and second (2) cases mounted back-to-back and each having a back cover and securing elements for securing it to the other case in a way which the user can dismantle. In a particular embodiment, each of the cases includes horns (5) through which bars (8, 9) pass. The bars are also used as means for securing the first case to the second and as means for securing each of the ends (12, 13) of the wristband (15) to the assembly formed by said first and second cases. In another embodiment, the back covers of the two cases include elements for securing them to each other, and the assembly of the two cases is mounted in a reversible manner on a support secured to a non-reversible wristband.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a reversible wristwatch including a first case enclosing elements able to control a first display and a second case enclosing elements able to control a second display, said first and second cases each having a back cover and being placed back-to-back.
Several reversible watches which more or less answer the definition given above have already been proposed.
The watch disclosed in Swiss Patent No. 646 56 is formed of two parts secured to each other and each constituting one of the faces of the reversible watch.
These two parts form a single water-resistant case which is pivoted along its six o'clock-midday axis on two bars each accommodating one of the ends of a wristband. The case includes two lateral covers hinged to the case at one of their ends, covering the lateral edges of the watch case in the operating position. In this construction, the respective middle parts of the two parts of the watch are secured to each other by means of screws. In general it is to be noted that the proposed construction is complicated and requires many constituent parts both for securing the middle parts and for attaching the ends of the wristband to the assembly thereby formed. Should the two parts of the watch require batteries to operate, it is difficult to see how access could be obtained to the batteries without unscrewing all the screws connecting these two parts beforehand, which cannot easily be done by an ordinary user. European Patent No. 0 359 181 discloses a watch having a case with two displays arranged on opposite faces, this case being mounted by a hinge on a base plate secured to the wristband. This enables the case to be raised to read the display placed on the back, but the watch can obviously not be worn in this position during other activities, since it would quickly be damaged. U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,381 discloses a reversible watch having at least two opposite faces and at least one movement. The middle part is secured to an extending wristband by means of horns so that the wearer of the watch can pass from one face to the other without having to take the watch off his wrist. However the description relies on movements mounted in a single case and there is thus no reason to find a solution for attaching two distinct cases, which are themselves secured to a wristband.
Swiss Patent No. 680 329 also shows a reversible timepiece of the type indicated above in the preamble. This article includes a central portion on each side of which is mounted a complete watch with its dial directed outwards. Each watch is hinged on this central portion, this latter having horns for attaching a wristband. It is clear that this arrangement leads to a watch of significant thickness, given the presence of the central portion.
A reversible watch by the name of“Reverso” (registered trademark) is also known, made of a single case engaged on a cradle-shaped support provided with slide-ways, the support being in turn secured to the wristband. The proposed construction leads to a rather thick watch which is generally only provided with a mechanical movement, since the use of an electric movement would require, to replace the battery, either opening the case, or a lateral battery hatch if both sides of the watch were each fitted with a display. A watch of this type is disclosed, in its simplest embodiment, in French Patent No. 712 868.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It thus appears that the state of the art in field of reversible wristwatches proposes on the one hand watches with a single case, and on the other hand watches with two cases. The first category has the drawback of a generally high cost, because of the special construction of the double face case and, as appropriate, movements with double face displays, as well as difficulties concerning battery replacement in the case of electric movements. The second category, illustrated by Swiss Patent No. 680 329, has in particular the drawback that the assembly is of considerable thickness and the mounting of the cases on a common support is complicated.
The present invention concerns a watch in the second category and proposes creating a watch of moderate thickness which can be both manufactured at moderate cost and be very comfortable to use. Moreover, in the case of watches including electric batteries, this means creating a construction which allows easy replacement of the battery by the user, without the aesthetic appearance of the watch and the manufacturing cost being particularly affected.
The invention therefore concerns a reversible wristwatch of the type indicated in the preamble, characterised in that each of the two cases includes at least one securing element arranged to be attached in a removable manner to a corresponding securing element of the other case, to secure the cases to each other in a position in which their respective back covers are adjacent.
Any intermediate element such as a support arranged between the two cases, can thus be omitted, which substantially reduces the thickness of the assembly and simplifies the final assembly. Each of the two cases may advantageously be individually sealed and be designed from a common type of mono-face watch case, to which one need only add the elements for securing it to the other case. These securing elements may be concealed in the region of the back cover of the cases or may be made close to the edges of the cases in a barely visible or invisible form. Moreover, if one of each of the cases has to contain an electric battery the back cover of the case in question may includes an ordinary battery hatch, which will be concealed by the other case but will remain easily accessible to the user because the latter may easily separate the cases by dismantling their mutual securing means. Battery replacement will then be performed as in an ordinary watch.
In a particular embodiment, the securing elements of each of the cases include horns through which bars pass, these bars acting both as means for securing the first case to the second and as means for securing each of the ends of the wristband to the assembly formed by said first and second cases.
Otherwise the securing elements may be arranged on the back cover of the case, for example in the form of sliding assembly elements of the dovetail type.
In another particular embodiment, the two cases secured to each other form a movable case, which is mounted so as to pivot and slide on a support attached to a wristband, the support having two parallel lateral bars between which the movable case is placed in two mutually opposite use positions, positions in which two opposite lateral faces of the movable case extend along said bars. An advantageous arrangement in this case is for each support bar to be provided with an articulation trunnion, which is engaged in a slide-way of the corresponding lateral face of the movable case, and in that said slide-way is formed by juxtaposing two recesses of L-shaped profile, each arranged along an edge of the back cover of each case. Each trunnion may be secured to a removable part held by means of a wristband attachment bar, so that the user can easily remove the movable case from the support to separate the two cases, for example to change one of them or to replace a battery.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will appear from the following description, made with reference to the annexed drawings and presenting by way of explanatory but non-limiting example, various advantageous embodiments of the invention, wherein, in such drawings:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a blown up perspective view of the various elements forming a first embodiment of a reversible watch according to the invention,
FIG. 2
is a blown up perspective view of the various elements forming a second embodiment of a reversible watch according to the invention,
FIG. 3
shows the second embodiment shown in
FIG. 2
at a different angle,
FIG. 4
shows a perspective view of a third embodiment of a reversible watch according to the invention, in five successive positions of a movable case formed of two cases arranged back-to-back,
FIG. 5
shows a perspective view of the two cases of the watch of
FIG. 4
,
FIG. 6
is a blown up perspective view of the watch of
FIG. 4
, and
FIG. 7
is a lateral view of the movable case, along the arrow VII of FIG.
6
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As
FIGS. 1
to
3
show, the reversible wristwatch has a first case
1
enclosing elements (not shown) able to control a first display
3
and a second case
2
also enclosing elements (not shown) able to control a second display (not shown as located under case
2
). These first and second cases are placed back-to-back so as to cause the displays to appear on either side of the assembly thereby formed. Display
3
shown here is an analogue display but could be of any other form, for example digital. The display not shown and affecting case
2
may be either digital or analogue. It will also be noted that cases
1
and
2
may display the time, for example the local time for the first and that of another time zone for the second. One could however, display something other than the time, for example an interval of time (chronograph function) or a message (pager function). It will thus be understood that various combinations are possible.
The reversible wristwatch according to
FIGS. 1
to
3
is characterised in that each of cases
1
and
2
includes securing elements in the form of horns, referenced in the first embodiment of FIG.
1
and referenced
5
in the second embodiment of
FIGS. 2 and 3
, removable bars
6
and
7
passing through these horns in the first embodiment and removable bars
8
and
9
in the second embodiment. As will be noted in these Figures, these bars fulfill a dual function: on the one hand they act as means for securing first case
1
to second case
2
and, on the other hand, as means for securing each of the ends of the wristband to the assembly formed by the first and second cases. Thus ends
10
and
11
of wristband
14
of the first embodiment (
FIG. 1
) are secured to the assembly formed by cases
1
and
2
by bars
6
and
7
respectively. Likewise, ends
12
and
13
of wristband
15
of the second embodiment (
FIGS. 2 and 3
) are secured to the assembly formed by cases
1
and
2
by bars
9
and
8
respectively.
In summary, two bars only are sufficient both to secure the two cases to each other in a removable manner and to secure the ends of the wristband to the assembly thereby formed. To the Applicant's knowledge, such an arrangement has never been proposed, such arrangement considerably simplifying the assembly of the watch both as regards the time which such assembly takes and the number of parts to be implemented.
Two embodiments of the invention which put into practice the aforementioned principles will now be examined in detail.
The first embodiment is illustrated in FIG.
1
. The reversible watch includes a first case
1
with its display
3
and a time-setting control crown
80
and a second case
2
whose display is not apparent, this second case having its own time-setting control crown
81
. The two cases
1
and
2
are arranged back-to-back, so that their respective back covers
85
and
86
are adjacent. First case
1
includes, at six o'clock, a pair of horns
16
and
17
and, at twelve o'clock, another pair of horns
20
and
21
. Second case
2
includes, at six o'clock, a pair of horns
18
and
19
and, at twelve o'clock, another pair of horns
22
and
23
. Each of these horns is provided with a hole respectively referenced
24
,
25
,
28
,
29
,
26
,
27
,
30
and
31
. The diameter of each hole is adjusted to the diameter of bars
6
and
7
. Each horn of first case
1
is juxtaposed with a corresponding horn of second case
2
. Thus, horn
16
is located next to horn
18
, horn
17
next to horn
19
, horn
20
(not shown) next to horn
22
and horn
21
next to horn
23
. When the corresponding horns are juxtaposed, i.e. when cases
1
and
2
are placed back-to-back, a recess
32
is created at six o'clock which is occupied by end
11
of wristband
14
, and a recess
33
is created at twelve o'clock which is occupied by end
10
of wristband
14
. Ends
11
and
10
of wristband
14
are provided with a hole referenced respectively
34
and
35
. These holes
34
and
35
are arranged in alignment with the hole of horns to accommodate bars
7
and
6
which are inserted by sliding through the horns, so that, once inserted, these bars secure the first case to the second and wristband
14
onto the assembly thereby formed.
In the embodiment shown in
FIG. 1
, it can be seen that case
1
may also be mounted on case
2
by rotating it through 180° in its plane. This would then produce an incorrect mounting unsuited to a reversible wristwatch. This takes account of the symmetrical arrangement of the horns of first case
1
with respect to the horns of second case
2
. In order to avoid this, the symmetry can be broken for example by moving horns
16
and
17
of case
1
towards the exterior of said case
1
and horns
18
and
19
of case
2
towards the inside of said case. At that moment, case
1
can only be mounted in a single direction on case
2
.
The second embodiment is illustrated in
FIGS. 2 and 3
. In this embodiment, the first and second cases
1
and
2
include, at six o'clock and at twelve o'clock, four horns
5
, each horn of the first case being superposed on and encased in a horn of the second case when the cases are placed back-to-back. At that moment, three recesses are created at six o'clock and twelve o'clock, namely recesses
36
,
37
and
38
at six o'clock and recesses
39
,
40
and
41
at twelve o'clock. Recesses
36
,
37
and
38
are
30
occupied by end
13
of wristband
15
, this end being divided into three sections
42
,
43
and
44
. Recesses
39
,
40
and
41
are occupied by end
12
of wristband
15
, this end being divided into three sections
45
,
46
and
47
.
First case
1
has, at six o'clock and in order, a first male horn
48
provided with a hole
49
and encased in a first female horn
50
of second case
2
, second
51
and third
52
female horns respectively encased in second
53
and third
54
male horns of second case
2
, the male horns each being fitted with a hole respectively referenced
55
and
56
, and a fourth male horn
57
provided with a hole
58
and encased in a fourth female horn
59
of second case
2
. First case
1
has, at twelve o'clock and in order, a first female horn
60
encased on a first male horn
61
of second case
2
, this horn
61
being provided with a hole
62
, second
63
and third
64
male horns each provided with a hole respectively referenced
65
and
66
and respectively encased in second
67
and third
68
female horns of second case
2
, and a fourth female horn
69
encased in a fourth male horn
70
of second case
2
, this horn
70
being provided with a hole
71
. The three sections
42
,
43
and
44
of end
13
of wristband
15
are provided with a hole respectively referenced
72
,
73
and
74
and the three sections
45
,
46
and
47
of end
12
of wristband are provided with a hole respectively referenced
75
,
76
and
77
. These holes are arranged in alignment with the holes of the horns to accommodate removable bars
8
and
9
which secure first case
1
to second case
2
and wristband
15
to the assembly thereby formed.
In the embodiment shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, it can be seen that case
1
can only be mounted one way on case
2
and that it is therefore not possible to rotate it by 180° in its plane then to mount it on case
1
. This is due to the configuration and alternating male and female horns. Indeed, if case
1
is rotated in the wrong direction, male horns
63
and
64
of case
1
will meet other male horns, in this case male horns
53
and
54
of case
2
.
The embodiment shown in
FIG. 2
shows, in back cover
86
of case
2
, a cover
82
closing a battery hatch
83
. Since this cover can exceed the level of the back of case
2
, a recess in portion
84
is provided In back cover
85
of case
1
, as shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
, this recess in portion being Intended to accommodate a battery hatch cover which is not visible and which Is located in the back cover of case
1
.
It will also be noted that the embodiment shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3
uses the construction of the Swatch (registered trademark) watch wherein the ends of the wristband each include three sections and the case two times four horns.
It will be noted finally that the present invention offers an extremely thin reversible watch especially if two cases of small thickness are selected, such as, for example, those marketed under the name Swatch Skin (registered trademark).
The way in which wristband
14
or
15
is manufactured is not described here. It may be an extending wristband as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,381 or a leather strap provided with a pivoting buckle, as disclosed in German Patent No. 35 12 369.
In the event that first and second cases
1
and
2
are fitted with power supply batteries, it can be seen that the arrangement proposed by the invention allows the batteries to be changed easily. One need only take out the bars to separate the cases and have access to the battery hatches. The horns on one side of the watch may further be arranged to form a hinge, so that one need only take out the bar from the other side to separate the cases and have access to each battery hatch.
In the embodiment shown in
FIGS. 4
to
7
, the reversible wristwatch includes a reversible movable case
100
formed by assembling a first case
101
, enclosing a first clockwork movement provided with a first display
103
, for example of the analogue type, and a second case
102
enclosing a second clockwork movement provided with a second display
104
, for example of the digital type. Cases
101
and
102
have a generally square or rectangular shape and are arranged back-to-back, so that their displays
103
and
104
appear respectively on the two opposite faces of movable case
100
. As in the preceding example, the two displays may be arranged to display the time, but one or the other could display something else, for example a measured time, an alarm time, stored data, a message received via radio or other alphanumerical data, or combinations of such elements.
Movable case
100
is mounted so as to pivot and slide on a rigid support
105
secured to the two ends
106
and
107
of a wristband
108
which may or may not be reversible. This support is shown in detail in FIG.
6
and includes two parallel bars
110
connected by a bottom plate
112
, so that support
105
has a cradle shape longitudinally the inside of which is occupied by movable case
100
. Each bar
110
includes horns
113
provided with holes
114
for attachment to wristband
108
in the same way as in the preceding example, i.e. by means of two removable bars
115
which also pass through holes
109
of ends
106
and
107
of the wristband.
Each bar
110
includes a through hole
116
opening out into an inner vertical face
117
of the bar, facing the opposite bar
110
. Each hole
116
is intended for the passage of a cylindrical trunnion
118
secured to a removable part
119
which is housed in a recess
120
of bar
110
, while trunnion
118
engaged through hole
116
emerges from face
117
of the bar to form an articulation pivot. Each part
119
has the same external shape as horns
113
and, like the latter, it includes a hole
121
intended for the passage of bar
115
, so that this bar holds part
119
In position in bar
110
as is seen in FIG.
4
(
e
). It will also be noted that inner plate
112
of support
105
does not extend over the entire length of bars
110
, but has an edge
122
set back from a vertical line passing through holes
116
, in order to release the space below trunnions
118
for a reason which will appear hereinafter.
In
FIG. 5
, the two cases
101
and
102
are shown so that their respective back covers
125
and
126
are visible, provided with battery hatches
127
and
128
to allow easy replacement of the battery powering the clockwork movement. A control crown
129
is provided on case
101
, as is a control crown
130
on case
102
, in the usual position. On its side opposite the crown, each case has a small recess
131
,
132
, which, when the cases are assembled as is seen in
FIG. 4
, allows the user to insert a nail under the crown to pull it. Along the two other edges opposite the back cover of first case
101
, there are two longitudinal recesses
133
having an L-shaped profile and extending symmetrically over most of the length of the side of the case. Two similar longitudinal recesses
134
are arranged along two opposite edges of back cover
126
of second case
102
. Further, a wide groove
135
having a dovetail profile passes right through back cover
125
of first case
101
in its central zone. Likewise, in its central zone, back cover
126
of second case
102
has a wide rib
136
having a dovetail profile which corresponds to that of groove
135
in order to be encased therein by sliding In it when the cases are put back-to-back, in the position shown in FIG.
6
. Thus, groove
135
and rib
136
constitute elements for directly securing one case to another without inserting any intermediate element.
When the two cases
101
and
102
are thus assembled, as is seen in
FIG. 7
, their respective longitudinal recesses
133
and
134
, which are juxtaposed along each side of movable case
100
, together form a longitudinal slide-way
140
In each lateral face
141
of the movable case, this slide-way having closed ends
142
and
143
. When movable case
100
is placed between the two bars
110
of support
105
, the two mutually opposite trunnions
118
are each engaged in one of slide-ways
140
of movable case
100
, so that the latter can pivot and slide on the trunnions, while the two cases are held laterally by faces
117
of bars
110
. Sliding is stopped by one or other of ends
142
and
143
of the slide-ways.
When the movable cases is placed flat in support
105
in one of the two positions (a) and (e) shown in
FIG. 4
, it is prevented from pivoting and sliding by two opposite clicks
144
which emerge from faces
117
of the bars engaging in slide-way
140
. A click of this type may be formed by a pin with a spherical head mounted on a spring.
FIG. 4
shows five successive positions (a) to (e) of movable case
100
when a user turns it. Position (a) is a first use position wherein first case
101
presents its analogue display
103
. By lifting up the left edge
145
of the case, the holding of clicks
144
is overcome and the case is set in inclined position (b) by pivoting on trunnions
118
. The right edge
146
of the case is then lowered between bars
110
of support
105
, in the zone into which central plate
112
does not extend. In order to pass to position (c), the case is pulled backwards so that it slides on the trunnions to the corresponding end of slide-way
140
. Edge
146
of the case is then higher than plate
112
. Case
100
is then pivoted to the horizontal position (d) then it is made to slide horizontally to the left above plate
112
to bring it to the second use position (e) wherein case
102
is at the top and presents its digital display
104
. Clicks
144
are then again engaged in slide-way
140
to stabilise movable case
100
.
The same operations are repeated to pass from position (e) to position (a).
The construction described above allows the batteries contained in cases
101
and
102
to be replaced easily, both by an average user and by a watchmaker. The two cases can be separated as shown in
FIG. 6
, by removing the two bars
115
, then the two parts
119
to separate movable case
100
from support
105
, then the two cases are separated by sliding the dovetail assembly. The two battery hatches
127
and
128
then become accessible as in an ordinary watch. Next, the watch is reassembled by the reverse operations.
It will be noted that in the example shown in
FIGS. 4
to
7
, trunnions
118
are not in proximity to one end of bars
110
of the support, because removable parts
119
which carry them cannot transmit force between the wristband and the support and would not be properly guided to the end of the bar. One may however design variants wherein trunnions
118
are situated very close to the end of the bar in order to abut against one end of slide-way
140
in the two use positions of the case. For example, each trunnion could be provided at the end of a screw passing through the bar.
It will be noted that the watch shown in
FIGS. 4
to
7
could also include stop members to prevent the movable case moving to the left beyond positions (a) and (e) of FIG.
4
. For example, ends
142
and
143
of slide-way
140
could be deepened or widened locally so that clicks
144
engage more deeply therein. Another solution consists in providing at least one stop projecting at the left end of each face
117
of bars
110
, to act as a stop for the movable case. A stop of this type may also be formed by an element connecting the left ends of the two bars to form a rigid U-shaped frame. Plate
112
could then be omitted.
Instead of sliding the movable case on the support in a perpendicular direction to the wristband, with pivoting about an axis parallel to the general direction of the wristband, one can provide the opposite arrangement, i.e. sliding the case in a direction parallel to the wristband, without departing from the scope of the invention. In such case, horns
113
of support
105
could be replaced by horns arranged in the extension of bars
110
, or by two handles connecting the ends of the two bars and each attached to one end of the wristband, the support then having the form of a rectangular frame. These handles may also be provided with several similar horns to horns
113
shown in
FIGS. 4 and 6
.
Claims
- 1. A reversible wristwatch including a first case enclosing first elements able to control a first display and a second case enclosing second elements able to control a second display, said first and second cases each having a back cover and being placed back-to-back, wherein each of said first and second cases includes at least one securing element arranged to be secured in a removable manner to a corresponding securing element of the other of said first and second cases, to secure the first and second cases to each other in a position in which their respective back covers are adjacent,wherein the securing elements of each of the first and second cases include horns through which bars pass, said bars acting both as means for securing the first case to the second case and means for securing opposite ends of the wristband to an assembly formed by said first and second cases, and wherein the first and second cases include at six o'clock and twelve o'clock four horns, each horn of the first case being superposed on and encased in a horn of the second case when said cases are placed back-to-back to define at six o'clock and twelve o'clock three recesses which are occupied by the corresponding end of the wristband divided into three sections, the first case having at six o'clock and in order, a first male horn provided with a hole and encased in a first female horn of the second case, second and third female horns respectively encased in second and third male horns of the second case which are each provided with a hole; and a fourth male horn provided with a hole and encased in a fourth female horn of the second case, said first case having, at twelve o'clock and in order, a first female horn encased on a first male horn of the second case, said first male horn being provided with a hole, second and third male horns each provided with a hole and respectively encased in second and third female horns of the second case, and a fourth female horn encased in a fourth male horn of the second case, said fourth male horn being provided with a hole, each of the three sections of the ends of the wristband being provided with a hole arranged in alignment with the holes of the horns to accommodate the bars which secure the first case to the second case and the wristband to the assemble thereby formed.
- 2. The wristwatch of claim 1, wherein each case contains an electric battery and includes a battery hatch provided with a removable cover in its back cover.
- 3. A reversible wristwatch including a first case enclosing first elements able to control a first display and a second case enclosing second elements able to control a second display, said first and second cases each having a back cover and being placed back-to-back, wherein each of said first and second cases includes at least one securing element arranged to be secured in a removable manner to a corresponding securing element of the other of said first and second cases, to secure the first and second cases to each other in a position in which their respective back covers are adjacent, andwherein the first and second cases secured to each other form a movable case, which is mounted so as to pivot and slide on a support secured to a wristband, the support having two parallel lateral bars connected to each other, between which the movable case occupies two mutually reversed use positions, in which two opposite lateral faces of the movable case extend along said bars.
- 4. The wristwatch of claim 3, wherein each lateral bar of the support is provided with an articulation trunnion which is engaged in a slide-way of the corresponding lateral face of the movable case, and wherein said slide-way is formed by juxtaposing two recesses of L-shaped profile, each arranged along an edge of the back cover of each case.
- 5. The wristwatch of claim 4, wherein each lateral bar of the support is provided with securing means including a removable bar for securing it to the wristband and wherein said trunnion is secured to a removable part which is held in place on the bar by means of the removable bar.
- 6. The wristwatch of claim 3, wherein the movable cased slides along the support in a perpendicular direction to the wristband.
- 7. The wristwatch of claim 3, wherein the movable case slides on the support in a parallel direction to the wristband.
- 8. The wristwatch of claim 3, wherein each case contains an electric battery and includes a battery hatch provided with a removable cover in its back cover.
- 9. A reversible wristwatch including a first case enclosing first elements able to control a first display and a second case enclosing second elements able to control a second display, said first and second cases being individually sealed and each having a back cover and being placed back-to-back,wherein each of said first and second cases includes at least one securing element arranged to be secured in a removable manner to a corresponding securing element of the other of said first and second cases, to secure the first and second cases to each other in a position in which their respective back covers are adjacent, and wherein said securing elements are arranged on the back cover of each of said first and second cases.
- 10. The wristwatch of claim 9, wherein the securing elements include assembly elements of the dovetail type.
- 11. The wristwatch of claim 9, wherein the first and second cases secured to each other form a movable case, which is mounted so as to pivot and slide on a support secured to a wristband, the support having two parallel lateral bars connected to each other, between which the movable case occupies two mutually reversed use positions in which two opposite lateral faces of the movable case extend along said bars.
- 12. The wristwatch of claim 11, wherein each lateral bar of the support is provided with an articulation trunnion which is engaged in a slide-way of the corresponding lateral face of the movable case, and wherein said slide-way is formed by juxtaposing two recesses of L-shaped profile, each arranged along an edge of the back cover of each case.
- 13. The wristwatch of claim 12, wherein each lateral bar of the support is provided with securing means including a removable bar for securing it to the wristband and wherein said trunnion is secured to a removable part which is held in place on the bar by means of the removable bar.
- 14. The wristwatch of claim 11, wherein the movable case slides along the support in a perpendicular direction to the wristband.
- 15. The wristwatch of claim 11, wherein the movable case slides on the support in a parallel direction to the wristband.
- 16. The wristwatch of claim 9, wherein each case contains an electric battery and includes a battery hatch provided with a removable cover in its back cover.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
99114443 |
Jul 1999 |
EP |
|
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/EP00/06741 |
|
WO |
00 |
Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
WO01/07970 |
2/1/2001 |
WO |
A |
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
680329 |
Aug 1992 |
CH |
359181 |
Mar 1990 |
EP |
497 082 |
Nov 1919 |
FR |
712868 |
Oct 1931 |
FR |
2618919 |
Jul 1987 |
FR |